Trees and Summer Skies

 No one appreciates a nice day weatherwise more than people who live in a rainy climate.   I generally enjoy cozy days and gray skies, but it does make you appreciate bright sparkly days.  Today was one of them.  Noreen and I walked around a whole block that was really about the size of two blocks.  Our goal was to just walk across the street and see if there was a bench to sit on to soak up the sun, and there was, but it seemed a waste to get that far - crossing the street - and not have a real walk.

I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures, but I doubt I would have found any I could use.  We passed by a day nursery where a bunch of toddlers were either on the slide or sitting in one of those big push carts, ready for a field trip, it looks like.  They were sitting there so patiently, and some of them waved at us.  A few steps later, we were able to peek in the big plate-glass windows and see one of the playrooms where we were once again observed and spoken to.  We took our first right and walked down Center Street to our street and turned right again.  We were then back at the apartment complex, and we decided to forego the park and sit on Noreen's porch since we still had a few things that needed discussing.  

We didn't see any passers-by to greet and only a couple of dog walkers up at the corner.  We had a big discussion about the sky and how beautiful it was and admired the pretty baskets hanging on the house on the corner, and I decided to take my one picture of the day.  

I spent a good bit of time cleaning the inside of the car this morning and got 3 out of 4 sections done before the heat made me go in and cool off.  I went back later and was starting on the front section when a familiar face popped up and someone hugged mem which is highly unusual.  What a nice surprise.  Emily forgot she had walked to work this morning and had to walk home.  I made her linger and talk a while since I haven't seen much of her lately.  It's a hard time for her, having girls growing up so fast and opening the new clinic.  It's really taken a toll, and there's not much I can do to help.  I did keep her black jacket to work on getting the cat hair and lint off of.  Their house is impossible to live in without being covered with Gus's beautiful gray and white fur.

I finally allowed her to leave and drove her home to get a few more minutes of her time!  When Ryan came out, she made fun of me to him about finding a tiny paintbrush in my car and told him I was detailing my car.  I'm not sure anyone could go that far, but it looks way better than it did.  I'm waiting for Elise to take me to the car wash to get it washed and vacuumed.  I'm maybe a little too proud of that job.  It's been years of having no energy and sleeping too much and just not able to do things I used to do, and I can't say I've turned the corner, but something is happening to make me feel better and give me the incentive to get things done,  I hope it lasts.

Gray has finished her third day of camp and will be home Friday.  I hope she's having a good time.  Kate is choosing to do absolutely nothing but read all day and just be lazy.  I'm hoping she will come swimming tomorrow and maybe even go to MJ with me.  

Elise and I took the car in for the car wash and vacuuming.  I didn't realize vacuuming was so expensive.  Next time, I'll just do it myself.  It was a nice drive.  Just before the railroad track going into Snoqualmie, we saw a little group of elk, just by themselves in a vacant lot.  I only got one picture but looks like there were two babies at least and a few adults.  I guess those are babies.

We don't get out too much at dusk, so it was a nice drive and something different to see Mount Si in a different light.  

Now my car is shiny and clean for a few days, until it rains again.  I'm pretty proud of getting it cleaned up.  I miss the days of washing it myself, but not too much!

Things Even I Can Do

 This is just a strange thing to write about, but I'm ending the day on such a high and only because I had success in a few things.

I've never thought I was particularly good in one thing - maybe above average in a few things through the years but not now.  Now that I'm just a few months from my 80s, I see more and more things fall by the wayside.  Not always because of loss of knowledge or forgetfulness but for lack of interest or practice.  One thing I don't think I'll ever get tired of is learning though.  Sometimes I look at my computer aimlessly, but usually I'm following one link to another and trying to find out more and more about a particular subject.  One thing leads to another, and I sometimes waste a good part of my day just reading.  

