Old School

For a few minutes this weekend, we turned off the electronics.

It's amazing how much we have to entertain ourselves.

-TV/Tivo
-DVD Player
-3 iPods
-2 full keyboard phones for calling and texting
-The Nintendo Wii
-Sirius Satellite Radio
-Laptop Computers

Or, these wooden blocks and a marble.

One of the few toys saved from my childhood.

My Mom and I have the same problem...we're the anti-hoarders. I save very little and despise clutter.


But, she saved this game & Matt, I mean Devin, had a great time setting it up and playing.

Pretend Play

After our trip to see The Wiggles, I found a Dorothy the Dinosaur costume on eBay for $9.99. (They were $50.00 at the show!!!)

Perhaps I made a mistake...


If we let her, Devin would spend 100% of the day in her costume. Notice how she adds her own flair with a tutu and wings.

She's so cute right now, with no concept that wearing a dinosaur costume to Starbucks and Target is not the norm.

Then I start to think about how she'll spend a lifetime concerned about what others think. And, on the costume goes.


The garden season is winding down. About 6 weeks ago I planted our 2nd crop of green beans. I was in a hurry and grabbed the seeds which had spilled all over the back of my car.

I estimate about 1/2 the beans were my Edamame Soy beans.

It's serendipity at its' best. I couldn't get these beans to do much at my home garden, but they flourished at the garden!

The pods are a bit smaller than the commercial version we're used to. But, the taste is amazing. (very fresh, clean and crisp)

Devin and I pulled up about 4 plants and she helped me pluck the pods from the stem. I added them to boiling (salted) water for 5 minutes. Then, just a sprinkle of Kosher coarse salt.

Voila'!

A year ago

A year ago, our city experienced the worst wind storm in it's history.

The leftover winds of Hurricane Ike visited last September & when they left, we were without power for 6 long, long days.

Here's last year's post when we finally had power again.

We also had an ice storm during the winter, which left many folks without power (in the cold of winter) for days. (We were very, very lucky to keep power that time)

Anyway, Matt's friend with the generator moved to Florida a month ago...so Matt went out and bought a doozy of a generator. This thing is capable of running the whole house, but I'm happy with cell phone charging, clean clothing and some hot coffee!

(He's so excited for the first time we lose power and he can bust out his new toy and save the day!)

Not much else going on, really. We're all very busy and Devin's doing AMAZINGLY well at preschool. She's all smiles now and seems to enjoy, if not look ever-so-slightly forward, to school. It's a huge relief for all of us, so I can work during her school hours and Ga-Ga can play more tennis/golf/bridge/garden/bird watch/travel:)

It Must Have Been a Slow News Day

They were emailing me for an on-camera interview, but I was at a tennis match!

BOO! I hate missing my chance for some air time...

TV Story

Oh, and for the guy with the "low car" who hates the new speed bumps....

Very few cars are as low as Matt's. And, he's not complaining.

9/11

I didn't get a chance to post this yesterday, but here was my attempt to dress Devin in something patriotic:



It's only been 8 years. How quickly we forget....

"Bouncy Thing"

Matt took this with his phone...

She's singing, "No more monkeys jumping on the bed."

Then, just like she's been doing since about 18 months old, she wants to see the picture or video.

Then she forgets who she's whining to, Mama or Dada?

My One and Only Watermelon

I guess I can say, I did it for Devin. But, now I see why so many gardening books and magazines suggest skipping watermelon. The plant itself, is huge. The leaves take up 10x10 ft. and we have ONE edible watermelon.

Plus, we're so spoiled by seedless watermelon!

The upside? Devin was thrilled to cut off her prize and see what was inside...


It tasted great! So fresh and crisp. The seeds weren't too bad and we ate the whole thing.



I'm going to make some tomato sauce for freezing with these beauties.


Endless Zinnia....


The second crop of green beans is in. Which is a huge understatement.

I have around 20 plants with a bumper crop.

We did it!!!

I forgot to post these pictures from our trip to see the Wiggles.

Devin loved the show and didn't get restless until the last 5 minutes. It was an action packed performance, perfect for the 3-6 year old crowd & not totally annoying for adults.


We ate at the Seelbach Hotel cafe, doesn't she look old in this picture?


WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!

The closet is finished, except for the threshold between the bathroom and the closet.

It was a learning experience, to say the least. But, we figured it out!


The flooring looks great, I'm really pleased with the result.

DIY Part 2-Hey...it is called "Labor" Day!

We've started a new Do-It-Yourself project.

I'm so excited! Just think...we're mere weeks away from hiring a professional to fix whatever damage we manage to cause:)

Kicking off the project: Completely re-doing the master closet. It's a small, walk-in closet that has never been painted and had the original builder's carpet still installed. Needless to say, it was looking very sad and worn.

We had to remove all the shelving unit brackets, paint the ceiling, paint the walls and install a new floor. Everything is done and looks great, except the floor. Actually, we're just about to tackle that tonight. *fingers crossed*

We're installing a floating, laminate floor that looks a whole lot like dark wood. It's completely scratch resistant and should look really nice. (Can't get it wet, though. At all.) We have pretty much no experience installing a floor, so it will be a learning experience. You Tube videos helped us visualize the steps, so we think we're ready. I thought starting with the closet would be easy. It's 56 sq. feet and only has one a/c vent and one threshold to the bathroom. However, the smallness of the space, is already making it difficult. We have to make a lot of cuts.

Hey. We put the "labor" in Labor Day.