Vivian is ONE!

Happy Birthday, Vivian!

Then...

 

...and now!

Construction clean-up

If you read about the shed repair in yesterday's blog entry, you know that we had a small amount of clean-up to do. Don and Janet, I'm thinking about what you said this weekend about the people working on your addition and how they leave that work for you to do most days, and throw in their own bottles, cans, and cigarette butts for good measure. We didn't find any cigarette butts in our yard, so thank you D and L for not smoking! Ha ha! Oh, and thank you for stacking up the old wood you removed so it was easy to haul away.

First on the list was to go to a construction waste disposal site outside of Kasota to drop off the old wood and the deteriorated window. Here's Larry/Dad/Grandpappy negotiating with an employee. Don't worry, kids, I didn't do anything embarrassing to get the picture. I just turned around in the front seat of the car and snapped it with my cell phone through the open back hatch.

He asked for 10 bucks but didn't have change for Larry's twenty (he was only carrying 20's and 100's). Larry said we'd come right back with $10, and he said to forget it, no charge. Nice, but not fair, so we went to the grocery store and got a few things so we could give him his money. We made a little tour along the Rabbit Road to get back into town--a sunny morning and colorful fall trees were worth an extra trip.

Next stop was for Larry/Dad/Grandpappy to visit Darv at St. Peter Rental to get a really cool magnet to pick up nails and screws from the ground around the shed. I have to catch up on Darv's news still; Dad and I haven't had a chance to talk about it yet. He says Darv was his chatty self. Who knew back when Gundy and his brothers were growing up that Darv did more than nod his head and say, "Yup."

The photos below look like they're out of an instruction manual.  

How to Operate the Model RQ 5-4018C Super Magnet on Wheels.

For safety purposes, wear heavy gloves to avoid nasty nail punctures, per OSHA regulations. Hold the handle of the Model RQ 5-4018C Super Magnet on Wheels in your right hand. If you are left-handed, use your left hand. Stand with your feet spread slightly to reduce impact to hip and knee joints, also per OSHA regulations.

Next would come a lot more blah blah blah involving length of stride, movement of magnet across the yard in even swaths, etc. Sixteen pages later....

OSHA requires that operator maintains a proper knee stance to examine undercarriage of Model RQ 5-4018C Super Magnet on Wheels. Note north-to-south alignment of collected nails, screws, bolts, and other metallic objects. Apparently there are physics principles involved (See Appendix 8 of this manual.).

Naturally the manual would also include a close-up of the collected debris and directions for disposal. I'll spare you any additional silliness!

I thought it was cool to see how the metal objects lined up on the magnet. I was worried that Larry might get the magnet too close to the side of the car when he was putting it in the back of the van and wouldn't be able to remove it. That's one powerful magnetic force-- I had no idea a person could rent one of those things. Darv's got it all.

Handymen

This was shed repair weekend in our backyard. Don filled up his pick-up with his big saw and some other tools and drove down from Forest Lake with Janet to lend his expertise. Dad/Larry/Grandpappy had done the lumber shopping for replacement wood in advance, and so other than the window breaking when they were going to re-trim it, there were no surprises. A neighbor behind us is replacing a worn deck this weekend, too, so the sound of saws and hammers filled the air. It's quiet now, as the afternoon draws to a close.

Out with the old trim and window...

And in with the new. Freshly cut trim installs easily.
Is it bad luck to take a picture through a ladder?

 Now THIS is bad luck:  two men and a nail gun!

Trim is completed.

Window in the back is installed--a job well done.

All that's left to do is to stain the wood.

While Don and Larry began work on the shed on Saturday afternoon, Janet and I went to see The Help, my second viewing and her first. It's a wonderful movie that is a strong compliment to the novel. I encourage you to see it, and to read the book. Book first.

Afterwards we met the carpenter brothers at Famous Dave's for supper. Dessert at home followed-- apple crostata with caramel sauce. This photo isn't the one I made, but it looked just like it. Yummy!

This morning for brunch I made a spinach fritatta recipe I found on a food blog. It had a Greek feel to it, so I served it topped with a plop of sour cream (dang, shoulda used Greek yogurt!) and chopped Greek olives. Sweet rolls and a fruit combo of strawberries and blackberries finished off the brunch menu.

Charlie, Ethan, and Owen made an appearance this morning, and we skyped with Hannah, Viv, Elisabeth, Evan, and Granmarge. Don and Janet know Marge, so it was great for all of us to have a conversation with her.

