days in the life of a
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August 2011
click here to read older August 2011 posts....
August 26, 2011
GATHERING EGGS WITH PAPAW
These days, Papaw has not just one but TWO helpers with the evening chicken chores.
Karter's been helping all summer long, but Kaden is now big enough to walk out there too and he definitely doesn't want to be left out!
Kaden hates wearing shoes, and on the way to the chickenhouse he plopped right down to pull them off.
Uh, no, Kado...you can't go into the chickenhouse without shoes on....
Karter tells him he might step in some chicken poop. There's no "might" about it!
Time-out to put Kaden's shoes back on...
Karter's got the routine down pat, but Kaden is a lot more tentative. As long as he's got Papaw right by his side, though, he's okay.
Karter is the perfect height to check in the nests for eggs.
He's not a bit scared of the hens any more, although he does keep an eye on them....and they on him!
As chicken farmers go, they don't get any cuter than this.
Karter's braver than his grandma too...he reaches right underneath the hens to get the eggs, a move I've never been bold enough to do. My method has always been to shoo the hens off the nest first.
He's learned to handle the eggs carefully....
...and gently lay them in the egg basket (which in its former life had Easter eggs in it...one of the kids' old Easter baskets...).
A good egg cache for late August!
All the while, Kaden is keeping a close watch on the chickens. It's really a good thing that he doesn't try to gather the eggs just yet...he really hasn't mastered the skill of
"careful" and "gentle" handling.
And you'll be happy to know that right after they came inside from the poopy chickenhouse, Karter helped me make lasagna. After, of course, a good hard hand-scrubbing!!!
Every night the grandbabies look forward to...
...gathering eggs with Papaw!
August 27, 2011
SATURDAY SNAPSHOTS AND SNIPPETS
As part of my Great Purge, I decided to throw this camera bag into the church rummage sale.
I tossed it into the box, then for some reason a random thought dashed across my mind that perhaps I should open it and unzip the compartments and make sure there was nothing there I wanted.
Good thing I did.
I found a $20 bill that I apparently tucked in there 10 years ago or so.
I'm glad that random thought dashed across my little brain....
Now I wonder how many other of my donations might have a hidden surprise....
Quickly snapped with my iPhone as I sat at a red light.
Sort of a cross between the Wizard of Oz's Miss Gulch, Betsy Ross, and Mrs. Butterworth....
Someone please save me from myself if you ever see me doing this.......
Last Saturday, I headed up the Blood Drive at our church.
I pleaded, begged, bribed, cajoled, and sweet-talked 18 people from our church into giving blood.
My appointment was toward the end, and as soon as I told them my name, the people working in the Bloodmobile wanted to know if I was related to Kim Gray.
That's a loaded question...
Apparently Kim had already made quite an impression on the Bloodmobile people that morning. He made a name for himself by being the FIRST EVER blood donor to come onto the Bloodmobile BAREFOOT! Oh dear...
Kim had been working in the church garden and his shoes were pretty dirty, so dirty that he thought he shouldn't wear them into the Bloodmobile, so he left them outside.
They gladly took his blood, and he became the talk of the Bloodmobile.
Oh dear...sometimes I wonder about that man....
My vein would not cooperate and I ended up with a nasty bruise to show for my blood donation. (Pay no attention to the horrible photo quality...)
And, in the end, they couldn't even get enough blood out of me fast enough to use it.
But I will boast that my blood pressure was a very good 100/68 and my pulse was 64.
I inherited good blood pressure from Mama and a low pulse from Dad.
A very nice inheritance....
After the Blood Drive was over, I hustled to the county Tox-Away Day to drop off some "hazardous" waste. The county has these at least a couple of times a year, where you can discard free of charge all sorts of dangerous chemical-type stuff like old paints and car batteries and insecticides, as well as broken electronics and old tires and appliances.
During my purging, I came across a few things that I wanted to drop off, to dispose of in an environmentally-responsible way.
I've taken things to a couple of other Tox-Away Days, and was in and out in just a few minutes.
But this time I waited in my car over 20 minutes as the line slowly inched along, snaking back and forth through an old parking lot.
There's just something ironic about sitting in an idling car for 20 minutes, guzzling precious gasoline and emitting exhaust just to save the environment from hazardous waste.
Just sayin'.......
And...in the biggest news to hit the Gray household in awhile...
After being on the market in Minnesota for nearly a year....
Kristoffer and Dana have SOLD their house!!!
Next weekend they are heading up to be there as the moving company packs up their stuff, and two weeks after that is the closing.
We've all been praying for this all these months, and now it's finally happening!!!
Hip-hip HOORAY!!!!!
I know there was something else of mind-boggling interest and importance that I wanted to share with you, but my tired noggin just can't think of it right now.
Of course, I'll think of it after I post...but I guess whatever-it-is'll just have to wait until next week.
It must not have been all that important after all....
Here's wishing good things for all my family on the North Carolina coast as Irene passes through. Be safe, y'all!
Irene must've sucked all the bad stuff south and east, because the weather in Hoosierland is PERFECTLY GORGEOUS!!!
