oh the things we did!

I love this window

Feel sorry for us...because of the view (it's always busting out in red poppies right then and Oh it's Beautiful!) Just some pix from a couple weeks ago... with more to come later

These 2? They're Kiwis... and they're the Best... Oh, and they spackled (and who knows what other toil-y verbs) our prep sis quarters

We cleaned the girls' quarters

and drank tea (we take tea seriously here)- this is Little A- a favorite of mine (had you noticed?)

a better shot of the rug operation

Little A overseeing the chair moving... he's got class, I tell ya! (Ok, you wouldn't know it from this pic, but he's actually one of the hardest working people you'll ever want to meet.)

the upstairs part of the chair business...

there were heaps of berries.... and some dear soul made heaps of these cakey thingies...

all's I know is they were way yummy

we washed trays... the royal WE *cough cough*

and had a hot dog roast

and welcomed guests!

and kept our quarters clean *ting* (that's for you, Linda D!)

and painted (know this guy, anyone?)

and did the mundane stuff... like type up lists of all sorts and work on shopping junk and fun stuff like that (did you say you wanted to help with the dish washing? yay!)

and dealt with a last minute water crisis (getting ready to fill containers at a nearby spring)

oh- and cleaned heaps and tons of potatoes (and wore cool hats)

and some of us slept in tents (some of the boys... sleeping in tents is for boys... but they sure *ting-ed* it, eh?)

and climbed trees

yup

boy did we ever

and if you think I'm always late for everything, be aware that I was the FIRST one ready for this pic... yes, indeedy (notice the prim hand clasp...)

and we looked up up up- up to the sky and beyond... and we saw things and had such good days.

Hmmmm

Bet you always wanted to know what our quarters look like in the middle of the rush. Now you no longer have to wonder. This room is normally a living room... But we sort of dominated it the past week. Meant to get a pic of it after clean-up yest, but forgot. Big Surprise.

We had another very good weekend. Our days together were made exceptionally soft by various things. I admire the courage and strength we see in others. Someday, I hope to amount to something myself...

Clean up yesterday went very well. Uncle B chased the young girls out of their quarters at somewhere around 5.30 so they could dismantle that all and put everything back in its place for the year. The first group left at 7.45 (this would be why Uncle B was in such a toot to get going since that group consisted of him, Ian and 2 of those young girls).

(aside: Just out of curiosity... What's the latest anyone's ever heard of clean-up getting started? I've been involved more than once when it started well before sun-up...partly because by then, IN and WI don't have such early sunrises of course. But Still...) The good thing, of course, is that when you start that early, you're done by Oh, 10.00... Showered and all.

My eye-candy the past few days

Just a few more flower pix. Cause I like them. Cause she's such a good flower-grower. Cause they're there. Trust me, my phone doesn't do them justice.

Know this guy?

He was with us for about 10 days... 10 of the busiest days of the year. There was time for a few visits, enough time for this Big Sister to satisfy hersef that he's surviving and thriving, in fact. Enough time for this Big Sister to wonder if she's going to have to start thinking of him as Big Brother... But for now, we'll cling to the age difference and claim ''Big Sistership".

Oh! And you should hear his Polish! :)

Little Sweetheart

The kid who thought I was nuts for matching 2 of the boys' pillow cases awhile ago. I could tell you all the special little things about her, but we'll wait for now. Suffice it to say she's shy, sweet and just beginning to blossom. She's the Big Sister of 2 little brothers and 6 year old twin sisters.

Travelling

So now we're on a bus headed north. We've been on this bus since 6.20 this morning. I love early mornings. Yup. And next week I'll cont to get up super early just because I like it so much. Yup. (And if you know me better than that, here's a piece of chocolate. Eat it.) ;)

Pix are of me & my little preps kid seat mate. He promises to amount to something sometime fairly soon, I reckon. Took his, so he insisted we do one of him, too. The interesting thing is, this kid was what could only be called an ''unholy terror" when he was little. I love it when kids come along and surprise you and really make you look forward to their future. I wonder if he even knows half of this. Someday, I hope he does.

You want hot?

