Wednesday nights-exciting news!

After Parma the Wednesday Rupert meeting will be here. I'm beyond amazed and excited. I've never dreamed of that possibility but my Father works in wondrous ways!! One thing that I really want to get done is the front weeded out and some gravel put in. Right now the weeds are pretty bad along the road and it's just compacted sand. I got started today but this is going to take a bit. Ideally it'll be done before meetings start. The rains from yesterday's thunderstorms helped make it easy for today but I know the weeds will get tougher to pull later on. Speaking of thunderstorms, I've already seen more here then I see in a year in Portland! And I'm loving it! :) I've always loved thunderstorms. They fascinate me. Apparently July/August ones can be amazing.  Having night ones tonight!

And then there's the riding lawn mower. The first use went okay, but there was a small issue of trying to fit a mow in around the rain. There's a strip of lawn in the middle that grows quite well. I'm guessing that this is where the drain field is! And the lawn HAD to be mowed since that area was getting almost too high and rain was called for the next 5 days after that day! I made it but had to stop in the middle because of a thunderstorm and high winds. It didn't rain that time but started raining right at the end of finishing so the last few minutes were done in the rain. Got a nice picture of a rainbow! (see below) Second mow Saturday went very nicely. I just got to figure out a way to mow it that makes sense. I've mowed it two different ways so far. Probably a third way next week.  :) I think I'm going to plant some bean seeds and a squash hill and a cucumber hill this week. It's been about 2 weeks since we had a freeze and I was told Mother's Day tends to be a good cut off time for freezes. Very few happen after that. And this weekend is supposed to be nice and warm.

And a funny thing happened Saturday. The neighbor from across the street came over and introduced herself. She does awesome weldings and is starting her own business. She mentioned that the only thing she needs is a bookkeeper. Soooo..... I officially have a new client in Rupert! 😁 And here I thought my business was pretty much closed down. It's a small one though so I don't anticipate to much time being needed! It'll help cover that gravel and the water softener system that I need to get. The water is here is quite hard and leaves deposits if stuff isn't dried off right away. And I want my washer to last!!

A rainbow that showed up just as I was finishing mowing.

Middle needed finished here. You can see the drain field I'm talking about!

And nicely mowed! :) (From this last mow)

Left side of the house

Right side of the house.  There's a lot of lawn!!

Area to weed. From the edge of the grass to the road all the way down.

Got from the driveway to beyond the mailbox done tonight!

Picture from yesterday's thunderstorm that went straight overhead! Thunder rumbled for over an hour without a pause.

One amazing sunset from Sunday

Another amazing sunset from tonight.

What it looked like in the back compared to the picture above from the front. Gorgeous skies!

The garden. Hard to tell but it's holding its own. The poppies are happy! Lots of new blooms. The rest are waiting for consistent warm days. :)

Awesome past week!

The first week of work went very well. It ended on a sad note though. A farm hand crossing the railroad tracks in a truck got hit by a train and died. The vehicle he was driving was completely totaled. It made for a pretty somber day in the office! But it's a good reminder that just a moment of inattention can cause consequences that we'd never dream of! True both naturally and spiritually!

Yesterday was very awesome! I got to spend the whole day outside! It has been at least 6, if not 7 years since I was able to do that. The area on the right side of the patio got turned over and compost added and now I have the left side of the patio to do. I'm not looking forward to that one because it is way worse than the other side was. But some tomatoes, peppers and herbs are planted. I was going to plant a few seeds but I can't seem to figure out what box they're in! So I've ordered some. Now, just watch! They'll show up the week after the seeds come in! :)  Got nicely sun burnt! Was barely sore this morning though. A friend mentioned a few years ago that vitamin C is your friend when you've over exerted, so I decided to put it to the test last night and it really did work!! I should be A LOT sorer than I am today!

Today, after meeting, I went to Shoshone Falls. I had a little bit of time to waste and it was only a couple of miles from meeting. It was AMAZING! There is a lot of run off this year and the falls are full! Then headed to Blackfoot for a G. Meeting. And then back home. A lot of miles put on the car today! :) I've tried posting a video of the falls but it doesn't want to work. It's on my facebook or instagram though. :)

The view from my office! Love it!!

The compost is all turned in! (By hand using the little tool to the left!)

What little I have is planted!

I'm anxious to see how this pot does! Snapdragons and lobila 

Snapdragons and dianthus 

Mint and lemon thyme

Shoshone Falls

Shoshone Falls

My lunch view. (Packed a lunch and sat under a tree!)

A tree in full bloom in Blackfoot. It was buzzing with bees!!

Neat clouds on the way home from Blackfoot. :)

Home & Internet service!!!

