I have been really busy lately what with procrastinator parties and kids and all that jazz. I do want to thank everyone who commented on my chairs. I had fun doing it under the time crunch and will most definitely do another project party again.
Once I got the dining room finished I turned my eye toward the back porch/office this weekend, and threw out the door all the junk that was cluttering it up so horribly. I am one of those people that will clean my bedroom in the middle of the night if I can't sleep because of the clutter. So out it all went! One pile for garage, one for the yard sale this Friday, oh, did I mention that while I was doing this de-cluttering I thought that it would be a great time for a yard sale? So now I am into it for the duration.
Jay even took out the old built in work space that was out moded for us. At the time he built it we had 2 desk top pc's and now we are using laptops, so out with that, too! I cleaned the carpet and brought in my new love seat and my old handmade desk, a reading lamp and table that I repainted white, hung curtains and made a tiny little space just for me! I picture myself early mornings, curled up on my cozy love seat with a cup of coffee in one hand and my online devotions on my laptop on the table next to me. Ah, it's the little things that make us happy, yes?
Also, I stopped babysitting. I need to concentrate on what I need to be doing here. Like exercising regularly.
Jay and I will be taking a mini-vacation the last 4 days of this month. We are going to Nevada to see a dear old friend for a couple of days, by ourselves, no children added. We really need this!
My garden is growing, albeit slowly, but it is past the danger of being frozen. There is some small bit of pride in that I started it from seeds, every bit! We also planted a june berry bush and a honeysuckle vine and they are thriving as well. Our grapevine looks very sweet with its blush colored leaves just beginning to unfurl. I always tell people that in our yard all we have to do is dig a hole and plop whatever it is we want to grow and it will take off on it's own. Which reminds me, it's dark now and I can flood my yard and garden unobserved.
One more thing: I am reading Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott; Thin Within -a Grace oriented approach to weight loss- by Judy and Arthur Halliday RN & MD respectively; and Chuck Colson's How Now Shall We Live?. One meaty book let me tell you. I read fiction at night to help me go to sleep and if I wake up and can't sleep I can think about what I just read and if that doesn't seem to work then I will pray. That usually does it pretty fast for some reason.
I finally get to put in the veggie garden, Yay!! One of the things that determines the planting time is the irrigation water running for the growing season. We have a neighborhood of half acre lots and nearly everyone has a big garden and fruit trees. I only plant what I know we will eat and that is: tomatoes, various hot and mild peppers, spagetti and summer squash, vidalia onions, gourmet lettuce and baby spinach, green beans and peas. But, I can't put a single plant or seed in the ground until the water is running in the ditch.
It was a little late in coming this year for unknown reasons. So when it started coming I was ready. The ditch was clean and the pump set up. Screens repaired and set in place, I primed the pump and...nothing. The pump ran fine but I can't get the darn thing to pump water. Jay can but I don't have the patience I guess. So I did the next best thing. I put the gate all the way in except a half an inch and proceeded to flood my yard and garden area. It takes about 20 minutes to cover the whole yard so while I waited I went in the house to make a small pot of coffee.
Coffee done, I grabbed a cup and went back out to watch the progress of water advancing across the lawn and was greeted by all the retirees in the neighborhood. "Your yard's flooding." Was the first greeting I got. "Hi, Mr. Fabian. Yes, I know. I've got the gate all the way in." I replied nonchalantly. "It's almost to your porch, dear." Mrs. B said excitedly. "Oh, I won't let it flood my porch." I tried to sound reassuring but they all still looked uncomfortable with the idea that my old house would wash away to the next county. Mrs. C from a block over spoke up. "I thought maybe something was caught up in the culvert." I spotted Mr Bill coming from up the street. "Your neighbors yard is flooding!" "Don't worry, I do this all the time, it won't flood." I looked at them and they blinked back at me so I did what anyone one else would do. I respected my elders and went over and pulled the gate.
Jay can run the pump during the day. I don't care. Once a week on Sunday night, I will flood irrigate after the older folks go to bed...Like I did last year, wink, wink.
The old blue bench was made by my kids paternal great grandfather about 70 years ago. It has several layers of paint. It was at the kitchen table and polished smooth by the backsides of many people that sat to Sunday dinner in the ranch house kitchen. The log bench was made by my son and the little school house bench was rescued from the trash in Denver 30 years ago. Perfect size for small children. I hope to find a matching desk someday.
