Life Lately: Busy and HOT

Yet another 2 plus weeks have flown by too quick for me. This has turned out to be a VERY busy summer and all my thoughts of relaxing on the beach or even on my back deck have gotten away from me. Of course, it has been August heat for all of  July so you would have to be sitting with your toes in the water or inside with the most wonderful invention ever...central air. I honestly don't know how we lived without A/C. We did though! In school as well.  

Hank Heron hiding in the grasses.

Jeff is a week and a half past the knee replacement. Other than the initial first few hours, I would say he is doing exceptionally well. Apparently, the nerve block they give you these days did little, so waking up to the pain was a lot for him. I have been through many surgeries with Jeff including a hip replacement and a revision. The knee was exponentially worse.  I do think he is recovering well, and he seems to be on the good side of a recovery timeline.  I will take that win.

I took Mother for another round of nerve ablations in her back. I thought they might help. That is to be determined. As of now, she is complaining a bit more. I think the side they did them on feels better, but the other side hurts worse. I am hoping it is just due to the way she was lying and with a few more days she will feel better too. 

We have celebrated 2 birthdays over here since my last post. Pre knee replacement we did Palmer's party. Palmer didn't have the usual party with friends since they had just gone on a cruise with the other grandparents. Lindsay and Tyler  talked him into a day of him getting to choose things like where to eat and where to go for fun on his day. We had the family over here for hotdogs and hamburgers on the day before his birthday. He wanted hotdogs. I did a quick decorate for it with a Pluto/Mickey Mouse theme.

I made the usual cupcakes but this time I put the fudge icing that Mama always makes for a 7 layer cake on the cupcakes. Not as pretty but overwhelmingly everyone agreed tasted much better. 

Tucker and Palmer before everyone else arrived.

Palmer was very pleased with his presents. One present was such a hit that while I didn't get a picture of the fun that took place after this picture, you will see it down below. I ordered it again for Miles.

If you have a grandson aged 3-8, stay tuned for a perfect gift.

Also notice Battleship was out. Tucker had stayed with me that day. I can't even remember why now, but I taught him to play Battleship that day. 

Before we move on to Miles's birthday, I loved this picture. So many things are going on here.

First, is the storm cloud. They can pop up after heat laden days. The past 2 weeks we have had upper 90's with at least 2 at 100. That is not the bad part. It is the humidity which has had the real feel near 120 for far more days than I would like. 

I love summer. I make no bones about it. I love the long days full of fun and adventure, but also a slower pace. Although mine has not been slower paced this year. This summer has taken me to the max though with that kind of heat. Gus thinks he wants to go out to walk, but we go just a bit and his tongue is hanging out and I am drenched. I am not ready to call and end to summer, but will gladly take some low 90's for sure.

Back to the picture. We keep binoculars handy for nature sightings on the water whether that is the occasional alligator or just birds. Paul Allen grabbed the good ones out of reach of little ones and headed out to look for what he thought was an alligator. Of course, he didn't say that to the little ones. They don't generally hang out in our bayou because it is a little too salty for them, but they can and have been. Usually word travels when one is out there.

I keep 2 pairs of old binoculars for the kids to use handy to do the same. Little Palmer saw Paul Allen (who he adores grab and go), so he did the same. I thought this was just the cutest picture.

Post surgery, we celebrated Miles in the same manner as Palmer. He got his usual party for all of the family on both sides the next day, but with Jeff and Mama being down we didn't try to go and celebrate. 

Same cupcakes but with Star Wars. Yes, Paul Allen has introduced Miles to Star Wars. Paul Allen is an encyclopedia when it comes to SW and Miles is on board.

The food Miles chose--- chicken pot pie. He loves them especially the peas. I don't know if all the adults were on board, but it actually turned out pretty good. 

I only had a video of Miles with his cupcake, so I had to do a screen shot.

