oooh baby!!!

Today, I'm being grandma. Ophelia was going to come for a visit while her daddy fixed the brakes on his car, but she's coming probably tomorrow instead. In a few minutes, Wulf will be here for a visit while his new baby brother Tennyson goes in for a check up. He's coming early, because baby boy was very bad for his mommy and daddy last night, you know how it is, he decided to stay awake and fuss. So mommy needs a nap, and Wulf, well...Wulf isn't inclined towards naps. He's two years old, and he has things to do! (This is where I stop and ask myself: how in the heck did I ever do it?)

Anyway, Wulf is coming over soon.

I'm glad to be home. Traveling is fun, and I love it, but there are details that I detest. Airport security, everyone's favorite, is on my absolute poop list. I have TSA pre-check, worth every penny of the 80 bucks I paid back in March, when I so ignorantly and blissfully thought I was going to Hawaii...anyway...on the way to Florida, I breezed through the pre-check line, while Paul got his bag searched. What set off the scanner? His bible, with it's silver edging...it had to go back through the scanner, and the TSA agent stood there leafing through it, I wanted to yell over and ask him if he found anything good in it.

On our way home from Florida, in Orlando airport, much bigger and busier than our little dinky one in Syracuse, I decided to forego the pre-check line, and stay with Paul, big mistake.

I don't know what it is about me, or why I seem to set off the scanners in the airports. Maybe since I carried so many babies, my tummy gives off a magnetic field or something. I walked through, put my feet on the yellow feet painted on the floor, held my hands up, held still, then stepped out. Sure enough, the image was all lit up in the front...tummy and lower. The nice lady asked me to step back in for one more image, then back out, then patted all over my soft doughy tummy, which come on, that is MY tummy, and I'm actually very sensitive about it. I just don't let ANYONE touch it. So she prods and feels, and tells me: I had you step back in so that I didn't have to pat down your groin area. Your dress with it's pockets sets it off. Well thank you, I told her, very sincerely, it's not exactly the usual protocol to get a second ride in the scanner. I do appreciate that she did that, rather than jump right to the...oh dear, I can't even think about it. It's horrible. It's not her fault, she just works there, but there's no way it's necessary to have anyone anytime pat down someone's "groin area", in a public place. It's just humiliating. I only had my fat tummy patted down, and I was all teary eyed and embarrassed. I mean, I pat my tummy on MY OWN, after a very good meal, but to have someone else just help themselves to it...me no like. I know, I know, you guys are all like, "She makes such a BIG DEAL out of it." I did survive, but next time, goodbye, Paul, I'm going in the pre-check lane.

Little Miss Lydia Eleanor went to her first day of kindergarten today!!!!

Wulf came over today! We face timed with Kathryn, and her little Achilles...Wulf and Achilles are double cousins, because Kathryn and Margaret are married to brothers, Darius and Adrian.

Kathryn lives in Oregon, near Salem, near the fires out there...it's really smoky. Suzanne lives in California, near San Fran, in Walnut Creek...it's really smoky there, too plus it's 108 degrees today...not sure their power is back on...

We had chuck roast in the crock pot today, with some baby carrots and yellow potatoes...oh dear how autumn-winter-y it was, despite that it was 82 today. I filled the little pool for Wulf, he played with the hose and it was lovely outside. I do love summer...today I picked tomatoes, yellow squash, one beautiful cantaloupe, from our garden. I love walking around in my bare feet, watering the flowers and puttering around. Tomorrow I think I had better make some sauce, or salsa, or maybe brushetta with all these tomatoes. Yes, I love summer.