weekend recap

The past weekend was out of the ordinary for us. We had our granddaughter and two grandsons here from Friday night through Sunday afternoon. Luckily some decent weather prevailed long enough on Sat. that Grandpa was able to take the kids out to the woods and to play along the creek. They all came back a little wetter than when they left and with newly found treasures (rocks) to take home and add to their collections. A good time was had by all.

I forget just how quiet and peaceful our lives here are until I have a houseful of grandkids ranging in age from 2 through 11. It does take some getting used to but by sat. I had adjusted fairly well. I must give credit where credit is due and say my children have done a good job of child rearing as the grandkids were all well behaved and courteous…at least until a parent shows up. But, that is how kids are.

In other news, I am disappointed and embarrassed that my seedlings are not thriving. Last year, for the first time, I raised all my tomatoes and peppers from seed with good results. This year I seem to have failed miserably. That’s really hard for me to admit, too : ) I will have a few that make it, but most will be far too small for transplanting at garden time. Keeping them in the little greenhouse my daughter gave us kept them too humid for one thing. I feel like such a failure this time around! Fortunately the local country store has Brandywine and Amish paste tomatoes so looks like I will at least be able to purchase heirlooms locally and for a very reasonable price. I’ll do better next year I hope!

I harvested a few of my herbs the other day and now have catnip and some hot and spicy oregano hanging up to dry. Coop turned up the dirt in front of the house so I can plant zinnias along the south wall. The Iris that we planted last summer on the south side along the garage wall are just now beginning to bloom. I was given a mix of varieties from my neighbor and didn’t know what was what. It looks like what I have so far is all Bronze Iris. They have grown a lot more than I expected and look really nice for the first year. I still have many more to plant but not sure just where yet. The patch of red romaine is coming up out front next to the porch. The bridal wreath spirea is in full bloom now and the peonies have buds.

Our “I’m George Bush, please don’t hate me” (aka stimulus) check came in yesterday. We will be setting that back into savings and not participating in the so called stimulation of our economy as well as continuing in our dislike of our dictator er..president.

Coop is off to Columbus today with the landlord to help with some moving. I will be finishing up some house work and enjoying the alone time. Perhaps I’ll do some baking as well.

Make it a great day my friends!