I was very grumpy this morning, because it was raining, and due to continue all day, and we needed the rain, but it was still gloomy, and I had to take Mum to the dentist for a filling and my brother has been acting out…and I deleted my post
that suggested you teach the grands about ‘malicious compliance” when it comes to coloring! Better now….but I would love to hear a small child use the phrase “malicious compliance” appropriately in a sentence. It would be one of those moments,
like the first time they use a bad word completely in context and with appropriate intonation and you are simultaneously appalled and proud!

So ok. I put up the turquoise barn from Emmet Co. on the bedroom wall above my roll top desk. The little one is propped on top of the desk, underneath.

It looks silly with the old philodendron lamp and Otherhalf's grandma's fancy Asian carved stone buddah, but whatareyagonnado? LOL

The bedroom here has never ever gotten anything new. This is the first thing I've bought with this room in mind. It's a start. Maybe it's time to glam this room up a bit more to my liking. LOL

We had one 8 month old, 2 2.5 year olds (cousin brothers), one 4 year old, and 4 older girls (11-20) here this weekend,
and my heart is so full of confidence in the next two generations! Great parents and great kids! The cousins were born within two weeks of each other, and their grandmother refers to the joint pregnancy announcement as the best Mother’s Day ever!

I painted another turquoise barn a long time ago from a similar stretch of highway here. It was housing a Harley Davidson, so I called this the "Hog Lot." There are a LOT of turquiose barns around this part of Iowa... must have been a fire sale on that color paint? LOL . I remember this one had the big barn in back with one red wall and the one back wall was turquoise. I wonder if they ever got around to painting it all the way around? We should drive that way again someday and see...

Very pretty lily. I don’t believe ive seen that kind.

Hooray for the imaginations allowed to run wild. They go where they go. Thinking outside the box needs creativity.

Welp! I am on antibiotics for what is suspected to be a brown recluse bite. I am supposed to watch it carefully. Any worse or no changes with the doxy, I get to take a trip to the ER. Oh joy! Dang stupid bugs, spiders, ticks!

That’s really nice, Fiss. Lil sis couldn’t get pregnant alone and even had the same sexes, so instant cousins. Was pretty nice for a very long time till they all grew apart. But, OS is now making an effort to do things with his counterpart again.

YS, the youngest in my family, is currently bailing out the oldest cousin in my family tonight with her washing machine. She moved right around the corner from him.
He’s become the Mr Fix It Saves the Day kinda guy. Last night he had to go fix his girlfriend’s car in the rain at her work, and today his cousin.

Oh no Mama! That is terrible news... I hope it resolves and doesn't cause you any trouble long term...

I am glad my grandkids aren’t the only ones with wild and sometimes ”dark”imaginations!

Your new art looks great there. If you love it, who cares?!?

Fiss, "malicious compliance" sounds like what your brother is trying to do to you, eh?

I also like the term "subversive" for doing art with a twist... Subversive cross stitch, for example. Or coloring book corrupting... taking a simple coloring book page and twisting it to something ... ummm.... else. That appeals to me greatly. Hence I am a big fan of Jordan Persegati on YouTube. It's so fun to watch him do that...but I don't think my grandkids are QUITE ready for me to share it with them. (But, I can't wait until they are!)

I love those surprise lilies! So pretty! Your art is your bedroom looks really nice too! Yay!

Mama, I hope you have a speedy and recovery. Fiss, I hope your day turned out nice. (Brothers! What are we to do with them? 🙄)

Mama, sending good thoughts that the antibiotics jump right in and do their thing so no ER visits will be necessary. 🤞

Rred, I really like the two paintings over the desk. The buddha - well, is there any other place for him? If not, he's OK there. I LOVE the rug in the bedroom. I don't recall ever seeing it before. It's big and gorgeous and was a terrific find for your home!

Yes, the two paintings look good stacked on top of each other. I guess you’ll have to find something else for SIL.

Malicious Defiance is his game, Rred! Mum pays for doggy daycare and/or boarding when he is off on his athletic adventures. I am pretty relaxed about it, and yes, Pixie can stay overnight if he is leaving first thing in the morning, or gets back late, especially if it is winter. He’s a terrible driver, I don’t want him rushing in the dark. But I drew the line at paying for doggie daycare for the day before this weekend’s adventure as well, while he packed the car for a 2 day event where he would be camping overnight, and he shouted and screamed at me about it. He had two choices, take her in at 6 pm for overnight boarding, or take her in on his way out of town. So he agreed to after 6pm, but then took her in at 2pm, which is an extra $38. Which he explained away as being only half a day, not the full day! I am very familiar with his tricks, which is why I was VERY specific about the 6 pm timing! And so he discovered he owed me on behalf of Mum the extra $38.And I had good leverage, because his car needed an additional $450 worth of repairs, after the $big bill from last week. The car was going to wait at the shop until he paid me back. Thank goodness it is the beginning of the month, so he still had some money in his account. It’s so wearing, because this is EVERY single interaction with him. Even when I exclaim that it is a beautiful day, I am told I don’t know what I am talking about, blah, blah, blah, you know, it’s going to cloud up by 5pm, I should pay more attention to the forecast.

