I'm NOT 20 anymore

Orange honeysuckle

Pretty purple columbine (I forgot about this one--don't you love those surprises!!)

Well, just sittin here, relaxin and reflecting on the day. The boys go to a Wednesday afternoon church program at our little 'ole country church. Tonight they had their last event of the year. . . a cookout and banana split party--yum! The tradition is to play some games after supper--which usually turns out to be capture the flag, the kids' favorite. Well here's where things go a little awry! It is "THE parents" vs. "THE kids" (Hereafter referred to as US and THEM) Well you can imagine how that works out. My family already makes the odds unfair--it's 3 of THEM to 2 of US. Most of the families there are similar, not to mention, there are a fair number of parents who develop aching joints or volunteer to watch the babies when we are trying to recruit numbers for US. So it was like 8-10 of US to about 100 of THEM (alright, maybe closer to 20-25). The goal is to find a flag stuck anywhere 100 miles down the course without being tagged and sent to jail. Add in the fact that most of us are on the downhill slide to 40 and worse. Oh yeah, it also rained nearly 2 inches here last night, and the "course" was in a shelter belt full of mud and trees. OH BOY. We started on the line looking at the whites of each other eyes. . . and it all went down from there. They were everywhere--like an ant den. As we looked out across the field the ground seemed to be crawling with the critters! So we started. . . old, fat and out of shape alike (oh, and spirited-I mean come on give us some credit for even trying this!!) all went RUNNING (full speed) to try not to get caught on our way to locate the flag. I didn't have time to change between work and picnic so I have on my 2 inch chunky heeled boots (which kept my feet dry today--I know, you are all wondering why I think I must be taller). They don't have good mud traction. . . you can picture me sliding safe under the knees of the 9 year old who nailed me. . Scratched my boots, but saved my new black pants!! SCORE for me!! J plowed over two little kids (we also decided that old people running as fast as their arthritic legs can move don't stop on a dime in the mud, when an unsuspecting kid jumps in front of them to tag them and take them off to jail---they also slide a fair distance. Needless to say, we lost. . . twice. . quite quickly. On the way home we got to chuckling about how fast J was running. The boys hadn't seen anything like that out of him. I was afraid I was going to have to start handing out nitroglycerin in the jail, but everyone recueperated on their own. And after we peeled the youngsters out of the ground and cleaned the mud out of their nose and mouth (you know the ones J plowed over, landed on, and skidded with) they turned out ok too. It was actually kind of fun!! Every once in a while it's enjoyable to PRETEND that we are young enough to play like we used to! Ask me again tomorrow.

Arizona Sun gaillardia (it was prettier the other day)

Sundancer Daisies

I have many different things blooming now. I am really pleased with the new plants and shrubs we ordered in. I have ordered lots of different stuff from many different companies over the years and never have I received plants like these!! The Russian garden has blooms on both the Arizona sun gaillardia and the little sundancer daisies. I saw yesterday that the Russian Sage actually has little buds on its little tiny branches too!! Unbelievable! These came from High Country Gardens. I also noticed the other day that the Braeburn apple tree was blooming--we just put those trees in the ground the week of the blizzard. WOW! Those came from Miller nurseries. I have ordered from the last couple of years and their shrubs and trees are incredible and very reasonably priced! The Braeburn tree is below--that will be a pretty tree in the spring when it is bigger!

May night salvia

I also tried a company that I hadn't seen before called Roots and Rhizomes. The only reason that I ordered from them was because I LOVE Shasta daisies and they had a small collection of the ruffled unusual ones. I noticed yesterday that 2 of them already have buds on them as well. I would highly recommend these companies as their plants were all so healthy and packaged for shipping so well. None of them had been broken and looked like I had picked them from the garden store myself!!

Well, glad to be on the downhill slope of the week. Sure wish spring would return--it's pretty cool here, and cloudy, and windy! More rain in the forecast for the next couple days. We're hoping to meet up with the cousins at the zoo on Saturday if the weather holds--Guess it will be Exploration Place if it doesn't! Have a great one!

Fun-Filled Day

We are so glad it is the weekend around here!! So far it has been busy. We are sure hoping not to get any severe weather here! Or anywhere else for that matter! We went to the junior high activity banquet last night. . . our first of many MANY of them to come (remember all those mom?? I know you're laughing!) It was nice. T will get to letter in track this year--he got his first medal at Thursday's track meet. He was in the thrower's relay (AKA the fat man's relay). To hear him talk about running in the fat man's relay cracks me up, since he is tall and SKINNY! His discus and high jump events went much better this week. Their meet last week got rained out, so this was only their 2nd meet.

