WEDNESDAY - THE UNOFFICIAL START OF CRAP

Brian, Tracy and family arrived about 3:30 a.m.  Bradley’s girlfriend, Brianna, came with them.  Kevin got up to greet them.  The rest of us stayed in bed.  The only sound I heard was Tracy laughing.  They went to their camper and promptly went to bed to get a few hours sleep.

 

Jana and David were already here.  Renea had to work all day.  Stephanie left about 7:30 a. for CSU because she had two days of orientation.  She spent the night in the dorm.  Ryan stayed home and helped with some odds and ends.

 

I got up early and made a crockpot full of bar-b-q.  Then Kevin, Brian, Tracy and me headed into Phenix City.  First stop was the bank so we could get Brian on the business account and a check card.  I also had a deposit to make.  Next stop was Office Depot for Kevin.  Then it was on to WalMart.  Brian and Tracy had some shopping to do, and I picked up some slaw and dressing to go with our bar-b-q.  We arrived back at the house, and I made the slaw and had some lunch.  Brian and Tracy put away their groceries.  Steven came over to my place for his shower. 

 

Received a phone call from Rita and Bob who were on their way.  They were on I-85 and getting close.  They just weren’t sure where they were.  However, they found the Kroger store in Opelika and then headed for our place.  They arrived about 3:30 p.m.  Megan and Andrea, Robbie’s daughters, came with them.  Robbie got a new job and he and LeeAnn could not attend.  They drove Rita’s Lexus down from West Chester, and on the way something big hit their windshield.  It didn’t go thru completely, but it sure is bad.  Looks like if you touch it, the piece of glass with just pop right out.  They plan to see if they can get it fixed while they are here. 

 

Oh yea, we stopped for ice on the way back from WalMart.  After Rita, Bob and the girls arrived Kevin sent Ryan on another ice run.  I think we will go thru a lot of ice this weekend.  It sure is HOT!!!!!

 

Meanwhile, everyone put on their bathing suits and took a swim to cool off, except Jana, David and me.  We watched.  Kevin also figured out how to get around the beer drinking situation since there was no Miller Lite in the 60’s.  He decided that in order to keep the 60’s theme everyone should just drink 60 beers.  Renea arrived home and we had supper.  It sure was good.  We had the bar-b-q, cole slaw, macaroni salad that Renea had made, and peanut butter brownies for dessert.  Then it was back in the pool and a few more drinks. 

 

The “kids” did a little of everything.  They went swimming, tossed ball, jumped on the trampoline, watched television and played video games.  Nothing was planned so it was just a get reacquainted time tonight.

 

Rita came over to my house to check out my plants.  She had only seen pictures of what I had done so far.  She gave me a few tips.  We also sat on the deck and watched the birds fly around.  Bob came over and joined us.  Besides we had a lot to get caught up on.  We hadn’t had a chance to just chat for quite a while. 

 

Everyone was tired from travelling and lack of sleep, so it was a fairly early evening.  Tomorrow is another day. 

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

Not only did I cut some of the grass with the “hand” mower, I also cut the back grass with the old red riding mower.  That was the week before last.  However, last week Kevin received the parts for the good riding mower, he fixed it, and I cut all the front grass with the repaired mower. 

Kevin used the power washer on my deck last Saturday, then Anthony applied the waterproof stain.  It sure looks good.  I did move the rhododendron off the deck, and put it in one corner of the “rock” garden.  I did this for a couple of reasons.  First of all, the pot has a hole in the bottom for the water to drain.  I had put the pot on a tray with wheels, but the water even overflowed that.  It made a mark on my deck that we couldn’t get completely off.  Also, a rhododendron is only supposed to have the morning sun.  (Did you know that a rhododendron is in the azalea family?)  Anyway, I found a corner where this happens.  It looks good there.

A lot of grass had grown up in the rock garden even though I put down that black stuff.  So, I sprayed it very carefully with roundup.  The grass has died and now I am in the process of pulling the dead grass.  It’s looking better.  I still have a lot of dead grass pulling to do.

My petunias had become very sad looking.  The flowering stems had gotten really long and I didn’t like the way it looked.  I did some research and found that I could cut them back.  So I did, and hoped that I didn’t kill the plants.  Now they are coming back bushier and started to flower again.  Success.

