but on Fridays!

 On Fridays, we get up in the morning and go to the pool!   Monday, Wednesday, Friday.  This past week, for various reasons, I had to get up early on Tuesday and Thursday too.  wah, poor me, I know, most people have to get up early every single day, and yeah, for like 30+ years being a mom I always did too. But these last few years, well, I have been able to at least take it slower in the mornings when there's no swim class...

Anyway.  This fine day, after swim class I came home, put my feet up, but only for a few minutes, then I vacuumed.  The dryer is on the fritz, so Paul went to pick up a new part, which didn't work, so I am not sure what is happening next with it.  Sonja came over with baby Kaia, Cam and I went to Target with her.  I tried on a few things, but nah, nothing to bring home.  I did get some drinks, and applesauce, potatoes, corn dogs, tootsie pops, and olive oil.  so exciting, ha.  

Home...ahh, home.  I decided to get that sewing machine out.  I'm rusty, guys!  I need more patience and precision.  I did part of my project, but have the lion's share to go, but I was just rather done.  I have to leave soon to drive Camille to Kathryn's house, as they are going up to the lake for a girls' gathering.  I love love love my sewing machine, it's a Husqvarna, which I got used from a sewing machine dealer when Covid first plagued us.  It was a real clandestine deal, where I called them from the curb with my card number, then the guy brought the machine out and put it in the back, no contact.  The nice lady from the shop said she would teach me how to use it when things got back to normal, but at that point we thought just a few weeks?  Anyway.  I have an instruction manual and you-tube.  It sews so smoothly.  

Now it's Saturday morning, I had to get up early, again, to drive Miss Cam to work...she does have her driver's permit, but not her license yet, and Char is in Utah, so...

I have a cake to bake for Monday, thinking if I get it done today, I can frost it tomorrow.  I have to clean the camper, as we are going camping in SIX DAYS!!!!  I have to food plan and pack for that too.  I need to vacuum, as I do every day, and it can use a mop in here.  Outside projects are on hold, as it's going to rain soon.  I hope the rain has a nice time today and tomorrow and leaves us alone for our grand picnic at Ben's house on Monday!  I would request it make itself scarce for the camping trip too, but ha. 

Sleep evaded me in the early hours, truth be told.   I have a lot on my mind, and you know how it is, once you wake up, you have to use the bathroom, then you're wide awake.  I have a nightlight in there, so I don't have to turn on a light, that does help, but I'm trying to do this sewing project, so my mind is whirring...there isn't a pattern, it's a figure-it-out scenario.  This is where I miss my sister, she was a pro at these things!

Tennyson called me yesterday while I was in Target.  I bought him a little toy computer at the thrift store a bit ago, and he really wants to come over to get it.  So I invited them over today for dinner.  :)

I have pork chops, potatoes, applesauce, and either Brussel sprouts or broccoli, or maybe a salad...

Ah well...I am going to move it move it...besides, the cat is meowing incessantly to come back in, again!!!!  Have a good day!

oh no it wasn't easy...

 Looking back on life with lots of kids in the house, all sentimental about those squishy baby cheeks and bedtime stories, and going on adventures with oodles of kids all excited about the littlest things...it's easy to forget how challenging it really was.  Sleep was a precious commodity, and going to the bathroom alone was a rarity...well, I could sometimes manage to get in there and shut the door, but small children like to bang on bathroom doors and put their hands under them, and ask if you're almost done.  I've been known to choose either the one year old or the newborn to bring in with me, for safety reasons...I remember having to decide, on a case case basis, whether it was wiser to bolt down the hall quickly and just go while they were busy and maybe they wouldn't notice I was gone and decide it was a good time to dump the sugar bowl, or to announce it and warn them to be good.  

I had a Couch Monster of clean clothes to put away, things got put away, more came out of the dryer, and it was never 100% gone.  There was a Laundry Mountain in the doorway of the laundry room too.  I tried to get to the bottom of it, I did try.  

Dinner time was a three ring circus.  We used to drink milk with dinner, a gallon a meal.  I'm not sure there was ever a meal without at least one spill.  We used two high chairs and two booster seats, so the smaller children were contained, and the older ones had to ask to be excused, the younger kids wore bibs and got washed up before getting down.  Sometimes when Paul wasn't home for dinner, working late or traveling, I would give them a snack or dessert so I could quickly clean up while they were still at the table.  The floor HAD to be swept after dinner, I assigned it to different kids, and if they didn't do it properly, they had to come back in and do it again.  I tried to be nice about it, but they had to learn to sweep a floor.  I hated crumbs and sticky, still do.  I'm not the best big family mom candidate.  :)

The homework and folders and papers and school clothes and projects...then appointments (braces!  dentist appointments!  well check-ups!)...and every single night, dinner, again!  I remember running a frozen block of chicken under hot tap water, trying to break it apart so I could put it in the oven, good planner I was.  

