Auspicious August

The grand beginning of school happened last week. We have two eager 3rd graders this year - with a slight tendency to get hyper I'm afraid. Again, alas, am finding out that everything takes longer than planned. A little writing or drawing exercise takes 3X as long as expected...
Here are the eager beavers enjoying school.


On Wednesdays they "get to" make their own lunch. Here we are making hamburgers (vegetarian of course!). On other days they're very welcome to help make lunch too but somehow I never see them around offering to help!


Here's M in a big thunderstorm taking his shower... All he needs is soap. Since they don't have water in Arizona, and rain is unheard of in Phoenix, he comes over this way for his yearly shower - works well for everybody!


C and A pretending something or other. I think their families were just having a lovely summer picnic under the trees.



Did I mention that C was a 1st place winner in a newspaper coloring contest? Won $50 as a gift certificate and had a wonderful time spending it.


Well, I'm doing this blog from another computer and don't have the usual arsenal of photos to choose from, so tata for now. Happy Sabbath to one and all.

Juicy July

Time to "ketch-up" hey? Another photo journal since time is of an essense around here these days. Ach no, forgot the com-cam....Quickly run outside....OK, here it is!


Well, what's keeping us busy these days? Gardening yes. Here are a few shots of some of the produce - well, tomatoes, I see...



Buckets full





To preserve those we don't give away and eat immediately, I tried dehydrating this year. We have a very good dehydrator but are discovering the electric bill is quite high....so, we'll have to see whether it'll be worth it in the long run. The good thing is that it can keep for a very long time....
Other produce harvested lately: corn; bell peppers; green beans (also bucketfulls); yellow squash - slowing down now; and spinach. We also have eggplant, ochra, cantaloupe and cabbages showing promise. The cucumbers have been slow for me this year but we've had a few.


And now for some VBS photos:
Crocodile Dock (and Rock, I might add!!)


And having a supper at the other VBS with our kids.  I have more pics of them but they don't seem to be downloaded onto the desktop right now....(My camera is "over re-cording" photos lately so I don't want to accidently write over another one.)


We also visited the CDM last week and here are a couple pics from that:
Successful arch builder.


Keeping shop at the farm stall.


And that'll be all for now!
Adios!

Hey Julle, it's July!!

For those not in the know, "julle", is "you'all, ya'll, you's, all of you" etc, - you get the picture - in Afrikaans. Ja-nee, once in a while, I 'spreek die taal' just so's I won't forget, jy weet? (ya know?)
We had a nice Independence Day last week this time. Our fireworks and ETSO concert was on Thursday evening due to Sabbath falling on the 4th this year. The 'kids' all went to Beech Bottoms again - 4th time in a row for some!
This is what they call the "hot-tub".


Both photos are taken of some of the shallower sections of the river. Upstream we were swimming in a pool at least 8-10 ft deep.

Too bad we live so far from natural waterholes and swimming opportunities. Guess I was spoiled having lived so long in the Cape only minutes from the beach! (Mom, did you hear that?)

Here's a lovely family picture of M and D.
D has been swotting like crazy for boards on Aug 4 and M has been taking master's classes at the university. Can't believe their time is almost up and they'll be going back to AZ in 2 weeks! Time passes waaaay too quickly.

And now for the crowning piece of my engineering and woodworking creations from the last 2 weeks. A little (here, unfinished) greenhouse for early starts and maybe even a few over-wintering plants....we'll see! The empty pots are merely for encouragement!


And the funny looking boards in the front are to try and keep the cats out while still building.



Since this I've added wood bracing across the top, a fold-down door and more plastic in various places. These photos are more of the proto-type so.....keep posted for more exciting photos of the final solution creation!

Next week will be the "2 VBS" week of hecticity. Will keep you posted if we survive!

Johnsons enjoy June

Camera cam again.
June 9, 2009

In Tennessee there's no other way to fully enjoy summer than to swim. Here are A and C in the indoor pool on their way to the showers from the outdoor pool. (You know, can't pass 'Go' without collecting $FUN). Guess I didn't take their pic in the outdoor pool.



Summertime portrait - cello practice.


Mary, Mary, quite contrary....


And here is my compost bin....we hope very productive.


