Happy days.

The time is settling into a state of comfortable acceptance, and the resulting relaxation and rhythm of our new life is getting better and better. Sure I had a dream the other night about some ridiculous crisis in a corporate environment, but that's not so common.

The process here is to generally upload pictures from the past few days and give a snapshot into what we're up to. Since uploading those pictures in the volume I like to takes some time, I leave while the info squeezes its way onto the internets, and come back to add descriptions. This doesn't make for a very flowing blog post, more of a series of snapshots. But then again, I have thrown in some excerpts from various other journal writings, which are picture free and full-on thought sharing. So a happy mix, in the grand scheme.

This here is one of the pictures of an end of the day family drawing session, Alexe posted shots of everyone else while leaving herself out.

The boat's impeller turned out to be spinning with no fins left intact, meaning the boat motor was running with no cooling system. I took apart the bottom section, pulled the water pump, and ordered a new impeller. It did not happen as cleanly as that description. The next day the aluminum bolts, set in a bucket and waiting for the reassembly, were first dumped into the bottom of the boat by A who wanted the bucket for garden-watering, and then thrown into the yard when the kids were playing pirates and didn't like stepping on them. Two evenings of searching later, a process that was made harder when I found out the bolts were not steel and would not stick to the magnet sweeper I though I was so smart to employ, I've found them all.
Worms continue to be found, with a new policy of, "if you're not playing with them, you have to let them go back to their family."
Family walks. With swords.
Following ice cream cones at Turnages, the kids turned into frogs, and hopped back to the truck.
Class progresses. I'm having a lot of fun with this, making up loose agendas, moving from the classroom proper that we've made, pictured here, to the music area, (also nap and movie and reading area,) on the carpet in front of the mantle, to the workshop across the hall fro various hands on learning. A few challenges with the two attention spans and level of learning, but Annaliese likes nothing better than to show her brother how to do something, so it's working out. I'm going to have to expand my guitar skills to keep the music portion interesting, right now I can play most tunes of the songs they know, but we're all going to get bored with that quickly.
There was a play date, two girls and a boy visiting. Since everyone lives within a few blocks, we walked everyone home.
The moment I step off the mower, the kids are practicing.

A couple opened the crawdad hole in an old gas station. The signage on the place is wonderful, all raised cut wood lettering. I love this level of passion from anyone, doing almost anything. The crawdad hole cooks a mean mud-bug. Within walking distance, a couple blocks up main street from the BTC.

Saturday night late dinner after the family turned in early.

With my new office setup above the BTC, Alexe is suffering from major desk-envy, so she put in a "request" for a desk of her own. I'm milking it for brownie points, but I jumped at the new project. Heart pine wood from various house/building projects, the top is 1" thick heart pine boards from floors in the building. She really wanted it to roll on casters.

And to have a secret compartment for stuff. The top is clamped and drying, we'll see how it turns out.

One of my little helpers.

Family walk turned into a family train turned into a family pirate train.

This particular family walk was headed to the farm up the street. A spot we found when we first moved to Water Valley, it starts with an easy to miss driveway a few blocks up our street.

The long driveway leads to a little house, with an unattractive addition, sitting in the middle of 30 acres. Inside the city limits. The place has the most wonderful feeling, quiet, peaceful, zen, of anywhere I've been since my grandparent's house in Vevey. Smells similar too.

The man who owned and built the place, and raised three kids here with his wife, was a do-er. The house and surrounding gardens are ringed with a fence made from old metal railroad wheels. Below is one of the gates leading to a pasture and old barn. The place has been empty since we moved to MS, the man had passed before we arrived, the widow was in a home. She passed several years ago, and the children, in their late 50s early 60s, recently visited the BTC and dropped some hints to Alexe that they'd be listing the property soon. Sigh, timing.
Visitors on the porch.

Sunday I thought we might distract the kids with a day-long game of FORT! The fort was fun to make, the distraction didn't pan out. Fair enough, it was family day.

Nap time in the fort was not a success.

But a little post-nap time snoozing did occur.

Mr. Parker, who owned the building for most of the 20th century, was the local post master for a while, and also a collector of many things. I found rolls of blueprints during my renovations, and had stashed them for framing several years ago. I built some large frames, backed them in sheet metal, and mounted the blueprints on the steel. Seven of them are ringing my office, one I brought home to the guest room/office, and I'm pondering where to put the last one. They look super-cool.

The kids are still groovy, and living a charmed life. This evening, mere moments ago, they ran past on their way to the porch, (they're supposed to be in bed,) and hollered to the new neighbor across the street and started up a conversation. (The neighbors conveniently have a 4 year old girl.)

I love being a father.

They're having a great childhood.