Now for the present that was a hit- Lindsay has to get credit for thinking of it. She had told me to order it for Palmer. That blue thing 

rolled up is a race track for hot wheels. It is a winner with parents in that it takes up a small amount of space, but a hit with the boys in that it really makes the cars go fast.

You can place it anywhere. It has suction cups to attach it to a window. Lindsay had it attached to their front door and the boys were rolling them down their long hallway. Here it is just on the coffee table and rolling into our kitchen. You can make hills with the box which they did. Something is slick about it because they will roll down and over a hill and keep going.

Every grandma out there knows nothing makes us happier than our families together having fun. 

Most of the month since my last post has been just taking care of people, trying to keep up with my chores, and staying cool. Not much to share. I am coming back soon though---said the ambitious person.

Jeff got a cute t-shirt from a friend yesterday, so I had to take a picture to send them.

I have probably bitten off more than I can chew, but I am keeping lots of kiddos next week. It is the week before school and I just felt like Tucker especially could use a break before school starts the following week. Katie is headed back for preplanning so I have Miles and Valerie too. 

It should be a hip hopping roaring place over here. We are calling it Camp Mimi. I have made stations downstairs in the big room. I have got all kinds of activities planned and Jeff will be able to help me with Valerie.  I think Wednesday is the only day I will have all 4 for the whole day. There are some other things going on during the week that will take one or some away, but yes, I know I am nuts.

Nuts like the nut grass in my flower bed is making me. My flower beds look bad for me, but dang it is hot out there. I almost passed out one day trying to work in them.

I have so many things on my to do list that I wanted to get done pre start of school. Just didn't happen. Jeff has a painter coming Monday to look at some things that need painting inside. Things I normally do, but you know what? I am no spring chicken and have lots going on, so I am going to let someone else do it. It has been hard to let some things go like yard maintenance. Wish you could find someone to pull weeds...those don't exist. No one does those things as well as you would like, but I am learning that I have to give up on some of my perfection and get help. Like I have said before, we are't world travelers. Our home and backyard are our playgrounds so I am going to let someone paint and scratch those things off my list.

I am trying to make a list of all the things I want to blog about...the new book I just read that was so good, stitching and just random things of life...like things come and go. I hope to be back blogging soon, but I have at least another week and probably one after that to recover. I have seen so many blogs closing. I feel like most are giving up and I have seriously thought about it, but I am hanging in there because I am not the best at social media. The blog is much more my thing.

Little Valerie is growing so fast. Mimi is looking forward to having her here everyday.

Until next time,

Sandy

July 15, 2025 AD

 Shortly after I wrote my last post which has been almost a month ago, I felt like I needed to take a brain break. Back when teaching, I called a brain break for the kids after we had done some heavy learning; when the brain might be tired from all the work the students had done. Sometimes the brain break involved physical activity which is what most 4th graders needed, but for this older lady brain I just needed some quiet from the noise that life can throw at us. I will give a life update after I share my stitching.

Stitching

I mentioned I was stitching something for a family friend's daughter who just graduated from high school. These friends have 2 of the sweetest girls who are just precious to us. I had no idea that either would want something stitched. The older put the bug in my ear that "Laura" would like it. Trying to do something quick I looked for a quick download PDF from Etsy. That pattern had way more little x's than I could have imagined. I did finish it.

The pattern was from Yvonne Sewing World found on Etsy. I did change the outer edges of the flower to a darker color since the called for DMC Ecru just wouldn't show up on my linen. It has been framed in a round matted frame and delivered with notices to both girls when they move out from home and acquire a place of their own that I will stitch them something really cool. After all my home is full.

I immediately switched back to stitching grandchild #4's Christmas ornament. That is now stitched.

I plan to finish it with the tartan plaid for the back when I get some time. 

