Good morning!
I have practically no pictures this week, but there are extra from Leah from their vacation. If you don't want to feel like you spent a week in beautiful Itasca State Park seeing the headwaters of the Mississippi River feel free to skip those--LOL! Gramma loves to see what they have been doing, of course...so they must be included in my weekly newsletter. ;)
What did I do all week? Well, every day was in the mid-to-high 80s so I could only have it opened up in the mornings. Wednesday I slept most of the day and woke up about 6pm...and then couldn't sleep all night and all the next day until 7pm. I was awake 25 hours...and that flipped my hours to where I was going to bed really early and up in the middle of the night. Therefore was awake and could open up early in the morning while it was still cooler...which made Allie (and I) very happy. She couldn't keep her eyes off the great outdoors.
I have not been feeding the birds ever since Leah and the boys planted the geraniums. The critters weren't coming very often and I was only putting out about a cup a day after everything turned green, anyways. I will put out the water dish if I can remember to get it from the garage. I got the pen case (really a tool chest) ready to wheel out there.
When Dagan was here he wasn't keen on hauling that out to the garage for me and I completely spaced on why I wanted it out there until after he left. (I really hope the brain fog clears up along with the inflammation issues...maybe that is also an inflammation issue, come to think of it--lol!) I wanted it out there because I want the dressers as cleared off as possible so I can get some better pictures of them for selling.
Anyways, Dagan moved two smaller boxes for me from the bedroom to the living room. The one was quite heavy for me--filled with white card stock reams Leah and I got on sale on Amazon for such a deal we stocked up...before covid and cancer, so I still have them all--lol! (Enough to last me the rest of my life probably...which is good!)
Dagan hauled out to the garage a big black bag full of donations and then three bins full of winter clothes. The one bin left with clothes in there was just waiting for me to wash clothes so I could add a couple things. (Got laundry done yesterday.)
Those empty bins will be used to hold all my underwear, pjs, etc from my clothes dresser until I move. Kind of like living out of a suitcase but it will be bin-living--lol!
And before you think my bedroom is looking pretty clean...here's the other side.
Yes, I made progress, but that's what I am working on now that I finished the seasonal clothes switching...the rest of the mess all around in the bedroom. Plus I need to clear off the dressers and nightstand as much as I can so I can take pictures of them for when we put them up for sale. Need to sell the hallway bookcases before we can sell the bedroom furniture...so we can get it all out down the hallway--lol! Feels like a jigsaw puzzle around here sometimes. :)
Let's see--what else. Oh, my laptop had some kind of chrome or microsoft change it wanted me to make--might have been an update but they wanted me to switch browsers and who knows?? Was fine when I went to sleep but when I woke up I had all these boxes over my screen. Managed to delete (X out of) the 4-5 boxes but then couldn't use the keyboard--at all. Couldn't type anything at all. This happened the night after McFamily came home. Talk about timing! That's why Dagan came over (when he helped me haul stuff about) but it was not an easy fix. Had to take it home with him. But he did manage to fix it and brought it back--hurray!! Or he would have had to mail it back to them (under warranty) and I might not have been writing to you this week. (Dagan said he had a laptop I could have borrowed...but who knows if I could have figured out how to get to my blog--ROFL!) I am so lucky that Dagan and Leah keep me online, that's for sure. :)
So, I've been on different hours for several days. Going to bed between 4-8:30pm and waking up between 1:30-4:30am...so far. I'm delighted to be anywhere close to my normal hours...well, to be sleeping at night (or evening) and not during the day. :) :) So this time my very early hour posting is not because I have been awake all night long. Hurray!
I shall continue to work on the bedroom this week. Sounds like Leah will be seeing if she can set up a donation pick up and be putting a few things for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Good! Fingers crossed things start leaving here. Leah's in charge of all that, but at least I can be awake and dressed if strangers are coming over.
I washed clothes so I have added that last winter bin on top of the pen case. They're waiting for me by the door.
Need to haul that to the garage today (supposed to rain) or tomorrow morning before Keanna comes to clean on Tuesday afternoon. She uses my cart to haul my trash out to the dumpster for me. Leah and the boys are extra busy on Tuesday so Leah is doing the grocery and errands run on Wednesday this week.
Making progress. Making progress. :)
McFamily vacation!!
Looks like they had the best time!
There was a playground nearby. See all their bikes there? Ian's, Dagan's, and Leah's with the carrier for Liam.
Those boys are always thinking of things to do--lol!
They covered the tree stump with dandelions.
