Double Digits and Rainy Sundays

A rainy weekend is winding down. We needed the moisture. I can almost see the grass, shrubs and flowers growing and deepening in color from 3 days of constant rain. It's also 73 degrees. Love it! Makes me think that fall and winter can't be that far away.

It's been a lazy Sunday inside. Reading, gaming and watching TV have been the activities of choice. Not to mention snoozing...as seen with Bear laid out on the end of my bed.

The rain began Thursday evening with a downpour about 30 minutes before we were to attend our first middle school open house. Along with many other water-logged parents we slid or swam into the school to run the kids' schedules. Connor is a 6th grader this year, and his transition has been much smoother than we could have hoped for. Although he ran away from school ( didn't get far as he didn't know the way home) the first day it's been uphill ever since. He decided he liked his teachers and the place wasn't that bad. Truth be told, his middle school has a top-notch special education program that will build on and expand the progress he's made in the past two years. We're delighted!

After a rocky summer and a month-long stint in Day Treatment we've gotten Sam more or less back on track for the start of 4th grade. A growth spurt and competing emotional issues resulted in a complete revamping of his medications. To his delight he became a member of the double-digit club when he turned 10 on Labor Day. I guess I've forgotten how exciting and monumental that can be for a kid: The decade milestone.

It's been a busy start to the school year for me. I've worked almost every day for the past 3 weeks. That's a good thing! I'm also out of the cast and working on being back to normal in the foot department. Still some residual tendon issues due to a summer spent in the air cast, but they are working themselves out. I've also noticed that the elementary schools opened their doors to an influx of coughing and sneezing. The classrooms are already hotbeds of germs. Large bottles of hand sanitizers and boxes of Kleenex are as common as pencils and paper.

It seems that Labor Day is the starting gate for the end-of-year sprint. I'm already seeing Halloween decorations and candy appear in stores and in the catalogs that have begun clogging the mailbox. Time flies this time of year.

As Summer Winds Down..

I came home from the weekend visit with my sister to a wonderful explosion of violet on my Silver leaf shrubs. A delightful bonus from the unexpected bounty of July rainfall has been the lush green lawn and rich abundance of colorful blooms in my yard and my container gardens. Somehow, I expect we will suffer through a hot, dry August, as payment for the moist and relatively cool July. I'm up early these days and out to hand water the containers hoping to extend the colorful panorama.

Speaking of the weekend visit with my sister.... I had a wonderful couple of days sandwiched between 10 hours in the car with our struggling 9 year old. Five hours over and five hours back with his mouth running NON STOP!! When I say non stop, I mean literally non stop. He whined and cried and begged to stop at every siting of a Golden Arch. He couldn't sleep or do anything but run his mouth. There was no seat in the car that he could get comfortable in. I played musical chairs with him countless times.

Sam started Day Treatment at Children's Hospital in Dallas several days before he left for the weekend trip to Trish's dad and my sister. My sister picks me up at my ex-husband's home and takes me 45 miles away to her home. It's a convenient, brief get-away for my daughter and me. She has time with Dad and I have time with my sister. I also get a bit of a reprieve from Trish and the boys.

Sam has been really struggling this Summer. Actually, he's been struggling most of this past year. His Anxiety disorder has been competing with his ADHD and it's not been pretty! Regulating his meds has been a nightmare!! The aggression had gotten so violent that Day Treatment was the only viable option. School starts in a couple of weeks so there's not much time to spare in getting him squared away to be able to function in school.

Of course, nothing, it seems has been simple this Summer. My daughter is still looking for a job as well as dealing with the Sam issue. Several days before we were to take off for the trip she got a horrible tooth infection that almost resulted in a hospital stay to battle it. She was really miserable with pain and fever. Up until after her visit to the oral surgeon a couple of hours before we left it was iffy as to whether she would be well enough to go.

