daily 2007 july page

Kay's Daily Journal
July 2007

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2007 Old Farmer's Almanac Predictions for July 2007 in the Mid-Atlantic Region

Temp 74° (2° below avg.); precip. 2" (2" below avg.). 1-7 Sunny, warm. 8-18 Seasonable; scattered t-storms. 19-23 T-storms, then sunny, cool. 24-31 Sunny, warm.

Important July Things

Holidays & Important Days:	Anniversaries:	Birthdays:	Miscellaneous:
July 4 - Independence Day		July 3 - Stephanie	Birthstone - Ruby
July 28 - National Cowboy Day		July 21 - Dorothy	Flower - Water Lily or Larkspur
			National Ice Cream Month

July 31, 2007 - Tuesday

So I looked at the paint color last night in the room light and again this morning in the bright daylight, now that it is dry, and I don't like it. Illusive Heather was pretty on the sample card and even the color they dabbed onto the top of the can. But on the wall? Nope. It's darker than I thought. Don't like it. Since we live in the woods, our house is dark anyway and having dark walls just doesn't cut it. I hate having to paint everything white, but that's what I'm gonna do. Well, antique white anyway.

Otherwise, ironing and laundry and a short shopping expedition. By the way, I had bought my paint at Wal-Mart, which was an inexpensive way to go and paint is paint. I was able to get the colors I wanted (or thought I wanted) and it was mixed and all was well. However, I went to Lowe's to see what selection they might have. Oh My. They not only have tons of colors, too many really, but the coolest thing was when you buy any paint from them they give you this little key or can opener thingy designed specifically for opening the paint cans. COOL! Their paint is twice as expensive but the selection was wonderful and so I will probably buy any future paint from them.

Well, I sanded and sanded and sanded the walls this afternoon. That was the other problem that I had with the paint job I did yesterday. I apparently didn't get the walls clean enough from the tape remnants and there was also a couple spots where I spackled and forgot to sand. So now I'm sandin' for all I'm worth.

Nothing like working hard for a couple of days and having to redo the job. But a job well done is worth it, I hope. I'm not a perfectionist by a long shot, but a sloppy job is a sloppy job. (And I was doing so good with not makin' a mess with the paint!) So I'll keep on sandin' and try repainting again. Jim says now that I have painted half the room in a darker color, it will take two coats to cover the "Illusive Heather". Ever hear of the expression "two steps forward and one step back"?? My picture is by that sayin' in the Famous Expressions of America book.....

Hot, hazy & humid today, no storms in the forecast until about 10 days out, which is unreliable in the forecast longrun. So we're back to the HHH of summer for the next couple of weeks. Temps are predicted to be mid 90's in DC and uppers for us. UGH.

It is now the end of the month and I'm wondering where the days went so fast! In some ways I feel like nothing was accomplished like I planned this month. But in other ways, things were accomplished. Emotional ups and downs and back up again, that's the good news. So here are my regular accomplishments for the month....

Accomplishments for July 2007:

Bible Read: (NKJV-New King James Version)
     Acts
     Romans
     1st Corinthians
     2nd Corinthians
     Galatians
     Ephesians
     Philippians
     Colossians

Home Studies:
Online SS Lessons: 2007 - 3rd Quarter:
     07/07 - Adam and Eve: The Intended Ideal
     07/14 - Abraham and Sarah: Faith Tested and Tried
     07/21 - Isaac and Rebekah: Rearing Rivals
     07/28 - Jacob and Rachel: Labor of Love

Daily Readings:
     Guideposts Daily Devotional 2007, July 1 - 31
     Chancellor Church Daily Devotional - July 1 - 31
     My Utmost to His Highest by Oswald Chambers, July 1 - 31

Books Read - Non-fiction:
     A Creative Brush - by Eileen Ackerson
     A Walk in the Woods - by Mary McCullah
     Draw Real Animals - by Lee Hammond
     Nature's Wonders, Book 3 - Baby Animals - by Karen Hubbard
     Sketching Landscapes - by Joyce Percival
     World of Animals, Book 6 - by Ana Bernabe'

