Social butterflies

I started to write down what is happening in the next couple of weeks so that we can get our work done on the farm and nobody is surprised when someone isn't here one day, and discovered that Christmas is right around the corner ...
Starting with this weekend we have events leading right up to chopping season, then combining, then Thanksgiving. And once it's Thanksgiving, Christmas is not far behind!

This weekend we (or I) have a memorial service and a baby shower.
Then we go to Spokane for a conference for 3 days. About the time we get home, Ben and Kelli's family will be headed that way for a little camping trip to the lake with her family through Saturday.
August 1st after church I have a bridal shower to go to, then we head out for a week at Flathead Lake, MT (pastor's continuing education/vacation). We'll get home late on the 6th.
Lou will have a day to sell some pigs and catch up a little bit before we leave Sunday morning early for Alex and Allison's wedding Aug. 8th in Seattle (on a cruise ship).
Then there is a whole week before we go to Hillsboro for the Putnam family picnic -- all 3 of George and Terry's kids and all grandkids will be there for that the afternoon of Aug. 15th. I'd kinda like to stay overnight Sunday and maybe hit the beach or do a little visitng on Monday morning, so we'll see.
Aug. 20th (in Moses Lake) there is a bbq by Farm Credit Services for customers; it's at the fairgrounds so that is fair week here, and rodeo for those who go to that.
August 22 is the date currently scheduled for Eli's baptism. His sponsors have a family health problem so hopefully things go well on that.
August 29th is a bbq reception dinner in Moses Lake for Alex and Allison for those who couldn't make the trip for the wedding and/or join them on the cruise afterward. Kit is going on the cruise; we are not. Someday we'll take an Alaskan cruise, just not when there is a family member honeymooning on the same boat :o)
Corn silage chopping usually starts the last week of August but might be a bit slower this year from our cool spring.
School starts in ML on Sept. 1; Lou's seminary online classes start Aug. 30.
After chopping comes grain harvest, which usually goes up until or just after Thanksgiving. (Pray that it dries down fast since it also got a late start this year due to cool weather and rain). We have extra corn acres this year too, compared to last year.
Yikes.
It feels like summer just started! I had some big plans for summer: yard, roof, patio, and furniture maybe. I have a couple new little Japanese maple trees planted, getting rid of one ugly juniper in the process (big improvement!). The trees were free to us, from a client of Chris' in Oregon who runs a nursery; Kit and Ben got some bigger ones for their yards. I need to arrange to get the house reroofed (shingles or steel roofing?) as we've been living on borrowed time for a couple of years already with no leaks yet, and I want to have some concrete work done on the sidewalk, finally, and a handrail. Maybe remove some old concrete and put in a paver patio; we'll see.

AND inside the house we plan to turn Ben's former bedroom, now (unfortunately) turned into a big closet, into an office for Lou. He is accumulating a lot of books and study material in his new vocation as pastor/theologian and the table and LR floor are often covered in them. So I gotta get my junk out of there and talk Ben into sorting through his stuff to make way for a desk and computer and some bookshelves. We could use some new recliners downstairs, and that 13" tv upstairs is looking pretty tiny across the kitchen anymore.

Hmmm, I've made myself very tired just writing this all down.
So if you don't hear from me again before then, Merry Christmas everyone!