Ten Random Things

 1.  Today is a warm and beautifully breezy Sunday in my little world.  THGGM is outside.  I have been catching up on some reading and also playing the piano.  I do like doing that.  I've got enough music now that I can easily match my mood to the music I play.  Today it's been mostly hymns, and What a Wonderful World.  I'll probably go back to it soon.  This time I think I shall play the theme song to the Andy Griffith Show.  Even though I am not likely ever to saunter down to a fishing hole I can and do whistle.  Not well mind you, but I do it anyway.

 2.  THGGM and I were just trying to decide if we wanted to go anywhere today.  I think we came to the conclusion that we would stay home.  He has presently left to do the grocery shopping.  We are a match made in Heaven, I tell you.

 3.  One option was to head to the lake shore, but since I loath crowds and traffic, I think we shall hold off until a week night.  Saturday we drove to Holland State Park with the sleep-over crew to watch the sun set, and the blue moon rise.  Oh, and to get ice cream.  But we got caught by the looongest train ever and missed the sunset by just a few short minutes.  Of course, this meant that EVERYONE and their 20 closest friends were leaving the park.  Twilight, traffic, families walking, bikers, and dogs isn't a relaxing mix for me.  After we finally got out of that mess (although a beautiful mess) one child was sound asleep, one didn't feel well, one had headphones on which meant LOUD questions were being asked, and one was as charming as ever. we went in search of an ice cream shop what didn't look as if it was trying to win some sort of Guinness Book of World Records prize for customers in the longest line wrapped around the building.  We ended up at a McDonald's Drive-thru.  It was still good.

 4.  I do have to tell you that the blue moon was gorgeous as it reflected on the waters of Lake Macatawa.  And, we certainly did get a good loooong look at it, being stuck in traffic and all that.  It was worth it all just to see the moon.  For me anyway.  The loud talking boy wearing the headphones kept interrupting the ambiance by shouting WHAT ARE WE DOING?  WHEN ARE WE GETTING ICE CREAM?  WHY ARE WE HERE?  Although, when we did finally get the ice cream and settled in for the drive home we enjoyed having the full moon follows us. As we pulled off the highway, a voice from the backseat said "This was REALLY fun!"  So, even though it did not turn out exactly how we had hoped, they all agreed and admitted to enjoying the trip ever so much.

 5.  Did you have neighbors to play with when you were a kid?  I remember playing with neighbor kids all summer long.  The grand kids don't have that.  At least not yet.  But we have a family in our neighborhood with five kids from 10 - 2, with another on the way, that the oldest four grand kids enjoy playing with.  Saturday morning I was quite sure that after breakfast and our traditional stops they would want to play in the pool for the rest of the day.  But, no.  They'd much prefer to ride bikes and play on all the wheely bits with our neighbor kids.  This meant that THGGM got to float all day in the pool on his raft.  I kept checking on everyone and they all seemed supremely happy - even THGGM.

 6.  The Saturday shopping stops were nice too!  I found a couple of useful things, and the grand kids each found an article of clothing.  And at Michael's, where they were each given a small spending allowance the cashier hauled out a 40% off the entire purchase coupon and used it on us!  All I bought was a Pumpkin Orange Prisma colored pencil, but, had I KNOWN she was going to do that...

 7.  For the past several weeks every time I'm in Micheal's it is looking more and more like fall.  I do not mind that, as fall is my most favorite season.  But, I am going to be sad to see half of the grand kids go back to school.  I say this now.., there is still one more month to go.., ask me then...

 8.  Do I really have the time to sit and type out boring random thoughts?  No.  I do not.  But I am at that point where so many things are beginning to fall apart that sometimes its just better if I sit around not thinking about it.  Like, the belt is off my vacuum.  This never used to be a problem for me, as popping belts back on vacuums was often a daily occurrence.  But on our latest vacuum, I just cannot do it!  Ugh.  So, I sit and watch the whirling dervishes of recently trimmed dog fur dance around whenever I walk through the house.  Oh.  And there is what I believe to be a frozen blueberry stuck in the drain of the freezer, which means water is leaking out at odd intervals and rolling, rolling like a river through the kitchen.  Also, the backyard has begun to look like a Mid Summer's Nightmare.  Other than all that, things are going well here.

 9.  A new Tangers Outlet mall opened somewhat near us this weekend.  Daughter and her mother-in-law ventured out on the opening day.  From what I saw on the news it looked like a miserable mess and I could not imagine how ANYONE would want to go there.  They wanted to see Drew and Jonathan Scott from Property Brothers on HGTV, so they did!  My thought was that I'd rather have a root canal, or a baby even, but Daughter LOVES doing that kind of thing.  I worried through the entire noon news show every time they showed those teeming crowds of shoppers.  But, they had NO TROUBLE AT ALL.  No traffic, as they took a back road in, no trouble parking, as they found side street parking right away, and they were near the front and could see the Property Brothers quite well.  Good for them.  I was happy staying at home doing what I do best, worrying about people who enjoy going places and doing things...

10.  Well now.  THGGM is back from grocery shopping.  Now it is my turn to put things away.  Hmm  What to make for dinner.  Something with sauteed zucchini and yellow squash, peppers, mushrooms...

10 in 10

Let me share with you at least ten of the reasons that the summer of 2013 has been one of the best summers of my life!

