Tuesday 8/4
Today we picked up some rolls of sod from Victory Greens and got the old garden spot all filled in with new beautiful green grass.
This is what the garden corner of our yard looked like until a few weeks ago. . . .
and this is what it looks like today. Shrubs/bulb plants transplanted (and all doing well), new curbing, one new sprinkler and now sod.
We left home at 9:00 a.m. and drove 1/2 hour to Victory Greens down in Meridian, south of the I84 freeway. We loaded 18 rolls, 10 sq ft each, into the back of our pick-up and drove back home,
arriving there about 10:20 ish.
Steve set one roll in place just to see how it would match up . . . .
He decided to edge some of the existing grass to get a nice straight starting point.
The first row is down and lookin' good so far !
He had to do some leveling with dirt and of course had to cut the ends to shape along the curb, two of these irrigation boxes and
just one sprinkler.
We (Steve) is making progress. It is a hot day and the shade has now moved away from the work area so . . . .
we are taking lots of breaks in the shade.
While Steve was on his knees laying the sod and cutting the ends to fit the line of the curbing, Linda was getting tools and supplies he needed, refilling water glasses and moving the chairs further back as the shade moved, checking/filling seams and watering the first rolls
Steve would get two rolls at a time out of the pick up and bring them around back in the wheel barrow.
We are making good progress and good time, even with all our breaks.
Right about 2:00 Steve cut and laid in the last piece of sod
We only had one 18" X 18" piece and these little scraps left over.
We cleaned up all the tools, scraps and debris then Steve gave it all a good soaking. It only took us a total of 5 hours including travel time and breaks and it looks so nice.
Thursday 8/6
Today we drove into Dave's house to see the work Casey did on Dave's front deck.
You can see how they moved the railing back toward the house about three feet. The wood was old and rotting. Casey did a great job of demolishing, rebuilding and leveling everything. Dave said Casey worked hard on a very hot day but just kept at it until the job was done. Dave is very happy with the change and said the railing is strong and sturdy now. He'd like to get a few shrubs to fill in the new "empty space" . . . . That would look very nice.
Tuesday 8/18
Today is Shea's 3rd birthday.
She's such a cutie showing off her birthday card and money she received from Grandma and Grandpa Waite !
Of course it's always fun to celebrate with . . . .
Aunt Debbi !
Wednesday 8/20
It has now been 2 weeks since our new sod went down and so . . . .
Today it got it's first haircut and looks pretty good .
You can barely tell where the "new stuff" ends and the old grass begins
Some of our family continues to work on beautifying their homes.
Lansfords painted their house . . . .
Front - They have also built a new planter (not quite finished yet)
Back - They said ALL of the homes in their neighborhood are the same color so they wanted something different. Blue was a great choice . . . . and, they got a good deal !
They have also been working on staining their new deck.
This was the first color they tried but ended up changing to . . . .
This !
Nicely done Lansfords !
Matt and Jen have been super busy and are making lots of progress on several ongoing projects.
They have chosen a new color to paint their house also, Ironically, it is the exact same color as the Lansfords . . . . you know what "they" say, great minds think alike !
So far they have finished the shop . . . .
they will do the house in a few weeks and it is going to look great !
Jen is converting their garage into a Hobby/Craft/Work room. She has built a storage closet and has put some carpet down on one side so far, they also put an air conditioner in the window and will insulate the garage door so it is going to be a nice place, all year round, to spend time "creating" !
Matt's shop is coming along nicely. He has six very bright shop lights to install. Here, he and Steve are trying to figure out what has to be done to get them ready to hang up . . . .
WAY UP . . . . he got the first one installed, 1 down, 5 to go !
The question is . . . . where will the dimmer switch go ?
Kevin has gone back to work at East High in SLC so their projects for the year have come to an end but they are enjoying all the work they were able to accomplish this summer.
Debbi has her new town home all fixed up and . . . .
now has two roommates, so she is all set and she is doing well and still getting LOTS of flying time.
Monday 8/24
Tonight for FHE we met Matt's family up at Black Canyon Lake for some boating fun !
The air has been so smokey from all the California Fires and a few around here. As we reached the top of the pass and looked down on the little town of Emmett, you could barely see it or Squaw Butte . . . . both are usually a beautiful sight !
Matt borrowed his good friend, Louweggie's, pontoon boat. We parked at the park and walked to the boat ramp just a little bit over from the swimming area.
We got the boat launched, everyone found a life vest to wear and we were on our way !
The first order of business was to inflate this BIG MARBLE tube chair thing, then attach the tow rope to both the tube and the boat. Sienna and Jetta were first out !
Matt drove the boat while we were towing the tube being sure to keep an eye on those "in-tow", but later, after the tubing was finished, Jen, then Jetta and Sienna each took a turn driving us around the lake.
The girls didn't think the ride was exciting enough so they started doing acrobatic stunts like this or standing up and twirling around and laying across the back. It got pretty exciting a few times when they would hit a wave and get knocked back down. They were having lots of fun !
