Wednesday is Back

 Chloe likes to put things in boxes.  She also likes to put things back into boxes.  She likes to take her clothes off.  She also likes to try to put them back on.  She struggled the other night to put a pair of pants on.  Over and over, she would struggle to pull them up, then OFF they would come for her to start over.  Part of the time she got it right, the other part...well, she looked like she was auditioning for a part as a mermaid because she got both feet into the same pant leg.  She is really fun to watch!

She likes to color, and I am hoping she finds it fun and easy to be artistic.  We have been encouraging her to explore her creative side and will continue to do so, however, there are some things she does that even I won't do with a crayon!

And finally, I was revisiting some of my China pictures last night and found this one.  I altered it a bit from what you might have seen in January...if I did post this...if not, nevermind.

Barn Revisited

Several comments asked for more of last week's barn.  No one can say I did not provide!  This is that barn.  You see how the power line detracts from the photo?  That was the reason I chose the photo I did.  Also, I was really enjoying the texture.  I upped the saturation and added some contrast, but you probably don't care, and that's ok, since that is photo magic that can reside with me.

I have enjoyed going around and seeing other barns from around the US!  Barn Charm is a neat little niche.  I hope you will drop by, if you are not a participant, and see the barns.

Early Morning Hokey Pokey!

Today was my last Monday off.  I had Chloe all day.  I took her out of her PJs for breakfast (she still tends to wear more food than she eats) and let her run around.  She was watching Sesame Street and Elmo's Worlds came on and they were singing the Hokey Pokey song, and by golly she was dancing with it...not something you'd see on Dancing With The Stars, but pretty darned good if you ask me.

 I think she has got some moves!  After breakfast I was doing dishes and she was coloring.  I turned around to see this, which I began yelling at her about and went to grab her, but then I realized she was just trying to get her crayon.  I told her she needs to ask for help next time.

 I started to take a few pictures and she was ready for it!

I have an awesome daughter!

Up Again, Even Though It's Quiet

Dammit.  I seem to be coming on to a summer cold.  I am unhappy about that.  I awoke to a sore throat and the feeling that were I to move the wrong way, I would become congested and stop breathing.  Now, I am fairly fond of breathing and decided to get up to take some airborne and some cold medicine.  That is in the works and I am making a post while I drink my cold medicine...Thank goodness we have a little Alka-Seltzer Cold.

A few of these may be the same as Cora has on her blog, but they were too good not to share twice!

Chloe discovered that the feeling of mud between her toes is a fun and enjoyable sensation.  Despite our half-hearted pleas, she played in the sprinkler and mud to cool off.  It was so darned hot and humid that we would probably have been in it too if the hole was big enough!

 She had a great time and thought much of her own actions!  Gotta love this girl!

 She though filling the dog's water bowl was a great idea and took it upon herself to spread the water as far as she could!

 Here, Mom!  I brought you some water!

 She soon got tired and needed a drink...fortunately she has not figured out drinking from the hose yet.

 The reason we were in the back yard in the first place was that I wanted to smoke the tuna we got at the beach.  I used my Father-in-law's recipe and had wonderful results!  That is such sweet fish and the smoke made it melt-in-your-mouth good!

 I saved back a few pieces and we had grilled tuna, steak, and peas...and let's just admit it, the peas were only there because we felt we should have a vegetable present to observe the proceedings!  Though, given the correct amounts of butter, vegetables are good, too!  The soy sauce I used on the fish, plus the other ingredients, made for a delectable dish and a drop of wasabi added a flare that was unexpected and delicious!

When dishing up, I asked Cora if she wanted Africa...she looked over and saw that the steak was, indeed, in the shape of Africa...a yummy beef tasting Africa!

What a wonderful day!

More Beach Shots

 Just a few more shots that didn't make the bed before this.  For me to say this is the last time you'll see these beachy pics is probably a lie.  I keep going through them and finding shots I want to share.

Another Summer Fades

Another summer is coming to an end.  the teachers are back.  They were going through meetings and I was working.  Today I got told to go clean some spider webs.  I assumed they were on the side of the building, and my job would be to make it presentable.  Oh, how wrong I was.

