I’m pretty sure it has been close to two weeks since I’ve written. I’m very sorry. The last day of school was a week ago from yesterday, and the high school graduation was a week from today. We had a cool weather for the school picnic, but the kids still had fun. The graduation was cool as well with sprinkles of rain, but it was a very nice graduation. The kids all looked very stunning and gave different from each other, but excellent speeches. It was so hectic with rain, everyone inside, and so much family here that I didn’t do very well on my pictures.
This week has been nigh unto cold, but today we have some sunshine for a few minutes. The mountains have dark, scary looking clouds rolling down over them.
We’ve had lots of family around for graduation. Joel Milliron with his wife and step children has been here all week. His new family is all really sweet. We’ve had Emily and Leo Nerbonne and Dick and Pauline Jepsen plus Jake and Phanta were here last weekend and they’re coming back again this weekend.
It has been a busy week with everyone working nearly every spare minute on details for the upcoming youth camp. Jarred built outdoor shower houses – two houses with two sides each; one is by the tack shed and one is behind the wellhouse. Merlin put in the plumbing. Yesterday Kelly and some of the girls painted the shower houses. Some kids have tried out the shower houses and are very impressed with them (mostly with unlimited water for their shower). Food has been being madly prepared and frozen, activities are being prepared for, and the schools set up as dorms. We have less than a week to finish getting ready.
Bro Dan Riccardelli dropped in on Thursday night to approve our plans. He was happy with everything. Garth has done a lot of work with schedules and coordinating to have everything run as smoothly as possible. I’m sure we might have some glitches, but they should be small ones, if at all. J Bro Dan is now going to some of the other Alaskan communities before coming back here for camp.
Tony and his boys with some girls now and then have been planting the fields and fertilizing. It has been long days for them (and they get so dirty!!!).
Bro Rus, Wendy, and Kathy have given out the hanging flower baskets from the greenhouse. Yesterday they gave out beautiful 6-paks of flowers for all of us to bring home to decorate our homes. We’ve been eating peppers out of the greenhouse for a couple of weeks now. We are impatiently awaiting the first tomatoes!
Last night the Mitchells should’ve arrived for a few weeks.
Erica is coming out for a few days this weekend to see everyone before she flies toTacoma, WA. She and Darrell are expecting a baby boy some time in the fall.
The Lupos are throwing a baby shower for Rebekah today. The Nerbonne/Jepsen girls plus a few others are going in to that.
Stacey and Bethany Chartier were here for the graduation. The spent a week here visiting and taking care of Wenda’s painting jobs and such. Wenda took them back toAnchorage since they fly out from there; she will be bringing Miss JoAn back from the airport when she comes.
Ann and Merlin and kiddos have gone to the West Coast to visit Merlin’s family and to site see and investigate the West Coast’s terrain and such. I’ve heard from Ann once, and they are having tons of fun. She also said to tell everyone from here hello.
Bonnie and Jim are in Anchorage this weekend. Jim had to see a Dr. in down there. Pam Gorman came out to stay with grandma Irene while they are gone.
John Clark, son of Judy and Bob Clark from Hoonah, has come to stay with us for the summer while he picks up jobs to save money for his winter schooling. Hope Margraft is here for a month as well.
Cathy P has gone to the dr a few times in preparation for her knee surgery on June 12. The dr found an abnormality with her the t something on EKG. She had to get another test, and it showed the same abnormality. I don’t know what that means or how it will affect her surgery. I guess we’ll find out sometime.
Penny Clark (Geyer) has been with us for a few days. She’s been in the states for several months to take care of her dad, then to take care of her dad’s affairs after her father passed away. Now Penny is on her way back to Fairbanks. It has been really good to have her around. She will probably be moving into the Delta House for a bit and finding a job locally. We are all happy to see her, especially her family and nieces here at the farm.
Garden planting will probably be on Tuesday night; first youth camp arrivals start coming in on Monday night. You many not hear from me again for awhile. But… one never knows.
A number of ball games have been played informally. Rob has been practicing his catching and batting. He is pretty stoked about the camp and tells me he wants to sleep in the school with the other campers....hummm...we'll see.
On the Buongiorne home front, all is well. Rob gets a few hours a week for summer school and we concentrate on math, Reading, Phonics and Typing. We work together on various chores around the community during the week. Housekeeping and tending flowers mainly. He is on domestic duty on the day I cook, which works out nicely for both of us. That way I can keep an eye on him, since he stays close to the Tab.
Rob is getting quite strong physically and can help his dad stack firewood, albeit, reluctantly, but he can do a fair job of getting the stack of wood higher in the wood shed.
Pat is busy with piano work off and on, and when he's home he continues to supply cabins with their winter supply of firewood.
May is busy with the garden and I hardly see her, she is so busy with all that entails working in the garden and making sure the produce gets to the kitchen when needed. Seems like back breaking work to me, oh the joys of being young....
Ani has 9 new baby bunnies to contend with. The ones from her Mini Rex Aggie are very cute with fur like a velveteen pelt. She hopes to take them to town and sell them soon.
Have a great week. I’ll try to send pictures or something, if I’m too busy to write. But, don’t hold your breath.