Audio Books Listened to:
     Cover of Night - Linda Howard

Movies & Specials on TV:
     Because I Said So
     Missing - Season 2
     Are We There Yet?
     Farmer Astronaut
     Open Range
     Tornado Diaries
     The Closer - Season 1
     Love's Enduring Promise
     Love Comes Softly

Webpage Updates - kayurie.com
     Daily Journals (dailies)
     News Archives (end of month standard)
     Index (end of month standard)
     Added Pastels Page under Artwork
     Added 2 drawings to Artwork - Pencil pages
     Changed background to lighter on Artwork - Pencil page
     Updated some html on all Artwork pages
     Updated locations of persons on family-urie page
     Updated photos of our family on both family pages
     Added a writing_poems page
     Photos - 2 on each family page
     Drawings - 2

Artwork Projects - Drawings:
     First Squirrel (8 x 10) - July 16, 2007
     Sunset with Lighthouse (8 x 10) - July 15, 2007

Household Projects:
     Room by Rooms:
Began painting Seth's room

Skywarn/NWS/KG:
     Reports: 07-10-07, rainfall, .2" (2/10th inch)
     Reports: 07-28-07, rainfall, 0.08" (less than 1/10th inch)
     Reports: 07-29-07, rainfall, 1.3"

Holiday Projects - 4th of July:
     Made homemade ice cream

Contests Mailings:    27
Contests Online:    14

Miscellaneous Projects:
     CD's to MP3's:   7
(These were ripped from old, well-worn CD's to PC for preservation and personal uses only.)
And jury duty for 3 months

Note:
If you are interested in reading or listening or watching any of the listed items above, please check with your local library. Most of these books, audiobooks, CD's, cassettes or DVD's can be found on their shelves. The household, craft and hobby projects are my own and many can be found on these webpages under the same category. Last resort is to email me at the address listed at the bottom of this webpage. Hope you have enjoyed my entries.

July 30, 2007 - Monday

Well, I was certainly busy today if nothing else. Ran a load of laundry. Then I scrubbed the baseboards in Seth's room. I took down more posters to roll up and then spackled the 3 walls I could reach. I painted one wall and half of two others. Still need to get the step ladder and touch up where I missed with the extension edger. Otherwise, tomorrow I'll move furniture to the other side of the room and start again, removing posters, spackling, sanding and painting. The paint looks a little bit darker on the walls than I thought it would be but I'll think about it and look at it in the bright morning sun. It'll probably be alright. And it's actually going faster than I had imagined it would. Course it's been years since I did that kind of work so I suspect there will be a certain amount of soreness tomorrow from using those dormant muscles and going up and down the little step stool. Good for me though!!!!

I've added a new set of pages, called Writing Pages. The only thing I have there so far is one poem that I have written this month. I will put other writings by me online at a later date.

Can you believe that we are closing another month already??? The summer is now half over, HALLELUJAH. (I sing Hallelujah because of the heat!) Tomorrow I will include my accomplishments for the month in my journal.

I kid you not.... A storm formed over in Charles county south of us and grew in a straight line north and was moving west towards us. It suddenly moved due north and formed almost a ball shape over the whole Charles County. Then it crossed the Potomac at the north end of Charles County and moved SW into Stafford, Fredericksburg and then Spotsylvania counties, making a upside down "U" to miss King George County! Un-Be-Lieveable!!!!! I'm tellin' ya, there's a force field over this-here county.

July 29, 2007 - Sunday

Routine day otherwise around here. I bagged up some garbage and we took that to the dump. Jim cut some grass, what little grass we have left and we stopped at the local grocery store for some sodas and milk. Nothing else going on. Watched Jaws III, the Revenge or whatever it was. Again, just entertainment. Jimmy & Jessica came over for awhile to watch some TV and run some laundry. So a nice Sunday afternoon!!

We finally got some storms and good rain today. Looks like about 1.3" of rain!!! Yeah! We sure needed it. We had a couple close lightning hits right here in the woods too. You know the kind. They flash and "BANG" at the same time. I was beginning to think that there was a force field built around our county. No kidding.

July 28, 2007 - Sabbath

Happy National Cowboy's Day !!!!

