I'm Dragging

This week has been Adult VBS from 9-12 everyday. We ran long on Monday and I had errands to run (grocery store) today. Monday night I went to Plano with Diane and Mark to hear the Plano Community Band play their Big Band night performance, inwhich Mark plays the Sousa Phone . It was delightful, but the three hours of sitting each day plus the other has left me pretty tired tonight.

We got a lovely rain in the late afternoon (about an inch it looks like) I hope tomorrow will bring some more. I sure do need to get outside and work (house needs it too). So much to do always and I seem to get less and less done. I think I need to try for more efficient scheduling.

Molly and I send love to you both and to Faye and the kitties.

Monday Morning Musings

I haven't seen the British covers for the Potter books. A friend told me the British versions are longer due to cuts for the American market. I wonder if that's true? I need to pick up copies of the first couple of Harry Potters so I have the full collection. Wonder if I should try to get the British versions? I still haven't seen the new movie and very much want to do so.

Yesterday was the company's annual Worlds of Fun Day. (Worlds of Fun is like a mini version of Six Flags.) So we spent the day out there riding the coasters and hanging out at the pool. It was fun and a good choice as yesterday was muggy muggy muggy. A fish could have lived outside it was so humid. Watched a cute little movie last night called Shopgirl with Steve Martin and Claire Danes. I enjoyed it and recommend it if it comes around on one of your channels.

I'm still wanting to get up to the nursery and pick up a few more perennials and a japanese maple to get in the ground but it's so muggy it's hard to work up the energy. Perhaps this afternoon as it's supposed to cool off a bit.

Harry Potter Revisited

Well, first of all I like the British book covers better than ours. Secondly I am happy that Harry is the Head of the Ministry of Magic as that job, or Headmaster of Hogwarts ,are the only two jobs that I could picture him doing. Good to know that Ron is working with him. I am also happy with Herminoe being an Attorney. That seem to fit her nature. I like that Luna and Longbottom became an item as I could see those two together. Hagrid's fate is still a mystery. I guess McDougal retired (maybe she is godmother to one of Harry's children...that would be nice)

Still do not know where they are living. In the house that Sirius left??? Is Ginny just a stay-at-home witch? Who knows. What happened with George and Percy? When did she say that encyclopedia is coming out?????

Aunt Lois biopsy showed that there was just a couple of cysts that needed draining, which they did-- NO CANCER. Yea!!!! We went to see the movie No Reservations. I highly recommend it. I would give it a definite "A" although the reviewers rated it "B-" (what were they thinking???) I hope you will give it a try as I think you will really like it. Had lunch at the Salt Box and dropped in on Border's Book Store. Sure wish you had been with us as it was a very lovely day. The weather felt like mid-September. I am loving this cooler weather!!!
Tomorrow is the Christmas in July event at my favorite quilt store. It should be another fun day, but I am sure getting behind in the house and yard work once again.

Rowling gives more!

I guess JK Rowling has been doing some special interviews on the Today show and she spilled some more epilogue info. See what you think as I hold my breath. Hurry so we can talk about it!

Today Show interview recap

More later! I'm dashing to my other building to install some fiber cable.

Friday Talk

It was so much fun to have such a nice long talk with my favorite daughter about gardens, books and life in general. Thank you for your most welcome call.

We wound up getting a very nice rain with a 20% chance of more to come today. The high today is supposed to be in the mid 80's! Mind boggling for the end of July.

I am going to a Christmas in July at my favorite quilt shop tomorrow with my friend Diane. It is always exciting and inspirational. What are some of the projects that you have awaiting your time. You mentioned that you had a couple of years worth. (Don't we all???)

The little possums have returned. As I was getting a drink of water from the dispenser I looked out the window toward the backyard and saw movement. I thought it was a kitten at first and so I kept watching as I knew it would need rescue from Molly if it had wandered into "her" yard. I quickly saw it was a baby possum that looked to be about the size of a 10 week old kitten. It waddled (the way they walk to me) merrily back home under my garden room. I guess we will soon be involved in Molly vs possum around here. I do wish that they would find another home and wonder what the great attraction to my place is????