I never liked cooking, although I did plenty of it and turned out a few good dishes in my lifetime, but in the last 5 or so years, I just cannot have any success.  First, I don't feel like standing for long times and often just get tired and have to take a break and forget what I'm doing.  Or I miss something.  Or think I remember how an old recipe tasted and thinking it will be the same.  My last thing that made me shake my head was rice.  I know how to make rice.  I know to rinse it.  I know the proportions.  I know exactly how long to cook it and then let it rest.  The one thing I failed at was ignoring the timer.  I knew when I heard it that I had a few minutes to finish up what I was doing, but something got in the way, and after 30+ minutes, I found my rice with a thick crust on the bottom and the smells of something 3 seconds from burning.  Disgusting!  I was already tired, and that didn't make me happy.  

I guess I'll just cook less and more simply.  

I did make chicken parmesan yesterday that Elise admired so much she wanted to know exactly how I made it so she could copy it.  Except for the Ruffles potato chips.  It's a simple dish that I've made for years, and it involves marinating chicken breasts briefly in Italian salad dressing and then dredging them in dry bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, seasoning and cooking.  Few things could be that simple.  I checked the pantry and refrigerator (I thought) and had everything I needed, but when I started to put it together, I realized that box of bread crumbs that's ALWAYS in the same place in the cabinet was no longer there.  I had about 4 boxes of salt up there and 2 cans of Pam, but no bread crumbs.  And no bread.  I was walking around and muttering and just about to go next door and beg for something to use.  Then I found a handful of croutons - almost enough - and remembered the girls had a bag of Ruffles in their snack cabinet.  I very happily crushed those and used them without any problem except not leaving off enough salt.  Anyway, Elise loved them but asked for the recipe without Ruffles.  So I did have that success yesterday.

And today was our vacuum cleaner satisfaction.  Elise does the majority of vacuuming, and the last time she vacuumed, the cleaner was "spitting stuff back out."  Ugh.  I do hate finding the place it's stopped up, but today I had to face it.  Neither of us wanted to do it, so we were both ready to be grumpy about it, but I went first and got the well-worn 12+-year-old instruction manual, and she took off the front and was staring at it.  She admitted she did want to learn about it, and that was a good sign that I didn't have to do it all by myself.  We got the roller part cleaned of cat hair, and then I showed her how to push a long brush through one part and see if there was a clog at the bottom.  We were so thrilled to find it and find out it was easy to get out.  She's been bugging me to get a new filter, and I was thinking I could just wash the old one and it would outlive the vacuum cleaner.  So I did all that, she cleaned the plastic parts, and I washed the roller.  Then I checked Amazon and found that it would cost me all of $17 to buy 3 complete sets of filters plus two HEPA filters,  I have high hopes for the longevity of the old Shark.  We are so proud of ourselves.  We're thinking we might make a little business of cleaning vacuum cleaners for lazy people like us.  

I was on a roll and decided to work on my bathroom sink drain that's been slow for weeks.  I had done some home remedies, but I couldn't see that it made all that much difference.  I didn't want to use anything harsh because of hurting pipes, so I decided to do a Google search.  My old friend.  I found the nicest man who had a YouTube video entitled Things Even I Can Do.  He can even make pork chops, it seems!

What a nice guy to spell out how simple it would be to clean it with a little narrow brush - but I didn't have one thin enough to get in there.  Then he very clearly explained how to take that stopper thing out.  I knew you could do it, but it's always looked scary to me.  And under the counter, which is dark and low.  But I felt under there and found the screw and actually got that thing off without a wrench.  I won't even talk about the gunk that was causing the slowness, but it was definitely time to come out.  I may have bragged to Elise a little too much since she wouldn't look to see what I found.  Then I put that stopper thing back in.  It was much harder than taking it out.  I had to jiggle and push and almost stand on my head, but when I got it back in, it worked!  It even fit snugly and held water, which it had had a lot of trouble with lately.  

And that wasn't enough.  These are the other things I did today.

I tried cleaning Elise's drain, which wasn't even stopped up, but it was a more modern faucet, and I couldn't reach it easily.  

I had washed the windows of the car with my E-cloths, so I used one to clean our mirrors and and shine up our sinks. 

I couldn't figure out how to do a screenshot on my computer, so I figured out how to use the Snip feature and grab a picture (in the post above on the E-cloths).  

