Wow!

Look at this!

Make sure you click on the picture to get the full effect! The wingspan on this beauty is 4" - 4 1/2".

good morning muffins...

I love this part of the summer. Things are winding down and everyone seems a bit more laid back. The weather here is gorgeous today -- low humidity, bright blue skies, and the scent of freshly baked corn muffins floating by as I type this...

I was able to purchase more of the lovely, ripe peaches (from the supermarket) that so inspired me last week. I think we will take a ride over to one of the local farms this weekend and see what they have -- so I can stock up a bit more.

The pool crew was here early this morning to put the finishing touches on the pool part of the backyard project. They installed the ladder and railing on the steps.

The fence guy will be here on Monday so this weekend we'll be doing some prep work for that, and hopefully fit in something fun to do too!

lions and tigers and ...

...what in heaven's name is this contender for the Biggest Loser tv show? We spied him a couple of months ago, and I haven't seen him again until now. Apparently the pickin's are plentiful over there in the conservation area!

concrete love...

As promised, here is a picture showing the texture of the finished concrete decking around the pool.




We all like the way it turned out. It looks more like stone than concrete -- and, as I remember someone saying -- it's really nice to be able to sit at the edge of the pool and put our feet in!

catching up...

Well, Sofia's front tooth finally popped through the gum -- after over a year. She keeps trying to make the goofy face she's been making since she lost the tooth, but, it doesn't have the same effect now. Thank goodness, I was tired of "little miss hee haw".

Nicholas has been asking me to cut his hair for the past two weeks. Today was the day. It took me an hour to "mow" through the mop on his head. My poor little haircutting finger has a blood blister from the torturous event. Ouchie me -- handsome Nicholas! :-)



Oh, and yes -- this was the only time they were nice to each other all day. So they were absolutely NOT best friends today -- but as you can see -- they love each other even on their worst days.

finally...

Concrete!



I cannot believe that these guys were scheduled to show up on one of the very few days without a thunderstorm in the forecast. Hooray!

This came out really nice -- I will post a better photo during the week. We can now move on to the pavers. Yippee!

For anyone who is keeping track of this part of the project, it has been a sore spot for us because of the scheduling -- it was supposed to be finished on or before July 24 -- but I think because of the terrible weather we've had, the delay worked to our advantage and today was a perfect day to pour some concrete!

golf camp...

Happy August 1st! Can you believe that summer vacation is half over already? I can't. Nicholas attended golf camp for the last week of July -- and he had a good time. He took the lessons seriously, and, would only wear a collared shirt as part of his attire. He attended the morning class, so the heat, humidity, and, thunderstorms were not a major issue.

A new pool, learning to play guitar, golf lessons -- so far sounds like a pretty good summer vacation, right?