3 Days Until Daddy

I forgot how tiring it can be to pack! I'm exhausted! My Labor Day was spent packing the rest of the things in our house. The only items left are clothes for a few days, some necessary toiletries and some books and toys for Abby. Fortunately, I had some help--that is how I finished! Natalie came over in the morning and stayed until 4:30. Our other friends Brent and his daughter Tiffany (I taught her in Seminary) came over and helped also. I could not have done it without the help!

Here are Natalie and Tiffany taking a break and eating the marshmallows that I thought would melt in the truck!
Natalie waiting for me to come and tape up a box!
Plus, Abby played all day with Tray and Ivy and just had the best time. Before she went to their house she had 2 gogurts for breakfast and I just think this is the cutest picture!
I managed to get to the store since we were out of milk and then went to pick Abby up and they fed us dinner. Aren't friends wonderful?
Abby and Ivy were swimming when I got there.
Abby watching Janine make yummy fruit drinks for dinner.
Abby, Tray and Ivy with their popsicles.
Our friends even let Abby take a bath since we haven't had hot water since Wednesday. Our friend Neil came over to fix the water heater and said it was a 10% chance it was the regulator--so very unlikely. He changed another part on it and it did not work. It is a regulator problem and I don't want to spend around $100 for hot water for a couple days. So I will rinse off in the cold water and wash my hair in the sink. I will just have to find places for Abby to take a bath at night! Just another adventure!

Last night Abby and I finished the stories (again) in her Book of Mormon stories book. The other day I discovered a "More Book of Mormon Stories" book that just came out and had to get it. So tonight we started into new stories and enjoyed reading about Lehi's Dream.
(Why is it sideways--I have no idea! It will not cooperate.)

Who Wants Dog Vomit?

Today I observed a little treat in my front yard. Just outside our front door there is a large mulch covered area with pretty little bushes (I don't actually know what any of them are) that have thier own dedicated sprinkler line to keep them healthy. However, hiding in the mulch I found some fine specimens of an ugly little mold/bacteria called "Dog Vomit Fungi." No, I did not make that up; that is the standard nickname for the Fuligo septica that haunts my front yard. The photo below is not from my yard, but is a dead ringer for the six inch diameter blobs I am looking at.

It starts of as a light yellow/white color and then fades to black, from the inside out, and then to an ashy gray that --POOF - blows all over the yard. My neighbor has it too, and she says it because we have clay soil below us that traps the moisture. My online reading confirmed her explanation. Oddly enough, this mold is particularly common in desert areas like Bakersfield and Phoenix, and I'm guessing that is because the soil does trap moisture between my clay dirt and the imported sod and mulch sitting on top.

So how do you get rid of this vomit? That is the fun part. You can't. Sure you can scoop it up and throw it in the trash, but it will be back. There is no chemical treatment that is proven to work, or so I've read. One website said the only way to remove it permanently is to pave over your front yard. Yes, that would look lovely. Another said to only water your yard in the morning so any excess H20 evaporates by the end of the day. I'll give that a try, if I can figure out how to use the high tech sprinkler system that came with our house.

The good news is that I'm reading it is often a seasonal growth that flares up in September, so hopefully this is the only time I have to look at it. So far it is not too wide spread, and since I don't have much of a sense of smell I don't notice the stench I've read about on these websites. Lucky Jen.