JAYLA HAS ARRIVED!

I am happy to announce the birth of my third great grandchild, a girl—Miss Jayla Ada Joy! She was born Tuesday, April 12th at 7:37 PM and weighed 9 lbs 7 oz’s and was 22 inches long. She has a full head of dark (nearly black) hair and great big dark eyes. Her fingers are long and slender and her feet are already 3 inches long. Healthy and robust—she is holding her head up from birth and looking around like she is a lot older. Needless to say, her mom and dad and all the rest of the family proclaim she is absolutely gorgeous. You may have noticed that her parents gave her my middle name and Ada is her dad’s grandmother’s name so there are some historical significance in her full name as well as Jayla, a modern name her folk liked and we all are learning to love because it belongs to her.

Her grandmother, my daughter, Bobbie took the rest of the week off and has been spending some deliciously wonderful bonding time with her new grandbaby. Bobbie’s oldest granddaughter, Carly, spent the night last night and got to see and hold her little first cousin for the first time. Her “welcome to the world” gift from Bobbie, her Great Aunt Violet, Papa and me was coming home to a shiny bright house—cleaned from top to bottom for her arrival. Sara and Jason were very grateful and amazed after seeing what four senior citizens accomplished. We were all pooped afterward but felt the work was well worth the effort. Jason had bombed the house to rid it of the spring influx of carpenter ants so that initiated the cleaning. We had to do the same at our place a couple weeks ago. The clerk at the hardware store where the bombs were purchased said, “It is that time of year!”

We went to a few garage sales on Friday but skipped the auction. Just too much going on and we really do not need the merchandise. We have plenty for our next sale, which will be at the little Shelton Suburb called Matlock. Just a wide spot in the road really but they have “The Old Timer’s Fair” every year and it attracts thousands of visitors. My sister, Dixie has been setting up her antiques and collectables booth for many years and managed to procure a space for us. It should be a lot of fun.

Haven’t accomplished much around here what with another new dog along with all the other excitement this past week. Our new puppy is being a puppy … but we are working with him every chance we get hoping he will grow out of the chewing and barking stage soon. Our little Sophie is confused by all the attention he gives her and spends the day trying to stay out of his way. We hope they will become fast friends when he calms down a little.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by!

Until next time …

And, here she is ...

Great Grandma, Joy and Grandma, Bobbie admiring our new little descendant. 

Jayla and me discussing the state of the world.  She's thinking ....

Carly holding her first cousin, Jayla at Grandma Bobbie's house.

Uncle Joe holding Jayla as new mom, Sara smiles with pride. 

Last night we were invited to niece, Tammy and her husband, Steve's home for dinner and an egg decorating party.  Dinner was wonderful and Carly had a great time. 

A rare occurrence, Sophie and Chewie sharing Phil's lap. 

TIRED BUT HAPPY NANA

Spring break is over today for great granddaughter, Carly and we must take her home. Forgive me for bragging but I must tell you this little girl (she will be 12 in August) is so smart, she scares me sometimes. She also has a dry sense of humor that throws me off guard more often than my tired old brain cares to admit. Once (or if) I get the joke, she cracks me up! Phil will be at a complete loss without her, she is his right hand “man” in all of his projects. I, on the other hand will welcome some quiet time as that is few and far between with an inquisitive and intelligent pre-teen on the premises 24/7. Phil has no need for solitude or quiet so he thrives on the “What are you doing?” or “What does that mean?” or “How does this work?” While she has been with us, we have been busy and she was a great help to my sister, Dixie and me.

I told you last week about the Community Garage Sale at the Fairgrounds in Chehalis last Saturday. I think I am still recovering from that but managed to generate enough staying power this past Friday morning to find and peruse all the garage/estate sales. We found some great bargains specifically for the upcoming sale in Matlock that is well known for its diversity of vendors. We lucked out and got a single space (10X10) and are hoping for a good show. This one runs two days. Set up is Friday and if possible we will have Carly with us on Saturday and Sunday to help. Our merchandise will tend to be more antiques and primitives as well as Phil’s fishing “stuff” which we are sure will be a big seller. Dixie has done this show for years and doesn’t remember any vendor that sells fishing gear.

Then, Friday afternoon, we headed to Belfair to preview the antique and collectable auction. We usually do not go to these but has promised Carly we would take her to an auction some day and this seemed like it was “the day”. She was antsy until the bidding started and after that, she was mesmerized by the singsong cadence of the auctioneer. She cheered us on when we won the bid on something and I think she really enjoyed herself. It was a lot of fun having her along and we bought hotdogs and chili for dinner from the Boy Scout concessionaire on site at every auction. Then I think Phil spent another $20 or more keeping her in snacks and sodas the rest of the evening. Phil bought some exceptional fishing lures that we hope to make a ton of money on at Matlock. If that doesn’t happen, he can always sell them on e-Bay.

Last week, our friends, Gloria and Lester shared a wonderful dinner with us of ham and lima beans with cornbread this past Thursday. It was delicious and even Carly ate almost two bowls full. We had a great visit with them and they both seemed to have adjusted well to closing their store.

As always, I thank you for stopping by!

