Hi Everyone!

[Lindsey]

lol I don't have much energy! Everything is stuffed into the few months of summer here though so it's always so busy busy busy! And I'm just exhausted all the time! This weekend I just want to stay home, maybe do some painting, and relax! I'll probably be stuck at the office working though

[DianaB]

Lindsey, you have been busy!!! How nice that you could stay at your Grandmother's house and got to visit with your cousin!!!.......Tell Scott....Happy Birthday!!!

Gayle, peach cobbler and ice cream sound wonderful!! I haven't made ice cream for such a long time!! I may need to get my freezer out!!

Janet, Yay!!!! You got two puppies sold!!! I know that you've been worried about getting them sold......and you'll get the last one sold too!!! I just know it!!!

Well.......we had a good time at the lake!! Several aunts, uncles, some of Mom's cousins, and some of my cousins, were all there. We always have lots of food!! And lots of swimming!!! I spent two hours in the water swimming.......I float very well and don't have to have much movement to stay afloat......and I found out that it was too long.....my blood sugar dropped when I got out so I made sure that I didn't do that again!!!

My cousin decided to keep the bird which was fine.....we really weren't sure that we really wanted it anyway. We talked about going to Branson but had to be home by Tuesday so we decided to just spend the night somewhere on the way home......which was Joplin. The next morning Glen dropped me off at a big flea market there and I got to shop while he ran around to places he was interested in. I bought an antique parlor table to go here in the living room. It was a good trip.

Then....on Tuesday....yesterday.....we went to the lake with our children's church kids. Amy planned a picnic and we went swimming. The lake we went to has a nice sand beach which you don't find normally in Kansas. Dae Lynn even had Baby Dean out.....he was so cute with his little hat and sunglasses!!!!

Oh... and Dae Lynn, Damon, and the kids came out and housesit for us......they also watched the dogs. Karlie was so excited because she was going to get paid for doing it!!! She got $5 and was so excited!!!!

Now we have VBS tonight......gotta' dress like an Egyptian again!!! Lots of fun!!!!

[gja1000]

I have been outdoors much (well some) of the day in the 90-100 degree heat. YUK!

But my sweet honey got me a couple of rose bushes for the pots in our front yard, so I needed to take out the old potting soil and put in new rose potting soil and plant them. I still have one pot to do this evening after it gets into the shade.

I also repotted an impatiens plant. It was completely root bound so I got a new hanging pot for it. We don't actually have it hanging right now, because the location gets too much sun for it now - so it's sitting on my back porch. Hopefully though, we will be able to hang it in the fall (if it lives that long. LOL). I've been to the nursery TWICE!

We are looking for some ground cover for a spot in our back yard that gets total shade and another place under a tree where the grass is almost gone. I think we have found some native plants that will work well, but we'll have to drive an hour and half to get them! I think we'll make that drive on Sunday.

[DianaB]

Gayle, you are such a busy woman!!! I bet your roses will be beautiful!!! I've never had good luck with roses. You're so brave to be out in this heat!!!

[gja1000]

Well, I was Mrs. Green Jeans (for those of you old enough to remember that Mr. Green Jeans was a farmer and Captain Kangaroo's right hand man) for most of the weekend. With the 100+ temps, if you have any outdoor trees, grass, garden or flowers, they need A LOT of attention right about now. It seems I watered off and on all day on Saturday. Then Sunday, I tended to the garden, watered a few more spots and then Gary and I shopped for gutters for the back of the house and started to work on them a bit (no, he really isn't able to do the work, but he wants to try, so I'll help him as long as he can work at it).

We saw some rain barrels at the Farmers Market a couple of weeks ago and we have talked about setting up barrels to catch the rain off our roof, for some time now. Gary needs "projects" , so we bought rain barrels. Here is a link to see them. The pictures all show two barrels together, but we only have one barrel in 3 locations. http://austingreenwater.com/rain-bar...om-green-water

They are nice as they are elevated on the wood platforms and the valve where you hook up the hose is at the bottom of the barrel, so the water will drain out through the hose via gravity. You can use a soaker hose also.

We can get a rebate from the City of Austin to pay for about 25% of each barrel. We have one in the front (or side of the house - it's hidden behind our crepe myrtle bushes) to water our white oak tree and crepe myrtles in the front yard. We'll put two in the back yard, one at one end of the house for the red oak and one at the other end of the house for the chinquapin oak and the garden.

We've needed to put up gutters in the back of the house for several years, but just haven't done it. We have friends who will help us if we can't get them done. We already have gutters in the front of the house, so we just have to adjust the downspout to empty into the barrel.

We are also having an arborist come tomorrow to trim our trees. We have a 3 1/2 year old white oak (Montery oak) in the front yard that needs the lower branches trimmed off. Then we have a red oak in the back yard that is rubbing the roof in places. Hopefully, tomorrow they will look all prettied up when I get home!

[judy]

Those rain barrels are great Gayle! That is one good idea!!! Luckily, we get rain almost every day for at least a couple of hours. It's raining now, and I think it rained overnight. I rarely have to water the plants. I do have to separate my coleus. They are growing fast, and are probably root bound. I forgot to buy a pot, so will have to hunt for one today.

