Bits and Pieces

I HATE buying what I don't want. And I HATE how things are labeled so mysteriously. I bought three things recently that I found out were not what I wanted a little too late. Here is the waterproof mascara I bought. I didn't want waterproof. Notice how small the word is and it looks just like the other kind!

Here is the self-rising flour I got when I wanted all-purpose. There was just this sea of flour. It shouldn't be so hard to find what you want!
This one was Gil's buy. We wanted shampoo and got 2in1 shampoo + conditioner. Again very small detail!

Pile of wood for the winter...will it last??? Gil and my exercise program is cutting and hauling wood!

Box our chicks came in on Thursday.

New baby chicks! 21, but already down to 20:(

I did an experiment in the laundry room this summer. This is my chart. I was trying to see how long a 96 load container would last me and how many loads I would get out of it. Results: a little over 2 months and 87 loads. Not too bad...most shocking is how many loads I do per week now!

The Era used for the experiment.

Jude puts on his own hat now....like this!

We have gone swimming at the pool in Laurel a few times together this summer. It is perfect because it has a zero entry and is newly remodeled. Jude LOVES to swim and is not afraid at all...good or bad???

Helping...Kind of

I decided one day that Jude would be a good helper for the task of washing my car. He LOVES the hose and is not afraid to squirt it directly on his head even. Here is a warning if you ever have the same notion of letting a one-year-old help you wash your car:

*He will dunk his hands in your soapy water

*He will spill your soapy water

*He will never be convinced that it is your turn to use the hose

*He will cry when you insist it is your turn to use the hose

*After crying he will run over to the dog food and stick as much in his mouth as he can in rebellion because it is no longer his turn to use the hose

*In the end you will both be wet and tired

But there is a plus side to the adventure. Because...

you get to share a popsicle together afterward to celebrate all your hard work!

And you may or may not have a clean car...

Produce

This is the good part about having a garden and chickens. Even though some parts are stinky! Our next adventure: 20 broiler chickens arrive tomorrow! We are going to raise and butcher them...stay tuned for results!

EGGS! We get about 3/day right now, but have about 5 more layers that should start soon.

Frozen green beans and sweet corn (sweet corn from my mom and dad's place)

Frozen Rhubarb and Zucchini
Onions hanging in the barn

Black Raspberry Jam (made from black raspberries from our grove)
Zucchini and Cucumber (we had lettuce and spinach at the beginning of summer)
Some of our Tomatoes. We have already made salsa and are going to make tomato juice, pasta sauce, and can some whole tomato chunks.
SOME of our seemingly millions of potatoes (both white and red).
Canned Cinnamon Pickles--3 day process, but yummy!

Completely unrelated to produce...

I just completed an order on Shutterfly.com. I made a photobook of Jude's first year. I have made them before and it's always the same. I upload pictures (takes FOREVER), I arrange pictures (takes FOREVER), I write captions, chance backgrounds, change styles, change covers (takes FOREVER), I become obsessed with the project, it is all I think about, I skip meals to work on it, I decide I want to try a different route and make a second to compare with the first (takes FOREVER), I then cannot decide which I like better and spend FOREVER going back and forth (Gil cannot distinguish between them so is no help). Finally, after hours of debating and modifying I place an order (and immediately regret my decisions!). But today, despite the many hours lost on this simple task, at least there are three things on the bright side: so far I have not had regrets about the order, I saved more than I spent by using coupons, AND I'm not so nervous about my computer crashing and losing all of my pictures of Jude that I have not bothered backup! I hope I like it when it arrives:)

8-8-10

Yesterday was my niece Ashtyn's 2nd birthday! All of her family met at the Henry Dooley Zoo. We had a picnic, opened presents, and then checked out the animals. It was great fun! Did I mention it was 93 degrees with 245% humidity? Oh, ok, it was! Soooooo miserable, yet still fun. Oh, did I mention Jude had a day with NO nap until 4:30 pm? Nope? Well he didn't. And it was STILL fun! Wow!

