Thursday, June 5, 2025

It's Like I'm Writing a Summer Diary

 

I can't believe I am blogging for the fourth day. Crazy.  

I forgot to share a view from the porch to the flowers yesterday. I just got started on the inside of the porch. I have boxes of stuff buried in a closet in what I am now calling the warehouse at the end of the hallway. 

The room is storing the bathroom cabinetry, the shower pan and walls, all the plumbing fixtures, I am pretty sure the special drywall and who knows what else. And the bedroom furniture stacked around the edges. 

The bathroom project has come to a complete stop due to my husband deciding to put new brakes on my youngest son's truck. Then he discovered an issue with the four wheel drive vacumn (do you like how I am sounding like I know what I am talking about?) and I swear I heard something about rebuilding the engine. I am hoping that isn't true. 

And yesterday the truck project stopped when my daughter's AC went out. Yesterday's temperatures were in the 90's. After taking apart the condenser (Mr Merry is a retired HVAC person as well as a Water Treatment Plant operator, all as a railroad buildings and grounds employee), the problem was a mouse who chewed a wire and electrocuted himself. 

ANYWAY First I wanted to share this photo that appeared in our local paper in 1991.  It features my three sons and a neighbor boy who not only scavenged pieces and parts from a construction site, but built this car and called the newspaper to take their photo. And gave the reporter their names and their parent's names. 

I worked at the library at the time and we were first to get the paper. The only childcare I was using that summer was my 13 year old daughter and my mother on standby across town. In other words, my children were raising themselves. Fortunately no one called from the construction company or filed theft charges. 

I mention this because my nine year old granddaughter got an Apple watch thing this week. She moved to a neighborhood full of children and has crossed the line into bike riding a few streets away, playing pickup softball with neighbor kids at the end of the street, and traveling all over the three blocks of her subdivision with her friends.  

Stepdad especially is very concerned about her boundaries and personal freedom. The watch has a tracker so they know where she is and there are only four people she can call and text. Those chosen are mom, stepdad, Mr Merry and me.  And the highlight of my day is now the 20+ texts I get from morning to night. Please keep in mind that she usually visits me once a day, too. Here is a sample. 



Mom has suggested I begin retyping misspelled words. 

I read in the paper that someone else was chosen to fill the vacant seat in our city government.  I am going to admit I was a little upset. I had mentioned to my husband days ago that an email thanking me for my time and telling me that they had decided the other candidate was a better fit would have been nice.  

A few hours later I got a panicked email asking me to call the committee and apologizing for not contacting me earlier. The gist was that they all thought the other person would call me. 

I told myself I was not going to get upset if I wasn't chosen, but I am upset, mostly at the rudeness.  They actually made the announcement at a dinner at a local establishment with a whole committee and newspapers present. But couldn't drop me a two line email.  

Yes, I am being petty. But I am giving myself 24 hours to pout.  And then I am planning my trip on Saturday to the Cleveland Museum of Art to view a special exhibit by the artist Takashi Murakami.  We are also looking forward to touring the other half of the regular exhibits we missed when we visited the museum last year! 


12 comments:

  1. The porch looks great!
    I'm sorry about all the issues, it's always something!
    I get messages from my granddaughter too - it's the best!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so sorry that you were not chosen, and I agree with you that this was very rude on their part, not to mention unprofessional. Sad story about the mouse, but thankfully nobody else was hurt and that the problem was discovered. I love the porch photo! And the old photo as well. Thank you so much for sharing, and I enjoy your posts and am happy to see you posting more, dear friend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love those texts! :-) They remind me a LOT of the ones I get from Piper every day. I love it too! My favorite part of texting is getting them from my three oldest grands. Love, love, love.
    Sorry you didn't get chosen and yes, I think it was rude too that they announced it without telling you.
    We're pulling up stakes here at the campground in Missouri and heading to Indiana tomorrow. After attending a graduation Saturday morning in Louisville, KY, on Sunday we'll go to Mammoth Cave National Park. It's rained a LOT since we left home but still having a good time with the other couple we're camping with.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  4. You're not being petty. They should have given you advantage notice. But I like your style of giving yourself one day to pout. Life is too short to spend anymore time than that over something that truly could have just been an oversight rather than purposeful rudeness.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Loved the porch photo Miss Merry--and the more I learn about Mister Merry, the more I like him. :^) What a great look back at your 3 sons, gosh that was nice... and the phone text exchanges were too funny. I'm sorry for the rude treatment you got, you deserved better than that.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am sorry they didn't want the best...you! I like the idea of a tracker for kids that age..I enjoyed the texts!

    ReplyDelete
  7. No, not petty. You are being appropriate and knowing how things SHOULD be done. Announcing without informing is bad practice. Just sayin' ... Those texts crack me up. And the new porch blooms look great there. Love the race photo, too! Those were the days! I like that this was a four-post week!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Agree, not petty. Your sons and their friend were innovative kids! I think my 51 year old son might be the last generation of kids who spent their days outside doing who knows what, with no planned activities or sports clubs. You have a lovely porch.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love the texts from grandchild! I get texts from our granddaughter too... usually about bugs, frogs, or things she questions.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dang that is sucky. You have a reason to pout.

    ReplyDelete
  11. They should definitely have notified the candidates, that's just rude. These would not be easy people to work with. So you're entitled to fume.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yes, I think they should have emailed you first before making such a big deal about the person that they chose...I think the apple watch is a good thing for your granddaughter....
    Hugs,
    Deb
    Debbie-Dabble Blog

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit! I love your comments and suggestions and read them all. Due to spam, I will now have to approve all comments. Sometimes it takes me a hot minute to authorize comments due to grandchildren commitments. I apologize but I can't let those scammers get the upper hand!

Miss Merry