1.  THGGM and I were able to spend two weeks of our summer vacationing in the beautiful Traverse City area.  That makes up for missing out last summer which was among the very worst summers of my life.

2.  The weather was lovely.  Just enough hot and muggy days to cause me to appreciate the rest of them.  Of course you already know this, but I cannot stand the heat and I've gotten out of the kitchen years ago.

3.  The addition of Broeder to our family has been such a joy.  He is one sweet boy!  And it delights me to see how he lights up and smiles when his sister gets all up in his face.  Such a sweet little bond already.
 
4.  Getting to spend my days with such kind and interesting grandchildren is such a thrill!  I love these kids because they belong to me, but even if they didn't they all have personalities that appeal to me.  They run the gamut of sensitive, chatty, quirky, charming, bold, and sweet.  I do believe we all had a great time together, and there were actually occasions when they left just as tired as I was.

5.  We went places and did things.  We visited with people we hadn't seen for years.  We ate dinners in the backyard.  We enjoyed our own home and yard.

6.  I've read a lot this summer.  It's true, I DO spend an enormous amount of time perusing Pinterest pinning more ideas than I shall ever have time to accomplish (mostly because i am spending an enormous amount of time on pinterest!) but I have been reading a lot too.  Me and my Kindle.  We are close friends.

7.  I'm sure that someday I will go to see my doctor and he will diagnose me with a condition seen only in those who jump hurdles.  He will be mystified.  I will know that it comes from hopping over a gate more times in a day than one can count.  I can also do this while holding a child in each arm.  The gate replaces the sound of a pocket door being opened and closed  ALL.  DAY.  LONG.  Now that Hertsje has learned to escape the pack-n-play I may have to rethink how this will all work.  Hmm.., does anybody know if they make pack-n-plays with lids?

8.  This summer I got to observe that while a pool can make three children extremely happy, the joy of one two year old with a hose is something not to be missed.  What amazing things one can learn by watching water come alive to a little boy.

9.  I may have mentioned this in the past, but if you want to keep a bunch of kids happy and occupied for an entire rainy afternoon, give them each their own roll of tape.  Any kind of tape will do.  Seriously.  Tape just may be the number one go-to gift for any child's gift-giving occasion.  I used to think it was good quality markers and drawing paper, but I was wrong.  It's tape!

10.  It is going to be dreadfully hard to see Jonge and Famke head off to school on Tuesday.  The loss of two kind and willing helpers is part of that, but so is having interesting conversations about people, life, and feelings.  Hopefully tonight (they are coming for a sleep-over) we will get to finish reading Mr. Popper's Penguins.

So those are just 10 of the many many many wonderful things about this summer.  It was truly madly deeply GREAT.  It was so great that I am sure it's greatness, wonder, and joy is part of the depression I am feeling now.  Or, maybe it's just that a mouse has taken up residence somewhere in my kitchen and I hate that with supreme hatred.

But I DO love Fall most of all, so onward and forward I go in my quick-stepping march to old age and senility.  Although I must march with a slight limp due to that pain in my hurdling hip.

Ten in Ten

1.  It is presently 63 degrees.  I love that temperature.  It could be 63 degrees all the time and I would be extremely happy, never tiring of it.  I even have a fan going, just to bring in even more of that 63 degrees.  Sigh...
2.  Today I set Famke up with some math manipulatives.  Last week I made her a flip book of numbers from one to one hundred and picked up one hundred foam pieces for her to count.  It's easy for her, but it's always good to review.  Surprisingly, EVERYONE got in on it.  That reminded me that I have all sorts of manipulatives that I've picked up at thrift stores over the years.  It wasn't long before EVERYONE was sitting around the table with their very own projects going on.  I just KNEW that someday this would all pay off.  They sorted by tens, by shape, by color, and by thickness, and we put together very many different patterns.  I think I may have had the most fun of all.
3.  I made homemade macaroni and cheese for lunch.  The macaroni MUST be yellow, orange, and green for everyone to approve.  And there MUST be at least three different kinds of cheese.  It was extremely good, if i do say so myself, but for the rest of the day I could tell that I had overdone my carb intake.
4.  After lunch I thought they would all want to go outside.  They did not.  Said it was too cold.  It was not.
5.  So, I read a few more chapter from "Mr. Popper's Penguins".  It feels good to be reading something that doesn't rhyme. Now that they are into the story, all four of them sit very still and listen, with only an occasional blood-curdling scream thrown in just for fun, I guess.
6.  After the reading of the book, Jonge went back to his work of  perfecting a ramp made from wooden blocks.  Famke and Kado each had two small dolls they were creating exciting story lines for, these dolls kept getting stranded a top "tall mountains" and were in constant need of rescue.  Feintsje was content to build with Legos and spent a good amount of time constructing a fence to keep the zoo animals in.
7.  Soon after it was nap time for Feintsje and it only took about five minutes before he fell deeply asleep on my lap.
8.  While he slept Jonge stripped the bed in the guest room.  All the sheets, blankets and pillows made a tent which had a tunnel to get into it and held three kids, a bunch of dolls, books, and a flash light.  But for some reason I cannot guess, that got old quite quickly.
9.  Then they filled up old lunch boxes with REAL tools that they found all around the house.  They all took turns working to fix a rocking chair that has a loose arm.  This seemed to take a very long time, so as they took turns, whoever wasn't banging away on my chair went to the table and made letters out of pipe cleaners.  There were many C's, L's, and O's made.  Famke made me a tiara and a bracelet.
10.  Pake came home from work at 3:45 and took everyone for a walk to see Hertsje and Broeder.  While they did this I assessed that it should only take me about three days to get everything back to where it came from.  But I could be wrong.  It could take four days.  But I wouldn't change a thing.  Except for diapers.  I do change those.