You want hot? Well here it is. I looked out the train window when we were leaving Odessa a few weeks ago; it was very hot- like, oh, I don't know- 85 degrees, 90. anyway, looked out the window and saw these 2 Orthodox priests strolling by, in all their black-robed splendor (??). The pix were taken hurriedly and aren't the best; their outfits consist of a long-sleeved black robe that goes all the way down to their ankles, a black 'hat' (I'm sure it has a special name but I wouldn't know what it is) plus pants and a shirt underneath. I'm just glad they weren't in with us because they proly didn't, ummmm shall we say, smell too fresh, what with the heat and the long black robes and all that.

Random pix

Here's the resident turkey mom.with a chick peeping out from between some of her feathers. She was sitting there, late evening and I stuck my head out the door. How funny to suddenly see a chick literally crawl out of her back! The most interesting part about this turkey mom is that her 8 or 9 (or however many) chicks are not turkeys but chickens. They give her the eggs to hatch out since she's the best mom on the place.and she fosters baby chickens every year!

This was taken after most folks had arrived but before things really got rolling. People sitting around chatting, relaxed. This also shows our visitor from Holland getting a back rub from one of the locals. Jurjen was fantastic- he could visit with anyone. One day I spotted him in the middle of a group that included 3 different nationalities with nary a common language between them; so how were they communicating, pray tell.he sure looked happy!

There are heaps more pix from the past 2 weeks- I'll try to get them posted later, but likely won't be for another couple weeks or so. We had good preps and then a fantastic past 4 days. Now we're on the train heading south; arriving into Odessa soon. We go on from there by bus. Have some last minute shopping to do and then out to the village. Uncle D arrives with the rest tomorrow. Won't be time for anything for a few weeks.

Happy (belated) 4th of July! Happy summer! We're having good days; hope you are, too.

Looking out...and up

It's always fun trying to settle down and get your head (and heart) together for your turn at a gathering when you're busy running around worrying about blankets, pillows, garbage bags and tp, cleaning bathrooms and answering a thousand and one questions. so this year, I took a plastic stool down the drive, through the pasture and into a quiet nook of trees. (This was during supper.don't tell anyone, but I knew the menu didn't appeal to me so I just skipped it and ate cereal and granola later.) The setting was perfect. Here's a few pix taken by my tree trunk with my phone.

Hollyhocks are from beside the driveway on the way back to the house. They were perfect the 2 weeks we were there.

Baby Cutie Pie

Here's Baby Cutie Pie with one of his many nannies; this nanny is Ira. He must be the perfect baby; I didn't know they came like this.seriously. He maybe cried twice during the mtgs; he loves being held by anyone or simply sitting in his stroller; he smiles on command; he hardly ever fusses. I wonder if he dirties his diaper??? Ok, kidding. Anyway, Mr and Mrs Cutie Pie did luck out with Baby #1; good luck if you have another one, folks. This one's been so good you've surely been spoiled!

Oh, and he just happens to be about the cutest thing younger than my sister's twins.
You'll notice he's bundled up- it was blissfully chilly there; perfect weather.

yikes

It's been 2 years since the house here has been all 1 color/texture/whatever...so this is the year that the whole thing gets repainted so that the top matches the bottom. I wish I had a pic of the heart-stopping ladder setup that involves the door and stairs into the girls' dorm... The sign warns about the man you could send to his death if you barrel through the door unmindful of what's on the other side. The 2 pix are of Little A priming the rest of that side of the house. He's like a monkey on that thing. Makes everyone clutch their heart, whisper a prayer and walk away.

Well well well

You know how the craziest things happen at just the right time? Like Wed before McCordsville all the sewage pipes have to be replaced? Stuff like that? Well, they tried to drop a new pump into the well yesterday. This started with Mr Homeowner lowering a ladder into the well- suspended on an iron bar laid across the top of the well. Let me tell you, that well is the deepest thing I've ever looked into. It's heart-stoppingly deep. When he went down there, we all just held our breaths; his family left. Uncle D said You be careful.

Then they tried one thing, then another and another... The huddle pic is interesting because of the different nationalities all discussing why the new pump won't work. Night came and they finally dropped the old malfunctioning pump back into the well; today they will try another new one. We hope we have water soon... (well, we have it, just not good pressure and not enough).

Mynnya again

Well, today was the day! People everywhere, so Mynnya decided to present her baby to the world. A little girl... a heifer, in other words. Here's a pic just after she was born (we arrived on the scene shortly afterwards). They named her... Anita! It was an exclamation point sort of day!