Overnight Guest

Mike and I recently had an overnight guest.  Well, really, Toby recently had an overnight guest because he is the one who spent the most time with her.  He is the one who seemed to be joined at the hip to her.  He is the one who treated her with the most honor.

Making a nest...

Sorry for the small photos but Mike took these with his cell phone from across the room so as not to disturb all the important bonding and nesting that was going on over there.  From the time Lydia walked in the door till the moment we walked out the back door to meet her mother, Toby was her faithful companion.

In these pictures, Lydia was reading a selection of poetry to Mike and me when we weren't engrossed in television.  She had positioned her pillows...just so.  She had situated her coverlet...just so.  Toby had also draped himself at her feet...just so.

Every now and then she would have to pet on him and talk to him in a sugary voice.  Saying, "Your a good boy aren't you Toby, buddy?"

Then, she could sit back engrossed in her reading and the television program being broadcast.  She was very business-like. 

We loved having her stay with us for a couple of days and nights...almost as much as her buddy, Toby!

Softball Season means Summer!

Three of our granddaughters are playing softball!  I love children's sports.  It shows their personalities in a way that nothing else can.  Lillie's first game was this past Thursday evening.  So, while softball signifies summer, the shivery temperatures didn't really reflect that.  You can see it by the additions to her uniform.

Don't you just love the fun socks?

She looks intimidating in that on-deck circle doesn't she?  Well, she is a pretty good hitter!  Her fielding somehow doesn't seem quite so intimidating...

That's her right in the center of the photo.

She plays somewhere that I'd call right-center field.  Play is rather a general term, though.  Notice her stance? 

She is generally the first one out of the dugout and races to her fielding position.

She is eager to get there to be ready for all the fun.  She wants to be ready for action.  She doesn't want to miss a second of action...

That action is starting.  Look closely...

See the spray of dirt just off her left foot?  That is THE action for her.  The majority of her outfield time is spent doing just that...

...kicking up the dirt!

She goes at it with such passion.  Her attention is riveted.  (Notice the other folks in the photo..one of the coaches, the umpire...)  Concentration is key.

Focus is important!

Effort is valuable.  Energy is expended.  Talent is being developed.  Skill is being improved.

Slugger

Now, when she is at bat, things look a little different.  Sorry for the blurry photo but it is tough on an old woman to squat and stick the lens through the fence wire and hold still and focus the camera.  She did get a couple of good hits, though.

Bridgette is the Dugout Mom.

Now, that is where the REAL action is found.  Lots of cheering.  Getting face guards organized.  Keeping gloves with each girl's face guard.  Making sure each girl gets her own batting helmet on.  Lining up the batters in the prescribed order.  Having the correct batter at the plate.  Seeing that the next batter is in the on-deck circle.  Getting the bat after the batter gets on or heads to the dugout.  Watching the other team's batting order.  Making sure every girl gets her face guard and glove back on properly before heading back to the field.  Helping the catcher suit up and then remove the guards for her to bat.  All this and listening to the coach, the girls cheering, and watching the game.  What a fun night at the ballpark it is for her! 

I liked every part of my big evening at the ball park.  The game, the hot dog, the cheese fries, the sticky fingers of my fellow spectator, Lydia.  One of the things I also liked was this sign:

Don't you think it should be posted everywhere for every sport?

Growing Up!

Today is the day!

Happy 4th Birthday, Evie!



Project that shouldn't have been a project...

I think we all have had these.  It started out as something simple, beautiful, and thoughtful.  Then, by some force of nature accident stupidity, it became a bit more frustrating, complicated, and labor intensive. 

You see, I made a wonderful choice when we had Mike's family Christmas gift exchange.  His niece, Julie, had created one of those cool collages where natural things become letters which spell out some meaningful word and I was the lucky selector in our Dirty Santa game.  The great news is - nobody stole it away from me and I got to bring it home!  Yippee!!!

It is the cutest thing and she was so crafty.  I'm not sure where she found the lettering but she did and printed it out to fit into 4 x 6" pictures. 

I wonder if this Z is off some concrete sign.

