TreasuresInTerraCotta

Tempera paint smells like elementary school! Good thing we got lots of hand-me-down paints from my cousin! And some treasure boxes courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa.   Gotta put those old campaign signs to good use!   Once the baby got messy I popped him in the tub. Leave the baby unattended in the bath or leave the boys unattended with the paint!?  That's when it got interesting...look at the look on his face!! "The baby was only in the tub five minutes!!" Yes, tempera paint on vinyl signs is better than ice skating!

This week I listed my one-thousandth gift!   After reading the book I started my list.  As you might expect I wrote ferociously for a while.  I would work on my list intentionally and somewhat methodically.  Then days would pass and I would realize my gratitude journal was on the table...at the bottom of the stack.  But my heart and my attitude kept missing the presence of gratitude and thankfulness, so I would pick it back up again.  And this week I wrote 1000! Since the beginning I wondered what 1000 would be.  Whether I would choose it intentionally or whether it would very naturally be something fabulous.  As it turns out, it was both.  I sat and pondered the "gifts" of the day and started writing.  A comment kept rolling around in my mind and I decided that it was a gift.  Just a little comment, posted on a blog, a sort of challenge, that had me pondering and writing.  Yes, I think it's a gift....

As amazing as it may sound, I have never owned an apron.  In fact, I can't even recall ever wearing an apron...except perhaps in chemistry lab.  Admitting this, I realize, is somewhat embarrassing and geeky, but totally true.  Recently I was at a friend's house and she donned an apron to make lunch.  Just whisked it out and tied it on as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and all for making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  I was intrigued!  I had to ask about her apron, apron wearing and etiquette, necessity and purpose. We had a nice (and surprisingly long) conversation.  Is it to keep food off your clothing or to keep your "day" off the food.  Do people make aprons or buy them?  Do you need more than one?  How often do you wash them?  What do you put in the pockets?  How come some aprons go around your neck and others just go around your waist?  You mean people wear aprons for "housekeeping" too? ...

Andrew was wearing an Elephant shirt on Monday so he inspired us to head to the zoo.  (Which inspired me to put Truman in a Horton elephant shirt too.)  Andrew also wanted to take the wagon, which turned out being a nice treat for us all. It was nice and early before it got too hot.  And it wasn't very crowded.      Truman noticing the otters! The mama lion and one of her cubs...now almost a year old.   Daddy lion is sleeping in the back.  Another cub sunning on the rocks! A cute cub asleep near the food...perhaps that's the male?? This was our first visit to see the elephants in their new habitat.  I thought the habitat was beautiful and the walking paths, displays, interactives and shade trees were all so nice. I haven't learned the names of the new elephant family, but there was a nice display giving information about each one.  They were very active and every time I put my camera away I missed a...

As I've mentioned before , we visit our marriage counselor about once a year, whether we need it or not! Recently I gave the office a call to make an appointment.  The receptionist was very helpful in describing what has going on with our counselor Randy and his practice.  As it turns out, his wife has stage 4 cancer.  He has limited his appointments.  He has cut back.  He is taking time off a couple times during the summer "to work on her bucket list."  We were put on a waiting list. I'm pretty sure there is a counseling-session worth of advise and insight to take away from that one phone call.  No appointment necessary.