I listened to and understood 3 ways to pivot in a game of Mah Jongg that made sense. 

I checked my bank balance and saw that I've made it through July okay.  Having the power bill $50 cheaper helped.  

I got up a spot on the carpet in the hall in 5 minutes that we've been staring at and complaining about for 2 months.  

Filled out my ballot for the August 4th Primary.  

Two things I didn't do were make an appointment to get my hair cut and get to sleep before midnight - but I did have a good nap during the afternoon.  

And We're Back to Monday

 I'm sitting here on the front porch in my happy place with my new little computer, my phone, two notebooks, and my big novel beside me  - plus a glass of Bloom on ice, orange flavor.  It's the perfect pick-me-up for all this hard work of wasting time today.  

It's been quiet today with no girls visiting me.  I haven't heard from Kate, even though Gray is at camp this week.  I'll have to find out how she spent her day.  I know she is at DMW class right now.  Maybe they'll walk by and I can ask her. 

Here are a few pictures from yesterday afternoon before Gray left.  They left earlier than I expected, so I didn't get to text her before she left, but they did stop by for a quick hug on the way to camp.  

I guess I won't get any pictures or news during the week, but I bet she's having a great time.  She loves camp and is hoping to run into the girls she enjoyed so much last summer.  

I've signed up for Mah Jongg tomorrow and Thursday.  If Kate wants to hang out, I think she would enjoy going with me tomorrow and seeing a real game progress.  Thursday is my regular day, so no one expects anything from me at home.  

For my only signs of life today, I did a half load of laundry and washed the car windows inside and out - except for the front windshield, which I can't reach.  We aren't allowed to use the community water faucets near our garages for car washing, so we have to go to a car wash.  Elise was planning to go today and vacuum it thoroughly.  She put that off, but we do have clean windows, and hopefully it will get done tomorrow.  We have to make ourselves do things, unfortunately.  There is little sense of urgency here.  I have to also go by two post offices and try to track down a package that seems to have gotten lost in the last couple of weeks.  I'm not looking forward to that, but it can't be procrastinated long.

Speaking of cleaning windows, one of the best things I've bought this past year is a set of E-cloths.  I really didn't believe the hype on how well they work until I tried them, and it's just amazing.  I don't know how they work and don't really care, but I have not used any cleaner on my windows and mirrors in months.  You wet the thicker cloth and wipe across the surface thoroughly without scrubbing or anything.  Then you dry with the thinner cloth - which looks like a glasses-cleaning cloth.  Somehow, it gets sparkly clean with no streaks whatsoever.  I have 3 big windows across the front of my apartment, and I can have them all cleaned - the bottom half anyway - in less than 10 minutes - without using any cleaner.  

After seeing how many types of microfiber cloths are available out there, this is obviously nothing new, but it is to me.  I hardly find anything that excites me about housework, but now I like cleaning windows!

I finished my Emma K. Lion Diaries and will look for the 2nd volume.  I did a little reading on Credence, but I realized I had received an audio download I had requested, and that takes precedent since it's due first.  Anything concerning wartime is not something I jump into readily, but when I saw the author was the one who wrote the Tattooist of Auschwitz, I figured I had to give it a try.  I loved that book.  While not glossing over the horrors of that time, the story was more about human nature and how people can make a difference even in the worst of times.  This new book is Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris.  I have to be in a certain mood to read it, because these things are not always easy to hear. 

 

Learning a new computer is slow-going, but while I've been here on the porch, I've had so many conversations and waves and admirations of Bowie who is sitting beside me in the other rocker.  I think every dog who passes by is familiar with one of the cats, and they will always get those ears up and start staring at the windows of the rockers.  So funny.  Wuffie will go right out on the sidewalk and try to interact with them - which doesn't always have a good ending.  

I had a nice conversation with my new friend Julia who was strolling her little granddaughter past.  Another young mother wanted to know the names of the cats and teach her little boy their names.  The cats will love that next time.  I guess.  The hummingbirds are out buzzing around, and the flowers look good.  It's just a good way to end Monday, although I miss my girls.  

