Saturday, August 27, 2011

What to Do?

Today is a rare day. There is nothing I HAVE to do today. No schedule, no commitments, no obligations.
However, that doesn't mean I don't have anything to do.  Oh no, I don't even know where to start. Well, I guess I do. I started my morning watching grown men and women standing (kind of) in the middle of a hurricane. One of them was interviewing another reporter on the beach whose rain poncho was being blown and shredded into ribbons.
It made me even more thankful to be home. With nothing I HAVE to do.

Except watch the premier of Pioneer Womans new show on the Food Network.

And figure out what to do with all of this:

Interrupted  writing my post to fix breakfast--our favorite. Poached farm-fresh eggs on english muffins. Put some beets on to cook and they are done. Now cooking a kettle of potatoes. My kitchen is smelling very "earthy" right now.

Watched the kittens practice their vertical jump skills trying to reach the flowers at the top of the Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate plants. Bea is swimming contentedly in her pond.

Time to put in a load of laundry. Project to do during Pioneer Woman will be to go through some old photos. Our church's 25th anniversary is this year and they are looking of pictures from the early years. The thought of dragging them out is a bit daunting but also something that needs to be done.

So what are you up to today?

Sunday, August 21, 2011

The post I write but can't post until later

Addie sent me a text at 11:04 this morning saying they had arrived at the hospital. I busied myself making lunch for Kent, Sam and I. Sam washed a dishpan full of cucumbers and I peeled garlic for a few jars of dills. My phone signal for a picture message went off, I looked at the clock, it was about 12:15. And there they were, Addie, Tedd and little Leo Alvin Cheney. Born 1 hr and 8 minutes after arriving at the hospital. 
The jars are still on the counter and the cucumbers are still in a pile. They will keep. We went right up to the hospital to see this new precious life. 




I wrote this post on Friday--Addie was fairly certain she was in labor. Which ended up waxing and waning throughout the weekend but obviously progressed. So now, I can freely share this story with you:




Sam and Frank are going for a boat ride with Rick on Lake Minnetonka today. We've had the week from hell here. Anything that could have gone wrong, did. Plus even stuff that we couldn't screw up, we did.

Phone conversation with Sam:
Sam:   We're on our way. Rick wants to know what kind of beer to get. What was the name of that beer I ordered when we took Addie out for her birthday?

Me--spoken:  I have no idea--that was like about 2 months ago.
Me--unspoken:  Are you #$%@** kidding me?

Sam:   I just called in case you might have remembered it. I guess I could call Addie.

Me--spoken:  I told you this morning that she thought she was IN LABOR. Maybe this would not be the best time to call her.
Me--unspoken: Are you #$%@** kidding me?

In the background, I hear Frank say, "Oh, is the baby coming today?"

Sam: I'll try calling her

Me: Well, good luck with that then.

About 30 minutes later:

Sam:  Well we made it to Nicollet. Frank is picking up some snacks. Rick says you need to fax the Sioux Center job address up to his office.

Me: OK, did you talk to Addie?

Sam: Yeah, but she was having a contraction, so she had to hang up before she could tell me the name of the beer. She texted it to me so we're good to go.




Thursday, August 18, 2011

We're Still Here

In case you have been wondering, everyone is fine. The kitties are growing and Bea just keeps getting sweeter (and smarter) each day. Snapped a quick picture with my phone this morning. It's what happens every day:

Kitties play, Bea watches, Kitties run, Bea follows, Mama kitty takes babies hunting, Bea goes for a swim in her pond.
Then everyone takes a nap

After work every night, I stop by the garden. And here's just a sample of what I've been bringing home

Addie and I hosted a baby shower for Molly on Saturday and served many fresh vegetables in salads.

The other night I was in the garden.
Moping.Yes, totally feeling sorry for myself. Moping. Moping around.
 I looked around and all I saw was this

When lo and behold, look what I found.

It's hard to feel sad when you find a baby watermelon.