Thursday, Part II

 This was such a nice afternoon, and it did me so much good to get out and be with people close to my own age.  Not that my fellow quilter is not a bunch of fun, but so is Mah Jongg.

Ryan and Emily still have their car in for repairs, and the girls had an ortho appointment today, so my car was not available.  I wasn't worried though.  I have options.  I decided I felt like walking on this beautiful day, and Noreen went along to keep me company.  We crossed the street in front of our apartments and had a full downhill path of sunshine all the way to town.  There was just a little breeze and a chill in the air, but it was great once we started.  We parted outside the Y entrance, and she left to walk home by the school, hoping to catch a glimpse of her Dom playing outside on the playground.  We're hopeless when it comes to these kiddos.  

We had two new people show up to play with us, and they weren't even from the new class.  What are the chances that two people would move to this small town who are both experienced players and ready to fit right in?  Jen and Kathy were welcomed right in and actually kept us on our toes.  We had 5 people at first, so the winner sat out and let the other 4 play, and that worked out fine.  Then we had the 6th one come, and we still just got up and down and sat out and watched the other players.  It was all fun, and I'm sure hoping they come back.  I can't remember who all won.  I know I won the first game and then gave Kathy my seat, who promptly won that one!  Jen and Elissette won one game apiece, but we were all within 1 or 2 tiles every time.  It was a fun day.  Gina with Gabriela came in just to visit and bring some brownies, and it was good to see her.  I believe she played one hand before she had to go.  

Sharon dropped me off at home afterwards.  She was going to play Rummikub at the winery down the street, but I was ready to be home so didn't go with her.  Elise said Noreen had left a bag of pumpkin coookies while I was gone, and that was a treat to have a couple of those with some cold milk!  Yum.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip

Maybe she'll share the recipe later.

I did receive the recipe and am posting it here.  

If nothing new happens, I'm washing my face and putting on my pjs soon. I have a slaw mix in the crisper that I'll add some leftover fresh veggies and cheese and olives to with maybe a little bacon,  If I get hungry.  I have a stack of library quilting books to look through plus 2 catalogs and a Southern Living magazine.  That should be about as much as I can handle tonight, and it's early to bed for me. I missed seeing the girls this afternoon, but I didn't mind having just a day for myself today.   

One picture that appeared in my memories today that made me smile.

Lost Time

 I'm so upset that I never come here and write anything lately.  I thought I would make a fresh start on my birthday since it was a big one this year, but that celebration, as low-key as it was, went on for a week before and weeks after, just picking up more and more things to do.  It's the season when things are happening too, things we enjoy, and it gets harder and harder to open up this blog and type NEW POST. 

I can't think how I'll ever catch up with the things I wanted to remember and the thoughts I was having.  I can look at pictures and read texts and look at my calendar, but that's such a job, and I don't want another hard job.

Right now, this week, my mind is just swirling with things I'm doing and planning, and I just tend to get overwhelmed.  

I've mourned, in a way, the passing of my babies into young ladies and pulling away from me slightly, but I'm trying to enjoy this phase of life, and all of a sudden, Kate and I have become closer since Gray has been so involved in sports and school work and friends. It's lovely, and I can't believe my luck, but I wish I could steal a little of her energy.

Just taking one afternoon out of all this --  I might not even have any pictures, but she has become the photographer and I'll help myself to some of hers later.  

I'm doing better with sleeping with fewer naps during the day and longer stretches of sleep at night.  Unfortunately, when I do get up, I don't want to start my day for so long that I all of a sudden am in a panic that the morning is already gone.  

My morning:  Opened the blinds and saw that it was not raining but a little gray and closed them again for a while!  I made a scrambled egg and a piece of toast with peanut butter - just because - with a cup of coffee.  Lately, I'm taking the time to grind my beans and just cook it on the stovetop.  It takes longer than popping a pod into the Keurig, but it is really good.  I'm not even sure what brand I bought this last time, probably some Starbucks on sale at Safeway.  I've found that just a spash or two of Coffee Mate No Sugar Vanilla is what it needs to made it perfect. 

