7-28-2020 Tuesday 10:30am

Yes, I am a day late.  I didn't think anyone would even notice, but someone did.  ;)  I was at the clinic again yesterday.  Bladder infection back again.  Not feeling great, obviously.  On antibiotics--longer dose this time.  I had a difficult time with them last time so I don't expect to have any easier time this time.  But--don't worry--I'm going to be fine.

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Had a visit with McFamily last Thursday and that will have to hold me for a good while.  We had Jelle's Marble Run (YouTube) on with their winter olympics games.  There was a lot of laughter and cheering for teams.  Hard to describe, but here's a pic of the marble curling event--LOL!  So funny! 

The boys even were watching while they ate...

...and you can tell Liam is much more comfortable with me--LOL! 

He still doesn't want to do hugs, but I'm sure he will one day. 

I dearly love these four human beings. 

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The only thing I got done before I got sick again was to finally clear off counters and re-arrange them.  Moved the appliances with their new dust covers from Amazon.  (Yes, Leah gave me both an Alexa and a Hey Google thingie--and I use both of them--LOL!)

 I have wanted dust covers since I moved here.  I'm using the pandemic and not being able to go to Joann's for fabric as an excuse to finally just buy them.  (Ignore the fact I have had five years to sew my own--LOL!)   Anyways, this was exciting to me. 

Now I don't have to spend so much time cleaning the dust off the appliances before I can use them--hehe!

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That's it from here.  

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Not sure when I'll be back to chat.  

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Everything going on in the world has been highly stressful for me...and you know I do not like to spread negative energy out into the world.  There's more than enough of it to go around right now.  I've always gone very quiet when I haven't anything good or positive to say.  Losing my optimism and laughter is a very rare thing.  Well, I haven't totally lost it yet, but it has been harder to blog sometimes than it used to be.

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A deep sadness for our country has been slowly engulfing me.  I had been feeling like I needed to step back...take a kind of spiritual retreat...a news and computer break...and now I am actually sick...so perfect timing, I guess.  One of those be careful what you wish for things, eh?  LOL!   

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So, till we meet again...be kind, listen, do good when you can, be patient, love your neighbor, appreciate friends and loved ones...and vote.

7-20-2020 Monday-1:45pm

Good afternoon!

I was out watering plants this afternoon and thought I'd take some pictures.

I still need to pick dead heads, but even half dead geranium blossoms are sending out new blossoms...kind of re-blooming over the dying parts.  They've really gone wild this year! 

The coleus planter on the left was completely tipped over in that last bad wind storm.  I got it upright but some stalks were broken off.  It will revive, I'm sure with the way they are all growing this summer.  Even the marigolds have come into their own.  :)

They all obviously love the heat and humidity.  Glad somebody does.

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While I am outside watering Annie parks herself behind the end table near the patio door and observes my every move. 

She loves her new spinner toy now that I moved the two good balls she had into it.  These harder plastic balls are lighter and Annie lives for speed.  The new white balls that came with this new spinner (put one in her old spinner behind the tan chair you can see in the last photo) are heavier and she can't get the wild speed she loves.  Guess I'll have to buy a new ball for her old spinner, too--LOL!  Spoiled much?

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Well, on Tuesday Leah went shopping at Cashwise and dropped me off some groceries and Caroline came to clean in the afternoon.  Dagan went to work on Wednesday to help the first 1/4 of the office settle in.  We've been in quarantine since then.

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So, just the usual stuff since then.  Laundry.  Called my mom.  She cancelled an outside visit from Kathy last week!  Said she was too tired.  I told her she needed to kick herself in the butt and get out of the apartment when she can.

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  She said, I have the wrong kind of shoes.

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For going outside?

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For kicking myself in the butt, she laughed.

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Oh, you don't need any shoes for that.  Even barefoot you can kick yourself in the butt, believe me!  :) 

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  Told her I can totally understand the isolation burnout but she has to push herself.  Force yourself to do things when they feel overwhelming...or you'll never do anything at all.  She knows I know about pain and exhaustion taking over your life...and that it is not easy.  She agreed.  I do hope she goes next time.

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Had a Video Gramma Day with Ian on Saturday.  Liam had fallen asleep on the couch so I read The Shy Stegosaurus all afternoon!  We didn't finish the book until 6:30pm!  Liam slept almost the whole time and I think Mama and Daddy may have been snoozing nearby part of the time, too.  Resting their eyes?  LOL!

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Last night it cooled off so I had switched to using the fan drawing air from outside on the AC because it was cooler outside than in here.  Anyways, laid down in my chair at 1am--and in a few minutes I smelled smoke!  And not cigarette smoke...smelled like wood smoke.  Strong.  ???