The shoes and sandals or boots, over by the door were astounding, when 18 of us still lived here.  The coats and jackets and sweaters and snowpants and 9 or ten backpacks at any given time...

The kids could only eat at the table, except when they came home from school, they could sometimes have a snack at the coffee table and watch an afternoon tv show.  It was hard enough to keep the house clean without having yucky sticky hands on the furniture and crumbs everywhere!

Showers and baths...the little ones had recreational baths with toys and bubbles, but shower nights, especially after a day at the beach or the park or somewhere they got really dirty, they lined up in the hallway and had their turns.  I liked clean kids, and the babies and little ones got baths every day.  

Somehow, my sister and I managed to talk on the phone every day.  :). We also managed to go out and about quite frequently:  shopping, whole day excursions to the mall (she had seven girls).  We went to visit our mom, and brought her out and about too.  We went to the zoo, and berry picking, and on picnics, and sometimes she just brought her girls over here and they ran wild in the woods with my kids.  

My favorite thing was rocking a baby to sleep, but I do remember sitting there thinking of all I would accomplish when I laid that sleeping baby down in their little bed...oh, I would go to the bathroom!  I'd wipe down the counters, throw in a load of laundry, maybe change the toddler's diaper, get something out for dinner, make a stack of sandwiches for lunch...then I'd stealthily head down the hallway with that sleeping baby, and a fight would break out, the baby would wake up, and all my dreams of what I would do would slip away.

We didn't have cell phones, and the home phone was it's own version of hell when you have a baby to rock to sleep, or if you're outside with your kids.  I have a confession:  one time I was in the back yard with a bunch of small children, pushing them on the swings and watching them climb the steps and go down the slide, when the phone started ringing in the kitchen...it rang and rang, and I wondered if one of the older kids was sick at school, or something bad had happened to my parents...so I ran up those deck steps and into the house, and it was a spam call...I don't know how they knew I had a baby, but it was a marketing call asking how the new baby was, and I was so mad, I said, "The baby died..."  The poor person sputtered and apologized, and I felt horrible.  I hung up the phone, and prayed to God for forgiveness.

Okay, enough reminiscing for today.  I had a wonderful day...first the pool, then out to lunch with Becky and her two younger children, and Susan, and Grace.  We had a nice time and I missed my sister, but I told Becky she's just like her mama, and that's a compliment.  

Home...I had to vacuum and straighten up a bit, then pick Miss Cam up from work.  We had bacon and eggs for dinner.  It's a beautiful evening, with the windows open and the birds singing, I love spring and summer SO much!  

Emily and Mariel love to hike, they so nicely took Charlotte Claire to Utah with them! 

Char, Emily, Mariel...

Ah well...time to clean up dinner...you have a good evening!

best doctor's appointment ever!!!!

Ha, today was just amazing.  I was heading out the door to my 1:30 appointment, all cleaned up in my bye-bye clothes, even remembered I needed five dollars for the parking garage, and Paul happened to have a fiver on his dresser.   I drove there all by my lonesome, no music on, just the quiet, enjoying the 88 degree day, and the green everywhere.  I found a good close spot in the garage, hobbled in, up to the third floor, to the reception desk, and:  "Your appointment was at 10:30".   oops.  

So, I will go back at the end of July, the first available appointment.  Back to the elevator, down to the garage, paid that five dollars for parking there for like ten minutes, then off I went, to Aldi.  I wasn't all that disappointed, truthfully.  Why do today what you can put off for a few months?  Besides, there is nothing I can do about it, so, enjoy the day!

Aldi:  I did get chocolate ice cream.  It's five ingredients, and SO good.  I will behave and only have a little at a time.  I got apples and bread and cheese, confectioner's sugar, eggs, bacon, cream, frozen broccoli.  I saw a dear friend of Cheryl's there, she was Katie's kindergarten teacher, and has kept close with their family, she's such a nice lady.  She came over and gave me a big hug.  

Then off I went to BJ's for an order pick-up.  Ortho spray for around the house to kill bugs, some mosquito fogger, a package of chicken, a huge-0 bag of Hershey kisses for the candy jar, pepperoni, lots of seltzers and Capri Sun for our Memorial Day picnic, no-sugar added yogurt.  

