I hate tomatoes

Go figure: I hate these things, but we've got scads of them this week. Briggs will wolf them down; Eli and Libby will eat a few sparingly. There are a couple of varieties of the small tomatoes (orange and red) in addition to the big purple variety. We wound up with two ears of corn.

Beach trip

We had a nice time at Kitty Hawk. Very relaxing, if not all that conducive to taking pictures. We did manage to remember to take a couple of shots at the Wright Brothers' Memorial in KDH. Otherwise it was sit at the beach; eat; sit at the pool; eat; nap; eat; sit at the beach; eat; nap...

Boys and water definitely mix

The valley seems to have gotten over its drought. We've had 3 inches of rain in three days. Most of the week there were afternoon storms, the kind you associate with summer. But each day they've been increasingly consistent and insistent. Wednesday I made the mistake of biking back to church after lunch: it was pouring by 4 PM and showed no signs of letting up. I had to bum a ride with Jennifer R. (thanks again!). Thursday it rained most of the evening. Friday it rained in the afternoon and evening, and then started up again in the middle of the night. And today (Saturday) it's rained pretty much all day. Our two little Power Rangers have enjoyed trudging up and down the gully at the edge of the lot near Kerlee Heights Road; water gushes through there. Some construction up the street turns the water a nifty shade of orange as it washes through! At some point Briggs apparently tried sitting in it! Tuesday evening Libby got this shot of the sky, with clouds and moon. Pretty cool.

This-n-that

Not too much happening this month. We did find this whopper of a tomato; God-only knows what it tastes like. It's more purple than red at the moment. We picked it green and it stayed that way for the longest time! There's a single corn stalk in the garden; not sure where it came from. But it has fertilized, and there are baby ears developing! There is a lot of Rose-of-Sharon around the lot. I've grown to detest it, but it does have a pretty flower. Here are two varieties: no color in the center of the bloom, and a red center in each bloom. That's a shot of how it spreads: there are shoots like this all over. This is why I detest it! Lastly, there used to be a rusting aluminum shed on that slab. We're taking suggestions on what should go here now. It's about 20 feet from the back porch and deck, nicely sheltered by trees.

Blueberries

They are old plants and they got hit hard by the Easter freeze. There are lots of dead leaves, buds and twigs. But the plants seem to have rallied and produced a respectable crop of berries. We've been nibbling them by ones and twos for a couple of weeks, but this evening there were enough to do something with. This little batch will be perfect on top of some yogurt. There are a couple of other plants on the lot that are still a mystery. We're waiting for them to bloom to try to figure out what they are!

Blessing and Open House

We had a short liturgy this afternoon to bless our new home. We followed that with an open house for our church family and neighbors. It was tremendous! For the liturgy we walked around the whole house and shared readings and a prayer for various rooms. Bob Ratchford and Kevin Frederick did a fine job leading us in the liturgy and around the home. We had a huge crowd for the open house. It was wonderful to see so many new church friends. So many folks here had been curious about Barker's Folly, and the work we had done on it; we thought it would just be easiest to invite everyone over to see for themselves! Special thanks go to Charlotte S. and Ellen F. who helped with final preparations, and who helped keep food and drink moving; also Alice S. who worked the punch bowl later in the afternoon. And thanks to all the choir singers who brought tons of food! It was a wonderful spread. We are blessed with a wonderfully caring church family, who have outdone themselves in kindness today. One highlight must be mentioned: the impromptu concert by a spontaneously formed youth choir (on their way to youth conference at Montreat) was a truly moving experience. I'm not sure when I have heard a more stirring rendition of "Jesus Loves Me!"

Entry and Living Room

At long last I was able to finish painting the living room and entryway. I did the entry while on vacation at Easter. I got a good start on the living room, but it went slowly after that. I had to replace some ceiling tiles in the living room (water damage). Things look pretty nice now. I need to paint the rest of the stairway to the second floor (not looking forward to those heights!). The carpet clearners are coming Friday in advance of our open house. In this picture you can see a bit of the new front door which Kent installed this week. Also there is a drop leaf dining table (a gift from the Sollogs in Richmond). On that table is an antique lamp Libby has had for years, waiting for the perfect placement. It's there now: when the lamp is on, is shines through the cut glass of the new door giving a really cool light effect on the front stoop. We put a new fixture beside the front door outside and another in the ceiling of the entry.