Yes, we are still here!!

I know you are bored to tears every time you check my blog and see that I haven't updated or written anything new. Not that nothing new has happened around here, I just haven't come up with a creative way of expressing myself about all the things that have happened. So once again you are going to be subjected to a "catch-you-all-up" post. I hope you will forgive me! There is just something so captivating and wonderful about being outside all day at this time of year. I have a long list each morning of things I would like to accomplish, and although blogging IS one of them, it usually gets squeezed out by something like hanging laundry on the line, or planting the remaining peas, or feeding the cats, dogs, chickens, children, husband...you get the idea! So let's back up a bit in my life, back to Mother's Day, (can I remember all the way back there?). Hang on, this is going to require a cup of coffee...alright. One hot cup of coffee in hand, now let's see if I can fill you in!

Mother's Day was delightful! I had breakfast in bed thanks to the efforts of my youngest son, Aidan who crept into my room and worked hard to wake up Glen..."Dad! It's time to get up! Come on, Dad! We have to get up! Sshh! Come ON, DAD!!" etc! So very cute! Aidan told me later that he could tell I was awake because my eyelids kept flickering! Rats! Gonna have to work on that! Then my dear, wonderful, patient husband got up and he and Aidan (mainly Glen!) fixed me French Toast and served me in bed with the silver tray as a serving vessel! There were a bunch of other things on that tray also, but French toast is all I can remember right now...Hold on, I'll sip some more coffee...that's better! Moving on! We went to church, I received a red carnation. (All the women were presented with a carnation in honor of Mother's Day.) We went to Panera Bread for lunch. It had been a long time since we had eaten there as a family, that was a treat! We had two cars that day because our "Man Truck" is on the blink and we don't all fit in either the Bug or the truck. Glen and boys headed home. The girls and I went to JoAnn Fabrics and then started home as well. It was on the way home that we saw the violets in someone's yard and you know the rest of that story! Later in the day Glen installed my Mother's Day gift which was four sections of split-rail fence out along the edge of the road and the yard. Isn't he wonderful!! I have been saying that I wanted to garden, but couldn't start because the gardens needed a "backbone". He was listening, that man of mine! One section of fence turns in and heads up the driveway. The other three point south running parallel to the road. The four sections make a corner and give some much needed dimension to the yard space. (At this point, almost three weeks later, I am embarrassed to tell you that I have not planted a thing out there yet! In fact, I may not put a flower garden there at all, but I envision an arbor of apple trees blooming over the fence in the spring! Oooh! Don't you love that idea!) But the fence serves it's purpose of adding delineation to the yard and it gives me a place to start! I am very thankful for my husband and the way he loves me! We will add sections to the fence as the budget allows until it flows all the way along the front of the yard and down the hill to the creek! It was a wonderful gift!

I know we were busy all that week, but even looking at the calendar and finishing this first cup of coffee I can't remember what all we did! Maybe that was the week we started the garden and planted all the potatoes and onions...hmmm...nope, still can't recall. Well then, moving on to the next week!

On Tuesday the 19th the girls and I drove two little kittens to Wabasha, MN. We took them there to meet my friend Debbie who had her heart set on having these babies since the day they were born. Actually, the first morning of their lives I sent her a message on facebook that said something to the effect of "Your kittens were born last night, a black one and a Siamese." So for eight weeks I had been updating Debbie on the status of "Her" babies. Somehow we both managed to squeeze an afternoon trip into our week and we connected in Wabash which is about half-way in between her house in Rochester, and mine here. The kittens did not like the car travel very much. We met Debbie at a park, she brought lunch, I brought kittens. The kittens played in the nearby lilac bushes while we ate. We visited for a bit, and I do have to mention that Debbie brought her scale so I could weigh myself again to see if I had lost any weight since the visit to her house! Isn't she sweet!! Thankfully, a few pounds had come off so I was encouraged! But it was pretty risky of her to bring it, if you ask me!!




Two days after that visit we ran a quick trip up to Bemidji and back for the closing on one of our properties. When I say quick, I do mean QUICK! We were only gone from home for 30 hours total and 12 of those hours were spent driving! Chelsea had to work on Friday night at 5:00 so we were rushing to get her home for that. We did manage to see the Odegards, the Richters and the Balbachs while we were there, (and Sarah Norvold!) but we didn't get to spend much time with any of them. We stayed at my parents house. My Mom had great plans of helping me start my flower garden by sharing her perennials. She was literally digging and putting plants into bags and containers as I was loading up children and luggage! In the 19 times we have moved, Mom's garden has provided the starts for every garden we have planted! She is always so generous with her perennials and her energy! I am so thankful for her! So, back home we rushed...the WE in this story refers to Chelsea, Gabi, Aidan and I. Glen and Lane made a separate trip to Bemidji in the truck. They left home earlier and stayed there later than the rest of us. Before they returned home, Chelsea and I planted another large section of the garden. That is the next part of this story.