[DianaB]

I saw rain barrels somewhere recently and I think that they're a good idea. It's really nice that the city will give you a rebate for them too. It will be nice to have water that hasn't been treated to water your plants with and they'll probably do better. You could even add some water soluble fertilizer to the water as well.

I know that our temps have been really high and we're in an "extreme heat warning" again today. The corn is drying out really quickly and Glen told me today that they'll be cutting corn early this year. We could really use some rain......Judy, why don't you send some of that rain here!!!!

The yard is looking so brown and dry. I watered my plants and flowers last night but I know that it's not enough. I probably should start running a trickle on some of the shrubs so the water can soak in really good and not just be on top of the ground.

[Janet]

It's been really hot here too. Today it's 94 and the heat index is 105. Naturally...I'm staying in. Way too hot for me. It's suppose to be this way all week and we are under a heat warning also. I don't do well when it's this hot.

Spoke with Mom a little while ago and she told me that my brother Brad is taking her to Lafayette on Saturday to look for a car. SHE DOESN'T NEED ANOTHER CAR!! My brother has got to be out of his mind. She wants a station wagon/van type so she can load everything to go to Florida. Don't know what she'll do when my sister-in -law tells her she won't take her. Well....yes I do...mom will drive herself. Heaven help those on the road. Hopefully they won't find anything she likes.

Nothing else really going on here....pretty boring.

[gja1000]

Well, we put up 20 foot of gutter this evening. Actually it is only up with temporary screws - we still have to put in the permanent screws, but that won't be very hard. We only worked about 30 minutes today and 30 minutes on Sunday, so for an hours work, we have a lot done. We only have 10 more feet on one side and then 12 feet on the other side so it won't be too bad. It's been pretty easy so far. We'll have to put in the down spouts when we get the gutter up, and then we'll have to caulk all the seams, but I think we can do it!

[judy]

How did you get up to get the gutter up Gayle? A really tall ladder, I guess! Good job!

I would love to send you all the rain we're getting! It rained again last night. The weather up here is hot during the day, but we have the pool. Honestly, if it wasn't for that, it would be terribly hot. I would have to invest in air conditioning, which is really expensive for casement windows. As it is, we don't stay in the house during the afternoon when it is too hot. Max lays on the bathroom floor to cool off. Poor guy! It's too hot to take them outside during the day, and too buggy in the evening. There's a flea explosion due to the rain.

But, it cools down beautifully at night, and I am really enjoying this summer. I have my summer friends, and my winter friends (I don't see them that much), and the pool.

I really am lucky!

[DianaB]

Janet, you're just going to have to put a ball and chain on your Mother!!!! She's going to keep all of you hopping!!!! I'm sorry that you're going to have to deal with this. Maybe your brother could find something wrong with everyone she picks out.

Gayle, you and Gary have gotten a lot done for just working an hour. Having the guttering will really help with your water barrels. I have a place in my guttering where I really need another down spout because it always runs over.....it just carries too much water in that one spot and runs over.

Judy, I can just picture you lazying around on a float reading a book!!!! How nice!! I'm in a dirty pond....with mowed grass floating in it!! I'm not complaining.....I'm just glad that we have it to enjoy.

[gja1000]

Originally Posted by judy

How did you get up to get the gutter up Gayle? A really tall ladder, I guess! Good job!

Yes, a couple of really tall ladders! LOL! Gary was a carpenter in a former life, so we have all that "stuff" stored in our garage/shed. It comes in handy sometimes!

[judy]

Originally Posted by DianaB

Janet, you're just going to have to put a ball and chain on your Mother!!!! She's going to keep all of you hopping!!!! I'm sorry that you're going to have to deal with this. Maybe your brother could find something wrong with everyone she picks out.

Gayle, you and Gary have gotten a lot done for just working an hour. Having the guttering will really help with your water barrels. I have a place in my guttering where I really need another down spout because it always runs over.....it just carries too much water in that one spot and runs over.

Judy, I can just picture you lazying around on a float reading a book!!!! How nice!! I'm in a dirty pond....with mowed grass floating in it!! I'm not complaining.....I'm just glad that we have it to enjoy.

No floats allowed in the pool! When it's really hot, a pool, or a pond - both are great!

[DianaB]

Well....I'm getting ready to leave again. I have a cousin that is having his 25th wedding anniversary and I haven't seen him for years. Then Glen and I are going to stay a few days and have a short vacation visiting with family. Glen's really busy right now so I might ride down to Texas with my Mom and Step-Dad......and possibly my brother.....YUCK......Don't get me wrong...I love my brother....he just likes to talk about himself ALL the time and he's doing drugs again and I just want to let him have it with both barrels!!!!! So it should be an interesting trip down!!!! Glen will get there when he gets his work done her.

I'm not sure when I'll be back.....probably sooner than I would like since corn harvest is coming up so quickly!!! Hopefully sometime the middle of next week.....We'll see!!!

Oh.....and we're leaving in the morning.

[Janet]

Have a safe trip Diana. You will definitely be missed. Will you be able to check in with us at all?