The Girls In My Life

Larry, I tried this to see if I could create a slideshow visible by you. Can you see this one?

Old hen's club

The second tursday of each month, Betty goes to the house pictured, or some other location where there are no men. She got the idea from her mother who did something similar years ago. They call it the Old Hen's Club. I wonder why they call it that.


I have wondered what goes on behind closed doors. I've wondered what the ladies are doing when their partners are out of sight and forgotten. I know that when Betty comes back from her gatherings with her friends she is a different person. She's happy and up beat. She brings home leftovers from the pot luck they share. Quite often she brings home new recipes.

Pictured are three members of the Old Hen's Club. From left to Right, are Diane and her mother Jean, Betty's Aunt Esther, and Betty. There are two members that are not shown, Nelly, and June.

Dinosaurs

We needed some fun activity to share with the girls, and if there is anything that holds the attention of most children, it dinosaurs. We were off to see the dinosaurs.

About 17 miles west of Colorado Springs, in the middle of Woodland Park, there is a dinosaur museum. In front of the museum are plastic palm trees that are green all year around. Inside the museum are the skeletons of prehistoric creatures (or plaster replicas of them).

Aubrey had a lot of fun with the skeletons that hung from the ceiling. There were skeletons of every size imaginable. She was amused by turtle skeletons. One was minute and another was hunormous. Some were just bare bones and others had vinyl skins with scales and color. They looked just a bit too natural to suit me.

By the end of the tour, Chloe's feet were tired and it was easier to have someone carry her. She was impatient with that too because there was a lot to see and papa was too slow to suit her.

Here are Brenda, Chloe and Grandma in front of a different kind of dinosaur. These seem so much friendlier. It's always fun to see the world from a child's point of view.

We had a trip up to this museum about a year ago. Sadly, I don't have any photos of that trip. I do have a vivid image in my mind of the Dixon kids. As we headed up the pass, it was snowing and grandma was feeling a bit nervous. She asked the kids to be quiet so she could drive. As she looked in the rear view mirror, there was Ashliegh with her arms and legs crossed in disgust. She later told her mom, "Mom, Grandma and Papa are getting old. They wouldn't even let us breathe!"

Grandpa learns from Chloe

Sometimes we get a glimpse of the learning process in a child's mind. Betty and I had just such an opportunity while Brenda's family was here visiting.

Brenda had told us that Chloe had been tying her own shoes, and that she taught herself. When Brenda asked Chloe who had taught her how to tie her shoes, she said, "My brain taught me."

Just because I am who I am, I had to ask Chloe if she needed help tying her shoes. When she insisted that she could do it herself, I challenged it to prove it by tying my shoes for me.

Because Chloe is who she is, she quickly accepted my challenge by bringing it to my attention that I had no need for someone to tie my shoes as I was wearing my sandals. I quickly changed one shoe and stuck it out for Chloe. She tied it.

I got tickled with her because she was in a different position than when she tied her own shoes, and my shoelaces were not as long as hers were. She gave the laces a good tug to get some length and she worked until she got one shoe tied.

That was enough for her. She put her hands on her hips and said, "Papa, you know how to tie shoes, you can tie the other one yourself!

Radishes

Betty eagerly watches as plants come up in the Square Foot Garden. She has harvested about a half dozen radishes, but none have been larger than a grape. There is one square that has white radishes. She leaves them alone because she says they are too hot.

I can't believe that Betty is really harvesting these vegetables before they are ready!

The rain we've had has really given the garden a boost. Almost every square has something in it now. One even has a rodent coming up! I glad though, that the local herd of dear have not yet discovered the garden.

Robert

This is just a few pictures from our albums of Robert.



Compliments of another sleepless night.

Insomnia

It's two in the morning and I am writing on the blog because I can't sleep. I've given Betty a hard time for ages because she has been up wandering about the house in the middle of the night. I'd be watching TV, but Aubrey and Chloe are using the living room as a bedroom while they are here visiting.

I have heard people say that you should stay in bed if you can't sleep, but it just isn't working for me. I lay there listening to the clock tick. It's in the bedroom because it was keeping Brenda awake. Betty is snoring lightly. Normally I can sleep through it, but tonight it's too much.

I would read, but I'm afraid that the light will wake the kids.

If I take sleep aids, then I'll be groggy all day tomorrow.

Aging is a pain in the neck!

A visit from our daughters

There is a motorcycle rally going on in Sturgis, South Dakota. It isn't the best environment for growing girls. Brenda decided to bring her girls and come to visit us in Colorado Springs. Betty has been anxious to see Brenda and her girls.

Chloe saw a pincher bug, and didn't like it. The ran to tell her mommy with "eeww, mommy" kill it!.

Her tune changed when she found a rolly polly bug to play with and put into a pill box.

Aubrey said, "hello, Grandma, I love you, can I use your computer, I wanna get a webkin, can I huh?"

Grandma said, "Hello, I love you too, you can use the computer later, what's a webkin?"

Everyone was just settling down when there was a knock at the door and Brewster started barking. Grandma yelled at the dog and told him to quit barking. When he wouldn't settle down, she answered the door and boy was she surprised!!

Who was at the door, but Andrea! She was in Colorado Springs on an errand so she and Ashleigh decided to stop by and say hello.
The boys didn't come with her. Matthew didn't feel like coming, and Luke didn't get asked.

Luke was a bit surprised that Mom came to the Springs without him. He texted her to let her know how he felt. He wasted no words.

Brenda said, "Why Andrea, I haven't seen you forever, how are you, where are the boys? have you met Chloe before? How's work? Are you still working at the same place?

Grandpa was glad to see all of his girls, but felt somewhat ovewhelmed because he was outnumbered by these fast talking funny faced women. I wonder where they get it?

A visit from Mother Goose

We have a dear friend, Jo, that is very good with animals. She and her husband have rescued several animals. Since we have known them, they have rescued several golden retrievers. She cares for a buck deer she calls "Handsome". Last winter, they adopted and cared for an abandoned squirrel they named Nicky. Right now, they are caring for a Canadian Goose named Milo.

When someone brought Milo to her, he was just a ball of yellow down. His grey feet identified him as a goose rather than a duck. He quickly imprinted on Jo and was following her everywhere.

Last night, Jo and her husband, Blake, brought Milo to our home for a visit. He was wrapped carefully in a towel because he is so efficient at processing his food. Jo has a harness she uses on Milo to hold diapers on him. She didn't bring it with her, so for the sake of Milo and our carpets, we took our visitors to the back yard. Milo was quite at home. He explored and sampled the grass and dandelions as he seemed to carry on a conversation with Jo.

At Jo's prompting, he spread his wings. I was really surprised at how large he had gotten in the short time he has been with our friends. Blake tells me that Canadian geese are full grown in three and a half months from birth.

Canadian Geese are social animals. In an effort to help Milo integrate with others of his species, cracked corn is being fed to a flock of geese nearby as Milo learns to be a part of the gaggle. As the wild geese have learned to accept Jo and Blake, they have accepted Milo as well.

Milo is beginning to fly. With time he may migrate with the other birds of his species. I believe Milo will always be a part of Blake and Jo's family.

Take a look at the pictures Jo sent of Milo, Nikky, Shawmus, and Joby: