Tag Archives: grandkids

By Posted in 2018, Autumn at Sonnystone Acres, November Writing Challenge, Uncategorized, updates Tagged , , 3 Comments

My daughter-in-law’s surgery went fine and she is back home loopy on meds, so I’m still doing the chauffering for her.  It was about 8pm last night that Michael brought her home, so I had Samantha asleep and Olivia at least in her room — I felt like a real Mama.  Samantha gets out of pre-school at noon, so I’ll just say “hey” and get back to work…

I’m glad the election is finally over, but it won’t stop the incessant roar of anger in this country.  I continue to avoid watching cable news, facebook, and twitter, though facebook, for me, seems the mildest of the three.  Facebook just hasn’t been showing me much more than ads until recently when folks (and their cute kids) started popping up–finally a reason to hit the like button..!  Believe me, a person can stay informed without the shrill and shriek of the talking heads manipulating and triggering emotions…

Casey is out putting some cages around the rose bushes.  There are some tall canes that I fear will be destroyed by winter snows.  Our first “snowfall” is predicted for next week…the kind that melts by noon…but we’ll be ready for anything.

Getting up early and getting out of the hou-hou-house seems like such a new/old experience.  Out there in the early morning with the school buses sends me back in time when I had places to go and things to do…and stress out the wazoo.  I’m glad I can help the kids out and take a little of the stress off of them.  Soon enough I’ll be back here with plenty of time to write.

Perfunctory Picture

 

Peace

 

A Lovely Day in Autumn

By Posted in 2018, Autumn at Sonnystone Acres Tagged , , Leave a comment

I take Olivia to piano lessons every Saturday and her little sister always wants to tag along, which is fine with us.  We go various places for lunch afterward and today we went to the mall. The Christmas decorations are not up yet (thank-you-very-much) but a seasonal toy store has popped up and the the kids were like…uh, kids in a toystore??

This picture was taken at Justice, not a toystore, but filled with goodies…

Back home, the sun shining on the trees beckoned us to walk down the path…  We call our woods Solla Sollew and our little ditch is the River Wahoo.  The dropping temps did quick work of coloring the leaves, but the rains cut short their stay on the branches.  Now they have have covered the path with a mosaic of orange, yellow, and red while the green still peeps out from beneath.

I walk in wonder at the beauty of Autumn.

Bridge over the River Wahoo

Don’t forget to change your clocks back tonight…What a delusional idea daylight savings time is…As if we are adding or taking away or moving hours…   I’ve worked third shift on the transition night and I assure you that the hour that is added is an hour, but the hour you take away is not.  Just make all your hours golden and you’re good…

Peace

 

The Bi-weekly weekly update…

By Posted in 2018, Autumn at Sonnystone Acres, Uncategorized, updates, Weekly Wrap-Up Tagged , , 1 Comment

As we watched Hurricane Michael slam into Port St. Joe, I was haunted by these pictures taken just last  March when we were there, staying at Presnell’s Marina…

 

Hwy 98 going into Carabelle FL
View from our camper, Presnell’s Marina, Port St. Joe FL
Cape San Blas FL

Cape San Blas is the strip of land catching the setting sun…  I read that Hurricane Michael carved some new islands out there.  The beautiful road that we drove from Port St. Joe to Carrabelle is washed out…

We have reservations for this coming March to stay right up the road from Port St. Joe at Indian Pass, a spot called Water’s Edge, and their last facebook post was “Please pray for us”.  I certainly am…

On a brighter note, here’s some photos from a morning at the mall with Olivia and Samantha…

 

 

Though we’ve only been back home a couple of days, it seems like a season ago that we camped up at Brown County,…temps were 80s and humid and it seemed like a last hurrah to summer, though the calendar says it’s October… I didn’t take many pictures, though…

 

Just a few of Brown County State Park (above) and some neat stuff I saw in some shops in Nashville, IN below…

 

I enjoyed getting away…

and came home rejuvenated, ready for Autumn’s changes…

Peace

So long, September…

By Posted in 2018, Autumn at Sonnystone Acres, Trippin' in the Trailer, Uncategorized, Weekly Wrap-Up Tagged , , Leave a comment

We seem to have finally crossed into Autumn around these parts and ’tis the season for pumpkins and mums. with some rudbeckia and scarecrows thrown in for good measure.

We spent Mon-Wed doing some babysitting duties, though Saman-THA is quick to let me know she’s not a baby anymore.  That’s okay, because she cuddles and plays, and fully embraces the fact that she will Always be My baby…

But babies aren’t allowed to play with play-doh, so that proves that she is a Big Girl…

We have finished up taking down the pool.  The peas look like they are struggling some, but the green beans are blooming and we should have a big mess of beans by mid-Oct.

Sevin spray on the cauliflower and broccoli has maybe  held off the worms, but I’m not sure what kind of crop we’ll get.  They still look pretty from a distance, though.

