Busy....for us! Not him

Shane may have gotten bored some this summer, but I haven't had time to! Between Shane, Carrie, Kila, and chores there's plenty to do. I am taking them at more of a summer pace, so I'm not in danger of burning out.

I spent many days last week weeding. I set a 2 hour goal for each day and went to it.

This was what it looked like behind the hay barn.

We wouldn't care except that the weeds reach up to the electric fence. When there's enough of them, they ground it out.

So they had to go. I loaded up everything I pulled in the back of the gator, made a few trips to poop land, and dumped the weeds in the woods.

The arena was the other big project. It was starting to get overgrown in a couple of corners and along the western and southern fence boards. I let the dogs stay out with me for part of the time to kill two birds with one stone. I got to weed and it counted as watching/exercising the puppy!

A couple of times, it counted as Shane care, too. He surprised me with how productive he was the first day he came out (before he realized weeding was boring!). He came out a couple other times to run a message from Carrie or bring the dogs. I gave him my phone and he took a picture of me (and Kilah) at work.

Taking pictures isn't the same as helping weed, but it kept Shane and Kilah outdoors and out of Carrie's hair for a few. 

Carrie took a picture of me on the porch when I was done. Then she told me to take off the clothes, because they were too dirty to come in the house!

I think she just wanted a show.

I took Shane to the pool later that day. That's kind of work. He runs off and I sit in the heat half watching him and half playing on my phone. We haven't gone anywhere near as much as last year, but it's still good to have the option.

We've been meaning to go on a dump run for a while. The trim boards had been in nice stacks, but Maddy thought they might be good for itching.

Carrie cut the trim down with a chainsaw and I loaded up the last wave of trash onto the trailer.

The drive to the dump was more exciting than it's ever been before. A piece of trim caught the wind and flew up! It got caught by the back guard, and we pulled over. I tried a quick restructure on the side of the road, but an empty plastic drawer shifted and caught some wind as we drove off again! It and a plastic bin fell out. There was nowhere to stop then, but we stopped again once we reached a parking lot for a more thorough look over.

We watched the load like hawks the rest of the way. Normally, I'd have loaded all the light stuff under the heavier stuff, but I loaded the trailer a while back. The trim and the drawer were all things Carrie decided to thin down from the house later. 

The rest of the trip went without issue. Shane helped with recycling. An attendant and I did the trash. We looked for the two errant pieces of plastic on the way home (I recovered one, but never found the other).

Carrie took Shane to Busch Gardens again on Monday (8/1). It gave me another chance to catch up on the blog AND they picked up Bucket on the way home. Bucket will be staying with us for about a month (Grandma and Grandpa have back to back trips).

All of the weeding from the end of July was to get ready to pull out the sprayer. We hadn't used it in a long time, so I needed to clean, drain, and figure out if it even worked.

The goal was to clear the driveway and the arena. Carrie drug the arena while I worked on the sprayer (Unfortunately, waves have developed I'll probably have to work on by hand. Bah!).

I got the sprayer hooked up, but it didn't. Our troubleshooting led us to think it was the motor.

Which we replaced. Carrie had to drive out to Richmond to pick up the replacement for me to install.

As a bonus, she went to Costco and bought me natural peanut butter. However, it it just me or does the packaging look like it was decorated for toilet paper instead of peanut butter? Smooth, my ***.

Anyway, the new motor worked. We were in business! Carrie sprayed and I went inside to wrangle all the "children."

This is what the driveway looked after Carrie mowed to prepare for spraying.

36 hours later everything was considerably more brown.

It looked like a great success!

Unfortunately, four days later the green was coming back. Life is fragile, but life is tough! It finds a way! We'll have to do a second pass.

These projects were in addition to all the other barn duties like making supplement cups.

Shane's been getting out of barn chores lately. He's been on Kila duty instead. The kid has it easier than he realizes!

Good News: Carrie's riding again! Her energy levels are slowly returning. She went out on a Wednesday morning to ride with her hunt group.

Carrie rode one other time this summer. It was in June. She hopped on Lilly "to remind her she had a job," and then came in holding back a stream of emotion. "It wasn't fun," she said. "I didn't enjoy it."

This ride went well. I'm glad Carrie's getting back on the saddle again.

