The norm around here

You all know that I was away for a week or so visiting my pal, danni.

Well, the morning I left, I was surprised with this little package waiting for me on my suitcase.

Attached to it was a little note saying that I had to wait till I got to an airport before I opened it. It wasnt mentioned in that note just which airport that meant....so, of course, I opened it right when I got to MY airport. Literally, 7 minutes away from my house!

I was so happy when I saw what was inside. Can you tell what that little charm is?

Here. Look closer. My sweet, K made this for me. A little gift to take along with me. Shes such a good girl.

Upon my return (even if I was a day later than originally expected) I walked into the kitchen to see this.

Again....a smile upon my face. I heart M and M's.

I also had this waiting for me as well. Along with a tea kettle full of hot water. Sigh. My kids are so good to me.

I had a few yummy M and Ms and a cup of hot tea and then made my way to my bed.

The next morning, I jumped right back into things and got the big kids off to school. And began some unpacking.

Danni's husband let me have some starts off his lovely jade plants. His jade plants at his house have blooms on them. Thats the first time I have ever seen blooms on a jade plant. He and I talked about this in great detail. So, needless to say, I have big dreams for my little jade plants.


AND I got to have some of the spaghetti plant.

I have promised to take very special care of them. I am very, very, VERY, hopeful that I can keep them alive. The last time I brought plants home from the great state of Oregon, more specifically, the state tree of Oregon, the Douglas Fir,....I managed to kill them. This still makes me sad every time I talk about it. So, lets move on.

This picture represents one leaky dishwasher. It was leaking before I left and the repairman came by while I was gone to address the issue. He replaced the seal on the door. Im not convinced that this is the solution to the problem. So, this little dish will sit here for several cycles before I will be able to rest easily knowing that it wont blurp out water any more.

And heres G. Hes assessing a situation very seriously.


I had just finished replacing some light bulbs in this here fan.

After his initial assessment, it is clear to him that the one stool just isnt going to work for him. It just doesnt have enough height to it. But, if you add 2 more stools...and get a running start and jump from the smaller ones to the biggest one....well, as you can see..it makes a huge difference.

And, of course, you cant have a normal day around here without G and Darby sharing a moment. G thinks she needs to be covered whilst laying in front of the fireplace.


Darby, seeing that G has looked away for a quick moment, looks to me and says, please?.....I dont think I need this blanket while Im in front of this warm fire.


And then, when he left the room...she managed to remove the blanket all together.


So, there ya go...just another day around here. All is well.