Category: grandchildren

Feeling Better About Life

  • Spring

It’s SPRING!!! Halleluiah. I always feel happier when nature starts greening things up, and flowers start popping out. I’ve been doing some planting. After the coffin flower bed had the bottom collapse, last year, it has been redone. I’ve planted herbs and a few other things in it. I’m liking the looks of it. I’ve also planted flowers in several pots. Dick cleaned out a big, overgrown, dying vine from the patio. We’re trying out ideas for that corner. I always get excited in the Spring, and plant things. Then it gets incredibly hot, in the summer, and I fizzle out. I think we may have lost a couple of things during the Snowmageddon. We’ve already dug up my rosemary bush. Not sure if the Banana Plant survived. We’re playing a waiting game.

My new herb garden, in my coffin planter.

Yes, I still need to weed some, but I like this pot of flowers. Can’t wait until they fill out.

Great news is that we’ve had both of our covid vaccines. That’s a relief and makes me feel safer. We actually went over to our friends’ house, the other night, for dessert and visiting. I hadn’t seen them in so long! That was after we joined them at a restaurant, sitting on the patio. Yes, we’re still using our masks, doing social distancing, and being very selective about where we’re going. Ummm…yes…we did go to Winstar. I won a lot of money but gave it back to the local schools and economy.

We have our vaccines! But we’re still being safe and responsible.

It’s about time to get our Poker groups back up and going. We are all seniors, and have all had our two vaccines. In April, we’ll start back. Maybe Bunco will be next.

Our son, Chris, recently had surgery for Colon Cancer. He’s only 41. Luckily, they got it all, and it hadn’t spread to the Lymph Nodes. He’s still dealing with a stent in his kidneys and some kidney stones, but he seems to be getting better. We thank all of our family and friends for their prayers.

I had the privilege of taking care of my two grandkids, during the surgery time. I stayed with them for two weeks, had a weekend off, and then picked them up and brought them to our house for Spring Break. They had a chance to play with their other cousin, while at our house. We had Nana School, went to a park, and they are masters of Minecraft. It’s actually hard to get them off of electronics. Electronics were my leverage for getting them to brush teeth and go to bed. I felt fortunate to beat my 8 yr. old grandson at Chess. And he’s a beginner.

Big news! We are about to come to the finish line with our bedroom. Yeah! We still need to buy a new bed. We’ve gone from a gold wall to a grey wall. So much calmer and serene. But….you’ll have to wait. Hope to have the big reveal in my next post.

Leave me a comment and let me know how you are enjoying your Spring time. Are you planting things? Have you had both of your vaccines? Are you going out more?

Happy Easter,

Grandma Sherry

What Could They Possibly Get Into???

This past week, we’ve had our 5 yr. old granddaughter, Libby, staying with us. She lives in Buda, TX, just south of Austin. She really wanted to come and visit, and play with her 4 yr. old cousin, Isaac. We keep Isaac two days a week. When these two kids get together, they play and play and play. Dick and I love having them here. They are old enough now, that we don’t have to watch them all the time. Isaac had a sleepover, one night last week. They know this house well, and have some basic rules that they need to follow. I’m mainly happy when they are not watching TV all the time, or on their I-Pads.

Libby and her tea set.

Libby brought her tea set along. She and Isaac frequently played with it. I was pretty tired of tea! LOL I also have a container of play dishes and food. If one were to look under the dining room table, one could usually find dishes and food. Actually, you could find this stuff all over the house!!! The last day she was here, they were back in the Master Bathroom, washing dishes. I was informed of this, when Isaac came in to get dry socks. Yep, some water had overflowed on the floor, he had stepped in it, and there were wet footprints all the way from one bedroom, down the hall, across the family room, and into the play room. I gave him a big towel and he cleaned up all of the footprints, after he changed socks. They spent a long time, enjoying washing and drying the dishes. Hope they enjoy that activity as much when they are older!! Later, I found two empty soap containers and three wet towels. But the dishes looked good.

The dishwashers.

We made brownies together. Another day, they played with playdoh, while I fixed a roast for supper, and made three pans of lasagne for the freezer.

Notice the brown dinosaur bone!

And then, one day, I let them play in the play room. It got rather quiet. I went in to see what they were doing. They were cutting blue strips of paper, and putting them on the bedroom door, like a cross…..using the glue stick!!! Oh no. I got those off. I just noticed that there are three note cards stuck to the door.

