I moved the recliner

 to the kitchen for a couple of days so that I could visit with Cosme while he's spending so much time on the computer.

10/26/2023

Then I missed another day.

Yesterday I went to West Columbia with Cosme, Paige, and the granddaughter for the CHS Halloween festival and a walk through the haunted woods.  I wasn't going to do the walk, but Cosme insisted.  It was a little intense for the granddaughter so one of the workers let us sneak out an early exit.  It was the chainsaw that did it for her.  I can't say I was upset about cutting it short.

10/28/2023

Haunted houses and trails just aren't my thing.  I like to scare, not be scared.

And I did it

again.  I missed getting a picture for 10/23/2023.  It was a busy day.  I was babysitting, the guys were working from home while slammed with work, and Mom had an injured eye and I needed to get her to a doctor.

Then the next day came...

I picked up donut holes and kolaches and then went to sit with the grandson.  I caught him feeding donut holes to his dino, but missed the picture.  I asked him to do it again.  He let me know the dino didn't want another donut, but gave him a bite of kolache.

10/24/2023

Today was picture day for the granddaughter and busy schedules had me going to get her ready and dropped off at school.  Fixing hair has never been a strong point of mine so I'm hoping I did okay with her requested pigtails.

10/25/2023

 Now I'd just like to squeeze in a little bit of rest.  I have just under an hour before I need to get back to my duties, but I also have chores that need to be done.  Maybe I'll just flip a coin.

The last day of the fair was Saturday

so we all went back, but this time Cosme went with us.

10/21/2023

 

Here is Cosme with the granddaughter and daughter-in-law. Now we have a whole year before we have to go back out there.

I spent the day cleaning and doing chores and didn't think about my picture until almost 11:00. 

10/22/2023

I grabbed my camera, turned on my phone's flashlight, and got this.  It isn't quite focused, but it's what I got.

Well that didn't take

long for me to forget a day.  Oh, well.  Moving right along...

I wanted to get out and go for a walk so the grandson and I walked down to the mailbox.  We stopped to see the inflatable dragons on the way.

10/17/2023

The next day we went down to Lakeside Park for a little bit.

10/18/2023

We had to get in some carnival time at the fair.

10/19/2023

And when you're so tired at the end of the day and think about the picture you didn't get...

10/20/2023

 

I'm pretty sure

I already posted these pictures, but I think I deleted the post.  I don't know.  So, let me reshare what I did the week before last...

I made chili in the crockpot.

10/11/2023

I did a grocery pickup at HEB, where I always try to park in this spot for the granddaughter... and get a picture to show when she isn't with me.

10/12/2023

I waited until the end of the day to pick up my camera and figured I'd get this on an evening coffee run.

10/13/2023

We went to the fair parade and waited for the daughter-in-law and granddaughter to come by on a float.

10/14/2023

I had Pillsbury cookie dough in the refrigerator and baked cookies.

10/15/2023

 

The grandson and I

10/10/23

made a quick trip to Kroger this morning. He saw "watermewon" and wanted one, but we didn't get any.

We ended the week with

10/6/23

some outdoor playtime in the driveway.

We ended the next day with

10/7/23

some outdoor playtime in their driveway and street.

We ended the weekend with treats

10/8/23

from the ice cream truck in our driveway.

It sounds like we spent the weekend in the driveway.

I started the week with

10/9/23

sangria for lunch.  I met a friend for lunch at La Casona since it was a holiday and we both ordered a sangria, but they brought us wine.  We corrected them and they brought us the sangria, but told us we still had to pay for the wine since we already drank some of it... HELLO? Whatever.

None of us know why

 

10/5/23 - 50mm, Canon 5d Mark ii

the grandson insists on taking the tires off of all of his vehicles.  It's just something he does. 

Yesterday was perfect

 

10/4/23 - 50mm, Canon 5d Mark ii

for napping.  The sky got dark, the rain picked up, and we weren't leaving the house, so the grandson got tucked in with one of his tv shows going and fell asleep. I stayed right there and enjoyed the weather, trying to stay awake.

Also, I was current on all my sinus/allergy meds and vitamins, so it feels like the crud might be going away for a bit.

It's a good thing

that we got some outside playtime yesterday.

10/2/23 - 50mm, Canon 5d Mark ii

The granddaughter had some outdoor playtime after school.  I pulled the camera out for a few pictures, including one she got of me.

