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

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.

 

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!

Memorial Day and Summertime

Memorial Day in my mind begins the patriotic season and summer. I do not minimize what Memorial Day means at all as I will explain later in this post. Living where I live, both the true meaning and the warm weather make this holiday important in remembering and embracing my favorite time of the year.

I have subtly decorated my home, so we will take a tour starting at the front yard and moving in the door no one enters except Gus and me, but we will get to the entry that everyone does enter in before we are done. I love patriotic decor, but I have learned I can't take too much of seasonal decor --period. I get tired of it and for some reason I have never been good at removing the regular decor to replace with seasonal decor. I tend to add in which can make clutter. 

Jeff talked about for 23 years (the number of years we have lived in this house) putting a flag up. With the stone and stucco, he just never wanted to drill through either. America 250 finally got him to bite the bullet.

He also bought the kids one and both have put theirs up too. The family is all in!

Side note to digress on...don't you love digressions?! Jeff and I had an entire conversation last Sunday afternoon while putting around on the boat on which houses looked like coastal Florida (especially northwest Florida, cuz there is a difference). Ours doesn't fit the bill. We love our home...it is strong and has extra precautions built in for hurricane and waterfront living, but Indiana sandstone would not have been our choice nor does look like any kind of Florida. 

Now, we move on with the tour. I found this lovely ribbon on Amazon and added a bow to the light post and to the swans that adorn our front porch. The swans are a nod to my mother in law. 

I added my redbirds with flag wings back to the flowerbed, because Floridians do yard art. Probably too much!

I didn't do much to the foyer ---remember I can't remove standing decor. I added a flag. I also tried out some red books under the candlesticks but decided to keep the blues.

Just inside this foyer door is a favorite spot of mine. I added a ribbon to my bunny. Just a simple touch and I only did ribbon on the bunny and not all the items I do at Christmas. More of a simple approach.

Close up view of the ribbon for which I had more of. I don't remember where I got it and have only enough to do Mr. Bunny. BTW, the print above is one of my favorite things ever. A Panhandle of Florida map. All my favorite places.

I am currently stitching something that I might add to my church pew just across from Mr. Bunny.  We will see. All of these things will get tweaked many times probably.

Moving into the dining room, I added a table runner made by one of Mama's good friends. 

Then we open the double doors in to the family room. 

I added some stitching to the built ins and of course, there are tributes to both our dads which served in the military which are full time patriotism on display.

Left side of the fireplace.

Close ups of the stitched insertions and then a stepping away look.

Oh and I added in a flag too.

 I added a stack of patriotic picture books to the coffee table. A simple but cute way to add seasonal decor.

Moving into the kitchen I added some flags to the island. The kitchen table has some blue checked napkins. I also have some red ones that I can switch out as well.

On one counter, I have added a couple of stitches. This section really is not a cooking counter so I can usually add some decor with no worries.

I actually did remove a picture to put this stitch up.

Right outside my kitchen window I have my geraniums with some flags and down on the boat dock Jeff has a flag there.

Back in the kitchen and down the hallway where EVERYONE actually enters our home is my latest stitch all framed. I know some of you saw it on Instagram. I just love it.

I removed a stitch for the summer that goes here. I may move this stitch to my sampler wall later, but for this summer it will be where it can be seen and enjoyed.

"O Happy Day" by Plum Street Samplers with changes to make it fit my liking.

Then in the guest bathroom right past the sampler, I added a ribbon and the Liberty Bell stitch.

In my sewing room, there are more patriotic things that are on display all the time.

My bunnies in their red, white and blue outfits, my shuttle stitch along with my students saying the pledge of allegiance.

*****

Jeff and I attended a reception at a local elementary school that Jeff was the principal of and then later after  him I did my last 3 years of teaching working on grant that involved the school. It has a high military presence and if you have ever driven from the west to our beaches you probably have driven by it and noticed it because it had all the looks of a military town school with red, white, and blue showing. Mary Esther Elementary Thunderbirds located right on Highway 98 (the Miracle Strip Parkway).

Every teacher came up to Jeff and told him he was their favorite principal and honestly it made my time there immeasurably easier because they loved him so much. The school is closing along with another elementary school. The south end of the county has been in a population decline or families with children decline for a decade. The cost of living is just so high... no more land to build on. To shorten this, there a lot more changes coming. Change is inevitable. The north end is growing like kudzu and they are building a new school there right now.

It was this visit to the school reception that I really thought I am going to FINALLY add a Memorial Day post. I have always steered away from it. When you live in a military community you are very aware of the sacrifices made. There are 7 military installations here in the Panhandle of Florida. 

On the evening of the school event a couple walked in that reminded me of Jeff's first year as a principal there and having the most horrific news to give a teacher. Now, this one involves life, but many I have know made the ultimate sacrifice. 

It was around 2010 and the superintendent called and said she was on her way with military officials and for him to get someone to cover Mrs. D's kindergarten class. Her husband had been blown up and was in horrible condition. That was a hard thing to deliver and watch. Later, we would learn that he had survived but lost both legs. He was there on Tuesday evening for the reception and it sent me on a tailspin of thoughts of how many people I know about in just my small world that have lost their family member.

I really don't feel it exactly appropriate to appoint myself the story teller of all these losses, but I have known personally many -from a child I taught who lost his father in the Khobar Towers back in 1996. The losses in our community for me started way back in 1991 with the first Gulf War. You just don't live here and teach and not see the loss. I have had two from church killed in action. My daughter's wedding photographer was a casualty that came later from the war from some chemical he was exposed. It is just a part of life in a military town. It is deep and personal reminder of what those families go through.

I have many members of my family who have served and fought from both our dads, numerous uncles, cousins, and 2 brother-in-laws. 

I may celebrate the coming of my favorite season - summer - but I know we are blessed to live here.

P.S. I am taking some of my small stitches to the Auburn house for the summer too.

Picture from the reception at MEE the other night. Jeff actually ended up speaking to the crowd. He did well as always. Reminded them of the rich history the school has had to the community.