Decorating and Doggies

The weeks of summer seem to be slipping by so quickly.  Last week at about this time there was a commotion on our front porch.  There was some barking and bouncing and a cute, adorable puppy bounded over and greeted me.  Now, in the previous week Steve had given an adamant "NO" to two free puppies that I had fallen in love with.  He was saying "NO", again!  But she chose us!  She followed me on walks, always to return to our house.  One day I shushed her and yelled, "Go home!", she went to our front porch.  We still have her in our backyard and there is a couple with children coming to see her tomorrow, so hopefully this will be her forever family!
This summer our project is Conner's room.  Conner's room is a mish mash of space ships and sharks, no true theme. 
He has been obsessed with Harry Potter, so it made sense to decorate his room in a Harry Potter theme.  This has proved to be a challenge.  There is an entire internet of items I could by.  Um, this equals PRICEY!!!!  I mean, really, why pay 60 bucks for a lamp! 
So what's a girl to do? Go to GoodWill!  We went and scored some serious wall decor and some great basket pumpkins and candle holders.  At a yard sale, I scored matching tables that are really odd and can be stacked. Six bucks!
So today, I started on the hard part, the paint.  Until I realized, paper came first!  We saw something similar to this on line, but this is a different take on it.  For 2.99 I purchased an old book, the Encyclopedia of Dictionaries.  For 16.00, I purchased wall glue, a brush, a smoother and a bucket.  Here are the results!

Next up, painting and curtains!

And how was your day?

Summer Cleaning!

Amazing, there is a floor!

Just how Dry is it?

I have strayed from my usual post about my kids.  Is it because nothing interesting happened? Nope, as a matter of fact, I may write about our fantastic mouse hunt, but right now, I think I want to illustrate how dry it can get, and what happens when it does.

I was out with the kids (of course), repairing our hot fence (south side, again) when I really noticed the elevation differences in the land near the fence.  I took a picture, which is, as they say, worth a 1000 words.  However, in this case, I believe some words are needed to get the full picture!
In this picture, prior to the spring winds, this area had been flat.  There was a small rise on a secondary fence that was about 15 feet to the right of those tall weeds.  Those tall weeds were shoulder height to me, at 5'4"!  There was no rise on the right side of the fence!
The only reason the left side isn't as lifted with blown in dirt, is that is where the horses walk, thus wearing it down!
There is perhaps a three foot rise in elevation behind the fence.  In some places, the lower wire, which is supposed to be about 18 inches off the ground, is buried.  We went through it all, shifting the soft piles of dirt, lifting wire and adjusting the poles.  It was hard, gritty work.  We reset all the hot wire on the insulators, cleared all debris and reset wobbly poles.
In the end, is the hot wire hot? Not really.  You see, for an electric fence to properly work, the animal must be grounded for the fence to complete the circuit and zap the animal. This is the reason birds land on the fence without harm, they aren't grounded.
This fence isn't hot.  The wires can be moved without shocking (as demonstrated by the wires consistently down on the south side).  It is literally so dry, our dirt doesn't hold enough latent moisture to complete the circuit!
So, while there are areas of the country that are bemoaning another rainfall, and eyeballing flood lines, we on the High Plains are worried.
We watch our top soil drift, we walk our pastures and see hard ground with no hint of soil.  We see the bones of the earth laid bare. Dairy farmers are having to search farther afield to find hay for their herds, and many are selling off herds because there is no hay.
You can irrigate a field to grow things, but without proper humidity, you can't bale the hay.
So as one part of the country prays that the waters recede, another part of the country prays for rain.
Hear our prayer.

And how was your day?

