Caledonia Day 1

 The cabin is a converted house so it was quite large especially compared to the last two places we have stayed.  My parents were not fond of the upstairs part or the staying in the heat of summer part but we wanted to enjoy summer things this year.

Baylor claimed the one side as his room for the laptop.  It was the entire side of the house and had a door at one end going out to the deck.  

  I am standing at the front door looking into the first two rooms. The dining room was to the right and the stairs were in the other end of the living room. 

The long dining room was in the middle of the front of the house. We used the table to store stuff and for Mom to work on but never ate at it. I actually took the photos on the last day when we were cleaning up.  

The kitchen doorway was in the dining room.  It had a table in the back corner and that is where we ate inside. There was small storage room also in the corner past the table that had the recycling bin and where we put the charcoal, kindling and empty coolers. It was a fully stocked kitchen and a nice size with everything we needed for the week. 

Including a powder room, for when we needed to power our noses and did not want to run upstairs. 

There was a deck with a round table and three chairs. 

And two picnic tables, a swing, a log bench, and charcoal grill out at the fire pit. 

At the top of the stairs you could go many places in a few short steps. Dad took the room directly to the right. 

Baylor and my room was directly forward and Mom took the room to the left.  

  There were two closets in the hall but the one was locked.  The green and white door was the only closet we had for hanging clothes. The full bath was right around the corner.  It had been updated and was nice.  

 For the Saturday morning fire we just had the branches we could find in the area as we had not gone out for wood yet. Baylor still has his fire building skills and Buddy was there to help him along.  

He did great and was very pleased with his fire for scavenged wood. We made some Kielbasa on the fire and cheese snacks for lunch. 

It was Laura's birthday so we took a photo of all of us wishing her happy birthday and texted it to her. Maybe some year we can all go camping together as a family!! 

Baylor and I went to the pool, well Mom and Dad did as well but only to sit and watch this time.  It was pretty chilly in the water but we had fun. 

After the pool, Baylor and Buddy went for a drive and I went out to get some wood.  While unloading my section of wood, the middle one, 

I found a snake in the wood pile!! Two snakes in two days.  What the heck!  

This one was much smaller than yesterday's snake but tried to hitch a ride back in a hole in a piece of wood.  I had to whack it out to keep it there.  There was also a lizard and an ant farm in the pile. Ahhhh, country living.  

We made steaks and grilled zucchini and onions for dinner over the now bigger fire. Baylor had canned corn for his veggie selection.  

I made a s'more in honor of Laura's birthday.  

OK, it was really for me but that is what I told her in my text message.

Baylor enjoyed his barely warmed marshmallow right off the stick. 

After cleaning up he wanted to watch a movie and ended up falling asleep in my lap.  Good first day of vacation!  

Round Up

8-1

My tubby Grimm, we just love this cat.  

A friend shared a FB post talking about how a messy desk is the sign of a creative mind.  I am a creative genius apparently.  

8-2

I was recently advised to let something go so I bought a mug to remind myself.  I love it. 

Snapchat is really fun to play with !!! I made an alien video for Baylor telling him how much I love him! 

My Eddy girl is still here and still doing well, for being 105 years old.  

8-3

I took a trip though the garden after work and found the insects super busy and beautiful. 

And I decided to join Tamela for Zumba class! 

It was not too bad. 

8-4

I finally made pickles with the cucumbers I bought at the farmer's market.  I do love them!  

8-5

I had to work from home today because I was off a half day and Baylor was not going to summer camp.  I was also packing for the camping trip when I went outside with a tub in my hands. Which meant I could not see where I was walking.  I stepped out on something and I knew it was not the hose laying in front of me.  I looked back to see a black snake on the door mat and then the sight of it going in the house.  UGH!! I have been in this house for 12 years and never even seen a garter snake in the yard. Now I have an a least four foot black snake in my living room!  Behind the carpet cleaner. Right across from my sleeping dog.  IN MY LIVING ROOM.  I went upstairs to see of the neighbors were home and had to grab Grimm on my way to the phone as he was moseying down to the living room.  I put him in the bathroom and shut the door, which he was not happy with.  I called the Brown's and asked if Mr Doug was a snake handler?  They both came over armed with a bucket with a lid, a grabber, a yardstick, a broom and a child's rake.  I had a bucket and grabber as well.  

Mandy wisely shut the door to the bedroom and Doug and I tried with our grabbers to get him but he kept just slithering through our grabber.  I am glad the door under the stairs was closed or we would have had to move had it slithered in there!   It certainly did not like us bugging it but never struck out at us.  I went under the school desk and back to the corner and then around the corner and under the closed bedroom door!!!  I nearly grabbed it out of desperation as it flatted under the door, It crept into the bathroom behind the toilet. I put the bucket on the other side of the tank and Doug encourage it to move into the bucket, which it did. We put the lid on before it could change its mind and walked to the creek bank to set it free.  So thankful for my amazing neighbors!!! (Baylor was in the basement the whole time and was upset he missed it.  I did not want him freaking out about a snake in the house) 

I harvested what was ready in the garden and packed it up to go along on vacation. 

Mom and Dad arrived a little after 1:00 and I was not ready so I had to throw everything together and get ready.  We stopped at Baker's for lunch and then headed to Caledonia State Park, about an hour from there.   

Where we played with Snapchat once we unpacked.