Mom's Birthday

My mom spent her birthday going to the doctor. 

She said she has a volcano on her face that is ready to erupt.  She is right.  It is on her left temple.  It is so swollen and hard and making her eye swollen and her nose.  She has an ugly red mark going down the side of her face almost to her jaw.  And it is very painful.

Now.  If this was a blemish, it got way way way infected. My mom is not a teenager.  She should not be getting these things on her face.  My dad isn't a teenager either.  They are Great Grand Parents!

I only live about 1/2 of a mile away from them now.  If I could go through a wheat field we would be really close, but I have to go around the wheat field, and wait for all the country drivers on the Ammon Road, so sometimes it takes me 4 to 5 minutes to get to my parents home.  If I was a crow it would take me about 1 1/2 minutes to get there.

Recently I went with my mom to Rexburg and we had a "girls day" with my sister in law.  Pedicures, new nail polish, you know the things we girls like.  Yeah, that is what we did.

We have also been together for a family wiener roast.  This is my Aunt Patrice (she is younger than me) and my Uncle Dean (he is a twin to my Aunt Deanne) and my mom is on the right.  Isn't she just "thee best"!  She gets better and better every year.  I love her so much.

Mom is always always happy.  She laughs and is so much fun to be around.  We have such a good time.  I cherish everyday being near her.

We had a family reunion at Heise Hot Springs last year, and this is just a few of us...My mom and her siblings and all of the descendants of those sisters and brothers.  We had such a good time.  It is nice to be so close to so many of them now.  Mom is the oldest of her brothers and sisters.  She is a great example to all of the posterity.

Happy birthday to a wonderful mom, sister, wife, grandmother, great grandmother, friend, neighbor, aunt, cousin, ...... and on and on.  She wears many hats, and fills many shoes.  But most of all......

SHE IS THE BEST MOTHER IN MY WORLD!  I LOVE HER A BAZILLION AND MORE.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A WONDERFUL MOTHER AND LADY!  I DO LOVE YOU!

Ivy is a stinker

My sweet Ivy was watching the rain outside.

She so so so badly wanted to go outside and play.

She might have even wanted to pee, who knows.

So, being the loving master that I am, I watched her suffer.  She was so patient and didn't bark or beg.  She just sat patiently and waited.

I couldn't stand it.  My heart was breaking watching her.  She is so dang cute.

And my back yard is fenced.  It is safe.  Even if it rains.  Except for the place where the previous owners had a garden.  That part of the yard is dirt.  Clay dirt.  The kind of dirt that water doesn't soak into. The water just sits there.  Waiting for the wind and the air to carry it back into the sky.

Her eyes, they penetrate me.  They beg me to let her go outside.  She loves the clean Idaho air.  She loves to run in the wind and feel her hair blow.

So, I finally talked to her.  I told her how much I love her, and how I understand the desire to run outside and frolic in the clean Idaho air.

I opened the door and all 3 dogs charged outside like they were fleeing from a fire.  Charged I say.

That cute face is just irresistible.  I let her have her own way, just this once.

And do you know what she did to repay me for all my love and devotion  to her.

She went outside, sniffed  the green wet grass, walked around some more.  Sniffed some more.  And then she layed on her back and scratched and scratched her back in the green lush grass.  The green lush grass that grows in clay dirt.  The green lush grass, where all 3 dogs squat, and poop.  Yep, that is EXACTLY where Ivy was rolling on her back and rubbing her backbone, directly where a previous dog had recently squatted.

At the time I watched her rolling I hadn't completely realized what was ensuing.  I just thought she was cute.

I turned to the youngest daughter and said, "That Ivy, she is so cute.  You know how Zoey lays on her back and scratches her back on the carpet or the grass,.....well, Ivy is doing that.  I have never seen her do that before".

Youngest daughter nearly spit out her tongue as she burst out laughing!

She said "I have seen Ivy do that *laughing out of control* and, .....and...... *laughter is getting worse*....and it usually means she has found something stinky and she is rolling in it!"

I said, "Oh No!  You mean I have one of THOSE DOGS"?!

Yep.

That is exactly what was happening.

As punishment to both Ivy and my youngest daughter, Ivy was bathed by the Youngest Daughter.  *laughter continued for many minutes from youngest daughter* much to my dismay.

I, however, on the other hand, got a clean towel, and was ready to dry the little beast and brush out her hair.  (I have sincerely tried to give up swearing, but at times like this, I have to wonder what other words would possibly feel as good.)