I have so much that I want to know about, so many things I want to read that I could probably just while away an hour or so on the computer.  And sometimes I do.

I texted with Noreen about our morning plans and talked about getting together for a walk that afternoon.  We had the best long walk a few days ago - one of those spontaneous things that turned into perfection.  I could have used a little more energy, but I'm used to that.  We walked our usual route toward town, trying to catch the sunnier sidewalks.  We were surprised to find another friend out on her way to pickle ball, so we walked several blocks with her and caught up.  That was nice.  N and I continued on down past the Y, and I got worried the return trip might be more than I needed, so we turned right and found a street where I could look forward to a little park and a bench to rest on if I needed.  I did, and it was sunny and just the perfect spot to catch my breath.  Then it was back through town, still finding the sunny sidewalks, and being glad that we had made the effort.  Unfortunately, I didn't walk yesterday because of feeling light-headed and nauseous when I stood up more than 5 minutes.  I hate that, but no one seems to know what brings it on, so I just live with it.  

I knew one or both girls would be here after school, so I got Kate's quilt project a little organized for her to do a block.  

First, though, she came in bubbling with excitement about a thing they have in their math class where they take "something" on Friday that others might be interested in and trade them off for the tickets that they've gotten during the week for good grades and good behavior.  Kate lives for the butterscotch candies that the teacher hands out sometimes! The day before, I had guided her through making  just a simple - VERY simple - bag to practice using the sewing machine.  She was so excited about it that she took it home to her mom with a picture she had sketched. 

It was the perfect size for a corner bookmark, so we're getting our heads together about making some for her friends for Christmas and making some bookmarks to go into them.

I had shown her earlier this week a YouTube tutorial of a man sketching a little ghost.  She got her sketch pad and had that ghost drawn before I knew she had started.  Amazing!  I hate to see how I would have butchered it. 

This bag was too small for drawstrings, but we found a pattern a little bigger with a lining and drawstrings, and she's going to ask her dad to do some 3D printing things to put in it along with some tiny acrylic figures she and Elise have been obsessing over.  They open one every day and carry on about how cute they are.  Anyway, along with some candy and maybe a bookmark, and it will be a something anyone would want to spend a math ticket on!  

Emily read me a note her math teacher had written yesterday, and it was so nice.  I love that teachers take the time to write personal notes to the parents, and she mentioned how she was seeing Kate blossom and grow and be engaged and interested in class.  Her grades were always good, but it's nice to know she's enjoying herself.  

She did have a good bit of math homework that is due Friday, but she worked pretty hard on it and then went to the sewing machine and started working on another block.  

She surprised me with her choice of fabrics, but they're beautiful.  We are using two different methods, but I think she's going to do a great job.  She gets so excited when she presses the foot pedal!  It's hard to concentrate on getting a perfect quarter-inch seam and keep her fabric straight and her fingers far enough away to suit me, but she's getting into a rhythm.

These are 3 that she's done.

She fell in love with the moth fabric in the fabric shop, and the shop lady helped her pick out companion fabrics plus some of her own.  She loves the griaffe-spot green!  

This is some fabric I already had, and we both think it will be great for the backing with the squares separated by sashing of the giraffe fabric.

These are some of the fabrics already cut into 2-1/2 inch strips.  They'll be sashed with a creamy white.

I just got my coffee made, so I'm going to end this, but I'm encouraged by writing one more thing!

Cozy!  This reminds me that I need to ask maintenance for those burner replacements they promised me.  I could use a new coffee pot too, but this one is sentimental and makes excellent coffee!  It Veranda Blend Starbucks this week.  

I have Mah-Jongg today, so I probably won't write any more, and then Kate will be here for her sewing.  Maybe Graysen too if we can catch her between school and soccer.  She ended up with MVR (Most Valuable Runner) when the middle school awards were given as well as one more - Best Teammate, maybe?  She had a great year and improved her personal best time every meet.  So proud of her.  It's on to high school cross-country now.  It looks like they have a good team every year.  

Two plants being pampered by Elise that are sitting on the counter. 

