Questions

1. What is the worst vacation you ever took? 2. If the statement, 'You are what you eat' was true, I would be a _______. 3. What do you believe is the greatest unsolved mystery of all? 4. Which of the seven dwarfs personifies you best – Dopey, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful, Grumpy, Happy, or Doc? Lets each share a little bit about ourselves and answer the questions. These questions were taken off a blog that I regularly read: Quiet Life. 1. A bad vacation?? Are you kidding? 2. Pizza, either that, or a pancake, or maybe I could be a french fry.......Hm............Can I help you? 3. If they're going to make a third National Treasure. 4. Grumpy sometimes and Happy, and when my services require it: Doc. sourpach

Parkers Crossing Video

This is a video of one of my cousins' re-enactments at Parker's Crossing. He made several shots in the video. He is the drummer boy.

Also, his new book, The Orphan and the Beaten Drum is now published and available at his website: Southern Cadence Press. It's a little long at first so you might want to forward it a little.

sourpatch

Botanical Gardens

In the botanical gardens today. We saw: (all photos were taken today by me at the botanical gardens) ... benches... ...flowers...

... a stinkbug...

... a rose garden...

... water lily's...

...biting fish (THAT, was fun)...

... more flowers...

... a lake...

... water puddles...

... flowers (Isn't it great?!)... ...flowers (it's what the Botanical Gardens are supposed to have, right?)... ...statues... ... fruit ladden trees...

... light...

I had a wonderful time just going and taking pictures. We also went to CiCi's afterward which was a humongous plus!! Yayy! I do have some more pictures, so, check my Photography Blog for more. sourpatch

Ducks Unlimited

We took a tour today at the Ducks Unlimited. The whole family managed to make it out of the house in time after working out this morning. We ran home and changed clothes then ran, or rather, drove to the Ducks Unlimited building. We watched some videos and a slideshow then headed the to explore the building. We saw all the office space and the print shop. The print shop was really interesting because it smelled like the sweet smell of ink. I love the smell of ink and gasoline. I don't know why, just because. I didn't realize all of the jobs that it takes to make a company! They have an accountant ( two actually), photographer, tour guides, publishers, web designers, & all sorts of office personel. At the end, they had free t-shirts and duck whistles that each of us recieved. The only thing is, they only had sizes large and up. So, each of us got a large which doesn't work so well. What we're thinking is that we should take it in a little on both sides. That way it has sort of a tunic effect. We can't with these specific shirts, but with others that don't have an emblem on the back, you can put a tie in the middle and make a tunic, considering we already have the oversized sleeves. Yesterday and today I took pictures of butterflies. They're tricky to catch, but I think I got a good one. Tomorrow, I'm going with Rachel to the Botanical Gardens. After that, we're making a trip to CiCi's. What could be better?!? I never get tired of pizza. sourpatch

Color Pencil Holder/Roll

Rachel made me a colored pencil roll the other day. I picked out the fabrics out of her scrap pile. It brings me hidden joy when I roll it out and look at it. You've probably noticed that Rachel and I have both posted the same pictures, I took them, by the way. But thanks for making it for me, Rachel!! I have to have colored pencils for my biology lab I'm taking this year. So, why not make a fabulous stylish roll for them. You can see Rachel's Blog for more details and things.

Mosiac Maker

The Game:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.

b. Using only the first page, pick an image.

c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Labs Mosaic Maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name? Elana

2. What is your favorite food? Italian

3. What high school did you go to? Homeschool

4. What is your favorite color? Blue

5. Favorite drink? Coca Cola

6. Dream vacation? Cruise to the Bahamas

7. Favorite dessert? Plain Vanilla Ice Cream

8. Favorite Singer? Martina McBride

9. What you want to be when you grow up? Professional Photographer 10. What do you love most in life? Jesus

11. One Word to describe you: Goofy

12. Your flickr name: sourpatch

sourpatch

Upcoming 4-H Fair

After school today, Rachel and I have to put together our entry forms for the 4-H Fair. This is a fair for all the 4-H'ers to exhibit their craft, sewing, and culinary items. Plus your pets. It's all really fun to enter, plus the prize money. I think last year, Rachel and I both got about $50 or $60. We always have a really long list of everything that entered. This year, we've been keeping it all in a box for this exact reason. I'll try and post a picture later of my crafts and stuff. sourpatch