That darling little girl dog, yeah, the one with the clean hair, curled up on the chair and fell sound asleep.  She acted as if she had to do something hard.  Like she was exhausted.  Like, we had picked on her.

I have news for the little beast.  The next time Zoey and Ozkar are chasing her and biting off her hind quarter, I might just let them do it.

She might realize then what a wonderful care giver she has!

If she is smart she just might climb up on the chair and stay there for about 17 days.... no matter how bad she has to pee.  She just better think about the lesson she learned today.  She better think twice about rolling in stinky places.

But just look at her.  You know how bad she must feel.  She didn't mean to cause anyone any trouble.

She is so cute.  She is nearly perfect in every non-barking way.  The barking way she still could work on, but other than that one really annoying thing she is nearly perfect.

Nearly perfect.

Oh, hold on.  Ivy needs to go out and........... I am thinking about allowing it, right after I clean up the back yard.

Yep, I gotta go now.  I have preparations to make for the 3 beasts who live here.

They are nearly perfect beasts.  Nearly.

Nearly.

Sunday again

I love Sunday's.  It is the one day that I can sleep in really late and not feel guilty.  It is because church isn't until 1:00 pm for a few more months.  I can waste the entire morning and not feel badly about it, because one shouldn't work on Sunday.  That is my story, and today I am sticking to it.

Yesterday we celebrated the youngest child's birthday.  I was too busy making pulled pork to blog.  I had to clean the house.  The bathrooms sparkled.  The beds were all made.  The dust disappeared.  I got out the fabulous silver water cooler and filled it with ice and lemon slices and water.  I splurged and bought Chinette.  I used the staple at all family gatherings....the red plastic drinking glasses and wrote names on them.  But, I went the extra mile and used real flatware.  No plastic.  Now that is going all out!!!

My dear family brought salads, desserts, and the most darling little children.  They are so cute.  They are the best part of family get togethers.  When I was shopping for the food I kept thinking about those darling kids.  So I bought Chicken Franks in case they didn't want to eat pulled pork.  I also bought the cutest little tiny cinnamon rolls, they were like finger food, for the kids.  The kids sat up to my counter and ate ice cream and little cinnamon rolls.  They loved them.  They said it was the best dessert they had ever eaten.

Then those darling little kids went and played. They played in my closet.  They tried on every pair of shoes I own.  They liked the ones with high heels (I hate those).  They liked the ones with "sparkles" (my personal favorite). They loved all the different colors.  And they left me with the biggest mess!

Then those cute little kids went downstairs, to where I sleep.  They threw every pillow off my bed and crawled into my sheets.  They must have jumped a little bit too.  The quilt was the wrong direction on my bed when I went to bed.  But, those little kids are so cute, how can I care?

Then, I noticed lights on.  Under every door of every room in my downstairs.  The storage room, yep, the light was on.  The "other" storage room, which I call the "dark room", yep, the light was on.  The furnace room, where there is nothing but a furnace, a couple of water heaters, and some gallons of paint, yep, the light was on.  Even the bathroom light was on.  The other guest room had the light on.  The youngest child's bedroom light was on.  The thing about this that amazes me the most is the fact that every light switch in our house is entirely too high!!!  They are about shoulder level to me.  I dislike the height of every light switch in this house.....every single one.  I am used the Pulte Homes, where the light switches are placed so a person in a wheelchair would not have to reach up.  They are the perfect height.  But my house now....a person on stilts would have to reach up to turn on the lights.  I can't figure out how these little children did it.  They could possibly push the switch up, but they aren't tall enough to get their little pudgy fingers on the top of the switch and pull it down.  That is the only answer.

However, we had a good visit.  We laughed.  The cousins really laughed.  That tells me their conversation was not G rated.  They are adults and they laughed like adults.  Therefore, I know they were having an adult conversation and that means it was probably PG13 rated...or even.... ___ I am not going to say it.  I am not going to go there.  But, they laughed and it was wonderful to listen to them.

I love my family.  I loved celebrating the youngest child's 30th birthday, and my mom's "other 30th birthday".  They have shared several celebrations together.  One year they shared an Annie Cake.  We have special memories of the birthdays that have been celebrated together.

I enjoyed myself with my family, and I put down the camera and fed the multitude.  So here are a few quick snaps from the day.

 We had a very hard rain earlier in the day.  So, we cancelled the BBQ outside and stayed inside.  This is a low spot in my backyard.  Yeah, I have a slight problem here.

