It seems summer came early this year. After we got the pool sparkly and blue, the swimming season has officially started. I joined a pool forum, and am slowly becoming an expert on Ph, alkalinity, Chlorine, etc.
This pool has also got me administering some very scary chemicals including muriatic acid. As soon as you open that bottle, you better turn your head, or hold your breath, or your lungs will be scorged. That stuff also got me to finally grab those rubber gloves and mask, cause I would like to prevent early death. Apparently our tap water has very low calcium, and very high alkalinity. The calcium was easy to fix. I just dumped a bucket of calcium stuff in. The alkalinity is another story though. The only way to lower it, is by slowly lowering the Ph (and alkalinity) with muriatic acid, and then raising the Ph by "aerating" the pool. The aerating only makes the Ph higher, so then you add more acid etc.
I have come up with a pretty good aeration method. You can use things like fountains, and running the pump bubbles, or you can just head out the door after dinner, and have a fun swim party. The kids do plenty of splashing! We inherited a test kit, which has helped me figure out how much chemicals to add. I am curious though, to see how accurate my test kit is. I plan to take a sample to the pool store on Friday, for them to test. After learning everything I have this year, it's a miracle we were able to swim in that pool at all last year. All we did was add chlorine, and shock it. I had no clue what Ph, alkalinity, or calcium was, let alone how they were important for the pool.
Last night I did another thing usually associated with summer: harvest veggies from my garden. My garden is doing really well (except the onions piggie smalls ruined), especially the squash plants. These zucchini and squashes are still so little, but I thought they were actually really cute. Joe's mom was coming over for FHE, that was the perfect occasion to celebrate the harvest. We threw some zucchini and squash slice on the BBQ, and besides the smoke flavor, and too much seasoning (inside joke), they were delicious.
Only 1 more full week of school before the kids have summer vacation. I plan to make weekly schedules to prevent both them and me from going crazy. I have already decided to do one on one swimming lessons. Winter knows the basics, but could learn some advanced stuff, while both Ginger and Sterling are like sinking rocks. They sure are old enough to learn! I have already banned the lifejackets. This made yesterdays swimming most unpleasant ,with every minute a child begging for one. Today they only asked for them in the very beginning, so I have hope!.
Also, Winter gets to go to horse camp for the first time this summer! This camp will be a great way for her to get a break during the long summer months. She has recently been saying she really wants to have a horse, and ride a horse. Of course when we had a horse, she didn't want to touch it. This should give her a good idea whether she actually likes horses, or if she just thinks she does. She needs to earn $25 to contribute (starting out with $5 right now), so if anyone has a job she could do, she would love it. Joe has her painting the pool fence already, and I'm sure we can think of many other things she can do around here.
Other news from the farm: Joe bought a bottle calf. Sammie is a very cute half angus beef calf. He's only 2 weeks old, and very skinny. According to the lady who sold him, he should only eat like 2 quarts of milk, twice a day. That doesn't seem like enough to me, but I guess if you feed them too much, it's bad.
I feel like there are so many things to blog about! Maybe it's because just a few weeks ago, I was down, and depressed, because of the miscarriage and didn't want to do anything! Recently I feel much more like myself again. I am baking again, want to spend time outside and with the kids. I want to try out new things, like making diastic malt (post to come soon, still working on it) I am also excited to have my body back to normal (except 10 lbs heavier than I like to be), so we can start trying to get pregnant again. I think the next time we get pregnant we might just share right away. It's fun, and that way, if something does go wrong, I can get the mental support.
I thought I would do another quick update on the farm, because there has been some changes. Yesterday as I was waiting for Joe to get out of his church meeting, Aubrey Brooks walked in with 2 adorable little kittens. I am a sucker for those cute things! At first I kind of jokingly told them I wanted to take Ariel (the kitty) home. Then, after holding her, I was determined. After all, it has been at least 8 months since our last kittens got adopted! Aubrey told me I could keep it, so we took it home. Yeah! the other cats had some adjusting to do, and neither were very nice at first. They'll get used to each other though, no problem.
So for an animal update:
Totally non-farm related: I finally decided to take the steps necessary to switch from Pathways to CPS. I am really excited to see if this will actually get us a foster placement! Next week is our first home visit, so now I have to figure out what exactly she will be looking for. Is she just here to meet with us, or will she inspect the house for safety regulations. If that's the case, I better take my prescription drugs off the counter, and put them behind 2 locks!
