This pretty lady was growing a few weeks ago when I started the painting project in the front. I planted bushes years ago, but we had a couple years of drought and it has taken them a while to really get going. Of course it seems that we are headed for another dry year, so I may not get flowers again for a while.
I did try to make a doctor's appointment, but I can't get in to him until the middle of July, so for now I am putting up with it and trying to enjoy a few naps when I can.
Tomorrow the boys go to District Activity Day with 4H. They will be giving their presentations in the competition there for our district. If they do well they will move on to the state competition in July. #1's presentation is on puppets around the world, and #2 is presenting on wildfires and prescribed burns. I hope they do well, but the time has slipped by so quickly that I am sure they haven't practiced as much as they ought to have.
So we are gone all day tomorrow and then Friday we have another home study for our exchange student. I can't remember if I have put that on here, probably not since I have been so negligent of my blogging lately. We are getting an exchange student for a month this summer. He is 13 years old and from Japan. It is through the 4H program. He emailed us yesterday and I hope we can have several conversations before he arrives. Last week was our first home study. One of the questions was what are our house rules. We had a hard time answering that since we don't really have any. Finally #1 said, "You just follow your conscience." I liked that answer.
Then Saturday we leave for WV and 4H camp there. We are taking our 4H club to the county camp I went to when I was a girl. They are all looking forward to it. I am sure there will be lots to share when I get back.

Growing in the Greenhouse

I have a couple of raised beds at the front of the greenhouse that I am using as a nursery to start plants. I have several squash and watermelon in this one and beans in the other one.

The cabbage worms were destroying so much that I had growing. I finally had to dust them. Now I am losing tomatoes to ants! The insects down here drive me nuts!

I have 3 different varieties of tomato plants growing. The cherry tomatoes that #2 grew last year self-propogated themselves this year, so we have loads of those growing behind the barn.

And this is the inside of the steamhouse. I put down newspaper to help control the weeds between boxes from growing. I went out yesterday morning to weed and care for things. I will try to get another good day in on Friday so that my being gone so long perhaps will be ok. Hubby is supposed to water while I am gone.

Beach Fun

I did manage a beach trip a couple of weeks ago. After all of that painting I needed a break. Above you can see #1's new prescription sunglasses. He is such a good looking young man. Changing into a man faster than greased lightning in my opinion.

We let the boys take along some friends. They seem to have more fun that way. They enjoy riding the waves or walking and talking together.

And that way I get to enjoy visiting with my Honey Pot! I am about to leave him for a couple of weeks. Whatever will he do without this crazy woman!?

Wolf Lodge

These are the only two pictures I took the whole time at the lodge. The boys had a great time doing their own thing, and I enjoyed relaxing and reading a book. This picture is of them waiting for the humungous bucket of water to fall on them. The one below is after it dumped on them. The light was behind them, so it didn't turn out well.

I don't remember if I told all of you, but #2 decided at the last hour that he wanted to try the ride that he didn't try the rest of the time. He had been adamant before that he was not riding it after his grandmother and I decided we didn't like it. When he finally worked up the nerve, he enjoyed it so much I could hardly get him off of it.

Here is one reason I get frustrated doing all of these projects. I finished the trim on the sunroom only to find it with muddy fingerprints the next day. I keep telling myself that I will miss these days, so far I don't.

This is the wall in the sunroom. I had to replaster some of this wall, that was part of why it had to be repainted. I tried to match the paint that had been in there, but it wasn't exact. I like this color, too, though.

We celebrated Father's Day by going to Olive Garden on Friday evening. We just didn't think we would enjoy going on Sunday and waiting in a long line. So we enjoyed napping and resting on Sunday. Don't I have handsome men?

Front Porch

This is the front porch after the power washing. #1 and I had scraped paint a bit, but hte power washer really took the paint right off. I will have to remember that if I ever paint it again. That is a BIG IF.

The trim is a dark green, the railing white, and the floor stained cedar. I even went over the door since it had been an off-white. I really like how it looks and wish it were cool enough to be out there to enjoy it. Today's heat index was 105; tomorrow 110!

Pictures as Promised

This is what the back deck looked like before the project. I did power wash it a bit before I did the painting, but I didn't put too much effort into the washing since I was just going to paint it over anyway.

This step had rotted through and you had to be careful where you stepped. Hubby put in a new section for me. Also in the back left hand side you can see where I was priming a few boards before I applied paint. There were a couple of boards that had been replaced a few years ago that I had never stained.

And here is the finished project. I just took these pictures, so some of the wear and tear is already showing. We really need some rain for agricultural reasons, but washing my porch would be nice too.

The biggest problem with this is that it gets really hot. You can't walk out there barefoot unless you plan on burning the feet.

Weary

I know it has been over a week since I posted. Even so this will be brief. I have been struggling with lack of energy and achiness. All last week I felt like I was in slow motion and could have easily fainted through the floor from weariness. Yesterday I stayed home for most of the day, and I felt a lot better by evening. Again today I noticed I fade from about noon to 4 p.m., but the rest of the evening has been good. I was able to walk several miles with a friend this evening. All of that to say, I will be going to the doctor this week if I can get an appointment. I leave Saturday for a week of 4H camp as a counselor and I need my energy!!! I'll let you know how it goes.

Pictures Coming Soon

The porch has been completed!!! Pictures to follow soon. Of course now the porch furniture looks a bit ragged, but that will just have to wait until I can use my hand again. The index finger on my right hand is just about cramped into a permanent "Don't even think about using me!" condition. So I went out to the suana to do a little gardening this morning. I managed to stay an hour, but I looked like we installed a pool. I weeded and transplanted the carrots. They are about an inch long and are looking good. I just entered a contest to win a $1000 shopping card. The challenge is to spend $25 per person or less on family groceries. I still don't have all of the information I want- like what about eating out or eating from the garden- but it might be worth trying. Go to allyou.com if you want to try too. So now I am working on a shopping list for this afternoon. I know, I know, why would I go to the grocery on a Saturday afternoon when everyone else will be there? I'm a glutton for punishment I guess. I did manage to work a little more on my writing this morning. I am excited about writing more about "home". I read back over some of my writing from last fall and I have some more ideas now. All I need now is more time in my day. Now how do I do that?

