The 3 year old told Nana to GO HOME!

Last night I "got" to babysit the 2 grandkids of our daughter.   The girl is 6 and her BROBBER (as she calls him) is 3.   The six year old (first grader) was a delight.   Her brother...NOT SO MUCH.

He got out a puzzle and emptied it all over their floor.   When I asked him to pick up the pieces, he turned to me and said, "YOU DO IT!"    Excuse me?   I put him in the TIME OUT CHAIR.   He got up.   I added another 3 minutes.   He got up AGAIN.   Ellie, the 6 year old, rolled her eyes and said, "He does that to daddy ALL THE TIME."   So, I set the Alexa timer for ANOTHER 3 minutes (twice) and finally yelled at him, "IF you get up again, I'm going to spank you!"   (I was that close to spanking him, yes, I was!)  (I didn't...I don't spank either one of them).  Defiance at age 3!   CAN you BELIEVE IT?   Then he turned to me and said, "When are YOU going to go home?"   (He is already QUITE the little thinker!!!!!  AND STINKER!)

I had to go sit down at the table.   Now, mind you, these are my 2 closest grandkids.   They live 11 miles away.   I pick each one of them up after school or day care 1 day a week (each).   They constantly see me. I take them for treats.   I take them to the library.   I take them to the nursery to see the plants.

It was a difficult evening.

I fed them dinner and he was much better after that.   The six year old went in her room and we all gathered on her bed and watched 3 of the Elf movies (Elf on the Shelf or whatever...).   He calmed down and curled up on the bed and was the delightful little critter that I knew he COULD be....FINALLY!   However, it WAS a long evening.   Thank goodness hubby had dinner waiting and a bottle of wine!   The little stinker did hug me when I left, apparently over his temporary hatred of Nana.

On a positive note, my sweet peas and sugar snap peas have sprouted!   YAY!   I'm doing the happy dance!   And, I have California poppies coming up out front!   And sunflowers and hollyhocks in the front and back yard!

Times are changing and I guess I'm stuck in the past

Our daughter thinks I'm crazy.   I still have a check book and I still mail out my bills.   She, of course, does everything online.   I know it saves time and a trip to the post office, but, you know, I kinda enjoy going to the post office in the next town.   It is right on the way to their library.   Hobby Lobby is also on the way, so I do occasionally make a slight detour (or rather, my car does!).   What's the line from Skyfall?   "Sometimes the old ways are best".

There are a LOT of "old ways" I want to teach the grandchildren.   For example, yesterday I had to pick up the now BIG first grade granddaughter, since every Wednesday her school gets out 2 hours early so that the teachers can meet together and plan.   So, Wednesday afternoons are our time together.   We went to that library and checked out 14 books (and a book bag).   She's never read, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"!!!!!    SAY WHAT?    EVERY first grader has to read that book!   She hasn't read the Frog and Toad series, so I checked out one of those books for her.   SHE picked out "The Gingerbread Pirates" and something about a Christmas goose (not cooked, thank goodness!)

We then went and sat at the Aspen Mills little cafe (very tiny) in the building and split a chocolate chip muffin.   That's part of our Wednesday routine.   They usually have chocolate chip cookies, but were all sold out by the time we got there yesterday.

She told me she is growing radish seeds for her science class (they switch teachers for this), so I asked her if she had ever been to Lowe's (it is on the way to her house) and she said "NO", so we stopped there.   they had their Christmas tree lot already going and...SIT DOWN!    This kid has NEVER seen a live Christmas tree or smelled one!   So, we went inside the lot, touched them, and smelled them.  .... (shaking head...)   They have a fake one that they put up every year...

I'm going to teach her how to sew and how to grow things in the garden.  And, maybe how to put a stamp on a letter.  I want Papa to teach the grandkids how to use a bow and arrow because he did that in college and he's very good at it.

What about you?   What are you teaching your grandkids?

Rain and RAIN and now weeds everywhere

We had 2 days of rain last week, which I am thankful for, but now the WEEDS are thriving!   They are... EVERYWHERE! 

My front garden does have some California poppies coming up and some herbs.   I threw out seeds of chamomile, sage, lavender, and I forget what else.   Guess I'll have to wait until Spring to figure out what they are!   I knew the rain was coming, so I ran out and sowed them in the ground.   I still have cosmos and marigolds, which are thriving!   I also have some sunflowers coming up.    Our son and his family stopped by Sunday to visit her parents in the next town, so the kiddos got to see "Nana's Garden".

I planted sweet peas out back along the chain link fence that bisects the yard and I planted sugar snap peas along the neighbor's fence, but they haven't sprouted yet.   It seems to take them about 10 days AND RAIN to sprout.   I went out yesterday and watered everything, since it has been a few days since our last rainfall and we have none in the forecast for the next 10 days.   I don't want my seeds to dry out, for sure!

Here are some photos from the front garden:

Yes, I have bees!    So happy to see them!!!

I'm getting ready for the coming storm!