Another view of where I am redoing some landscaping.

Nikki's gift to her sister.  They have a code name for spiders.  It is Stickem's.  The youngest child has a phobia of spiders, especially scorpions and Hobo Spiders.  However, they share a love for lady bugs.

30 candles on a Chocolate Bundt Cake.  We will celebrate with a cheesecake (her favorite) next weekend when the rest of the family are here.  Grams and youngest daughter blew out the candles...no fire alarms went off.  I was a little concerned about that...

So, happy birthday to you fabulous women.  I am so thankful to have you in my life!

She is having a birthday....

 My youngest little baby girl is having a birthday tomorrow.  I don't know how this happened.  If she turned into me, she would be born next year.  But she is her, and she is having a birthday tomorrow.

How is that possible?  We have been best Friends, like, Forever!  When she was a baby her siblings all went to school.  I had her all to myself.  We would lay in bed and read.  We would run errands together. We were never apart.

When she was 9 months old she flew on an airplane with her father and I to Phoenix, Arizona.  She stayed in a motel.  She swam in the pool with me.  She went house hunting with us.  She was so good.  I remember asking people at the motel to heat her bottles for me, and they were happy to.  She was such a good baby.  I was nursing her, but at times I needed to supplement her in public.  She was okay to eat what she was asked to eat, when I needed her to.  She just "rolled with the flow".

This wonderful baby grew up.  She used to play Barbies under the fig tree in our backyard.  She used to take piano lessons, and her legs dangled...she couldn't reach the floor.  She had hair to her bottom.  She wore braided loops.  She played with Cheryl every single day.  She was always a happy child.

This daughter loves to make things.  As a little girl she got a toaster oven for Christmas, so she could cook.  She started in the kitchen at a very young age.  No body on this earth makes Chocolate Chip Cookies as good as she does.

She knits, crochets, sews, shoots guns, hikes, cleans, reads, loves poetry, loves outdoors and cooler weather.  She has a soft heart.  She is aware of others needs.  She gives the best gifts.  She puts so much thought into gifts.  They don't always cost very much, but they are always tailored for the person she is giving the gift to.  She is thoughtful.  She is considerate.  But she isn't a saint.  I am making her sound like one.  She isn't.  If she is hungry or tired....stay out of her way....!!

She has a dog.  He is perfect for her.  They love each other unconditionally.  She takes such good care of him.  With grooming, feeding, training, loving, ......  they read each others minds. He has traveled to Alaska with her.  He goes swimming in the ocean with her.  He goes camping with her.  He sleeps with her, and he gets in his kennel for her. 

From this moment.....30 years ago, I was in labor with her.  I had been lead to believe she was a boy.  I had a name for a boy picked out.  Her brother wanted a baby brother.  We already had two girls and one boy.... I needed a boy to share a bedroom with the brother.

I was in labor.  We called our babysitter.  We drove from Riverside, Idaho to Idaho Falls.  It was getting close to midnight.  I didn't want to show up at the hospital and be told "Yes, you are in labor.  You have dilated to a 3.  It will be a while".  So, when we arrived in Idaho Falls, I suggested to my DH that we go to Taco John's and get a Diet Coke.  At 11:30 pm on August 27 we pulled up to the Taco John's.  My Darling Husband got out of the car....walked to the window to order....and I layed on the car horn...!!!  He walked back to the car (without the Diet Coke) and I said "Get in.  It is time!"

This darling girl entered the world 37 minutes later.  We didn't have a moment to spare once we arrived at the hospital.  She didn't give me much pain then, and she hasn't given me much pain since.

This darling baby has been a joy to me.  She has been my side kick and buddy everyday of her life.  She has eaten at "Carlos Junion" {Carls Junior} and has painted her nails with "Pol Nailish" {nail polish} and convinced her family that when her older sister was in college that we should mail all the "regular" flavor of instant oatmeal to her.  She has a quick sense of humor, and we have shared many belly laughs with her.  Why, even today she shared the story of her recent trip to Alaska this past month, and that made me laugh hard.

The story she shared was when she was in the airport in Boise and she had her back pack on.  She was in a gift shop and squatted down to look at something, and she couldn't keep her balance with the heavy back pack, and she fell backwards......she grabbed the display table for support.....it went down with her..... to the ground!  Can't you just see it!  I cracked up.

