The Whirlwind of May

OK, so it's been MORE than a month since I have posted anything!  Geesh!  You might have thought that I fell off the edge of the world or possibly got stuck in a giant spider web or even got lost in some weird time warp...  But, none of those things happened.  I've just been busy.  I have been working on a huge project at work for the Hunger Walk in Cincinnati - helping to build support for the Healing Center organization.  That walk (a 5k) happens this  Monday on Memorial Day, so I imagine my schedule will lighten up quite a bit after next week.  Whew!

So, what has April and May been like around here?   Lots and lots and lots of rain!  Some sun.  Some more rain.  I did finally get my tomatoes and peppers in my new raised beds last week - I had started them from seed back in February, so they were more than ready to get in the ground.  Last fall, I read the Square Foot  Gardening book, so that has been my inspiration for the 2 raised bed gardens that I did.  Plus, I added a couple of other containers/pots.  Last Friday night, at 9:30pm, I was finishing the little fence around those beds.  It seems that Ike likes to lay in the dirt, so I have to keep it completely enclosed, so he can't ruin my little seedlings.

This past Saturday was a WORK day.  And, by work day, I mean cram-as-much-as-you-can into the day!  It was the first full entire day off in about 3 weeks.  I was up at 7am, swept the floors, started laundry, cooked some breakfast, fed the dogs, did the dishes, and was up on the ladder at 8:45am.  The north side of our house gets terribly mildew-y and green, plus there were 2 different colors of siding, so it needed a good paint job.  The first level is brick and the siding is on the 2nd story.  So, it is up and down the ladder ALL day long, moving the ladder, touching up, refilling the paint bucket, a quick 20-minute break for lunch (during which I took 10 minutes and planted the rest of my garden seeds - peas, zucchini, cabbage, and squash), and then back to work.  P painted some in the morning and then finished mowing the grass, and then became Chief Ladder Holder, while I was trying to reach the tippy-top of the eave and not touch the electric running in to the house.  Geesh!

I was so tired.  I think I was still tired on Sunday night from all the work on Saturday!  And sunburned too!  The best part was that it was done!  P finished up the job by painting the gutters to match the brown on the garage door while I had to go to work on Sunday.  That side of the house looks awesome!  We even managed to squeeze in a little bit of fun Saturday evening for a motorcycle ride and some wings at Cadillac Jack's.

All in all, it was a good day - a great feeling of accomplishment.  But that was just one day or one weekend out of April and May.

We managed to get a camping trip in at the end of April, between rain showers.  J made the swim team for the YMCA, so she started swimming 3-4 times a week and has been loving it and learning tons.  J has had A LOT of homework, Civil Way day, and a couple of projects going on.  I have been walking 45-65 minutes each swim practice, which is a great use of my time.  The dogs have been good, although I think they are tired of the thunderstorms.  P is good, enjoying his job, and taking a class at the community college to get a Network Administrator certification.

And tonight is cheeseburgers on the grill and putting away a TON of laundry!  I keep up with the washing and drying and folding, but I let the putting away part slip sometimes with the laundry.  At least it's all clean!

peace!