Yes..that’s put on with a glue stick. AAAGGHHH!

I have a big box…a present for Dick…that I didn’t want to wrap. So the kids painted some designs that I made for them. Libby taped hers on today, before she headed home. They LOVE to paint!

Boppa’s gift.

Paintings to put on Boppa’s box.
A gift for Boppa.

What else could they get into? Oh yes…a couple of things. They hid things. I still haven’t found a remote for our bedroom light. (No, no…it isn’t one of those sexy lights! It’s just the lamp on the bedside table. And no, it’s not the old lamp we used to have, that made a huge shadow on the ceiling, that looked like a large male appendage. ) There seems to be things under every bed and table. Isaac kept unplugging some things. I vetoed that.

Feathers in the fan…this is just a few of them.

I have a couple of boas, hanging on my walls. I know, it’s strange. Goes with my Hat Collection. Anyway, they shed quite easily, if you get against them. When I went to pull down the covers, one night, there were tons of red feathers under the three pillows. GRR. Then I started to turn on the fan. It was full of red and black feathers. The photo is just a small part of what there was. GRRR.

Next week, these two, plus the 8 yr. old brother of Libby, will be here for a day or so. Wondering what they will get into next!!!! I love them all so much.

Happy Holidays. Snuggle up with your partner or your dog. Have a good week. Let’s have a fabulous 2021.

Bill, our dog, in the Reindeer room.

Let me know what you are up to. Do you have fun adventures with your kids or grandkids??

Grandma Sherry

OCTOBER…FALL, MUMS and AFGHANS!

October!! Yeah! It’s a great time to pull out the afghans and snuggle up on the couch. My hubby is wavering between watching football games and Halloween movies. I don’t need any of those scary movies. But both of us always watch Wheel of Fortune. I am SO good at solving those puzzles!

bread dough rising.

Two yummy loaves!

This week, I made some homemade bread . I hadn’t made any of that in forever. It turned out pretty well. Seems a lot thicker and heavier than store bought bread. (OK..I admit…every so often, we have a craving for good ole Wonder Bread, from our childhood.) But part of the great thing about making bread is the whole science related thing. Watching the yeast interact and create a dough, watching it rise..again and again..and finally baking it in the oven. You know it’s going to take all day. When I make bread, it’s like I’m channeling my ancestors.

The oil diffuser, with Lemongrass scent.

At Nana School, with my grandson, Isaac, we are thinking about Fall. This week, we talked about our five senses. Isaac was particularly interested in smelling things. I pulled out all of my sensory oils, and he had fun smelling them. I let him choose the oil for our diffuser. He chose Lemongrass. The next time he came back, he said, “let’s smell things!”

Painting the witch
The finished product. Look at that smile!

Isaac also painted a witch. I bought a small wooden square from Joann Fabrics. My hubby drilled a little hole in the back, so it could be hung up. I kind of outlined the face and mouth, and he painted with our tempera paints. I told him to not spread the paint too much, because it showed the wood underneath. We had googly eyes to put on, and I cut out tiny black teeth from felt. Isaac was so excited when it was done!

Today, I bought some plants…unfortunately, my two mums kicked the bucket before I got them planted. Tomorrow, I will work on the garden.

Yesterday, my hubby said he would take my car and get it inspected, so that we could get the registration renewed. He went to 5 different car places, and would either have to wait two hours, or they couldn’t get their machines to work. He finally gave up. Today, I drove to the Kwik Kar , in Crowley, and they inspected it for me. YES!! After that, I went to CVS and had my flu shot. One more check off of my list.

No matter our political views, we are praying for our President and the many other people who have tested positive for Covid. We’re still wearing our masks and limiting our outings.

Hope you are remaining safe and snuggled up at home. We all need some outings, here and there. A good walk in the woods, a bike ride, or even driving through the drive-through at McDonald’s…these are things to get out of the house. Wear your masks. Wash your hands. Use Social Distancing. Be kind.

Have a fun weekend,

Grandma Sherry

Birthdays and Projects

The Pandemic Summer is almost over! It’s really hot and dry, here in Texas. We are in North Central Texas and we are not close to the coast, or to the hurricanes. That’s something to be thankful for , and we are praying for all of those who have been affected by that tragedy. There are so many things happening around the country….hurricanes, fires, riots, covid and politics. And now the kids are heading back to school. It’s a whole new world out there, for teachers and students. I’m glad I’m no longer teaching. My grandchildren are negotiating these changes and so far, they are doing well.

