Science, Drama and the End of 2015 Summer Playdate

So, yesterday we finally reached the point at Mom's that we are seeing empty basement rooms and can  pass each other in the garage without tripping.  Yesterday, Aunt SuZQ and Aunt Tish ran an impromptu yard sale, while I sorted Mom's costume jewelry for her on the porch.  I took pictures of the result of our six weeks of hard work and heartbreak, but decided to just keep those for myself.  Some people are very insensitive, or just flat out inappropriate to Mom.
Due to the yard sale, a few neighbors asked to see Mom.  As I said, she and I were sitting on the back porch, sorting her jewelry, no where near the sale.  The neighbor greets her, then leans over her and grabs an old duck diaper pin out of her jewelry box, no doubt one of ours and says, "Can I have this, I haven't been able to find a big safety pin anywhere?"   I leaned over and took it back and said, "No, that's a keepsake."  Rude.  Now normally, if Mom offers you anything, anything at all, I'm giving you the "Pleading Eye."  Please, please take it.  But this wasn't stuff in the yard sale, or that Mom had even seen all of yet. And, in an unusual turn of events, there was only that one little ducky diaper pin, not six dozen where that came from.
There were things to lighten the mood, and for me, this will always be a sure fire way.

Excuse me, but you are not giving away my pretty beads, are you?

Okay, back to our last long day Playdate.  When we pulled the cherubs out of the creek for lunch, they had a surprise visitor. Mom was able to come with her caretaker for a couple of hours to see them.



Uncle Jimi did one last tool time with the boys.  As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to add something to Playdate that was a bit more involved for the boys who are older, but the little ones are not at all accustomed to not being allowed to try everything and more and more became a part of the tool time hour.



Science this time included a pool of bubbles, more because we always do big bubbles and hadn't gotten to it yet this summer than about science.  This time I used a recipe with cornstarch of all things.  I couldn't really tell that it worked better than my old faithful - Dawn and glycerin (both of which were also in that recipe.




Two new activities this year.  I figured it would be hot and thought this would be most entertaining, especially for the wee ones.  It turns out the middlers were just as interested.  In the Mom Sort process, I came across an unopened packages of syringes.  Over a couple of days I froze a big dish pan of ice with layers of little plastic toys and beads.  I put a bucket of blue water, bowls of salt and the Antarctica miners had to release the treasures from the ice block, using the salt and syringes. This was a cool activity in several ways and they worked at it all afternoon.



Next, I provided buckets of water and a cheapy box of school erasers, pencil grips, etc., corks, sinkers (Handy Man scoured the garage for) and clay.  The objective- create a Flinker.  An object that neither floats nor sinks, but bobs about in the middle of the water.

Bean was the first successful Flinker creator.

This appealed to all the ages at some level, and they worked and worked to be successful.








 This is absolutely my favorite kind of activity.  So much thinking. Wow!

Of course, there was much creating of another sort as the little girls wrote, directed and acted in a play about flowers.


You know you can click on the pictures to see them bigger and I just know you want to read this.

Our beloved Anna Laura was able to join us for our last afternoon,  and lost no time making a friend of Mr. Smiley, and allowed him the pleasure of co-narrating the play from her hip.

Gee whiz, I am a total sap. When they at last lay down to rest, planting their seeds for the next generation, I nearly boo-hooed.  So sweet.

Uh, huh, I get it. Perhaps I'm prejudice, but I've paid money to see plays that in no way matched the cuteness of this one.  Love, Love, Love.

The middle of the afternoon brought a celebration of Bean's 11th birthday.  So hard to believe he's already that old.  

And before she made her exit, Ms. Glitzy once again performed our traditional "Mentos in Diet Coke" trick that still appeals.  It is kind of like the last fireworks on the 4th of July.

  And speaking of love, this is my Love's favorite Playdate activity.

So ended ten years of summer Playdates.

Sometime in the afternoon, I twisted my ankle and was again reminded of how very blessed we have been.  Ten years and the bees and a twisted ankle rank as the worst disasters.  Well, there was the time that  gigantic tree fell about five minutes before we would have been standing under it in the creek, and kind of terrified us for a minute, but we weren't under it.
Thank you Lord.  What learning, and what joy, what love has happened here.  I am grateful.