Have yourselves a great final weekend of August!
August 29, 2011
COUSIN'S COUNTRY WEDDING
The young couple couldn't have ordered a more picture-perfect late August day for their country wedding.
Guests were given fans and bottled water, but neither were really needed as Kim's cousin Tyler and his beautiful bride Rachel tied the knot in a charming country setting on a perfectly gorgeous Saturday evening this past weekend.
Tyler is a farmer, so what better place to be married than in front of the barn where he's spent so many hours of his life?
Kim's Aunt Leora was beaming at her grandson's wedding.
Kim's cousin Marcie looked very pretty for her only son's big day...
The bridesmaids were cute kicking down the country lane in their cowboy boots!
And speaking of cute, these two were darling!
Enter the lovely Rachel...
She looked absolutely radiant!
I always love watching the groom's face as he sees his bride walking down the aisle...or lane, in this case. Such sweet young love!
Look at those big smiles! A very happy day!!!
Tyler's dad Gary was the Best Man.
Bubbles of celebration floated through the air....
A fun, country-themed reception followed at a nearby park.
The bridal party arrived in BIG style!
Congratulations, Tyler and Rachel!!! May God bless your marriage as you start your new country life together!
August 30, 2011
CABIN RAISIN'...WEEKS 15 & 16
In my last update, two weeks ago, this is what our cabin looked like.
As we knew it would, visible progress has slowed down considerably, but the guys have been hard at work doing all the details that just take a long time.
Here's what they've been up to in the last two weeks...
August 16...installed the bathtub/shower unit into the guest bathroom....
...and framed the wall and built the ledge in the garage where the furnace, air conditioner, water softener, etc. will all sit.
August 18...shingling the roof was finished.
Steps, although not yet finished, were built in the front of the house and off the side porches.
The fireplace was framed in.
The electrical panel was put in and some of the wiring hooked up.
August 22...the Mason Marty started putting stone on the chimney.
August 23...more stonework...
...and Plumber Brett began roughing in the plumbing.
August 25...the exterior stonework is just about complete.
Plumber Brett added the hot and cold water lines. Right beside the washer in the utility room, we are having a shower for Kim to wash off after getting so filthy dirty outside.
The garage wall where all the utility appliances will sit. Everything is pretty much roughed in.
The other king truss was added in the great room.
The rest of last week, the workers spent up on ladders and scaffolding sanding ALL of those beams, a time-consuming and tedious process, in preparation of the staining that will be happening soon.
August 29...Builder Steve installed the fireplace insert and his workers insulated and sided the gable end. It's amazing how the wood on the walls has darkened over just the few weeks they've been up.
And here we are, 16 weeks into our cabin raisin'! It's coming right along. We anticipate moving in by Thanksgiving...which, believe it or not, is just 12 weeks away!!!
August 31, 2011
SMALLTOWN PARADE
Every August, our tiny little Indiana town hosts a summer weekend full of events called Community Days. And the highlight of Community Days, for me anyway, is the parade led by the Grand Marshals, well-known and beloved members of the Sulphur Springs community.
Dick and Burma, this year's Grand Marshals, are good friends of our and part of our church family. They are just the sweetest couple!
Watching the parade next to me was another church friend Dan, with his daughter Lisa and her two children. Big smiles all around!
Not everyone was smiling...but I guess it would be a little hard to smile while you're playing bagpipes...
When else but during a parade can a baby ride on Mommy's lap in a firetruck?
Big GRIN and wave from our dear friend Jim, who as I write this is very, very sick in the hospital. What a difference a couple of days can make...
Lots and lots of candy was tossed out to the crowd. On the other side of me were my friend Sue's (see, in a small town everyone knows everyone else....) twin granddaughters. I don't know which one this is, but they both got plenty of candy to hype them up for awhile.
And MY grandsons were also in the parade, on our church float with Dana, waving and smiling too!
My cheerful friends Teresa and Rita handed out bottles of water to the crowd.
Every parade must have a band, in this case our very own Marching Shenandoah Raider band.
A permanent smile...and a big wave from this dog!
More church friends, Keith and Denny....
Pretty little princess candidates toss out candy...
...and charm the spectators.
Always some political floats...this man is one of our county commissioners who helped us (FINALLY!) get approval to rezone our property and build our cabin.
Hurray for the USA!
In a farming community, there's always a few antique tractors...driven by grandpas and their little grandsons.
I've watched many a sporting event with these two grandpas, since our children were the same age. Now they're toting their kids' kids....just like we are! A new generation of Sulphurites....
After the antique tractors come the big, bad monster tractors...a not-so-subtle friendly competition amongst the local farmers for who has the biggest and the baddest machine!
That's a whole lotta horsepower there...
...and just a little horsepower here!
Winding up the parade, some "hearse"-power...
Oh wait...there's one more entry! Just as people were leaving, this little car came zooming behind the hearse. Either he got there late or couldn't get his car going, but either way...there's always room for one more entry...
...in our smalltown parade!