I've been thinking about Annie all day, and hope that she can find flavorful mushy foods that will satisfy her taste and nutrition wishes until the schnuggerette and it's accompanying hardware are removed and she can be further along the road to eating crunchy food again. Every day is a day closer to Doritos and salsa, honey.

Happy Birthday, Larry!

Here's Larry/Dad/Grandpappy around age 3, which was several birthdays ago.

Lots of love and Happy Birthday!

Westy comes to play on Turkey Day

Tanner turned 30 on Wednesday, so we had one of his string of celebrations here on Friday evening. He's wearing his advanced age well! Tanner doubled-up the birthday festivities with Dad/Larry/Gpappy, whose birthday is just around the corner.

Miles brought a birthday gift for Gpappy, who is now an honorary Owatonna Husky. Notice Miles' new pj's. Perfect for reading a favorite story of all the cousins,  Earth to Stella.

Weston got some new pajamas, too, which he showed off while doing tricks with his mommy.

 

While Miles, Annie, Tanner, and Grandma Doreen traveled to Worthington on Saturday for Turkey Day -- Fun Run, parade, and lunch with Great Grandma Helen -- Westy stuck around to play with Gpappy and me. He started the day looking out the window at people and puppies walking by.

Later, he got the cooking bug and headed for the sun room kitchen. Looks like he's officially joined his older cousins in preparing and appreciating fine cuisine.

It was a chilly day, and since I couldn't find socks in Westy's diaper bag, Gpappy shared a pair with him. It didn't take long to get those little tootsies warmed up.

Miles came back at supper time to fill us in on Turkey Day. He managed to introduce himself to Al Franken, a story that I hope Annie will tell on her blog.

Now it's Sunday afternoon, Dad/Larry/Gpappy is watching the Vikings on TV, Ethan and Owen are napping (Angie, too, I think), and Charlie is busy in the kitchen (the real one) making chicken chili for supper. What am I doing, you ask? Oh. You didn't ask... well, it involves my knee, ice, and burning pain. Don't you wish you'd asked?!

Grandpa Charlie

My preference for "special remembrances" of those I love is to honor their birthdays. But my dad has been on my mind more than usual the past few days.  He died a year ago today. Whenever I talked with him on the phone in recent years, he wanted the latest information about his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Grandpa CReps  loved to spend time with Owen, Ethan, Miles, and Hannah. Here's proof. I miss you, Dad.

Labor Day Weekend, parte dos

Labor Day Weekend is nearly over. The second half was as busy as the first half, with lots of little person action at our house. We had a chance to Skype with the NC crew on Sunday, trying to catch up a bit with Hannah and Vivian. Vivian said "Hi" and "Hannah" for us!

Owen and Ethan spent some time yesterday being "TV guys". It seems that a teeshirt arranged just right makes a space for a boy to appear as if he's IN and ON television. Hmmm.... Ethan's idea, as I recall.

Today there were alphabet and pig-ear crowns from the State Fair to model and enjoy. Westy is such a cute little piggy! And guess what? He started giving real kisses today!

Because the clock missed its Sunday winding, so Miles, Owen, and Ethan helped Grandpappy with the work this afternoon. Miles explained that a pendulum clock needs to be level-- he's holding a little bubble level gadget in his hand to show Owen.

Owen was happy to learn how to cut with some fancy scissors today. He and Miles showed off their skills as artists.

The most coveted plaything of the weekend was a box of, well, "lily pads".

 

Ethan was the instigator of imaginative play with the white cottony disks. Here are some of the ideas he came up with for their use. And, he and Ethan tried each idea out. Sorry I don't have pictures!

disks for counting

props for the "Eensy Weensy Spider" song

a steering heel

a hat (various types, including a yarmulke)

"penk-penks" = pancakes

props for "The Wheels on the Bus" song

several disks stacked together made a sandwich

fast running shoes 

lily pads

a frisbee for Truman the dog

ear muffs

pizzas

props for playing "peek-a-boo"

food for the toy rocking horse

cheek warmers

Angie, if you remember any more, let me know, as I didn't started writing them down right away.

Angie and Annie met at Sibley Park to visit the zoo, and later in the day while Ethan, Owen, and Westy napped,  Angie, Annie, Gpappy, and Miles did a quick tour of the Gustavus campus and the house where Angie and Charlie are living.

Ethan and Owen took a bath before supper so they'd be ready to go home and hop into bed. Well, with no clean clothes to put on and no jammies either, the boys sported their new leggy look for the ride home.

Thanks for all the fun! Hope everyone has a good week ahead.