July 19, 2026

Summer is ticking off quickly. I will say it again...I am loving it! I think the past few have robbed me of the down time I needed so I am enjoying this one. There is a disturbance out in the Gulf right now. I hope it decides to fizzle out and disappoint all the weather personalities. 

I am going to make this a quick post with not a lot of details, but just record a few things. Hopefully, I will be back for more a newsy one with thoughts again.

I finished the bunny. "Maggie Mae" by Stacy Nash. I used 28 count linen which made it larger than the pattern called for. I think I would not do that again. I think they are meant to be smaller.

I think Aida would be a good choice too since they are full coverage. Just get you some 18 or 20 count and stitch away.

I pulled out the cabbage plate to display her for a photo.  Currently though she is just sitting in my sewing room.

A grouping of them would be cute. I purchased the goose, but I am not planning to stitch it anytime too soon.

This week's children's activities included a park visit and a gym visit. One of the gymnastics gyms in town has an open gym for an hour and a half for preschoolers. Tucker was gone to baseball camp so Katie and I  took the other 3 to gymnastics. It seemed to be a hit. Everyone entertained themselves with all the equipment. Valerie saw the boys turning flips so she found a bar she could hang from.

Valerie is the most chilled child. She is so easily entertained and handles those 3 boys well. 

Tucker's baseball camp was a dud. Not at all what Lindsay thought. No go for that one next year. I think he liked the golf camp last year much better even though was so hot. He has one more thing this summer and I think that is fine. Not everything has to be scheduled.

Jeff and I made it to our event in Pensacola last week. We enjoyed our evening out by ourselves. Here is our selfie.

The family made it to the Blue Angels home show on Saturday. There were tired children and some tired old folks too. We had a lot of fun. I realized it had been since 2022 that we had gone. '23 was the year Mama fell and I spent the summer getting her back on her feet and the last 2 have been tough years for Jeff. A diagnosis for Parkinson on one and bladder cancer the other, but hey- this summer is giving us a break. I am going to pass on all the pictures from the day except this one of Valerie taking her nap. 

The bean bag has been a wonderful thing for boat rides. All four grandchildren have been on a boat since infancy and they love it. Miles was seeing the Blues for the first time and he loved them. I worried he would think they were too loud, but he didn't flinch. 

The F-35's here at Eglin fly over our house 3 times a day. At 11:00ish they fly directly over. Yes, it is loud. The other 2 times they are a little left and right of our house, so people around here are used to the noise. I thought she might sleep through but she woke up in time to watch. Thankfully for me:) BECAUSE I love airplanes. 

I will log off for this week and pray that the storm only produces rain but not too much and no wind. In fact, right outside our cul-de-sac is a tree that is leaning. It has not always been leaning. We have had a ton of rain lately and I think the tree is diseased. Jeff called the power company. They said they were putting a work order to get it down, but they have not arrived yet. Power lines will be down if it falls. I don't think it will take much wind. Things that make you go hmmmm.

Fortunately no houses will be in its path, just the road the power lines.

 

Cape San Blas '26

 We have made it home from our family vacation to Cape San Blas. This will be the 4th time since 2020 that we have made it over to the Cape. I have mentioned before, we used to go in the 1990's all the time, and then Hurricane Michael hit and it made me think it could really change it over there, so we decided to get back to make this a tradition for the little ones. I don't know if we will go every single year, but this unique location is a hit with our family.

My children took so many good pictures. I promise not to share all of them, but I am going to use some photos just to tell the story and document our family time. There was of course the crazy stuff happening which I suppose makes for interesting blog fodder.

We arrived in Indian Pass on Thursday afternoon and ate together while waiting for the house to be open for us. There is a place over there where you can take the dogs and we had Gus and my daughter's dog too.  While sitting on the screen porch and perspiring I say, "I do hope my chocolate frosting is not melting in the truck." This trip just like last year coordinated with Jeff and Paul Allen's birthday which are on the 10th and the 12th. Paul Allen offers to go out and check on it and maybe bring it in out of the truck. He calls me and asks where is the cake? He can't find it. ---- Oh and I am sure you are already guessing. Sandy left here beautiful delicious tradition cake at home on the counter. It was going to be my last thing to put in the truck. Something happened and distracted me right as I should have been picking it up off the counter.