Freaky Thursday

I think we need to swap lives for a week! Tea rooms and crafting places sound a lot more fun than what I'm doing. I haven't been in a craft shop in two months. Not that I need to go into a craft shop as I probably have materials for 2 years of projects in my project room now.

Stayed up _way_ too late last night but finished Harry Potter. I liked it -- I think. Some of the things with Dumbledore bothered me. I'm not sure I can put my finger on it just yet without some pondering. It makes me want to start at the beginning and read the series again as a whole. I do think JK Rowling is a good author. I used to think she was an okay author who stumbled onto a great franchise idea but I've decided I really enjoy her writing style. Certainly a more brutal book than in the past and her killing of Tonks and Remus rather annoyed me. It seemed unnecessary. What'd you think?

You sent me "Oh my Stars" by Lorna Landvik and I very much enjoyed it. I'll be interested in what you think of other novels by her.

Home Again, Home Again Jiggedy Jog

I have been out chasing all day doing various errands. I went to Home Depot and picked up the shrubs, stones and plants to finish up the bed by the house (It is about time!) Had a lot of other tasks to do along the way, but now they are all done and I can enj0y a play day tomorrow with Diane. We are going to a new tea room and over to the scrapbook store Recollections which has a lot of neat goodies that do not relate to scrapbooking, but crafting in general. It is always fun to browse there.

Yes, I went to see Hairspray. I really enjoyed it. It is not the best musical I have seen by any stretch, but is upbeat and entertaining and I felt my money was well spent and my time was not wasted.

I am being very careful not to discuss HP with anyone that has not finished the book which is why I am looking forward to you getting done with it. I hope to get some handquilting done tonight while I watch NCIS as I am ready to get onto another quilt.

I want to start the Angry Housewives Eating Bon-bons tonight too as that is what my reading club is reading (I am in a new one). Lorna Landvik is the author. Have you read any of her books?

The Wonderful World of Right-Click

To sort your favorites, open the favorites menu, right-click either a folder or item and select "Sort by Name". Tada!

Argh! You finished Harry Potter! I'm about 300 pages in and enjoying it so far. Trying hard to avoid any spoilers of the ending. Reading this one makes me want to go back and do the whole series again as a whole.

Have you gone to see Hairspray yet?

Easily Amused, I guess

Well, I enjoy hearing about your day no matter how mundane you think it might be. I really do not know anyone that leads a Cinderella-going-to-the-ball existence. I absolutely loved the Albert Einstein picture and so agree with it.

I think your job description should include "very smart and perfectly wonderful in all ways". Leaving that out will preclude anyone from taking "your job" and doing it justice. I am guessing your new job hinges on hiring your replacement. By the way I have already forgotten how to put Favorites listings in ABC order. I remember it is VERY easy. Please tell me again and I will try to put it in long term memory this time.

Last load of laundry is in the dryer and I am only mopping floors and cleaning bathrooms away from getting back to Harry Potter!!!!!!

E=Compost Squared

I'm surprised you're surprised!

I'm not sure why you'd be surprised to find a post from me. I love the conversation we have going here. I just don't always have anything particularly newsworthy to post. Since I'm still doing the daily dig in the salt mines that tends to be the vast part of my day or week. I don't think it'd be all that interesting to hear about my writing a memo about new procedures for requesting network access or how I spent 2 hours building a purchasing request. So if I skip a few days posting, doesn't mean I don't want to hear about your days which tend to be a lot more noteworthy than mine.

I do have the interesting task of writing up a job description for the person they're going to hire to replace me as IT manager. I think that's a first. I'm not going anywhere---I just had to choose between being a technical project manager or the IT manager responsible for the people and I vastly prefer the former. The latter is way too much "Mommy he's touching me!" for my enjoyment. Actually I didn't have to choose. I rather told my boss that I could do one or the other but I was tired of doing both poorly. Especially as they weren't paying me to do both, poorly or not.

Quel Surprise!

I was surprised, but delighted, to see a post from you today. Yes I got my Harry Potter. I am about 600 pages into the book. I have tons of chores to do today, so I do not think that I will have much time to be reading, but maybe later in the evening.