And my sleeping buddy this week, a duck left behind after the sleepover Saturday night. 

My Last 70s Month

 I'm counting down the days until I enter a new decade.  It sounds really old, but I'm okay with it.  Everyone who lives this long is like a family of survivors - extra nice to each other, sharing those blood pressure readings and sleep patterns, laughing at the things we have discovered about our bodies that we just have to accept.  

I have almost the whole month of September to enjoy being 79, and I'd love to do some special things that make it memorable.  I won't do many earth-shattering things, but I might do a few things I can look back on and say it was special.

Yesterday was September 1st, and it seemed to be the first day fall was in the air.  Sweater weather.  Light sweater, but nevertheless, you needed what my mother-in-law called "a sleeve."  When I got into the car to go to Mah-Jongg, a light breeze ruffled my neglected hairdo.  It needed to have been cut a month ago, but I let it go, and it got to the point of being just perfect for a few weeks, still not requiring anything but a quick brushing in the morning and tolerance of the messy look the rest of the day.

We had a group of 7 today - 3 at one table and 4 at the other.  Sharon, Connie, and I played at the 3 table.  It usually takes me a game or two to relax and get into the rhythm of the game, but the tiles were there, and the jokers were falling, so I won the first two games.  Those jokers!  Sometimes I go whole games and see maybe 1 but not today.  Once I win a game, I feel more relaxed and don't get anxious about the luck of the draw and especially not about my expertise.  Connie won the third game, and being a fairly new player, it was doubly exciting.  

As we ended the 3rd game, Abbye got dismissed from her table for winning every game over there and came to make up our fourth.  Unfortunately for her but lucky for Sharon, her luck ended, and Sharon won the last 2 games.  Connie had brought some of her homemade limoncello for us that she makes from her own lemon trees - in Scottsdale, AZ, where she lives most of the time.  She visits here a lot because of having a good many family members, mainly grandchildren, here.  I'm not familiar with that drink or vodka at all.  It was nice and refreshing but a little sweet for me.  It was so nice of her to share that treat with us.  

We start back this week with our usual Thursday group.  Summer is hard to get the ones with children and grandchildren and the travelers together, but we should settle in now.  I notice we have 4 so far that have signed up.  

When I got home, Katherine was there.  She had gotten off the bus at her bus stop and walked here, and we had just the best afternoon.  She talked some about her 6th grade experiences - how someone had noticed her Southern accent, and she told them she was 85% Southern.  I'm not sure how she gets that.   She's finding it easier to talk to strangers now and enjoying some new acquaintances, even though her best friends from last year aren't in many of her classes.  She has a sweet heart and such kindness.  She had a snack and part of my supper and then was enjoying a cup of mac and cheese and a game of Rummikub when Ryan came by to get her.  It's been a joy seeing her so much these past few days.  I wish I could even catch a glimpse of Graysen sometimes, but she's totally wrapped up in school and sports and just finding time to relax and read. 

I had an appointment with Dr Gil scheduled for today. I do not like going to the doctor, although it always ends up being nice, especially if all labs check out and nothing else is wrong.  She listens so well to my ramblings, and we reached a perfect agreement that maybe after all these years, I do need an anti-anxiety medication for my happiness and everyone around me.  We're thinking about that and a few other things.  It was good to have a normal-for-me blood pressure and no other problems.  I had lab work done but haven't seen the results yet.  The phlebotomist is so good.  I wish I could have him do my blood draws every time I needed them.  Thinking of the time at my oral surgery appointment when 3 nurses/techs could not get a drop of blood and were thinking of going to a nearby clinic to borrow someone.  It worked out, but it wasn't my best experience.  

As I was leaving the doctor's office, Noreen texted to see if I wanted to get lunch since we were both up and dressed by noon.  One of our rare spontaneous decisions.  She suggested Caadxi Oaxaci in downtown Snoqualmie.  The drive was nice, and it was fun to be out without doctors or PTs involved - just food!  I had never been there, and she told me how it was pronounced.  I forgot exactly but similar to cod-see wa-hata.  She got a little plate of tacos, and I got chicken enchiladas, enough for me to bring home another meal.  It was quiet, and the food was good.  We got to eat out on little (screened?) porch add-on.  