It was sitting right there on the counter where I left upon returning today. Still delicious!

At least there were cookies that Lindsay had been in charge of. Since Jeff was turning 65, we decided to do a 1970's theme so that is what the decorations are all about. Don't worry, we didn't forget Paul Allen. We will get to that.

We did have them blow out a candle more for the little ones and ate pizza the first night.

But.....before we got to the pizza and birthday stuff, I took the boys out on the dock of the house. We were on the bay side again this year in the same house as last year. Lindsay had walked out to the end of the dock. The boys and I were going to go down from the dock walkway to look at the fiddler crabs that are literally everywhere.

Here is a picture of the dock so you can get a feel for the next story. Do you spy the stairs on the right going down to the grass?

Well, we went down those stairs and under the walkway to the area to the left. It was there that my story begins...

We were walking single file with Tucker in the lead, followed by Miles, then me and Palmer. Tucker steps into an area and says it is mushy. I then said, well we probably shouldn't do this. We should wait for the tide to go down more and then go in from the water rather than the grass.

Tides in the bay are extremely pronounced in St. Joe Bay. In the morning, you can not walk in many of these places because the water is way up. By evening, you can walk way out beyond the deck to a sandbar out there. There are grasses teaming with so much sea life in them too. Not scary ----

Because trust me, I am a very prissy girl and scared of my shadow.

Back to the story. Miles who is scared of nothing goes ahead of Tucker and ignores my saying we should go back. He really wanted to see the fiddler crabs up close. 

He gets out there and sinks into the mud. I didn't have time to be scared or anything, I just did what a grandmother would do. I went after him. I also sank. He began to cry and I am so glad he did because I was just in robot mode. His Mama heard him from the screened porch and came running. Just as she reached us, I was able to reach out and grab his hand and pull him out. Honestly adrenaline helped me pull him out. She gathered him up and put him on from ground and then had to pull me out. I was in above my knees and could not do a thing. It was like quicksand, only mud. My flip flops are deep in the mud and will never be found. I think they are a good 2 feet down based on the mud lines on my legs. 

The scene --- 

I took this the next day and you can see our sinking spots had filled in.

BTW, dishwashing soap gets mud out of white shorts

Lindsay finally heard us and was making it up the walk way. She said she thought I was doing a science experiment with the boys and sitting down. It would have been a likely explanation if it had not been a disaster. Paul Allen walked Miles back around all the places so he would not be overly fearful. 

It was quite a story. I promise other than all the things that happened to Tyler like flat tires, phone dying, etc. it was the most delightful vacation. 

On with the rest.

Friday was a day of boating. We always think we have the bay to ourselves. It is much less crowed than our area. 

We found all our usual sea life. 

Tucker with a sponge. Don't worry. We put it all back in the water.

Paul Allen was our captain.

Jeff enjoying Lindsay as we boated around.

The 3 Musketeers.

We picnicked. Valerie had a blast.

Large sand dollar find.

Valerie inspecting the finds.

Katie and I with starfish and a sea urchin.

Saturday we all did different things. Jeff and I went in to Port St. Joe for lunch. If you ever go there and you love seafood, you must eat at the Uptown Raw Bar and Grill. They make the most delicious steamed seafood anywhere.

I forgot to mention there were multiple trips to the Gulf side to enjoy the beach too. 

It was a full trip with lots of activities.

Tyler cooked for us on Saturday evening. He makes some fantastic Italian food which is my favorite and when you combine it with seafood...oh wow!

There were trips to get ice cream, card games after the little ones went to sleep and such good discussions with our children. 

The kind that leave you feeling so blessed.

Oh and Katie changed out the 1970's decor for Paul Allen's birthday. It has something to do with The Office (old TV show). Katie has learned about things she never could have dreamt with Paul Allen's TV shows. 

Oh on the boating day, we dropped Tyler back at the house before we took the boat back so he could go get the fish for his Italian dinner. He snapped this pick of the pups. They were being good dogs while we were gone.

It was such a good trip. I am refreshed and tired all at the same time.

