Family love...

Photo 343 - August 31

I wonder how I would react if one of my parents required full-time care. When my dad was homebound, I did my part and went over and helped with his lunch and making sure he had his afternoon medication, but he was pretty mobile, and could take care of his basic needs without me, if need be. Cindy is my boss, and I've been priviledged this week to be allowed to watch her with her mom. Audrey is an Alzheimer's patient, who also had a stroke almost a year and a half ago. She cannot feed herself, or bathe herself, or take care of any of her basic needs, but her family keeps her at home, so she can be in familiar surroundings, where she seems to be thriving, as patients like her do not usually do as well as she is. Cindy volunteered to keep her mom at her own house, since her dad was going to be out of town for the week with his siblings, and there would be nobody at their house to keep track of her. I hope if that time ever comes, that I can be as patient and loving as Cindy is with her mom. I feel blessed to have been able to share this week with them.

Locked out

Photo 342 - August 30

It's the varnish can I'm locked out of. Apparently it has decided to glue itself shut, and pry as I might, I have not been able to get in. I did manage to run a screwdriver into my hand last night in my efforts, but still no varnish. Tomorrow I will stop at Home Depot and see if they have empty cans. Otherwise, I think anything airtight will work, and I'm taking a can opener to the bottom.

Is this normal?

Photo 341 - August 29

Well according to my Google search, the plumeria is supposed to go dormant and lose its leaves in the fall. But since it's still August, I'm a little concerned. It still looks like new leaves are coming in the middle, so I guess all I can do is wait and see. I will be very sad if it doesn't make it through.

Big bug...

Photo 340 - August 28

OK so that's a little bit deceiving. And probably a little bit creepy to my sweet family members who do not like bugs...no need to name names - you know who you are. This big "bug" was a gift from Laura and Andy for Mother's Day. Sprayed with some clear coat, it makes a lovely addition to my garden. One that will hopefully survive the weather.

Late summer color

Photo 339 - August 27

Considering that it's almost the end of the summer season, I'm happy to see how many different plants are blooming in my new garden. In this picture alone you can see phlox, roses, pestemon, coneflowers and evening primrose. And all thriving.

And this rose is pretty cool, because the flowers are actually multi-colored, and there can be yellow and pink blooming at the same time.

And a very happy 2nd birthday to my sweet granddaughter, Josephine, today!

And then the rain came...

Photo 338 - August 26

It really seems like ugly weather follows around sporting events. Today, Joey had a baseball double header in Thiensville. The rain started toward the middle of the first game, so the second game was started early. By the early part of the second game it was pouring, and needless to say the game was called. After lunch and custard at Kopps (thanks Dad!) we headed for home.

Family time

Photo 337 - August 25

It's been a long time since there's been a family get together at my house, seeing that Dale has been absent for almost a whole year. Since Dad and Liz are in town, we had a little family cookout, with Kristin and her family, my cousins Karen and Kathy and her kids, and my aunt, and Jeff even stopped down. There was definitely no shortage of food, and the weather even cooperated. And the company wasn't so bad either.

It's a race...

Photo 336 - August 24

I have learned in the times that I have watched other people's dogs, that the best way to feed them is to do it together. When they watch the other dog eating their food, it becomes a race to see who can get done with theirs first. I'm sure part of it is making sure that the other dog doesn't get any of their food either. Trinka and Asia are no exception.

The Moon (and the stars)

Photo 335 - August 23

When I was coming home from volleyball the moon was hanging low in the sky, in a medium sized crescent, and was an awesome shade of yellow. By the time I got home and got my camera set up, it was gone. So I opted for the next best thing - my moon (and stars), under the stars.

Galileo's Method?

Photo 334 - August 22

I've always been interested in the Galileo thermometers. I love the colors and the uniqueness of them. Dale's sister brought me one back from up north as a thank you for watching her dog. At first all of the floaters just hung out on the bottom, which made me wonder if it wasn't going to work. A Google search showed that some people had the same problem. But I think it was just too warm for them to rise. Since it's gotten cooler outside (and inside), I am treated to some actual temperatures. I'm not sure how accurate they are, but it is a fun addition to my decor.

Only in my house...

Photo 333 - August 21

...will I find my work hanging next to a Monet. Enough said.

Stormy Skies

Photo 332 - August 20

You could see the storm clouds amongst the nice white, puffy ones, but we never got any rain, even though it was predicted. Cindy and I have often said that we have a better chance of predicting the day-to-day weather by just sticking our hand out the window.

It's Hailing!

