Peaches

I think we are into a couple of my favorite weeks of the year.  From my kitchen window I look down on a little tree in the back yard as it makes its way through the seasons.  All winter I see its bare branches begging to be pruned and shaped.  As the weather warms the branches we get out the pruning shears and start to work on it.  It is SO hard to clip off all the lovely little branches, but I know it must be done.  In spite of our best intentions, it seems like we never really clip off enough.

Soon the warm sun and Spring rains cause the little buds to form.  Well...we hope that is what happens.  We don't live in an altogether hospitable climate, so sometimes the warm sun and Spring rain looks more like snowflakes, sleet and freezing temperatures.  Then I hope that the tender blossoms will wait just a bit longer.  We were fortunate this year that the most crucial times for good weather were okay this year.

The tree was covered with blossoms.  Oh how rich we'd feel if every one of those blossoms could become a beautiful peach, but of course that just is not possible.  Some blossoms were pollinated and others were not.  As the blossoms dried up we waited to see the swelling that showed us that tiny peaches were starting to form.  Soon there were so many tiny peaches that we had to start pulling some of them off so there would be enough room for the final peaches to grow.  We thought we did a pretty good job of thinning them this year.  Obviously there were branches that we missed!

Now we have the reward of our labors....all the peaches we want to eat for the next few weeks!

Smoke Detector

You know how annoying smoke detectors sound when they go off?  I went out to the garden about 9 am to pick the beans.  After a time I realized I could hear a smoke detector.  I didn't think it was quite loud enough to be ours, but went up to the house and listened just in case.  I decided it must be the neighbor across the street on the other corner, but soon he came out, got in his car and drove away.  Surely he wouldn't do that if it was his smoke detectors screeching.  I walked around to the front of the house and then decided it must be coming from one of the houses across the street.  Seeing no signs of any smoke, I decided to just try to ignore it.

When Roger got home from school, he also noticed the sound, so took his hearing aids out.  That obliterated the sound for him, but was of no help for me.

Finally at noon, I couldn't stand it any longer.  There was clearly no fire and there was clearly no one home at the neighbors to notice the sound.  It was not an emergency, so I decided to call the police to see if someone could check on it, but the local police have a lengthy call menu so I gave up.  Then I called the county fire people, explained that there didn't seem to be an emergency but was it was annoying.  In spite of that I was advised to call 911 because 'there might be a fire'.  I figure if the fire wasn't visible in 3 hours, then there wasn't a fire.  Nonetheless, I dialed 911.  I explained that I did not think it was an emergency, but that I had been told to call.

Soon after, a police car rolled up across the street to survey the situation.  He knocked on the door, but of course, no one answered, because the neighbors were NOT HOME.  Do you think they'd be in there  listening to that thing screech for 3 hours?

He decided to go away and see if he could locate a way to contact the neighbors, but 3-4 minutes later he was back with a fire truck and an ambulance.  They all convened by the door then walked in as it apparently was not locked.  After maybe 10 minutes, the screeching stopped.  Soon after, they all drove off.

I have no idea if they ever contacted the neighbors or if they just decided to go in.  I don't know if the neighbors even know that 4 guys were walking all around in their house.  All I know is that the sound of silence was pretty sweet.

(You can't see the police car in the picture.  It was parked in front of the fire truck.  When they all left, it was like a parade.)

A Real American Girl

For years the American Girl doll company has been responsible for the destruction of many trees as they send out their catalog to parents and grandparents everywhere.  At long last their dreams came to fruition when a certain little girl reached an age where her parents thought she might properly appreciate such a doll.

Her heart was set on 'Kit' because that was the doll that looked most like her.  She did odd jobs to earn money to be able to afford some of Kit's cherished possessions. In some respect these dolls resemble the Barbies of earlier generations.  The dolls themselves are just the tip of the financial iceberg.  It is their clothes and accessories that fill the coffers of the company.

They took a trip to the American Girl store in Denver to get Kit.  The nearby restaurant catered to the doll clients by providing high chairs just the right size for the dolls.  In any case, Kit has now moved in for good and is part of the family.  However, I think a precedent has been set as Kit's new 'mother' has 2 younger sisters anxiously waiting to reach the age when they, too, can make a trip to the store in Denver.  They carefully read their catalogs, wishing and hoping for their day to come.

Colorado

After enjoying company most of the summer it is our turn to be company so off we went to visit our neighboring state of Colorado.  Sadly, the first few days of our visit no pictures were taken, but we stayed busy with the lives of 4 lively grandchildren and got involved in a project where we made 40 pizzas and 10 pans of shepherd pie for the freezer.  It was easier than I thought it might be as we were able to purchase a case of pizza dough balls from the local Sam's Club.  The case held 20 dough balls which we divided in half and thus made 40 pizzas.  I was surprised at how quickly it went.  

After some days there we moved down the road a couple of miles where we visited 3 more grandchildren in their new home.  Every new home requires some little fix-it things to make it just right for the new family.  Among other things, the new garage had just one electrical outlet which was being used to run outside yard lights and a pump in a little pond, leaving no place to plug in a freezer.  The woodworker, who also does a little electrical work, decided to remedy that situation with our daughter while I took care of the little ones.  The garage now has a workbench and ample electrical outlets.

While they were working, the girls and I walked to the park.

Saturday morning dawned early...whether we were ready or not.  Garrett, a new 6th grader, has joined his school cross country team.  Today was the first meet of the season in a town about 20 minutes away.  The kids had to be there at 7:15 AM which meant no sleeping in!  We were surprised at the size of the meet.  It included 100 schools and 3000 runners.  His group ran first...494  6th, 7th and 8th grade boys.  It will be a few days before times are posted, but I suspect he was in the top 25% or so.  We are very proud that he finished and worked so hard.  It was cold when the race started, but he says he warmed up very quickly.

It's a good thing the cross country meet was so early because at 11 AM it was time to attend the baptism of granddaughter Emmaline.  It was a very special day for her and we are also proud of her decision.   After the baptism, we all went to lunch at Texas Roadhouse.  You might think she chose that restaurant because of the delicious food, but you would be wrong.  She has many serious food allergies.  Peanut allergy is actually one that she has recently outgrown, so she wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse because they have peanuts to eat while you wait for your food!

Emmaline's mother brought along cupcakes for dessert as a celebration of her birthday earlier in the week.  They were clearly good as you can see from the satisfied smile on the face of Emmaline's cousin.

All in all we enjoyed our visit and will definitely be back!