Tidbits

Violet decided to draw one of her favorite characters - pretty darn good, huh?

She also decided to dig her finger around the new loaf of fresh-baked bread, before I'd sliced it.

Sometimes, you really need a cat on your lap at dinner time.

We are now a house without a mouse.

Sadly, Barley seemed unwell one morning this week, so I took her outside with me to sit in the sun, and to let her get some fresh outside air for once. 

She seemed to perk up and was OK the rest of the day, but died the next day, For now, I think our rodent days are behind us. Violet was always excited to get a new pet, but didn't get excited to get her out or clean the cage. 

Anyway, our mice were all sweet and I'm glad we had the experience.

Our friend is the new advertising spokesman for Advance Auto Parts - this is a national campaign, so it's a huge deal. We chose to drive to Canyon Country when we needed a few new wiper blades, and took this photo for him.
 

Summer Fun

So, we're in a new world of summer life, with two girls who would be happy to be home all day, playing video games, or watching things. They're not anxious to see friends, and they resist leaving the house. It's weird because I value our time together and would like to DO more fun things while they're off school, but they don't have a lot of interest.

Anyway, on one late summer day, I "dragged" them to the ice rink, where we had a fun hour-plus, getting exercise and enjoying the cold air.

We then went to the mall, where I'd recently spotted a kiosk selling genuine Dole Whip frozen dessert. Since it's now been well over two years since I've had one at Disneyland, I was anxious to treat the girls to a big one for us to all share.

Over the weekend, we donated a lot of old quilts to a high school fundraiser, where they were getting paid by the pound of cloth. I finally decided to donate the adorable Classic Pooh Bear curtains a friend made us for baby Cora's bedroom. They'd been up high in the closet, forgotten, but obviously it's past time for them to move on. I got very sad though, looking at them for the last time. 

Melanie and Ellie came over and Ellie was very gentle with Barley! 

Stace took a day off during the girls' last week off school, when he woke up not feeling well. Later, we all went out to lunch, since I had a coupon for Buy One, Get One rice bowls.

Then, we all went to play in the pool, even Violet, who has decided she doesn't love playing in the pool. 

Look at these lovely synchronized swimmers!

...Oh. 

Violet had a horrible night of sleep shortly before school restarted, and said she was up basically all night. This was how I found her at 8:30 a.m.; she napped for about two hours.

Fun fact: these couches in the game room belonged to my grandparents, who had them custom made because of their height.

Perfect Pets

We love our pets! 

Violet is giving away her little bean bag, but Seb found it on the floor and adopted it for a day.

Violet gave the kitties some treats, but didn't put the lid on the jar. Smart Spencer found it and helped himself. Naughty boy on the table!

Cora took this picture of Seb soaking up the sun. Seb generally stays in our back yard when he goes outside. He also will climb on the wall, and wait for our neighbor to give him treats on the wall. 

Grandma had given Violet this little pouch for the mice. I put it in the cage, and in the morning Vi and I saw there was movement from within. I pulled it out, and BOTH mice were inside! So cute! 

Hi, Jade! Hi, Barley!
 

Pets, domesticated and wild

Violet's little blonde mouse Copper died last week, after a few weeks of seeming "off." We wanted to get Jade a friend, as a mouse alone is a lonely mouse. (I just made that up, but it sounds good.)

We went to Petsmart after our trip to Hume Lake, and Violet chose this sweet little brown mouse. Because she looks like a field mouse, she named her Barley. 

She might not have the most interesting coloring, but the other mice in the Petsmart cage were black, and that would be boring in a tank with Jade. And our friend Sage, who works at Petsmart, said she's a very friendly and sweet mouse who's been there for a couple of months, maybe because of her boring brown color.

We looked up how to introduce mice, and learned that we should do it on neutral territory. Violet cleaned out the tank very thoroughly, and we introduced them in a box with an interesting toy. All went very well!

But when we put them in the tank, Jade bit Barley, and there was a lot of squeaking. Back into the box they went! After a few more tries, and some time alone in the box for Jade, they settled in together and now are getting along just great.
 