One more cool thing about the Cape. It is mostly old Florida and only beach houses, no condos. Port St. Joe is an old Florida town too. I happened to walk Gus out in the middle of the night one night and looked up. The stars were amazing. There are no street lights or light pollution. It was incredible. I could see the Milky Way. That was a treat for me.

The trip is documented and I will be back soon with some stitching updates and other stuff. 

Sandy

Welcome June

 We made it to Auburn for Memorial Day weekend. It was a quiet trip with nothing big to do. We just went up to check on the house and rest. I rested some, because Jeff usually wants to go go go. It was overcast mostly but not that rainy while it was raining here in Fort Walton. That meant the kids didn't really get much sunshine outdoors time. I did which I really needed! I sat outside and read a good bit. We watched a movie one night and lots of SEC baseball on TV. 

On one of my walks in the neighborhood, I noticed how much larger and taller the daylilies were in Auburn versus here. I would guess that has to do with the richer soil vs the sandy soil here.

I feel like my daylilies have struggled this year. They were getting ready to put on a show when that last cold snap kind of bit them. They are starting to bloom, but they have been very slow getting started.

Jeff took this picture and sent it to the kids. I forgot what he said to them, but it is proof I rested:)

Gus did too.

I thought this picture of Mama was really good taken at her senior living facility. She is truly the most photogenic person I know. She looks amazing, but that picture doesn't capture the truth. She is good and  probably will live to be a 100, but she has her moments.

She got some injections on Monday of this week and I am hoping they will give her some back pain relief. They have in the past. 

Now, for June plans.

I don't have to keep the grandchildren mostly for the month of June. We have a family trip to Cape San Blas, but for the most part June is open for me to hopefully reset. I need long walks, beach time, etc.

I don't want to have too much on the calendar other than just time to let my body and MIND rest. 

I headed to the beach on Monday after I had gotten Mama home from her procedure. I have tidied my house for now, so really no big plans on the horizon. That is such a nice line to type.

Last week I had to keep multiple children each day so I am more than ready for a little downtime.

Last night, our niece Kristan and family joined us for pizza night. Our family is very small. I have no siblings, and Jeff only has 2 one of which 1 has passed. That one had no children, so Jeff's sister only has 1 ---Kristan. My brother-in-law, Kristan's dad had one sibling who died young so that means Kristan, Paul Allen, and Lindsay are the only cousins each has.

If one of us is not at our family celebrations it is noticed. Kristan lives in Texas, so we have her here at Thanksgiving and in June. Last Thanksgiving they didn't come and it was awful for us. The kids are now in high school and had sports that made it difficult for them to come home. 

Thanksgiving also highlighted how much Jeff has gone downhill with Parkinson's. Parkinson's stinks big time. It made it just sadder than normal.

It was so good to see them all. We had such a good time together. Much laughter and good times.

Now, that Kristan, Lindsay, and Paul Allen have become the adults the picture taking goes to the next generation. I would have forgotten to do it, but Lindsay rounded them up for a shot on the couch. Tanner and Katelyn are now almost 17.

They are completely grown up. When I first started this blog, they were the little ones pictured at Thanksgiving. Valerie was real uncertain about the picture taking.

Katelyn has combined some college visits with this trip. She wants to head back to Florida for college really badly. The twins were born in Tallahassee and moved to Texas about the time they started school. She is a Florida girl while Tanner seems to be a Texan. I think she is eyeing Florida State the most. She makes an official tour later this week. 

I have been reading and finished all 4 of the books I was reading at the same time. I loved Liberty Island by Virginia Hume. I chose it because I had loved the author's previous book, but I think this one was outstanding. It was set in the late 1890's through the 1920's in America. It followed 2 generations of women and covered the Suffrage Movement. I would not have thought I would like this one based on the time period so much, but the characters were so well thought out and I would give this one high marks.

My space book was one I liked but not sure if you aren't a space nut you would like it.

I enjoyed the Camino Trail book too. It didn't make me want to walk the trail at all. I like hiking, but I like to know what I am gonna eat that night and where I am gonna lay my head that night too. It was a good read if you have followed the author's story. If not, you might now like it.

