Sunday, July 5, 2015

Time goes too fast - 4th of July

Our little mini vacation seems ages ago. Back in the full swing of things.
I love it when James talks me into a walk/hike. Since it was very hot we just did 4 miles in our community. There are lots of pretty spots too.

I know, my gadget doesn't say 4 miles but James' did. Mine goes by number of steps I take and is only "approximate" but James' goes by GPS.

Hand sewing when I felt like a break. Determined to get the wallhanging for the church raffle (in autumn) ready. Want to check it off my list. More about that later though.
And in case you wonder. That is Marmite on the flat bread. For 40 years I just couldn't eat it. Suddenly I not only tolerate it but I love it. Love it as a snack.

Self inflicted! Yeah. I was asked whether I would do the monthly church newsletter. I thought about it (just had been able to give up the quarterly newsletter of our community) but I have trouble saying "NO" to my church if I could do it. There wasn't much time left until the beginning of July so I had to hussle but since James and I are a team ... If you are interested: lots of pictures in THE CLOAK July 2015. We had a Murder Mystery, graduation potluck, all sorts of things in June. Lots of fun. I also had a craft workshop Sunday afternoon the 28th. That takes always some time to prepare what the ladies could work on. Still, lots of fun because they are all good friends.
Tuesday 30th. Since the Cloak was done why not go for a hike. Perfect weather. Alarm rang at 6am. Can you believe that this is downtown Richmond?

From the Pump House parking lot along the James River, passed Maymont and several cemeteries over the Lee Bridge to Bell Island.

Hollywood Cemetery from the other side of the James River. The crepe myrtles are beautiful.

Back over the Boulevard Bridge.

6.64 miles. Not bad. I think we used up enough calories to have pizza for lunch. I was itching to try the stove stop pizza again I had tried it before (HERE). This one was even better. Topping: 3 spoons spaghetti sauce, leftover steamed spinach chopped some, chopped red peppers and shredded cheddar cheese.

Sarah had texted on Saturday that Caleb's best sleeping buddy was coming apart.

So when she asked whether we wanted to come over for dinner Tuesday evening I remembered to take needle and thread. The "cast" came off. Caleb looked funny at what I was doing.

Like his cousin William he likes books.

Sarah showed us in the garage what she and Wade had built to stand the washer and dryer on.

After dinner I received a gift. Sarah had read my previous blogs and that we find selfies difficult. Well, look at the next two photos.

Hikes are out for a few days. I must have done something to my right leg. It really hurts on the backside of the knee. Not bad enough that I can't do anything. Project: organizing my "queendom". I have become desperate now because often I can't find what I want and waste too much time searching. Especially Friday I made huge progress. I should have taken a "before" photo ... which would have been actually embarrassing.
Today (Independence Day) Sarah asked whether we wanted to meet them in Beaverdam to watch the parade starting at 10am. She has a friend whose mother has property there and said we all should meet there because parking could be difficult. We got the street name and the GPS found it easily.
It was quite an experience to watch a parade in a very very VERY rural area. It was great fun especially to watch Caleb. He pointed out all the trucks to us. Truck is one of the many words he can already say. He rolls the R and it sounds so funny.

He loved to run up and down before the parade came.

And there comes the parade. This VIDEO shows what Caleb thinks of it.

He is such a big helper: VIDEO!

Got to tell you something ... before the parade started Caleb needed a diaper change. Sarah and James went to her car. James was horrified when he saw Caleb's usually so cute butt. "What we're all those bruises?" Sarah laughed. She had gone blueberry picking with Caleb the day before. A lot of the berries had not made it into the bucket. The "bruises" wiped off easy.
VIDEO 1
VIDEO 2
Last Sunday she had gone with him to a water play in Stony Point shopping center. Another cute VIDEO!

And news from Nashville: William had asked for a calendar where he could cross out the days until Omi and Papa are coming. He had started that already in June. When they could change the page to July he told his mother that it was still too many days. Sweet boy, we miss you too!

1 comment:

Kim S. said...

Thank you for taking over the Cloak! You’ll do a wonderful job, I know. I, too, have a hard time saying “NO”, but am good at encouraging other people to do so!