Summer Project--Vegetable Garden

We love fresh vegetables in the summer months and we love having vegetables to reach for out of the freezor or the canned jar during the winter. Let's face it--they taste much better than store bought and it cuts down on the grocery bill. Collin and I enjoy the outdoors and gardening is another avenue to being outside, working together, and reaping the fruits of our labor. In fact, gardening is a mental relaxation and stress relief even though it can be a physically tiring at time and a little hot. Nontheless, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and we persevere.

We had a wonderful garden this year with great yeilds. Not only did we have plenty, but we shared with both sets of parents. Besides everything we ate fresh, we canned close to 100 pints of greenbeans, froze over 50 bags of purple hull peas, and 10 to 15 bags of white lima beans. There were cucumbers, yellow neck squash, bell and jalapano peppers, cantelope, okra, and tomatos. We put corn in the frezor, but actually bought it at the market. It's hard to compete with the racoons when it comes to corn.

I wish I had made more pictures of the garden and it's produce, but I still had to work a few days a week and I was busy picking and keeping the grass out of it. Again, it made for a busy summer project, but we'll sure enjoy the rewards this winter.

Marcia

Summer Project--Room ReDo

Last week I began sharing about the summer and focused on our travels. This week, I thought I'd share about one of my home projects and a few photos. When we bought our house nearly 30 years ago, it had one, SMALL bathroom. After being here about 10 years, we entered into a major remodel. With a new bathroom, Micah and Bryan inherited the smaller one to share. Then Micah married and that left the bathroom for Bryan. It had been remodeled one time since, but was in definite need of another facelift. I decided this was the summer to embark. May I say--MAJOR undertaking. It is the last room in my house to have wall paper and the paper had to go.

Mixing this project along with working a couple of days each week, it took me two to three weeks for total completion. It took several days to strip the wall paper. Then there was a lot of damage on the sheetrock because of years of wear and tear. Collin helped me some and we mudded and sanded before ever thinking about picking up the paintbrush.

Here are a few photos. Keeping in mind, this bathroom is Bryan's, it had to be something of his reflection. Knowing his personality, considering some collection peices, and the fact that he is all about the drums, I began pondering. I settled on a shade of gold for the walls and accessorized in brown, crimson, gold, and beige. I purchased new shower curtains and a rug.

I found a framed mirrow that I thought was beautiful,a fantastic bargain at Kirklands, and ditched the old one. 

I added a few bronze pieces for shelving and accents. 

It was time for some new fixtures and faucets which my wonderful husband installed and before you knew it, we had a new bathroom. Bryan collects percussion peices and we utilized those to dress up the room and make it his, yet still be appealing as a guest bathroom.

Next summer, we're going to look at his bedroom. I've purchased the new comforter in the same coloring as his bathroom. You can't get started planning too early.

Marcia

Starting Over and Catching Up

I do love blogging, but somehow got distracted.  It is amazing how hectic and busy life can get.  As I think back over the past eight to nine months, we have had quite a bit on our plate since January, but hopefully, I can begin to reflect on some of our life and get events brought up to date.  I thought I'd simply begin with our summer travels.

With a new job, I have pretty much worked two years straight without any vacation time.  I decided that something had to change this summer.  I needed a break.  Too many projects and needs had been neglected in my house and outside in my yard.  Plus, I needed some time to relax, travel, and enjoy my family.  This being said, on to our summer travels.

School was dismissed for summer as scheduled and that led in to Memorial Day weekend.  Collin and I were packed up and ready to go.  On Friday afternoon, we headed out to Bull Shoals with our RV in tow and stayed on the White River at Copper Johns. Since I had nothing pressing and Collin had a few days to spare at work, we stayed through Wednesday.  We sat in our lawn chairs, watched the river roll by, slept in late, had some great meals off the grill, drove around at night enjoying deer out feeding, and driving here and there, enjoyed reading, just whatever we felt like doing.  No stress, no pressure.  Here we are with the White River in the background at Bull Shoal's State Park.

Micah and Ben came home in June for the express purpose of going to Branson.  Micah hadn't been in years and wanted to go shopping and seeing all the changes in the area.  We headed out for three days of fun.  We had a great hotel in a good location and hit all the malls.  Ben had a stroller to ride in and plenty of snacks and drink so he was a happy little shopper.  We had tons of fun--lots of success in the stores, good food at several restaurants, and some quality time to spend together.  We're already planning for next year.  Here we are enjoying some good food and relaxing in our hotel.

When July 4th came around, we headed to Hot Springs with our new RV.  We stayed at Catherine's Landing.  Again, much needed relaxation.  We camped with friends, Dennis and Regina.  While there we had dinner out and visited with more friends, Neal and Rhonda.  We did a little sight-seeing and a little shopping.

We absolutely could not let summer pass without seeing our sweet family in New Orleans.  It was a road trip to see Rhyne, Micah, and Ben.  Micah and I always manage a little shopping time, we ate at some great places including entertainment from an alligator in the swamp, and lots of playtime with our sweet, sweet Ben.  He's Grammie's boy.  We had more fun!

As the summer was coming to a close, we saw a window of opportunity for one more outing before school started.  We went to Branson in the RV and stayed about five days to get some rest and shop.  One day we even drove into Springfield and shopped Bass Pro.  We had a fantastic time really wishing we could stay a little longer.

And there you have it--a recap of our summer travels.  We absolutely love pulling our RV and enjoying God's creation.  If we are ever blessed to retire, you may just pass us on the road.

Marcia