Dearest Sue!
Long overdue greetings from Grand Junction, Colorado! Wow! Have I been out of the loop! Amazing what happens when I don't check the blog for a few weeks!
So sorry to hear about Mike. I know that you have battled long and hard with that foot and did everything that you could possibly do to save it. I know that the road ahead will be filled with ups and downs, but I also know that the Lord will see you through.
And congrats on your new baby! How precious! I know that she will be greatly loved and will bring you much joy! And what fun to have one just for the companionship.
Drummer has been such a wonderful addition to our family. We love him to pieces and can't imagine (nor do we want to imagine) life without him. He no longer has the long coat of the past and he has adjusted quite well to his short "do". And I'm enjoying a little less brushing time (I only have to do it twice a week). Do I ever miss the long coat? Yep, but not the work involved. He looks like a young pup again and still has just as much energy!
And why haven't I written for SOOOOO long? I've just been crazy busy. I always seem to have irons in the fire. This year I tried my hand at starting my own flower seeds indoors with grow lights and heat mats. That went really well, but it has taken forever to be able to plant outside this year. I finally went ahead and planted them in pots last week and 2 days later we got marble-size hail that ripped them up. :o( I think that they'll be OK with a little TLC and if the rain would stay away for a few days (we've had a LOT of rain this month - at least for Grand Junction).
My other big project started out small and blew way beyond anything I was thinking. Glenn and I designed and built a greenhouse. It's long and narrow (24' x 6') and holds my tomato plants. It was one of the biggest projects that I have ever built and poor Glenn got sucked into the process (during tax season, of course!). My intent was just to protect my tomatoes from insects and disease. It turned out a lot bigger but I really like it and it holds my 20 Roma (San Marzano) tomatoes as well as 4 cherry tomatoes. Right now it still has the plastic over it that I have to open and close to keep the plants at the right temperature. Once it warms up enough, the plastic will come off and a shade cloth will go over the top. The sides already have screens under the plastic, and they will stay there permanently. The commitment will hopefully be worth it. Tomatoes are "self-pollinating" but, since it is designed to keep out many of the insects, I have to pollinate each flower by hand. That sounds horrible, but it's not too bad because I just use a battery-powered toothbrush to vibrate the flower cluster. Works like a charm! I have lots of tomatoes growing on my plants. And what am I going to do with all of those tomatoes? I will can them to use in spaghetti sauce, chili, etc.
I'm attaching a couple of pictures for you. The first is of Drummer from February 2014. The next is exactly one year later with his new "do". I was going to attach one of the greenhouse, but I don't have a decent one right now. Maybe I'll get one to you later.
Gotta run for now. God bless and I'll be praying for you and Mike (and, of course, your new little girl!).
Much Love,
Mary (and Drummer) :o)
