The Lazy, Not-so Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

 Summer...at last!

It's hard for me to believe I've been home from school for three weeks - and, it has been truly wonderful! Sleeping in...taking naps...sipping iced-tea in the afternoons...reading...what more could a girl want?

I mean, really?

And yes, there has been studio time. I took some time to research a little (I use a site called Unsplash, which has photos of just about anything you might be looking for, which don't have a copyright. You should just give a shout-out to the photographer if you use it)

As a treat, I pulled out the charcoal and chalk pastels. What fun that's been! And no, I don't know what I'm going to do with these sketches yet - it's just been enough spending time making them. 

The last picture was based on one I had taken at Cecil Park - BFFB and I had taken a ride over Spring break, and I snapped a few pictures. I liked the reflection of the building on the creek. So, fun days for me! Truly, there is nothing more fun than getting my hands filthy with charcoal and pastels, and didn't remember how much I really, really love it. 

As for the clan, Morticia and the Doctor are expecting a bundle of joy any day. Baby has gotten herself turned head-down, but so far is not engaged. If she's anything like her mother, she'll take her good old sweet time in making her entrance! 

Big Brother and DiDi have their hands full these days with Little Man and Little Sister. Little Man spent the afternoon one day last week - we painted, read books, and played with the old Playmobil Fort (it belonged to Eggbert, so it's at least 30 years old!), but he's more interested in the animals than all the cowboys and Native Amercan figures it came with.

"Look Nana, the horses and donkeys are going outside of the fort. They have to poop. Do you see the poop?"

Four-year-olds. Gotta love them and their sweet imaginations! 

Did I mention the vultures? There are three vultures - only one has both legs. They occasionally go home with him. Then, when we go to visit, I scoop them up and bring them back. It's a back-and-forth thing. We used to do this with horses from the Playskool farm. "Nana. I'm taking your horses. They want to go home with me." Seriously, someone needs to buy this kid a pony!

The days have been a little cold for swimming, but we've made it in a few times. I'm sure July will hit good and hot at some point. For certain it will be really steamy on August 21st - first day of inservice! Look out - I'll be rushing home to jump in as soon as I get home!

Reading...it's finally happened. First time I ever put down a book and said, "Nope. Not finishing it." It isn't that it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. This author has scads of books, and this was the first in the series. A Victorian-era mystery, "Murder at the Mayfair Hotel". I like a period novel, but it just wasn't keeping my interest. So, what else have I been reading?

I just finished "Firefly Lane" by Kristin Hannah, the first of two books. The other is "Fly Away", which I've already read, but didn't realize the other was first, so I finished that yesterday, and am now re-reading "Fly Away". Our book club read "Lessons in Chemistry" - wow, what a fantastic read! We're also reading "Hello Beautiful", a Napolitano novel, and it was enjoyable. I also recently finished "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult. It's also an older book, but it's been sitting on my bookshelf and decided it was time to read some of these books that are more than decoration for my family room. Wow. A very powerful book about bullying and school shootings.

There you have it - nothing earth-shattering going on at the Stress Pool -waiting for baby to come, reading, and sketching. Oh, and Zumba. I need to move around more, and signed up for a class. So far I haven't tripped over my feet or fallen flat on my face! So if you're in the neighborhood, stop by and shoot the breeze, dip your foot in the pool (float around if you're brave enough!), do a few Salsa moves, and spend some time with us at the Stress Pool! We're always happy to have some company.