Gus had some surgery on one of his legs, which necessitated wearing The Cone of Shame. He hated it.
I was literally out of laundry soap, as in I couldn't do another load without making some more. This will last me several months, so it feels good to have it done. Not to mention being able to wash clothes.
I voted. Something I never take for granted. You'll remember, former Canadian here.
I was invited to Levi's kindergarten graduation. Sorry about the blurry picture. He was waving madly.
He's in the first row there and sure did look cute in his miniature cap and gown.
Sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week, Eric's family spent some time in the fun and sun last week.
They were in Florida for a few days,
and it looks like the kids did some wave wading. There will be more on this in a few days.
Eric sent this picture of his mustache-less face,
...which prompted this response from his brothers. He said the mustache was letting water into his snorkeling mask, so he had to make the hard decision.
And from my daughter, these cute pictures of the boys. This is Jack.
And Leo. Their cute little red hairs are coming in, and they are starting to take steps.
We were in the garden doing some planting. We've got peas, onions, carrots, beets, and lettuce in the ground. There's still a lot to plant, but we've got a good start. My husband and I have picked up some tomato and pepper starts, but it's still a while before they'll go in the ground.
We had some carrots and beets that overwintered and Marc, Isaac, Levi, and my husband pulled off the straw, dug them up and washed them off.
I was out of carrots in the house, so it was perfect timing and they taste just fine.
This also happened to one of us this week and let's just say he didn't care for it.
Sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week. Aunt Elisa went to meet Hazel and at one point had both Jude and Hazel asleep at the same time. Pretty miraculous. We're pretty sure it was sorcery of some kind.
I got a snippet of Edward's band concert. His mama said she felt like she was riding right along with Steve McQueen and Yul Brynner, and in case you don't recognize the song, it's the theme from "The Magnificent Seven."
Quincy made phases of the moon out of his cucumbers. You might remember the solar system from a few weeks ago.
Caroline had a little birthday gathering with some friends. They went zip-lining for the first time.
I'm not sure I would feel very comfortable doing this. I have the whole heights thing. Plus.....chubby. Gwen does not appear to have either of those issues.
From Collin, I got this picture of him getting just the right toast on a marshmallow for s'mores. It's apparently been a lot warmer back east than it's been out here.
This is part of his little container-based garden. He's fighting a produce war with squirrels which is why the pinwheels are in a couple of the containers. So far, they've done nothing to deter the little beggars. He's contemplating more aggressive measures.
Meanwhile, John is fixing things.
He's fixing them up good.
Isaac had a program at school where he dressed up as Isaac Newton. I thought the hair was especially effective.
Jack and Leo enjoyed a ride in the wagon.
Without any context, I think this might have been down at Thanksgiving Point in Utah.
And finally, they had their first ice cream. It's one of my husband's major goals in life as a grandpa to give the grandkids ice cream and sweets at every opportunity, but my daughter has been very resistive to what my husband calls an "ancient ritual" up until this point. This picture gives him carte blanche with the twins.
First off, it’s my son-in-law‘s birthday today, so happy birthday to him! There are more things blooming.
The flowering almond is in full bloom. It makes me just a little nostalgic each year when it blooms, because my daughter posed in front of it in her Easter dress every year.
It was family Sunday dinner this past weekend and my mother got to cuddle Hazel a bit.
These aren't "I'm gone" flowers that arrived, they are "Happy Mother's Day" flowers.
Sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week, I got this very cinematic video of David's submission for the Primary talent show.
I got this picture of Jude and Hazel on May the 4th.
And this video of Jack & Leo experiencing bubbles for the first time.
This is the stupid plum tree. It was supposed to be close to freezing last night, but not cold enough we would have to #savethepeaches.
Sigh. C'mon little baby plum tree!
We had Jude for an afternoon. Everything is always an adventure at Grandpa's house.
Even vacuum-packing some popcorn.
Sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week, I got this one of Ephraim. Since I'm old and have zero knowledge of video games, I had to text his mama to find out that this is a Bonko from the Legend of Zelda.
James and David have been playing soccer this spring. The end of game treats are James' favorite thing.
They look pretty official in their uniforms.
I got several pictures of big brothers holding Hazel.
They just love her, which is so cute.
Even Jude has some tender moments with her when he forgets she's usurped his spot in the family.