Ten in Ten

Can I come up with ten things I did on this Saturday?  Let's see...
1.  The morning started out rather promising.  The heat and humidity abated somewhat and I was feeling a touch more alive.
2.   THGGM and I picked up Feintsje and his mommy for breakfast.  It's always fun to see the grand kids individually rather than as part of a group.  Feintsje is a sweetheart.  I sweetened him up even more by giving him some of the contents of a sugar packet.  Don't know what I was thinking, what with my being diabetic and all that.  But, as you can well imagine, the boy LOVED it!
3.  After breakfast THGGM dropped me off at my favorite thrift store.  Actually, it is the only thrift store I go to anymore.  I just don't NEED anything.  But at this one I tend to find a lot of things that I like.  Today's finds were a metal file box in a nice medium size, and a small doll in a backpack.  I also found three Gooseberry Patch cookbooks from a series I am collecting.
4.  After that we came home.  I had a great many plans I wished to complete, but I took a nap instead.
5.  When I woke up, I made a cup of coffee and took another nap.
6.  Youngest Son and Hertsje stopped over so I woke up to answer the door.  Hertsje and I had a good time playing together.  We poured water from the pool into all the little enamelware teapots that have made their way into the backyard and have taken up residence there.  She refused to talk about Broeder, whom she calls YaYa.  He is now a robust 9 lbs. 4 oz. and for some reason has decided that he loves to roll over already.
7.  When Hertsje left I thought I would start a project in the basement that I have been putting off.  While I was thinking about doing that I fell asleep.
8.  THGGM woke me up to show me what he had done in the backyard.  He removed the Desert Candle plants that I do not like.  They have very poky leaves that can easily cut cute little arms and legs as they retrieve  lost balls from the foliage. Now there is more room to play.  He claims that they came out without much trouble, which makes me rather mad at myself for not doing this sooner.
9.  So I came back in with a happy heart and pinned all manner of things to my Pinterest boards.  Things that I just MAY try to do someday when I am not so unbelievably tired that no amount of coffee could jar me from it.  And then I took another nap.
10. For the better part of the evening, I watched Big Bang Theory reruns whilst crocheting yo-yos for the wool bracelets I am knitting on my Punniken, and had tea while watching Keeping Up Appearances, just because that seemed like the appropriate thing to do.
So that was my Saturday.  Hopefully tomorrow I will not be so awfully tired.

10 in 10

Wow.  How did it get to be Saturday night?  I do not know.  Here are my 10 random things in 10 minutes.
1.  Still had leftovers from our July 4th breakfast, so we ate them.  I just bet we will eat them tomorrow also.  Good thing we like it!
2.  This morning I got a haircut.  THGGM still cuts my hair, or what hair I have left.  I don't mind so much that my hair is gray I just don't want it to go away.
3.  I've made several purchases using Barnes and Noble coupons.  This week I added another Duplo Lego set, and completed my "Pookie" collection by adding "Let's Dance Little Pookie" and "Little Pookie".  I love these books by Sandra Boynton.  And I especially love hearing Jonge read them to the younger kids.
4.  Today I did a bit of thrift shopping.  Just the one store around the corner from me.  I found more hardwood blocks for $1.50.  I didn't need any more.  Really, I didn't.  But who could pass up a bag full of blocks for that price?  These were well loved.  I'm thinking that I might just put them in the rock box by the dirt pile and not worry about what happens to them.
5.  At Cost Plus World Market today I FINALLY found a knitting doll!  Hopefully I'll be able to figure it out.  I remember doing this as a kid, but I just used a spool with four nails at the top.  This one is a really cute knitting doll.  Cute matters to me just a teeny bit more than function.  Although I hate to admit that.
6.  My hope for today was to move around the furniture in our bedroom.  I didn't get to that.  I feel really bad about that.  Although not bad enough to get up and do it now.  Nope.  Not that bad.  Or is it "badly"?  Hmm.  Possibly what is holding me back is the memory of that large tulip picture that fell off the wall and shattered into a million tiny pieces behind my nightstand/dresser/desk.  I'll have to deal with that when the furniture gets moved.  Can you sense the laziness, or is it justifiable tiredness, that I'm experiencing?
7.  I did give Zeke his July haircut.  That wears me out.  I did a fairly good job, all things considered.  One rear leg still needs to be shaved.  This gives him sort of a lopsided look.  And sadly, on the side of the unshaved leg I shaved a bit to close to the skin.  Poor dog.  But I figure that if THGGM cuts my hair, and does it for free, I am certainly not going to pay to have the dog groomed.  Or maybe I will.  I suppose I could cut corners somewhere else.  But then I'd have to stop buying fun toys and books.  Which I don't see happening.  So, I guess that's where it stands.  THGGM cuts my hair and I shave the dog.  Everybody wins!
8.  Today, in the middle of the afternoon, I suddenly got very depressed.  What do you do when you get suddenly depressed?  THGGM took me out for ice cream.  We don't do that very often, what with me being diabetic and all that.  But today we made an exception.  Sadly, it didn't work.  So we went to Cost Plus World Market.  I found three new Pez dispensers and the refills for them.  That made me a wee bit happier. But not the kind of happiness that lasts long.  THGGM asked what else would help.  So I told him, "I would like a Whopper with cheese and extra pickles".  Apparently for all of his charm and other good qualities, he didn't believe me.  He said, "Would you like a chili dog?"  Finally, after 35 years of marriage, I managed to reply, "What part of I want a Whopper with cheese and extra pickles do you not understand!?"  So I'm guessing my blood sugar isn't so great tonight.  And I still feel depressed.  But life is good.  And so is having ice cream first and then a Whopper.  Once every five years or so.
9.  Before crawling into bed last night I ordered a new book for my Kindle.  This could be dangerous.  I went to the website of an author I've been reading for years, only to find that she wrote a memoir that came out in 2008.  HOW did I miss THIS?!  I guess I have been busy the past five years or so.  Anyway, I'm enjoying it so far, and if it's great I'll be sure to let you know.
10.  The highlight of my day was rocking Broeder.  He is such a sweet baby.  I even got to change his teeny tiny diaper.
Well, that's ten.  Now I am off to bed to read my NEW book, which I should have read five years ago.

