Back to School and Family Fun

      We started school officially with students on August 9, 2012.  I was introduced to my new 8th grade student aides and started training them to run the Library.  They are great students to work with and I really like my job.   The library was pretty well organized by the students last year and now we are fine tuning and getting ready for a book fair in two weeks. 

      Saturday Christina Yazzie, our daughter, called and asked if she and the boys could come to California for a visit.  She just graduated from school and needed a short break before starting back to work and the boys to school. They arrived Saturday in the heat of 107.  It has been hot all week.    

      Sunday, Danell and Deborah made cookies for Sister Rodgers because she was not feeling good.  These are the no-bake cookies.  Definitely a good idea for a HOT summer day.

      Monday, Christina and I got up at 6:00 and went to the High School track and walked until 7:00.  She ran for a while until her knee was bothering her.  I then went to work.  We had fun in the evening with a big family home evening.  Hannah had hot chocolate pudding and ice cream for the treat.

     Tuesday, Christina took Me shopping for hair products and then proceeded to color her hair and straighten it.  This was a weird experience for Diane to have straight hair.  Clifford laughed because I did not know if I really liked straight hair.  He was going to tell, Grandma Good who always told me how lucky I was to have curly hair and not have to get a perm.  It is funny because I got lots of compliments at school.  Next week I will go really curly just for fun.  I am in the process of trying to grow my hair out and it has lots of layers. I don't know if I can do the straightening iron by myself.

       Wednesday, was another 108 so the youth went to the Rogers house and had a swimming party.  They have a slippery slide into a pond in the river and a rope swing, lots of tubes to float the river, and a large yard for a tramp, swings, and barbecue and picnic area.  The 20 youth started playing keep away with a soft ball in the river and had lots of fun.  It was a nice way to cool off and play together.  Christina and the boys went to the beach to cool off and relax.  It was 70 degrees and the beach was fun.  They stayed in a motel and enjoyed the time together.

      The boys wanted Jared to help them play a role playing game so one day they spent setting up their characters and then got busy doing other things.  Finally the night before they left Jared got with the boys and played a game.                                                                         

        Clifford has spent a lot of the week in bed with a bad cold.  However by Thursday he is starting to feel better and I am starting to get a stuffy head.  I stayed home this week end with the "cold" but will need to go to school on Monday.  I was able to get two of the baby blankets and bibs crocheted that Melanie gave me a year ago. 
        Christina, I finally was brave enough to wash my hair and try to straighten it myself today.  I think it came out pretty well.  Clifford had to help me with the back but that is fine.  It is still strange to see me with straight hair.  The weather is cooling off this week down to the 90's instead of 101-110. 

Last Days of Summer Vacation

Monday July 30 - I go back to work on Wednesday, August 1 and start with staff meetings on the 3rd so I only have a few days to get some summer projects finished.
      Today I cleaned out the Breakfast Food Closet and did an inventory to make sure we had our year supply of items.  Our menu is pretty simple and easy to store.  However, it always seems to take quite a while to get everything back in order and ready for the next year.

      Clifford and I found some hamburger on sale today so I bought 6 pounds and canned it for my meals in a bag.  I am just amazed at the price of food now since I don't do the shopping or much cooking.   I did not use the "Sun Oven" today and even cooked a cake for family home evening in the house oven.  I was canning and it was hot already.  On the 3rd shelf you can see the canned beef and chicken and other cans.  Sorry for the bad picture but this is in the hall way and hard to get good lighting.  The clear bags each have a date, recipe and food for that meal.  Each shelf holds 8 meals so I have 24 meals there. 

Tuesday July 31 - I was working on the Food storage closets more.  I got the menu's and food ready for August and September. I am doing half of each month with the meals in a Bag that Melanie introduced me to.  It is nice to have them outlined and ready to start school.  

     Tonight we had "Corn on the Cob" and you can tell that Rebekah 1year-old loves it. It is so fun to see them growing and learning.                   Clifford was excited because he was able to pick up his next gun.  The shooting range is not open until Thursday so he will be cleaning it and taking it apart to see how it works. Guns and gardening seems to be his contribution to the years supply.  

      We pulled more carrots from the garden for the roast this week and they are huge and sweet.  Our peaches are beginning to ripen and will need canned by the end of this week.  Of course, just in time for school to start.  That will be an evening or weekend activity. Nothing like fresh fruit ripened on the tree. We only have our peach tree and citrus trees left so we enjoy them as the fruit ripens. 

