My date

I took my father in law to his appointment so he took me out for ice cream.  We went to one of his favorite places, The Parlour in Jackson.  We just got a little something to share.  This banana split has 6 scoops of ice cream.The Parlour has been around for years.  It used to be where the Milligan milk went to be turned into butter, ice cream, or bottled.  They haven't done all that in years.  They were still selling butter when I moved to Jackson 20 years ago, but not for the last 10 years.  I guess too many people eat that yellow grease they call oleo.  (I can believe it is NOT butter)They still have great ice cream though.  They have a "Dare To Be Great" that includes 21 scoops of ice cream.  If you can eat the entire thing yourself, it is free.  They will also put your name on the wall under the list of successes.  the side for attempts is getting full, so make sure you are really hungry.

Does this bug you?

We saw this bug killing another bug at the horse show a couple weeks ago.  I just thought I should add it after my snake shot.  Yet another "Wild America" moment for us.  Does anyone know what kind of bugs these are?

Off the Grill

Todays special was a yummy meatloaf cooked on the grill.  Again we had the fresh tomatoes, it's just that time of year.  More potatoe salad, it's a perfect summer side.  Sweet corn is coming out of the garden, so we added that for a vegetable.  Then all that was followed with some jelly filled sugar cookies.

What's for dinner?

Yesterday after picking beans and tomatoes for the freezer (and the dinner table) we were surprised to find this under our truck.

What do you think Wrangler has in mind?

Sadie and I did still manage to get the beans and tomatoes in the freezer while Glenn mowed the yard.  And dinner was delicious!  We had a Tri-tip steak off the grill.  For sides we added some fresh green beans steamed in foil with Parmesan cheese, butter and garlic on the grill, an all time favorite of the entire family.  We also had fresh cut tomatoes with mozzarella and basil on them, potato salad, and a fun jello desert. 

Smart Dog

So when Duane gets home from work, who do you think runs right to him and snuggles in?  That's right, Tucker knows who he needs to be friends with.  This is one smart little dog.  Not that Duane would ever tell Glenn he couldn't have him, but Tucker is going for insurance.  Duane actually used to have a Chihuahua mix some 30 years ago that I have heard about many time, so Tucker was a shoo in.  It's official, Tucker is part of the Milligan family now.

Please like me, Boss!

Horse show

Glenn had yet another great weekend at the horse show.  He is such a good little rider.  It is amazing to me when he can compete against 20 or so riders that have been doing this for years, and bring home ribbons. 

He is on his first year of showing and has taught his Amish cart pony to jump.  Not to say his trainer shouldn't get tons of credit for guiding him through every step, she is great at this.  But even the best trainer (and we believe she is) needs a good student. 

But the best part of the show for Glenn was when I lost my mind and let him have a new dog.  Here is Glenn's new best buddy, Tucker the Chihuahua.  I will say that he is no ordinary Chihuahua or we wouldn't have him.  He is calm, quiet, and house broke, not the usual yappy, nervous dog like most in his breed.  I did some research and found out good training is all it takes.  Babying a little dog makes them fear they have a weak leader and they get yappy, aggressive, and over protective.  Thank you to his original owners.

A day at the county fair

Sadie lives for the fair rides, so we go one day a year just for her.  Today was that day!  She was so excited when I had her get ready to go that she really cried tears of joy.  She is such a little drama queen. 

Sadie got her traditional cotton candy as soon as we got there, then was ready to hit the rides.   She has a hard time excepting the fact that she is too big for some of those kiddie rides she used to ride, she hates breaking a tradition.  However, she does love some of the bigger rides, but I see she isn't in for the totally wild rides.  Even Glenn goes for the crazier ones.

This year Duane invited a friend, Barry  who is almost 60- Shh, don't tell him, it's a surprise.  Or maybe he figured it out today as he was hanging his head over the trash can letting his lunch go.  He thought he was tough and could ride the ride, even poked fun at my husband for being a chicken.  Duane got the last laugh on that one.

I wonder if Barry is going to make our trip a tradition of his own?  Hmmm, maybe not.  If he goes again, he won't eat grease then hop on the Tilt-A-Whirl.

Cleaning Up

We cleaned up the milk house.   My friend, Christine helped me clean the entry way and bulk tank room.

 Glenn cleaned the walls in where the cows are milked all by himself.

 

  Even the microwave got cleaned out. 

 

  Now we have to do some painting to spuce it up that much more.

My mother-in-law

For the last 3 weeks I have gone to the doctors and emergency room, both each week.  My mother-in-law, Janet has the on set of Alzheimer's.  She is still fun to talk to most of the time, then she can get really angry about stuff that may, or may NOT have happened.  By not happened, I don't mean something she hoped would happen, I mean something that did not happen and she thinks it did.  Luckily for the rest of us, she saves most of her undue anger for her husband of 59 years, Lauren.  Yes, we all feel sorry for him and try our hardest to keep her calm for his sake.
I knew she was not taking her meds correctly, so I got her one of those super pill organizers 3 weeks ago.  I can set up for each day of the week, 4 times a day.  Now that I have her taking all her medicine, we have new trouble.  She doesn't need all her medicine, not the doctors fault.  Janet would tell the Dr she was taking her meds, the meds weren't enough, so the Dr would up the dose not knowing that Janet had in fact, not taken the meds.  So every week we see the Dr for a correction.  Every week we get to go to the emergency room because something else is now hay-wire.  We will get this all balanced out.
Now if I can just get her to eat.  She says she eats, but each meal she's left to get herself, she eats a slice of toast with jam.  That is not enough of a "meal" to follow with all the meds she's on.  Not to mention she is a diabetic.  A low carb, low sugar diet is in order, Not toast and jam. 
Please don't take this as me ranting, I actually get good out of taking care of her and her husband.  It pleases my husband to no end that I will care for them as best I can.  It also seems to me that my children are far more likely to be good to me if they have seen a good example.  Not that I don't ever sigh a "not again" when I get that dreaded call for the ER, those are time consuming, but I do go and laugh with (or politely at) her and make the best of our day.

The day after the party.

I said in my last post that we got Sadie an MP3 player for her birthday, but that I couldn't figure out what she thought of it. It turns out she is learning how to use it and really does enjoy music that can travel with her.  Today my mother called to say another gift arrived in the mail.  Sadie has told us for years that she wants a banana costume. So here it finally is!  She is very happy with this gift.  I guess we know what she will be for Holloween.

Happy Birthday Sadie!!

Today our daughter turned 13 years old, though she doesn't seem it because she has autism. Time sure does fly. We went to church and she could hardly contain her excitement when she knew we were almost done and her party would start. When we got home and our guests arrived, we all had pizza, Sadie's choice for a birthday dinner. Then we moved on the the chocolate cake made special for her by her nanny, Amanda. Then she ripped open her gifts, tossing each one aside as quick as she saw what it was to get to the next one. She always says she wants a banana (no, we don't know why, she doesn't eat them) so my mom gave her a banana! She was so excited to get that darn banana! She also got dresses another preferred gift. We got her an MP3 player because she loves music. I have yet to decide if it will be a real hit or not. She says she likes it, but only listened for a minute. Then we all put on our suits and jumped in the pool, Sadie's favorite activity. In fact, she is the reason we have a pool. We swam for several hours, all the kids (and probably us adults) should sleep really good tonight!