Saturday: Late yesterday afternoon we sat on the front porch until supper was ready. It was cool and breezy, comfortable. So very unlike our usual August afternoons/evenings.
Rufus came up to speak to John, thinking he was safe from scissors snipping at him, but unfortunately for Rufus, John picked him up and called to me to get the scissors and finish cutting the big patch of matted fur I'd gotten almost loose yesterday morning when he mutinied on me and walked away.
John is convinced that flattery will work even on a dog who is as rough and tumble in appearance as Rufus, so he spent the rest of the evening complimenting him on both his behavior while he was being trimmed and about how nice he looked with his (mostly) trimmed fur. Rufus may have wagged his tail in acknowledgement, but he didn't come near John again. It will likely be three or four more days before he'll forget for a moment, and I will tackle another spot on him.
It's been lovely having these evenings with no AC running. They should be pleasant next week as well. I don't know how long this cooler spell will last but I'll take it. When I was growing up, the second weekend of September was our church association's annual meeting time. I recall that Friday and Saturday were often hot but without fail, Sunday morning we were digging deep to pull out sweaters to wear when we left home because it always turned off chilly, even if the weather remained sunny. This final August weather reminds me of those childhood early September weekends.
John and I were surprised by rain this morning. It kind of blew our idea that the children would play in the yard. It turned off sunny and then got hot. No child wanted to go outdoors.
Katie had called yesterday afternoon asking if we wanted to come over today to see Taylor or could they come here. We asked them to come here. The family hasn't been here since just before we started the painting in the kitchen last Spring, so it was all fresh and new to them coming in today.
Henry was so pleased that he could crawl and explore without too much interference, but he's smart that one. When he couldn't reach something on a chair, he simply climbed up on the wood box one of the older children had left nearby and tried to go up into the chair that way. He was angry when his mom moved the magnet letters further up on the fridge so he couldn't reach them. He has a lot of frustrated anger tears these days, poor baby. He's over his upset quickly enough but he's mad at every one who stands in the way of what he wants.
The other children were fine. Bella and Caleb argued, something they do all of the time anyway, typical of two five-year-olds and typical of siblings. Taylor came in looking taller than ever. She's quiet for the most part but she is always pleasant and smiling, not sullen and withdrawn which is sometimes the case at her preteen age.
It was a whirlwind visit. They usually are. The baby was tired, the children were ready for quiet spaces, Mama was weary after a week of work and a long drive to pick up Taylor. The weekend is going quickly as Taylor has to be back with her dad by noon tomorrow for a family gathering. I can tell this makes Katie sad, but Taylor has many claims upon her time with two families and volleyball and school. Her busyness will only continue as she gets older.
I have to say that the house was hectic and frantic, and I was glad in the end that I'd not known exactly what time they were arriving, so I hadn't asked the other children over as I'd wanted to do. It would only have amplified the volume. The quiet that fell once the family left was almost surreal. I sat down in my chair and went right off to sleep!
I wanted to share that I finished The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins on Thursday. I laughed, I cried, I stayed glued to the pages. It was such a good book and so worth reading. I plan to read the entire Dove Pond series, and I think this is one set of books I very much want on my own bookshelves. I say that quietly, because I have three boxes of books in the guest room that are packed in boxes because I don't have enough bookshelves. I'll try to borrow the rest of the series and if they are all that good, I'll definitely consider buying them then.
I have tended to avoid our local libraries because the books are 'too new', but you know there have been quite a few new to me authors that I've really enjoyed. Heather Webber's Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe was absolutely worth the reading. Julia Kelly's The Last Garden in England was a terrific read as well. The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is the first in a fantasy series that I want to complete.
I'm so glad that I brought these books home and took the time to read them. I can honestly say that I would never have chosen the books based on the fact they were written in the 2000's. I was convinced that there were no decent authors with a good story to tell, but I was so wrong. It makes me aware that I should be more open to trying things that without prejudice and be more open to sampling.
If I hit a winner with The Book Charmer this week, I struck out hard with the other two I brought home. I put down one immediately due to the blatant sexual tone and the other due to language. I can handle a little of either one, though I'd prefer none, but when you can't get away from it at all from page 1 through page 30, you know it's not going to get any better with further reading, only worse. I will give books with a slow start a chance because sometimes the labor of writing can really make it hard to get a good start, but then the author is able to find her voice, or the story starts to come together, and I find it's a really good book. But tone at the outset is often the tone throughout. Unsavory scenes and language tend to become more graphic rather than less if you can't get past it within a chapter or o.
