Okay--for the past hour I have tried six ways from Sunday to get the picture Leah sent me of Ian getting ready to leave for his first day of preschool today off my cell phone to some place usable for the blog and I am absolutely, positively useless when it comes to technology. I give up. If I can ever post it, I will. But before I smash the phone or my laptop...I'll just tell you Ian started Montessori preschool today and is in his first class as I am writing this. He'll be going from 12:30-3:30 every day of the week and I think he will love it. Our Friday Gramma Days won't work anymore so we'll have to see if most Satudays will.
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Good news on the critter front.
The birds have slowly been returning this week!! Flocks of sparrows have returned and lots of mourning doves for the past three days. I've been feeding hungry birds again!!
Even had a cottontail visitor on afternoon who pozed frozen like this behind my planter for about 20 minutes.
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The new bookcase.
I did get before shots, but there are no after ones yet because the box is still leaning against the wall. Leah was helping her chiropractor paint his office this weekend on Sat and Sun. But--here are the before shots (because you know I will forget at the time--LOL!).
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The new bookcase is going to go in that back corner of the living room...
...where the little cube bookcase sits now.
And the little cube bookcase will go in the hallway...
...under the coat hooks rack.
See all those satchels in the hallway. After I get done in the studio those are next for cleaning and sorting. That's all crafty stuff, too...and they all should be labeled. I wouldn't take any bets on this all getting done before 2019--ROFL! But you never know. ;)
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I have plans to reorganize this pen chaos I deal with every day. Another before picture--LOL! I'll show you that after it is reorganized, too--hopefully in September. :)
I guess I must be feeling better if I am at least mentally geared up for some changes. ;)
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Serena--I think you are right that I never posted a picture of my new pocket size cover for the field note size notebooks.
Monthly budget, wish lists, what I owe Dagan and Leah...all the money stuff I keep track of in here. I've had it for months and can't remember now where I ordered it. Etsy? I do love it, though.
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Oh and here's a couple white hairs on Annie's back--LOL! One big one and one small one.
When I first saw these I thought they were loose and tried to pick them off--LOL! She also has a really long hair near a paw--if it is still there. I can't even remember if it was black or white now. She's very touchy about her feet and legs. If I ever get a chance to get a picture, I will. ;)
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How embarrassed would shy Annie be if she knew I was posting pictures of her--LOL!
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Speaking of Annie...she spent most of the day yesterday hiding in either the panty or the bathroom. We had thunderstorms with violent wind gusts that kept marching through one after the other.
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Bad news on the flower front.
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During one break I went out to rescue this planter!
The entire planter got tipped over! And it was not that light, let me tell you.
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But the worst damage was done to the one on the other side where the wind was coming from.
That coleus lost huge stalks! Snapped right off!
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So this morning I was out there cleaning up the damage. Amazingly, the tipped one barely even suffered any damage at all. Kind of landed on top of the bush in the rocks behind it.
But the other side coleus has a huge gaping hole in the center of it now.
Lost seven stalks--six little ones and the huge center one.
The front coleus that have been flowering for ages and the bees love so much...
...survived just fine.
There were three bumblebees there this morning while I was filling two little grocery sacks full of broken and dead plants.
All the daisies bit the dust except for this one red one in the tipped over planter.
What amazes me is that these delicate looking fuchsias...
...handled those wind gusts without being stripped of all those tiny flowers.
And look who was also back this morning--some grackles! Now doesn't this look like normal again? :) :)
Probably only passing through if the grackles are heading south--but I never thought it would be such a delight to have the squawking seed fights and mass pooping on my patio again. Yup--looks and sounds right and proper. Annie is thrilled to have her CatTV working again--LOL! Especially since it has been cool enough to have the patio door open at least part of the day.
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Well, I had an extra long Gramma Day on Saturday since Leah was busy helping with that painting. Ian and I basically just hung out. Had lunch, went to the mailbox, watched some Maru the Cat, went to the garage to get bird seed, watched Cars3 (again--LOL!), and had dinner. He found out there is a book to tell him words that mean similar things because he insisted he wasn't dawdling because it was called stalling...so we added a bunch of words he giggled at like procrastinate, lollygag, and dillydally. He likes it when I look up things on the laptop, too. He found out you can even hear how to pronounce words. I just love the internet!
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Ian was here really late for him (we were just having such a good time). Since bedtime is normally around 7pm and Dagan was coming over around 7:30 to pick Ian up--well, he surprised us with an idea to try something we hadn't done before. Daddy brought over Ian's bedtime stuff (pajamas, toothbrush, and storybook) so that Ian could get all ready for bed at Gramma's before he went home. What a great idea! I got to read him his bedtime story and everything. I got mighty hugs and he left blowing kisses.
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Ahhh! The only thing as wonderful as being a parent is being a grandparent. Everybody says it is better because it's only part-time and not full-time--LOL! I suppose that is true. But I loved being Dagan's mom...a lot. Maybe because I paid such close attention--not knowing how long we had together. The unexpected blessings have multiplied over the years. Sometimes I still can't believe all of this is actually happening...as Daddy and Ian go down the hallway and I am catching kisses. Who knew? I confess--as I shut the door I wiped away a tear. Joy can spill out your eyes.