This morning found me up, a little grudgingly, before dawn to attend the county health fair. I have a little meter that analyzes body fat percentages and calculates BMI easily, so I am asked frequently to bring that to different events. People like to do it for a "kick" if for no other reason! When I got home, I found the boys digging the sod out where the new sidewalk will go. So now we are ready for the guys to come frame and pour concrete. Hopefully in the next couple weeks. J also had moved my propane tank to the north side of the garage. YAY! They put the sucker square in the middle of the yard to the west (probably wasn't their yard when they put it there, but it has been claimed by me as yard since we moved) I have been griping it about it for 11 years. The whole yard looks different not to have that big ugly eyesore there! Some of the lilacs were blooming, so C and I went sniffing. Love that scent! Look what we found. D was impressed

After C went to sleep, I finished planting some stuff in my pots. Hope they don't get hailed on tomorrow. Below is an old washing machine (electric) that J salvaged and actually used for years to wash his greasy shop towels in. He was finished with it and I saw it out in the back forty a couple weeks ago when I was walking and the thoughts started. I was browsing on Kansas prairie gardens page and they were talking about using coleus in their pots. I have never tried to grow those before, but the color and texture seemed to be just what I was needing to fill that washer. So, here's the "before" photo--and hopefully soon, it will be filling in and will post another picture. Deb, I hope that's enough coleus in there?

J was planning on going racing today, but Wichita was calling for some pretty severe storm possibilities this evening, so thankfully he decided to stay home. BUT, we still didn't see him cause he was out in the shop tinkering with his old model A. He has it up on a chain, building the underneath thingy (a chassis?). He is still out there now, happy as a clam.

Late this afternoon we went to the school carnival. The kids have a ball! They bought their tickets earlier this week at school and then spent a couple hours winning back all the pop we had to send for prizes. They had lots of games, even C could do some. The pictures below were of a "train" ride. C's expression cracked me up. Actually she was loudly singing "WOOOOO"

T went home with a friend from there for a few hours. The rest of us went to town to eat at the supper club (and the red beer sure hit the spot tonight). When we got home, D and I planted some cucumbers, watermelon, dill, and cilantro in shallow pans to germinate them (I have horrible luck at getting that stuff started outside--can't keep it moist enough) and then some lettuce in long window boxes--so hopefully those will all grow well. Farmer's almanac said it was a good day to plant. And won't have to worry about hard rain washing the seeds out.

We're looking forward to church and then a lazy afternoon tomorrow. Hope everyone else is enjoying some R and R this weekend too.

99 Baskets. . .

99 baskets of clothes on the floor, 99 baskets of clothes, pick one up, toss it in, come back and find your 16 month old has completely emptied an entire basket of kleenex on the floor where you left her??? And when you ask, "Who did that???" She puts on that innocent look, cocks her head and puts both hands upwards as to say "Don't know!" Oh, what kind of day will that turn out to be?? We decided to get out and take a long stroll around our "track" here at the farm. What a beautiful sunny, not windy day. Oh the things we saw this morning. We found bunnies, and a monarch, and lots of birds. I haven't had time to scout the newcomers yet this spring. But they are all around. We saw a cardinal, swallows, a flock of mourning doves, grackles, robins, sparrows, 2 mockingbirds (one of my personal favorites--sorry papa Rog--I do love those!), and the scissortails. We heard a wren, but I couldn't ever really see it. The lilac bushes are loaded with buds, some of the old fashioned irises are budding, the orange honeysuckle is about to burst into bloom (one flower has just opened) the creeping phlox is gorgeous, the tulips are blooming, the new apple trees have leaves on them and IT IS FINALLY SPRING. Welp, it sounds like little C is "out" for her nap, so must get busy on my yard work--and the house now goes to total pot! The laundry?.. . . Will be done soon. May not get folded but will be dry anyway. Can't wait to stroll thru Lowes tomorrow on my way home from my class to see what kind of action they have going on! Be blessed!

Landscapers R Us

Maybe a better title would have been Trees, Chainsaws, and Cables, OH MY! Well, Must say that my long to-do list hasn't gone too well this weekend. I have spent most of it in my bed feeling puny. Maybe a little better this evening. . .maybe

We did get the chairs started yesterday morning, but I didn't do my part like I was planning. I did learn to use the jigsaw tho, and the boys, bless their hearts, got the subframe built for all four chairs.

