Happy St. Patty's Day! Believe it or not, it is a holiday we actually pay some attention to, mainly because we see it as a time to recognize some of our heritage. Analiese likes to play the leprechaun, and invariably we find our milk has turned green in the morning. This year I think she went a little overboard, but fortunately, there wasn't much milk to speak of in the jug. I have a hard time facing green milk.
The kids wondered if I would see Green Bowler Hat Guy at Walmart in honor of the day. Nope. Actually, I haven't seen him in a while...unless he shaved, cut his hair, and lost the hat. Then I wouldn't recognize him! In reality it was Senior Shopping Day at Wal-mart and I felt very young. I got to chat with several nice senior ladies and even helped one find something on a shelf.
Analiese went with me, for the purpose of buying new church shoes and a new bra (ugh). Well, they didn't have any shoes worth speaking of that didn't have a high heel (seriously?) and the bra choice was limited, too. I mean, who buys an 11-year-old an underwire bra? I don't like them personally, but do 11-year-olds need to worry about that stuff yet?
We stopped at Atwoods for some rabbit food. Couldn't resist a peek at the chicks!
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
I am trying to set up a compost bin/enclosure thingy with two sections. Jonathan & I tried to drive fence poles (metal) into the ground. We had something to drive it in with, but didn't think we needed to make a hole in the ground first and then drive it deeper. So we didn't get very far...not even past the first one. I am still thinking and rallying around how I'm going to do that; I guess I'll have to borrow someone's post digger (yes, I know someone who has one I can borrow). When the six poles are driven in, I will be winding that orange plastic netting/fencing around them and attaching it with cable ties. Then I'll have two piles: one for dumping stuff into and a working pile.
Since that didn't work too well, the kids & I took a field trip instead up north to the Southwest Landscaping and Nursery place. The owner goes to the Garden Club meetings and I've wanted to go for a while. They have several greenhouses that we toured (well, one person enjoyed it) and bought some bush beans seed (I have everything else on order, but the beans I wanted was out of stock).
After that, we stopped at a rodeo center on the way back to ask about horse manure. You can imagine how excited the kids are about that (not). But they are part of the Western State College campus, so they're closed until next week. I know someone with a truck and trailer who can help me load some (for free!) to take home to put in my beds. It's the best stuff for gardening.
The afternoon and evening was "Everybody Visit the Bolton's" Day. I was glad to have Tarah from my ward come over to visit and share with me her essential oils diffuser (to help my allergy-related cough and congestion). I like to have people just come, sit down and visit. It makes home homey.
Then I forgot Sue from water aerobics was coming to do yoga, so at 7:30, while Jonathan & I were watching something on Netflix, she knocked at the door. That was okay, too, because I haven't done yoga in a while and needed a good stretch. But as we were doing our relaxing end savasana, the missionaries knocked at our door. Two are being transferred, and they wanted to come say goodbye.
In between all of this visiting, the wind picked up. When Tarah left, the sky looked brownish gray; if I hadn't known better, I would have thought it California smog. Then I started to smell dust in the air, even in our closed-off house. The wind just howled around the house; it's a bit disturbing. When Sue and the elders came by, it was all I could do to hold on the door as they came and left! And it kept up well into the night! It is one thing I have to get used to or I won't be sleeping well often.
But I confess, I did stay up later than I should and I can't blame that on the wind. Once the kids were in bed, I called my friend in town, Michelle. For all we live in town, we have a hard time with our schedules getting together. And we enjoy each other's company! We were on the phone for nearly two hours; that beats my mom!
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Dust lies everywhere. Anytime anyone goes outside, they come back in and sneeze for a while. There's stuff I'd like to do outside, but just dare not!
I picked up announcements today for the triple Eagle Scout Court of Honor. It's a week and a half until the event and well time to get them out! They look really nice. I think it is going to be a very special evening.
Analiese and I worked on a sewing project this evening. We are making a table runner for my kitchen table. I am hosting the RS Book Club next week and I want to have the table decorated Spring-like. I'll put down a white table cloth with the runner over it. I think I am going to serve strawberry cupcakes with lemon frosting and then have fresh strawberries with dipping stuff on the side. Plus water. I always like water.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Girding up my loins, as it were, I tackled the garage and shed today. Really, the shed is a big storage room on the side of the garage, but I don't always want to say "the storage room off of the garage," so I just say "shed." And to be honest, it wasn't just me; the kids were instrumental in getting it done. When we first moved in, we just dumped stuff on the floor in the shed and left it there. After time, the place has become an obstacle course and finding anything was always a guessing game. It was driving me nuts, so I had made the goal to clean it up during spring break.
So we took everything out, sorted them into piles, swept the floors (lots of bunny bedding and leaves all over) and put it back in...in specific places: Garden, Tools, Pets, Storage. Even Ken noticed the difference when he came home from work. That says something!
In between this, taking a lunch break, I went to have lunch with Tarah (see Tuesday) at Taco Mayo. They'd been advertising fish tacos, which I adore and have been craving (and couldn't be found here anywhere), and so I had to have one! Actually, I had two and, for not being California, they weren't bad. They certainly hit the craving spot but, sadly, are only available for a limited time. Taco Mayo'd be my best friend forever if they'd put it on the regular menu.
Tarah and I had a great visit and, after over two hours, I guess I had to go back to finish the shed. The kids had swept it all out and everything went back in smoothly. Ken was so delighted with the shed (and a tutoring check that will help cover our tax bill immensely!), that we had Arby's to celebrate, while watching "Catching Fire" on our Roku. It was one of the most relaxing evenings we've had as a family in a long while!
Friday, March 21, 2014
Woke up with a major headache this morning. Can't seem to lose it. Probably a side effect from yesterday...dust will do it to me every time. I've tried Tylenol and various essential oils. That sucker just won't leave me alone!
And on such a beautiful day! The sun is shining, there's a light breeze, the birds are chirping, and the squirrels are back! Apparently they believe Spring has come, because they are bounding about the trees and the roofs. Jonathan caught one on camera fairly close:
One of the few things left on my Spring Break to-do list: wash the van. I didn't have much to do with it beyond putting quarters in the machine. Jonathan handled the sprayer; Analiese worked with the brush. The dust and mud on it made it's color nearly indistinguishable. Now, it's that gray-green again.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Lazy day! I got up late, slugged around for a while. I don't think we even had devoitional until 9:30. Probably the last time in a while I'll get to be lazy, so I took advantage of it.
I did have to do a quick store run to get stuff (namely produce, which doesn't last long in stores here) and get dinner ready to put in the crockpot (Family: Did you know you can put together Mock Taco meat in your crockpot? Nice and easy on low for the day and Bingo!). Oh, and I made brownies, for dessert.
I had to clean off the dining room table. I had stuff on it from all the shuffling from the garage and working on high school transcripts for Jonathan. Sometimes it just means shuffling it somewhere else until I can put it back, but I do try to actually put some away. With a clean garage, it's much easier to figure out where things go!
Jonathan went to McDonald's today for employee training. After about 6 hours of video - which he probably could have figured all out in 2 - he came home tired and hungry and headachy. We didn't let the missionaries eat it all (I even saved him a brownie).
Ken is helping Nasly (the gal from Honduras who was baptized in December) fill out an online application to work at Walmart. She's so funny. Plus, she's helped my Spanish to get better!
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Nice, normal Sunday. Nice quiet afternoon after church. Starting organizing the stuff for the week: lessons, menu, grocery list, errands & chores. Oh, and we found on Amazon Instant the 2nd half of Doctor Who Season Seven! Made for a nice evening! (Okay, I'm a nerd! Sue me!)
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