I suppose no day is really wasted...  The insurance co. was supposed to have the VW towed today...so I stayed at home to see that got taken care of.  No tow trucks showed up.  No one called.  sigh.  The mailman didn't pick up the letters I had on the porch or deliver our mail either.  

I had all my scrapping stuff out from the craft "weekend", so I did several pages in the Spring Break 2013 album.  I plan to keep working on it whenever I can, over the next few days.  At some point I will have to pack everything up and put it away for the 4th of July party.  Maybe I can have the album finished before that. 

It was a very humid day.  there were thunderstorms and rain that went to the north and east of us...flooded areas of St. Louis.  Too damp to paint on the mailbox. 

Tomorrow is a busy day.  I'll just have to leave the keys under the floormat and the door on the VW unlocked in case they come to tow it while I'm taking care of appointments and obligations. sigh.  

Right now I'm also making a duplicate blog on WordPress.

http://jobethbrady.wordpress.com/ 

Hopefully that works to get anyone to the right place.

Our surviving artichoke plant is producing this year. 

Our lilies are also blooming. 

It's been a quiet father's day.  We got .3" of rain last night/this morning.  Thunder is rumbling again, so we might get more rain.  I picked the rest of the turnips.  I'll cook them tomorrow.  I also picked some radishes to eat.  Looks like I'll be doing the brats in a skillet with saurkraut in the skillet on the stove instead of on the grill.  Potato salad and assorted pickles to go with.

Hannah is moving into her new apartment (along with Kait) today.  They are renting a u-haul and doing it all in one big trip.  A new chapter in her life begins.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!

Friday night I went to our church craft night as planned.  I managed to finish (by about 10 PM) my 2011 vacation to Colonial Williamsburg and surrounding areas album.  This morning I decided to go ahead and start working on our Spring Break 2013 album.  I got the title page made and photos sorted into "daily events" before I had to dash off to volunteer at the library.  Since I'm an "older" volunteer, instead of cleaning, I was put to work on a typewriter...typing out index cards for the paperback books that are donated.  They are not in circulation with the regular books that are all bar-coded and done on the computer.  It took a few minutes, but I got the hang of it. This was a fancy electric typewriter, no the manual upright Underwood I learned on. I had 2 years of high school typing, a year of short-hand (about which I remember NOTHING) and office machines. None of the office machines I learned about are still in use...like the mimeograph, or how to make transparencies for an overhead projector.  Unfortunately I did NOT have the personality to have been a secretary. Still don't. But I do appreciate them.  And know that secretaries really rule the world.  The bosses just THINK they do.  

After volunteering, I returned to scrapbooking and got a couple pages done.  It's lots of fun to see the photos and think about what a great time we had.

This is what I saw about 9 this morning. A white Explorer hit my parked VW and pushed it over a car length back along the curb.  The driver wasn't hurt, which is the most important thing.  Her SUV also suffered less damage than my car. She had no reason for why she went wide around the corner and plowed into my car, totally on the wrong side of the road...and then some.  No insurance either.      As bad as it looked with the front of the SUV on top of the VW left bumper, it was worse when it was removed.  Since it is a 2000 VW with over 100,000 miles, if there is more than cosmetic damage, it might be considered "totaled".  Since it's a manual and in 1st gear and was pushed backwards (with black tire skid marks from the force of impact), there might be some transmission/drive shaft issues.  But no fluids are leaking and the driver's door opened without any problem, so that is good.  This is what it looks like inside the left wheel space.  

After all the reports were made and the police left, I went to my eye appt.  I'm keeping my same frames because I like them a lot, but with my new lenses I will have 20/20 vision again.  Which I do NOT have, even with my glasses right now.

It was very pleasant and only in the 80's today.  I spent a bit of time working on the mailbox. It's coming together pretty much as I imagined.  The front of the mailbox is harder to work on because I have to squat down to paint.  

Tonight we had Awful Annie's Breakfast Mess.  It's not low calorie but it's tasty and filling.  We had chopped ham, grated potato, chopped red pepper, onion, garlic, mushrooms, eggs and cheese in ours tonight.  

Today was delivery and errands day.  I bought mostly fresh vegetables and fruit, since I'm trying to empty the freezer.  It's slow going but progress is being made.

This morning I checked out WordPress to see if it is a site I would be comfortable moving my blog to...in case Xanga does close down. I think it has potential.  I have a couple other sites I am also considering.  I will post a link to my future blog (when I get it figured out)...and hope other Xangans do the same, so we can stay connected.  