My phone died some time ago, so I need to go charge it.  I may have missed some important texts and am in trouble for it.  

New Computer Excitement

 I think I mentioned that the girls and I killed my computer lately.  It's not completely dead, but it's misbehaving so much that I can't manage it any more.  So I quickly got another one, this time a smaller, less awkward size.  I love having a big screen, but I find out I do just fine with a normal size screen.  And it's always good to clean up and have a fresh start. 

July has been busy and alternately hot and cool.  We've had a little smoke haze the last few days from terrible fires in Canada and here in the US.  Makes me really sad.  

My favorite thing has been the swimming afternoons.  It's a bit of a deal to get us all there, although it's on a few steps away.  This week they've left sunscreen at home, so they ended up using some of my tinted moisturizer with a little SPF listed.  No one got too much sun and had tons of fun. Both days, I left my keys at home, forgetting that the key to the bathrooms is on my keychain.  It wasn't hard for me to go through the office and open the outside door though, so no harm done there.  I'm not even sure that outside door was locked.  

Graysen didn't get to go on Friday because of a birthday party, but Kate took Eiri with her.  They met up with Zoe who goes every day with her grandmother, she says.  Eiri's mom, Daisha came and spent some time sitting with me, even though Eiri didn't want her there.  So funny.  Daisha admits she is the ultimate helicopter parent, but she is so much fun and a joy to be around.  The three girls had the pool to themselves - surprisingly - for a couple of hours.  They alternated playing on the floats and diving for jewels to getting out and having snacks and jumping in the hot tub.  The energy!  And they got along so well.  Eiri and Kate are both no-nonsense kiddos, and you'd thing they didn't like each other sometimes, but they just understand each other so well!  Same with Carly who went with both girls earlier in the week.  I love these little groups.  The sisters get a little tired of being together constantly and enjoy some variety.  I haven't edited the pictures, but here's a sampling.

Fjrst trip with Carley.  The girls got in, and Carley walked over and joined us.

Second trip - 3-1/2 hours.  Eiri, Zoe, and Kate.

I haven't seen much of my biggest girl since she's had a bunch of things to do - soccer, a birthday party, and an afternoon at a lake with friends.  Then this weekend it's packing for camp.  We did get this picture of the chaperone she chose to take.  

After all the drama with the braces last week, this photo appeared in my memories.  I'd love so much to have another afternoon with this girl at this age.  So precious to me.

The rest of the week has been just getting done what I can and wanted to.  I think I had another few instances of remembering that I can't cook any more - if I ever could.  I hope I remember not to try two different thigs at the same time any more.  Somehow things did work out, and we had a nice oreo pie that was perfect for these hot afternoons.  I sent the WinBins a Mexican casserole and a pineapple cake, which they raved about - but they would rave about anything!  

I got a morning with Noreen for us to catch up.  With her busy schedule of PT and healing and my time with the girls and MJ we just have been missing seeing each other.  I guess we should be glad to have some busyness in our lives.  She thinks she's about ready to join me at the pool when we have our next warm spell with any number of little boys!  

Mah Jongg was fun Thursday with me, Sharon, Lori, and Nancy.  Nancy's granddaughter zoomed in on our first game with a video of her new engagement ring, so that added some excitement.  Lori won a couple of games and Sharon one.  Nancy had a good excuse for not winning with all those wedding plans in her head, but I had none.  I managed to be within a tile or two of MJ every time, so that's all that counts with me.  We didn't play for money, so I didn't have to spend all my quarters!  

Lori got her own set and sent us a picture of that and her new mat.  It's exciting to be able to play at home when you can't get enough partners.  We were joking about how we have these exciting new toys, and no one at home cares!  Elise pretends to care.  Ha. 

 This coming week will be cloudy and not pool weather, so Kate and I might get in some practice.  I use the pink set for playing because it's cute, but the characters in the traditional set are easier to see and recognize.  I'm enjoying this little practice board, not because I especially need it, but I think it's cute, and that's what it's all about.  