Blooms and buds are starting to bust out all over some of the trees. This is the peach tree, so I'm really hoping there's no more frost in future forecasts so we don't have to #savethepeaches. My sister's already had to do that down in Utah.
This is the stupid plum tree. No matter how much frost we have, nothing ever stops it from having literally thousands of blossoms.
But here's my baby Elephant Heart plum that has quite a few happy little blossoms on it.
With the stupid plum so close to it for a pollinator, I'm hoping for maybe some fruit this year? But as soon as this starts producing well, the stupid tree will be fire wood.
We got to go listen to Levi's music class this week. It wasn't a program as such, but a demonstration of what goes on in a typical kindergarten music class. Interestingly, I was acquainted with the teacher. I accompanied her son on many occasions when I was a voice studio pianist.
YouTube has again changed how phone videos look and are uploaded. I'm not sure why they can't leave well enough alone. Anyway, I enjoyed watching how the concepts of beat, rhythm, and the use of instruments are incorporated into curriculum. I'll get on my soapbox a little here. Music training is a life-long gift. I've been playing the piano since I was 5 and I'm 63 now. That's more than a half century (which is just a little scary when it's actually said out loud) of using what I've learned to serve other individuals and groups. It's brought me so much joy to be able to participate in beautiful, uplifting music both instrumentally and vocally, and spread that around to those who listen. To my kids, who I made practice while they lived in our home.....if you don't use it, you'll lose it. My technique isn't what it was when I was a teenager, but I manage what I need to, mostly.
Getting down off my soapbox, this also happened. We had to get a recliner when I got out of the hospital so I was able to get my bad leg high enough to help with the swelling. Bottom line, my husband was jealous, so he went out (without talking to me about it, BTW) and bought a matching one. Also bottom line, the furniture arrangement downstairs is now shot all to heck. I told him that now it looks like old people live there. His response was, "Old people DO live here." My kids keep trying to make me feel better by saying it looks like theater seating. It doesn't look like theater seating. And just to show that there's a little bit of karma in him not discussing it with me, his chair had been here exactly 10 days, when it broke. We're now waiting for a repair or replacement and he has to sit on the (oh, the horror of it all!!) couch.
Sent to me from the kids and grands this week, Eric's family has acquired a few turkeys as a bit of an experiment. The females have started to lay some eggs and he sent me this picture with the caption, "turkey eggs intimidating a chicken egg." We have a turkey egg in this week's egg delivery, but I'm waiting until my husband gets home from yet another adventure to try it, so we can share.
Hazel's mama sent these pictures. This is a doll cradle Rachelle used to play with, and Hazel is just the right size for it.
Doll-baby.
In the meantime, Jude has had a bit of an adjustment moving out of the baby of the family slot into a more middle-ish child role. It's pretty interesting how big he looks now compared to Hazel.
From my daughter this week, I got this adorable picture of Leo. I do really love "from behind" pictures....and his little red hair.....
Meanwhile, the landlord at the house they're renting had just aerated the grass,
and those little dirt plugs were everywhere. While she was taking the picture of Leo,
Jack found one
and couldn't resist.
Now if you just need a smile for your day, some Jack baby giggles for your enjoyment.
We've had flashbacks of winter, which has been totally ok with me....because I know what's coming.
My happy flowers have taken a beating with the wind and snow, though.
We celebrated Bryce's birthday and his wife made THE CAKE.
It takes a lot of breath support to blow out that many candles, but my boy is a singer and did a good job.
The Easter bin never made it into the house this year, but I've stashed a few things in various places so I have something to show even if it doesn't. This is new this year from the Redheaded Hostess website. Just its name is enough to have me checking it out. Lots of really great scripture study resources for all ages there.
This came in the mail. Marc wanted to try something different for the Easter entree. It involves de-boning and rolling pork butt and includes all these accoutrements. He gave it a trial run last week and invited me over for a taste and a Hazel snuggle. I was powerless to resist.
My husband sent me this one of Evan from his adventure in Montana. Looks like he's already been put to work.
Eric and his wife are on a different type of adventure. For 2 years now, they've tried to go to Japan, but with Covid shutdowns and restrictions it hasn't happened. They decided New Orleans was a good substitute, but Eric persists in sending pictures like this.
I mean, REALLY???
This is what my husband has labeled a "target rich environment." I'm thinking that's one really brave raccoon in the background there.
