week two . . .

of the class i am taking:

several new techniques learned.  happy.  happy.  happy.

and yes, i am behind.  i also have pictures from my granddaughter's prom to play with and a few from a recent *camping* trip.  click. click. click.

it's not that i don't like them exactly . . .

it's just that having done my weekly shopping, gone for walk, balanced my checkbook, paid my bills and run some errands, i decided it was time to enjoy the loungers out on my newly scrubbed and shining pool deck.  ever cautious of the time i spend out there, i checked the clock.  oops it needs a new battery . . . or maybe i will just readjust it and see if it keeps time.

as i lift it off the screws on the outside of the house and gently flipped it over, out drops gobs of tree frog poop.  no kidding.  they tend to live in there.  i wasn't surprised since it has been at least six months since i have taken the clock off the wall but there inside the back of the clock were two humongous tree frogs.  they looked like pasty logs of sushi.  gah.

i immediately called the resident frog catcher . . . and kidlet obligingly came running.  she, who rids the house of orphan critters was giggling hysterically.  i was not so amused.  they'd been in the dark for so long they were a rather pale green/bile color.  and palm sized.  did i mention that.  so kidlet grabs the clock face down and runs the beasties out the door and onto the lawn.  whew!!

it was long about then that i gazed back up to where the clock and been and noticed two more of the little devils clinging tightly to the wall of the house.  kidlet!!!!!, i screeched.  she happily removed both of them as well and dumped them gently with their buds.

as we chatted about the surprise of the day, my tender hearted kidlet decided they might expire if left in the sun on the grass and decided to gather them up and rehouse them in a slightly darker, damper home turf.

so there is my kid, doing her frog rodeo thing trying to lasso four now rather disturbed tree frogs and herd them into the woods.  after much dancing and hopping, she corralled three of the four but that fourth little rascal had seemingly scampered away.  kidlet retreated to her den, still snorting . . . at me.

happily back at my crossword puzzle, i happened to glance up and notice frog four was now hopping across the top of the pool cage in search of lord knows what.  KIDLET!!!!!!!!

after relocating the last of the amphibians, and still chortling, my dearest child, folded over in laughter, slithered into the house before i could toss her into the pool.

interesting day and i wouldn't have it any other way.

how to have a great day . . .

start with a little yoga.

have lunch with your hens.

take a scrumptious little nap.

bleach down the deck and clean all the pool furniture with help from the kidlet.

dinner and brownies compliments of kidlet.  slurp!
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yesterday i started another photoshop class.  does that count as adult education? 
week one:  gradients.

and then, i love to steal photos from facebook, especially when they are of joanie's grand baby.

is he not the cutest!!!!

and so it goes . . .

three days before easter:

kidlet:  mom, do i get an easter basket this year?

mean mom:  nope. (you going to get me one?)

kidlet:  (hearing only the nope) why not?

mean mom:  because you're 25. 

kidlet:  grumble.

two days before easter:

mean mom:  but i will get you an easter present.  what would you like?

kidlet:  hummm . . .  mom/daughter mani/pedis!

mean mom:  done.

easter morning:  (scenario)

mean mom and joanie go for a walk while kidlet supposedly snoozes.  upon arriving home, joanie's doggy dezzy comes bounding out of joanie's and i call kidlet to see if she wants her usual puppy mugging.  she does. as soon as kidlet opens the front door, dezzy bounds in.  once in the kitchen, i notice flowers.  spring flowers.  my favorite!

mean mom:  thanks for the flowers, kidlet.

kidlet:  they're from the easter bunny.  and there are 12 eggs around the house.

mean mom and joanie go in search of eggs:

some are resting on the sofa.  some are enjoying a glass of wino in the fridge

 but they are all filled with little morsels of chocolate!!!   slurp!!

 and despicable me uno!!!  mean mom is loving minions these days.

 just yuumy smell goods!!!!

kidlet:  see, you're never too old.

mean mom: sigh, you're right.

kidlet:  does this mean i get an easter basket next year???

mean mom: sigh.  yes.  love you the most kidlet!!!!

happy easter all.

i am, alive and well.  thank you.

life has just been  . . .  different of late.

this blog was originally conceived to keep kidlet linked to all of the 9TS's and my goings on while she was away at school, but since she now lives at home, there seems little reason to post.  on the other hand, my blog has always been my place to be the oddish soul that i am.  unfortunately, most of what is important to me in life these days is the mental health of kidlet and understandably, she wants her privacy.  she also misses my posts.

so herein lies the quandary.  how do i blab about my life without impinging on kidlet's?

we came to an agreement.  she gets first right of refusal.  so if the blog dies a well earned death, you will understand why.

taking a totally different tact, saturday i stopped by a civil war reenactment just a few miles from home.  as i made a nest in the grass, camera in hand, waiting for it to begin, the announcer disclosed that to be fair, on saturday, the south would win and on sunday, the north.  talk about political correctness . . .

these guys were really into this!

on sunday, kidlet and little k decided they wanted to do a photo shoot down at the beach.  little k is my granddaughter, but since there are only seven years between the two, obviously, little k is kidlet's niece.  straight now?

and yes, that is one of the 9TS's shirts she is wearing.  we scrap over them like a pack of wild animals.

p.s. aren't they the cutest!!!!!!!!!

things to note . . .

don't go to yoga three hours after eating a hard boiled egg.

if a very small cat with a very wet nose goes snogging in the litter box, there is a good chance she will come out with concrete on her nose.

dogs do not poop on command.

oops . . .

you know the snowball effect?

well . . .

Adobe sent me an offer for Creative Cloud:  Photoshop, Light Room and Bridge for $9.99 a month.  great deal.  i'm still running CS4 which has been my old faithful but antiquated so well, i succumbed. 

but, although Creative Cloud will run on my iMac, it is not supported by my four year old laptop which is still running Snow Leopard and only has 4GB and whose highest speed is a waddle.  hum.

so i bought a new laptop.  hey, i deserve it.  it keeps the crazy at bay.

so now i have to learn Photoshop CC and Light Room.  forget about Bridge. 

but, my ACDSee app won't work with Mavericks.  so i downloaded a 15 day free trial of ACDSee Pro 3 for Mac.  the verdict is still out.

but then my EHD failed.  fortunately, i was able to retrieve the goodies stored there.  yay.  and, i have a 2T i got for Christmas, so all is good.

so let's add that up.  one email cost me:

a year long subscription
a new laptop
a new organization system
and a whopper of a learning curve.

yep, life is good!