Found places to insert the stems...and there were plenty of dandelions to spare--lol!
I think it is because they don't have a lot of screen time. Less than I did in the 50s. But when we were kids we were always thinking of things to do and make and playing games...even though we certainly had plenty of TV time. Was limited with only five channels but I managed to be a TV baby regardless. The older I got the less I watched--especially in the summer because we were outside all day if it wasn't raining. I was a sucker for the afternoon matinee movies, though. Evenings--prime time--you could watch with Mom and Dad if you wanted to. One TV for many years and the parents were in charge of what was on. Things have changed so much. But Ian and Liam do not have access to the internet and they have certain kids programs and movies they watch. They are not growing up glued to their phones or the TV. I'm glad of that.
I digress--back to their vacation.
One vacation note--collecting ticks--just in case.
Something we do up north. If you live where you have ticks it is good to have the tick body if you get sick later so they can test it for Lymes.
They went on a lot of bike rides. Dagan told me they rode from one end of the park to the other and Ian has really taken to his bike now. Loves riding it!
Liam is a bit young to be able to keep up on long bike rides so he rode in the carrier.
Liam did get in practice on his scooter, though.
There were many hiking trails, too.
So beautiful! I do love the woods...despite the ticks and mosquitoes--lol!
I wondered where they had such a view!
Way up on top of an observation tower.
My legs wouldn't be able to climb that anymore...
...and I am afraid of heights! But in my younger days I would have climbed it regardless. Can almost feel my stomach doing flip-flops as I think about it--lol!
They had lake time, too!
You can see Ian has these bug bite patches all over him.
Liam had some, too, but Leah said Ian really reacts to mosquito bites. The patches keep them from itching, I guess. Cool! I wish we had those when I was a kid.
Ian and Liam found snail shells.
They brought them home. I told Leah I still have shells from vacations to Florida when I was a kid. They are out in a box of memorabilia in the garage. Should be. Been a very long time since I looked at them. Leah said they used to bring home shells and rocks from the lake when they visited her Grandparent's lake home. Did any of you collect rocks or shells when you were a kid? Do you still have them? (Leah doesn't.)
Having fun eating out.
Their cabin had a kitchen. That really saves you some money being able to make your own meals.
This crossing was before the headwaters.
I don't remember that being there...but I remember the headwaters!
Yup!
Rock hopping on slippery rocks.
Dagan waving on a rock 40 years later--lol!
Short video. This will make you feel like you are there!
Selfie of the family with the headwaters behind them.
Lots of hiking. The boys resting on a rock.
Candid shot of the boys by the cabin.
Family selfie with...
...the big white pine behind them.
They also saw the largest red pine that is dead now...but would have been alive 40 years ago when Dagan was there. (We never saw it.) The red pine lived to be 300 years old!
Family selfie by the now dead red pine.
They did see a woodpecker and the boys were excited. Leah caught a shot of it flying away.
Just beautiful trails to bike or walk.
There was a guest book at the cabin.
The boys dictated their thoughts on the vacation and signed it. So cute!
They even saw a porcupine near the road on the way home!
What an adventure!! It was Leah's birthday on Sunday while they were gone, too. This actually brought back fun memories for me. :)
So, there you have it! Another week has flown by. I swear they go faster and faster the older I get. Next time we chat it will be into June already. Middle of the year in no time! Goodness! I hope you are enjoying the change in seasons if you get them. Fingers crossed I'll have some flowers to show you next week. Bless you!!! :) :)
16 comments:
Looks like McFamily had a great vacation! I wholeheartedly salute Dagan and Leah for raising the boys without letting them be on screens every moment. Every day at school, I see the damage screen addiction does. I can't imagine why some parents let their children have completely unrestricted access to screens and the internet. You are really accomplishing a lot in getting ready for your move. We will actually start with the moving process soon and I am excited. I hope you have a good week. Be looking for a letter from me which should read you soon!
Rock collecting - When our boys were small my husband worked for a rock crushing company and on weekends we sometimes went fossil hunting at a quarry. Our older son recently took home the container of fossils they had collected and showed them to his grandson and talked about the fossils. Shortly thereafter our granddaughter picked C up from day care and noticed his pants were about to fall down. His pockets were FULL of rocks. She had to explain to him that we do not keep ALL rocks.