Here's the guys busy measuring their boards

the complete subframes, so far so good!

This afternoon, however, a noise brought me straight out of my bed and to the window. It was that of a chainsaw--which is never a good noise here at this house!

notice the offending tree hooked to the winch, also notice the power lines

D was enjoying the chains hooked to the tree!

We had been discussing taking out a very ugly elm tree on the southeast corner of the yard, so I guess J, not having anything else to meddle with, decided to GIT 'R DONE. I walked out with C to notice that already one fork of the tree was lying on the ground. Now they (J, G, and D) were walking around surveying the site, figuring out the best option to get the tree down without a.) ruining my new flower bed, b.) knocking out the power line right next to it, and c.) ruining the vehicle tied to the tree. OH MY.

Well, once they got the winch truck moved into the pasture and the tree tied on, J got the chainsaw out, and within minutes the rest of the tree was history. It did land on my railroad ties knocking two of them out of line, but he got them pounded back together. D thought that was so fun, we should cut down some more trees! Maybe another day.

The fallen tree, which was quite hollow (might explain why it was so ugly) offered some entertainment for the boys

The spot looks much better now without it. My thought is to do some birdhouses or feeders or vining plants around the big trunk that we left--only because J is too chicken to take his chainsaw back out and try to carve something artistic in it! Would have taken another pic after the tree was totally gone, but my energy was gone--maybe this week when I finish mulching in the bed that it lies in

And we couldn't leave out little C--who LOVES mudpuddles. She wants to be as dirty as the boys anyday!!
Hope everyone has a beautiful, finally spring, week! Wear your sunscreen!

We're Singin' in the Rain, Just Singin' In the Rain

Spring most definitely is my favorite time of the year. We are seeing plenty of signs this week.

When we remodeled the kitchen, we had the guys put an egress window in the basement so we could fix a bedroom for some boys down there. Unfortunately we can't find a cover that fits it and J has never gotten around to making one. So there is always some type of critter falling in it, which makes for interesting conversations. The big thing for the guys is shooting the field rats that fall in with the BB gun. Last night D came upstairs to inform his dad that a rat had fallen in the hole and they would have to shoot it in the morning. As it turned out, it wasn't a rat, but a baby rabbit. G brought it inside this morning to show me. (it looks enough like a rat to me) It started to wiggle and G promptly dropped it on my kitchen floor then just stood there lookin at it. I was hollering at him to pick it up before we had to chase it all over the house. Rabbits squeak. . . loudly. It was a little unnerving to me as he carried it back outside, hope he found his way back home!
Have had a nice gentle rain this afternoon. We had about 6 tenths over Easter weekend, which was wonderful. Were able to get the grass planted right before that rain--still waiting for it to surface. We've (I've) been busy planting all my stuff, which has been sitting around in pots and windows since right before the blizzard).

The new bed for my arid Russian garden

Got the bed finished for the Russian garden last week and all those plants in the ground late last week. They are doing great. Just need to lay down some newspaper and mulch it in. I plan to use the small river rocks that we are taking out of the path that will soon be cement sidewalk. Hope to have time this weekend to finish that.

Here's my little box of plants for the Russian garden. There are actually 19 plants in there if you can believe it. There is Russian sage, 2 types of hummingbird mint, Texas red yucca, some blue avena grass, gold yarrow, Arizona sun gaillardia, and some sundancer daisies

Can't wait to post a picture in August if anything lives :-)

Finally, Tuesday, between hair appointment for me and dentist appointment for T (and naptime for C) I got the honeysuckle shrubs (they are shrubs, not vines--with the fragrance that I love) planted in this new spot. I was going to blog about this last week and title it He loves me, he loves me NOT!! Just didn't get to that! There is J moving dirt around to work that stupid sloping yard around. Now it is a bit terraced.

I have those shrubs in the top as well as larkspur, double cosmos and some funky four o'clocks seeds that I spread out and then planted little butterfly weed and florist carnation plants that I had started in the basement on the terraced part. Today they still look alive. Right to the backside of that tractor I planted my living wall of red twigged dogwoods mixed with some goldenrod. Those are mulched in partially and hope to finish this weekend as I got some more mulch today. So hopefully in 5 years my yard will be looking good!! I have some of the dogwood now and it seems to be doing well, so I added a few more to improve my view (this will hopefully block the view of the dead cars you can see behind the tractor.) I read on the internet that red twigged dogwood is the preferred nesting site of the Amercian Goldfinch!