I found a few webs, but nothing horrible, so I asked the principal and she showed me exactly where they were.  Silly me.  I was not looking in the flower gardens.  SERIOUSLY!  She wanted me to sweep them up or something.  I thought about it.  I decided the best way to get rid of them was to use a leaf blower.  I went through like a small hurricane, spreading dust and mayhem all in the name of getting a few spiders to rebuild over the weekend.

Soon, I will return to teaching...ah bittersweet change.

Chloe is a wonderful child and I cannot wait to see her grow up, but she is growing up way too quickly.  She climbed up in her high chair this afternoon...all by herself...much to our surprise and consternation.   She is a strong willed child, but she is completely awesome!

Haiku Too

Ahh, the pleasures of having a good photo program.  I like this photo, it calms me.

I attended our meetings and learned about sexual harassment and bullying.  I think, given the state's administrative codes, that everyone could fall into those categories.  It doesn't matter whether you mean to offend someone, you may still be guilty and worthy of disciplinary action.  It's more than a little disturbing.

If one person is offended by a joke, or thinks you act just a little too interested in someone else's life, or if an anonymous person says you bullied someone, you may be worthy of disciplinary action!  Yeah, I don't envy the administrators.  NOT ONE BIT.

After the meetings, I worked my ass off.  I unloaded three trucks and attempted to get some items moved from the HS down to a more manageable area.  I recycled some scrap metal and then moved some furniture from one school to another.  By the end of the day I was dragging.

Tomorrow is Friday...I love FRIDAY!  It makes me happy.  

Ew! Thursday!

I was fiddling with my photo program last night and was playing with putting things into other pictures.  I came up with this as a practice example.  Yet, Chloe seems to be expressing my feelings for another day at work...I need rest already!  Also, today will be plagued with beginning of the year meetings.  I wonder if they'll be offended if I fall asleep?  I fell asleep sometime around 9 last night.  The sun and the physical labor beat me.  I still have sore muscles and I could totally go for another 8 hours sleep!

Ewwwwww, Thursday!

More Beachy Fun

 While the weather changed daily, we had fun no matter what.  We simply made plans appropriately.

 These are some of the views we saw during our stay on the coast.

 but, by far, this is my favorite subject to photograph.

It's Wednesday again...can we just have longer weekends and forget Wednesdays?  What good ever happened on Wednesday?  Or for that matter on Monday.  Lets chop Wednesdays and Mondays and have Saturday 1 and Saturday 2, and then Sunday 1 and Sunday 2...who's with me? 

A Day in West Port, WA!

We drove to West Port from Ocean Shores on Sunday.  The ferry no longer runs, sadly.  Years ago, Cora and I took that ferry across to West Port and enjoyed it immensely.  Ahh, well, the drive isn't THAT bad...unless you have an unhappy toddler in the car, in which case it seems largely like a drive across Siberia tied to the whistle of a steam locomotive...except the whistle was going all the time.  Yeah, very pleasant.  We finally found that if we kept up a nonsense conversation going at roughly double volume and often talking over each other, she simply quieted down to listen...it was not fun, but it was better than listening to her.

We arrived and went to the beach, except the tide was not right for gathering the expected ton of shells.  Still, she got a few.  

We headed for the West Port shops...a nice touristy bunch of shops.  Yesterday was a great day to stop, since there was a sort of street fair going on.  We enjoyed walking through the booths and even got a few items.  Chloe got a couple extra lovies.  She LOVES having more than one lovie!  I got a book written by the youngest American to serve in World War Two.  I even shook his hand. 

There was live music everywhere.  Chloe clapped whenever someone finished a song.  

We visited the West Port Aquarium.  Something we both visited in our childhoods.  Except, now we saw it for what it is, a sad place where fish come to die.  Still, Chloe enjoyed it, even though there were no seals there like when we were kids.

 Here is some of the live music.  The majority of it seemed to be solo male singers and musicians, but this group had a nice down home blue grassy feel that was, well, awesome.

I went down on the floats and took a few pictures.  The boats were in varying states of disrepair, but mostly looked like fishing boats anywhere...which is...well, used.

 I stopped and took a few pictures of a bridge I have admired for decades...finally found a good spot to shoot it.  The greens were awesome!

 We stopped at the light house in West Port.  The folks who were volunteering as camp hosts were kind of rude, commenting on Chloe being to small to go up in the light house, without actually talking to us...Pretty rude, really.  I managed to snag a few pics, though.