Home Again, Home Again

We had a great time at Wolf Lodge. The boys each took a friend, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We made them keep the buddy system, and then they were on their own. They tried out the waterpark three times, the MagiQuest game was on until I pulled them in at 10:30 pm, and then they were back at it the next day until we left. The arcade had a crane game that produced three playground balls and a teddy bear to be added to our home. Hubby and I enjoyed the water park, though for some reason I was very dizzy. The med I take for inflammation can make you dizzy, and I think that combined with the swooshing and swishing of water slides just made me a bit more blonde than usual. I was also able to READ A BOOK!! I seldom have opportunity to read something fiction, or even non-fiction, just for the fun of it. I always have something else that needs to be finished, and if I read a book I am totally engrossed in it. I mean that I won't feed anyone, wash clothes or dishes, or even be aware that you just threw up down the hallway. So I don't read much. I chose to take To Kill a Mockingbird with me. I had never read it before, and I really enjoyed it. There is a lot of cussing and some politically incorrect language, but the story is very thought provoking. I didn't know what it was about really when I started reading. I knew it was banned in some schools and now I know why. I won't ask my boys to read it until Junior or Senior year of high school. I think reading it again as an adult would shine new light on it as well. I like books like that...the meaning changes with experience. Well, back to the porch. I did manage to finish painting before we headed to Wolf Lodge. Now I have to seal the floor of the front porch and then I am DONE! Until I get to the sunroom on Saturday for painting.

Painting

Just updating that I am still painting the porch. That 5 year warranty better go from the time I finish and not the time I started. Tomorrow we head to Wolf Lodge for a little break. This is the rescheduled date to take place of the May date that involved someone's head cracking. If I have to paint much longer my own may crack!

School's Out

I have spent today working on the boys' school book. I make one every year showing what they did in school, how they changed and grew, and what exciting things they accomplished. This year was impressive to say the least. I know it will sound like bragging, but really they did a lot! Both won several contests and activities...Geography, Essays, Speeches, Envirothons...and added to their cash as well. There were lots of pictures and school papers to be added to the book. The funniest though were the journal entries from our trip out West. Things like..."Saw Old Faithful today. It wasn't worth it." or "We got ice cream." You would think this was the sort of trip you take any old time. Through the eyes of a child the world is different. So one more year down, six more to go. As I was picking out porch paint last week with #1 he commented that the 5 year warranty meant I wouldn't have to paint again until he goes away to college. Oh my goodness time will fly!

How Much?

Well it seems I have one boy with a cracked head and another that isn't all there. The X-rays showed a congenital defect in #2, and he is missing some of his teeth. He is definitely missing one adult tooth and it looks like perhaps 4 are missing. It is actually a good thing since #2 has a small mouth (though that doesn't stop him from talking a lot). Crowding shouldn't be much of an issue. The dentist said we just wait a couple more years and then go to an orthodontist to see how they want to "jostle things around." Neither boy had cavities. They both complained that their teeth are very smooth now. I told them that is how they are supposed to feel all of the time, and if they would clean them well they would know that. #2 said he would rather have rough teeth; slippery was too weird. 4H went well, and I was able to talk to a couple of mothers about some school things for next year. Overall it was a good day. Compared to yesterday it felt better, but ironically it cost me a whole lot more. I guess how you feel depends on how much you spend. Maybe that explains my mood yesterday; I didn't spend enough!

Lovely Holiday

I spent yesterday painting the porches. The back porch is done, but the front is only primed. It took nearly the whole day. The wood is soaking up the paint like it is in the middle of a desert. I can't imagine that since it felt like I was in the middle of a sauna! So after I spent the day painting I thought I would treat myself to a little shopping. Those of you who know me well know that I just made a sarcastic comment. Belk was having a sale on shorts, and since I am attending two camps myself this summer, I thought I might need more than the two pair that I have. So off I headed with a definite purchase in mind (2 pair of bermuda shorts on sale for $14.99 each) and my $10 off coupon from the paper. Oh if it were only that easy! You see the coupon was $10 off of $30 or more and what does 14.99 plus 14.99 make? 29.98 of course. So I had to find something that would make up the two cents that I needed. I had been looking at a shirt, but was debating if I should get something more than I had gone for, so I decided maybe this was a "sign" to go get it. No, it wasn't. That shirt's sale was not included in the coupon. So I looked at other shirts, skirts, more shorts, flip flops...they were all too expensive- who pays $21 ON SALE for a shirt!?- or they didn't work with the coupon. Finally I gave in and bought a $3 candy bar so that I could then end up getting $7 off my shorts instead of $10. I told the sales lady I never worked so hard for two pair of shorts. Then I went to Target to get unmentionables, a curling iron, Corelle dishes, and engine coolant. The unmentionables were OH MY GOODNESS EXPENSIVE, and I finally after debating lost to over $40 of underclothing that no one will see. The Corelle dishes were all ugly, and nothing else fit what I was looking for. They don't carry the type of curling iron I was looking for or anything like it, and by then I just left the list in my purse and forgot the engine coolant. I couldn't even make it to the grocery for milk I was so upset by it all. So I bought milk at Target and Happy Day found out milk is actually less expensive at Target! I should have stayed home and painted the porch for the lovely mood that all that put me in. Today is the dentist and 4H. Maybe this will be better.