So tonight I am making a

lemon meringue pie. Yum. Bella and Snoopy are patrolling against critters. Sport is asleep on the bed having already claimed his spot. Heinz. . . well he likes to hide under the covers. After 4 years of living he still likes to keep his world small.

Tonight was string ensemble which went better. Last week I had a hard time hitting a correct note. It was just one of those weeks.

Sunday afternoon at the little blue house

My class went on it's

annual trip to the apple orchard yesterday. It was blistering hot. Luckily we were the first school to take advantage of the events, but even so we were not finished until close to 2 1/2 hours later. After, I went back to school to do a few things and ran a few errands. Then was sick for the rest of the day. Heat related I'm sure.

Later in the afternoon, when I got the phone to check for messages there were several from S2. His apartment (read personal room) had been robbed. He had called the police and the insurance company. He had talked to apartment management. (A roommate had been robbed the day before). No sign of entry and his door to his room had been locked. Sigh. And no, it was not another roommate.

So he packed up his car with his stuff and came home for the weekend. What bothers him most was his guitar, a beautiful one that he bought this past summer. Everything was insured and the insurance company has been very nice in their talks with him.

S2 has an amazing attitude. Though he was upset, he also has the ability to make lemonade out of lemons. A great ability to have.

What I am thinking about

sewing projects
the heat and allergies
bullying - children and adults

Our garden this year

was more productive than usual. However Bella is getting to the tomatoes before us - snatching them off of the kitchen counter. And she has pulled a few squash off of the vines. I find that frustrating and interesting at the same time.

We got a couple of good ears of corn but then waited too long to harvest the rest. I didn't mind cutting off the wormy parts but the corn itself turned out to be too tough. Lesson learned for next year.

Yesterday I pulled up the corn stalks and divided them into 3 bunches which now decorate the fence outside the kitchen and the paper box. Saved me about $24 (from getting decorating stalks at the local nursery). Not too bad.

An unintended physics lesson

happened last night at S2's university. Luckily no one died.

50 plus students were at a party in a 3rd floor apartment. They decided to jump up and down to music. The floor collapsed onto the 2nd floor. The momentum caused both floors to collapse to the first.

S2 was an EMT in the first ambulance there and says that he had never seen so many emergency vehicles in one place. 2 people had to be lifeflighted to the hospital in our fair city.

Many students left the scene without being treated only to show up at the emergency room later. Some reports put the total number at 50 while others say as many as 150.

I don't like stinkbugs or snakes

in the house.

Yesterday was a major invasion of stinkbugs. MAJOR. (I cannot make the word MAJOR big enough.) Mostly in the master bedroom and some in the laundry area. But the bedroom... .

Stinkbugs seem to scuttle like roaches. And there were so many. I picked up a wooden tray and they were clustered under that. I cleaned the curtains. Husband came home and cleaned the blinds and curtains again. Then he cleaned the laundry area. Between the two of us maybe over 300 are now gone but the number could have been larger. It was hard to count while the vacuum was sucking them up and I was . . . well screaming as they flew at me.

About 20 minutes ago I heard a thunk. And then another. Looked at the steps and Heinz (our indoor cat) had caught a snake. That means that somehow a snake got into our house. I believe that it is a black snake. But I yelled as the snake coiled. Heinz, with eyes dark, only wanted to move a step or two up. I threw a drum stick at it to get it to uncoil and then grabbed it with a set of tongs. Luckily got it outside before it came out of the tongs and fell into the grass and went into the shrubs next to the house.

I wonder what will appear tomorrow.

My new room

Yes, I moved again this year. Same age group but new room which meant figuring out a new layout and getting new curtains. Luckily I have a coteacher that does not move slowly in life. We make decisions and act. And we are loving the new layout. More spaces for children to play and places to have a bit of quiet time. The curtains were made by some very nice ladies from the church. Yes, the ones about the windows are lined and have a trim. The curtain above the reading area I made out of leftover fabric from the windows. A very sweet room.

A Picnic Blanket

A couple of S1's friends got married this past summer. The groom and S1 have been friends since kindergarten. They went to university together and were roommates for 3 years. The bride and S1 have been friends since 6th grade.

I wanted to make them something special and decided to make a picnic blanket. I found the pattern here. I did put the rock pockets on the back. And it is tied with embroidery floss. The backing is flannel and there is no batting between the two layers as I decided it didn't really need any. The colors were chosen as the bride likes hydrangeas.

The blanket came in handy for picnics on the livingroom floor until their dining chairs arrived :-).

My favorite photo

of S1 is this, taken by his girlfriend, pancake princess (see her blog on sidebar). You might want to go over and check out the Hello Kitty cake that she made. Very talented.

And if you want to see what the night sky from Hawaii looks like you can check out S1's blog H. Astronomer which is also on the sidebar.

The End of an Era

For 7 years the sons of the little blue house have been lifeguards at the local pool. Five of those 7 years the boys were pool managers. S2 has finished up his last season at the pool. Next year there will be a new pool manager.

**Both of the boys are in this photo sitting in the chairs next to the lifeguard station.

Part of a happy time

 

Is the new floor, s1's couch that could not be moved to Hawaii and some good books. Generally there is a cat at my feet or next to the couch and a fan pointing at me. After all it is still 96 outside during the day.

Last night I was up until after 11 reading. Lost track of time. Must watch that or will start to look like a zombie at work.