April 14-20, 2019
Giz and Grampy Visit, Snow, Downtown Library, and Strings Group
Giz and Grampy Visit, Snow, Downtown Library, and Strings Group
Hello Friends,
We had picked up some of our church's youth group to spend the night on Saturday for Dd's birthday. Saturday was the fun day; we all played two games of bowling followed by more fun at our house. By Sunday morning the snow started with a vengeance; accumulating 4-5 inches in the end. The girls had a good breakfast---croissants with Nutella and chocolate cupcakes before church. We had four girls spend the night and had to take the van to church to accommodate all of us, instead of the trusty Subaru that is the easiest to drive in the snow.
Dh seems to have a knack for getting the van to do better in the snow than I do, so he drove! The boiler (heat source) at church broke and we all sat in the cold during our Sunday morning services. Due to the snowy and icy roads, evening services were canceled; mind you it was April 14th!! Michigan's springs don't really warm up until May.
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| Dd and Hailee at the downtown library on Wednesday |
Dh seems to have a knack for getting the van to do better in the snow than I do, so he drove! The boiler (heat source) at church broke and we all sat in the cold during our Sunday morning services. Due to the snowy and icy roads, evening services were canceled; mind you it was April 14th!! Michigan's springs don't really warm up until May.
Spring Break:
Dd is on spring break this week. Sunday and Monday she was still pretty tired from all the excitement of her church girls spending Saturday night with us and coming to church with us. Luckily Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life was able to give her (and me some too) some valuable sofa recuperate time.
Grand Rapids Downtown Library:
Wednesday, Hailee came over so we could all go down to the library together; she had never been! They have a little section for their used book sale that we enjoyed shopping. Dd found two audio's and a book on card games to share with the "L" family and I found a non-fiction book about Theodore Roosevelt that Dh should like.
Afterward, we drove around downtown trying to find the place where the GR Symphony plays and that was quite tricky! First of all, we didn't know which building housed them and had to look it up on phones and GPS's, which gave us two different answers! We did eventually figure out it is the DeVos Place and drove in front of it and due to the congestion on the roads I was driving so slow, I saved it on my GPS for the future when I want to take the girls (or myself).
Spring Signs:
What a week of endless new things---
Cute little black and yellow rolly bumblebees
Flies
DragonFly
(Last week I saw butterflies twice!)
Grasses popping up
Green bulb greens growing taller
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| Close up of the mosaic tiling at the downtown Grand Rapids library |
New At our Feeder:
Yellow Goldfinch
Baltimore Oriole
and the usuals: Black-capped Chickadee's, Cardinal's, Tufted Titmouse, squirrels, and chipmunks. The Mourning Dove's that had stayed for a while have moved on already.
and the usuals: Black-capped Chickadee's, Cardinal's, Tufted Titmouse, squirrels, and chipmunks. The Mourning Dove's that had stayed for a while have moved on already.
Woods:
I found an old empty box turtle shell.
I've been spending time pulling thorny weeds out; it seems like spring is always the easiest time to pull on these. In the summer they are really rooted in, but in the early spring, they can sometimes be surprisingly easy to pull. By the end of the week, I found an old brown bottle with a tiny mouth. I don't know if it was a beer bottle, but I suspect that is probably the case.
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| See all the branches and sticks I've piled up on the side of the walk? I've done that all over the woods on all my paths, it is quite extensive. |
Working on my Trails!!! I've added three new paths the past month. Right now is the best time to be pulling up old trees and branches---before the mosquitoes and poison ivy take over!
Easter/Strings Group:
Giz came with Dd and me to our Strings Group practice. We plan on playing three songs on Easter. |
| Barred Owl above our pool in the evergreens |
Thursday Giz and Grampy Arrived!
We really only have Dh's parents as "family" that interact with us outside of the Christmas party. It is always a treat when they come to visit us. Dh's parents arrived around 3pm on Thursday. I had to really hustle to get the house tidy enough for a mother-in-law visit! I always especially want to have the spare bedroom perfect for them and that took me all morning to achieve! They are planning on arriving on Thursday and leaving next Wednesday at 7 am.
Lunch Meat:
Giz has become a super fan of lunch meat over the years. They brought enough lunch meat for us to eat for a week! I actually don't eat lunch meat, due to the nitrates increasing the likelihood of migraines, but they sure do enjoy their sandwiches! She also brought three bags of chips...she knows I don't usually buy that kind of food and enjoys 'treating' Dd with the chips. Unfortunately, I have a weak spot for chips and ended up eating too much of it. Giz made me some chocolate cupcakes that were GF and very tasty. She made Lemon Cake for Dd and Dh.
