Packin' Up

The packing up is in full swing.  We have officially begun to load up our trailers.  One trailer has a full load, one layer high, of totes.  The enclosed trailer now has the loveseat (one of our most precious possessions!  It's leather, so it's our luxury item!)

 We oiled it up, covered it with a sheet and bolted it to the floor of the trailer to make sure it doesn't shift and get crushed against a wall.  The extra care is due to the fact that this item will not likely come out of the trailer until we return from Africa.  The loveseat is now boxed in and sealed!

 Pat's gotten his welders loaded and secured.  It is fascinating to see all of our blessings in possessions as we load up tools and machines.

 The moose and caribou mounts are now up in front above the loveseat and we have totes of clothes and my books over the welders & air compressor!  I'm sure you are so fascinated to see exactly how we pack our trailer.  Too bad.  This is our life right now, so this is what you get!  We are now relegated to camp chairs in the living room so when Pat wants to recline, he has to sit on the floor and prop up against the sunken floor step.  Rowdy likes this much better as it enables him to sneak up and get in some loves.

We are getting things done, though there seems to be a long pause in the closing process that we are trying not to get too worked up over.  Hopefully our closing will be in a week from tomorrow, but we aren't too sure.  Thankfully, God knows, so we'll just keep taking it day to day and keep packin' up!

Totally Comprehensible Randomness

When you move as often as I have (until this last long stay of 5 years, I move an average every 3 years), you tend to hold things loosely.  My husband is not quite used to this particular trait, and tends to keep things which then get covered over by other kept things.  Sometimes he does know about all these things, but other times they become a surprise when we move and purge. 

I would call this spilled lump of lead a propitious sign, but I don't normally believe in such things!  Notice the shape of it?  Interesting...  Pat has been known to cast bullets from random lead items (wheel weights, fishing weights, etc.), and at one time it took a spill, only to cool in this shape.  It weighs about 20 pounds, or maybe not, but it's heavy.  Appropriate.

In other news, I have effectively garage-sold most of what I can live without.  I have truly enjoyed the dispersal of my belongings, due in part to the fact that I purchased many of these items second-hand and was able to recoup my costs, if not profit!  My hourly income of these sales works out pretty well, which is nice since the company for which I supposedly work, won't work me.  But that's another trail that really doesn't matter anymore.  I'm not bitter.  Annoyed, but...OK, I'm a little bitter, but let's not let that ruin our fun!

On a brighter note, I am feeling such confirmation on leaving Alaska after enduring what felt like an eternal winter, and now a "summer" of wearing long-johns.  Seriously.  I'm wearing long-johns.  I even mowed the lawn in them last Saturday.  Granted, I had to take them off half-way, but still.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly bemoaning the lack of triple-digit heat, but I miss seasons.  See the irony here?  I'm moving from a land of 3 seasons to a land of 1 with a possible sub-season consisting of wet and dry.  I plan on making up the loss of all the summers in one full stretch.  Not before I go through all the super-swings of weather in Kansas, though.  I like to take baby steps.  

Perhaps that is enough to keep all you avid readers engaged for now.  I have a tendency to be long-winded.  Just ask any of my high school classmates that had to suffer through an oral book report.   See my train of thought?  Of course you can't see it.  Or rather, you can.  Weird.  Yep, on that note, I'll confirm the jumbled mess I am that is likely to be the norm for a while.  I'm just fine with it.  As long as I keep my checklist on the 'fridge, I'll have some direction for my days!    

Wascally Wabbits

 Isn't it so cute creeping out from my boarder of greens?  This little ferule rabbit is sweet and soft, and didn't look like it was missing any meals.

 I just watched it twitch its nose and ears, cautious of its surroundings.

It clearly had no idea that Elmer Fudd was just around the corner...

  
 OK, you got me.  This is actually the second rabbit in as many days that has met its demise in our yard.  I seem to be the spotter while Pat grabs his lever-action .44 (which is super fun to shoot!) and takes out after the 'vermin' while Rowdy whines with all his power, going berserk when he hears the shots.  Do you see Rowdy's rapt attention below?!

So, wanna come over for dinner?!

Passing Time

 Pat has been working very diligently to finish up projects while we still have his shop.  The trailer is almost ready to go, so we have "Christened" it!  

 Pat has been working hard, and I...well, I'm trying.  I have to admit, with so much time before we actually have to move, it is difficult for me to use my time efficiently.  I pack a little bit, walk around my gardens, read every online news outlet, try to remember what it was I was supposed to be doing...  I have realized that when my environment is in disarray, my mind follows.  It is so much more work to focus on any one task.  It reminds me of when I used to have to go "clean my room" as a child.  Inevitably, I would become distracted by the stuff I was supposed to be cleaning and hours would pass with no progress.

 I note the passage of time with the progress of my flowers.  It is finally becoming a flowering paradise in my gardens.  The iris and columbine are in their full glory, covered in blooms.

 I have a trollius (globe flower) that is just about to burst with blooms!  There are many more scattered about that will give a nice repetition throughout.  My hanging lobelia are spilling over the basket edges with their splashes of blue and white.

 I also have my first squash that has been pollinated (by yours truly), and is growing by the hour!  Rowdy has discovered the flavor of the squash flowers are to his liking, and so he is my disposal method after I have used the pollen inside!

 I have truly enjoyed the opportunity to watch my beds fill in and fill up with color.  This home has been such a blessing.

 Bleeding hearts have spread their arms out, dripping with their blossoms.  Did I mention that the columbine is showing off?  I have a half dozen different colors and shades that grow like they are on steroids.  Love them!

 Even my potted flowers are all about the fashion show.  My daisies (chrysanthemums, really) make me happy every time I walk past, even though they drink up every bit of water I can give them and ask for more.  My violas are perfect whiskered babies that consistently pop their little faces out.  I love the water-colored effects they show.

 My ultimate test of patience has been waiting for my salad bowl to grow up enough for me to partake of its richness!  I have red-leaf lettuce, kale, curly parsley, onions, spinach, nasturtium, and for color, a purple viola!  Everything in it is edible, healthy, and delicious!  I've had a couple salad's with my salad bowl produce, but now I have to wait for more to grow.  I have a pot full of spinach plants, but every time I walk past it, I pick a few of those delicious baby leaves off!  Not sure it will  stay with the house...I may have to keep it for munchies!