Good news, I think

Dan had his left hand x-rayed this morning as it was quite swollen and discolored after Sunday's flip during the baseball game. The results were that it is a severe sprain and no break and Dan takes this to mean that he is cleared for Thursday's game. Hmmmmmm.

The last two screen doors arrived at Home Depot so I picked them up today while waiting for Dan's appointment. Two have already been installed in the screen porch at the house and bunkhouse in the cabin. They made a bigger difference than I anticipated and they don't need to be painted as they are white vinyl, yeah!!!

I am watching season 1 of Glee and I LOVE it! Sorry, that I've had it so long Shelly, but at the rate I've been watching, I will finish by tomorrow evening. I have book club tomorrow for Sarah's Key in the afternoon but when I get home I will resume watching. I thought it was kind of a kid series but I was mistaken. :) I enjoy the music as much as the story-line.

So, the geese, I can talk about it today. They came back and made their deposits yesterday. I reinforced the fence line last night and bought some new posts today as I think they hopped over a saggy spot. So far, so good but if they come back, I may have to break down and buy a border collie. I am also considering getting a hunting license next fall.

Tornado Damage

Here are two of the pictures Royce sent that show the tornado damage from Thursday night. In the picture above you can see the chimney laying on the ground. They actually saw it fly off. It must have been a terrifying experience and I feel so bad that they had to go through it. Royce said they had the kids and Ollie below the stairwell which is in the interior of their first level. Thankfully, they were not hurt but they do have a big mess and lost most of their big trees. The shop was also damaged.
There is a boat, trailer and 4 wheeler under this pile. They will find out how they fared today. I called Royce this morning and they have a large crew of people helping so he told us not to come up today. Mom and Dad are going up this morning. I will give you an update later of their progress. I am heading to work at the Bargain Bazaar today-they close at 2 so it's a short day. Have a good weekend.

Peonies

The peonies are at the end of their run.

Can't someone invent a variety that blooms all summer?

More Bread

I mixed up Shari and Danette's basic artisan bread mix a few days ago and decided today was cool enough to bake them. They were a little flatter than I anticipated and I will have to play around with better loaf forms to get them just right. It tasted delicious right out of the oven with dipping oil and butter and strawberry jelly as pictured below. We've already eaten one and a half loaves. Next time, I will not make them all at once but I was afraid the dough would expire in the fridge.

Turtle Gardens

Two creative kids...

2 fake turtles...

a woodland habitat...

and you're done!

Sophie and Joey had fun making these. We recycled two plastic salad containers and poked holes in the bottom, added rocks for drainage, then potting soil and shade plants we found around the place-mushrooms that Nancy says are doing very well. They topped it off with moss they peeled from the trees by themselves, rocks, a twig border fence and last a turtle. Sophie's is on a twig bench with a leaf rug. :)

Rainy Day Fun

We're having fun with Sophie & Joey! We were at Grandpa and Grandma's house yesterday til this afternoon. Cyrus had great fireworks last night and we had fun hitting the all city garage sales or as Joey insists "rummage sales!" Unfortunately, the parade was canceled due to rain this afternoon. I think everyone has had enough rain for awhile. Sophie and Joey are having fun with Shadow. At first, Joey was a little apprehensive about her but now they are buddies. He is right when he says Big Kitty isn't a very good family cat, that's she's an "adult" cat. :)

Our second grade teacher let me have a couple of her grass people for the kids when I was helping her clean out her room. They enjoyed giving them haircuts, they seem to have beards as well! They are socks with grass seed, isn't that a fun idea?

Joey cut his guy's hair nice and short.

Sophie's gal wasn't so happy about her cut, or maybe it's the beard.

Jumbo golf!

More Wedding Pictures

I do!!!

Courtney & Kelsey

I have the nicest mother-in-law!

Handsome dudes!

Pam's mom, Dorothy-she's so sweet!

Love this-matching smiles on Shelly & Matthew

Paige & Megan

Deb & Tim

The Godfather

Relaxing before the wedding

Kelsey took this shot-not bad!

