R.I.P. Peanut and other stories from the long weekend

Remember Peanut? Well, as my earlier post indicated, the life expectancy of farm kittens is pretty low, especially when their favorite place is underneath the tires of a moving vehicle. Peanut's fate was sealed Friday night as we headed out for dinner at a friend's house. DD and I were in the car, and DH was checking for OUV's (Objects Under Vehicle). He didn't see Peanut under the left front tire . . . and . . . well, you can guess what happened. Fortunately, DD didn't see or hear anything (including DH trying to scrape Peanut off the garage floor without gagging to death). On Saturday night, DH told her what happened and they erected a cross at Peanut's grave.

Friday night was spent at the home of DH's good friend. They hosted a little get together for a few families - - a fun time was had by all, especially when Cindy tried to take my car home by mistake. LOL!!! The boys built lots of little campfires in the backyard and the girls rode the go-kart. Moms & Dads sat on the porch taking it all in and enjoyed a beautiful summer evening.

On Saturday, DH worked at a construction job and I cleaned the house (I like it better when DH and I share the task! It takes so much longer alone!) . We headed to W'loo mid-afternoon to price out a garage and I found some great coordinating fabric for DD's new room.

Sunday morning we all slept too late and missed church (which never happens!). So, in his infinite guilt, DH "encouraged" us all to sit and watch a couple church services on tv (is that what some would call "penance"). Mom came over mid-morning and we tried the "omelet in a bag" recipe. I guess I did something wrong because the bags split in the pot of boiling water (yeah, go ahead and LOL!). After that mess was cleaned up, we made them the old fashioned way and they were yummy! We started painting DD's room and after several failed attempts at using a roller cover meant to be used with the Wagner power roller - definitely not a good idea to confuse the two - and several frustrating verbal exchanges with DH ("I told you to check the label before using that!" . . . "do you really think I did this on purpose?!"), we ran to GC to pick up the right tools for the job. And a little ice cream to cool off the hot tempers. We stopped by the neighbors to check out their new trees and machine shed - - we were having such a nice visit we stayed for two hours! After we got home, I finished painting the room, sewed up some curtains, a headboard slipcover, bedskirt, and bench cover in no time. DD was thrilled with the results, but boy is it ever PINK! (photos to be posted tomorrow)

Monday, DH worked at his construction job again and DD & I worked in the gardens - - we harvested 15 bags of produce for market and we trimmed all the bushes and weeded around the front porch. At 3 pm and after DD says "Mom, it sure is hard work being a farmer", I finally decided to call it quits outside. In a desperate attempt for a "clean sweep", I put DD and the dog in the shower with me - - now that's an adventure! For dinner, we made grilled salmon on a bed of lemon/garlic pasta topped with sauted spinach and mushrooms. It was a nice change, but I'll take tater tot casserole or tuna & noodles with peas any ol' day!

Finally, the 4th . . . totally unplanned, but very fun. We spent most of the day at the high school baseball tournament in Beaman. A fantastic day - warm, nice breeze, great friends, good games, fantastic food (potluck-great idea!), and a handy-dandy tent to shade all of us freeloaders (thanks Brian!). Even with the tent, I was fried by 3:30 and we headed home. DH's friend came out and we watched "Coach Carter" (excellent) and DD stayed up long enough to watch the fireworks; we could see them in a 30 mile radius! Now, that's definitely a benefit of living in "the middle of nowhere"!

For some reason, I'm unable to post any more photos ?!?!?!? I'll try again later...to be continued.