Busy Doing Nothing

Today I heard a great quote from a young cousin, who was probably quoting his grandmother....he was talking about what we do up here all day. He said he does nothing... and it takes him all day to do it! I love it! How can we be so busy and do nothing? That is what life is like up here, busy doing nothing all day long. It is exhausting.


Here is a guy busy doing nothing, on a beautiful day this weekend. Doesn't he look stressed out and exhausted?

This past weekend was the annual tractor show at the farm next door. It has become quite the summer event! There are many tractors, plus antique cars, demonstrations of how to make boards out of trees ( I think they call it planing), donkeys (named Rum and Coke....no kidding), a hayride, oxen just walking around following their leader?, and of course food! Hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages, plus all kinds of pie baked by the local church ladies. This is a far cry from the Houston Art Car Parade! The weather was spectacular and the crowd just grows and grows every year.
The fellow who owns the farm that hosts the show is possibly the best neighbor ever. He is a jack of all trades and a great guy to know. Need some topsoil...done. Need a little mulch for those flower beds...done. Need your yard mowed...done. Need some firewood....done. Need a set of stairs and the attached deck moved to the other side of the house....he and his trusty front end loader can help you out, no problem. Hungry for some farm fresh eggs...no problem, check the fridge and leave your money in the jar. I just love this place! Such a change of pace from my other life.




I really have not been doing nothing, just wishing I were doing nothing. So far the summer has been pretty much what I expected. Lots of work in the farmhouse, what's new? I may have worked so hard that I got sick, well at least that is my story and I'm sticking to it. There has been an insurmountable amount of painting to be done around here. When you are starting with bare sheetrock, the whole painting thing takes on a new dimension called priming. Yes, you get to paint before you can paint!
I got to prime all the walls of the new bedrooms, and then paint them, plus the ceilings. Then TJ boxed in the windows and doors with moulding, which I also got to prime and paint! My right hand is going to be in a permanent claw pose from holding the paintbrush. I must say that after all the work the rooms look pretty spiffy, what do you think?


This is probably one of the best sunsets I have ever seen. I raced home from dinner one night with the hopes of capturing it in it's full splendor! It was breathtaking!

And on this note I will say goodnight. I have a busy day tomorrow doing nothing!

Shifting Gears

First... a "moment". TJ and I headed north on July 2, a Friday afternoon amidst torrential rain. The Houston airport was packed and all flights were running 2 hours late. Lovely. We decided to eat dinner and were among the masses at the food court when it happened. I looked up to see a large group of military men and women all dressed in their desert fatigues walking through the terminal. Then... the "moment". One person started to clap and then another and then before I knew it the entire airport was standing and clapping as the men and women passed through. What a patriotic beginning to our 4th of July weekend!

We made it to Pittsburgh ridiculously late that night/morning and shifted into reunion-palooza mode. The reunion was for TJ's mother's side of the family. 125 family members descended on the William Penn hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. I am sure they are still wondering what hit them!


Here are all of the Mahoney branch of the family, plus a few extras, who were at the reunion at the lookout over the river in Pittsburgh. I would like to say that it was refreshing to be north and that we had a welcome reprieve from the heat of the south but as luck would have it, the temps were in the 90's! BUT....the sun was shining and the humidity was considerably lower, ahhh. It was so great to see everyone together and to see the city that raised 4 great women who went on to raise 4 amazing families! Sometimes reunions are tricky, this one was not. It was a genuine happy to be together reunion.


I never knew Pittsburgh was such a nice city!


Sadie in her, Nova Scotia or Bust dog travel crate!
Next, we shifted gears again into Nova Scotia or Bust mode. We left beautiful, and getting hotter by the minute, Pittsburgh on Monday and headed to Nova Scotia. We flew to Newark where we were going to board the same plane as our dog Sadie who was flying up from Houston. Piece of cake! It was only 101 degrees in Newark that day. Glad we opted for the temperature controlled environment for the beast. We eventually arrived in Halifax at 10pm on Monday. Sadie arrived as well. The only trick was picking her up.

This part could be a blog post all unto itself! Here is the short version; we got through customs, got picked up by my Mom and Dad, we drove to the cargo hangar to get Sadie, we drove back to customs to get the paperwork signed, we drove back to the hangar, we called the night shift dude who showed up eventually and let us have our very cool, calm and collected dog who then peed for about a half an hour! She had been in that crate from 8:45 am until 11 pm and was still pleasant. Go figure!



We are all here and have shifted seriously into vacation mode! So much to get done around here but who cares? We are just happy to be here. I think I'll go cut some flowers and put them in the house. Maybe they will distract any visitors from seeing all the dust, dirt and clutter around here. Do you think?

July 2 -Houston- blood pressure- 152/90
July 3&4- Pittsburgh- blood pressure- 145/85
July 5-Halifax airport- blood pressure- 160/92!!!
July 7- Amherst Shore- blood pressure- 110/ 70 This place is good for my health! I think I'll just stay!