Plenty of Melons - August 11, 2010

.

Raising the beds did the trick for getting melons. They just don't need all the water you'd think, being desert-type plants.

So when this low spot began getting a lot of rain, only the lowest vines suffered a bit of stress.

We'd been a bit busy lately and not kept up on the weeding. But thanks to the mulch we'd laid down in the spring, getting it under control was not too daunting. We pulled the vines in from the paths, pulled a few scraggly weeds out of the beds, and then we just had to clear the paths.





We got a lot of melons over about a month-long period. We lost quite a few, simply because they all came ripe at once and eating more than two a day IS too daunting!









The squash bugs have begun to be a problem here. Not too much damage this year, but next year we'll have to stay on our toes.

They are all gone as of this posting, but we sure enjoyed them!

~Faith

.

Lake Outing - August 10, 2010

.

In one of the girly cars, on the way to a birthday bash at the lake.





We had too much fun on the way over. We received a phone call from a police officer while driving. The son of one of my friends noticed us as we all had our arms out the windows, making like our SUV had wings down the highway. That's still legal, right...?

Picking up more along the way.





Follow the red canoes!





OK, this looks like a good spot!





Hey, do we know you?





Perfect. Right near the bathrooms!





I never did get that group shot. But we had wonderful shade over both tables and plenty of food.





Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,





A tale of a fateful trip.





That started from this tropic port





Aboard this tiny ship.





Actually, they were headed for that island. Some of them rode in the canoes, some swam.

I could not swim far out, as I have a bum arm, but I enjoyed the water close to shore, visiting at the tables, and watching duckies.









The thunderheads began building.





The explorers returned.





And just in time for the sprinkles to set in, we packed up





and made our way to the theater to watch Despicable Me together. I vote two thumbs down for that movie.

But two thumbs up for the day!

~Faith

.

Repairs August 9, 2010

.

I have nothing more to show for our wrestling with mechanical things than this solitary photo. Both of our mowers were broken for a while. It took a while, but Michael fixed this one.





It had been sitting there long enough to kill the grass underneath, I heard it start up, and ran to get a photo, but he was already off taking care of other business.

Now if we could just get the other one fixed!

~Faith

.

River Outing - August 1, 2010

.

We were a little late to this outing, as we were still doing an office cleaning, and by the time we got there, some of my gal pals were already in the water.









We had a picnic thing going on.





Michael going for it in Ultimate Frisbee.









But this field was too small for such a big game, so the party moved to the other side of the woods.









Warm summer days.





Time to say goodbye.









Beautiful. Again. Thank you, Father.

~Faith

Strange Facts and Anomilies... July 28, 2010

.

Directions for frozen stir-fry vegetables...





And the white chair you see sitting there is the chair that did not move at all when the tornado hit. The arm was broken last year when I went over backwards down the hill while planting strawberries. The oak set, quite heavy, is the set that was picked up and tossed 5 feet. It was about 25 or so feet away from the plastic chair.





Freaky.

~Faith

.

Aw, Heck, I'm On A Roll! July 24, 2010

.

Let's see how many posts I can do until I get tired of wrestling with this browser hanging up on me.

Michael, spending some time cleaning debris from the pool after our little tornado. We still have a yard full of logs we need to deal with. We sure have been enjoying this pool during this Long, Hot Summer.





Our Ladies group has been working on a quilt project, I believe I mentioned that before. There were about 10 of us at that time, and the goal was for each of us to make a secret square. We were supposed to have a big reveal when it was time to put them together. It did not work out that way.

I did finish mine, but to encourage the rest to get on with theirs I did a little prodding by bringing mine out. It worked and the next week there were several squares done. But now I can show my humble little quilt square.

I'm not a quilter, but I've seen them on TV. And this looks nothing like what they do. I took some pieces of fabric that make me feel happy when I look at them, and I made them into a scene that I love; a picnic.

I found apple blossom sprig clip art, traced it onto some fabric, then (being too impatient to wait for embroidery floss) proceeded to edge it with plain old white and two shades of green threads over the course of a couple of evenings.





Then I added a blanket and napkin to the scene. I guess you would call it a mix of piecing and applique.





The other ladies used my idea as a springboard for some really amazing work that puts this to shame. I'm looking forward to putting the whole thing together!

~Faith

.

Thank YOU!

.

Yes, we are doing very well here. I'm sorry for leaving many of you concerned. We've just been so busy.

With Michael choosing to attempt to graduate high school in half the time, that means he and I are doing twice the schooling that you normally do. His concern about our situation, due to his dad's choices, are spurring him on and he's working very hard. But that does take a lot of time.

What is left are our welcome social activities and trying to get stuff done on the farm. Honestly, not a lot of time is left for that - and that is why I'm not doing a lot of posting. The focus on activities on the farm is what this blog is mostly about and those are just sort of hovering at less than interesting.

I have given up on doing the Algebra with Michael, finally this week. It was several hours a day and when we discussed it we decided the benefits of me working alongside him did not outweigh the loss of time for getting things done around here. Instead I will do what I have always done, just be available to help when he needs more instruction.

So this week I am working in the garden a bit more. Harvesting peppers and making lots of ristras, which I DID take photos of and will post instructions soon. The weather has turned very nice and clear for the week so a furniture painting project I've been needing to work on is on my list for the week.

Our dear friend, Todd, went to be with the Lord this weekend. I hope to post about that. We had a celebration, according to his list of what he wanted, and it was a spectacular sendoff as we know exactly where he is and we all hope to join him soon, someday not too far off.

Michael is going to be in two productions this winter, so things are ramping up for him there. Auditions all week long, and several of his friends are getting parts in each. A ballet company is producing Cinderella, and he's going to be an extra. Good thing the boy can waltz very well! He is going to work backstage at the local college production of The King and I. These should be a lot of fun, and good time with friends as well.

He's doing really well with his gymnastics, and still he manages to be a great blessing and help to me. He's growing like a weed, though, and sleeping more to try to keep up.

Me, I had some very interesting treats sent to me from my son in Japan. Red bean curd filling and strange rubbery sweetness all around. The jury is still out on that one, but I love anything new, so it was much fun to try them out. I'm mowing and raking up a lot of grass that just does not seem to want to disappear like good little blades should when mown. I've got my concealed carry permit class coming very soon here and we are going to have some fun with that, as a whole group of us is taking it together.

Anyway, those are a few of the things going on right now. Just to let you know we are healthy, happy, blessed (as well as busy and tired) and anxious to have the chance to blog again soon.

Heading out for picking more peppers and mowing...

~Faith

.