Sunday August 8th

 It's been super smoky here in Utah due to the huge fire in California and Oregon. Smells like a campfire kind of smoky. We can't even see the mountain right now and usually we see lots of mountains all around.

This was actually after it started to improve

We still went out to play pickle ball at one point but I wondered if we were going to give ourselves lung cancer in the process. Frank's response was basically that we are going to die someday anyway...

I worked for a coworker on Thursday but I had Friday off this last week. My coworkers and I went to lunch on Friday as a farewell to Trent who got a new job.  I'm so glad to have a job where I like my coworkers!  Another coworker is leaving this week (going back to school) and I really don't enjoy the change but when you work with some college aged kids, that happens. sigh.

I spent Saturday mostly working on my various plants that needed repotting and/or splitting. I really enjoy keeping plants alive way more than I would have thought.  I divided my fern because it outgrows its tiny pot very quickly. I left part of it very small and put that one back in the bathroom.  I hope it survives and also stays small enough for the pot for awhile!  

Didn't know what this plant was. I ended up cutting it back a lot. We'll see if it survives.

Before cutting it in half

I made baby succulents!

Gave my giant pathos a haircut

I also rearranged a bit and took the red secretary out of the living room and put it in the dining area. I put the white bookshelf that was in the dining area in the living room.  I'm still struggling with designing the front room so I'm hoping taking the red out helps me a bit. I already have the blue buffet that I don't plan to change.

Sunday we went to Doneen's ward for Jaime and Greg's daughter's blessing. Her name is Elaine and she is like a Maggie clone so far. They make very cute kids!

Afterwards we had lunch and chatted with the relatives. I always enjoy that a lot. Ryan and Kristal came as well as Dion, Randy and Corey. Plus all the folks currently living at Doneen's.

Felt like a pretty relaxing week overall. I enjoy low key weeks.

Sunday August 5th

 This week we built a bookshelf/cubby sort of thing for Ryan and Kristal. The goal is to have a place for Baldr to climb up and look out the window but also be able to get down by himself. He currently jumps on a chair and then up to the table but is afraid of coming back down because the chair moves. This will allow him a built in stair to get to the top and also give a spot for storage in their small apartment. It was pretty easy to build and then we stained it a few days later.

I had Baldr come hang out in the yard while we stained it. I imagined him enjoying all the space and napping under the big tree. Turns out he just wants to be near the humans and also enjoys eating my flowers, digging in my dirt (not the dirt I don't care about, just the dirt right by my porch with my flowers in it), and climbing up on my white cushions after digging. haha oh boy!  It was a very hot day and he is used to being indoors a lot so he was hot and probably confused as to what was going on.  

Anyway, we got it done and he is now enjoying it in his apartment.

We did all the finishing on Thursday, July 29th. I also invited Harley over so the three of us could have lunch together. It was nice! We got Zupas and just chatted for a bit. Frank was able to share some of his fresh blackberries with Harley which was nice because she loves them and I don't. haha

Sunday we had Carter, Harley, Heather and Jansen over for dinner and games.  We had a good time together and Frank made two delicious pies for the occasion. Blackberry and Chocolate (this second one was specifically for me, the blackberry hater).

In the middle of our game we got notified by the Taylors that the basement had flooded with the recent rainstorm. It had rained Thursday night really hard but we slept through it so we didn't even realize. The Taylors were out of town...so they didn't know until they returned on Sunday that their bedroom and bathroom were filled with water. *sad face*

We (meaning Frank and the Taylors and their family) ripped out the carpet and did some vacuuming of the water and got fans going. Turns out our homeowners insurance won't cover anything since it was rain water. Fun!  Our plan is to replace the flooring in most of the house (it needed it anyway) and repaint. We'll save renovation of the bathroom for another time but it's likely the vanity is a bit mushy on the bottom.  We'll see.