Spring flingings

Our weather has been all over the place!  Since last we spoke, we've had yet another heat wave. Summer, for the second time this season has showed her face.  And what a showing it was - worrisomely hot!  (yes, it's a word - I googled it)  :)  And for the second time now in recent weeks, I'm lamenting that, hopefully; this isn't a precursor for things to come.  Last year was such a long, dry, hot summer that I was ready for its' end long before it finally finished.   Add that plus an unusually mild and very wet winter, you know what that means.  Bugs.  Lots of bugs!  *sigh*  Oh well, nothing I can do about it.

Now we're having colder than normal temps, cool breezes and rain showers interspersed with glorious sun breaks.  Now that's the kind of spring that I enjoy.  Flowers everywhere, birds singing and doing bird things all over the place, horses shedding and yes, even a fire in the wood stove the last couple of days.  Felt delicious!  I even cooked a pot of cabbage/vegetable soup and hot bread on that fire.  So good!

And yesterday, in my domestic bliss, I baked traditional English Scones.  Oh my!  Such a treat.  To truly enjoy an English scone, they must be sliced in half while warm, and one side generously buttered.  On the other side, you slather on un-sweetened whipped cream or just lovingly pour half & half until it's lightly soaked, top with fresh berries, applesauce or whatever you prefer, put back together like a sandwich, topped with a bit more fruit, a little of the juice and more cream - and there you go!  Yummy deliciousness best served with hot tea (or coffee).  Just a lightly sweetened, slightly more flaky version of American bisquits.  It just doesn't get any better than this.  Unless it's pie. Either way, give it a go!



Oh, and I did get my new car!!!  I am totally loving it!!  I had truly forgotten how luxurious driving can be when you're comfortable, and there are little delightful surprises at your finger tips (or under your bum).  Now there's no question in my mind.  It was definitely time for an upgrade.  Granny has served us well, but she's ready for retirement.  Later alligator!  We have plans to get the old girl all cleaned up and sell it at our earliest convenience.  Hoping it'll provide someone else with inexpensive and reliable transportation for years to come.  So.  My new ride isn't really new at all.  It's 11 years old in fact, an '05 Lexus RX330 with 65,000 miles.  But whoever owned this car took really good care of it.  Aside from a couple of tiny imperfections in the paint, and a scratch in the back center bumper, it's like new.  Nice.  Comfortable.  And drives nice too.  I got all the little bells and whistles that I'd hoped for, like leather, heated seats, great stereo, moon roof, navigation, blue tooth..and probably a whole bunch of things I have no idea how to use.  Yet.  :)  Sure isn't taking me long to adjust though.  Not at all!

Not my car, but this is what it looks like - love it!!

I seem to remember casually mentioning that we'd taken our truck into the shop for a water leak repair.  Well.  A simple water leak repair it's not.  *sigh*  This has got to be at least 3 things in a row!  Couldn't afford to buy a new truck, and wasn't willing to replace it with something we could readily afford but would likely have problems of its' own...so, fix it we must!  Around our place, we need a truck.  And with our good old truck, we know what we have.  But really?  We were really hoping not to have to dump all our cash reserves into more auto repairs, but easy come - easy go!  Whoever said that should be horse whipped.  It certainly isn't so easy to come by, but it sure goes "poof" all gone in the blink of an eye!  I could have cried, then my mind went in all the directions we could have gone, and came up with the only plausible solution.  Write the check.  And when that doesn't cover it - hand over the handy dandy old credit card.  I'll pay off the balance of the repairs when we get our tax return back, but pretty much all of that was earmarked for next winters' hay supply, but we'll still have over half the $$ needed for that, and we'll have a little time to start saving again.  We're fortunate that either, or both of our hay guys will let us pay over time if we need to.  Thank God for all those day-to-day blessings He sends our way.  And make no mistake, after the initial shock; I was SO grateful that we can pay for the repairs.  Our truck will be back on the road again in no time, and it should run reliably for a good, long time to come.  *please?*  But...vacation plans for this summer?  HA!!!  That's going to take some seriously creative thought there.  Oh well, we will have a vacation, or maybe a "staycation", but time off from outside job responsibilities will prevail.  That is so important.

Guess we could always take advantage of time off from work to accomplish some worthwhile projects at home, around the yard, rework on our deck, gardening, horse/rider improvements...the list goes on and on.  I don't understand boredom.  Not these days anyway, maybe once years ago, in a galaxy far, far away...around our house as a kid, one learned very quickly NEVER to admit to being bored!  And if you did mistakenly say the dastardly word - you ran swiftly.  And far!!  Know what I'm sayin'?  Yeah.  Mommas can get real creative too.  When the need arises.

How things change.

Can I get an Amen?  :)

Oh, almost forgot to mention the dentist.  I begin my dental work this week, just a few needed repairs there and my teeth will be good as new.  Cha-ching!  Dental work is not cheap, but necessary from time to time.  I've got a Care Credit card and will be able to make monthly payments for a year if I need to, with no interest charges.  But when, oh when do we get to spend some of our money on something far more enjoyable than maintenance, repairs and "have to's"???  You ever ask yourself that question too???  Sometimes I'm afraid to ask the question for fear of what my answer might be.

For me, the key to happiness is to always, under any and all circumstances, count thy blessings.  Of this, I am filled with the utmost of confidence.  Have you found this to be the truth as well?  Not so much?  If not, then how do you handle life's ups and downs, twists and turns?  All those unforeseen little surprises that continually cross your path???

Do tell...

And when in doubt, go to the beach.

Right?