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Now, there are apartments all around me for blocks...no homes with fireplaces nearby and I don't think any of these apartments are fancy enough to have fireplaces.  It had only cooled down to 65 degrees--not exactly fireplace weather.  Might have been someone with an outside fire pit of some kind?  But most apartment people don't have them or they are not allowed, you know?  So--I couldn't sleep for wondering what was burning and where...and waiting for our fire alarm to go off...or to hear fire trucks.  Nothing--LOL!

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It finally faded away around 3am, so I got to sleep around 3:30.  Pretty tired today, but I still wonder what was burning during the night.  ??

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Aha!  I love the internet!  I just thought--I may not have regular local TV anymore but I have the internet.  The wind must have been just right for me to smell it all the way down on the south side of the city last night...yup!...like a campfire smell.  :)

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If you're curious click HERE.

(Hope the link works)

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Whew!  Now if I smell it again I won't worry.  Not that I was fretting...I just turned Netflix back on--LOL!

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Slow week again.  I think I have covid burnout or the covid blahs.  No motivation.  Just days floating by--quite pleasantly--but uneventfully--and not a lot gets checked off my to-do list in my bullet--LOL!  Oh well.  I can count my lucky stars that my life is uneventful right now.  Till next week...may your life be uneventful, too.  ;)

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"I'm happy to be reminded that an ordinary day full of nothing but nothingness can make you feel like you've won the lottery."

Susan Orlean

7-13-2020 Monday-11:45am

Still morning--LOL!  

This is going to be really short.

Very, very low key week.

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I made it over to McFamily's on Wednesday from about 3:30-8:30pm.  Got a racing down the hallway "Gramma!" hug from Ian.  Great time.   Had both the boys in my lap for bedtime stories again.  I sure hope we can keep up our bubble for a long time.

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Was a lazy week, otherwise.  Just doing what you have to do (laundry and such) and watching a lot of TV and YT--LOL!  I'm slowly re-watching Monk and enjoying it a lot.  Plus a lot of BritBox and Acorn...a few Netflix DVDs as they come in the mail...playing with Annie...quiet week.

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Oh, Thursday morning there was a ruckus going on outside.  Kids.  Annie ran for the hills.

 I took some pictures kind of through the blinds.  (I often keep them shut to the sun in the mornings so I don't have to run the AC.)  Must have been some kind of Day Care facility.

 But if this is what schools are going to be like come fall...

 ...no masks, no distancing--just acting like nothing is happening...

...Ian just can't go to kindergarten this fall.  Dagan and Leah are both vulnerable adults.  Haven't heard anything yet about the school's plans, though.  Hoping they have an online option.  I'm sure they'll hear by August.  What a challenge for the schools all over the world!

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For about a month my "smart" TV has kept disconnecting itself from the internet.  So far I have been able to monkey around until I get it back, but it definitely seems to be losing its "smarts".  My internet is on and the laptop works just fine.  Duh.  So how smart is that?  LOL!

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Woke up yesterday to being forced on to a new version of Microsoft-10.  I don't notice much difference so far.  I only do limited things online, but I take that as a good sign.   

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Speaking of forced changes...I haven't noticed anything so far on Blogger today.  I'm sure they'll push the new version on me eventually.  Or I am using it and haven't noticed?  Now THAT would be wonderful!  ;)

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I love this picture from Leah from this weekend.  You will probably have to click to enlarge it--but the boys are helping Daddy mow the lawn.  They each have a lawnmower.  

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Well, I said this was going to be short.  Tomorrow Leah is going grocery shopping at Cashwise (dropping mine off here) and Caroline is coming to clean!  On Wednesday Dagan has to be at work during the day for the first of their four-part re-opening of the offices.  After that he can work from home and go in after hours like he has been, but he'll be needed during the day mid-month for the re-openings for the following three months, too.  He has to make sure all the computers are up and running and able to compute and converse--LOL!  ;)

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So, since we have to quarantine after exposures--we might as well do all the exposures at once.  Leah will grocery shop--Cashwise one month and Costco the next month.  Caroline is going to come to clean for me once a month.  Afterwards McFamily and I won't be able to see each other for at least a week or more...to make sure we're all still well before we "bubble" again.  They say that most people get symptoms in 5-6 days--but some as early as 3 and as late as 13 days.  So, about a week we hope will be good.  That's the plan, anyways.

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This afternoon I am going over to McFamily's.  After the boys go to bed Leah and I will go over my Cashwise grocery list and we will have some chat time.  So, I'll be a little later getting home tonight.  That's it for this week.  Shock!  Really short for me--LOL!  Till next week...may it be an absolutely delightful week for us all!

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"Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally.  The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you."

L.R. Knost

7-6-2020 Monday--3:30pm

Good afternoon!

