Yep! My MUCH needed vacation time is just about here - only 5 more hours in the office! I've got a few things that I MUST wrap up today, but I really don't want to get into anything big before I leave the office for a week.....I wish I could just leave now, and head to the beach tonight!
I dropped little Hokie off this morning to be boarded until Monday. Funny, I've never been quite as sad to board him before. Since we've had the fence installed and he can get his exercise, he's been the best dog. As of late, he travels most places with us, but we unfortunately can't really take him to the beach (since no place there at all allows pets, including on the beach). I bet John will miss him - they really are turning into best buds.
We have spent our last two nights at the NRV fair, working with the youth goat show (well, Sharon judged and I entertained John). Last night was pretty funny as they had the goat obstacle course and the goat / owner look alike contest. We are hoping that John will want to be involved in 4-H and will be showing Jack (one of our Nigerian Dwarves) in a couple of years. I wish we had more land - I would have a small herd of 10-20 if possible. We also saw some of the horse pull events with the big Belgian Draft horses last night - I've never seen such big and beautiful horses!
By the way, the father/son weekend last week went very well! John and I had a great time together!
So anyways, tonight should be busy getting ready for the beach - it was one thing with just Sharon and I, but with John, we have to pack about half of our house (it seems). He's been to the beach at the lake before, but not to the beach beach. Should be fun - we will play lots of putt-putt, and I get to make my pilgrammage to Margaritaville! We hope to be on the road by about 5 tomorrow morning so that John can sleep most of the way there, and so we will have almost a full day at the beach. Good times should be had by all!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
Mr. Mom
Well, I guess the real test is upon me this weekend. For the first time since John was born, it will be just him and Daddy for the weekend. Mommy and Grandma are off to a "scrapbooking retreat" this weekend, leaving me and John to tend to the barnyard. John has been in a testy mood lately, but I think we'll be just fine! He actually gets to go to "work" with me tomorrow - yes, I know it's a Saturday. One of my clients is in town from Santa Fe, so we will be driving down to Smith Mountain Lake to meet with him at the Waterfront Country Club. I swear, John gets more spoiled each day.......did I ever get to go to Country Clubs as a kid? Noooooooo.......
We've got lots to get done this weekend in addition to our little trip tomorrow. Sharon and I have been remodeling as we are able, and our latest project is renovating the balcony railing at the loft overlooking our living room. This may sound simple, but it is quite a project. For those who have seen our house before, the interior was renovated about 10 years ago into a contemporary, which I love, but some things are quite odd. The old railing was two pieces of 6" pvc pipe which ran into a drywalled center newel post. I boxed out the newel post in a "modern arts and crafts" style with wood and we are installing a more traditional railing and baluster system. I will hopefully be able to post before and after pictures. Our next project will be the deck railing for the outside - we are tired of goat droppings all over the deck!
My garden is taking off faster than I can keep up with it! All of the corn has tassled out and ears are well set. The yellow squash and zucchini are both producing like crazy, and the pattypan squash is flowering now. My first tomatoes are turning red, and I'm sure I have beans to pick.
Sounds like a crazy weekend is in store. Countdown to the beach.....6 days!
We've got lots to get done this weekend in addition to our little trip tomorrow. Sharon and I have been remodeling as we are able, and our latest project is renovating the balcony railing at the loft overlooking our living room. This may sound simple, but it is quite a project. For those who have seen our house before, the interior was renovated about 10 years ago into a contemporary, which I love, but some things are quite odd. The old railing was two pieces of 6" pvc pipe which ran into a drywalled center newel post. I boxed out the newel post in a "modern arts and crafts" style with wood and we are installing a more traditional railing and baluster system. I will hopefully be able to post before and after pictures. Our next project will be the deck railing for the outside - we are tired of goat droppings all over the deck!
My garden is taking off faster than I can keep up with it! All of the corn has tassled out and ears are well set. The yellow squash and zucchini are both producing like crazy, and the pattypan squash is flowering now. My first tomatoes are turning red, and I'm sure I have beans to pick.
Sounds like a crazy weekend is in store. Countdown to the beach.....6 days!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
2 years already!?