10 in 10

 1.  Today has been a day of rest for me.  I've not done much but fill my new bird feeder and hang it on a shepherd's hook in the back yard.
2.  It was a rather busy week.  I like that.
3.  On Thursday I did not have any cute little grand kids to watch.  My middle sister picked me up in the morning and we drove to Kalamazoo to visit with our oldest sister.  We had a fabulous lunch at Zooroona's. I had the grilled salmon, saffron rice, and hummus.  All three of us shared one piece of date cake.  I would travel back there just for a third of a piece of date cake.  It was THAT good.  So was the coffee.  But most of all it was nice to visit with my sisters.
4.  Friday is well pictured in the posts below this one.  It was such a wonderful day.  THGGM said that I was the annoying one, always worried that something was going to happen to someone.  Nothing did.  Now, does that make me ANNOYING or responsible?  Much to ponder here.
5.  Saturday morning we hosted breakfast for DiL1's birthday and for Father's Day.  It was also Kado's actual birthday, but he is sharing a birthday party with Feintsje next weekend.  THGGM made blueberry French toast for the occasion.  It was wonderful, as was everything else we had to eat.
6.  For dinner on Saturday THGGM and I went to Olive Garden for dinner.  He wanted to go to Hunan, but I told him he didn't, he wanted to go to Olive Garden.  It seemed reasonable to me. But I guess I was wrong, and possibly annoying, but I just don't see it that way.
7.  The weather has been absolutely beautiful this weekend.  Warm and mostly sunny, with just a bit of rain here and there.  All I can remember from last summer is how extremely hot it was.  All.  The.  Time.  I can handle this.
8.  Hmm. It's been more than 10 minutes.  We took a break and went out for ice cream.  First we passed an accident that had just happened.  Then the line at the 'usual' ice cream place was too long, so we drove to MacDonald's for hot fudge sundaes instead and passed more police activity on the road.  Anyway.., we came back home and enjoyed our sundaes in the back yard while watching the neighborhood birds flock to the new feeder.  Lots of cardinals.
9.  My new vacuum cleaner is supposed to arrive here tomorrow.  Can you imagine what it looks like over here?  I've been without a vacuum cleaner for over a week now.
10. The dog in these two pictures is my grand-dogger, Bethy.  Oldest Son and DiL1 adopted her.  She is recently recovered from heart worms, so she had been unable to run and jump and play.  She can do all that now!  Zeke didn't seem to mind, although he wouldn't play with her.  Bethy has THE most beautiful blue eyes.  You'll have to take my word for it, as of all the pictures that I took yesterday, these two are the only ones that turned out.

Hope you enjoyed your weekend, and if you are a father, Happy Father's Day to you!

10 in 10

1.  Today started out rather whiny.  Sometimes rainy days are like that.

2.  But everyone got over it, except for maybe me.  I still feel a wee bit whiny yet.

3.  Yesterday I used a 40% off Michael's coupon to buy a really cute rubber stamp set.  When Hertsje went down for her nap (she did not sleep for over four hours today) we gathered around the table and tried it out.  If you don't rubber stamp with kids you do not know what you are missing.  It is GREAT fun, especially for the ones who don't think they are very good at drawing.  And, it's just such good fun trying it clean up colorful finger tips.

4.  My sister came in with her four year old grandson today.

It is always great to have more kids to play with.  They all get along very well.

5.  Lunch was interesting. My sister and I had to stand 'lunch counter' style.  THGGM doesn't understand me when I say we need a bigger house.  Maybe we just need to blow out the wall between the dining room and kitchen.  Or maybe it just needs to stop raining when I'm having eight for lunch.

6.  After a delicious lunch (some seemed to only eat dill pickles) the boys agreed on Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood for rest time.  Famke prefers Calliou.

