Monday-11:45am

Still morning...barely--LOL!

 We've had some rain come through...

...from sprinkles to steady downpours. 

So glad!  We needed it! 

The wind did break off the existing marigolds that had been blooming when I bought them.

The new blooms will be sturdier having grown up in the wind tunnel outside my door--LOL!

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Well, I've been torturing Annie.  Not at this very moment...although she thinks I am.  She's sitting next to me meowing with some complaint or another.

My guess is that she's not happy that I just closed the place up and turned the AC on--LOL!

It was so much cooler the past couple days that I could have the place open all day and Annie was in seventh heaven.  All good things must end, isn't that what "they" say?  Back into the 80s again for the next week.  If it's cool enough at night I promised Anne I might at least crack the patio door for her for a while.  That's the guilt talking for the ongoing cat torture.

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And how am I torturing her?

I am trying to switch her over to a different system for her litter box.

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Leah found out about this online and Annie is our guinea pig.  If it works Blink will be next.  Just in case Annie refuses--no point in them buying up all this stuff because I could send it over for Blink. 

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Okay--this system uses hardwood pellets for the litter.  These are the actual pellets people use in pellet wood stoves.  Way cheaper than clay litter, better for the environment and the cat...but I have to talk an old cat into a new trick--LOL!  

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For anyone who's interested there are many videos on youtube.  Note: in researching this further I found it is not recommended to buy pine wood pellets because there is something in the pine oil that can make cats sick.  They recommend using hardwood pellets, but in a lot of the videos people are using pine.

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The litter box this lady was using looked perfect for the change.  It's made by Tidy Cat and come with plastic pellets.  Plastic--yuck!  Most cats I have ever had--well, I can't imagine them ever using plastic pellets.  But those come with the litter kit.

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Even though this lady uses the wood pellets for horse stalls (which I don't know if those are hardwood or pine), I stuck this video in because it shows this cat box with the tray and how it all works.  Easy to put a plastic bag underneath the whole thing so you can pick it all up easily and cleanly when it's time to empty the sawdust.  I liked her system.

Even in the information that came with the litter box it suggests putting the new cat box next to the old one... 

...and to put a pee ball inside to give them the idea.
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Annie's response...
"Surely you jest!"  

Their suggestion was to let the old box get so dirty that the cat would try the new cleaner box.  Well, honestly--Annie would probably keep going in the dirty box and I'm the one who can't stand a dirty litter box--LOL!
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Annie has never set one paw inside that new one.
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So, I started adding some of the hardwood pellets to her old box to get her used to the feeling of digging in the pellets.

My plan is to gradually add more pellets until there is almost all pellets in there--and then remove the old one and pray. 

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Don't worry.  I do have some of her old kitty litter and will clean and save her old bigger cat box just in case.   In fact, I might set this one inside of the old one after it's emptied and cleaned for a while just so it feels more familiar.  I really hope this 8-9 year old cat will accept the change because sawdust is so much better for the environment than the clay--there should be much less dust--and I can get a 40 pound bag of the hardwood pellets for about $4.19-4.59 here in town.  So, I say, "Annie...please, be adaptable!"  

Wish me luck!

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Ian was here from about 10:30am till 5:30pm on Friday for Gramma Day!  The time just flew by.  Caroline was delivering my groceries right when Ian arrived.  Ian helped me put groceries away.  It was a bristle block/TV day, I guess.  We watched "How It's Made" videos on YouTube--one was on how they make Nutella.  Ian said he hadn't ever had Nutella so afterwards we had a taste (he loved it) and read the ingredients on the jar.  
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We watched a show on dinosaurs where he sat with Gramma because it involved killing and eating other dinosaurs...so we talked about lions, wolves, and baby sea turtles.  We needed a break--so I counted while Ian ran 10 times around the kitchen table and then he helped me change a big round light bulb in the bathroom.  Little exciting projects for an almost four year old.  ;)  Time for some gentleness after the dinosaurs...Ian asked to watch some Mr. Rogers.  Yup--the day flew by and Daddy was here to pick him up.
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 I think I feel like Blink here after a day with Ian--LOL!