I think I'll have the rest of the day to myself and not sure what I'll do. I'm drinking a good cup of coffee right now and feeling just a little bit cool.  I think I'll take a walk before it starts to rain.  And practice Mah Jongg a little bit.  I have to be ready for tomorrow!  Two cats are snoring in their beds, and Bowie is out roaming.  

I just started a new book this morning that seems appropriate:  Still Life at Eighty.  The Next Interesting Thing by Abigail Thomas.  

It's more poetry than a novel, I think.  Lots of good thoughts and good truths.  She's reaching back in her memory to pull up things and writing them down.  I'd love to do that when I think of something I think the girls would like to know about me when I'm gone.  My life couldn't have been more different than hers:  Married 4 times and a "stage seductress," she has quite a few tales to tell that I couldn't begin to imagine.  Sorry, but I've been boring most of my life!  

Back to School - The Best Ever

That seems to be the consensus around the WinBin house.  It does seem to be off to a happy start, but I don't know the details.  

I don't think I've spoken a word in person to Gray this week, just a few texts here and there.  She's pretty busy!  I know she had to get to school early to participate in the welcoming of the 6th graders, and I don't know how that went.  She was excited but a little bit anxious about it.  I don't even know if Kate was in her group.  I did see a picture on FB of her standing by the Welcome Eagles sign with her friend Sawyer, both of them looking happy.  

Since they had to leave at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, there were no posed front porch pictures this year.  I have had some old ones pop up in my memories, so I'll try to remember to add some of those.  

Emily picked Kate up after school, and she was bubbling with excitement, although this picture doesn't show it.  She said "everyone needs to go easy on me.  I'm new at this."  I assume, new at middle school!

Gray started cross-country practice Thursday but didn't have it Friday because of early release.  It's going to be hard to get soccer practice in on those days.  I did get the schedule and hope Elise and I can get to some of the meets.  There aren't many and only one of them too far away for me to drive.  I'll for sure try to make the home meets and the finals, which are local too.  She and Kate both are dedicated to their practicing right now!

Graysen had plans Saturday night for a sleepover, so I asked if Kate wanted to come over here for a visit or a sleepover.  It took a good bit of maneuvering of schedules (theirs, not mine!) before we could get Carly over here and both girls settled.  Emily picked up pizza on the way to Gray's sleepover with Sawyer and Eva, and Gray delivered it to our door!  That's all they wanted with lots to drink.  We taught Carly to play Rummikub, and she caught on quickly, like I knew she would, but it got a little wild for me at the end of a busy day, so we played just one game.  They settled in with a movie on my computer with lots of laughing and talking.  I think I stayed up to hear them get quiet, but I'm not sure.

I finally had to insist they get up the next morning before lunch!  I got all my laundry done and some cleaning and worked on a breakfast for them and finally got them to the table.

Not a lot of nutrition there, but there are some vegan sausages which they liked as well as bagels and cream cheese.  No one asked for anything else.  They're pretty easy to please.  The blueberries especially were so good.

They've grown so much since the first time they met.  I looked for the first picture of them I have, and it was August 4, 2021.  Such babies.  I really miss those days.

As I was looking for that picture, I found these in my camera.  I knew they were having fun, but I didn't discover what was making them laugh so hard until I saw these.  I'm sure this huge alligator has a name, but I've forgotten it.  I think I see now why she chose it instead of one of her smaller stuffies - she was expecting a loud and active night.

They spent a lot of time on shadow pictures the night before and the next morning, but this is the only picture they took.

I'm not sure what they did all afternoon, but no one accepted any parent's invitation to go home.  They ran over the park and played briefly, but it was cool and a little rainy, so they came back home.  Finally, about 5:00 I took them, along with that alligator, home.  I'm so thankful we had that time together, even if I didn't participate much.  It was enough just hearing them giggle and scream and have such a good time.  Both of them thanked me sweetly for having them.  Such sweeties.  

