How To Tell It’s Hot Outside

Your weimaraner turned on her AC to try to cool off and then collapsed on the porch when it didn’t help.  Speaking of AC, the one in the house went out around midnight last night. Let me tell you, it was miserable sleeping from then on. We had our ceiling fan on high & two other fans blowing on us. I dreamed about taking a dip in a vat of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Don’t worry, it’s fixed now & has been running full blast for the last 2 hours…can’t wait to see the next bill. But I digress…

Here’s another way you can tell it’s hot outside: your garden is going CRAZY! Now, it’s probably a combination of the heat & lots of rain we’ve been getting, whatever the combo (I like to think it has something to do with my Master Gardener skills…:) my seeds have popped up in droves & the ‘maters are getting taller by the day. I even pinched back the tomatoes to make them prettier & produce more fruit – thanks for the advice Tommy! Here’s some pictures of what’s happening out there: Pumpkins are sending out tendrils and squash are about to burst into bloom!

Broccoli & lettuce are sprouting up in abundance! My Better Boy tomato is starting to bloom & the strawberries are happy and getting bushy in their long window beds.

Not to mention the basil & thyme are shooting up, the  cilantro is perky, the watermelon are spreading out & the spinach is starting to sprout. It’s starting to look like we are going to have a cornucopia of produce – which I’m excited about…the closest farmers market is over an hour away vs being within walking distance down the street from the apartment in CA. I’m also starting to look for peas or beans and some other cool weather stuff… any suggestions? I’ve got a mix of warm & cool weather growing now but can start planting more cool in the next couple of weeks. I can’t wait until time to plant potatoes!

Enjoying the bounties of the heat for now…especially when I can escape into an air conditioned house :)

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Florida Sunshine

Today we went to the beach for 2 hours. It was overcast most of the time. Chad stayed under the umbrella the whole time. He’s sunburned. Please explain?!

I hope our kids get Miller skin & not Hogue skin.

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Florida Life

“Home” is a relative term for us. In the last month we have been in 10 different states. “Home” is no longer TX or CA. Now it’s FL. Niceville, FL. One month ago we landed here. And a whopping 20 days after that – our belongings arrived (the movers were just a liiiitle late). But since we got our stuff – we have cozied up nicely in our cute new house! Here are a few pictures of what we’re working with! The house is obviously very colorful. The other two rooms are bright blue & bright green! The only one we repainted was in the Master Bedroom – mauve to brown. And I’m so glad we took the time to do it – it made such a difference!

Since we had a house & no furniture to sit on, we have spent lots of time outside. We found some wooden pallets on the side of the road & turned them into a compost box. Chad also built me a raised flowerbed. I planted watermelon, pumpkin, squash, tomatoes & peppers. So far things are surviving. Not sure how, it’s SO hot. In the next week or so I’m planning to plant some lettuce, spinach, beans & strawberries. I’m hopeful for quite a harvest this fall!!

Basil is loving having a backyard. She probably thinks she has died & gone to heaven. Last night we were going through some of the last boxes to unpack & we found the “sunglasses” (more like goggles) that Chad had to wear after his eye surgery last fall. I couldn’t resist. Hehe…

Moving has taught me lots. First, we have too much stuff. Living in our house before the movers brought our things makes you realize how little you actually need. In an attempt to decrease the amount of stuff we have, we are turning to Craigslist & Ebay. Hopefully we can ditch some of our stuff on someone else looking for more stuff. Second, organization & cleanliness are near & dear to my heart. As we’ve unpacked & put stuff away I have realized how OCD Chad & I both are. If we were locking & relocking doorknobs before we leave the house I may worry; but when it comes to housekeeping, I can find nothing wrong with purging clutter & being slightly anal about where things go. Not to say our house is always picked up, but I can dream. Third, moving is hard. On so many levels. It’s frustrating, makes for long days, is emotionally wearing & takes us out of our routine (which we both love). All this can lead to grouchy attitudes. Thankfully our church in California loves to talk about grace. Which we have both needed from the Lord and to give to each other more than ever. But it’s so hard. To deny the flesh that is pulling hard for me to give in to anger or a bad attitude. It is much easier than killing the flesh & living by the Spirit, which calls us to humility, grace & forgiveness. But at least I do have a battle inside. And I have a gracious Father & patient husband. So as we continue on this new chapter in our lives, I want to continue to learn to accept God’s grace to me & extend it to those closest to me.

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