Bob ..after mowing

 Bob mowed our front and most of the backyard today for the first time this year!! Afterwards... this is the result. Tigger took advantage of the available lap.

By the way... his 80th birthday is Saturday!  He has requested a quiet weekend!!

quilting meeting at long last

 All of us in my little  "quilting " group have gotten their two vaccinations so we decided it was safe to actually meet again. We would probably get together on a backyard deck but it is supposed to rain this evening....

and boy did it rain!! It poured... torrents ran all over... pools in everyone's backyards!! But we were seated around tables working away...talking ( catching up) ... eating snacks and making plans for meeting again!!

During a non-rain spell our hostess showed us her gardens. Everything is sprouting even her plot of 10 year old seeds she found in the garage and potatoes that she planted after they started sprouting. Her bed of strawberries is in bloom... lots of white flowers!!

The "show and tell" has nudged me... need to do something in my flower and herb beds!!

Work work work

We ended up yesterday spending almost 4 hours demolishing the old dog house under our older daughter's deck. We ended up with bags and bags of old shingles, wood framing, siding and so on!! Her dogs, Harper and Scout, were in love with the yellow fiberglass insulation.... a real no no !! Every time they managed to get a  piece they would run off  with it in their mouths shaking their heads. And one of us would run off after them to get it back!! Really really not good !!

We were too tired to cook dinner... the dogs were also exhausted... so it was Pizza Hut delivery! Lucky Harper and Scout were treated to pieces of crust !!

This morning I found our cats Tigger ( the tripper) and Jack sleeping together on Bob's recliner !! A very rare site! They spend more time keeping each other at bay or actually squabbling with horrendous noises!!

Off later this afternoon to finish up yesterday's demolition!! Our daughter will already be exhausted... she has lawn mowing this morning!

very different

I started school almost immediately so that my Mother could look for work. W. Nyack is 20 miles North of NYC but she didn't really want to commute that far.... luckily she found a position in Nyack and worked there until she retired!!

I had been in school in Jersey... one of the Channel Islands... wore a uniform with white shirt and tie and what I would call a dress/jumper.  I walked to school even going through a "tunnel"!

School in W. Nyack meant riding a bus and bringing my lunch... having recess. All things typically small town school.  Most of my fellow classmates were there all through my  grammar school years!!! After eating lunch at our desks it was outside for whatever ... 

Arriving in the US

 70 years ago ( yesterday) my Mother and I went down the gangplank from the  liner Liberte and stood in line to enter the US. She had awoken me at 6 am so we could see the Statue of Liberty as we sailed into the NY harbor!! Our voyage had taken almost a week... sailing from Southampton to NYC.

My  Great Uncle and Aunt were waiting for us and we drove off for our new home in W. Nyack, NY.... I had never driven in a car before  and shortly afterwards became car sick and lost my breakfast on the side of the road. Something that happened way too many times afterwards!!  LOL

And the new life began...

Surprise?? Not so much...

The weather report had warned for days that the KC area would have snow this morning.. and we did. Fluffy stuff melting on the roads and driveways but sticking on the trees, grass etc. !  Here's our deck this morning.

I bet those with fruit trees are worried. The trees were in bloom and setting the future fruit....

Bob took the picture early this morning and now  most of the snow is already gone !!
 

Interesting afternoon...

As my teacher/daughter arrived home after school she found a "problem"!!  The telephone company AT&T had been working in her backyard corner where the "box" is and had clipped the main electrical power line. .. Evidently power comes into house in three lines and one had been severed. So not all power was off... just the high voltage stuff!

Her husband had been coping with the workers... calling to notify the electrical company etc. Power company workers arrived  and shut off all the power without telling my daughter and her family and also blocked the driveway with their truck !! No one could leave !! 

I think that made my s-i-l angry ... and the truck was moved. He drove off to pick up something for dinner since he was told repairs would take about 1.5 hours !  And the electric company workers were angry with the phone company workers for creating this mess!!

Through all of this... lots of men digging in the backyard.. no electricity etc. their dog was frantic...  stranger danger... protect the family etc. Poor Moxxie !!

Finally everything was fixed... dinner was brought home... dog was reassured by an empty back yard... and life resumed its normal routine!!

roller coaster days

 We have had another bunch of roller coaster weather days... some cold and rainy and some warm and sunny.  We ended the week ( today) with a warm and sunny day... highs in the 70's !  Very nice!!

