Chaotic Summer!

My DD had a work-related scheduling problem the week after Sisters.  She called and said, "Can you come up to Portland after Sisters and handle the kids for a week?  You can stay here, you can take them to the beach. But you're in charge!"  Just what any Nana loves to hear!

Here's what we did!!

After the Davis Cup event, we left for the beach Tuesday morning!  Lunch at DQ and all good travelers get to eat their dessert first!  I texted that to my DD and she said, "Cool, wait ... what???"

We got here, I ran to the store, they went out to throw the football around, we ate, we watched a Harry Potter movie and off to bed!  But thus began the nightly 'football camp' challenges!  We have a staging area in a clearing by us.  Giant mounds of gravel.  Every evening after dinner we went, tried to break our records for the most footballs caught in a row.  Throwing between the 4 of us!  Races thru-out including up the gravel mountain and back!  Who was the most worn out??? I think it was a tie!

 Swim lessons (2 sessions) began Wednesday morning - plus 2 "Open Swims"  Wednesday, Miss P got her bangs cut!  YAY - I can see those lovely eyes and expressive eyebrows!!

We hung out at the beach - this is at my favorite "elbow driftwood" to take pictures!

We forded streams and skipped rocks.

We made Wonder loom jewelry.

More beach rocks to climb!

Surprise - Disney Celebration quilts for these two!  We all went together in January.

Posing for Nana

We covered notebooks; we read books; we watched movies; we ate on the deck; played briefly at the Kid-town; Ate breakfast pancakes at Matties, went to the golf course with Papa.  Mr M put together a erector set-like airplane.  Kit from the Dollar Store!!  And went to "The Secret Life of Pets" (it's very good!)  Saturday we went to the kite festival.

This is one of the best ways to watch the kite festival!  We then made our own kites with their help ...

And flew them on the beach where it is always windy!

Carefully packed them in the trunk and left for home!  Exhausted!!!! Just the way we like it!

Accck! TWO blog posts in one week ... what on earth??

I know, I know.  The Portland kids are coming back with us from Sisters.  They sleep in the sewing space.  They bring suitcases and stuff.  All the rest of the year, that room is not available for more stuff going in!  Today was the day!  The last time it was cleared and clean was when J from NE came out with P's new puppy!  I thought this occasion deserved pictures!

I haven't taken pictures of the room when it's a mess - who would??  But let me put it in perspective.  There is one twin bed in there.  My DH is an insomniac.  I get up early to go to water aerobics, usually not long after his best sleep time.  So he likes to go back to bed in the sewing space.

That means every night I need to check that the bed is clear.  Don't judge me!  It's a flat surface, yes, things get put on it!

One night DH asked me where the stuff on the bed comes from ... seriously???  Of course it comes from the ironing board and the sewing chair!  Everyone knows that!  And when I sew during the day, guess what is in the way ... the stuff piled on the ironing board and sewing chair so it gets moved to the bed.   I don't need to go on, do I!

My DH says cleaning the sewing room is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic!!  There's a lot of truth in that.

So-o the room can only be cleaned when I know I will be too busy to sew.  Enter grandkids at the beach!

So here is my sewing space - more of a staging area than a sewing room!!!  Caution - it does seem larger for these brief moments!!

Notice the clean bed!!  Design wall behind it.  In front is "Say Uncle" wool bouquet and "It's my favorite" challenge from this year.  Pinned behind those is the QuiltMania BOM by Yoko Saito in 2014??  The end of July there will be a sweatshop dedicated to getting the borders for this quilt done at last!!  The ironing board is folded and tucked behind my chest of drawers from my childhood.  Love those little drawers!

The wonderful window looking out at the forest and courtyard for our building.  Those shades are rarely open - the walkway is RIGHT THERE and who would want their neighbors to see this room in it's usual condition, neighbors who have no suspicion that you are this crazy and disorderly??

There is a shoe shine box on the floor between the table and drawers.  Awkward but sturdy storage for books.  The log cabin project is in a box lid on top of it.  A shopping bag full of log cabin blocks and pieces on the floor under the table.  On the table behind the Janome 4800 is DMC machine embroidery thread in a Snap Lock case.  Two sets of Target little drawers that hold all the little tools and notions that you need but might not use often!  PJ pants labels "Nana Loves You"; machine needles, hand needles, pins, left-over binding pieces, templates for blocks, scissors, you name it.

There are two office chairs - one to stack projects on!!  Hey! They don't have to be moved every day!!  And the regular chair moved to the corner to make room for the extra mattress and suitcases!

Here is the main storage in the room - gotta love IKEA!  There are 4 canvas cubbies that hold UFOs. 8 baskets that hold 1. Embroidery floss; 2. Wool projects and patterns; 3. Parts of plaid bear's paw UFO; 4. Stripe fabrics for the summer quilt just topped; 5&6. More miscellaneous tools, etc; 7&8. Stacks of pulled fabrics for projects hoping to do soon!  Ok - hoping someone else, mainly minions will come in and do my bidding by sewing/finishing these projects.

Quilt books on the bottom shelves.  A stack of magazines and two large notebooks with projects torn out of magazines! A file box of counted cross stitch patterns and leaflets.

Top of the bookcase???  Oh, my!  Buttons, CDs, beach glass, beach rocks - polished and not polished. wifi box, Bose music system, JoAnn ads!! Mom's spice cabinet, basket of pin cushions ... and who knows what else.

PS Under NO circumstances am I showing you the closet today!!!  Just saying!

These may or not be a surprise for the kiddos!  We all went to Disneyland in January and I found two panels at Road to CA.  They are short bunkbed size and hopefully perfect for wrapping up in!  Pictures next time when the kids hold them or pose in front of them!

Well, today was a busy day.  Water aerobics in the morning; Tai Chi over the lunch hour and a haircut right after TaiChi.  So I packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to snarf down in between.  I'm sitting in the parking lot and there is this plant in front of me.  Something attracts my attention and I look closer.  There are snails climbing up the plant!!  Several of them!  Blow this up on your computer, these are honking big snails!  Where are they going?  For what purpose???

They might be easier to see on this picture.  Look at the frond in the middle right above the background trees!

So I wonder - and look at the base of the plant - lots of little snails in que to climb up!!  Weird, right??

Last thing, then I have to get to bed!  When we were in Talent babysitting the little gkids - they had a library book I fell in love with!  Ninja Red Riding Hood!!

This book is a hoot!  I love their sense of humor.  Poor wolf - all his 'meals' are beating him up!  He has to sneak into Ninja school.  He's ready, he sets up Red Riding Hood and she's a better Ninja than he is!  Grandma comes home in her Gi from Tai Chi!!! And they make him swear off red meat!

Try it!!  And the author also wrote The Three Ninja Pigs.  I haven't seen it, but I'm looking!!