Meet the new protector of our garden and fruit trees. This inflatable snake was a gift from my father-in-law. It is meant to deter birds (and hopefully small rodents). So far, I've successfully startled myself and have not yet seen any squirrels or birds hanging out near it. I have funny/depressing visions of a ground squirrel running by our window with the snake in its mouth, taking it to the same place it/they took all our tomatoes last year.

Snow!

Blizzard of the Century! Or so I was told by a coach I work with. Not really the case, but a lot of snow. We had choir rehearsal and I was told that Buhler, KS got 18 inches. No clue if it is true. We seem to have around 4 inches and it was enough to do some damage. All the hard work on the garden structure could be wasted. We'll see what can be salvaged when this all clears up. Either way, I love to run in the snow and am looking forward to tomorrow morning!

Here is the garden structure and the door that I recently worked on.

Who knows what we can salvage. I framed in the door and it really seemed to help hold that end up pretty well.

It is so very nice to have Emily back! A lot of coaching and house work was completed this week and below are some pictures of completed projects.

Here is the kitchen with the walls and ceiling painted.


Here is an old screen door that I refinished and built into the existing garden "cage" (for lack of a better word). Hopefully this will help keep the critters out this year.


Emily and I have been working to clear out the left-overs from last year's failed garden to prepare for this year's bounty (hopefully). I wish I would have taken a before picture, because the transformation is pronounced.

Spring Break!

It is officially here. And I am alone and at home. Jen, Dave, Mom and Dad are having a party in China Chris and Diane, and Emily is off in Ohio quilting with her parents. School work, practicing, coaching track (high jump) and home renovation projects to fill my time and keep me busy. We like our new home very much, but it is lacking in dining space. Our kitchen has a corner that works to put a table in, but it has always had a rather large cupboard above it. We had talked about it and I decided it was time for it to come down. Here are a few during pictures. These were taken just after I pulled the unit off the wall.

The green on the wall is where the unit was. It is on it's side under the ceiling fan.














I commented to Emily on the phone that this was the manliest thing I have done in a while. Stupid might be a better word to describe it. I was alone and it was about 12:30 am last night that I finally go it off the wall. I did not think of how to get it on the ground until I had it pried from the wall.


















More to come when I finish this project. If you are in KC this week and would like to hang out, I am free.

A Couple Random Things

1. I've officially become un-shocked by the ugliness of our house. Yes, well will still be re-siding, re-windowing, and re-roofing this summer (it still doesn't look good.) I realized yesterday that I no longer had to control my gag reflex when I pulled into the drive way.

2. When my parents visited a few weeks ago, my mom figured out how to fit all of our bowls into a tiny space in our new(-ish) dishwasher. . . and they still get clean. We'd had them taking up most of the top rack. This is seriously fantastic in my book.

3. I've (we've) been with a cold since the end of January. After going through several boxes of tissues, I thought I would give a handkerchief a try. I will admit that it is not appropriate for all stages of a cold (I will spare you the specifics). I wouldn't take one out in public, but for the around the house, drippy faucet nose, I am a convert. Cloth is much nicer on the skin than tissue. I like the idea of not wasting tissue and creating more trash. I highly suggest giving it a try. Let me know what you think.
P.S. A hoody pocket is convenient for storage.

4. Jon and I are starting our garden seedlings indoors this year. We have never done this before, and it is exciting to see little plants pop up even when it is below freezing outside. Granted it is only basil so far, but we are going to do most of our plating this weekend. I hope this will be our key to getting good broccoli and lettuce.

-Emily

Not-So-Good News

Due to large budget cuts in the state, I have been placed on excess in the district. This means that I will likely have a job, but my building no longer has my position. I am left in the great abyss that is the S.M. School district. I don't know when I will know where I will be next year. In essence, I am in the same situation I was in last year at this time. I am not a fan of uncertainty or change, so this is not sitting well, but at least I will (probably) have a job next year. Things I am hoping for if you want to add me to your list of bedtime prayers: that I am placed somewhere with a supportive staff (the school I'm at is great at this), that I am able to have some familiarity with the material, and (most of all) that I feel like a good teacher again, or (at least) that I don't dread going to work everyday.

Emily

Who Is That?!

I really did have the idea that I would like to blog more starting with the new year. (This obviously didn't happen.) Enjoy this lovely picture Jon and I doctored up. When we were in China, we sat in on a class that Chris was teaching on a picture editing program called GIMP. We were meant to follow along and help anyone that wasn't quite getting it. We got a little side-tracked and spent the enire hour putting together this winner.