7.  This gave my sister and me time to down a second mug of coffee so we would be prepared for round two.

8.  Round two took place outside, where it was misting a little.  But kids need to run around and play.  And that they did.
With a happy dog running behind them.

9.  And grandmas need to sit.  Sometimes I wonder why I don't just lean against a wall all day.  That would take up less energy than hopping up and down every couple of minutes.  I seriously do not know why my arms aren't perfectly sculpted. I've been lifting babies for over seven years now.  But no, I've got flappiness.  The only thing firm about me is my tone of voice when someone hits someone else totally forgetting that we very simply MUST treat others the way we want to be treated.

10.  While the kids played and my sister and I chatted around the patio table between bouts of jumping up and down to save someone from certain pain I took pictures of my peppermint plant.  When I downloaded these I was quite pleased with how the background looked.  Such a fun day, but I am very tired.

10 in 10 for a Saturday Night

1.  My Saturday morning began with a trip to the vet with  Zeke.  It's been a year since he had his painful back trouble.  This trip was just for his yearly check-up.  He didn't much like it.  First he pooped in the lobby, and then he bit the vet.  On the upside we got to hear what a lovely dog Bethy, our grand-dogger is!  They ALL love Bethy there.  I can only imagine what they will say about Zeke.

2.  THGGM ordered a vanity plate.  He really LOVES being a Pake.  And we are all excited to meet number six!

3.  Today I hit one thrift store.  I found a bag of what looked like blocks but also contained brightly colored wooden people.  So, of course, I bought it.  When I got it home and was adding the blocks to the block box I discovered that what I had purchased was a LOVELY hard wood block nativity set.  Oh the FUN we shall have with that!  Sigh...

4.  I also bought a small bag of assorted toys which contained a Buzz Lightyear and two Ninja Turtles.  Someone is going to be happy about that.  Love those 50 cents bags.

5.  The rest of the day was spent finishing up projects that I had started earlier in the week.  I've been stocking up on "pants" hangers. Presently I'm moving all of my tablecloths and assorted linens from the linen closet to a closet where they shall all hang nicely on pants hangers.  MUCH neater and not nearly so many fold lines.  I still have more to do with this project, as I've only emptied two of the four drawers and there is a three shelf cupboard above the drawers.  There are A LOT of pictures in that cupboard, so I do not dare dig into THAT as I know I shall be sure to trip and fall down memory lane.  And once I've fallen THERE, I cannot get up.

6.  While I've been doing that, THGGM has been washing screens and cleaning up the breeze-way.  Last year I believe we had that done in March.  This year it's looking hopeful for June-ish.

7.  On Memorial Day THGGM and I shall have been married for 35 years.  I still remember loading up my '66 Buick L'Sabre with all my worldly goods with which I endowed THGGM and it only took one trip. I did not have many worldly goods back then.

8.  Does anyone else watch "Keeping Up Appearances" on PBS on Saturday nights?  I LOVE that show!  And I also hate that show.  But I watch it religiously.

9.  The grand kids are still struggling to get over whatever it is that has been ailing them.  One would hope that fresh air and sunshine would perk everyone up, but it just seems to complicate things with allergies.

10.  Speaking of allergies, I keep waking up with my eyes stuck shut.  I don't like that.  But I do suppose it's a small price to pay for such a beautiful blooming spring time.  Yes.  Yes, I suppose it is.

10 in 10

Let's see.., I made it to Friday.  Not that that was hard to do.  The days just seem to fly by, except of course when they don't.  But this was one of the weeks that flew.  Speaking of flu, I never did get it.

1.  The closet cleaning that I started last week is still going full speed ahead.  At least the THINKING about it part is.  My clothes and almost all of the kids toys have been sorted and relocated.  But every time I get the new home for things looking spectacular I turn around to find that there are a multitude of things looking  rather forlorn and homeless.

2.  So I moved on to the linen closet.  My linen closet is AMAZING.  It is built in at the end of the hallway right outside of both bedroom doors.  I've seen pictures of smaller apartments in Paris.  But it needs a good cleaning.  So far, I've emptied two drawers entirely.  Onto the bed.  I do have a lot of curtains.  Even some from three houses ago.  In the back of my mind, I've always thought that Scarlet O'Hara was on to something.  One of the drawers is full of bed sheets. Scarlet didn't know everything after all.

3.  Last week I could easily get rid of bags of stuff.  This week it all looks so interesting and promising that I get a headache and have to lay down just looking at all of the possibilities.  But seriously though, the curtains are a maroon and ivory buffalo plaid.  I don't think they'd work up into something even remotely fashionable.  Although I am no authority on fashion.  Maybe I'll have to ask around.

4.  The sheets are a different story.  Have you noticed all of the cute things people are making with vintage sheets and pillow cases?  Adorable summer shifts and sweet floral tops?  So I've saved some.  But now that I'm thinking about it, the women who look adorbs in them are 20-somethings who only eat greens.  The thought of what I would look like roaming about in a vintage sheet makes me laugh uncontrollably.  Which is something that I should NEVER do anymore.

5.  Did I mention tablecloths?  Again Scarlet, you could have done better.  Why, you could have made a billowy wedding dress out of the good linens. Sadly, I have never met a tablecloth I didn't like.  So I have them for the dining room table, the kitchen table, the patio table, the picnic table and even for buffet size tables of which I have none.  Yet, I am PREPARED.

