the cowboy, the kids and the other crazy

Hey friends,

It’s been way too long since we’ve gathered here at our gathering place…

I hope you’ve been well and are savoring ALL the wonderful things that summer brings

Apparently, I love alliteration because the last post was brought to you by the letter “B” and the sound of “b”   (Bible camp, the beach and the book) This post on the other hand is brought to you by the hard phonetic sound of /k/ as in cowboy and kids and crazy thus the title: The cowboy, the kids and all the other crazy… —>PLEASE NOTE: Editing exhausts me. I am NOT a gifted editor. I have made it clear that I abhor commas. Add to that the one pager, the book proposal and the technical side of writing that I have been in most recently has my brain in the fetal position so if I may R-E-L-A-X here with you for a bit and let my run on sentences and grammar run wild for the sake of this post I would be ever-so-grateful….

Muchas gracias

Raise your hands and HOLL-UH if you LOVE summer?!   Whoop! Whoop!

We sure do. I mean it wears us slap out but we love it. We throw bedtime and routine to the wind!   We push the bounds of summer some days as far as to skip brushing our teeth a day or two here and there…yea, I know. It’s gross but it’s true.

The cowboy is the only routine lover that lives here.   We do our best to appease him at least a couple days of week and bed down before ten but it’s usually closer to eleven. The cowboy loves summer.   L-O-V-E- with ALL the capital letters and ALL the love. Seriously, I’m pretty sure he tells me at least once a day how very much he loves hot weather and how he’d rather be hot than cold any day of the week and how he’s sure that his corner of heaven will never be below 75. And that’s fine because he let me turn on the air the third week of June so we’ve had the best of both worlds here since. He’s hot outside and we’re set to content 75 on the inside.

We wrapped up the first cutting of hay the day before the fourth of July. WHEW! What a relief…The first cuttin’ from field #1 is fun and nostalgic but by the fourth field that’s usually ready to be picked up on some of the hottest days of the year-there ain’t no fun left. (Please note the poor grammar –> “ain’t” was chosen as a point of emphasis)

He’s gearing up for our annual camping trip to the beach. And by gearing up I mean he’s rearranging and re-rearranging  the animals here on the funny farm to make it easier for those who will be tending to the herd in our absence. He left out today with 4 momma pigs and 18 piglets and returned an hour or so later with a boar and two more momma pigs. I don’t ask a lot of questions.  He’s the trader, I’m the photographer.

( ***check Instagram for the cute piglet pics..I can’t get the picture to upload here ;/-booo)

The kids-IF there were anybody who L-O-V-E-S summer more than the cowboy it would be the kids. They don’t care to be hot and sticky and nasty and they are all three more times than not this time of year. We were discussing with the boys while shucking corn last week the importance of storing up food for winter when the youngest piped up, ‘I’m not a winter-kind of-guy momma. I’m a pool kind of-guy.” And they are. Thankfully my uncle is kind and willing to share his pool with us and even more thankfully  he lives just a rock’s throw from the house. This year we’ve explored different means of commuting to and from the pool. I’ve let the boys run across the pasture all the way home (probably a little more than quarter mile give-or-take) because apparently it makes them feel all grown up. I also left the boys with a sitter last week and discovered that they talked him into letting one of them drive the lawnmower to the pool. (Note to self: be more explicit and lengthy with dos and don’ts when leaving boys with a sitter) When they’re not at the pool -they’re in or at the pond, on the trampoline that a dear friend blessed us with or hiding from the sun on the porches…

Which leads us to the final /k/ word and all the other cr~a~zeeee that’s been going on here in our neck of the woods most recently. Not sure when it happened or whose idea it was for us to plant a bigger garden this year which sounded like a great idea in early spring but now that it’s mid July I’m thinking a small container garden might be more of what we’re looking for…

Y’all we’re swimmin’ in green beans,peppers, corn and squash thanks to a wise woman who came in early spring looking for sulfur and Epsom salt. True story (+gardening tip) if you have struggled with worms cutting into the root of your squash plants where one day they’re fine and the next day the plant is wilted and dead??! Here’s your tip: a tablespoon of sulfur plus a tablespoon of Epson salt in the hole before you set your plant! TA-DA! Happy, healthy FRUITFUL squash plants! Seriously, we have lots of surplus veggies. Do you like jumbo jalapeño peppers? You know the ones you can grill or make jalapeño poppers with? We grew lots of them and we don’t even eat em’! So, swing by the store tomorrow ~the cowboy will make you a good deal.

Lastly, I’m on the countdown to Concord. In 10 days I will sit before a couple, possibly four publisher houses to pitch the story I have felt compelled to write. One moment I feel confident and the very next I’m like, “Have you lost your mind?!” None the less-the plane ticket has been purchased, the business cards are in the making, and the proposal is just a few pages from being complete.   I ask for your continued prayers I can not and COULD NOT have done this without the help of many of you…SHOUT OUT to the ladies who have been committed to meeting with me to pray, brainstorm, proof, discuss, direct and help keep this spaz on track! I am eternally grateful for you.   Until next time and in the mean time let’s connect on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

love y’all

🙂 K

PS- Update me in comments or connect with me in links above and tell me about your latest summer happenings!