summer 2011

summer 2011

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012
family

Thursday, July 13, 2023

just gorgeous...

 

The weather is gorgeous....breezy and sunny and warm, birds singing...it's just so absolutely summery.  Our new couch is not too shabby either.  That's my comfy chair in the corner, with the Little Tikes chair, which is my footrest.  My chair reclines and has a footrest, but I prefer the little chair.  And it looks fantastic ha.
I do like the new couch.  The grandkids can't eat on it though.  :). When our kids were little, they could watch a movie and have popcorn, but when we had so many kids here, we had them make nests on the floor or sit at the coffee table, if they were allowed to eat in the living room.  It was hard enough to keep the house clean without the added mess of food on the furniture.  Now the teenagers are fine to sit there and watch a show and have a snack, but they're more careful.  (When our kids were little, they ate in booster seats or high chairs, then were washed before getting down...these days parents just give their kids snacks, or chocolate, or popsicles, and let them roam freely...sticky is not cute.  Kids are cute, but sticky, drippy, nope.)
Someone's water bottle, and my new sander charger, but other than that, ha, love the summery breeze blowing in the windows...
The first zucchini!  I want to pick it today and make zucchini bread!

See Sunny under the table where it's nice and cool?  Maybe I should lie down there too ha.


Eleven years ago, they were such babies still!  Now I have grandkids older than they were (8, 6, 5).  (My oldest grandchild is 9 and a half)

Yesterday Camille had physical therapy.  I do not like accompanying her, but I do because she likes me to go with her.  I don't like it because it's very chilly in there, but I try to make the best of the time with her.  
We went to Target and Aldi with Kathryn after.  I bought some seltzers, deodorant and hair mousse for Camille, cold brew, and one little toy.  In Ald, just a few groceries. When we were passing McDonalds, Achilles announced that he was really hungry.  Cam asked him if it was because of the Golden Arches, and said, "No, I don't want Golden Arches, I want French fries." 

Dinner last night:  Cornell chicken breasts, grilled.  (marinated in vinegar, olive oil, spices, and an egg, all whisked up), with salad (lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions). We also had blackberries from the side yard (they're growing like crazy this year!), and cherries.   

It's supposed to rain later today, so I have to get out to the pool and do some moving.  It's nice out, but it'll be warmer in an hour or so.  The girls are not here today, Camille has a summer babysitting job on Thursdays and Fridays, and Sonja and Charlotte Claire are working doing landscaping, weed-whacking, ect.  Paul is working, and it's too quiet here.  But the quiet days are interspersed with crazy busy days, so I cannot complain.  

Ah well....time to get moving again.  For the record, I didn't just sit here and write this.  I got up to see what FedEx was dropping off, and to make sure the dogs didn't get out to bark at the nice delivery guy (it was a tire for my car, we are ordering another one too, so at least it's more safe to drive before we find out the underlying issues.).  I am hoping my big Amazon order comes soon, a package of 100 sanding disks for my new orbital sander.  It's cheaper to order a hundred than to buy fifteen from the hardware store.  

I am going to say this again:  I wish I had an indoor pool.  One of those endless pools, that's deep enough to swim in, and has the current you can turn on and adjust.  You can also warm the water and use it as a huge-0 hot tub.  I would turn one of the downstairs rooms into a pool room.  Now, this is NOT going to happen, as I never buy lottery tickets, but one can dream.  I am just finding more and more that moving in the water helps me so much.  Emily reminded me how lucky I am to have such a beautiful community pool five miles away to use in the winter, and she's right.  It's amazing, and our health insurance reimburses for half the yearly membership.  And, for summer, ahh, the backyard pool...no, I cannot complain.

I just sat here and cut the underwires out of a swimsuit.  They made it uncomfy, and they were placed awkwardly, made the suit so low in order to have them under, so I got out my kindergarten scissors and snipped them out.  I have SO many bathing suits.  They get all stretched out from the chlorine though, even if you wash them after.  So I wear the stretched out ones at home.  So there are at-home clothes, and at-home bathing suits.  I get nervous wearing the really old stretched out ones though, because it would be the worst possible emergency scenario, worse than having something happen when your hair really needs washing.  I am convinced that if I go out and about in my sweatpants or other lovely stay-at-home clothes, I will get pulled over, with the complete, "Mam, can you step out of the vehicle?" (it will take me so long to get out, as when I get flustered, I move slower), and if the officer asks me to turn left or right, he'll end up slapping the cuffs on because I will do the opposite.  The joke will be on him though, because my hands won't REACH in the back.  Shh, that's my secret greatest fear, having my hands cuffed behind my back.  I cannot even imagine how painful it would be for me.  It would be punishment enough for whatever crime I might commit, so I'm planning on being good.

Ah well...have a good day, and be good!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my, you're making me laugh 🤣 Some of those home photos above looked like they were from a magazine! Enjoyed hearing about your day!
Valerie

Cassandra said...

The other night I had to go pick up my daughter from her boyfriend's late in the evening. I decided to stay in my pjs and leave a certain undergarment off. I told everyone at my house "Now watch, I am going to get in a wreck or pulled over" because I NEVER leave like that! Got to the house just fine, was waiting about 2 minutes and a cop pulled up behind me with lights on! Just checking to see if everything was okay. WOW. I have picked her up there at least 2 times a week for over a year and NOTHING! The one stinking time! She of course thought it was hilarious!

Love the pics!

Mari said...

:) You made me laugh today. I think you better behave. I don't want to see any reports of you being arrested!
I love your couch! And your coffee table too. It all looks very inviting.

Marilyn said...

Hi Della 👋

Here’s me able to get onto the comments today 😳


Your house looks lovely and your new couch is too! I can feel the summer breeze coming in your window. Everything looks so fresh. I know what you mean by some of these offices……..and restaurants……being so cold! I take a sweater everywhere as I feel the cold. Doctors offices seem to be the worst.

I’m just off to the blanket show (bed). My friend thought I was going to a real blanket show when I said that to her! Brahahahahahahaha!!! Have a lovely Friday!

Marilyn from Canada 🇨🇦

Ps……….if you don’t hear from me for a long time it’s because I’m having issues for some reason with Google. My email is
mkreid43@gmail.com

I’ve followed you for so long I don’t want to lose touch. I can see your blog though 🙄

16 blessings'mom said...

Valerie, it's interesting how things stay cleaner around here, with the youngest being 15. But, there are shedding dogs, and visiting grandchildren (which I LOVE)...anyway, this is what my daughter-in-law Grace said about my new couch: "Your living room looks so nice, you'd almost think it was in a nice house." ha.
Mari, I know, I'm trying to be good. Whenever I go over the speed limit, I have a good excuse ready, but just wait, the first time I actually get pulled over I'll draw a blank, or have the lamest excuse..."But Officer, I was in a hurry to get to Target...."
Cassandra, that sounds about right! Wear your pajamas, and police, I knew it was true ha!
Marilyn, the Blanket Show, love it. Ben used to ask the littler kids if they wanted to "watch the back of their eyelids", and they always thought it was a show. I don't want to lose touch either!