Random Thoughts

 I make no promise of a number for these random thoughts, because well, let's just say it's been a week of NOTHING but random thoughts.  I get weeks like that sometimes.  Don't you?

Weeks when things are rolling along just fine and then - WHAM - seemingly out of nowhere come thoughts that cannot be categorized.  And if there is one thing I know about myself it is that I like things to fit nicely into categories.  But there are those occasions when they just do not.

My summer, measured by the school calendar, ended on Wednesday.  The oldest three grand kids will return to school the day after Labor Day.  I will still see them on M-W-F when THGGM picks them up and brings them here for an hour and a half after school.  I miss them already.

I've been troubled by my inability to write.  I do not seem to have had a stroke or a tumor or any such thing like that.  Just too many jumbled thoughts tripping, falling, and springing back up too quickly for me to record them in a proper way.  Of course, the more time I devote to studying HOW to actually write well only reinforces how improperly I have been doing it that I give up.  Oh, yes.  I AM one to give up.  Quite easily, actually.  I write all wrong.  What I'd really like to do is right all wrongs.  I say 'really' and 'very' too much, and of course, 'of course', and join too many sentences with the word 'and', and don't even care that I'm doing it.  Oh, and I start too many sentences with  'I'.  Since I'm writing about me and my life, it's kind of difficult not to do that.  Maybe I should try something more like this:  "THGGM didn't want to go to the thrift store, but he went anyway, with me."  No 'I's in that sentence.  No.

The end of summer feels more like an actual end to me than the end of the year does.  Everything changes now, not then.  This summer ranks as the best one that I can remember in at least a decade. Not everything worked out as we had planned.  THGGM worked longer hours, which was unexpected, but of course, that brought its own reward.  But for the most part a good time was had by us!

And strewing.  Let's give a hand for strewing, shall we?  Well, I certainly shall!  For the older kids this summer I attempted to just leave interesting things lying about for them to find, or not.  This worked wonders!  In the past I have tried to interest them in many different things, but they, being normal human children, enjoy choosing their own things to do.  I clearly remember the first day of summer vacation when they arrived.  One child threw himself on the couch, laid there for a bit, and then moaned, "What are we going to do today?" while still facing into the couch.  My response was that I had no idea what HE was going to chose to do, but I knew exactly what I was going to do.  This perked him right up and off he went to find something to do.  And I?  I accomplished quite a bit that day!

Oh, and I found this to be funny.  With the three littlest grand kids we have been singing a song before lunch.  It is to the tune of Oscar the Grouch singing his song, "I Love Trash".  Our song goes like this:
"Oh we love lunch!
It's so tasty, delicious. and yummy!
It feels very good in our tummy!
Oh we love, we love,
We love lunch!"
Wednesday Jonge told me that he is afraid that he is going to start singing it at lunch at school.  Yes. Just the thought of that is VERY funny.

My good expensive camera met with tragedy this summer.  I haven't brought it in to be checked out yet, but it fell.  Not far, but hard.  Directly on the lens. Now it will not focus, which of course is something that a camera must do.  I am sick about this.  Thankfully, my other camera, the one that spent an afternoon in a rain shower last summer has recovered nicely.  These pictures are from that one.  It does seem as if I just cannot have nice things.
I've finished one collection of 12 Elizabeth von Arnim books, and have just begun "The Enchanted April" from another collection.  I've heard there was a movie made of this one a few years ago.  I'm not much of a movie watcher, but I think I shall see this one after I finish the book.  She writes from a time I know little about; before, during, and just after the Great War.  Truly something new for me.  I'm also reading Jonathan Haidt's book "The Happiness Hypothesis".  More on that later.

Due to an incredible error in judgment, I accidentally drank a half cup of coffee at 10:30 last night. This seriously messed with my sleep, causing me to read into the wee-er (more wee?) hours of the night than I am used to.  So, I did not wake up until incredibly late in the morning.  My entire day has felt off.  24 hours later, I am just starting to feel awake now.  But I cannot go through another day like this, so I am off to bed!

And I do hope that you enjoy these three pictures as much as I do.  A series of three entitled "Bee On Autumn Joy Sedum".