When I got back home, played some solo Mah Jongg and texted a little with Emily.  

Before the Charleston with not a great hand.

I brought out the pink tiles and tried to replicate the Charleston and the drawing and discarding for 4 people.  It's about as accurate as I can figure out to do with one player.  

I finally settled on a hand and came within one tile of MJ before it ended.  Not that bad!  This picture is after the first Charleston.  I did settle on the BAM hand.  I got 3 of the 4 BAM dragons before it ended but couldn't get a joker!

Those early pictures I mentioned before.  These had been posted on FB at the time.

Gray with her fall looks.

This was during a visit before we moved here.  She wasn't sure of Mimi and PopPop on first meeting, but she soon remembered us from Facetime.  

 They got to go 3 years to the same school, not counting the time they were homebound because of COVID.

And this one.  I just get so lost in memories when I look for a particular picture.  I guess there are worse ways to spend a morning.

My days are all mine now since the girls are in school.  I didn't see that much of them this summer, but there was always the possibility they would come over.  Now I have these wonderful last days of summer to enjoy.  Today I'm just drinking coffee and working on this blog and getting my September calendar up to date and seeing if I spent all my budgeted money. 

Tomorrow is Mah Jongg, but I'm still open to whether or not I'll go.  If we have a reasonable number of people, I will.  It will be fun to start getting our old groups back after the summer.  Thursday is a certainty with most of the regulars.  There is Rummikub on Mondays at the senior center, but I haven't considered that yet.  Some people play at the winery next to the library on Thursdays, and I might join them this week if there's nothing else going on.  

I always get the urge to sew in the fall, but we're trying to get all my sewing stuff changed around, so things are in three different places.  My MJ friend Sharon has started a Quilt of Valor, and it looks so pretty.  It's really tempting. 

 I need to get Elise to pick out the binding and backing for her quilt and work on that as soon as possible.  I don't think she's ever going to find just the right color and pattern of blue/green/teal, but there's always hope.  I have my 3 mini quilts for the holidays that I CAN finish if I just will!

And now that Noreen is doing so well with her knee replacement rehab, I hope we can get out and take some of those fall walks we used to enjoy.  September is beautiful here, and I want to be out there in it in the last month of my 70s!  I hope I not jinxing my good health and lack of falling in 6 years!  I have a doctor's appoint Wednesday and don't want to hear anything bad there either.  

School 2026-2027

 I've once again gotten myself into the black hole of forgotten posts and procrastination.  Things get busy in spurts around here, and I don't have time to write.  Then it slows down and I forget what it was that I wanted to say earlier.  

Just for today though - thoughts about the first day of school on August 26, 2026.  

Unfortunately, there were no pictures taken before school today, and someone will pay.  They might make it up by sending some tomorrow.  All days won't be like this, but this first day was designed to try to patientce and energy of everyone involved, especially the students and teachers.  I hope there's a lot of downtime tonight and no practices of any kind.  

The 8th graders in the WEB group had their training on the 21st, and I didn't hear much about it, but today was their big day.  They had to arrive at school at 6:30 a.m. and (I suppose) divide the 6th graders into groups for their orientation.  The girls were hoping to be in the same group, but there are lots of sibling sets in those two grades, so it might have been too complicated.  I hope to hear more about it when I can capture them.  

The excitement started last week when they got their teacher assignments.  I heard so many dramatic cries of "No one I know is in any of my classes!"  I can believe that about the 6th graders since there are 4 or 5 elementary schools feeding into the middle school, but the 8th graders after two years know pretty much everyone in their class.  I'm sure they mean their best friends are not in their classes.  It's been happening since the 1950s for sure.  It was very rare to get your best friend in your class, but that was the fun of it - making new friends.  I went to school with a little boy named Mike Windham but had never been in his room until sixth grade.  We sat across from each other,  I and I doubt we spoke, but I did get to know him a little bit, which came in handy when I was open for a new boyfriend in 11th grade!  I do remember having a rubber band incident with a friend's braces where the said object landed on a very judgmental 6th-grade boy's desk.  She would give me one of those teeny rubber bands to put on my front teeth to share the joy of wearing braces, and it just took off.  He was not amused at all the giggles.

