So Long Summer Playdates.

 The last Playdate with some new Playdaters. We haven't had a baby at Playdate in way too long. A friend in Rae's age range has a twenty month old and three month old and it was so nice to have them to hold and introduce to dogs and gardens and chickens and enjoy a good visit.   

String Art- so fun.

I wanted a little art that involved everyone, so they started the day busy coloring used water bottles to make a very pretty mobile.  

The porch hummingbird noted something new on the porch and checked it out this afternoon. 

Annabelle was this week's storyteller.  This storytelling Playdate habit is so ingrained in them. From the youngest to the oldest, they just sit quietly, tuned in, smiling, laughing at the great storytelling and munching on snacks through three storybooks. 

Ms. Glitzy always ended our last science Playdate with the Diet Coke, Mento experiment, which always draws a crowd in spite of the fact we've done it so very many times. Sadly, I don't have the touch and the ingredients weren't fresh, so it was more a sizzle than a volcano. 

After art and stories they headed to creek.  Elsie made me a bark necklace/crown while at the creek.

We ended the evening with a cookout.  

I love Playdate for a host of reasons.

Number One- I love that we live life virtually screen less for several hours.

Also

-the big ones help the little ones

- old friendships are renewed and new ones discovered

- a nature love is cultivated

-stories

-art of all kinds

-I get a summer ringside seat to these fast moving years

Thank you merciful Lord for another safe summer!

Making Hay While the Sun Shines

 By that, I mean I am turning all that camp energy to lunches and suppers and Playdates and cleaning.  I like the lunches and suppers and Playdate.

I really like attending to the little details of things, though I seldom get to that.  I believe I was divinely gifted with a good sense of time.  When I have an event, I start with all the things that must be done, like cooking if you've invited folks for lunch, then cleaning, boo, hiss, then the little things I love.  For this lunch I used the very last of the stubborn pansies that managed the awful heat of these past few weeks, picked most every flower ready for picking and started on the details.  Originally my hope had been to have this lunch outdoors, but alas, the heat and humidity was more than I could manage. 

Each guest had a tiny flower arrangement, molded butter in the shape of flowers, glass topped cheeses, and a good time was had by all I think. 

The charcuterie tray was virtually untouched.  It was a salad lunch, grilled chicken with strawberries, lettuce, pecans and poppy seed dressing, a new barley/pesto salad, grape salad and street corn salad. Of course, little loaves of bread for the butter plates and berries with white chocolate cream for dessert.  

In the last couple of years of summer camps, Gideon has made fast friends with one my students. She joined us for an afternoon, so I reassembled the charcuterie tray and they ate it all!

I've been taking an art class online.  I really enjoy learning new things that I can do in the classroom and with the Gramerlings. One of things was a concertina book.  It is great to try it out here at home with my kiddos and then I have an idea what I am up against trying it with 20 plus.

We worked on them throughout the day as the watercolor had to dry in between.  It was fun and everyone's turned out nicely. 

It has rained and rained. I love having flowers till frost, so I went through and cut most of my cutting flowers (which encourages more bloom on must cutting flowers), then headed to the thrift store to purchase a few small containers.  So instead of a salad bar, or hot chocolate bar, we had a flower bar and the kids picked and created their own arrangements.  Then we made WooHoo's. It was time for our gifted Storyteller, Emmeline, to read the requisite story while everyone ate fruit chews and whatever other snack they wanted.  I imagine the amount of fruit chews we've consumed in the past 16 years would be impressive. 

Ceece and Bean and Bugg joined us later. The flower bar was then looking pitiful after having been  gone through with lots of hands and a couple of rain showers, so I gave Lilli the scissors and had her pick her own bouquets.

Much spaghetti, salad and garlic rolls were consumed.  

The summer always goes so fast. One more summer Playdate. 

Also, this week, my long time partner in teaching crime started a new career.  I posted this on FB yesterday morning of her new start. 

As is often the case now, I turn the camera over to Lilly during Playdates.  So I  never really know what I am going to get when I sit down to load them on this Mac.  When this picture came up, memories by the dozen came along with tears. I wasn’t expecting you on this Playdate, the tradition we started that summer, sixteen years ago, after we taught together that year.  You with your little ones and me with my first two gramerlings.  How many times girl, have you been right there, riding shotgun on whatever new idea I’d conjured.  And just like the hundreds of times we’ve taught and Playdated together, you walked right up last Tuesday,  and joined me in the cyanotype printing, like it was no thing for six year olds to be making prints on chemically coated paper with some old glass window I didn’t throw away.  We’ve walked a lot of miles, eaten a lot of apples, and maybe some chocolate, faced a lot of losses, laughed till it hurt, and gave each other the space we needed to share our hearts, hopes, disappointments and victories of our classroom and our lives. We’ve shared a love of Jesus and family and, umm, chocolate.  Today, you begin a new career and I am so happy for you.  I love knowing some person like me, who has issues with all things doctor, will find a sympathetic ear, a cutest face,  and hand to hold.  Sending prayers, hope and love for a best first day Ms. Glitzy. 