Hot Springs, Arkansas

Here lately, I've been in Hot Springs Arkansas, or...right outside it. I went with some good friends of mine in their camper. We had to start the week off pretty sad: their dog, Sassy, died on the third day. That was very sad, and we don't even really know why she died at that moment. I got my friends to watch both of the National Treasure's while we were up there, too. We went swimming a lot, and Rachel says I'm as brown as a monkey. Not burnt! I just had to clear that up. I caked the sun screen on, because being burnt doesn't feel too good to me. We went to a water park that was really close to the KOA Campsite we stayed in. The water park is called Crystal Falls. My favorite thing to do was to ride the water slides and get flushed in the toilet bowl. We actually did that for about 4 days. We went to the actual amusement park one day though. We had a lot of fun and a lot of chlorine. We also went crystal digging which was really, really fun to do. We found some really cool stuff. Yesterday, the day I got back, we went to Chili's to celebrate Mom's birthday. That was fun. I'm just trying to fit back into the swing of things today. By the way...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM AND ZACHARY!!

Zachary's birthday was on the 1st and Mom's was on the 5th. Don't ask her how old she is, she'll say 20.

Remember to check my photography blog for pictures of the landscape that I took!! sourpatch

Water Park

Just letting you know I'm still alive!! And having a good time at that! Here is a picture of the water park that we've been visiting. We're going for the 3rd day today. Their slides are pretty awesome!! The picture isn't even half of the water park...

Take care, sourpatch

Gone vacationing with friends. Be back Saturday. Don't miss me too much! Just kidding... I'll post pictures when I get back. I might be able to post while on the trip. We're going to a water park, jet skiing, and some other stuff. ttyl sourpatch

Our New Sod

You can't really see it to well in the picture below, but it is there. We put down 2 pallets of sod last week. Here are some pictures. I don't have any before pictures, I've got to work on that... We put it in bare spots that really needed it. Our goal in the next couple of months is to buy about 3 more pallets and finish the backyard. It won't be long before it looks like a park! Today, Rachel and I are going to paint the laundry room. I'll get pictures of that and share it with you. sourpatch

Lazy Afternoon??

This afternoon ... it's unanimous! We're going to sit around the house and be lazy. I have a knack for that. I like to look at it as rest time. Yeah, that's it. So here I am, after finishing off the cake, playing sims and blogging while listening to Josh Groban. What a wonderful life! Meanwhile posting pictures on my Photography Blog. I keep trying to put paragraphs in my writing. I do write it like that. It just doesn't publish that way. I think it's my blog background. I think I've decided to finally change it, under the prodding of Rachel, but am hesitant because it takes so long to replace all the things that I have on my sidebar. sourpatch

