August 14, 2026 A.D.

I did survive a full week of 4 grandchildren. I admit there were a few moments when I thought I would run down the road screaming. HA HA

There was much noise and too much running in the house, but I do think the little ones found summer to be a good one this year. Back to School happened on Tuesday this week and all seem to be doing well. Miles had such a horrible time last year starting daycare that I think that the entire family was holding its breath --not just Paul Allen and Katie. He is in preschool this year and while there have been some tears, he does seem to be adjusting well. Thankful!!!

I will attempt to catch up with our 2 weeks summary style.

First up, Miles celebrated his 4th birthday with a pool party at Katie's uncle's house. Fun was had, so much so that this was Miles on the way home.

He enjoyed the cupcakes I made for the party and somehow managed an extra one without his mama knowing. 

I didn't take a lot of photographs with the grands the week I kept them. Katie sent a batch of photos every day the weeks she kept them all. I was hanging on too much I think.

However, I did grab a few of Tucker taking care of Valerie. He is so good to her. She got on the scooter and wanted desperately to be able to make it go. No worries, Tucker just pushed her all around the cul-de-sac. This was the only picture I got of it, but she was loving this attention.

She has also learned to cry or pout when things don't go her way. Tucker is seen here comforting her after I told her she couldn't go downstairs with Palmer and Miles. 

Last weekend we went for a quick weekend trip to our Auburn house to check on some work we had done. It was a very nice thing for me to get a break after a week of keeping the grandchildren.

We had some work done to something called a drip ledge. I have no idea why we really have this piece of wood on our home. No one in the neighborhood has it and all it seems to do is attract rot under all the oak trees. We had that repaired as well as pulling up some hedges that I hadn't like from the beginning and they had just started looking poorly. We had them pulled up and replace with some of the new hybrid azaleas. Looks so much better. I also really enjoyed the time up there. The landscape is just so different from here along the coast. Always a treat to see the big lush oaks up there.

I think these will be a much better look along the drive. Our neighbor set us up a drip on a timer to keep them watered during all this heat. 

I know no one is going to believe I am saying this....

May we just have a week without 3 digits in the heat index???

It is hot! 

School starting is a must, but it is why I say summer seems over at this point. The freedom of summer days with no schedules is over and the calendar fills up with all things. It takes a bit to settle in to that idea and has all of my years. 

Summer is just a gift to me. I know it isn't for everyone, but it is for me.

Here is the parade of boys on their first day of school.

Tucker - 2nd grade.

Palmer doing VPK again as he is so small and that late summer birthday. He is doing it at a different place which was Lindsay's plan all along. She will now only have one pickup after work and he is in Destin at the same place Tucker goes after school. A lovely little church. Palmer has gone in with no tears at all and I am pretty sure by the end of the year he will running the place.

Miles is next. He is a year younger than Palmer but they are the same size and Miles has no idea he is a year younger than Palmer. He is attending VPK at the same school Tucker and Palmer did for VPK (well Palmer's 1st go around). Such a sweet church school. If all goes well this year, he will go to Kindergarten next year even though he is really young because he seems to be extremely smart. Either way, he will go to the same school his mommy teaches at. All of this in Niceville.

I have little in the way to share for these 2 weeks because most of it was feeling old. I also had my colonoscopy this week. I was wiped out after it and I think it was because I was so tired going in. I had no polyps and that has now been the case for the last 2. I was deemed high risk and started these at age 40. My dad died very young from colon cancer. In those days, they just didn't know what he had and did an exploratory surgery and burst a polyp. It spread quickly so there is always a tinge of nervousness with me around these.

All is well though. I have spent a few days trying to restore order to my house. I think this big old house is like a big playland to the grandchildren. I think their great grandparents would love to know that so much fun is had by their great grandchildren in the home they built.

I took 2 pictures from the top deck down the bottom deck this morning. I shifted all the plants around last week one evening to adjust to the sun. Some that say full sun needed some shade from the 110 heat index. It has helped. I decided not to adjust or not show. Jeff has been trying to do some pressure washing. So pressure washer we see.

Anything in the ground is pretty lush because in our area we have a sprinkler system built in for watering.

That is where I have been the last 2 weeks. I haven't had much time to stitch so I plan to get back to that this weekend and next week is supposed to be even hotter so stitching here I come.

Goodbye from Sunny Florida,

Sunny Sandy

 

Let's Review July

 How can it be August? Teachers went back to work yesterday, and I ALWAYS still get that pang of summer's over even though for me it is not. Katie even posted the sweetest Instagram post about what a wonderful summer she had. She was tremendous help with Lindsay's boys this summer. We did so many fun things together and it has helped me have a feeling of really having a summer. I feel like the past few years have been tough and I had missed that good old slowing down of time and schedules (even though I do thrive on schedules). This summer has been good for me in so many ways. I feel refreshed!