Thank you all for letting me vent, tough love is really hard to administer! Do I care that much about a single $38 expense? Not really But if I let it slide, he’ll be dropping the dog off for longer and longer. Is this going to leave him short at the end of

the month? Maybe. But he won’t go hungry, so I can live with that. .

Fiss, with some people, you absolutely have to set a boundary and hold it. That’s what you’re doing. What a royal Payne… I am so sorry for you.😔…MB those spiders are famous for nasty bites. Sending good juju your way…Rred… Why did I think there were three paintings? The two look good there what about the third?

Fiss, lots of friends here. Perfect place to vent. Maybe you're so strong and capable because the Lord knew long ago that others around you wouldn't be. Your plate has almost been too full - it's time for positive and fun things to be on your calendar. 🌞

So, I forgot to make the fruit salad for Lobstahfest, so I am now enjoying myself processing it into yummies. We had no vegetarians and no known allergies this year, so the need for special food disappeared. I pulled a muscle lugging the
beverages home from Costco, so my get up and go got up and went!Today, I attempted raspberry chocolate jam…I just need to cook it at this point. And I have an enormous blackberry nectarine crumble in the oven. Thankfully, blueberries freeze well. I did put up some pickled blueberries this winter, when I did not eat some fresh ones on one of my trip homes. Not being a huge pickle fan, I would suggest that they were not “blueberry “ enough, but I must say, with goat cheese on a cracker they were pretty good. They also suggest serving with smoked salmon as well.

Ah Fiss.... You have indeed got your hands full. I didn't realize your bro traveled... complications indeed, then.

Lia, the third painting is still wrapped up and waiting for a trip to Texas. I do intend to give it to them for Christmas as I explained above. LOL . It's got an Iowa landscape, with fantasy "volcanoes and dog/squirrel clouds" and I think it would be fun in their home.

I am poised for the onslaught of depravity and sonic disturbance here at the lake. One guy arrived last night, and a few more today, and by Friday... the whole gang will be here. It's Otherhalf's favorite week of the year. For me and the girls (cat/dog) it is more something to "get through." The weather is supposed to be perfect tho, and that helps so much.

My mission today is to find/order my daughter a birthday gift. I can't believe it, but my baby is turning 40 in a few days. I so wish I could be there to go out to lunch with her or something... but alas. Kind of putting me in a blue mood, tbh, but the distractions here will help I guess.

What will happen after he blows through his inheritance or are you going to be the keeper of that account too after your mum passes? Very personal I know. You can just ignore this question if I’ve stepped too far.

rred, maybe instead of buying your daughter a gift you can find a cheap-ish plane ticket for five days and go visit and then take her out to lunch. Probably just a 'dream idea' but maybe something to plan for next year's OFMMW (that's old-friends-male-musician's-week)? Could OH manage the whole thing if you weren't there to feed, and clean up, etc.?

Rred, do you need earplugs when the boys get together? Sounds like a crazy week.

Fiss, you keep earning your wangle wings, well in advance!

We are in the process of getting the house resided with Hardee Board. The cedar clapboards are beginning to fail in multiple places. We picked Boothbay blue for the color It’s close to Cabot Stonehedge that we have, just a little blue-er . The sales rep just dropped off a 3’ tall monstera plant as a thank you! Does it need a lot of love to survive? Or will it thrive with a little water and prayer.

Doesn’t need full sun, Lad, and Rred has one, she’ll have details! Ahh, Sam, thankfully that is all under control. It leaves us both in the same relationship, I will continue to control the purse strings. It allows his inheritance to be held for him and to be used for extras, as long as they are paid for directly. Putting cash in his hands would disqualify him from collecting things like Medicare and food stamps…and I think like most people in this situation, it’s not the food stamps we are worried about, it’s the medical! It’s really, really hard to manage a disabled adult child/spouse/sibling while staying within all the rules.

I decided to offer the plant up for free on FB I don’t have room for it, and have enough plants

It is hot here today. I’m still getting through the leftover groceries from the weekend! I had some small eggplants that I cubed and fried thinking I would make a cold dish with those, and then I had 6 decent tomatoes, and I briefly thought about buying more, then roasting and canning some sauce, but reason prevailed ! I did roast the ones I had and ran them through my food mill, but now we are having pasta a la Nonna tonight because I have some Italian sausage that also needs cooking..
With lots of fresh basil from the garden, and my already cooked eggplant and homemade sauce!

So, I always try to reference the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse…..then I have to go away and look them up! And I did, but apparently pestilence has been changed! Sheesh…I presently have a new Pestilence….BLD, Beech Leaf Disease…it’s fatal. I have sprayed my two European copper beeches with a fertilizer(potassium phosphite) on the trunk, the UConn people have said that it is very effective . But my grove of native beeches(which I actually do not care for) are all badly affected, and that much spraying is out of the question.

Fiss your dinner sounds amazing! I guess I should dress up our two Olive Garden pastas I brought house on Monday.

