X marks the spot!

The past two weeks have been hectic. FUN. Tiring. Interesting. Challenging. Did I mention hectic?

TLC’s Hubby had been in training—in Connecticut—for his (semi) new job. Until last night. This was the second time he’d had to go in the past two months. Now that they live 45 minutes (minimum) closer to My Sweet Hubby (aka MSH) and moi, I’ve made a determined effort to help TLC out with My Sweet Girls—Little Leighton (aka LL aka Biscuit) and Baby Elle (aka Belle). This means I go there to TLC’s casa or she comes to ours frequently. In fact...in the past twelve nights? I’ve been with them for eight. TLC and I have only had very minor issues with each other. Yes. TLC gets frustrated with me. And I with her. Those things about each other that are alike? They are IDENTICAL. Those things about each other that are different? WOWZER. YIKES. SHEESH. Let's all take a breath and a BREAK.

So this go-round, we did GOOD. Very good. The Little Girls absolutely, positively, without a doubt CRACK THIS GRAMMY NANNY UP. Constantly.

Little Leighton? Sweet. Funny. Smart. Silly. Quiet/Shy. Ish. Mostly.

Baby Elle? WILD. Energetic. Adventurous (to the point of being downright RISKY). Curious. Silly. Silly like her Big Sis.

I always think I’m going to remember everything funny or touching or SMART that these two say and/or do. Of course, I don’t. I thought that when TLC was a baby/tot/child/adolescent/teen. You'd think one would learn. Nope.

But one cutie-thingie that happened was during their bath Wednesday night. TLC and I both have these foamy letters and numbers that stick to the sides of the tub—or to the wall—if it’s marble/tile, etc. For minutes of entertainment! (Notice I said "minutes." Sometimes it's closer to "seconds.") Both TLC and I had pretty much put these letters/numbers up a few months ago. Belle was trying to eat them. We didn’t think that was an especially good idea. Recently, both of us had gotten them back out to test her ability to understand she should NOT put them in her mouth. So far? So good.

Belle REALLY likes to put things on her head. Bowls. Toys. Clothes. Diapers (Not used. Thank You, Lord.). Paper plates. Food. Excluding food, once she places some object on her head she says: “Hat! Hat!” It’s PRECIOUS. Naturally I’d believe that. Winky. Wink. Probably not original. However, Biscuit didn't do this too much. She seemed to prefer tiaras for her wittle head.

So Wednesday night, Belle was putting those letters and numbers on her head and saying: “Hat!” TLC, LL and I were laughing. Duh. At some point, LL stuck the letter “X” on Belle’s head and said: “X marks the spot!”

Wwhhhaaaattttt? Where had our 5-year-old heard that expression? And how did she remember it and use it correctly—even though in such a cRaZy way?

I don’t know. She loves to look at maps. I suppose she’s read a book that talks about “X” marking the spot.

It was clever. SHE IS ADORABLE. They are BOTH ADORABLE. Yep. I'm that obnoxious grandmother. 24/7.

MSH came for a visit yesterday—my last day “on the job”—and helped TLC put up a curtain rod in her den/living room. We had lunch. I stayed with Belle while TLC, Biscuit and MSH went for a ride around TLC’s new hometown. There are beaucoups of tres charming/pretty/sweet places to see!

We got home yesterday afternoon and have been busy, busy since. Our country casa/place will be officially listed For Sale next week. Oh. No. Here I go. I get so verklempt when I even begin to think of leaving this amazing home we’ve been blessed with for over seventeen years. Who knows if it’ll sell fast? Maybe we’ll be sitting here two years from now with no offers. PROMISE: MSH and I are both at peace with God’s Plan for our future. We honestly are believing He has His Plan for us and we’ll know what it is at some point. In the meantime? We’re working on getting rid of STUFF. Clutter. CRAP. (Excuse my French.) We have enough for seventeen other peeps. Sigh.

