Del Fine Settimana Scorso

 I had a great weekend! (oof - two months later.  Got lots to catch up on but for now, it's this weekend!)

Ho trascorso un bellissimo fine settimana!

My Italian is coming along and I've got lots to tell you about that another day.

For my birthday, Maddy and Matthew gave me a years membership at a local garden that includes the Butterfly habitat and I can take a friend for free too!

For this outing, I took Aggie.  It was so fun to see the garden through her eyes!

And here she is with one of the Cy statues! :)

The butterfly habitat was amazing although she did flinch a LOT when they came by.  I have a video of her twitching away when one came close.  I think with a few more visits, she'll MAYBE sit still long enough for one to rest on her shoulder.  Wouldn't THAT be a great pic?!

Those blue things in the front are some of the butterflies.

And isn't this inverted pyramid of the hen and chicks plant cool?!  I might have to get creative with the ones we have.  Or at least water them on occasion.

Aggie had a sleepover with me that night and after we said our prayers, she thanked me for showing her the plants and flowers and toy train and butterflies and EVEN the giant gnome!

Which really surprised me, because this was as close as she got to it!  "Turn around and let me take a picture of you with it!"

And that was it. lol!

Lots of other photo ops though where she cooperated.

And isn't this spoon tree cool? NOW I know where all our spoons have gone.

We hit up Sam's Club and she was just "I'm relaxin' now Grandma." and changed her position in the cart.  That can NOT have been more comfortable!

Note her butterfly dress.  She wore it special for the Butterfly garden.

I was babysitting Aggie that night and we had a sleepover in my room.  Then she went to church with me the next morning.  She'll be starting Sunday School in a few weeks!  What a big girl!

Note again her dress!  While looking for a dress to wear for church, we saw the dress I made WAY prematurely for her at least a year or two ago for the State Fair.  She'd never worn it because of course, it hadn't fit her yet and most likely it was forgotten.  So I had her wear it now before she outgrows it. 

Maddy and Matthew came over for lunch and Maddy had "piano lessons" with Aggie and then a more legit one with Leon.  He can play a mean Mexican Hat Dance now and Aggie can play Let's Hit the Keys in rhythm with Maddy.  She won't start legit classes until she's 5 but for now, she's having fun!

Since the mad rush all summer to submit things to the State Fair, which I FINALLY did a couple weeks ago, I still had some energy left to kill.  So I have been sorting my fabric stash in my garage office and my upstairs sewing room as well as organizing all my Burda magazines!  Wow, I have a lot and yet I feel like I'm missing a stash somewhere.  I'll find them.  And I did notice that I do not have ANY 2009s!  That surprised me!  Oh well, now I know what mags to keep an eye out for at the ASG meetings and/or Ebay.

Aggie has been browsing some of them and placing orders.  This is what I'm repurposing out of a dress (the dress fabric is on the right side) for her this week.

I've been getting into repurposing clothing for new projects.  So now when I go thrifting, I look for the fabric and quantity of it in each garment I look at.  I mean, I still have TONS of fabric in my stash, even though I've been ruthless this week, but it's fun to make things out of the clothing that I've admired the fabric of.  We'll see how this ones turns out.  I'm not a fan of buttonholes, but here goes!

Mostly Aggie and anniversaries

 I initially thought this was a fern and it IS, sort of.  Ferns don't survive Iowa winters, but this sure does.  It's actually a yarrow plant and develops little flowers.  It has spread a little in my front yard so I think I might transplant one of the clumps to my ailing thistle garden behind my garage.  SOMEDAY it will not be an eyesore back there!  One plant at a time.

A few weeks ago, Aggie was running a temp and neither of her parents could take the day off as they didn't have any more PTO for a while, but I did!  I took the day off and she and I went to the doctor.  Turns out the poor thing had strep!

We had stopped by Walmart twice that morning to get some meds and things to make her feel better.  She insisted on wearing her Minnie Mouse "blanket" NOT ROBE all day.  

I get it!  I'm like that too some days.  

She was intrigued by the fish tank at the doctor's office.  So many neat fish in it!

So we stopped by the pet store and found a betta fish for her!  Well, it's mine now as the cats are not allowed in my room.  The new pet is named Ellie (short for Elephant ears betta).  She's a cutie!

Both the girls are!

We had a quick lunch when we got home and she had the choice of either go downstairs to her room for a nap and I'd lay with her and read for a bit or she could curl up on the couch and nap without me cuddling and reading to her.  I could tell she was sick as she chose the couch!

I guess it was just closer and she doesn't get the opportunity to nap there much.

So I sat across from her and got some work done on my laptop.