Jana and David arrived last Monday.  It sure was good to see them.  They will be here for a month.  CRAP is next weekend, and Jana has been helping me with two of the games.  We are ready!  We’ve been shopping.  Of course, one of the first stops we made was Books-A-Million.  We also ordered a few from Amazon.  Like we need more books J

I bought a few new flowers when we were shopping on Friday.  I bought a couple of sunflowers.  I still don’t know where to plant them.  They do grow to be 10 feet tall.  I’ll find some place.  I also bought two hibiscus plants.

Tomorrow I am going to buy two big round pots to put them in and then place them in front between the azalea bushes.  I wanted to add some color to that area since my encore azaleas haven’t started their second blooming yet.  I thought they would by now.  We’ll see.  The bushes are nice and green and healthy looking.  My hydrangeas are looking good also.  I only have one bloom on one of them.  They haven’t grown a lot, but they do look healthy.  Next year will probably be better.  All four lantanas are looking healthy also.  I thought they would be bigger than they are.  But the butterflies are still coming to them.  Yes, that is a butterfly on the lantana.

I have a lot of birds, and I put two hummingbird feeders in the trees, but I haven’t seen any yet.  I’ll keep watching.  I do have a lot of cardinals and finches.  I even have a canary.  Bluebirds and purple martins are also plentiful.  It’s fun watching them. 

It’s Sunday afternoon and David is taking a nap, Jana is watching the race, and I’m doing laundry.  A nice quiet day.

We Are In Business

BKM Wood Products LLC is now in business.  Kevin made a few birdfeeders, an outhouse toilet paper holder and a planter box for us to sell at the Ladonia Flea Market during the World’s Widest Yard Sale.  Brian decided to come to Alabama to help at the Flea Market.  It was held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Renea and I worked the booth on Thursday, then Brian, Renea and I worked on Friday, and Kevin, Brian and I worked on Saturday.  We sold out of birdfeeders on Thursday and Friday.  Friday night Brian and Kevin made another dozen of the birdfeeders and we sold all but three of them.  We also sold the outhouse toilet paper holder.  We did really well for our first outing. 

I had bought us each two polo shirts (one blue and one green) which Renea took to the embroidery shop and had our company name and our names put on the shirts.  They looked great.

By Saturday night I was asleep in my chair after supper, woke up about 9:15 and went to bed.  Slept until morning when I got up to say goodbye to Brian and Samantha, then went back to bed.  I took it easy all day – took three naps and was in bed early.  Three days just wore me out!

Still haven’t cut the grass.  Kevin had to order the parts and we are still waiting for them.  I did get a little grass cut this morning with the “hand” mower and I did some weeding.  Have a lot more to do.  Would have continued, but it started thundering.  It’s trying to rain.  Not getting much more than a few drops.

Yesterday I cleaned my house, and finished up some odds and ends for the business.  Kevin spent the morning moving campers.  He put his back over by his house.  Brian’s is parked on the side of my house where Kevin’s camper was parked.  Jana’s camper is parked on the camping spot.  Brian brought her camper with him when he came down this weekend.  Jana and David will arrive next Monday and plan to stay for about a month.  It will be good to see them. 

We are now getting ready for CRAP.  I have most of my projects finished.  Just a little bit of tweeking here and there. 

My deck needs to be waterproofed/stained again.  We are hoping to get that done this weekend.  We plan to pressure wash it on Thursday then put the waterproof stain on it Saturday.  At least get started.  Renea said she will do the stain for me.  There is also one edge board that needs to be put on, and Kevin hopes to get that done after the staining is complete.

Cleopatra and her kittens have been taken to the shelter.  The kittens turned six weeks old today, and we decided we needed to get them out of the shed.  Besides, it is getting extremely hot here and we were worried about them being inside.  Since we couldn’t find anyone who wanted them we decided it was best to take them to the shelter.  I decided not to take one because I just didn’t think it would be fair to the kitten, and I am just not ready for the responsibility.  I have several trips planned to Ohio and I can’t take a kitten with me.  It would be left alone in the house while I am gone.  I know Kevin, Renea and Stephanie would have fed it, but they have enough to do with working and their dogs.  It was sad to see them leave.  I even felt a little guilty, especially since we took care of them since they were born. 

