The Sun is Shining!

Things are good here again. The regretful decision we made last week was undone yesterday morning and all is well. Without giving away too much, in a nutshell, we made a decision too quickly without thinking things through. Like being backed into a corner and not seeing any other exits. After time went on, many talks later, we realized there were other options and if we had taken the time to really discuss our options, we would have seen the little Alice-in-Wonderland doors along the bottom of the wall in the corner we were backed into.



If anything, this has taught us to take the time to really explore our options before making any decision that affects our family. No one was hurt, nothing was permanently damaged, but there was a big hole in our hearts after it happened and now it is filled again. Thanks for all your supportive comments on my previous post. Life can move on for me again, and I expect my blogging to return to normal.

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In other news...

*The tomatoes are starting to trickle in! I expect next week to be canning tomatoes in some form-- whole, sauce or salsa. Lots and lots of green ones on the verge of turning red and I am excited at the prospect of being busy with canning them. I feel like I have not done much canning this year, and I need to get my fix in. The whole procedure of getting fruit or vegetable into jars is a therapeutic process for me, and I always feel good to see the results of our hard work on the pantry shelves.

*July has been a horrible month of keeping appointments. I had 2 scheduled and missed both. Not like me at all. The first was on Peter's birthday and before the 4th of July; that seems obvious why I missed it and I should have known better than to agree to that day. The second was last week and I had known about it for 3 months. I also missed the deadline to use my WIC coupons. I guess the summer months are just busier than usual and last week was the week of our regretful decision and our chi was just messed up. I cannot recall a busier summer!

*Only 4 more days until August. Really?!?

*I was watching a period movie last night, renaissance era. It makes me want to go to the Maryland Renaissance Faire. Usually happens August through October and there is always a weekend for the Deaf, where shows are interpreted. First time I went, I was 12 or 13, I fell in love with the whole place. I think I've gone back 2 or 3 times since and the last time I was there, I was pregnant with Evelyn. I think we are long overdue for another visit and I'm sure the kids would love it! I even think that maybe this time, we could dress up! I'm getting excited just thinking about it!

*The pears are just about ripe. Now is the time to can them. I don't care for fresh pears, but I love them canned. Go figure.

*Yard sales have been slim pickings this year. I think partly because I am trying to cut down on the clutter in the house, so I am being a little more discriminate in what I bring home. Partly also because when Andrew comes with us, he's the driver, and he purposely passes yard sales and comments, "didn't look like much" as he zooms by. It used to be fun yard sale-ing, but this year has been more than a little frustrating.

*The young roosters are starting to crow. I caught one mounting a young hen the other day. Time to butcher the young roosters. They'll be 18 weeks this weekend. They're not as big as the older roosters, but they are already getting rambunctious. Out of the 9 young ones, 4 are roosters. So glad there were more hens than I originally thought!

*My fridge is starting to overflow with eggs again! Hooray! I'll never complain about having 7 dozen eggs in the fridge ever again! With the young ones, I have 11 hens now.

*I lost 10 pounds fretting over last week's regret. I'm going to try and keep the momentum going and hope to lose 20 more. I know I'll never be a skinny minnie, and I'm ok with that. I have a husband that loves me and thinks I'm sexy the way I am. I just want to be at a more healthy weight so I can keep up with the kids and be healthy for them.

*Peter cannot be allowed to nap in the afternoons anymore. Whenever he naps, he does not go to bed until after 11 at night. We tried to shorten his naps, have him nap earlier, but the results are the same. It's either we put him back into his crib multiple times or give up and let him stay up, or cut out the naps and he goes to bed when his sisters do and stays there. I'd rather deal with a little crankiness in the afternoons than have him awake wayyyyy past bedtime.

*Evelyn has been hard at work making...Christmas ornaments! When asked why she is making them now, she says it's because she won't have time when it's Christmas. She also has her letter to Santa written out and I am secretly glad for that so I can have this time to look for a good deal on the things she is asking for: sewing kit and fabrics, princess paper dolls and pj's. Her sisters asked her to write one for them too, and they are all basically asking for the same thing.

*I made a new jam last week-- Blue Rhubarb. A blend of blueberries and rhubarb. Yum! I have a recipe for blueberry-rhubarb pie that is absolutely delicious, but when I looked for a jam recipe with those ingredients, I couldn't find one. So I made it up. Very tasty! Made 12 half-pints and I'll probably make one more batch for gifting this Christmas.

I think I'm all caught up now. Until next time..

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