A Summer Childhood Fave

Hello all! Popping in with a favorite from my childhood. How do you beat the HEAT? Well, make Kool-Aid cubes. Pour kool-aid into an ice tray, let freeze and VOILA' you have a yummy cool treat. Enjoy! Back later.

W, X , Y and Z are for...

On this Friday, I am going to finish up my A-Z posts and then take a blog break. Two weeks left and I still have many things to accomplish before I go back. Let's get going--- W is for...Water~~ Stay hydrated! X is for...eXtra~~ Be extra careful in the heat. Y is for...You~~ Just a reminder for YOU! Z is for..Zippy~~ This is how we will feel when the HEAT WAVE passes. Thanks to everyone for reading these last 26 silly posts. Especially the anniversary post! Such kind words from EVERYONE! This has been fun! When I return, Dreaming will go back to regular scheduled programming. Be back soon! ~Keep on Dreaming~

V is for...

V is for...Veggies

From the garden that is.

We have enjoyed :

Radishes

Onions-Red and White

Leaf Lettuce

Cherry Tomatoes

Jalapeno and Serrano

Peppers

Corn on the Cob

Potatoes-Yukon gold

and Red

Our neighbor girl has

her own veggie stand and

we buy cucumbers and

tomatoes from her at rock

bottom prices! We also

bought a giant Zucchini

from her.

Our garden is pretty much

finished for now--Ken still

has peppers and the tomatoes

will keep coming. Salsa any-

one? This year's garden was

much more productive than

last year's and Farmer Ken is

a happy boy!

~Keep on Dreaming~

U is for...

U is for...Unanimous

It's UNANIMOUS we are tired of

the HEAT! I am so ready for Fall!

We are going to have more of this

"delightful" weather into next week.

Please remember to: drink plenty

of water

Stay inside

Keep your pets indoors too

Check on the elderly.

They said on the news tonight-that

the best way to cool down when you

are over heated is to mist yourself.

Keep cool and stay inside if you can.

~Keep on Dreaming~

T is for...

T is for...Tigger

T I double GGER.

Can't wait the see the new

movie with Tigger in it.

Winnie the Pooh!!!

Yes, I am a child at heart.

~Keep on Dreaming~

S is for...

S is for Summer

S~~~Simple

U~~~Unpredictable

M~~~Mello

M~~~Mischievous

E~~~Easy

R~~~Relaxing

~Keep in Dreaming~

Two Years Old!!!!!!

Two years ago today, I

wrote my very first post

here at Country Dreaming!

Thanks to ALL my blog friends

and others who read Country

Dreaming.

On to another year of fun!!!!

Happy Anniversary Country

Dreaming!

Q and R are for...

Q and R are for... Quiet and Rest. It is tooo hot for anything else. Enjoy! ~Keep on Dreaming~

O and P are for...

O is for... Outside-- Shots from the yard, porch and the deck.

P is for...Porch Swing

My favorite place to sit

outside!

~Keep on Dreaming~

N is for...

N is for...Name What does your name mean? My name Melinda comes from Latin/Greek meaning Mild Gentle; sweet like honey. The typical pronunciation of Melinda is /me'linda/ In Romania the emphasis is on the first syllable and in Hungarian the empahsis is on the second syllable. In Hungary--Dec 2nd is Melinda Day--who knew?? In 2009, Melinda was the 319th most popular name and was in the top 1% for that year. Famous Melindas: Melinda Gates--Bill gates wife Film and TV Melinda Gordon--Jennifer Love Hewitt character in Ghost Whisperer In music "Melinda" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers again who knew? I have always like my name probably because not many people were named this. I did go to school with another Melinda(Mindy) and a Belinda But other than those two I don't know any other Melindas. When I was very little and just learning how to say my name I shortened it to "Endy" because Melinda is a mouthful for a little one. I have one friend who calls me Mel at times. My parents did good with my name! Do you like your name? ***Blogger is on the loose again!!! ~Keep on Dreaming~

M is for...

M is for... Missouri

Missouri is the 24th state

The state bird is the Bluebird

The state flower is the Hawthorn

The state capitol is Jefferson City

***********************************

As my profile says: " I am Missouri

born and bred." I grew up in

Independence and continued to

live and work there until I met

Ken. When we got engaged, I

moved over the state line to

Kansas. Oh no. :)

Missouri is located in the Midwest

and some people are still of the

belief that we get around by

horse and wagon. Oh contraire!

The Royals and Chiefs make

Kansas City home and the

Mavericks make Independence

home. (Baseball, Football and

Hockey.)

You can find The Country Club

Plaza, The Power and Light

District and Crown Center

in Kansas City, Missouri.

These are wonderful places

shop and dine.

Independence is home to

Harry S Truman, you can find

his home and Library there also,

as well as the Historic Independence

Square. Another place to shop and dine.

On the other side of the state is St.

Louis and the famous Arch.

Check it out.

***************************************

Some famous Missourians:

Thomas Hart Benton

Calamity Jane

Jesse James

Jean Harlow

Vincent Price

Others who called Missouri home:

Walt Disney

Samuel Clemmens

***************************************

I have met (through blogging) many

nice people from Missouri and I

am proud to call them my friends!

~Keep on Dreaming~

L is for ...

L is for...LETTUCE

Wilted that is. We have been

enjoying the lettuce from our

garden. Salads Yum-O.

