Summer always goes by too quickly! Let’s start with the fun stuff. Today I planted some of our ever-expanding crop of hen and chicks into an old milk can that sits out by our front sidewalk. I think they will be a good plant for this spot, because they will get watered occasionally with the grass, but I won’t have to worry too much if they get dried out. Cute too, no?
While yard-work has slowed down some, our tomato crop is in full swing. They are about 7 feet tall. We have ideas for slight modifications to the trellis system for next season, but overall we’re very pleased!
(5.20.2010) (8.14.2010)
After plentiful watering, the re-seeded grass is also doing quite well. I’m really excited to see how it looks next spring!
(October 2009) (August 2010)
Jason has taken up some fall gardening projects, including seeing if he can start a fall crop of lettuce and peas. Out of the 4 lettuce starts, 2 died within their first 24 hours in the sun, however the peas are doing ok so far. Hopefully the pesky skunk doesn’t dig them up like he did in the spring. In additional animal news, we now believe the problem with our pond is not neighborhood children but a raccoon that likes to occasionally go wading. (More like thrashing). We came to this conclusion about a week ago when it cooled down enough to sleep with our bedroom window open, and Jason woke up to splashing sounds. By the time he got outside all that was left were wet rocks surrounding the pond, and tangled and mangled water lilies. Luckily this isn’t a nightly occurrence, but I sure would like to throw rocks at a certain neighborhood raccoon. Grr!
(Skunk Damage Spring 2010) (Fall Pea Crop 8.14.2010)
I am tired of Jason hiking every weekend. I’m too much of a homebody to want to go out, but being home alone gets lonely. Yeah…I’m glad it’s almost over. Jason thinks with enough help he might be finished late this month or early September. His contract end date is at the end of September so one way or another he’s almost finished. There are 2 contracts available for next year, and he’s still trying to decide how much he might want either one of them. Those numbers are due at the end of the month.
Last weekend I managed to keep Jason home for Aubrey (Baxter) and Jason Jones’s wedding. It was a fun day seeing all the family, and for a day in August the weather was very nice. Not being good at remembering to use my camera sometimes, we only took six pictures all day, however here are my favorite two.
(Aubrey and Jason@ Timp Temple 8.7.10) (‘das boot’ with wedding outfit)
As demonstrated by the second picture, my fight to avoid ‘das boot’ was futile. I have another week to wear it before we decide if I can handle a tennis shoe again. The good news is the swelling has almost disappeared and the soreness is gone. Now I’m just worried the first day I’m back in a tennis shoe it will come back. I sure hope not…I’m sort of sick of this thing (although admittedly it looked cute with my dress for Aubrey’s wedding.) 😉
Now to the part about putting out fires…What started as covering our front office at work for a 2-day vacation of our office lady has turned into a month of coverage while she is out with a family emergency. The good news is overtime pay…the bad news is that we discovered the office is a total disaster. Outstanding payments, missing receipts, messed up scheduling, mis-charged programs, mathematical mistakes…you name it, she’s done it. After almost 3 weeks of fixing I finally felt like I had it under control as of yesterday. The trainers are doing much better with me in the office, and admittedly no one wants her to come back. We’re basically putting everything in order, and if she can’t keep it together (which I honestly don’t think she can), she’ll be fired. You know it’s pretty bad when clients are asking if she’s been fired already. Sheesh. Her return date is August 30th, so wish us luck as it may be a bumpy transition. In other work-related news we tested another amputee sprinter in the lab this month. A kid by the name of Blake Leeper. He’s a 20 year old double amputee sprinter and I think you should keep your eyes open for news about him in the next couple of years, the kid is going to be FAST. Amidst our larger than usual amount of drama at work this month, my favorite co-worker Chris just put in his two weeks’ notice. I’m happy for him because he’s been unhappy here for some time and is taking a great new job, but he will surely be missed.
I think that sums up my month (mostly in pictures). Congrats to Aubrey and Jason, happy belated birthday to Larissa, best wishes to Chris at his new job, and good luck to Melissa and Derek on the baby that will be coming any day now…or perhaps by the time you’re reading this will have been born.
Til next month,
S.~