Well, apparently I had missed this one. Heard it on the news tonight so have added it into my list of Important Dates. So I apologize to all the nice cowboys and cowgirls and know I think the wild west is awesome!!!!

Watched an old western last night, well, don't know how old it was or even remember the name of it, but it was an entertaining movie, not a comedy just a western with Burt Reynolds and Bruce Dern as old cowboys.

Hey, what's a Saturday night without a western????

Storms went around us again, they had storms less than 5 miles away, but the storms stopped and just slowly dissapated like they had hit a brick wall! We got .08" of rain and for people who aren't "smarter than a 5th grader", that means less than a tenth of an inch. Nada in other words.

July 27, 2007 - Friday

Got my paint to do Seth's room walls and ceiling. Got my roller thingy, edger thingy, stirring thingys and drop cloth thingy to start the paintin'. Oh, and got the putty stuffy and thing-a-ma-jig to put the putty stuffy on the walls and sandpaper to sandy it off with.

I figure it'll take me a week to do one room, maybe longer. I'm slow but I'm steady. So I'll start next week and see how it goes. Oh, I got the extension thingy so that I don't have to climb a ladder to paint the ceiling! That oughta helpa me outta bit, yah?

Ok, so I'll call the doctor on next weeka to get my med dosages changed. Ya thinka?

Illusive Heather. That's the color. Well, the ceiling will be white. But the walls will be Illusive Heather. No it's not pink. It's Illusive Heather.

If I don't like it, then later, next week they will be antique white.

So we got our alerts today, severe storm watches and all that good stuff. Storms formed and gathered, with a bead on us late this afternoon. The cells grew and hit Fredericksburg then jumped, yes, I mean jumped OVER our county and re-fired in the next county to us. They literally did not hit us at all, no rain, no thunder, no lightning, nada, nothing. Counties west and east of us got good thunderstorms and desparately needed rain. Not us. I've never seen the storms jump our county. Split and go around us yes, but not jump us. That's just plain NUTS.

July 26, 2007 - Thursday

My days are longer since Jim is working a little different situation for a few weeks. So that much more time to get my housework done, right? Well.... time for something anyway. I've been trying to draw a little each week and soon, very soon, I hope to start working with the oils again. Time will tell. And those activities really aren't dependent on more hours in the day. They are dependent on how I use the hours that I have.

July 25, 2007 - Wednesday

I spoke with Seth this morning. He has been asked to do a presentation in Nebraska in August, also one in Michigan in September!!! That is SO cool!!!!

I told Seth that I was changing his old room around and going to paint in there also. I think most of the house needs to be painted but I'm just going to start with one room at a time and see how I do. Makes me feel good getting some of this type of work accomplished around the house. Like I'm really "cleaning"!!!

And that's it folks. I've been working on housework, laundry and stuff like that. I'm slow, especially moving furniture around. What used to take me a day to do, now takes a week. But I'm getting there. I've moved 3 pieces of furniture into different rooms and a couple pieces around in one room this week so far. Pretty good, huh?

Oh, yes, I finished 1st Corinthians last night and now I'm reading 2nd Corinthians.

July 24, 2007 - Tuesday

Worked some more in the rooms today. Trying to decide about painting or not. They need it, but I just don't know if I have the energy to do it or not, let alone climb a ladder or stool. I used to be able to paint a room or more in one day. I think it might take me longer now!

July 23, 2007 - Monday

I worked upstairs this morning, rearranging some furniture and cleaning up a couple of now "empty" rooms. Guess I truly have the "empty-nest" syndrome, huh? Actually, Seth has been gone since he first moved away to college about 8 years ago. And Jimmy, well, he went and came a couple times. Now he has moved into his own apartment but it is nearby so that's not too bad either. Just wish Seth lived a little closer! We're a close knit family so it's been hard with Seth so far away. But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. So we'll survive it. He'll get to visit with us over the holidays hopefully!

The storms that went through last Thursday night caused alot of problems here in our area. We were ok, but apparently several large limbs were broken in some of the bigger, tall trees and didn't fall down until Saturday. Jimmy & Jessica were visiting and noticed a couple by my car. Yesterday, Jim went outside to move them and was surprised to see that the limb that had fallen was greater than 3" diameter, about 30 feet long and had stabbed the ground like a spear only 2 feet from my car! He said that it probably would've gone thru the windshield or engine area if I hadn't been parked over like I do!