Wow Rita! Was bug spray not working?? Thats why i don't do Summer activities very much. I'm a Fall/Winter/Spring Hiker and Camper... Summer i hibernate! I remember watching Saturday morning cartoons the most.. Mom watched her Soaps... I watched more TV as i got older... Grandparents loved Sunday night TV... Disney came on on at 7 with a movie every Sunday and then Wild Kingdom... Dukes of Hazzard.. lol etc... Magnum Pi, Little House on the Prarie.. and the list goes on.. so yeah i guess i watched quite a bit of TV but i still remember playing outside alot too.. Hugs! deb
Hi Deb,
Bug spray isn't of a lot of use when you are playing in the water. Besides, the mosquitoes and ticks are pretty determined in Minnesota--lol! Nothing stops them completely. ;)
I remember prime time all those shows you mentioned. Thank goodness my folks liked them--lol! Early on it was Bonanza and Gunsmoke (my dad loved westerns). My mom loved the variety shows--so it was Andy Williams and all of the singers. I even remember when I was really small Milton Berle. My very favorite was Carol Burnett! I loved Leave It To Beaver and Father Knows Best. Later on The Andy Griffith Show. I saw a lot of TV. The family would watch together after dinner in those days. :)
You seemed to go from cold to hot very quickly. We went from early hot to cold, and now it looks like warm might be staying. Have a good week.
It was nice to see and read about the McFamily vacation, Rita, and even better to see that Liam and Ian had a lot of outdoor vs screen time. You have really been making a lot of progress on the packing up and I am always amazed by the number of art supplies you are packing up as I can recall years ago when I had a lot, but far fewer than yours. Nice to read that the temps have been warming up and sure the critters are missing the less than often feedings now.
Some warm days there, your sleep is all over the place which wouldn't help with brain fog. Computers often need updating which can be annoying if such update changes stuff from what we are use to. Great vacation photos and memories
Looks like the family had fun!!! You're getting so much accomplished. Selling stuff on marketplace is exhausting. I'm struggling to balance things now that I'm back to work.
Funny story, I posted Youngest's old bed/trundle on MP for $50. Someone bought it, and in the end, paid me $50 for just the trundle. So I was left with the frame/headboard. I was going to break it down and scrap it when someone else asked if I still had the bed part. Long story short, she's paying me $150 to deliver it about 40 minutes from here. Total no brainer.
So I'll end up getting $200 for a bed I listed for $50, which more than covers the mattress recycling fees, and the mattresses are being picked up at the end of my driveway. I'm struggling with being patient, as I still have to look at it all for two weeks, but sometimes things just work out, ya know?
Looks like they had a nice vacation! Itasca is a great place to go! Hope you have a good week the heat is coming so stay cool! I have shells in the garage and rocks in the rock garden:)
Glad you're making progress on the purging and organizing. I know how great it feels when things start to leave, so I hope it won't be long before more of the stuff you're not planning to keep does.
Sounds like McFamily had a great time on vacation.
You got an bargain on that cardstock. White is always the way to go.
Wonderful McFamily photos. I agree that having a cabin with a kitchen will save money when on vacation. Looks like the boys had fun, Gosh I got queasy just looking at the height of that tower. I'm also afraid of heights and would never have climbed that. Thanks for sharing the great photos, though.
If you get a tick here, there is a whole protocol in existence to send the insect to a lab at one of our universities for identification and analysis so that you know exactly what you are dealing with. Most species are harmless but not all, and the effects can be devastating.
You are making great progress in getting things ready for the move. And thanks for all the pictures of the family having such a good time! And glad Dagan was able to fix your machine once again. :-)
Dear Rita, congratulations on your fortitude and perseverance and persistence--all qualities that will ultimately get you moved to your home with Dagan and Leah and the boys!!!! It's wonderful and so inspiring how, in the midst of your health concerns, you are pulling this off with great good humor.
Thanks so much for sharing the photographs of their vacation. When I lived in Minnesota a Missouri friend visited me every September for the decade of the '80s and we went to a state park each year--Goosebury became a favorite. But both of us really enjoyed Itasca and see the beginnings of the mighty Mississippi. Your photos and the account of all the boys did just delighted me and brought back such good memories of my friend who died back in 1998.
I so applaud how your son and daughter-in-law are raising the boys. What a gift they are giving them in encouraging the natural creativity of children and avoiding all the social media business and television. Please let them know how impressed all your readers are. Peace from Dee and the cats.
You've been busy and productive. I had to laugh -- the "other" side of the bedroom looks like my family room, prepping for the yard sale. Well done on all the donations, too! Cheers!
Looks like McFamily had a wonderful trip. We too try to limit screen time but homework etc is all on screens now and is so hard to escape them.
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