My goodness... it's been almost 2 months!

Well... it's been a long dry spell as far as updating the blog goes. I can't believe our summer is almost over, but honestly, it really feels like September already. We had a MAJOR heat wave this past month. It was over 100 degrees for a couple of days and the amount of measurable rainfall in the past couple of months has been pretty much... unmeasurable. :-/ I took advantage of the city water from the front hose bib and have the bill to prove it! Yet... the plants LIVE. Boy... poor flowers cooked before their time... but that's how it goes some years. It has proven to be a great year for cherries and the tree bore more than the birds could destroy. So... we were forced to harvest and bottle some of them before the rest went south. We couldn't reach the best ones, but as the birds knocked them off, the deer made numerous daily visits to glean for grounders. Some of the deer visitors were wee folk with no mothers in sight... so we're not sure if they were orphaned or not. Diane thinks the two sets of fawns we saw were not the same ones. You'll see those photos later.

Ron has been busy working on the house when the weather would allow. He's covering the eaves. We have squirrels living over the living room (no attic... cathedral ceiling there) and I'm not sure if he'll try to trap those or drive them out before finally sealing up the overhead. There is concern they'll try to chew their way back in... quite possible. We've had cats going up there also. I heard a loud thump around dusk one evening and turned on the deck light to investigate. Staring back at me was a stupified kitty cat... one I'd never seen before. I think he leaped up in his usual manner and ran into an unexpected barrier. He stared at me for quite awhile... almost as if he expected me to supply some sort of explanation.

I've been trying to make soap and get the autumn stocks built up before the trip in September. The hot weather kind of sidelined the soapmaking. It seemed like I was constantly babysitting the watering chores. I've also been doing shopping via internet and in general. I'm sure I won't even take most of the new things on the trip... but the wardrobe needed a facelift (casual clothes especially). There will be a meeting a week from tomorrow at the Binetti's home. We'll get to meet everyone going on the trip, see her garden and be debriefed on whatever we need to know in advance... probably ask questions, etc. I think I'm going to like my roommate... it will be nice to meet her in person. We talked briefly on the phone and have had a couple of emails.

Oh, yeah... that's what else I've been up to... avoiding emails... then trying to catch up! I probably spent about 6 hours in the past few days doing email backlog. With the heat and distractions of shopping, kids, whatever... I was not wanting to sit any longer at the computer than necessary. But... I don't like to ignore people either so finally got almost caught up yesterday. I'm noticing more soap emails from other countries. This last batch included a gal from Quebec, another from New South Wales, Australia, a soapmaker in Wales, a young woman in China who wants to make soap, a soap customer from Russia (that's another story... finally got his package off today to Pittsburgh, where he's currently staying). Another fellow wrote, hoping that soapmaking might be a viable way to support his wife and four children. He was laid off from his job. I had to tell him I didn't think it would be enough for his needs... but maybe some supplemental income. Anyway, I enjoy communicating with people, so don't want that to go away. Just sometimes... I need a vacation.

Kristine is feeling very pregnant these days and just went in two weeks ago (is it that long?) and had a 3-D ultrasound done. Her curiosity was getting the best of her and it was almost too late to get a decent image. Below are two of the best photos for seeing Baby Booth's face (his name will come later... that's another saga). I see a lot of Alex's mom's side of the family in his nostrils and around the mouth. It looks like he'll have his dad's mouth and chin. I'm sure Kristine will be in there too... it will be fun to see him when he emerges. You have to use a little imagination with photos like these... but what a miracle they can even get them! I never had a single ultrasound with my six, so just having the normal type seems amazing to me.

Are there heavy thoughts going on in there?

Kristine and Alex have moved from the home they were watching for a year and a half and are now in married housing at BYU. The building is old but very stout and rather quiet. They still have some organizing to do in the second bedroom (baby's room) but are making some headway on that this weekend. She's starting to have some nagging feelings she should be ready sooner and not wait until the last. What if she had him early? I know she'll feel better if she's prepared and can then just relax a bit more and see what develops.

