Miscellaneous Monday

Things have been so busy that I haven't had a chance to post some pictures I wanted to share.

First up are shots from the garden.

Tomatillo growing

Bird egg bean almost ready

Bees on sunflower

Closer to bees on the sunflower

Jalapeños galore!

Here's a warning to all those who don't like garden pictures: I'm itching to get out in the garden with the camera today to capture some beautiful pumpkins and squash-- just in case the deer get through the netting laid on top of the pumpkins and don't mind the taste of the hot pepper spray we sprayed all over.

Next up is a picture of our cats. They don't really have individual names because we couldn't all agree on them. Most of us can't even tell them apart. Collectively they are The Black Ninja Cats. They are deadly to many, many outdoors creatures and leave offerings on our porch frequently. They do, however, "allow" a possum or two to share their food at night.

Our Ninjas

And speaking of critters. . . my son captured this frog at the worksite.

Camouflaged little frog

And who could forget about the eclipse? Around here it wasn't 100%, but we did get to see it. My oldest daughter and I were out and about at appointments and shopping, and people were so kind to share glasses so we could see it.

Here at the house, my husband was more creative. He and the rest of the kids built a contraption with foil and a long paper tube and a cardboard box and a recycled church bulletin to capture these images. My son said it was hard to get the camera at the right spot to take the picture, but I thought he did a good job.

In big news this week, our dishwasher is finally working again thanks to Mr. Gordon, our most excellent appliance repairman. He asked Peter to screw in the final screws. I just had to take a picture; you know how important that was to our little 3-year-old man! We thought he actually tried to leave with Mr. Gordon, but he told us he just wanted to open his van door for him.

Working on the dishwasher

I've often wondered if a dishwasher is actually helpful. I've had one ever since I moved out of my parents' house, but does it really save time and effort? After living without one for probably close to a month, I can say that my verdict is "YES!" I love our dishwasher and am so happy it is working again.

And last, but not least, out 14th wedding anniversary was last week.

Selfie at the game

How did we spend our anniversary? We went out for a baseball game with all the kids because that was when they had free tickets from the summer reading program at the library.

Beautiful night for a game

And as has happened every single time we've gone, the Hagerstown Suns lost big time. We keep hoping that next year will be the year we see them win. It was a sad game, but Big Tony entertained us with song and dance in the last couple of innings.