Wednesday on the Homestead

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Good Morning!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks for me. My normally quiet little life has been anything but that! :) But it's also been so enjoyable and full of fun. 

I had family that started rolling in last week on Wednesday. My daughter and her boyfriend from California and their cute little fur babies were the first to arrive. My son from Ohio was next in line. My other daughters in California could not make it and my daughter in Kentucky could not be here. This year we had 5 out of our 8 children here with their families.  One of these years everyone's schedule will be able to line up and they can all make it to our yearly family get together. 

We also had friends and my niece here as well making for a very full house.  I loved every minute of it. 

Here are some pics from our time together (we also had an evening of fireworks but I didn't get any pics of that as I was helping with kids and taking pics in the dark is not that easy)..





 We had a couple nights of BBQ's, some cooked by family and the last one cooked by my hubby. The one thing everyone was looking forward to was Dad's BBQ'd steaks. And he did not disappoint.. :D


 
We also had corn on the cob but I didn't get a picture of it. We pulled out a second BBQ grill and filled it full of corn. It was all amazing. 
There's always this vacuum after my family all leaves that can feel a bit empty but that was eased some by the fact that my grandson is still here. Life has almost gone back to normal for me. My grandson will be here until the end of next week. 
He's having a great time. He was completely spoiled by all his aunts and uncles while everyone was here.


Goals
Today my daughter is coming to pick my grandson up so he can spend a few days with his aunt, uncle and cousins. I'll be visiting with them this afternoon and after that, not sure what my goals are. I have 3 sets of washed and folded sheets ready to remake the guest rooms so that will be on my list. After that, maybe a walk if it's not to late.



For the Love of Books!
The one thing I have not had time to do is read! I like to read in the evenings but I've been spending my evenings with my grandson. It's good to know my book will be waiting for me when life goes back to normal.


Projects
The projects on my list are soap making (never got it done before family arrived like I had hoped I would) and continuing my campaign to reduce and minimize my things. 
I have been working to move toward a more minimalist lifestyle. Not in a crazy way, but reevaluating my possessions and asking the simple question, "does it serve a purpose?".  The purpose can be that I use it frequently, it makes me happy (pictures, decorations, etc), will I use it on a regular basis? As I've gotten older I've realized that I would rather enjoy life and experiences and people then things. Things take to much time, to much space, to much clutter for my brain. So simplicity is my new goal.  
To this end I've randomly picked cupboards, drawers, storage bins, etc and started making choices to toss and give. I get a good amount each week for the garbage and for donation. Slowly, I'll get there! :)



Fitness and Health
This is another area that has not been what it normally is due to family and busyness. I've struggled to get out and walk, but it's one of those times that I'm refocusing my priorities and know I'll return to walking and hiking as soon as life settles down again. 

Yesterday I did take my grandson out for a little local hike. It was so nice to get out in nature and enjoy the walk. 

 

View from my Deck
You may have noticed one common theme in the above pictures. That theme is: HOODIES! :D  Yes indeed it's almost the middle of July and we are still in hoodies often. We are all still waiting for summer to begin. Today is no different, the clouds are thick and the forecast says it 'might' clear up, we 'might' get some sun and we 'might' be somewhat warm or it 'might' just rain all day! Who knows :D  

 



Today's weather: High: 74   Low: 62



That's all for this week my friends,
Crystal

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