The Flying Floatie

Nothing says summer like, well, swimming at the pool.  We are fortunate enough to be members at the local country club.  We love to swim there.  The life guards are friendly and take an interest in the kids, the pool is relatively uncrowded and bingo, we are allowed to have floaties. Noodles, inner tubes, mats, whales and sharks, all are permitted. 
We went today, meeting up with some friends, to cool ourselves from the 100 plus weather we have been having.  I could go on at length about our wind, the way I hate it, the way it lays the earth bare until there is no top soil, the way it is preventing any form of rain from falling, but I won't.
Getting ready for swimming takes an Act of Congress to get us out the door.  First is the snacks that I pack.  We will be there between two to three hours, so that means hearty provisions.  What would happen if food weren't readily available to my portable stomachs children?  Sadly, the last of the summer sausage (bought three days ago), the rest of the strawberries, the granola bars, the water and juice.  I think we packed heavier than the Donner party.  Good thing, you know what happened to them!
Then there is the inevitable fight over who gets to be first for getting their sunscreen.  I don't know why this is such a big deal.  I have learned not to wait until we get to the pool, heavens, that means no jumping in for at least an extra five minutes!  Can't have that!!
I smear sunscreen in the correct places, insist on the proper rash guards (no getting around the fact of how disturbingly white we all are) and yell, find your towels.
I gather either my kindle or my knit bag to amuse myself after my obligatory dip.  Gather the million and four goggles, fins, masks and dive rings that must be brought because if I don't bring them, they will be missed and cried over not ten minutes after our arrival.
This time it was seriously hot.  The kids dumped their towels and headed straight for water.  Andrea, Liberty and I settled and talked for a bit, then the heat became too much.  We jumped in and cooled off, doing some aqua aerobics to keep warm before climbing out to dry out.
The wind kicked up as I was dispersing rations to my hungry minions.  It swirled around us and scooped up our black inner tube, lifted it out of the water, and over the fence. 
James, fast on his feet, took off around the fence and after the rapidly moving tube.
The ironic fact was the tub bounded and spun on edge as if the wind wielded an invisible stick to send the hoop running.  Past one tee, James ran after the fleeing tube.
It was gaining speed, but James was persistent and kept running.  A golfer at the closest green spotted his trouble and turned his cart around.
Boy and cart and tube were over a small rise (we have no hills here) and out of site.  We waited, on lookers at the fence.
Then, behold, the cart was zipping back with a tube on one side, and James in shotgun.  It zoomed back to our immense cheers, James grinning like a hero.

So, be wary the wind, it will steal your floaties, and be thankful for the golfer with a sense of humor and a good heart!

And how was your day?

Traffic and travel!

So I found this new part on blogger that shows almost everything about my viewers.  What systems they use (Mac vs PC), web browsers, referral sites, searches and even geography!  I have had readers in Alaska and the Ukraine!!  I find it fascinating!
We are on our way home from our lovely vacation.  We spent a fun filled time in Disneyland (seriously, we stayed on site, I highly recommend that route!), then had even more fun in Las Vegas with Grandma and Grandpa.
We climbed Mt. Charleston (okay, just the Mary Jane Falls trail, but it was rated as moderate, and we went up about 1600 feet in about 1.4 miles!), we walked the strip (Mama, is that real?  Why are there Egyptian thingys?), we swam (the pool cleaner is now named Vip the Zip) and made homemade pizza with Grandpa (woot!).
So, it was interesting to me, to stop on my physical journey (hello, Gallup!) and look at the Internet journey that my blog makes.  Amazing.  My words can travel, and way faster than I can!
We have driven along a route that has shown us the raw beauty of the West. The rock cliffs, the streaked crumbly hills, all send a visceral feeling through me.  The ancient human trapped in all of us looks to the cliffs, sees the out croppings and thinks, shelter.  There is something pleasing in the landscape.  It is something that reassures me as I drive through it.
We journey home tomorrow.  My mind is half on the laundry and cleaning that needs to be done.  The fence that needs mending (alas, my fence is continually having problems, and only on one side.  Frustrating to say the least). The parade that Caitlyn and James are in on Saturday and Heritage days all weigh in the back of my mind.

But foremost, I see the cliffs, striations of red and tan, boldly jutting out of the ground.  Sentries, shelter, survival.

Disney and Vegas

Disneyland was fabulous and then we moved on to Vegas.  Grandma  and Grandpa look great and it is wonderful to see them.  I have gone from being tired from walking all over Disney to being plied with food at Grandma's

Disneyland was fabulous and then we moved on to Vegas.  Grandma  and Grandpa look great and it is wonderful to see them.  I have gone from being tired from walking all over Disney to being plied with food at Grandma's!