Robin's Nest

 Not what you think, I am sure. The last two years have proved to be challenging when it comes to finding pool supplies. Shock was at a premium at $34 for a 6 pack. When I darkened the door of Wal-Mart yesterday, they had a lot of the product on the shelf for less than half of the summertime price. Where they had this stuff during the summer is anyone's guess. I do usually try to stock up at the end of the season for the next season. It is not normal to find enough product to last the entire next season, but awesome that I did! With so few weeks left until the holidays I have been picking up little things here and there for gifts. I did nothing in the craft department to prepare. It is not as easy to find the time as it used to be. Today has its own agenda. I need to take clothing to SIL. She is finally putting on a bit of weight and needs a bit more room in her things. I also need to empty the car of the items bought for the next season. The tween is experiencing friend challenges...

 It has been proven over and over that Bella, the female of the two bigger dogs, is the smarter one. At least to me it has. She can get out of any container I come up with, she opens doors and climbs fences, you name it she can figure it out. Today, I was out riding bicycles with the youngest, she climbed the fence to join us and then jetted out into the road. A dump truck was coming from the west and she was ahead of it but not by much. They stopped and she approached and barked and then ran back to the house. The bad part was that we tried to call her to stop running toward the road. She did not stop, there was a hare, and it was to be hers, or so she thought. She did not come back with it if she did catch it. She drives me crazy with her energy and her spunk. I sent her down into the basement with the other two little dogs while I called the biggest dog into the house. I had let him out to run a bit, he will not leave without his partner in crime. More acreage in my mind, would ...

 I love Fall. Simple as that. I think it is my favorite season. Next to Spring, Summer, and Winter of course. Every season has something to endear itself to me. Fall brings soup and bread and warmth. It is crisp in the morning and warm as the day goes on. At least here in Colorado it seems that way. You go to bed with sweat on your brow and wake to frost on your windshield. The cloudy days encourage me to think of applesauce and apple butter simmering on the stove, I can almost smell it. I haven't made either at this house just yet. Maybe this year it will happen... maybe. Yesterday we moved the piano from its position guarding the stairs; the need is not there anymore. SIL has not been to the house since the late Summer. The weather change also prompts me to clean prior to winter. I am not sure why, as it will be just as messy in a week. Clean I must, so the piano moved back to its' former place in the entry room. The dog cages moved to the foot of the stairs, somewhat blockin...

 Happy Birthday... now go cart the kids to their appointments and activities! The highlight of my day was a phone call from the youngest grandchild. She was able to say happy burr day gamma, it was quite cute! Otherwise, the DDS wanted money, the school, a conference, work, a shift picked up, in other words a typical day. The grand cat enjoying the north porch The other grand cat enjoying the east porch Today, after dropping off the grandchildren with two legs to their mother, it was time to take the oldest for her yearly physical. The provider made no bones about saying she was tall and still overweight. She is at a tender age, and I was taken aback by his lack of delicacy. Thank you, Air Force.  Luckily it did not register to her until we got into the car to leave. She then said, "why does he think I am fat?" Perhaps it registered but she at least had the politeness to wait until we were out of earshot to say anything. Either way I let her know he was just going by air forc...

 Today the kids have only a half day of school. Hardly seems worth the 40-minute drive, but it is, I will have time to go get milk and possibly even do a load of laundry before pick-up is required. Then it is 4 hours before the oldest has an orthodontist appointment. I can return home with them or go to my daughter's home and sit with all of them. That seems like an easy enough choice to make. But it isn't as easy as it sounds. Going to her house saves having a kid mess at mine, but it means having to get lunch at a fast-food place, the dogs largely left unattended, and DH to fend for himself. What I save in gasoline, I will surely spend in fast-food. Hmmm that was an easy decision. DH had planned to drive the kids to school today. I didn't hear a peep out of him during the night, so maybe he will feel up to it. If not, I am prepared to drop-off and pick up. I started a crochet project yesterday. I was asked what it would be when finished, rightly I do not know. I started i...