However, she should make sure she has her saddle whenever she does go off property to ride! Carrie loaded up Lilly for a second ride after the first attempt went so well. I got a panicked call that she forgot her saddle and asked if I could bring it to her! I woke up Shane to let him know he was in charge of the dogs and rushed out.

Shane acted like he'd been in charge for nearly and hour when I returned home. I had photographic proof of how long and how far I'd been gone, though! It was 26 minutes.

And so the summer goes. Too busy to be bored, but not busy enough to drive me insane or make me long for school to start. I am looking forward to Autumn weather. I won't miss the humid heat when it passes.

The Friend Update

This summer, I have done a grand total of three social outings. 

First, I went into town to say hi to Bill, Jill and Ben! It was awesome to see them in person in my town. Bill is the friend I keep up with the most right now. We play some video games usually at least a couple of nights a week after our families are asleep. 

Second, I reached out to Mark and Scott to play some cards (The Crew: Mission Deep Sea). I'd half hoped that Mark would bring Hazel to play with Shane, but she was out of town. We met at the brewery, played some cards, and the 30 board games I brought just in case cooked out in the car (but I was ready!).

Mark and Scott's band was going to play a show at Champion Brewery one Sunday night. I was tired, but I was planning on going (It's not like I would have had the time or energy in the school year!). Unfortunately, the show was postponed due to weather and I haven't heard about it being rescheduled yet.

The last social call was I met up with Dylan's dad, John.

We moved a couch from his dad's place.

Dylan was at the beach with his mom, so Shane stayed home. We had to remove a door, but it wasn't a rough moving job. 

It wasn't much of a social call. John offered to buy me lunch afterward, but I'd already eaten and it sounded like he needed to meet his father-in-law at Lowe's to keep their bathroom renovation moving forward. We ended up driving next to each other and talking at successive stop lights as I went home and he went to drop off the uhaul (It felt like a TV sitcom for a while there!).

I wanted to go to NOVA at some point, but it hasn't happened. My old friend, Drew, texted me out of the blue right as summer was starting. We traded texts for a while, but I faded off with all the Kitsune happenings. 

I texted Travis, too, at the start of the summer thinking, "We can visit Travis, Gen and Chris, Jama....", but I haven't followed up with him again either. He had his own drama happening at the beginning of the year. He ended up vindicated later, but I'd still like to check in and hear how things are going at some point.

John is still running on silent mode. I try to call him a couple of times a month. When I was driving down to NC to pick up Shane once I called on a whim. He actually picked up and said, "Hello!" I was stunned for a half a second, before I started to talk......and he hung up. I don't know if he got a new phone and didn't recognize the number or if he just picked up by reflex, but he hasn't picked up again since. I haven't given up and I'll call again in the future, but I don't want to do it so often he gets mad enough to make the effort to block my number.

Marcell sounds like he's doing well in Thailand. I haven't talked to him much lately, but he joked the last time that he could get me a job where he worked! I'd like to go to a Spanish speaking country at some point, because I think I could become fluent if immersed long enough. It won't happen with my situation, but it's a fun thought.

I texted Kim and Ryan about visiting them back in June and then never followed through with anything. There was one day Shane and I were picking up Bucket and I thought about driving by, but I ended up too concerned about how Carrie was faring back home. I need to reach out again before school is in full swing.

While I'm not ready to go back to work yet, there are people there I'd enjoy seeing again. I wonder if my classroom will be moved back to downstairs Purple where most of them are. Or maybe I'll start to make some connections up where I am now in Blue. There's been a lot of movement in the department. There were a pair of promotions, a baby, a retirement, and "an opportunity that couldn't be refused" (Whatever that means). Half the teachers will be new next year!

This summer has been all about family. I'd like to be more social, but the family needs have to come first. I might get in a NOVA trip yet. I haven't talked to Cammy or Erwen recently either, so they're on the social wish-list! I get to see the boarders and the occasional Carrie friend, so that's nice. None of them have kids Shane's age, though. I'd love it if a small group from our church started up again near us with kids Shane's age, but Shane joining the youth group is probably where we'll meet more people and hopefully make more connections.

All that said, enough happens in the day I'm not sure when I'd have the time to see everyone! It's easier to be social when the people have kids. That way a social call serves two purposes: Fun and child care! 