Last w/e (10th - 14th June) we spent in West Virginia at a "True Education" conference. Providentially some folk had just acquired this old school at a good price - fully furnished with everything needed for similar conferences like this one, and for an agricultural school they're planning to start here. There is also a beautiful farm next door which they had also just purchased. I'm really impressed with WV. Who would have thought!!?


Inside the gym - all the chairs, tables, and other furniture here and available for use!


C and D. D is such a little MAN!


We camped in the van - very comfortable. In the gym was a full industrial-sized kitchen with everything needed - very convenient, as D would say!


Little baby sparrows. When we first got there, there were 4 little eggs in the nest. The next day one had hatched and by the next, I think 3. Hopefully the 4th also hatched later. The babies are here lying on one of the eggs. I was quite impressed with the tenacity of the mother as she had to contend with an onslaught of little kids peering into the nest at very regular intervals!



McKee picnic June 5. Here are C and R on the Ferris wheel - scary!!


And lastly, a snake by our swing stayed in this position for about 10 minutes before finally moving slowly off. Maybe it got muscle fatigue by that time! I know it thought it was nicely camouflaged.....C got the fright of her life when she went to swing and saw that 'thang'.


And so, from our busy summer life, we bid you 'adieu'.

Growing Garden

We start out with the camera cam. This is from
May 30, 2009.


And now here is our growing garden - Amazing that today is SUNNY, Yay! Please ignore the weeds - it's REALLY been too wet to weed, I promise!



If you look carefully you can see our green tomatoes.


Green pole beans after about the 3rd planting!


Zucchini, yellow squash and cucumber (I hope!), plus beans, peppers, basil etc in the right background. Again, please ignore the green "haze" on the ground.


Tomato and corn.


Our volunteer bachelor buttons, and the birthday willow in the background.


And that is our garden update.
Happy Sabbath!

Salamandar Salutations

Looking healthy and well-fed. They must just be slow growing, I think.




Our baby, Sallie, has left us with an empty nest (well, terrarium anyway). Last week I took her down near the pond and let her go. She was very anxious to get away and scurried under the leaves as quick as she could. S took a few last photos.

Isn't she sweet?

Rain, rain, rain.....that's been our story for the last 6 weeks! Our clayey soil is struggling to cope and I just hope bell peppers and tomatoes and all our other vegetables actually like growing in standing water....

More later!

May Mercies

Today we had the third major fire in this neighborhood within 2 months, right next door. Yep, had to call 911 myself . The teenager next door (below us) decided to burn an old abandoned trailer himself, guarding it with a hosepipe. Oh yes, the foolish things we do when young! In the meantime before the firetrucks got there (over 10 minutes), we kept it from spreading with our hose and a bucket - did a right good job even if I must say so myself.

Unfortunately I only thought to get the cameras after the fire was practically out. Missed the blazing inferno...shucks!


So - we are grateful for the mercies of a contained fire that had a lot of potential to do great, powerful and destructive things! I hope this ends the streak of fires on our street!

Since I haven't blogged for several weeks I'll catch you up on some of the main events. Lots of music recitals and concerts (for which I don't have TOO many still pictures); another investiture with its party; our CHE year-end party (including a baby raccoon); a picnic at a Gymkhana/Horse show; and other odds and ends of the past month.


We sat by the horse arena with our picnic "basket" on a most beautiful, gorgeous spring day in a very idyllic place on a horse farm, and enjoyed all the events. I think this was end of April. This was a perfect day - warm but not hot; lightly breezy but not windy; no mosquitoes, no humidity, no rain. Yes, a perfect day!


Some of the "free" horses peacefully grazing, after first standing at the fence looking longingly at the competitors.



Waiting around for the next class to begin? or perhaps receiving their ribbons, I don't remember.


A sleepy, orphaned raccoon gets admired by fascinated kids. (May 19)


A gaggle of girls at a photo shoot. (year-end CHE party, May 19)


Peonies from our garden - ah, the memory of its delicious, fragrant aroma...



Orchestra does the church service (x2) April 25, 2009.



McDonald Road Investiture, May 2.



And here, if it's real, is a photo (distributed via email) of a very rare sight in Cape Town - a thunderstorm, supposedly one morning. Lovely, dramatic photos though, photo-shopped or not!!


Sorry about the "webcam" - and oh yes, we have a vegetable garden put in - you'll definitely need updates of that. So, next time I hope to catch you up, but as you can see, we're being kept out of mischief, and that's the main thing, right? Right!!