Our group is all for getting the best bargains, but I am seeing some beautiful hand-painted tiles with the colors I like.  I could never justify $250 for a set of tiles unless someone I know expresses an interest in playing with them.  

Reading:  I've been out of the reading mood for a while now, but I see it coming back. 

 I'm not sure who recommended The Unselected Diaries of Emma M. Lion, Volume I of XII, but I did find it - a very thin mint green paperback written in - guess what? - diary style.  So every page wasn't even a full page of print.  I dutifully packed it in the swim bag and pulled it out, but I can't say I read more than 4 pages.  I was either distracted or bored with it or, the last day, having problems with my eyes burning.  But somehow I plowed on through it and enjoyed the last half enough that I'm kind of thinking about looking for Volume II.  

I am enjoying my bookmark that turned up today in one of my dresser drawers.  I think it was a leftover from Christmas stockings for the girls. Win for me!

I had another one in my hold list the last time I went to the library, and it's just the opposite - 536 pages.   It's Credence by Penelope Douglas. It started off okay.  I enjoy the writing, but I think it's going to get deeper than moving to a beautiful isolated place in Colorado with amazing views, and that's when I'll have to see if I want to continue.  

No plans for next week except to see what Kate might like to do and play MJ once or twice.  I'm loving the nice weather and haven't been warm enough to bring out the fan, even on the 101-degree day.  

I Finally Got Hot

 I've been waiting to bask in some warmth, but there wasn't any basking - just full-fledged heat!  I forget how much energy it takes to be hot.  

It also takes forever to make a simple outline of the day ahead so everyone knows what to expect, when, and where.  Right before lunch, I got a text from Gray saying that they'd like to swim and bring their friends Ellis and Harper.  That was fine with me, and I proceeded to get myself prepared - which doesn't take much more than just grabbing some Capri-Suns and putting them in a bag.  

Before I had a definite time, Harper and Ellis had been delivered by Nonnie, who wasn't really sure they'd been invited.  My look of confusion probably didn't add to her confidence.  I told her the girls were still at their house but were "on the way."  When I called Ryan, he seemed not to know anything was happening and quickly got them headed over with the big seal float hanging out the truck window!  

They were scurrying around changing into swimsuits, eating, drinking, hunting goggles, and just confusing me.  We were finally off - without goggles - to walk to the pool.  Luckily, the girls are all big enough now to settle in a little area and put on their own sunscreen and get ready to jump in.  I'm still wondering why 3 out of the 4 had on socks with their slides.  

We immediately saw Melissa from the apartment above us and two of her three kiddos plus two more little girls.  One of them, Zoe, said she knew me, but I don't remember her.  She and her mom were speaking another language, and I'm sorry I don't know exactly which one, but it was beautiful - Russian, I would guess.  The two groups, as is typical, ignored each other at first and did their own things.  Once in the little hot tub where they had to be in close quarters, I heard them making a little conversation.  

I happened to be talking to another person about her granddaughter and whether she lived in the apartments or not, and we found out she was Noreen's former upstairs neighbor who had moved to a one-story apartment.  That was nice to know.  I felt like I already knew her, and she'll be spending a lot of time at the pool, it sounds like.  

I read some but can't remember what I read, with all the eavesdropping on what the kids were saying and doing.  My four were doing role-playing, and that always makes me smile.  It gives you some inkling of what's going on in their minds without having to ask questions.  

Sorry that this is the only picture I took all day.  Graysen on Harper's shoulders.

Except for these.  I feel like it's my fault but not totally.  I saw a box of Skittles in the kitchen snack cabinet and grabbed them for the bag.  Naturally, Gray was a partaker and messed up one of the brackets on her braces.  She didn't seem overly concerned, but I knew they had to be taken care of, so I texted pictures to Ryan who talked with the orthodontist.  I don't know what that means, whether they'll have to do to Seattle today or not.

