Construction Diary

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Hi there! I'm Merry, married to Husband for 43 years, 2 grown daughters, 5-1/2 cats (one's feral), 1 dog, living on a little acreage in the Midwest. I am a Christian and like writing Inspirational Christian romance (I have several books out) travel, reading, history, archaeology, sewing, quilting, and writing.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Now that my mother-in-law lives nearby in a nursing facility, the highlight of her week is when I bring the dogs in to visit. Most times I do it on a Saturday, but this week I did it today, a Sunday.

Loading up the dogs is easy. They love to go for rides. Both dogs are leashed and attached to seatbelts, but Echo hangs out the window in typical dog fashion. If I go over 45 miles per hour she comes back in and starts to whine. The wind blows her ears back and pushes at her eyeballs, drying them out. Therefore, our progress the 18 miles to town is slow. Fortunately, we live on rural roads, so this is no problem since our only traffic is the occasional Amish buggy, a tractor or other farm equipment, and passing cars and trucks.

Yes, Amish buggies. I live in the heart of an Amish community and when I drive in town on Saturdays, I stop at one of the crossings and buy pastries from 2 Amish children who sit in their buggy and sell. The roads are interesting here because on very hot days when the tar is a little melted, the buggy tracks are very visible in the tarmac for weeks.

Driving in this fashion I get to see wildlife up close and personal. Today's count:

2 turtles crossing the road (one was in the same place, coming and going!)
3 young tom turkeys (the last one tried to wait and cross in front of me)
4 deer - 2 does and 2 yearlings - no spots on the kids
1 billy goat ( the goat is apparently a horse's companion, they are never far apart)
1 beagle dog (standing in the middle of the road forcing me to go around him)

Mom loved seeing the dogs and when we walked her to lunch, a bunch of seniors were out in the hallway waiting to head into the cafeteria and wanted to see the dogs. Although Echo and Flint are still reluctant around strangers, I hauled them over for a pet and a paw shake. Figured since we'll be there often, might as well get them used to the idea.

Rural life is different. I like it, though...

Thursday, August 24, 2006

August 25, 2006

Wow - life has been so busy I've not had time to post! So many things have changed, happened and livened up my otherwise mundane existence (HA!).

We are currently waiting for a couple dumptruck loads of fill dirt so we can level and start some rudimentary landscaping up at Echo Ridge. Construction is on hold for the moment while we take care of other business. This other business includes plane trips, car trips and shopping.

So - August 8 I flew to Pennsylvania with my Mom to pick up my mother-in-law and bring her out here to live in a local nursing facility. The good news is that we arrived the day BEFORE Homeland Security tightened airline regulations. That was a good thing as I had all kinds of medications for Mom, plus our various liquids and sprays.

The move was a mutual decision and everyone is much happier, despite the adjustment period. Mom Alma is loving us being closer, but her real delight is the fact that I can bring the dogs in to visit any time she wants. She is MUCH happier knowing she has access to animals again. The nursing crew is great and very understanding. Paperwork took some time, as usual, but now all is well.

A shopping trip last week to Kansas City (the New York Of The Midwest) yielded a really spiffy outfit for Bun-Chu and Jason's wedding. Even shoes.

Richard and I are thrilled to be approaching our 6 month mark into our retirement game plan. Just another 8 months to go...sigh.

Below are some pictures taken this week by Pa.













Yes, there are four fawns and one doe in the photo. We're pretty sure that one set of twins is orphaned. Not sure what happened to their mother, but they appear regularly in our meadow alone. The other doe has a set of twins, too. So far, the babies are doing well, we're hoping they will grow and mature enough to take care of herself.













Sunset over the lake...taken this evening.














Another sunset photo from this evening. Me and Mom in front of fire in the sky...I'm hiding behind Mom because I looked like a hag in my shapeless oversized T-shirt and drawstring pants. LOL

Sunday, August 06, 2006

August 6, 2006

Taken on July 18, 2006

Use your parents wisely, that's my motto! Actually, I helped Mom dig the rest of this ditch out. Pa wanted to put the eletrical wires that the ran from the well into conduit. The well guy had already buried the lines before Pa could stop him, so we helped dig it back out so he could place it in conduit. FYI, Pa dug about 170 feet by himself. Mom and I dug the remaining 8 feet.













Mom digs a ditch.













Pa swings the axe while I watch.












Flint takes a power nap.













Echo peeks between the leaves at me.

August 6, 2006

A photo I took on July 10, 2006 of a cloud in my parents' yard.

August 6, 2006

This photo was taken on July 6, 2006.

While Maggie and Katie were visiting, we took out my daughter's 8 inch telescope and had a peek at the moons of Jupiter (we think we saw SIX!). Later we looked at our own moon - Earth's only natural satellite. I decided to try to take a picture. Who knew that if you held a digital camera up to the eyepiece that it'd take such a good shot? Now - this isn't as great a photo as astonomers take - but heck, we thought it was pretty slick!

August 6, 2006















Pa swears this is what I do all day...when I'm not shopping, going to garage sales, shopping, walking down the road with my dogs, shopping, working on Echo Ridge and shopping...LOL. Picture was taken July 31, 2006

Augsut 6, 2006

Oh look! I didn't think it would work! I can post photos again!

The photo below was taken July 4th, 2006

This is Maggie, Katie and I in the creek looking at rocks. Pa took us out to hike and wander around the countryside. Katie had once thought she might become a geologist.

Anyway, they came to visit for a week. We had a lot of fun - hiking, poking into antique shops, eating out and shopping. The even stayed an extra day as we were having so much fun.