A few days later, I went and had lunch with my mother-in-law.  She was in and out of the hospital and finally had surgery which fixed her issues and then the nursing home for a while recuperating and is now finally back to her apartment!  We're all so happy for her!  She's feeling better than she did a year ago!

I think I'll make this a thing to go visit once a week.  She's only an hour away.  Gas prices suck, but oh well.  Family is important and as I well know, you never know how long you have.

And here Aggie is feeling much more perky!  She and I arrived at the Memorial Day parade first and scoped out a place to see Leon with his Scout troop walk past carrying the flags. :)

Some of my sisters and myself are planning another cruise in Europe next year.  I think we'd get a big discount on this one! 

Father's Day is coming up and I KNOW my son doesn't ever read my blog.  I ordered him socks with 4 pictures on it of both Aggie and Leon.  Do you see 4 different pictures?  nope.  neither did I.

So I let them know I was disappointed in my most disappointed font.  They sent me a new pair with the 4 pictures on it!  Yay!  And they didn't even ask for this pair back!

I mean.... what could they do with it?!  So Ryan is getting at least 2 pairs of socks!

This time next year, there will be pictures of THREE kids on the socks!  :)  Aggie is expecting a baby sister this fall!

Then Leon needed a check up for some Scout stuff and I just remembered that I haven't sent it in yet!  oops!  I'll get that done.

He was being goofy while we waited for the doctor and I wanted proof for his dad that he's a goofball.

Well, Aggie has been enjoying the Barbie Jeep immensely!  She keeps running into the cars because she has NOT figured out the steering wheel yet.  But she does hang on for dear life.

She had a little friend over a week or so ago and they drove it all over the driveway.  Her friend DOES understand the steering wheel, but there were several crashes anyway and neither of them understand the reverse lever.

Don't they look like a reboot of Thelma and Louise?! HA!

After each time of driving her jeep in a huge circle because that's all she knows how to do it, I give her a trike push to the end of the sidewalk and back.

She likes to show off her Tonie.  I'm checking into some "creative" ones to record Bible songs on.

More of Aggie and her jeep.

Then the annual parade for our local festival.  Leon threw us a third of his candy bag!  It really pays who you know! :)

After the parade, we all went down to the craft fair and then Leon and myself worked picking up trash for the scout troop at the food court.  Mostly consisted of Leon using my phone for a geography game and asking me questions like "where's the Taj Mahal" or Stonehenge.  And I mostly just sat and ate food that I shouldn't have.  

Another day of Jeep life.

And she's getting to be a pretty slack driver.

Well, my zucchini garden is in and growing nicely.  My clematis is looking divine this year!  I have tied it up at least another foot just this morning and the ivy is growing nicely.  I've got the indoor plants all moved outside enjoying the sun for real.  More on that another day.

Hoping I have time to keep up on all my plants this summer! 

I did do some sewing over the weekend and Aggie may or may not have a new dress that she loves.  Oh I got it done, but she hasn't tried it on yet because... attitudes...

Last month, I celebrated Robb and my 38th wedding anniversary! Wow I miss him!

As of a week ago, Meri and Josh celebrated 1 year of their first date!

And last weekend, Ryan and Jen realized it had been 12 years since they had first met!

And today is Maddy and Matthew's wedding anniversary!!  9 years since that day!  Hard to believe.  Seems like yesterday.

A teary moment during speeches.

God's blessings to you both!

Have a beautiful day all!!!

Some stuff I may not have shown here yet from this spring

I'm probably doing some of these things twice. I forget what I post sometimes when doing catchup.

Oh!  Guess what?!  Leon got his hair cut!!

Totally his idea.  Just out of the blue, he said he'd like to have it cut.

OKEY DOKEY THEN!

Here is him and his dad a day or so before Ryan took him to a barber.

And then Easter happened!  EVERYONE hunted for the eggs except for Leon and myself.  He helped me hide them all.

Then with Maddy in the picture and me taking it.

I was hoping someone would photoshop the other in, and they tried with AI, but Maddy's face was either totally wrong or mine was or she was missing hair. So weird...  We'll just put both pictures beside each other. :)

Maddy and I went to see the Red Hot Chili Pipers!

Got great seats in the balcony and they sounded super!  Second time seeing them and I just know that Robb would have loved them.

Aggie was on a kick of building towers with the magnetic tiles for a LONG time!  She and I would build it as high as we could just for her to knock it down.

Isn't that just the way?!

These days she's into reading out of the Learning To Read books from World Book with Poldy the scarecrow.  Wouldn't that be cool if she was reading before kindergarten?  

I'm not pushing her but B-B-B-Bat!

