happy birthday naphtali

this is our middle daughter. sister to naomi and jacob, wife to james, mother to aidan, naphtali works as a nurse at a cardiac clinic - a true caregiver both at work and away. she also finds time for creative outlets in her home and kitchen. friendships, shopping, blogging, shopping, keep her on the move. she is one of the busiest yet most grounded people i know. we're proud of her. happy birthday, naphtali, we love you. hope you had a good weekend.

friday

brought the dawson county relay for life to town.

our team set-up our tents etc around 7:30 friday morning and kept adding to the site as the day progressed. we had a massage chair on hand and raffled a quilt made by kathy gruber and her sister and a large grill donated by pamida. the event started at 5:00 friday evening finishing saturday morning around 7.

my little tent held up very well when the rain came around 3:30 saturday morning. rain doesn't quite convey the full experience. rain, lightning, wind. about 45 minutes of intense storm. i was snug inside reading by flashlight.


talbot was one of my helpers at the duck pond. he and i made several laps advertising our game. a buck a duck!! every duck a winner!! we had a pretty good response and lots of fun.
i walked about 4 hours. our team stuck it out through the rain and finished out the relay. i set my wet tent up at home to dry, got some sleep, and got busy with normal weekend stuff.

farmer's market

well, we watched the sign on the bank go from 100 to 99, back to 100...

this is a sampling of my wares. i did sell a few pieces today. the guy in the booth next to me is going to keep his eye open for big leaves for me.
the sales were acceptable, the contacts good.
people know me from the library and it was fun to chat with them in a different context. one offered me rhubarb leaves. a couple others have their eye on a leaf and will get back to me...
we were there for 2 hours and the sign said 97 as i drove away. all in all a good day.

mon accoutrements

here is my 'kit' for the farmer's market - everything goes in the bag: my sales tax permit, clipboard and pen, money bag, business cards, receipt book and calculator, price list, water bottle, music and headphones, the camera will make the trip, too, and hopefully i'll remember to use it....
last week the crowd was thin due to predicted storms. i made a couple sales and then we were rained out. i'd had quite a few comments and several people asked if i'd be back so i'm hoping for a good day tomorrow.

the piles are gone!

Naphtali had questioned our ability(?) to amass enough stuff for our own yard sale. could she possibly be serious??
we scheduled the sale for 8 - 12 because i didn't want to tie up a whole day. we did pretty well. i wasn't quick enough to get a picture until after the first several items had left the yard. and if i'd been thinking i would have taken a picture of the back end of the jeep loaded with the leftovers. tim came out - the british open was on this morning - promptly at 12, ready to box up the flotsam and haul it away.

tim was the instigator for this event and was very helpful in getting things ready. he went through his workroom, garage etc, did his own marking, ferried things up stairs and most important - posted the signs. he did his turn as attendant. and made the goodwill run when it was all over.

flowers continue

to come and go.

these hibiscus have been a treat. they trigger special memories of a trip made many years ago, when naphtali and i visited my sister in mexico. at one resort they placed a hibiscus blossom on the bed each morning
last spring i started a variety of hens and chicks and sedums along the top of a wall. many of them made it through the winter and a few new ones were added this spring. they are filiing in nicely.

i have a certain

tolerance for piles and clutter. this spring has proven a challenge with the bathroom project and now with the addition of the basement closet, (piles of tools and switch plates and caulk tubes etc)

preparation for a yard sale on saturday,
leaves, crated and ready to haul to the farmer's market this afternoon. i have 5 crates and a picnic basket packed to carrying weight.
these next few days will bring an end to all the piles. it will be a relief to reclaim the basement.

stella d'oro

tops the list of lillies in our yard this week.

these were already here when we bought the house. i've moved and regrouped them. i have another batch further along the fence.

the cana lillies are new. i'll probably have to dig these bulbs this fall - good thing there are only 6!! they are so elegant looking.

compared to last weekend's frenetic pace these last 2 days have ben very tame!! we both accomplished what we set out to do - but the lists were much shorter. much shorter. i have my business cards, price lists etc ready to go for thursday's debut at the farmer's market. the yard sale pile is steadily growing for next saturday. we have a new junction box and power to all the lovely outlets we installed last weekend. the walls are up and ready for paint. when i finish on the computer i'm going to stash something in the new closet!!

did i hear that right??!!

