31st Anniversary

Thirty One years ago today, Paul and I were married.

It was a beautiful sunny day after a couple of days of rain.

We were married at 1100hr, followed by an outdoor reception in my parents back yard.

Charles Loves being Outdoors

 Charles was in the BIG pool for the first time this past week. JUST loved it.....and his Mom is his own personal swimming instructor.

 He likes being in the back yard playing in the rocks and showing us what he has discovered.

 He spends time at the back or front door dreaming of his outdoor adventures :-)

Brenna is home for the weekend.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

King of his domain

MCTS Closing in 2-3 Years

New Adventures for Charles

 This weekend Charles spent some time at a playground, swinging, sliding, climbing, collecting rocks.

Sunday was nice enough that he spent some quality time in HIS pool.

Making Room for a New Barn

29 years young.

Busy afternoon. Took us about 2 hours to bring the structure DOWN.

Bearded Iris'

My yellow and white Iris' are in bloom and my purple ones are just starting.

CLOTHESLINES

 This was sent to me by a friend and it made me smile.....good memories!

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:

 1. You had to hang the socks by the toes... NOT the top.
 2. You hung pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs... NOT the waistbands.
 3. You had to WASH the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes -
 walk the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.
 4. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang
"whites" with "whites," and hang them first.
 5. You NEVER hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail!
What would the neighbors think?
6. Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the weekend,
or on Sunday, for Heaven's sake!
7. Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines so you could hide your
 "unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y'know!)
8. It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather... clothes would
 "freeze-dry."
 9. ALWAYS gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins
 left on the lines were "tacky"!
10. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item
 did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with
 the next washed item.
11. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes
 basket, and ready to be ironed.
12. IRONED???!! Well, that's a whole OTHER subject we won't go into here!

And now  POEM.....
A clothesline was a news forecast, to neighbours passing by,
 There were no secrets you could keep, when clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link, for neighbours always knew
 If company had stopped on by, to spend a night or two.
For then you'd see the "fancy sheets" and towels upon the line;
 You'd see the "company table cloths" with intricate designs.
 The line announced a baby's birth from folks who lived inside,
As brand new infant clothes were hung, so carefully with pride!
 The ages of the children could, so readily be known
 By watching how the sizes changed, you'd know how much they'd grown!
It also told when illness struck, as extra sheets were hung;
 Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe too, haphazardly were strung.
 It also said, "On vacation now", when lines hung limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged, with not an inch to spare!
 New folks in town were scorned upon, if wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbours carefully raised their brows, and looked the other way.
But clotheslines now are of the past, for dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home, is anybody's guess!
I really miss that way of life, it was a friendly sign
When neighbours knew each other best... by what hung out on that line.