We pulled up the travel trailer from its dock in the back to our side yard and plan to keep it there through October.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to find a window of weather to trip in it, but there’s no definitive plan now.

I did my usual shuffling, pulled out the banquette table,  dragged out a round table I bought 30 years ago and it fits perfectly!  Now I’m going to hit up Joanne’s for fabric and re-do in Blue.  I’m super-excited to have a new sewing project..!

I’m going out to enjoy this beautiful day…walk in the woods, smile a lot, and fix up a super beet salad that I’ve had a hankering for…

I roasted beets and they are in the fridge, ready to be cut.  I’ll add some goat cheese and pecans, perhaps a little spinach, then drizzle it with a vinaigrette of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, and whatever other magic I come up with.  I’m not real good at recipes, always changing them up to suit myself, so you can bet it will get rave reviews when it’s served—from me, anyway!

Please take some time to send out thoughts of Love and Peace to the World today –and Every Day.  It really needs it.  #MeToo…

 

Peace

 

Postcard from Camp

By Posted in 2018, Camp Sonnystone 2018, Summer at Sonnystone Tagged , , , Leave a comment

Hello, Mudda!  Hello, Fadda!  If you get that, you’re old.  Camp Sonnystone is moving right along!

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Today we’re taking a field trip to Ellis Park to watch the horses run.  Kids are pretty good at picking the winners, actually.  I’m feeling better, but we lost a little rhythm while I was sick.

Still ahead is an Unbirthday Party, Water Balloon Blast, Rocket Launching, and finishing up PawPaw’s Scavenger Hunt.  Next week we’ll visit the zoo and the museum and there are several movies we want to watch.

Hope you’re having as much fun as we are!

Peace

Science and the Library

By Posted in 2018, Random Musings, Reading Challenge, Summer at Sonnystone Tagged , , , Leave a comment

I’ve taken Samantha to Pre-School Science at the Library for the last couple of weeks and have enjoyed it immensely!   Olivia joins in after the opening storytime, and it’s fun for all ages…

Last week we learned about chemical reactions and exploded some diet coke with mentos, blew up a balloon by adding baking soda to vinegar, then made a lava lamp with water, oil, and antacids.  Genius.

Science is magic that works…. Kurt Vonnegut

Paradise will be a kind of library. —Jorge Luis Borges

I’m sorry to admit that I haven’t been doing my usual amount of reading these last months.  I’m keen to get back at it, though…  There’s no happier time than when I’m lost in a good story, hopefully one with a happy ending.   I’ve got a list of “to-be-read” that I’m going to tackle today and try to get caught up.  To keep up with my goodreads challenge I need to knock out 4/month!!!  Daunting task, so I’d better get started.

Peace

In the middle of the pouring rain…

By Posted in 2018, Spring at Sonnystone, Uncategorized, Weekly Wrap-Up Tagged , , 1 Comment

Whew!  The summer-like weather has kept us Outside mingling our work and relaxation.  I’ve been away from the keyboard more and more as I rely on my phone for my internet fixes.

Just as the humidity was becoming unbearable, the rains have arrived.  I awoke to the rhythm of a straight-down-pour, almost invisible to my sleepy eyes.  I’ve spent the last week watering the gardens first thing every morning, so this was welcome.  As I was checking my a.m. routine folder, I heard a pop–or was it a plop?  I am the worst at following sound, always swearing it’s over there when it’s really over There, but it picked up speed and I was able to spot it about 9 feet away:  a leak from the roof.  Casey was still snoozing, so he got a rude awakening.  I put a pan under the leak and he went upstairs to check it out and place a pan up there.  Nothing can be done until the rains stop in a few days.  It’s always something, ya know?

The roses have obsessed me.  I think they will be all right (next year), but it has driven me crazy that they sit right in the front of the house, a testament to my poor gardening skills; they also look rather dead, no leaves at all.  Last year I experienced a similar Rose Disaster and so I had 4 “extra” over in the north garden that were unaffected by the slugs.  I angsted and angsted, hampered by my sick need to keep things symmetrical, and finally came up with a solution.  It involved moving all but 2 of the uglies, putting the 4 extras in, and filling in with daisies.  I’m Still not happy with the 2 that I left, but not nearly as obsessed.

Oddly, the one off by itself on the south side is just beautiful, no doubt due to my superior gardening skills!!

We had the Jr. girls over on Memorial Day, which just happened to be Michael and Jessica’s 13th (!!) wedding anniversary.    The grandies and I went to the zoo in the morning.  The afternoon was spent in the pool.  The happy couple joined us for supper.

When I get too anxious over my gardens and responsibilities, I like to take a walk down to the woods, sit in my thoughtful spot,  and admire Mother Nature’s work…it’s definitely not symmetrical, but its chaos is beautiful…

 

Peace