A dog in a VW bus

I am missing the beach, especially since many friends have been posting their spring break photos. 

We drove about 20 miles from home to Creve Coeur Lake/Park. What a treat. Even though the sunshine disappeared behind the heavy cloud cover, it was warm enough for shirt sleeves or a light wrap. Oh the sights we saw. I am a people watcher. Are you? Can you tell what these guys are doing?

Upon entering the parking lot, we noticed a group of men of all ages gathered in a circle. As we drove closer, we heard the lovely bagpipe music they were playing. I had to pull over, watch, and listen. It was quite a moving experience. We drove on and parked lakeside at the trail which was crowded with hikers and dog walkers. Folks were busy rowing canoes and there were two competition rowing teams across the lake. 

Being close to water, with the wind lapping waves to shore made me feel happy. When it was time to leave, we saw a sight that made me chuckle.  

A young lady drove a baby blue Volkswagen and toted her fur baby in this blue VolksWAGON bus stroller along the trails.

It's the littlest things in my life that make me smile and feel happy.

 

Bedrooom bedlam

 Bill and I are retirees on different sleep schedules. He takes a two hour afternooon snooze in his mechanical recliner about 2:00 p.m. He blames it on the fuzzy blanket I bought him. 

I fall asleep on the couch late evening for couple of hours and wake up to watch the late shows. I head to bed about midnight and we both sleep until the cat goes crazy knocking things off the dresser to let us know he wants to be fed... between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m.

Last night was a doozy in the bedroom. Bill woke up at 1:00 as I was watching an old sitcom and asked why the TV was so loud. I could barely hear it. I said it wasn't. He asked why I was screaming. I was merely talking loud enough so he could hear me.

He then started yelling, "Where is it?"

"What?"

I fell asleep in my hearing aids. No wonder everything seems so loud. I found one and now I've lost one."

He grumbled into the bathroom, rummaged through the bedding, wandered into the livingroom to check his snooze chair. Came back and said, "It was in the neck of my T shirt."

I flipped off the TV, and if I could have muted him as he rehashed the incident...

Change is coming

Alex and Charlie have so much energy. We try to spend a part of our day outdoors. They enjoy going to the indoor pool on Fridays. Big brother Liam, on school break, joined us. They are all growing so fast. Five months, and then it's off to school they go. I will miss them so much. I think I am starting the grieving process now. I love planning their preK days twice a week. What on earth will I do with all this time on my hands?

Spring is just around the corner. March is going to be a bit cooler, but signs of spring are everywhere. The red bud tree in our front yard has tiny pinkish-purple blossoms knitted to all the branches. This tree is going to look magnificient in a couple of weeks. Grass is greening, and splotches of yellow daffodils dot the hillsides along highways in our town. Tulip trees in all their glory are coloring neighborhoods. Everywhere I look I find signs of spring.

My sweetest surprise today was a purple hyacinth about to fully bloom. I discovered it poking out of a pile of last fall's leaves which insulates the sedum through the winter. What a delightful fragrance!

I am most happy with the time change. I stay up until 11 pm when we spring forward one hour. In winter, I go down with the sun. I am in my glory these days.

 I bought a stack of books and intend to sit outdoors and read just as soon as the temperature rises.

So many people are suffering from horrific weather conditions. I cannot imagine five feet of snow. Talk about cabin fever! I suppose it won't be long and then we will be complaining about the heat. For today, though, I am anxiously awaiting warmer, sunnier days. And I am thankful for nature's surprises.

 
 

What do you put in YOUR boots?

My great-grandson Charlie (age 4) woke at the crack of dawn this morning.  

Mom: "Hey Charlie. Wanna watch a movie?"

Charlie: "Yes! Let’s watch Cat N Boots!"

Mom: "You mean Puss in Boots, Bud."

Charlie: "MOM. That is inappropriate! It is CAT n Boots."

Mom: …. … "what is inappropriate about that?"

Charlie: *rolls eyes* "A PUSS is what you put your keys and candy and phone and stuffs in when we go to the car. Why would anyone put that stuff in their boots?"

Me: "Dude, you are thinking of a PURSE."

Charlie: *rolls eyes harder* "That’s what I just said, puss!"

Ashley cloned herself when she had Charlie. These are the kinds of observations and comments she made all the time when she was his age. He looks and acts just like her at age four. I babysat her daily, and she was in my prek classes for three years, so I have firsthand knowledge. People used to ask if she was a child actor. Nope. Just always acting up.

She saw a teen kid skateboarding and said, "That is the guy who cooks my Ravioli!" She meant Chef Boy-ar-dee (a recognizable brand name in the U.S.)

We were leaving a big box store when she tugged my hand and begged me to stop and look at the posted images of missing and exploited children. "Nana, I know their mommy! The Old Lady who lived in a shoe had so many children she didn't know what to do. I need to tell her we found them."

Her comment paid off in a chunk of change in the 1990s. We were watching TV when the announcer broke into regular programming to update viewers on presidential election results. He said, "More on cadidates at 10:00 p.m."

Ashley looked at me agahast and said, "I did not know they could call the president a moron on national T.V."

I submitted that quip to a well known periodical. Weeks later, I opened my mail to discover a complimentary copy with a $100.00 check enclosed. On page 83, a cartoon image of one of our former presidents (GWB) wearing a dunce cap. Ashley's comment printed underneath.

Parent's magazine has also published my kids' and grandkids' quips. There's a market for the darndest things kids say.

If yours, like my kids, grandkids and great-grandkids, also have the gift of gab, submit their quips. They just might pay off, too.