So now I am down to my big ole' Roma tomatos and several kinds of pepper plants down in the basement--will give those a couple more weeks before planting. I'm not nearly as enthusiatic about the veggies as I am the flowers and shrubs. G wants to be the gardener guy this summer, so he will care for the veggies--watering, weeding etc as his summer work.

I'm hoping for a quiet weekend at work, as we finally got our wood for the aidarondack chairs and are excited to start those too. Shawn, I thought you were bringing the drinks--where have you been?? Have a great weekend everybody!

Happy Easter

Hope everyone has had a blessed Easter Day. We certainly have (with the exception of crabby kids). Getting 4 kids around and to church by 7 am is quite a feat, but worth it. We love sunrise service--we were thankful to do it inside today because of the much needed rain. And enjoyed the music and testimonies. It was a full house this morning. We always have a breakfast after that and the men do ALL the cooking. What a feast; bacon, sausage patties, pancakes, French toast, crepes, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, coffee cakes, fresh fruit, lots of coffee and juice. Makin ya hungry? C and I ran home for 30 minutes during Sunday school. She went back to bed for a short nap. The church was so packed when we got back that they were opening up the holding area in the back of the church--for those of you not familiar with our church, it is a small country church--so it's always a big deal to open the back up. It's getting a little bit habitual for me to sing the song "Was it a morning like this" done by Sandi Patty around Easter Sunday. That was my special music this morning. One of the church ladies asked me before church started if I was going to sing that song. When I replied that I was, she said she had woke up this morning and had been dreaming that I was singing that song. COOL! The Easter Cantata is scheduled for tonight. This is a musical production put on by a community choir. It is entitled "Touched by the Christ". We have been working on it for about the last 8 weeks or so. It has some dramatic readings interspersed among the musical pieces. J will probably be staying home with the kids--as the weekend has been too big and busy and they are grouchy! Below is a 5 minute slide show to share our 2009 Easter experiences from this last week with you--it is set to one of my favorite songs (Arise, my love by Newsong)--hope ya enjoy it
Oh, and by the way, no children were neglected by the production of this video!! It looks more complicated than it really was. M

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in

the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me

Rock and Worship Roadshow

Jen and I survived the big trip!

Tanner, Grant, Jonah and Tristan

Callie and Kiley

Well, we survived the trip to Wichita yesterday to see the Rock and Worship Roadshow! All in all we had a fabulous time. It was a sold out show, so we were thankful to get in. We got there as the doors opened at 6:00. When we got into the coliseum, it was already packed! We found great seats in the nose bleed section dead in front of the stage. The music was LOUD but AWESOME. The kids really enjoyed it. They sang and clapped and hollered! The songs were great and the message was even better. And the atmosphere was unbelievable. The concert lasted until about 11:00 (quite a bit later than we had expected). We hit Sonic after the concert for some ice cream before we headed home. Most of the kids slept on the way home, Jen and I were wishing we could. We rolled into town about 2:00 am. J looked at me this morning, smiled and said "You're getting too old for this." Of course I was offended and asked him why he thought so. To which he replied "Cause you aren't looking too perky today" He is right-- At midnight, stuck in the Sonic parking lot for what seemed like hours, listening to lots of giggles and my oldest son pretending he was a Canadian-- The thought crossed my mind too!!

10th Avenue North

Hawk Nelson

Jeremy Camp

Mercy Me (they sing "I can only imagine)

The faces of excitement!

Now adays they use cell phones instead of lighters

Men are Hunters, Women are Gatherers

This is a fact. The men at my house love to hunt--food, any animal or fish they may be able to catch, stray things in the grass (mostly just D does that). Me? I gather--I gather groceries, laundry, gray hair. I gather lots of things really, I'm good at gathering--it's innate!! I am NOT a hunter however. But, I am learning. J and I don't have a lot of TRUE interests that are the same (except that we kinda like each other). He likes to race--I like to speed--only on the highway and only if it's me driving. He likes to fish and hunt--I don't like worms or slimy things and I'm not real patient, so waiting quietly to shoot at something isn't my bag either. I like to shop--well, you know where this is going as far as his point of view. I like musicals and cultural type experiences--He prefers Jim Carey and stupid humor. I love to garden and create things in my yard--If it doesn't include him, he loves gardening too. So for the sake of finding something that we can do together that we enjoy, I told him that I would learn to shoot a bow and arrow.