End of July and my last days of summer vacation. It has been a great summer with visiting family and friends. We enjoyed the cool weather in Washington and Oregon and loved seeing children and grandchildren, sisters and parents.  We have been able to spend time together as a couple and with family.  We are grateful for the tender mercies that have blessed our lives these last few months. 

  

July 22 through 29 2012

I decided to try to do this blog again with pictures and the new updated program.

Saturday we received our "SUN OVEN" and cleaned it and prepared it for cooking.  I am so excited about using this oven and not having the hot dutch ovens outside.  We do NOT cook inside during the summer because it raises our home temperature so it is a lot of barbecue or dutch oven cooking.  This new "Sun Oven" looks so much easier. 

Sunday, I taught a Young Women lesson on Forgiveness and the girls were wonderful about sharing examples and reinforcing the importance of forgiving each other, family, etc.  I cooked beef enchiladas in the

round pans and stacked them.  I have cooked something in the oven almost every day to see how it works.  The instruction book said you just have to try it to see how it works.  I LOVE IT!

No hot briquet's and heavy dutch ovens.  Just an easy pan in and out of the oven.  I do have to move the oven with the sun each 1/2 hour or hour.  

Monday-  Cleaned house and for Family Home Evening went with Jared and his family to Kaweah Oaks Preserve on a walk.  It was fun to see the rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks.  The kids had lots of fun getting out in a field and away from the house.  We came home and had dessert. 

Tuesday, Clifford had surgery on his left hand because he had another trigger finger that would not open and close correctly.  It is an out patient operation and he feels much better.  Tuesday the missionaries were coming for dinner so I made an apple crisp in the sun oven.  Wonderful!

Wednesday - We worked around the house and I got to sew on my new machine while the children were gone to the beach.  I am trying to do a few Christmas presents and see what this Viking can do.  I also go out all the yarn and looms for the Hats of Hope project at school and got them organized and taken over to the school library.Clifford mowed the lawn and I made zucchini bread in the Sun Oven.  A friend found two zucchini that were huge, I don't know how you overlook them.  The oven holds two loaf pans side by side and the bread was moist and delicious.  I took one loaf with me to YM/YW swimming party and it was gone fast.  "I love Zucchini Bread" was a common comment."  I liked I did not heat up my house. 

Friday - Jared and Danell went to the early morning session at the Fresno Temple and Clifford and I babysit.  The kids and I went to the park while it was cool and played for an hour.  Then we came home and cleaned all the pine needles out from under the trees in the front yard. It sure looks better. I figure I only have to do this once a year.

Today we cooked chocolate chip cookies in the oven.  They are very moist.  It is nice because you can cook about 10 cookies on each rack so 30 at a time in 20 minutes.  The top ones are a little browner then then bottom but all are moist and done. 

Clifford sent a couple of hours Friday playing with the children with magnets.  They tried all kinds of neat tricks.  Remember how fascinating they were when we were little. Being a grandparent is lots more fun than raising our own children.  We can go to the bedroom and relax if they are to wild. 

Saturday- is our ward social and I am in charge of the home made root beer and dessert (rootbeer floats)

We are doing a pioneer activity with Grandma Donna Howell celebrating her 97th birthday.  The Primary is in charge of the pioneer games.  I don't think I will cook today since we are having a barbeque at the Rogers house.

December 2010

I decided it was time to get back to the blog since so many of you do such a wonderful job at your blogs. It is so fun to read and see the pictures on your blogs. So I guess I will need to try again.

I am glad that so many of you e-mailed Clifford and told him he needed to continue writing the newsletters. He really does have a talent for writing.

We only have tw0 weeks of school and then off for vacation.

March 2009

Diane has been busy organizing how to rotate the 3 month supply and have it easy to access. I decided to change the coat closet into a pantry as well as the linnen closet. So we put shelves in and one holds the 14 recepies of breakfast and the other has the dinner supplies. I have the recipe with the food for each meal grouped together. It has been nice to find things. I have been teaching food storage classes again and wanted to make it easy to follow the prophets advice to have a 3 month supply of food that we use and rotate it.

Jared, Danell, Hannah, Ammon, and Debra came to live at our house this month. They are doing very well and we love having them here. Hannah likes to swing and slide down the two slides. She has helped Grandpa plant garden, and water the plants. She just goes outside by herself lots of times and swings and swings.