I haven't had as much time for stitching as I wanted since finishing the verse, but is there ever enough for this wonderful hobby. I have started some fall stitches that I have previously stitched. I did them shortly after I retired and while I love them, I have hated the linen that I stitched them on. I don't know if you even call what I used linen. I was just getting back to stitching after a long break and didn't know how much things had changed and modernized. This stuff was super stiff and hard to work on for finishing. I just loved the stitches and have had it on my mind to redo them for ages. Why not now? There are 2 of them to redo. I started the first this past weekend. 

I also really want to do some Christmas smalls...maybe even as gifts for some really good friends who have held my hand through the trials of the past couple years. We will see how much I can pull off with my plans. One thing is sure -  I love stitching. I have been stitching in my little sewing room as of late. I have discovered that I can lay out all my stuff on the sewing counter. There are overhead lights right there and then the natural light and view of the water are added bonuses to the relaxing feeling of the needlework.

Gardening

Well, my green thumb seems to be taking a break too. Anything planted in the ground is loving life - my daylilies have flourished this summer. Everything is so lush and green. My dwarf bottle brush shrubs have come back from the January snow. They haven't bloomed yet, but from the looks of them I think they will be blooming in September just in time for all the butterflies and bees. 

That clematis that I went crazy over this spring are a big ole dud. I bought 3 of them. When will I learn to just buy one of something and try first? They look absolutely no different - well maybe worse. No blooming. I have tried everything...locations, fertilizer, etc. You name it---I have read and studied. Nope ---just a big letdown. They aren't dying, but not much to get excited about. Jeff thinks it is the humidity. 

It has been very hot and humid even for this summer loving girl. The heat index high for today is 114. 

Even my vincas which I have grown for years are not happy this year. I have lost my edge I think. I think it is just a reminder that I need to not try to do so much. Less is more in this case. A few things to nurture is better than a ton that look sad.

Speaking of heat...

Tourist season has been a doozy this year. So much that I have not been to the beach as often as last year. The last week of June I had to help out with getting Tucker to a golf camp out in Sandestin. He loves golf and is quite honestly good. They signed him up for this camp since he needs things to do in the summer while Mama works. The traffic with tourists AND the fact that we are getting a new bridge out on the island has led to a jam up and jelly tight situation out on the beach road. While it a wee bit of a drive it should not have taken an hour to go and an hour to get back. I got to listen to a lot of podcasts on the drive. So much traffic...just standstill ---at least the views were good. Oh and hot! Tucker was wiped out each day after it. I kept him that week at my house so that he could cool down and rest afterwards. 

And helping with the kiddos has been a lot of what I have done this summer. I am grateful that I can do that. It has kept me hopping for certain.

My leave from the blog was a combination of busy with the kids and just feeling like the world was so noisy. I can read myself when there is just too much going on ---those times tell me to step back and quiet everything but the important stuff which is my faith and family.

I just took this time to slow down everything and be quiet. 

I have made use of my back deck and dock in the late evenings. I am so blessed to live where I live. I really can't complain when I can walk out there and sit and just listen to the sounds of nature and the water moving with the tides. 

I have nothing much to share other than it has been a ton of family time with me just not having to think about what I might blog about. 

The kids are growing up so fast and I love that I get to spend time with them. 

I also had in the back of mind that yesterday was Jeff's 3 month visit back to the urologist. It has been 3 months since the surgery. It was time to check for a recurrence of tumors. I can shout that he was all clear. 

Now we move on to his knee replacement scheduled for the 23rd next week. One thing at a time. So grateful for yesterday's test result. 

We have 2 little ones with birthdays coming up soon and before I know it school will start. I am looking forward to having Valerie then. She is adorable. I am ready for her.

I don't have a ton of pictures to share because part of my brain break has been not thinking too much about stuff like that. 

I think I am ready to get back in my groove.

Sandy in the summertime!

Oh I did see a thing on Instagram to share a song that said high school to you. I chose Stay by Jackson Browne. I can visualize that song on the tape or radio while sitting on the bridge to get to Pensacola Beach between junior and senior year.