THEN, to top off the complications, as we were dropping off the 4 furkids at the vet for boarding, our Beagle had a seizure. Just inside the door. Total chaos! My daughter was panicking while Connor and I were herding the other 3 dogs into a separate room to get us away from Smokey. It's a wonder we ever left town, at that point. The vet reassured us that Smokey would be fine so we headed out to pick up Sam at Day Treatment and get on the road.

And so began the ill-fated getaway! I had a great time with my sister; Trish was pretty miserable at her dad's with Sam, her mouth and her concern for Smokey. The trip home was an utter nightmare! Trish was in pain, worried about the dog, exhausted and ready to dump us all on the side of the road. Actually, it was my car, so dumping me wasn't an option. :) Sam was worse than on the ride over. Added to the mouth were tics and involuntary movements of his hands and legs.

Smokey is fine and temporarily on Phenobarb. for the seizures. They were probably a reaction to the stress of being boarded and we were cautioned that he might be better off with a dog sitter next trip. Oh joy! The other 3 pups came home with no signs of PTSD. My two were freshly groomed. They are Shelties and need bathes after being boarded for a few days.

Sam is back in Day Treatment and the new meds he was on are now gone as he had horrible reactions to both! Back to the drawing board on that front. *Sigh* Trish had her final trip to the oral surgeon this morning and found out the infection that nearly did her in was a nasty Staph Infection! Glad she got that nipped before it went out of control!

I'm hobbling around in the final days of my 'boot'. I'm allowed to be out of it for several hours a day as I wean myself off it. Any significant pain and I'm back in it for the rest of the day. When I go back to the doc on the 21 I hope to be out of it totally. That's the game plan, anyway.

Soooooooooooooooo..... it's been a long and rather difficult Summer around here. I say "long", but it also seems like it's been too fleeting now that school is on the horizon. There are going to be some significant transitions when it comes to both boys on the school front. Connor enters middle school and we anticipate the likelihood of initial issues. Hopefully, not, and, if so, short-lived. Sam is due to be given more tests and placed where they think he will do best. Last year was a nightmare with him and the anxiety/ADHD issues. If the meds get straightened out the test results should help put him on a successful path for 4th grade.

I'm hoping for the abundance of sub jobs I was blessed with last school year. Two long-term subs positions in Special Education Depts. kept me busy most of the year.

Thus, August begins on a hopeful note. Let's hope the job horizon is fruitful for both my daughter and myself. I'm praying that Sam will get straightened out and on firmer footing for the coming school term. Connor is stable. I pray that he stays that way and surprises us with a rather smooth transition into the realm of middle school.

Once Upon A Scoop..

There are certain necessary chores that are less than desirable, especially when done on a daily basis. When there are four furkids in your pack scooping poop is a necessary nasty. However, if embarked upon with the right mindset, this chore can be elevated to a creative endeavor. The result of one such creative endeavor is the unlikely poem below. It also proves that creative energy can be found in the most unexpected places.

Scooping poop
once or twice a day
is a bit like hunting
Easter eggs.
After awhile
you know which dog
laid which egg,
learn which
grassy nest is prime
for a find.
You also learn which
canine culprit snagged
the unexpected prize--
some tasty morsel left
by messy kids, or the
sneaky snag from an uncovered
waste basket.

A less than desirable chore
becomes a quiet time
to muse upon
the less profound,
to turn, perhaps, a
phrase about
the curious comparison
of poop and Easter eggs.

~~Pam Patterson, champion scooper

Two New Reads!

I've got two new books to dive into this week! Both looks yummy. "The Bolter" sounds really intriguing, while "The Crowning Glory......" is by an author I thoroughly enjoy! Check them out for yourself. Both are displayed on my Shelfari shelf below.

July 5th

The best laid plans.....

We haven't had much luck the past few years when it comes to firework's watching. The boys are too unruly to drag to any of the festivities that precede any of the local fireworks. So, what we try to do is find a place close to the fireworks venue where we can park the car, get out, let the boys burn off energy and watch the display.