He also took down another good sized limb that was caught on the antenna in the backyard. AWESOME!!!!

We also did a little shopping in town yesterday at one of the newer shopping centers. Fredericksburg is growing by leaps and bounds! And shopping centers (as well as housing developments) are sprouting up all over the place. And the houses? WOW. Huge and EXPENSIVE!!!! Some in our area start in the $400's but in the Fredericksburg area, most start in the $600's. I did hear from a lady while on jury duty that some of the houses in OUR area, though advertised as $400's are actually closer to $900's. I really don't know how folks can afford those kind of places! Isn't your mortgage supposed to be around 3½ times your gross income??? Or something like that??? Are so many people these days making close to the 7 digit mark???? Where was I when this Revolution happened?????

Don't get me wrong, I love the Fredericksburg area for shopping (not so much for traffic). You can buy almost anything. And there are specialty stores too. The only one missing in my mind is a good Genealogy store. We had one in Westminster, opened up right after we moved away, of course. Need one down here too. But music, scrapbooking and then there's Michael's and AC Moore for all your crafting & hobby needs. We also can boast of a Home Depot and two large Lowe's stores. Let's not forget all the dollar stores and 3 wal-marts (two are supers), kmart, 2 targets (also supers), 2 best buys, Bj's, Cosco's and some more building as we speak. Man, what else could you ask for? And food and restuarants? Pick you favorite type of food and you will have a minimum of 6+ that specialize in that cuisine. It's really amazing. And what's really amazing is that there is enough money coming into the area to support so many stores. Where was I again???? Yeah, yeah. I know. I was supporting walmart!

July 22, 2007 - Sunday

I see on Seth's webpages that he has finished Roman's in the Bible also, so he is catching up with me. Actually I'm almost through 1st Corinthians but not quite.

I wondered why Paul advised the Corinthians that a woman's head should be covered. He didn't say it was because of their traditions, which is what I had always been taught was the reason. Instead he gave reasons about a woman was created from the man and only man was created in God's image and therefore could keep his head uncovered. Interesting.

July 21, 2007 - Sabbath

Happy Birthday Dorothy !!!!

July 20, 2007 - Friday

Most of the county is still without power. We were the lucky ones this time as we only flickered never went out! The stores and shops are all closed and you can see where trees were down, lines are still down throughout the area. We had a couple small trees in the common drive and I understand a large one on the road. Our house just has small limbs and branches and leaf debris.

I've posted two new pencil drawings on my artwork pages. Check 'em out if you get a chance!

July 19, 2007 - Thursday

Went to get some prescriptions for Jessica. She and Jimmy are still pretty sick. Picked up cole slaw to go with the salmon for supper. Otherwise, home doing routine housework.

Had a pretty good storm rip through here about 4 pm today. It blew about as hard as when Isabel was in the approaching mode. Heard later that we had sustained at 57 mph and gusts up to 87 mph in our neighborhood. Most of the county is without power, over 5000 of the 7000 residents and many roads are closed due to lines and trees down. For once, we have power (knock on wood) though it did flicker on and off a few times during the windy part at the beginning of the storm.

We have small limbs and branches and leaf debris all over the yard and driveway. I can see a big tree in the woods that I couldn't see before, so I know there is at least a good size tree that is missing from my normal view but no big trees in the yard. It was an exciting 5 minutes! I went out on the front porch and there were leaves and stuff spinnning in the side yard from the ground up to above the trees just like a little dust-devil, minus the dust! I went inside after that because little branches and small limbs started flying through the air everywhere and while they weren't that big, I still didn't want to get hit by any of them! Absolutely COOL!!! No lightning until after the storm had passed.

July 18, 2007 - Wednesday

Both Jimmy & Jessica are quite sick with the flu. This is Jessica's 2nd trip to the hospital in a week and Jimmy was at the doctor's office today also. It's a nasty flu with strep included. Seth has had it in the last couple weeks too. I hope everyone is taking their meds and getting better soon!!!