Then, to the local coffee hut for an iced Americano.  I got one for Camille too, asked the barista what she recommends for flavor, she said half serving cake batter, caramel drizzle, and cinnamon on top.  Okay, and Cam liked it!

Kaia was here today: 

It was like August weather here today.  We went outside for a bit in the front yard, and the mosquitoes were out, so we went to the deck...they didn't find us there ha.  There will be rain and a cold front, more temperate weather, darn it.  I kind of like the tropical heat, although it is draining.  

Tomorrow I'm going to lunch with two of Cheryl's girls, to celebrate a birthday, after the pool.  I have to drive Miss Cam to work, then go pick her up, she usually rides with Charlotte Claire, but Miss Char is in Utah with Emily and Mariel, hiking the national parks.  

Cam and I made dinner tonight, she made Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, and made up the bread crumbs/seasonings for the chicken breast...I pounded it flat, dredged it in egg, dipped it in the crumbs, into the airfryer.  The stuff on the bottom pan on parchment with some olive oil.  Then the rack above it, with no oil.  Of course the oil stuff was better!  But it was all good, and it cooks so fast without heating up the whole house.  I love love my $57 Walmart air fryer, it's a Gourmia with the two doors that swing open in  the middle.  Our old one was a basket fryer, couldn't fit much in it.  This one fits four pounds of frozen chicken wings, and tonight like ten pieces of chicken.  

Tomorrow we are planning to have chicken curry with rice and naan bread.  We do eat a lot of chicken!

Anyway.  Such fun and excitement, right?  It's quiet in here now, Paul just mowed the lawn, the sun is setting and the living room windows are ablaze with sunshine filtering through the tree branches.  The AC is humming, and it's quite comfortable in here.  

You all have a very good evening!

the sad things...

 I just read that one of the public pools in the small city near us won't be opening this summer.  This is just too sad.  Old people and swim classes, and families in the heat of the summer with no place to cool off.  A few years ago, I remember driving through this city, and there was a group of people crossing the street, carrying floaties and towels.  They had swim shorts on, but one of the little boys had boots on.  I figured out how far that pool was from where we were, and it was a good hike, the day was very hot.  But, I was thankful, on their account, that they had a pool to go to.  The county has budget woes, but why cut this?  I don't know.  It's so sad.  

Sad things.  My sister was laid to rest yesterday.  

Her grandchildren laid roses first, and I cried my eyes out...all those beautiful kids growing up without their grandma.  It's too sad.  She was the Good Kind of Grandma, too.  The kind who always had something special, always remembered their birthdays and their favorite colors and had a package of cookies for them.  She was the story-telling kind of grandma, the listening kind too.  They were blessed to have her, but oh my heart just breaks.  

I got to put a rose on there too.  Oh my goodness, my sister.  There aren't words.  But shh, listen to this:  as we prayed, and sang a few songs, and heard some encouraging words about the hope we have, and about what a blessing Cheryl was...there was a teeny tiny spider, dancing around on her coffin.  She hated spiders, loathed and despised them, was quite scared of them, and didn't even like words such as "dangle".  So that spider just pranced all around, and as I sobbed and cried my eyes out, I couldn't help but be amused.  I knew her girls were seeing it too, so I made sure I didn't turn to look at them, because just my luck I would have a graveside laugh attack, the most inappropriate kind.   

What a day though.  We went to her house afterwards, and she wasn't there.  Her things were there, her bathroom decorations (she never changed a thing in there, still the same as when they built the house in the late eighties!), her knicknacks...her grown children and her grandchildren were there, and our siblings, and some friends...we told some stories about her growing up, and reminisced, and it was good to be together, but oh dear, I still can't picture my life without her in it.  

This fine day, I went to the pool, then came home to a very hot day.  It was 91 degrees.  Grace was here with the kids, and was filling the little pools.  They enjoyed playing with the squirt guns and net with fishies I stopped and got from the Dollar General.  (I also got Snapple diet peach tea, so yummy!, and popsicles...no sugar added Outshine popsicles, so good).  

Kaia was here too.  

Camille with Kaia...

oops, she likes popsicles!

Maeve and Ruth

Kaia and Samantha, cousins and future besties.

Ellis and cousin Kaia with Kathryn and Oscar

I stole this from Kathryn...Blythe and cousin Jamie...too cute..(from Saturday)

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment, my favorite!  I don't even get nervous that he's going to say "Oh, you're dying!".  My favorite is having my blood pressure taken, no wait:  it's getting on the scale!  I always keep my purse in my hand and wear my heaviest shoes, just so they don't think I'm wasting away.  

