It’s “Hey Rene J” Today!

Yesterday I took a photo of the Indian Paintbrush, which apparently needed a harsher winter to really bloom and spread. Today? I heard the hummingbird come to check out the stand! It’s earlier than usual, but he was here.

The doors are open and I’m feeling summer knocking. Just need a few more blooms to entice my little friends. Rain would be welcome, too.

Looking pretty dry….

Did you know the tables at Starbucks allow for crafting?

A simple purchase of your favorite beverage will give you access to a table without question. The fact that three little children with stickers and markers are creating masterpieces is not a deterrent to the staff. My daughter and I spent a good 45 minutes of quality time there while the pups were joyfully embellishing plastic eggs last week. We were only stymied by the famous line, “I need to go potty.” End of quality time.

Passing on the fruitful knowledge gleaned along the way.

The new Burlington store opened a day early and we happened to be near it. My daughter, her brood and I thought it would be a good idea to check it out – being new and stocked so well on the very first day!

It was an exceedingly cheerful experience. The staff wasn’t exhausted from patrons complaining yet, or returns being made, or anything we consumers foist upon those who serve us. We sauntered through the store, visiting the shoe department early on. I queried my little pups. “Which shoes would you like to try on in Grandma’s closet?” They immediately pointed to a pair of pale pink pointy-toed kitten heels. I eyed the racks and said, “That’s the only selection I would have made.”

Thus, there is a new pair of beautiful shoes for my Easter Sunday wear. Easter joy and blessings to all.

Nothing gets a grandparent off the floor faster than the words, “I have to go potty.”

Yes, we are successfully navigating that phase, and yet, it may mean you have only a millionth of a second before that statement becomes reality. To be honest, the two littles really are good at this now. It’s the getting off the floor swiftly part that is the issue.

Wednesday with the little women.

My beautiful daughter organized my junk drawer a few days ago. She is a master at thinning out the herd and making it look way better than it ever did. Thus it was that five paint can openers were discovered in this laundry room drawer of disarray. She politely put them with the other openers in the “paint drawer” in the garage.

The following day I happened to be in the nursery putting away the books we’d read for nap time. I looked at the shelves and decided I needed to dust. That is when I discovered yet another opener! Why in the bedroom? Who knows.

While my daughter thought it was quite amusing to have so many, little did she realize there was one more hiding in the bin of pencils and pens she graciously tested for worthiness yesterday. Yes, I have been a paint-can-opener-hoarder. Now that they have put screw tops on the plastic lids though, I’m not sure how many of these I will ever need?

If you find yourself requiring one of these magical devices, I can spare one or two.

The time-honored tradition of creating three Easter outfits continues. Today I finally finished the escapade and could vacuum the thousands of threads littering the place.

We probably should wear these works of art this weekend – as it shall be much warmer than Easter Sunday…which is next weekend already!

Happy Spring.

It was a great start to the morning. The occupants of the car next to me on my drive down the popular Arapahoe Road were waving at me quite intentionally. Aha! It was my SIL with his beautiful daughter smiling and waving on their way to preschool. What a very fun morning gift.

Now with doors open and trees receiving water, I can see the lilacs beginning to bloom, the pear trees in full blossom, and the one patch of grass greening from sprinkler play yesterday. It’s Thursday with a bit of “spring” in my step.

Well, I had to research it.

Yes, we are in March Madness. College basketball was never my interest, even though I “professionally” cheered for it for three years, enduring flips in the air and possible death through missed catches. (Thank you, Joe Miller, for always catching me. Well, I was a lot lighter then?) I spent Senior year keeping stats for the sport to preserve my skeleton, and even though I found it fairly boring, the fact that I could spend time on something with numbers made me feel like I was contributing…

…and that something took me to the NAIA playoffs in Kansas City. That part of the game – was fun, even though I couldn’t remember what our division was? Who were we? For what were we playing?

The thing is, I hate the squeak of shoes on the court. It’s become less antagonistic over the years with everyone weighing in on their new anatomical developments. But the game itself drove me nuts. It was a new sport for women in my high school when I was a Junior, so I never played it and I didn’t develop a love for it. And I was “too short” in my mind. And I already had a superior sport – cheerleading!

Was I too short? One of my favorite memories is from college. I stood in for some team members of the girls BB team because they needed bodies and the coach asked me to participate in the practice sessions while the stars were plying their softball skills. Me? They were desperate. Little did they know I was ruthless. (Everyone underestimates cheerleaders, btw.) Apparently I was really good at stealing the ball – not making shots, but getting the golden snitch so someone else could score. This is all practice, mind you, not something worthy of being on a team.

I gently declined the offer to be a part of their sport when asked. I already had a first-place trophy for flag football, so I was good. No room for more accolades there.

So when March Madness happens, I just remember that I was asked to be on a college team. Never mind the desperation in the request, I was invited. A good thing to keep in mind with any request.

My daughter treated me to a concert in late night downtown Denver over the weekend. After the gorgeous string quartet event we were searching for something to do besides hit a bar.

We took the long way home searching for that answer, noticing that there were many after-hour venues available for spending our dough in the form of tattoo parlors. Then it dawned on us. The reason there are so many people inked these days is because Dollar Tree isn’t open late night! If it were, there could be a diversion for so many looking for an adventure other than imbibing.

Luckily, I’m not out that late often and the Dollar Tree store by me is within walking distance. And we did not get tattoos.

Every March I deign to “enjoy” a crappy Shamrock Shake from McDonalds. This is only because my sister, “Pindy” and her daughter, “Palysun,” and I used to get one when I visited the Great Plains. I remember them as being tastier.

Of course, when they were first introduced eons ago they were a delight. Now they have a rather caustic flavor about them. However, they are green and I somehow manage to consume the entire shake. There is a stipulation to this tradition. First, I must text my niece and tell her of my bowing to the time-honored task, and then I only order one for the season.

Happy pre- St. Patrick’s Day! 💚