Safe & Sound

Well, the weekend came and went and we all went unscathed. After a great weekend at retreat de Kitzmiller (Jeff's parents house- where we could have stayed all week long) we headed home on Monday. We were so lucky! A little dampness in the basement and some limbs down in the yard, but really, that's it! Had such a wonderful time with Jeff's parents, as always. They take such good care of us! (Thank you, LaRae & Woody! We love you!) Our hearts do go out, however, to the families living near water that lost a lot of stuff. It wasn't nearly as bad as they expected it to be in our area, but still it was messy and flooded by the water and people in NJ REALLY got hit hard. Power was out for days. Ours was out Sat-Tues but since we were out of town we only had to deal with it one day.

Ruby was great that night. My mom had given us some glow wands (which she LOVED). We got her flashlight out and lots of candles and had it all standing by. We grilled and ate outside and when it finally got dark we lit up the table like 4th of July and played board games. Later, we read books by candle light and tucked her. We all slept in her room so she'd feel safe if she woke up...but she never did. You know, it was actually a nice night. I think I like it better, in fact, with no TV/computers/media to distract us. Just 3 people enjoying each others company...old fashioned style. Ok, for one night, anyway! We might have had withdrawal if it went a few more days. :-)

We really have to giggle at our paranoia last Friday. The news (as always) made a big spectacle out of it and before you know it, we joined in on all the hype, expecting a category 2 hurricane to plow through.

We cleared the patio and put the chairs up.

I took pics of the landscaping as a "before". LOL, it still looks pretty much the same. My beautiful moon flower vien from my mother in law is still hanging and going strong!

We cleared the porch, too. I have to say it was kinda nice to come and see a clean slate. Motivating Jeff & I do a deep house and yard clean and some redecorating.

The silliest thing we did was to cover all the "nice" furniture in the middle of the living room...

...and tape the windows. Yes, we were over the top. But hey, thank God, we can sit here and laugh at ourselves, though, instead of coming home to a mess! :-)

The best thing about all of it is my fridge. I emptied it last week and brought what we needed to Hbg with us. I gave it a much needed deep cleaning when we got home and now my fridge looks brand new! That alone was worth all the paranoia!

I leave you with a few shots from the weekend...

Snuggling with Pappy

Working on a craft we brought along - her new rock box...for her "collection". Didn't even know she knew that word. At the park the week b4 she informed me she was a rock collector and the rock in her hand was for her COLLECTION. Well, ok then! Time to make a box to house them! She was thrilled.

All giddy with her work and her rocks.

Pretending to eat them. Nice. (Luckily, none actually got close to her lips).

Reading with Grammy.

Have a happy and safe week!