Monday, May 03, 2021

Magical Monday

Monday's mean Michael and I get out TOGETHER for a few hours.  Michael has been busy fixing up the row boat we brought from his childhood home.  Today, we drove up into the mountains behind our house and found a happy place. We have no idea what the name of the lake is...but it was magical. We even got a work out in as we had to lift the boat into the truck, and then down when we arrived, and down a hill to the lake....we drove up 2 weeks ago and it was still frozen, so we thought there may be some ice to deal with.

From Crescent City to Alaska

It was perfect, except for the one fall. LOL  Grandpa was happy with Arielle and Benny and we had a great picnic on the lake. I was skeptical when Michael told me not to bring a picnic blanket but he was a man with a plan. 


Our best picnic spot yet! 


It was so peaceful. We enjoyed our lunch on the water with the ducks and loons. Eagles and seagulls flew over head. Every once in awhile there were sounds from the shooting range, but it wasn't bad this time of day and we had the whole lake to ourselves. 


It was a treat to be able to soak in the beautiful scenery and the peace and quiet. We were able to finish a conversation. ::snort::  We are brainstorming a way to make a dolly for dragging the boat along next time. LOL 

We are able to go out together as Arielle and the boys come to hang out with Grandpa on Mondays. Arielle even re-made his bed, did several loads of laundry and watched a movie with the boys and Grandpa. Benny was quite taken with this very comfortable little boy bed....which is fine as Millie isn't taken with it at all. LOL 


I did my best to impress Benny with freshly squeezed orange juice. After his first drink, he asked if I could give him a "full cup" so he could show it to his Daddy. ::snort:: 

Stacia fixed Chicken Parmesan, biscuits, asparagus and green beans (from our garden). 


I told the girls we HAD to conquer my terror of Chard and use it tonight. Allie found an online recipe and we adjusted it. I didn't have the wine, so used chicken broth. I can't eat parmesan cheese and subbed nutritional yeast....we used twice the onion and added cashews...oh and a pinch of bacon salt. 

Success. Everyone but Alex ate it. He filled up on Asparagus (I AM enjoying the fresh produce in the house).  Everyone who tried it took seconds. I headed to the computer to add chard to my order for next Tuesday - but I already have 6 bunches of kale on there....I figure it cooks much the same....

Dad was TIRED tonight. He told us repeatedly that Benny was a good little boy!  He went to bed shortly after dinner. The house is quieting down for the night. Nolan will be home in a few hours. 

Wonderful Weekend

It's been a great weekend....Krista came out to see Luke Friday night and spent the night here. We enjoyed visiting with her in the morning, and getting to see Luke and Reno before they  headed out for adventure. 

THESE ones have been in WA all week.  It was fun to see them again. I've missed hearing, "Baachan! I'm here!" at the door. 
That smile. 

Michael took advantage of the sunny day, and the company, to finish burning one of the brush piles. 

This gave us hours to simply sit, catch up, and watch the smoke....

...and warm our hands.
"Baachan, this is how to warm hands!" 

Michael is behind the smoke - I can barely see him. 


I took Benny into the greenhouse and garden....he was quick to discover the toys which had been left out last fall.  Between Benny and the chickens I should have the beds ready in short order. LOL 

I planted some seeds and put them in the greenhouse - under plastic. I am hoping they'll stay warm enough to germinate. We are just starting to see tiny green shoots under the surface. The ones in the house are much quicker....but I don't have enough room for all of the seedlings. 


We've ordered a load of compost....and I'm planning to make one of the beds into the "Grands Garden." Bella has expressed an interest, Livie wants to plant carrots, and Benny is all about anything in the dirt. 

Such sweet belly laughs! 

The trampoline is finally put to use. We may well need to replace this soon....we'll have to start watching sales and lists.  It works fine for these guys, Josiah mentioned it's getting low when he's on it. LOL 



We enjoyed the leisurely afternoon to catch up. We also watched a sale's list and saw a few things we wanted to check on.  

Meanwhile, inside, Stacia enlisted Allie's help in making a veritable forest of fondant pine trees. 



The day kept getting better. Josiah, Carrie, Livie and Willow stopped by for a couple of hours - or maybe it was a few hours. 

Livie and Benny 

Stacia pulled out the fondant figures from Christmas as they continued to play with ideas for the cake.....

Yep, they got Josiah to join them on the trampoline. 

This little girl was heading out for her shots. 

When everyone had gone home, Michael, Dad, Allie and I headed out to look at a promising Greenhouse. Unfortunately, we'd have to disassemble it and reassemble it at home. It would fit over the foundation of the one that blew away, but it's not 100% what we wanted....I don't know that we've decided if we want it. I know I don't want to pay $1500 for it and then have to do twice the work to get it set up. The sellers seem willing to negotiate prices. Michael and I are committed to working smarter as our work force has dwindled. We're still trying to decide which jobs we want less labor intensive and which jobs we're willing to work more to pay less. LOL 

We had a LATE dinner by the time we got home from looking at the greenhouse...and driving by the 6000 SF home we'd put an offer on before we moved up. We're SO glad we ended up in THIS house and in THIS town. 

I planned to adjust my Azure order - but by the time I got to it - it was locked. Ah well. It may be an interesting order. 

Today was the first day in 3 weeks Dad and I made it to church.  It was wonderful to see everyone.  We spent a lazy afternoon at home....I even took a nap!!!

My water bottle smells like smoke no matter what I do....a reminder of the leisurely Saturday afternoon. 

We're energized and ready for another busy week ahead.