BBQ

The BBQ went well. It was a nice mix of friends & family. I hope to have more gatherings at the house so that people can see the house as it progresses. I got to catch up with my friend from high school for the first time in a long time. I was sad that more people couldn't make it, but with the insane gas prices, we can't blame anyone.

After all the adults left Rob, Lauren, Chris, Jen, Joe & I were sitting around the fire pit making s'mores when Sugar began barking like she never had before. I put her on my lap to soothe her & she was fine until she was put back on the ground. We couldn't see what she was barking at & figured it was just some small animal. Well, about 5 minutes later Rob says "There's a bear right there" & pointed in the side of the back yard bordering our neighbors. We thought he was kidding until everyone saw it. Of course, the boys ran toward it, the girls ran on the deck & I ran in the house with my dog before she could be turned into an appetizer. I saw the bear from our bedroom window as it ran through the yards & across the road. It was definitely a young bear, but not a cub because it wasn't that small. I really think it was more afraid of us, judging by how fast it was trying to get away from everyone. That exciting event made us decide to go inside for the night. We now realize that Sugar must've smelled the bear long before we saw it.

We spent Sunday at Rob & Lauren's place for a little BBQ. I ate cole slaw because Lauren forgot to make something vegetarian. No one realized that there was nothing for me to eat until Joe saw my empty plate. Lauren felt really bad, but it's ok. I'm used to having to fend for myself. We just spend the night hanging out with them watching movies & ordering a lot of late night food. Joe was so stuffed full of food that he slept on the ride home.

Monday we did yard work. Joe finally started to use the leaf blower on the yard, but because of all the rain he couldn't get it as cleaned up as he planned. We transplanted the juniper bushes from the front of the house to the the side yard where they now encircle the giant rock. It looks nice & I was glad that we were able to reuse them. The lambs ears have been placed in the front of the house & will hopefully begin to take off. I'll be getting a few lilac bushes to plant behind them to add some visual interest to the front of the house. The creeping phlox are lining the one side of our walkway, I'm sure they'll take off soon now that they have the room to grow. All the digging yielded a lot of "Pocono Potatoes" for me to build some additional rock walls & garden liners. I know the realtor said not to go crazy on the landscaping, but if I can get free plants, like I have been, then it's not a big deal. The goal for next weekend is to get the shed painted, as long as the weather is nice.

The cats are doing well. They've been able to spend a lot of time in the enclosed porch & have loved every second of it. Well, we hope that all is well with everyone out there!