Oops!

 WAAY too much time has gone by since

my last blog post!

I'm not sure exactly why...

yes, I've been busy, but not THAT busy.

It has been a full week weather-wise...

We have gotten LOTS of rain.

And hail!

It kind of did a number on our green beans.

Took most of the flowers off.

And poked a bunch of holes in them.

There are still SOME flowers, we will still get beans.

But probably not the bumper crop we were 

hoping to get.

Kind of messed up the onions too...

here's hoping they survive.

Kyle and I went over to the church and pulled

SIX wheelbarrow loads of leaves and small

branches. (Somebody already got all the

BIG branches - there were 4" branches

that came down!)

That pile of leaves in the picture is about 6" tall

and sitting on top of the drain!

All the drains looked like that!

And they were predicting more rain...

so we wanted to get those clear so we didn't

have a flood.

We have a lot of old growth oak trees on

our lot so there was a LOT of oak leaves.

Good news: after doing the workout I've been

doing, I was able to bend and pick up all those

leaves with my hands!

And then I pushed the wheelbarrow.

It's HEAVY!

Even empty!

In fact, after a particularly LONG trip

(from the far side of the parking lot)

I asked Kyle to push the empty wheelbarrow

back to the next spot and even HE said

it was heavy!

(He said "Wow! This really IS heavy!

I thought you were just being a baby!")

Hahahahahaha.

Anyhow, it's been a busy week.

It just stopped raining again.

They were saying a STRONG thunderstorm

with penny sized hail, but we managed

to miss that part of the storm.

We got some nice rain, but none of

the bad stuff.

Chillin'

 I'm teaching in Tampa this weekend.

But I'd rather be chillin'.....

Picking Rocks

 On my way to Tampa for the weekend,

I had to drive right past the potato farm,

so I decided to pop in.

Kyle was in the back, driving the digger.

So I didn't get to visit him...

but Jim was up front!

That's Jim in the hat, picking rocks out of the potatoes as

they go up the ramp and into the big trailer.

Cue Lucille Ball making chocolates.

Kyle and Big Rhett are out in the field, digging

and filling these big green trailers.

They bring it in to Jim and his fellow workers

and they pick out the rocks, grass, etc as the

potatoes come out of the trailer and up the

conveyor belt.

The conveyor belt telescopes right into the 53' trailer.

The potatoes are WAAAAAAAY up at the front of the trailer.

They will eventually fill the entire thing.

They usually fill 3-5 of them every day.

That is a LOT of potatoes!

And they've only done 2 of the total 7 fields.

It's a big process!

(There's my little white rental in the distance...)

Kyle is out there.

Somewhere.

Night Relief Society

 We had a really good night RS last night.

The theme was "Rooted in Christ".

We started with an excellent message about how being rooted

in Christ is found throughout the scriptures.

And then our hostess talked about some of the plants

you CAN grow in Florida.

And then we went outside to her yard and she took

us on a tour of their food forest and she showed

us all her unique plants and even took cuttings off

some of we wanted them.

We went back in about 8:00 as the mosquitos

found us and were hungry!

They had a couple of veggie platters for munching on

and a potted flower for each to take home with them.

We had 16 sisters! WAY better than any of our

other activities!

I, of course, forgot to take pictures while we were 

outside... too interested in what was going on!

A really BAD picture of some of the sisters with 

their passion fruit cuttings.

Darn.

The ward historian won't be happy with me.

Oh well.

Anyhow, it went well and everybody was happy

and thought it was a worthwhile evening.

And then today a small group of us met at Jason's Deli

for lunch - not RS sanctioned, just ladies lunching.

It was nice because they are ALL either Primery or Young Womens

so not sisters I often get to visit with.

It was fun!

We are going to do it every month and hopefully

more and more will be able to come.

Meanwhile, I got a call at 5:30 - my instructor for tonight

was suddenly throwing up and could I sub...

so I'm teaching.

Carrots!!!

 We have CARROTS!

And carrots,

and carrots, 

and carrots!

This is from ONE bed. 

We already harvested 2 beds, 

sliced, blanched and froze them.

These were planted several weeks later,

and unfortunately Florida didn't have spring this year.

It went straight to summer.

It was just TOO HOT for these guys.

So although they grew nicely,

they are extremely bitter.

We'll toss them over the fence to the goats.

They'll eat them up.

(Buddy, the horse, doesn't have enough teeth...)

Too bad we don't have any pigs yet!

Brrr

 Ok, not really.

But the sky was cloudy and the wind was blowing.

So I had to wear jeans and a jacket when

we went to Sam's and Tractor Supply.

(And I turned off the ceiling fan!)