Or normal weather for this time of year.  Maybe a little above average.  94 with a hot west wind.  Good motivation for going to adult swim. The water was a tad cool, but once past the initial shock, very pleasant swimming. 

Last night it stayed humid and didn't cool off as much.  I looked at the stars and could only find the big dipper.  In the winter I can usually spot Orion, but last night he was missing.  Now that all the trees have leafed out, there is less visible sky to star gaze.

It was last call for lettuce this morning.  I got enough for a salad tonight but the remaining plants are history.  

This is the house number that is my inspiration for  the mailbox.  The colors aren't showing quite right...the number (1) is actually a deep cobalt blue.  I haven't figured out how to make the B raised on the front of the mailbox, so I started working on the top this afternoon. Tomorrow I plan to do the green leaves and the red flowers in the corner.   

Sunday was a recovery and prep for the coming week day. Not much to write about.

Monday I babysat Jax. We had a lot of fun.  Here he is drawing.  He shot some hoops, pushed the laundry basket around the kitchen--the cats would hop in, he'd push and they'd hop out.  The cats were not nearly as amused as Jax & I were. We read some books, ate some snacks, took a nap.  Thought about going outside in the wagon but decided it was too hot.  Time to fill up the swimming pool (child size).  It's supposed to be in the 90's the next few days. 

this morning I was one of three...quilters, not Borg.  It was an interesting time. Lots of chatting along with the stitching.  I was a little sad that my mom's quilt top wasn't in a frame yet.  She's next "in line" but there are still 2 quilts not quite finished.  There are 3 frames, so people could work on 3 different quilts, if that many showed up.  I opted to work on the one that just had straight lines to start with.  It's been a few years since I sat down and quilted on a frame.  My back & shoulders were ready to break for lunch at noon.  

I can't claim I was "Army" ambitious, but I had the mailbox sanded & first coat of white paint on it by 9 AM.  That's when quilting started. I have a long list of things to do this afternoon.  Fortunately I can just reheat chicken rice soup at 5 for supper.  I have a library board meeting at 5:30.  I'm glad it's summer and I don't have to "work". 

It's been a busy few days.  Yesterday evening the Rolla school nurses gathered (food in hand) at Sandy's house for an evening of eating & chatting.  It was officially a good-bye party for Adrienne, who's husband got a big promotion...and transfer to Florida.  Hard to feel bad for her.  LOL   It was also a "welcome" to Heather, who will be our new "rotating" nurse. 

Tonight we are headed over to the Kearbey's...to eat and admire all their hard work on the new deck and landscaping.  I baked a pineapple upside down cake for dessert.  I'm sure lots of chatting and laughter will also be involved.  Adult beverages may also be served.  

I added another (and final) coat of gesso to the front of the mailbox.  As soon as it is completely dry (perhaps tomorrow) I'll do a light sanding and the painting will begin.  The "prep" has taken a lot longer than I expected. I've had HGTV on all day...hoping for inspiration as I do laundry and daily chores. 

I pulled out the Almanac to check and see what it says about June...lots of thunderstorms and cooler than normal temperatures.  That fits the month so far. It got up to 81 degrees according to our porch thermometer.  And the A/C even came on once during the afternoon...as the sun hit the west side of the house.

Hannah is out looking for apartments today.  First she wanted no roommates, then decided she knew someone she met at a previous job who would be a good fit.   It's complicated.  Safe neighborhood.  Close to work.  The parking situation.  OR  rather the lack of parking situation. And of course, the price.  At least she doesn't have a lot of stuff to move.  Unfortunately none of her friends own a truck...but she might be able to call on Big Brother who does have a truck...and lives only 6 hours away...practically around the corner in California travel.

After finding some almost dried up Gesso in the basement yesterday afternoon, coupled with the Pope's statements about how over-consuming and wasting food was stealing from the poor and starving, I decided to salvage the mail box instead of buying or making a new one.  This is the 2nd coat of Gesso...it's still pretty rough but maybe a light sanding will have it ready to paint.  Or another coat of gesso.I even found my old acrylic paints, which hopefully can be used as well.  I don't expect perfection in this project.  

We had turnips & a lettuce salad from the garden last night.  Along with corn on the cob I bought and left-over brats.  In spite of the cool weather (for June) the lettuce is starting to bolt.  Dennis and I are both weeding when we can.  The rain and soggy soil makes it difficult.

Time is relative.  It's hard to believe today is already Friday.  Vacation time goes by much faster than work time.