Sunday, July 29, 2007

Ma and Pa Kettle At Home

I am a bloggerland lurker, I admit it and the one common, prevalent thread of my favourites lately is, bloggers are taking a break. I know how they feel. On one hand I feel compelled to keep writing something for my "faithful" few, but on the other hand, what to write, what to write?

It's summer. So far around our homestead in The Grove, the bulk of our apples are dropping unripend off the tree like flies, each one with a worm or a bug inside. Visions of Apple crisp, apple sauce and apple pies are fast diminishing. The second apple tree didn't produce even one little apple.

The cherry tomatoe plants which started off so promisingly in May, with blossom after blossom, has so far produced only about 2 dozen tomatoes-we need more bees, less rain.

The Yucca plant for the first time since we moved in, produced two huge spikes of flowers, but alas, the heavy rains quickly toppled them and the blossoms melted into the lawn.

And as I write this I wonder if the sweetpeas will ever blossom. It has been a sad, summer that way. June started with too much rain, and with the exception of a few really hot days, July has not really been that much better. But then the cooler nights make sleeping just fine.

On a happier note, my beloved has once again picked up his paintbrush and has created some wonderful acrilic paintings. That just delights me because he is so talented and I've missed the excitement of watching him put colour down on canvas. Welcome back Dick. Work on the house can wait, keep painting!

Last Thursday I got to hold the most adorable little 3 week old baby boy. Jake you are precious and beautiful. I just love the way you can hold a little one in one arm and stroke their little bottoms with the other hand. It's the best, and just think, I get to do that again in late November.

The children's summer holidays are half over-ALREADY-this week hopefully, a picinic. Not too hot and not too wet-unless it's the water park!

Last week we went over to see Cathy and the kids and while the two little ones were in bed napping, I painted Carly and Claire's fingers and toes with my bright red nailpolish. Do you know how tiny the pinkie toes are? More polish went on their toes than their tiny nails.

Our firstborn grandchild, our grandson (and the only one, at least until November and then who knows) turns eight this week which is so hard to believe. If we only have one boy in our family, well then we sure got a great one when Cameron was born.

We've spent a few hours these past few weeks over at April and Nick and Abby's helping out, washing cupboards, packing, unpacking, etc. They moved into such a nice place, and have fixed it up so beautifully. We are really proud of them and so happy for them living in their very own place.

And as I write this our youngest daughter Amy with her handsome Tyler are just returning from a whirlwind trip to Washington. I always love to hear about their adventures, they have so much fun together. Oh to to be foot loose and fancy free. Hey, what am I saying, we are too, I forgot.

As for me, I am loving this retirement life. My beloved and I have been watching summer's guilty pleasures on TV, the Tour de France, which ended today, I really wanted Cadel Evans of Australia to win. He came in second only 23 seconds behind the leader, I can't help but think he must be disappointed to be so close. Maybe next year Cadel! The worst is, Big Brother 8 which I'm more hooked on than Dick, but that's okay. I'm rereading books that have been stored away and whose pages are turning yellow with age, purging files and shredding old bills, walking with my beloved, hanging clothes on the line when the weather allows, sewed some spiffy curtains for Abby's new bedroom and am just plain enjoying the first summer that I don't need to go to work. Life is good!

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