It was hot and humid again today but cloudy most of the day. The clouds held down the temps somewhat but the humidity was still up there. It's predicted to be around 97° in DC tomorrow which means we will register over 100° no doubt! However, storms are coming due to a cold front which is supposed to drop us down into the balmy upper 80's. Whoo-ee... What I'm lookin' for is a cold front which will drop us down into the low 30's. Now that's a cold front!!

Well, summer is almost half over, right???? And I'm still working on my Spring Cleaning 2007. I'm actually making some progress but have plenty to do still. In the next few weeks, I hope to catch stuff up completely so that I can start my Fall Cleaning 2007. Does it ever end? Na-a. But I don't care. It's what I do after all.

Oh, I started doing a little drawing each night for the last 4 nights. Some are, eh, well, maybe just ok. But I did one a couple nights ago that's a shade above OK. It's of a squirrel. So in the next couple days I'll scan it and put it on my webpages. I'll post it in this journal when you can see it.

One other news item. I got a letter from Joey!!! It was so sweet and he drew me a picture of the RV with antennas all on it too!!! Thanks Joey!!!

Seth got his WAS today!!!! For you non-Amateur Radio Operators that means "Worked All States"!!!! He had been missing ND for sometime and now has gotten it! Congrats!!!!!!!

Well, again, another after thought. I finished Romans last night so will start 1st Corinthians tonight. I'm moving along!

That's all for tonight. I'm am tired.

July 17, 2007 - Tuesday

Did some grocery shopping with Jessica today. This heat (100°) makes everything we do exhausting! More another day!

July 16, 2007 - Monday

Storms passed both north and south of us once again. We received just a trace of rain, not even enough to register on either rain gauge. Radar looked like we would bs stormy all evening but not so. Of course there is another small line of storms forming further north and west which, if it holds together, could reach us late tonight. Time will tell.

July 15, 2007 - Sunday

Moving day. Totally exhausted. More details later.....

July 14, 2007 - Sabbath

Hot today, I have 91.2° in my front yard today, but the humidity is lower than it was. But it's still hot. Busy day yesterday. Jimmy & Jessica have found a place to live and they're very excited about it. We're very happy for them also. It's been a tough summer but I think things are starting to look better. Jessica's also about registered for college in the fall which is wonderful also! Anyway, things are sure working out better now. Congratulations on finding a place to move into as well as school plans!!!!

It was really a hectic day yesterday, without going into all the details. But we're all doing good today. So far. Will be really busy this next week also, but busy can be a good thing too. So no complaints from this household!

Isn't it great that the summer is about half over??? I look forward to the cooler weather. But it ain't gonna happen this comin' week. Supposed to be in the mid-90's all week with a chance of storms everyday. Time will tell if we are under the gun for any severe type cells. Usually in the HHH of the summer (hazy-hot-humid) we get the "garden variety" type pop-corn storms. Just popping up here and there. So we shall see.

Updated my Family - Urie and Family - Price webpages. Added newer photos of my gang. Also fixed some new locations, since some family members have moved to different parts of the country. If there are more changes or corrections, I'd appreciate it if you would let me know!

Finished Acts in the Bible, the other night, forgot to log that in my journal. I started Romans last night. So far I like Romans better than Acts. Not that I disliked Acts. Just Acts is more of a geographical sketch of the travels of Peter and then Paul throughout the region. Whereas, Romans is getting into the Gospel that is to be preached.

Well, got to fix some supper for the gang. Bean dish, what else?

July 13, 2007 - Friday

Friday the 13th What more could I say? !!!!

Busy and tiring day. Routine housework and laundry for part of it. Not much else to elaborate on tonight. Just too plain tired.

July 12, 2007 - Thursday

AC is fixed. At a very expensive cost!!! But it's done and should be good for the next few years again.

It's hard to write anything tonight, I'm just too drained. Maybe tomorrow.

July 11, 2007 - Wednesday

We're under the gun for a chance of severe storms again today. Yesterday's wasn't much so we will see what happens today. We could sure use the rain regardless!

A lot of stuff happening at our house but nothing I wish to discuss publicly for now. We're all well and keepin' the faith so what else could you ask for?