Karen has recently decided to go for her master's degree and is going to do that via an online program. She's already registered and her financial stuff okayed... so she's going to start that up in a couple of weeks. August will be busy for them. Karen has been training for a half marathon that takes place on the 29th. Her friend and old running partner (old, meaning "former!"), Susan Bohls, is doing this with her. I think this will be her last distance goal. It's been hard to train for it while working. Add school to that and there won't be as much time for the amount of exercise it takes. I hope that goes okay for her when the time comes. Sure sounds like a HOT time for a marathon!

Diane continues to work at the bakery. I can't believe it's only a month before she heads out for school... her last year. The old house will be kind of quiet again, although she isn't a noisy person. It's just different to have all of the kids gone. Lynda stayed over last night and is spending this weekend with one of her old friends here. She's still working hard to find a decent job since she graduated. Such a terrible time to get dumped into the job market, but forecasters say this too shall pass... with more time. If nothing solid comes along soon up here, she may go to L.A. to pursue work. Tom's parents live there and told the kids they could live with them while they seek employment. It's all up in the air and she's hating not knowing which is the best route to take. Some kind of decision will likely be made in the next month. There are some situations pending.

It's getting late fast, so I'd best get on with the huge backlog of photos from this past month+. The first one was taken by Amber's cousin when I was talking with the kids while holding Edward. Kam takes really nice photos and did a session for their family, with our yard as the backdrop (before the horrible heat wave). Edward's little expressions crack me up.

Flowers, of course...

Lynda and Tom came this direction (late June?) and spent the weekend. Diane brought out a new Pirate game for them to play.

More flowers... daylilies and some lilies (with the trumpets of Phygelius tossed in)...

Here's some of Ron's progress over the porch.

The week we were harvesting/canning cherries, Robert dropped by on his way home from a scout camp activity. He's still dressed for the part. :-) It was nice to see him, if only for a couple of hours.

Back to more daylilies... this is the time of year for them. :-) Oh... and a couple of young cherry lovers.

Ron's progress on the deck side of the house...

The next photos are more recent... the lavenders in back (pathetic, prairie section of the garden!) are in full bloom. I love how they are in constant motion from bumblebees and skippers.

Edward making the pathetic face... hoping someone will take him for a spin on Michael's golf cart.

A string of beautiful sunsets... we've had a lot this month. One upside of the hot, sunny weather.

I love this little slip of a moon.

Right now it's blueberry season and with Diane's help, we have 9 bags in the freezer. I think the neighbor's cat has been patrolling the area and it's allowed us to actually have fruit RIPEN. Today, Lynda spotted a Western Tanager near the front porch and there was a family of them getting into the berries. I've only occasionally seen those birds, despite them being native to the area. They are considered a rather "shy" species. (I'll find a Google image to drop in below.) Last week we had two spotted blueberry lovers also. After taking photos, I had to shoo them away.

With the hot weather, squirrels have decided this bird bath is for them... or maybe it was the suggestion by having a cement squirrel perched on top. ;-) I've more frequently seen the real life version this past week.

Robert's family dealt with the extreme heat by decamping to their back yard. The kids thought it was great and it appears Rachel made quite a comfy environment in the tent (I assume she did that... she took these photos for her blog). Robert set up his computer in the yard too... complete with cooling fan. ;-) He works from home a couple of days a week.

This is what it looks like at the end of two days of ridiculous heat (for us, anyway). Those aren't rain clouds... they're evaporated moisture from a scorched earth. =:o

This photo is a little fuzzy... but I loved the haziness of it... and seeing the different hill formations in front of the mountains.

I'd best be getting to bed. Ron has already crawled in. He's giving a talk in church tomorrow and it's been weighing on him. I'm sure he'll do a fine job. He gets nervous about talking the way I do about sight reading at the piano with people singing along. I know he'll be ecstatic when it's over. Normal life can resume. :-)