My mother will be returning this afternoon from a week-long visit to my youngest sister’s home. They’ve kept her busy from what I’ve heard. Last night she participated in a Relay for Life as a cancer survivor. I’m sure she will have lots to tell me when they arrive.
My youngest niece, BB, will be coming for a stay. We haven’t had a chance to plan what we’ll be doing. We were chatting on YM and I asked what she wanted to do, and she said she wanted to visit fabric shops! She’s thirteen, and that wasn’t the answer I had expected, but I’m dleighted to have a niece who loves fabric as much as I do! *G*
BB is adept at creating clothing and accessories without a pattern. I am totally unable to move forward without a pattern, so this amazes me. I don’t know anything about design, but I’ve had a lot of experience making clothing. When I was in college, and in my twenties, if I needed clothes I had to make them. So…..we’ll spend a morning at at least one fabric shop, maybe more, and then see if we can’t create a skirt the old fashioned way.
The Chicago Shakespeare Theater produces several shows in the summer for children. The flier came through this week, and I had hoped we would find something for BB, but the production doesn’t start in time. And….it’s Peter Pan. I wonder if a 13 year old would enjoy Peter Pan. I do…
We’ll have to sit down and talk about what we can do in Chicago. Beyond the museums, and Navy Pier, there are neighborhoods to visit. She might enjoy seeing our small Chinatown. We’ve taken her to Blue Man Group. It’s going to be difficult to top previouis visits, I think!

Do you find that you make plans for a weekend and then find life rearranges them for you?
This past week was undoubtably the week from Hell. In addition to loosing Defer, a good sized tree gently folded itself over onto the corner of the house over our bedroom. It seemed to me that the skylight had become rather shaded by leaves, and I mentioned it to DH. He, of course, had the good sense to go out and LOOK….and found the tree leaning on the roof.
He spent Wednesday evening cutting off the smaller branches, and as much of the trunk as he could reach. There’s still a portion of it waiting for his attention, but he needs to bring a taller ladder home to be able to do it.
Meanwhile, good soul that I am, I got the rider mower out to start doing the mowing. Normally that’s DH’s job, but he was otherwise occupied. I got the pocket lawn right in front of the house done, and started a strip along the east side of the driveway, when the mower deck started to shudder. DH checked, and the blades are still there, but one of them is probably bent. I called the mower service and they are running TWO WEEKS behind. They won’t even be here to pick it up until June 25th! Meanwhile, the grass is growing so fast that I can hear it.
Sooooo…..rather than going shopping for clothes and new shoes, I’m going to check out the rental place to see what it costs to rent a lawn mower. I expect to get my exercise in the next few days. We have easily an acre and a half of grass to mow, maybe two.
In all fairness, DH has had to give up a day of sailing to work this morning, and he plans to work on clearing up the downed tree branches. So, I’m not alone in this.
God works in mysterious ways. As I was sitting here, moping about the mowing, he let me get a glimpse of a deer passing through the shadows of the grove outside my window. Then, she came back to dine on the leaves on those branches that have to be picked up. Maybe it won’t be so bad to be outside after all.
Sunscreen, here I come!