Gramma was falling asleep in her chair by 8:30! 
But it is a very happy sore and tired.  :)
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Then Leah was here for Crafts yesterday.  We are trying Sunday afternoons for Craft Days instead of Tuesday nights.  I had gotten a Kindle Fire on sale and Leah set it up for me!   I mostly wanted it for reading books (enlarging the font) and audio books.

Leah made the Birthday Party invitations for Ian's birthday later on this month.  We went over the steps for the three-tree Christmas cards, made a change in the plan, and took note that we still need green cardstock--but for now I can start working on the next assembly-line steps when I am feeling decent.  It is soooo nice to be having some better days.  Whoohoo!!
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That's about it from this week.  Saw a suggestion that if I make a comment on my own blog with a click to be notified of further comments I should get email notifications.  So I am going to try that.  (Thanks, Djan!)
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Have a fantabulous week!!  :) :)
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"Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet."
Thich Nhat Hanh

Monday-4:30pm

It's Monday and I am actually here with the couple months worth of pics and short videos from Leah that I promised.  Believe it or not I started sorting through them all at 11:30am and am just now starting the blog--hehe!  Don't worry--you are only getting a sampling.  ;)

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It's been hot and sticky here--upper 80s to low 90s.  I am most grateful for air conditioning.

The lawn mower folks had one of those huge mowers die while they were mowing the apartment complex across the way.

There was a lot of standing and thinking involved.  Trucks came.  Eventually it was started somehow and lumbered away to be repaired.   

Annie hid under the bed.

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I love seeing pictures of McFamily hanging out.

Liam with a messy face after eating. 

Liam is crawling up a storm and has been for a while.

They made this funny video of Liam crawling iin slow motion with sound effects.

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When Dagan went down to Minneapolis, before for his surgery they stopped at the Mega Mall.  I love these shots of Ian and Daddy inside the bubble lookout spot.  :)

Ian told me all about the aquarium and how the sharks swim over your head.   

Mama got a video of it!

Looks like a fun time was had before surgery day.

The boys were very good at the hospital all those hours. 

There was a lot of waiting involved because they were running later. 

As you know, Dagan has a new pacemaker and all is well.

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A couple people asked me about Ian's bicycle that has no pedals when I showed it last summer.

Here's a video.

Ian's gotten faster and his balance is much better than it was.  I love the lime green helmet!

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Here's a video just to show you the energy that Gramma can't keep up with--LOL!

Things are much quieter on my Gramma Days while we do crafts and art and watch Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers and nature shows.  ;) ;)

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I thought this series of photos were pretty funny.  Liam climbed up on that baby entertainment thingie while Blink was inside just watching him.

Liam stood up against it, moved over to other pieces of furniture, tipped over the arched entertainment thingie (as you can see below)...

...visited with Mama... 

...Mama put his hood up (cute)...

...Ian came down on the floor from the couch where he'd been with Daddy... 

...and noticed Blink was still inside the thingie!  So he climbed inside with Blink--LOL! 

That Blink just amazes me!

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When they were all over here (honestly can't remember which time) we got Ian's old push toy down.  It's been on top of Ian's shelves all this time waiting for Liam to be old enough to use it.  He's not walking yet, but we thought we'd give it a go anyways.

He knew just what to do!  I was surprised at his balance!

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Love these boys!!

They are growing like weeds! 

Liam's first finger foods.  Time to develop those small motor skills--LOL!  :)

How nice to be able to eat in your high chair out on the deck, eh?

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Last, but not least--I promised you before and after pics of the patio!

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Before.

After. 

It was a horrible day to be doing this really.  

In the 90s, drippy-humid, windy, and at the end it began to rain... 

...but mission accomplished.  Bought marigolds and geraniums to go along with the coleus and gerber daisies from Costco.  You'll notice that because it is so windy here I decided that instead of hanging plants I opted for a couple nice pots to put in the corners with fuchsias.

The only flowers that aren't doing well since we did this last Wednesday are the gerber daisies from Costco.  Everything else is looking great!

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Ian helped Mama dig.  He has his own gardening gloves and tools.  But toward the end he wanted to go with Liam and I for walks on the sidewalk.  (I was just keeping Liam occupied--as long as he's moving he's happy.)  So we walked down to the cottonwood tree and gave it a hug.  Weren't back too long and it started to rain.  That's when I made a big mistake--and should know better so it's my own fault.  

