Here and There but not Everywhere
I've scattered a little of me everywhere the past three months.
I've gardened a little. Birded a little. Traveled a little. Grandmothered a little. (Is that a word?) Water colored a little. Remodeled kitchens a little. And I've improved my health a little.
Obviously I've 'littled' way too much this season.
The weeds still grow with gusto in our gardens. I don't think the birds or bees really care about the ones that drive me crazy. Here's a young hummingbird enjoying the 'salvia hotlips' that we planted with the hummers in mind.
Twice this summer I've been a farmer at my eldest daughter's. This last time was when she and her husband took the eldest boy to college 6 hours away. I made sure that all the creatures were cared for and her farm was not unattended. On the first night around 3 a.m. I awoke to the loudest thunder I've ever experienced. Not to far away a house was damaged when the lightning struck an adjacent tree which fell. Crash. Three times the lightning and thunder were nearly simultaneous. Her brave little farm dog came and jumped in bed with me and we huddled there together. It continued to be loud and bright as the storm moved along with pouring hail and rain. When 6 a.m. rolled around the need to check on the turkeys, chickens, ducks, pigeons, and rabbits got me moving. The water in the creek was high but not flooding. The ducks liked the flow the the other creatures thought it was foul fowl weather.
For the most part the grandchildren are back in school. The youngest one, 7, is in second grade. The eldest will be 24 (graduated from California State) planning a wedding next April. When I told myself I would have no more grandchildren it was a lie. Of course my new "granddaughter" will be already grown up with a college degree and a job. What a deal!
The rest of them are almost 23 (working and traveling and single), 18 (first year of college with a great scholarship), 17 (senior in high school), almost 16 (sophomore in high school), 15 (sophomore in high school), 14 (freshmen in high school), 12 (6th grade), 11 (6th grade), and 10 (5th grade).
I still enjoy being a part of their lives.
After chastising myself I pulled those watercolors and previous efforts out recently. Found one I had worked on of the now almost 16 year old buttercup quite a few years ago. There were so many missteps in the effort that I was discouraged and had given up and set aside. This month I pushed on through in spite of the earlier imperfections to complete and frame it. The moral of the story is that nothing will ever be perfect so enjoy what you do and let others enjoy it, too. One day I will be gone but this may be something my granddaughter cherishes.
Our kitchen is like new this year. When two walls had to be opened to check for damage after the patio collapse, we decided that we should just go with the flow. If you want my advice about doing any remodeling it will be this: Figure out how much it will cost and then double it.
What a complainer I've been the past few years. Too many rabbit trails to write about, but health is so closely related to stress. Of which there has been way too much.
Being proactive and trying to improve without filling your body with pills is time consuming but seems to be worth the effort.
I'm not saying I'll ever be the old me again, but the past few weeks have given me hope. When this American Goldfinch prepared to take a dip in the water feature, I snapped a photo through the storm door. Note that some of his former glory is being displayed like a little bling on the back of his head.
I'm showing some of mine, too, little fellow.
I've gardened a little. Birded a little. Traveled a little. Grandmothered a little. (Is that a word?) Water colored a little. Remodeled kitchens a little. And I've improved my health a little.
Obviously I've 'littled' way too much this season.
The weeds still grow with gusto in our gardens. I don't think the birds or bees really care about the ones that drive me crazy. Here's a young hummingbird enjoying the 'salvia hotlips' that we planted with the hummers in mind.
Twice this summer I've been a farmer at my eldest daughter's. This last time was when she and her husband took the eldest boy to college 6 hours away. I made sure that all the creatures were cared for and her farm was not unattended. On the first night around 3 a.m. I awoke to the loudest thunder I've ever experienced. Not to far away a house was damaged when the lightning struck an adjacent tree which fell. Crash. Three times the lightning and thunder were nearly simultaneous. Her brave little farm dog came and jumped in bed with me and we huddled there together. It continued to be loud and bright as the storm moved along with pouring hail and rain. When 6 a.m. rolled around the need to check on the turkeys, chickens, ducks, pigeons, and rabbits got me moving. The water in the creek was high but not flooding. The ducks liked the flow the the other creatures thought it was foul fowl weather.
For the most part the grandchildren are back in school. The youngest one, 7, is in second grade. The eldest will be 24 (graduated from California State) planning a wedding next April. When I told myself I would have no more grandchildren it was a lie. Of course my new "granddaughter" will be already grown up with a college degree and a job. What a deal!
The rest of them are almost 23 (working and traveling and single), 18 (first year of college with a great scholarship), 17 (senior in high school), almost 16 (sophomore in high school), 15 (sophomore in high school), 14 (freshmen in high school), 12 (6th grade), 11 (6th grade), and 10 (5th grade).
I still enjoy being a part of their lives.
After chastising myself I pulled those watercolors and previous efforts out recently. Found one I had worked on of the now almost 16 year old buttercup quite a few years ago. There were so many missteps in the effort that I was discouraged and had given up and set aside. This month I pushed on through in spite of the earlier imperfections to complete and frame it. The moral of the story is that nothing will ever be perfect so enjoy what you do and let others enjoy it, too. One day I will be gone but this may be something my granddaughter cherishes.
Our kitchen is like new this year. When two walls had to be opened to check for damage after the patio collapse, we decided that we should just go with the flow. If you want my advice about doing any remodeling it will be this: Figure out how much it will cost and then double it.
What a complainer I've been the past few years. Too many rabbit trails to write about, but health is so closely related to stress. Of which there has been way too much.
Being proactive and trying to improve without filling your body with pills is time consuming but seems to be worth the effort.
I'm not saying I'll ever be the old me again, but the past few weeks have given me hope. When this American Goldfinch prepared to take a dip in the water feature, I snapped a photo through the storm door. Note that some of his former glory is being displayed like a little bling on the back of his head.
I'm showing some of mine, too, little fellow.
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