Moldy

I couldn't bitch about the weather in the last post...it was simply too precious.

I'm covered in mold. The strawberries rot before we can harvest them. My house smells. My garden won't grow, although I have more radishes than I can eat and the lettuce is doing okay. We've had rain (literally) almost every day the month of June. July isn't looking like it will be any better. If it rains in UT at OR, I will probably just lay down in the street and cry. Wait, that's just more water...I'd drown.

Ugh. And they wonder why people from the northeast are cold, bitter, and pessimistic. You try living through 8 months of cold and snow, looking forward to sun and warmth, and then getting cold, rain, and dampness. You'd be pretty pissy, too. Especially if every summer since you moved to the lake was rainy and not too hot.

On another note, check out Sy's right foot. He discovered a nest of bumblebees while doing some cleaning in the barn. They had decided a roll of insulation was the perfect place. Fortunately, Bubba Lou picked this time to listen to Daddy and RAN!

I can't post the picture of the nest...it is too creepy, weird, gross, nasty and I don't want to look at it again.

Toothache Sweet

Bubba Lou and our newest addition, Bun. Bun is a character (rabbit, of course) in one of our favorite books. The next bunny will be Squeaky...same book.

Zeep tiptoe-ing through the flowers. Best he can at 130lbs +/-. A lot of people (that don't know what a wolfhound is) think he's an old dog because his face is so grey. They obviously haven't seen him in action....it's all puppy! And did I mention he loves the Bun and hasn't tried to eat him?
BL's new sweater. My own pattern, Manos Del Uruguay Cotton Stria, 1 skein turq. 4 lime green. Do not buy this yarn. It's stiff, but breaks and splits really easily. My last skein had 9, NINE, knots in it. I'd have knit stripes if I knew I'd be working in that many ends. Otherwise, the sweater is soft and perfect for warmer weather with 3/4 sleeves (ran out of yarn for whole sleeves) and perfectly loose fabric on size US5 needles. BL actually prefers the 3/4 sleeves because they "don't git in my way."

Bees!

Sy is holding an empty box that a few minutes ago contained 3 pounds, or 25,000, honey bees. He put them into their new hive with no gloves and no stings. Today the bees have started exploring their new home and surroundings. Bubba Lou knows that you "leave the bees alone." Zeep has also learned that you don't eat the bees, the only way he could (fortunately he wasn't stung, just surprised.) We have a perimeter around the hive roped off so BL and Zeep can't accidentally bump into the hive or otherwise harrass the bees. I know my child and doggie too well.In a few more weeks we'll be adding one or two of these to the homestead:French/English mix angora rabbits. We're definitely getting one of the buff colored (Bubba Lou's pick), and if it's a girl, we're hoping to get a light gray girl, too. Their mama is about 8 pounds with wonderful fur, she was due to be plucked so I had the perfect opportunity to see the fiber. They're about 4 weeks old now, little bundles of fluff. The woman that has them is up the street from my Mom and has alpacas, cows, geese, sheep, goats, llamas, horse, mini donkey and a camel. Yes, a bonafide two-hump camel in NH. I truly had no idea they are so huge, she said she got about 80 pounds of fiber off the camel when he(?) shed this spring. Can you imagine shedding 80 pounds of hair?! Or picking it all up for that matter?!

Boston

Sy was on school vacation last week, so we decided to take advantage of the favorable weather forecast and headed to Boston.Day one was spent at the Aquarium. Bubba Lou especially loved the sharks. We ate lunch outside, even though it was a little windy and chilly. The sun would come out from behind the clouds every few minutes and give us a nice warm up. We spent the late afternoon in the hotel swimming pool and did dinner at the Hard Rock. I live less than 2 hours away, and I'd never been. I've been to Hard Rock's all over the country, but never close to home. It was fun...BL got a patch for her demin coat.

Day two, much nicer weather...the afternoon was about 70 degrees and sunny. We took BL to the Public Gardens to see the swan boats and island where "Make Way For Ducklings" takes place. She even met Mr. and Mrs. Mallard...several times. She loved seeing the staues of Mrs. Mallard and the ducklings and patiently waited her turn to sit on the next duck in line until she reached Mrs. Mallard.

B.L. and Mama outside Tadpole Playground visiting with the frogs. We played in the playground in the morning before it got super crowded. When we walked by it later, there couldn't have been room for one more child to play!

FYI, we booked our hotel through Hotwire and I am very satisfied. We ended up in a much nicer hotel than I expected (based on experiences with Priceline) and paid just over $100 including taxes. I checked, this same hotel was booking out our same type of room for over $200-before tax. I will definately use Hotwire again.

My, what big...everything you have!

His new favorite toy, a full-size basketball (slightly deflated.) He chased it around the yard for an hour, until I had to fetch it out of the woods one too many times. He can now easily graze off my table and counter tops and weighs in around 110lbs. My dog finally weighs more than I do! His back is just above my hips, I have to bend my elbow to rest my hand on his back now.
My little Easter Bunny. That's her crazy, maniac grin. It usually means trouble is about to ensue. Bwah, ha, ha, ha, ha. Catch me if you can!

1 Sheep, 2 Sheep, 3 Sheep...

24 Sheep

A pre-Easter surprise for BubbaLou's little classmates. Everyone had great fun "biting their squishy heads off". Their words, not mine. The only people who appreciated that they were low-sugar, whole grain cupcakes were the parents.

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

I began a new diet plan just over a week ago. It started with a 3 day fruit flush (day one, lots and lots of Jay Robb protein shakes, veggies and chicken for dinner, day 2/3 all fruit, veggies for dinner), now I'm on to high protein, no carb breakfast/lunch, high complex carb, low protein dinner. I basically just had to switch my pasta, buy whole grain sprouted bread, lots more fruit and veg. So far I've lost 7 pounds. 7 to go. Not a bad start, and I'm not hungry or craving sweets and carbs like I was. I was afraid I'd be starving all the time, I'm not and I have more energy.

That's the good.

Bubba Lou won't potty train. I've given up and put her back in pull-ups because I'm so sick of dirty panties. I'm at wit's end. A year and a half of this nightmare. I honestly don't know what to do anymore. Rewards don't work. Punishment doesn't work. Bribing doesn't work. She seriously doesn't care. She doesn't care that her skin is raw and hurts, she doesn't notice that she's wet or soiled. Is this a medical issue, or just a stubborn little girl who's going to drive me insane? It's getting worse every day.

There's the bad.

Now, for the ugly.

I'll get back to ya. Maybe I'll take a picture of my muddy, un-landscaped, debris laden backyard and post it. Makes me miss the snow a little.