I also love how one appointment begets ten more appointments.  Well, it's not MY fault I haven't had a pap smear in so long!  I went to that obgyn so many times through the years, now I don't have to anymore, so I don't.  As for the mammograms, it seems like I just had one, how can it be that a few years have passed?   Genetic testing is something I need to discuss with the dr., I don't really want to know if I have that awful death-sentence of a cancer gene, but I probably should find out if I can.  My family history is dismal.  

After my appointment I'll probably run into Aldi, then do my BJ's pickup for chicken, yogurt, dark chocolate, seltzer...we're going to a nice Memorial Day picnic at Ben and Ashley's house this year, I'm bringing drinks and desserts...Camille has big ideas, not sure what we'll end up doing...any thoughts?

1.  Blueberry pie, apple pie, and cherry pie, she wants to cut out stars from the crusts, make them really patriotic.

2.  chocolate chip cookies and brownies.  Easy to serve, and always good.

3.  A sheet cake with white buttercream, blueberry stars and strawberry stripes.

4.  A whole slew of cupcakes with red sprinkles, blueberries, ect.  

5.  Ice cream, toppings, bowls and spoons, cones...ect.

6.  Popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, ice cream cones, novelties, ect.

#2 and #4 would be easiest to serve.  #5 and #6 would be easiest to prepare, just buy it, but then you would have to serve $5...anyway.  It's always fun, and you chime in and vote, and I'll let you know.

Ah well.  You have a good night.  

yes, it was good!

 I must be getting old, not taking those nice group selfies when we go out and about anymore!  I'll just have to use my words.  

I went to the pool, water was 78 degrees, quite chilly, when you're spending over an hour in there!  A hot shower, then off to pick up Miss Anya.  We came back here, Suzanne came over for the day, and off we all went to T.J. Maxx.  I didn't get much, one outfit for Evelyn's baby (due this summer), and a few things for Anya.  

We went to Target next, and I was able to walk all around there after spending ages in the first store.  I did an order pick-up for some household stuff, used online coupons, and got a ten dollar gift card, so win win.  I tried on some dresses...

I really liked this one, but it is WAY too low.  I felt like I was in Bridgerton.  :)

We went to Panera Bread for lunch, and a leisurely lunch it was.  My coffee was good, and I got a seasonal salad with strawberries, blueberries, pecans, and chicken in it.  

Suzanne surprised Anya by buying a bracelet from T.J. Maxx that Anya had really liked.  It was so sweet of her.  

We drove home through some storms, it hailed huge-0 hail chunks, then poured something awful.  

The lighting was so strange...

Home...we weren't really hungry, but I put in a cauliflower crust pizza, and we watched an episode of Downton Abbey.  We fed the dog and the cats and cleaned up, I washed up the dishes, and the girls went to a meeting.  It's quiet here, and I don't mind it a bit.  We're planning Evelyn's baby shower, and it's fun!  

Now it's Thursday morning, chilly and overcast, but shh, quite cozy in here!  I have my coffee and my warm blanket, and I'm thinking about my day.  I have things to do that I keep not getting to!  I have a sewing project, and I want to paint the trim in the bathroom, and the deck needs work.  Paul added some paint/stain a few weeks ago but ran out.  I got some more from Home Depot, and just need the time, energy, and weather to cooperate so I can do the parts he missed, plus the railings.  I want to sand them first, too...

Ah well...one of these days I'll write something more interesting!  :). have a good day!

some cool sunshine...

 Some random weekend pics...Emily holding Rhys, with Ruth and her sister Maeve

Mariel holding Ellis, Benjamin with Blythe and Jamie

With Sonja too

(Mariel is taking care of Achilles, Rhys, Jamie, and Ellis while Kathryn and Darius visit friends in Mexico)

Adrian got this for me, said he saw it and it reminded him of me:)

Jamie loves his baby cousin Kaia

Jonathan with his baby Emila

Wulf and Grant too...

Kaia

Charlotte Claire, Emily, Maeve, Grant, Wulf...we sang happy birthday to Miss Char...she's twenty tomorrow!

Grandkids galore!  Grant, Wulf Tenny, then Rhys, Ruth, Blythe, Jamie, Tennyson...and Margaret

Margaret...and Sunny

Paul with Jamie, he had just put Blythe down...

Aunt Suzanne with baby Samantha

Mariel with cousins Ellis and Kaia

Char with Ruth, Jamie, Rhys...

My son Joseph, and Suzanne's husband Zech

With their dog Winston, who looks like Suri..

