Well hot damn have I been busy!    First the icky stuff...  I do not do diaper changes.  No way.  But....  My niece was on the toilet and my mother was in my sister's basement.  I hear a voice from the bathroom.  It's niece asking me to wipe her tush.  She just turned 4.  I called out to mother who was going to oblige.  But niece had other plans.   Nonna absolutely was not to wipe her.  It had to be me.  Ugh.  So, I have overcome yet another life hurdle.  I lived through it.  Barely...  Right up there with picking up the garden snake last month.  A summer of accomplishments....

Next icky thing...  Hubby and I did some guerrilla gardening.  If you recall, when I did a certain spot last year, I found out I am insanely allergic to "ghetto palms".  So I suited up with pants, socks, elbow length gardening gloves, and a second pair over them.  Problem:  the gloves kept falling to my wrists.  I am now bubbly and oozy.  It itches like the dickens.  Thank goodness for my pool.  The cold water is so helpful.

The slaughter continues.  I thought I smelled animal poop in the garden.  It wasn't.  It was a disemboweled mouse.  Another one to add to the graveyard that is my alley way.  I mean, I love that there are cats around to keep the mice to a minimum, I just wish they would deposit the bodies elsewhere.

Now onto the good stuff....

I still have no idea the day or date.  Ignorance is summer bliss for a teacher.  My gardens look wonderful.  Phlox, butterfly bush, black eyed Susans, coreopsis, marigolds, chamomile, herbs and vegetables galore!  Considering the horrible weather, I am lucky the gardens are doing as well as they are.  I so enjoy grazing, working and picking something to eat right then and there....

And the summer of adventure keeps on going.  My friend and I have explored new and cool historic places, in town or a drive away.  Today we started Art Days at Casa Vasa.  It was a light start, but it got my creative juices going.  When you get bogged down with work and life stuff, it is hard to fit the art making in.  So we are doing it together.  I cut a piece of wood for her.  She started prepping it.  Then I went through my bin of oil paints and the tons of things I collect from the yard.  She'll be doing some mixed media painting while I combine my cast resin pieces and felting, and possibly some found objects.  We both agreed we were motivating each other.  Thank goodness for her.  

And the reading marathon continues.  I finished "The Lexicon of Labor" which was a dictionary regarding labor and unions.  Fabulous and informative.  I used to dislike unions until I had more experience.  People do not realize the protection that is needed until one finds oneself in a position that needs it.  Now, when I hear people complain about their association, I just tell them to get involved to make it work for them.  That's what I did at my job.  It wasn't the union that was bad, it was my colleagues who were running it.  When one reads the history of labor in this country, then looks at proposed legislation and items in the media regarding working people, it is hard to justify the dismantling of unions.  Oh, I could go on...

I would write more, but my arms are itching like hell and Millie needs to be fed.