Feels Like Monday

We were out of the house early for the hour drive to Anchorage and the VA clinic.

Michael's back has been bad for 11 days now. Time to figure out if there is anything extra that can be done.

CoRielle are out looking at houses this afternoon. I was happy to get home and play with Benny and Stacia.  We visited bunnies and chicks. We drew on our little bit of "sidewalk." Best of all, we went for a walk...

We also fixed up a little enclosure for the chicks. We are going to have to come up with transition housing for them. We've decided not to put them in with the mean girls, until Phoenix, is big enough to put them in their places.  That means they need something between brooder and chicken yard. 😏

It was a fun day. We made steps of progress on a few projects and had lots of fun with Benny.

Memorial Day Family Celebration

Josiah called and asked if we were up to them coming out to grill.  He and Jamin went shopping, called BreZaak, Stacia made desserts, they picked up sides -  and a celebration materialized.

Benny watches Stacia and Arielle do yoga, planks and more....he's HILARIOUS. He began to entertain us all, and Jamin joined him.

Strengthen those cores! 

Ah, these belly laughs cheer our days! 

Benny - 18 months

 When BreZaak arrived with the kids, we took Bella and Gideon out to see "nature." We began with the "mean girls" aka our 12 hens. Bella said, "Ah, cute." I had to inform her they were mean cute.....but these chicks are nothing but cute.

 Our next stop was the bunnies. 

Such a handsome little dude in overalls. Is he not a darling? 

Gideon - 2 years old

Bella - 3, Benny 18 months, Gideon - 2

I want to find the directions or such for a wood play structure for the kids....big and little. I'd like swings - for big kids and littles - a slide, some climbing fort-like structure. I need to look and then schedule a work day and make it happen.  Papa and Gemma's  should be the best place in town to visit. 😉

This was a fun day. I'm glad Josiah and Jamin made it happen. I hadn't made a plan as Michael has been in much pain. He was up a lot today. Hoping for answers tomorrow at the VA.  It was a tonic to have everyone together. Good things on the horizon for the Gherkins! I will admit I missed JaRissa and Krista...but they are doing just what they need to be doing in this season.

I can announce  there are plans in the works for dad to come up and spend the summer with us. We are all excited.

10:00 - 10:30 p.m. is my favorite time to be outside now - so pretty with the sun shinning through the trees.

Is this official Alaska Summer now?

Memorial Day Projects

I found myself strangely emotional this morning, thinking of all those who have given their life for the freedoms we enjoy.  My heart was full, as well, remembering all our friends still serving in dangerous places around the world. Freedom truly comes with responsibility. May we be worthy of the price paid for our freedom - in both the spiritual and national realms.

Michael's back is still not better. We need a new med on Friday and he is feeling some relief. We have joked about the side effects...dizziness, blurry vision, imbalance....um giving these to a parky....well let's just say the Parkinson's meds are supposed to help with these very issues. 😏 He's a good sport. For the most part, he's stayed in bed. It's safer that way.  We will go into Anchorage to the VA clinic for x-rays tomorrow.

The kids and I got started on a few projects. Lucille, our free range hen, was determined to get into the chicken yard today. We put her in - AGAIN. Our girls are MEAN and have been pecking at her again. We watched her throughout the day. It will be nice for her if she can be re-integrated with the flock.

Lucille is our new favorite. We nursed her back to health
when the weasel chomped on her...and then again when
the mean girls pecked her side open wide. 

The de-thatching attachment arrived for the lawn mower. The boys put it together earlier in the week. Alex had started thatching the yard - and then it POURED. He finished today. 

We have eight week old chicks. They are NOT big enough to be in the chicken yard with our mean girls. We are hoping to wait until Phoenix, the new little roo, is full grown and can put the girls in their place, before we bring them together. The brooder is too small for them. We don't want to build another Chicken Taj Mahal.....but something has to be done.

Alex (and Benny) brought out the fencing I salvaged from the ditch last year. 

