What We Are NOT Doing...

...is getting ready for a hurricane. I feel sorry for the people who live in North Carolina and the surrounding areas. But I am so glad it's not us getting ready for a hurricane. I've had enough for awhile.

Also, ten years ago was Hurricane Ike. I can't believe it has been that long. The girls and I were doing a lesson in History where they wrapped each other up in toilet paper like mummies. We were using The Mystery of History back then. A friend called and asked if we were leaving. I had no idea what she was talking about, but figured it out during the course of the conversation. Told her I needed to talk to Steve.

Hurricane? What hurricane? Our mama was busy looking at lesson plans, not the weather!

After we hung up, Steve called immediately and told us to get packed up. We had a small leak in the living room, half our fence blown down, the playhouse flipped over, and we needed a new roof when we got back home.

It was vertical when we left. 

I don't know how many hurricanes I've prepped for in my life. I probably don't want to know either. Stay safe, you guys on the East Coast!

Steve took off work Monday and Tuesday. We sweated and worked in the garage all day Monday. Boy what a difference! We threw away probably 10 contractor bags of trash. The next morning I took some trash out to put with our other piles as it was trash pick-up day in our neighborhood. There were holes in every bag. We've had a lot of trouble with stray dogs getting into the trash and it's such a pain to pick up after them when they have scattered the contents everywhere. But this looked different. For one thing, a small trash can we had throw into a sack the day before was sitting nicely on the sidewalk. Hmm. Husband came out to help me double bag everything so it wouldn't all fall out when the trash guys picked them up, and we noticed every hole was torn very neatly and carefully. Someone had been going through our bags. We guessed they saw us cleaning out our garage and were looking for personal information. Needless to say, we had NO paperwork at all in those bags and I'm happy they wasted their time.

That, and we will be making good use of our little Amazon Basics shredder when we go through those other boxes! Some people....

But yesterday we didn't do much of anything responsible. We went to our favorite island and ate lunch at our favorite little drug store. And we went to an historic library that the girls and I had toured this summer, but Steve had not seen. It was an enjoyable day. It was really nice for Steve to be off. Preaching pretty much means he works all weekend. Many preachers take Mondays off since Sunday is essentially a work day, but he can't do that because he works another job as well. So the day off was very appreciated.

Also yesterday we found a neat little barber shop here in our city. A guy from work told my husband about it. It was like stepping back in time when we walked in.

Steve got a great haircut and we were noticing how relaxed the atmosphere was. The barber on the right (you can see his back in the mirror) was so chill and I noticed how his job was so very NOT stressful. Told Steve he should become a barber and preach on the side. Or preach and barber on the side.

Cleaning up your hairline and cleaning up your soul.

What do you think? :)

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Signing off,

Wrapping Up August

I'm sitting here listening to "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel in amazement remembering my friend who made her children learn every reference in that song. History--check! I don't think I caught half of them. I could educate myself. One day. If I have time.

We celebrated our oldest's birthday this weekend.

The little girls and I made her the shirt. She was not excited about being 19. 

So many goodies! It takes 3 different kind of donuts to accommodate all the allergies and diabetics in the family. 

The whole family (grandma, aunts, cousins, etc.) got together and gave her a whole bag of fidget toys and stress relief toys. She LOVES them. They are to help her study this fall. 

 She's 19 now and about to embark on higher education. Gotta get her a house key this weekend as she will not be on our schedule anymore. Growing up is strange and hard and I so remember being where she is. How can it be **cough28yearscough** since I was her age?

The younger girls and I started back to co-op last week. We forgot to take their pictures at home so we took them on the lovely gym wall once we got there. They had a great first day. The youngest is taking choir, general music, P.E., ballet, and art. The second-born is taking choir, band (she plays clarinet), music theory, and drama.

I teach the preschool class and assist the youngest drama class. It's a tiring day, but I can't beat the classes my daughters are getting to take and the friendships they make.

This time last year we were in the middle of Hurricane Harvey and a DIY remodel of our house. When the water got half-way up our front yard that Friday night, but we didn't flood, we figured we weren't going to. So Saturday found us painting during the storm. We were really fortunate to not flood (our old house did flood during a storm).

This shows our rain total during the hurricane compared to our then 5 year old. 

So many friends were not as fortunate. I don't personally know anyone who is not back in their home or a new home, but I'm sure there are many who have yet to re-build. The effects of storms like that are long-lasting.

The effects of remodeling are too, it seems.

See, last summer we packed up 50% of our house belongings planning to hire someone to do the remodel. When that didn't pan out, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. A year later, our garage is still a big mountain of mess. Actually even more so because we moved all those boxes before Harvey. Then we moved them 472 more times looking for things over the last year.

(This is where there will not be a picture. Ahem. Pride.)

So next month we shall embark on a new project here at Project: Family---the garage. Somehow I don't think this will garner as much sympathy or help as Harvey did.

"Help the victims of home remodeling" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Signing off,