Crafts on the Dock

I have a daughter who has a need to create that is nearly as strong as her need to breathe. It's one of her love languages (the other is food...) and so when we're enjoying the sunshine and she wants to do crafts on the dock, we do crafts on the dock. (Who said you could only use glue in the house...)
What you need: Paper, glue and a little bit of nature.
What you do: Apply a liberal amount of glue to your paper, pour sand across the glue to make a beach. Pick leaves and flowers, find a stick and start making your masterpiece.
Use the yellow flower petals to make a sun. A stick - the trunk of a palm tree; leaves finish it off. The orange flower petal makes a perfect surfboard.
(Of course, all of this works better if you have blue fingernail polish on your fingers.)
When you're done, start over and make another one. Then give it to someone you love and your craft is complete.

Sadness and Happiness

It was a tough week at the Abrams' house last week. We had to say 'goodbye' to Jack, Jake's kitty, after an accident...lots of tears and sadness.

Jake decided it would be ok if he could get a new kitty, so we made phone calls and searched the paper for ads...and found Max...lots of snuggles and happiness.

Welcome to the family, Max!

Big Bass

Scott and Jake have been "hitting the docks" as they call it. One of their latest outings:

Nothing like summer in Minnesota.

Laundry

No, this isn't to lament the piles and piles of laundry that get folded around here each week. I'm thankful for the washing machine and dryer; glad I don't have to beat the clothes against a rock in the lake and then hang them over tree branches to dry. I am thankful for detergent that smells fresh and for dryer sheets that make the clothes snuggly soft.

But mostly, I am thankful for a particular laundry basket. Every time I use it (which is almost daily), it reminds me of Grandpa and Grandma Schoon. (Not because of the mountains and mountains of laundry that I know Grandma washed, hung on the line and dried for years and years - not to mention all the folding, although that reminds me of the time I caught her refolding a display of towels at the Park Store because they weren't neat enough...). No, I am reminded of Grandpa and Grandma because I inherited this laundry basket when Grandma was downsizing.

I imagine the conversation went something like this: Grandma -"Another laundry basket broke. I wish they made them stronger!" Grandpa -"I can take care of that." Hence, wooden supports (routered and sanded, nonetheless...) screwed into the plastic.

I've had this laundry basket going on ten years now, still no cracks in the plastic! I think Grandpa would be pleased. I know I am - it makes me happy, even doing the laundry!

20 years and counting...

I spent part of my 4th of July weekend in some of my old haunts. It was my 20-year high school reunion (egad!!), so I talked Mom into a road trip and off we went to Iowa Falls.

Forgot my camera, so you'll just have to visualize...all of the girls looked pretty much the same, except our hair is no longer as big. (I'm a child of the late 80's, early 90's - lots of perms and really big bangs...) Not the guys so much. Lots of weight gain and gray hair there. Hmmmm.

Anyway, it was fun to catch up for a few hours with some people I spent a lot of my teenage years with, drove around and saw the old farm place, the Princess Cafe, the Red Rooster (it's like time stands still - just the trees get bigger.)

The best part was ten hours of time just talking to my mom - thanks for going with me; you're the best!