Saturday 27 August 2022

From fun to humdrum

The week started off with a short visit from my favorite little guy and his mom. They were here for doctor's appointments for both and an optometrist's appointment for Eli. Our not so little stinker is at the top of the scale for height but is a skinny little guy. I'm not surprised as he is in perpetual motion. He's generally a good eater, but has his faves like most kids. 

Before their first appointment, we went over to a cellphone outlet in a strip mall near my house. D's Iphone is ancient (meaning more than 3 years old) and has been acting up a lot lately, so it was time for a replacement. I had received an e-mail from my carrier with a really good deal on a new phone and a reduction in cost for the contract. So we both ended up with new phones. She got the Iphone 13, and I picked up a Samsung 22. My phone is just the basic model but the camera on it is far better than my old phone. The photo of the bumblebee on Wednesday was taken at 3X zoom and the color is as close to true as I've ever seen. Credit for my purchase goes to Furry Gnome who posted about the camera on his Samsung 22 Ultra and shared some amazing photos. Since I was ready for a new phone, I appreciated that the research was done for me. :)

D got away for a bit on Monday afternoon to meet a friend, while Eli and I headed to the park. While he does play on the equipment, he prefers an imagination game, where the retaining walls at the park become our "castles" and we take turns sending bombs at each other's walls. I think the child plays too many video games. Back at the house, Uncle C arrived home from work and much hilarity ensued while I made dinner for us. More fun was had with Uncle C, then it was bath and bedtime. D said he was asleep in less than five minutes. :)

The following morning, D had one more doctor's appointment so Eli and I headed out for a walk to the pond. It was very quiet there with just a few ducks, one sole grebe, and a hare. On the way home he convinced me to stop at the park for a few more rounds of bombing. 

Back at the house, Eli wanted something more to eat; he opened the bottom freezer on the fridge and discovered a peanut butter cup bar that Uncle C had stashed there. I let him have a piece as a treat after telling him it was Uncle C's. Eli asked me not to tell C that he had eaten it, but instead to say that a robber had broken into the house and stolen it, but the police had caught him and he was in jail! C and I had a good chuckle over that later in the day. On a video chat that evening C teased Eli about "stealing" his chocolate - Eli stuck to his robber story but he knows we know the truth.

I made a trip out on Thursday to pick up cat litter at the pet store. It was senior's day and I like to get that small discount. As well, I wandered over to Value Village, where I found five books to add to the pile for reading. Two are Catherine Coulter books, two are Jeffery Archer and the fifth by James Patterson. I haven't read a lot of books by the latter, though I know he's a prolific author. V.V. has an offer of buy four, get the fifth free so I figured why not. Of course now I have a large pile of books to get through. I'm currently reading another Fannie Flagg book, "Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!" I'm just a few chapters in and the characters are beginning to take shape in my mind. 

I can't say I did a whole heck of a lot around here this week. I've been reading, knitting, watching baseball, and doing only the necessary housework to keep the place from looking like a disaster. I really need to find some momentum and get downstairs to finish the sanding on the door frames and baseboards. Sigh, this was supposed to be done in the heat of the summer but I keep putting it off. I'm hoping this lack of motivation/energy is overcome soon...I feel like such a slacker. 

Outside I've been picking tomatoes every day, and dug up a container of potatoes to send home with D. The veg containers are starting to die back, with leaves turning yellow and brown. I pulled one of the pepper plants as it was done producing. The other is still doing well, though the peppers aren't yet turning red. I picked a couple peppers (not a peck) to see if they will ripen in the house. When I pick up groceries I'll grab some necessary ingredients and make up a small batch of salsa. 

I got the lawn mowed on Monday evening, just ahead of a heavy rain. We got about a 1/2 inch in less than an hour. The weather has been up and down, nearing 30C (87F) some days and only 20C (68F) midweek. We had another 1/4 inch of rain last night during a thunderstorm - thankfully no hail with this one. The next week looks much the same, a couple of cool days, followed more heat. No risk of frost in August this year. 

Today I'm doing much the same as I have the rest of the week. There's baseball, football, reading, knitting and a bit of puttering in the house between games. Yep, I'm going to ignore the basement for another day.  Have a great week ahead everyone! 