Hannah loves to sing and is very good playing with Ammon and loves kissing Debra who smiles at her. We are not sure if she recognizes her or if her hair tickles Debra's face when she kisses her.

Jonathan these kids are so glad that you spent so many days putting together this swing and slide project. Dad said he would not have been able to get it done. The rope latter on the back side was rotting so Dad and Jared had to buy new nylon rope and rungs and but it together.

Jared has been hunting for a job and went to COS and took the placement test and saw and counselor and got two years of school outlined with the classes he needs. I am sure glad he has decided to go back to school and get an education.

Danell has been accepted to sing with the group called Harmoney in Kingsburg so every Thursday they go to Selma and sing and the kids play with the other children there. She has a nice voice and enjoys this. Then they go to her parents and play with cousins for a few hours.

Diane is busy working on her two on line classes and Clifford is trying to learn how electric things work. He made his first little tooth brush robot and the kids watched it walk around a piece of paper. Pretty impressive.

Debra has really grown and now weighs 10 pounds and is 20 inches long. I think everyone that comes to live at our house get round cheeks.

Great Grandma Bunny made each of the children a quilt. Just like all of the family and Hannah want to show Grandma that she is using it on her bed.

February Activities

February has been pretty busy. Clifford has been getting the garden ready to plant the last week. We did some "No Till Gardening" beds and cleaned out the original tires. This is along the back of the house and we are planting tomato plants here. We can run them up on strings to the eves. We will do some Roma also.
Then planted some seeds in the house. Maybe we started those bush beans a little too soon they are already about 2 feet tall. We have small corn shoots in the kitchen and then in the living room. I am excited to do more gardening this summer because food and gas prices are going up again.

Today is February 15th and Clifford set all these little plants outside today so I pray we do not get a frost tomorrow morning. Some of you are saying it is a little early for this but we can hit 100 degrees by May or June at the latest so we have to plant early.










We asked Victor and Elaine Howell if we could plant corn at their home because they have more sun in their back yard and have a large garden area. They wanted to do some raised beds or truck tires so we helped them bring two tires to their yard and got them cleaned and set up. Then cleaned the garden spot and are ready to plant some corn and watermelon, squash, and large things at their home. We will share lettuce and tomatoes from our house.
















Ricky Johnson, has a walnut orchard and a small farm so they brought us over about 40 pounds of walnuts and some goose eggs and 2 dozen hen eggs. He had a dark variety of walnuts and the market has really dropped so they did not pick and take to the commercial companies. We were blessed. Wow!
We had scrambled eggs and pancakes and last years cherries for breakfast with the missionaries. Clifford has been spending many hours cracking walnuts and putting them in freezer bags. We are working on that next years supply.

Thank you all for the calls and "Birthday" wishes. Lily and Kate sent a wonderful picture and called to tell me about Valentine Day also Eve. It is fun to hear from these little ones and their parents. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding what they are saying but their cute little voices are music to the ears. We love you all.

2008 Christmas in Oregon

December 20, 2008

Clifford and I got up and left for Oregon to visit Duane and Leona Clatworthy for Christmas. The weather was in the 40's with roads clear and beautiful in California. We knew a winter storm was coming to Oregon and thought if we could get through the 3 high passes before it hit we would be fine. It is a 14 hour drive and by 7:00 p.m. we were in Salem Oregon. The roads had been clear all the way over the passes but it was cold and starting to snow. Yeah! not much further to go.

At Salem, It started raining and freezing ice on the roads and car windows. We had so much slush we had to stop and put on chains. We drove slowly and saw a sign that said Oregon City 9 miles but missed the turn because big trucks were off the road putting on chains for miles and miles.

I looked out the window and saw the Portland temple and knew we were too far. We took the next ramp off the freeway. The snow was about 7 inches by then and drifting and NO snow plows. We tried to go up a hill back onto the freeway to turn around but broke one of the chains on the tire. Now we were stuck in the snow so we had to call Dad. Jerry and Kevin, Dawn's husband and son, came in their 4 wheel drive truck with extra chains to help us get back to their house. We made it home by midnight. We really appreciate their time and effort. I kept thinking if we could find a motel for the night it would be better in the morning. But, good thing they took us home because it was much much worse the next morning.

December 21, 2008

Sunday Church was cancelled and no roads were open. Mom, teaches Gospel Doctrine so at 10:00 we had Sunday School together and talked about the gospel. Of course we played games and enjoyed the warm house and family. It snowed about 8 inches and then rained forming about a 1/2 inch layer of ice on everything. Then it snowed more so when you walked you hit the ice and would slide or break through the ice and it would cut into your legs.

