Swinging with Pake

Have I mentioned lately what a blessing it is that Pake is here for for the last hour and a half or so of my day?

Although I am sure I could go back to doing it without him, that last hour and a half seems to always be the craziest time for me.

And sometimes I just need a cup of coffee and a potty break.

At some point in that hour and a half, it seems that everyone gets to swing with him, or cuddle a bit, or at least get to do something that I do not allow.

In the bottom picture, Famke was suffering from a tummy ache.  I am happy to report that she is feeling better now!

We've had this old swing for over fifteen years now.  It is quite possibly THGGM's favorite thing.

I think I've swung on it once.  Swinging makes me feel carsick.

Nostalgic for Yesterday

I go through stages where I'm just crazy about sepia tones.

So put up with me, will you?

This is Oldest Son swinging in his sister's backyard.

I remember that when my children were small we once had one swing.  It was a pink disc with an embossed monkey face on it, tied to a clothesline pole with a yellow nylon rope.  If one were to fall off of it, unpleasantness would have ensued.  Thankfully, no one did.   At least not very often.

Daughter's backyard is like a park.  I love it.

 Broeder is adored by all.  There is a line to hold him everywhere he goes.

Although it seems to me that Pake pushes himself to the front of the line sometimes.

When Broeder and his family left I heard more than one voice say, "Hey!  I didn't get a turn to hold him!"

See what I mean?














Of course, Hertsje still gets her fair share of cuddling.  Although she would much rather be on the move, walking up the slide, climbing on anything and everything, and enjoying her life immensely.  But she was quite happy to sit with her uncle.
Have I mentioned that this summer has been sooo nice?  Oh, I have, haven't I.

Independence Day Breakfast

 The family all came for breakfast this morning.

It was wonderful.

Vegetable quiches, fresh fruit, sausage, blueberry cinnamon bread, and donuts.

Note how carried away I got with my decorations.  Paper flags on picks stuck into my salt and pepper shakers. Seriously now.  I need my own show.

 We are quite the kissy bunch, it seems.

 Sometimes it's hard to remember what we did before there were babies.

We do like babies around here.

 And what smells better than a fresh baby head?

Nothing!

Some of us adjourned to the Grandville parade, others to see Spider Man.  There was even some napping and lounging.

What did I do?

After I cleaned up a bit I sorted a box FULL of old obituaries and funeral cards that my dad had collected over the years.  I do know how to live it up on a holiday!

In about a half hour I will be able to see the Grandville fireworks from right where I am sitting at the computer.  All I have to do is turn my head to the left, and there they will be, in the distance, right over my kitchen sink.

But, I'm old.  Sorting obituaries does tend to wear one out.  So, I'm just going to go to bed and read some more about Mary Chesnut's life in the very trying year of 1864.  All the booms and bangs of the local fireworks make the reading seem more realistic.

Backyard Fun

Oldest Son brought over his new croquet set this weekend.

Saturday was the PERFECT day for it.

And if anyone wonders how to drive earthworms to the surface of the lawn, we now know how to do it!

Daughter rescued many.

We were supportive of her endeavor, but didn't help except to point them out to her.

Oh, and yes, Pake put the pool up.

Hertsje enjoyed floating in it.  

Today she is four months old.

Didn't I just say "time flies"?

But it does for everyone, not just me.

So we're even.

Today I considered writing about my new fascination with Mary Chesnut's Civil War Diary, but I just cannot seem to write anymore.  If that day ever comes, I'll be ready with dog-eared pages to quote from.

Until that day comes, the grand kids are fun to photograph!

St Nicholas Eve

This is one of those years when we shall be bumping our St Nicholas Eve family dinner to a later date.

Oh, and I'm feeling MUCH better! Survived a long day with four happy energetic children even! And it is presently 11:35 and I am clothed and in my right mind. That says a lot.

