A Miracle or at Least Great News

About once a month our dear son comes here for a "Work Day with Dad". Dad goes to his house for equal times of work days there. Son came yesterday and spend most of the day helping with electrical work in the shop. They wired for 22o for the welders. Son was in the attic with cables while Dad was down in the shop making sure they were the right length. They then started reorganizing some of the large pieces of equipment, like having all the welders by the new outlets, and all the tool boxes in an accessible area.

Well, apparently the conversation then went to where to put the mattresses. (Remember the mattresses from a previous blog?) I was called in to the conversation and asked if they could be stored in our newly cleaned out garage and if I would place them on Free Cycle. For those of you not familiar with Free Cycle, it is an internet site for giving away things. By now you have probably figured out that the Miracle is that Dad (DH) agreed to this. For readers who are coming for the reunion or wedding reception, I should add that we will not give away all the mattresses in the house.

On Thursday, I spent most of the day with granddaughter, K, so that her mother could finish decorating the bathroom she started a couple of weeks ago. I forgot to take a picture of the end results, will another time. I am posting pictures of their patio, which was at least three years in the making. Building a patio with pavers is quite a task. It was a great bonding experience with our son, his wife and her parents. But all of us say we will not do it again. Give me the stamped concrete any time.

It looks like we have a "foodie" in the making.
She is bring the food to the "boys".



Later in the evening, we had dinner, again on an outdoor patio, but not cooked by K.

Garden preparation the easy way

Over the weekend, I asked G to assist me with putting up the fence around the garden area. We measured it and he decided to add a little more soil. There was a large pile of soil next to the area and he just kept adding more and more. Then he used the blade to level it and then tilled it all in. Now it is raining all week, so the fence will go in next week. My part in this was easy, I just took the pictures. He thinks he got away from the farm, but it keeps showing up. But both of us agree, no animals because we do not want to do chores every day.

Spring has arrived (work that is)

Lawn and yard work is taking up a lot of my time. I have mowed our 3 1/2 acre lawn two times. This is our second spring here and I still have a battle with dandelions. The grass is thicker than last year, but I will spray it again. We bought a 30 gallon sprayer to pull behind the garden tractor. I don't mind a few dandelions, but when it is so thick, it crowds out the grass. So tomorrow, G and I will calculate the ratio of spray to water and how fast I should drive. If it is not raining, that will be how I spend my day.

The previous owner put some type of plastic ground cover under the mulch and then planted the day lilies. Well, the poor things only have a tiny hole to grow out of, so I have pulled that out in the front of the house.

The third project was to till an area for a garden. Next, we will put up a fence to keep the rabbits out and I can start planting.


Lest you think I am complaining, I am not. I am enjoying each and every project. Sometimes I have to be conscious of it, because there always is a LOT more to do.

I have started taking pictures of the various wild flowers in the woods, but will post pictures next time.

Monday again

Here it is Monday again. On Friday, we had neighbors over for dinner. They live two houses away, but I just recently introduced myself to them and invited them over. As usual I tried two new recipes on them. We had spiral cut ham, candied sweet potatoes with cinnamon and nutmeg for flavoring. Canned pineapple tidbits were added at the end. I found another recipe to try to use some of the large quantity of green beans that I have frozen. For this one, I caramelized onions, then added the frozen beans with vegetable broth and fresh rosemary. At the end I added 4 oz of Brie. (Anyone visiting us in the next year might want to forward recipes to use the beans or guess what will be on the menu when you are here.) Along with homemade bread and brownies for dessert it was a success.

On Sunday, DH, rode his Honda Goldwing in 40 degree weather an hour to take an advanced motorcycle riding course. I was happy to stay home. In the afternoon I saw the movie, Horton hears a Who. A good kids movie, I'd say.

I also purchased two items for my Mardi Gras bathroom. Here are pictures. I welcome comments from my talented readers. I am thinking the lamp is not right. The shade is made of many gold colored paper circles, which reflect the light. I probably will put flowers in the turquoise vase. I am also thinking of painting at least one wall purple, but have to confer with my D-I-law, who is an expert in such matters.































Today, I had an agenda of five things I wanted to do:
1) Laundry
2) Ironing
3) Watch the online web cast that Oprah is doing with Eckhart Tolle. I'm reading his book which they are discussing, A New Earth.
4) Go for a walk
5) Finish taxes which are due tomorrow.

After I post this I will do numbers 4 and 5.

Party with Fraggle

Yesterday was the 2nd birthday of K, our granddaughter. Pictures are of the party at Chuck E.Cheese. The awesome cake was baked by her Mom and decorated by her Dad.
















Gift in the "pink" box was wrapped by her maternal grandmother. Go Grandma Bonbon.






























The pictures tell the story. Happy birthday K.

Mardi Gras decorations

I cannot remember when I bought my first mask, but I now have quite a collection. One group is of wooden, ethnic, dark types. The second group is of ceramic, brightly colored, Mardi Gras types.
I decided to use the Mardi Gras ones to decorate the half bath, which is also the guest bathroom. The masks are hung on the walls on the back and each side of the toilet. We added the beads to give the look that each "woman" had beads around her neck.

It is difficult to get the perspective correct since it is such a small room. The walls are whiter than the pictures show also.




Since the masks are all at one end of the room, I need color to balance it at the other end, which is the sink and mirror.










The last two pictures with the beads hanging from the light are taken looking into the mirror. I am putting this out to all of you who are artistic (or even if you do not think you are) asking for suggesting as to what I should do with the sink end of the room.


In my decorating class, I learned of balance, which is lacking here with all of the color at one end. I would consider a colorful vase with bright flowers on one corner of the counter, but do not know what type of flowers go with the Mardi Gras theme. So, please help.