The garden, I may have mentioned, is enormous! Last summer I was working full time and could not keep ahead of the weeds. At one point I remember rejoicing the the field corn had grown taller than the weeds, so I didn't feel quite so bad looking out there each day! This year we started out wisely by mulching the rows heavily with newspaper and straw or hay from the barn. Then one bright and glorious day Glen found a tiller in said barn, and my life has been forever changed! So Chelsea and I measured and pounded the stakes to mark the rows. We stretched the string to give us straight lines and we planted beets, turnips, cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes (that I raised from seed under the grow lights), lettuce, radishes, spinach, carrots, peas, and beans. Perhaps today will be the day that the vines all go in the ground. The cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, melons and zucchini. As well as the sweet corn. When those last crops are in, I can check gardening off my list. Ha! Ha!! That is just the beginning of the gardening work! Once the seeds are in the ground, I want to plant the companion herbs to help keep the pests away and give the veggies a little boost. I have never companion- planted before, so this will be interesting! Tumbling around in the back of my mind (and occasionally finding its way out in words) is the thought that we better begin to plan for how to STORE all this food that we are growing this summer! I think there is much work ahead for us, but much reward as well!
Just think of all the organically grown produce we will be eating! And the only cost is my time and effort, plus the seeds! Fantastic!

(That light blue speck in the upper left hand corner is ME! I am standing at the far edge of the garden.)

Mowing at this house is a full time job! This spring the grass is healthy and lush and grows overnight so quickly that the mower hardly stands quiet for even a day! It is interesting to me how Lane's attitude about mowing has changed since we moved here. My parents left a riding mower here for us to use, and it is the first time that Lane has been old enough to mow with a rider when we actually HAVE a rider! When we first moved here Lane thought mowing was great! He would proudly drive up from the barn with his hearing protection on and a smug and important look on his face! How things have changed. I now hear words like, "Why do I have to do the mowing?" or "Can't we just let that grass go? No one ever goes down there!" or simply, "I don't want to mow!" However, he fails to realize that his parents (in their infinite wisdom) know that mowing is a fantastic job for a boy in general! It keeps him occupied doing work that is manly in nature, not washing dishes or hanging up laundry, (he does occasionally do these jobs as well). He is contributing to the well-being of our family instead of playing video games. However, I think his mind has moved on past the satisfying purr of the engine, to the fact that he could be working for an employer who PAYS him in CASH instead of slaps on the back and a "good job, Son!" Thankfully, Lane has a younger brother who can't wait to take his place on the mower! I suppose that enthusiasm will pass quickly as well, but Glen and I will take full advantage of it while we can!

Zoiks!! I knew I was forgetting something huge! We have acquired a two-yard dumpster here at the farm and Glen, my knight-in-shining-armor, has taken on the task of cleaning out the barn! I don't even understand how he can get geared up to do the work required of him to carry out, sort, clean, and carry back in, OR throw away all the clutter of our lives that has collected down there! Seriously! Those of you who have been here and have seen it with your own eyes, still cannot believe how one youngish family could possibly have so much stuff!! Well, honestly, we don't know how it happened either, but my Love is getting rid of it little by little! The dumpster has been filled each week with things that cannot be sold or stored anymore. The trash man didn't come yesterday, I think they are off a day because Memorial Day was Monday. But the dumpster is full and ready for him and there is a pile waiting near it to be tossed in as well! Relief! That is all I can say! Getting rid of clutter cleans out my mind and gives me relief! What an enormous job! I should mention how LOVED I feel when my husband performs these types of jobs for me! I told a friend earlier that there is nothing sexier to me than my man tilling up the garden for me! But I think a very close second is cleaning out the barn! The action speaks of CARE! Care for me, our home, our lives! I love it! Thank you SO much Glen! You are my delight and I thank God for you!

Yesterday, Glen and I conquered the pile of papers that covered the desk in the office. And I DO mean COVERED! Every inch, and thickly!! Piles and piles of papers, bills mainly! Armed with a checkbook and file folders we sorted, payed, and FILED all those papers into neat and tidy rows, in neat and tidy file boxes on the shelves in the office. What a huge job it was, and how good it feels to look in there now and see the top of the desk! It is black, and wooden, and quite handsome...facts that I had forgotten when it was obscured from view by heaps of disheveled papers!! Whew! Now if we can just keep it up how wonderful would that be!?!

We also (drum roll, please!!) MOVED THE CHICKENS TO THE STABLE!! Seriously! It actually happened! With some fence posts and rolls of fencing (also found in the barn by my husband!) we fenced off a small run behind the stable and moved the chickens two at a time to their new home. There are some jobs to be done down there still! I spent a lot of time praying for their safety last night, because we didn't get to spend as much time making it critter-proof as I would have liked! The windows up in the loft area need to be covered with screen. We need to build a DOOR for the front of the stable, and some roosts should be built before too long to allow the chickens to roost off the floor at night. It bears mentioning, however, that this is the first time in many, many years that there have been domestic animals in the stable! Gives me warm fuzzies just thinking about it! So the puppy hut can be moved now and the dogs have their house back!
So, now I think you are fairly caught up on the activities around here! Chelsea tells me that she has pictures that we can add, but she isn't out of bed yet. So for now I will just post the words, but check back later to see if the pictures have made it on! (I SO need to learn more about these things!)