Graysen knows for sure that her last period will be full of people she knows very well, since it's band, and they've been together for 2 full years.  

Her advisor - or maybe what we called a homeroom teacher - is Ms Espeland, one of her favorites.  I'm not sure how she knows her, but it may be soccer.  

Classes are 1) Social Studies.  2) Math. 3) Science. 4) Language Arts. 5) Spanish. 6) Band.  That's a nice way to end the day with some things she's sure of.  No PE this year.  Not that she needs any more activities with soccer and cross-country.

Kate has no idea what to think of her schedule since it's all new to her.  Her advisor is Mr. Alas, the band director.

Classes are 1) Science. 2) Band. 3) Language Arts. 4) Social Studies. 5) Math. and 6) PE.  Also a good ending.

Today, they will probably ride the same bus home, but tomorrow after cross-country starts, she will ride by herself - and hopefully with some friends and neighbors while Graysen will ride the activity bus at 4:30 to the elementary school where she can come here or walk home.  Lots of things have to be planned and decided.  They should be home now, but I will wait for them to tell me about their day when they feel like it.  

Back to Monday night.  They ended up sleeping over here, which I had NOT planned.  I like to know and fret and plan and make sure we're all on the same page, but sometimes it's not so bad when I get put on the spot and end up having a great time.  

The girls were over here late in the afternoon, but Kate had to leave to go to DMW.  Ryan called and asked what flavor Icee Gray wanted and asked if I wanted one too.  What a question! I rarely turn down Coke Icees, so he used that as a bribe.  When Kate brought them in, she said something about "before school sleepover?" not looking too hopeful.  It turns out there was no reason not to, except I didn't have anything planned for them to eat.  Ryan solved that problem by calling in an order for Pad Thai and spring rolls to Sno-Thai, and the girls and I walked down and picked up the order.  It ended up being a lot of food and fed the 4 of us - twice!  

I wish I had taken some pictures of an earth-shattering decision by Elise to join us for Rummikub.  It's a new game for all of us, but we all got pretty competitive, and Elise held her own - only looking lost a few times.  Kate is a tile hoarder and didn't play every turn, which is frustrating to everyone else, but Graysen was the one who surprised me at how quickly she caught on.  She and Kate were close to a tie in the number of tiles they had left, but Gray found homes for the last two and took the win.  Elise and I were not even close!  

After we cleaned that up, it was pretty late, so we got ready for bed.  I was afraid they would have a hard time going to sleep, and we were up until midnight, but it was fun and exhausting, and we all slept really well.

Graysen and I got into bed with our pillows and blankets and watched Price and Prejudice - again!  We love it so much, and it always brings out the best discussions.  I don't have a picture of her watching the movie, but here she is trying to drink the peach smoothie I made them for breakfast.  I thought it was nice and refreshing, but I didn't get quite the right combination for them to love it.  Maybe more agave next time.  

I did find a silly one of the movie time, with Jane looking out the window in hopeless despair.  It's probably pretty obvious where Elise stopped cleaning the blinds, and she did get that slat bent back from cats peeking out.  Vanilla wafers are a perfect little bedtime snack.

We could hardly distract Kate from her dragon drawing, and she gave up the movie for that.  I'm sure she's seen it enough times to imagine the scenes from the dialog.

She also suddenly lost a tooth on Monday night, a molar and maybe the last one she will ever lose. 

These dragons are very special to Kate, and she knows everything about them - and I do mean everything.  I'm learning too and get asked my advice on how to accessorize them sometimes and what to name them. 

This one's name is Sahara.  I may have picked up on the fact that it was a sand dragon, but I'm not sure.  The mask might be there because of sand storms or just a cute accessory.  My favorite things are the little legs.  She's dainty, yet ferocious, because dragons just have to be.  They also make good pets though.

They left in the middle of the morning to go take a walk with their friends, probably to Starbucks to get a REAL BREAKFAST.  Gray had had to run 2 miles the night before and needed 2 more miles that day for xc training.  She also had soccer practice after all that.  

