Isn't this a beautiful thing?

Now that school has begun, I've been able to focus a little more on the work I wanted to accomplish. This time of year brings a lot of produce from my garden as well as many gardens & businesses around us. It just makes sense to take advantage of the abundant fruit and veggies that are growing around us and get them ready for the freezer or pantry. I have many bags of strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb, blackberries and blueberries that have been picked from my garden or a neighbor's. This past week I canned a fair number of pickles & green beans. Such a satisfying thing & they just look beautiful all in a row of jars... Can't wait to start eating!

What a view....

There's not a lot to blog about - we've enjoyed a week of vacation just before school started. During that time the Abbotsford Airshow was going on and the planes bank right in our back yard. We've never actually been to this airshow because we get such a show for free. Here's a shot of part of our family enjoying the show after church one Sunday. They're sitting on the roof of our partly finished garden shed - a very multi-purposes building.

Good-bye "K"!

This past week our sweet "K" went home. She stayed with us for almost 2 months and we miss her dearly. God has blessed our family by allowing us to care for very content & beautiful children. This little one would smile for absolutely everyone & responded very well to our youngest. He's old enough to carry her around & bring her to his play place just so she could see him & he could talk to her.

Building in progress...

The week after Mom & Dad left (middle of June) we began a few projects that have been talked about for quite some time. The first was a cement pad for the dog kennel & house to sit on. Since we first got Carman her kennel has been on a pad made up of cement squares. This worked for the first while but these squares don't always stay level & the weeds have a way of growing in between. It started to look messy & was hard to clean - so with the help of our neighbor & friend, Harvey, a pad was framed & poured. At the same time we poured a pad for a hot tub just beside our deck. I found a used hot tub on Craigslist and we couldn't resist the great deal. Both of these jobs are complete & Carman & our family are enjoying the finished project. When this was done we began work on a "garden shed". We do not have a place for our 4-wheeler, riding lawnmower & wagon, etc. and things were just sitting in the elements not getting any nicer looking in the process. On the south side we have plans for a "lean-to" greenhouse, but that is still in the future plans. The framing part was the work Henry's brother Andy. This was a little job for him - done in a Saturday. It's great to have talented family & friends. Here are a few photos of the progress that has been made so far. Henry's learned a lot & is enjoying finishing it up somewhat on his own.

Vacation Bible School

I need to back up a bit to write this post - a couple weeks ago our youngest two children attended Vacation Bible School at our church. It was organized by two young ladies who did a very nice job. Our youngest really did not want to go but I signed him up just so he could make an educated decision next time. He absolutely loved it - especially the songs they learned. There were approximately 35 kids there - most from our church but a number from outside. I volunteered to be snack coordinator - an easy job seeing that the program had a list of suggestions to go along with the lesson. It wasn't difficult to get parent volunteers to bring these snacks.

My "plentieth" birthday...

Lest you think that nothing has happened here the last few weeks, here's a little update. We've had H & J's birthday parties and then a week later mine. After planning for two shindigs I wasn't really in the mood to create more work. I had a few ladies over to help celebrate, got a few phone calls (missed a few), and a few emails which brightened up my day. One email from my cousin congratulated me on my "plentieth" birthday. I thought that was really cute. Let's not worry about details... like numbers... I had previously received some money for a bird feeder from my Mom and Dad & so I finally went out and bought something to attract the birds. I moved my hummingbird feeder to the clothesline in the hopes that our "wonderful" cat will not scare them aware there. I really think birds are a lot more fun than cats but our "H" is very defensive when we talk negatively about Milo. Let's hope the birds are brave enough to defy our little predator... The other picture is of a gift the family gave me, a portable fireplace. This way we can have smaller fires closer to the house - instead of out in the back behind the fence. I'm looking forward to having it put together and using it. I also rec'd a gift certificate for a pedicure - but I will spare you the photos of my nice looking feet & pretty nail polish. Can't wait...