Today was a different story.  The weather blew in.  After so long of little to no rain and water restrictions in place, the rain decided to try and make up for all of it. 

10/3/23 - 50mm, Canon 5d Mark ii

Cosme's office lost power so he had to load up his stuff and come home to work.

More rain is expected tomorrow...

I waited a few days

 to post, but it was worth it.  I'm back on my own computer, not the one we shared for a few years.  Also, I'm back in the world of Mac.  Mac was hard, then I got used to it, then mine crapped out on me, then I went to the world of Windows and the adjustment was so hard, now I'm back and remembering how different and easy it is.  

Anyway...

9/28/23 - 50mm, Canon 5d Mark ii

The grandson and I were waiting in the pickup line to get the granddaughter after school.

9/29/23 - 50mm, Canon 5d Mark ii

IT RAINED! It was wonderful.  All the yards look terrible.

9/30/23 - 50mm, Canon 5d Mark ii

One coffee, one tea, and one phone.  By the end of the day, it was one coffee, two teas, and two Cokes.  I sat in the recliner most of the day, just trying to rest and deal with the crud... that's been around for a week now.

10/1/23 - 50mm, Canon 5d Mark ii

The return of the Mac.  Things have changed a little since I bought my last MacBook back in 2011.  Where are the USB ports? Where do the batteries go in the mouse?  What is going on?  I think it'll be like riding a bike.  I feel like I'm off to a good restart, much like this photo challenge and posting.

Day two and it

 looks like I might be off to a promising start.  Is it seven days for something to become a habit?

9/27/23 - b&w, 50mm, Canon 5d Mark ii

Today it's the grandson, a boy and his trucks.

well, it looks like

this thing's still here. Does anyone even blog anymore?

It's been a while.  Some things have changed and some things have stayed the same.

Anyway, here I am.

I've been thinking about hobbies and that's what brought me back here. I've decided to try a photo project... again.  It'll be similar to one I've started before, a daily photo with my 50mm lens.  It didn't stick before and maybe it won't stick this time.  I won't know unless I try.

I've been thinking about daily photo challenges and while I haven't totally given up on the one on Instagram, I haven't really been sticking with it.  Maybe I'm bored.  Maybe I'm a little burned out. Maybe I just don't know.  I am pretty sure that I'd like to get more use out of my camera and do something a little different.  I've been thinking and reading and have decided that this daily photo challenge will be an attempt at a picture from random moments in my life.

So, here I go with picture number one.

9/26/23 - b&w, 50mm, Canon 5d Mark ii.  I'd like to try to keep it like that each time, but if my camera isn't handy and a phone's all I've got? Oh, well.  I'd also like to post each day, but if I get busy and have to dump a few at once? Oh, well.

I won't always give details but I will today, since it's the first day and I'm feeling extra motivated.  The granddaughter skipped pre-K today and she did a little dancing.  We'd just watched Sing and she had Alexa play Firework by Katy Perry.

And that's that.

See you tomorrow. 🤞

I was going to share a

"garden" update but decided I needed to vent a little instead.  I almost turned to fb, but Cosme reeled me back in before I let loose on everyone.  The bottom line is, I'm sick of a bunch of stuff.  I don't know where to start so I guess I'll just start anywhere.  Also, totally out of character, there might be some not so nice language to follow.

 

I'll start with masks.  I'm sick of masks just like everyone, but I get it, they help.  Are they 100% effective?  No, but nothing is.  As happy as some people are for the mask mandate to be lifted as of next Wednesday, I think it's too soon.  I know we have to move on at some point, but I still think we need a little more time.  I'm a little irritated with the people who act like a mask is ruining their lives.  Get over it and move on.  I'll still wear a mask because I know there's still some serious stuff floating around and my dad still has some serious stuff to go through. Neither of my parents can get sick right now and I'm going to do whatever I can to help.  So, excuse me for loving my parents and wanting my family to be well.  And if you have a problem with it, then fuck you. 

You know what would make things a lot better?  Closing the border and not letting covid-positive people loose to help spread what's trying to be "stopped".  Hmm, makes you wonder how bad they're trying to stop it.  Our government is a top notch shit show.  Nobody is looking out for the American people and it's disgusting.  We have a bunch of sorry ass politicians not giving one single shit for anyone but themselves and their pocket books.  They're pathetic and I have zero respect.  The horror of it is, they're going to keep going.  The bullshit needs to stop.

