Piano time

I found this beauty on Craigslist. It was free. There are amazing people in this world! The guy who listed it said it had been in their family for 50 years, and had travelled with them across oceans and back. He apologized for the damage to some of the wood, but I think it tells its story. 

I will play it, and I will love it. And then, when we move again, I will probably pass on the love to someone else. :)

And in the meantime, there are so many possibilities... Piano lessons anyone? :D

Gardening

I am still planning to garden, but have had trouble finding the time to build my "super simple" pallet raised bed. Maybe I should just get cinder blocks...

The biggest problem is how dang hot it is still, so I carved out some time (aka neglected my kids for a while) and worked on breaking down the pallets this morning before it got too warm. I came back in to shower at 10 am because I was a sweaty beast and had accomplished very little. Those nails sure don't like being pulled out of their comfy home. 

The future site of this garden

Annnnd... Here are my plants. I mostly need to spread them out from each other more than anything. The peat pots are not very spacious. 

Adventures in Canning

What is a canning adventure if you don't have to call your mom at least once, right? ;)

Here are my spoils: (there were another dozen quart jars that we did with peaches but those were for my friend that was helping me, and she took them before I got a picture)

Here is what we looked like WHILE we were canning:

I would definitely call today a success. :) (even though I didn't do the laundry like I  was "planning" to)

Would you believe we accomplished all of this with four kids under the age of 4 (three under the age of 18 months) in the background? I think we earned our "Happy Homemaker" awards today!

Sprouts

My first little sprouts have sprung from my romaine lettuce seeds. Aren't they cute?

Also, I finally finished my first furniture project and it is officially for sale! It is an entry way or mud room cupboard. 

Gardening, Beaches! And, hey let's have a Sleepover!

You read that wrong. 

So this morning I put my little seeds on the back porch, because I don't know much, but I do remember from 5th grade science that plants need sun. I set up a pop bottle with holes in the bottom to help keep the soil moist. Why? Who knows. I just thought it needed to be that way. 

I sure hope this gardening thing works out...

Then we were off for another morning at the beach! Is anyone surprised? If you were, I'd be surprised. Here are some pictures of that too. 

Tyler got home from work a little earlier than usual today. Oh wait, more like 5 hours earlier than usual. So I made ribs for dinner, and then he had YM's so N and I watched James and the Giant Peach. (That is the book we are currently reading to him at bedtimes) Then when Ty got home we set up a bed of blankets and pillows on the living room floor so that my big boys could have a sleepover and spend that little bit of extra precious time together. Tyler is such a great dad :-)

Projects

I am working on a few projects to try and make a greater contribution to our household. I think they will be fun, but I'll accept any tips or pointers anyone wants to give because I admittedly don't know much, especially about gardening. :)

And this one has been really fun so far. I found this piece at a flea market and am fixing it up to sell. I have painted it and made the cushion. I love it!

Lost Beach Day

Ok, it wasn't really lost. I just forgot to post pictures because it was the day before we met up with friends and family in Jacksonville. This beach is my favorite one on the island. It has great tide pools when the tide is out, and the babies love to play in them. There is also a small splash pad.