If one can't carry fencing, rolling on it is the next most helpful thing to do. 

Cory had to work today. We were very happy for Arielle and Benny's help. We strung the fencing on the t-posts which are up for the garden spot. 

We carried the brooder out. Phoenix seemed determined to keep the girls inside.  

They eventually got the idea there is a big world outside the brooder. 

We moved them back inside for the night. We have lots of predators out here. We had an Eagle and hawk circling today.  I have an idea of how to build a temporary coop for them. This evening, all the mean girls went inside the  coop to roost. Lucille stood outside and waited to be taken to her kennel in the garage. LOL 

We had a panel blow out of the greenhouse during our big windstorm last night. It seems good as new now. It was 110* inside. I opened a window. Ah, I love sitting inside the greenhouse. 

Josiah called to see if we would be up for them coming out to grill. What FUN! We hadn't had everyone together since Easter.

Alex says the highlight of the day was driving my van for the first time. He needed to move it so he could drive the tractor to the side yard. I thought Michael had been giving him pointers. He hasn't.  Which is how I ended up in front a mini-van bearing down on me, while I shouted, "Find the brake! FIND THE BRAKE." He did. We laughed. Not the most helpful directions - but all's well. I showed him a few things and he backed it up like a pro.

Breakfast Studies

 I THINK this is a picture of one of the first Breakfast Studies Stacia and I went to. We began meeting weekly in 2019.  It is now August 2022 and I realize this was one of the best things I've done with Stacia. LOL 

Any Day That Begins with Piranha Shorts...

Is going to be a good one! 

Benny LOVES his piranha shorts and would wear them every day if CoRielle would let him. Alex bought a pair of shorts with salmon imprints to sympathize with Benny. 

Lucille, the free range hen, met me at the door this morning. She was not impressed  I didn't chase her down last night and put her in her kennel in the garage. I opened the door, she hopped to the top of the freezer, into her kennel...and laid an egg. Then wanted out. 

Stacia made a yummy breakfast - an avocado, tomato, poached egg/English muffin - all on plan!

I raced out the door to meet Lindsey at a local coffee shop to connect and scheme for the summer. I discovered our microwave clock is WRONG. It's always refreshing to share heart and soul matters with a friend.

Stacia made a cake today. She was going to try a cake with dates for a sweetener, applesauce instead of butter, and fruit instead of chocolate frosting.....but in the end...she went with two layers of a dinette cake, sandwiched with caramel sauce and covered with a chocolate glaze. It looked yummy.

Arielle turns 22 tomorrow. This creates the perfect chance to get the cake out of our kitchen and allow Stacia the fun of baking at the same time. 

Benny immediately stuck his hand in the cake. He does NOT like chocolate glaze at all. 

Michael and I have been taking the elder Gherkins, and family, out to dinner for their birthday. We knew Arielle would appreciate this gift - and it was the same (or cheaper) as dinner would have been.....we will miss the night out with CoRielle....but she lives very near by. Oh, you can't tell what the gift is in the picture I selected. It's a 3.5L Air Fryer. We thought it would be convenient to have the gifts down there a day early - she promptly opened them. LOL 

Stacia takes over dinner on nights when I have study or, it seems, when I  am distracted in the garden. She has been making Pad Thai, peanut sauce etc and her brothers haven't been 100% encouraging. She gave in and made Nolan Chicken Divan tonight. LOL  

Quick game before dinner

Michael is still in bed with ice on his back.

I took the kids to youth and then went to the library for some quiet/me time. I worked on a summer women's ministry schedule and then read my newest boo - The Blue Zones Solution. 

Ongoing Garden Project

Michael is still in bed - with ice for his back - suffering. 

We finished collecting our school work samples and I figured final grades.

The kids weeded the two raised beds in our garden space. Beds are so much easier to handle...someday I hope to have more raised beds.  This grew like wildfire in the 2 1/2 weeks we were gone. It's a good size plot - though you can't see it well in this photo. Our work is cut out for us.

