Just got a call from Sarah.

Guess one should not be surprised that this little girl is good on the phone.

At two, Sarah was spied in Mother's Day Out. She was pushing a toy vacuum with a baby doll on her hip and a toy phone at her ear.

So now on the phone she knows to speak up for her hearing-challenged old grandmother and to carry her half of the conversation.

(Fortunately she wasn't vacuuming when she called, I'm sure she knew exactly where her baby doll was... probably taking her morning nap. shhh...)

Sarah is making envelopes and stamping them with stickers her mom gives her.

She has been to vote with her mom but cannot vote herself... yet.

Thank-you Lord for my grandchildren.

A Knee, an MRI, and a little cut

The saga of my knee and what I have learned since my MRI two days ago.

Today Dr (David) Bruce gave me a cortisone shot which was scary for me and turned out to be totally no big deal.

He says it should keep the swelling (and therefore the pain) down for 4 months... but we have scheduled arthroscopic surgery two months hence.

The same thing is wrong with this knee that troubled the other one in 2002... torn meniscus.

There is the start of some arthritis and other degeneration, so treating it sooner rather than later makes sense.

And I am eager to stop taking so much advil.

The MTW Area Retreat, this time in Mexico, where once again I run the nursery, is October 6-12. The week of Oct 11 Dad will be hosting out-of-town visitors, and the week of Oct 31 he will be in Germany. So, by scheduling the surgery on October 19 I can cash in on some TLC.

And if all goes well, by Thanksgiving, when we hope to visit Debby and Jon, I should be doing very well.

The 2002 surgery was a breeze. Even post-op pain was much less than what I experienced pre surgery.

I know I cannot take for granted the same result, but I am very optimistic.

Thanks for caring, and I love you guys

Super Supper Club met at our house tonight.

We did lots of planning and cleaning beforehand, and we had a fun time with friends.

now if I may borrow from a poet,

I have just one thing to say (or quote):

After the Party

by william wise

Jonathan Blake
Ate too much cake,
He isn't himself today;
He's tucked up in bed
with a feverish head,
And he doesn't much care to play.

Jonathan Blake
Ate too much cake
And three kinds of ice cream too--
From latest reports
He's quite out of sorts,
And I'm sure the reports are true.

I'm sorry to state
That he also ate
Six pickles, a pie, and a pear;
In fact I confess
It's a reasonable guess
He ate practically everything there.

Yes, Johathan Blake
Ate too much cake,
So he's not at his best today;
But there's no need to sorrow--
If you come back tomorrow,
I'm sure he'll be out to play.

Fixing Leaks

Our water is off and our plumber, Eston Henson, is digging up the front yard. I am happy that the break is coming into rather going out of the house. We knew about a leak as we had a small marsh/wetland in the center of the front yard. Then Dad dug into the wet a few weeks ago to see where the water was coming from. Then we had a large birdbath or small swimming pool. Eston fixed the leak then found a 2nd one, so the job got much bigger.

I'm happy to say that I filled up containers with filtered water and also filled a couple pans with water. Finally, I keep a gallon jug of water under each bathroom sink. So I'm fine for a while.
I have my 1x/month cleaning ladies coming on the mtn instead of the river because of Super Supper, our supper club that will meet at our house this Saturday. They (cleaning ladies) are due in 30 minutes. They'll have to start with vacuuming and dusting; then we'll see!

Alysia certainly has it worse. On his vacation Bruce is digging up the Murphy field line in Maine. He's a great guy and a good sport but this is over the top. Word is that the Wilson kids are out of clean clothes and very dirty.

We're both having more of those moments that are not dull.

Back on the mountain, Dad, and for a while Debby are/were eating out of my test kitchen. For Super Supper I decided on Chicken Cordon Bleu, which is chicken breasts hammered thin then rolled around deli ham and gruyere cheese. We have tried three different versions, and we will be eating the leftovers for a couple more dinners. I'm afraid that by Saturday there will be nothing special about this dish for Tommy. Anyway, I'm sure it will be a fun time.

love you guys

Fischer and Tracker

There's this yip yip yip.

What's Fischer up to?

He wants to get something that's behind a bag of mulch;

He goes from one side of the bag to the other.

Tracker very quietly sits on the stone wall... watching, waiting.

Eventually a chipmunk dashes across the patio.

Tracker is faster.

