Cleaning, hive building, guests, thankfulness

This weekend was not as occupied as most. Of course, there were the normal chores around the farm along with preparation for guests. Which always necessitates a more thorough cleaning of the house than is required for us to live in it. I have never understood that, but I have adapted to it. With that in mind, I cleaned the sunroom top to bottom, side to side. Sweeping up all the accumulated leaves and dirt, gathering all the stuff Mama and I have been procrastinating on and rearranging items we are going to keep in the area, while throwing away all the items that needed to be discarded long ago but have sat waiting on us to do so. I filled one trash bag just from the things that needed to be thrown away. Why we left them sit and accumulate the mass of dust and leaves they did, is still a mystery to me. But they are gone now and the sunroom looks like we intended it to look – clean, organized and ready for more plants.

While I was soaked with sweat, I tackled the front porch. It had accumulated less discardable items but I threw away some things that had been there far too long, removed a table that we did not need or use and rearranged the bench we set the dog dished on for Sam and Sasha so that Mama can see from the kitchen window it the dogs need more food added to those dishes. I moved a crock we have had sitting on the porch for several years into the well house to protect it from damage. That opened up a good bit of floor space. More than I had imagined it would. When I was done, I washed the porch to remove the accumulated dirt dropped there by Sasha, who camps out at the front door every night. She and Sam lay in the dust and dirt when it is cooler than the porch or garage floor. That way, when they move to either of those two spots, they can leave behind a plie of dirt that sluffs off every time they lay down. Mama and I are constantly sweeping up the residue of their afternoon naps in the garage. They do not mind when we clean those areas. They know they can dirty them up again easily.

To rest my back. I open one of the two boxed hives delivered Thursday evening. It was pretty simple to assemble. It consists of two deep boxes that will be home to the bees and a honey super that will be placed on the hive when it is ready. In assembling the frames, I came up short on sides for the frames. Because f that I was not able to build the last five deep frames. Other than that, the hive is ready to go. Whether Mama and I will order bees locally or online remains to be decided. But on the off chance we can catch a swarm, we have a hive ready for them – almost. Mama is going to attend another meeting of the beekeeper’s club in a week or so and ask a couple questions about the hive. Should we paint it? Should it be placed in the direct sun or do we offer some shade? Will placing the hive in the garden be a good idea? How do we deal with ants? Those kinds of questions. I will be at a company function that night, but Mama will happily go without me.

Yesterday we entertained guests for the first time in quite a while. We have not eaten Sunday dinner at home in a couple years. It was fun. Mama got to feeling poorly through the afternoon Saturday, so we were tempted to cancel or move the dinner to the church. But a couple hours later Mama recovered sufficiently to keep our original plans. We invited four guests from BBTI plus Trace. We also had Yilin, Cheyenne and Aubrey. As usual, we fixed way too much food. A beef roast, a pork roast (each with potatoes and carrots), potato salad, fresh bread, corn dip, a grape salad and a strawberry and banana salad. Grandma sent a Mandarin Orange Cake to round out the menu. The fresh bread, cut hot as we finalized everything else, was a big hit. (Thanks to Mama buying a bread machine at a yard sale last week.) Our first loaf made in the machine ballooned up to the top and stuck to the lid. The second loaf was better because we decided we did not need to mix for the largest recipe in the book; settling instead for a smaller, neater looking loaf. It was a good time of eating and visiting. Getting to know some of these young people and getting to share our lives with them.

It gave Mama and I time to share of ourselves and to be truly thankful for all that God has given us. We do not take nearly enough time to praise the Lord for His blessings to us as we experience our day-to-day lives, so it is good to share what we have and remember how blessed we actually are.

It was a fun time that once again helped me remember how blessed I am to be married to the woman God gave me.