Saturday, June 12, 2021

A three pelican morning...

I had a nice 1-1/2 mile morning walk on my county road. Wish I'd taken my camera along. As I approached the wetland/stream area a threesome of pelicans in formation flew overhead slowly and majestically. Then a blue heron rose from the reeds and flapped its large wings as it circled the marsh. No camera! But I stopped walking and soaked in the spectacle. Sorry I can't share pictures. :)

After my walk I did a few stretching exercises. I highly recommend this book to my "well-seasoned" readers. (Like me.) My mom sent this to me years ago. It had been packed away since my last move and I recently came across it in a tote in the barn. I really needed some exercises for keeping joints working freely and stretching muscles.

Audrey finally got her cast off yesterday! She's enjoying her new-found freedom. I took this photo earlier this morning as Audrey and Hazel did their morning chores, which include keeping the horse's water tank full. 

My car went kaput yesterday. I, being the car expert that I am, thought maybe my transmission was going out. But Adam, after a quick inspection, said it was my muffler. Apparently it's rusted out and will need replacement. Adam and Micah have a good, reliable and affordable mechanic who is also a friend of theirs. So, we're going to have him look at it. So glad for family next door to help me through such moments!

For those who read my blog regularly you know my house is about 50 feet from my daughter and son-in-law's house. This photo (not great) was taken out my living room window. Those are the kids' bedroom windows facing me.
Anyway, about 10 p.m. last night, as I was sitting in the living room watching TV, I heard a little 2 year old voice shouting, "Mama, where are you?" (Micah was in the shower. How dare her!) Then it switched to "Daddy!" and finally to "Grammaw! Grammaw!" (Remember, it's hot and everyone's windows are open. He was standing right by the window yelling as loud as he could.) I texted Micah and said, "Is Chuck (aka Thatcher) yelling 'Grandma!'?" She texted back, "Ha ha. Yeah. He doesn't want to go to sleep and he thinks you'll come over and save him!" LOL. No fear. He was surrounded by family. He just likes to get vocal sometimes. It sure is fun having grandkids next door! :) Micah's got 3-4 weeks until baby #6 arrives. Oh boy! Fasten your seatbelts!

What am I reading, you may ask? A book that I highly recommend.

Bob and I have been watching Charles Krauthammer for many years. I've always respected and liked him, but I like him even more since beginning this book. (I'm only on page 87.) This book is a compilation of 2-3 page pieces he wrote for newspaper columns over many years. If there was anyone who had an excuse to have a negative outlook on life, Charles was one of them. But did he? Definitely not. He was paralyzed from the waist down in a diving accident while in college and was confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. (He passed away a few years ago.) It took him three years to learn to write again. He finished medical school while in the hospital and while undergoing therapy and earned his PhD in psychiatry. Although Bob and I knew him mostly as a political analyst this book has revealed that he was a multi-faceted, good-hearted, joyful and very down-to-earth person. I find myself weeping and laughing, but mostly with a small smile on my face, as I read these short essays. (I really appreciate the shortness, BTW. A quick bit of uplifting writing to read when you get a moment.) He was a lovely man. 

And speaking of lovely, we'll segue to the latest artistic endeavors. But before I show you my ATCs...here's a bit of art by Adam. This is what he painted on Sully and Thatcher's bedroom wall! Love it!
It was loosely based on the technique used in this painting he did in high school.


And on to ATCs. These are starter cards for the Continuous Random Round Robin. (Two more players will add things to them.) The background text on these cards is German in a gothic font and I thought it was really interesting that someone had written a translation of the text in pencil between the lines. (Sorry, but I find that sort of thing interesting, ha ha.)



These next cards were for a Postage Stamp ATC swap. The stamps had to fit the theme "Heads".


Oh, look what I found in a local Little Free Library box. I did have to go through and censor a few photos with washi tape, lol. But overall, it's a fun and interesting book with lots of really gorgeous illustrations. I don't think I would have paid for it, but when it's free...why not?


A few more ATCs. These were for a Pick-a-Theme (PAT) swap. The four people I made cards for asked for themes of: At the lake; bats; owls; and rabbit and moon symbolism. (I had to Google that last one. I guess it's sort of a pagan thing. Oh well.)


And so we come to the end of another blog post!
That's all I've got, folks. :)
Shalom and love to all!
I'll be coming by for a visit soon. 


8 comments:

  1. Oh Lisa, you pack so much into one post that it's hard to know where to begin when commenting.
    First of all I'm thinking fixing a muffler will cost a lot less than a transmission. So that's good, right?
    ___I have that Gnome book too but must admit I haven't looked at it for ages.
    ___I didn't realize Micah was expecting baby # 6 soon. That's exciting. Maybe it's time for another little girl.
    ___ How funny that Thatcher was yelling for you to come and save him from having to go to bed. I hope you have a place where you write down all the precious and hilarious things your grands do and say.
    ___How fortunate you were to see the Pelicans and the Heron. Never mind not having your camera handy. You got to enjoy them and make a mental photo. ( I find birds in flight, even slow flight, almost impossible to photograph anyway).
    Okay, I better quit rambling now. Take care of yourself :)

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  2. Gnomes are having a resurgence, so that book was a lucky find. I like your round-robin ATCs; do they come back to you once others have added something? Rabbit and moon sounds almost like something from the Far East, as we used to call it. I think they see a bunny in the moon while we think we see "the old man in the moon." I would prefer a bunny but I've never been able to see ANYTHING in the moon. That is so cute with your grandson yelling out his list of "likely rescuers" from bedtime!

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    1. Yes, the cards will come back to me and I pick one to keep. :)

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  3. Oh what a lovely newsy post! I did not know that author, he sounds lovely! I loved the story of your grandson yelling for "help" because he didn't want to go to bed! That wall painting is really impressive!! Love what you see on your walks! Fun art as always!🥰🥰🥰💕💕💕💕

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  4. Dear Lisa! Like Granny Marigold I consider what to answer first :)

    How good, that Audrey finally got her cast off!! I love the photo with the two lovely girls in the nature doing such a good work.

    The house of your daughter's family is lovely!! Very lovely1 And inside lovely people!! The crying boy is a nice funny story :) :) :)

    Grandma Lisa alwasy is good nearby!

    Thanks goodness, that you have some friend of your family to repair the car. So important!

    Adam makes fine compositions with colours.Good energy!

    Lisa always is creative and in the middle of the WILL OF THE LORD ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

    Best wishes for the growing new bayy! What a great news!!! BLESSINGS BLESSINGS BLESSINGS!!!!!

    The big birds are lovely: What a pity, that you did not carry your camera with you - I know such catastrophes :))


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  5. Pelicans are birds that are special to me since childhood. I like that Pain Free book, I will look it up, and also the Krauthamer book, I admire him. Cute how your grandson cried out to you, all the way from his house.

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Thanks for dropping by! I'd love to hear your thoughts! :)