6.  In keeping with the random theme, I played the piano this morning.  Now it is true that I play the piano nearly every morning, but this time I played the piano without three cute little bottoms sharing the bench with me.  And I could play using my left hand as it wasn't anchoring a sweet little musician to the bench.  Sometimes it's just fun to play something other than Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and the ABC Song.  So today I played with wild abandon, You'll Never Walk Alone.  Doing this reminded me that since the two cabinets that I stored all of my music in were moved to the basement, I now need to find room for a whole lot of music.

7.  Did the weatherman LIE to me?  I thought it was to be sunny and warm today.   I've had to turn lights on and am presently leery of hanging laundry on the line.  That is, if I ever get around to doing any laundry today...

8.  Have I mentioned the wonderful gifts I received for Mother's Day?  THGGM gave me flowers, and from the children (who know me VERY well!) I received a Kindle, a bright red vice, and Legos.  I've been reading Pride and Prejudice on my Kindle every night, the vice I'm hoping to install tomorrow so I can drill holes in all the half done jewelry projects (oh!  the possibilities!) and we have been having a fabulous time with the new Legos all week.  Mother's Day truly was lovely.  This year I REALLY missed my mom.   More than ever.  But sometimes when I sit at the piano and play, it's almost like she is right behind me, and I'm reminded of the things she used to say.  Today was one of those times.

9.  I gave Zeke his second hair cut of the season yesterday.  Oh, boy.  Tomorrow he goes to the vet.  I hope none of the other dogs point and laugh.  But he is lighter, cleaner and happier.  Maybe I should take a class in dog grooming.  This was the first time that he willingly let me groom his legs.  All the other times he would snort and snap at me.  We are making progress.

10.  I confess.  This took longer than ten minutes.  And it certainly could use editing.  But I have closets to clean, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep...

Ten in Ten

1.  Today I did not have any grand kids to care for.  So what did I do?  Well, let's see...
2.  I scrubbed half of the kitchen floor.  Just half.  Don't ask why.  I'm going to look at it as a 'floor half clean'.
3.  Well, this is why.  I remembered that I was going to take the drawers of toys out of the guest room closet and put them in a hall closet.  This needed to be done, as when someone is napping in the guest room nobody can get at the toys.  So the neat little drawers of toys are now in the hall closet.  I couldn't take out everything, as they still need to play in there some of the time.  I hope this works.  If not, I know what I'll be doing next weekend.
4.  The hall closet already has two high shelves filled with games and puzzles and things with small pieces.  It also had my off-season clothes.  Those are now in the guest room closet.  And I also managed to fill two kitchen size trash bags with clothes to give away.  That felt good.
5.  I got rid of my denim jumper.  And my denim vest with the nice front pockets.  Are you proud of me yet?  I've not worn either of them in years and years, but for some odd reason I've hung on to them.
6.  What I couldn't get rid of were my two mother of the groom dresses and my mother of the bride dress.  One of them I might wear again, the other two are lovely, but I won't ever wear them.  Somehow, I just couldn't get rid of those two without thinking that something wasn't right.  So I hung them next to my wedding dress.
7. It's been almost six years that we have lived here.  If you were to look through my house it looks like we've lived here for 35 years.  I've got to stop seeing possibilities in EVERYTHING, but never actually doing it.  You would not believe how many Jif peanut butter lids I have accumulated.  Someday, I'm going to think of the GREATEST thing to do with them.  Although I've no idea what.
8.  Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE to collect ideas?  Oh, I have, have I?   I cannot decide if Pinterest is good for me, or a terrible danger.
9.  I'm not sure WHAT happened, but Zeke has been the perfect gentlemen since I wrote about his, ahem, problem.  Not even ONE accident.  No not one, no not one.  He hasn't munched on any small plastic toys either.  I'd love to know what caused the change in behaviour but I've not a clue.
10.  Today I had a wee burst of energy unlike I've seen in a very loooong time.  I think my new medications might be doing their thing.  I'm not one to get my hopes up so early on, but I am looking forward to feeling better.

Ten Random Thoughts in Ten Random Minutes

Friday I got some very interesting facial expressions from Hertsje just by giving her a tiny box of raisins to eat.

So that's what the picture is about.

Now for my Sunday 10 in 10.

1.  Cracker Barrel cooked Sunday breakfast for us today.  I love Cracker Barrel.  It makes me feel like I am on vacation even when I'm not.  Today I bought a necklace there.

2.  Poor Zeke had a bit of nasty tummy trouble today.  I had to hose him down.  He didn't mind that.  But he kept shaking and the pooh kept flying.  There was nowhere to hide.  Although I'm not sure how, I did managed to keep my nice new outfit clean.  Somehow dog pooh ended up inside of my shoe.  I don't even want to venture a guess as to how that happened.

3.  Even so, it was a beautiful day.  Once I scrubbed out the inside of my shoe.

4.  Everything around here is so blooming lovely!  The ornamental pear trees are my favorite right now.  Although catching just a glimpse of dogwood in a wood is breath taking.