Canoing Trip

Last Tuesday we went canoing on a river with the 4-H Wildlife group. It was a last minute decision that I had made the night before. Oh goodness, it was all a mistake. I was informed at the carpool meeting place that there were going to be snakes along the way. Joy. (I'm scared of snakes.) When we got there, there was a whole bunch of mud. I hadn't planned on getting my (slip-on) shoes dirty to begin with. Mom had worn her good white tennis shoes ... bad idea. "Sakura" was my partner. Thankfully, she plays tennis, so her arms are strong. Because I could barely carry that canoe. Those things are much heavier than I originally thought. I could barely pick the thing up, let alone carry it a little ways. I kind of just slid it along in the mud. It was so muddy when we were "dragging" our canoes to the actual river, that they kind of just floated. Then I lost a shoe. Here I am in my sock, (it was a white one, I might add) trying to pry my shoe out from under the boat. It was then that I told myself it was time for new shoes anyway... Also, if anyone needs a way to turn socks brown, I have a solution. It's simple, quick, and easy to remember. Finally we were in knee deep water. Not too long ago, we were also informed that these snakes were the exact color of the mud. I was, uh, ... thrilled. So here I am, I've now lost a shoe twice in the mud and both my socks are brown. We finally drag it across these boards and were almost in the river. Sakura and I climbed in and floated out into the river. The rest was madness. We didn't know how to paddle or turn. We were quickly told to grab a branch or something for a quick lesson in paddling. After that, I must say, it was rather enjoyable. We canoed for quit a while after that without interuption. We had lunch on the canoe which was fun. The rest of the trip was eventful. To say the least. At first, he pointed out one snake in the bushes, but I couldn't see it, so we paddled quickly by it. The second snake he pointed out was on the other side of the river and it was just sunbathing. After that, we stopped for a "bath room" break, to say the least. It was no more of a bathroom than the middle of the woods. Some of the people went, but people like me and others decided, "We could wait." The next snake we came across is the one that people have apparently been talking about for the last week. I don't blame them, quite frankly. Ok, so I jumped out. There you have it. The tour guide told everyone, there's a snake up here. Lets just say that Sakura and I were not the best at turning last minute. We were heading right for the log with the long scary looking snake on top of it. So, terror stricken, I decided there was only one thing left to do: bail. Sakura, also panic stricken decided not to do anything and just head straight for it. Probably frozen to the canoe. So, the real question here is: "What would you have done?" The million dollar question right there. Anyway, I hightailed myself back into the canoe, almost tipping my partner over in the process. Also, in more normal Sourpatch spirit when I got back in, "I'm okay!!" I learned later from the tour guide, the snake was a water moccasin. It jumped in the water when I bailed out, too. Lovely. It gives you a great feeling to know your swimming with a water moccasin. (We're not even to the best part yet!) Rachel and Mom (they were partners) were laughing their heads off when they had to pass us. I didn't appreciate that too much. The funny thing is, they flipped the bend up-ahead. So, in normal Sourpatch fashion, I couldn't help but laugh a bit at their sopping venture either. You can check Rachel's blog for details on her flip. Meanwhile, their paddle had floated downstream, so we picked it up. The current was the fastest it had been the whole trip anyway. Sakura and I beached ourselves on purpose, but the current was so fast it was pushing us off of the shallow spot. I had my paddle stuck in the sand to keep the canoe from moving any farther. Meanwhile, Rachel and mom are trying to flip their canoe back over. Which, apparently, was really hard to do without having water in it. The guide had to come help them. Notice it was only our family that had to get wet. Zach escaped unscathed. We made it to the end which was kind of sad. I had a jolly time anyway. We had to change beneath a car bridge that goes over the river. A truck or something went over and the bridge broke! Okay, not really, that was for drama. It was really loud!! Rachel and I finally got changed and we headed back home. I was thrilled, okay I wasn't thrilled that I had basketball practice that night either. The end. I am also not thrilled that I missed today's basketball game because we didn't even hear about it. Oh well, the house is clean. I am going to go pop myself a big bowl of popcorn and watch some TV. Lesson of the day: Be very afraid of snakes. Tata! Make sure to look at my new "Favorite Quotes" section on the sidebar! sourpatch

Canoing

See Rachel's Blog for an update on what happened at our canoe trip yesterday. I'm too tired to speak much now, but for Miky, Sakura, and Brooklyn, there's a site I found with a photography contest on it. The address is: http://www.quantum-leap strategies.com/photo_contest/photo_contest.html. Amatuer photographers are welcome, too. The prize is $250 dollars that is awarded to a single person monthly. You can enter pictures every week, but not more than that, or your disqualifed. sourpatch

I don't think I introduced these people that started blogs: My cousin, Bryce: sliceofbryce.blogspot.com My friend, Miky. italywon.blogspot.com sourpatch

Tagged

I've been tagged by Mary and Jessica B. The rules: 1) Answer all questions honestly. 2) Tag at least three people. When was the last time you were burned? I'm not really sure, not that recent, but I do remember when I was burned by picking up a metal spatuala that was sitting on the stove. The stove happened to be on. You can use your imagination. Can you cook? Yes If yes, name your three specialties. Has to be fries, hamburgers, and lasagna. (I know, healthy!) If yes, do you like to cook? It depends on if I'm tired or full of energy. It also matters if I'm threatened to have to eat turnip greens or boiled eggs. If no, do you want to be able to cook? N/A What color is your kitchen? Mostly green wallpaper with red apples. White cabinets. Do you bake? Yes If yes, name your three specialties: M&M Cookies, Banana Bread, Cake If yes, do you like to bake? Not as much as cooking. Rachel takes care of most of the baking. If no, do you want to bake? N/A What color is your apron? What apron? I don't have my own, but I usually use the one Rachel made, look at it HERE. I tag: Rachel Sakura Miky Brooklyn Elaina Thanks for tagging me! Besides school, I've been putting pictures in albums today. Also, playing with Zachary a lot and about to go swimming. Mom and Rachel got back Saturday night, late. They actually got back at midnight, but I Rachel and I talked until 1:30. sourpatch

