There were 23 FEMA lots in New Hartford after the flood of 2008 ... people in these homes could either not afford to rebuild or have enough insurance to rebuild or just gave up on another flooded home...it means they took a 'buy-out' from FEMA ...so those lots can never be built on again...this was a 500-yr flood & affected many homes that never ever have flooded...but many of those that took the buy-out had flooded before ...but not on the main levels like this 2008 flood! So, when FEMA buys you out ...say like $25,000 or something I think may have been an avg (I don't know for sure)...then it becomes property of the city but cannot be built on to live in or have a business. The lots we are restoring have been this Vets Memorial, 4 Season Perennial Garden, Town Square Gazebo lot & a Community Gardens lot. We have written grants, raised money ...many of it donations & that's how we are doing it...we are wearing down as it is many retired people working long & hard...but we promised our community that we would have the 3 lots done by 1st week of June for the local yearly 'Beaver Creek Days.' It's all very worthwhile to all of us & brings a sense of pride back into the community. Thanks for asking, luvs & I appreciate all the comments from you 'Holiday-ers!' Jeanne S.

Sweet corn here is from Florida and it was not bad at 20 cents an ear. I put an ear in the microwave. It was 95f here yesterday, 91F the day before and we had a three day yard sale thursday, Friday and Saturday, so no cooking then either. I didn't cook one darned thing this weekend except pancakes for Bud and Makayla, who spent the weekend. Other than that we ate ice cream and cold sandwiches and the kids ran through the sprinkler while I planted artichokes and tomatoes and took a break every five minutes to stand in the sprinkler! I have two flats of tomatoes at the farm, that's 96 plants, a mix of Rutgers and Bonny Best. Here in my raised beds at the house I've limited myself to two of each variety I planted except the white tomatoes. I planted two Cherokee Purple, although they never do particularly well. Also two Pineapple, two Big Rainbow, two Golden Jubilee, two SunGold, two Mortgage lifter and a dozen of the as yet unidentified "white" tomato. Mother saved seeds from last year, I bought a container of tomato plants from the 4H kids last year that were simply labelled "white". They were one of the best tomatoes I've ever eaten, so this year I have a dozen plants, LOL. I think they may be White Queen or something similar, a beefsteak type tomato. I started two dozen artichokes inside about March, no one I know in Michigan has ever grown artichokes successfully so of course I have to try. I don't have air conditioning and the pool isn't quite clean yet, so it was way too hot to cook, even outside. Too hot to eat too. Annie

It looks like summer chores has priority with everyone right now! I haven't even walked into the sewing room yet. I spent most of the morning stripping pine needles off of the branches of 3 pine trees my husband cut down because the power company came along and butchered them AGAIN. They do this every couple of years and the way they wack the trees up they will never amount to anything and they look just awful. So this is free mulch, just time-consuming. Also walked way out to the corner of the property to the pond, he told me an interesting looking plant was blooming out there, so I had to take the camera out to photograph it. I'm doing an album of all the native plants on our 5 acres. Maybe tomorrow I'll mosey into the sewing room ...maybe not.

I feel like I have been productive this weekend. Not only in my own sewing room but also a wonderful quilty thing happened. My aunt has gone into assisted living. Prior to that she had gifted me half of her 60+ year old stash. Her son called me this past week and said that she wanted me to have the rest of her stash, scraps, notions etc. I went to get the items, only to realize that she had instructed him to give me a special quilt that was made the year that I was born (55 years ago). The quilt is an autograph quilt that contains autographs of many of the family and a few friends. The autographs were then embroidered. I was floored that she wanted me to have it instead of her son. As I was loading all the stuff into my car, Kenneth said, "I also have all these bags of quilts that need to go somewhere. Mom said that any that I did not keep were to come to you." Needless to say, I came home with 26 quilts. Age ranging from what looks like early 1900s to today. I wish I knew someone to date fabric and quilts. When I get time, I will take photos of them and post. I am just so amazed that she wants me to have these things. I plan to go see her this week and give her a great big hug. She and I have always had a special relationship.