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I was already limping from all that walking all afternoon...but I helped Leah lift and carry the stroller inside and over to the rug by the door because the wheels were wet and muddy.  Have been in extra pain since then--from neck and shoulders to knees and ankles...lower back has been a mood most foul--LOL!  I've gradually been feeling better.  Slowly.  But that's why this is taking me so long to post today.  I have to get up and down--LOL!  

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But I am glad I have given myself the Monday deadline or you might not hear from me for weeks again.  I will continue to try to post every Monday.  :) :)

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Oh, and ever since that big yellow box with the notice about the European Union laws showed up on my blogs (I do have two)--I am not getting any email notifications about comments that I can respond to!!  Awk!  I have the comment moderation on so I get to read every one of them, but then I can't write you back!  Maybe this will change.  I am hoping it is a glitch of some kind that Blogger will fix.  I am not the only one this is happening to.  Just wanted you to know that I read every single comment but I can't write back to you--for now, anyways.  Please keep commenting!  :) :)  Or--if you send me an actual email I will write back!!  ;)  Anyways, just wanted to let you know what's happening with Blogger.

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Okay--I started this over six hours ago.  Time to do a quick proofread and post, my friends.  I hope to see you next Monday.  Take care and have a fantabulous week!!  :)

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"Heaven and Earth are threads from one loom."

Shaker Proverb

Monday-1:30pm

Been a long time.  

Just looked--been five weeks!  

When I felt decent I was busy...and then recovering from being busy--LOL!  The energy yo-yo.  Dagan was over on the 4th to help me take the snow shovel and broken chair out and bring in the fans.  We had already hit the 80s by the beginning of May.

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I scrubbed down the fans, humidifiers, and the metal chair & table (you can see the metal glider chair on the left side of this photo) that have been out there since I moved in.       

I decided to move them to the garage for now.  Well, let's be honest--Dagan moved them for me--LOL!  Love them, but my patio is small and I wanted to try it with just the two brown lawn chairs this year.  

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I had Ian on Saturday April 28th and Sunday May 6th while they went to look at the Parade of Homes both weekends.  Gramma Days!!  They brought dinner over afterwards both days--so nice!  On Sunday Ian even helped Dagan and I as we switched out the chairs and brought out the humidifiers.  Ian got to push the cart out and then get a ride on the way back.

As you can see from the first couple pictures, the grouse, grackles, sparrows, and mourning doves are around every day to entertain Annie and me. 

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Leah came on the 1st and the 8th for crafts.  

She also cut my hair for me.   :)

I love our craft times!!

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Leah picked up a small table for me on sale at Target that pretty much matches the one I already had for the brown chairs--tada!  And she also picked up some flowers from Costco for my planters.

Have had them next to my bedroom window. 

Coleus and some kind of daisies--red and yellow ones. 

We are going to try and make it to Baker Nursery and do the planting tomorrow!  (I'm the questionable part more so than the boys--LOL!)  I will show you the patio when it is all put together.  Maybe I should get a before and after! 

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I ordered a Hippo journal in December.  Was a kickstarter project.  I was late into the final orders and they said it should be ready to ship in January.  Well, it finally arrived...May 16th...two days after it said it was "out for delivery".  Mangled much!  Maybe it was delivered by hippos--LOL!

But amazingly the journal was in perfect shape because it was packaged inside the thick white cardboard sleeve. 

Because it took so long they had sent out an email saying they were sending along various gift items to all the people who had been waiting for all these months--so that was nice.  There was a pen holder you could attach, but I think that comes with it.  I think my gift was the plastic page protector on the right. 

You slip it behind the page you are writing on to protect the one underneath.  Useful if you have thin pages like this Hippo has and a heavy hand--then it won't dent the next page.

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My turquoise Hippo came with two bookmarks in blue and green. 

It's smaller than a Leuchtturm but fatter.  No index or numbered pages.  Has a pocket in the back--kind of thin paper so I don't know how well it would hold up.  Cover is floppy--not a hard cover.  500 pages of, I believe, Tomoe River paper--fountain pen friendly.  But now I wish I would have ordered a blank one and not a dot grid.  I can't write on dot grid that well with my wonky eye and I'm not sure I would use this after all for a bullet journal because I'd have so much less space on each page.