Some friends of ours started a bow club last year and invited us to try it out this winter. So we went to their shoot in March. J got his set out and worked with it a little before we went. I didn't have one, but wanted to check it out anyway. They also have a sitter for the kids which worked out great. It was fun. J really enjoyed it, and I thought it would be something that I could enjoy too. So, Mr. King of Ebay set out to find a reasonable investment for me, that the boys could use if I just hated it. We got it a couple weeks ago but hadn't tried it out yet. Thus the inspiration for the story. Now, mind you, the only time I ever shot a bow was as a kid at 4-H camp a couple of days during the summer. Fun times. We went out behind his shop where his little target deal is. He went through the important stuff, you know, how to hold it, how to load it, how to stand--blah blah blah. I shot. . . WAY over the target it sailed ( I should report that I had 4 arrows). Seems I was using the wrong sighter dealy to line up the target with. Anyway, he made me move 20 feet from the target even tho I argued that I would do better since he told me which thing to use. So, I did hit the target next time.

About this time, D showed up--looking like Robin Hood. J got him a kids set for Christmas, which I obviously hadn't seen all put together. He has little leather arm things, and glove deals where only his fingers stick out, and a leather thing hung around his neck with his arrows in it, just like cupid. He whipped out an arrow, aimed at the target and shot--POW. Got it (not where he was aiming he informed me, but a hit nonetheless--better than my first try) So here I was competing with a 6 year old and losing.

I was starting to get the hang of. The string kept wacking my left forearm after I shot, which leaves big red welts and smarts really bad (Wuss or otherwise--I'm sure anyone would agree) And then there's this thing they invented that grasps the string and velcros around your pulling wrist (so's you don't hurt your tender fingertips). That little deal is a pain in the rump. You have to keep your finger behind it lest it shoot off unexpectedly, then, when you are ready, you put your finger in front of it and pull it like a trigger, which releases the arrow. I really had a hard time catching on to that, which is how I lost my next two arrows--I was a little confused. So, down to only one arrow, we decided it best to save the rest of the lesson for another day. My arm looks like I have been beaten, so if anyone suspicious comes around asking questions--please tell them that he really IS a good guy!! And, he DID find my arrows farther down in the pasture. He just kept shaking his head and smilin!

Track Reflections

T made it past his first track meet ever. He seemed in good spirits when he got home. Said something like "it was fun." Several of his coaches mentioned that he was a nervous wreck all day, and I could tell it even this morning. He did high jump, discus, and the 4 X 200 relay. C and I went for a couple hours before I had to get back for call. We witnessed the high jump, which unfortunately didn't take long. He didn't measure off his step first, and jumped from the wrong side all three times because he didn't know that he could ask the people on the other side (where he normally jumps from) to move while he jumped. So three times he crashed right through the bar. Discus went better for him but his best throw was a scratch. I think he was pleased with that throw. I missed the relay, but he said it went fine. Next week they have an actual 6th grade division, so hopefully it will go a little better. I believe this was a learning lesson for me too. There are just so many things in life that we CAN'T help our kids with lest we ruin the life lessons they have to learn. Sometimes it is painfully hard to watch. Like my friend Bam says "it's like watching a train wreck, you know what's going to happen, but you have to watch it anyway!" He'll grow up just fine no doubt--but junior high seems such an awkward stage for kids. Let the metamorphisis begin! All the kids today looked so much more grown up--I still think of them as little kids. They are quickly growing up! Most days that is good, some days that is bad, THIS day it is just a mother's reality check!

Boys and Their Toys

Well, J has become the internet shopper of the decade! He shops for lots of stuff. Mostly "guy" stuff--you know, tools, guns, cars, boats--and on and on. We bought an old boat when T was almost 1 (12 years ago). He has been working on it ever since. He has upgraded motors (traded out motors) re-upholstered it himself (the wide variety of skills he has never ceases to amaze me really!), put a radio in it too. For the last 2-3 years he has wanted to get a newer model. For the last several months he has browsed all kinds of places looking for "THE ONE!" He finally found a place in Plainville that had several he was interested in. The other catch was trying to find a place that would trade for his older model as well. Since the wind was supposed to be blowing (still) at 100 mph he decided to forego the races and he and G headed for Plainville. He hated the one he had gone to look at, and couldn't bring himself to purchase the more expensive one, so he finally decided on the boat between the two. He is such a funny shopper! Also, G thought this was the one they needed anyway--so if you ask him, HE picked out this boat. So they brought it home and then spent the next couple hours cleaning it up. It is a beautiful boat--and we are already excited to try it out, if the weather ever warms up!