It's been quite a weekend!  We had a quiet afternoon on the deck today, quiet after yesterday's overflow of fun and happiness!  Today Oscar and Sonja and Baby Kaia joined Char, Cam, and I, along with Paul...for dinner of airfried chicken wings, homemade chicken tenders, roasted brussel sprouts, and sweet potato fries.  

So yesterday ten of the kids and spouses and grandkids came over and oh my goodness!  The siding on the house where the grill melted it years ago:  all fixed and replaced!  The house powerwashed, the trampoline taken down, the yard all raked up!  Even the grandkids were out there working!  Not all day of course, they finished up and there was plenty of time to play on the pogo sticks they found in our play stuff, and in the little cars, and running around the yard.  

I grilled hot dogs and sausages for lunch, and dinner was homemade mac and cheese, ham, bbq chicken, rolls.  Margaret made two ice cream pies, and there were chocolate chip cookies and molasses cookies.  We went through lots of seltzers and Coke Zero and the little low sugar drink pouches for the kids.  It was supposed to rain, but it never did, it was a very pleasant day.

Ah well.  I'm tired enough.  Paul leaves for Cincinnati tomorrow for work, and Grace is coming over with the kids for a bit.  We have afternoon plans for Charlotte Claire's birthday.  

I thought I'd update here, in case anyone's new...if you already know all this or if it's boooooooorning, that's fine too, just skip on by.  

We have 16 kids, 12 are married.  

1.Emily (Nurse practitioner)

2.Abigail (accountant) (Derek)..they are expecting baby #1

3.Benjamin (hvac journeyman) (Ashley)kids Anya, Elise, Declan

4.Mariel (she just got her Master's in medical education(? ) works in management in outpatient Oncology)

5.Joseph  (Artist) (Bethany)

6.Aaron (RN, at Mayo Clinic working on Master's) (Riley)

7.Molly (RN, travel nursing) (Josh) Lydia, Ophelia, Denzel

8.Samuel( HVAC) (Grace) Grant, Ruth, Maeve, Samantha

9.Margaret (Pharmecutical something or other :)) (Adrian) Wulf, Tennyson, Blythe

10 Kathryn (Darius) Achille, Rhys, Jamison, Ellis

11 Evelyn  (Pharmeceutical something or other:))(Nate)...they are expecting baby #1

12 Suzanne (Pharmeceutical something or other:))(Zech)

13 Sonja  (RN in Pediatrics at children's hospital)(Oscar) baby Kaia

14 Jonathan  (HVAC)(Rosi) baby Emilia

15 Charlotte Claire. college, nursing school in fall

16 Camille. College, nursing school next spring or fall

Anyway...I just realized I never emptied my swim backpack on Friday, eeks.  I have it all in the wash now...pool in the morning!  I'm glad I found it tonight!  You have a good night!

so today...

 I went to the pool.  The guy who runs our class lost his wife to cancer last year.  Joan used to conduct the class, he picked it up when she passed away.  She was really into crafts.  She knit and quilted and sewed, they used to got to craft shows and set up a booth, sell things.  He was left with the task of clearing out her supplies.  Most of it he donated to a sewing group.  He asked me if I wanted some hula hoops, sure I did!  He brought them today, I think there are ten of them.  I think the grandkids will have fun with them.  

It started raining while I was in the pool, so it was damp and chilly.  I still went to the Mennonite store/greenhouse. I bought a few jars of local honey for birthday gifts, and some pink begonias and alyssum, and planted them together in some cute little pots I had gotten at Target.  I didn't realize the pots would be so small, but oh well.  

Home....I got my soil and pots and plants and set up on the deck with a nice after-pool coffee, and dang it, it started to rain again!

So, I did what anyone would do:  I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

Camille made a big bowl of buttercream frosting for her cake decorating activity tonight.  

I made it back out to the deck and got those flowers potted, it's sunny again.  

We didn't eat our rotisserie chicken yet, and there are some leftovers from last night's amazing Asian salad bowls, so I won't be cooking dinner.  I had some pepperoni and rosemary crackers a bit ago, so I'm not very hungry anyway.  

We stayed up late and watched an episode of Downton Abbey, now it's Saturday.  Some of the kids and grandkids are coming over today, and I'm feeling blessed.  They are so good to me.  I didn't realize until yesterday that they would be coming for lunch and dinner, so I wasn't prepared for lunch.  Some are bringing things, but I had to fight the urge to take an extra trip to the store.  We live out a bit, and gas is getting pricier, so I didn't go.  I have a new loaf of bread and lots of kinds of peanut butter and jam, as well as a few packages of turkey lunch meat that isn't opened yet, and pepperoni, cheese, crackers.  We'll survive.  I would have gotten chips and maybe a watermelon, but oh well.  