Making Progress

OOPS!  I named this blog the same as the last one.  A senior moment perhaps?  Or just a DUH! 

This week when it was grass cutting time, I got on the riding mower and headed out into the front yards.  I finished my front and side yards and then started on Kevin/Renea’s.  Didn’t get very far when I heard several clunks and smelled something “hot.”  Seems I threw a belt.  That took care of the grass cutting for that day.  Anthony finished up with the riding mower I don’t know how to use – yet. 

Made one more trip to Lowe’s to get the rest of my rocks.  ONE JOB IS FINISHED – sort of.  All the rocks are down, and, I must say, it looks good.  Now I just have to finished edging and getting rid of some grass that has started growing. 

My plants are doing great.  The Gerbera Daisy is blooming again.  I was getting a little concerned about that one.  Plenty of leaves, but no blooms.  The petunias are doing beautifully.  The geraniums are blooming and healthy.  And, I have a lot of buds on the Rhododendron.  I’m really looking forward to them blooming.  Waiting for the Encore Azaleas to bloom for their second time.  I still don’t see any buds, but I’m watching.  The information says in the summer, so I’m not sure exactly when that will be.  The Lantanas are beautiful.  The original two that I planted have been blooming constantly.  They are part of a group called Butterfly Bushes and I can see why. 

I have a lot of butterflies coming to them.  The two Lantanas that Renea gave me (they weren’t doing too good in her pots) are surviving.  I was worried about them for a while, but it looks like they are going to make it.  I am going to have to quietly sit outside with my camera and try to get some pictures of the butterflies. 

Now, I have to decide what I want to do where the Azaleas and Lantanas are to control the grass and weeds.  Decisions, decisions, decisions.

NOTE:  The Dawn Redwood is looking great!

I have a lot of birds coming to my feeders.  I love it!  I finally put the hummingbird feeders out.  I put a small one in each of the two Bradford Pear trees.  I haven’t seen any hummingbirds yet, but I keep watching.  It may take them a while to find the feeders.  There are also a lot of birds nesting in the purple martin house. 

The kittens are doing great.  They are starting to play, climb and walk all over the place.  One little black one with white paws greets me whenever I come to feed them.  I have started putting out some kitten food for them, but not sure they are eating it or Cleopatra is eating it.  I hope she is starting to teach them.  I know they check it out.  They turned four weeks old this week.  Still haven’t decided if I am going to take one of them.  I know a couple of you suggested the brown kitten, and that’s the one Renea and Stephanie think I should take.  But it’s the little black and white one that keeps “greeting” me.  Also there are two really small ones that are all black that are friendly.  The brown one usually ignores me.

Probably won’t get much done outside today.  It’s too hot.  Maybe I’ll just take a break, kick back and read for a while.  Sounds good.

Making Progress

The spring cleaning is finished.  It’s a good thing I have a small house.  The laundry is also caught up, until next week.  I seem to go thru an awful lot of clothes for just one person. 

 

We had about 2 ½ inches of rain, so my deck hasn’t been done.  We are waiting for a couple of dry days.  All the days we had with no rain, and now that I decided to stain the deck it rains just enough every other day to keep Anthony from doing the work.

 

I found the bells for CRAP JEOPARDY.  Actually they are not bells.  I found something better.  As for the SCAVENGER HUNT, I haven’t made any progress.

 

Still feeding the birds – hungry little fellows.  I have also noticed a lot of activity at the purple martin house.  Looks like there are a few nests in there.  That’s good because we want them to eat the bugs.

 

I cut all the front grass; both mine and Kevin/Renea’s.  Renea cut all of the back grass.  Of course, now that it rained and the sun has shown for a couple of hours I can watch the grass grow.  I’m thinking that by Saturday it will be time to cut it again.

 

I have about half of the area in front completed with the rocks.  Hopefully, I will be able to finish the other half this week.  I think it’s really looking good.  I trimmed all the dead stuff off the hydrangea in the section I finished and it’s looking good also. 

The kittens are growing rapidly.  They are so cute.  Took a few pictures of them yesterday along with their mama, Cleopatra.  Renea and Stephanie are still trying to talk me into keeping one.  We’ll see.

