Weekly Recap • June 1-7

JUNE already?!

June 1 was the first day of swim class at Ms. Kerra’s pool for Danielle! She was ecstatic to be back for her 4th year! This is the 2nd year that I get (or have) to sit poolside and watch from 8:30-9:30. So I tried to make the most of that hour; by chatting with the other out-of-the-water mom, sipping iced coffee, reading Harry Potter, and enjoying the fact that my daughter who once screamed for almost the entire session every session, now happily torpedos from side to side, jumping off the diving board and swimming in the deep end with no floatation. It never ceases to amaze me how much progress Ms. Kerra can pull out of them in only 5 days, one hour per day! 

On Tuesday, I joined Anthony and Dad in the Schneider Farm Fence office to further work on “the transition” as we as a family have taken to calling it, as Dad is able to do less and less with his rapidly declining vision. It was a very productive day and we got to get in on one of mom’s fabulous keto meals! 

Wednesday afternoon we girls who are putting on Vanessa’s bridal shower gathered to get our ideas synced. I can’t wait! It’s gonna be good! 

Thursday after swim class, Danielle and I headed down to Nana’s. I spent the majority of the time at her home office desk, working on FLS stuff. Then took a quick dip in the pool before we had to go back home! 

Friday, since Danl was away for the weekend to help with a shooting class in GA, I decided it was the day to pressure wash the back porch! I always get really inspired to embark upon all sorts of projects when hubs isn’t home. The porch ended up super clean and I ended up super filthy! Then since it was full moon aka “Pie Night”, I whipped up a new pie, created from hearing Danielle talk about making a “Blueberry Muffin Pie.” I want to tweak the recipe a bit, then I’ll post it here! We had a fun impromptu family evening at my folks, enjoying cherry, butterscotch, and chocolate pies in addition to my muffin pie. The conversation of us women mainly centered on JP and her productivity boot camp! I bought the program, so let me know if any of y’all want to purchase it; I’ll send you my referral code! 

Saturday, I did more pressure washing, this time the entire back of the house was scoured within an inch of its grimy green life. Then even though the outer bands of Cristobal were sending skittering showers and whipping up a bit of wind, Danielle and I lit our “new to us” propane fire pit table from Nana, and had a jolly s’mores party on the now (somewhat) posh back porch! 

After our mini party, I felt like I was like the mysterious “other people” and whipped out a new dress for Danielle to wear to Titus & Kayla’s next day nuptials. She outgrew most of her dressy clothes and shoes during quarantine! 

Sunday felt like the wedding we’ve all been waiting for! Finally an event where life felt almost “back to normal!” It was a lovely wedding, and since Kayla had asked me to write impressions, I was privileged to sit up on the side bench area and witness firsthand the happiness of the day while Danielle sat with Aunt Rhonda. I still need to edit and type my copious harried notes. 

So how’s that for a week’s worth of mini posts all in one big one?!

The Bluebird Family

Mr. & Mrs. Bluebird

6350 Garrett Road

Front Porch Apt 1

Walnut Hill, FL 32568

Let me give you the backstory first. Several months ago, my mom gave me this decrepit old birdhouse that she had found when she was going through stuff out in their shed. It was a birdhouse that Daniel had made back in the school days for Rhonda as a “sorry” gift for breaking a rubber snake that she had taken to school for some reason! Never one to throw anything away, and since it looked quite vintage at this point, I plopped it on the end table on the front porch for decor; not thinking much more about it. Fast forward to the end of April when I noticed an animated bluebird couple perched on the roof of our Gator that was parked near the front porch. Suddenly, one of them would fly to the birdhouse, flutter about peering inside it, wing back to the Gator and chirp away to its other half. Then the same process would repeat itself but with the other bird! You could practically see the thought bubbles above their heads!

 

Mr. Bluebird, “It’s perfect! This is a good neighborhood! So kid-friendly! Didn’t you notice the bubble wand and popsicle wrapper in the flowerbed?!”

Mrs. Bluebird, “But it’s way too cramped! Even smaller than our house last year, and the paint is peeling! And besides, I’m so over barn red! I just want it to be modern and fresh! I’ll consider it if you give it a coat of Benjamin Moore Cloud White! Inside and out!” 

Mr. Bluebird, “You know we don’t have time to paint! Those eggs aren’t going to wait around while you get it Pinterest-pretty! We’ve got to get a move on!”

Mrs. Bluebird, “OK, OK, I know you’re right. Sigh.” 

Next, call it lazy or efficient, they proceeded to build a nest using the material from the coco liner in the nearby hanging basket! A tidy little nest was compiled in short order! Once that was done, Mrs. Bluebird added a gorgeously speckled blue egg to the nest every day for four days! Danielle and I would check the progress daily or multiple times a day; sometimes at night with a flashlight. Mrs. Bluebird would patiently endure the bright light in her eyes while she kept her eggs warm. I was dubious if they would even hatch! We had several storms where I would gently set the house in a safer place since it wasn’t attached to anything secure! Human scent abounded. Danielle delighted in perching nearby with her binoculars. It couldn’t have been a restful experience for them by any stretch of the word. I think Mr. Bluebird even regretted his cheerful words of recommendation some days! And then one day we saw an ugly scrawny baby bird inside! And then three more! The Bluebird parents were even more on edge, scolding us for interfering and bounding back and forth with worms dangling from their beaks! They both took an active role in parenting as near as I could tell. This is 2020 even for the birds! But they also got so used to us, that we could sit on the porch bench and they would fly into the birdhouse while we watched only a foot or so away! We loved our Bluebird family and I think they loved us. Danielle would even reach inside and pet them. And then, one morning last week when she did her daily peek, she discovered that the little red paint-peeling abode was empty! We hadn’t even gotten to watch their first fluttering flights! Oh well, it was an intriguing experience while it lasted! Maybe next year one of the babies will be back all grown up and ready to lay eggs of her own in the old home place!