Thankful Me

I know, I know.  A snowstorm is hitting the eastern USA right now.  It's a far cry from winter here.  I just didn't realize how far until I saw this in my backyard today: Yes, that is my lilac budding.  I figure by November the buds will be fully open.  Go figure. Thankful thought:  Thanks for spring flowers, whenever they bloom!

Nicki has been busy, and let me tell you, it is exhausting to keep up such an active social schedule!  I'm hoping I don't jinx this by saying so, but she is an excellent passenger in the car.  She hops right in and settles herself on the floor of the backseat.  Not a peep out of her, no roaming around the car, nothing.  The most difficult thing is convincing her to get out of the car once we arrive at our destination.  She's small enough now to just pick up, but eventually she needs to come out on her own. She came with me this morning to drop off, and to pick up, youngest daughter from seminary.  We got to the church a few minutes early at pick up time, so Nicki had a chance to walk around and greet the kids as they came out of the church. Later in the morning, it was off to the Scout shop, then the library.  In the afternoon, she took a walk around the neighborhood, then a stroll around a park.  Tonight was action packed, as ...

Yesterday, I got a call from a leader in our local guide dog club, asking if I could take Nicki for a while.  Of course, I said yes!  Nicki is almost 4 months old, and definitely has cute down pat.  She's super enthusiastic about eating.  I think she eats faster than Lucy the basset did, which I didn't think was caninely possible.  To her credit, though, she knows to wait until the "OK" is given.  Right now, she is sleeping soundly in her crate, all tired out from the excitement of her moving day.  Over the upcoming days, weeks, and months,  she'll be sporting her green vest and learning how to behave in public places.  Look out world, here she comes!  Thankful thought: I know that guide dog puppy raising is a service, but I'm feeling like the lucky one.  Thanks for service opportunities that are so fun! 

It's been a month since our last garden walk.  I wish I could capture the sound of the birds chirping, the scent of the roses, and the gentle warmth of the sun, and somehow relay those sensory delights to you, my readers.  Before we begin this month's walk, let's look back at the "after" photo from May of this year: I couldn't even take a good shot from the exact spot now, because the grapes have grown so much.  Standing in front of the grapes and shooting in the same direction, this is what I get: I guess things have grown!  It shouldn't appear quite so crowded once the palm trees get a little taller, and their fronds provide an upper canopy of greenery. Here's a photo of the over-achieving grapes.  We are going to have to do some pruning this winter.  I'm new to grape-growing, so any tips are appreciated!  We've got one red flame--it produced this year--and several Thompson's seedless.  One of my favorite parts of the y...

I wasn't caught off-guard this time, but youngest son showed up on my doorstep this afternoon!  His school has a two-day break, which means a four-day weekend, which gives him just enough time for a quick trip home.  As all good college boys do, he arrived with a big bag full of laundry to be washed.  Unlike some college boys, though, he does his own laundry.  I think he's grateful for a washer and dryer that don't demand quarters.  ;-) Thankful thought:  Thanks for my kids, and thanks for a washer and dryer (and kids who know how to use them!)

I love my brick floor.  It's unique, and it hides dirt extremely well.  Unfortunately, anything dropped on it is pretty much toast.  On the bright side, it hides nail polish pretty well, too.  Not so for the carpet. A quick google search led me to . . . non-acetone nail polish remover!  Ominously, that was followed by a ton of other suggestions, in case the nail polish remover didn't work.  After using up what remover we had on hand, I dashed off to Walmart for more remover, as well as more hydrogen peroxide (suggestion #2) and Oxiclean, for good measure. Fortunately for me, three bottles of the remover was all it took. I either imagined or saw a pink tint to the carpet still, so I ran my carpet cleaning machine over it for good measure.  I am pleased with the results.  (Or at least too lazy to really obsess over whether or not the carpet is still pink in places.)  The carpet was overdue for a cleaning, wasn't it? H...

Oldest daughter headed back to college this morning; John went to work.  Youngest daughter had schoolwork to do.  I decided to enjoy my birthday by spending time with family history research.  It paid off.  I found a birthday photo that someone had uploaded to ancestry.com.    The bearded man seated in the middle is Richard Dolph.  He is my great-great-great grandpa, and this picture was taken on his 90th birthday.  Back row:  Annie Martin, William Dolph, Hattie Martin, Alta May Dolph Hunt .  I don't know who is seated to the sides of Richard Dolph, though I am suspecting more of his children, based on the family resemblance.   I'm not sure exactly who the Martin women are, but William and Alta May are Richard's children.  Alta May is my great-great grandma, and my grandma was named after her.  I  love this photo. Can't you just hear John McCutcheon's recording of "Cut the Cake"...