Baptizing The Fire Pit...With Fire And S'mores

 It was my wife's idea and I give her full credit. When we planned out the backyard, we designated a few non-grass areas, for gardens and a patio. Last weekend, we officially christened the DIY project with fire...

And s'mores.

There were a lot of firsts, the first time we had a party in the backyard, the first time we were able to gather and allow the dog to run free in a fenced yard. We looked at the weekend forecast and decided Saturday night would be the best night for the party/Mother's Day celebration because it was supposed to rain on Sunday.

We spent the day getting ready, making sure the last-minute details were taken care of. Then, we gathered and lit the fire. Interesting thing about that fire pit--most of those rocks came from that small-ish hole. Some people have sandy soil, others rich in nutrients...ours--full of rocks. It was my wife's idea to just dig a hole instead of buying a pre-made fire pit. It's a wonderful idea that turned out great.

We hauled out all the chairs and a small table and then the rain hit. We quickly gathered supplies and ran inside. After a while, the rain ebbed so we went back outside and made s'mores. They were delicious.

I wonder if my kids will look back on this first party in the yard and remember it. Will they remember the rain, the cold wind, the fire that stayed lit through the rain and created enough heat to toast the marshmallows?

I sure hope so...

And that goes for me, too.

Give Thanks...Good Neighbors--And A Lot Of Rocks

 Moving can be scary. Flat out, one-hundred percent. There are many things that can make it scary, one of which is who you're going to live next to...the neighbors. And to add to the equation, we had the best neighbors where we used to live--and not just because I personally chose (or persuaded...) many of them to live next to us. No, they are top-notch, quality families. We love them and it was tough leaving that street because of it.

I think our moving experience was unique. The pandemic created its own unusual situations, and almost everyone in our neighborhood was new. The people were friendly, but we rarely saw anyone. People were "encouraged" to not interact with each other. Thankfully, we did so anyway.

A new home means a new yard. The builders gave us a finished house, but they left the yard to us. We've been working like dogs in the yard since the spring, but there was one thing we could not do by ourselves. Well...we could, but it would have taken us months to do it.

Move tons of rocks.

When we put in our sprinkler system, we didn't want anything to grow on the north side of the house or the park strips. We looked into buying landscape rocks and having them delivered, but when we saw huge piles of rocks in our neighbor's back yards, we had an idea, and after speaking with those neighbors, we came up with a plan. Move the rocks to our lot.

Our neighbor Gary offered to move the rocks for us. For just over a week he drove his skid steer from his house to the rock piles to our house where he dumped them and we placed them where we wanted them to go. So much work. Yet, our neighbor brought load after load and when we discussed payment--he would have none of it.

We've only been here less than a year and the more we get to know our neighbors, the more blessed we feel. We're grateful that they've welcomed us and made us feel a part of their community. Good neighbors and rocks...sometimes they're related.