Air Conditioning is FABULOUS

I don't particularly care for the summer because it gets HOT and I am not a hot weather person. The best parts of the day are early morning and evening when in cools down and I can sit on the patio reading. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes are also active in the evenings, which just stinks. I did order some Avon Skin So Soft, so I will hopefully be taking care of that little problem. In the meantime, I love our air conditioning, except when it gets set too low and I turn into a cute little ICICLE.

Brianna and Chelsea just left after spending a wonderful week here with my family (minus Dad who is roasting as a cook in Virginia at the Boy Scout Jamboree). I'm going to miss them so much!! They kind of helped me avoid that terrible transition after Campmeeting where I go from having people around me all the time to having NO ONE. (I miss everyone from Camp!! Church seems small and quiet without you guys.) It's going to be weird not sharing my bed and getting to sleep excessively late because we're too busy waking up the rest of the house with wild bursts of cackling (no, I'm not the only one who cackles. It's a family thing.). We got to go to a Tears For Fears concert at Britt on Tuesday and it was a great deal of fun, I have to admit, and we also wandered around Ashland and had dinner at the Black Sheep. Oh, if there are any anime fans out there, Howl's Moving Castle is just wonderful, especially if you maintain any vestiges of childlike wonder. I was smiling for the rest of the night.

So, I'm sure you are all just dying to hear about my garden. The pear tomato plant was attempting a hostile takeover of the crookneck squash space, so I had to tie it back with blue yarn and I nearly killed my strawberries the other day. I think 20 minutes of heavy watering may get me back in their good graces. Oh! So, yeah, the other day I accidentally hit one of our faucets next to the garden beds with my knee and snapped the stupid thing off!!!! This may not seem like a problem until you visualize the small fountain of water spewing forth with me standing there thinking "my parents aren't home. AAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" So, I called Mom and found out where the water shut off is (under the house, for ALL of the house), then called Dad and got the low down on how to cap PVC pipes. It worked and I am feeling quite good about it. But back to my garden, with which I know you are all fascinated *evil laughter* my peppers are for some reason performing in a less than stunning manner this year. I think the cold spring kept them from getting the height necessary for good production. Any hints? Hmm, this was a rather long post, so I'll just let you guys go now and get back to unpacking my suitcases from Campmeeting in preparation for packing to go to Midwest Camp.

Fair quality...

...has been suffering the last couple of years. We (Matt, Brianna, Chelsea and myself) went tonight and stayed a little under two hours, which is about the same length of time Matt and I tarried last year. I should have saved the money Mom gave me to drive up to the State Fair in September where I could have seen cool things. I don't know if the Fair really has lost quality or if my impressions have changed as I've aged. Opinions, anyone?

The weather continues hot, and yes, I realize that everyone in California has it worse off than me, but I still want to complain. One good thing is that ye olde gardene is mostly flourishing, minus my pepper plants which seem to be a little stunted. The tomatoes have decided that their personal space isn't enough and invaded the crookneck squash. *sighs* The drama of gardening is never-ending.

As my faithful readers may have picked up my cousins Brianna and Chelsea are here for a week visiting. Last night we went with my mom on her company picnic to the Hellgate Jetboat dinner. Very wet, especially as denim doesn't drive too quickly (doesn't dry too quickly either), but it was a lot of fun. Today we goofed off before going to the fair and, more enjoyably, to WinCo to stock up and Ben & Jerry's was on sale.... need I say more? We are now watching episodes of Frasier in an intense effort to wake Matt up with bouts of wild cackling. Ah well, enough of my scintillating life for now, you guys... oh wait!! Happy Birthday to Miss Ellen, who turned 9 today, as well as to my aunt Lynn, cousin Troy, cousin-in-law Michelle, and several other people!!!!

Return of the Mindy

My brother just informed me that someone, somewhere, is working on Robocop: The Musical. He is also currently obsessed with Silence of the Lambs: The Musical. Please hold while I sit in a kind of stunned incredulity. *moment* Thank you. So, yes, I'm home after three rather eventful weeks away at Campmeeting. I had a fabulous time and I'm already missing everybody!! (Hello Sherilyn!!!!!) I also got kicked out of the laundry room two and a half times playing with the Laundry Room Band, which was comprised of Jake Warbucket, Joel McMakeshift, and myself, Mindy McFiddlesticks. We had some truly awesome jam sessions (Rock on, guys!!!)

Anyway, your weather update is that it is stinking hot and I'm going to the river later with Matt and some friends. Oh for the days when I used my AC without worrying about gas mileage!! My garden is looking a little shaggy, so I'll be working on getting it back to beautifully productive and yanking weeds out of walkway crevasses (I just know that's the wrong word. I sense another 'c' somewhere.). I also get to do serious room-cleaning as my cousins are coming to stay with us for a week (I really don't want to think about the amount of junk that is going to have to be shifted).

Oh, oh, oh!!! Congratulations to Florin and Jill, who got engaged Saturday evening!!!! *shrieks and jumps around* Campmeeting was very interesting this year *wiggles eyebrows* and I made quite a few new friends (hello Tolu!! Or have you found my site yet? Tell your brother hello for me.). In about two and a half weeks I'm leaving again to go to Midwest Campmeeting, which is going to be an absolute blast, and I'll get to see some of you again. On that note, I'm going to go and drink my tea and eat something, so I will rave about things some other day!!!