quiet, then cookies and noise!

 This morning started out SO quiet.  Sonja slept in, Jonathan got up early and went to work on his car, Charlotte Claire and Camille were having a sleepover at Evelyn's apartment.  Paul and I had our coffee, and puttered around...the day stretched before us, blankly.  A text from Margaret:  Adrian would be studying all day, could she come over with the kids?  Why, yes she could!  I decided to bake some cookies...a triple batch of chocolate chip...and a small batch of keto-ish molasses cookies.  Kathryn decided to come for a visit too, and Samuel (Grace and kids are visiting her parents in West Virginia)...so by noon, the quiet had disappeared.

Wulf showed Achilles how to make a really good cookie:  put cookie dough on top of a fresh baked cookie.  Brilliant lad.  

Needs a trim, but oh that color, we love spring.

The kitty kittens...Orange Guy is the son, Kettler is the mama...

Camille made these the other day....chocolate buttercream frosting...I didn't have one, but they certainly look like a work of art.

No pictures were taken of the kids today, for some reason...Blythe with her sunshine-y chubby face and beautiful blue eyes, her brothers Wulf and Ten, who played my new "Labopoly" game with me, and Achilles, Rhys, baby Jamison who scotches across the floor on his but, and speed walks in the walker, and doesn't like to nap at Grandma's...Evelyn brought Char and Cam home, and stayed a while...Sonja woke up...there was a huge game of hide-and-seek which involved Evelyn scaring the heck out of poor Wulf, who know Achilles was in the laundry room hiding but didn't know Aunt Evelyn was in there until she jumped out and yelled BOO!  It was a chilly, rainy day here in Central New York State, not a day for outside.  So they played in here, a bit of running and yelling and lots of happiness.  Sam brought some Lego sets and sat there at the table with them, he was there the longest after they took off and started playing, but they liked them a lot when he got them put together.  

I put three racks of ribs in the Instant pot, and peeled a five pound bag of potatoes for mashies.  When the ribs were done, I slathered them with bbq sauce mixed with coarse ground pepper, lime juice, brown sugar, and browned them up in a 400 degree oven.  

After dinner, they all had to leave...the girls were going to their friend Jen's house, Jon is at Kathryn and Darius' place watching a boxing match.  It's just Paul and I here again...in the quiet, with the two dogs and two kitties.  It's late, and I'm heading to bed...it was a good day.  I am very thankful for the older kids, that they like to come over, that we have a place the grandkids can come to and have fun.  

Yesterday we went to the laundromat.  Wow, $4.75 a load!  We did four big loads, then had to dry them, at least most of the way, our dryer is still working but it would take a while for that many loads to go through.  Our washer is due to come next week, yay!  Also, I went to a few carpet places yesterday, all by my lonesome.  The first place seemed a little pricey, and honestly, although the man was most helpful in giving me a general estimate for our stairs, he didn't seem to care whether I scheduled anything with them or not.  The second place was much more friendly and encouraging.  They are sending people out to measure on Wednesday, then we'll get a more accurate estimate, but she said probably $700.  Seven hundred bucks to carpet the stairs.  Is that crazy, or what?  I wanted them wood, but there are so many components:  new treads, new risers, cutting each piece, ect...far beyond our carpentry skills I think.  Carpet is more expensive, but so much easier, someone will come out and do it, and it'll be done.  (The stairs now are bare construction grade steps, we took the carpeting off when we put the new floors in, they look pretty bad...)

And, my sister Cheryl and her husband Bill, headed to Australia!  Pray for her, that she can have a good trip!  Her health isn't good, to say the least, but God is good, and she is such a good example of someone having true living faith in Him, and that He causes all things for our good.  :)