Me and my 3 neighbors took the train from Mobile to New Orleans on Tuesday, spent the night at Hotel St Marie, and we returned last night and I fell into bed at 12:15 a.m. today. So it was a lazy day. We girls had a wonderful time. Yesterday’s lunch was at Brennans. We all loved our meals. Ann decided she wanted a double Banana Foster for her lunch! We had to help her eat it , but of course she still couldn’t finish it. Her tummy paid the price of too many bananas, sugar, and ice cream! I had the lump crab meat omelet, the other 2 ordered the eggs Benedict. The hotel spoiled us by giving us 2 rooms that joined the deck. So we could walk back and forth. The staff was very nice and always got our taxis, and took care of our luggage after late checkout. Our return train was until 5:31 p.m.
We had the Business class car to ourselves going and coming! The “dining” car was next to us. Enrique became our best friend on both trips! So many laughs!

Oops! I don’t see Hot Mess. I see Lakehouse Addition. Did I mess something up?

gls, hot mess is just the nickname.

Glassy, that sounds like a fabulous weekend!

Gls, 🎉🎉👏 for your fabulous trip to New Orleans. What a great idea! It sounds like you had the perfect weekend and there’s nothing like relaxing and laughing with a bunch of other women friends.❤️

Ok, I can’t figure out how to add them there, I will post them here temporarily! 😆

Hotel room, and garden fountain at Pat O’Briens

What a fun trip! ❤️ Oh my, that dish of bananas foster!

Oops…

What a gorgeous place glassy!

Well it's Friday, and all 13 guys are here. Tonight will be the main event, as two of them have actual paying music gigs to be back for Saturday night or Sunday in DSM. I mean more music here Saturday, for sure, but the two "most professional" guys will be gone by then. LOL . This is not to say that the other guys aren't good too. They all are good. Another one is a semi pro singer/songwriter/guitarplayer and yet another one plays out in his band back home, too. It's complicated...

Anyhow.

My LR "Before"

and my LR at "sound check"

and another angle from this morning...

It gets pretty crazy here...

I just hang out outside mostly to preserve my hearing. LOL . It sounds much better out here. haha

Guffy looks like she agrees, Rred. I am feeling sloth like today. It is very warm. I froze a quart of blueberries and will be making lemon blueberry buckle with the rest. Dinner tonight will be shrimp with sun-dried tomatoes, avocado and basil…on
pasta…I have lots of avocados to use up! The rest of the bag of shrimp will grilled tomorrow for tacos with mango avocado salsa. I probably should go the fresh pasta store and get some good pasta and Parm. It’s just a question of do I put on something more respectable than a cami and quick dry Bermuda shorts? All underpinnings are properly in place….to T shirt or not to Tshirt, that is the question?

T shirt. You never know just who you will run into at the pasta store.

I chose the T shirt, Ducky!

Ladies of a certain age should strive to stay presentable. One of the first things I noticed when I retired, and going to stores (especially grocery) were my suburban peers looking like the chronically homeless.

That trip sounds fun, glassy! I loved the breakfast at Brennans! And the bananas Foster we also managed to put away.

And speaking of away...OMG rred! I think I would just stay home and let OH handle that whole thing. Although perhaps they are all a bit more well behaved knowing you are there.

Glassy, yeah. Glad you do what you do. Rred, you have something special going on. As much as it may annoy, remember that you get to witness and participate with something that not many of us do.

So many guitars... lol! It is so cool, rred, I agree with sam, you've got a good thing going over there.

Re the underpinnings, last week I saw a rather posh lady of a certain age who seemed to have forgotten hers. What she was wearing was a satin blouse, which was about the worst item of clothing she could have picked in this situation. It made quite the impression on me.

gls, it all looks and sounds smashing (I must have been influenced by rred's boys, haha). I like bananas, but that many, eh, maybe not

Babo😑🤣 That brought up quite the image in my mind…

Yes, we had a very fun 36 hours. Now the girls think we need to go on these type of trips each season. Ellen says she has never been to Nashville. But she leaves for a 10 day trip to Scotland next month!

RRed, I am amazed you can stay sooo close to the music! Unless they are not using speakers and amplifiers. We can hear the music from the rest a couple of hundred yards down the beach. Which is nice sitting on our balcony.

OOOOOO babo! I shudder at the thought of such a sight.

OH and I have decided that given our health issues these last few years, we are using more outside helpers. This week we had two very energetic landscape guys do a full circuit of tidying up and pruning where we could, plus pulling out the bumper crop of little starts from both my neighbors' laurels. You just can't kill the stupid things.

We have booked a house cleaning service to come and do a deep clean throughout. I still can't bend over and OH can't see worth a hoot, so I am hoping a couple of younger people for several hours will get those picky details I used to do.

In rapid fire order we are also having the windows cleaned inside and out.

Followed by carpet and couch cleaning. Me sitting on the couch for a couple of years has left its mark I am sure.

Finally, we are getting our car detailed.

We maybe ought to do something about our wardrobes, but may have to wait to refresh the coffers. LOLOLOL

What was the selection of the music they played? Sounds like a nice little concert!

NW those are all very smart decisions. I’ve made similar ones myself. Most of the time it works out fairly well.