And then I got a week behind...

It started out as just "slacking" for the weekend because I didn't want to turn my computer on.  I was pouting about my mini vacation being up too soon.  And then I put it off until I finished a task, or chore, or or or...

And now it's been a full week since I've posted.

I've stayed caught up with my 366s though, so that's the important thing.  At least to me.

Now, let's get this party started.

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183:366  06-30-12
Technically this was the last day of the Reverb Broads, but I wasn't inspired to do the prompt then and I'm not inspired to do it now so I'll pass.  It's due to return in December and I'll decide then if I want to do it.

Had to make a trip to Home Depot. Again.  We walked from one end of HD to the other several times, always remembering something else we needed that "convienently" was on the other side of the store.  Here we were attempting to find a new flag pole for our flag without having to buy a full new set of flag pole, flag, and mounting bracket since our mount and flag were still in good shape - just the pole broke.  The copper pipe would have worked beautifully except that it was kind of heavy and very expensive.  We ended up settling on a wood broom handle replacement thing....that was too big for the mount.


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Robert is making progress on the reshaping of the yard project.  He is leveling it out at different levels since our yard is on a hill and then the big pile he and Leia are standing on will go away and his shop will be built.  We are also discussing adding more grass, some other plants, and maybe a stone path.  Not sure if this all will get completed this summer or if our funds will run out before our oomph does. We'll see!

Actually, the pile is on it's way out.  Robert has a coworker that came over and picked up 1/3 of the pile already and will take the rest too.

(This pic was taken with my phone.)


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Garden update!

These are the pickling cucumbers. YUM!  There are so many little bitty baby cucumbers all over those vines. I better start researching pickling recipes.  I have some other cucumbers - bush cucumber - that weren't doing great.  They got some powdery mildew because it's been so rainy (surprise surprise) and I almost lost one.  The mildew started to show up on these cucumbers as well as the squash and zucchini so I went to the store to get fungicidal soap.  I couldn't find fungicidal soup, but I found this Ortho organic fungicide and 95% of the mildew was cleared up with one application.  All the affected plants have bounced back and I've done another application to get rid of a few of the remaining spots.



Pea tee pees!


Pea pod!


Bitty tomato!


Itty zucchini!  (See some of the white spots on the leaf in the bottom right corner and stem bottom middle - that's powdery mildew. It was worse on the underside of the leaves.)


Baby squash!


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After another trip to HD to return to the too big wooden handle, we found a metal pole with a little plastic rake on the end.  Robert just removed the rake and voila - new flag pole. Just in time for the 4th of July.


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Happy 4th of July!

We hosted our 3rd annual 4.O.J. BBQ with some of the usual suspects in attendance.  Here is Carus and her friend S.  We adore S and her parents.  We really need to work on getting together more often than the 3ish times of year we have managed.



The spread.  Well, most of it.  The potato salad was getting mixed up - soon to be put in the black bowl, and the chicken were on the grill getting all yummy.


Some of the main gang.  We had a few show up later, but for some reason I didn't get pictures of them.  I focused more on maning the grill and hanging out than taking pics.


Getting my grill on! I make some really good BBQ chicken.  The secret is... don't over cook them! For legs and thighs 30 minutes in the oven at 375 degrees and then sauce them and finish on the grill.  I use propane and keep the heat about 400 degrees.  (You can do them completely on the grill or completely in the oven too.)  Pull them off when they are no longer pink and let them sit 10 minutes (or are just barely pink and then put them in an off but still warm oven for 10 minutes).  Don't overcook the chicken!  Actually, don't over cook any meat or food. Trust me.
(This pic was taken with my phone and edited with Instagram.)

Instead of putting on our own show this year, we went and watched the Forest Grove firework show put on by the fire department.  It was great!  We had a few straggling sparklers left over from last year that we let the kids do, because it's not 4th of July without sparklers.  They didn't want to stay lit though.  Next year I'll have to get some fresh ones.



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Carus and I - okay mostly me - have been chicken sitting for our friends/neighbors (frieghbors? Neighbends?) while they vacay and have fun.  Chickens are so amusing.  I pulled this one out for a little pet which she wasn't too excited about, but she dealt with it.

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The other two chickens the next day.  I've brought down some scrap foods for them to snack on and they weren't able to break open the cherry tomatoes so I gave them a hand and had to encourage them to give them a try.


While walking down the hill to check on the chickens Carus was messing with her shadow.  It looks like she has a hand growing out of the back of her head.  It made us crack up.


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My first harvest!  A handful of green beans.  I was expecting peas first, or that bitty zucchini that's been growing for 2 weeks, but nope.  The green beans rallied after a recent fertilization with steer poo and are growing like mad.  Steer poo is good poo!