About 12:30am

Sinus pressure...ugh! It's one of the biggest one's I've had in awhile. I'm guessing it's because of all the humidity and now thunder storms. My ears ache a little too but not too bad. Thankfully, I can take Motrin.

I had some mint tea and was surprised to see the last packet. I love Mint. It seems whenever I feel sick or have an ouchie, mint calls to me.

Lydia finished her Kinder-camp! We're amazed and so happy she had a good time. She looked so proud doing her class sing-a-long and being in their "show". She seems to love shows and performing. She's such a sweetie. There was one little boy who kept getting distracted and basically pushed my gal to the back while taking a poke at this other girl. I could tell Lydia wasn't happy about this but trudged on. I've got the video of it. Of course, we were all indignant and even grandma was appalled. lol.


(The rouge on the end and Lydia in the middle...she handled the shoving better then I would have. I hope I didn’t dress her too warmly with the long pants…poor kid. The top is by my mom!).
I feel like I got too much heat too (had to drive around a lot and our car doesn't have air-conditioning). Fortunately, we can borrow the folks-in-law car (which I did) and it has air conditioning. Apparently, if your air conditioner doesn't work, you can spray a sealant inside of it, let it dry, and then put in the new air conditioner stuff. We're going to try that with my SUV and see what happens. I'll be glad when the humidity goes down.

Jon wasn't feeling great, but is better. He's down about work stuff as well but that seems to be getting better too. I hope he feels all right...he needs to get a check-up with our doctor soon.

Next week, Jon has a few days off for vacation. We're supposed to go to Ohio for a few days...but I dread the heat. I get sick so easily from it...or rather the plants that are blooming at this time; hydrangea’s and fox tails. I'm almost positive that these plants are really what’s irritating me.

We took a walk tonight after the rain came and the thunder subsided. Rabbits seemed to be dancing with the fireflies in the grass and darkening light. It was just so beautiful...and if course, I want to illustrate this some how. I feel like our yard is so wonderful because it has a nice big thicket of trees and brush. Some people think it looks overgrown (usually people who don't know very much about plants and animals) but I know who lives there. I have robin families and maybe even a rare bluebird! I'm not certain as I'm afraid of scaring the poor dear when I take a peek. I also have Cardinals, Blue jays, Mocking, Cat-birds and some flickers that like to eat the ants in the brick path we put in a few years ago. We have all of these wonderful animals in a little thicket not 200 feet away from a busy road in the near middle of town. Yes, we have rabbits galore but a rabbit fence protects my little garden. We’ve got squirrels, chippies, and I’m sure snakes and more. I love that I have safe places for animals and even insects. Also, our bat is back! We saw her (or him) swooping joyfully above us, grabbing moths and mosquitoes for dinner. I hope to see a few more (esp. if this is a female) bats like last year.

I feel like we're blessed to have our little yard and also a place where we do not spray chemicals to kill dandelions (and eventually, give our pets/selves cancer). I'm constantly afraid of my kids/dog to accidentally take a step on someone's grass that looks too perfect. I know what they've put on it. This one neighbor on the corner has a "perfect" lawn. They tried to plant a little fir tree and it died within a month. I could be wrong, but the way I've seen him spray weed killer all over the place, I'm pretty sure it's hand in hand. There should be a law against this. Esp. in places where people live so close together and the fact the drainage goes right into our ground water! Sometimes, Jon and I dream of living with a few acres between us and all the rest of the world.

It seems like there is this strange movement of neighbors recently. It's not such a bad thing, except people keep doing stupid things. The first was the neighbors who chopped down 3 beautiful Blue Spruces at the very edge of their property. Why? I have no idea. Now, they have more lawn to mow. Then, there was another move and the new folks, were all right (smoked around their daughter, me and my kids) but okay, I guess after I gave her the hairy eyeball. 

Then, another move and the new people chopped down the HUGE rhododendron bush to the ground! I have never seen anything like that. I trimmed my bush a few years back because it covered the path. But not to just kill the whole thing! I was shocked and saddened. I'm sorry but I don't have tolerance for people who just chop everything to bits. That's sickening. I hope the previous owners never see that...just so sad.
Maybe they'll plant climbing roses...I don't know.

Anyway, my mood went South after seeing that tonight. I couldn't even pass the house. They also had two really barky dogs and the neighbor person across from them, started shouting "ah, shad up!!" Like they were his dogs. He looked really ugly when he said that...I never did that with the two German Shepard’s barking at me until two years later! I was surprised at his bitterness since the dogs have got to be here for only a month. Surprising. And they were not as loud at the German Shepard’s, believe me! lol! :)

Actually, I'm learning to make peace with the German Shepard’s. I've decided to throw a ball every now and then to the dog and hopefully, this will make him like me more. I did throw him one and it was a like he turned into a puppy. I felt really sorry for him, since then and will try and toss him a ball every now and then. I don't know why the owners don't play with them. I play with Nelson as much as a mother of two can...and believe me, Mr. Nelson will make sure he gets his play time. I bow down to the great and mighty, Mr. Nelson! lol!



Art wise, I learned of this new technique of melting plastic bags between two sheets of paper. I started to wonder if I got a headache from this as well but I had the air filter on, etc. Anyway, I tried it out and it's fun...but I don't know what I'm going to do with all this stuff. I made about 15 feet of 5 inch wide plastic "fabric". I'll try experimenting tomorrow.

I want to rearrange the studio. The sandbox worked well until the cats discovered it and then all hell broke loose (or poop/pee, I should say). So, that is off limits until we scrub that clean. I need more lighting and I want to finish the painting ASAP.

I'm nearly done with Lydia's room, by the way. Talk about a difference! I wish I could have my studio there. It is so light and beautiful! I can't wait to finish it and start decorating. Then, it's Norrie's room. I know there are folks who shudder at painting woodwork, but if it looks so much better, it can’t be bad! White paint brightens the room so much more so than dark wood (which is really just stained). I may have to paint my mantel over the fireplace as well.

Ever since I learned you can put varnish on woodwork/paint in high traffic areas to give it extra strength, I've been doing this. I love the effect and so many fewer chips. I need to do this to the hallway as it keeps getting bumped with the falling child gates. Well, I’ve been up for a good long time, my mint tea is finished, my headache…is getting better.

Off to bed and hopefully dreams filled with blue twilight, the glow of green fireflies and stories of other worlds.

Oh, and I almost forgot! Lydia's first tooth is loose!

I wish I had taken better care of my Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth by Lucy Bate. I loved that book to pieces...I think the gals would enjoy this one too.