Last Month of School

 I'm sure the time dragged for the girls while their mom was gone, but they did great.  Graysen managed to get herself up in time to get to school on time every morning.  I guess.  I didn't hear any different.  Kate got to school just fine and showed up in the afternoons just missing mom a little bit.  They were here most afternoons, doing homework, reading, talking - short afternoons.  But we had a sleepover last night with Carly that they seemed to really enjoy.  I might have over-prepped for it.  Gone are the days when I would make plans for certain things to do - and we would actually do it.  I had a list of possibilities for Sunday afternoon and night, and here's what they did:  

Carly rode her bike over with her sleeping bag in a backpack and got here a little bit before the girls - who packed quickly and made several changes in plans over riding or walking over.  Ryan had to repair a tire of Kate's bike, so that happened too.  Then they rode around town, just cruising up and down streets - one of those things that has left me behind.  They're on their own and now we have to depend on what they've learned and the attention of other riders and drivers.  Luckily, to be the day before a holiday, the streets were almost deserted even though it was a beautiful day.  Wes, Carly's dad and my former neighbor, remembers his childhood in Maryland, I think, where he would go out on his bike and stay out all day, only coming in at night.  I think he's a little more accepting of that than I am.  I do want periodic check-ins from them. 

They entertained themselves by making videos and taking pictures to compile into crazy things that cracked them up.  

Then just riding in circles in the back alley for a while and sometimes doing tricks that made me cringe but that they laughed at.

When that got old, they packed up some snacks and drinks and headed to Queen Kitty Hill, about a block away up on a hill that overlooks the parkway.  Then they got on the bikes and just rode around a little bit more.

Pizza was discussed, ordered, brought over by Ryan, and eaten.  

I'm just seeing pictures on my phone and posting a few of the ones I can make sense of.  That's very few.

You can't have a sleepover without playing around with makeup, and this was no exception.  Kate had been to a friend's house the night before and done nails, so that was taken care of.

I love the beauty of 11-year-old skin.  No makeup needed but so much fun to try!

Seems like just yesterday these three were making "potions" from whatever they could find in the kitchen and playing Old Maid.

I'm surprised the cats were able to sleep, but I joined them pretty quickly.  Elise was the designated late-night host, and I went to sleep hearing a whole bunch of laughing coming from the next room. 

Most of the pictures were pretty weird, and this one was too but more interesting than some.  I'm not sure what they were looking for here.

Looks like my phone is going to need a big clean up today.  If I have to depend on their photography, we'll never know and remember how life was in their lives.  

I'm still waiting for Emily to let me know she's home.  I wasn't clear when I talked to her earlier how much of a wait she had at the airport and how the time changes would affect things.  They were on Cumberland Island for the weekend and then in a cabin in Middle GA for the rest of the time.  I think she's looking forward to doing laundry and getting clean again.  Hope she's not working tomorrow!

There are still a few things happening before the end of school.  The 7th grade band and choir are going to Leavenworth on the bus Wednesday, and that's pretty exciting for them. 

Kate's last musical will be the same night, I think.  Her fifth grade class will have their visitation to the middle school and meet the teachers and explore night this week.  That's pretty exciting for her.  She's again be in the same school as Gray and Carly - for one year.

There might be a couple of end-of-the-year activities for both school.  Like Beach Bash or something like that.  

No one knows what we or they will be doing this summer.  Library time, lots of reading.  I'm a little disappointed that there don't seem to be a lot of events going on for their age, even with 6 libraries to choose from.  There will be soccer practice and DMW practice, Mah Jongg for me, and maybe some work on cleaning out the garage.  Always planned but never carried out.  I don't really care if I get anything done.  It will be enough to do a little planting and sitting on the porch in the evenings and just being warm.  The last 3 months of my 70th decade will be doing exactly what I want to do - when I want to do it.  

Timely message from Emily.  She's home from GA and in her car headed home.

Just a picture dump of our week at St. George's Island.  Everyone needs some time off to just do nothing they don't want to do every once in a while.  I need several of those times a year.  

The house was about right for us.  There were 3 bedrooms and 2 baths plus a bottom-story kids' apartment - which the girls hardly ever ventured into.  There was a ramp too for going up and down those steep endless steps.  All 4 sides had chairs, so we were prepared for a crowd.  I think there were over 20 seats.    

The WinBins making their presence known in Florida at what else? A boiled peanut stand.  

In reverse order.  Everyone was sad to leave.

Visit to the lighthouse park and Mike's El Tigre brick.  Em and the girls trying to make themselves heard to those of us who remained on the ground. 