I finally have organized a small case for drawing materials, you know, charcoals, pencils, erasers, paper, etc. Now I will try to "doodle" while watching TV at night or in spare time, if there is such a thing.

My bloodwork results came in and all is well. Current meds are working fine, sugar is pretty good, thyroid, kidney & liver functions all good, blood counts all ok. The doctor's office suggested a daily vitamin but other than that, I'm fit as a fiddle.

No storms tonight, just a trace of rain, the kind which is a connect the dots on the sidewalk type.

July 10, 2007 - Tuesday

I was reminded by Seth several days ago that July 5th (1998) was the 9th anniversary of his car wreck. So I went back and added it to my journal for the 5th, finally. There is a photo of the wreck on my "About Me" webpages. This is the one where the car is upside down. The other car, which was also totalled is from 2003 from Jimmy's car wreck. We were so very lucky in both incidents that injuries were either not there or not life-threatening!

Had a thunderstorm roll through here today but it wasn't bad at all, just your "garden-variety" type storm. A little lightning and only .2" (2/10ths inch) of rain. We really need the rain badly so every little drop counts!

July 9, 2007 - Monday

Routine, well, almost routine Monday. I did run into town for a couple things. Had to get some bloodwork done. I had started a new medicine after my last doctor's appointment (like I need another one!). He wanted me to take it for a couple weeks and then have bloodwork done to make sure I'm not having any adverse reactions to it. Well, I forgot to go in and get the bloodwork done last week. I was busy between the holiday, jury duty and the basement, so I remembered last night that it needed to be done. Now it's done. They always call me in a couple days with all my results. I keep a log of how I'm doing here at home.

It's 4:30 pm and we have 104.7 °F (about 101 °F in the shade) outside today. That's HOT. HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Too Hot. WAY TOO HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The bad news is it's supposed to be hotter tomorrow. @!$#%!@#!!! That means it's way TOO HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had more errands to run today but when I came out of Wal-Mart, well, it felt like I was opening the oven to check on a pizza. I know I could've cooked one on my car. Probably in it too. So I decided enough shopping for today. I'll save it for another week when the temps are cooler.

July 8, 2007 - Sunday

Mostly worked on catching up the laundry today. After lunch I sat down to watch some TV and fell sound asleep. Jim & Jimmy were outside working on the antennas and I slept for 2 hours! I can't believe it, like I had been drugged or something. Well, it was my sugar was high. I don't know what I ate, but suspect I shouldn't eat it again! I'm fine now and sugar has dropped some. Crazy, huh?

I'm halfway thru the book of Acts in the Bible. Very interesting, but I'm looking forward to Romans and the rest of the New Testament too. The first 5-6 books are the history of Jesus time on earth. Then the rest of the New Testament is the gospel to be preached. Of course, I still think Psalms, Proverbs & Ecclesiates of the Old Testament are the most enjoyable to read. I still love Genesis as a historical book. And then there's Daniel & Revelation as the prophetic books. Ezekiel is also prophetic but I really didn't understand much of Ezekiel. Maybe the next time through I'll grasp it better.

July 7, 2007 - Sabbath

Watched "Breath of Life" with Walter Pearson. He is really a good speaker. I always enjoy watching him! Makes the Bible stories come alive for me at least. Speaking of which, one of these days I'm going to list some Bible texts that I have come across that I have questions about. I would love to get some feedback on them from all of you!

July 6, 2007 - Friday

Another busy day. Went into town to pick up some more tubs for basement stuff and a few miscellaneous items for the weekend. I love to have "bean dish" for Sabbath lunch. It's called "haystacks" here in VA, but regardless, it's my favorite weekend meal. But I needed some fresh lettuce and tomatoes this week.

Jim sent me an email about this man, retired, who is known as the "Crayon Artist". I have sent the email about him to most of you. If you didn't get it, let me know and I'll send it to you. His "drawings" are phenomenal!!! So among the other odds n' ends that I bought today, I bought a box of crayons to see what I can do. It sure would be less messy than oils!!!! I post stuff if I manage to do something with them! If you get a chance, please check him out. His name is Don Marco and you can "google" him to get various websites about his work. Definitely a talented man!!!

