Tin ROOF! Rusted.

Progress! While I was away the mice started to play. :)

I ordered the steel (no , not tin lol) roofing panels and installation kit this afternoon. I ordered it in a charcoal colour to match the house trim. Once the fascia boards are trimmed in and the last rafters go up, we can install the roof when it is delivered.

I said "WE" like I was going to do any of that....

I cannot wait to be sipping iced tea and laying on my outdoor patio chaise in that, there porch.

YIPPEE

The end of summer.......

Enjoy the photo of Quinn at Fire camp.

This is always a hard time of year for me. I am not in the "oooooh, let's decorate our fall mantle" camp. I am in the "why can't we have one more month between July and August" camp. I spent the weekend camping with my boys at a local quarry. Spring-fed waters at about 80 degrees, beach bumming, jumping off the cliffsides, campfires and smores, dancing in the evening hours, snuggling in the tent....I want more of that.

First day of school today. It comes so fast. One going into Grade 6 who reminded me that he had to have this kind of that and the right whatsits. The other one going into his Junior year at highschool, whom I had to remind to shave this a.m.

Whoosh.......that's the sound of summer. At least I have some beautiful memories and pictures to last me through till next year :)

I call it Dharmaritaville!

Man have we been spending our summer in the great outdoors that is our backyard. We’ve been making improvements in and around the new swimdeck and enjoying the space so much I think my friends and family are ready to call out a search party. I refer to my backyard as Dharmaritaville. I am the “Woman to Blame”
….name that reference.
When we put in the new swimdeck, we had a strip of grass leading from the interlocking brick to grass to steps. Boys + friends + kids parties all summer meant a lot of grass in the pool. So, on my trip up north to the cottage, Greg and I *rescued* (ahem, liberated) some flat black Muskoka granite from the lake and brought it home to put down a path.

Butcher knife, a hot day of Greg sweating it out and I now have this lovely little dealio. Ahhhh….much less grass and dirt in the pool. I was in charge of beverages.

After a few weeks of growth, it’s lovely.

But that’s not NEAR as exciting as my first ever estate auction that Greg and I attended here on Saturday morning. I felt like a fish out of water, getting my own paddle, but I persevered. The sale was at an old converted school house turned into an antiques barn. Oh……you would have loved it. I poked over the offerings and even spied a few things I thought were for me. The one and only thing I truly wanted I spied immediately upon walking up to the sale. A 1920s white wicker sofa. Be still my heart. I have seen others like it in much worse condition for hundreds of dollars. On my limited budget, I was sure she would be winking at me from the back of someone else’s truck bed as she sped into the distance.
Never fear, dear reader! I pursued and won my first ever auction item! $80 was my final bid and she winked at ME as we strapped her into our pickup!!!
Meet Savannah:

She needs a little stretcher repair but she is gorgeous! Screaming out for a beautiful set of cushions but I was so excited to nap on her, I rallied and found some odds and sods and quickly passed out Saturday afternoon for a 2 hour nap.


She is even Liam-Approved!

I did make him get off her immediately after this picture was taken though. MINE!

The view from here!

It is the winding down of summer. I can almost feel the backpacks trying
to bust their way out of the boy's closets. Greg will be getting back to work in 10 more days and the kids will start making their over-priced lists of Have-To-Have items for back to school.

For now, I'm gonna sit here and think about this past summer. The new pool, the Pudge and long cold drinks with friends under the gazebo. I've had a great time :)

Getcher' Mama a beer, son!

Well, the weeks from hell seem to be over (please, please be over). I am finally getting over this chest infection and have quit braying like a donkey.

The garage sale we held for my Mother on Saturday is OVER as well!!!! Thanks be to Gawd. The boys made about $45 each, Greg and I made $50 and Momma took the medal making almost $270 from stuff she was going to drop off at the Sally Ann anyway :) It was a long day before the sale and a short morning of haggling, but I am glad she got some things sold.

All last week Greg was a busy boy wearing his white Supervisor's hardhat while we went from this:

to THIS!

Suffice to say the boys are pretty stoked. It was a significant investment for us and probably means we will never travel again :) Well, OK. Maybe not next year. I spent pretty much all day Sunday, phone turned off, people popping in for a dip. Floating on my chair sending my 9 year-old to the bar fridge now and then. I know, that makes me a bad Mom.....I don't care.

So, what's new Magoo?

Alright, I know I've been MIA. But truly I have been so busy I feel more popular than a virgin at a prison rodeo these days...

I have finished my term paper and sent that sucka off into the cyber cosmos effective yesterday to be judged and ridiculed by much more learned beings than I. Now I get to anxiously await my grade. I mean by that, chew my nails until September. I loved the course and really felt connected to the subject matter so I'm hoping that passion translated into "knowing what the hell you're talking about" levels of 90% plus.





Boy#1 turned 14 yesterday and all throughout the entire day I could only think about how fast the last decade has gone. Some days my life felt like my boys would be small forever and now Liam is towering over me, shaving and saying things like ".....when I'm driving....".

The summer schedule is filling up fast and my life seems to be going faster and faster along with my schedule. I'm now just waiting for a vacation in August. 14 days of just the 4 of us, travelling the highways of the good ole USA, Florida bound to sun soak and sightsee. We've never been away all together and I'm seeing that we best start to do the "we'll do that one day" list now or I'll turn around and one of two things will be happening....1) both boys will be too big to give a hoot whether or not they go anywhere with us and 2) Liam will be asking to drive on a major highway in Kentucky...both of which make me wanna ball up and cry in my closet.

Send a maid, a chauffer, a personal assistant, a wife.....

I am so damn tired. I know I will sally-on. For today though, I feel like trying not to curl up under my desk and pretend that I'm not turning into my best version of a slug.

I start my 2nd-year University course in 3 weeks, I have probably a million pages of pre-course reading to undertake and I cannot seem to find anytime in the day to even get a start on any of it. I am swimming in overtime. I have so many projects on the fly right now I should have sprouted 6 more arms and changed my name to Vishnu.

The boys (including Greg) are flying into summer with track & field, taekwon do, baseball, summer vacation plans, school grad, cottaging, friends, BBQs, entertaining, deck plans etc etc etc. Greg is off for the summer, of course (insert eye-roll here). I know I should bow down in the direction of Mecca and thank my holy stars for that.....but truly, sometimes having 3 men in my house while I am at work all summer long with the housekeeper on holidays......just the thought of it makes me wanna cry.

So I am seriously thinking of taking up drinking in the afternoons, wanna join me?