More Travel

 This time the travel doesnt involve me, and I couldn't be happier.  Emily left this morning from Sea-Tac to go to ATL to then go and meet Rebekah in Jacksonville.  There, they'll take the ferry to Cumberland and stay there for a couple of nights.  I'm still not sure why this particular place, but it sounds like something they'll enjoy.  Then they head up through GA and travel to Thomaston where they'll meet a bunch of friends and have a little reunion.  Can't believe it's working out.  I know they'll have a good time.

Meanwhile, we'll hold it down here in WA.  Em deserves some time all to her herself, but you'd have a hard time convincing Kate of that.  Graysen seems okay with it, but I know it's going to be a long week.  I'm afraid Aunt Cece and I might prove a little boring by the time the week is up.  I don't even know what we'll do. 

They will come here after school today, I guess.  I'm going to make salmon for my next few meals and do some zucchini in the air fryer.  I think the girls will like that.  Maybe Mod Pizza tomorrow night since there is a donation to the SMS Music Club for every pizza bought.  

I skipped MJ today since we already had 4 players and will go Thursday.  I'm too sleepy right now to even play a game online.  I guess it's a good time for a nap.  

If this is all I can pull out of my life, I can't see much reason for having a blog, but I do enjoy not having much to worry about or take care of.  I do have a few spots I want to clean out gradually, and today might be a good day to start it.  

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I never came back and posted any more - because nothing else happened that was noteworthy, so I'll just finish up my Wednesday here.

Noreen and I went to Carnation to the senior center there for an AI information presentation.  I know next to nothing about it so thought I might learn something, but before we had been sitting there a minute, I had this feeling of sleepiness come over me.  Noreen said she did too.  I wasn't expecting too much out of an information talk, and there were not too many exciting things to hear that I didn't know about.  There was a pretty big group of folks there, and there was a lot of discussion and questions, but I was trying to hold my eyes open and hope my phone was off.  

It sure was a nice morning for being out and enjoying the sunshine.  We had asked for a recommendation for having lunch and had a few suggestions.  We decided on the Carnation Cafe which was practically across the street from the senior center.

On a warmer day, it would have been nice to sit in the outdoor spots and enjoy the warmer weather.  Just not quite there yet.  

We were hungry after having been released and got sandwiches - one meatball and one Tolt Hamburger.  They were quite good, and it was a nice place to eat.  

Driving back, we enjoyed the blue sky and clouds and a little glimpse of the dahlia fields.  

The girls came in after school, and we just sat around and chatted about lots of stuff -- Watching Les Miz tomorrow night with friends, Gray wanting to take piano lessons and ice-skating lessons, Kate not wanting to commit to cross-country,  making another grocery list for Aunt Cece.  They are just the sweetest girls and welcomed my walking a few blocks with them.  

I feel so much better than I did last night, and I'm thankful for that.  I think I'll check in on the SEC Baseball Tournament tonight and play a few games of MJ and go to bed early.  

Giving Up on Spring

 I woke up this morning to hail hitting my windows.  I took the screens down because the windows look better with no screens and because the cats spend a lot of time jumping up and hanging there when they're ready to come inside.  Now they have to go to the front door and wait.  It would have been a good morning to stay in bed, but I woke up to a text from Noreen asking if I wanted a cuppa - nice excuse for a visit.  We've only chatted through texts for about a week now, and it was time for catching up.  We did cover quite a few subjects and got a bit of world problem-solving done.  I always feel better about life in general when I leave one of our visits!

It was pouring when I left to come home.  And cold.  Looking at the 10-day forecast, I don't see us reaching 70 for that period of time and most of it with rain.  Ugh.  Once I get a little taste of sunshine, I'm ready to have it daily.  

Just got a video from Emily in Michaels showing me a bunch of 70s-looking vases and glasses and my sweet girl.

Our Harvest Gold and Avocado Green things were a little more tasteful than those, I think.

Yesterday was early-release Friday, and Graysen got here about 2:45 with some make-up work to finish and her book to read.  When Kate got here an hour later, they were glad to see each other and get a snack.  It isn't anything I plan, but I sometimes just stand in the kitchen and tell them what's in the cabinets and refrigerator, and they let me know if it sounds good.  Gray and I even went to the garage freezer, thinking I had put a cheese pizza in there the last time I went to the grocery story.  Unfortunately, there was no pizza.  They settled for some sausage links like we had at the beach - plant-based ones that they love.  Kate got excited over a bowl of grits, and I grated some cheese into it.  We rounded out the snack with a few handfuls of Fruit Loops I had forgotten about.  

They left to go home, and I did nothing the rest of the evening except what I wanted to do, but I can't remember what that was.  I'm sure I played a few games of MJ on line.  I've now won 68% of the hands on the 2026 card.  Some of them I'll never play, and some I've won multiple times.  

