Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Busy week.

I know...another post so soon? But I'm just feeling like sharing. Mom and I had a quiet weekend, not much activity, but she did at least sleep all night. I cooked a meal from Trent's garden for us and Mom ate really well. She seldom eats much. I cleaned the garage and porches early Sunday before the awful heat built up. Jeez, Indiana could be the tropics in July! 
Stephen, Shawn and the Yahoos came for Pizza and ice cream Sunday evening. It was good to go home to company. I love the still quiet of my house, but these guys are always a welcome treat. Nothing special just reading the Sunday paper, playing on their electronics and watching some TV, but I loved every minute. Sunday evenings have always been our family time since the kids married and moved out of the house, alway home on Sunday. 
On Tuesday, I had a date with my little boys, lunch and go karts! Gavin and I put out a load of bedding on the clothes line before the others got here. I strung a couple of new lines last week. But I didn't allow for stretching and the sheets were dragging the grass by the time everything was hung. We thought on this problem for a bit, then decide to stick the ladder under the line to prop it up! "Great idea, Grandma", Gavin was so proud of us! I was ticked that I'd gotten cotton line instead of coated wire.  It turned out Madeleine was included, she loves to kart, too. Gavin turned into an Indy driver! What a surprise, he is usually the cautious one. Caleb was quite taken back to be overtaken by his little cousin. A lesson learned there! Size doesn't matter, it is skill. We even went to WalMart, I felt like a traitor, but nowhere else to shop locally. Gav picked out a Nascar game for his xBox, Caleb couldn't find anything he wanted after Gma refused to buy Call of Duty. What are they thinking letting him play those games? Maddie didn't ask for a thing, she knew it was a boys' day. The three girls had theirs last week. And we have school clothes shopping coming soon. 
I've cleaned house and washed a load of laundry today. Heading back to Mom's this afternoon. She has failed so much this year, weak and confused so much of the time. I'm taking a walker that Steve used to her today. Some mornings she can barely walk. I think this may give her just enough support to help get from the bed to the kitchen table and couch. She seldom moves beyond there. I'm planning to get her outside today, the weather is perfect this week. We can watch the traffic on her street and talk about past neighbors! Her neighborhood is a place of family homes with the families aging away; widows or widowers and empty houses. It was so full of life thirty years ago. 
I have to run, Gavin left some important items here yesterday and must have them! He is expanding his Lego city and needs the characters he left. Plus his library book on chicken care. And his DS game and UA hoodie...love my little genius. 
Talk to me, I enjoy the company. Love.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Home again, home again jiggity jig!

How fast three months can pass, my trip of a lifetime is over. I'm home again, home again jiggity jig. It's Friday afternoon, I got home very late Wednesday night and I'm still in a daze.

Hello all, my daze has lingered for two weeks now. My body refuses to come back from OZ, at least my internal workings. I haven't slept three nights in those fourteen. I've never been much of a sleeper, but this is getting ridiculous! 
My stay in Australia was a once in a lifetime dream come true! All my life, I've considered OZ to be a magical place and it is. The landscapes alone are other worldly, the native animals are quirky and straight from a fairy tale, the Queenslander houses are bright and airy and inspire living. Day to day life is similar to our life here  in the US, but there are enough differences to make each day an adventure. Because all living takes place around the edges of the country, you are never far from the ocean or the mountains. We visited both within a couple of hours from home...amazing for this Hoosier who drives twelve hours to get an ocean fix. 
I visited during fall/winter and slept with my windows open each night, got a glow from that constant sunshine and only saw rain three days out of the 86 I was there! I laughed, smiled and giggled more than I had in two years, frequently feeling like a five year old in my delight with the sights. I'd met my son-in-law years ago when we were young, but got to get to know him on this trip. Ken is a gentle giant, a real, old-fashioned gentleman. I enjoyed his intelligence, kindness, wit and graciousness, but loved him for his devotion to my daughter. His focus appears to be making her happy, enjoying his family and entertaining anyone within his sphere. Courtney is happier and more at peace than I've ever seen her. THAT is worth the distance apart. A mom just wants to see her children happy with their place in this world and I've seen that here. 
Yesterday my girls and I had a Gma day shopping and lunching in Bloomington, so much fun. We even saw Dawn of the Planet of the Apes last night with Shawn and Caleb. A sad yet good movie that showed a possible? path of humankind. Those Planet movies have gotten me since Charlton Heston's first adventure years ago. With today's computer advances, they are so real!
Off to Mom's for the weekend! Talk to me. Love