Cats, Cars, Yard Work

We've spent the last two weeks getting yard work done (of course, it's now time to mow it again but it's not a jungle, thankfully).  We're going to have to get creative with replacing the railroad tie retaining wall.  They've been there for decades and are rotting away.  We're considering putting yard fabric mesh over the ties and doing a cinderblock wall right in front of the ties with drainage holes.  The ties will act like a "French drain" and the mesh will hold dirt from seeping out and the cinderblock will ensure our foundation to the house isn't undermined.  So, we'll start gathering cinderblocks and rebar.  Ack

We got my car registered.  Instead of the $300 we were warned against, it was $38.00 - blink, blink.  Run that by me again, please.  $38.00 and we don't have to worry about emissions tests - the Bronco is 25 yrs old, its exempt.  Yay!

I've gone through and organized the fiction books along with the non-fiction books (including the cookbooks) and we have well over 1,000 books. 

Others can see why my favorite gift for Hanukkah is a gift card to Amazon.com!

My sister has been putting up shelves in her room for her collection of dragons and shelves in Mom's room for her turtle collection.  Next will be my room for my action figures (yes, I know I'm weird - I think my next one will be a Moses figure complete with burning bush and commandment tablets).  I painted the boards with a pale yellow to compliment my sage green walls.

Another fun thing we've done lately is to hang my old hammock chair.  There is nothing like sitting in it during a thunderstorm or just past sunset when the lightning bugs/fireflies are active and watching the bats going for mosquitoes (while we stay cozy behind screening.

And here's one of our supervisors that specialized in overseeing the sweeping and moping today.

Note her comfortable supervisor's seating.  I guess watching the Olympics on tv and us working around the house was exhausting.

Another interesting new project is that I am taking a literature course online from the University of Michigan.  The first week was Grimm's, 2nd week is Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the Looking Glass, next Dracula, then Frankenstein, Poe, Hawthorne, Bradbury, Le Guin, Doctorow.....
all within 10 weeks.  It's challenging!