Lazy Summer Day

The first of many, I imagine.  But unlike an early June day in the South, I took 3 walks before lunch and am sitting here in a cool apartment - without air conditioning.  I hope the hot days like yesterday will come interspersed with cooler ones like today, and it will be bearable.  We do have 2 window fans ordered though.

One thing that's different is that everyone has windows up, so you hear a lot more conversation and people outside.  It's not bad so far though - just glad we're not overlooking the pool!  It got pretty noisy Saturday even one building over.  I kind of like the sounds as long as it's pleasant conversation.

Another difference is the length of the days.  Sunrise this morning was at 5:10 a.m. and sunrise will be at 9:02.  I know I'm waking up earlier but not necessarily going to bed earlier.

The first of my three walks this morning was a wagon ride for the girls.  When we got to their house, they were bouncing around in the back of the car while Ryan replaced the car seats.  I saw a wagon and suggested a ride.  Katherine has to be buckled in, but she's a good rider.  We went across the street to the park, and I planned to swing them on the big wheel-like swing, but it was gone.  Just the frame was left.  Graysen was terribly worried about it, but I figured it was out for repair.  When we started to leave, she sat down on a bench, and when I asked her why she was lingering, she said, "I just want to sit here and worry about the swing a little more."  She had the same face she wears when she talks about sick relatives.

Mike took Graysen to gymnastics where she seems to be getting more confident,  Here are 3 pictures he took.

While they were gone, Katherine was having none of my tricks and ended up just throwing herself on the floor and kicking and wailing.  She only wanted to be carried around and cuddled, so I did that until I got tired, then gave her half a bottle - and then took my second walk - pushing her in her stroller.  She hummed for about a block, and then when I checked, she was sound asleep.  I maneuvered her out of the stroller, in the front door, and up the stairs to her bed.

The third walk was home after that where Mike and Graysen met me.  We had lunch, and GG has been playing by herself for about an hour.   She immediately shed leotard and shoes and got comfortable.

/She just noticed what I was doing, so she wanted to type some G's.  And other things.
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GGGG   [[[GGTT9TTTTTGG9JJHJHJJJHUFDGGYYYBBBFGHFGFF

These girls are our life right now, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The only sewing I'm doing is repairs lately.  I brought the latest one home just now.  Graysen lost 2 pompoms off the bottom of a little sundress - and "Mimi can fix it."

Ryan has worked hard on the garden.  He built the raised beds and did the planting.  I think Emily and I picked out most of the plants or seeds.  There are some things I've never thought about growing - radishes, carrots, arugula, artichokes, broccoli.  If it's not tomatoes or squash, I don't know much about it.

Ryan rescued my bunny from Montgomery when he went down to get the car, but he's not much of a scarecrow.

Something is eating the raspberries - other bunnies, I guess.

I need to stop and give a 3-year-old some attention now - a pretty awesome task.

Back To Life

Sometimes it seems just too hard to write anything here, and once I skip a few days, it gets even harder, knowing I can never catch up with even the things that happened last month.

So.  while Mike goes back and catches up on his missed sleep from last night, I'll sit on the porch with Stella and enjoy the morning.

Since we got back from vacation, we've changed places with the bird feeder and hummingbird feeder because the birds made such a mess it was falling on the car beneath our balcony.  And since then, we've attracted a new family of birds, the goldfinch, we think.  They are beautiful things and don't mind us being right there on the balcony when they come to feed.

The little chickadees and juncos still come but not as often as these vocal little birds.

There seems to be at least one nest under the eaves right above the bedroom window, and since we are sleeping with the window open, the birds are so loud in the mornings, we don't need an alarm clock.

With the arrival of summer yesterday, we're spending more time on the balcony, and it's turned into a nice little haven.  So nice to just sit out there and read and drink coffee.  We still have more work to do, but so far we're happy with the plants we've chosen.

Mike's Lenten rose is flourishing in the Georgia soil we brought with us.

The pink jasmine's fragrance makes it way into the living room sometimes.  Mike worked on some taller bamboo trellises, so we'll have some privacy soon.  Not that anyone ever looks up here though!