Isn't that little elf with the lantern adorable? I found a dozen elves at IKEA and thought they would look at home on my cookie cutter tree in the kitchen.

So far I've got the cookie cutter tree in the kitchen mostly decorated, the bird tree in the hall finished, the small den tree which still needs a topper, the gold pinecone tree in the living room which decided after I had it all done to stop lighting at the bottom half, and surprise SURPRISE I actually found a NEW tree for my bathroom! I even surprised myself by buying a SILVER tree - because it fit so well with the pink in there. That one is full of Shiny Brights.

Now tomorrow I will have to clean up all of the messes I left in my wake. Maybe there will be pictures. Maybe...

Birthday Weekend Fun

While the Little Boys Slept

Saving Bad Pictures

Sometimes, even when a picture LOOKS like it didn't turn out, there is captured in it a wonderful expression.

I mean, look at that lawn. And in the corner, a rake and shovels. And THGGM's legs and feet.

But when I cropped out everything but Famke's face.., well it may be blurry, but it is such a timeless expression.

I just may have to sketch it. Or something.

Randomly She Rolls Along

I would certainly like to have more than just 'random' thoughts. Maybe next year?

Oh. And I give you this picture of 'my boys' spending the afternoon together in the backyard.

Random Thoughts in no particular order:

I made stuff today. My finger tips hurt as I type this, which means what I made required hot glue. There is a blister on the end of my left ring finger giving me pain. Was it worth it? Oh, yes. Yes it was! Maybe I'll take a picture of it tomorrow. (not the blister. what i made.)

Speaking of hurting.., this week I smashed my left foot against a chest in our hallway while running to the door to see a fire truck. Sadly I must inform you that I did scream and cry and say nasty things about THGGM's decision to put a chest in the hallway. The very next day I smashed my other foot while running the other direction after something or other (a dog, maybe?) leaving me with a deep purple toe and a limp. The NEXT day I dropped an unopened can of Diet Coke onto my foot, from which it bounced onto my purple toe, leaving me with a NEW bruise on yet another toe and an even sorer and deeper purple toe. Some days I think it is wise for me to just sit very still. Although, I've been rather severely injured just by doing that. Steel toed boots may be in my future.

Zeke is a very sweet dog. I really like him. Although, he has pooped twice in the house. It's a good thing that I am still heavily into the life style of rewarding obedient poopers. He would like to dominate me. I'm not falling for that. Sometimes we have words. He has a cage and I'm not afraid to use it. Earlier today, while I was hot gluing stuff, I had a running conversation going with him. I just LOVE having someone to talk to! Then I noticed that he had gone into another room for some quiet. He does have a lot to learn. I just talked louder.

Today we brought FOUR boxes of books to the thrift store. Of course, since we were there, I had to look around. My finds? A cute denim jacket for Famke to wear on those days that it suddenly becomes cold and she wants to play outside. And four big plastic dinosaurs. A large piece of red felt. Pink crepe paper. You would not BELIEVE all of the stuff I found that matched things I've been collecting. But, I did not buy them. No. My mom always said to 'leave something for the other kids.' So I did.

Last night I had a dream about my dad. In the dream he told me that it was really him. He looked much younger. He told me that everything was even better than we could ever have imagined. Then he gave me a hug and said he had to get back.

That was the good dream. The next dream was about clearing out my parents house. My parents only lived in two places, one for over 50 years and one for over 10. The house in my dream wasn't either of those. All through the dream I sat with my sisters as we sorted things into large boxes and even larger trash bags. Somehow we decided that we would each take all of certain items. One of my sisters was gathering up all of my dad's train stuff (which she really did do), another sister was sorting books, and I was taking all the dolls. In my corner I had a few dolls - one being that big doll that in real life seems to be taking over my life - and I was done and ready to go. Then someone pointed out that there were still more dolls. No, there aren't - I said. Then I looked up. Held with leather belts were every size and shape of doll imaginable - stapled to a huge wooden-beamed ceiling. There must have been THOUSANDS of dolls. And they were all mine. Of course, I had to climb ladders to get them down, not to mention that I had run out of boxes. It was a nightmare, really. I think I'm done with dolls.