5.  So, we took a drive along the Grand River through Lamont, Eastmanville, Spring Lake, and on to Grand Haven, where the Grand River empties into Lake Michigan.  Can you believe that I didn't bring my camera?  I did not bring my camera.

6.  The river is still high along this route.

7.  My favorite part of the drive was seeing all the fields filled with dandelions.  Why don't people like them?  I LOVE them!  There was one yard in particular that had a haggard looking boarder of untrimmed forsythia bushes and thousands upon thousands of dandelions.  Sigh...

8. We came upon a very nice house with an estate sale sign in front so we stopped.  Not all estate sales are good.  I can usually find SOMETHING anywhere, but not here.  I tried.  The house did have lovely views of the Grand River, but that was it.

9.  Although it was busy at the beach, it wasn't crowded and we found a good parking spot.  It was sunny and warm.  Every year in May we talk about how we seriously need to keep a blanket in the trunk.  One just never knows when one might end up at the beach.  So we just stood there, on the waters edge, and looked at it.

10.  Late in the afternoon we met the entire family at Youngest Son's house where we got to visit with everybody.  That was truly the best part of my weekend.  And now I simply MUST go to bed.  Because I am old, and my feet hurt.

Ten in Ten

1.  I haven't liked this week much at all.  I doubt that many people have.  But this is my blog, where-in I make an attempt to write about how I feel about things, and how I feel about things this week is that I didn't like it much at all.

2.  Let's begin with the rain and flooding.  No flooding at our house and the sink hole remains firm-ish.  I did go outside with my cue stick and poke around in it just to be sure.  I'm fun like that.

3.  Not so good at the condo that belonged to my parents.  The sump pump failed and covered the basement with water.  One wouldn't think of it as being close to the Grand River, but really, it is.

4.  I've been feeling poorly since Wednesday evening.  Apparently there is a limit to how many times one can be sneezed on before one catches something.

5.  Thursday night I had an ocular migraine.  Although I'm happy to report that it is the first one I have had in a very loooong time.  Actually, I haven't had one since the last time I had one.  Funny how that works.

6.  This put a crimp into the road trip we were planning to make to Frankenmuth on Saturday.  Instead, THGGM went by himself to look at a car.  He was all excited about that.

7.  On Thursday all I did was watch the news reports about the flooding in and around Grand Rapids.  Daughter could not get the kids to school due to the extremeness of the flooding close to her home.  150 people had to be evacuated only a mile from where she lives.  The creeks around here went crazy. Their sump pump didn't fail, but water still managed to find its way into their basement.

8.  Then on Friday I was glued to the developing news out of Boston, from the time I got up until the time I wet to bed.  Normally I wouldn't have done that, but since I was feeling ill and was laying around anyway (and we were told not to do laundry or dishes due to the flooding) I perched myself on the couch with many a hot or cold drink for my sore throat and watched and watched and watched.  I shouldn't have.  But I did.  I was very careful to watch only news sources that were running on a delay as I did not want to see anything graphic.  But really, in this world we live in now is that even possible?  I think not.

9.  I also had my Facebook site up.  And wouldn't you know that even when one is trying to be very careful to avoid certain images it has become impossible to do so with a high degree of success.  Someone posted to Facebook a very very very graphic photo from the Boston Marathon bomb sight.  Why would someone DO that?  I happen to know that having seen that, I will never be the same again. Nobody needs to see those images.  NOBODY.  But they are out there, and that means they'll be around till the end of time.

10.  Today I'm still coughing and sneezing - both which have undesirable side effects - but THGGM suggested that we take a ride to look at different things.  That was nice.  Except for the part when we were nearly sideswiped on the highway.  Much of the farmland between here and Lake Michigan looked like rice paddies.  But the sun was shining.

Ten in Ten

1.  Spring Break week was wonderful.  I got to spend time with these two.  They are oh so very helpful.  Jonge really enjoys reading to his younger siblings and cousin Hertsje.
2.  Youngest Son turned 29 years old on Friday.  Yesterday we celebrated his birthday.  It seems like he was just born.  I haven't even lost the baby weight yet  So glad my mother told me that life isn't fair.
3.  Last week a bunch of the grandkids were jumping on the couch.  Kado was begging for his sister to  jump on his stomach.  I said, "No, you can only do that with Pake, because he has a big stomach".  To which Famke quickly replied, "Then why can't we do it with you?"
4.  On Friday morning the kids made stuff out of toilet paper rolls.  They had a grand old time with this.  I let Jonge and Famke have a roll of tape.  What is it about tape?  I also let them cut up paper for no apparent reason but to cut up paper.  The little boys used a large circle paper punch and made "money".
5.  Zeke got his end of winter hair cut this weekend.  It took two days, and I'm still not totally done.  He does not look at all like the same dog.  There always seems to be one leg that he will not let me have access to.  It's a horrible horrible hair cut, but yet he looks MUCH better.  And acts much better.  But doesn't enjoy staying outside quite so long.
6.  My best thrift find over the weekend was a U. of Michigan outfit for Hertsje.  And Michigan WON!
7.  Tonight for dinner we had wet burritos from Donks.  They are sooo very good.  Some years I just don't feel like cooking.  Know what I mean?
8.  This weekend I also started a bit of spring cleaning.  I dusted the fan in the bedroom, and then noticed that the ENTIRE ceiling was a mess of dust.  How, I do not even want to know.  Anyway, that's done.  So I moved on to washing things in the breeze-way.  Even with plastic taped to all the windows a lot of outside still blows in.  So, one side is cleaner anyway.
9.  I am very ready for spring this year.  Last year it caught me by surprise in the middle of March.  This year it is taking it's own sweet time.
10. Tonight I'm starting another Civil War book.  Which means it is time for bed.