I came across an interesting vlog series on YouTube Friday night and thoroughly enjoyed it. The vlogger was quick to say that it wasn't her typical forum, she knits and sews but she took time to do a four-part series on finding your style and it was so well explained and taught and so many helpful, thoughtful tips were shared that I thought perhaps some of you might be interested as well. I'm linking to Breathing Yarn's first video in the 4-part series. I think this whole series was incredibly well done. I felt like I'd taken a Fashion Arts class on style.
Sunday: Last night I moved just so, felt my hip go thunk and I thought "Oof...". I moved slightly to shift my weight, and all seemed well. It wasn't until later that I found my knee was terribly painful, too painful to let me rest. The clock ticked on. My usual over the counter products, heat rub, etc. did nothing to alleviate it. I went off to the guest room hoping that the too firm mattress there would help but it didn't. I was just as miserable and at that point, I just wanted to be in my own bed. I wandered back to our room, took another pain reliever that I knew I could mix with the one I'd already taken and at that point exhaustion must have kicked in. I slept hard until the alarm went off this morning.
My knee was still aching. I found John just as miserable with a complaint of his own. It was very tempting to skip church, but we didn't and I'm glad we didn't. It was a very good sermon with many good points, the last this month's series. I stood at one point and my knee clicked and that was that. No more pain. I couldn't help but wonder if I'd have gotten the same relief if we'd stayed home.
After service we had a series of frustrations. Nothing we could do anything about except do our best to hold onto our own good humor. We finally made it out to Lowes. John wanted to find a plumbing part. I wanted to go through the garden center. I found a huge green coleus for $1! Not on the 'dried out and might as well be dead but we haven't given up hope they'll go for half price' shelves, but just a shelf mid cash register aisle that was full of coleus and a little blue flowered vining plant that I'd never heard of before. Both were $1 each. I found another pretty coleus in a deep burgundy variety and a peppermint plant, and a mum, all full price, but reasonable. I came out for less than $15 today.
I couldn't get a cart anywhere and there was a long line in the garden center with people buying multiples of bags of mulch or soil 30 bags at a time, which the clerk felt he had to ring up individually (probably because a supervisor was looking on). I wanted to walk indoors to the seeds and bulbs, but it was hot, and I was irritable and didn't feel like walking all the way to that area which, inexplicably, are not near the garden center door but up near the front entry doors. A distance that was roughly four time what I'd already walked. I decided to settle for my handful of happy blessing and get out of there.
Way back at the start of summer, when I was smack in the midst of my eating better plan and trying to lose weight, John wanted us to go out for a Banana Split. I told him that when I'd gotten back into my size 22 pants, comfortably so, that I'd go. Well, I've been there now for about four weeks. With summer fast coming to an end, I suggested we go a couple of weeks ago but get just one Banana Split and share it. John said we'd go after church, but he didn't bother. Today he decided that we were due our Sunday Sundae date.
We went into Dairy Queen and ordered lunch and then got a small Banana Split Blizzard each. If I could change anything, I'd say we needed some chocolate syrup or hot fudge swirled in through it but it had pineapple, strawberry and banana. And it was the perfect amount of ice cream. I actually left some of mine in the cup, but I was pretty pleased overall.
I am almost foolishly happy that tomorrow will be the start of September. I feel so optimistic about it! I've got my books out and bookmarked to begin reading. I've got my goals for the month all written out. I have a pretty near fully stocked pantry and freezer to begin the new season with. I find there's so much I am looking forward to in this new season.
I think part of it is that I am so happy with how well August went. I did very well at reaching my goals and truly exceeded my own expectations. I hope to do the same in September.
We talked to Isaac this afternoon and told him about the situation on Grandparents Day. Three grandchildren and a family member all have grandparents day scheduled for the same hour. Three counties apart. In the end, John said we'd go to Caleb and Bella's (and their cousin) school. So, we talked to Isaac to ask if he wanted to go out to lunch, just himself and no one else with us one day in the next week. He suggested where he'd like to go eat and we told him we'd get back with him with a date.
We're caught in limbo as we need to find out when our fiber optic is to be connected since someone has to be home. Oddly, I got a call from them Saturday afternoon at 3pm while we were visiting with family, so we missed that opportunity. The technician texted me later and asked me to call back and schedule with him, so we're waiting to do that, then we'll get back with him.
It's been a lovely day, a wonderful weekend. Our last weekend of the summer.
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