well good morning, and happy Sunday, everyone!

I'm happy as a lark this morning because I am going bye-bye with my three oldest daughters! Woo hoo, they invited me, too, I didn't even invite myself! We are going on up to Lake Ontario for a few hours. I have a few seltzers in the freezer, and my suit and towel and sunscreen in my beach bag, I am ready to go!

Miss Evelyn is so kindly taking the younger girls on a waterfall excursion, Jon and Sonja are busy working today, Paul actually has to work today, so why not go on an adventure?

See, the thing is, when I was knee deep in small children and nursing babies, chronically tired, overworked and never caught up, I lived in faith that all things worked together for my good, and that God knew what I needed. When I felt overwhelmed, I took comfort in living in the moment, with assurance that each situation was weighed and measured, never more than I could bear. It did feel like it sometimes, of course it did! But day after day, I muddled through, loving the babies and the kids, and doing what I could to hold the place together, with Paul, who, with his calm demeanor, held me up. He is the kind of husband who would think nothing of making dinner for us when the kids were fussy or sick or I had a newborn who liked to cry. He would attack the Couch Monster, folding and putting things away, he would move the furniture on a Saturday morning and clean out all the popcorn kernels and Matchbox cars and Barbie shoes. I hated it, the dreaded under-the-sofa messes, when he started moving the furniture, ugh, but it was a good thing. See how good I am at Off On A Tangent? This post was about how crazy life used to be, and now it's a tribute to my dear faithful husband.

Sometimes I think about my snarky son Aaron, who once said, "On mom's tombstone, we should write, "She Tried." I DID try, yet if there was an adventure to go on, we were OUT THE DOOR. I didn't believe in leaving the kids home because it was easier, they all went with me to the store, we made it fun. We stopped to smell the roses. We went to cemeteries, and to parks, and to malls, and to cousins' houses. We of course went to meetings and church gatherings and celebrations, and away for weekends.

My point is that I am very blessed. I just feel honored and blessed that my older kids want to spend time with me. I appreciate them so much.

Don't go thinking it's all a picnic, either. Different personalities, especially with eleven daughters, sometimes rub each other the wrong way, and I feel like I live in my invisible striped shirt with my whistle. It's a gentle work, to steer them each around to seeing the other's point of view, and to encourage each to forgive and forget. I do put my foot down hard sometimes, backbiting is not allowed. If one child wants to vent to me about an issue, fine, you can always talk to me, but we will not sit around and tear someone apart.

Well, my girls will be here soon to pick me up. As you know, I like to sit here in my comfy chair until the last minute, then scramble around like an idiot, as if I've been so busy. It wasn't too many years ago that I WAS so busy, but now...ahh. I did get up early and drive Jonathan to work, turned on the pool filter, washed some dishes, put in a load of towels, let the dogs out and back in, gave them water, fed the cats and gave them a small lick of heavy cream, filled the Britta pitchers, straightened chairs and wiped counters, so I'm not an absolute bum. But here I sit.

sometimes we just stay home and don't take any pictures...

Today was a wonderful day. I got up early, made coffee, turned on the pool filter, and found my way to my comfy chair, after letting the dogs out, then back in. And giving them water. And wiping down counters and putting away some dishes. Once I put my feet up and took a few sips, ahhh, of that fresh first cup, Margaret texted and asked what I was doing today. Well, nothing, I replied, come on over! She came, with Evelyn Joy and little Mr. Wulf. Mr. Wulf is two years old, and he is going to be a big brother in THREE WEEKS. Yes, his mama and papa, Marge and Adrian, are having a new baby soon. Adrian was busy working today, so Gramma and Grampa got to see little Wulfie. (Paul went to the Dollar General for envelopes and came home with a little battery/sound firetruck for Wulf! (and a little toy for Miss Lydia!)).

We sat on the deck, we sat in the living room, we swam in the pool and lounged on the pool deck. Grampa picked tomatoes in the garden with Wulf, and Charlotte Claire played Bananagrams with Wulf, which consisted of him throwing them all over. He also figured out how to get water from the refrigerator dispenser, to play with a homeschool science measurement set. He helped me water the plants on the deck, and he rode his little tricycle.

Our dinner was leftover steak, sliced thin and warmed in the grill basket with fresh onions and peppers, served as fajitas, with garden tomatoes and green peppers, guacamole, ect. We sat out on the deck and ate, had some cherries for dessert, and enjoyed the beautiful summer weather.

Tomorrow, Paul has to work, Sonja and Jonathan are working (building project at church), Evelyn is bringing Miss Char and Miss Cam on an adventure to some waterfalls...maybe I'll go with them. Or maybe I'll stay home, and have some quiet. I don't know.

Now, I know you guys are smart, and that you know I had some mentions in previous posts about there being some sick kids, and a few testing to make sure we didn't have the dreaded C virus. Well, one of the kids had issues with putting things out there, you know, privacy and all, so I retracted, pushed the delete button, erased some paragraphs. I try to walk the line here, the delicate high wire between my business, and their business. Yes, things effect me, so I write, but then...they don't always appreciate it. So, we are happily virus free, and that's all that matters, right?

We are supposed to go camping next weekend, and the rest of the fam isn't as excited as I am, can you believe that? Paul has been quite busy, today he built new framing for that window that has looked awful in the kitchen all this time, but hasn't put it up yet. He was going to do the closet door too but I'm not sure what I want. Well, I know what I want, but they are way too expensive, so I might have to suck it up, so for now, I'll wait. It hasn't killed me yet, so it'll be all right for a while.

Here's a sad thing: Abigail moved out today. She actually moved out years and years ago, as she is 33 years old, but she moved back in here in March. She lives in a house in town with Emily and Mariel, who are in healthcare. Em is a nurse practitioner, Mar works as a nurse educator/oncology nurse. (Emily went to a busy hospital in Buffalo and worked on a Covid floor for a while, coming home here and there on weekends and when she had a few days off in a row...not HERE home, but her home in town, with Mariel). Anyway, the two nurses decided it wasn't safe for Abigail to live with them, they wanted to keep her safe, so she moved in here. It was AMAZING! She lived here for 5 months, and I spent more time with her than I had in the previous five years! She's such a sweet girl. She is an accountant, and works four days a week (schedule cut because of virus). She is just so much fun.

I know the time of quarantine, lockdown, wasn't pleasant for everyone. But shh, I kind of enjoyed it. Abigail moved back in, Evelyn moved back in (she moved back out a bit ago), Evelyn's college classes stopped in person, she only worked a few days a week, Ab was on a weird schedule at first, kids were home from school, we were all together, trying to make the best of things, and we did. We made some fabulous dinners. We put together puzzles, made cookies, went on walks and adventures around the Finger Lakes. We still went to Target once a week, in April it was like a ghost town in there. We had fun.

It feels horrid to be saying this, when I know there was suffering, here in our country, and around the world. People with family in nursing homes whom they cannot visit, people who suffered and died alone with no family or friends by their sides, even women giving birth without their husbands with them. People who couldn't get basic medical care, postponing surgeries and dental care and not being able to get what then needed from the stores. The businesses that closed and the jobs that were lost, I do not celebrate those things, obviously.

Hopefully things get better. It's a straaaaaange world we live in. I am thankful for my blog friends, for the positive outlooks, for the truthful posts, for the ones filled with hope and faith. I am thankful that God has a plan, and that I know to trust in Him, and that He gives grace to the humble.

and the results are...

We went to Seneca Lake, and drove up by Cayuga Lake, stopping at one winery, and one creamery.

I'm very thankful. Thank you for the kind thoughts and prayers on our behalf. The girls are very relieved.

Next project: a door on the pantry, the eyesore when you walk in. I sort of want two doors that open in the middle.

I do like the tables like this...


So even though we don't have the dreaded Covid, I do know now a little bit how if feels when you think you have it in the house...ugh. So now, relief. And onward, being careful of course, but still, living life. And, thanking God.

painting project: done!

Isn't Topsail better than yellow?



The kids are playing Scattergories in the nice new kitchen!


We had taco salad for dinner, with fresh cilantro, tomatoes and peppers from our garden. Evelyn bought supplies to make homemade egg rolls, which didn't come out right, but they ate them anyways. Sonja and Cam made edible chocolate chip cookie dough today, too.

Projects beget projects, don't they? When you walk in from our deck to our kitchen, there are hooks and a shoe shelf and straight ahead, a closet...this closet is now our pantry, the door long ago removed...removed because hey, when EIGHTEEN people live in a house, the entryway, well, it looks like a shoe sale. The door couldn't open anyway, there were too many shoes in the way. So we took the door off, and put some shelves in. We try to make it look neat and organized, but it just looks awful. So, now that we have way less shoes, we are going to put a door on it again! It'll be a pain to keep the shoes picked up and out of the way...also, the shoe shelf over there won't allow a door to open, so Paul is going to operate on it, and cut it in half. He is also going to put trim around that one window that still doesn't have any.

We put our two tables into a square, so we have more floor space. The kids like it, we can fit 12-16 easily around it, with three benches and three chairs.

We didn't even go outside today...it was a very nice day, cooler than it's been in a while. The pool looked tempting, but it was probably cold.

Ah well. We do keep busy. Oh, and how do I get the kids to help without complaining? Who on earth said they don't complain? I guess they want the results, they have watched enough HGTV to be interested in a renovation project. Also, I encourage the heck out them, the whole time. I thank them and praise them, and try to keep the criticism to a minimum. I tell them they are learning life skills: sparkling and sanding, painting, cutting in the edges, rolling, removing and replacing outlet covers and switch plates, cleaning up messes, getting along with each other, being a tiny bit humble when someone notices a splotch, streak, or missed spot...there was music and there was silence, there was silliness, and one rather big funny paint fight, which resulted in paint in Jon's hair, and a handprint on Sonja's shirt. I pretty much had to scream my head off to get them to stop, I didn't care how painty they got, I just didn't want it on my table or window trim.

before and after...almost!

So, tomorrow: second coat! We do not want to, but...we should. It takes so much longer than you think it will...spackling, sanding, wiping down the walls, putting away the jackets from the hooks (Jon took the brass hooks down, I'll spray paint them black, I painted the board they were mounted on, from pine to white, Camille painted the baseboards, which were still wood). We sorted the shoes again, too. Then painting (I ordered it online, and picked it up at Sherwin Williams, they put it right into the back of the car, and off we went.). Most of the kitchen stuff is in Sonja's room, we can't put it all back until we're done with that second coat. It looks nice, so far! We moved the tables into the middle of the room, and rather like them there!

Dinner: leftover Mac and cheese, and cauliflower and cheese, hot sausages with peppers and onions. A few cherries and some chocolate with almonds for dessert, no complaints here.

Rainy days when you're quarantined...not too shabby! What shall we do next?

Stay tuned for tomorrow's finished project pics, and hopefully soon, some answers, aka test results!

common....or not, that is the question!

Today was a good day anyway, home and comfy. We mopped instead of moped, did laundry, picked some blackberries from the woods...


Yesterday afternoon, we hopped in the pool to cool off, it was so dang humid. Well, it started to rain as soon as we got in there!


It was nice and refreshing.

Last night's dinner: slow roasted barbecued ribs, homemade Mac and cheese and cauliflower&cheese, and a nice salad with green peppers and tomatoes from our garden.

Tonight we had grilled chicken, rice, peppers and tomatoes, avocado, etc, then more berries from the woods, mmm.

A hurricane is moving up the coast, never a dull moment. Sam and Grace are in it's path in Virginia, ugh. We might get some rain, but that's about it, and we can use the rain. I just watered the garden, and the flowers, and folded freshly dried sheets and towels that dried in the sun. Puttering around, I don't get bored. There's always something to do.

Actually, I'm hatching a plan: painting the kitchen! It's been yellow for too long. It was English Buttercream, now a brighter yellow, and although I don't hate it, I'm falling out of love with it. Plus, I need a fun project. The kids are all here, and are willing to help, so why not? A nice gallon or two of paint is under a hundred bucks! If I can choose a color, I can order from Sherwin Williams, and pick it up at the curb. I'm thinking of something gray-ish, maybe a green gray, I love the Sea Salt, but something more subtle. The plan is that if it clashes with the living room, we just buy more of the same color and paint the living room to match.

I sort of like the Topsail....the living room is a gray with a blue tint, so I don't want clashing going on.

So fun things are going on, and some not-so-fun things too. Life is crazy these days, isn't it?

saying goodbye is never easy...

We're leaving here in a few hours, packing up the kayaks and heading south. We rented a boat, caught a few fish, and went for some nice boat rides. We had a few camp fires, some card games, board games, and some good songs together. It's never 100% easy sailing when you're in a cabin together with lots of different personalities for days in a row, but I was thinking about it like this: you can simply bear things, and get through it, and develop negative feelings about someone. Or, you can just let it go completely, take up a strong and complete battle, ask God for strength, and be done with bad thoughts and irritation with someone. When you have a group of people, or in our case a family, all interested in getting oil in our lamps, things go very well and there is not only peace, but brotherhood and goodness.

God has really blessed us.

It's been super special to have this time here.

We were able to reserve this because I happened to check it out FIVE minutes after there was a cancellation.

Anyway, time to finish my blissful coffee and get moving....