BATH room

Room de la bath
The Bath-inater
Room to Bathe... finally!

In the hot water post I mentioned bathing (I think)
and Mrs. Smith thinks she needs to see this room for herself.
I would prefer she'd come see it in person, but I doubt that's going to happen right away,
so here ya go Missus Smith.
This ones just for you!


P.S.
The curtain and rug are not intended to "go together" and I hope they are not indicative of my decorating powers.  The rug is from Colorado and actually... that curtain is meant for the outdoor Summer guest shower.  You might meet it one day even if you don't try out my indoor hot water!

Those Non-Flowering Idaho Potatoes

And two ecstatic boys!

Treading water - check. Still breathing - check.

I know I am in trouble for not posting the usual sustainance lately.
I wish I could give you a great reason for it, or even tell you how successful I've been at getting something else done.
Alas, it is a sad case of:  Keep Your Head Above Water
You know the game, if you don't keep your head above water...  you drown. Haha.
 Drowning is just not an option and I've learned that if I can tread water for a while, I may eventually come out of the haze.
As it is, treading water is not so unpleasant:
The children chip away at school which is mostly reading right now.  The three biggest are really excelling in this department.  The little ones listen a lot and our pens are fast running out of ink too.
The garden is pretty tired but there are some things ripening that I'd lost hope of seeing this year, for instance the boys dug up some sizable potatoes.  This was an accomplishment because we were under the impression that Potatoes set  when they flower.
Ours never flowered.
The boys think they are the Non-Flowering variety, but I think we got lucky. :-D
No more bear-in-the-trash escapades.  No wildlife spottings to speak of (I don't count squirrel), but still plenty of tracks.  The kids are finding new mushroom varieties left and right - some are rather beautiful... in their own way.  It's amazing what you can spot when your eyes are searching for hidden treasure.
I am really enjoying my new fireplace.  It warms my feet, my hands, my heart.
I am teaching Zachary to take over dish-washing.  It started out with a bang, but it's been good for both of us to have to work on follow-through.  You know, a quality job, done in a timely manner with a cheerful heart takes practice.
I'm sure I'll learn something from him before we're through with this lesson.
And I'm pretty sure that when he really gets it down, I'll move him on to something else and start fresh with the next one in line.
It's going to be a process.  Maybe I'll be able to let Zachary train the next guy...........
We get gravel delivered tomorrow for the driveway in front of the house - that is a big baby step.
This weekend we tidy up the house, make arrangements for Winter plans, and pack.
Just for a family vacation.
AJ and I have talked about seeing the Fall color on the East Coast some day and have finally decided to go.
With all the children and a camera (but I don't know about laptop), we are going to New England to catch the Fall color!  With stops in Colorado, Missouri, Kentucky, and West Virgina, we will circuit through Maine and see some other things just for fun as well.
Maybe Niagara Falls again?  The Columbus Zoo?  Lake Champlaine?
We're pretty excited and looking forward to being together for some memory making.
I'm looking for the end of the haze.
(Will it come?)
Wait... don't answer that!

It's a good thing...

...somebody takes their lessons seriously.

Mushroom Hunt

AJ really missed out on this one, but I took the kiddos and joined Uncle Char and Auntie Hannah for a short hike and mushroom identifying expedition.














 



















We found a moist hillside with a spring trickling through.

Auntie Hannah sat dutifully with the book in hand,


















while  some of us sat and watched,

and the cousins scoured the forest floor.

Once my crew got into it, they were impressive in their scouting abilities!

 I bet they discovered several dozen different mushrooms.
How many of those were identified with certainty is, well...
less certain.

I think he was smart in his mushroom-handling.  That's probably how I would have held it.
IF I had been picking up fungus, that is.

These were my own personal favorite varieties ;-)

It was a fun outing.  Thanks Uncle Char!

Be still my beating heart!

Seeing those radiant flames warms my soul
and I value that for comfort as much as for heat.