Photo 331 - August 19

It's interesting how quickly the weather can change around here. It looked a little cloudy most of the day, and there was rain in the forecast. But the hail came right at the beginning of the storm, and it covered quite a bit of ground before it was all over with.

50 Shades of...

Photo 330 - August 18

...yellow? This weekend has been kind of a redecorating kind of weekend. I've been hanging pictures and trying to put things back where they belong. This windchime/candle was hanging in the living room, but I thought it would look really nice hanging in Kayla's room. And no matter what settings I used on my camera, it is yellower than yellow. I suppose the fact that the background is a sunflower-colored wall kind of added to that too.

Taste testing...

Photo 329 - August 17

I recently asked Dale what he wanted me to have ready when he got home, mostly because my fridge is beerless, and I wanted to know what he'd like. And he's taken to drinking Gatorade, so I wanted to be sure to have the kind he likes. He also told me he would like me ot have some wine cold and waiting. Laura asked me to come talk to the florist with her, and since they also sell wine, we decided maybe we had to try some out. This one wasn't bad - not quite a sweet as I like, but not bad at all.

New stuff on the walls...

Photo 328 - August 16

I told myself that this week I was going to get the rub on wording I bought for the living room up on the wall, and last night became the time. After texting around for confirmation that it looked good, and receiving none, I went ahead and decided to go for it. Rub ons and sand textured walls are not a good combination. That and the fact that I decided it would be located way up on the wall, so I was standing on a chair and then on the piano to get to where I needed to go. Rubbing wasn't as successful as I would have liked, and parts of the letters were kind of hanging there. I keep expecting to walk into the living room and find them hanging, but so far, so good. It even appears to be sticking better than it did last night.

I also started on Dale's "I Love Me" wall. The pictures I have up take up most of the space, so he's going to have some spillage into his work space, but I'm sure he will just figure more is better. I have the C130 picture and the B1/B52 pictures up. Now I just need to decide if I put one shelf up in between for his C130 tail, or use both shelves and figure out what to put on the 2nd one. Such dilemmas...

More Summer Flowers

Photo 327 - August 15

As summer is winding down, and we're finally getting a little rain, it's nice to see the flowers starting to perk back up. The roses, especially, seem to have come back into bloom. These are my Dark Lady Kordes roses, which started out the season slowly but have come back nicely.

And these flowers kind of crack me up. They grow huge, long, flat leaves in the spring and then those die off. And then in late summer, the flower stalks come out of the ground and the flowers bloom on top of them. The flowers are pretty, but the whole thing looks a little spindly, and they seem to come from out of nowhere to bloom.

Latest Houseguest

Photo 326 - August 14

It doesn't seem I get the visitors anymore - they're all Trinka's. This week we have Kooper spending time with us, while his family is busy enjoying a camping vacation. It was decided that he could have some quality time with Trinka. He does miss his family, though, and their hustle and bustle. I think it's a little too quiet around here for him. He has figured out where I keep the treats, though, and has become as vocal about wanting one as Trinka can be.

Beans!

Photo 325 - August 13

Ok, so the picture is a little deceiving. Those beans are probably, maybe an inch long. But in the picture they look almost big enough to eat! And after waiting since May for something to appear on the vines, I'm pretty excited about the two that I've found. Granted, I probably won't get a meal out of just two, but I'm hoping that soon they will have friends growing close by.

Yes! It's all in here...

Photo 324 - August 12

So besides the living room chair that the mice munched on, all of the furniture that was moved into the garage is now back in the house! For me, that's an awesome feeling. Now comes the daunting task of going through everything that was moved into the basement when the floors were redone. I think the biggest hurdle came out of James' room. I'm not totally comfortable throwing his stuff away without him looking at it first, although I don't think he's miss a lot of it if it was suddenly gone. Only a couple more weeks left until Dale is home - KFOR 16 made their appearance today.

Field of Honor

Photo 323 - August 11

Today I was privileged to be able to participate in the breaking of a world record! The record was for the most people at a movie premiere - over 28,000. And the film was Honor Flight, documenting the Stars and Stripes Honor Flights and honoring our greatest generation - the veterans of World War II. The film was all the more special because there were people in it that I knew...and the backdrop of some of the film was Port Washington. It was a pretty memorable day.

They're growing, but...

Photo 322 - August 10

I had high hopes of beans this year - dilly beans, fresh cooked beans...but it's now mid-August and I still need to see an actual bean growing on my plants. First it was my war with the rabbits, which morphed into my war with the weather. Now I'm not sure what I'm fighting with. There are finally flowers on the plants, and there are vines that have surpassed the height of the trellis, but I have yet to see an actual bean growing. I may just have to set my sights on next year.