Having had my two covid vaccines I took advantage of all the Kohl's discount coupons and actually went into our local store.!!I was looking for some new t-shirts and sheets. Found both... but the shirt selection wasn't great.... after all that I ended up with Kohl's cash and went back today to redeem it... spent it and didn't have to add  money. So that was a success!!

My grandchildren at 14 and 18 and no longer want/need the swings/fort contraption in their backyard. So my s-i-l advertised it on Facebook's marketplace.... small price but the buyer had to take it down and remove it. Instant response... the interested parties came over with their  3 and 5 year olds who had a great time trying things out. The father came back with friends and a truck... paid the money and away they went. Everyone happy.... funny enough my daughter's dog was really puzzled by the missing swings!! My daughter is planning a fire pit to take the swings' place!!

I can see them sitting around roasting marshmallows and making Some Mores!! 

crazy days

 We have had some crazy days.... The beginning of the week our gorgeous weather did a flip flop back down to the 40's with lots and lots of cold rain...

My teacher daughter and her husband and my husband Bob had their second covid shots ( my second was the week before)... and Bob is now  feeling rather funky. He even went and laid down. Not successful so he tried the recliner where he did fall asleep. Aside from funky he feels cold...

I spent the day keeping an eye on my latest online bear show ( going on till Monday) and packing up the sold ones!! Hooray! There is a pile of boxes waiting to go to the PO tomorrow - too many to leave on the front steps for the mailperson... again hooray!! Tigger, the orange cat, has decided to be "helpful" ... he plumped himself down on my packing supplies and is taking a nap... good thing I am finished for now.

The weather is in agreement... today we are back up to the sunny 70's.  The ups and downs are confusing!

 

Happy Easter and ?????

 Happy Easter to you all and a Happy Birthday to me!!!

Today was a little strange.. disconnected... We had  brunch with my older daughter and her two dogs. Mimosas, coffee cake, fresh fruit with a dip and two different quiches out on her deck in the glorious sun with temps over 79 degrees.  Wonderful. I think I had too many mimosas....

then it was dessert  and iced tea much later with my younger daughter and her family out on our deck... still in glorious sunshine.

But no Easter egg hunt.... earlier in the week our  baskets went to my daughter's house for the egg hunt there.

Wednesday my son-in-law gets jab #2, Thursday my younger daughter and Bob get their #2's. The week after my grand daughter gets her second shot... that leaves only my 14  almost 15 year old grandson . Teens will get theirs this summer ( I hope) . Older daughter was the first to get both ... about a month ago. 

So maybe Thanksgiving will be normal... all of us together with the usual whining about getting the dinner together on time!!

My grand daughter  made this a million years ago

glorious weekend?

This weekend is supposed to be a glorious one... temps in the high seventies !! Today the weather made it to almost 70!

My daughter ( the teacher) is still on her spring break. She came over to pick up baskets for our two grandchildren and stayed and talked and talked. We heard all about the trip to the zoo... all about her plans for  gifted classes in her district's summer school ..... and more.

 When she actually went through the supplies she found in her classroom from the previous teacher who had retired  there were so many boxes and boxes of art supplies. Her students didn't have art this year due to learning virtually most of the year so she has decided to use art ( and the supplies) to be the basis for her summer school classes.  It all sounded really great!!

When she left Bob and I spent some time on yard work... now there are bags awaiting the trash collectors next Monday.... bet we have more bags by the time they come!

Bob and the "other" daughter and her two dogs will be heading out tomorrow morning for dog training classes. Bob is going so that there will be a person for each dog!! Should be interesting....  I won't be going along because I have to pick up the items we ordered for our Easter brunch!! One item is a "mimosa to go" package!!

pharmacy reminder calls

 We receive automated telephone calls letting us know our "pills" are  ready for pick up...it's always amusing when the call is for Jack and that his pills are ready. It's amusing since Jack is one of our cats ! How many cats get their own reminder calls??

My funky feelings are getting lesser... hooray... though feeling tired by early evening still lingers...

The weatherperson promised 70's by Easter... not sure we'll make it.

My teacher daughter is on Spring break this week so her family decided to go to the zoo. All of them were ready for a trip somewhere... anywhere. They all had a great time even with the current cold temps. They petted the stingrays...visited the chimps... the snakes . Many animals had decided being inside was the place to be .... Another trip when its warmer is on the list!  I think Bob and I will go ourselves when we are past our two weeks ( after shot #2).