The final one would make a great gift for a college graduate. The author shares 31 life lessons or legacy letters as he calls them. He intended them to be for his grandchildren, but ended up writing the book. I thought all of the 31 lessons were wonderful and on point which is why I think it would make a good gift. He recommended you read each of these letters over 31 days (obviously a month) and then choose 11 of them to work on over the next 11 months making it a year of application of the book. I read it like that and have chosen my June idea to work on throughout the month.

I am stitching away and think I will leave that for a separate post soon. I am way behind in blog reading and responding to anyone due to keep more than one kid everyday last week. I was so dang tired each day that I just fell in to bed. 

I hope to catch up this week with everyone.

Summer has arrived and I am here for it. I told y'all we had a spring this year, but the Tuesday after Memorial Day I walked outside and knew with 100% certainty summer had arrived.

YES!

A Grateful Heart

I had the most delightful Mother's Day last Sunday. I always tell the kids to go have fun. They are moms and dads too! However, they all came over in the afternoon and we had a nice visit. We grilled some hamburgers and hotdogs, made baked beans and indulged in ice cream sandwiches for dessert. Simple and fun. Lindsay and Tyler came by boat and Miles was treated to riding in their boat with Tucker and Palmer. Tyler and Palmer drove them around for a bit and all were happy.

All things that make this mama heart sing with joy. Roses which I have shared with them are an amazing gift even more now that I have no roses in the yard or deck. They however gave me even more clever gifts. Lindsay came across some pink and green "OH so preppy" Adidas tenney shoes which was enough for me to squeal, but then you found me another unique gift. These were given as a unit by all the kids. 

Now, let me tell you about the cool bag. It is called a brailer bag and made in Alaska by a company called Nomar.

Here is part of the description of the bag...

Our Brailer Basket with Handle is the perfect companion for foraging, beachcombing, or collecting whatever other treasures you might find on your outdoor adventures! 

What drew Lindsay to this bag? Well she heard on SmartherNews that the company had made the tote bags for the Artemis II parachutes. Easy to lift them out of the water. You can read about it here.

My kids know me well! I could not have asked for more intriguing or Sandy like gifts. Oh and BTW, the Adidas sneakers are amazing. I forgot how much I liked them and went promptly out to the outlet store and bought me a white and black striped pair. All have been on repeat this week.

 

Here are the boys on the boat.

The weather has been truly amazing lately. I know the heat is on its way, but even today I have been sitting out on the deck in the bright sun and it is such a nice breeze. 

I made it out to the beach this week for one walk...

It was absolutely gorgeous. Not too crowded, a wonderful breeze. I could have just parked myself all day there. 

Next up is a view of one of my other top walking spots. 

The land across is the barrier island but this part is owned by the military so no tall condos. I do love where I live. Even in the heat of summer. 

Palmer graduated from his VPK which I didn't realize was a Florida term. It is preschool. They are expected to go to kindergarten in the fall. Lindsay has always planned to do it twice for Palmer because of his late summer birthday and his small stature. His teacher says he is ready for kindergarten but I don't think Lindsay is going to change her mind. The plan was always for him to attend the one Tucker had attended and Miles will be attending in August and then go to one closer to his house in Destin next year. She would used her voucher from the state for that one. I don't think she is going to change her mind. She would rather him graduate at 18 rather than 17 from high school. 

Let me just say the little stinker had a speaking part (one of 3 kids). He did amazing. He hopped down and knew his part and did it with complete confidence. I almost had my mouth opened.

This was him at home after Tyler got his hair done. Let me just say though that shirt did NOT stay tucked in long and he was quite anxious to get the belt off.

I am going to try and round this post up and come back next week with patriotic season around the house. I got my sampler back from the frame shop. I will tell more about it next week, but I love it!

Close up...

I will share more around the house later this week.

I have begun but have not finished deciding where to put some patriotic touches.

I am going to end with a personal note attached to the next picture...