I have ordered the business cards for BKM Wood Products LLC, and some pens to pass out.  Kevin and I have reserved a double table at the Ladonia Flea Market on Hwy 80 so we can participate in the World’s Widest Yard Sale.  This is the first year for the WWYS.  We decided to give it a try. Renea and I will be manning the booth.  Kevin is now busy making some items for us to sell.  By the way, our website is up and running.  Still needs work and tweaking.  Also, our email address links are not working.  Not sure why.  Still working on that.  Anyway, if you want to take a look at the site the address is http://bkmwoodproducts.com.  Original, right?

 

I’m not going to tell you what all I have to do yet.  Seems I made Ginger tired just reading my blog. You can rest now Ginger.  I also want to thank all of you for your comments and emails.  I do read them, and I enjoy hearing from all of you.  I’m just not too good about answering them.

I DID IT AGAIN!

I am so far behind I know I am first! 
 

I just keep taking on more projects before I finish any of the others I started.  First, there are the kittens.  They are so cute.  Every morning and evening I go over to the shed to feed Cleopatra and check on the kittens.  I also make sure she has clean water and I clean her litter box.  Of course, I have to visit for a while to say hello and keep them company.

 

Of course, I have a lot of hungry birds coming to the feeder so I fill those every day.  I also need to decide where to put the hummingbird feeder.  I know the hummingbirds are around because one tried to eat from a decorative red ball I have hanging out by my deck.

 

I have finally finished the CRAP JEOPARDY except for the bells and a large piece of cardboard.  I have set up the teams with the people I know are going to be here.  I split them up so “families” are not together.  The team captains are Bob, Renea and Tracy. 

 

I am still working on the FIRST ANNUAL JIM AKER SCAVANGER HUNT.  I have most of my items together and the list each team will be given.  Not that it makes any difference.  If it works like it did on Boomer Road everyone will help everyone else.  That’s okay.  They just won’t know the secret as to which item will win the prize.  Anyway, I still have quite a bit of work to do on that.

 

I still have not decided on who I will hire to put up my gutters and downspouts.  I have only received one bid and I thought it was rather expensive.  Going to get a few more bids.

 

My deck needs a coat of stain and waterproofing.  I have decided to hire Anthony to do that.  He said he would.  Now we just need a few days of no rain.  Since we decided to do this, we have had a rain shower every day.  Rain is also predicted for the next few days.

 

The grass needs cutting, but that will have to wait a few days. 

 

I still need to spring clean my house. 

 

I have been working on the website for BKM Wood Products LLC business.  It’s just about ready to upload to the internet.  I have the domain name and have set up our email addresses.  I am also getting ready to order our business cards.  We have decided to make up some fliers.  That’s also on my list (which just keeps getting longer).

 

And, I just couldn’t wait.  I had to go and buy some rocks for my one area in the front and side of my deck.  I bought white rocks.  They are looking really good.  However, I didn’t buy enough so it’s back to Lowe’s I will be going. 

 

I also bought two geraniums.  I think I will leave them in the pots and just set them in among the rocks.  I am getting new growth on my hydrangeas.  I’m watching my encore azaleas.  They should be starting to get buds on them for their next bloom cycle. 

 

Okay.  Break is over.  Time to head over to Kevin’s for supper. 

A LITTLE RAIN

We finally had a rain shower.  Just enough yesterday so that I didn’t have to water any plants or trees.

 

The kittens are doing fine.  However, we had to move Cleopatra and her kittens into the shed and lock the door.  Cleopatra is in heat and we don’t need any more kittens.  None of us knew that she could go into heat so soon after having kittens and nursing.  We found out after researching on the internet that within a week after having kittens a female cat can go into heat again.  Roscoe and Lola are pretty much camped out under the shed.  Renea did get a couple of pictures of the kittens.  They are starting to open their eyes so I guess they will be moving around more soon.

Kevin had bought a bunch of stones to put around his flagpole.  Since he had a lot of them left I confiscated them and made a border across the one area of my plants, the area with the hydrangeas.  Now I am filling in the area with white rocks.  I am sure it will look good when finished, but right now it is a mess.  I need more rocks!

In between I’ve been doing the usual, grocery, bank, laundry, cleaning, etc., etc., etc.  Oh yeah, and cutting grass.  That is a never ending project. 

Time to head outside.  Going to finish cutting grass in the one area where I use the hand mower, and finish spreading a few rocks.  Also have to go to the grocery.  Just keeping busy.