We’re back from Fort Lauderdale. We brought reinforcements: my mom, niece and nephew. They stayed a week and just left today. I now have 3 days to restore my house to some semblance of sanity before my in-laws arrive.Fort Lauderdale was fun. I got to do all the things I rarely did when I actually lived there. It was 2 intense weeks of family, friends, overeating, overdrinking, beach, pool, boating, shopping and watching satellite tv. We kept happily busy. I don’t know who had more social engagements – me or Jett. I admit I was a bit sad to leave, but I don’t miss the traffic, crowds, lack of space, over indulgence, obnoxious behavior and constant over-stimulation. Nor does our bank account miss my unchecked spending. But what else are you supposed to do when there is a different store every 25 feet? You don’t get that in the country.
It was a relief to be back to a quieter environment. Well, relatively speaking when you have 3 kids running around the house. The kids spent the week jumping on the trampoline, arguing, driving the tractor, fighting, feeding the animals, crying, playing in the sprinkler, laughing, staying up all night, arguing, playing with the dogs, fighting and so on. My mom and I spent the week drinking wine, eating Rainier cherries, playing Canasta and trying to keep our sanity and energy up. John hid safely in his office.
The morning after we got home, we woke up early to head to a 3-town yard sale to sell a bunch of our junk and pass out free samples of the natural pet food we’re repping. Four hours later we left with $160, a lot less junk and 3 pairs of cute jeans for my niece ($1 each and they look adorable). No matter your intentions, you can’t go to a 3-town yard sale without bringing something back.
That afternoon we packed up the kids, left mom to nap and went to look at puppies: 6 week old American bulldog and mutt mix. So cute. Of course, we came home with one. We spent the rest of the week debating whether it was a boy or girl and what he/she would be named. Several hundred excruciating debates later between adults and kids we’ve sort of decided she’s a girl whose name is Daisy. I’m hoping we’re right. I’ve only just realized I’m a Florida Gator with a Georgia Bulldog.
Daisy and Buster get along amazingly well. I was a bit concerned since Buster is big, fast and a bit clumsy with the paws while Daisy is tiny and has teeth like a piranha which she’s not afraid to use. But Buster has shown himself to be a good role model and surprisingly gentle even when Daisy tries to nurse on him.
We got a new lawn tractor. Yes, it’s green and reads John Deere. Boo hiss to red Toros everywhere. I think ours is about to become a go-kart. At least we’ll have something to enter in the lawn tractor races they hold out in the fields a couple of towns over. Yes, it’s real. And it’s part of the very official Georgia Lawn Mower Racing Association. Seriously, watch ESPN. I’m not sure if they’ll let us enter a Toro though. This is John Deere country…and now I know why.
After weeks of neglect, our gardens are a mess. It’s amazing how quickly the weeds and grass grow while the actual plants take their sweet time. It’s going to take weeks to recover. The zucchini and squash are pretty much done. All the melons are still going strong. And the tomatoes are green, but plentiful. It’s only a matter of time before they explode. I picked a bunch of egg gourds and sunflowers to dry. Jalapeno peppers are next. They’ll be strung to dry or frozen. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be cleaning up the beds for new plantings in August and September.
On Saturday, we’re going to take bags of herbs (and possibly tomatoes), along with the natural pet food, to Thomasville for their first ever (woohoo!) Green Market. This will be our first attempt to actually sell rather than give away our overstock. Not that we have much right now. We conquered the beets, squash and zucchini although I did give away a few bags. The tomato explosion will be the next food hurdle. Although an overload of tomatoes does not freak me out as much as say yellow squash. Tomatoes = salad, sauce, dried, yummy.
Daisy is so cute! And Buster got so big. I hope we can come up again soon and see them and see how the farm is coming along. Am loving the site and the stories, trying to keep on top of checking it out every week or so. Miss you guys.