feels like summer here!

Hurray, I made it through to the end of my semester! I even did respectably on my final papers. I felt that one could have been better, but I think it was due in part to my inexperience and in part to my exhaustion - I could definitely have presented my ideas more effectively. But the professor had lots and LOTS of constructive criticism (thank you!) and I feel confident that next time I'll be better prepared for this kind of work.

The children will be out of school by the middle of next week! There's the usual flurry of picnics and parties and plays until then, which is always fun and even more fun for me now that I can breathe and enjoy it all. I confess that the last day of preschool (after seven years/four children there) will be very bittersweet for me. Kleenex and chocolate, please?

The weather has turned HOT here. It was about 92 this afternoon... which for here is hot even for mid-August! The pool next door was 70 degrees 48 hours ago and was 82 degrees this afternoon. Thank goodness for fantastic neighbors and standing invitations!

My vegetable seedlings are all in the garden now. I had trouble with a mouse in the basement which snacked on my first planting of flowers, broccoli and tomatoes, so my seedlings this year are smaller than usual as they had to be replanted. I do have some flower seedlings yet to plant, but they are SO far down the list of priorities right now. I direct sowed zucchini, cucumbers, and pumpkins so far. I have yet to sow corn, beans, and more flowers. I will hold off on sowing peas at this point until August, for a fall crop. It's just too late for spring peas now. *sigh* I spent more time than usual (actually, 'usual' is none, so that wasn't hard) on perennial beds this year. I transplanted several dozen columbines that I had direct sown in the front yard a few years back... they had grown there but never flourished. I hope they'll be happier where I moved them. I also moved the rest of the bulbs I thought I'd moved last fall but missed. I have yet to dig out what I want from the overgrown-with-violets back bed, before I cook it with plastic to kill off said violets. I want to rescue the Easter lilies, tulips, daffodils and hyacinths first.

I have spent the past few days preparing and posting for sale on Ebay listings for the Motherwear nursing clothes I've been accumulating over the years. (http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZgardengirlgarden) Time was, these sold like mad, but the market even on Ebay seems to be in a slump. I am trying to figure out how to pull together financially for school next year, and freeing up capital is always a good first step. Finding a decent part-time job is on my list as well... NOT easy in this area and in this economy! Even if I weren't planning to take classes, I still couldn't work full-time, since I need to be here to meet the bus seven afternoons out of ten. Still, every little bit helps, and I'll figure it out eventually.