quiet Monday

today was abnormally quiet on the back forty. couple of reasons.

#1 - the 'slowdown' of work is here again, and the phone/email have been silent. sigh. wish it was not so, but i am trying to find a bit of work, and realize that september is a gorgeous month to have 'off'

#2 - today, my 93 year old next door neighbor moved to an assisted living center. she never ever made even a PEEP of sound, but somehow, it's quieter without her here. she has lived on my block since 1950.

#3 - my head is really in the clouds. this past week, i made the trek 'home' several times for my dad, who had hip replacement surgery a week ago. on the way home, sometimes i take the back roads instead of the interstate, because it's a little more scenic and peaceful.

i miss my family. i miss that i lived most of my life far enough away from them that i don't see them that often. last night as i drove home, i wondered how it would have been different if i had stayed in brookings, closer to home. would i visit more often? would i still have strayed away? i know some people who talk to their parents every day! even from far away!

sigh. i have cried alot in this past week, thinking and pondering and wondering 'what if'...but you know what? it is good that i want to have more time with them, that this is just becoming not enough anymore. maybe it means i am finally appreciating what i have always had.

happy monday, all.

the next big thing....

...is not really new at all, but has kind of become new to THIS late adapter over the summer.

remember when rani started blogging, and all of the rest of you did not think you would like it?

now it's time to jump on board the instagram wagon.

seriously. even carey. that iphone of yours has a decent camera, and i can even hook you up with a couple of awesome apps. you. need. it.

ps. come on over and have a look at what i have been up to this summer! and you don't even have to read all my boring words anymore :)

www.instagram.com
user: bobbigaukel

:)

story of my life....

As we head into the final weekend of the summer, I find myself in the same position as much of the summer. My faithful co-worker at my side, working in the light of another beautiful day.

I'm not kidding when I say that I'm in the very best season of my life, it seems. Busy, but yet feeling at peace and 'in my zone' with God and his purpose for my life. I am juggling lots of things, but not trying so hard to control any of them, which is SO so rare for me.

I slip and fall often, but realize that getting back up is not as shameful as I used to think it was. Being human is a fact of life, and it's easier when we realize that sin is not to be avoided, but to be tackled daily. God is bigger.

I usually work from about 7am - 2pm. It sounds kind of slackerish, but really, my brain sort of quits after these hours. Sometimes, I go back in the evenings for a couple of hours if I need to finish things up for the next day. I love this rhythm.

After hours, I have time to spend with friends, to do community with my church, or to wander in my garden and relax. I water alot. I pull a few weeds. I sit and dream. Last night, I started to crochet again, getting into the routine of winter that is coming soon.

I also have a myriad of projects going on...new fence/landscaping in back yard, painting/cleaning/organizing in the basement, redoing the sunroom finally after 2 years of living here.

Speaking of, I am finally starting to think of this place as home. I still miss Mabel, to be honest. That home really WAS my dream love for a long time. I feel good about Fern, though, especially as I make some progress on updates, and as the neighborhood becomes not so foreign. I wish I had better relationships with my neighbors, but things are better. The 'drug house' in my back yard is quiet for the time being, since the death of one of the inhabitants in July. It's a sad feeling, to know that terribly lost young people are right next door. I have started to pray more for them, instead of only being irritated. That's a good thing.

So, I enter into this Labor Day weekend with great thanks. For this life I'm living, the easy and hard things, and the One who makes it all possible. I hope to spend some time this weekend in worship for all He has done.

Wishing you guys a great weekend, too!

fur baby

so, this week i'm cat/house sitting for some friends of friends.

hi, i'm tess.

it's always interesting to get to know a new cat. this one is giving me a run for my money.

mostly, she treats me like this.

every once in awhile, i get a bit of this.

she's adorable. she's 14 and in the midst of deciding that she doesn't want to eat, drink or move much. but every once in awhile, she gets a burst of energy and she reminds me of a kitten. i am texting these photos to her owner who is very worried.

i kind of love her. she reminds me of somebody i used to know :)

another night, another gathering

'hi nice lady'

'you're kind of amusing'

'in fact, i think i like you'

'oh wait. there's a bird'

'nope, not as good. how YOU doin'?'

Obviously this one is a lover.

candid

well, there is a reason I don't take many people pics (THESE were taken by friend rachelle, btw). those little buggers move FAST.

and ps. most of the above are not really into 'fancy' ice cream. but love hard-boiled eggs and rice :)))

ha ha. blessed beyond measure.

cute peeps

okay, so at least i remembered to snap a couple of pics. bad pics, but with such cute subject matter, it's still kind of good :)

if i had to describe this summer in one word, it would be 'relationship.' that's kind of a new one for me, eh? but as much as i've gone into the new, more social 'me' kind of kicking and screaming, i've really really been enjoying it.

last night was gardening night at the church garden. these are some of my helpers up above! we met this family thru our summer outreach - kid's camp - and my friend rachelle has continued the relationship. they have never gardened, and let me tell you, those two little girls are THE BOMB! they weeded more than the big people :)

afterward, we had frozen yogurt and conversation. mom is married, hubby works at night. she is going to start classes next week to learn more english. her 2 daughters speak VERY well, and she said they are actually 'teaching' her, too.

her mother and sisters live in her home country (um, i forgot to ask exactly what country that is) and so she is kind of lonely. rachelle and i are like 'aunts' and a small touch of family for her since hers is so far away.

on sunday, we'll be going over for a ramadan feast with them. very excited!!!! she is hungry to share her culture with us, and we are hungry to learn. muslims fast during ramadan from sunrise to sunset, so we'll meet later in the evening to eat.

i'm starting to wonder if maybe relationship trumps hermit-ness, you think?