A couple of years ago

Ken wanted Wilted Lettuce

like he had as a child. Off

to the internet I went. Lucky

for me a Mary Jones posted

just THE recipe.

I will share it with you. Bear

with me if Blogger posts it weird.

**Wilted Lettuce Salad**

~5 slices of bacon

~2 T red wine vinegar

~1 T lemon juice

~1 tsp white sugar

~1/2 tsp ground black pepper

~1 head leaf lettuce-rinsed,

dried and torn into bite size

pieces.

~6 green onions with tops,

thinly sliced.

**************

1. Cook bacon in a skillet. Cook over

med-high heat until evenly brown.

Remove from skillet, crumble and

set aside.

2. To the bacon drippings, add the

vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and

pepper. Stir over med heat until

hot.

3. In a large bowl, combine lettuce

and grren onions. Add the warm

dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle

with bacon and serve.

K is for...

K is for...Ken

(Mr.) Ken is a wonderful

husband, a cool son, a great

friend and a super brother.

But most of all he is THE

best person on the Earth.

Love ya! Ken.

Thanks for being YOU.

~Keep on Dreaming~

J is for...

J is for... "Jangly." Jangly bracelets that is . I love to layer bracelets and listen to them make noise. I also love the bracelts made with the wire that you can wrap around your wrist. One dayI am going to make some of these Do you like bracelets? *********************** Scroll down for "I." ~Keep on Dreaming~

I is for...

I is for Ice!

We needed a lot of this

today. For us here is the

Midwest it was HOT! 98

degrees but felt like 113.

Some of you are saying

"HOT? That's cool

compared to where

I live." It's HOT to me.

Ice in water, ice in tea,

ice in any cold beverage.

I'll take tea!

~Keep on Dreaming~

H is for ...

H is for...HAPPINESS

G is for...

G is for...Games We love games! The game basket lives in the dining room so we have easy access to the "portable games." These are the games we take with us to festivals, parks etc. We have some large board games in the living room but the majority of the games live in the chest of drawers down in the family room. (Both of the Clue games came from garage sales. The top one is an anniversary version, it came in a metal tin.) Summer is the perfect time to gather the family for game night! Have fun. ~Keep on Dreaming~

F is for...

F is for... FRIENDS Sonja-a business contact turned SUPER FRIEND. Missy-friends since Kindergarten.

Laura and I at her wedding--we've

been friends since elementary school.

My two friends in pink:

Top---Nancy (Acorn Cottage)

She is married to a friend

of Ken's and we have become

close friends over the years.

Bottom---Ann (friend and

coworker) for 8 years now. ******************************

BLOG FRIENDS:

Valerie--Our first meeting was

lunch and a delightful time we

had. The second time we got

together was at her house.

The husbands got to meet this

time and we got to meet kids.

A great time too.

This is my friend MaryAnn.

You may remember that she

and I met unexpectedly at

a minor league game here

in town.

As always it is great to meet

blog friends.

Friends are a must, whether you

have known them all your life

or you have just met. Some-

times we don't see each other

for awhile but we know that

any time we need each other

WE ARE THERE!

Find time to spend with a friend!

~Keep on Dreaming~

D and E are for...

"Dudes"--Mr Ken and Dan.

"Dudettes"--Nancy (Acorn Cottage)

her daughter Nadia and myself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

E is for...ENJOYMENT!

What do you enjoy?

I enjoy:

Summer break

A COLD glass of Ice

Tea

Chocolate

Peace and Quiet

Reading

Gardening

But most of all:

I enjoy spending time

my wonderful husband

Mr. Ken!

~Keep on Dreaming~

Boom, Boom, Boom

Ken and I want wish everyone a

Happy 4th! Enjoy your day.

We will go to our parade in the am.

In the afternoon will go over to Nancy's

(Acorn Cottage) for a BBQ then in

the evening we will head out for

FIREWORKS!

~Keep on Dreaming~

C is for...

C is for...CANDY My name is Melinda and I am a "candyaholic"-Yes, I admit it. I love, love, love candy! All kinds. Milky Way, Snickers, Hersheys, Skittles, Spice drops, Starburst, Mike and Ike--I could go on and on but you get the idea. Right? I try to be a good girl with this "issue" I have BUT there are days I NEED CANDY just like Cookie Monster needs COOKIES!

How about YOU?

~Keep on Dreaming~

B is for...

B is for...cont. The gift is ready to go.

The birthday girl and her Mom.

This was our gift.

The birthday girl in a bag!

Cake for ME! Yum!

Happy birthday to ME!!!!

More cake!

I think the birthday girl enjoyed

herself. WooHoo.

~Keep on Dreaming~

B is for...

B is for...BIRTHDAY!

Today we will be celebrating

this beautiful baby girl's

1st birthday! This is Emily

at approx. 4 months old.

Today she is bigger and

has a whole lot more hair.

More than Grandpa and Uncle

K! :)

This little lady is our Grand-

niece and we just love her

to pieces. Auntie Mel and

Uncle K have been invited

to the party festivities,

I'll be back with more later

from the party.

~Keep on Dreaming~

A is for...

Today I am joining Katharine at "Just A Thought" for Summer thoughts A-Z. Each day we will have an alphabet post. Join in the Fun! *** A is for...Americana *** Reds Whites Blues

Stars

Stripes

Flags

Show your patriotic pride

this 4th of July!

To my Canadian friends:

Happy Canada Day!!!!

~Keep on Dreaming~