Scattered Thoughts . . .

We invited Will and Sue as well as Liza and the kids over this past weekend for another barbeque in the backyard.  It was a beautiful day and everyone enjoyed themselves.   I have to mention that it has become very clear to Sheila and me that the best home improvement project we have ever done was to build our outdoor kitchen and grill.  This improvement has made things so much easier even in the dead of winter.  That outdoor kitchen and grill is under cover away from rain, hail and snow.  In the summertime when inside the house is ridiculously hot and sticky, it is awesome having everything available outdoors.  We could still use a few small improvements in this convenient outdoor kitchen but it is already our most useful home improvement.  This kitchen worked out very well on this day too. When the kids arrived, they were pretty hot so we started off the day with fresh strawberry popsicles.  Because of the pandemic, we don't see the kids all that often anymore so I try to get

Yesterday, we had a little birthday party for Nan in the sweltering heat and humidity.   After Sheila and I spent the morning preparing for this little birthday gathering, I set up air conditioning throughout the house so we could take breaks from the heat inside the more comfortable house.  That worked out well especially when a few passing thundershowers passed through the area during dinner. We started the day with a much-needed haircut for Lukey.  Here is Lukey before the haircut...   Sheila managed to capture a few good photos of the haircut... And, here is Lukey after his haircut...   And, a before and after comparison in one image... While I cut Lukey's hair, Kenzie was keeping cool by playing with the cold water from the hose... Lukey had no desire to shower after his haircut but he was covered in long cut hair so he opted for getting sprayed with the hose... The water from the hose was a bit colder than Lukey liked so he did a little w

We had a really nice weekend and had an especially nice Sunday dinner with the grandchildren, Liza, and Sheila's parents, Will and Sue! Lukey arrived at the house with a golf club in hand which immediately reminded me of creating golf courses when I was a kid myself. We kept the course design simple on this day, however.  First, we dug one single hole, inserted a cup, and then we figured out where to place five different tee off areas... one straight-on... one off to the side... one which we called "down in the hole" which placed the tee off area lower than the green... one which was off to the side of "down in the hole" requiring chipping around tall brush and foliage... and one which required chipping over our firepit.  We took a little break for lunch... cheese quesadillas, tomato soup, apple sauce and berry jello for the kids... some leftover fried okra for me... and a cherry tomato medley salad for Gee... then back outside to play more go