Where is James?

 

He's reading with Opa!

Opa on a Spontaneous Trip

 We are in Sacramento today. Last night we were going to go to the Library, but Oliver and James wanted to stay home and out of the hot day. So Opa and Corina went to the library by themselves. 

Then we get this call asking if it was ok for he and she to go to Sea Quest up the road a bit in a different city. Yes, was Debbie's reply. Off they went on a trip by themselves!

Jeffrey's report was that Corina had a lovely time enjoyed herself. He loved being with her while she ran to each exhibit.

Walking with Opa

 Jeffrey has been trying to take each of the grandchildren on an outing by themselves. He took Makynlee hiking on Mount Diablo. He noticed a different perspective walking with a four year old than when he goes by himself. He said there were many, many different colors of butterfly - too bad he didn't have the zoom lens camera. Makynlee had her binoculars and had a really good time from all accounts. Jeffrey loved the day!

This is called an Amber Plane

 

There is a peace, contentment, and happiness that comes when watching my children parent their children and go through the learning and phases we did as parents. True, they will have their own styles and influences of today's society, but airplane rides are as old as airplanes and probably called something else before actual planes were invented. Life is the same while being new and different.

THANKS!!!

 I got an unexpected package yesterday! 

A set of six screwdrivers for any task I need. But everyone I have thanked said they did not send them........Jeffrey said it had to be someone I'd talked to....I went through everyone I talked to -- except you - my internet connection friends!  This person knows me and knows my address so I'm guessing this is a close friend -- Thanks!! This gift is going to come in very handy for mirrors on the wall, pictures and everything needed to paint my house.

Thank you good friend for this timely gift

Root Beer and Ice Cream Taste Test

 Last night we had an amazingly good time at Young Women's taste testing Root Beer and Vanilla Ice Cream. I was very amazed at the number of Root Beer's there are. We only had six girls who showed up with root beer and ice-cream. I think Faye Hunt must have gotten a sack full of the more rare bottles of root beer, probably Barbara Leal too. 

We numbered the root beers from A to L and the ice cream from 1 to 6, then put them in little dixie cups to try out. Only a sip or two of each of the root beers and a taste of the ice-cream. I didn't see anyone make a root beer float, but it was so fun watching everyone test them out. We even got testers from the older girls and Marci Chapman and Liz Oleole came in for a test run too. 

Have you ever heard of Dang root beer?

Root Beer and Ice Cream Taste Test

3 points for first choice, 2 for second, and 1 for last choice

We had nine people who filled out the taste test cards, so I didn't get the real final results -- but it sure was a lot of fun watching everyone test it out!

Day In The Life of Amber

 Briona's sister will be having a baby soon, so Briona and her mother flew to Atlanta to give her a shower and help her pack up what they can. About a month after the baby is born, Briona's sister and family will move to Arkansas. 

Amber stayed home with her dad and her regular routine. Briona left plenty of milk and will keep milk to bring back frozen. This gave me an opportunity to watch Amber and give reports to Briona throughout the day. I of course, chose to send her pictures.

She wakes up happy and ready to explore

Amber and her dad say hello between his conference calls

Lunch time is terrific!

Playing, exploring, and figuring out how life works

Amber's mobility to getting faster by the day

Then there is nap time before doing it all over again!

On Saturday she got to play a bit with her cousins!

Isla and Amber

Makynlee and Amber

Amber communicating with Julia

Always happy with dad

What's ya doing?

While Amber enjoyed life these past two days, I know she is looking for her mom - who will be back today!

A Friend's change in life

 While I am having changes in my home, Laura Nausin is having big changes in her life. Her mother fell a few weeks ago breaking her arm, and was in the hospital a few days, and then at a recovery clinic for two weeks. She had to have  extra 24 hour care as she would try to get up and walk away. The clinic was not equipped to deal with that. They could give her medical and physical care, but not keeping her in her bed.

 I only watched her for a couple of hours to give Laura a break and her mom wanted to walk off twice. Anytime I was not by her bed, she wanted to go somewhere else. The break on her arm is in a place they could not cast. She cannot remember longer than a half hour that her arm is broken or how it happened. After two weeks, she had to come back to Laura's home to wait for a room at the Senior center. Laura's mom still needed 24 hour care.  Laura's sister, daughter, sister-in-law, and paid help was essential.

Montecito senior center has finally gotten a room for Laura's mom, but the angst of moving her in has given Laura a LOT of stress. Beds not being delivered, medical units and expected care items were unshipped or found with "a glitch in the system". Laura had to pay an extra $300 a night for her mom's care at her home (after paying for the month at Montecito) because she cannot leave her mother alone at night. She pays a lady to come in to sit with her. She could not move her mother in until all items were shipped and in place. It finally happened! Does Laura's house feel bigger?

Penny (her daughter) and Laura Nausin 

Contemplation of Changes

 How do you like change? All at once, or slowly over time?

I've been contemplating how I like change. Going to Africa was a change as soon as we left on the airplane. We had to react, move, adjust, and figure out what we were doing. It is a good way to go through a change, though it can feel like moving in a dream for a bit. Julia and Mike told us they were moving on March 15. It is now May and some of their possessions are still at our house. This has been a gradual adjustment to not having people living in our home. In fact, they come over to do their laundry every week and sometimes pop in for errands. 

We decided to upgrade the house a little bit and paint all the rooms an off white. Some of the bedrooms have dark blue, grey, or peach colors. We are not redoing the upstairs at the present time. One of the bedrooms upstairs is purple and the halls are a soft tan color. But I am feeling the need for brightness and light, so this time the main floor will be white. 

In the preparation stage, I have found I don't know where things are. It has been one constant in the return to "normal" after each mission. Things have been put in a different place or are gone altogether - most of the time I don't know which.

So, trying to unscrew without a Phillips screwdriver was frustrating. Yes, I could run down to ACE and buy another set - or reorganize the garage to find the old set (if it is still around).  The frustration is trying to do anything without a whole domino effect going on, one decision sets up a chain of other events. Where is the beginning? Even the idea of painting is being challenged because to "do it right" we should put the new lights and fan in the living room - which sets off taking down the popcorn ceiling paint, opening walls and the ceiling to insert wiring, fan and lights, texturing, and finally painting. Do we "do it right" with all the extra costs and time, or decide to brighten the house for now with paint and a new lamp? Since Jeffrey is not bringing in a monthly check, we have to decide exactly what we can do right now and what we want to do later.

I decided to use a butterknife to unscrew the screws. Organize, find, or buy will be decisions for later.

Yes, it is possible, but takes FOREVER by hand. I have found that anything that Michael has screwed in for his children's safety will have two or three inch screws. Did he put them in with a drill? Whatever, it all took LOTS of time. Probably should have bought a new set of screwdrivers...