Late start today.  Been sorting through pictures for you.  Was a busy week half the time and recovering from the busy half the time--LOL!  Before I forget--last Tuesday it was three years since Annie came over from McFamily's.  Wow!  Sure glad she's happy here with me.  :)

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After my Sunday visit to McFamily's it took me till Wednesday to be functioning again--LOL!  (So worth it!)  I got out to take pictures of the patio flowers.  I have my first marigolds!

 They finally took off outside in the heat...

...as did the red geraniums.

 The coleus on the one side have grown into bushes!

 No marigolds yet on that side in the round pot.

 The coleus on the other side haven't fared quite as well, but they're doing okay.

You may remember I had a hole in the bottom tray.  Well, I didn't think it would matter and only fixed the huge crack.  Well, it did matter as all the water drained out much faster.  So I got out the terra cotta duct tape again.

 But it is still leaking quite a bit at the bottom of the duct tape.  So I need to try to lift up the planter and tape around underneath...maybe today.  They should be fairly dry and I am going out to water this afternoon when they are all in shade...well, they are already.  Okay--after I finish blogging--LOL!

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The little teeny tiny coleus--I thought I had killed them because I forgot to water them!  So I doused them and added some more seed.  A few have survived! 

Well, so far.  

I stuck them outside to see if that would help and apparently it is.

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Before I went back to McFamily's on Friday I worked my way through a long to-do list.  One of the things was to make Ian his very own little book so he can do whatever he wants inside of this one.

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Metallic gold cardstock cover... 

...white cardstock pages (so they should stand up better to markers or watercolors, etc)...  

...and sparkly gold thread. 

I also sent over a set of his markers, a gold brush pen and a gold sparkly gel pen.  He really liked the surprise.

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Leah popped over to pick me up before Blaine and Kathy arrived. 

We did social distancing in the backyard...in the sun...over 90 degrees...for two hours.  It flew by and we had such a nice visit...but I discovered later that I was bright red with sunburn--LOL!  (Still am.)

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We had a wonderful day.  I was there from 11:30am till 9:30pm.  Yup, another ten hours--LOL!  Since Liam didn't get to watch Wall-E last time we made sure we had it on this time for afternoon quiet time.   

Liam fell asleep on the couch again halfway through, but he woke up for about the last 10 minutes or so. 

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We had dinner out on the deck (in the shade) and I read the boys a chapter of Ian's new Star Wars book before bed.  Liam is warming up to me and even sat cuddled up on my lap with Ian for the storytime.

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Leah had some pictures this week, too.

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Ian has gotten really good at riding his bike and loves to zoom around in circles in the church parking lot behind their house.

 Liam is working at the balance bike and getting a little better with his bike, too.

 They do love their bikes.

 They also used sidewalk chalk and made this big thank you to Karen, Leah's friend, who picks up odds and ends at the grocery store for them once in a while in-between our big 2 month grocery trips.

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On Friday the old, well-loved golf clubs were dropped off in the McFamily garage...

 ...when Blaine and Kathy arrived.

 Ian came to sit with Gramma a couple times.  Leah lent me a sun hat (so glad she did or I would have a red nose as well right now--LOL!)

 I didn't realize that Leah caught a picture of Liam's first time of coming up to me out of the blue to talk to Gramma and show me something!  

I think being Video Gramma for months has helped make Liam able to trust me more.  Gramma was delighted!  :)

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Oh, and Leah cut my hair for me, too!  :)

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Big event for Ian--4th of July he was allowed to stay up late to watch the fireworks with Mama and Daddy for the first time!  They have a display really close by so that they can sit in front of the garage to watch them.

 They brought chairs from the back yard and even the little fire pit thingie.

 Fireworks exploding--looking right down their driveway!  I bet Ian loved it!  I'm sure I'll hear about it.

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Oh--weird thing...I have been getting a lot of spam comments on the blog lately.  I moderate them before they are posted so I mark them as spam and delete them, right?  Well, I noticed that I wasn't getting as many blog posts in my inbox this last week.  I checked my spam folder and I had hundreds of those actual spam comments that I had never seen because I had marked the sender as spam.  But somehow blogger thought a lot of you were spam, too!?  So I went through and marked which ones were "Not Spam".  This may have been going on for more than a week, for all I know.  But during the shutdown I have noticed a whole lot more spam of all kinds, have you?  I didn't have too much trouble with it before the pandemic.  I have seen some get through in the comments on other people's blogs, so I know there is more of it out there.  Not much we can do about it, I suppose,  but just wanted to say...it's annoying--LOL!  I don't want Blogger to think my friends are also spammers!

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I watched a couple of Netflix DVD rentals this week--Jojo Rabbit and Rocketman.  I enjoyed them both.  Jojo Rabbit is such a unique concept.  Has anyone seen it?

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Well, that's it for this week.  Got to go out and water the plants...and the dryer is buzzing, too.  Have a comforting, enriching week.  :)

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"I've found that there is always some beauty left--in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you."

Anne Frank