Thursday:
Giz came with Dd and I to shop at our thrift store, she was looking for a specific type of shirt for church. She found a few things, as did Dd and I! Dh had to work a little late, but was so glad to see his parents when he got home.
Friday:
Chainsawing Grampy:
Dh had to work on Friday, but Grampy found lots of things to work on without him. He decided to cut down the scrub trees behind our garden, an area that really needed a lot of work. He cut and cut and I happily cleared up all the branches and wood.
Garbage Disposal:
Grampy tried to fix the garbage disposal---but it was broken again in a few days. He did try to help, but it is dead. Perhaps we will eventually get a replacement, but I get the feeling it isn't a priority.
Timer:
Grampy tried to fix the automatic timer in the chicken coop, but it didn't work. I don't mind walking out to turn off and on the lights, but it would have been nice to have the lights hooked up to a timer system that would turn on and off the lights without effort.
Dinner:
Giz and Dd worked together to make dinner, they are both 'foodie' people that make cooking look so easy and effortless. They made mashed potatoes, yummy Brussel Sprouts (Dd's recipe), and cooked the frozen meatloaf Giz had brought with her.
Blackberry Bushes:
I cleared a hill of thorns and then dug up the Blackberry bushes from the garden and transplanted them to the hill. I hope they survive the move! I brought them from Indiana and enjoy eating them each summer! It took hours pulling out all the thorns! It took me most of the day for this 'simple' job!
Dd had to do lessons on Thursday--but she still had lots of G&G time too. Dh had to work late, so he didn't get to do much with his parents. While Grampy worked trying to fix things I sat with Giz and listened to all the updates on how the people in her circle are doing. It is always very discouraging to hear how poorly every one is doing. It also really makes me wonder what she says about us when she shares with others about her visits to see us. It was a lot to take in and I was honestly a little overwhelmed by it all---mostly about the upcoming changes to the family farm that she told us about, that we get no vote in.
Saturday:
I woke up not feeling well, still reeling from updates Giz had shared the day before but headed out first thing to get my turn on the chainsaw.
I cleared out more of the area (behind the garden) that Grampy had started on Friday. After a few hours, I ended up in bed after taking my Maxalt to help my migraine. It was kind of embarrassing to spend most of the afternoon in bed while we had Giz and Grampy out working hard!
We had a huge tree fall during the winter and Grampy brought up his super-big chainsaw to start taking it apart. We couldn't figure out what kind of tree it was, it had 3 trunks that were together, each trunk huge on its own. Dh had such a wonderful day with his dad! He really, really loves spending time chainsawing together. When they had talked on the phone, before the visit, discussing what they could work on, Grampy kept bringing up chainsawing! I think chainsawing is Grampy's favorite hobby. So glad they had the day together, outside, and cutting wood!
Giz and Dd spent time together working on clearing up raised beds in preparation for future planting; specifically getting the bed she plants her corn in ready for planting! They pulled out all the old sunflower stalks; which was quite a hard job.
We really only have Dh's parents as "family" that interact with us outside of the Christmas party. It is always a treat when they come to visit us. Dh's parents arrived around 3pm on Thursday. I had to really hustle to get the house tidy enough for a mother-in-law visit! I always especially want to have the spare bedroom perfect for them and that took me all morning to achieve! They are planning on arriving on Thursday and leaving next Wednesday at 7 am.
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| Giz has macular degeneration and her eyesight is slowly fading away. She brought her new gizmo that she uses to read the paper and her Bible with. It is really hard on her to be positive when her health and eyesight take turns getting more difficult. |
Lunch Meat:
Giz has become a super fan of lunch meat over the years. They brought enough lunch meat for us to eat for a week! I actually don't eat lunch meat, due to the nitrates increasing the likelihood of migraines, but they sure do enjoy their sandwiches! She also brought three bags of chips...she knows I don't usually buy that kind of food and enjoys 'treating' Dd with the chips. Unfortunately, I have a weak spot for chips and ended up eating too much of it. Giz made me some chocolate cupcakes that were GF and very tasty. She made Lemon Cake for Dd and Dh.
Thursday:
Giz came with Dd and I to shop at our thrift store, she was looking for a specific type of shirt for church. She found a few things, as did Dd and I! Dh had to work a little late, but was so glad to see his parents when he got home.