 Hope you had an enjoyable weekend too!

10 in 10

And as I'm beginning to type this, it is 10:10.

1.  Today was the very first day that I did not need to take two Ibuprofen every six hours.

2.  Since I only have two antibiotic pills left, this is very good news.  Finally. It's working.

3.  I believe I forgot to mention that although I've seen no Robins in my yard (not that i've looked much) I did see DOZENS of them when we were out over the weekend.  Robins.  Finally.

4.  Last week I saw a Cooper's Hawk in our backyard.  I watched it through the window, but when I went for my camera it flew away.  I haven't seen the Red-tailed Hawk in the neighborhood recently, but I saw several along the highway when we went to Grand Haven last weekend.  Well, enough about birds.  THGGM and I have an understanding, I will act interested when he talks about cars if he will act interested when I talk about birds.  Oh, and I'll watch bits and pieces of Dancing with the Stars if he makes the right noises over my art projects.  We are a great team.

5.  Last year I skimped on the spring cleaning because I thought it made more sense to do it in the fall.  Then fall came and went.  Now it's spring and I truly do think that fall cleaning makes more sense.  I see a pattern here, and a dusty house filled with scattered piles of music.

6.  It snowed huge wet sloppy snowflakes for way to long this afternoon.  Even Zeke, who doesn't mind the snow that much,  gave a sigh of disapproval when I let him out tonight.  The clouds were great though.  I do like clouds.

7.  Tonight THGGM went to see "Lincoln".  I stayed home and watched a rerun of "Civil War Journal" on the History Channel.  We are exciting like that.

8.  Wednesday he goes to the dentist, and I go on Thursday.  We are exciting like that too.

9.  Sometimes the excitement in our little world is a bit overwhelming, wouldn't you say?

10.  I made it to TEN!  Today Hertsje and I had a wonderful time playing with the doll babies, building roads, and watching the traffic go by.  She is really sweet with the babies.  I even heard her tell one of the dolls to "close your eyes".

10 In 10

1.  Today is the 39th anniversary of THGGM's and my first date.  We were mere children of fifteen.  Neither of us could drive, so he walked to my house and we studied Spanish together.
2.  So we celebrated all day long.  First he gave me a haircut.  It's handy to be married to someone who can cut my hair just how I want it.  And cheap.  It is also very cheap.
3,  Then we went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  It was no longer early and Cracker Barrel was VERY busy.  And since we were celebrating a special occasion we did not get oatmeal.
4.  Next we went to our local thrift store which had just set everything up for spring.  I bought eight saucers in the Snow White Regency pattern to make into cupcake holders.  I was going to make them out of wooden discs, but those cost nearly a dollar at Michael's and the saucers were only 25 cents a piece and will match my dishes.  These won't require sanding or painting so I'm considering this a bargain.  I already have the candle holders I'm planning to glue them to (will i actually ever do it remains to be seen).
5.  After that we went car shopping.  I went to the dentist this week, so why not car shopping?  I think I actually liked going to the dentist more.  Car shopping is just NOT my thing.  We have had our current car for over seven years now and have never had to do a thing to it except replace the breaks.  It's been an amazing car.  But, even after seven years I still have a difficult time finding it in a parking lot.  We took two cars for test drives.  I liked them both.  They were both cars.  They started and stopped.  That's really all I ask for in a car.  Did we buy a car?  No.  But THGGM enjoys looking at them.  A lot.
6.  By then I was tired and it was time for more medication.  My tooth still hurts.  It's still manageable with Ibuprofen every six hours, but I want to be done with that.  I still have three more days of antibiotics.
7.  THGGM got in a short nap while I drank coffee and played Scrabble on my computer.
8.  Next up we headed out to World Market where we found all kinds of things we liked but didn't need.  I cannot remember why we went there.  Certainly there must have been a reason.  But we left all the things we liked there.  It is so nice to not need things.

9.  By the time we left World Market I had decided that I would like to go to dinner at the Olive Garden.  I haven't been there in a very long time.  Suddenly I was craving Lasagna.  THGGM was craving a good old hamburger, but we went to the Olive Garden anyway.  We got there a bit before 4:30 and still had to wait 30 minutes.  I know WE were celebrating, but is it some other holiday that I don't know about?  Anyway, dinner was worth the wait.  But really, I'd go there just for the coffee.  Oh, dear.  I had coffee after 5:00.  Hmm.  This was NOT a good idea.
10.  After dinner we headed across Rivertown Parkway to the mall.  OH.  MY.  GOODNESS.  Was it the opening of the new Cabela's that had everyone out like it was Christmas time?  The traffic was awful and parking hard to come by.  So instead we went to Michael's were I celebrated by buying myself a very large circle punch which was 40% off.
Thirty-nine years.  Wow.  And neither one of us can speak Spanish yet.
Te quiero, Estaban, con todo mi corizon y mas.