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| From July 2009 |
In general, July's weather was very disappointing. Days of rain followed by cloudy, cool weather prevented us from making long range plans to do many of the summer time activities we wait all year to do. It's the kind of summer where you take each day as it comes. "Oh it looks like it will be a sunny afternoon, we better get to the beach now before it rains!" I bought an inflatable wading pool in May and it is still in the box! The sun rarely burned through the clouds long enough to dry the rain or inspire growth in the plants in my gardens. My tomato and pepper plants are still midgets - with no blossoms on the pepper plants to speak of.
Gardening has been a bit of a challenge this year. Between the kids, dogs, weather, our 'colder than everybody else' climate, and the wild life - we are finding it nearly impossible to produce much harvest, with just a few bright spots. The garlic and the onions did really well. The garlic heads are the largest to date. I pulled 70+ heads which will give us plenty to plant for next year. The onions look good and were easy to grow. Definatley will do those again next year. The lettuce and broccoli grew well but just as they were beginning to get tasty, the deer/rabbit/turkey (not sure which) sneaked in under the cover of night and snatched every last bit. They chewed every broccoli plant down to the stalk and every lettuce head to the ground. In addition to the cool weather stunting the growth of our tomatoes and peppers, I discovered today that our potatoes are likely not to be either. My experiment of covering the plants with hay rather than hilling them with dirt seemed to be a complete failure which caused a huge rotting mess! :(
As we go into August, we are going to try to fence off the gardens to salvage what we can for this year. If we get fences up, I'll plant some more Fall time crops, lettuce, spinach, more broccoli. If we don't, I'm not going to put another seed in the ground. Maybe for next year, we can fence in the back corner of the yard, otherwise I don't see the point!
Ok, onto more pleasant thoughts....BREATH....
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| From July 2009 |
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| From July 2009 |
We had a nice time at Shanelle & Michel Rainville's wedding. Jacob managed to perform his very important duty of being ring bearer in the ceremony. Mom and dad were nervous, but he managed quite well. His favorite part of the whole affair was his tuxedo. We put it on him a 1pm and I had to peel it (tie, vest, jacket and all) off of him at 10pm that night. He loved the tapping sound of the shoes and he loved dancing to the music at the reception. The Stone Mills Museum was a lovely facility. Lots of space for the kids to stretch out and explore. We camped out in the tent which was a little rocky given the weather. The first night was a little tough getting the kids used to the idea of sleeping in the tent, but by the second night they were ready to snuggle in allowing us all a fairly restful night. Thanks to Bonnie for hooking us up with an air mattress and a shower. What more could a girl want? Congrats to the newly weds - we wish you only the best.
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| From July 2009 |
We hooked up with Grammi, Grampi, Michael and Matthew at the Gifford Zoo in Syracuse. It was a really fast visit, and quite a challenge keeping track of the four kids. It was slightly hilarious - 3 adults on 4 kids, and it was a little up in the air at times on who was winning. Ever try hearding cats? You know what I'm talking about then. The kids had fun and the weather was warm - which was a nice break.
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| From July 2009 |
We said good bye to Gram Mayhew at her memorial service on the 18th. It was a nice service and Bonnie coached the kids into singing a few songs in her memory. The kids are Gram's legacy and it was nice touch. She will be missed by many, and forgotten by nobody.
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| From July 2009 |
In spite of the weather, the kids and I have done our fair share of swimming. We missed only a day or 2 of swimming lessons due to inclimate weather. One day it was 54 and the water was 62. The kids still went in. Jacob is doing a fantastic job. His progress in the first few weeks is incredible. He jumps off the end of the dock with no help, he puts his face in, and he attempts the front and back floats. He is willing to take instruction from the teacher which makes the whole experience a lot more pleasant for everyone. At the same time, Jordan thinks she is one of the bigs kids. She sits along side the rest of them and kicks her feet in the water. She climbs up onto the dock, and jumps off - again and again. I put the floaty belt on her and she kicks and floats in the water. She just loves it - and it is a lot of fun to take her. When she isn't swimming, she is playing in the water and sand with her shovels and buckets. She charms the spectators with her smiles, and tries to make friends with the other boys and girls on the beach. Such a joy!
Stephen was able to come to lessons during his vacation. We squeezed in a cook out at the park (before it rained). We were very busy during his vacation. We made a list of items we wanted to accomplish, and worked very hard to accomplish them. We managed to get through quite a few and had some fun along the way. We sold the sail boat! It happened without a lot of fanfare, and we incorporated a visit to the St. Lawrence River.
That's all I've got for now. Looking forward to a great month with Alice and Bill. They arrive on the 8th and will be with us until the 27th. This is our last month with Jacob before he becomes a school boy. I will be busy with back to school shopping and all the rest. He is pumped and so are we, though I'm sure a little apprehensive when the big day arrives. Well enough about that now. You'll hear more about that next month! Happy Birthday Uncle Dave! Happy First Anniversary Teresa & Bill! Take care, Laura