Camillle backed some of the most beautiful molasses cookies, I tasted one bite of one, and oh dear, bakery goodness.  Then I made chocolate chip cookies yesterday, some with the bigger cookie scoop so they're nice and big...well, I packaged up four of the best of each cookies for Nate for his birthday, and put them aside, well, within reach of one Sunny Sunshine, who pigged them all down.  She's lying here with her had on her paws all innocent.  Her kibble is sitting there uneaten in her bowl, she's just not hungry this morning.  (She did this this morning, Paul left to go do some work before I got out of the shower....)

Anyway.  It's frustrating because cookies are so bad for her, but also they were big cookies and not so many of them, dang it.  I underestimated her, didn't think she would go nosing around in that bag.  

So we got the brakes done on my car, then the red car that Charlotte drives, then Paul's truck...ca-ching.  Well, after the brakes were done on the truck, the mechanic was doing an inspection, and lo and behold, the frame has a hole in it.  His opinion:  not fixable.  So the NY state temporary inspection runs out in another nine days, and we can't drive it anymore.  Just like that.  It's probably not worth anything to trade in, either.  The other truck he was going to buy a few months ago was sold, and trucks are un-goshly expensive right now.  

It's always something, isn't it?  For everyone, not just us.  I'm not complaining, it's just how it is.  We get to choose if we're going to let it all wear us down and make us miserable, or if we're going to acknowledge that God weighs and measures everything for our very best, therefore why not be thankful?  Each one everyone of us will stand before Him someday, and we won't be taking any of this stuff with us.  There's an illusion of earthly comfort that clouds our judgement, fools us into thinking that having things is the most important thing.  I do like my camper and my comfy chair, and am thankful for them, ha.  I enjoy life immensely.  :). 

Anyway.  You have a good day!

big fat liar!

 My phone is a big fat liar.  It says I only took 868 steps today, when I obviously took thousands!  I went to Costco today, for the first time in like seven months.  It was...underwhelming.  I guess I thought I would go there and find some fun things, some bargains, but meh.  I'm glad, in a way, because I didn't overspend, but.  Shh, I got an industrial sized vat of Reeses' Pieces, actually like 56 ounces.  Some Oreos for the girls, they love the sleeves so they don't go stale.  I got a rotisserie chicken, of course, for $4.99, and yes we stopped at the front and got a snack, pizza for the girls, a hot dog for me (I ate it without the bun), and a Coke Zero with a tiny splash of lemonade in it.  I also got a pair of Land's End swim shorts for $12.99.  

(My phone is NOT a big fat liar.  Ha.  I am a big fat idiot, minus the big and fat part, of course.  My phone was in my purse in the front of the cart, having a little ride, not counting all those hundreds of steps I was taking!)

Home...ahh, home.  Sonja came over with baby Kaia, and we caught some sunshine on the deck.  It was chilly when the clouds sailed past the sun, but a good day.  

Miss Char and Miss Cam are making dinner, Asian salad with rice noodles, chicken...jalapenos, carrots, cucumber., cilantro...cabbage.  Cam is also making a batch of molasses cookies because Nate likes them and his birthday is next week.  

Oh how lucky we were to have had this beautiful Labrador, Miss Suri, aka Tubby Tubster.  I miss her so.

Camille and Orange Guy...

He is so furry!

Today Sonja left her lovely Silver Cross on the deck, and Orange Guy thought it was for him.  

The girls are making a sheet cake, their friends are coming over tomorrow to do some fun cake frosting and decorating.  The house is smelling good, and I'm enjoying having them around.  They're almost done with college for the year!  

I just ordered more deck stain from Home Depot, they deliver next day.  Paul stained the deck recently, but ran out before he was done.  I want to sand the railings and give them a coat.  

Ah well.  You have a good evening!

back to Mac?

 Well, so I know I am rather technologically illiterate, but jeepers.  That new Samsung is great, but I couldn't open my blog on it anymore.  I couldn't get pictures on it, so here I am, back to Mac.  

With baby Kaia...

Newton, he's Evelyn and Nate's little guy.

That birthday cake...

A blast from the past, my dear sister Cheryl with Evelyn, being their silly selves, and Suzanne in the background.  :)

My favorite camping blanket...

