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!