I know that it is going to be strange. Seventeen years is a long time.

Three new homes, all the same family, are going in behind us, so I decided to do something I've never done, have a neighborhood party.  I only know a few of my neighbors. Somehow that just seems wrong.  I think we've become a world where people keep insulating themselves more and more and maybe, who knows, no one will even come, but at least I can say I tried.  We shall see. 

 Another Woods Camp down.  The last three weeks I've spent with kiddos from 6 to 16.  Six to twelve year olds attending a reading/math camp, almost thirteen to sixteen helping, along with a teacher friend and Rae.

In the second week, I did a nature art camp with kids entering fourth and fifth grade in the afternoons.

Leaf eco-printing. 

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And we had another Playdate on Tuesday, and I did the same cynotype printing I did with the Nature Art Camp. 

So let's suffice it to say, it's been busy around here.

There are always times I question why I do camp.  There are many reasons. One, an outdoor camp that reviews math and reading along with lots of creek play and zero worksheets is hard to come by. In fact, I don't know of any.  I do know that when kids are either behind academically, or in need of a more enriching environment than the couch, AC and a screen, it is much needed.  Two, I am not the best version of myself when I am not on a schedule and busy. Three, I love to plan educational and art experiences. This type of thing is what I do well.  Four, I want not only my own littles to come, but also want that time with my own teen helpers that aren't as easy to connect to as they once were.  

Okay, so what's the problem. I'm old and fat and tired. I have a far more energetic mind than the rest of me.  

Add to that, the Sunday night before week two (the full day with the art camp) I got stung on my toe by a wasp. A first for me. It was surprisingly painful compared to a honey bee.  I stuck my toe in baking soda paste, washed, dried, applied antihistamine gel, took  benadryl and went to bed.  When I woke up, it was red and swollen, but no biggie, so went on to camp.  I could feel every step as it was swollen enough to touch the top and bottom of my shoes.  I managed, came home, took off sock and shoe and soaked my foot in a warm epsom salt bath. Later I noticed a blister on the bottom of the top of my toe, which I thought was weird as I was stung on the backside.  More gel and to bed.  Imagine my shock when the blister grew and grew and grew until I had a shooter marble sized golden orb that was bigger than my toe. Now what?  After consulting my go-to medical gurus, all were in a agreement that I was to leave that monstrosity alone. Umm, okay, but what do a do about a shoe?  So, I wrapped that giant orb with soft bandages and wore big Crocs and hobbled.  Goodtimes.  Dr. Bill called on Thursday evening to assess the progress and said it was now time to say so long to my fabulous toe ring. Ugh.  I wrapped it again Friday morning and prayed a prayer that the deed would happen without my intervention. It did, praise the Lord.   Now, I have this lovely toe trying to grow a new hide, and the directions we're still to leave it alone and let it dry. So it was sandals with not the best support for the rest of camp. 

We also had some nasty weather predictions, so always Mother Nature to deal with at an outdoor camp. Mostly, thank the Lord, we had absolutely amazing weather.  I am so grateful for that. 

Generally these days, I find people on the receiving end less than grateful.  While it is something I do well, it is a lot of work, planning and hauling supplies.  The campers were in constant flux, "Oh, I didn't tell you he wasn't coming this week?"  Or not replying at all to e-mail updates and pictures, really, you can't even say, "Thanks for the update about my kid."  I'm talking about 90 percent not responding.  How have we come to live in a world where we think we're owed everything?  I think back to my children's activities and how I was endlessly thanking folks who took an interest in them.  Fuss and bother. 

But, I did get to see most of my Gramerlings everyday for all or some of the  three weeks, which I loved. I did, in just three weeks, see some kids blossom from lack of test and worksheet anxiety. I saw many grow in measurement,  and geometry, etc.  skills.  I got to have lunches and shopping date with my sweet helpers that otherwise wouldn't  have happened.  So, I'll try to focus on that. 

For 4th of July weekend, the weather today was perfect.  I worked outside all morning long on things I've neglected the last three weeks. 

I reminded myself that I need to harvest flowers regularly. Oftentimes I let them be because I just love looking at them, and I don't want to bother the pollinators. Last year though, a lot of the tall things fell over when rains were heavy, and broke off. I didn't want that to happen, so once a week I gather a bunch and the plants are definitely bushier.  I love to make and share flower arrangements.  Gwen and Tim hosted a pool party at their place this evening, so I took the red, white and blue one on the left to her. 

My muse, Tasha Tudor, said if you can't afford everything you want for the garden, buy what you can of one thing to make a show. Last summer, stuck at home during the pandemic, I did something I had not done before.  Ordered myself several David Austin roses.  When three of the plants came last year, they were so small and the ones that came in spring were bare root, so I really didn't imagine getting many flowers.  Well, I have. They are just gorgeous.

I've never grown many lillys until Lilli-Bugg was old enough to plant them with me.  I also ordered lilly some bulbs last summer. My word, this gal is as big as my face and smells like Tahitian vanilla.

I just love playing in my flowers.

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend.