So...when we got back from pageant...there were a lot of weeds! It took a week for us to get rid of all of them. Can you see how many are in between the rows!?

And here...we begin to make progress...

Oh how I love flowers!

It seems like I had to wait forever for these stargazer lilies to open... But boy, was it ever worth the wait!?

I have very much enjoyed gardening this summer. I suppose you all know that I love flowers. I had a particularly generous flower garden, thanks to the addition of many bulbs from a friend. (THANK YOU!!!)

And...I have some new chickens. I think they are lovely. I am particularly excited for when they lay eggs, as they are araucana chickens! That means they will lay colored eggs.

Personal Challenge and Triumph

So, I went and participated with my family, in the Hill Cumorah Pageant. It was a very challenging experience. The first week was blisteringly, drippingly hot. We had heat indexes of 105!!! In that hot and humid weather, I was walking back and forth to our camp...going back and forth to the potty with ML, preparing outdoor meals, and hiking an outdoor hillside stage for rehearsals, most of the time with ML on my hip.

As you can see from the above picture, I literally dripped with sweat from the moment I awoke, till well into the night. I had a very difficult time enjoying my experience, because I was overwhelmed with my physical discomfort. In the realm of TMI...I was so drippingly sweaty, that my underclothes were constantly damp. Do you know what happens when your body is always sweaty, and you are walking all over the place? I will tell you...you chafe...you get sores...you apply antifungal cream and weep as you lay in your tent consumed with exhaustion and discomfort!

I struggled within myself, because I saw all these people smiling and giving cheery greetings...working just as hard, or harder than I was. I wanted to be a good sport, but often could not move beyond the physical self. But as I continued to attend to my responsibilities, and worked to focus on the spirit of the wonderful place where I was at...I felt a change. At first, I just pasted the smile on my face.....

But then I started to notice that I was really feeling very happy..joyful...full of the Spirit. The meetings that we attended seemed to become richer and more fulfilling. I felt humbled to be part of such a great work. At one particular devotional, we had a speaker talk about overcoming the "natural man." It really struck me deeply...this concept of our bodies and spirits...working together, or NOT working together. For the start of the week, my body was the strongest...and its discomfort clouded my ability to feel the wonderful spirit that was all around me. But as the week progressed, my spirit gained strength..I was still uncomfortable, but that discomfort did not rule me. I continued to think on this concept and work hard at being open to the beauty all around me...the beauty of the earth, the people, myself, the gospel, the music...the days got better and better!

This long and hard time taught me a great deal about myself, about the balance of my physical self with my spiritual self, and about prioritizing. I come away from this experience with a firmer belief in God, Jesus Christ, and a calm assurance that Joseph Smith restored God's gospel on earth in the latter days. I also have refreshed my vision...I see ahead of me more growth and steps that will continue to bring me strenth and joy!

Fun Trip

A while back, I was invited to go to Portsmouth, NH with a friend. I gladly accepted, and here are a few pictures. They cannot do justice to the beauty and fun that was had on my trip.

So this picture is an attempt to show a snail that had this sea weed stuff all grown on top of it. It was so funny...like a big afro!

We walked out amidst the rocks, hoping to find fun tidal pools. We did find tidal pools, but more than anything, we found slimy, yucky, smelly, deadly slippery seaweed. It was quite an adventure to even take a few steps, but we kept going until we reached the water. It was so much fun!

On the way home, we stopped for gas, and I saw a sign for a Bison farm. I begged to go, and my dear accomodating friend indulged me. Here are the magnificent beasts! I just love them. I even splurged and bought a pound of buffalo burger to bring home to the family. It was delicious and had practically no fat in it! BTW...sneak picture of the friend!

We drove over to Maine for a bit of shopping, and I loved the ship yard...so fascinating.

oops...this guy is out of order, but I don't want to move him...he stays.

Pretty Flowers

I went to the Boston Temple to be with my sister and family, while said sister took out her own endowments. It was a lovely day. I always love the Temple gardens. They remind me that natural beauty is all around us, and cultivating it brings joy to one's self, and others.

And...remember the new half circle garden...it shall be the dahlia garden, but in the meantime, I have added some pretties while I wait. Cody saw these, and we had to get them!

PS...they are called Gazania...

So here are the all done pictures. We are generally quite pleased. It is better than it was, for sure. With my funny little issues, I am very aware of the mistakes and gliches, and sometimes forget to just appreciate how pretty it is!

Bathroom Makeover

Did I already blog about this? I meant to, but in my semi asleep state of mind, really cannot recall. At any rate, we recently worked on our bathroom. Tonight you get the before pictures, and perhaps tomorrow, the after pictures. Don't hold your breath, blue is not a nice color on you.
We always set out with a clear idea...but along the way we have to stop and devote a lot of thinking to the next steps!
We had some good help!
Yuck...a pleasure to improve on this scummy heating grate.

All I have to say is...EWWWWW!!!

A messy cabinet and the yucky old medicine cabinet.
This is where the sink and the toilet will go back in. And...you get a sneak peek at the flooring and the nicely painted heating grate!

Coming soon....a pretty bathroom....

Fun things

Look at my little thief. Over the winter they actually chewed a hole through this lid, and now they are very frequent visitors.

I am so excited...I saved some peonies from a backyard mess...and have been waiting for them to recover from the move. This year...they have buds! I am so happy.

And...my asiatic lilies seem to be surviving the yearly onslaught of the hungry red beetles that have been devastating them each year. I have an organic spray that I have been using, as well as daily murderous search and destroy missions.

mmm...lilac season! I adore lilacs. These are just down the road..I have my own, but these were nice and easy to take a picture And here is the most exciting thing of all. DH had a lovely idea to make a garden at the base of our rock hill. I loved the idea, and adore the result. It is so so very nice. It is going to be my Dahlia garden...and we will see what else.

Cody brought over a couple of the wrestlers, and together with Matt and Cody, they hauled over these rocks and put it together in no time at all. So fun.