I think I also forgot to mention that on our way home the ominous dark clouds to the north got ever increasingly more ominous...until we were inside of them. We turned off of Highway 20 to Highway 9 at 6:30 and it was pitch black/green. We started getting hammered with rain falling sideways because of the strong winds. Almost zero visibility. Scary!!! We managed to make it to my grandma's house in town where I became drenched opening the garage door. We took refuge there for about 45 min and decided it would be okay to head home. We saw water running like a river through fields and had to move a branch off the road to make it home. When we finally arrived the rain had stopped and the sun was actually trying to shine again. That was the good news. The bad news was that our flowers were fallen, a giant tree in the grove toppled (luckily just back into the grove), and ALL of our patio furniture was OFF of the porch. The rocking chair was to the north, the wicker chairs were strewn all the way to the barn...and the glass patio table was shattered on the ground...sad news, but it could be worse. I was just so happy to finally be safe and sound at home. Anyone know where I can get a new or slightly used patio table?!? Happy Birthday Ashtyn!!!

In addition, it should be stated that we lost one of Jude's Crocs somewhere in the zoo. We noticed it right after coming out of the "Creatures of the Night" exhibit and figured it had been lost in the darkness. I was pretty bummed because even though I paid hardly anything for them, getting them second-hand, he wore them all the time and there was no way I was going to buy a new pair (maybe a knock-off). I ran into Brett with his friends Rachel and Joe shortly after we noticed the loss and I mentioned for them to look for it if they went to the Desert Dome. I figured I'd call the zoo in a few days and ask to see if it was in the lost and found. I really wanted it back! Later that night I got a text from Brett. Unbelievably, Rachel had found the Croc!!! I'm pretty pumped about that:) Would you pick up a lost child's shoe in the zoo or leave it there for the owners to come back and find or the maintenance to rescue? I think I would just leave it there actually, and apparently probably hundreds of others would do the same because there it still was! Now for some pics of the day:

The birthday girl running for more gifts!

The two boy cousins "helping"
Jude and Ashtyn looking at the gorrilas
The wicker chairs...see all three?
The shattered glass.

Dixon County Fair

This past week we have been enjoying the fabulous fun of the Dixon County Fair!!! It has been a staple of my life since birth..."There is no such thing as Fair except the Dixon County Fair" was the motto I grew up on! It's exceptionally cool that the fair is held in Concord, just a mere 5.1 miles from our home (seeing how most cool things are 30+ miles!). The fair begins on Saturday and runs through Wednesday, but Monday-Wednesday is the good stuff. This year Gil's parents joined us on Monday evening and despite the rain showers and threats of storms we went and enjoyed the free bar-b-q, walked the exhibit hall, checked out the petting zoo and animals, and watched a little team penning. Tuesday morning, of course, was the market beef calf show. We also got a little horse show in and lunch at the Teen Leaders food stand. We skipped the truck pull that night since Gil was exhausted from working 2 days in a row at Briar Cliff. But we were back again on Wednesday night for the demolition derby (the most popular attraction!). It was also fun that cousin Ashtyn and Aunts Katie and Alissa got to be there for some of it. Ashtyn's enthusiasm for the animals was SO CUTE! We even got to see some of my cousins and their kids. There really is no such thing as fair except the Dixon County Fair!

Mom pulled Jude and Ashtyn in her little wagon. A moment she's been waiting her whole life for!!!
At the horse show.

We also have recently made two more trips to the vet with Babbs. She got her "lump" sliced and drained and is now living in the house with us for a while to prevent infection. We also give her antibiotics and heat pack it twice a day. House training is going exponentially better now that she is a little older. Now instead of watching for her to pee on the carpet I have to watch Jude so he doesn't eat dog food or her dog bone...Really?!? This is a shot of her side where the "operation" took place. Oh and a little tip from the vet that really works, if you have to give your pet an antibiotic tablet, stick it in a marshmallow, it really works!

Jude likes Babbs in the house. Now he has a playmate! Also, if you are dying to know, Jude's "bump" of a boil is gone!