Speaking of politics, I'm sick of it being everywhere.  Look, it's made its way to my blog.  I'm sick of social media.  I'm sick of the hypocrites calling out people who have different views and being assholes about it.  I guess what makes it so bad is that I have some genuine sons-of-bitches on my friend list.  Let me tell you, I'm about at my limit.  Am I going to end up being one of those clowns who starts unfriending and blocking?  (I try to listen to Cosme when he says "it's just facebook", but these are people I selected or requested to be friends with.)  I wouldn't be unfriending because of their world views though.  I don't care what they do or don't believe in, I care that their whining and name calling is irritating the shit out of me.  I'm almost to the point of not caring.  Every time I see one of them whine about being a victim and needing the poor me attention, I care less and less.  Like, for real... zero fucks given.  Don't be ugly and call people names for having different views and then beg for their sympathy and compassion.  Desperation is not a good look.

Okay.  That's enough for now.  I've gotten a few things off my chest.  There's plenty more but I think this should do for now.

Wow, what if 2021 becomes the year Melanie unleashes and quits holding back?  Wouldn't that be something?  I don't think anyone is ready for that, not even me.  

 

I guess I didn't think

 February needed a post.  I don't know.  There was plenty going on, but here are just a couple of things.

The granddaughter and I decorated cookies.  I ordered a Valentine cookie kit from a friend's sister and we had at it.

 

I'm not the best with the icing...

And she really likes the sprinkles...

Also, some of these cookies were licked before they were done and more icing had to be applied.  On this one, I squeezed the bag while she steered it.  

We did these the week before Valentines Day and when the 14th rolled around, we were getting ready for cold weather to blast through.  Our low for the 15th was supposed to be in the 20s and the next day would be in the teens.  As every Texan knows, that was crazy.

 

No snow and only ice.  Archer was bummed.

 

Power outages, no water, freezing temps... crazy, crazy, crazy.  We had rolling blackouts the first night.  The next day, while our power was on most of the time and water was going good, Mom and Dad had neither.  With rain in the forecast and lower temps, they headed over here.  About 30 minutes before they got here, we lost power for the night.

 

 

I normally keep tall prayer candles in the cabinet for power outages, but thank goodness for our Coco Halloween theme back in 2019.  We had extra.  We used a lighter to light the stove and Cosme made burgers by candlelight.  That was that.  We bundled up and listened to water trickle through the night.  We joked that it was like vacationing at a grotto in Greenland.  Power came back the next morning, but water was slowing down.  Luckily I hadn't drilled drainage holes in the bottoms of my 5 gallon buckets yet because those became our water supply.  I put a couple outside to catch rain water too.  Also, about that time, Eric's place lost power as well.  They loaded up and came over.  The seven of us were basically camping over here.  Thank goodness for the new grill I got for my birthday.  Did I ever mention that?  (I finally picked out a grill to connect to the house's gas line and it gets used a lot.)  The next day we thawed out some outside skirt (thank goodness for that new freezer I kept pestering Cosme for) and a few chicken breasts and grilled fajitas.  Cindy and Earl had also stopped by to check on us.  Lauren, who had been without power longer than us and putting all her camping and homestead skills to use, had been trying to reach us but couldn't.  She called Cindy and Earl, who also had no power or water, to ask about us.  Oh, not only did we all lose power and water, but there was no cell service.  So when they got here and couldn't get back in touch with Lauren, we grilled fajitas.

We were all really happy when that was over with.  It took a few days for us all to have usable water, but we're back to normal now... well, normal for still being stuck in a pandemic.

I did learn a few things during all that: 

• I like being prepared and I feel like changes I've made during the pandemic helped me.

• I need an emergency cold weather/hurricane kit.  (Not that I don't have supplies, but I need things stored together and ready to go.)

• I definitely want to expand my garden.

That's enough for now.

i just posted the picture

for week two of the photo challenge.  The topic was hidden, but more specifically, a faceless self portrait.  Here's mine.

 

I've noticed something, I'm not doing anything wild and crazy with my pictures like some of the other participants.  I don't know if that's part of the challenge, but it's not really my goal.  I went into this not only because I'm always up for a photo challenge, but I want to pull out my camera more.  My goal isn't to do anything crazy in Photoshop, I just want to work more on documenting everyday things... with my camera.

Now, about this picture.  I didn't just pick a random object to stick in front of my face, I picked the watering can because seeds have been planted.  WOOHOO!  I have squash, zucchini, and bell peppers in seed pots.  I'll start the tomatoes this week, and I also have potatoes and a few bare roots that need pots.  I'm still sticking with containers because I just am.

