Hey! I have something to say!

This was a really great day, thank God. I took the kiddos to Home Depot to get a half whiskey barrel with a barrel liner for the goldfish. We have had the big fat goldfish for 4 years now. He is in the 10 gallon tank all by himself. Well, Zach has been bringing home more and more goldfish, frogs, salamanders, and newts. They are crowding his small habitat. So, it was a matter of getting them a proper habitat or doing something different with the boring, space hogging goldfish. The neighbors didn't want him for their small outdoor algae-ridden pond, the pet store wouldn't take him....so...think, think...think, think....put the fish outside and let all the amphibians have the tank! We ended up not with a barrel, but a large plastic pot that looks like a fancy terra cotta pot. We also bought a water lily plant for it. You would really not believe how much fun and joy me[yes, I like to use bad grammar once in awhile], the kids, and Zach's animal-loving neighbor friend had with this project. Zach brought out all the amphibians and put them in the pot for a play date for quite awhile. It was so fun to see the salamanders dive and swim and come to the surface. The frogs kept wanting to escape. I put a metal mesh cover over the pot because there is so much kid activity and birds around. I put the 2 white plastic chairs next to it. And this is on the concrete slab in the shade of our shed, where there are also 3 green rectangular planters of baby lettuces. On the east side of the shed there were some plywood squares, a paneled, painted door that was rapidly antiquing in the weather, and a leftover piece of white picket fence. I moved the plywood squares elsewhere (upstairs--how beautiful they look there, too!), but put the antiqued, peeling door on its side leaning against the side of the shed where the lettuce and fish pond/pot is. The fence section is now on the other side of the shed resting in the dirt and leaning against the shed where the sunflower seedlings and nasturtiums are (in the raised bed). It looks so much cuter this way. I can't believe it never occurred to me to do something useful with that stuff just leaning against the shed looking hideous from the alley.

We had fun setting up the tank for the amphibians. It had a filter from the gold fish, which I will continue to use. It is half full, and there are flat rocks piled up for resting places. Of all things, and this isn't really that aesthetically pleasing, but it works for now, I put a cylindrical glass container full of dirt for an island and stuck a lilac branch with leaves in it. The critters seem to really love it in there with plenty of clean water to really stretch their limbs in and stuff to do! :) It was a mild day--sunny. Yesterday we got some needed rain, and the week before got amazingly warm and sunny! I would have taken some pictures of some of these things, but Chris has the camera.

We had a pleasant spring dinner. I baked a turkey breast last night and used it for a turkey salad today. The recipe I used called for diced turkey, fresh lemon juice, grapes, sliced almonds, mayo, orange peel and served on a bed of lettuce. It was a really great combination of flavors. I put just a smidge of salt, pepper, and mustard in, as well. Dessert was Jessie's favorite...strawberry shortcake...appropriate cuz today is her tenth birthday. We celebrated last weekend, which was really fun. I am actually in the middle of doing a ton of dishes, cuz our dish washer is out of commission. It is really a big deal to go back to doing them by hand with a family this size. Phew!!

Chris is in Arizona golfing!!! He left with his boss and a few coworkers early yesterday morning. They are staying at a resort and coming back tomorrow. This was a bonus/incentive thing, which the employees only partially paid for. Chris pretty much never takes vacation time, even though he has it. Work has been stressful, so this is good for him. Of course, it is really hot there--101 degrees when he called last night!! Argh!