Since nothing is going on today, I'll post a few of the Spring Break pictures.  I've already forgotten where and what most of them are, but I'll remember what I can.

We left on May 8 and had a good short drive to the airport.  It was so nice it almost made me not look at all the traffic.  We were able to get a glimpse of Mt Rainier, but I wasn't quick enough to capture it.

It's such a production to get 5 people and all that luggage into the airport.  We parked, and Ryan and Emily ran the heavy suitcases to be checked inside while I waited with the girls with our carryon stuff.  Then Ryan ran out and took off to park while the girls and I went in and found Emily.  It wasn't crowded, and I had nothing to do but wait on her to do all the hard work.  

Once Ryan got back inside, we headed for the security lines.  We were TSA prechecked, or whatever that's called, so it was a simple matter to just take out IDs and show them.  There was no taking off anything or taking things out of bags, so that part was easy too.  It was a pretty long walk to get to our gate, and the girls gamely carried my laptop bag along with their things.  

    

             Kate wasn't unhappy here, just bored and ready to be on our way.

Once we got there to the gates - 2 or 3 at the end of the concourse, some with delays - there was no time to go to the bathroom or get a bottle of water. So many people.  I was definitely pampered this trip with early boarding on most flights, and it turned out I was the first one on the plane.  That was a new and welcome thing for me.  The only downside was that I had to sit by myself and the rest of the family were way back behind me. I ended up with a nice young couple who were friendly but not chatty - my favorite type of seatmates.  

We changed planes in Houston, and I don't remember much about that.  We just had to get our carryon stuff to the next gate and get on. 

 

This was the flight I had Kate as my seatmate.  She was fun to be with.  It looks like this was just 2 seats with the others across the aisle from us in some configuration.

I thought I would have taken more pictures, but I didn't.  This trip, I got a strap-on waist thing for my ID and phone and a few other little things.  That was the best, because it kept me from forgetting where my phone was and having to fish it off the floor.

Below may have been in Houston or New Orleans.  We made brief stops in both airports and tried to get something to eat at one of the food courts, but nothing looked interesting, and some of the places were closing for the day.  

The next step was riding a shuttle in New Orleans to the rental car place.  It was a nice big comfortable bus, and we got to rest a little bit.

The rest of the night was my least favorite time there.  We got a big nice car, but we filled it completely up and headed for the hotel.

I haven't traveled in a lot of years, and I thought I did pretty well with my anxiety.  But I didn't enjoy the drive to the area and finding a parking place and getting into our rooms.  I'll have to find out the name of the hotel for tomorrow.  

Not that it was any fun for the others, but Ryan and Emily are adventurous, and the girls went straight to sleep once we were in the car.  It was close to midnight in a strange city and no parking available near the hotel.  Ryan got out to walk around and look for a spot, and then Emily went to find him, and I was not that thrilled to be left in the car with the children.  Finally - not long but seemed like forever - we paid for valet parking, which was just unlocking a small parking area attached to the hotel.  Once again, deciding what we needed, getting groggy girls up the elevator, and getting settled is all a blur.  Kate slept in my room, and she was out so quickly.  

I don't remember anything about the room except that was the one with no hot or even warm water.  Right when I needed it the most.  It didn't seem worth it to complain, so I waited until morning and had a lukewarm shower.

We had little balconies, but I spent almost no time on mine.  We heard pretty music for a little while - what we finally learned was the calliope from the Steamboat Natchez going past on the Mississippi.  Nice touch before we had to hurry and get out to try to see some of New Orleans before meeting Rebekah, Emily's high school friend.

This girl had a long sleep and hardly moved all night.  I think that was true for all of us.

I took one picture in NOLA.  One.  I've been there a few times, but Emily really wanted to show the girls Jackson Square.  Our time eventually got used up, and I was not too disappointed.

I'm exhausted just thinking about it.  Maybe I'll have a few pictures for another day.  I'm looking for the name of that hotel now to see if there's anything interesting about it.

Just as I was finishing this up, my phone sent me another airport adventure from May of 2019.  I'll pick some of those pictures and post - so precious, those ages.

Heading back from St. George's another time.  In Tallahassee, we saw Millie and Allen to their flight and then found out ours had been cancelled because of storms in Dallas.  Speaking of anxiety, I was there nursing a swollen foot because of some infection that had come up that morning.  We ended up renting another car and driving most of the way across Georgia to Atlanta where we got about 4 hours sleep and then got a flight to Los Angeles via Charlotte.

These little girls handled it much better than I did, but look at those tired little faces!  

AND - 12 hours later - more hail!