Too busy for our own good

My posts will probably be sporadic at best for the next week or so.  My mom is having a HUGE yard sale and getting rid of essentially all my dad's things:  tons of books, coats and work clothes, and an entire workshop full of hand and electrical tools.  We have spent many hours so far trying to sort and price things, and we have a lot left to do. 

My mom is stressed about the whole thing.  She is trying to balance working her regular job along with all the yard sale work, and says it's the first thing she thinks of in the morning and the last thing she thinks of at night.

We'll all be glad when it's over, that's for sure.

April Fools?

J slept over the night before April Fools Day.  We did not tell him it was April 1st.  Why?  Because we are not crazy.  lol Can you imagine the tricks the mind of a 4 year old can come up with?

Breakfast:  the most important reading meal of the day!

After breakfast it was time to get outside and help Mr. GV clean out the gutters.

And by help I mean:  pretend you are going to grab the ladder out from under him.

And then we decided to plant some vegetable seeds.  J helped by allocating the soil between containers.

Tiny hands, and even tinier seeds.

Planting the seeds.

Deciding what to plant next.

We planted his seed that he received from IHOP on the day of the Lorax movie release.

Then we put Cinderfella to work sweeping up after Mr. GV's cleaning of the gutters. 

Time to water the seeds!

Then put them in the greenhouse.

A happy fellow, who enjoyed himself this day.

Unfortunately, it really did turn out to be April Fool after all.  None of the seeds came up.  Not a single one.  They were all old and I was curious to see if they would sprout.  I need to go buy a couple packs so J can follow the actual process of sprouting and growing his own veggies, but for the rest of my garden, I will just buy plants from our local organic farm.

Outside Work

It's that time of year again:  time to pull the weeds and put down more mulch.  We don't use any chemicals outside, so it's a fight against the weeds each year.

First things first:  mulch, and plenty of it!  This truck load just did the two beds in the back.  The front is currently a work in progress.

The pups hung out on the deck while we worked, taking it easy.

One of the finished beds, where most of my lilies grow.

Finally, we have the hose off the ground/flower bed.  Mr. GV bought and installed a hanger for it.  (Excuse the green on the house, please.  The back of the house is in quite a bit of shade and as a result the green blooms there.  We have yet to scrub it off, but it's on our list!

And the hosta bed, newly mulched.

Ahh, clematis.  Love when those start blooming!

On March 31st, a local church had their Easter egg hunt.  There was quite a group of kids that hunted.

The J man of course had to find a way to amuse himself before the hunt started.  I guess he needed a place to put his hat too!

And then the hunt was on!

 Some of the eggs had a slip of paper inside that said you had won a large prize, and the rest had small prizes inside. 

 Showing off some candy he won.

Love this picture.  With those long legs and that pose he just looks like such a big boy!

 The loot!

 Playing with the top he got as a prize.

 Posing on NaNa's bed after the hunt.

 Being 4 is such hard work!

 Cheese!

Deer

We had a visit from a group of beautiful deer at the end of March.  Some of them stood, seeming to be more on their guard, but two of them were laying down in the grass.  They stuck around for quite a while.

 A beautiful bunch of ladies.  I wish they could understand me when I said "You don't have to run.  We're vegans in this house."  lol

More stuff gone

A few more things gone from my house lately:

A very nice crystal bowl, given to us when we got married.  I simply am not that attached to it, and don't really have a good spot for it.  I'm also trying to get used to not holding on to things because of who gave them to me, or what the occasion was.  I need to remember that once an item is given to me, as a gift, I am then free to do whatever I want with it. I appreciated this item for its beauty, displayed it for many years, and now have passed it on to someone else who I hope will get to enjoy it!

The socks are some that my husband did not want, but they are in good shape. 

Two drying racks.  Again, something that I used in the past but don't need right now, so they have been given to someone who hopefully can use them.

(Edit:  My sister, S, took both the drying racks and the bowl.  The socks went to my mom's house.)  

Assorted Men

That's what the tag on the bag at the consignment sale said.  "Assorted Men, $1.50"  A good dunk in rubbing alcohol, dry, then rinse and dry again, and they were ready for J to enjoy. 

And enjoy he has!  We have played many rounds of "You're the bad guy, I'm the good guys."  Yes, I get ONE bad guy, and he gets the other 99% of the toys.  And he always wins.  I have yet to find the loophole that lets me win and/or be the good guy.

Spring 2012

Lilies beside the driveway, nice and green, but not ready to bloom yet. 

 Garage lights that need repainting or replacing, pronto. 

 Peonies, just about ready to pop.

 Rain barrel still upside down, and the bushes overgrown hiding it. 

 Beautiful irises!

 The view from the end of the sidewalk.

 Irises again; I must have taken at least 20 pictures of them.

 Gabby, enjoying the outside.

 Miss Attitude, with her look that says it all!