Here’s hoping each of Y’all has a WONDERFUL Weekend—wherever in this world you are! Get rid of some crap in my honour--'kay?

HUGS and SMOOCHES…

ELC

Officially time for...

...PUMPKINS!

Y'all. We had the best weekend. I have oodles and oodles of the cutest pics on my phone to share. But, I snapped these earlier this afternoon and pumpkins always take priority. Wink. Wink.

On Friday afternoon, while visiting with ELC and My Sweet Dad for the weekend, we stopped to buy just a few pumpkins. I fully intend to add at least four more, but this is a good start for late September.

I hope y'all had a wonderful weekend, too! I'll be back to recap and share more pics SOON.

TTFN.

P.S. IT'S FALL Y'ALL!

twilight and otis...

So Y’all might remember that Little Leighton named our three Mama cows: Elsie. Twinkle and Dixie. AWESOME names. Truly. Yet this Grammy Ga-Ga ELC has never been able to call Twinkle anything but Twilight. I have no explanation for this faux pas. None. Fraudian? No clue.

TLC, Little Leighton (LL) and Baby Elle have been here since Thursday afternoon. I actually came with them from their house. Long story. (We’re going back to TLC’s this afternoon. So I can go to church with them tomorrow morning.)

Little Leighton could not wait to see the new baby calf she named Olaf. (Because, you see, Elsie is actually after Elsa. Her most treasured Princess. To date.) Grammy Ga-Ga was ‘fessin’ up to LL that I call Twinkle "Twilight." Bless LL’s sweet heart—she said: "Well, Grammy, let’s just call her Twilight." God love Grammy's Precious LL.

So while I was on a roll, I reminded her Pa-Pa (aka My Sweet Hubby aka MSH) is still calling the new bull calf Olaf “Otis.” She said it’d be okay if we changed his name, too. But I think she should not have to give up another name. We’ve been making MSH practice. Olaf. Olaf. Olaf. He almost has it. (Not. Not actually. Sigh.)

All of us Texas Leighton Gals (and Baby Elle) hope All of Y’all will have a WONDERFUL WEEKEND—wherever in this World you are!

Until we meet again…(And, yes, it will be TLC’s turn next week. Will be innerstin’ to see if she can hold up to the bargain she made with Her Mama and that would be MOI and that would be one post per week.)

ta-ta for now…

ELC

i'm baaaccckkk...

Hi, friends!

I'm quickly typing this while watching the baby monitor. Baby Elle has decided over the last three weeks that sleeping uninterrupted at night is just for the birds. It seems to be occurring roughly every other night, as it appears she's in the habit of having one bad night followed by one good night (because she's clearly exhausted). Tonight is already a bad night, and it's still (relatively) early.

Y'all. I. Am. Done.

After listening to her cry and cry and cry, I finally broke down and went into her room about an hour ago. She was thirsty. After guzzling water, she asked if I would rock her. I obliged. Then she tried chatting with me and pointing out my facial features: eyes, nose, mouth, yougetthepoint. At that juncture, I bid her farewell and put her back down. She's not currently asleep but at least she isn't wailing.

We are slowly, but surely, settling into our new home and new town. The weekend we moved was ROUGH. I cried. A LOT. I loved my home and neighbors and friends and my precious Downtown and yummy restaurants. Even at 33, I still have a hard time accepting change. My Hubby had been out of town for the two weeks prior to our move, and I was simply overwhelmed. I was certain I couldn't love my new home and new town as much as the life we were leaving.

I was WRONG. Hallelujah.

I adore our new town. I love Little Leighton's school. I love the church we've decided to attend. I love the public library. I love the restaurants. Though there is quite a bit of "revamping" we would like done at our new house, I really do love it, too. The layout is much more functional.

I also love the sweet, little Farmer's Market around our Town Hall! We decided to scope it out last Saturday and were truly impressed!

Here is a picture of LL with the amazing bouquet of flowers we brought home. It was ginormous and only $10! (Unfortunately, the flowers only lasted two days at our casa. Not because they weren't still beautiful but because my allergies were not fond of the pollen. Boo.)