Later in the day Mom took some lemons and oranges to the neighbors and walked with her cane so she would not fall. It had snowed 16 inches by that time. Oregon does not have many snow plows so they were not plowing the freeways or the side roads.

Monday December 22, 2008

Dad put chains on his truck and went to the store for us and may other people. Many areas were without electricity because of the ice storm that came during the night. Dawn had tree limbs falling in her yard and Dad and Clifford went to the shed to make sure the 4 generators were working just in case. Dawn came over because she could not go to work and the people that were at work were having to stay. Mom put on a quilt for one of the granddaughters and we visited and quilted.

Clifford had to get into the car for his medicine and He swept the snow off the car, broke through the layer of ice then swept the next layer of snow off the car and then took his can opener on his Swiss Army Knife and cut the ice out of the slit between the door and the metal frame. We laughed because he had to use his can opener to get into the car. It snowed all day and night.

Tuesday, December 24, 2008

Dad got out the tractor and started clearing our driveway so that we could get out if needed. He worked at it all day and it was still snowing (this picture is two days later and he is clearing the drive way again) He went out to water and feed the 2 cows and work around. At about 4:00 Tuesday our electricity went out and 2 hours later Dad decided he better hook up the generator to the house so we had heat and the fridge and water pipes would be ok. We stayed up until 12:00 p.m. to see if we needed to put more gas in the generator but it ran for a long time on a gallon. Another big storm is suppose to hit the area on Christmas.

Wednesday, December 25, 2008

Dawn, Jerry, Neal, Page, Tyler Clifford, Diane, Mom, Dad came to Mom and Dad's for dinner. We also invited the neighbors because they did not have food and were cold and hungry when the electricity went out. Of course this brought on a discussion about preparedness and food storage and the church. Dad had cleared their drive and 4 other people on the block the day before. I was so grateful for the example of Mom and Dad in helping others around them and it was something they do all the time not just in an emergency. It made me think of the teachings of the Savior and I was so thankful for them.

Grandpa Duane and Page Neal, Dawn, Bunny playing games

Thanksgiving 2008

Clifford and I went to spend a few day with Gerald and Bonnie Good at QUARTZSITE, AZ. It is amazing the change that happens here during the winter when all the "Snowbird" older people come. The above picture is what it looks like in the summer and most of the time and the trailer town below is what happens in the winter. Our visit in November, the population is just starting to come by January it is huge.

Quartzsite is west of Phoenix at the junction of Interstate 10 and US 95, near the Colorado River. The community has a Sonoran Desert setting. The nearby Kofa, New Water and Plomosa Mountains provide topographic relief while the Colorado River lies only 17 miles to the west. Quartzsite was established in 1867 on the site of old Fort Tyson, a privately built structure constructed in 1856 by Charles Tyson for protection against Indian raids. Named Quartzsite because quartz was occasionally found in the area, the name evolved to Quartzsite through an error in spelling. The Town is currently is 130 sq. miles.

A rock hunter's paradise surrounds Quartzsite with agates, limonite cubes, gold and quartz being just a few. In town, the Hi Jolly Monument honors the Greek & Syrian camel driver Hadji Ali, who took part in an unsuccessful 1850's U.S. War Department attempt to use camels as beasts of burden in the desert. To the south rise the Kofa Mountains.

Tourism is the major contributor to Quartzsite's economy. The retail trade and services sectors benefit from the visitors who reside at the numerous mobile home parks in the vicinity between October and March. Nine major gem, mineral, and 15 general swap-meeting shows are popular tourist attractions, attracting approximately 1.5 million people annually.

There are definitely a lot of cactus around and some quit amazing. Also, beautiful sunsets.

On Thanksgiving Day we went to Phenix, Arizona to Tracy Frakes' home and met Carolyn and Charles Frakes. It was nice to see them again. We have not seen them for many years. Hope the rest of the family had a great Thanksgiving. It is definitely for family and friends sharing love, faith, and great food.

Intersession Week

My children know that Intersession Week out of school always means getting more things done around the house. This was true for this one also. Since I could not travel to see my wonderful grandchildren I had time to complete projects or do basic up keep.

