Weather – Page 3 – Asbery's Echoes

Rain Beautiful Rain and Packing For Tomorrow

We are getting rain today – lots of beautiful rain! It’s dark outside and thundering and sweatshirt wearing cool and rain! After being in a severe drought this is oh so welcome. Our yards are dry and brittle and full of cracks. Everything green has turned to brown. The crops in the fields are suffering. We’ve been trying to watch our water usage due to having a well. Our “chance of thunder storms” has turned into this beautiful beautiful rain that looks like it might actually stick around for awhile. We will take all we can get!

I might not be ready for Eric to move out but I am ready for this pile to be gone out of my dining room!

Today will see us packing. We take Eric to college tomorrow. Sending your child off to college is so bittersweet. You’re so excited for them and this new journey in their life and yet at the same time you’re sending your baby off into the big old world. It’s scary and knowing you’re not going to see them every day. Eric was my baby for 12 years and we definitely thought he was always to be the baby. I spoiled him I’m afraid more than I did the other two because he was the baby and he was that much younger than Abby and Aaron. But, he’s ready for this. And we are so very proud of the person he has become. He’s focused and has plans and he knows what he wants. Now it’s time for him to start on the next step in making those dreams come true. And he’s only going to be an hour away so I really can’t complain – I can visit whenever I want!

August Is Here

Wow, July went fast. It always seems to me that once we hit the 4th of July the summer just flies by. We are getting closer and closer to fall – yeah! Although August means school starts back up too which this year means watching Eric leave the nest. He’s ready and we’re ready too. The only one not ready for this big change is Drew. He’s going to miss having big brother around.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. I turned off the air and opened up all the windows. I love having the windows open! If we could just get some rain now. I spent the day getting ready to sell shave ice and washing up the bedding and tablecloths in the camper and then took Drew school shopping. We picked a good time to go – the stores were nice and quiet and Drew was no nonsense about it. He had no trouble picking things out – he just wanted to get it done so he could get home and spend the evening outside with Daddy!

Today looks like another nice summer day. I’ll finish getting everything together to sell tonight. It’s National Night Out and there will be kids galore up on the square with games for them to play, handouts and freebies, free entertainment and I think even a bouncy house or two. It’s a great way to celebrate our City Police and Sheriff’s Department and for kids to get to know them. Our Police Department does such a good job putting this on every year for the kids in the community and we are thankful they ask us to participate.

Driving Around

Queen Anne’s Lace, cornfields and clouds – our little neck of the woods sure is pretty!

When it’s too hot to be outside and nobody wants to sit inside – you head to town for ice cream and go for a drive! Even though it’s unbearably hot outside, we can still enjoy the scenery from the truck. I love the cornfields and the Queen Anne’s Lace – it is blooming everywhere right now. And the clouds were beautiful!

Black

I’ve been busy painting the past few days. It’s so hot outside – we’ve been under an excessive heat warning – so I decided it would be a good time to pain my kitchen cupboards. Joe has been gone too so that gives me more “free” time to work on bigger projects. And, I decided to go with black. I know the trend right now is a light and airy farmhouse look and I think it’s beautiful but I’ve never been one to fit in with the norm or to follow the trends. I went from light colors to black! And I love it! And even better, when Joe got home he said he was really surprised but he likes it too! I don’t have nice cupboards and they’ve been painted a few times but the black really sharpens them up and this time I went all out and painted the insides of the doors too. That made a huge difference. Before the insides showed all the different colors they’ve been painted and didn’t look nice at all. Next is different countertops and flooring and trim and backsplash around the stove and a new refrigerator. But who knows how long it will be before we get around to that. No sense in getting into a hurry – the kitchen isn’t going anywhere right??!!

Please ignore the clutter – I hadn’t picked up after painting and the paint is still wet!

Then, spur of the moment, I decided to bring this bench back into the house. I saw one on another blog and loved the way she had draped a blanket over the back. Joe’s dad made us this bench years ago and I had it stored out in the garage because I’m not a fan of the heart cutout in the back of the bench. I had racked my brain trying to think of something to cover the heart and never once thought to drape something over the back of it. I brought it in today, cleaned it up and painted it black. It still needs another coat in areas and some touch up but I couldn’t wait to see how it was going to look in the dining room! Then I dug this old quilt out of the bedroom closet (I didn’t even remember having this quilt. No idea where it came from. I was actually looking for my doll quilts made by my grandmas but I didn’t find those in my search). I love the way it covers up the heart and I’m loving that I brought the bench back in the house. Albert loved doing woodworking projects when he was younger and I’m blessed to have this and a hutch that he made. Treasures for sure.

