The great pattern hunt

We've had a full house lately. First my inlaws, now a very dear friend and her fiance. They are getting married the summer after this, so naturally she and I have been shopping. They want a western style wedding. (This seems odd to me, as both of them are from the east coast, but that's what they want.) They came to the right place to find accessories, though the local stores are about sold out after the rodeo. So, we have looked at cowboy hats and boots, and at least a thousand dress patterns, mostly online. It is nearly impossible to find something that is a) modest, b) short sleeved, c) western style. We found a bridesmaid dress that can be altered a little to make it look western. We're still looking for one for the bride.
We spent a lot of money on fake flowers, and we've put together all the corsages and boutineers already, we've still got the bouquets to do. I will be matron of honor, Beau will be ring bearer. It's a good thing he's got another year to grow up, first! The hat lady at the western store was surprised how big his head is already. We won't get his hat or boots until a couple months before the wedding anyway, but it was fun to see him try one on. He got to see the Dodge Nat'l Circuit Finals Rodeo when it was in town a couple weeks ago, but I don't know if he made the connection between the cowboys' hats and the cowboy hats in the store.
I love having friends and family visit, but I'm about to the point of wanting some peace, quiet, and bathroom time to myself! Beau's reading has been sadly neglected, and the ironing pile has gotten so big I think it's breeding! Hemi just dozed off, so it's off to bed for me. Tomorrow we're going to look at fabrics. My friends are only here two more days, so we have to get it done while we can.

Random reading

Last night, after hacking out one-and-a-half fairly decent scenes, I picked up my Bible. I have several, this particular one is an NIV. The others are King James, which is what I grew up with and have always liked best. It's interesting to read the NIV because of the differences in translation. It's an easier read, and I don't know if that's good or bad. I read fast.
I opened the Bible at random, to Habakkuk 2. Verse 19 particularly caught my attention, perhaps because I was sitting in front of the computer. "Woe to him that says to wood, 'Come to life!' Or to lifeless stone, 'Wake up!' Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it." I know the verse in question is refering to idols, but my mind referenced it to computers. It was an interesting thought. Perhaps it does refer to computers.

I flipped back and reread all of Habakkuk. It's short. I don't recall when Habakkuk's prophecies refer to. Can someone tell me if they are future or past? Thanks.

Important if you're in Idaho

Go here, enter your zip code, and prepare to be angry. I think this'll be a great tool when/if we decide it's time to buy. I wonder how the local real estate agents feel about this?
My mom sent the link to me with a note that she doesn't know why we let them out. I replied with: Another great reason to carry concealed. Mom does not like the idea of her baby packing.

Teeth and other happenings

Hemi got his first tooth, at the ripe old age of ten months. He has seven more looking like they're about to burst through. Meme and Pepe, my husband's folks, get here Friday. The house looks well lived in. I let the boys have an old catalog, then there are blocks and Hot Wheels cars everywhere. Hemi overturned the wastebasket in the computer room again and Beau helped by throwing all the paper all over the room. I've got a pile of ironing on the chair in the other room, getting worked on between other projects. Oh, well, they've visited before, and Meme and Pepe always had foster children in addition to their own four, so I'm sure they'll survive the intermittent messes. Meme is nearly compulsive about cleaning, so the real trick is to get her to relax at all when she visits.
I planted my garden plants a week ago, and many of them have already sprouted. Beau and I were just checking them out in their peat pots, and he commented "Smell, Mommy!" I can't tell if he means that he likes it or dislikes it, but I like the smell of wet earth. I've got a dozen tomatos, which have sprouted, six peppers, which haven't, and assorted herbs and flowers. The growing season's pretty short here, but I'm going to plant the veggies along the south side of the house, so I should be able to transplant them in late April or early May. (For the record, the latest killing frost date I remember from childhood is June 22nd.)
It's been a dry winter here, and the legislature is already working on the water battles. Or maybe that's still working on the water battles, I think the current fuss is some years old. We didn't get nearly enough snow this winter, and of course we could still get more, but I'm not holding my breath. I wonder how many drought years we're going to have before they decide this is normal, and the few normal water years are unusually wet. Talking with a friend, we agreed that '98 was the only non-drought year we could recall. Memory is fallible, of course, and I haven't looked up the official statistics. Still, this year seems to be unusually dry, and I expect a bad fire season. People will keep building up on the hills, and leaving the junipers (or cedars, they're also called) around their houses. I understand the liking for native vegetation, but it's kind of like putting rags soaked in kerosene around your house!
We found the Jump Start discs on sale at Walmart and got Beau the preschool disc. He really likes it. I don't know if he is learning much, he seems to be deliberately doing things wrong because he likes the characters' reactions. He doesn't like to wait to listen to the instructions, either, but he has mastered the connect-the-dots books on the easiest levels, so I'm pretty sure he's solid on 1-5 and A-E now. He has the letters up on the wall, too. He loves the computer, and Daddy's promised to teach him programming as soon as reads well enough. Probably at least two or three more years. Being able to really make the computer do what he wants is going to be a good motivator once he understands.