A five month catch-up...

Whoo-weeee!  Five months, to the day!

First, there is NO way to catch up on everything that has gone on during the last five months.

Second, I've come to realize the journaling time-log aspect of this blog is quite useful to document our year-to-year gardening, chicken-hatching, quilting, running, and 'other' activity.  The most recent example:  we started a new strawberry patch, but wanted to know how old our original patch was.  Logged in to the blog and found..... June 19, 2012's post.  

So, rather than be overwhelmed with the undertaking of catching up on EVERYTHING....

let's start small.

I AM still taking quite a few pictures and posting (excessively) to FaceBook.  (LOL -- if you're still a follower and wish to, look me up and send me a friend-request.)

Therefore, the last five pictures on my phone....

Time is very relaxed, but very full around the place so far this summer.  Three full weeks into summer vacation already;  it is simply flying by!!!

The only project I have underway in my sewing room is Bonnie's Allietare mystery that I finally broke down and started.  It's an amazing design, as always!  My color palette is of sea and sand, so "Vetro di Mare" ("Seaglass") will be my rendition.

The mug in the picture was gifted to me by a senior girl in my AP-Statistics class;  she knows me so well!!!

We continue to love our chickens.  We hatched out 20 in April, but sadly, all but one met a very sad end via predators!  I was sickened, and we took charge in reenforcing all of our brooder houses, box and ground coops.   The one that remained, Hector, has been hanging out with our meat-birds.

Then, five of our hens decided they wanted to sit on eggs, almost all at the same time.  So.... we let 'em!

All chicks are 3-4 weeks old:  Peckers has 12, Daisy has 14, Blackie#1 has 4 (after losing one), and Blackie#2 has 6.  I can NEVER tell these two black hens apart!!!!!

Our fifth, sadly never hatched any;  I have a feeling she left the nest too long from time to time.  We had set another incubator full of eggs, and we were hoping she'd hold off long enough to take an interest in playing Mama to them, but to no avail.  So, we have another 17 in one of the brooder boxes, motherless.  It is our most protected brooder, so they should be safe.

Most of my outside gardening time is spent in our vegetable gardens, however a wee bit of time was spent cleaning out my small perennial flower bed out front yesterday.   Some wild milkweed showed up last year, and after being scolded by child #2 for pulling it out last year, I left most of it be this year.  The fragrance of the milkweed blooms is amazing!  Candace says it reminds her of lilac blossoms.  Will wait and see if any Monarchs are attracted to it this year.

Summer school was underway for the first two weeks of summer.  This past week (third week of summer), Candace took part in the Prairie Fire theater production of Jack and the Beanstalk.  This was the first time she was able to take part in any Prairie Fire production;  she played Gabby, villager child #2 (bottom, second-from-the right, in purple).

While Candace has been heading off to summer school everyday, Caitlyn has been working in the local strawberry patch, picking berries everyday at 6 a.m.   Paul and I both wanted her to know she's working for her college savings and that 75% of anything she made was to be placed in the bank.  The other 25% was completely hers, if she cared to spend it.

For quite the longest time, she really didn't mention anything that she really wanted, but early last week, she said...."I know what I want now -- a kayak!"

She met her goal yesterday.  There were definitely a couple mornings when she gave me some puppy dog eyes, asking if she could have a vacation day, but.... she ended up persevering, and hopefully learned some discipline along the way.

We can't wait to try it out!!!!  (We also bought a second one for the family).

Today is forecasted to be absolutely gorgeous, so we're thinking of heading to the lake after dropping Cassie off at work (she's three weeks into working at McDonalds -- a whole 'nother new adventure for this growing family).

Happy Sunday!