It is definitely summer here, but much cooler than normal. We have pretty much stayed in the low 90's but with a nice breeze, so it feels cooler. I will definitely take it. They have lifted the water restrictions, which is nice. I have tons to do in the yard, but the house and laundry gets the attention today.

I have been making a lot of table runners. I do not really know why exept that I have bought several patterns for runners over the last few years and once I got started on them I just kept going.

The last day lily to bloom has been sporting several blooms a day for weeks. It is large and lemon yellow and I really like it, but not the spot it is in. The kudzu battle is raging and I think that I am losing ground. I wish I had some way to eradicate it from my garden for good. It is a daunting foe to battle. I need to pick up some fertilizer (Osmacote) and potting soile and at least four shrubs today or tomorrow as I want to spend tomorrow in the yard working. The yard guys trimmed the hedges last week and will be here tomorrow to get the front and sides looking great, and I want the back yard to match.

Summer Doldrums

There's not a lot going on around here. Full summer has set in. I worked late every day last week playing a bit of catchup. Kevin and I did a bit of yard clean-up and I helped work a ballgame for my office this evening. That was actually fairly fun as it cooled off a bit today and the wind kept it comfortable.

I came home from that to find out I got my Harry Potter in the mail!! Did you get yours? Are you going to start reading it right away?

Tomorrow I'm going to start early and see if I can get a bit of miracle grow on the beds and continue my summer of mulch project.

Plant Swap a Bonus

It looks like the boys had great fun. Each year it will be even more delightful as they will be able to go and do more. I loved the pictures and think the boys resemble Kevin a lot, especially Alex.

I would love to come and get to know the boys. Let me know in advance of their visit and I will try very hard to make it happen. I would not mind cozing in and I sleep on sofas really well (as long as I would not have to share with Faye)

Returning to work is always a shock when you have been away. I bet everyone is soooo happy that you are back.

What good fortune to find a gardening neighbor to swap plants with. The Monarda sound pretty. I worked outside for about an hour yesterday. It was sweltering. I knew that the next few days were filled, so tried to stick it out, but just couldn't. I did get some pruning, tying up of roses and a little weeding done. It looks like we have not had rain in months in just a couple of days and I am going to need to water today. Amazing!!!!!

Wiped Out!

I don't think I can afford to go on vacation again. I should have paid heed to the small black cloud hovering over my office. Sheesh!

Getting an entire week off with nothing to worry about but making sure a couple of small guys had a good time was a lot of fun and very relaxing. I think the mental stimulation of keeping up with two small ones is rather youngefying.

The weather, after giving us a glorious week, has returned to the normals of July and it's _hot_ today. 94 now and aiming at high 90s by Wednesday. I can hear my poor plants gasping already. One rather neat thing that happened was running into a neighbor as we were cutting through her backyard, with permission, to get to the lake to go fishing. She has a backyard filled with daylilies and I stopped to comment. We made a promise to share with each other as it heads towards fall. She doesn't really have any daylilies in colors I don't have but she does have huge glorious clumps of scarlet monarda and I'd love a division off those.

I was serious about what I said. Next time we can get the boys here for a bit, I'd love it if you'd come at the same time for at least a few days. We can all crowd into the house or we'll guest you at one of the local executive suite places so you can have a place to retreat to if things get a bit too noisy. I don't mind crowding as the business and noise is a pleasure to me. Hope you'll keep that in mind. I'll let you know when we arrange the next trip out. I hope we passed enough parental muster that we can make this happen a couple of times a year or at the very least annually.

Here's another smattering of some of my favorite pics.

Boys Trip 2007 Photo Set

Very Busy ,or Wiped Out?

I am guessing that the boys have kept you veeeerrrrrrryyyyy busy or they have driven you both into total exhaustion and you are lying limply on the sofa clutching a white flag and mumbling incoherently. My bet is that it is the first guess, that they have kept you both hopping showing them a great time. What have you been doing and seeing?

