Annual Visit to Pastor Caity

We drove up to Columbus to visit Caity's new church.  We went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant with this giant chair in front of it.  Then we visited back at her and Tyler's house.  Maggie gave the bird she carved to Charlie who enjoyed playing with the box and tissue paper as much if not more than playing with the bird :)

 

Henry Doorly Zoo

Philomena did a research study at Boys Town.  Part of her compensation was a pass for up to 10 people to go to the zoo.  Philomena brought Rebecca in her car.  I drove my mom, Uncle Jim, Maggie and me.  Then Beth met us at the zoo.  We walked all the outdoor exhibits in the morning.  It was horribly hot so Mom and Beth left after lunch.  Jim and the kids and I went to the Lied Jungle where Jim dropped his cane into the pond with the huge catfish!  Then we went to the Desert Dome and Kingdoms of the Night.  Then we go the kids ice cream.  The kids were getting crabby and I looked at Jim and told him we should probably just head home to air conditioning before they got any more irritable!  Overall, we all had a great time together!

Rebecca and Philomena leaned against the metal door frame and enjoyed how cold it felt compared to outdoors.  They cracked me up!

 

Christmas in July

Maggie wanted to make gingerbread cookies.  We used the new Christmas cookie cutter set that I bought to make a house and 3D trees, snowmen, and sleds.  We tried to make reindeer but the legs wouldn't go on the deer.  Next time I want to make one giant cookie and cut the pieces out after it bakes so the shape holds the correct size.  Otherwise, I thought the set worked great and they tasted so good!

 

Cleaning the Kitchen

I was pulling items out of the kitchen cabinets to wipe the shelves and found this little duck.  I'm not sure who hid it in there!  Neither child is claiming it!

 

Maggie's Whittling

Maggie took up whittling this summer.  We bought her a set of tools and she carved this bird for our friend's child, Charlie, for his 3rd birthday.  We have since set up a work station in the basement for her where she has more room than her bedroom.

 

July 4th at Mike's

Philomena:  Mom, are we going to Mike's for the 4th?

Me:  I'm not sure.  I haven't talked to Mike recently because he and Cathy went on a trip.  Why?

Philomena:  Well, Mike's fireworks are better than what you buy.

Me laughing:  yes, he does buy more expensive ones than I do!

We enjoyed hanging out with friends from church on July 4th.  Maggie enjoyed setting the fireworks off for Mike.

 

Semiquincentennial

I gave the girls and my mom the ornaments that I bought for them in D.C.  Mom stayed for supper with us.

Maggie helped me bring a shelf up from downstairs so I could put more plants in front of the window.

 

Sourdough

Peggy started making sourdough bread.  Philomena learned that sourdough bread is easier to digest for people with IBS and asked me to get some starter from Peggy so we could bake bread.  I've had to throw away a bunch of fails but now I've gotten the hang of it.  I can make a good loaf of bread, a pizza crust, and pancakes with the sourdough starter.  They all taste good!

 

Outside

I was eyeing a birdbath at Earl May but couldn't justify buying a want when we have things we need.  Philomena bought it for me as my birthday/Christmas/Mother's Day gift for the next 2 years which I told her was just fine!

I've also started composting.  I watched a youtube video on how to make my own cold compost.  I bought a $20 trash can and drilled holes in it.  The main thing I'm composting is the dirty hay and poop from the guinea pigs.  It's been a big portion of my trash and when I learned I could compost it, I thought I've got to learn how!  It was starting to get full and difficult to mix, so I looked on marketplace where I happened to find someone selling the trash can for $12.  I drilled holes in it and was able to move compost from the first one to the second one which enabled me to mix it up better.  So I'll keep adding to this one until it is fuller before I start filling the other one.  It is supposed to take 2-3 months to turn to usable compost and you don't have to regularly mix it; you can just leave it sit.  We'll see!