I hope to be back blogging at least once a week now. Thank you to ELC for her endless support, help and general "covering for moi."

Wish me luck tonight. Jesus, take the wheel!

my boo...

Saturday “sayings” from Pinterest (I have no clue who to give credit to for these funnies/cuties. Suffice it to say I wasn’t clever enough to think of ANY of them myself. Not a one.):

 

I love you Friday but

 

Saturday morning

 

you my boo.

 

dear Saturday,

 

 you are my

 

                                       favourite

                                                                   X

 

(Many of Y’all understand what I love about this one: The way “favourite” is spelled. The way TLC and I strongly feel it should always be spelled.)

 

on Saturdays

     we wear

           pajamas

 

(Yes. Yes, we do. When we can. Okay. That’s not often. But it happens occasionally…and those are often THE BEST SATURDAYS.)

 

I was thinking last night about weekends. You might assume, if you is a youngun, or younger than, oh, I don’t know, 60, that when you’re a “retired” peep, all the days would kind of flow together. And, to some extent, that can happen. My Sweet Hubby (MSH) needs me and/or a calendar and/or his phone calendar and/or the television to remind him what day it is. (Sometimes I have to remind him several times during that day...sigh...) Monday holidays? They mess us up (mainly him) horribly. Forever.

BUT, STRANGELY enough, we still look forward to Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays! We truly do. I guess from the time we’re born most of us get it in our heads and souls that the weekend is THE WEEKEND. Special. Cherished. Treasured. Lazy. FUN. (Yes, some people work all weekend long—or part of a weekend—and, for them, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays might be like any other day of the week. Or their “weekends” might be our “weekdays.” (I hate that for them. At the same time, I thank doctors, nurses, firemen and women, policemen and women, EMTS, retail and grocery store workers, and millions and millions of others who keep This World running on weekends. Thank you for your willingness to be there for us when we need you. God bless you.)

MSH and I seriously can’t wait for Friday nights! We have an on-going date to meet in our Great Room for some television watchin’. Our “date” begins around 5:00 p.m. and ends at approximately 8:00 p.m. That’s the time he’s ready to go to our bedroom and watch his National Geographic shows. That’s my time for Dateline or 20/20 or something I’ve recorded earlier in the week and haven’t had time to watch.

This Saturday morn we’re waiting on a painter to come repair a little spot on one of our ceilings. It's not a big deal but it needs to be done right. (MSH tried to fix it a couple of days ago. He was afraid he’d make it worse. So there you go. The little spot will cost us $200 to get repaired. Yikes. Sheesh.) I’m about to be Chef Grammy Ga-Ga and bake up some “Gramcakes” (aka gluten-free pancakes in different flavors—pumpkin, or with chocolate chips, or just plain and buttery and YUMMY—for Little Leighton and Baby Elle). Later this afternoon, MSH and I will head to town for errands. Yep. Just like they did back in them thar Olden Days—when the country folk headed to town for supplies.

Here’s wishing each of Y’all a Sweet Saturday—wherever in this World you are! Stay in those jammies. If you can!

ta-ta for now, Sillies…

elc

...heart friends...

From Prayers with Purpose for Women by Jackie M. Johnson:

My Friends

THE POWER OF CONNECTION

Thank You for My Friendships

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

      PROVERBS 18:24

Lord, I thank You for my wonderful friends! As I think about the treasure chest of my close friends, casual friends, and acquaintances, I am grateful for the blessings and the joys each one brings to my life. Thank you for my “heart” friends, my loyal sister friends who listen, care, and encourage me. They are my faithful companions. I acknowledge that You, Lord, are the giver of all good gifts, and I thank You for Your provision in my friendships.

In Jesus’ Name, I pray.

Amen.