I got internet service this morning! Been very thankful for my phone!! Only a few more days to the start of my new job. I'm excited to start and get settled into a routine. Although there's enough to unpack that it might be a little bit before a true routine gets started.

There are some absolutely wonderful neighbors here! Saturday morning a couple of families showed up and, with Erika and Nick's help, had a packed to the gills U-Haul unloaded in 2 1/2 hours! We were thinking it might take a couple of days to unpack the thing but we had it returned in the early afternoon on Saturday. And then today a neighbor mowed my lawn after he'd done his. I've order my lawn mower but it won't be delivered until the 7th! My first riding lawn mower ever! All other yards have been too small but I think a half acre warrants one! :) There are two fruit trees. A Crab Apple and a Plum. They're still pretty small so it'll be a while before I get anything off them. Went to Lowe's today and got flowers, herbs and a couple of peppers and tomatoes. I know it'll be awhile before I have time to do that again so got them while I could!! Now to get them into the ground.

Goodbye old house!

Hello new house!!

The backyard looking toward the house

A neighbor came to say hello! :)

1st nights sunset

2nd nights sunset

Found a spot for my kitty rug!

Kitchen is DONE!!

Just found this interesting! Lots of little peppers growing inside this pepper!

1 day!!!

My current house is officially sold and I'm on my last day of living in Portland. The house in Rupert is set to record tomorrow (today)! I'm just in awe with how it's all come together and am excited to start a new chapter in my life! I think all is packed and ready for the movers to load tomorrow. One glitch is that the hot water hose connecting the downstairs sink decided to start spraying. :( Hoping I can get someone out tomorrow. Fingers crossed one of my clients can help!!

Aunt Nancy visited Thursday/Friday and Christina is visiting for a day. It's been/will be nice having goodbye visits!! :)  We also had a sing Friday night so I got to say goodbye to a lot of the friends in the field. Then a lunch Sunday for our meeting and finger food after Wednesday night meeting. A couple of visits tomorrow  (today, its late!!!) with some dear friends. Today is packed with various appointments so it'll be interesting to see how this last day goes!

A very dear friend isn't doing well at all. Shirley S. took a severe tumble and found out that she is in kidney failure. I was very thankful that I got to see her before I left! She's such a sweet lady and a wonderful example. Her numbers were better today but she said that only gave her a few more additional days. I'm to the point in life that there's more happiness then sadness when a faithful soul passes into eternity. Life is hard and they have went to their reward and don't have to worry about anything else ever again. That's a wonderful place to be!!

Next blog will be from my new house! But it'll be about a week. No internet until next week after today! But I'll post some pictures the end of next week.

Teagan turns 6!

It's hard to believe that Teagan turns 6 this week!! We had her B-day party last weekend. Wonder Women showed up too! Teagan was pretty excited! The lighting wasn't the greatest for picture taking but none the less pictures need to be taken!! :)

Three and a half weeks!!

Per the norm in this process things have moved VERY quickly!! The house is officially in sale pending mode! There were 4 offers last week. We accepted one of them,  Now this week is inspection week for the house and then once that is over there will be a two week waiting period before signing on the 13th.  And then I move a week after signing! Movers have been hired! We can at least get help on one end! They'll just load the truck but that's a biggie!!

And it's official that I got the house in Rupert! It now shows off market. That one gets signed on the 19th. I'm getting pretty excited at this point! Three and a half weeks and I'll be on my way to a whole new life in a new to me state and a new to me house. I will miss my established garden but I get to set up a whole new one over there! It's a half acre of property so lots of space to work with!

My yard here is bursting with bulbs now!

Soooo close!!!

I've just got a handful of accounts left to finish for 2017 so I'll be able to make my goal of being done by end of this month! Very exciting!! Then there's a handful to update through February and all accounts will be ready to hand off! I did find a company to hand off payroll to so that was exciting as well. April 1st is the hand off for everyone for payroll and books.

Thanks to the help of many friends and family the house got pretty much packed and cleared out in just over a week! I didn't get any client work done last week (except for some onsite work) but Amanda stepped in and got a lot of client work done! The repairs got done inside and out, the yard got cleaned up, the carport got cleaned up, and the house became house tour ready. Below is the end result. Those who know what it looked like before, it really is the same house lol!!! :)  The good news is there really isn't a whole lot to pack. Only basics are left.

The house got listed Tuesday evening and there's been lots of people through. Today was crazy! I left the house at 10 and didn't get back until 6. There's was lots of people in and out not only during the open house but also before and after! Open house tomorrow and then we'll see if someone makes an offer. The realtor said there's at least a couple of people highly interested but they need to actually make the offer!! Then it'll be about a month after an offer and I'll be starting a new life!! I'm still adapting to that thought!

I'm going to miss my little buddy! 

He hopped right up when I got to Brenda's today.