The Mystery Egg

While picking weeds this past weekend we came across a little white egg in the dirt. We probably should have left it be but instead we placed it in a glass jar. Grace immediately began to guess what kind of creature would hatch from the egg - a bird, crocodile, bee, lizard, snake, or perhaps a badger.


Grace made the egg cozy by adding mulch to the jar. She checked on it frequently but unfortunately it became shriveled and gray. So the mystery continues - what was growing inside there?

Reading to the Dogs

Our library, in conjunction with the Humane Society, offers a wonderful program called "Reading to the Dogs". Once a month therapy dogs along with their human counterparts come to the library so children can read to them.

Grace was hopeful to read her "Biscuit" story to a "little baby pug" but when there was no pug to be seen she happily read to Sugarbear, a golden retriever. While Grace was reading Sugarbear kept placing her paw on Grace's arm - I think the dog would have preferred a neck scratch over listening to the story! Thankfully, Grace didn't seem to mind and is already asking, "When will the dogs come back to the library"?

An Amazing Sight

This is what we saw as we drove over the Howard Franklin bridge today - a waterspout/tornado. It was amazing and a bit scary to see this powerful act of Mother Nature so up close and personal. No need to worry - I was in the passenger, not the driver seat when I snapped the picture!

Nana and Papa Visit

On Saturday afternoon Nana and Papa came for a visit. Grace kept them busy by being head of the entertainment committee. By the end of the day the adults were exhausted but somehow Grace still had energy to spare. To finish off their visit Dean and Grace met them for breakfast this morning while I was at work. It was nice to see them - we're glad they came!

Our Mermaid

Here it is nearly the end of July and I haven't posted about something Grace has been doing daily (sometimes twice a day) since the end of May - swimming. Oh how she loves to be in the pool. It's such great exercise for her and it's about the only activity we can do outside this time of year due to the heat. She can spend hours in the water - perhaps she's part mermaid, just like the swimsuit she loves to wear!

Etsy Dreams

I have long wanted to open a shop on Etsy. I've actually gone as far as coming up with a "theme" and ordering fabric labels (to sew onto the items I make) and business cards. But for one reason or another it just hasn't happened - until now. I'm here to tell you that my Etsy dreams have officially been rekindled!


While Grace was at school today I found some spare time to piece together these three little quilts. (I only used a pattern for the dog, the cake and tree were created from my own sketches) I plan on adding a few details to them - buttons, embroidery, etc. Once the quilts are finished, in addition to some other items, my shop will be open for business. I'll be sure to keep you posted!

An Overnight Visit

We're just getting home after an overnight stay at Meme and Pop's. Our day are always packed full of fun while we're there.


We visited with Aunt Cathi, bringing her birthday and get well wishes.


There's always a pile of dishes to do after preparing a meal from scratch (we made pizza, caesar salad, peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream).


In addition, Grace went swimming until her skin was prunish, read many books, drew pictures, and completed two new puzzles.

The end result of all our fun - one tired little girl!

Blankets for Craft Hope

Our three blankets for the current Craft Hope project are complete. We needed a large packing envelope so we made a trip to the office supply store. As you can see in the photo below Grace found it rather entertaining to balance the envelope on her head - thank goodness the camera was with me!

The blankets are now packaged and ready to begin their journey to an orphanage in India. We hope the flannel blankets will provide a little love and warmth to three children in need.

Blueberries

Lately containers of blueberries have been finding their way into our shopping cart. And they've been so delicious. I've made a variety of desserts from crumbles to cobblers but this evening Grace and I made blueberry sauce to top our homemade cheesecake ice cream (recipes from "The Perfect Scoop").


After the topping was finished we read the cute story, "Blueberries for Sal" by Robert McCloskey. The story reminded me of picking strawberries with Grace this past February - well minus the bears.

The ice cream was heavenly - just like eating a piece of cheesecake covered in fresh blueberries!

A New Haircut and Collar

Sophie had her first solo trip to the groomer. It was a day that I wasn't looking forward to - I knew walking through the doors without Molly would be difficult for me. We seemed to manage and when Grace and I picked her up she was just as excited to see us as we were to see her.

In addition to her new haircut she also got a new collar and leash. We found the perfect set on Etsy (seller here). It's made with adorable ribbon that has squirrels, trees and toadstools on it - some of Sophie's favorite things. You can see the collar in the photo above - it was taken while she was rolling around in the grass. For some reason she's such a tough one to get a picture of!

Grace's Tuesday

Goodbye kisses for Daddy - a morning walk at Bayfront Park - finished her first 100 piece puzzle - talked with Meme - made scones for an after dinner treat - attended story time at Selby Library and made a dream-catcher - had an afternoon snack at Starbucks - pushed the cart at Whole Foods Market - went swimming - helped prepare dinner - blew bubbles in the tub - talked with Aunt Cathi - listened while Daddy read stories - goodnight hugs and kisses.

All the things Grace did today - what a wonderful day it was!

Go Rays

Over the weekend Grace attended her first baseball game. The hospital had given each employee tickets to a Ray's game and despite me having to work the following morning, we went. We weren't quite sure how Grace would like it being a sporting event and all, but she loved it - she was actually disappointed that we had to leave early. We all had a great time (Meme and Pop joined us) so we'll be sure to go back for more baseball fun.


Here's Grace eating "Dippin Dots" ice cream. At first she was hesitant to try a bite but once she did the entire cup was history.


Enjoying the view from our upper deck seats - Go Rays!

Quack, Quack

Grace and I were busy making blankets for the next Craft Hope project when we heard a loud quacking sound. Much to our surprise there were two mama ducks right outside our front door. Grace thought they looked hungry so she tossed some bread out to them -unfortunately it scared the mamas and they flew away.

Saying Goodbye

During our blogging absence we suffered a tremendous loss. While out for a walk one morning, for reasons we'll never know, something went terribly wrong. As a result our sweet Molly is no longer with us. Our hearts are broken and we miss her dearly. We're finding comfort in knowing that Molly has had her final car ride home with us - to the home where she lived a wonderful life and was so loved by her family.