This and That Thursday

Dad and Moms windmill and beautiful clouds.

Oh what a beautiful day we had! After some brutally hot and humid dry days it was so nice to be outside and have no humidity and cooler weather. It’s fair week so we ran into the fair for a little bit to see the animals and the fair projects. Drew thinks he wants to be in Clover Kids and bring something to the fair next year. That is something I can get behind – I’m a firm believer in 4-H and all it has to offer!

Helping dad power wash the camper – in other words an excuse to climb the ladder!

We spent the evening outside – Joe and Drew playing with Joe’s new power washer and me pulling weeds and just enjoying the beautiful evening! My coneflowers are really going crazy this year – they are so full I hardly have to weed this flowerbed! Hoping tomorrow brings more of this beautiful weather!

Found this pretty bloom hiding in amongst the coneflower!

So Incredibly Thankful

Last night was Class Night. I held it together through the whole ceremony! Such a great group of young adults. Smart, talented, fun. There were lots of awards given out, laughs, a few tears. They will all go far in their pursuits from this point on I’m sure. I’m thankful for Eric’s teachers, his friends, the community for helping to shape him into the wonderful young man he has become. Graduation Saturday night and then life as he knows it will have changed forever. And he can’t wait!

I am also thankful to God for being with my oldest son Aaron and keeping him safe while were at Class Night. We had a pretty good storm hit our area right before Class Night and were thankful it was over before everyone had to head into the school. Halfway through the program Joe got a phone call from Aaron, which is a rare occurrence at best. He said everything was fine and asked his dad to call him when the program was over. The storm that was not so bad here had traveled onto his community. He was working at the convenience store when a tornado hit. It blew out all the windows and did some other damage. No one was hurt. He watched a customer go to leave right when the tornado hit and it ripped at the door and the customer had to hold onto the door to keep from being sucked out of the store. I can’t begin to imagine how scared everyone was. We are all so very thankful no one was hurt. I hope we never receive a phone call like that again.

The only two out of a class of 40 who are going to the University of Iowa. Glad they are friends – they’ll have each other to rely on!

University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa and Iowa National Guard/Iowa State. They’ll miss each other! Three great kids standing there!

Painting the Day Away

I looked out the window around 8:00 last night and saw this beautiful sky. I braved the cold and wind to run out and snap a picture and it was gone by the time I got back in the house. It’s the simple things that bring joy.

We had another cold, wet, windy day today. A perfect day to stay inside and paint. I managed to get the living room all painted. It took all day and went a lot slower than the dining room. Of course having a six year old in the house today didn’t help! Now I need to get the living room put back together. I ran out of time for that. I’d like to keep on painting but I think I’d better spend tomorrow making sure I have everything ready for graduation and make my grocery list. Then maybe Wednesday I can get back to it.

This is a before picture of the living room. I’m keeping the border. I know wallpaper is out of style but I like this border and I’m not ready to take it down yet. I obviously don’t decorate according to what is in style anyway – nothing in this picture was bought in a big box store or a mall! The pictures were stitched by me and most everything else came from a thrift store, flea market, antique store or online.

And the after picture. I’m really liking it. It’s actually much darker than the picture shows. It makes the room feel cozy and warm. The rest of the walls are a shade called Heartland. A medium shade of tan maybe? Not sure how to describe it but not much different than before. Which made it a little difficult to paint – it was hard sometimes to see where I’d been and where I was going. It’s the same shade as the dining room to tie things together. Funny how a fresh coat of paint makes everything look and feel better – even if it’s there’s not much change in color.

Rain, Rain Go Away

The weather has been miserable here. I’ve even turned the furnace back on. I don’t ever remember running the furnace in April and especially not in May. The poor chickens have been cooped up since Thursday. Joe opened their door up for them yesterday and they refused to go outside. Drew tries to go out but comes right back in. It is cold, windy, muddy, miserable out there. On the bright side – it looks like after today things might be turning around. Warmer and sunshine – yeah! I will definitely appreciate it when it comes! The sun is even trying to shine right now – yeah!

Last Thursday I painted. And painted and painted and painted. I almost got the dining room done. I decided I like the color so much, I’m going to paint the living room, hallway, our bedroom, the kitchen and maybe even the bathroom in the same color. It will take me awhile to get it all accomplished, especially with graduation coming and hopefully with the weather turning for the better here I’ll need to be working outside. But I will get it done. These walls haven’t been touched for years and it’s definitely time.

A very neutral paint color. So much better than the green I had before. I don’t know what I was thinking! I still have some rearranging and decorating to do but that will have to wait until all the painting is done. That will be the fun part!