Sienna came back in and Jen got talked into going out with Jetta. Jetta assured her she wouldn't get wet . . . . yeah-right !
When both Sienna and Jetta got off the tube Matt thought they needed to go for a swim so he tossed them overboard. They were both good sports and laughed as they climbed up the ladder back into the boat . . . . and yes, the water was COLD !
Two wet girls enjoying the fun and . . . .
the idea that they might be in a movie ! There was a movie crew up the bank filming for a Toyota commercial so Matt did a lot of circling around, right in front of them . . . . hahaha
On our way back to the dock, Matt spotted this little deer down by the lake. When he first saw it, it was getting a drink, but by the time we drifted over to get a better look it had moved up by the train track. There ended up being another couple on the other side of the train. We watched them for a while then headed for the dock.
The smoke-filtered setting sun was reflecting on the water as our boating adventure came to a close.
Matt got the boat back on the trailer . . . .
out of the lake, and . . . .
into the parking lot where everything was secured and made ready to tow this fun "toy" back to Boise. Thanks for inviting us to join you !
Tuesday 8/25
Today Linda got some new glasses. She got them in a different color than her regular glasses so they will be easy to recognize. They are actually more blue - funny how the camera changes things.
These glasses have several names . . . . Organ glasses, computer glasses or mid-range glasses which all apply. She says they make a huge difference when she is playing her violin, piano or organ and wishes she'd got them a long time ago. The only problem is that, because they are a single-vision lens, when she wears them she can ONLY see things that are in that mid-range - everything else is blurry, but the notes are crystal clear !
This evening Steve planted a few little pink flowers over by our new patch of sod.
It's late in the season and they are small, but . . . .
they will add a little bit of color to this new corner of the yard for a few weeks.
We'll have to see what it ends up looking like next year !
The Raspberries are on !
Our patch is just big enough to pick a small bowlful each day . . . . Yummy !
"Going back to School" looks much different in 2020 - the year of the COVID-19 Pandemic. For some it looks like this . . . .
Hybrid school. A couple of days "in-person" with masks and social distancing and a few days at home with virtual online classes.
sitting in class . . . . at the computer . . . .
whatever these kids end up doing it is definitely different than ever before !
As much as the media would like us to believe we are still "in danger", the actual numbers are declining dramatically and maybe, just maybe, the kids will soon get to go back to school full time and see and play and learn with all their friends and teachers.
Wednesday 8/26
Today Steve began another "project"
Our neighbor has this tree along the fence line and . . . .
it's surface roots were invading our side yard and smashing our sprinkler line both under and over, so out of concern they might continue on to our shed and foundation he spoke to the neighbor who said, " aah, just cut 'em out, the tree will be fine". Sooo . . . .
he did ! These are the roots he cut. Now he is leveling out the ground in front of the shed, burying the sprinkler line in front of the shed and getting ready to put cement step blocks down. This evening we went to Home Depot to get the 16 x 16 inch blocks but they were all out, "because of COVID", and it was too late to go to another store so he will have to wait until another day to finish this project.
Tonight we took dinner to the missionaries (Pizza Bubbles) and discovered one of them is brand new and is without a bicycle so they have to walk everywhere and they live out a ways. We immediately thought about the bikes that have been hanging up in our garage for the last several years and thought maybe we could loan Steve's to him.
We didn't say anything to the Elder but came home and got the bikes down and, of course had to put air in the tires. Then Steve checked it out (he did not crash or hurt himself) and found it to be in good working condition. We called the Elders and offered it to them. They gratefully accepted our offer so we took it up to them. They seemed very happy about having it to use.
Friday 8/28
Today Steve finished the project he began on Wednesday.
He was able to find the step-stones at the Meridian Home Depot Store.
He had the space pretty much leveled out already so he began setting the first row of stones in place
and ended up having to make only a few adjustments
then he raked and leveled out space for a second row of stones and . . . .
voila ! a nice cement-block pad - looks Great !
Sunday 8/30
This morning we woke up to . . . .
a beautiful blue sky - first time in a few weeks that we haven't had smokey grey sky from all the fires both around here and in California. Looks sooo good !
We went back to church today - for the second time. The first time we only got to go once before going back to all in-home meetings. Everything looks good for us to be able to continue this time.
Monday 8/31
Today Steve decided there was one more thing he needed to do to finish off the "project" he started last week on the side of the house. He bought several . . . .
50 pound bags of Perma bark, then, after carrying those heavy bags from the pick-up, he dumped them out and got them . . . .
all spread around to fill this space - 9 bags worth
It was hard work, but this "improvement" looks so nice.
He finished it just in the nick of time. Our August blog will be published tonight !
As we have said at the end of every blog for the last several months, we pray for peace to return to our country, for the hate to be tempered and for next month to bring opportunities for a healthier and happier United States of America.
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