Since my last post, we took the boys to the Temple Mound Museum and Camp Walton Schoolhouse downtown. The city has refreshed the area and built a new museum and added to the schoolhouse buildings. I had not made a time to go and visit it, so off we went. It exceeded my expectations. It got close to lunch and nap time so I really need to go back. The little ones enjoyed it. I won't show you too many things, but I think some are worth noting.

The sign under the clock and above the door says, "Procrastination is the thief of time."

I was surprised at they all got into writing on the chalkboards or slates. I think I need to go buy some this weekend for next week. I am keeping all 4 this coming week. I NEED prayer:)

The new museum is a whole new building downtown and I was quite simply amazed. There were wonderful displays and stations set up for the children to actually do things. With myself, Jeff, and Katie we were able to spend quite a bit of time in there letting them have fun.

The above scene caught my eye because I love stuff like that, but I learned something I didn't know and I have been to the old one with students before. The pottery in this picture is unique to our area.

Like I said, I could do an entire post on this place, but it went through our local area and pirates must be in that since we have a big Pirate Landing each summer, the Billy Bowlegs Festival. I have written before about this. In the last area of the museum, they got to dress up. Valerie made herself in charge of the steering wheel. I can tell you now those boys were not allowed to touch it. She holds her own:)

Final thing about the museum. We must travel back through the museum to the front...

where we entered and almost missed this....

Jeff actually spotted it. 

On the far right is his dad. Mr. Palmer was a city councilman back in the 70's when the whole idea for the Temple Mound Museum was approved and a structure was built at the top of the mound. There are actually 2 mounds right downtown. It is the heart of downtown and you can miss it if you come through the area.

Kind of neat that his great grandchildren are visiting it.

Palmer has turned 5 and really looks like a 5 year old. He stayed with me this past week by himself.  I feel sure he was bored but I tried to let him run errands with me and cook to keep him from being too bored. It was really too hot to be outside. We had gotten him a new fishing rod and he so wanted to fish, but it was a heat index of 116 with this picture.

Here he is with his biscuits that he helped make. In fact, 4 of the 5 days he wanted a biscuit for breakfast.

He cut his in half and added his own jelly. He learned before the end of week that Mimi's peach preserves were worth trying too.

He followed Gus wherever he went, so Gus got lots of loving.

Miles is turning 4 this week so I will share more of him next visit.

I added to my flowers. Yea, I am crazy. I decided I really liked all the color this summer. It brought in bees even to the bottom deck by the water. I love zinnias and marigolds. I found I don't love the mixed pots of flowers as much as one plant in a pot. I would have to do a bit more trial and error on which grow well together. I added 2 new to me plants to try. They are not new to the lawn and garden section, just that I had not tried them.

One was called Golden Trumpet or Allamanda. It has done very well even with the heat indexes and full sun like that. It holds its blooms all through the day.

This one will be a keeper in the summer line up.

I also added a Rock Trumpet or Mandevilla. It is lovely...no picture, but it looks pitiful in that full sun. I think it could use some shade in the day and its present location is in full sun all day. Few things can look that good all day.

In my stitching world, I have 2 things to share. One shows how poor a blogger I have turned out to be. I met my sweet friend that I met through blogging ages ago in Pensacola this week. She and her husband were down for a conference and I drove over and met her. We didn't take one picture, but I talked nonstop and let her talk a little bit:) It was so good to visit with her and I think that "no picture" is the result of truly enjoying the moment. Not everything needs a picture to validate its worth!!!

I have stitched patriotic all summer long. I have been steadily working on the Pledge of Allegiance by Plum Street Samplers. The pattern is divided into 6 pages. I wanted to finish the first 2 pages before I set it aside for some seasonal stitching (fall). In all of this patriotic stitching, I think I learned I like to stitch things in season?

Here is where I left off on July 31st.

It was evening when I took the picture and I don't have time to redo things. 

Next week it is all four grandchildren so I should fall into bed or the couch each evening. We are watching the new Little House of the Prairie show on Netflix. Hopefully we finish it this weekend because I will be too tired next week. 

I am welcoming August. I am glad Miles has an August birthday. I feel like August often gets overlooked with school starting and everyone tired of hot weather and longing for fall (except me). I do love fall, but it is a long way off for me. Jeff's mom had an August birthday so it is kind of nice to have a family member to celebrate again in August.

Even Gus is tired. He really will be after all 4 are here. I am working on my plans this weekend. 

Wish me luck,

Sandy