Our New Concrete

This week, we poured concrete in our backyard as a surprise for Mom and Rachel who are off in Washington. Actually, we didn't pour it, we hired somebody, who actually happens to go to our church. We've been needing/wanting to do this for a while, as you can see from the pictures. We have more cars than our driveway can handle. Anyway, back to subject, here are some pictures of the proccess. I took a picture of about everything do Mom and Rachel can see when they get back. Their approximate arrival time is about midnight. So that should be fun. The captions go to picture above. Here are the pictures (I know, there's a lot of 'em!)

This is before, you can see the rut where Dad drove over the "once there" grass. The stirred up dirt is where we dug up the bricks and pavers that we had placed there.

The old patio (that no longer exists). You can see the cracks.

This is the side of the patio where we expanded. We had to cut our garden back a little bit for the new concrete.

This is a place in the driveway where we patched as well. It's supposed to be a "before" picture, but I was a little late. You can still see the cracks though.

"Thar" she blows! Notice how thick the concrete was.

I've got to show you a little destruction.

Very nice.....

After they dug out and framed the area.

The patio dug and framed.

The patch dug and framed. They also used a saw to make the edges straight.

This is what I saw outside the window at 6:00 AM. The crew actually arrived at 5:00, yes, in the morning. My alarm went off at 4:30, but I don't have enough discipline to get up that early, apparently.

Since then, it was a mad dash to the finish, since we only have an hour to get the concrete off the truck.

It was like murder trying to get all that concrete up our steep driveway. They had to wheelbarrow it up. They had 2 people at the base of the driveway that helped the wheelbarrow "drivers" get up there. They ran up, too.

They got the support wire down at 5:00, but I wasn't up to get a picture, so here they are putting the concrete down.

They smoothed it out with a board after they got that certain section filled with concrete.

They had to trowel around the edges.

This is the thing they used to really smooth it out.

After being smoothed.

This was when they were putting the control joints into the concrete. These are so when the concrete cracks, it will crack where we want it, right under the surface, so we don't see the crack. There are 2 types of concrete: concrete that's cracked and concrete that's going to crack. All concrete cracks eventually. Also, the way the board was bending was humorous. Smart.

When it's all smoothed and ready to go, they spray a chemical on it that won't let the top layer of the concrete harden.

Then, after a wait of a couple hours, you wash the top layer off with a hose. Very fascinating to watch. Then, it turns into "washed" concrete.

Voila! Concrete. Of course, we can't drive on it or anything until next Friday. It looks great and a great new addition. We'll see how Mom reacts tonight: For Better Or For Worse. I couldn't find any pictures of the other patch, but it looks great, too.

!Adios! (I'm working on getting better at posting. Sometimes I just don't feel like it...) sourpatch

My Photography Blog

Check my photography blog, Photography: An Empty Canvas, for new pictures! Remember to comment! I enjoy your input. sourpatch

Mom and Rachel leaving....

This morning, Mom and Rachel left for Washington, DC. It is sponsored by 4-H so we only have to pay like half, or something like that. They've been preparing and stuff all week. They have to have so many clothes, it's really ridiculous. There are different dress codes for the different places they're going. I'm not exactly sure what they are going to see up there, but I do know they are seeing the Library of Congress and Mount Vernon. They're probably going to see the National Archives, but not sure. They will also get to see the White House and all the pretty scenery around there. There will be so many picture taking opportunities, I can't wait until when I go in a couple of years. Actually, I may go next year.... Anyway, they had to get up real early this morning and drive to Jackson for the 4-H bus they're taking. Also, I have a basketball game this morning which should be exciting. A little nervous though since it's the first one of the season. Hopefully, I remember the one called "Jello". Do not ask me how that name came about but, but I think we definately need to change it........soon! So wish me well. Report later on it. And sorry I haven't posted in forever. I didn't realize it's been so long until a friend informed me it was last Sunday. Ooops, don't let blogging bind your life! Tootles, until tonight! sourpatch

Tomatoes and Fred

While a friend of mine is going on vacation, I am watching her tomato plants and turtle. These are pictures of my tomato, cucumber, and pepper plants. I need to transplant soon....

Also, her turtle: Fred.

sourpatch