Technically, we don't plant around here until after Memorial Day....but we got the beds weeded. I plan to plant some of my seedlings and cover them with a frame and some plastic. We'll see if we can get a bit more time out of the season. The goal will be to have the rest of the space ready to go by the end of Memorial Day weekend. Is that THIS weekend? 😄Hmmmm. Won't happen unless Michael's back feels much better very quickly. We had planned to go camping tomorrow....there will be more chances this summer.

I went into the green house today and, once again, it was heavenly! 64* outside -  a beautiful day...but inside? 104* and humid. I sat and relaxed with a glass of sparking ice water. Benny joined me and dug in the beds. You must understand, for a gal raised in the tropics, this brings back happy muscle memory.  I close my eyes and see the beach across the road from our house.

Stacia and I collaborated on a dinner of "Fried" Chicken from the air fryer, Leek Soup, Biscuits and Melon. I had a Salmon Cake and soup. This confirmed cheese still gives me migraines. And - IT WAS WORTH EVERY BITE.  Several have wondered, as I've been eating clean for so long, if I could handle a bit of cheese now and again. I hadn't wanted to test the theory.  I'm always too busy to deal with a migraine. But tonight....I'm on summer schedule and Arielle brought a Salmon Cake up. Alas, I took 2 pills before I finished dinner. I still maintain  Arielle makes a mean Salmon Cake. Arielle warned me. I had already had one bit and decided it was worth it to continue and see if I still get sick with cheese.😏😅😏This recipe has quite a few more ingredients than the one I made. It's yummy. I am going to try it with nutritional yeast subbing for the cheese....and almond milk for the milk.

I'm calling it a day and going to put my head to bed. LOL

Playing in the Dirt

I have found my happy place! 

Inside this greenhouse! I  was surprised how warm and humid it is when I went inside....relax your muscles kind of heat! I must get a thermometer. I am convinced a hot tub in a little house like this would be heaven. Many of you remember I was promised a hot tub and sauna if I moved to Alaska.....Just sayin.....With a bit of work a set up like this could count as both.   It would be wonderful to put a pool, or chair, in a spot like this. 😅

Michael started building beds for the green house Friday. Alex tilled it. Michael planned to add to the beds, but has  hurt his back. He's still down for day 2 with ice.  Nolan came home from work and asked what project he could help with.  Alex has been working with Michael a lot since we moved here and was confident cutting the wood and putting the beds together.  He and Nolan took care of that....

Stacia and I worked on raking the dead grass out of the yard. It didn't take long to realize this was going to be a horrendous job with a yard this size. I have egg and "project" money set aside. I came in and told Michael I thought a thatcher for the back of our lawn tractor would be a good investment. Cory's folks de-thatch a few times at the start of each year and it breaks up the dead stuff and it blows away.  I don't see myself in my 80's out there raking acres of dead grass. 😕 It's an investment in our "real retirement," which you will know has begun when we reach Social Security age.

 I am smiling-the-silly-grin-excited to have some of the seedlings out of my kitchen  and into dirt. 

I gave everything at least twice the space shown on the square foot gardening chart. It still looks crowded...but I have 7 watermelon and 3 tomato plants that aren't planted....I don't mind having extra as everything died last year the first time I planted. I have back ups if that happens this year. Michael suggested I would need another, bigger greenhouse when he gave me this one last year. I think he may be right. It look didn't take it long to fill up. 

Cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes across the back 

This is the watermelon side

Michael was going to build me a shelf too. I'm not sure what I could grow up there....I have melons and cantaloupes with nowhere to go - but I don't see either on a shelf. Maybe we won't do a shelf until I can figure out what to grow up there. Herbs in planters.... What would you put on shelves?

Ah - a rattler (quake not snake).

I LOVE all this sun!!!!!

Note - I know it's not June and I take a risk planting. I had a sourdough (old time Alaskan resident) tell me to plant when the birch leaves are the size of squirrel's ears.  Sounds good to me.