Mow the Lawn Yourself

Ok, I will start by saying the husband and I are DIY type of people. We are cheap, to some extent and to another, we like to do things right. To that end, we have never had a lawn service. Bob mowed lawns as a kid, and still isn't ready to give that up, so I doubt we will ever have a lawn service.

Everyone else in our neighborhood has a lawn service. The thing I don't understand is why it is a good idea to have the lawn service come at 7:30 AM on a Saturday. Maybe I could reconcile a week-day with that time... marginally, but a Saturday????? I don't freakin' think so.

This is a new lawn service our neighbors are using, they parked under MY window, tramped through MY yard, and generally disturbed MY household. The really need to not start by mowing MY grass!

Now, we like our neighbors, and would like to maintain a friendly relationship with them. Their kids like our kids, and vice versa, so, I don't think I will say anything but it is so annoying. I wonder why they do it so early in the morning? What is wrong with 9:00?? Heck 3:30 is a lovely time too.

Sam lost a tooth and other things

Sam lost his 2nd tooth yesterday. I was so happy, as his adult teeth had already grown in behind the baby teeth. A condition called shark teeth, in case you are interested. When I discussed it with the dentist, I was told that the baby teeth would need to be pulled. I was putting off doing it until Bob had a job, but the came out!! I think Sam bit something hard and sort of pushed one tooth out, but once one was out it opened the door for the other one to come out... sure I helped a bit.

I also dyed more yarn. I used the same 6 colors, so the yarns are all sort of similar. Next time I may try mixing colors together to get some variation. But I wanted to see how it went with wilton colors. I don't know that I like them. I think that I might like regular food coloring better. I think that it might also be cheaper.

Some people think that because I am playing with dying yarn that I am going to sell it. I think that is so funny, my attempts, while making me exceedingly happy, are pretty amateurish, and I frankly couldn't imagine anyone purchasing it. I still get white parts where I have tied the yarn, the pink I used was pretty neon, etc. I call this batch of yarn, learning curve colorways. I microwaved the yarn, something to keep in mind is that mini skeins need less time in the cooker than a bigger skein. See, Learning Curve! Anyway, I will post pictures as soon as I can. Don't even ask me to buy it, it is for my blanket and it ain't for sale! There might not even be enough to share, which I realized to my horror this morning.

Random Thoughts on a Thursday

1. I know it isn't Wednesday, but I didn't have any random thoughts yesterday. I was too tired.

2. Sam lost a tooth and asked for Pokemon cards. I still don't get it.

3. Kids like Looney Toons.

4. Sometimes people do stuff I couldn't or wouldn't but perhaps their motivation is different than mine and if in that situation I might.

5. Perhaps having the kids be zombies is a good idea, perhaps not.

6. Ethics belong to the person, and it is not mine to sit in judgment.

7. Judgmental people suck.

8. 1 more

9. My sheep are all in a row, is that like ducks in a row?

10. I need to go to the grocery store. How is it that my husband thinks we don't need bread when there isn't any?

11. Free Cheez-Its.

12. My yarn might come today.

13. I haven't knit in 6 days. I might be ill.

14. Knitting makes everything better.

A knitters dozen of thoughts.

HOME SWEET HOME

We arrived at home in one piece today. It was super fun, super tiring, and most likely will be repeated next summer. A re-cap:

3 houses
2 hotels
1 mini van
3 kids
1 adult
7 states (forgot one the first time)
1 feverish kid
1 stomach bug (different kid)
3000 miles all the way

It is good to be home.

Odyssey day 14

Well, tomorrow we head home. Hannah is sick, 102 fever... great! Thoose friends with the sick kids.. It will be interesting to see how it goes with a sick kid in the car all day. The tylenol seems to be lowering her fever and making her feel MUCH better, she actually ate something. So, I am guardedly optimistic.

The odyssey - days 3 - 13

I could do a day by day blow of what we did. We spent a lot of time in the car. This gives a person a lot of time to think about what ever pops into their head. I listened to a couple of books on tape. One was fair. The one I am still listening to is about a child that is kidnapped and discovers this 28 years later. It is interesting to think about what the mother/child relationship means. The daughter was taken by her father because her mother is an achoholic. I never knew my mother, she gave me up after I was born. I imagine that she named me, but I don't know that name. The character in the story ponders what her mother thought about for the 28 years she was missing, why the mother never tried to find her. I often wonder what my mother thinks about. I know she has not tried the traditional channels to find me, because I am registered with all of them. I am not overly emotional about this fact, just curious.

It was great to see my friends. The kids loved seeing their friends. Everyone played really well together. The kids had a blast doing the stuff we used to do in CT. We went to the lake, the sprinkler park and the playground. We shopped a few deals and we went to a party. We also went to Quassy, an amusement park. The kids had never been there before, but loved it. Everyone had a blast, and we are hoping to go back again next year! A new tradition.

I was sad to say good bye to my friends. They sent me off with a van full of clothes, food and toys for the kids. Talk of next summer ringing in everyone's ears.

We are at my in-laws now. Waiting for my FIL to return from the Dr. He took a pretty bad spill in a parking lot. We will find out how he is doing when they return.

The Odyssey .. day 2

Captians log; July 10, 9 hundred 20 hours, stardate 2

So we went to the farm. We went to the circus. We played outside in the water. The kids went to bed late.

The farm was interesting, we saw sheep and you know that makes me happy. I thought I might sheer them, card and clean the wool, spin it, dye it and make socks. I would like to add that any ideas about utilizing the wool from the afore mentioned sheep would be for my own personal use and entertainment. (I crack myself up.) Seriously, I liked petting the babies!

We saw my niece perform in the circus. It was pretty cool, and Hannah really wants to join the circus now! She was mezmorized by the kids performing the stunts. I am not sure how I would feel about my kid 10 feet in the air hanging by their foot upside down... but at least she is currently too small and we don't live in Columbus!