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! 

Sunday Funday Birthday Memorial Day Redhead Day

Sunday was Daniel’s 36th birthday! It’s kinda cool because in our little family, we all turn even or odd numbers the same year! This year Danielle turned 4, Daniel 36, and I’ll soon be 34! Back to Sunday, we slept in as long as Danielle would let us, which was around 6:30. Then I whipped up some copycat Hardee’s biscuits and fried some Realtree sausage.

(Huge recipe, make half.)

 Bass Pro Shops was next on the agenda! Danielle and I were grieved that due to this continued Covid-19, the shooting arcade was CLOSED. That’s our favorite thing to do there, other than eat fudge, which we also couldn’t do because the candy store was not in operation either. But regardless, we had a good time looking at the fish and shopping for shirts. Danl spent some time in the boring (to me) aisles, and eventually we found ourselves at Longhorn Steakhouse! INSIDE! SITTING DOWN BEING SERVED BY A WAITRESS. This was our first time eating out together in a restaurant since our anniversary way back on February 20! It felt spectacular. Other than Danielle seemed to have forgotten how to sit still and use her restaurant voice. Or maybe she never really knew how. 

Yesterday was Memorial Day. I thought of Uncle Kale, my grandparents who have passed, my dear friend’s mom...so many memories of so many amazing people who have gone before us; and all the soldiers who have sacrificed for our freedom. We are so blessed. I always love the official photograph from the White House of Our President & The First Lady. 

♥️

We celebrated in true redneck style by eating wild female pig also known as a “gilt!” (Thanks, Dad! I learn something new every day!) Jace and Erica, and Curtis and Janelle enjoyed it with us. It was a very laidback, fun evening of good pork, runny Jello, late rolls, and soupy ice cream. I’m really embracing this anti-perfectionism thing! 

Today, I learned something else I did not previously know! We redheads are so special that we get TWO holidays per year! “World Redhead Day” which is today, and “National Redhead Day” which is November 5. Might as well celebrate as many things in life as we can, that’s my philosophy! 

So Happy World Redhead Day, fellow gingers! 

Saturday at Steve’s

Saturday was a perfect day for a party! And Steve’s Farm is the perfect place to have one! Steve had the pavilion by the pond reserved for us, which has 4 picnic tables and worked so well! Everyone either fished or had fun watching the fishing! They were biting well! Danielle decided she wanted to have Mr. Curtis bait her hook with a candy gummy worm from the tackle box of “bait” I had out for people to snack on. And would you believe it, she landed what I think ended up being the biggest catfish our group caught! Soon fried catfish, hushpuppies with cheese sauce, David’s coleslaw, cheese grits, baked beans, and of course, CAKE, was enjoyed by all! 

Happy Belated Birthday, Danielle! 

And Happy Pre-Birthday, Daniel! 

Mini But Not Skinny Friday

Yesterday was cake day! Since our state’s Covid restrictions have been lifting, we decided to go ahead and finally have the “O-fish-ally Four!” fishing birthday party that we had planned long ago at Steve’s Farm! And since this Saturday was the day before Daniel’s birthday, we added him to the celebration! So with my little sidekick ecstatic about “helping” to decorate the fishy cupcakes, we got with it, mixing bowls of brilliant frosting and trashing the kitchen in the process. But at the end of the day, we had some adorable little swimmer funfetti cupcakes and a plump big fish cake decorated for Danielle, and a red velvet layer cake frosted like a bobber for Danl. Whew. Done. I thought. Until Danielle came gleefully  into our room and announced, “Mommy, I added some sprinkles to my cake!” Remembering the gold glitter dust that she had been wishing to use earlier, I imagined it covering the cake in disastrous fashion, but was pleasantly surprised to see that she had tastefully chosen colorful ball sprinkles and had not gone too wild with them!

Another Whew.  

A Man Called Ove #minipost #thursday

After listening to this book intermittently for 3/4 of a year, I finally finished A Man Called Ove yesterday. This was due to the fact that I am horrible at listening to audiobooks. I don’t have wireless earbuds, or a phone armband. So it just seems complicated to find a time and a place to listen. I also would let my Libby loan run out, and would then have to wait on hold for it again. Anyway, it didn’t take that long because I didn’t love the book! It’s now definitely on my Best Books Ever Read list. I won’t lie and say I didn’t cry along the way either. This book was one of those kinds that just hits home in so many way. Raw and real. It had a happy ending, but it was real life too. At first, you kind of want to hate Ove a little bit; he’s just so incredibly grumpy and rigid. But by the end of the book, you can’t help but have fallen in love with his big heart. In my opinion, this book should be a must-read for every new bride. Sonya truly understood what marriage is all about. A man can love with his whole heart without showing it in romantic ways. Below is one of my favorite quotes of hers from the book. 

Sonya didn’t try to change Ove. She just loved him for who she knew in her heart that he could be, even if he didn’t want to be or know how to show it. Listening to this book made me think of a quote that Rachel Holdeman gave me years ago, handwritten on a scrap of paper. I keep it in my Bible and reread it every so often. 

“Look at a man the way that he is, he only becomes worse. But look at him as if he were what he could be, and then he becomes what he should be.” 

- unknown 

Mini Wednesday

Y’all know I love me some Gretchen Rubin! And the quote of the day that she delivered to my email inbox yesterday was so fitting for our gloomy, drippy weather! Danielle spent the day with Nana, and I spent the day helping my dad in his office. It felt nostalgic, as February 18, 2020, was my last official day at the desk for Schneider Farm Fence. Since then, I only do desk work for Faircloth Land Services, which keeps me busy enough! 

A bag of yellow squash from our neighbors was hanging on our doorknob when we got home. So Danl proceeded to slice it, and I battered and fried it into golden slices of crispy, salty summer! Sandwiches and blueberry cheesecake dessert completed our supper. I also had, gulp, THREE glasses of raspberry shrub; it was so good! It’s an old Victorian era recipe in my Southern Living cookbook that I’ve been hankering to try for years!