So I went into the camper when I got home from the pool today, to see about those drops of water on the counter.  I was more sleuth-y this time, turned on my phone flashlight, and dang, there was a little tiny stream of water running down the wall...then I moved the wood cutting board resting behind the sink, and dang, there was a puddle under it.  I reached for a paper towel, and the paper towels are all wet.  So, we have a leak on our hands.  The good news is that the camper was covered all winter, only uncovered like a month ago, so there probably isn't a ton of damage, fingers crossed.  Paul says we can figure it out...he's very optimistic.  I'm trying not to jump right to OH NO WE CAN'T GO CAMPING!

So time flies, and not long ago we went to Florida with the five younger kids.  Look at that cuteness...Suzanne is married to Zech now, Sonja is married to Oscar with baby Kaia, Jonathan is married to Rosi with baby Emilia...and those two little girls are in college...how can this possibly be?  

Here's another picture of my sister Cheryl.  I miss her way too much.  

This fine morning, I went to the pool, then to breakfast at the diner in town, with all of my pool friends.  One gentleman was a farmer years ago, and a bus driver who knew all of my kids, my sister's and brother's kids, a really nice guy...he hasn't been swimming lately because of chemo.  Another guy hasn't been in the water lately because he had a lung infection, got sick on a cruise.  Another guy had his knee replaced two months ago and is doing fantastic.  We were all happy to see each other, and to be in a warm cozy diner with hot coffee on a chilly  rainy morning.   

I got home, checked the camper, then Joseph came over with his new little puppy who isn't so little.  She's half St.Bernard, 1/4 Mastiff, and 1/4 greyhound.  She is adorable!  She romped around and wagged her tail and we love her.  

Joseph had to get back to work, then we left to go to Target.  I did something I haven't done in months:  I tried on some clothes.  I loved a few of the dresses, but those plunging necklines!  I'm not willing to pay all that money, then have to sew on a little panel or wear a cami, then have to yank it down all day.  So no new clothes for me.  I did walk around okay though, and got Char a blouse she really liked, for her birthday next week.   There were spiral sliced hams for 89 cents a pound, so I got one, as our Easter ham from Target was really really good, and we ate the whole thing in one day.  So it rang up wrong, and I told the cashier to just never mind, I didn't want it, so she said no worries, she would give me my deal.  She rang it up for $1.49.  For the whole ten pound ham.  

 We then went to Hobby Lobby, and it was wonderful.  The girls are having a cake frosting/decorating evening with their friends on Friday, so they needed a few things.  I got some fabric for a very special project!

Then...to Aldi.  The girls got flatbread and made pesto flatbread pizza, while Paul and  I had a cauliflower crust  one.  I got some heavy cream and popsicles and Brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes.  I got the makings for macaroni and cheese, as I'll make it for Saturday to go with the ham, when the kids and grandkids are coming over.  

We made our pizzas and watched an episode of Downton Abbey.  I think I'll get the sewing machine out...it's been a while.  A hot minute, do we still say that?  

You all have a really good evening!

very nice!

 We had such a nice day yesterday!  I went to the pool, got there extra early, lots of time in the water, ahh.  Home, didn't even pull in the driveway, had to meet Paul down the road at the mechanic shop, as he was dropping off Little Red.  She's the grandma car that Charlotte Claire drives to college, the 2011 Buick sedan.  She's a good little car, was Paul's mother's, so very well taken care of.  New brakes for her.  I drove the truck to the pool, so Char could take my car to class...the truck is next for new brakes.

Grace was here with Ruth, Maeve, and baby Samantha, Grant was at a homeschooling co-op farm, not to far from here, learning all about all sorts of farm stuff.  We spent time on the deck in the sunshine, the little girls driving around in the Little Tikes cars.  

We decided not to get fresh meat this week, and to use what we have in the freezer.  Miss Cam made dinner last night, a chicken curry and a pan of basmati rice.  I stir fried some cauliflower rice with shredded cabbage and carrots, and a chopped orange pepper, with the Indian spices that Riley gave us.  It was such a good dinner.  

This fine day, Miss Char and Miss Cam are going to Rochester to see the Olympic ice skaters perform.  Remember Ilia Malinin, who did a backflip in every routine?  Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu...they bought their tickets back in the winter, right after the Olympics, when May seemed very far away.  Time just flies by.

