Confessions of a Grandma

It has been hot and humid here for the past couple days.  Perfect weather for stripping. Stripping wall paper, I meant. Because a steamy day just makes me want to get out a steamer and really sweat it out. I don't always plan well. I had a real estate agent look at the house.  He said 90's wallpaper is so unappealing to buyers.  On the other hand, he really liked the coziness of the 70's den downstairs.

I have enjoyed the visit with my two grandchildren this week.  I think one of them is ready to go home now. I will drop them off at their house on my way to visit a friend in New Hampshire for the weekend. My neighbor dropped off some fresh vegetables from his garden--even better than a visit to the Farmers' Market.  What a feast of fresh vegetables we enjoyed tonight--with some Vermont cheddar for a bit of protein. Summer goes by so fast!

My grandchildren are visiting.  Today we made a trip to Ausable Chasm in upstate New York.  In order to do that we had to cross Lake Champlain.  Dane had not heard about the Lake Champlain monster before.  He kept a sharp eye out for Champ.  We took the ferry from Burlington, VT to Port Kent, NY  It didn't look too bad when we started out.  But as you can see, it was kind of hazy.  Above and below are scenes of the Burlington waterfront.  Dane spotted this stowaway on the ferry.  When we finally got across the lake--an hour long ride--the clouds were so black and threatening.  I had my sunglasses on and I had to stop to change to my regular glasses because it was too dark to see. As we pulled into the parking lot for Ausable Chasm the sky opened up and it poured.  We sat in the car.  When the rain let up a little we made a dash for the welcome center.  It was time for lunch anyway. The ...

We had a hot and very humid day on Tuesday that continued into a rather uncomfortable night.  I have a small air conditioner that sits in the window but it seems like too much of a hassle to install it and use it for the two nights, on average, that it would be useful during a Vermont summer. We were supposed to have a thunderstorm that would bring in a cold front.  No storm, but the humidity was gone on Wednesday.  Last night the temperature here dropped to 47 degrees Fahrenheit (8 Celsius).  I would call that a cold front. I think I should have slept much better last night than the night before.  I don't know really because I was asleep both nights.  However, yesterday morning and this morning both I got out of bed and it looked like this: a circle of pillows. I don't know why, but this makes me giggle.  I know I have had a restless night when all the pillows are thrown on the floor.  Only one was missing from the bed this morning, ...

I have not read Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.  For that matter, it has been quite a while since I read To Kill a Mockingbird. I did find this article  about the dilemma for educators interesting in the "seriously?" vein. But other ardent fans of “Mockingbird” said they are heartbroken that they might no longer be able to present Atticus to their students as a pure icon of justice. That includes Allison Jackson, an English teacher in Baltimore County in Maryland who named her Welsh corgi after him. She hopes her ninth-graders would read “Mockingbird” before hearing much about the new book. “I want my students to experience Atticus Finch, civil rights hero, the same way that people have for the past 55 years,” she said. and Sara Confino, who teaches ninth-grade English in Maryland’s Montgomery County, said she is struggling with how to address the troubling aspects of the new book in a school where most students are black or Hispanic.  “How do I tell my...

My plan to support local farmers this summer is going quite well.  I have the garden satisfaction I need from flowers and herbs and far less of the aggravation of fighting insects and veggie loving critters. This was my haul from Thursday afternoon.  How gorgeous is that eggplant? And the homemade mustard is delicious. The field wildflowers are out and I picked these on a walk the other day. I attended a birthday party this weekend--a member of our card making group, birthday #95.  Lately I just party, party, party! This party was at the birthday girl's lakeside camp.  It was a hot day but there was such a pleasant breeze off the lake.  The great grandkids took advantage of the cool water. Big crowd, including her 99 year old friend from Florida and 90 year old brother in law.  (Helped me recover from being the oldest one at the last party! Impossible amounts of delicious food.  Musical entertainment by a local barbershop qu...

I mentioned that I was reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: the Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. My life is not magically changed, but I have not yet piled every article of clothing I own on top of my bed and then handled each piece to feel a spark of joy (keep) or not (get rid of).  I haven't done that with my books or my papers or the miscellaneous stuff around my house.  I might someday.  Then I will let you know about any magical changes that take place. But-- Here's a confession: My underwear drawer looks like hers and has since a time before Marie Kondo was even born.  And that is why I get a little testy.  She makes millions teaching people to tidy their underwear drawers but I already knew that and just wasn't smart enough to cash in on it. The summer after my freshman year at college, I worked at a small restaurant in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  Two guys owned it and lived upstairs.  ...

I went to Connecticut for the Fourth.  I took my grandson.  We went out with my sister-in-law Jeannie and our niece Emily for dinner at Ruby Tuesday.  Dane was most patient.  He wrote a thank-you note to our waitress.  I thought it was sweet. We walked in the morning and hung around the house for the rainy afternoon.  Dane had a good time with Lego collection Jeannie remembered she had stored in her attic. At five o'clock, the sun broke through--just in time for my nephew's party.  It was a fun time.  Great food, lawn games, music, a miniature horse, and at dark--spectacular fireworks right there in the yard.   I didn't get good pictures--too busy watching the show.    It was a good time.

It has been very rainy for the past month.  I have to take advantage of dry moments for the garden or my walks.  In the mean time, I get in some sewing. Last week, when I went to the card making party, I met my friend at a commuter parking lot and drove her the rest of the way. She was very uncomfortable with the seat belt pressed into her shoulder.  I have noticed that the seat belts are irritating but I hadn't done anything about it. Well, I felt bad that my friend was uncomfortable so I made some padded wraps for where the belts hit the shoulder.  Much better for driving in summertime clothes. I also saw a simple shirt on Pinterest and whipped up one for myself. Ready for a yoga class.