21 comments:

  1. You were busy indeed. Time with Eli is precious and fun!

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    1. Absolutely, I so enjoy my time with Eli. He's the heart of my heart.

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  2. You have been busy! Do something you enjoy every day! I have projects I have been putting off also. Fall will probably force its hand or it will wait until next summer!

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    1. You're right, I tend to think of doing things that I don't really enjoy as busy work, while the things I enjoy aren't. Thanks for the reminder.

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  3. I can't think of too many people who *always* are as busy as you are; "slacker" is not a word that ever could apply to you, IMO. LOL.

    Congrats on the new phone, btw. I have a Samsung 21 but don't think the camera on it is any better than my previous Samsung. And I still prefer my "real" cameras, though the cell is handy for quick, close up snaps.

    Enjoy the weekend, the basement is not going anywhere. It'll be there when you feel like getting to it! :-)

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    1. Thanks Kim. You're right - it won't go anywhere and no one else will do it. :)
      I haven't tried the phone on landscape shots but it really does nice work with close-ups.

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  4. Smiling at Eli's imagination. He even carried it out to the robber being in jail:)
    Enjoy Fannie Flagg. Think I have read all her books. I liked James Patterson's, Women's Murder Club series.

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    1. He truly has a wonderful imagination. It's fun to listen to his stories.
      I was only aware of her book, Green Fried Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. I happened to Google her the other day and was amazed at how many more there are. I found the last two at the thrift stores so I'll have to keep looking.

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  5. I love that Eli uses his imagination so much. Children these days son't seem to have much of it, but Eli has plenty. Maybe he shouldn't use it to provide himself with alibis, though...

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    1. We'll have to keep an eye on his stories to ensure they don't venture into the realm of untruths. But for now, it's a whole lot of fun.

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  6. You were very busy, and getting to see Eli and your daughter must have been the icing on the cake so to speak.

    I bought the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and love the pictures it takes. So much better than my old phone and that took really good pictures at the time I got it. I do have some pictures I need to upload to the computer and share with you all (mostly of our trip).

    We only got rain down here last night, but hopefully more will come as things are so dry.

    God bless.

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    1. Nothing brightens my day(s) more than spending time with Eli. He's truly special in so many ways.
      I'm glad to hear you're liking your phone too.

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  7. Glad my research was useful. Now I hope you really enjoy the phone!

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    1. Thank you. Your post and photos made my decision easy. It's a cool blustery day today but I'm planning to go for a walk with both my camera and the phone and take similar photos to do a comparison.

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  8. I am so DELIGHTED to be here. I never get notification that you posted and I epend on deeing you somewhere! Dang until today I didn't. Now i's been awful here but still...how nice yo read what's hapening there and seeing (I call him "the baby" to myself) Eli. Much enjoyment seeing what you are douing. I am slacked off on almost eerything but a few things and becessary things that MUST
    be done like it or not. Bed linens, bathroom cleaning, dishes, yada yada. Yea~ thanks for the blog.

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    1. I generally post sometime on Saturday Carole and I'm always happy to see you here. Eli certainly isn't a baby any more...that kid has stretched up over the summer.

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  9. Such fun with your little creative man. ❤️
    I'm envious of your garden fare, I'm thinking a raised bed might work better for me another year. So many rocks up here, we'll see. It could just be the weather this summer.
    The basement will be there when you are ready, I'm finding my motivation for things that 'should' be done is also lacking.

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    1. I'm totally amazed at how much has come from a few containers. A raised bed sounds like a good option though I suspect you are right that the weather played a part in it.

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  10. Your grandson has a wonderful imagination! This is such a blessing.
    I'm from Alabama (not far from the original Whistle Stop Cafe) but my favorite Fannie Flagg book is actually set in the midwest. It's called Standing in the Rainbow and is the second book in her Elmwood Springs series. If you like Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!, I really recommend that you read it next.

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    1. Thank you for commenting. I will have to keep an eye out for more Fannie Flagg books, and your recommendation in particular.

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  11. I love the imaginations of kids.
    Nothing is better than having someone else do your tech research. I have a built in researcher__Son1, who is a tech geek and can tell me about anything.
    Since I am from Alabama, I understand the characters Fannie Flag creates. They live all around me! My favorite is Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man.

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