Right before we left, a few adults and 4 children showed up that I think were a couple of the new PTs at the new Proliance clinic.  I'm not sure, but the children fit the age bracket, and I know they live in the apartments.  So cute.  Then along the trail by the fence came Mary on one of her daily walks, headed to the workout room.  We talked very briefly about playing Scrabble this morning but didn't get anything worked out.  I've texted but didn't hear anything back.  I'm also not sure what the girls will want to do this afternoon.

We eventually got everything gathered up and headed back to the apt with all the usual petitions for more time together.  Whatever was decided, it wasn't going to be with me.  First, there is very little room for four big girls to enjoy hanging out, and secondly, I was beat and ready to cool off and be alone for a minute.  One decided to go home and the other three to hang out together - at their house!!  So we went and fed the cats and played with them a while and then I took them and dropped them off.  I know Gray had soccer practice at 6, but by that time I was already asleep.  The nap turned into all night, and I woke up at 6:15 this morning.  I would love to say refreshed but not hardly.  I seem to have just more stiffness and aches than usual the more active I get.  I guess I knew getting older wasn't going to get easier every day.  

On Monday, I went and watched Kate at her stripe test, and that was so much fun.  I didn't know what was going on most of the time, but she is such a serious little being.  Toward the end, she did relax and have more smiles.  Ryan and I took some pictures, but it was mostly videos.  I'll try to get some of his clearer ones here later on.  I've run out of time and will just pick a few pictures for now. 

Brief Sleepover

After the last Pokemon adventure, the girls got ready for bed and sat on my bed talking.  Such a sweet time.  They're just so interesting and funny, and we hardly have time to just have those quiet times for chatting.

Kate is usually in my pictures a lot, but somehow this weekend, she stayed in the background - or took the pictures.  I'll make up for it.  It's rare that they're still enough or normal enough to warrant another picture to add to my thousands.

Graysen has gone from Harry Potter to "trying" to read some Jane Austen books.  She doesn't find the books as interesting as the movies, which she loves, and I don't think she has much spare time for reading yet this summer.  She did want to share the book she brought with her, and I'm sorry (I guess) that I didn't get the name of it.  She told me in quite a bit of detail what it's about, and it's hard to get used to how their interests change.  This one is all about murder - all the chapters have a related but different one.  I think I got the gist of it.  I did get a lot of detail, and she didn't find it disturbing at all. It's geared for teenagers or young adults and seems to have a good story, so she was smiling most of the time she was talking about it.  Who knows?  I did say, "Do Mom and Dad approve of this?"  She said, "Oh, yeah."  Emily always did have strange tastes in books, so of course she did.  We do read a lot of the same ones now though.  

I did go back and find out more about the book.  It's called Five Survive.  The author is Holly Jackson, an author from the UK, who wrote an earlier series called The Good Girls' Guide to Murder.  This book reached the New York Times #1 spot as a Young Adult Hardcover Book Best, so I guess it must be readable.  I actually heard about it last year when, much to Kate's disgust, a lot of the girls were reading this series.  She thought it was awful until she read some of them and decided you can't judge a book by it's cover - or title.

Anyway, here's Gray talking me through the first 3 chapters.  She said it started to get boring after 3 chapters.  I don't doubt that at all!

We didn't finally go to bed until nearly midnight.  They were afraid they couldn't sleep, but they were out before I was - and I had had a really tiring day.  I woke up around 4:30 and stepped over and around them to get out of the room.  I love it that they still want to sleep in the same room with me.  I haven't lost them completely.  

They'll hate that I took pictures of them sleeping, but I don't care.  They aim that camera at me way too much.

I got so much done while they slept, and they slept until almost 9:00.  I cleaned out more of my sewing desk and managed to throw away a little bit and designate a few things to give away.  Elise saw my collection of scissors and sarcastically asked if I thought I had enough.  Never!  Some are inherited, some are pinking shears, some are just cheapies, and I have only a few good pairs.  I depend more on rotary cutters and rulers for quilting, so I like to have a few good sharp little pairs.

I made it through elastic and divided it once more into sizes and type.  Same with Velcro and cording and binding.  It was fun to see what I have and maybe give me a little boost in my interest.  

