So, It's Tuesday and that means time for some random observations. So here goes:
Saw this scrolling around Facebook. As a geologist we can always find more rocks.
I got Nick a weather station for Christmas and we all geek out over it a bit. It has a lightening detector that shows how many strikes in the last 48 hours and the distance to the last one. It's kind of cool to know how far away the strikes were.
Our cat has become fascinated by the garage. In the new house we have an attached garage. She loves to dart in there and "hunt" ants. Or stare at them with high levels of fascination.
My fourth post ever was about being the finder in the house. this sums it up perfectly:
I love that Nick is handy. he is great at doing those little projects around the house. Last night he put in a shelf for the cat to watch the birds from.
Before
After
The cat loves the new bench. She was bird watching this morning as the birds raided the feeder we put out.
So there you have it, my random for the week. Have a great week!
We had a productive weekend. But first what we did for the 4th of July.
We paddled 3 miles up a canyon that is part of a local lake. We got far too much sun but had a blast in the process. We will definitely do this again.
There were fireworks later that evening, but we only saw them from a distance. We were just far too tired to want to deal with traffic by getting closer. And we are taking the boys to Disney World so they are going to get up close and personal fireworks there.
After that adventure, the rest of the week was relatively quiet. Saturday Nick got motivated and started the closet in Bruiser's room. We sort of had to build him a room when we moved into the new house. He now has not only a wall, but a partial closet and a door. Yep, a real closing door. Nick hung that this weekend too.
There was haircuts for all the guys this weekend and some hanging out with the neighbors, turned into quite the mini cook out. Good time were had and a good weekend all the way around.
Now for MMMM. This week is a freebie week and here's what we have been listening to at home:
Turbo has discovered 80s music and loves this one:
The Bangles with Walk Like an Egyptian:
Bruiser like 80s rock with this as his favorite:
Nick of course loves all kinds of music and since we have the Amazon Fire cube with Alexa he has been having fun calling up music. We both enjoy this one:
The Proclaimers with I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles):
So here we are at another Tuesday. The weeks do march on. Let's get the party going:
Bruiser's favorite phase is "If I'm correct..." He says it all the time and prefaces most of his statements with it. It's a bit odd coming out of a nine year old. Makes him sound about 40.
We think we have a feral cat living in the massive juniper bush in the back yard. He's orange and large. I haven't seen him, but Nick and Turbo have. We cut back part of the juniper this weekend, Nick called it a sun porch for Garfield. With the discovery of a couple of very old (predating us) dog toys, it was time for the juniper to be subdued. I think I might be allergic to the juniper. It gave me some irritated red bumps and scraps.
Last night the boys went and raced (well, recreation class racing, so nothing intense) a local mountain bike club race. It was called the Fat Fish Racing summer circuit. This race was the Maze Craze. They had a lot of fun. I went along for moral support and was the cheering section. I was also in charge of pictures.
I must say I miss the temperatures in Laramie. It never got much over 90 there and then only for a few days. Here we hit the 90s+ almost regularly. At least it cools off at night still here, maybe not as much, but it does cool off.
We are still unsure of our exact plans for tomorrow, the 4th of July, but water, our kayaks and plenty of sun are definitely involved.
Well, we had a very busy weekend. It started Friday. Turbo went and took the test to get his learner's permit. He passed on his second try at the test. He is now an official learning driver. I'm slightly scared, and completely wanting to deny the passage of time. It can't have been that long since he was a baby in my arms.
After that triumph, we went on to do a ton of yard work. I pulled thistles upon thistles. Nick now calls me the Thistle Princess. I'm not a fan of thistles and our yard came with far to many of them. Now we have a lot less of them.
Saturday it rained so we ran a lot of errands around town, groceries, bike shop, the hardware store. I did laundry, and such. It was a quiet kind of day, but still quite nice.
Sunday we started out by pulling more thistles. I really have a war going on with them. I will win the war. After the weed pulling we loaded up the boys and got lunch, sub sandwiches, and headed to Ayer's Natural Bridge, a rock arch that has water flowing under it, so it is a true natural bridge. It was a lovely park and the boys got to wade and try their hands at dam building. We also stopped at a near by state park with a lake and river access. We will be heading out there again.