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Have a joyous week!!! :) :)
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"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
Dr. Seuss
17 comments:
My comment so I get yours. :)
Pre-school is a big step. I imagine he's excited. Something must've really spooked those birds. I wonder what it was... but I'm glad they're coming back :) That wind! Wow!
I know how joy can catch at our hearts. We never know what's coming next, but we can take joy in what we've had and what we have now. So sweet! :)
Ian sounds like such a joy. And it's lovely that you're teaching him to love words while you are hanging out together. I hope that Saturdays will work for your days together. As for the plants, I think they will re grow - you have a nice little planter garden growing up there! Have a good week!
Well! I'm glad those bird are back - it must have been the smoke in the air! You seem had a full house!! Looking forward to seeing the bookcase in action soon! That must have been quite a storm - we had a little disturbance - tree branches falling down and a couple of large pots went over on the site but nothing broken! What a great idea to bring Ian's story book! Confession time now - I get teary eyes every time our grandchildren go home from our caravan(although that hasn't been for a long while now!!) Have a good week, Hugs, Chrisx
So happy your birds are back. Maybe they had tried to escape the heat for a few weeks. And I want to hear how Ian feels about pre-school. Wow, they sure do grow up quick, don't they? Hope you have a healthy and happy week Rita. hugs-Erika
The very best Gramma time with Ian. Well worth a tear or two of that dearest happiness as the Daddy and Ian leave. Saturday worked well, a sweet Ian and routines you two already have.
So glad the birds (and bunnies) came back. Your flowers did get damage but they still look great.
You are feeling better. It shows in your words.
I still tear up (when the door is closed behind him) when my dearest (and only) grandchild leaves for his moms.
Thanks for writing Rita. Hugs.
Joy
Glad your critters came back! I bet that post protected your fuchsia. Your coleus will probably bush out now that it is trimmed:)
Sounds like you had a good time with Ian!! Starting school what an adventure for him! Have you tried emailing yourself the photo and then picking it off the email on your laptop, that is the only way I can get a photo off Far Guys phone. :) Have a good week!
Nice to hear the critters are back - your flowers look so nice!
I love hearing about your gramma days!
Yes, it's wonderful to hear your birds and other critters are returning. And it sounds like you and Ian had a great day hanging out. Already in school? I think that's amazing! :-)
So happy to hear your critters have come back... All but 2 of my hummers have left...Just the other day.. POOF! they were gone.. Feels a little early but every year i say i'm going to write down when they left and every year i don't...lol I still leave my feeders out though for awhile.. i figure groups of them should be coming thru migrating.. But the feeders look a little sad out there right now.:(
Jinx has white hairs too... here and there.. They've just started showing up on the short hairs on his face.. I tell him they make him look distinguished lol Love reading about your time with Ian . Look forward to seeing your bookcase! Hugs~ deb
Loved seeing the various critters returning, and the bunny was a gem.
Organizing can take forever, but you are doing well, I think. It's ongoing, of course. Too bad about the storms. You can root those coleus by placing them in water.
Sounds like the perfect way to spend time with Ian. Tears of joy are always great.
Erma Bombeck said that God gives us grandchildren as a reward for not killing our own children. I think she was right. So you lost a few flowers; at least the birds came back!!
It is so annoying when we can't figure out how to get something from our phone to our computer. None of my girls went to preschool but my grandchildren have all gone to day care which in the year before they start school acts as a preschool
What a milestone for Ian. You are the best gramma in the world. The boys will tell their children stories about you someday.
Love,
Janie
Before I used OneDrive, I used to email photos from my phone to my Gmail account which I could then access via my computer.
Just hit the little 'share' icon and choose email. Hope it helps.
I bet Ian will love preschool! Mikayla and Maddy did.
I'm so happy to hear the birds, and even a cottontail, have returned! YAY!!
Sounds like a good plan with the bookcases. Agreed — it's great that you are feeling in the mood to reorganise. I hope you continue to feel better.
Your pocket-sized cover looks cute! I have a thing for pocket-sized notebooks. :)
Awwww....poor Annie. Tell her Cody can empathise on the fear of thunderstorms. He is afraid of them too. Odd that she has the occasional long hair.
A shame that potted plants copped a hiding from the storms. They will recover at least. The front coleus looks fabulous! Glad to hear the bees are enjoying the flowers.
Lovely that you and Ian had another long Gramma Day together. How did we ever get by without the internet? I rely on it so much. I'm sure he loved getting ready for bed and having a story read to him by Gramma before going home. Grandkids are such a blessing.
I hope you are enjoying a lovely week too. xo
Oh, I hope Ian had a lovely time at pre-school! Your plants are lovely.
Those thunderstorms can be so difficult for sensitive pets to handle. Some of our dogs and cats don't like them either. Happy to see the birds are returning - even if they are just passing through. Hard to believe it's that time of the year when birds are migrating south.
That's interesting that the rabbit stayed frozen in the same spot for 20 minutes.
Sorry to see and hear that your flowers took quite a beating in the storms. You must have had powerful winds to have pushed over the heavy planter. No wonder Annie wanted to hide!
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