Violet also wants a bird, so I just show her the finch feeder outside. Boy, have they discovered it! I love the bright yellow on the males.

Spencer also likes watching the finches.

So far, he hasn't caught one from our feeder. (Months ago, he caught one, but way before our feeder was in place.)

Week in Review

JT and Jim and the kids came out Saturday afternoon, so we could all go to our Concert in the Park. A U2 cover band was playing, the one we enjoyed at the Canyon club a few years ago. Hollywood U2 is excellent! So worth seeing, especially for free on a beautiful warm evening.

Our friends spent the night, and we were able to watch the England/Italy Euro 2020 final together. Keith came over, too. Sadly, the game didn't turn out so well.

The littles went to play Exploding Kittens at one point.

 

When Liana came over this week, she had the idea of creating a maze for the mice. Gosh, I love this girl! Watching them plan, cut cardboard and hot glue it all together was amazing.

And, Jade and Copper had fun, too!

We also made two beach trips this week. On Monday, we went with Jenn, Zach and Dylan to Oxnard, and on Friday, Violet and I went with Colleen and Liana.

Nice shot, Colleen! The girls, including one of Colleen's friends visiting from out of state, set up a long-jump contest. 

We ended the day with snow cones from an ice cream truck. 

Gotta love summer!

Oh, and I had breakfast with my girlfriends Friday before the beach! It's always great being back at Egg Plantation.

We were partially celebrating Sue's birthday...and summer!

Easter Sunday

We celebrated Easter with church and family on Sunday, including a little backyard egg hunt. 

Here, Melanie is showing Eloise a tiny pompom chick toy.

Ellie also got to meet the mice properly - she touched Copper so gently, with one baby finger. So cute!

Violet took it upon herself to fill the eggs - it's lovely that she's still excited for egg hunts!

Such a cutie!

My dad recently found a bin of old photos and memorabilia from his parents, including this fabulous photo of newlywed Grandma and Grandpa and some of his Navy buddies. It was taken at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., but no date is listed. The friends signed it, and Grandpa wrote "Your undeserving husband Jerry." Grandma wrote, "me!!!" Such a great snapshot of young love in the early 1940s.

Dad also found a folder with Christmas letters they wrote to the family in Michigan not long after they moved to California in the 1960s. I deeply enjoyed reading my Grandma's humor as she updated their loved ones on their lives, including my elementary-school-aged Dad.

Stace and Lisa at Easter, 2021

I convinced Violet and Cora to wear dresses to church, since it was Easter Sunday. And I even managed to get a photo back home, before Cora changed back into her normal clothes.

They get along so well most of the time! Emphasis on "most."

Back to School!!

 Nearly a year after our lives were upended by Covid-19, Violet finally returned to school on Monday. 

She's going Monday through Thursday, 12:30-3, with half her class. The other half is attending 8-10:30. They do math and English with their teacher, sitting six feet apart, wearing masks. The students continue to do art, P.E., social studies and science at home.

Day One! Mrs. Dallaire was so excited to see her students in person finally - here, she's taking a selfie with them as they're lined up to go inside.

Violet was nervous about the change, and her stomach hurt. But after school, she seemed happy, and asked if we could walk to Starbucks with Melanie and Christina. 

Great idea! And we're so happy that she and Melanie are in the same class, and the same afternoon cohort. They don't get to chat or play together during the school time, but at least we can more easily plan playtime after school.

When we were in Carpinteria, Jenn and I went in this little shop that sold goods made by high school students. I found a catnip-filled felt pizza toy for the cats, since they recently had their 10th birthday. 

It was a hit!

We played another new board game this week: Ticket to Ride, Europe. It was fun! And Cora didn't win! 

JT brought up her kids Thursday afternoon, as they had a short day for teacher conferences. Callie had fun playing with Jade...

...and Cora led them all in a D&D quest. They were having such a good time, we even let them keep the table and eat dinner there while they played.

And JT and I enjoyed a lovely long walk through the canyon, ending up at Starbucks. Good times.