J had his air buffer out to put the shine back on

T got to armor-all the seats and interior

Who's ready for skiing?

Spring is Sproutin

Well, we are on the downhill slide of this week. The boys were out of school Monday and Tuesday. G said on Wednesday "I don't know WHY we have to go to school today, there are only 3 days left, what can we possibly do in just 3 days?" They really needed to go back. Tho, I did enjoy some fun visits with my good friend and neighbor Jen after they finally broke loose from their house. She brought over a large bottle of wine that we sipped on while we enjoyed pizza with the families and good conversation. We sipped until that whole darn thing was empty, mmmmm strawberry zinfadel! We decided in our visit the next afternoon to take my burb loaded with the big kids and enough friends to fill it, to Wichita next weekend for the Rockin Worship Road Show. We are pumped! I'm sure it will be a noteworthy trip!

T's first track meet was cancelled Tues, so will hope next week will be better. He was unusually pleasant last night before supper and thru supper (a little odd). He was being so unusually pleasant and polite (he seemingly has developed a raunchy, know-it-all, "teenager" attitude) that I finally looked at him and said "who are you and where did my son go?" He, of course was caught off guard and said "I'M Tristan" with a very weird look on his face. My reply was, "No, Tristan is not this pleasant. Where did you come from and where did you send him?" He couldn't answer that, but finally said he was trying to "turn over a new leaf" Thank you GOD! Finally! I was more than a little disappointed to find Tristan home tonight! Anyway, he was still sort of trying to be better. Maybe he is growing up?

Maybe it was the barometric pressure or weather change or something? D was also fairly well behaved last night. Our clinic went so incredibly smooth today that I got home about 4:00 from the family planning clinic. I stopped by the house to brown some hamburger for our supper before I ran into town to get C from daycare and T from practice. Since D had been so good, I asked him what he would like for dessert. He secretively mouthed something about chocolate cake. No mixes were located, and hating to disappoint him, we pulled out a book and found a recipe from a 90 year old patient of mine. He needs a lot more practice at cracking eggs, and I am afraid that I will be finding some remnants of batter in weird places on my cabinetry for a long time yet, but the cake was SO yummy. The frosting was a quick caramel frosting with brown sugar, butter, and powdered sugar--out of this world!! I AM the bestest cook ever you know!!

Most of the snow is melted now, and the ground "smooshes" when you step on it. Not sure what it is about kids and water, but that was the only thing C wanted to see when we went out after supper. Unfortunately, I had left her nice little black shoes on, and looked up as the boys hollered "mom, Cami is jumping in the puddle!" AWWWW!

It appeared that our apple trees survived the weather. The grapes looked different than they did last week, so will see about those. So many things are waking up. I can hardly stand it! My Russian garden came today--that was my birthday present from J. It is supposed to go in the new bed we were putting in last week before the weather hit. It is raised the height of 2 railroad ties. But it has no dirt in it yet. Maybe this weekend. I ordered it from High Country Gardens--they specialize in hot, dry, windy gardening--I thought that was appropriate. The plants are unbelievably beautiful and strong! Can't wait to get them in the ground. I also recieved a box with several different shaggy, frilly petaled shasta daisy plants and some goldenrod plants--I read that butterflies and hummingbirds like those and they should add some fall color. Not sure where the daisies will actually go yet, but I just have a passion for those! The goldenrod will be placed on the east side of lawn in my attempt to create a living wall to cover the endless supply of dead and often ugly vehicles parked in the waiting room.

Looks like they took the rain out of the forecast for Saturday here, so hope to work outside a little. The boys and I are also signed up for a class from Lowes.com to build aidarondack chairs. They have posts and videos on line to help us beginners out. Hopefully the wood will be in tomorrow and we can start Saturday--there are 4 classes. The boys will take theirs to the fair, D and I will just sit in ours and relax!

Oh, by the way--thought you might be excited to know the kitchen remodel is FINALLY finished. We have waited slightly over a year now for J to nail (with a nail gun--hence the holdup--we could never get it to the house) the last piece of trim to the picture window. YEAH--my life is now complete! Hope everyone has a blessed and productive weekend!
TGIF (nearly) M