August was our big month of celebrating birthdays. We went to Kansas, to celebrate my brother’s birthday. His wife has been quite ill and he has been her caretaker for the past year. My sister, my hubby and I, and my niece went for the day and had a great time. I had not seen my brother or sister since January. All of us have been carefully avoiding crowds . So it was fun. We had Mexican food, and tropical decorations…ok..we didn’t quite coordinate on that! LOL My niece had brought a tropical cake.

The birthday boy, Mike!

My husband, Dick, and my sister, Toni.

They have pulled out every blanket and pillow, and multiple toys. Lots of cleanup, but they have so much fun!

I bought this apron at The Merc.

Two weeks later, we celebrated my grandson’s birthday, mine and my granddaughter’s. They came to our house, and we had cake and gifts, and the grandkids had a great time playing together. Love it when my kids can be together with us. My granddaughter got a tea set, and we had a tea party. My daughter, Jessi, and my DIL, Crystal and I were invited to the party. My daughter was the Prostitute, my DIL was the Church Lady, and I was the Socialite. So fun!

Feeling perky!

It was a popular cake!
The birthday ‘kids’..Sherry, Isaac and Libby

Projects…oh, I have many that I need to do. Some of the few that I’ve done lately, include cleaning out and organizing my freezer, cleaning out the medicine and toiletry shelves in my closet, and recovering my breakfast nook chairs. That was a new experience for me. I’m not very good at the corners!! But they look better.

Before
During
After

old chair

New Chair covers.
The messy freezer

New freezer containers
Organized with new containers.

I haven’t felt very well lately, due to lower back and leg pain. The Dr. put me on Steroids for a week, and I’ll start physical therapy tomorrow. The steroids gave me a lot of energy. That helped me get some things done. Yeah for steroids!!!

I hope you are doing ok during this trying time. Actually, I’m becoming a homebody. But I’m tired of cooking all of the time. I usually get take-out for lunch. I need to see my friends!! But we are blessed to have our children and grandchildren fairly close. We are so much better off than so many people!

Have a great day,

Grandma Sherry

What’s New at Nana School?

Nana School had school picture day! What else has been happening? Check out here!

Here we are, in week four,of the Corona Virus “Shelter in Place” mandate. I’m in Texas, so you may be in week seven or eight. Four weeks is enough to drive people a bit batty. We’re being very careful about trying to stay home, most of the time. Thankfully, we can still go out for walks or biking. I don’t know how many young families are coping with trying to homeschool the kids, through Zoom or otherwise, and also working at home, as adults. My daughter is working at home, and we are watching her three year old, Isaac, three days a week.

Isaac and I have “Nana School”. He’s at that age where he’s like a little sponge….just soaking up everything he can. Luckily, he still takes naps, right after lunch. I don’t know how much longer that will last. He likes to cook, play with cars and puzzles, and be silly. Last week, he heard somewhere that some kids get “school pictures” made. He wanted to get his school picture made. LOL So, he came all dressed up, and I dressed up. We did school photos.

Isaac, the cool dude.
Even Bill, the dog, posed for this photo.
Isaac and his teacher, Nana.

We’ve been working on learning the alphabet and making little words. He’s learning to count to 20. Those numbers between 10 and 20 are tricky. Once you get to 20, it’s Easy-Peasy! He uses the counting bears to count the numbers, and also makes patterns with them.

Using Scrabble letters to make words.
Number puzzles. Never mind the dirty table!

Today, we did some Science. I brought out Dick’s shell collection, a book about shells, and a magnifying glass and glasses. Isaac sorted, listened for the ocean, and just enjoyed seeing them. We compared some to others. It turned out to be a great experience.

The scientist, observing the shells.
Learning about shells.

Otherwise, in the house, we’re getting ready to paint some of the hallways, and eventually our bedroom. We seem to have a lot of time to work on things. Dick has been taping the edges. We have really high ceilings in places, and I worry about him on the ladder.

Oh my! What a job.

What are you doing to entertain the little people in your house? What about the rest of your families? Leave me a comment either below or to the side of the post, where it says Comments. I need to approve it, usually, and then it’ll show up.

Stay safe. Stay home. Stay sober. Enjoy the down time. Are you organizing, or are you past that? I have a lot to declutter yet.

Grandma Sherry