Yard sale

Sunday waiting at the yard sale.

This is what was left.

So we started out I've got some junk I think I'll have a yard sale because I'm so broke. I'm not a big yard saler but I know the general routine. Then..... my aunt who just moved said "I've got so much junk and stuff I've just got to eliminate. How about you sell it at your yard sale." She is a professional yard saler so I knew I would get some good stuff. So OK Now I've got some real stuff to sell. A race car bed, a computer table, some glass things. I'm thinking I'm going to clean up. I almost sold the bed to a lady at work and another wants to come by Friday to preview my junk.

So Friday I sold $5 worth of stuff to my friend. I thought "Wow I'm going to do great."

Saturday I woke up bright and early and started dragging all the stuff out into the drive way. Pretty soon my friend showed up with three big tubs of stuff and said "I was going to give this away do you want to sell it first." So OK now I've got an amazing amount of stuff to sell. Then my mom showed up and she brought me a van full of stuff to sell. Now I've got so much stuff. Before I knew it I had a yard full of people. One guy was kind of funny. He looked at all my stuff and as he was paying me for some of it he says "you've got nothing good here. I this looks like something but it's not. It's all junk." Then he starts rushing me and saying he has more yard sales to get to. Man it must be really stressful to drive around all day looking at peoples junk that they don't want anymore trying to find some thing that's not actually junk. Most of the people were really nice and I was surprised at all the junk that people did buy. We did all right at .05 for most of the items. .25 for cloths. .50 for shoes. We made almost $40. I was excited and no one even made an offer on the bed.

So Sunday We marked the bed down. We marked the computer stand down. I got got up bright and early again. Dragged stuff down. I expected most people would show up after church but I sat there just in case. And I sat there. One lady came by all day. We made three dollars. Now the computer table and the bed have a sign on them that say free. But no one will take them. Oh well. Guess you just have to do yard sales on Saturday. I didn't know that. But we had fun and plan on having another one in November.

Gardens and Hermit crabs.

Garden

We finally got some veggies planted. Not the main garden but some green beans and a tomato in our front planter. Some of our herbs died so we will be replacing them soon. While we were cleaning out the bed and getting it ready to plant this dragon fly kept landing on Veronica. She would shake him off but he kept coming back. Finally he decided to stay on her foot. You can see her toes are all crunched up in this picture because he tickled. I think maybe he liked the color of her toe nail polish.

Me and Veronica made the green bean fence and then Chris came by and said that it wasn't deep enough and pushed the poles down for us. I think it came out pretty good. I hope we get some tasty beans from it.

Hermit Crabs

Veronica's hermit crabs have out grown their shells again. So we had to make a trip to the crabage patch for some new one's. She's taken very good care of them so far. She's had them for about two years now. They live to be 20 to 30 years old. The expert at the crabbage patch told us we will be needing a new tank to keep them in soon because they are getting pretty big. You have to have three time the largest crabs shell size in the depth of the substrate (dirt) in their crabitat (cage). So we will be looking for a 29 inch fish tank soon. She also had to get new water dishes because they have to be able to get inside and fill up their shells. They like salt water and fresh so we had to buy two new dishes.
She loves holding these creepy little creatures and actually thinks they are cute. When her friends come over she enjoys having crab races. The crabs seem to love her just as much because they are thriving.
As soon as the new shells are introduced the crabs check them out. They roll them over and poke their heads inside for a look. Some times they take a test try and then go back to the original shell. It's truly an amazing thing to witness, the choosing process.

Not a lot is really known about these creatures and they have been unsuccessful at breading them in captivity so... I think the more we can learn about them the better and there is no better way to do that than by children observing them. As long as they are given the best possible care. They can not with stand cold temperatures for long and need constant vigilant attention. So that they don't run out of water, salt water, or food. You can learn more about them at the crab patch site. http://www.hermitcrabpatch.com/Keys-To-Hermit-Crab-Survival-a/139.htm

Well, Veronica loves them so I guess that's what matters.

Eric is back at college.

Erica is back to collage. We took her back yesterday. Since private collages aren't required to have wheel chair access in all the buildings they don't. Erica is on her sorority hall floor and it's on the fourth floor of the dorm. They don't have separate buildings for the sororities. Let me tell you there is nothing like hauling her stuff up four flights of stairs to make you realize how old you are. Luckily she had a friend help. He and a maintenance man hoisted her couch up all those stairs. It was very perilous and at one point I thought they were going to fall with the couch on top of them. They made it up and I don't think anyone was injured. We were so beat after unloading the car we didn't stick around and left her to unpack her tons of crap herself.

Veronica was sad to leave but she is glad to get her room back and has been rearranging furniture all day. It's only a matter of time before she's back at school too. Summer is almost at an end.

We are planning to plant our fall garden tomorrow hopefully. If not than we will plant at least part of it.That's the plan.

We found this really big beetle today. It was about an inch long. We think it was a horned beetle but it didn't have a horn. So maybe it was a female. Chris relocated it closer to the lake so that it wont get in the house or our garden.More than likely the dog would find it and give it a lick or something. He is so curious about every little thing.

Back to school.

Mom came by with some supplies for Erica to take back to collage with her.

I haven't visited this lately to update it. I've been on face book. A lot of people I haven't talked to in years are on there. I was so shocked. I found some friends from High School but most of the people I hung around don't go on there at all. A couple of people from work were on there.

It's been a pretty boring month so far. The kids go back to school this month. Erica is going back early to be an orientation group leader for freshmen that are starting this year. Yeah, she figured out how to stay in collage another year.

We are a little worried however about that swine flu. I've been hearing all sorts of things. Like it was a government plot to control the population. It was a Mexican government plot to make us week so that it will be easier to over throw our government. I heard that your going to have to get three shots to prevent it. Sure enough some one is going to say that the shot is what is spreading it. We have all been practicing washing our hands every time we go to a public place then come home. We are about to raise a nation with OCD and we just don't know it yet. The TV is spreading all sorts of terrifying scenarios like: The children that are ill will be pulled aside and isolated until the end of the day. Or if the schools are forced to closed parents need to have a secondary education plan in line like on line education. And there is the possibility of telephone education. It's all very scary stuff.

Basically we are going to be spending the next week or two bargain hunting for school supplies. I'm hoping to start a fall garden soon. I've got a few plants started in pots. I'm planning on doing a better job at being a gardener this time.

This is our dog's sign language for more. Usually "pet me some more."
Closer look.