This little girl has been such a help to me and her father over the last years.  There is no end to her willingness to do things for and with us.  She carries heavy things.  She climbs up on ladders and cabinets.  She lugs boxes, assembles whatever we need, and is always helping me with technology items....phone, computer, camera,....whatever I need.  She learns what she needs to and then teaches me.

My little girl is as precious to me today, as she was 30 years ago.  Her giving and loving heart Never Takes A Vacation.

I am so proud to be her mother.  I am so proud of her.  I love her to.....the end of eternity and back.  And let me tell you, that is a lot.  Yes, little girl....tomorrow is your birthday.  Please don't ever grow up.  Don't ever leave my side.  Knowing you will...I hope your next 30 years are all you want them to be.  I will love watching you, and sharing you with others.  I will love you forever.

Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl.

I love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love YOU!

The Walk

This is the book I am reading.  I love to read.  I don't take the time everyday, but when I do, I forget to cook, or get dressed, or do the daily things I should do.

But this book is short.  It has chapters.  The chapters make it easy to stop when you should stop and get something accomplished for the day.

I have been reading at night time, when I get in bed, when the house is quiet, when I am so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open.  I read a few chapters, go to sleep, and repeat the following night.

But today, I am going to make myself a Diet Coke with ice in a very tall glass.  I am going to sit in my favorite chair.  I am going to read all morning and finish this book.  I am loving it, and I want to finish it.

It pulls at my heart strings.  It makes me think about my life.  It makes me take notice of each little everyday thing that I am so grateful for.  I makes me miss my darling husband so much my heart hurts.  He is my life.  He is my ticket to the Celestial Kingdom.  I can't get there without him.  I love him more than words can say.  He is my best friend.  He is my everything.  And I ache to be with him again.  Everyday.  To feel him next to me when I fall asleep. To see his eyes.  To hear his voice.  To know he is near.  Just to be able to reach out and touch him.  I miss being held by him.  To have his arms around me.  To kiss him.

I guess I will go read now.  Since my heartaches for my darling. 

Reading helps me get lost in time.  And I need the time to go by faster right now.  I need my darling husband to be with me.  I am not myself when I am without him.

Read "The Walk".  It is good.

Dinner Time

Guess what everybody.....today it was 86 degrees... yeah! How about that. I am so loving this summer weather. So, to celebrate the fact that I can go out side and not melt, and be outside and not blow away, and have figured out where the BBQ grill was, and found the briquettes, and bought lighter fluid, and found matches, and went to the Farmers Market and bought fresh vegetables and then I cooked. Outside. In the shade. And loved every minute of it.

Tyia and I prepared the veggies for the most wonderful summer salad.  It comes from The Pioneer Woman Cookbook.  It is SO good.  It isn't hard to make....so we made.

8 Ears of corn husked,
Red onion,
Summer squash (I used yellow squash and zucchini)
Red Onion, quartered
Diced Tomato
Diced garlic
Balsamic Vinegar

Olive oil

Fresh Basil leaves

There is something magical about fresh herbs.  Fresh Basil.  I grew that in  Arizona.  I miss it.  So I bought a little plant with roots at the Win Co.  The package on the basil said "put it in water", so Ty did.  The house smells so good with that little plant.  The leaves are wonderful!  They are going into the salad.

The veggies were put out on the BBQ grill, and cooked. If you really want to know how to do this salad I suggest that you go to The Pioneer Woman's blog and find the recipe.  It is worth your time.  If you are really smart, you will order her cookbook, like I did.  See, I am really smart too.  Why should I go to all the work to take the pictures and develop the recipe when she already did.

This is the result. 

You just want to dive into the bowl.

You want to share it with everyone you know.

Then, I prepared the "made from scratch" macaroni and cheese.  Yes, from scratch.  It is another recipe from the same cookbook.  Although, now that I have made it, I think I would alter the recipe a bit.  Something like: bottled mustard is just as good as dry mustard.  I say that, because that is what I did.  I didn't have any dry mustard.  Oh, and I think cream, or half and half would help a little.  But, I used the milk that the recipe said to use.  But after it was done, I just wished it was creamier.  But, that makes it really fattening.  So, on second thought, milk is just fine.

You just follow the recipe.  Make the butter melt, add the flour, then the milk (yes, milk, even though I wish it was cream) :)

And you just keep going with the whipped egg, and add a little of the hot flour and butter stuff..... and add the cheese, and stir....and then you have........

.......You have this.

This is after I put a lid on it, and smashed the macaroni down.

So I had to take some of the macaroni out of the bowl

and put it in another bowl.