So, as some of you may or may not know, Sharon and I hit the two year wedding anniversary mark yesterday. It really is amazing what time does as you get older. It seems to step on the accelerator at the wedding, and when the first child comes, the pedal is to the floor!
Sharon and John came in to Roanoke Monday to meet me for lunch, which was a welcome and rare treat. After hitting up our favorite BBQ spot for lunch, we said goodbye until, at least I thought, I came home that evening. However, when I left work, Sharon had left a package in the car which left only a riddle and my intellect to be able to find her that evening! Well, after a few hints (and a stop at the house for some supplies), I found her (and Hokie) waiting at a small campground nestled in the woods next to the New River. Grandma was keeping John for the night, and Sharon and I had a wonderful evening to ourselves with the soothing sounds of the river behind us (and a roaring train passing by every 45 minutes, but that's another topic in itself). The plan was to go tubing in the morning, but since we were all packed and ready at 9 the next morning and the tube rental place didn't open until 11, we decided to take Hokie home and then go tubing in Radford, which is closer (but on the same river, and Hokie ended up going tubing with us). All worked well, and we both came home looking like lobsters (due to false-advertising from mr. sunscreen).
So we did indeed have a great anniversary, and hopefully we won't find ourselves having to explain to John in a few years why we took the dog camping and tubing while he was left with Grandma (Hokie has been in an "escape and run" phase lately, and we really don't trust him much anywhere except home).
After this week, hopefully work will slow down a little - we had major deadlines this week for our first project in Jackson Hole, Wyoming (one of the toughest places to build in the country) and for another Greenbrier project, for which I am directly responsible. Our beach vacation next week couldn't come at a more ideal time!
Sharon and John came in to Roanoke Monday to meet me for lunch, which was a welcome and rare treat. After hitting up our favorite BBQ spot for lunch, we said goodbye until, at least I thought, I came home that evening. However, when I left work, Sharon had left a package in the car which left only a riddle and my intellect to be able to find her that evening! Well, after a few hints (and a stop at the house for some supplies), I found her (and Hokie) waiting at a small campground nestled in the woods next to the New River. Grandma was keeping John for the night, and Sharon and I had a wonderful evening to ourselves with the soothing sounds of the river behind us (and a roaring train passing by every 45 minutes, but that's another topic in itself). The plan was to go tubing in the morning, but since we were all packed and ready at 9 the next morning and the tube rental place didn't open until 11, we decided to take Hokie home and then go tubing in Radford, which is closer (but on the same river, and Hokie ended up going tubing with us). All worked well, and we both came home looking like lobsters (due to false-advertising from mr. sunscreen).
So we did indeed have a great anniversary, and hopefully we won't find ourselves having to explain to John in a few years why we took the dog camping and tubing while he was left with Grandma (Hokie has been in an "escape and run" phase lately, and we really don't trust him much anywhere except home).
After this week, hopefully work will slow down a little - we had major deadlines this week for our first project in Jackson Hole, Wyoming (one of the toughest places to build in the country) and for another Greenbrier project, for which I am directly responsible. Our beach vacation next week couldn't come at a more ideal time!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Playing in the dirt
Thinking back, many fond memories of my childhood involved digging in the dirt and trying my best to get something to grow. I was always excited when spring came around and, if I was lucky, Dad would let me take the tiller for a while to help turn over the dirt in the small garden we kept in the back corner of our backyard. All I really remember of the garden was that we had sunflowers on the back, cucumbers, tomatoes, a few pepper plants, and radishes. Ever the adventurer, I was always trying to grow the next mammoth watermelon or pumpkin, but alas, nothing more than a sprout. I think Dad really kept the garden each year somewhat just to appease me as it was a fairly shady spot and nothing much ever really grew.