We have a 3 day storm event coming our way this week, starting Wednesday, so I've been busy scampering out front and back madly planting flower seeds.   I also planted my herbal seeds:   rosemary, sage, chamomile, and a couple others.    Next to the mail box, where I had my hollyhocks last year, I planted California poppies, lupine, and larkspur.   I've been selectively planting hollyhocks all around the front yard (since I have a whole bucket full of seeds!), so by next spring, the front yard and back will be FULL of flowers for the birds and bees.   I noticed last spring that the bees especially enjoyed the hollyhocks!

So, yes, I've been busy!   I also completed 2 more journals, sold one, and the other one I just listed in my ETSY shop:     https://www.etsy.com/shop/DesertsandBeyond?ref=pr_shop_more

So, everyone have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!   Do take care if you are driving.

~~Cheryl Ann~~

Random photos from my visit to the horses 2 weeks ago:

Busy planting hollyhock seeds

Well, I'm busy planting hollyhock seeds ALL OVER the front and back yards.   YES!   I harvested all the seeds I could from my hollyhocks out front and I filled a bucket FULL of them.   Today I planted more in the back yard, along with some black oil sunflower seeds.   I already have 7 spots of hollyhocks and they have sprouted.   I like to stagger my plantings so that they all don't come up at the same time.   Busy, busy, busy.

My front garden is still going...marigolds and zinnias and cosmos.  I want to get some snapdragons and alyssum to add to it.

Otherwise not much else is going on here.   Hubby only leaves the house about once a week to either get a hair cut or run to the store for something HE wants.   We are both happy to just stay home.   I babysit the grandkids at least 2 afternoons a week, sometimes 3.  He stays home with the dog.   I was going to visit our son and his 3 kids in Temecula this weekend, but they ALL have the flu and are all vomiting, so that trip was CANCELLED. 

That's all for now.

Cheryl Ann ~Photos from our Labor Day weekend trip to Idyllwild

 Pretty leaves

 I love this fence

The grandson doing something on the porch...

Hollyhocks are GONE! And, I'm sad...

Well, my hollyhocks out by the mailbox are... GONE.   They had mostly gone to seed and many were brown, so I went out at 6 a.m. this morning (with my still-sore elbow), and cut and pulled out what I could.   There are about 3 left with blooms, so I left those.   I managed to rake the area, but I can't hold the weeder to finish it off, so that will have to wait.   I made a huge pile of the stalks and I want to go out later and shake all the seeds out and collect them for this next fall when I can plant them again.

I drove up to the horse ranch yesterday for a quick visit, brushed 2 of the horses, gave them their wormers, and chatted with the ranch owner for quite a while.   It was nice up there, but by 11 a.m., it was getting warm.   I stopped by their local thrift store and got 7 pieces of really beautiful lace curtains to cut up for my journals, then home for a 90 minute nap!

Happy Fathers' Day to all you dads out there...grandfathers, too!   :-)
~Cheryl Ann~

KERSPLAT!

KERSPLAT I went Sunday morning.   I had decided to clean off our side porch, sweep it, and hose it down.  I hadn't cleaned it since...last summer or last fall and the dog hair was piling up and there were cobwebs everywhere.   It really needed a good cleaning!

So, after hosing it off 3x, I went to turn OFF the hose, and I even reminded myself to be careful in one muddy spot (I had my flip flops on...)....but, OF COURSE, I went KERSPLAT right down onto the ground.   I didn't even have time to throw up my arms to protect myself.   I landed on my right temple, my glasses went flying (I was able to find them...) and I lay there for a couple of minutes not sure if I could hoist myself up.   Hubby was in the living room, watching TV and I knew he wouldn't hear me if I called to him, so I gingerly got myself up and stumbled into the house.   I must have looked like something out of Predator, the movie, because my entire right side was covered with mud and leaves and I even had mud on my face and in my hair.  I checked and didn't feel anything broken, so off to the shower I went.    After that, however, my right elbow stiffened up and I could barely move that arm.   I put ice packs on it and settled down to watch 5 episodes of "Band of Brothers" and changed the ice every 20 minutes.   That did help.   I took a couple of naps in between.

It is still sore 3 days later, but not as much, and I'm gradually getting back my range of motion.   Like I said, the darn thing happened so fast that I didn't have time to react.

Now, this is 3 years after Gigondas spooked and knocked me down in her corral.  I'm 67 now and I just don't have the reflexes to react to things like I used to, which is why I don't ride my horses.  ANY OF THEM.   PERIOD.   Not going to take that chance, no sir!

So, I'm staying indoors and working on a few journals.   Besides, it will be 115 here tomorrow and it is too dang hot to be outside except very early in the morning.  I go outdoors from about 5:15 - 6:00 a.m. every morning, feed the birds, and water my plants.   Oh, and if you want to see my front yard garden tour, here is the YouTube link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vZJmHM0LMo.   I actually still have the large patch of hollyhocks along the front border, but the ones by the mailbox I'm going to have to yank out and rake that area this weekend, after my arm heals.

If you want to see what journals I've been working on, here's the link to my shop:   https://www.etsy.com/shop/DesertsandBeyond?ref=pr_shop_more      I have 2 more I need to finish this week.

Thanks for stopping by!   See you next time!
Cheryl Ann