Once back home, Nick took Bruiser to the rec center so Bruiser could do some proper swimming. Then after they got home, Nick and I got the wild bug to do more yard work. We borrowed a hedge trimmer from the neighbor and attacked the wildly overgrown juniper bushes in our back yard. We discovered about four feet of stairs, several lost dog toys and hacked back a ton of branches. We are quite proud of our efforts. So much more needs to be done, but we had to start somewhere.
Now for MMMM. This week is patriotic songs so here you go:
We moved this month. Packed up the whole kit and caboodle and moved to another town entirely, not just across town. We moved 150 miles north, but at least we get to stay in the same state. It wasn't exactly our choice, work said to keep your jobs, you move. So we moved. I think I would have been far more on board with the whole thing if we had made the decision on our own, but we were given no other real option. Neither of us wanted to move to Houston or Oklahoma, so here we are.
Our new house is much larger than our old one was. Our stuff seems to have expanded kind of like those little tablets you add to water. I miss our little house. We lived there for almost 21 years. It was home. This larger house is going to take some getting used to.
I still have boxes and bins in the garage that need to be unpacked, but not as many as there were, I am whittling away at the stack.We still have pictures to hang to make the house more our own. And then there are the bigger changes we will be making to improve the house. A new master bath, an updated kitchen, change the trim in most of the house. Finish up the creation of Bruiser's bedroom.
We have a huge backyard. Big enough to run our four wheelers around in. The back yard has had no real attention for going on 10 years. Parts of it are quite over grown. We are contemplating having some one come and trim things up (or beat back the bushes) so we have a place to start. We have never had a yard like this. Our old yard was postage stamp sized and so easy to take care of. This one takes a bit more work.
So that was our June. Completely taken over by the Great Move of 2018.
1. Security or freedom? Can you have both? Explain. If you feel secure then you can be free to be yourself. I think you can have both.
2. If you could visit any historical American site what would it be? Why? I would go visit the Smithsonian Museums in DC. I have always loved history, I got my first degree in History. I didn't get to do much with it but I would have loved to be a museum curator or work in an archive.
3. Free as a bird, free reign, be free of, free enterprise, free trip, walk away scot free, free for all...which 'free' phrase can best be applied to your life in recent days or weeks? Explain. This is a tough one. Free reign comes closest. I have free reign to create dinner menus, decorate the house, read any book I feel like, and just a bit of free reign at work as to projects I do, as long as I do what needs to be done around those projects. 4. Something in your fridge that's red? Something in your house that's white? Something in your view that's blue? Red: cherries, raspberries and grapes. White: all the trim in our new house is white. It isn't my favorite, but we get the fun of changing the trim to something more our taste. Blue: The couple painting Nick and I did, Nick's side of the painting is a blue night with the moon.
5. July 27th is National New Jersey Day. Have you ever visited The Garden State? If so where did you go? Are there diners where you live? Have you tried Taylor Pork Roll? Do you like to play Monopoly? Salt water taffy-yay or nay? How do you feel about shopping at the mall? Springsteen, Sinatra, or Bon Jovi-you have to pick one. Raise your hand if you know why these add-on questions are appropriate on National NJ Day.
I have visited the Garden State, but I was 12 and on my way to visit my aunt in New York City. We do have a Diner, Johnny J's, great burgers and shakes. No on the Pork Roll. Not a fan of Monopoly. Love Salt water taffy. I like the mall, but the ones around here are fading. I am a die hard Bon Jovi fan. Bruiser is a big fan too. 6. Insert your own random thought here. So we are moved into the new house. The unpacking is ongoing. But we have had a bit of fun. Four wheelers in the back yard. A bit of time downtown.
It's Tuesday, so let's random up the joint. Here are some of the random thoughts that are floating through my brain:
I just love random mystery bruises that seem to show up all the time on my legs. I look down in the shower and go hey, where did that come from? On the other hand, I will bang into something and think that will leave a mark and nothing.
I also have a migraine. Those are just lovely too. It's going to be a long week.
Coming up with summer chores for the boys is a challenge. They are home during the day and we really want them to not spend every moment playing video games and getting screen time. So we assign outside stuff, walking the dog, going to the park, go outside to read. Outdoor chores like pine cone pick up, water trees and such are also common. They have also been unpacking stuff for their rooms.