That's that.  I'm going to rest now.  I stayed up way too late and there's talk of going to the airport later to let the granddaughter look around in an airplane.

here's the first picture for

another photo challenge.  The topic for week 1 is childhood.  I got my camera and the granddaughter and headed to the only place I ever wanted to be as a kid.  Here's the picture I shared.

 

 

 

Here are a couple more.

I had a few ideas that involved Barbie, but I have no Barbies so I kept thinking.  My next idea was the granddaughter on a tricycle on this street.  I spent every summer with my grandparents and never wanted to leave.  This is the street where I learned to ride a bike.  This is the street where I learned to ride a bike without training wheels. This is the street where I used to wake up before any of my friends and go outside to ride my bike, barefoot, in one of my grandfather's tshirts (that I'd slept in the night before). If we weren't playing (or selling snow cones) on this dead-end street, we were in one of the houses on the street.  There was a lot of fun had here.  So anyway, that's my first shot (pun intended) at the first week.  The challenge is 12 weeks, so we'll see how that goes.

I made a trip to Houston today for a dentist appointment.  That went well.  My teeth are clean and they fixed an uncomfortable spot on a crown.

That's about it for today.  I'd like to get some of my things into pots, but it's a little windy.  Plus, while my teeth are clean, the house is not.  I need to get busy with that.

I was cleaning old images

off my Samsung phone and thought I'd share a few pictures, along with an announcement.

 

My Mac days are officially over.  

 

While I sat out on the driveway tearing the old MacBook up, I thought about the inconvenient trips to the Mac store to have it looked at.  I also thought about the special "I'm a Mac so I can't use the regular stuff like every other computer" things I bought over the years: external hard drives, software...

 

 

 

That thing had been sitting here reminding me of my irritation.  Not only irritation with the hassle, but then the irritation of making more clutter and being in my way.  It's gone, gone forever.  Strong and free, no more Macs for me.  

 

My iPad is another story.  They have me where they want me.

seeds are

ordered, soil is purchased, and pots are waiting.  I went to Home Depot on Saturday and saw some big pots that I really liked.  There were a few colors: maroon, blue, and I think they called the last one yellow.  It definitely didn't look yellow to me, but there was one in the very middle of all these oversized (and not light) pots that I wanted. 

 

At first I wasn't going to be difficult and ask for help, but I wanted it.  I asked for assistance and got it.  And while I had help, I also asked for them to get another one I'd been trying to pull down but couldn't reach.  Side note: I really like the way those blue ones look in this picture, but they were a lot lighter in person.  Anyway, I'm on the way to being ready for planting.

Speaking of self sufficiency...

 

I'm not a Starbucks regular.  I actually think the Starbucks hype is kind of obnoxious, but hey, that's just me.  One morning a few weeks ago, I made a stop for some breakfast.  These are awesome.

 

I was determined to find a recipe to make them at home.  I found a version for baking and bought the ingredients... except for the monterey jack cheese.  I just saw that listed in their description.

Ta dah!

They were NOT the same.  I didn't expect them to be perfect, but I was hoping for a little better than this.

 

By the way, that pan is STILL soaking with that Dawn soaking spray... and it's been scrubbed.

I think I'll stick to the occasional trip to Starbucks.  Also, I halved this recipe and it made 12 mini muffins.  The Starbucks order comes with two and they're so rich that one is really enough.

I need to go.  We've got birthday celebrations tonight and while I managed to get a key lime pie and cheesecake baked and in the fridge last night, I still need to go buy stuff for dinner.  The cheesecake didn't look the same as it normally does.  I really hope it turns out better than the egg bites.  

Starbucks, anyone?

i picked up a few

things at Home Depot yesterday, just because.  I have no idea if any of this will work or last, but I thought I'd give it a try.

I'd already planned on strawberries, but probably should have picked a different variety for this area.

Grapes might be a total waste of time and energy.

 

Meyer lemons seem possible.

 

 

To be honest, I was thirsty and lemonade sounded good when I picked this up.  But look at that warning label.  Can you imagine what would be going through your head if you'd seen that a few years ago?  Or what about if you saw it during The Walking Dead craze?  Yikes.

I'm excited to see what happens with it all.  Who would've thought I'd ever try any of this?  Definitely not me.  I guess my brown thumb's curiosity is getting the best of me.