As we end this week, a week of more hurricanes, devastation, pain, uncertainty, confusion, sadness, fears, frustrations and stress, I think about the friends TLC and I have had in our lives. (My life? Long. Hers? Not so much.) We’ve been beyond lucky to have the most amazing women to help us get through all the tough stuff. The most amazing women with which to laugh. And cry.

Many of our dearest “heart” friends are the same! At some point (I think about the time TLC got married, maybe?), age started becoming irrelevant and many of my friends became TLC’s. (Not just Moms of her friends…or older women who’d been my friends for years and years. And years.) For me, those young women I’d known for most of their lives—watching them grow up with TLC from toddlers to lovely adults—became my friends, too.

The above prayer was one I came to early this morning as I engaged in my daily ritual of reading The Bible and reading from six other God/Jesus books. I cherished every lovely word of this prayer because I cherish every second of every day I’ve enjoyed the magnificent friends I have here on this sometimes scary Earth... 

As we start a new week, I wish for each of Y’all HAPPY CONNECTIONS with your friends—old and new. Don’t take them for granted. Tell them how much you adore and need them. We never know when we'll have missed that chance...

Hugs…

ELC

63

Not my age. Although, yes, that actually IS my age.

63 degrees this morning at 7:00! At our country casa in North Central Texas. Reported to me by My Sweet Hubby (MSH) as he headed out the door to go for his daily walk with Teddy Buddy Boo Bear.

FALL IS COMING! FALL IS COMING! We/Us? TEXANS ARE SO BEYOND READY for cool, crisp weather. I’m betting 85% of all those 21 and over who live in Texas would say Fall/Autumn is their most favourite season of the year. (Make that 100% for everyone over the age of 40.)

MSH and I took advantage of the cool morning temps to work in our store room located inside our garage. I wish I could show y’all a picture of what we took out of it and put on the floor of our double-car garage. (Alas, I still don't know how to post pictures. Don't give up on me!) It reminded me of one of those Clown Cars at the Rodeo. You know what I’m talking about, right? A Volkswagon is driven into the center of the rodeo arena. A clown gets out and holds the door while 100 more clowns get out of it. And you simply cannot figure out where they are coming from and how that is even happening.

I never remember to take a “before” picture. You remember this fact. At least, I don’t remember very often. I did take “after” pictures of the actual storage room when we were finished. Because, once MSH and I had worked for NINE (9) hours cleaning, organizing, trashing, purging, and repacking the thousands of things that had been in that room, it was BEE-YOU-TEE-FULL. Less congested. Swept. Dusted. Lovely. Fabulous.

Tomorrow I’m going to my Weight Watchers’ meeting (last week I was officially down 34.6 pounds), taking six very full boxes and some miscellaneous items to a foster home in town that has a benefit auction every March (Yes, I’m donating a tidbit early. They have a HUGE equipment building they store donations in during the year.), and then coming home to work over at our Barn apartment. Closets. Bookshelves. Kitchen shelves. Etc.

I’m on a MISSION. And my Mission will be ACCOMPLISHED. (Eventually.)

Picture me sending each of you a BIG SMOOCH! Hope you have a Terrific Thursday—wherever in this World you are!

ELC

...the doorway...

“Ah, September!

 

       You are the

 

   doorway to the

 

        season that

 

        awakens my

 

            soul…”

 

                                                                                    --Peggy Toney Horton

 

September.

The month that begins to excite TLC about pumpkins and everything FALL/Autumn.

The month of our wedding anniversary (My Sweet Hubby—aka MSH—and I will celebrate 39 years of marriage soon…).

A new month that we, as Texans, hope and pray will be the beginning of significant recovery from Hurricane Harvey. Sigh. Please Dearest Lord God Amighty—help South Texas and all of our State find renewed faith and strength.

TLC, Little Leighton and Baby Elle are on their way to spend a few nights with us on this Labor Day holiday. We can’t wait to see them!

We send our BEST WISHES to each of Y’all to have a WONDERFUL, happy, healthy, SAFE, lazy, FUN weekend…wherever in this World you are!

Hugs,

ELC