This ivy-leaf geranium makes me happy.  So healthy and my favorite color.  I can never think of the plant with the purple blooms, but it seems happy too.

Verbena - that's the purple plant.

And this is the mess the birds make.  We vacuum it sometimes, but the birds will hop around on the balcony if we leave it awhile.

We've left the Christmas cactus out since about February, and the leaves are more purple than green now.

This looks suspiciously like a bloom - but surely not!

I started a fuschia plant I picked up at the grocery store.  They do really well here, and I'm tempted to get some of the beautiful baskets, but we'll see how this does first.  The little dahlia has bloomed a lot and is about to have another one.

The girls love being out here, but this is what happens when Katherine comes out with us - among other things.  She will put her little finger on the plant and shake her head no-no - but then she will touch it and tear it and try to eat it if we don't stop her.

With the heat arriving yesterday and no air conditioning, we left the apartment and went for a walk yesterday.  Even with so many people around, there are still little roads like this to enjoy.

Emily and Ryan took the girls swimming in the early afternoon and then asked us over to cool off.  With the temperatures climbing into the 90s, the apartment was getting a little warm.  Not miserable but warm enough for us to take advantage of their cool house - and company of course.  I'll take some pictures of their garden later this morning.  Ryan has worked hard building the beds and planting and redoing the deck.

It's now time to get back to the real world and talk to the nursing home nurses and cleaning up and getting ready for babysitting time again.  Today is Graysen's last day of ballet, so we'll have a fun afternoon.

A Sparkling Day

This is the last warm day before the onset of low temperatures and cooler weather - 50s and 60s - so I wanted to enjoy every bit of it.  I saw these beauties on the way to Steller Way.

This is a rhodendron at the base of our stairs that we've been watching since it started budding - dark pink at first, then lighter and then almost white.

I'm not familiar with lilac bushes - or tree in this case - but I believe this is one.

These are the azaleas outside the wall of a house that I pass almost every day.  The owner is obviously a gardener and nature lover, and I can't wait to see what she has coming.

Graysen wanted to wear her Cinderella dress and dance this morning while Katherine played pretty quietly on the floor.  She is usually pretty happy when her sister is performing.

The audience.  I've had these little dolls for 15 years or so.  Once when we lived in Greensboro I heard that McDonald's was including these Madame Alexander miniature dolls in a Happy Meal.  Every week I would get a Happy Meal until I found out I could just pay the $1.59 and buy them.  They've lived in the attic all this time and have finally been unpacked and enjoyed, around 20 of them.

I was afraid this dress was going to be too small by now, but it seems just right.  I decided to take it home and put another piece of velcro at the waist because she was stopping every few minutes and saying, "Make the back tighter, Mimi."

Katherine is pretty content sitting and playing with whatever she can get her hands on.  She prefers the non-board books that she can chew and tear, but we try to keep a good supply of these within reach.  My sock feet are also obviously nearby.

After going to the park and while Katherine was napping, Graysen and I took a pan of water and some random toys and just spent a long time splashing, making up stories, and watering plants.

This is a strange picture.  The combination of water, sun/shade, and reflections make this look like an angry duck on the bench beside the pan.

Watering cucumbers with a rubber duckie.

Time for Mimi ad PopPop to go home.

Ryan has worked hard to make these raised beds, and they are beautiful, just ready for seeds and vegetables and flowers.  And many packets of seeds, including carrots, radishes, parsnips, lettuce, and several flowers.

I can't remember all the plants Emily and I chose, but I do remember cucumbers, okra, artichoke, tomatoes, several kinds of peppers, apple mint, broccoli and strawberries.

Mike and I tried to sit on the balcony and read this afternoon, but it was too chilly for us.  I did take this picture of the hummingbird feeder outlined against a beautiful sky.  Our hummingbird and maybe some friends have just about finished up their first bottle of food.

The local weather channels have indicated we might have some thunderstorms this weekend, so I'm excited.  I miss them.