It was a long winter.  It was a hard winter.  But, there was a certain sweetness about it, a coziness, and also a laziness.  I worked hard, so hard, on mobility.  I got on the bike and did my workouts and went to PT, but as for everything else, well, I didn't do much.  I realized yesterday, when Paul asked me if I had done something or other yet, that  it's over...that time when nothing is expected of me, ha.  Of course I would MUCH rather be able to do things, but I'll be honest:  it was kind of nice.  :)  

I did go into my camper today!  There's no obvious evidence of visitors, you know, the little whiskered mousies.  Everything seemed dry, but there were a few drops of water on the counter, which is very strange.  It hasn't rained here in a few days...and there was no sign of water coming in anywhere...?  I hope it's nothing because I just love my little camper, and no leaks, please!

Being able to hobble down the deck steps and into the camper was almost easier than it was before the surgery, when up and down the stairs was killer.  (my "old" knee doesn't love it, but we won't talk about that.  yet.)  I brought in a few blankets that spent the winter in there, they're in the wash.  One is a camping print fleecy blanket I got at Target, just love it.  

So I find myself blogging in bits and pieces.  The girls have left for their skating show, and Paul is mowing the lawn.  I'm such a good wife, I don't even know what we're having for dinner yet.  It's only five o'clock, what's the hurry?  I was going to the store today when Miss Char got home with my car, but it was too late in the day, rainy, and I didn't feel like it.  I'll go tomorrow.

I did vacuum, then I mopped the floors.  I washed walls, and I filled a bag of stuff to donate to the thrift store.  That sounds like I was busy, but I also finished a book that Emily loaned me, My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier.  I certainly enjoyed the book!  It got dark and rainy this afternoon, and I had a hot coffee, how could it be better than that?

This new computer is very touchy.  It wants to open everything the mouse arrow happens to go over or near.  The keyboard is wonky, everything is over to the left more, so I type gibberish, then try to backspace and hit the dash key.  ---  NO, backspace, please!  Yes, I talk to it.  

Uploading pictures is a mystery, I figured it out the other day, but this fine day, couldn't.  ?  

I don't have any earthshattering pictures anyway.  I don't have anything earthshattering to say, either.  But, there is something I am really excited about!  This coming Saturday, some of the kids are coming over to help us do some yard work!  They will be disassembling the trampoline, which I'm glad about.  Camille, when she was younger, broke her ankle and her leg on that thing, in different accidents.  The netting is falling from around the sides, and I just want to get rid of it before the grandkids get hurt.  They LOVE it, but they go on there basically unsupervised, and there are so many little ones, most too little to be careful.  

I am going to grill hot dogs, and maybe burgers...

Ah well...I should mosey out to the kitchen.  Maybe I'll take some burgers from the freezer and grill them...or make up some taco meat, we have olives and fresh peppers...and a few tomatoes.  That sounds good.  You all have a good evening! 

brand spanking new!

 My first blog post with this Samsung laptop!  I have an iPhone, a Macbook which I've used for years.  It's convenient, as I can just drop photos easily to the blog.  This is a different story, and you can't teach me new tricks. 

The keyboard is weird, and everything is different, but I am not going to give up yet.  It's quicker, a touchscreen, and I'll see if I can adapt.   I haven't figured out the pictures yet, thankfully I have a few girls here with much more tech savvy than I ever had.  

This fine day, Sunday, is sunny and pleasant.  I plan to get outside.  Yesterday, our glorious winery day, was a bit cloudy and chilly, but so lovely nonetheless.  I have a few pictures, but we'll see when they make it on here!  I went with three of my girls and my niece.

Yay!  I got one picture on!  Evelyn with Newton, me, Emily, Abigail, and my sister's daughter Susan.

I actually tried one flight of wine, but didn't drain the glasses, just enjoyed the tastes, oh Finger Lake wine is so good.  We went to a second place, on Seneca Lake, and it was so beautiful.  I had a few little sips, but the best part was being with the girls.  We had not much "air in the conversation", no awkward pauses.  Too many laughs, and Mr. Newton was a perfect gentleman.  The first winery had a dog park, of course he loved that.  

We picked up the cake, and headed back here.  We sang Happy birthday to Sonja, after we had our lasagna and Tuscan Garlic Italian bread (Wegmans!).  Some of the girls had some wine I brought home, I did not.  :)

This fine day was a stay home day.  I enjoyed some sunshine on the deck, then Margaret came to visit with her kids.  They got out bubbles, and played on the swings and on the trampoline.  The boys took turns on the Hoverboard, and I read three books to Blythe.  They had some lunch, and some cake, then freeze pops before they went home.  

There is a lot going on here right now...the girls are here and all happy and silly.  We're thinking we have to replace our pool instead of repair it...so there is research into that.  It's so much money, but I love having a pool...

Anyway.  You all have a good day, and maybe I won't be so distracted tomorrow!