The best flea market ever

Yesterday was the annual BFA Spring flea market. I had several large boxes of stuff we had sorted through and just wanted to get rid of. Most of it was the girls' old treasures from days gone by. We decided we would set up a table at the flea market and just give it all way.
(Toby looked so cute carrying this plant that I just had to take a picture of him!)
And that's what we did. We actually only got a few benches as the tables were for the more "serious" flea marketers. But that was fine. We were placed outside where all the traffic moved in and out of the "real" flea market.
People were somewhat incredulous that everything was free, however, they adjusted to the idea rather quickly and our stuff moved at an incredible pace.
I left the flea market 2 hours before it was officially over with a small box containing about half a dozen items that hadn't been scooped up. Yes, it was the best flea market ever!

Volunteers

My pumpkin patch has had a mind of its own this Spring which was quite a surprise to me.
However, once I had dug out all the "volunteers", I was able to plant my own little plants and reorganize the others.

This was a few days ago. Notice all the blue patches. It's the real slug solution - much better than beer and easier to clean up! It has rained a lot since I took this picture and all my little plants are doing well. Now I just need to get into the garden and get my sunflowers planted. It's getting rather urgent!

Liquid sunshine

The last few days have been pretty humid for this time of the year and we've had some major rain storms. I love it when the sun shines and it rains. It somehow takes me right back to my childhood when I would stand on the front steps and try to figure out how the sun could be shining when it was pouring rain....

Hot lunch

I'm way behind. Last Friday was hot lunch for the dorm we sub at. Every other week the dorm dad (with the help of his staff) whips up an amazing lunch and brings it over to the school for the girls to enjoy.
It was absolutely delicious and I ate way too much!
It was a another beautiful day so the kids and staff were all outside to eat their lunches and enjoy the weather.

Decorating committee

Last night was the Jr/Sr banquet. Katy was on the Junior class decorating committee for this event. She was on a sub-committee of one - herself - in charge of "walls". Last Friday Bethany and I joined her committee and we worked hard for 4 hours drawing and cutting these black silhouettes. It was a big, big job but the end result was certainly worth it. The theme for the evening was "Do dreams come true?", thus the whimsical silhouettes from Neverland.

Sunny days

When the weather gets nice the kids love to be able to sit outside for their classes. And, the teachers usually indulge them...
...because they enjoy it too.

The chore

There are not very many things I don't like doing - especially work. Give me a project and I'm happy. However, there is one job that is a chore for me and I just don't enjoy it at all. We are responsible to keep the street in front of our house free of weeds. Yes, it's true and I think it's ridiculous too. The worst part is that our section of the street is cobblestone and the dirt and weeds build up in there almost overnight.
Yesterday I couldn't stand it any longer so I tackled this odious project
It takes about two hours from start to finish.
The results are worth it, even if I can hardly stand up or walk once the job is done.

Shakin' all over

At exactly 3:39 this morning we were awakened by a shaking bed, creaking house and rattling doors on our wardrobe. Our sleepy little town had experienced a 4.5 magnitude earthquake! Reports said it had lasted less than a second, however, those of us who were shaken awake know that it was longer than that!

The epicenter of the quake was located in a small village about 12 km from us.

We actually live on quite a significant fault line and this wasn't our first earthquake experience since we've lived here. There were lots of stories to tell at school this morning!


In October of 1356, the city of Basel, which is just across the Swiss border from us, was completely destroyed when an earthquake which they believe to have been of 6.2 magnitude struck the city. Here's what happened: The earthquake struck northwest Switzerland, centering round the town of Basel. It completely destroyed the city; all major structures, including churches, castles and fortresses, within a 30 kilometer radius of Basel were destroyed. It is recorded that a precursor existed around 7 to 8 p.m., with the main earthquake striking at around 10 p.m. The earthquake was felt widely across Europe, even in areas as far as Zürich and Konstanz.

Wisteria

Now it's time for these lovely vines to produce their colours. They are absolutely beautiful and the bees sure do like them!

Kalte Sophie

My "greenhouses" are in full production. Actually, the rate of growth in them this year is a bit unsettling. I cannot plant my little plants until May 15, which is called "Cold Sophie". That is the day after which one can "guarantee" there will be no frost. So, I have to hold off a bit on the planting and in the meantime, will my plants to slow down!

May Day

Last night when we were at the dorm we saw the Maypole procession coming into town. After supper we zipped downtown to see the last efforts of putting up the pole in celebration of today - May Day.


We weren't surprised to see a tent set up with someone selling "Wurst".
This was an event and selling food made it just that!