So, without realizing it, I had enough food for an army.

I was going to feed 5 of us, and ended up feeding 11,

and still have some left.

I shared it with all my neighbors.

Even my neighbor Norman and his wife Connie.

They made the mistake of giving me the code to their garage,

so I did a little breaking and entering.

I wrote a note on a paper towel and left it on their counter.

I hid the food in the fridge, on top of the eggs.

These are my hands.  I have a band aid on because when I was cutting my hair this past weekend I cut my middle finger really bad.  It did the  "drip drip drip" thing for a while.  I still need to wear a band aid to keep the skin flap down.  (TMI)

If you know me at all you know I have had acrylic fingernails for about a zillion years.  Well, I don't anymore.

I am saving my money.  I missed the long hard nails for about a week, but now I am okay with the stubs that are growing out.  It isn't so bad.  Although the dogs miss the scratching on their backs.  It just isn't the same.

My hands are making a marinate for the chicken breasts.  They soaked in a Ziploc bag in the marinate, which consisted of: balsamic vinegar, olive oil, seasoned salt, pepper, chopped garlic and a tiny bit of lime juice.

They cook out on the grill, too.

Makes your mouth water doesn't it?

If you mouth isn't watering, well, that means you just ate and you are full.

So my neighbors: Norman and Connie, Jeff and Diane, Marlese and Nate all got salad and  macaroni and cheese  for their dinners. 

The chicken only went to my mom, dad and brother Jeff, and Tyia and me.  There is still a bowl in the fridge of salad and another bowl of macaroni.  I really did feed an army.  It was like bread and fish.... have you heard that story?  Yeah, it was like that.

But when it is so nice outside, and I find the briquettes, and all that stuff, and go to the effort to make some good fresh food, I just have to share it.  I hope it puts energy and vitamins and all that good stuff in our bodies.  I hope we all have strong bones and red blood cells. 

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you...we had brownies for dessert.  Yes, we were cooking fools today.

Tomorrow I am ordering pizza to be delivered.  I am not dumb enough to do this two days in a row.

My special Armoire

In my studio I have a mess.  I mean a big mess.  I can't seem to get inspired.  I can't think of how I want to arrange all the "stuff".  It is a mess.

There was a time in my life when this would not have been a problem.  Years ago I would easily tackled this room and had it organized in no time.

Years ago, my most valuable time of the day was after I got in bed.  I would be clear headed and be able to gather my thoughts and think through a challenge and instantly find the answer. Then, in the morning I could get things accomplished.  But, I can't do that anymore.  Something inside my head broke.  It just doesn't get into gear the way it used to.  Now, when I get into bed, I instantly fall asleep.

My mind doesn't work the same way at all now.  It just goes to sleep.  No matter how pressing my troubles are, no matter how unorganized my house is, no matter how badly I need to think through problems and decisions, no matter what.  I just go to sleep.

I should be worried that the sprinklers are coming on 4 times a day on the new sod, which was laid last week.  Well, that shouldn't worry me, but the fact that the other sprinklers in my back yard are coming on 4 times a day and they don't need to, that should worry me.  I should worry because I don't know how to change the sprinkler settings and so the water just keeps coming on, 4 times a day.  The sod needs that much water, but the other part of the backyard doesn't.  In fact, it should be  much drier, as that is where 3 dogs go potty everyday.  That means they go out the doggie door, and go on the wet ground, they run around and sniff each others "spot" and then they come back inside the house, through the doggie door with very wet feet.  Their feet are very wet because the sprinklers come on 4 times a day.

But I am forgetting to tell you about my worries about the studio. 

I have an armoire.  It is very special to me.  I was given this armoire from two dear friends.  My friend Barbara had this armoire in a guest bedroom.  It was beautiful there.  I coveted it.  But, then Barbara died.  Her husband is my dear friend too.  He remarried, and got a new house, new furniture and didn't need this special armoire any more.  So, he lovingly gave it to me.  My heart leaped with joy to have this.  I could not afford to ever buy something like this.  I had looked at it for years and I loved it.  It has special meaning to me because my dear friend Barbara picked it out, and she had Great Taste!  She was amazing. (And I miss her still......)

Now I have a big armoire.  I love it.  I really love it.  It is my inspiration piece for the studio. But it is so big.  It is making it seem like an elephant in the room.  I am struggling with how to use it.  I have my printer inside it.  I love having that printer out of sight.  But then, above the printer is just a bunch of wasted space, because the printer lid lifts up, and it has to have all that space above it to open.