This was my FB post last year on their first day of 5th and 7th grades.  They've grown several inches since then!

I've done nothing all morning but make a grocery list and order groceries.  I was going to the grocery store, but when I decided to check prices, I really noticed that Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods are cheaper than the two grocery stores we have to chose from right here.  Even with the tip, it turns out very close, and no one has to go in and forget half the stuff and run out of energy just as I reach the self-check line.  So I'm waiting to get that delivery between 5 and 7 and find room for it all.  

I'm getting a little hungry, but I didn't eat lunch and had only a cup of coffee and some cottage cheese, cantaloupe, and walnuts.  That coffee was good!  I've stopped trying to drink it black and just adding whatever it takes to make it good.  This week it's Coffee Mate Zero Sugar French Vanilla.  I think. Maybe I'll have another cup while I wait for the groceries to arrive.

Cat Sitting and Gardening

 That sounds like I'm actually doing something.  

The cat sitting I have down to a science.  Open the door, greet sweet Gus, and feed him.  The rest of the time is sitting beside him and letting him sleep or roll over and touch me with his paws.  I can't think of too many things more enjoyable.  

My visit the first evening after he had been by himself for more of the day.  He had no idea who it was, but I think he did recognize my voice and talked a good bit to me.

He had already eaten that day, so I checked his water and gave him a few treats, which he didn't seem to be too interested in.  He liked to sit beside me while I listened to my audio book and caught up with deleting emails.  He did keep his eyes and ears focused on the front door, because I wasn't exactly his first choice.

What a fur ball.  He and I worked on smoothing down his under-the-chin section, and then he watched me water the back yard plants.  I wish I could have let him out in the fenced yard, but I couldn't take a chance on him escaping. 

This is the third day, and he's resigned to my being his person forever and greets me and rolls around and lets me brush him.  He's also content to take long naps and leave me to whatever I'm doing. 

It's so hard to leave him at night.  I go over in the mornings and stay for a couple of hours and then back in the evening after Elise and I water the garden, but he still would prefer not to be alone, I can tell.  

I did a good bit of neatening up some of the plants and watering them.  The sweet peas had taken over the side bed and was smothering the dahlias, so I trimmed them back to bloom again later and brought a few dahlias (probably 20 of them) home to enjoy and share.

I might be in trouble for taking the clippers to some of the front bed plants.  A couple of next-door cats have been sleeping in a bed of yarrow and just flattened it out over the walkway.  I trimmed that back pretty severely and once looked up and saw the gray cat watching me from the next yard.  

I got to have a nice conversation with a neighbor whom I hadn't talked to in a few years.  His daughter and Graysen started kindergarten together, and we were the designated pick-up relatives and birthday party chaperones and just generally ran into each other nearly every day.  He's from India, and I'm from the South, so we enjoyed sharing and laughing about our different customs and adjusting to Washington's weather.  Since the girls have grown older and are no longer being picked up, we just haven't run into each other in a few years.  Schradda is devoted to tennis and spends a lot of her time on lessons and tournaments, and Graysen is the same with soccer.  I miss those days when the girls had simple little lives.  Now our discussions are teenagers and phones and how glad we are not to have cobras and rattlesnakes here.  

Speaking of soccer, Graysen's team, the one that got second place here in the Cascade Cup last month, is playing in San Diego this weekend and doing great.  They won Friday and Saturday and will be playing in the finals tomorrow.  This is a sweet and very talented group of girls, and I hope to get to watch them play this fall before I hibernate for the winter.  Some of them will be playing on the middle school team in just a few weeks too.

Maija and Graysen, also teammates at Snoqualmie Middle School.

I'm still waiting on some pictures from the current tournament.  Emily sent me a short video from Friday but I don't know if I can get it to work here.  I'll try that tomorrow along with Ryan's video of Kate doing 25 pushups beside the pool.

In the meantime, they seem to be having the time of their lives, all staying at the same hotel with the rooftop pool to swim in at night and the ocean during the mornings.  

Little sisters get in on the fun too!