Everyone knows how much fun it is to be a Thomasson, not least because we seem to attract exciting happenings. A couple of weeks ago, such a thing happened. It was just a normal morning. We were doing school.....when the phone rang.

It was Matt. You remember Matt, don't you? He's the hero that jimmied open the Big Ride that time the keys were inadvertently locked inside. Well, when I answered the phone, this is what Matt said. No, scratch that. This is what Matt SCREAMED:

'DONNA! WHAT ROAD DO YOU LIVE ON? I HAVE A BALE OF HAY ON FIRE IN MY TRUCK RIGHT OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE! WHAT ROAD DO YOU LIVE ON????'

To this I screamed back, 'WHAT???'

We're both really good communicators. I finally understood what he was screaming about and screamed back the address. Then we all ran outside to watch the drama unfold. You see, what happened is this: Matt was trying to deliver a big round bale to my yard so he could advertise them for sale. Somehow, on the way over, said bale caught on fire!! When he turned around, there it was, flaming for all it was worth, which by then, was nothing. He very wisely roared down a gravel road and dumped it in the middle of the road. Then he called the fire department.

While we were waiting on the fire elimination experts, I sent Luke and Tyler outside to stomp out little rogue fires. No sense in risking my feet, you know.

Finally, we heard the sirens far off in the distance. Camera at the ready, we watched the big fire truck come into view, approach the road to the scene,

and drive right on past.

Pretty soon, the sheepish truck came back into view and, this time, found the emergency.

Well, everything turned out just fine. Matt brought another bale over and peace was restored. Sure was an exciting morning though!

Tyler recently wrapped up another successful basketball season. He is the only kidlet playing sports right now so it's pretty darn fun to watch him zoom up and down the court. I'm still not so good at capturing cool pictures in gyms. The lighting is just too weird. But I doggedly snap away because that's my kid out there, darn it, red eyes and all.

Here he is showing off his awesome medal!

It was a great season....now we look forward to baseball!

Snow's Not All Bad

This winter, as I have lamented before, we had very little snow. Now I'm as gung-ho about the impending spring as the next guy, but I do enjoy beautiful snow pictures.

Of course, when it snows it is usually rather cold outside. Okay, it's always cold or there wouldn't be snow. So, since I avoid all forms of non-thermostat-controlled temperatures, I just send Luke outside to get the pictures I simply MUST have. I'm very proud of what a good photographer he's becoming. He seems to have quite an 'eye' for it.

That and he follows my number one rule: take tons of pictures...one is bound to be a good one. Here are Luke's latest snow pictures. Yes, it's time for spring, but you can't deny the beauty here.

What's This I See?

I have to say that, unlike most people, I truly enjoy winter. I'm certainly not the sort to go out and play in the snow, ski, drive a dog sled or anything of that nature, but I do like long cold days with nowhere to go. And the occasional approaching blizzard is exciting to me too. The boys and I really enjoy stocking up on lamp oil and cooking extra food just in case this area is ever miraculously hit by THE BIG ONE like when I was a kid. Having said all that, this winter has been a bust. Scratch that, a BUST. It's been cold alright, but we've seen very, very little snow. Or ice. Or anything closely resembling the term 'wintry mix.' Each time the forecasters got on the track of a major winter storm, it ALWAYS went north. Or east. Anywhere but here. So this year, for me, winter has been a drag. I've recently been craving some color in my landscape. It seems like everything has been varying shades of brown for way too long. Well, a couple of days ago when it was really unseasonably warm, I ventured outside to look around. And what to my wondering eyes should appear??

A darling little blue flower with a tiny red admirer. I know this doesn't seem like much, but I was thrilled to see some signs of life! It gave me hope that before I know it, spring will have sprung.

Mixing Up Some Fun

Like most ladies I know, I like to cook. And more than I like cooking, I like for people to enjoy the food I prepare. An easy way to accomplish this is to create tasty, preferably decadent, desserts. I mean, who's going to turn their nose up at some plate full of sugary yummy? Not me, that's who!

I also like to take pictures. Since I'm always short on time to pursue my hobbies, I decided to combine two of my favorite things, cooking and photography, and see what turns out. Plus a couple of my friends run food photo stories regularly and, underneath it all, I'm a copycat.

So today we're making cheesecake! Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, to be precise. The first thing any cook knows is that you must have all your ingredients within easy reach. Because stretching to reach is best saved for the gym.

Here we have a nicely browned graham cracker crust, 3 packages of cream cheese, a scant cup of sugar, 3 eggs and vanilla.

First we need to beat the cream cheese for about 1 minute, til it is nice and fluffy.

Then, slowly, pour in the sugar while continuing to beat the cream cheese.

After the sugar is completely incorporated, it's time for the eggs. One at a time...and beat thoroughly between eggs.

Finally, it's time for the vanilla. Pour it in liberally because there's nothing in the world like vanilla. I use about 1 1/2 tsps.

Once that's beaten in nicely, add your chocolate chips to the mix. Any that spill on the counter are fair game to be eaten, by the way.

Now your cheesecake batter is done. Pour it slowly over your crust and smooth the surface. Bake the lovely cheesecake in a preheated 300 degree oven for about an hour. You'll know it's done when it's dry on top and wiggles gently like Jello when you move it. Do not bake it for too long or it will crack, like the one in the picture above. :o(

When it comes out of the oven you'll want to eat it posthaste. But no! Chill it overnight and, the next day, you'll have a little slice of Heaven on your plate.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Sunday we headed out to Grandma's to celebrate her birthday. I know, it may sound a little off to invade her home and expect a big dinner on her special day. But you must understand, she was frying chicken. She makes good fried chicken, so suddenly a birthday party at her pad sounded just right.

Plus, it snowed the day before so the boys were hoping to sled down her mammoth hill. As we all know, the more prepared you are, the more likelihood there is that things will go awry. That's mathematical fact. So, Tim and I packed enough winter gear for a trip to the Andes...and the snow had all melted by the time we got there. Sigh. But we still had fun. Chip is a determined sledder, snow or not. He reprised his snowless sledding routine but, alas, I am unable to find the video. Too bad...it was a good one.

Finally, it was time for birthday cake and ice cream. We had picked out cute candles that spelled out 'Happy Birthday.' Everyone enjoyed the cake and ice cream very much!

Late in the afternoon, we slowly loaded up all of our stuff and headed for home. It was a fun day for all of us. You can measure a day's worth by how quickly a little one falls asleep in the car. Chip was out practically before we left the driveway.