So…..I said from the beginning that I may stray from the blogging at some point, and if you’re reading this you know it’s true since a month or two (or three!) have gone by since my last entry.  All I can say is that in true form, I jumped from one project to the next, and on and on, and unfortunately when I do that….sometimes things fall off my radar.  In my defense I THOUGHT about blogging recently, but with summer in full swing, it can be hard to sit down behind the computer and get going when all you can think about is being out and about enjoying the season’s delights.

So -what’s been going on?!  The garden is in full swing at this point and we’ve begun to reap the benefits of utilizing every inch of soil in the backyard.  There’s nothing like a BLT with tomatoes straight off the vine on a warm summer night (after having them for dinner last night, I could think of nothing more I’d like to eat for every meal for days!)  

The chickens have FINALLY moved from the garage to the backyard into their new chicken coop.  The chicken coop fiasco was also something that I meant to blog about, but due to the fact that it turned out to be a huge pain in the ass from start to finish, by the time I would come inside after assisting Ted with it, I didn’t even want to talk about it anymore.  Looooong story short, we tried to build the coop out of wood reclaimed from a neighbors fence, since we are always trying to repurpose things (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!) BUT - after many hours of Ted breaking down the fence and specking out a game plan, upon assembly the wood turned out to be a bit dry rotted and would not hold a screw…at this point the chickens had reached almost full size, and were becoming more aggravated by the minute being cooped (no pun intended) up in the dog crate in the garage.  So, then it became a search to purchase a coop.  We did find one locally that someone was selling on Craigslist, and it looked to be the silver lining but coordinating with the guy to see it ended up being more work than it should, and after an un-returned phone call (or two) we threw in the towel and bought one online.  It arrived shortly later in the week, and we jumped right in to assemble it.  We swear that it stated MADE IN THE USA…but it turns out that it really wasn’t (only the nesting box, the size of a bread box was!) Turns out that it was made in China, and the quality of the coop was lacking a bit as well as directions that might as well not have been included because all they did was cause more confusion.  A few hours of never ending expletives and 3 rounds of assembling/un-assembling the coop was complete.  The ladies have never been happier and we hope by next month to be enjoying our first fresh egg.

We’re counting down to our upcomming visit to the Western NY area and seeing all our friends and family that we haven’t seen in almost a year.  This has been a long stretch (The longest I’ve EVER been away from my family, even longer than when I lived in Italy!)  and I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone, catching up and meeting the newest additions to some of our favorite families.  I feel like I’ll be on a “baby tour” and can’t wait!!!!!!  Although I find baby withdrawal to be something as bad as a crack addict coming off a long bender :)

My dirty thirty is SWIFTLY approaching, and I’m wondering what this will bring for me.  The few grey hairs that have reared their ugly head are growing in like antennae, sticking right out of my head, and straight as can be!  IS this possible?  The girl with the corkscrew curls will have straight hair in her old age?!  Now that seems impossible…..so lots to look forward to there.

I’ll leave you with a few visuals of all that’s happened recently, and hopefully will have more to say sooner…than later!