I tried my hand at fixing one of my electric canners that toasted the motherboard.  I bought the right motherboard and installed it just to have it happen two batches into some pork that I was canning.

sigh.  I pitched it.  I still have one canner left.  I'll get another someday.

The week after I got back from the Mediterranean cruise, Aggie and Jen went with her folks to see an aunt in Arizona.  They had a greatl time and I got some wonderful pics of their adventures!

And I dog-sat once or twice for Maddy since then.  I love her little shrine for Dad.

I still have Maddy's old Barbie Jeep from 2001 in the garage and this past week, I started to resurrect it for Aggie.  I bought new batteries because it's been 8 years at least since it saw the light of day and was tucked in the garage freezing, thawing, freezing, thawing ever since.  Apparently the batteries were the least of it's worries.  There is corrosion on the little plunger under the foot pedal and after buying the wrong size off Amazon, I called the only Power Wheels dealer in Iowa and they have the parts in that I need! WOOHOO!

Headed there this weekend with the jeep in the back of my car!  I WILL get this working!

Then it will totally need a paint job.

More pics on this Monday.

OH!  and I am still working hard on Italian speaking but started looking around for a group of Italian speakers near me.  I thought I'd found one but then they hadn't posted anything for a few years so shoot.  But a few days ago, someone sent me a note and woohoo!  The Italian conversation group still exists!  and she updated the FB group!  I'm going tonight!  Can't wait!  Apparently there are all levels of Italian speaking there, beginners and experienced but I'm fairly confident that I'll sound super stupid but I really want to learn how to be fluent.  So here goes!

Oh!  and I want to get into making cheese!

Ok, I'm done now.

Halloween Traditions and randomness

Friday night was Aggie and Jen's daycare Halloween open house.  She got to paint a pumpkin, play some ring toss and lots of fun stuff.  The tattoos on her arms are still there even after a few baths.

I think she was protecting them.

Oh!!!  and she doesn't just call me Gah anymore!!!  I've graduated to Gah-ma!

Last night, while making her and Leon grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, she practiced by chanting, "Gah-ma Gah-ma Gah-ma Gah-ma"

WHAT?!  

*gah-ma gah-ma gah-ma*

I guess she's just practicing... to drive us crazy.

On Saturday evening, the kids, grands and I went to Living History Farms in Des Moines!

Meri got her obligatory pic with the Taylor tombstone there.

Aggie got candy.

And lots of photo ops to go around!

We haven't been here in years and in the past, they had volunteers sitting outside each of the little buildings in this museum of a town.  I'd always thought it would be cool to open the buildings up and let people see what's inside, like they do on school field trips.  Well, this year they did!

We got a lesson on how to use a printing press, another on how to make a watery tonic of some sort at the pharmacy and a quick class from the blacksmith as he pounded out a red hot piece of steel.

The story tellers were awesome and one of them, in particular, had been there for 30 years.  The kids and I recognized her voice, which was loud and clear.  She told one about a ghost that tugs on your thumb nail.  In the past, she'd told the memorable ones about the purple egg, the nonguama and the tailypo.  Those stories had stuck in the kids memories ever since and probably gave them nightmares, but they/we loved them!  There was no kettle corn to munch on this time, but that's ok.

We rounded out the evening with dinner at Perkins.  Their pies looked delish and some of the kids had some.  I enjoyed them from afar.

I got the rest of the Halloween decor put up Sunday, or was it Saturday?  Eh - over the weekend.  I had quite a little list of to dos this weekend and only skipped a few.

but the web turned out pretty cool!  And there's a ghostly thing on the porch and a very large spider in the lilacs under the pergola.

Someone closed a cabinet door a LITTLE too hard Sunday evening and it fell apart in pieces, some splintered.  This is the remaining cabinet door.

So yesterday, I called an old retired co-worker of ours that lives nearby and fixed another cabinet that had broken many years ago.  He has glue and clamps. :) and knowledge.

He agreed to fix it for me in return that I hem a couple pairs of his wife's pants. No problemo!

A little bartering never hurt anyone!

*I hope I don't screw up the pants!*

I found this photo over the weekend of the girls in my small church school.  I was the only senior that year.  All the other girls were in various lower grades with one of my sisters to the far right.  I showed it to Leon to see if he could tell which girl I was. 

Believe it or not, he currently looks almost identical to me!

Now.  Which one am I?

I had told him prior that when I was a little girl and couldn't take care of my hair, my mom had us get pixie short hair cuts, so he assumed that in high school, I still couldn't manage my hair...

um yes I could.  The pixie only happened a few times and I was REALLY little then.

In this photo, my hair was down to the lower/middle of my back.

I'm the one with long hair, 3rd from the right.

Anyway, back to work!  Have a beautiful day and SPOOKY week!!!