Where has this year gone!?!

[miguynmkoi]

Ponds are pretty much packed up for the winter....so....if you're reading this please type a few good words about your busy life, good or bad, happy or sad.  We all care!

[Esther]

I used to hear retired folks say, "I don't know how I had time to work." I used to think they were crazy. What did they find to do that kept them that busy. We are there and heard saying the same thing.

We do a lot of volunteer work at church. Seeing Pete has some construction experience, and is a Master Plumber, and I am kind of handy, we get called on all the time to do projects. Our church has lawn mowing service but no landscaping care so we have spent a while pulling up weeds around our empty parsonage and the church. We dug up Hostas, and a huge burning bush from our yard and planted them along the church. The parsonage had two huge clumps of tall grassy stuff so we split each in 4 pieces, put two back and then took the other 6 and planted them with the hostas etc. Luckily years ago they had put in landscaping fabric with wood chips and a lawn edger so all we had to do was stick the plants in the ground. There were 5 ancient spreading roses and it took a while to trim them. Pete says the best treatment would be to dig them up. Then we went after some Yuccas that had been dug out several years ago and they keep coming up. We dug and dug but still don't think we got 'em all.

Pete ran some water line and drain up to the balcony as they are going to turn it into two classroms for adults. I guess they wanted a sink and water for coffee making etc. Also, he got in on doing framing for those two rooms.

Then this summer, we came across a temp job for both of us that kept Pete busy for 7 weeks and me for 5. The first week, Pete worked 72 hours and most of the time we were over 40 hours a week.

We spent some time helping Kevin put 4 x 8 sheets of rough sawn siding on his house.

Then we started a bathroom gut and remodel in a house built in 1898. It was a real bear. We took the knotty pine out of that bathroom and made cupboard doors because the kitchen wasn't much better than the bathroom. We are about done and have put in 5 weeks apiece with about 10 hours a day between us.. If you are on Facebook and want to see pictures, look for BAthroom Remodel and Kitchen redo in my albums. 

[jclements]

I feel like "where have the last 10 years gone?"!!! Busy! So busy that this is all I can write! :/

[miguynmkoi]

I hear you Jessica!   Time seems to whip by faster now that I don't have kids to tend to or schedule their extra-curricular activities.

Esther, I think you are too busy to ponder the year past!!!  You have so many smarts we have seen here plus the endurance of a young weight lifter.  I admire how you get things done.

I know my time isn't wasted on things that need to get done    I do not have as much time to sit by the ponds to enjoy.  The garden where the lawn once covered does create a lot of work but I'm hoping to fix that solution with better weeding practices.  I so hate weeds!  Weeding takes up at least 2/3's of my gardening time.  I don't get to stop and smell the roses as often either!  Growing veges is time consuming when it comes time to start it up, harvest and then readying it for the winter months.

Then there's work, so I can make some $ to cover the expenses of new plants and pond care.  A vicious cycle!

We spent a couple of months, in September and October, planning and traveling for my DD's school interviews and researching those areas for points to decide where she wants to live.  I know we all had jet-lag (exhausting).  DD has chosen Glendale, AZ as her school of choice!  Thanksgiving and Christmas is on the way with family gatherings!  Oh more work that I don't want to start 

And what the hay!  Many of our friends' kids got married this year.  That alone took out a few valuable weekends (can't say I miss getting dirty in the garden though but you know that meant more back burner work!)

Jump in and tell us what's going on!

[Jerry]

It seemed like id never get out of grade school, now time whizzes by like a jet.

I think about my Son's school adventures, and want to remark about them,then I relize he is 50!

I think what we ponders know is KEEP BUSY !