And that's my social situation right now. 

The Family Update

Friday, July 29th, Pop sent out an email:

"Well, I am up again.  They called me at 1 pm and said I am #1 for a kidney available later today or tomorrow.  They have to test it and make sure it is ok and then will let me know when to show up.  The last time they did this was June 4th, I was #3, and that kidney ended up with some sort of congenital defect and it wasn't transplanted.  My prayer is that if this is the right kidney for me, God let's the process move forward successfully.  If it happens, I will be in the hospital for about 5 days.  Patrick, Shelby and Nathan are supposed to visit us in Greenville next week but we may be at the hospital and not home!  And Kathleen plus kids is on her way to Ghana Africa tonight to visit Megan for a week.  Debbie or I will let you know how this develops later today or tomorrow.  Love  Tim "

It turned out the kidney belong to a smoker with hypertension and was not considered a good option. 

Still, that email is short encapsulation of what's going on within the wider family right now: A lot!

Pop's kidney function has been stable at 11% for the past 8 months. He went on the deceased donor's list after Nana's kidney was deemed "not good enough." So far, this was the second time he received a call (The first call was June 4th). The doctors seemed hopeful that another kidney would become available before not too long. Right now, Pop's in a stable spot and doesn't require dialysis, but if his kidney function declined he could lose the ability to be choosy about what's available. 

And none of that stopped Pop from working hard when Matt and Renee moved into their new house! I wrote about that last week, so I won't belabor the point here. Nana texted Matt to text me a video Renee had posted on Instagram of everyone hanging out and playing on the back porch. So far, they really like the new house!

Patrick, Shelby, and Nathaniel are due for a visit to Nana and Pop's. Nana and Pop didn't rent a beach house or travel this summer due to Pop being on the wait list for a kidney. When the doctors call, a timer starts, and they have to be ready to show at the hospital. 

Megan's family is back in Ghana. She posted a picture of B and Sammy after his first COVID vaccine shot.

Kathleen is with her! Ka and Stu drove up to MD to visit his side of the family, but Ka and the kids hopped on a plane and headed to Accra, Ghana.

Megan's posted a ton of pictures online.

It looks like they're having a ton of fun.

Shane is jealous. He's repeated multiple times, "I wish I could be in Ghana with them..."

It does look like a party! Unfortunately for him, what we could've spent on travel went to veterinarians and there's no way Carrie could manage for a week without me.

One of the reasons Shane's been so motivated to finish his chores early is to call the cousins overseas to play Robolox before they go to bed! There's a 4 hour time difference between there and here.

If you want the full story, you'll have to ask a twin. This is really their tale to tell!

I don't know of any other big happenings in the wider family currently going on. Jama is still in NOVA with Ed and a social star at their community. Dennis, Kevin, and Jim are all still in the Carolinas. Kevin was retiring soon and possibly moving closer to Nana and Pop. My cousins are off in the wild world working here, there, and everywhere (The Carolinas, Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, and...I think that's it). 

We're a big family all things told. Our farm is just a small Virginia branch of the greater whole. Nana is my main source of news from all the goings on.

July Shane Update!

Life has been quieter for Shane since VBS ended. Most mornings, he's been motivated to get his chores out of the way as quickly as possible to earn electronics! It's summer and I like Shane learning to take care of things quickly rather than putting them off, so he's ended up with more electronic time than he would otherwise.

Shane's been playing video games on the computer or the Switch. If we drive somewhere, he may ask to use the "pink phone" to play Pokémon Go. He has access to a tablet and a Super Nintendo, but never uses them. 

Shane's favorite video game is Roblox. He's got access to far superior games, but Roblox is easy and social. We only allow Shane to play Roblox if he plays with someone and super-extrovert Shane really wants to play with someone anyway. His main playmates online are his cousins with Dylan coming in second place.

On the computer, Carrie bought Shane a game called Stray that looks amazing. However, once it stopped being easy Shane stopped playing (He almost stopped after the intro, because he thought the cat getting separated from its friends was too sad!). I'd bet he'd play it again if one of us sat behind him and cheered, but normally his electronic time is our time to do something else (even if they're normally chores or Kila related!). I'll offer to play Deep Rock Galactic with Shane, but he goes through phases of being excited/receptive to it. I let him stay up late one night (~9:40 PM) to finish up a pair of his quest missions with me and Bill. I played Portal 2 co-op with him once at his request, but he hasn't asked again. I showed him Heroes of Might and Magic V (which he called "boring" before it even booted up). 