This was an Instagram post by my church. You can see Paul Allen with Valerie and Miles and Jeff over to the side. This picture represents so much. I don't want to make Paul Allen sound bad, but he was a tougher teenager than I was prepared for. Let's just say the Lord did a work in me and HE needed to as much as did in Paul Allen. He never got into really bad things that would have been hard to make a comeback from like drugs, but for this perfectionist mama he had a lot of "fun" and didn't have a ton of ambition. 

I spent a ton of time in prayer for those years. I even remember thinking if he didn't go to college how was he going to meet a nice girl? How shallow of me!!! I was a first generation college graduate and had a history of alcoholism on one side of my family, so I had set high expectations that he was not meeting. I tell you I prayed a lot, but I also had a point where I realized I needed to work on myself about trusting God. 

Let's just say when I got to the point of surrender that God put on a show for me. Paul Allen doesn't have a college degree, but he has an amazing wife who we love like a daughter and he has 2 of the sweetest littles THAT ADORE HIM. Miles always says he wants to be just like Daddy. 

I write all of this to remind anyone out there to remember God hears out prayers and works in both the parent and the rebellious "Having Fun" child and they do grow up. Keep the faith.

I will try and get my house in order so I can take some pics for next time.

Happy Spring,

Sandy

March Roundup

 I feel like I need to do one more catch up post. 

I will start though with a picture of my only houseplant, the dolphin plant. It is such a unique plant. It blooms each March like clockwork.

I took a "too long" blog break and a lot of activity occurred. I am so blessed to be near my family. I said I wasn't going to post pictures and I am going to do much less of it, but this will be a quick update on family life.

Palmer and I have had 2 fun days together. Our first was to attend a play at the college with his preschool class. It was the book, Click Clack Moo. If you aren't familiar with the book the animals get access to a typewriter and can type up their requests/demands to the farmer. They go on strike and get the things they ask for, but all ends well of course. It was well done and the children were so well behaved. I love going to all these things that I once did as a teacher, but now from a new perspective. 

Then he and I went to the Gulfarium with his class. I absolutely had a blast on this trip. I think we both gave the day a 10. His little friend also had his grandmother along for the trip and it made for such a delightful day. Two older ladies trying to keep up with 2 energetic boys, but both behaved so well. We loved the dolphins the best, but Mimi also liked the manatees. They have recently added so much to the Gulfarium, so if you are ever vacationing here it is definitely worth the time.

It doesn't hurt a bit that the Gulfarium is right on the beach. Beautiful day.

Baseball season has begun for Tucker and Palmer. This year was the first year Mimi didn't walk in the parade. I just went to the end of the line to celebrate them starting the season.

Could they be any cuter?

On the last day of spring break I took Tucker and Palmer and met Paul Allen, Katie, Miles and Valerie at a park on the island. Lindsay and Tyler had to work. I made a picnic lunch for us. The kids played on the playground. 

This particular park has been around forever but the past year it got an update and a lot of additions. It will be a regular addition to my time with the grandchildren. 

The equipment is some of the most amazing stuff I have ever seen. The children never want to leave, but they finally got hungry. What is it about a picnic where even a sandwich tastes better?

I took the next picture to show you that we were right by the bay. 

This new park got what is called living walls added all around the point of land. These stone walls are for the birds but have made a great place for swimming with little ones.

There are walking trails and so many cool things to do.

The plan that did not include swimming, but tell that to Palmer and Miles.

Valerie is walking and is so tall for her age. She is in the 90th percentile for height. I think she is going to be like her PawPaw. Volleyball or basket ball?

Later that same day, Tucker and Palmer managed to get Paw Paw to fix fishing poles for them. He was pleasantly surprised that they caught on quickly. I am pretty sure they would do this all day.

We celebrated Mama's 91st birthday.

Lindsay got a picture of Jeff, me, and Gus. I am not photogenic, but in light of many things that have come up in the past 2 years, I don't say wait until I look right anymore. I just go with it. 

And look at this girl. She looks way older than 14.5 months. She is tall and has a mouth full of teeth. AND she has dark hair and darker complexion like her Mimi!

That is a wrap on the family. I feel like I have caught up and hopefully gotten my blogging mojo back. 

I can't pick a specific day to blog because my life is a little unpredictable, but I will be more regular. I have stitching and flowers to share next.

Springy Sandy