Diva Challenges, Grampie Takes A Vacation and The Window Diving Olympics

Amy Broady, CZ, from TN is a guest host over at the Diva's this week.  The challenge is called "String Theory v. XII: Pinwheels for Peace v.II".  My Mum has been visiting for the last week or so, she just went home yesterday.  I drew a pinwheel template in a 3.5 x 3.5 square, explained the concept, gave her a Zentangle Basic's book and a pen and let her go to it.  She is an amazing painter, but said that this was totally outside her comfort zone. As you can see...she totally ROCKED IT!

Here is mine...

We had a good visit. I took the week off last week so we could do little trips around the 'hood.  We went to the Sheep and Wool Festival in Jefferson so she could finally see what all the fuss was about. Guess what I bought? NOTHING!  I KNOW right?  That's even more shocking than if I'd told you 'TEN spinning wheels' or something. I had two things on my list; one of those German balls of sock yarn (can't remember the name (Zuberballs?) but I saw several and none of the colors grabbed me) and a Sheep and Wool Sweatshirt. We were there early on Saturday morning and they were already sold out. So...NADA!

We also went to friends' for a fabulous lasagna dinner, went out to eat,  saw Nemo 3-D, perused the UW Swap shop, took the Belleville river walk, emptied out the local thrift stores  and just spent a lot of restful time hanging out.

My Mum has a ghost at her house in Maine that we think is my father's late father, Grampie.  Things disappear and reappear in strange places, odd things happen, there are noises etc.  He's been there as long as I can remember but as far as I know, he's never traveled before... until this visit!  So many weird things happened while she was here, the funniest of which was the night I went to my bedroom and changed into my nightgown, laid my glasses on the nightstand and then went out the bedroom door.  The mini trampoline* top that has been stored behind the door as long as I've lived there fell down flat,  lodging between the door and the dresser, thus making it impossible to open from the outside.  Believe me, we tried. And Tried. And TRIED.  We even asked Ben, who was on the wrong side of the door as usual, to open it for us.

Finally, frantic because 'my baby is in there', blind, and in my nightgown, I went out in the rain with a lawn chair and a pair of scissors and cut the bedroom screen away from my (thankfully) open window.  I got on the lawn chair and discovered that I was still a bit too short to climb comfortably through the window, so I hiked up my nightgown, got a knee as far up as I could on the sill super-boosted off the chair and DOVE headfirst through the screen, losing a slipper in the process.  I just changed my room around recently so the bed was butted up to the window thank goodness! Go figure...I stuck the landing for a change. Nothing broken but the screen. I can't begin to imagine what it must have looked like, but I'll bet it'll soon be yet another classic clip on my neighbor's YouTube site!

I was telling my friend about it and she asked if the cops showed up because I was breaking into the building. I realized it would have been my luck to have a man finally show up with my slipper and then arrest me instead of carrying me off into 'happily ever after.'  I'm glad he didn't show up actually, since the slipper in question was less of a dainty glass slipper and more of a raggedy fur-lined Croc.  It was pink though in keeping with my princess-ness.

Oi! Such is my life!  We had a great time though and when I dropped Mum  off at the airport Grampie went home too apparently because it was all quiet at home last night, but Mum had a heckuva ride home. Jury is out as to whether they landed intentionally or were shot down over LaGuardia; the landing was so rough. Bentley is still looking for his Grammie. He appreciated the extra butt skritches he got all week. He and I hope she comes back again soon!!!

* I love the fact that I told this story to a friend and his only question was 'Why to you have a trampoline in your bedroom."  I'll leave that to your imagination!