This is what it looks like now.
I know it has a ways to go, but you have to admit it looks better. You should have seen it before the first photo, when the junk guy owned it! It was horrific!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Building improvements
Our shop has been a sad sight for a while, but slowly over the years we've been trying to improve its appearance. This is what it looked like shortly after the building was purchased.
This is what it looks like now.
I know it has a ways to go, but you have to admit it looks better. You should have seen it before the first photo, when the junk guy owned it! It was horrific!
This is what it looks like now.
I know it has a ways to go, but you have to admit it looks better. You should have seen it before the first photo, when the junk guy owned it! It was horrific!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Cherries!
July is cherry-picking season in our area.
We have two really tall trees and of course the cherries grow in the hardest-to-reach places.
For some reason, the birds don't eat too many of the cherries, and there are never worms. It's great!
I think Talea likes having a great excuse to climb dangerously high into the trees more than she likes the cherries themselves.
The only problem is, what do you do with so many little red cherries? You can only eat so many before you're running to the bathroom every few minutes.
Ah-Ha! Cherry jam and homemade maraschino cherries.
The maraschino cherries are good, but the texture is a bit soft, and they look a bit mangled since I had to hand-squeeze the pits out (I didn't have a cherry-pitter). Did you know cherries stain your hands a nasty color?
The juice revealed just how nasty the yard work has made my hands. I swear I wear gloves while working in the yard, but I do way too much handwashing and such so my hands are hammered, and I never remember lotion.
Next year, I'm pitting then freezing a lot of it, and I'm making more jam (its so tasty, yet slightly sloppy, like dessert topping). I cheat and put a little red food coloring in the mix to make it look prettier.
We have two really tall trees and of course the cherries grow in the hardest-to-reach places.
For some reason, the birds don't eat too many of the cherries, and there are never worms. It's great!
I think Talea likes having a great excuse to climb dangerously high into the trees more than she likes the cherries themselves.
The only problem is, what do you do with so many little red cherries? You can only eat so many before you're running to the bathroom every few minutes.
Ah-Ha! Cherry jam and homemade maraschino cherries.
The maraschino cherries are good, but the texture is a bit soft, and they look a bit mangled since I had to hand-squeeze the pits out (I didn't have a cherry-pitter). Did you know cherries stain your hands a nasty color?
The juice revealed just how nasty the yard work has made my hands. I swear I wear gloves while working in the yard, but I do way too much handwashing and such so my hands are hammered, and I never remember lotion.
Next year, I'm pitting then freezing a lot of it, and I'm making more jam (its so tasty, yet slightly sloppy, like dessert topping). I cheat and put a little red food coloring in the mix to make it look prettier.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Jump-a-jump
My kids love the trampoline!
Kiersa totally reminds us of Kya Pratt when she was young in this picture...the smile, the eyes, the curls...
Ever since giving birth, I can't jump on the trampoline without peeing my pants a little, so I rarely jump with the kids. When I confessed to Talea why I avoid jumping with them, she found a way around my "issue" with a solution of her own.
"Mom, will you go potty then put a pad on and come jump with us?"
Kiersa totally reminds us of Kya Pratt when she was young in this picture...the smile, the eyes, the curls...
Ever since giving birth, I can't jump on the trampoline without peeing my pants a little, so I rarely jump with the kids. When I confessed to Talea why I avoid jumping with them, she found a way around my "issue" with a solution of her own.
"Mom, will you go potty then put a pad on and come jump with us?"
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Birthmarks
All of my kids have birthmarks, and I've posted about them before (the hole on Tilly's nose, Hyatt's arrowhead marks and his mongolian spot on his back, and Kiersa's red patch on her leg), but when Paisli was born, I couldn't find a birthmark on her.
Was she truly mine?
I was beginning to wonder if I had indeed been given the correct baby at the hospital, but when I shaved her head and saw the familiar prickly-bald head that I've given all my babies, I was sure she was mine. Then, when I turned her around, I discovered that with the loss of her mullet, I could see where her birthmark had been hiding. She has a red blotchy spot on the back of her head by her neck! She IS mine afterall!!! Yeah!!!
Was she truly mine?
I was beginning to wonder if I had indeed been given the correct baby at the hospital, but when I shaved her head and saw the familiar prickly-bald head that I've given all my babies, I was sure she was mine. Then, when I turned her around, I discovered that with the loss of her mullet, I could see where her birthmark had been hiding. She has a red blotchy spot on the back of her head by her neck! She IS mine afterall!!! Yeah!!!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Yard Work
The garden is in and it's knee-high by the 4th of July. Right on schedule.
I was overly anxious for the squash to be ready, so I picked the first one when it was just a baby still. Mmmm. So good!
I realized that with all the work I've been doing every morning on the yard, I have never posted any pictures of the progress.
This wheelbarrow has been through a lot with me. Two house remodels/yard renovations were all it could take before the handle broke off. Both tires have had to be replaced with foam tires that won't go flat or come off the bead. I still use it though!
Here are some BEFORE (when we bought the house) pictures, DURING (when we started ripping everything apart last summer) and CURRENT (how it looks now). Now remember, it's far from finished, so don't judge it's scraggliness yet. It'll be beautiful when it's finished. I can only do free stuff right now, so there really isn't much improvement yet.
Front yard, BEFORE:
DURING:
CURRENT:
Front yard, DURING:
CURRENT (if you click on the picture, you can see my nosey neighbor in the background):
Playground corner, BEFORE:
DURING:
CURRENT:
2nd garden area, BEFORE:
DURING:
CURRENT:
Backyard entry, BEFORE:
DURING:
CURRENT:
Front door area, BEFORE:
DURING:
CURRENT:
House front, BEFORE:
DURING:
House back, BEFORE:
DURING:
Apartment path, BEFORE:
DURING:
CURRENT:
Dog run/playground, BEFORE:
CURRENT (see the black rubber mulch I shoveled around?):
Here is my main nosey neighbor who watches my yards and gives me yard decorating tips (such as putting planters on my chimney...hmmm).
I was overly anxious for the squash to be ready, so I picked the first one when it was just a baby still. Mmmm. So good!
I realized that with all the work I've been doing every morning on the yard, I have never posted any pictures of the progress.
This wheelbarrow has been through a lot with me. Two house remodels/yard renovations were all it could take before the handle broke off. Both tires have had to be replaced with foam tires that won't go flat or come off the bead. I still use it though!
Here are some BEFORE (when we bought the house) pictures, DURING (when we started ripping everything apart last summer) and CURRENT (how it looks now). Now remember, it's far from finished, so don't judge it's scraggliness yet. It'll be beautiful when it's finished. I can only do free stuff right now, so there really isn't much improvement yet.
Front yard, BEFORE:
DURING:
CURRENT:
Front yard, DURING:
CURRENT (if you click on the picture, you can see my nosey neighbor in the background):
Playground corner, BEFORE:
DURING:
CURRENT:
2nd garden area, BEFORE:
DURING:
CURRENT:
Backyard entry, BEFORE:
DURING:
CURRENT:
Front door area, BEFORE:
DURING:
CURRENT:
House front, BEFORE:
DURING:
House back, BEFORE:
DURING:
Apartment path, BEFORE:
DURING:
CURRENT:
Dog run/playground, BEFORE:
CURRENT (see the black rubber mulch I shoveled around?):
Here is my main nosey neighbor who watches my yards and gives me yard decorating tips (such as putting planters on my chimney...hmmm).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)