We have finally found lovely sunshine and the temperatures will no doubt begin to reflect it. So far we have stayed surprisingly cool for Texas in July. 70's.80's and very low 90's with a lovely breeze. I could go for this until the start of fall myself!!

This upcoming week is a busy one. Michelle and Mary are coming to spend all day Wednesday and Cindy to spend an all day sew- day Tuesday. Friday I have a movie (Hairspray) with Kay and Lois and a SS game night party. It is rough being retired, but someone has to do it!

Formlua,You Don't need no stinkin' formula!!

Not a half and half mixture. I usually just gave two or three really good squirts in a gallon of water and it always worked great. If the bubbles seem anemic, add more Joy or Dawn.

You do not need to know why they do. The guys are way to young to grasp the physics concepts, it just gets them observing and thinking. What ever answer they give is great and if they come back with I don't know, Why? Suggest that they think about it awhile and then tell you why they think it is so. They are going to be a zillion times more interested in making and chasing the bubbles than in science.

I really liked Harry Potter but I would not take a child under 10 or 11 to see it. Lots of scary scenes and some troubling relationships for younger kids.

Michaels and maybe Wal-mart sells big buckets of multicolored sidewalk chalk cheap. Drawing all over the driveway or sidewalk is great fun and it washes off with a hose.

The water park sounds like a lot of fun. I know that you are enjoying the boys so much. I hope you do not think I am trying to micromanage your agenda, but I remember that sometimes it is nice to have fun things that engage kiddos that allow you do mostly just sit, supervise, and admire and catch your breath. Love to you all.

Whoah!

The bubbles are a great idea!! I hadn't thought about using kitchen objects or strings. We will try that this evening if I can tear all three away from fishing. What is the blend of water to Joy for the solution? One to one? (Uhmm, and how come the shape is always round? I have to be able to answer that too.)

We saw Ratatouille and loved it. This afternoon we're going to take the boys to the pool. The city opened up a new pool that's more like a water park. Slides and the dumping buckets etc. How was Harry Potter?

I was so tickled to get the pictures of Alex and Ben. They look like they are having a very good time so far. Ben sure resembles Kevin in this picture. I bet Kevin's grill job was SPECTACULAR!!!! Did the boys help?

We got rain yesterday and it is in the forecast again for today. I guess the entire Midwest is enjoying rain in July. A movie sounds like the perfect plan for a rainy day. I know you will all enjoy Ratatouille . Is Faye thrilled to have the boys to play with? I bet that she is. I know that Molly would be delighted with playmates that do not get tired of playing!

A suggested activity from great-nana: Mix up a large batch of soap solution with Dawn or Joy dish wash detergent (they have a high glycerin level) and go through your kitchen for objects to make bubbles. Anything with enclosed shapes works. Circles of string(put your hand inside the string and hold it open) and shapes made from wire coat hangers are also good. The boys can make all sorts of bubbles from many small (potato mashers/tennis rackets) to large (string/coat hangers). Faye and the cats can chase the bubbles and the entire thing including the boys clean up nicely with another sprinkle. It is a great fun thing to do and ALL kids love it. Point to ponder: Why are the bubbles always round no matter what shape made them????? (OK, OK I can't help myself---once a teacher, always a teacher)

Whatever you choose to do with the guys, I hope you always get the big smiles in the picture as a result.

Hello out there!

We didn't make it to see Ratatouille today. We started out headed that way but by the time we hit the Walmart, Dick's Sporting Goods and the bookstore, we were out of time. So instead we tested the new sprinklers and Kev grilled hot dogs.

We'll probably shoot for the movie tomorrow since it's supposed to rain and I have a doctor's appointment.

See our A number 1 sprinkler testers...

That's Alexander Gene (5) on the left and Benjamin Michael (3) on the right.

From the Mire

I have really enjoyed the new CD. Since it rained off and on, mostly on, all day I stayed in the sewing room making table runners. I have six cut out and partially sewn and one that is finished except for the binding which I have made and another one that is totally pieced, but not yet quilted. Needless to say, that allowed me to play the CD multiple times today. I am ready for an easy chair, and a glass of cold water, as I am feeling parched.

I am so glad that I am getting out some tomorrow, as I am about stir crazy.