Right now might be a good time to mention that yesterday I forgot to pick up my prescription. Tonight I'm hoping to have my usual weird kind of dreams. The kind where I am looking for a bathroom and can't find one. Or, that I'm waiting in a doctor's office and all of the magazines are in a different language. Then there's the one where I show up for something, but I don't know what it is I'm showing up for, so I just stand around feeling awkward and wondering what I should do next. ( hmm. maybe that one wasn't a dream.)

Today I took my dog and the latest issue of House Beautiful out into the backyard. There was something SO very interesting in that magazine that I had an entire blog post written in my head about it. I cannot remember just what that interesting thing was at this moment. But if I ever do remember what it was, I will tell you. (i won't. as they say, that ship has sailed.)

This week my domesticity included making the very best zucchini bread EVER. THGGM googled zucchini and coconut and I used the first recipe that came up. I think he was just tired of zucchini everything-else. This is not like any other very good zucchini bread I have ever had. (that reminds me. i still have a loaf in the freezer.) So, if like me you still have zucchini in your fridge that nobody wants to eat anymore DO try this! You will not be disappointed. And, it bakes for EXACTLY the amount of time it says. I have such a problem with banana bread requiring DAYS to finally reach the proper doneness in the center.

Earlier this week I THOUGHT I had decked out the house for fall. Since fall colors are our favorites, and many of our rooms look fallish all year long it isn't very hard to do. BUT today I went looking for a particular item stored in the fruit cellar in the basement and what did I find but A LOT more fall stuff. So, I floofed some more. Well. Everywhere except for the pretty pink bathroom. There's not much fall stuff that looks good in an all pink everywhere bathroom. Maybe a white pumpkin? Presently it's stuffed with all of the white roses and dried flowers that I took from other places to make room for fall.

Anyone else noticing that there is absolutely NO END to the number of cute Cute CUTE artsy blogs? OH. MY. It NEVER ends. One links you to another one, which recommends another one and soon it is later than I am allowed to stay up! So many ideas. So many interesting things to make. So many. So so very very many. (makes me tired and a bit cranky, but i continue on...)

Tomorrow THGGM and I start our NEW 'we seriously need to get rid of stuff' plan. Each of us on a weekly basis will now be donating twenty-five things (at least) to the thrift store. (oh stop snickering. we are too.)

I live in Michigan. Where it snows in winter. A lot. I have not owned a pair of boots in years. Since this year I shall be tromping around in the snow with a dog, I am going to have to buy some boots. I don't like boots. I don't even like shoes. But, since I need some maybe I SHOULD get the steel-toed kind.

See? Sometimes all these random thoughts lead to a conclusion. Or, I could just wear THGGM's.

Now if you read this far and you are the someone who blogged about antique shopping and seeing a cute little cobalt blue pitcher with four cups that you wanted but did not buy I would be happy to send you mine. Email me.

(spell check does not recognize 'poopers' as a word? i find that sad.)

From Saturday

You Make Me So Very Happy

Today I took a HOT afternoon walk through my yard. Earlier, while adjusting shades inside I noticed that the hydrangeas on the north side of the house were looking very bloom-y. So I went out with scissors, but could not cut them, yet. Then I noticed three that were beginning to fall over and I rescued those with my scissors.

On the west side I saw that not only are the purple balloon flowers still looking well, the black-eyed susans seem to be holding their own. I plucked a few of those too.

I am not a gardener nor a flower arranger, but I do like to gather up random bottles and jars to fill with color.

There is nothing special about any of these things, but I like them. They make me happy. Well, except for the slug that fell out of one of the hydrangeas and landed on my hand, that did not make me happy. But everything else did.