A Weekend in Pictures....

Well, I'm working on a special project, have plenty of sewing that needs done this month so we are ready for a trip up north eventually, have plenty of crochet work in progress -- and thanks to Sara's Crochet A-Long, now I have another project or two about to start ;o)

The Home Challenge...the attack cleaning is still moving along, but boy have we lost steam! The master bedroom is done...I have full use of my dresser again. The children's room have been done as well, though they are pretty much a work-in-perpetual-progress giving so many children just plain living everyday in such relatively small areas.

The outside is next on our attack list. The yard. We have friends (I think they are coming any way, need to verify the plan) coming daily to help with animals late this month so we can make a trip. The yard is just a mess. Remember the closet? Well, that has nothing on the yard areas here on the homestead, trust me. There is stuff everywhere! We just have too much stuff, that's all there is to it. Attack and purge. Attack and purge. That really needs to be written on the doorposts and fence rails of this homestead. No 'stuff' left untouched. Non-purgers will be hidden in the timber to fend for themselves!

We drove over to the other side of Alabama Friday afternoon to haul eldest son's trailer of stuff over. Yes, apparently the pack rat gene passes direct from one generation to another. It took 9 hours round trip, and that was very little time unloading actually. Poor goats were milked about midnight. Pretty vocal about our lack of respect for their sleeping habits, too, but none the worse for wear.

Well, come Sunday, we made another trip over the state. Seems some items were unloaded there that we thought had been unloaded here...namely husband's clothes! All of his work clothes!

But, on the way, a bit more relaxed about the drive this time, we stopped off and checked out a couple of really nice campgrounds, and stopped to see the oldest log jail in Alabama. Actually, it's the second oldest log jail in the nation. Tiny little thing, and to make it "secure" they had row upon row of hand forged square-head nails lining the walls and ceilings. It was kind of neat.

On Saturday, most of the children disappeared here. That's not a good thing really. There's a lot of thick over-growth here, and a lot of snakes, not to mention ticks, chiggers and other assorted what-not insects looking for some flesh.

Well, were they at the pond they would certainly have found that...some flesh.
They were skinny dipping...in the pond...in the mud, the muck, the nasty nasty nasty water. They collected "seaweed" too while there...rotted nasty decaying leaves. Oh man, we are talking icky water here. It's just icky. Maybe it's because I'm not a girl of 8 anymore (ok, so I'm not a girl of 18, 28, or even 38 anymore...wanna make something of it?????), or very adventurous when it comes to icky pond diving, but still...man is that one nasty pond!

And there they were, swimming in the all-together, covered in mosquito bites, "seaweed" stuck in their hair, and all sorts of stuff. They were swimming, running and jumping from the bank, swinging off the trees and plopping right in, happy-go-lucky as you please.

I'm trying my best to remember that being 8 years old and having access to something like a pond (or any sort) just screams at you in tones a parent simply can't hear or understand. It's just one of those childhood things that you once knew and now that you're a parent, that information has simply vanished from your psyche.

I'm so glad of that forgetfulness in so many ways right now! eeewwww.....