The mosquitoes are terrible!!!!!! More rain in the forecast for tomorrow........

Do you ever wonder....

if the world is crazy or if you are the crazy one?

I emailed Amazon and told them that the order hadn't arrived. Could they please verify it shipped and perhaps tell me where it was? They responded with a refund of the shipping cost. Not the whole amount---just the shipping.

...
...

Uhhh, thanks! But that doesn't really help me out with the problem or answer the question I asked. Second email sits in their box.

X Marks the Spot

Whew! Busy day today. Some construction workers cut a line coming into our building and much chaos ensued.

I checked on the CD. Amazon says it shipped on 6/25 via USPS but it doesn't show due until today, 7/3. They won't look into it until after the due date so if you don't see it today, let me know and I'll ask Amazon to backtrack it. Like you, I'm surprised you haven't seen it already. I ordered some speakers for my mac on the same day and got those last Friday.

Flickr was pretty easy. I used it for the first time last night. Just go to www.flickr.com and create an account. Once you create an account you get your own "picture page" which is what I linked. It's free for up to 100mb a month (should be more than enough for both of us) and then you can upload one of two ways. The first way is just like blogger does it...there's a button that lets you browse your computer and select the file. Once you do that, you can rename the file, add a description and it will pop up a box asking if you want to resize it to save space. The other way is some software they have than you can download and just drag the photo to their software. Call me if you have trouble and we can go through it.

They certainly offer a ton of different options about what you can do. You can do a collection, slideshows, photo albums with a theme etc. I haven't played with any of that yet but plan to since it looks pretty neat.

Gone Missing

By the way, I have not received the Bird on a Wire CD you sent me from Amazon. Should I have it by now?

Eureka, you found it!

I like this Flicker much better. How can I use it to send pictures too?

Your yard is really coming along. I love the shape of the arch and when all the planting is done it will be awesome. The chair is cute as can be and just shows that Kevin should indulge you with purely decorative items more often, as he obviously has the knack of picking really good ones. It is hard to believe that the roadside bed is just an overflow bed. It looks great!!!! The yellow of your daylilies is close to the color of my new one. I am going to try to get some pictures today even though we are under a 90% rain chance and it is looking stormy. The mosquitoes have gone ballistic and as soon as you step out the door, they converge on you. I think that I am coming out of my creative slump as I awoke this morning with visions of new projects going through my mind, always a good sign. I hope you will have a great Fourth. I forgot to ask if you and Kevin were off, and I hope that you are. Enjoy the holiday.

Show and Tell!

I've found the way they handle multiple photos on the blog to be annoying. I thought I'd try a new way using Flickr. Flickr is a free photo storage/sharing place. I don't know if it will be better or not and they have a lot of things you can do with blogger blogs I haven't explored but just linking to the photo page now. One nice thing is if you click the photo, you get a nice big size image you can download or print or resize. That's a neat feature.

So head on over to Dragoncroft's Flickr page and tell me what you think!

Movie Talk

I am going to see Ratatoulli with Kay and Lois this Friday, but want to see Evening too. Harry Potter will start here at 12:01 on Tuesday the 10th, but we will wait until Wednesday the 11th to see it. I can hardly wait. Wish you were here to share those movies with.

I cut down the Bradford pear in the backyard. Now I need to find something to replace it if it dries out some. We have had heavy rains every day and it is clouding up again, so I am not going to get in any hurry. I have come to accept the weeds that are growing by leaps and bounds.

No news here. So many of my friends are out of town on vacation that I should get some work done, but like you I am not feeling real motivated. I just hate it when I get into a motivational slump. I need to begin a new project to rev myself up.

Garden Gate has a big article on day lilies. Did you see it? My latest one to open up is a huge lemon yellow one. I like the reds and pinks better, but this is pretty too.
Well, I skipped breakfast as I was rushing to get to church on time and I am hungry, so will go for now and see what culinary delights are in the kitchen. I bought a Capresso electric kettle that I just love. It makes boiling hot water fast as a flash and looks wonderful. I will make you a pot of tea the next time you are here and you can see it do its thing.