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They are the same height.

But the Hippos are 3/4 inch shorter in the width of each page!

More pages, but you lose a lot of real estate.  ;)  It's a family company and I bought one for the $33.00 pre-order because the Leuchtturm runs around 250 pages for about $20.00.  But now they're going up to $40.00 and I wouldn't ever pay that much for one.  Sorry.  Not really a thumbs up from me--unless I change my mind in the actual use.

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We have had some beautiful cooler days, too.  (My favorite, of course.)  Unlike this 80s day where I was closed up with the AC on trying to take pictures of the fluffy white clouds that almost looked fake--scattered loosely about.  Couldn't get one that didn't have the rings showing from the light hitting the screen.  Oh well, I tried.  I am easily impressed by small things.  ;)

I ordered a whole bunch of art supplies for Ian for his birthday next month...and a few things for Christmas...and some that might have to wait till his next birthday--LOL!  Can't tell Gramma is excited to be able to do crafty-arty things with Ian on Gramma Days, eh? 

I know he's old enough for some of them--like finger painting with a new smock.  ;)  Eventually little brother Liam will be using some of these, too.  

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Took pictures of some of the new goodies Leah and I have purchased this year because I realized when we got a big order we went in on together that I haven't shared pictures for a long time of the new craft stuff.

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These are stamp sets. 

Distress Resist Spray and some new adhesives. 

Leah has plans for these heart dies.  She used the one of the left for Mother's Day cards when she was here. 

Leah said this one is for gift card holders. 

We have some plans for these dies... 

...and here are Christmas dies. 

Yes, we are always on the lookout for Christmas card ideas.  ;) 

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 I also packed up three big bins with winter clothes and hauled them to the garage for the summer.  Proof I truly believe summer is on the way.  Had an apartment inspection on the 8th so I had done an extra good dusting, cleaned up the place, and cleaned off the patio.  I was so glad to finally have some energy again!  Was really getting a lot done...maybe too much.  

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Got sick again on the 9th.  Had to cancel Craft Nights and Gramma Days for a while.  Seemed like a relapse of what I had for two months--but, at least, this time I started to feel better after about a week instead of two months.  :) :)

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Funny--I think Annie prefers me being sick.  She loves the peace and quiet here soooo much that she already doesn't like it when I am buzzing about--even if my buzz is not as fast moving as it used to be--LOL!

So that's why it has been so long since you've heard from me.  But Annie and I are doing fine.  I'm getting back into being functional again.  Had a wonderful afternoon with Ian on Gramma Day.  He is practicing with real brushes and a bowl of water in his Paint With Water books.  Gramma was playing with watercolors.  If he gets the hang of how to use and hold a paintbrush...Gramma has a kids paint palette he could get on his birthday next month.  If not--Christmas is coming--LOL!  Don't want to give him supplies he can't handle and end up not being able to use them, you know?  We have plenty of time and tons of things to learn and play with.  :):)

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I have pictures and videos from Leah to go through and there will be more to show you.  Hopefully I will stay well AND not overdo it so much this time.  ;)  My tentative plan is to attempt to post once a week on Mondays.  No promises.  My whole life is tentative--LOL!  But maybe I will see you next Monday.  

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I'll leave you with pictures of Annie who likes to watch for the jackrabbits toward dusk. 

 

We don't see them as often since it got warmer out.  

There are also only two pairs of grouse who come around since it got nice out.  The duos come separately and do not like each other...which means we get to watch some rapid-footwork-chasing back and forth on occasion.  They never hurt each other...just race about chasing each other.  Silly grouse.

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That's it for now.  You're basically all caught up with the big stuff.  :)  I have been around to read blogs even if I haven't commented all the time.  I hope you are having as lovely an afternoon as we are here.  Till next time!  :) :)

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"For happiness, how little suffices for happiness! ...the least little thing precisely, the gentlest thing, the lightest thing, a lizard's rustling, a breath, a whisper, an eye glance--little maketh up the best happiness.  Be still."

Friedrich Nietzsche