It hasn't rained in what seems like weeks, so Em asked me to water the garden while they were gone. I was a little freaked out by the fact that this guy has been roaming around nearby.
The garden plots are about a block from here, halfway between Emily's house and here, a little cul-de-sac of cottages where I thought I would like to live. Except they don't have garages or any place to put my junk. And bears walk on the porches.
I was afraid to walk there because of getting inside the fence and seeing one outside. I guess I would call 911. Trapped in the Pea Patch with a bear looking at me. And I usually leave my phone in the car.
I shouldn't have worried because there are always people working there, and I met a nice lady watering her plot. She had some huge cabbages and tons of tomatoes. I gave her some of Emily's prize dahlias and gladiolas in hopes that she will share the tomatoes when they're ripe.
These are some pictures I took earlier, but I really need to go back and get some more recent ones. Those flowers make people just stop and stare - red, purple and pink dahlias and gladiolas. The garden is so lush this time of year, it's almost impossible to walk in it without crushing something. It's mainly kale, broccoli, and carrots and lots of strawberries. I picked all the strawberries I could find and then stopped and picked blackberries on the corner until I got hot.
Elise washed them and took this picture. The blackberries aren't as big and sweet as the ones I grew up picking, but I won't turn down free fruit. Unless the bear wants them.
These pictures were taken last week when Elise and the girls and I went by to water. I'll try to get some more today, although there aren't as many flowers.
The nasturtiums just came up. Emily didn't plant them, and the soil was all new.
Somebody else's raspberries.
On Wednesday, we kept the girls while Emily and Ryan packed for the trip, and when we took them home, they wanted to run through the sprinkler in the front yard. Elise took all these pictures, because I had to leave. My anxiety takes over when I see them running full-speed down the sidewalk and jumping over the sprinkler. I've seen too many skinned knees and hard falls this spring and summer to relax. I just let the younger ones supervise.
More random pictures from my phone.
I saved a lot of the furniture from the dollhouse I put together in the '80s. Elise and Emily were not as fascinated by it as I was. I loved the miniature things, but they pretty much put rabbits and squirrels and mermaids in there. Graysen loves to get out the box, though, and set up the little rooms. She does bring her Calico Critters in too. In my more creative days, I made a good many miniature foods and things. I had a cookie sheet of biscuits from clay, but it looks like the biscuits are missing. I made that pumpkin too, and it's held up fairly well over 30 years.
I don't ask any questions. Like why is the baby's chest on top of the piano. I'm sure there is a good reason.
Katherine got lots of hugs from her boyfriends last week. Kellen was her best friend all year, and then in May he got moved up to a preschool class (Katherine is going to another school next year so didn't get moved up), and they've missed each other so much. They wave through the door to each other, but one morning we happened to be going in at the same time.
I'm not sure if it's Kellen or his dragon raincoat she liked better. The first time I heard about him, she was telling us very excitedly that "Kellen has Paw Patrol undies!!" If Kellen's class is in the hall playing with blocks when I pick her up, I feel like a celebrity. He tells everyone, "That's Katherine's Mimi," and they all stare solemnly at me.
But she doesn't waste any time picking a new best friend. Unlike Graysen at three, she likes boys better than girls. She says the girls in her class are all babies.
Mac seems to feel the same way. He waits for her on the playground every morning, and when she gets there, he yells, "It's my Katherine," and runs to open the gate. I think she's a little embarrassed by this display of affection and even more so when he bursts into tears when she leaves every day.
I love it that both girls love books and will never turn down a story. That's my favorite thing to do on these warm days, read to them, because it's cool and involves a couch and sometimes something cold to drink.
Preparing for kindergarten. Graysen knows her letters and numbers and how to write her name, but we're working this summer on how to write smaller and not fill half the page with her name.
This is good for maybe 30 minutes of fun. Not half as much fun as it was last year.
After seeing the shadow puppet show, I found some books in the library to help us make more puppets. The snake was the favorite of all - of course - but it was the easiest. That and a fuzzy-headed bird joined the owls, but we've yet to make the theater.
Katherine was lukewarm on the puppet-making, but she did contribute a stick from the back yard.
Now about three more weeks before the beginning of school. Graysen starts September 4th at Cascade View Elementary and Katherine September 5th at Rooster Valley. Getting them to school at the same time in schools 10 miles apart will take some juggling, but it's doable. They'll both take dance lessons one day a week here on the Ridge. And hopefully it'll be a simple schedule and a good fall. I'm looking forward again to having some weekdays alone but will have Katherine Tuesdays and Thursdays all day. I wonder what we'll do all day.
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