Friday:
Chainsawing Grampy:
Dh had to work on Friday, but Grampy found lots of things to work on without him. He decided to cut down the scrub trees behind our garden, an area that really needed a lot of work. He cut and cut and I happily cleared up all the branches and wood.
Garbage Disposal:
Grampy tried to fix the garbage disposal---but it was broken again in a few days. He did try to help, but it is dead. Perhaps we will eventually get a replacement, but I get the feeling it isn't a priority.
Timer:
Grampy tried to fix the automatic timer in the chicken coop, but it didn't work. I don't mind walking out to turn off and on the lights, but it would have been nice to have the lights hooked up to a timer system that would turn on and off the lights without effort.
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| I've been planting lots of seeds and continuing to add more to my selection. The mass of green is Roma Tomatoes! We also had some heirloom Marzano and Black Prince Tomatoes---all of the tomato seeds were from last year that I harvested. I also planted a few different squashes, kales, Morning Glory flowers, Basil (my favorite!), Thyme...etc.. |
Dinner:
Giz and Dd worked together to make dinner, they are both 'foodie' people that make cooking look so easy and effortless. They made mashed potatoes, yummy Brussel Sprouts (Dd's recipe), and cooked the frozen meatloaf Giz had brought with her.
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Hawk above our pool area--busy week! |
Blackberry Bushes:
I cleared a hill of thorns and then dug up the Blackberry bushes from the garden and transplanted them to the hill. I hope they survive the move! I brought them from Indiana and enjoy eating them each summer! It took hours pulling out all the thorns! It took me most of the day for this 'simple' job!
Dd had to do lessons on Thursday--but she still had lots of G&G time too. Dh had to work late, so he didn't get to do much with his parents. While Grampy worked trying to fix things I sat with Giz and listened to all the updates on how the people in her circle are doing. It is always very discouraging to hear how poorly every one is doing. It also really makes me wonder what she says about us when she shares with others about her visits to see us. It was a lot to take in and I was honestly a little overwhelmed by it all---mostly about the upcoming changes to the family farm that she told us about, that we get no vote in.
Saturday:
I woke up not feeling well, still reeling from updates Giz had shared the day before but headed out first thing to get my turn on the chainsaw.
I cleared out more of the area (behind the garden) that Grampy had started on Friday. After a few hours, I ended up in bed after taking my Maxalt to help my migraine. It was kind of embarrassing to spend most of the afternoon in bed while we had Giz and Grampy out working hard!
We had a huge tree fall during the winter and Grampy brought up his super-big chainsaw to start taking it apart. We couldn't figure out what kind of tree it was, it had 3 trunks that were together, each trunk huge on its own. Dh had such a wonderful day with his dad! He really, really loves spending time chainsawing together. When they had talked on the phone, before the visit, discussing what they could work on, Grampy kept bringing up chainsawing! I think chainsawing is Grampy's favorite hobby. So glad they had the day together, outside, and cutting wood!
Giz and Dd spent time together working on clearing up raised beds in preparation for future planting; specifically getting the bed she plants her corn in ready for planting! They pulled out all the old sunflower stalks; which was quite a hard job.
Dd's Academic Progress for the Week:
Bible:
Church and Sunday School
Independent Bible Study: Word of Life and Awaken: 90 Days with the God Who Waits.
Grace Classes:
SPRING BREAK FINALLY!
Although Dd didn't have any classes this week she still had lessons to complete.
Art:
Watercoloring: 4 hours
Physical Exercise:
Gardening/Yard Work with Giz: 4 hours for 3 days= 12 hours
Art:
Watercoloring: 4 hours
Physical Exercise:
Gardening/Yard Work with Giz: 4 hours for 3 days= 12 hours
Volunteering:
Dd volunteered in Nursery this week (1 hour). Sarah had to stay home with sick grandkids so Hailee helped her. I did Sarah's Sunday School for her in our Ladies class.
Dd volunteered at the library for Story Hour: 1 1/2 hours
Next Week:
Giz and Grampy will be here Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday---Dh has taken M&T off from work to be with them. Dd has to return back to her Grace classes on Friday.
Dd volunteered at the library for Story Hour: 1 1/2 hours
Next Week:
Giz and Grampy will be here Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday---Dh has taken M&T off from work to be with them. Dd has to return back to her Grace classes on Friday.
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| Soon there will be leaves on these trees! ........... |