Fischer continues to go from one side to the other of the bag.

"How can I get that chipmunk," wonders the dog.

"Cats rule, dogs drool," Tracker responds.

love you guys,

and, Debby, thanks for the dog. Yes, I forgive you for bringing him home a month before you left for college.

The spruced up den and other projects

Sometime around 1990 Dad mentioned that he'd like to replace the metal windows in our den.

Instead we bought (and 6 or 8 years later threw away) heavily-insulated roman shades.

Then we installed a ceiling fan to move alternately hot and cold air.

We built a second home that has ceiling fans to move alternately hot... (you know the story)

We built a new room and a garage with his and her closets... his tools and bikes, my gardening toys and tools... they are a bit larger than our clothes closets, and much more fun.

Sometime in 2010, Barby suggested we build a bigger bathroom.

Dad mentioned that he'd like to replace the metal windows in our den.

Generally I figure 2-5 years between birth and execution of home improvement ideas

But... here we are after 20 years, on DAY ONE:

Hope we like it, 'cuz we're in it...deep.

'Course there is that metal window in my little office, so it seemed a no-brainer to replace it too. Right, Tommy?

Oh yes, there's another metal window. The one in the upstairs bathroom. Tommy, you do understand that we must do something about that too, right?

Meanwhile, by DAY THREE, things are showing promise in the den. You may notice that the trim looks new. The room had three different trims. We couldn't leave that the way it was. Course we found a little rotten wood; you can see the replacement door frame in the middle of the next picture:

Well! what do you think? After nine days we've got our den back!

Almost. The cupboards will be inaccessible once we put the love seat back. So, we emptied them, sent tons of paper to recycling, and put new stuff back there. It's the Princess Trail Time Capsule.

My office is ready, it's in it's usual state, a cozy place somewhere between a mess and chaos.

The bathroom will take a little longer. Perhaps I didn't mention that while we replace the window it would be foolish not to do something about the floor. It would be inconceivable not to replace the light fixture and the towel rods. And the medicine cabinets were gross. The wallpaper is in the trash, and Margaret Arthur chose new paint colors.

Almost forgot, I need to do something about those vanity drawer knobs. One more trip to HP.
One last picture. The Time Capsule is sealed (sort of), and here is the other side of our den.

One more last picture and one last story:

The den TV died a month or so ago. I suggested to Dad that we take the TV from that new room we built and put it in the den. Then we could get a bigger TV for the new room. THIS WAS NOT A 2-5 YEAR DEAL. I almost got whiplash Dad got me to the TV store so fast. Another view of the den:

Next project: teach Barby which remote to use.

Thanks, Pops, and, I love you guys.

Beer and Berries and (apple) Blossoms

Last night I put slug traps in the strawberry patch. Mapco doesn't carry screw-top bottles, so after popping open the can and filling the slug traps,

Dad and I, hating as we do to waste anything, frugally finished the leftover hops.

This morning the traps held a dozen plus slugs and snails who had gleefully drowned themselves in a late-night binge, and I picked the first few berries of the season.

To quote a song that I once heard on Broadway: Small pleasures, small pleasures, who would deny us these... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXRPxv77gN0

Tracker continues to earn his right to sleep in the garage, thanks to his hunting and tracking. Besides the occasional squirrel, possum and vole, he brings in three to four chipmunks a week. If you could watch him play cat and chipmunk you would not doubt that the natural world (the world of the naturalist?) is a cruel place and life for most animals in the wild is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. (I admit my role as accessory in this matter and justify it without qualm as I claim the right to keep the fruit of these labors from ones who would take it from me. I remain, Libertarian and Republican to my core.)

And a huge thanks to Pops.
I have wanted a third apple tree for some time. We planted it last weekend. It is a huge job to plant one tree and I have no idea how orchards get planted.

The trees arrive with bare roots and just a 3' tall stick to go above ground. Yesterday after just three days in the dirt, the little stick showed a few tiny buds.

No apples off this third tree for 2 or 3 years, as they establish themselves much better if the blossoms are pulled off before the fruit forms during the early years.

Not to worry, looks like a great crop from the 2 established trees, will give plenty of applesauce for the grands.

Thanks to Debby for a great visit and for the pictures and post of our time in Niceville 1 1/2 weeks ago. Looking forward to seeing the Wilsons and their new property next weekend

love you guys