I think she got inexpensive frames and painted them (or she could have found the simple frames all the same color - I'm not sure.) in a creamy white.  She got a board and painted it red.  After she placed the letters into the frames, she simply glued them onto the board and had instant art.  I just love it. 

This R is a piece of neon signage.

Well, I was excited to get this treasure in our gift swap.  I brought it home and leaned it against the wall till I could decide where I wanted to hang it.  Finally, I decided that this was what the space above the French doors leading onto the back porch had been screaming out a need for.  (I've wanted something to hang there ever since I painted the kitchen.)  So, I tested it out by getting my trusty little step ladder and holding it up to make sure it would fit.  Perfect!  It was almost as if she had made it expressly for that space. 

So, I leaned it up against the table and went back to stir whatever I had on the stove in my dinner preparations.  Shortly after, Mike came in the back door.  The dog ran to greet him.  He closed the door, the floor was jarred a bit.  The earth moved.  Something happened and the artwork tipped over and crashed to the floor.  I do mean crashed!  Two of the cute little frames were knocked off the board.  The piece of glass in one of the frames broke into shards.  I was so mad...at myself for being so stupid as to leave the artwork precariously leaning there. 

So, the next day, I had to find one of my old cheap Goodwill frames and steal the glass from it and replace the broken glass and glue the frames back in place before I could hang it in the space it was made expressly to decorate.

And that is how a project became a project when it shouldn't have been a project at all.

Spring? Break!

Well, this is how the week of my spring break started:

 

Yes, that is my back porch.  Yes, that is snow.  Yes, it is about an inch deep.  No, I have hardly spent any time outside. 

The good news is, I have been reading fluff books, resting, watching movies, silly TV shows we have recorded, and spending time listening to Mike snore.  He has needed time off and time to rest for so long that I barely know him when he isn't grumping because he is tired or... asleep!  He stayed awake through several of the silly television shows we recorded and we laughed just like the comedies were real and really funny.  Amazing what a break and some rest will do for folks!

Recipes and Shopping

I'd like to be more deliberate in my menu planning.  I like to cook but I just don't like to plan.  I admit it:  I'm not good at it.  I'm terrible at it!  I am hoping that a new tool I stumbled upon is going to be of help.  Have you ever heard of ZipList? 

It is sort of an online file cabinet for recipes and will even help you to create a shopping list using the ingredients listed in your selected recipes.  Sort of like the pinning tool for Pinterest, there is a ZipList Recipe Clipper button that you can drag to your toolbar which makes it super easy to use. 

For example, I found a recipe on The Pioneer Woman called The Marlboro Man Sandwich.  With the recipe page staring at you from your computer screen, click on the button of your ZipList Recipe Clipper and it will cause a pop-up screen to appear. 

You can choose to add it to your recipes or to your shopping list.  I add to my recipes.  Then, I peruse my recipes and click to add to my list.  The list can be edited.  It can be sorted by area of the store such as Dairy, Meat, Produce, etc.  You can put the store areas in your preferred shopping order.  You can add stores where you frequently shop and look for grocery deals.  You can add odd items that are not listed in the recipes you have tagged.  It will generate the list for you.  I simply emailed my list to myself and pulled it up when I got to the store!

HERE is a tutorial by the ZipList folks that explains how it works.  I'm thinking this is a handy dandy little tool and it might help me to plan my menus and conquer my shopping headaches a wee bit!

Gone Digital!

We have gone over the digital edge here!  Lydia is visiting for the next day or so.  (She and I are going to go to a play.) Here is what all we have going at the moment.  The big TV in the den is playing the western channel.  (Guess who is in there?)  Whoever is in the den is also checking email on his laptop.  Sitting beside his chair is his iPhone.

Here in the kitchen we have the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse blaring out.  Lydia is also flinging a few Angry Birds using my iPad.  My Android phone is sitting here ticking off the time till we need to get gussied up for the play.  Plus, I am typing on my laptop to get this blog post done.

It is a noisy, happening, happy, digital place to be up in here!  (That is a good thing because it is my first official day of Spring Break and the snow is flying outside!)