There are tons of other games on the computer Shane could play. He's dabbled with some and there were a few that caught his eye for several days this summer: Kerbal Space Program, Satisfactory, Terraria, etc.

Shane seems to prefer games that are: 
     A) Social. He knows someone he can play it with or it's popular with people he knows.
     B) Easy. Shane will play Poki games rather than start up bigger games if he can't do Roblox!
          He doesn't like losing.
     C) Building/economic related. He likes to build stuff or earn money over engaging with a plot. 

TV-wise Shane has been watching a lot of cartoons. He seems more comfortable when the characters are animated. If we watch something live action and anyone gets hurt or embarrassed it bothers Shane far more than if it's a cartoon. He gets that from me, but I still want him to watch things with real people every now and then, because I think he needs the practice picking up on subtle social cues (We really should start watching Full House again....though Shane says he only wants to watch it if we all watch it!).

Shane's main shows while home have been things like Captain Underpants, Sgt Frog, Naruto, and Yu Yu Hakusho. I wanted to show him some Dragonball Z since it's so popular and well known world wide (My Colombian iTalki teacher brought it up one day!), but Shane tends to decide whether or not he likes something ahead of time and then stubbornly sticks to his opinion!

Shane does like nature shows, too. If he isn't watching a cartoon, it's normally something scientific dealing with animals (He'd probably watch weather shows, too, if there were more of them!).

Shane has had some practice cooking this summer. I typically tell him Carrie and I "provide one meal a day" and he's got to make his own lunch. He'll do instant ramen, bagel bites, or make a peanut-butter-Nutella sandwich most days. He was worried about putting a pan in the oven one day and mad at me because I wouldn't let him "armor up" and wear hand gloves to put the pan in!

Shane's creative side comes out in different ways. He turned his bed into a tent.

It's stayed for weeks. We don't make him clean his room up anywhere near as much as we should, but that's probably not going to change anytime soon (the main motivator is having visitors over!).

Shane also enjoys doodling comics. He has a fascination with bad words lately, but I'm not going to do much more than raise an eyebrow because I want him to continue drawing!

If anything, it's the most writing practice he'll get this summer!

Sometimes Shane's inspired by something that happens around him and other times he makes up his own stories entirely.

I don't cheer and dance, but, again, I make a point of encouraging Shane to make comics. It's easy to consume, but I think it's healthier to create!

There were a couple of nights I helped Shane study for his meetings with Sunny by creating flashcards, etc.

In a perfect world, I'd probably do that every time and study Japanese with him daily (I might even learn it then!). In reality, Shane's studying is chance for him to practice being independent and us to get a break from child care!

Shane has been very helpful to have around. We have him take the dogs out in addition to his normal chores. He was the first to bring out the frisbees I'd bought nearly a month ago!

Sadly, we haven't gone to the pool nearly as much this summer. Some of it has been weather. One time we went and had to leave soon thereafter due to thunder.  Some of it has been we keep managing to miss seeing the same kids consistently when we do go. I don't feel like we're as connected to it as we were last summer.

It's good exercise. Maybe I should force Shane to go more, but I've been letting him make the choice more lately and he's been opting not to go. 

Socially, move up Sunday is coming soon (August!). I'm looking forward to Shane attending youth group at our church. I'm praying he finds a community of friends to connect with there! I'm planning on taking him to the Wednesday night activities, too.

There's still time to learn a few new things amongst everything else this summer. Shane and I dropped by O'Reilly's Auto Parts after church one Sunday ("Oh, Oh, O'Reilly's!" Shane sang the ditty). I think taking Shane places like that is important to prepare him for adulthood and independence.

Both brake lights on the Subby needed bulbs replaced. I did one to make sure I knew what I was doing before calling Shane out to help. 

It was a quick task, but I told Shane he'd helped me save at least $20 on labor!

The ratchet seemed new to him. I would've thought I'd shown him how to use sockets and a ratchet before, but maybe it's been a while.

And that's most of the Shane updates! There's more I could write, but it's late! Kila needs to pee and I need to go to sleep. Night!