This stove is an Alderlea.  Do you like our saw blade heat barrier?  AJ's idea.
Our hearth is "temporary", which means we have good intentions for making something else that will
hold up the stove long-term.  We figured that once it was in it wouldn't be easy to adjust.
We wanted to try out the angle before a final commitment.
You know how the story goes though...
now that it's in, we might enjoy it this way for a looooong time!
I feel very spoiled :-)

In case you don't remember the monstrosity that was in residence before Alderlea,
let me refresh your memory:

In its defense, it was the easiest thing in the world to build a fire in
- a couple logs and a piece of paper (no kidding!), but the upside to its removal is that
hopefully it will find its true calling under the house as our boiler.

I plan to enjoy it more there ;-)

That Stinkin' Bear!

Had me dreaming of him all night last night!
In my dreams there was garbage all over the front porch.
It wasn't the most restful sleep I've ever had.
I can't say I'm sorry not to bump into the fella on my trips out at night,
but it's been a little anticlimactic not to see a glimpse of him during the day.
I mean, I keep on the look-out!
You'd think he'd be on the prowl for another good shot at the mustard, but no.
At not least where I can tell.
*Sigh....*
Oh well.
I should probably train my thoughts more toward the school and chore schedule
because that would make for more productive dreaming!
Maybe I'll put some chocolate in the trash next time I take it out...

It's a bad sign...

...for your cooking abilities
when your almost-3-year-old says with genuine enthusiasm:

"Mmm!  
Mom, this salt tastes really good!"


Lucky for me,
I think she's a Glass Half Full kinda girl.

An Uninvited Guest

There was a visitor here last night.

He must have been hungry.

How do I know this?

Why, first he overturned our garbage bin - you know,
the one we cover with a heavy old blue door to keep the critters out?

 Well if that door kept him out,
he wasn't a bit concerned because he then proceeded to tear off the end.

Apparently he got what he was after.

Doesn't it look like a feast?

Everyone loves a little rancid Whole Wheat Flour and some Egg shells! (right?)
A banana peel?


Just sink your teeth into this meat tray.  Mmmmm........

After nosing through the trash, he chose the most promising bag and hauled it into the woods.

Right in the Bugletts fort-building area.

What did he do next?
Why he sat himself right down on a log and enjoyed the Mustard of course!

After leaving his mess, he headed out toward the garden and tipped us with a generous gift.

And left his signature on the way out.

It's a good reminder to sing loudly on the way to the outhouse at night.
You never know when company is going to drop in!




*(This is a true story of the visiting Black Bear {I presume}who sill surely be back 
until and unless we secure our trash in a truly critter proof location.
I'm all for that!)

Sometimes it's better not to know. Trust me.

A beaming Clayton opens the screen door and holds up a Grasshopper

"Look What I caught Mom!  Can I EAT him?"

I assume the look of a deer caught in headlights; looking for a safe corner to dart unnoticed

"Ummm......


I'd prefer if you didn't?"


Clay: "Okay then.  I'll eat him!"


I think we understood each other perfectly. 
I didn't have a good reason for saying no,
and couldn't bring myself to say yes.
He knew he had the silent permission.
I never asked how it... (gulp) went,
but heard him telling Auntie Hannah that it was "gooey".
I bet.
I'm thankful to know without having to try it myself.

Boys.  What would life be without them?

On Saturday...

Breakfast at the Diner with the kiddos

Starbucks

Me and my Love window shopping for a pretty wood stove

Me and my Love buying a pretty wood stove (!)

An Antique Junk show and three mirrors later... are we mirror collectors?

A new pizza joint "home of the 7 pound pizza" (And they weren't kidding! - It was fabulous food too.)

A little grocery shopping with some birthday food shopping thrown in for AJ's birthday this weekend.

Hauling the new wood stove to its new home

Unloading the van

Tucking kiddos in for the night

A little Jeeves and Wooster

And to bed with sweet sweet dreams of seeing the crackling fire...
in my own living room...
in my own pretty fire place...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......................................................

Idahoians are people too

Olivia:     "I don't want' to go to India.."

Me:           "Why is that?"

Olivia:     "Because there are INDIANS in India!"

Me:          "Oh.
                    Well... there are Americans in America, you know."


Olivia:    "Yeah.
                     And there are PEOPLE in Idaho."