rodents and tires and bugs, oh my!

I am back from a long weekend in Manhattan, KS at my dad's new house. It was a hard weekend, working on gutting the place so that they can remodel. We tore out fiberglass insulation and tile ceiling to reveal BEAUTIFUL wood-panel, sloped ceilings. We found a couple scorpions (yes, we have those in Kansas!). We found 3 brown recluse spiders. Nida and I alone hauled 14 carts of trash to the curb to be picked up, including 20 (TWENTY!) old tires that had been thrown back in the woods behind the house. We kept the cleanest looking one for the tire-swing. We found old car parts. In the garage Nida climbed up onto the loft and tossed down garbage. Then she found a bucket. She moved it and screamed. It had sloshed on her and she said, "It smells like human waste!" I went and got my dad and he hauled it off. When he came back he said a mouse and a rat had died in there. NICE! Apparently the mouse had a huge growth on its neck and was seriously decomposing.

The funniest part of the weekend: Talking to Nida I said, "I am so sore from all that hammering and screwing I did yesterday." Not meaning for it to sound remotely as dirty as she took it!
The best part of the weekend: The hot tub at the hotel. We stayed in a hotel because the house wasn't ready to be lived in yet. The hot tub was a welcome oasis at the end of every night!
Most disappointing part of the weekend: Our plans to cook over open fire on the beach under a blanket of stars on Sunday night were foiled by millions (and I do mean millions) of baby dragonflies that had infested the area. They sure do love that driftwood!

When it's all done it is going to be beautiful! A retreat for family and friends! I am already planning a trip to go down with friends hopefully in late-September/early-October to stay there and hike around the Kanza Prairie and the Flint Hills and drink wine in the cool evening while sitting on the front deck looking towards the lake and up towards the stars. All the leaves will be changing and it will be SPECTACULAR! Fall is my favorite season for sure! I can't wait!

Having never spent any time in Manhattan whatsoever, I discovered that it's not such a bad town after all. Yes, I actually said that. Out loud. On my blog. In written form for all to read. I feel like a traitor to Lawrence, home of the Jayhawk!

It's good to be home sleeping in my own bed and back in the blogging world. I missed all my internet friends! I wish it had been more of a vacation though. I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.