New Eyes & Dirty Hands

I took my grandson on a walk today... we saw diggers, bobcats, dump trucks, and all sort of earth moving machines, piles of dirt and big pipes being buried in the ground... Regrading to correct a water problem for neighbors is the greatest thing on earth to happen to our 2 year old grandson.

B's favorite word it "TRUCK" --- although I can't begin to type it with the inflection and pronunciation and passion he uses! Our walk today was pure joy for him.

The joy of being a child... I don't think its something you really can remember. Exploring the world and seeing things through new eyes was just a fact of life when we were kids. This is what I love about being a grandma... I get to see life all over again... from bugs to watering cans to trucks (which never fascinated me before B came along)... watching language develop in our grandkids has been like discovering the new world must have felt to the explorers of old... Knock Knock jokes have never been funnier... misprounced words more profound... I'm so in love with our grandkids!

This is so different from being a MOM... I was too busy back then to see what I see now. Being a grandma is just AWESOME! Life is amazing as I see it all over again... Oh the JOY!

Full of Giggles

Sunday with our girls! We went to see Nanny McPhee Returns armed with extra containers for popcorn sharing. Lots of giggles, especially when a bunch of little piglets showed off their talents in synchronized swimming!

The down side to the day was the heat and rigmarole (running spell check on that word) of buckling the 4 year old into a car seat set up for a 2 year old...

If that's the worst thing to happen all day, that's okay!

The girls are full of giggles - and more than willing to share them with us!

Starting kindergarten in a couple of days for 5 year old Seluna brought back memories of new saddle shoes, knee socks and a plaid book bag. Now it's Sketchers, a dress that allows modesty when the teacher commands "Criss-cross Applesauce" (sitting cross legged on the floor) and a Toy Story 3's Jessie backpack and lunch box. Kindergarten was 1/2 day for me (and our kids)... now it's an all-day deal! We learned ABC's in kindergarten... now they're expected to know it before they arrive!

Life is tough for kids these days... but our kindergartener-to-be couldn't be more excited or happier!:)

Don't Sneeze!

You might disturb the hundreds of fruit flies hanging out at the salad bar... discretely under the sneeze guard! This was a nice "sit down" restaurant with real linen tablecloths, a hostess and menus! (Not fast food)

The lettuce was limp... the broccoli gray... the sliced up hard boiled eggs, mostly greenish gray... and the plenty of fruit flies for added protein. Hundreds (if not thousands) of them! Once I stirred them up, I lost all interest in the rest of the chopped up goodies at the salad bar!

When we told the waitress about the problem, she said, "Yeah, we know. We've tried spraying and scrubbing everything and we can't get rid of them." We told her we wouldn't be able to stay... she mumbled, "I don't blame you" as we left.

Off to Culvers (good old "fast food") --- and DELICIOUS salads! I had their new salad with strawberries, pecans, blue cheese... very very good! Got the name and number of the health inspector from the owner of Culvers... then reported the fruit fly infestation. (Doing my "civic duty" and all)

Ribbet! Ribbet!

We've lived in Sun Prairie for 33 years... and I've NEVER seen little green tree frogs before! Our son and family have a bumper crop of them at their home (about 15 min. away from us)... now we have them, or at least ONE now too! I wonder if this guy hitched a ride to our house from theirs... :)

This little guy was hanging out by my front door the other night. Fascinating little critter (so long as he stays OUTSIDE).

We also have a couple of common toads stuck in a deep window well outside my bedroom window. Everytime I try to get them out, they bury themselves under the rocks. I'm worried I'll find little toad skeletons in there someday! (ick) Gracie, our cat has been busy keeping an eye on them from the window. Not so fun in the middle of the night to have her tearing my shades apart to stalk them!

Banana Man

I picked up a bunch of bananas today... they were a BUNCH... I blinked and B had them all apart into six separate units

When he saw my surprised face, he quickly tried to put them back together again... not fast enough with the camera.

Funny li'l Bananaman!

(note the little truck in the foreground... bulldozing bananas is tough work!)

Creativity... It's not for whimps!

Just thinking of all the corners of our house... and my office for that matter that have STUFF I need for my projects. Yarn, paper, pens, markers, fabric, scrapbooking materials... Think of a craft, and I've probably tried it!

I've just taken up punch needle. Luckily I had my stash of embroidery floss from my days of cross stitching. Of course, I never seem to have the color I need - so I shop for more!

Guess it runs in the family

My sister just converted her basement into a beautiful studio for her weaving and spinning. It's huge and full of yarn, fiber, looms, spinning wheels, projects in various stages of completion... Upstairs, her front room (which most people would use as a livingroom) is another beautiful weaving studio... She fell carrying "projects" down to her basement studio and broke her ankle!

Crafts can be hazardous to your health...

No Humor Today..

Lily turned 3½ yesterday. Today she will be having brain surgery to relieve pressure and to take a biopsy of a tumor... results will take days. My heart is with the Fisher Family as they travel down this scarey road!

Prayers to find rainbows and butterflies!

Love you Lily-kins! (Mike and Liz too!)

Two days later: Lily is out of intensive care. She's watching TV, playing Candyland and eating like a marine! Test results should be back early next week. Keep praying for an easy fix!!!

Stick X 2

I've been eating popsicles since they were invented (yes, I am that old). This is the first time I've had one with a 2nd stick embedded! Too bad it was broken - rendered it unusable in popsicle stick construction projects.

By the way, the Sugar-Free TROPICAL flavors are delicious... especially the pineapple!