On the other hand, I remember going to my Grandparent's garden in the thick of summer and getting lost in the rows of corn, lettuce, beans, cauliflower, squash, etc. Being that they had the huge farm, their private vegetable garden was between 1/2 acre and 1 acre in size (that's quite large - my whole property now is 1/2 acre, and it takes HOURS to mow). I remember that every fall, all the family would come down to help pick, shuck, and freeze the corn and to snap beans. This weekend typically culminated in a big cookout (maybe it didn't really happen exactly this way, but I remember, on more than one occasion, sitting in the den snapping beans, seeing Grandma, Aunt Hazel, and others walking back from the garden with buckets of corn, and eating at some point).
I've had my (rather successful) tomatoes in containers for the past few years, but when Sharon and I bought the house last year, I finally had the land to plant a proper garden. However, due to the late start I got and the drought we suffered, a few beans and tough-skinned squash were about all I had to show for it. Even my tomatoes suffered from a case of bud-end rot and then earwig infestation (I never knew what an earwig was until last year, and now, they are quite possibly my least favorite creatures on the Earth).
This year, I decided to double the size of last year's garden and I got an early start. Due to the exceptionally rainy and temperate summer we've had so far, everything is growing with great success! Currently, I have about 160 stalks of corn (2 different types), 10 tomato plants (2 different), 20 chili peppers (2 or 3 different - I can't remember), 30 or so bush bean plants, a small patch of radishes, a corner of sunflowers, and about 6 hills each of yellow squash, white squash, and zucchini. The radishes are about all pulled, and the beans have started to produce. I should have zucchini and tomatoes in the next two weeks. With the exception of a few corn and sunflower casualties due to goat intrusion, this is shaping up to be the best garden yet!
So why must I ramble on about my agricultural encounters? Simply put, it's what I love to do but more importantly, I want John to have these same experiences as well. Children these days spend too much time in front of video games and televisions and not enough time out enjoying the world that God gave us.
Sometimes I wish I could just be a farmer......maybe when I grow up :)
On the other hand, I remember going to my Grandparent's garden in the thick of summer and getting lost in the rows of corn, lettuce, beans, cauliflower, squash, etc. Being that they had the huge farm, their private vegetable garden was between 1/2 acre and 1 acre in size (that's quite large - my whole property now is 1/2 acre, and it takes HOURS to mow). I remember that every fall, all the family would come down to help pick, shuck, and freeze the corn and to snap beans. This weekend typically culminated in a big cookout (maybe it didn't really happen exactly this way, but I remember, on more than one occasion, sitting in the den snapping beans, seeing Grandma, Aunt Hazel, and others walking back from the garden with buckets of corn, and eating at some point).
I've had my (rather successful) tomatoes in containers for the past few years, but when Sharon and I bought the house last year, I finally had the land to plant a proper garden. However, due to the late start I got and the drought we suffered, a few beans and tough-skinned squash were about all I had to show for it. Even my tomatoes suffered from a case of bud-end rot and then earwig infestation (I never knew what an earwig was until last year, and now, they are quite possibly my least favorite creatures on the Earth).
This year, I decided to double the size of last year's garden and I got an early start. Due to the exceptionally rainy and temperate summer we've had so far, everything is growing with great success! Currently, I have about 160 stalks of corn (2 different types), 10 tomato plants (2 different), 20 chili peppers (2 or 3 different - I can't remember), 30 or so bush bean plants, a small patch of radishes, a corner of sunflowers, and about 6 hills each of yellow squash, white squash, and zucchini. The radishes are about all pulled, and the beans have started to produce. I should have zucchini and tomatoes in the next two weeks. With the exception of a few corn and sunflower casualties due to goat intrusion, this is shaping up to be the best garden yet!
So why must I ramble on about my agricultural encounters? Simply put, it's what I love to do but more importantly, I want John to have these same experiences as well. Children these days spend too much time in front of video games and televisions and not enough time out enjoying the world that God gave us.
Sometimes I wish I could just be a farmer......maybe when I grow up :)
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Shouldn't I be working?
Sometimes you feel the burnout begin to set in......get the picture? This is about the most stressful week we have had at work in some time due to two major deadlines that are about to hit us next week. Guess who happens to be managing those two projects?
Anyways, this is my first time EVER "blogging," so check back later for more useless tales.....
Anyways, this is my first time EVER "blogging," so check back later for more useless tales.....
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