Monday, Clifford and I scrubbed down the kitchen, ceiling, walls, floors, waxed wood cabinets.
It is amazing how dirty the area gets even when you think you are doing basic cleaning weekly. Tuesday I had a final in my California History class and studied but had time to cut out and make a baby blanket for Cindy Valenzuela who is expecting her first baby. She lives with her husband in Tulare. Her mother had a baby shower on Saturday evening and served us all a wonderful Mexican dinner home made tamales of course, beans, rice, salad, and cake.

Wednesday, I had a math final and really stressed out about this one. The instructor had given us a 3 page study sheet and I spent many hours doing each problem step by step and writing it out. I have a hard time with math so wanted to get some of this information to stay in the brain. When I went to class that evening the teacher gave us a test word for word, problem for problem from the study sheet. However, there are only 10 problems. I was able to go through all of them and do the test. One of the problems had huge numbers and my calculator could not do the work so I wrote him a note what the answer was and that I had done it on the worksheet using my computer to do the addition. Hope I will get partial credit for not showing all the work.

Thursday, Elder Shiveley and Elder Walker, did some service, with Cliff and I and went to Grandma Howell's and picked two ice chests full of pomegranates. Then we came home and took out all the seed. My children will remember this process. However, Clifford had researched on YouTube and found that if you cut the pomegranate into sections like an orange and then hit it with a wooden spoon all the seed just fall out. Really they FALL out in one handful. Really fast and easy. We than juiced them in our juicer and got 5 gallons of juice. That is a LOT. I than started making jelly. After using up all my pectin I canned 6 quarts of juice to make up into jelly next year when this jam is gone or give it to the kids and they can make their own jelly.

The Bunny Hop!

On Wednesday October 1st, we went to the vineyard north of Fresno to pick up raisans. The crop was huge this year. The largest ever. I drove the tracker and other high priests and Sister Hightower did the picking up. We were there about three hours and picked up eight bins of raisans. Each bin is 4' x 4' x 2' and each weighs about 500 lbs heaping full. There are 300 rows in the vineyard. We picked up four rows. Let's see two bins per row equals a 1,000 lbs per row times 300 rows. That's 300,000 lbs of raisans.

On the way home Brother Hightower said to come out to his place and get rid of all the rabbits. They have eaten their lawn down to nothing and converted it all to fertilizer. So, Mike Rogers and I went out Thursday evening and saw four rabbits and got one. Also, Mike shot a quail at 100 yds and I said let's go get it. We started out and a red tailed hawk swooped down a grabbed the quail before we went 10 feet. We went back out at dawn the following morning and got six rabbits and the hawk was waiting for us but he went without this time. So now I have six rabbits in the freezer and one in the bread basket. The missionaries ate rabbit for the first time Friday night.

We are starting to pick lettuce from our fall garden. It rained for the first time in six months last week. This week we got a good snow in the mountains. We hope it will be a wet year. Things are quite dry around here.

Turkey tycoons

A week ago we looked at a pound of sliced turkey meat at $4.99 a lb. Then we went a little further and saw a whole turkey for $18.00 with a $10.00 discount. It was an 18 pound turkey for $8.00. Well, that is about $.45 a lb. As James would do we did the weighing in the air and got the whole turkey. Well, yesterday 9/5/08 Diane cooked the turkey and boned it. Then she said, "I need help to grind this turkey. I'm tired." Well, I was tired also, but always willing to please I set about dismantling the grinder. Yes, dismantling. Then I found a 2 1/2 in. carriage bolt and screwed it into the hole where the handle attached. I cut off the bolt top and wrapped a rubber glove around it for traction. After that I got the drill.



The result is what you see here in ten minutes. While I cleaned the grinder and washed the dishes, Diane made about 14 pounds of sandwich spread. We froze all but two pounds and we both sat down and laughed with the missionaries as they came in while we were still grinding. Diane was laughing like she was drinking more grape juice and we got the following pictures for your viewing pleasure.


What you see is a left over chicken breast from dinner. It was so tough that the drill began to smoke. It is a variable speed drill and it needed all the juice it could muster to grind the chicken breast. We had to cover the front of the grinder and the bowl with aluminum foil so the meat didn't fly all over the kitchen. Also, I got to pull the trigger which exercised my trigger finger to keep it in shape.

