Final Week Count Down

I am starting to feel emotional about Jordan leaving home (well, I have to admit that I've gotten emotional whenever I've thought about my children leaving home ever since they were born). But now the reality is here and we are into the final week. I've really enjoyed riding to and from work with him. He's really made me proud at work with his great work ethic and commitment to working hard to pay for his college education. We ordered his books today, so now all we have to do is load up the car and drive him down to Cedar City a week from Sunday (I'm going to get so teary eyed that I won't be able to see the computer screen). I sit out here in the dark and type on the laptop, which isn't too bad except when I need a special character, a number or the delete key (which it seems I need all the time because I can't find my reading glasses, so I seem to make a good number of typos).

Sherrie has been working feverishly on her beautiful quilt. Now I'm realizing that I need to get the rest of the work completed on the master bedroom so that it will be ready for the new bed spread. We are going to use the colors in the quilt to decorate the room.I decided not to work on my cabinets tonight. I was tired from not sleeping well last night and needed to spend some time on the yard. I completed a prototype panel door, but found I need an additional tool to make the door rails (a cope sled). I can't buy one at the local home depot (I think it is probably a specialty item that I would have to mail order - a good excuse to take a vacation from the cabinet job). I actually found some oak cabinets (unfinished) at a store in Salt Lake, and they are cheaper to buy than what it will cost me to make all my cabinets (it would get the project done a lot faster also). Well, I'm sure that anybody who trudges through this blog tires of hearing me blabber on about house fixup projects. I guess that is what I have done for so many years that I really don't know what else to do (I guess I could blame it on my parents since we were always working on our house when I was growing up - a good blame).

It is really a beautiful night out tonight. It is cooler than it has been. I thought we were going to get a thunder storm, but the clouds blew over and it is now quiet and calm. I was excited to see my clematis bloom (it now has two blossoms on it and more buds on the way). This is the first time that I have been successful at growing a clematis. From what I've read, they like lots of sun and cool roots (how do they grow in the wild). I planted them in with the Wisteria and then put rocks around the base of them to cover the soil over the roots. They must like it because they have really been growing.The gardens are looking good. I cut back my watering after I received a water bill that was larger than my car insurance bill (we noticed that the lawn also felt like a sponge). The summer flowers are in full bloom and we have a number of volunteer Rudbeckia (black eyed susans) that are spectacular. Our neighbor gave us one flower that is now finally blooming and it has a beautiful yellow blossom (I don't know what it is). I have volunteer watermelon plants that are taking over the garden spot (it is my Survivor garden this year - too many big plants in too little of a space - but it is pretty green and looks like I have a vegetable garden).

well, I guess I reached the limit for the number of pictures I can put in one blog entry. It ignores my requests to add a picture (if you are reading this you probably felt like uttering Halleluia - no more flower pictures to glaze over). I guess I see myself as an aspiring nature photographer. Actually, I like taking pictures with my camera and in our little house and little yard this isn't much to take pictures of except the flowers. I obviously need to go somewhere (on another hike) so that I can take some interesting pictures. The trail I wanted to hike is still on fire (I may not get to hike it this year now - well, I'm probably too fat to anyway). I need to get back on the Wii Fit. I was doing great until the weekend, with all the company coming and going. It left me so tired that I am still trying to recover. Last night I was working out on the driveway (my makeshift workshop) and I stood up and passed out without falling down. I started stumbling forward (I don't know how I didn't fall) and then everything went black and when I came to a very short while later, I was standing on the grass and didn't know where I was or what was going on (my memory came back quickly), but my neighbor must have been wondering what was happening (we are old people in the neighborhood, so he probably initially thought I was having a stroke). Time to get back on the treadmill and off the Little Debbi's so that I can cut back on the medication.

Tomorrow we get to start watching the Olympics. I will probably watch the opening ceremony eventhough I feel like protesting because they are being held in China. I am getting old and radical. I heard a review on the radio that said the opening ceremony was supposed to be excellent, so I will cave on my core principles and watch it. Jordan went with his friends up the canyon to have a bonfire and roast marshmallows. This will probably be their last time to do that this summer. One is getting ready to leave on a mission. One is heading to USU and Jordan is heading south (I'm not sure who else will be there). Jordan's other friend also put in his mission papers and is waiting for his mission call. They just don't seem old enough to be leaving on missions (I guess because they are a year behind Jared and he just left - actually it has been three months 1/8 complete). I don't think Jordan has decided what he thinks about serving a mission. He is excited to go to school and I know that he is going to do well. He is really excited about his classes (with the possible exception of Geology which has a 760 page textbook). Sherrie is also gearing up to start her next class. The current class hasn't officially ended yet (she finished about 3 weeks ago and received a perfect score), but we have already ordered her books and she wants to get the quilt finished so that she can focus on the class. I don't know how she does it all. She will be teaching full time and taking classes and running a family. I am going to make sure that she takes time for herself and keeps up the quilting and over activities that she enjoys that give her some rest and relaxation.

Well, here it is again, fifteen minutes past my bedtime. It is Friday tomorrow and my boss is on vacation. But Jordan's boss isn't on vacation so we still have to get there on time (which means 20 minutes early). I don't have any big plans for the weekend, so maybe I can get caught up on some of my sleep. So as Lawrence Welk used to say, Adios, Au Revoir, Alviderzane - Good night.