:)

ready, set, not quite ready?

okay, it's monday and i have to go back to work today.

i hope with all my heart that i can do it. seriously you guys, it's getting harder and harder and harder. thank goodness i love my work, i cannot even imagine being in this state if i didn't.

sigh.

i love summertime, don't you? i had the perfect mix of work, play and rest. i read 1 1/2 books INSTEAD of tv. i have a ways to go in that area, which will play out later this month when i take some time off from media.

i wore a headband some of the time. sigh. that's what you do when the tiny bit of hair you have is bugging the crap out of you, i guess.

i went dumpster diving at the ACTUAL dump. i was dropping off a load of branches, when lo and behold i saw a perfect stump. it was hard to be inconspicuous about hauling it to the truck when i could barely lift it. but it was worth the effort.

speaking of effort, here are my lilac bushes after i gave them a little 'trim' which turned into nearly cutting them completely down! i'm getting the rest of my fence put up this month, so i needed to get them in shape.

that 2nd photo is to show cher how parts of my yard actually look. there's a reason why i take alot of close up shots :) ha.

well...no sense delaying. i need to get to work, i guess. here's to a happy, productive Monday y'all!

for cher

so my friend cher has a gardening space to fill....here are some random thoughts:

if you have a lot of shade, i find that it's harder to grow things that flower alot. my fave prairie plants like coneflowers and black eyed susans just like LOTS of sun.

so maybe think about mixing textures and shapes i like the purple/lime green/burgundy combos, so these are along those lines :)

i will add more as i think of them :))))))

false spirea - these go crazy, but they are lacy and a nice shape. i think you could 'underplant' with shorter stuff for variety. they do spread, so you'd have to pull 'suckers' but otherwise, no maintenance.

this is my FAVORITE hosta ever. Fire Island. it's small, so get a few and tuck em in around other things.

this is another possibility for a bush to add some height and texture - black lace elderberry. some think it looks like a japanese maple. it also gets wiley and wonkey, but that is what makes it good.

this is the ligularia...it only blooms at the very end of summer, the leaves are FAB. it likes shade, so tuck it in the back. make sure you get 'othello' or the round leaf, much prettier than other varieties.

another fave hosta, guacomole. lime green and a medium size.

these are heuchera. they come in a zillion colors. sometimes they grow, sometimes they die. when they grow, they are terrific and colorful.

 

 

 

 

blue giant hosta. common, but big and adds a nice touch of cool color.

day 6 (otherwise known as 4th of July)

whew. day 6 of vaca, and I finally had a whole day with no plans! kind of backwards, i guess, but it works for me. i have been careful not to plan the final 3 days coming up, either, so that i get filled up with plenty of solitary confinement. it's what i really, really needed.

so, here is some of what i've been up to...i should note that mostly i have been socializing A LOT. it's been good, but i never take people pics. i might have to think about changing that if i keep being outgoing :)

okay. but back to the hermit stuff. i showed you the beginning of the strawberry bed, but here it is finished. i ordered the strawberries bare root (ie dead looking) and VERY quickly they started to grow. all 25 of em!

 

check out the teeny weeny blossoms. almost all of the teeny weeny plants are starting to get BERRIES already! that is a farmer-dream-come-true right there! i hope they continue to do well.

then i went to a class and learned how to make a rhubarb leaf birdbath. it looks better in the pics than it actually is in person, but it's kinda cool. it is wonky shaped and does not really hold water. not sure a bird would be interested, but the process was fun. i started to take process photos, then somewhere in the middle got distracted and forgot. you kind of missed the step that involved peeling the !@#$% leaf off the cement. not really the most exciting part. but working with the cement was okay. it helped that the ladies at the outdoor campus mixed it and did most of the work :)

then today i made a little collage for my basement bedroom that i have been wanting to do for AGES. since that basement room is my little sanctuary (pics to come after i finish up just a COUPLE more finishing touches) the saying seems so fitting. it's made of seed catalogs and paint. i kind of love it :)

so that's it from the back forty. i hope you have a great 4th holiday, and i hope you remember that america is only beautiful because of God :)

heeeeeeeeellllllllllloooooooo!

greetings from the land of a zillion projects!

life is good over here on the back forty. all of that rain I have prayed for since last summer is making things look wonderful. i am a happy gardener again.

as always, there are projects on board. i jump around alot, never finishing one thing before moving over to the next thing. that's just my way, don't judge me :)

wanna see some progress?

 the sunporch used to be a nasty, dirty, pinkish beige with nasty, dirty, pinkish beige carpet. now it's carpetless (hardest DIY task I have ever done) and starting to change color. grey/yellow/white palette. it's a bit hot to work out there now, however, so last weekend i switched to here:

 

 the basement. as always, these kinds of things take time. I actually had the walls painted white last winter, but stopped action when it came to painting the floor, because that is a yucky job.

notice how at one point I just had a giant white box. i felt like i was on HGTV! so this weekend, i finished painting the floor and moved in my bed. i really have to get some decorating done. i'm also questioning making a pink girlie room. however, in the interest of not re-doing before it's even done, i just need to get some artwork up and call it good. for a basement, it's pretty nice so far.

 this guy made me happy, until the rain beat it into the ground last weekend. thankfully, i picked some and got to enjoy this first :)

happy day!