The last couple of years have been disasters! We always pick the wrong place or the wrong time for viewing. The boys have fits so we leave.

This year was no different.

We chose a prime spot for viewing, along with many other cars, and got there around the time the fireworks were supposed to take place. We sat and waited. The boys started grumbling about the heat and having nothing to drink, bathroom issues, yada, yada..... A few cars gave up and left. The boys kept bitching, Trish and I kept hoping. More cars left.

Some half hour after the display was supposed to take place the boys were so disagreeable we gave up and left. Trish and I laughed and I kept looking back in case of a sudden burst of 4th fanfare.

The boys were worn out and crashed as soon as we got home. Trish took her dogs out for a last chance to pee. She came back in laughing. Murphy's Law: The fireworks display had finally begun! We could hear it and see parts of it through the trees while standing in the backyard.

We stood and watched until the skeeters started attacking. Needless to say, the decision was made to NOT tell the boys about the missed fireworks. We'd had enough of the "this-is-the-worst-4th-EVER!" mantras to last until next year.

However, we now know the best place to drive for viewing, know to take water, have bathroom runs before leaving, and we know to just wait it out. Wait long enough and they will come....all showy and worth the wait!

The Seed and Song Bird Buffet

Thanks to my friend Marion for her inspiration to grab my camera and head outside.




My container gardens grow wild and free with the additon of a few new inhabitants each Spring. I like container gardens because I can move, rearrange or add to them with ease.

The container garden off my patio is my favorite and forms the pathway to The Seed and Song Bird Buffet. The centerpiece of the Buffet is The Feeding Tree, my wonderful Oak (to be honest, one of my few remaining trees *sigh*). The photo above is of the entrance to the favorite gathering place of my many feathered and furried friends and passing visitors.

Wee people watch over my gardens. Their cottages and castles nestle among the folliage.

Here we have a tiny caretaker's cottage at the entrance to the garden.

Bunnies and butterflies dance around a pot of Mexican Heather. Real butterflies are frequent visitors to my welcoming blooms.

The garden fairies slumber through the heat of the day shaded by a blanket of Heather.

Sun-dappled mushrooms and cranes reside at the edge of the Seed and Song Buffet.

A corner birdbath offers refreshment to the many visitors.

A giant mushroom provides a perch as well as a possible exchange with the resident garden gnome.

The Feeding Tree is at the center of the Seed and Song Bird Buffet. Evening viewing is a feast of delightful entertainment. Squirrels are the frequent uninvited guests, while Jays are rowdy, unruly and in need of the blackbird bouncers.

Sparrows and Wrens are the noisy busy bodies. Their fractious frenzies remind me of troublesome teenagers.

My favorite guests are the Doves. Watching them, day after day, for years is like observing human communal activity. The social....and antisocial interaction is not that different from us.

Last but not least are my last-to-come-last-to-leave visitors: the Cardinals.

I enjoy my songbirds, cooers and my squawkers. I don't mind the occasional crow and delight in the passing ducks, Egrets or wild Parakeet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Seed and Song Bird Buffet is always open.

Booted!

OK, I'm getting the hang of this Air Cast boot. Adjusted it better this morning and, for the most part, have been on my feet all day. I have a problem just languishing in bed or staying seated for any length of time. NOT my thing! Besides, too much to do to let this thing hamper me or slow the pace that much.

I also found out that there's no need to remove the cast to drive. I had no problems driving with it on today. Wasn't awkward at all. Maybe it's my vehicle. Don't know; just know it's MUCH more convenient to keep it on instead of taking it off and on while running errands!!

The foot did start aching and the cast rubbing toward the end of the afternoon. I discovered that resting a few minutes, loosening the boot, then readjusting and moving around again helped tremendously!

So, I can live with this for 6 to 8 weeks! In the grand scheme of things it's VERY minor!! As my sister reminded me, I could be in a plaster cast!!! YIKES!!! Now that would REALLY suck!!

I hope no one ticks me off that much. I could do some serious damage with this thing! :)