The first day back from vacation is always
so horribly discombobulating. I left the house this morning forgetting to take
my vitamins and maca root and I’ve felt draggy and weird all day. So this post will
be weird..
I got in my car this morning and there was
almost no gas. I got to the gas station and half the pumps were bagged. That
always scares me. The price is going up, too. I don’t blame the middle east any
more. Most folks don’t
know it but most of our gas imports come from South America.
Michael broke a bracket on his brace, again.
Going in for braces adjustments has become a frequent thing. I don’t know why that boy is so hard
on his tooth hardware.
I didn’t want to go to the store yesterday when we got in,
and so we tried an experiment. Mother drove to Publix and let Alesia go in and
do all the grocery shopping for us for the next few days. Alesia is very good
at shopping now, and I told Mom I thought she would do fine. Michael helped
her. It’s
good to give her more and more responsibility, as she can handle it.
I am going to print out the driver's manual for Alesia to start
studying so she can get her learner’s permit this summer. I am going to let her start driving class
at a local school after her birthday in July. I spoke to the woman at the
school today and she was very helpful. Since Alesia will be 18, it will be
simpler to get the license. My only concern is that her birth certificate is
from Russia, and her passport is Russian. Guess I need to go ahead and get her
a new passport and do a re-adoption in my county, just to simplify things. I
think I can do the re-adoption myself, without an attorney. That way she will
get a new, American birth certificate.
Michael had his first day of tennis camp
today. He only goes for an hour, from 11-12. I think it will be good for him,
though, hopefully build some new skills. Several kids he knows from tennis are
in his age bracket so he has buddies there, and he can walk to the courts himself.
When I came home, Michael was rushing around
doing his neglected chores, as he spent most of the afternoon at the pool. I
was not terribly sympathetic. Mother had told him several times to water the
big hydrangea bush in the back and he didn’t do it. When I asked him to do it
he said his shoes were wet. I told him to put on other shoes. He whined about
being tired. I finally said, either water the bush or go to bed right after
dinner. He opted for the latter. Grr…
I forgot to mention yesterday that my gardens are thriving. The raised bed is full of corn, beans, and cucumber plants! I had thrown in a bunch of cucumber seeds and they all sprouted. I had to thin them out this evening. I replanted about 8 in the other bed, although whether or not they live, who knows. We should get a bumper crop of cukes even if some die. I bought a bunch of new stakes at a funky old hardware store on Hilton Head, and I will be using them on the beans and cukes. I also have tons of squash blossoms and tomatoes on the vine already, with lots of blooms, too.
I know I am getting OLD because I am
deriving a lot of pleasure out of my gardens. I love to see things grow. I love
the fact that in a few weeks we can get our fresh produce from the back yard
instead of a roadside stand.
I will take some new garden photos and post them, but in the meantime here are a few more shots from vacation…
The living room of the condo..
This is the condo from the beach, on a stormy day...
I was trying to design a new masthead from writing on the beach, but it didn't come out right...
Here's Alesia swimming in Frank's pool. She has gotten where she turns away when I try to take her photo, which is why you don't see many photos of her here...