Elisa sent this video of the raw and wriggling crawfish that will soon be edible.
Collin is apparently having the same type of weather we're having.
The weather is perfect for a movie afternoon, and John was appropriately attired for watching "Silverado."
My daughter sent this one of one of the boys (I'm guessing Jack, but I don't have a straight on view of his face. She'll have to let me know if I'm right.) wearing his dad's shoes. Those are some big shoes to fill.
My hyacinth bulbs have really taken off, and the smell is glorious. You all know how I feel about the onset of fall after enduring never-ending summer, but spring is close behind in the season ranking.
We also got some rain this week, so I was a happy girl, AND you'll notice what a compliant patient I am with the compression sock. I do wear them on both legs, but it was laundry day, so the one I had available went on the bad one.
This past weekend was General Conference. We watch several session broadcast from Salt Lake City. Such great messages reminding me to try a little harder to be a little better. This was my view from the chair.
We had a couple of cute visitors. Jack has become a real escape artist during diaper changes.
Grandpa kept the boys busy with his phone.
They liked watching videos of themselves the most. Leo's on the left and Jack's on the right.
We had Jude a couple of days this week. He helped me make a treat one day, and Grandpa had him out in the pasture, feeding horses and having rhino rides.
He also liked chasing the cats around.
I got some quality Hazel cuddle time so Jude could have some Hazel-free time with his mama. Newborn baby snuggles...there's nothing like them.
Sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week, I got this one of Frederick at school mourning Caesar's death. Et tu, Brute?
Meanwhile, Quincy was assembling a solar system, complete with meteorites.
From Collin's family, there was some mustache drawing during Conference.
The big spring show is starting with the daffodils. It's been kind of cold and blustery this week, so they've taken a bit of a beating from the wind. My husband curses the spring wind, very literally. We've lived here for nearly 32 years and every spring it's been the same. I can't figure it out....did he really think it was ever going to be different??
My chives are coming back, so if I make the croissant sandwiches again, I'll have some fresh to sprinkle on them.
This was also something I saw this week. We've had Jude some so Hazel's mama can have a bit of a break during the day, and maybe get a rest. You can see what I mean about the Pied Piper, though. This was coming back from giving one of the horses some grain. Exciting stuff for kidlets.
Those two also turned the fountain on for me. My husband knows how much I love the sound of any kind of running water....rivers, streams, rain, fountains.....it doesn't matter.
The sound soothes me, and is the white noise I have on at night to help me sleep.
Evan's wife, Jan, is the queen of April Fool's Day. She absolutely loves pulling a good prank. This is what we found yesterday morning when we went to get Gus out of his crate. Collin's boys were very worried that he'd shrunk because "it was very cold outside."
She also switched out Marc's very alive chickens for rotisserie chickens. I'm not sure how she got into the backyard to accomplish it, but I do know she used Evan as a distraction.
I had the last appointment for the infection part of my leg with my family doctor. My dermatologist will continue to follow the inflammatory/circulation thing as he has for many years. Now, there's a story that goes with this picture. First off, notice the very attractive compression socks I wear almost all the time. Next, notice the nice, clean carpet in the picture. Just when I think things are settling down, something happens to throw a wrench into that idea. My check up was going fine. The leg was looking great, until I put my compression socks back on. I was getting ready to leave, when the doctor noticed a puddle of blood on the nice, clean carpet. I pulled the sock back down, and it was like someone had poked a tiny hole in a water balloon...a steady, tiny stream of blood literally shooting straight out from the one tiny scab still left on my leg. I must have knocked the scab off when I put the sock back on, and it must have been right over a small-ish vein. We put a compression dressing on it, but my very fastidious doctor decided to call the vascular surgeon at the hospital, who told me to come right over. I left several puddles of blood on the carpet in the exam room, making it look a little like a murder scene.
The bleeding had stopped by the time we got to the surgeon's office, but he took forceps and went digging for the vein, starting things up again. He put a stitch in it, and got another pressure dressing in place, but in the meantime with all this going on, we lost track of time. We were supposed to have picked up Isaac and Levi from school, and it was 20 minutes past the time....bad, bad grandparents. Fortunately, Marc was able to rescue them while I was on the stretcher getting repaired, and we will try to get it right from here on out. In the long run I guess a leaking vein isn't a huge deal, but haven't I about reached the end of the list of things that can go wrong with the leg??
Sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week, Marc sent this one of Evan and Hazel. My eldest absolutely loves babies. He will hold infants whenever he gets the chance. It was also during this time Jan was able to make the chicken switch. Possibly why Evan looks so chipper....that, and he's holding a baby.
I got some spring break pictures from Eric's wife, Elisa. They did the staycation version of spring break and before everyone got sick mid-week, did a climbing place.
Everyone got in on the fun.
This is Gwen who had no problem shinnying up the tall wall.
They were all feeling pretty good about the experience.
Especially since there was frozen yogurt involved afterwards.
I got some Gramma Honey cuddles from Hazel.
Her mama caught this smile and said she must be a true Allan...already enjoying the outdoors.
Rachelle says the big brothers love to just be close to her. She caught Jude singing "Jingle Bells" to Hazel. And when I say "Jingle Bells," I really mean it. "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells...."
Hazel got her Gramma Honey quilt.
This is one I actually made several years ago, thinking I'd have another grandgirl a little sooner than this.
It's really pretty fun to gift one with some hearts and flowers on it.
"I'm gone" flowers arrived even before my husband left town for a couple of days. Double-edged sword here. I'm obviously recovered enough to take care of myself for that length of times. I do miss his nightly leg-wrapping skills, though.
My mother celebrated her 87th birthday. She is Canadian-born and a staunch hockey fan. (Remember that time at Collin's wedding reception when we had to find an iPad so she could watch the play-offs? Good times...) She especially loves the Pittsburgh Penguins and my sister found some team regalia for her.
Sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week, Evan's family did some weed-burning in the pasture, getting it ready for horses to come back from the pond property. Quincy's comment was, "We're burninating the countryside!"
It's been Spring Break here this week, and their family took a short trip to Utah, where they visited Hogle Zoo. When Evan and Eric were toddlers, we lived right down the street in U of U married housing. Our apartment has been torn down, but he did see a few things he remembered at the zoo, like the lion drinking fountain. It doesn't work now, but they've left it there.
They also visited the aquarium further down the freeway.
There was slimy touching involved.
It didn't seem to bother the boys, though.
At Eric's house, St. Patrick's Day was celebrated by some wearin' o' the green,
and some running/pedaling around their driveway,
that they label "Leprechan Laps."
Ephraim was ready.
The whole family made it happen.
Of course, Marc's family had plenty of Hazel pictures. I'm admitting to a little PTSD with this picture, which was taken at the hospital. I recognize the wood-grain laminate and the over-bed table in the background. Fortunately there's a beautiful baby in the foreground to distract me.
She's home and eating well,
and getting lots of love from her big brothers.
Even Jude is taking a turn.
This one, though, makes me smile out loud, if there is such a thing. Levi's grin is just pretty special.
With the nice weather this week, my daughter decided to try the boys in a swing at the park. Leo thought it was ok.
We've had alternating warm and cold temperatures. The warm has been enough to spur on a vigorous blooming of snowdrops. They have naturalized really well in the place they've lived for the lo these many years.
I've been up and around enough to slowly start putting things in order. My husband does lots of things, but things like this aren't in his wheelhouse. I need some springy branches for the pitcher, but so far this is working the way I envisioned it. Some permanent things and other things that will get switched out.
This was a little bright spot. Feel better flowers from a friend.
So let's talk leg, shall we? It continues to feel better most days. There's only one tiny spot that drains anything, and that's not much. The redness comes and goes, depending on if I'm up or down. There's one spot behind my outside ankle bone that remains stubbornly swollen, red, and tender. I wish that would go away. On the whole, yes, it's getting better....slowly.....so dang slowly. We still wrap it with telfa and gauze to keep the steroid ointment in contact with it as long as possible to keep working with the inflammation that remains.
Sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week, Collin's family went to a children's museum where John proceeded to make jets out of everything.
Although this looks a little more like a sword.
Since the baby pack & play didn't have a baby in it yet, Jude decided he needed to check it out.
From my daughter, the boys have discovered splashing in the tub.
And the big announcement for the week, let me introduce you to my newest grandbaby, Hazel, who was born yesterday. Marc, Rachelle, Isaac, Levi, and Jude all think she's beautiful, as do we. Looking forward to snuggle time with this little gal. We already love her.
