The Way We Look Today...

well, actually, the way we looked on Saturday night. The stake had a nice dance and it is a good thing pictures were taken early in the evening--before we were hot and sweaty from dancing a lot. By the time we went home, I had taken off the shoes and was going barefoot. After a summer of open-toed shoes and sandals, I'm not ready for "real" shoes. I almost feel the way I did as a child, when we went barefoot all summer long and Sundays were torture, because we had to put on shoes!
But as the recent frosty weather reminded us, shoes will soon be a necessity.

And, as I'm ruminating here, I suppose I ought to write about how much I love to dance. I am SO fortunate to have a husband willing to dance as well. We always get compliments on our dancing (and it's nothing special, believe me). I feel sorry for the women who would love to be out dancing, but their husbands refuse ("don't want to look foolish"). Dancing is such a romantic date with your loved one!

Calling All Roofers!

The July 16 hail storm killed our roof. Mind you, the insurance adjuster said it was a very well constructed roof. And he said that without even knowing that we had done it ourselves. But, there were enough "hits" that all the shingles will need to be taken off and redone. Hence, I think it's time for Deborah, Justin and Ryan to come on home! Just think of all the fun we could have...
laying new shingles
and taking out our frustrations!
We have 6 months to get the work done. Anyone want to come for Thanksgiving??? We'd even pay you. Wasn't $5/hour the going rate back then? We'll top that! How about $6? (With no taxes taken out, of course). Think about it and get back to us as soon as you can!

The Bushes Have Moved

It is hard to believe, but we actually removed 4 (four!) big bushes out of the front garden area. I know, you are saying, "But it still looks full and complete. Where could there have been other bushes?"

You are right. That's why they are now gone. It was actually TOO crowded. I had begun to feel like I was entering our house through a jungle... The frontal view does look a bit more open now!
And here is where two of the bushes went. Now they can be free to fulfill the measure of their creation, growing big and beautiful, instead of having to be severely trimmed back. I'm sure they will be happy--once they get over transplant-shock. So where did the other plants go? One is in another garden (it is a flowering shrub), but the 4th one is now planted in the "forest". It's a good thing the "forest" is there as a repository for the plants that are still good, just no longer needed in our yard, like surplus irises, day lilies, hostas, blue rug junipers, etc. One end of it has nice blooms at various times in the summer!

And that's how our weekend went. How was yours?

Labor Day

The trampoline, the swingset, and lots of digging. That about sums up our Labor day!

We were so happy to have Connor, Brenna and Alastair come visiting--and wished Emma and Marta were here to play with their cousins.

All the pictures are courtesy of Elizabeth!

Does that look like a happy grandma! And here's a hopping grandpa... literally.

Connor was a bit tentative about the trampoline at first, but once some neighbor children showed up and demonstrated how fun it was, then that became the place to be all weekend. There was even an hour of jumping before heading for home on Tuesday morning. And when the afternoon got hot, the sprinkler added to the experience! But I mostly included this to show Kevin and Aaron with the wheelbarrow. They unloaded a friend's trailer of mulch/dirt and spread it in various gardens, as well as dug up and moved two arbivitaes and one other bush to put along the new fence, which is looking REALLY good. We moved plants out of several gardens and Aaron helped Kevin plant them out in the field, until Aaron's allergies started kicking up. By the way, this must be a bad year for pollens because Elizabeth and Alice are bothered as well.
Catherine and I (and Alastair), began planting irises she had brought from Wisconsin, as well as roses and other things we'd planned. Alastair liked his bouncer and also napped quite well so we got a lot done, even though it was a hot and sweaty day. As the day heated up, we went inside and watched a movie.
And somewhere during the weekend, we even made it up to the school playground. Wish we had a picture of Brenna in the swing. But then, that's where Brenna ALWAYS is. And there are tears when she can't be outside.
On our last evening, we even got in a game of croquet, and then Bocce, until the mosquitos drove us indoors. All that recent rain has brought a large hatching of the pests!