When Ryan called to give me the day's schedule and tell me that he was coming to pick up the girls in 30 minutes, I was not thrilled.  I finally talked him into an hour so I could feed them a good breakfast.  They had babysitting duties all morning and possibly feeding the neighbor cats in the afternoon.  They ate some scrambled eggs and a banana and got a hot berry muffin thrown in at the last minute before they wheeled off on their bikes.  It's so hard to stand there and watch them ride away.  

They have a new cousin in South Dakota - Albie.  I've seen quite a few pictures on FB, so I thought I would post a few.  He has a big sister, Sailer, that the girls have actually met and played with and keep up with her mother's Facebook news.  So sad that they don't get to grow up with them.  I guess they are second cousins.  The dad Logan is their first cousin.  

Beautiful babies.  I have doubts that I'll ever meet them, but I bet the girls will be seeing them pretty soon , either here or in SD.  

Emily got through her second day of soccer tournament duty and is hoping not to be needed as much today.  I know she's exhausted after the clinic craziness this week.  I'm looking forward to hearing all about the opening and how the first 3 days went.  

I'm not sure what I'll do today, but I have 3 books started and a new Mah Jongg strategy book (it's about time to learn some).  I have earmarked my filing cabinets to clean out today and got a good start earlier.  I'd love to pare it down to just two drawers, and I think I can, and keep them in the garage.  Tomorrow I have a follow-up appointment with my doctor and then Mah Jongg at 1:00.  I'm tentatively thinking about letting Katherine sit in on a few of the games - or at least watch us - especially since there is another beginner, and we won't be playing very fast.  I don't know how the other ladies will take that, so we might have her just observe!

I don't know what the rest of the week holds, but if the girls are tied up with babysitting several mornings this week, Elise and I might try to get to Issaquah to donate a few boxes of things and get them to send a truck for a few bigger pieces.  Ryan is going to dread seeing me when I get ready for neatening up in there.  I need more wreath hooks and shelves moved, bins taken down from the top shelves and looked through and replaced.   Some things for a junk run and a few repairs.  I just love having so few things.  It's not really that few, but compared to the way my life was 12 years ago, it's a drastic change.  

Looks like a moving van at the house across the street.  I hardly ever saw those neighbors but a sweet couple with 3 little boys.  They mainly came and went through their garage and back alley, not out the front door across from me.   

I'm keeping my eye on the weather and hoping for some warm weather to get the girls into te pool - maybe Tuesday up to 80.  

We'll see how these plans go.  Friends in South Carolina are already getting ready to get their children back in school.  Good grief!

Friday Night Sleepover

 Not as exciting as it once was, I'm sure.  After camp, they had to get showers and change clothes, so it was after 7 when they got there. They rode their bikes, but we parked those and ran over to take care of their cat duties.  I let them do everything alone as a rehearsal for going by themselves tomorrow.  Hail, the black kitty was friendly and immediately ate his half of the food, plus a couple of treats.

Kipo was shy with us today.  I think he's really missing his family.  

We stayed awhile and tried to coax him out, but he was not feeling social.

So Hail cleaned up his half of the wet food.  They have plenty of dry food in an automatic feeder, so he won't be hungry, but I feel sad for him.

They added more water for the cat fountain and changed the litter.  Hail got brushed and petted, but Kipo remained under the table.

 

We had planned to stop at Ria Bravito on the way back for quesadillas, but when we got there, we found they had closed at 8:00.  They comforted themselves with taking pictures of their surroundings. 

Kate wants recognition for this beautiful photo.  I just noticed the bug on top.  Gray took the one with the sunset brightening Mount Si.

No one was really hungry, so we came home and thawed their leftover pizza from their last sleepover.  Along with vanilla ice cream with caramel topping.  It was a beautiful night, and I didn't really want to go inside.  

I guess the soccer games were successful.  Emily worked until 8:30 and will start over on day 2 tomorrow.  

Girls are watching Emma with Elise and have been promised 3 episodes of some Pokemon movie. 

I hope no one wants to stay up late.  😴