THE DUST WILL WAIT

The black and white television sat in a corner of our living room facing an old couch and two well-used parlor chairs.  I'm not quite sure which one of my parents advocated for its purchase or how they arranged for the financing. My first recollection of its existence was my infatuation with  Wunda Wunda ;  a lady clown puppeteer who made my mom grit her false teeth and blow air between them.  I don't think my mom approved of Wundas clingy tights and her silly skits; and moms teeth had been poorly designed. One of the puppets always left me unsettled. It invariable got into trouble. Then, whimpering in a sad nasal voice, it would ask Wunda Wunda for help. I outgrew the puppets when I became a big girl and attended school.  After which, my sister and I would rush home to watch The Mickey Mouse Club .  We each filled a widowed thermos top with dried oatmeal, powdered and brown sugar, and maybe some raisins. Then, while eating our own strange recipe for ...

  No -- I didn't get up on a ladder.  I tried to use an old canon zoom lens from our old film camera -- but I couldn't get a good focus. The colors are striking in the wasp paper. Little venomous artists.

My three grandchildren (Jammin, Buttercup, and Caboose) had a visitor during dinner on Friday night. This little female hummingbird invited herself into the sun porch and got trapped. Luckily, her frantic buzzing at the window caught my attention and I was able to walk out there and snatch her. I felt so sorry for her when my hands closed in - she chirped so fearfully. Jammin used my camera to snap this photo before we released her. My guess is that this is a juvenile Rufous. I need a more seasoned birder to confirm that. (My hands are very small -- so you can imagine how tiny she was.)

Still watching my grandchildren while Karmyn is in Hawaii. Her computer (and my being busy) doesn't allow for any blog time. It should be salvaged by droids. Buttercup would act it out and make me be C3Po if I even suggested it aloud. Shhhh... She could be hooked up to a turbine and create electricity -- that almost six-year old girl is energy with a Capital E. The Caboose has been a great little almost 15 month old boy. He's been sleeping as well as one could expect in this hot weather. My morning starts about 5:30 when he rouses and I change his diaper and snuggle him in my bed. His hair is so fluffy and soft that it sucks up my nose when I breathe and tickles my face. Not a great sleep for me -- but somehow sweet enough to manage. Jammin (8) went to boy scout camp with his Uncle for three nights/four days. His first trip away from home without a parent. He toughed it out. Jammin: We were the closest bunk to the lake Grandma. If you got up at 6:00 and ran down t...

Lil Mouse asked that we share our SCARS for entertainment on this Fun Monday. It is a true blessing that I'm away from home and am having computer problems. That makes it unlikely that I could take any photos and download them. I'm more than happy to tell you about my battle etchings, though. I have a scar in my eyebrow as a result of bending over and trying to scalp myself on a hose holder on the patio. It was late, I didn't flip the outdoor light. Fortunately I was able to find my way back in by the the shining of all the stars I was seeing. It bled a lot but I didn't get stitches. Now my eyebrow grows weird on that side. I have several scars on my face. One from chicken pox. I think it's sort of lost significance in the last few years, or been superseded by an age spot. My stomach has surgery scars. Twice I've gone under the knife there. Rather clever designs, really. (sing along now: She once swept an Admiral clear off his feet. The ships on ...

Swinging with me in the hammock late Saturday evening, 5-year old Curlymop is suddenly entranced by my revealed tummy. Before I even have the opportunity to ask if there is a wasp or an earwig on me, she stabs her finger into my belly-button and just as quickly removes it and sniffs. Gwama: What..the. ... Curlymop: I smelled your belly-button Gwama. Gwama: Duh......... Last night with almost 6-year old Buttercup. Buttercup: Grandma can I sleep with you. Grandma (reading in bed): Okay, crawl in. I'm only going to read for a few minutes then go to sleep. After several minutes... Grandma: Buttercup, you need to lie still and go to sleep. Buttercup: Okay After several more minutes of Buttercup squirming under the covers and making little clicking sounds. Grandma: For heavens sake, Buttercup, what are you doing under there? Buttercup: Clipping my toenails . Then there is 14-month old Caboose. I've been smeared with oatmeal and bonked on the head. He screamed when I en...

Karmyn is the host of Fun Monday this week with a subject that is near and dear to her heart. Not to mention her knees and fingers. But I mentioned them anyway. The subject? --- What's Growing In Your Garden. As soon as I signed up I grabbed my camera and headed out the back door. Alyssum, lady's mantle, gaillardia, Jupiter beard, and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember is blooming in this photo. We didn't put as many annuals in this year so I miss all the yellows and reds that we often enjoy. But, something else showed up in that surprised me. Can it be that my yard is haunted? Cheeky little ghost! A shot from the deck near the hammock shows off some ornamental grass, petunias, pond plants ... and that bold apparitio...

When I hear other people talk about time they spent with their grandparents, I feel deprived. I never met three of my grandparents, and Grandma Grace was somewhat feeble minded by the time I was old enough to know her. It never crossed my mind in the my early years to sit down and ask her questions about her life and her family. I even failed to get my parents stories. Now, I humor myself by seeking information through family photos, Internet ancestry sites, and hobnobbing with my brother Mike. He has spent hours and hours searching out distant relatives and constructing a family tree. Great Grandmother Augusta ( Augusta, Grace, Evelyn, Me) is one who intrigues me. I have possession of her personal photo album, which has tin types and some regular photos of her parents, her husbands, and her babies.   She was born May 16, 1855 somewhere in the state of New York. Pictures of her as a young woman indicate she had thick and...

Picture taken northwest and then one to the southwest at the top of Minnick Hill tonight about 8 pm.

I got up at 6:45 am and ground some coffee and set the brew. My favorite morning activity is drinking coffee while sitting on the patio in my pajamas. Old pajamas. Really old . This morning I decided to water all my potted plants while I waited for that first cup of Joe. I have potted plants in the front entrance, too. That was where I was when I heard my elderly neighbor Bill call. "Hey Pam - I've got something to show you!" I couldn't pretend I didn't hear him just because I was in my pajamas. Old pajamas . Really old . AND... I had yet to brush my hair but it was covered by my ever present sun hat. Before I crossed the street I looked both ways to make sure there wasn't any other neighbor out there getting the opportunity to see me in my pajamas. Old pajamas . Really old. "Look!" Exclaimed Bill. "I have a perfect zinnia. "Awwwww...," I responded when I saw it. ...