Entertainment at the Good Table

Many of our children will remember the humming bird feeder right outside our window by the dinning room table. We have had many years of entertainment watching them. This year we have a community of humming birds that visit all day long. Clifford took a video Saturday and it is fun to see them. At one time there are 6 little birds there. One of the missionaries is always talking about catching one of them because they are so small. I don't think that is possible as they move so fast. We are going to have to add at least forty cans of sugar to our food storage just to keep the birds fed this year. We figured they use 4 cups of sugar a week or 208 cups a year. They go through this quart container of sugar water about every three days. (Mom and Dad this is a huge video 31 M so it would take you all night to get it.) Sorry, Cliff got a little carried away.

End of Summer Vacation

Clifford and I did another house project this week that we need to finish on Monday. I decided it was time for Clifford to get good shelves on his side of the garage so we used the others as models and scrounged around the house and grounds and found enough wood to make the frame. We just need to by some plywood for the shelves themselves. I hope this will clean up the garage again and put everything in a proper place. I have had nice shelves for many years and put food storage and household things in them.

I have really enjoyed reading the blogs and e-mails. James and Mandy your new home looks wonderful. I love the hardwood floors, the yard, The white farmer's porch and all the pictures. I am glad you have a fire place too in case of emergencies. I bet you are really excited to have a home of your own. It is really really nice. We are so excited for you. I loved Lily's idea of "putting a person's letter on paper and that means you love them." Sweet words of love from the children, no wonder the Savior knew how important they are.

This is the last week of summer school and I start back to work at the library on Monday for a few hours each day.

Our missionaries will transfer this week and Elder Shivley(left side) will stay and Elder McCord (right side) who has been here since March right out of the MTC is going to Porterville. Elder Shivley will be training a new missionary. It is so fun to see them grow in experience and love of the gospel. It is fun to talk with them about the gospel and missionary work. Elder Shivley is the district leader and will be a trainner for this next transfer. We also have a new mission president this Month so a lot of changes.

Adam Hightower got married this weekend and we went to his reception last night. All these kids have grown up in the ward and are doing so well. Our kids remember him as a little boy.

Life has been good this week. Our garden is growning and almost done. We have had cucumbers, yellow summer squash, tomatoes, carrots, green beans. It is nice to have a chance to try to raise things and to have learned these skills from parents at home. Thanks to Mom and Dad Clatworthy who were hard workers and good examples to us.

Trying New Experiences

So many of our family have started their own blogs we decided to try out this new media. It is amazing how fast things change in this computer world and there is no way to keep up the the "younger generation". It is fun to go on and see their pictures and families.

Since it is Sunday and we do our family news letter I guess we will get started. Clifford hooked up the old video cam again because Daniel, Brittany and Eve wanted to see and talk with us. That was fun and Eve is talking so much. However, Daniel could not get our sound to come through. We could hear and see them just fine. So we called Jonathan and he did not have the camera hooked up but we did a voice conversation and our mike worked just fine. So Daniel I guess it was on your end of the connection.

I have been so amazed at the good things our children have been doing to keep in shape so I decided to ride my bike home from Visalia which is 12 miles on Wednesday. It was only 98 degrees outside but I did not have on a hat and by the time I got home I was exhausted and a little red. But I made it and will try again this week. It is a good thing I did all those tests in Boston to see what kind of shape I am in. Now I know there is no excuse for not doing more exercise except lazyness.

Clifford and I have been doing some projects around the house to take care of the weeds. We and the missionaries poured a patio on the North side of the house. You can see the corner of the dutch oven table, then on the left side is a huge rose that blooms all the time if we keep the dead heads off and then the bar-be-que grill and of course the carbage cans. However, no weeds. The humming bird feed is busier than ever this year with at least 4 birds all the time. They drink that container full each week. I will need a can of sugar in the food storage just for them.

As you can tell we have not done the side walk at the end of the patio yet.

Also to make our home more organized and give us more room for things we built a metal shed and cleaned out the garage. Our next project is to build shelves in the garage to organize the stuff that we have in there.

You see our truck tire garden with squash and cucumbers. Clifford brought in 6 yellow squash to day and 4 cucumbers. The tomatoes have slowed down in the heat but will come back with lots as soon as the weather starts to cool off.

Dad will notice that Clifford is learning from him and has gone sky high. I do not know how we will pick the cherry tomatoes if they go to the top of the pole. I did not know how to rotate the picture so I guess you will have to turn your head.

I have been going to summer school and Clifford has been working so not much time for fun and vacations. However, I spent two weeks in Boston with James, Mandy, Lily and Kate and it was wonderful.

Well, I guess I will see if this new experience is going to work and if you can read my creation.