Actually, let me post his URL for you. His works of art sell mostly for very high prices. You can visit his website by clicking on Don Marco - Master Crayon Artist.

One other little post-script here, I finished John several days ago and am about a third of the way into Acts. For those of you who are keeping track!

July 5, 2007 - Thursday

Reminded by Seth that this was his 9th anniversary of the car wreck in my 1988 Nova. There are photos of both car wrecks on my "About Me" webpage.

Another warm, humid day here in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was mostly cloudy and I understand that parts of the area, mostly north towards DC and Baltimore there were storms. But not at our house. I believe we had a sprinkling of rain, but not even enough to lay the dust in the driveway.

I had a busy day, jury duty once again so didn't get home until after 8 pm. I really learned alot seeing our justice system at work. It was impressive and very thought provoking. Now I'm finished my three months of civic duty and will once again be relagated to being a full time homemaker! It will 3 years before I'm eligible to called to duty again.

I plan to concentrate on my "spring" cleaning once again, to finish what I had started several weeks ago. Still plenty to do, but I'm truly making a "dent" in the stacks of stuff. Jim has been working hard on the basement and also working on those antennas that came down this spring. So he has been busy everyday this week. As I catch up on the upstairs work, I'll be able to get to the basement once again.

July 4, 2007 - Wednesday

Happy Independence Day !!!!

My mother-in-law was telling me on the phone yesterday about how her family spent the 4th of July when she was young. It was also her father's birthday so they had a big celebration. She grew up on a farm and she told me that her father would go into the local town and get some orange syrup and make a big pitcher of sweet orangeade. Her mom would make a bucket of lemonade and they would set off different firecrackers during the day. Once night came they brought out the sparklers. She said she really enjoyed those days.

It got me thinking about my own family. And I remembered that in the town where I lived for the first 7 years of my life, they always had a 4th of July parade full of old time cars. We would go over to my grandfather's garage and stand at the side of the road and watch the old cars go by. They had other things in the parade, of course, but what I remember are the old cars. We have some old slides of some of them, which I will post someday. There was also, always, some float that would throw candy to the kids which was always so cool.

I know we must've went to see fireworks sometimes, but don't really have much memory of that. Probably because for quite a few years I was afraid of the loud "bangs". That is quite a joke now, since after growing up with 3 brothers and having a husband and 2 sons, you kinda get used to the occasional surprise "bangs"!!!

Anyway, it's important to remember what this day is all about. If you don't understand it, watch a movie such as Mel Gibson's "Patriot". You'll see the sacrifices, even in a fictionalized version, that our forefathers went through so that their families and descendants would have freedoms. Freedoms that we take for granted today. Freedoms that our military are fighting for even as we celebrate with fireworks and barbeques. God bless our men and women serving in our armed forces, who can't be with their families on this day.

July 3, 2007 - Tuesday

Happy Birthday Stephanie !!!!

Hope you had a great day, gal!!!!

Today we spent several hours cleaning up the results of the water in the basement. Several boxes of stuff had to be gone through and tossed from the water damage. It needed to be done anyway, but this just moved it up in the schedule of things to be done! We'll continue working on this again tomorrow.

I hadn't been in the basement since I broke my ankle last year until this past weekend. Jim has been doing stuff that require trips down under, so to speak. So I finally made it down those steps and now I'm encouraged about getting some stuff done.

I'm encouraged as I've been getting some things caught up around the house. Still have alot to do yet, but I'm making slow progress and you can see some "dents" in the everyday clutter.

July 2, 2007 - Monday

Man is it ever nice out today. Yes, the sun is warm but the humidity is about 28%!!!! I have 75° on the outside thermometer also, so what a GREAT day.

July 1, 2007 - Sunday

Oh, WOW. This is NATIONAL ICE CREAM Month!!!! I think I'll have some ice cream everyday to celebrate! I did a little grocery shopping today and no, I didn't buy ice cream. But I bought the ingredients to make some homemade. Usually on the 4th I like to make homemade ice cream. So that's the current plan.

We're still messing with the air conditioner. But the weather is alot less humid today so it's not a biggy. It's working enough to keep the house cool regardless.

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