Until next time …

Chewie doing what he does best, "chewing" on his chew stick and bottom, being taken "outside" for potty training.  He had just come home from his first grooming session and he looked marvelous!  We are failing miserably at potty training him it seems so Phil and I are signing up for Pet Smart's  "Puppy house breaking" seminar.  Our sweet Sophie is 99% housebroken and we were so proud of ourselves but this little guy is a challenge.  Puppies have to go more often and have little control so we feel like bouncing rubber balls going outside, coming back in, 30 minutes later, going outside, walking around the block trying to will him to do his business, coming inside (and then he does his business on the puppy pad) then repeating the process all over again an hour later!  We hope we can learn how to be successful in our training method at this class.  In spite of his resistance to training -- he has learned the word "no" and he has also learned to "fetch" already.  He is so adorable and so cute, we can't stay mad at him for more than a minute.

Two peas in a pod.  Phil on the left and Carly on the right, both in recliners and with laptops playing Majong while cartoons play on our new 48" flat screen TV. 

A WILD AND WOOLY WEEKEND!

Good afternoon! Back when we were on the road, I tried to write my blog Saturday night and schedule it to publish in the wee hours of Sunday morning. That was after I tired of getting up at the crack of dawn to write the blog on Sunday. Finally, after coming off the road for a while, it dawned on me that I didn’t have to write so doggone early just because it was how I’d “always done it!” So this new post time will probably be the format for now anyway and I will get the blog done sometime on Sunday. I apologize to my east coast readers and all you early risers out there but much of the time, after working a sale on Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday I am lucky to have the energy to write at all and as you have noticed I will miss one now and then. In fact, just talking about it makes me want to go take a nap!

Our experiment at the Lewis County Fairgrounds was interesting to say the least. The four spaces we rented were in a big building with huge roll up doors at each end with sawdust floors. The weather was horrific and the wind blew through there at gale forces every so often. My sister, Dixie and I ended up with wind-burned cheeks from it and the cold. We each had a little heater but they didn’t come close to keeping us warm and then ours died so I went around the room and found one for sale for $5. It was a little better after that. Our sales were less than spectacular but we both made expenses plus a little extra. There were thousands of people but when they came through our building, they were all in a hurry to move on and get to another, warmer building to shop so very few lingered. Dixie and I have decided we may do it again this fall (they have two a year) but only if we can have our spaces in another building that has concrete floors and lots of plug ins for heaters.

All in all it was quite an experience and Carly and I even found time to buzz around and do a little shopping of my own while Phil held down the fort. Then, he went around with her while I stayed in the space and they did some more shopping. So many interesting vendors it would have taken all day to really see them all. Phil, Carly and I along with Dixie and Paul joined niece, Tammy and her husband, Steve, nephew Shane and his significant other, Megan, great niece, Jessie at Olive Garden for a celebration dinner. It was Tammy’s birthday. Seems like yesterday when she was born and I spent the first two weeks, all day-everyday with her while her mother healed a bit from her c-section. Our mother, Violet was working so she took the night shift. Tammy was the sweetest and easiest baby to care for so it was a labor of love for us.

As always, I thank you all for stopping by!

Until next time …

Here is Carly helping us in anyway she can.  Not only is she our "runner" but she helps with the puppies and even rings up the cash register, takes cash and makes change (with supervision).  Her mom let her skip the last day of school before Spring Break so she could come to Chehalis with us on Friday and help us set up.  She earns extra money doing this for us and my sister, Dixie.  Since Carly is an honor student and it was the last day of school we both felt there was no harm done.

We purchased these Camel cigarette posters at a garage sale a couple weeks ago.  Two for $5.  They sold for $10 each.  Now that is some serious interest on our money!

This is my glass, collectable and otherwise display.  These shelves were given to us by our dear friends, Gloria and Les after they stopped selling at shows.  I love them because they break down and store flat but hold a whole bunch of merchandise.  We saw some very clever display ideas in the other vendors spaces (there was about 400 of us in five or six buildings) when we went exploring on sale day. 

This is the space directly across from ours.  Yes, you are seeing correctly ... SAWDUST floors!!  This is the "4-H Barn" and I guess we should have expected it but we didn't so we were very upset by this surprise turn of events so what could we do?  The spaces were paid for and we were committed to the sale the next day.  I will tell you it was horrible and dirty.  Everything was covered with sawdust "dust" and anything on the ground was filthy.  We all hated it but decided to grin and bear it. 

My sister, Dixie and her husband, Paul setting up their two spaces next to ours on Friday, the day before the sale.

Carly, Papa and Sophie setting up our space.  Sophie and our new puppy were absolute angels during both set up day and the day of the sale.  Slept in their carriers, went outside with Carly and Phil regularly and did their business, no noise, no fussing and they attracted a lot of attention because they are both so darn cute!

Uncle Paul and Carly horsing around in the trash can while we finished cleaning up after the sale. These two never stop poking fun at each other and sometimes we wonder which one is the oldest?

The close of a long day with a beautiful sun setting behind a silver cloud.  Carly took this picture as we were driving home.

Sophie is having a hard time putting up with our new but adorable young puppy.  Her sense of humor is failing her to put it mildly.  However, he absolutely adores her and she is more tolerant every day but still puts  him in his place when she tires of his shenanigans.  Chewie, (his full name is Chewbacca, "Chewie" for short.  We decided he is a member of the Wookie species :) from the Star Wars series ... get it?) anyway, he doesn't know she has only a few teeth so when she snaps at him, he pays attention.