wonderful rainy morning...

 After the busy sunny warm days, this rain can stay all day, and cozy me up.  It's delightfully dark and dreary.  I'm suitably tired today, Suri woke me up repeatedly last night.  She had to go outside, then I thought I was home free to go back to my delicious bed and snuggle back to sleep, but as soon as I got comfy, she was whining again.  I do not know what her problem was, but I was awake for several hours, let her out a few times, got her water, let her into our room, where she just walked around every few minutes until Paul shooed her out and closed the door, and I finally slept.  She's fine this morning but:  I found the box which had the rest of the donuts and some cupcakes in it...on the floor under the kitchen table.  I have no idea how she got it, but this is getting ridiculous.  We're bad pet owners, and we try so hard to put things up out of reach.  I think we were so tired after the busy party yesterday, we left it on the table.  The kids were playing The Settlers of Catan with some of their friends after most everyone else went home, and the box was on the table with them...ugh.  No WONDER she wasn't feeling well last night.

I went to Aldi yesterday morning and got a watermelon, there were only two left.  Cutting it up with cantaloupe is time consuming, but it's so good with blueberries, grapes, strawberries in there!

Cousin fun, Lydia was holding Rhys, Elise with Ruth, and Anya...Margaret in the back with Tenny, Adrian, Ophelia with her mama Molly Rose, and Jonathan stretched out enjoying everyone.  I wish I took more pictures.  36 were here, and the pool was open, it was quite fun.  

Margaret made Jonathan's favorite, chocolate with peanut butter frosting, and chocolate with buttercream.

The giant chocolate chip cookie cake was amazing, I took a little taste, and it was bakery-licious.  I had forgotten she was making the cupcakes too, I was going to make a huge-0 batch of chocolate chippers to go with the cookie cake, but it was too hot, so I bought the donuts...we had too much dessert here.

But we shared with some friends, and Em brought some to a co-worker, then Suri finished them off.    (It makes me feel sick, it is NOT the dog's fault, we need to do absolutely better, never have stuff in her reach)

Miss Camille....with Orange Guy.  Cam is hobbling around, doing her best.  She's not supposed to swim, but she's determined to enjoy summer, so she gets right over to the pool ladder, takes off the immobilizer (the knee that dislocated a few weeks ago) (the surgery knee is mostly un-braced now, but she has to be super careful), she takes off the immobilizer, and steps into the pool with help from one of her sisters or brothers, keeping the recently injured leg very straight, then she just floats upright in a round float, letting her legs just relax....she isn't actually swimming, but it cools and refreshes her.  

There was plenty of food, by the way.  Mariel made macaroni and cheese, two big pans of it.   I hope you all understand that I don't want to ration the food,  not at all.  I want everyone to have plenty, I truly want to bless them, but there is just always this niggling that there won't be enough.  When I was growing up, seven kids in our family, my mother used to have us leave the last one, just in case someone didn't get one.  It became a joke as we were adults, that we just couldn't take the last one of whatever it was.

Random things:

Today, I have to bring Miss Cam to physical therapy, it takes about an hour and a half, and she insists I go in with her.  I work hard on just enjoying the time, not sitting there thinking tick tick tick goes the day.   Of course it'll be easier today, in the rain.  But when that sun is shining...

My hip has been bothering me, and I am almost at the point of calling the doctor.  Right where the leg bone goes in the socket, it feels like something is broken in there, like a shard of something, extremely painful sometimes, especially when I first start walking.  I have to hold onto something, sometimes it's unbearable.  I've been swimming and working in the pool, but it's not getting better.  It's been on and off since like January....ignoring things usually is a good cure, they just go away, but sometimes...ugh, call the doctor.

The tendonitis in my arm still acts up in the night, but it hasn't been too bad.  I painted a few days last week, but took a break yesterday.  This afternoon, there is more painting to be done.

My knees are about usual, click-y and not so stable, achy.  They need replacing, as per the ortho dr.'s suggestion several years ago, but they still work.

I know losing more weight would really help with these issues, so that keeps me out of the donuts.  I didn't have any, but they smelled heavenly.  

Sometimes I really get tempted to be super bummed out about my body, I want a new one, but then...I HAVE a body, and I can walk!  I want to be thankful for this, and work with what I have.  There are lessons to be learned too, in it all.  

I feel like an old lady, if you ask me how I'm doing, and I make you regret the question, with my whole plethora of aches and pains.  

It's also on my radar to get into the ob/gyn dr. and talked about genetic testing....the breast cancer in the family is rampant, and with my sister, her daughter, my mother, her mother, my mother's sister, ect...if I have that BRACA gene, my daughters need to get tested...

I have to get my car inspected.

We are going camping this weekend, so packing for that, again, but it'll be quite fun.  Emily, Abigail, Mariel have a site, and Sam and Grace are going.  Margaret and Adrian have a site and are going for at least one night, and Kathryn and Darius will come up to visit us, along with Molly and Josh.  Benjamin has a site, but is just coming for the day, as new baby Declan isn't camping material yet.  

This afternoon, we are going to finish painting the apartment we are working on, but Jonathan asked me to go shopping with him, as he needs things for his Germany adventure.  

And, the most random thing of all:  I might have a job.  I will be training to assist Abigail in her book keeping business.  I do not know a thing about it, but I am good with numbers, and I did take accounting in high school, like 40 years ago.  It'll be a whole new thing, and I'll be busy.   

So not much is going on, yet so much is going on...just how we like it, here in BusyTown...(Richard Scarry, from the 80's)