It's Summer (sort of)!

The house painting is finished and the plumber came and fixed the bath tub drain and the leaky pipe in the basement!  Now here's the next thing!

Two weekend ago it was HOT with high HUMIDITY and I don't have central air!  I am a cold weather person.  You can put on additional clothing or turn the heat up to be warm.  When it's hot and humid, you can only take off so many clothes (unless you want to live your life in the closet).  So I called the HVAC people to come and give me an estimate on installing central air.  Keep in mind my home was built in 1854!  So here he came.  We walked through the house and I told him which registers were heat and which were air returns ( I actually knew that!).  He looked in all the closets and behind all the doors.  Finally he came to me and said he could cool the first floor without any problem, but if I wanted AC on the second floor, he would have to knock out walls and take over a few closets.  It seems I do not have enough duct work and air returns to accommodate AC on the second floor.  And it would cost way, way, way more than I was willing to pay.  Plus, I just got the walls up and painted and was totally NOT interested in surviving another mess.  He was very nice and told me if it were him, he would go and buy several window units.  So that's what I did.  Went to Sears (an appliance store) and bought 3 units and they work great!!!!  The first floor is always very comfortable especially the front porch so I just needed to sleep "cool"!  And now I do.

Right now we are experiencing the fish fly season.  Oh my gosh!!!!!  These fish flys hatch in the water then fly around until they run into something (like you, your house or car) then they latch on!  Once the sun hits them they die but they don't fall off your house.  So then you take the hose and spray them off!  This will last about two weeks.  They say one morning I will go outside and they will be gone.  Can't wait!

My flowers are growing!  All the ones I planted that were already started are lookin' pretty good.  The seeds I planted are coming up!!!!!!!  Praise the Lord - literally!  I have watered and fed them and I act like I know what I'm doing.  I finally had 3 unknown bushes bloom this weekend and discovered they are pink (or lavender) spirea.  Very pretty.  Also have a ton of lilies of the valley blooming and am waiting for what I believe to be tiger lilies.  I figure if I can make it through this summer then next summer, I can add to what I know is there.  Oh, also have quite a few very pretty and different colored hostas.

The schools are all closed for the summer.  Garrett works at the candy store which becomes additionally an ice cream store in the summer.  Emily works there too.  Grace goes there sometimes but most often she comes here!  I taught her to play Yahtzee and she wants to know if there is a world championship (which I am sure she would win)!  It is a great practice of math skills and she quickly figured out how to get the most points.  Her mother, Emily, told her how every Sunday afternoon when she was little, Nana (HC's mother) would sit at the dining room table and play the game with Emily, Libby and their cousin, Heather who all have families of their own now.  Too funny and what memories.

My summer visitors are about to begin.  First is HC's sister and her husband, Jenna and Stan, followed by my dear friend Barbara and her husband Rick, then Libby and the kiddos, then my sisters, then there's a bit of a break until September and October which are full of more great friends.  Let the games begin!

There's still available days so come on up!  The lake is beautiful, the water's getting warmer (TR was swimming yesterday), as I write, seagulls are swooping in and out of the trees in the front yard, the beds have brand new mattresses and the AC window units are installed!  What more could you want...and I'll cook!

xxoo