 Wednesday came with a rude tone. The youngest was cranky and demanding. The day got better for her once she realized that she was getting picked up from school mid-morning and going to an appointment. Normally she doesn't return to school when this occurs, today was different. Return to school she did as we had the procedure this afternoon, not a kid friendly environment. The event went off without a hitch and we are back home. Now the waiting begins and life as we know it changes. I think we are all emotionally exhausted. I hope this is the last time we have that many appointments in one week. The news from the child's appointment is another surgery would be beneficial. We are waiting the scheduling. The news from DH's appointment, we are waiting results. It will be almost a week they said. Depending on the lab and the degree of specimen it can be shorter or longer. In the meantime, the sun will rise, and the sun will set. Good night blog

 Not only did I test at home several times this weekend, but I also had to go to work and test there. Lab test for that. We have way too many new cases at work these days. That is the way it goes, I guess. They came to the door as if I were a pariah. It was funny. Bet they don't ask me to fill in any time soon!  The march to empty the freezers and the pantry continues. Tonight, we had something I have never made for the two youngest girls. I am not sure why I haven't made it, but those days are over. We had goulash, yes, I did say goulash.  The jury is still out on taste. Boy they are a critical bunch! I did top my dish with cheese. It wasn't too bad! DH just made himself a plate, so we will see what he thinks. I did not use regular elbow macaroni as we had many boxes of Kraft Mac n Cheese that the now tween states "is disgusting". This after she begged for a case from Costco last summer. Well, at least a second box is used... 16 to go! Tomorrow, I meet with the l...

Good morning blog, I am still under the weather. I felt like I was on the mend yesterday, so I agreed to do part of a shift. At 4 this morning I had to call off it was that bad. My throat was burning, my cough relentless and my ears aching like a child's. I felt bad backing out of the shift as it fit nicely in my 24 hour a week plan. But realistically I would have been a hot mess. I am home and I am a hot mess. For the first time in a long time it seems, I have a Fall cold. It is here with a vengeance. It seems as though the common cold is tired of Covid getting all the attention. As I try to do a few things here and there, I start to think we should just stay here instead of moving. I don't like the set-up of this house, but I can deal with it. I would like to get the upstairs finished into a bedroom and a study and a half bath at least. Also, I have given more thought to moving the hot water heater to the basement. That would free up that small closet to be a 1/4 bath. Just a...

 Every week I have high hopes that I will go to work and actually get off on time and accomplish all that is on my plate to do while there. I have yet to accomplish this goal, I hold out hope that I will someday. Yesterday was a dog and pony show... okay it was really something else, but I want to stay rated "G". I went in this morning thinking I would finish what I didn't finish last yesterday and visit with SIL as a bonus. No bonus. SIL had been up all night and was asleep when I arrived. The rest of the day was so busy and tumultuous that I went home in tears. Heading into week 41 of the year I am not convinced that I have accomplished what I thought counting down to the end would accomplish. When I started, I thought it might reinforce a sense of urgency to make goals and meet those goals. Yeah, not so much. It is now Saturday morning and I and the girls are sick as dogs. We have so many cases of Covid at work that I would not be surprised if it is that. but that said...

 We have contemplated moving and have been motivated by property listings that my sister keeps sending our way. In the way are the two properties we own in this state. While everything she has sent so far has been very appealing, it means selling one house or the other to pay for it. I do want more land, mainly to keep the dogs entertained and for peace and quiet. Not the P or Q will ever really happen in my lifetime, one must always hold out hope. For if you have no hope, then you have nothing. We are continuing with the pantry cookoff. Tonight, we are having potato soup and toasted French bread with garlic butter. It is a nice warm meal on this cool Fall evening. I would send a picture but there are plenty of potato soup pictures elsewhere on this blog. Now that we are through the initial testing and it is surgery time, we know we must remain here until the all the samples come back. Hopefully, they will all be negative but if not, we will plug along. Well someday we will be able...

 Now that is scary! I have not been consistently counting down on the blog but in my mind, it hasn't stopped! With about 90 some days left in the year and less than that to the holiday season the stress level is bound to pick up. This year we have decided that we would travel instead of staying here. Not sure this will work out with all of the animals we have, but we are going to try. We have been downsizing the flock a little at a time. There is more rehoming to do. Of course, there are also the dogs to consider and SIL. There is more planning to do in that arena, so let's move on, shall we? Our new neighbors are the "Sanctorium Eco-Village" they have events once in a while. Most recently it was a band and that was another weird situation. The ads for the place pictures what could be a rain forest. The spokesperson for the group speaks of how they intend to restore the land, the trees and without saying it he implies the rain forest. I think we should stick around to...