naphtali left on her road trip early monday morning. early monday morning. i had a dentist appointment at 8:00 (they must have caught me on a veerrrrry good day to make that appointment) and ran a couple more errands while i was downtown. so i get home about 10:30 and find a message on the machine from naphtali. i asked charlie: "did i hear that right?? did she say she hit a bear??" we were both pretty sure that's what she said. and of course i couldn't make a connection with her so it was evening before tim confirmed that he had talked to her and yes - she hit a bear. it sounds like it kind of bounced and rolled across the whole length of the car leaving dents and fur...she was surprised at how long its legs were and how fast it could run. she kept going. she was crossing the erie canal when i talked to her yesterday and on schedule for supper in norwich with jacob and kate.

leaf update

i've had my eye on some cabbage leaves and i got my hands on 2 of them today so this one got processed right away.....i'll post a picture after it dries.
iusually have several things in different parts of the process and i have to say that i enjoy each part.
i have 2 rhubarb leaves this size. i can't wait to get some paint on them.
i think my men in their moons are adorable.

you know the old saying

every dog has his day?? well, this was not charlie's...

the sun is shining, we are home for the day but we are not playing outside. (big sigh)

he waited while i did some sewing on kate's renaissance costume,
he watched tim working in the main basement,

and did his best to stay out of everyones's way. the sun will shine another day and he and i did get some outside time. and he went for several rides in the jeep. and he had drippings from the steak we grilled tonight. why is he pouting?? tim and i both had a very productive weekend. i had told people that my holiday plans included sleeping in and no laundry. we were up LATE thursday night watching movies and at 7:15 the next morning i hear the tender voice of my dear husband whispering in my ear "i hate to do this but i need to get that work done in the attic before it gets hot. are you ready to help me??" oh well. (i did sleep in this morning) we spent friday morning fishing wires in and out of walls and carrying sheetrock downstairs as tim built a closet in the middle of the basement. when it's done i'll have 2 new walls, plug-ins galore, storage space and - the real purpose for this project - hidden pipes from bathroom renovation!! kate's costume is ready to be returned. i made a few more leaves, got another batch painted, did some sewing for myself, got my ironing done, sheets went on the line...

rambling along

i don't know what pictures to add. the weeds i pulled all weekend? the cookies i baked for garden club?? - mrs. bylsma's sugar cookies. the huge rhubard leaf i cast last night?? after it's painted i will show you my stockpile. charlie?? the stories about him just aren't that interesting. although i was able to squeeze in a reference at the eye doctor's last week: he apologetically said something about personal space issues during the exam and i replied that i have a golden retriever so my boundary issues have been redefined over the past couple years.
eye exam?? does that mean.....?? yes, i have new glasses. complete with variable lenses. this is my economic stimulus rebate at work in our 'hometown'. i brought 3 pair home for tim's opinion - oyvey. he wasn't going to be responsible for picking a frame. i didn't ask him to - i just want an opinion, feedback. he wasn't going to take time to go down and choose a pair for me. good, you're not invited. i just want an OPINION - too heavy?? good color?? nice shape?? no opinion. anything i choose will be fine. i did finally get him to admit that he didn't like the color i was working with - guess what - that's an opinion!! so the next day i went back and started over...tried on a couple more frames and then got that 'ooh this one' reaction that i'd been waiting for. in addition to correcting my vision what benefits do i derive from these little scraps of plastic?? i now have a 'bottomless' bottle of eyeglass cleaner!! (which they may live to regret offering) i have extra incentive to apply myself (with diligence) to type without looking at the keyboard!! it will be great for my posture - chin up!! shoulders back!! and i can get a second pair -any thing - for 50%!! which i think i will do after living with these a couple weeks. just brought them home today...and tim likes them. charlie still recognizes me.
it's hot today. i may go cast a few leaves later. or not. i've heard from the dept of revenue - my sales tax permit is on its way. my stall is reserved for the farmer's market - starts july 17. i'm planning just july and august. my boss has scheduled me for mornings on those thursdays. i have a stockpile. in addition to the leaves i've done a few tic tac toe boards, a shell, a couple man-in-the-moons, which i think are adorable. i have a few other novelty shapes in mind......so we'll see how it all goes. and it's given me a need to create a smallish notebook (for lack of a more fitting term) to keep receipts and such. i looked and couldn't find what i want so i'll make one. and business cards. and a clipboard. and a sign. (One of the requirements is a sign with posted prices. i suppose it eliminates the impulse to change the charge according to how we little we dislike a person...) obviously i'm just in this for the accoutrements....