It was only in the 70's.

And 86 at the ranch in Kansas!!!!

Anyhow.

It was a busy busy Wednesday.

Kyle got to take the day off.

More tire drama...

It was nice to have him home for the day.

I spent the morning doing RS stuff.

And then we went shopping.

And then I took a NAP!

Except I was wrapped up in a blanket

on the couch,

"watching" YouTube.

Ate a couple of fish tacos and headed into

my zoom room to teach this evening's class.

I've had large classes all week!

Monday I had a fluctuating group but about 28 in total.

Tonight was about the same. Mostly 21 - 22, but some

folks pop in for an hour or so and then have other

stuff they need to do.

Anyhow.

It's time to turn OFF the computer and call it a night.

Potato Man

 Kyle & Jim have been working at the potato farm.

Yesterday they wanted the crew there at 6 am!!!

(These are NON-MORNING people...)

Anyhow, they got there by 6:15 to discover there

was a flat tire on the digger and it wasn't fixed

until 9:30! So Kyle suggested that if that happens

again, a text might be a good idea...

So he worked a LONG day.

Before

He has been driving the tractor with the giant trailer

behind, the digger dumps the taters in, then

they take it back to pick out the rocks and put

them in the final trailer and deliver to the purchaser.

I sent him a text about 7pm and said HOLY MOLY!

Don't fall asleep!

After

Always the comedian!

Nice Easter

 We had a nice Easter Sunday.

Our Sacrament Meeting was really nice.

The YW President spoke and then

the Elders Quorum sang a nice arrangement.

They asked me to conduct.

They asked me Sunday morning.

(Well, actually Saturday at a party...)

I've never conducted a choir before.

It was fun!

And several said it helped...

(I actually counted out the rests with my fingers 

so they knew when to breath and be ready to 

come back in... many of them

don't actually read music...)

Anyhow, then the Bishop spoke and he decided

to try Elder Cook's method of letting the Spirit guide.

It was really good.

He based it on the hymn, He Is Risen.

Anyhow.

Then the rest of the day was just resting,

relaxing, recharging our batteries so prepare

for another BUSY week.

Kyle playing with his puppy.

(I snuck the picture through the kitchen window...)

He has been working at the potato farm.

Did a half day on Saturday, 

and then they had them show up this morning at 6!

And worked until 7!

13 hours is a LONG day to be driving a tractor!!!

Home Again Home Again!

 I got home late on Tuesday evening and jumped

right back in on Wednesday!

Starting off with working out,

then a yummy breakfast of eggs and toast.

Then Jim dropped by to pick up the trailer

so he could pressure wash HIS driveway.

And then I headed to Hair Cuttery and

got all my hair chopped off! 

(Ok, not ALL, but it feels like a LOT...)

I went with Nancy's recommendation and

got a good old '70s shag cut.

I'm a terrible selfie taker, but at least you get the idea

AND a bonus photo bomber!

Next I headed to WalMart (pretty much next door)

and grabbed some groceries,

some stuff for my hair,

and they had SIX different little short sleeved

cotton button up shirts!

So I bought them all.

LOL

Nice, spring colors.

I'm not sure I love the curl stuff... it feels very heavy.

But we'll try it a couple of times and see how it goes.

It did make it less frizzy, so there's that...

Home, and Jim got there about the same time I did.

The pressure washing experiment went really well

and his driveway looks good as new!

(Except he popped a nozzle off when he only had

about 2 feet left... but its ok, he'll fix it quick.)

Took a short nap,

and then sat down in front of the computer to

teach my night class.

Thursday I didn't work out - I was still on Tucson

time and didn't get to sleep until about 2:30,

so I tried to sleep late.

(Didn't work, there was a plumbing issue

so I woke up around 7...)

Got up and fiddled around until Soni called at 9.

We had a nice visit and then headed off to work.

They were happy to see me and there were LOTS

of end-of-month and end-of-quarter reports for

me to create and submit to the various government

agencies that care WAY too much about what

we are doing in our little building department.

And then home to make some dinner,

visit with Kyle, the official potato digger,

and then I watched some TV with Rod

while we waited for the rocket launch

at 12:30 - really pretty with the full moon!

Then he headed to bed and I read a book

and colored on my iPad trying to get sleepy

until about 2:30 again!

Tonight I am teaching until 10 and then I'll

just go to bed and hope it works!

This morning I worked out, did some laundry

and dishes, watched some YouTube,

read a book, and now I'm heading out to see

if I can remember how to start the lawnmower.

Kyle has been mowing the yard for the last

year or so, but he's working, and the back yard

and pastures need to be cut, so I'll see if I can do it.

(fingers crossed!)