A Hummingbird Encounter

Yesterday, I was half napping in the sky chair and I heard a humming sound very close by. I opened my eyes to see a female hummingbird checking out the flowers on my skirt, actually touching the fabric to see if there might be something worth eating. I sat stone still and all of a sudden she flew about 3 inches directly in front of my nose for a couple of seconds. When she moved in even closer, I flinched and she took off instantly! It was such a neat experience. I went in the house and filled up a feeder for her. :)

Ahhhh, Summer Vacation!

Today is the first official day and what a nice one it is- sunshine, birds singing and a cool breeze. The bear paid another visit last night; pulled the shepherds hook right down again. I wonder if I will ever see the big pest. Have a lovely day!

Latest Read

This is the book I'm currently reading, mainly at night, to put me to sleep. I LOVED The Secret Life of Bees (same author) and put off reading this as it wasn't getting the best reviews. I picked it up for a dollar somewhere and decided to give it a try. School work is done for the night, so I will hit the hay with my book.

Busy Days!

I haven't been a very good blogger lately. You can probably guess why. Today was the last full day with students and tomorrow we dismiss at 11:15. I worked late tonight so that I have a good shot at wrapping things up tomorrow afternoon.

Dan's folks came up last Thursday and drove down to the wedding with us. We all had a great time at the wedding and I have more pictures that I will post in a couple of days. On Saturday, we went to the Twins game with Dan's parents and it was a great experience. The Twins won, the weather was great and the new stadium is fantastic. I will be posting pictures from the game as well. Back home on Saturday night, Jim & Darlene took off for home on Sunday morning. Sunday was pretty cold and windy and all I remember from that day is the nice long nap I took. Monday was schoolwork and garden work, which was actually a nice break from the school papers. The grass is finally growing down at the cabin and my hostas are so healthy. So what's a gardener to do but dig them up and put them in empty spots. Window boxes are in and look spindly but that will soon change. Well, I have a little more school work to do so I'd better close. There will be no tears for me on the last day this year.

Nicole's Wedding

Our niece, Nicole, was married on Friday evening. She and Marty make a fun couple and they are basking in the Mexican sun as I write this. The first time I met Nicole, Megan and Danielle was at our wedding; they were 4, 3 & 1 if I remember correctly. Now they are all grown up and beautiful.

Megan

Danielle

Caldrea at Target

A couple of weeks ago I discovered that Target is carrying a cheaper Caldrea line in three different fragrances. I picked up the counter spray in Herbs of Provence when it was 15 % off. I think Citrus Ginger sounds yummy too. While googling Caldrea at Target I came upon this fun little blog called Target Addict. You might pick up some fun Target tips here.

Summer Reading

I am very excited about our Book Club's summer/fall selections! Nancy suggested The Help and we are starting with this one in June. Two other members have read it already but are happy to read it again. It has over 2,000 ratings on Amazon and 4 1/2 stars-pretty good!

Have you heard of Sarah's Key? It's getting superb ratings all over the net.

It's going to be sad.

Mom and Nancy both enjoyed this one. Mom picked up the second at the Bargain Bazaar for just 50 cents.

I have read Olive Kittredge and liked it, didn't I lend it out to someone in my family? Did you enjoy it?? I look forward to reading this one again in September.

We're also reading a book called Alice based on Alice in Wonderland. I don't know much about that one.

Let me know if you have read any of these books or have other good suggestions for my club.

Party!

A neighbor dog came over to join the guys' section.

We had a retirement party for my coworker Mary here on Friday night. We lucked out totally with the weather as it was the first warm, sunny day after a long cold wet spell. Everyone was so happy just to be outside and relax & celebrate at the end of a busy (dreary) week. We had 45 people attend. The party began at 4 and the last group left just after midnight. We had a bonfire at dusk and I learned that wet wood will indeed burn if hot enough.

Dan-the Grillmaster

We fired up the old barbeque for the old fashioned hotdogs. Dan is wearing his favorite Captiva shirt, Shari.

The back of the firepit works great as a bar.

I made rhubarb punch and it was very yummy, if I do say so myself.

I'm making another batch for the retirement party this Friday at Jan's for Jana.