The Cottage on the Hill

Two words: School bus! I had a 45 minute school bus ride growing up. I HATED it! We had assigned seats and I usually got the 8th row, which is the seat over the rear wheel. I was usually surrounded by loud, brash, misbehaving kids. They usually had knives and cigarettes and would vandelize the bus. I lived in fear, hoping I would never get in trouble for their misdeeds, such as cutting the seats or smoking. Sometimes, I'd be refused a seat. I remember when I was in kindergarten, the bus was so packed (way over the legal limit) and there were no seats. The bus driver screamed at me to sit down, but there was no place to sit. Some high school seniors in the back of the bus told me they'd find me a place to sit. They made me (at 4 years old) sit behind the last seat of the bus, crammed between the seat and the emergency door. I had my glasses crushed on the bus. And then they installed seat belts, but we never used them. Instead, they had to be draped over the backs of ...

What is it with this trend of calling women "Miss" and their first name? I really dislike being called "Miss Kate." First of all, I am NOT a "Miss" and secondly, Kate is my familiar nickname. I am very proudly Mrs. Scott. Calling me Mrs. Scott does not make me feel old or detached. On the other hand, "Miss Kate" makes me sound like a child and lowered in societal and respectable standards rather than the married mother that I am. I don't want to be called Miss Kate, nor do I want my children to address adult women in that manner. Which brings up another point; men don't receive that kind of watered down respect. They get addressed properly as Mr. Smith, not Mr. John. Unfortunately, the three greatest offenders are a close friend, my sister-in-law, and my church. My close friend, I allow her daughter to call me Kate. We've known each other for so long and she's growing into a young lady, so I have no problem with the fam...

No, not the sports team..... Last week, I visited my maternal Grandparents. My Grandmother is my inspiration and mentor. She has always kept house perfectly. She's so feminine and graceful and full of God's love! My Grandfather is very special, too. Unfortunately, he's suffering from dementia and Parkinsons. Anyhoo, while I was there, I noticed my Grandfather's socks. He was wearing white socks. They looked as if they were fresh out of the package! The bottoms had no dirt or dust on them! My Grandmother's floors are spotless and so clean and tidy. I'm inspired! I'm going to clean my floors and do a white socks test. I happen to have a package of unused white socks.

I want my children to see the changing sun throughout the day. When I was school-aged, I remember vacation days, summer days and days when I stayed home sick and I enjoyed the late morning sun. I really liked the sunlight at that time of day, and I still do. I remember thinking that I never really noticed the sun, and there were days in the autumn and winter when I hardly saw sun at all. I want my children to enjoy the sun. I want to my children to be free. Schools today are like prisons! You're locked into the building. You're locked into the classroom and you're metaphorically locked into your desk! You only see the same people day in and day out. You're sometimes treated like a prisoner and the staff are sometimes like wardens. You're guilty until proven innocent. You're heavily monitored at all times and can't even go to the bathroom without an interrogation. With all these rules and regulations, there's still an air of anarchy among the yo...

I love my homemade laundry detergent! I can't remember who I got the recipe from, but I belive there's a link to it on Candy's site... www.myblessedhome.blogspot.com Anyhoo, this laundry detergent is so inexpensive, doesn't take long to make and works better than any commercial stuff I've used. Not only does it get my clothing cleaner, but it also makes them softer! I figured, for 2 gallons of the stuff, I pay approximately 63-69 cents.

Beans and LOTS of 'em!! I knew I should have chicken wired my cucumbers. They're growing wild and it's hard to find them to pick, so I keep tripping over HUGE yellow cucumbers that I have to throw away. A fair amount of summer squash is growing, but my zucchini isn't doing so hot. A goodly amount of sweet peppers are growing and I believe there are monkeys in my tomato plants. Why? Because it's a jungle in there!! A few things I've learned about my garden that I need to remember for next year are these: 1. Plant the mint somewhere else! It grows worse than the weeds! 2. Use something stronger than weak pine branches to string up pole beans. 3. Leave even more room than I ever imagined for tomato plants and buy bigger, stronger cages 4. No matter what, thin those carrots!! 5. Cage in those cucumbers! 6. Don't bother planting lettuce. I only eat spinach anyway. ********************************************************* We just went through a triple diget heat w...