critter control

sorry it's been a while but we've had a few bugs to work out on of every level of life. sheesh! i was looking forward to catching you all up on my mom's visit and a fun weekend at the folk art market, but alas here's the latest...

first, the good news is that the monsoon season has finally set and that the garden is a refreshing retreat for all forms of life including us!

the not-so-good news is that we've had a flu virus invasion. poor juan was the first victim. i think he got in california and is still recovering. cho got it bad this last weekend, but has turned the corner with much prayer and lots of high tech home remedies. i've been staving it off with excessive cleanliness and my favorite homeopathic antiviral-- the awesome oscillococcinum. i highly recommend picking up some this flu season. you can get it at any pharmacy or grocery store. take it at the first sign of flu. of course ask your doc, too.

since we are ultraparanoid about tubbery picking this thing up-- he hasn't yet and we're still praying he doesn't!!!-- i have a plethora of signs posted up all over the house to remind us all about germ spreadage. i top this off with strong doses of oregaspray on anything that sneezes or coughs or any surface that has been touched by one of the infected. that's all of us, but N. around here it's been non-stop turkey stocks and soups, scubbing and washing of surfaces and laundry, buttloads of vitamin C (N's favorite dosage), agrisept (another terrific, but expensive antiviral-- GSE is also good and cheeper), oil of oregano and much, much more!

i am quite the germ nazi. someone should hire me for something important!!! any ideas?

another summertime activity has been cleaning out my ginormous, dusty closet. hils asked if i felt guilty about my excess of clothing after seeing it all piled on the bed. sort of. but i have lots of excuses for not getting rid of it,and a third of it is n's and cho's for the record, and another third is vintage which is art so how can i be blamed? it is pretty ridiculous and i hope i'm not always like this... or that i always have a big closet:).

this was just the beginning. as many of you know i end up sleeping in my closet on my rollaway bed most nights. this is because n kicks me out of the queen bed because of his sensitive sleep, or because i can't handle how much he's up and about. sounds sad to some couples, but it is such a blessing and we're just glad to be in the same room again-- and that's another story. in short, i am so thankful for my closet!!! our friend tom, who so graciously helped us haul all of our crap from california, said my closet was ridiculous and he could live in there. hey, tom. check it out. God knows just what we'll be needing! here are oogie and i just back from narnia.

here are some other recent shots. as i said monsoon season is thankfully upon us and it's awesome. if you're going to visit northern nm, this is the time of year to come-- late summer, early fall. the sky does spectacular things.

as do the flowers...

echinacea in it's purest form! take a chomp this flu season...

speaking of flu season recommendations, here are n's top five preventatives just for you (he looks so tired and he is, but still cute as ever and so nice to indulge me in this interview question):

1. lots of vitamin C 2. lots of rest 3. lots of fish oil 4. lots of fresh air and sunshine (sorry washingtonian buddies-- but you do have good air!) 5. keep everything clean. sounds simple, but nothing is, right? if you do get the bug, i recommend all these things plus the oscillo and major vit c and agrisept or GSE and oil of oregano (so powerful)-- don't know about kiddies-- as always talk to the doc! i'm not sure what kind of flu we have, but it's definitely no bueno. we're not getting tested for H1N1 yet as we three seem to be pushing through by major prayer on the part of many. i truly feel God's grace to uphold the household and it's been a lot! i am so worried about my N, but i know i can only do so much. he is so sweet and an amazing sport for all he's gone through and continues to go through. he has had a rough summer losing some weight and feeling yucky. but he is making major efforts to get stabilized and has a GREAT attitude. i am afraid to think how i would act if i were in his body! he is an inspiration to us all...

well, it's time to take off!

hey, was this really once a caterpillar? hilary thinks that is disgusting, even though she took this photo and doesn't like butterflies. what?! yes, but she has fantastic taste in everything else!

that's all for now. i am sort of wired on lots of vitamins and chicken salad, and my hubby keeps telling me to go to bed (and clean up that kitchen again!). praise God i have a kitchen to clean and a wonderful family to do it for. let's hope i'm saying that tomorrow. ONLY by His amazing grace!

love you and miss you! hope to have some gooder news soon... especially that N avoids this bug!!! thanks to those who are holding us up in prayer!