Nothing else inside the armoire is inspirational. The armoire doesn't hold important inspirational items. There aren't vintage buttons, or lace.  There is no fabulous 7 Gypsy paper, or embellishments.  No ribbon.  No fabric.  No stamps.  Just more things I don't know what to do with.  Things I like, but I can't seem to find a place for.

I need to have fabulous 7 Gypsy paper and embellishments, ribbon, fabric, stamps and much more surrounding me to give me inspiration.  I have many many containers of fabulous inspirational stuff and it needs to be near me.  I need it near me.

I just can't seem to make my mind concentrate on this dilemma.  What to do with the armoire, and the stuff inside it.  What to do with my messy table.  The papers that seem to collect and pile up.  What to do with the radio, the phone, the canisters, the bottle of pain reliever, the bottle of Vitamin E ointment, the butter knives, the postage stamps, the AAA (Triple A) cards, the Idaho Driver's Manual................you get the idea.

So I look inside the big armoire and then I see this face.  This grand daughter, who is a sophomore in high school this year.  This face is always smiling.  She is in my heart, deeply rooted in my heart.... and I can easily think of her.  Her playing volleyball, her sitting at a piano, her giggly face.  I can hear her laughter.  I can imagine her sparring verbally with her brother.  And his  giggly face, and his video games in his hands, and his feet sprawled all over my recliner.  And I feel the roots in my heart that he belongs to. 

They are the two things I want in my studio.  I want them to sit at my table and cut pictures out of magazines.  And glue the pictures in their "Inspiration" tablets.  And I can get to know them better.  I see the letters they cut out, and then they glue them on the pages and make new words.  Words that are a window into their  world and their minds.

But they aren't here.

This armoire is here.  And I don't know what to do with it.  I don't know how to organize my studio.  I guess I will just have to go to bed and think about it tomorrow.  I hope Barbara will come to me while I sleep and give me help with how to use this special loved armoire. Help me with my studio. She had great ideas.  She had a wonderful studio.  She was wonderful.  And I love this armoire. 

School starts for some

Today in our neighborhood the school buses started running again.
The kids were all decked out in their new clothes, shoes, and back packs.

So I decided I would look in the newspaper and see what school sales there were.

Composition books $.10 @ Staples
Pencils #2 were $.25 a package @ Staples

Well, that was enough to get my attention.  I stood as tall as a solider.  As I was at "attention" when it dawned on me I didn't need school supplies.  Now, after all these years of not having a youngster starting school in the fall, why am I driven to go buy this stuff?

I think it must be part of the "empty nest syndrome".

But, technically, I don't have an empty nest.

Because my dear daughter, my best friend (other than my husband and other children), the momma to Ozkar, my eyes and my conscience, my slave, my cook, my house keeper.....

Ahem...

I do go on, don't I?

Don't answer that.....!

Well, this darling girl is still with me (us).

She hates me to talk about it.

She wishes I wouldn't say things about having her with me.

But what she doesn't know is how happy I am that she is here with me.

Otherwise, I would be alone.

No one wants to be alone.

I wouldn't have anyone else to stand outside with me

 and keep me company while I take pictures like this.

This is the scene we saw last night,

after our big rain storm!

It poured.

The temp dropped about 15 degrees.

I had to wear something on my feet while I was outside.

(I wore flip flops that didn't belong to me....guess who's they were)

It had been a warm day, but the rain came,

and cooled everything off....

and then the clouds left the sky...

and it got much cooler....

I wanted to light a fire in my fireplace, but I don't know how to light the pilot light.

So, after I took a picture of the sky...(well, the term "a picture" is used loosely)

we got to fooling around.

It happens when it turns cold, and we get happy about it.

I put my cold hands on her neck, and

she had some remark to make that wasn't a true reflection of the love

she feels for me.

I don't mind that she sometimes shares this side of herself with me.

However,

this daughter,

yeah, the one that I like a really really lot....

sometimes

does

things

..............

like take my picture,

when I know she is,

she doesn't even try to hide it...

and then...

she does other things....

and I see them....

and

she

lets

me

see.

What was I saying ...something about an empty nest....

huummmmmmm.

I better think about that some more.

Well, I guess she can dust and mop and cook and sweep and shop and

laundry and mow and wash and  load and unload and

..........................

She is SO going to pay for letting me see.....

.......maybe she will need all of those school supplies after all.