Guess you are wondering where the posts have been? They have been working, that's where. Summer is a busy, busy time for me at work and at Plan473.
Last month the Kid was given a grant to attend a month long sailing camp in the next city over. He did so well we continued classes for the month of July too. Classes are Tuesday and Thursday from 3-630pm and Saturdays from 9-130pm. This is great, right? Great except the next city over is 45mins one way. The Planner is taking the Kid to class on weekdays and I am picking him up. Most Saturdays I take him, return to work, and then pick him back up.
If you know Plan473, by know you are probably asking the following questions to yourself. Why do we not just stay there in the next city over? Doesn't that seem like an excessive amount of driving? Don't you drive more in one round trip to the next city over than you do in a whole week at home? Trust me, if possible to stay in the next city over I stay. Bored out of my mind but I stay. Blogs are written, bills are paid, and books are read. Anything to kill a few hours worth of driving. So why the driving then?
Work, that is why. Summer hours require anywhere from 5-15 extra hours a week for me at work. These extra hours were arranged at the beginning of summer and were expected. These extra hours are being saved for a real vacation at the end of summer. We, the Planner, the Kid, the doggo and I are taking a trip to Casper, WY to see the solar eclipse. Yeah! However, that decision was before knowing about sailing camps and the continuation of sailing camps. Now, the Planner and I volley the Kid around trying to get him to class. There have even been a few days when friends who were already going to the next city over have dropped him off. Why the sudden issue of lack of time for the Planner?
Two part time custom jobs, that's why. Job one: designed, built, and installed a custom kitchen counter. Job two: designed and cut out 40 wooden fish for a local nonprofit summer art class. Okay, that would be because I really, really wanted to do this craft with my summer programs at work, but hey take advantage of a situation when presented.
So in between the Kid sail days and the Planner sail days (every Tuesday all summer long), along with my additional work each week, it has been busy, busy, busy. But, hey we are on a countdown to Eclipse 2017 so it will be worth it in the end.
Week nights, not spent driving to the next city over, have been spent volunteering time to collect bait fish for a local non-profit shorebird rescue center. This outing is something done as a family unit after the heat of the day has passed. Fish are collected, blue crabs and creepy looking spider crabs are returned, and fun is had by all.
Most of the fish collected are finger length mullet, however, a few whoppers are caught in the cast net such as this "horse mullet" as the locals call it. Close to 18" in length and looking more like a fresh water carp, this horse mullet was thrown back to create more little mullets. Nothing is more important than quality family time.
Moments such as these are fewer and fewer as the Kid gets older and older. Trying to teach him about the finer things in life can be difficult. Like these alien plants growing in the tree line. Once again, I divert to the fact all things unknown at Plan473 are referred to as alien. Something went missing, space alien. Odd tracks in the mud, space alien. Strange flowers and flower pods, space flowers.
Even in heat of summer, there are still beautiful wildflowers growing. They are exquisite, intricate, and demand attention.
Fair warning, you are not the only creature observing these sensual sights. Ahh, summer and all its fun. And with all its fun blogs get pushed on the back burner. Things will slow down and blogs will return again. Life is for enjoyment, not work. Umm, you thought writing a blog was fun. Well, it can be work too. Pictures that won't load, posts that are mysteriously lost (aliens, just saying) and thoughts that jumble and won't make sense of words written. However, blogs are fun. There are times when I sit down to write a new post and I get lost re-reading older posts. As a result, this leads to more work when errors and miscommunicated thoughts are founds. It also reminds me of all that has been accomplished at Plan473, with its ups (chickens) and downs (no water) and progresses made (from bare undeveloped, trash filled land to a sound, built for bad weather built shop. Writing, as it turns out is more than just words on a page. It is a glimpse into real life, be it right/wrong/or otherwise. To err to human.