Friday I subbed at the elementary school. That was an experience. I worked with a very challenging boy for sure. I was in an old friend’s classroom, someone I hadn’t seen in a long time and we had a nice visit. All in all it was an enjoyable yet very tiring day. We should all appreciate the associates out there who dedicated their time working with special needs kids. It is an extremely rewarding job yet one of the hardest jobs I can ever imagine.

Saturday was spent finishing up painting the dining room and getting the room put back in order. Then off to Jeremy and Abby’s in the afternoon. They invited us over for supper so we went a little early to have time to play with Braxton. He was mad at us when we got there because we took so long! It’s fun to watch him and Drew – they play together so well.

If April showers bring May flowers we should have an abundance of beautiful blooms!

On Sunday we ended up running to Ottumwa to Menards. Joe needed more boards to finish his lean to and Drew needed a package of toys to put in a piñata at school. We picked up a few groceries too while we were there but since it wasn’t a planned trip I didn’t get everything I needed. I’ll have to sit down this week and figure out what I need for graduation food wise. It’s hard to believe it’s only two weeks away.

My Lily of the Valley are starting to bloom. These came from Mom. They are one of her favorites and she carried them in her wedding. We planted these about three years ago and they are slowly starting to spread out and fill in. The blooms are beautiful – small but mighty!

Graduation time is almost here

Eric’s graduation invitations came this week – yeah! My cousin took his pictures and worked up the invites and she does such an amazing job. It’s great having such a talented professional photographer in the family!

This fun little notebook contains everything I need to remember to plan this graduation. Lists, addresses, ideas, etc. It will get used a lot the next couple of months!

So yesterday and today I worked on gathering up addresses, typing them into the computer, printing them out and getting the envelopes stuffed and ready to go. I have to say, I’ve done a lot of mailings throughout the years working as a secretary but it sure is a lot more fun when you’re home with Pandora playing your favorite music, a nice candle burning and a nice quiet house to work in. And a friendly cat to keep you company!

Thanks to Amazon – I didn’t have to run to Osky for supplies!

One graduation project to check off the list. Now to get the cake balls ordered. My niece has a catering business and makes the most delectable sweets – cake balls being one of them. Eric specifically asked for them so of course cake balls it will be. He very rarely asks for anything specific. His normal answer to any question is “I don’t care!” Next I’m hoping to get together with Abby and decide on decorations. Hopefully we can DYI the decorations. If I get that taken care of this month I can concentrate on the food in May. Then it will all be over with before we know it!

In the meantime, Eric got fitted for his tux earlier this week. His date went with us to the store to pick out colors for his tie and vest and I had to explain to her that she would have to make the decisions. His answer to all her questions – “I don’t care!” If he really does have an opinion he will say otherwise he really just doesn’t care. He’s a pretty easy going guy!

It’s hard to believe he’s going to be graduating in such a short time. You would think that by this time I’d be used to this but it doesn’t get any easier. You’re so happy to seem them get to this point and to see them go off and spread their wings but it’s so sad to think he’ll be going to college next year and won’t be home. He will be missed around here.

I took this picture through the glass hoping to not get his attention but he caught me!

We’ve had lots more rainy, cold, windy, dreary days but there was one afternoon that even though quite chilly, the sun did shine. Because Drew so wants it to be nice so he can play outside, he decided to take his blanket and his Kindle and entertain himself on the deck. I didn’t think he’d be out there long but he proved me wrong. It almost dark when he came in – cold and ready for his bath but at least he got some fresh air!

Winter Wonderland

We woke up to a white world this morning. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen snow on the ground and it’s so pretty. I love how it changes how everything looks and how hushed everything is. It reminds me of a blanket – soft and inviting. I remember in years past the huge snowstorms we used to get. Being snowed in for days, losing electricity, blizzard like conditions. We don’t get snows like that anymore. But with that being said, we also don’t get the ice storms we used to get either. I never liked the ice storms. Ice is scary! I’m sure we’ll see those kinds of storms again. Everything seems to cycle. This snowfall won’t stay long – not this time of the year and that’s okay. It’s time for spring to arrive now. I’m ready for warmer weather and to see everything come alive again.

Unfortunately we got just enough snow that my mom and I have to cancel our plans for today. My aunt is going through some health problems right now and we were going to take her out for lunch today and have a nice visit before she has some tests done later in the week. She lives a few miles away, in a remote area, and the roads to get there are not in the best shape due to the weather. I was really looking forward to visiting with her but we’ll just have to try again for next week. Something to look forward to!

I bet dad’s timber looks pretty right now all dressed up in the snow!