Wind, rain, and decisions

 

Boy howdy is it windy outside today.  The bad storms that hit the south have moved on through here, thankfully missing us and only leaving minor debris in its wake.

Two kitties had to survey the situation for a solid two minutes, trying to decide whether to go out or stay in.  Guess which kitty went outside?  Yep, brave KC…who was back inside (tracking paw prints) an hour later. 

I will wait till the rain is completely gone before sweeping away the pine needles, leaves and dirt.   Who wants to sweep twice?  Not me.  I have paw prints to clean up…and a kitty door to shut for the day.

My techie guru came back yesterday and hooked up (another) new wireless router and got all our stuff back online.  Yay for that!  Hopefully this one will have a longer life than its predecessors.  Sheesh.  What a pain, but this one has a good range and so far, I like it.  I had him make sure it would reach all the way to the TV downstairs so the kids can watch their movies on the big screen.  I’m a good Grammie.

He  who hesitates is probably right.

SHE (Missy) made the right decision.

Work and fun!

Before:

Middle:

After:

So it is now Monday, and MM is off to make another (cruise) dollar today, after fixing a muffler on one of his machines yesterday.  It is always one maintenance thingy after another when one is dealing with heavy equipment, but he’s the man for the job.  And he still loves doing it.  And rain is on its way to us.

The kiddos (and adults) enjoyed yummy cake and a good visit yesterday.  That Triple Chocolate Cake has become a family tradition that can’t be beat:

And no, Macey is not 3, despite the candle count.  At 13, who needs accurate candles?  Cake and ice cream are all that matter!  And they were good.

I finally got to meet Haley’s student teacher, but that is a story for another day.  He has quite the personality…and a lovely accent.  I am adopting him.

A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~~Charlie Chaplin

Mighty hunter, Missy!

I spied Missy sitting on that cross piece under the dining room table yesterday morning, and figured she must be guarding something.  I turned on the light.  Ack…a snake to start my day!

It was just a harmless snake, but still…not a great way to begin the day…and before coffee!  The broom and dust pan got him captured and then I released him in the woods, admonishing him NOT to return.

The soccer game was good yesterday; the land sale was really good; and MM actually took some time off and went flying to see if he could remember how (yes!).

This is the project he is currently working on:

The left side is kind of a “before” shot.  MM is cleaning out the right side…and here are some more of his cleaning tools:

The pine beetle infestation has done quite a bit of damage to this property, but the trees have been long dead, which makes it easier for MM to put them on the ground.  Easy is good.

So this afternoon is cake and ice cream time with our birthday gal.  And maybe a book for me later on.  That sounds like a fine plan for a Sunday afternoon!  Yep, I’m on it.  The deck is calling my name.

Tree hugging, trailers, and other stuff

This is the infamous tree hugger that MM is using to clear out unwanted small hardwoods, dead pines, and crappy pines.  He wraps those big arms around the tree, “hugs” it, then the cutter comes out and clips them off at the bottom.

Next, he takes them over to the burn pile.  Easy peasy.

And this trailer?  Nice, single-axle trailer, right?

Well, yesterday it had two huge plastic water barrels sitting up front and a pressure washer behind that.  One water barrel was half full, the other full.  Water is heavy.  Very heavy, especially when we are talking way over 100 pounds!

Jason needed the above contents ON the trailer AND delivered out to the development, and he had no time to come back to get them.  Amy was elected for the job.  She had to first hook up the trailer to the truck, unload it, load up the good stuff, and then drive it out there.

I happened to look up from my desk yesterday morning to see Amy standing beside the truck at the top of the driveway with both hands thrown up in the air…praying or swearing, I wasn’t sure.  Guess which?

I walked up the driveway, offered to help (since I could tell she was trying to hook up the truck to the trailer), but she said she was DONE…and had called Jason to tell him to come get this *&#% trailer himself.  He said OK.  Smart man.  Amy was on her very last nerve.

Not to be defeated (and fresh on the scene), I figured there had to be a way the two of us could manage this task.  I told Amy we first needed to siphon the water out of the barrels to get rid of all that weight so we could lift the tongue.  And so we did.  We are mighty.  We are smart. And it worked!

The two of us finally got the trailer hooked up to the truck.  She texted Jason to stay, we had succeeded!  He could keeping working at the job site. 

As she drove away to go off load the pressure washer, I told her to remind Jason that he had himself a good woman.  And she added, “And a good mother-in-law!  Thanks, Mom!”

I raised that girl right.  Canoe and floaties got delivered to the job site.  Mama Sanford and Daughter--we make a great team.

These toys will get staged down by the lake to look cute for today’s land sale.  That’s where Amy and Jason both are, working at the sale; MM is next door on the future land project, trying to get it ready.  I have three kids…and a soccer practice today.

I have the easier job, and we all have perfect weather for our various Saturday activities.

Life is busy and good here in our mountain paradise, y’all! 

Cruise news!

I got an excited call last night from sister Nan.  She is going on her very first cruise this weekend!  I am so happy for her.  She has loved following all our cruises and will finally find out if she also loves cruising.  I’m betting that will be a YES.  She is going with another widow friend who has cruised lots, so I am confident she will be in great hands and will come home smiling.  And, they are going on Carnival, so I asked her to check out the piano bar and critique the BPE for me.  Girl, you have homework to do!

And in other cruise news, MM surprised me the other day by asking when the next bloggers cruise is going to happen.  Yes, Peaches, we are booked on the Breeze!  Woohoo!!!

Who is joining us???  And why do we have to wait till January to cruise again?

Have yourselves a ginger peachy fun Friday.  I have a sweet lunch date in about two hours.  Lucky me!

Lucky 13!

Macey is officially a teenager today!  How can that be?!!!  Happy birthday, sweet gal.  I so remember cutting the cord that set you free on your birth day 13 years ago (and your Mom crushing my hand during contractions!).  Spread those wings and continue flying.  You can accomplish anything you set your heart and mind on.  Yes, you can.

Grumps and I love you very much!

Enjoy your birthday season.  See you soon!

Who is ready for Triple Chocolate Cake?  Me, me, me!

Happy Hump Day!

It was hard to get these wiggle worms still for a group photo…on top of the boulder!

No problem getting these two to stand still, but no time left to first find a good background:

Brian and his gals took off before the photo session, so they are missing in this line up.

So last night was the final middle school concert, and our Macey gal rocked the percussion, from one end of the set-up to the other.  She loves it!

Mowing Man has a little trouble with his tree shear.  Bummer.  He will get it fixed, whatever it is.  He is multi-talented!

I have been spending time working on genealogy stuff, getting some historical photos and information on long-dead kin loaded onto my computer and properly placed in my family tree program.  In answer to the “why” question from one of the grandchildren last night, my reply was that family history is important, and it needs to be kept and handed down to future generations.

Today, I will be back at work on this project, but first…..yep, there is one of those.  Gotta get my dead router packed up and ready to take to the post office so I can get a replacement.  I have a loaner router, but it doesn’t always work.  Two routers have died.  Methinks I may have more than one problem going on.  Bugger to that, since I like being wireless, but I don’t want to keep killing routers!  Honest, it isn’t intentional!!!

We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

Have yourselves a ginger peachy Hump Day, and play nice!