Summer dinners have become a bit more lax as far as timing and side dishes. We are eating a lot of veggies and I am trying to get more fruit into everyone. Dinner s are a lot lighter for summer. we are also a bit busier here in our new city. Lots of things to do and places to go.
I got invited to join a book club. I'm not usually much of a book club reader. I tend to avoid popular fiction, but it will be a way to get out and meet new people. I'm going to try it.
The other big news we have is we are taking the boys to Florida in July to Disney World. Bruiser has never been and he needs to experience the mouse. We are all looking forward to going on vacation. This will also be Bruiser's first plane flight.
So there you have it, just some random for a Tuesday. Have a great week!
So, I am still alive. Things with the blog sort of got shoved to the back burner with moving and all that entailed. We are now just about moved in, well most of our stuff is here in Casper. I still have boxes, bins and bags to unpack.
The kitchen is mostly done and the bathrooms are unpacked as well. My clothes are about 75% unpacked. The boys' rooms are just about unpacked. They have a game room pretty well set up for them to hang out in.
We planted some aspen trees this weekend. It's a sort of memorial for my mother and Nick's great aunt who have both passed away in the last few years. The trees are small, but hopefully we will make them happy so they grow quickly.
With this move, I am a bit lost as to a support group. I don't have friends here, there are potential acquaintances, but no friends and I am feeling just a bit isolated. Nick has been dealing with his own issues as far as this move is concerned. He is trying to be strong, but his needs are so different from mine. Extrovert vs. introvert. Nick is a classic extrovert, I am such an introvert. It's hard to reconcile these different approaches, but hopefully we will be able to muddle through.
1. What's a word that describes your life? A word you wish described your life?
Disjointed. Things are stretched between two houses and towns, so I feel disjointed at the moment.
Wish: Intriguing. I like life to be interesting. Not exactly exciting,but entertaining and interesting.
2. Back in my day we___________________________________?
Called people and they had no idea who was calling when the phone rang. Conversely, when the phone rang we had no idea who was calling. Made calling a teenage crush much less personally incriminating.
3. When it comes to takeout are you more likely to opt for Italian,
Mexican, or Chinese food? Does a typical week at your house include
takeout?
We are not regular take out people,but we do enjoy it on occasion. When we do have it we go more for Chinese or Italian. Actually, more delivery than takeout. If we want the convenience, we go for total service and have it delivered.
4. Think about the people you most respect. What is it about them that earned your respect?
Their honesty and integrity. I like people who are genuine. They don't shift with the popular opinion.
5. What's something your friends might see and say is 'so you'?
Books, Country music, Fantasy genre and hands on painting crafty stuff. Cat collectibles but not clothes, camping with friends but not too much people time.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
A couple months ago I got to do a paint party with a friend. The painting came with a light up element. I think it turned out fantastic:
Well, long time not blog. But now I'm back. It's been a busy time around the Jones place. We are continually moving more stuff to Casper. This 9 month moving process is lower on the stress, but I'm still not a fan. We have two months to M Day (Moving Day). by the time that day rolls around I'm hoping that most of the misc. stuff is moved so all we have is the big stuff. Moving this way leaves fewer boxes to unpack on the other end.
Anyway, how about we do a bit of random:
I have fired up my old netbook for blogging again. I got a bit lazy and haven't been diligent about creating posts recently. I have been feeling the bloggy bug though so we shall see where this goes.
I took Bruiser to a paint party. We painted bunny butts. See:
Fluffy tails were added:
and we had a wonderful mother son afternoon.
Easter is sneaking up on us this year. Bruiser and I will dye eggs this weekend. Hopefully it will be warm enough for an outdoor egg hunt. We rarely get those, but this year we will be in Casper and it should be warm enough.
I have basket fillers to acquire. As well as Bunny gifts. Camp chairs and chocolate. Sounds good no?
Nick and I have taken to taking walks around the neighborhood, both in Casper and here in Laramie. I like looking at the various houses around us. In Laramie we see lots of craftsman style homes and then the styles grade into newer and newer style houses. It's fun to look. In Casper most of the houses in our neighborhood are late 70s to early 80s homes. Still fun to look at.
Well not a terribly varied random, but it's a start. Have a great week!
