The Front Range Socks, which I've named "Free Range Socks," are coming along.
I didn't get much knitting done during our visit in Wisconsin, because I often needed to jump up to help with things, always in the middle of a round, which was OK, because I wasn't there to vacation. The trip home on Tuesday was long, though, and I got some knitting in during our layover in the Salt Lake City airport and on the plane. We arrived home late Tuesday night.
I had forgotten how messy teenage boys can be when they eat. I was going to have Zachary come back and clean this up, when his mother came through with a paper towel and cleaned it up. This photo was taken on Tuesday morning, before Zachary left for school.
He may be messy, but he's sweet. Before we left, I wanted to sign his copy of the new book; I had given it to him, unsigned, when we arrived. I went to his room and asked him get it for me. He had it in his bed. He had been reading it!
He gave me a goodbye hug when he was on his way out the door to go to school the day we left to return home.
We didn’t get to spend too much time with the kids on this trip, though, because we were needed to help care for their father. That’s why we were there.
Remember that maple syrup our Wisconsin Madroña friend brought us when we got together last week? We knew we couldn't take it in our carry-on, because it was more liquid than was allowed, and we worried that it might break or leak in our checked bag, but Charlie padded it with plastic wrap and then sealed it with duct tape.
It made it home safely, although the jar needed some cleaning, because the duct tape was old and left some sticky goo on it and on the lid. Our new favorite dishwashing detergent, Dawn Powerwash, got the goo off nicely.
I made waffles on Saturday, so we could try out the maple syrup. We had only just bought the bananas, and they weren't very ripe, so instead of my banana-oat waffle recipe, I made whole wheat waffles. As always, I used our old GE waffle maker, a wedding gift 60 years ago. The syrup was delicious!
We were glad to hear from our daughter on Thursday that the workmen had come to fix the water pipe leading to the house. While we were still there, someone located and marked all the places where there were utility wires leading to the house, so they wouldn't be dug up by accident. All went well, and water supply has been restored. We're grateful to the next-door neighbors who allowed the plumber to hook up to their water supply with a temporary hose.
The family has a caregiver who comes in Mondays and Wednesdays to care for David while Karen teaches her classes at the university. It’s only for a few hours each time, but it’s a big help, because she really needs to work. They’ve been trying to find someone else for at least one more day a week. On Friday, a new caregiver came. She was experienced in the kind of care David needs, and it seems she will work out well, which will free up Karen to do other things and have a break. This is a relief to everyone.She’s running out of relatives who can come and help!
We got home after midnight on Tuesday, so we picked up the dogs on Wednesday. I expected Lamb Chop to be completely disemboweled, having restored stuffing and sewn her up repeatedly, but she was intact. Maybe Sandy knew no one was going to sew her up again for him until they returned home. I’m glad he had his little friend to snuggle with during the pups's stay at the kennel.
The dogs did well, and I think the experience may have trained Sandy to leave Dusty's food alone (unless we walk away and leave it down for a long time). We haven't been able to leave food down for some time for Dusty, because Sandy would just eat it. Then we we would have to give Dusty more. Dusty would just eat a little and then walk off. We took a crate to the kennel so they could feed Dusty in it and let him out when he was done. I think that proved to be a demonstration to both dogs that they can only have their own food and they have to eat it all or as much as they can at once.
A fan messaged me on Facebook this week with this photo of one of her "Kidz" reading my latest book.
I had sent a copy of Our Favorite Verses to a Madroña friend in California for her granddaughter. She said it was one of the girl's favorite books. The granddaughter wants to be a writer, too, and wants to interview me via FaceTime or Zoom. I'm looking forward to it.
Peter's birthday is this week. His family was celebrating early with an outing to a board-game store where you can have lunch and play a game. Then they went on to a football game with University of Montana (Peter's alma mater) facing Portland State.
The store is called the Mox Boarding House. For board games. Get it?
We haven't walked much during the week. Charlie caught a cold during the trip home, and I'm suffering from jet lag. The dogs and I did walk on Saturday, though. I hope to get back to regular walks again this week, although now I have the cold!
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What's in The Doll's Storybook: How did Jolena become a skier? Hint: A misdirected package and some imagination were involved.
How did The Doll's Storybook get started? Hint: A spider was a key figure.
Find out more in this week's story from The Doll's Storybook, An Interview with Jolena.
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