Yesterday, when I got to the preschool to pick up Chewlee, she said to me, *I am so happy that it is you that came to get me today, Grandma!*   I have no idea what prompted that but I asked her in the car on our way back home.  She told me it was *because she missed me*.  Awwwww!

In all the time that I have been picking her up, not once has she NOT been excited and happy to see me.  She could be having fun running around outside with her little friends but she will stop dead, run up to me and hug me around the waist like she hasn't seen me in ages.  She is also reluctant on most nights to leave when her mother comes to get her.  Of course, sometimes I know it's because her program isn't over yet and she wants to see the end.  That's partly why I started turning off the TV and saying, *There!  I'll save it for next time you are here.*  That's usually enough to get her to get ready to leave.  Sometimes, it's because she knows she will have to go to bed when she gets home and she's not quite ready for that either.  But, I can tell by her behavior that she will be good and ready when she gets home, no matter what she thinks.

Most of the time she is very loving and will come over to me and lay her head on my chest and want me to just give her a little hug or a kiss on her forehead....or both.  Sometimes, she wants to stand between my legs when I am sitting down, lean back on me and just stand there watching TV with me.  Other times, she wants to sit in my lap and will lean into my chest and wrap an arm around her.....like I need encouragement for that....LOL.

She can be a nag.  Like on the days she wants me to go to the bathroom with her even though she's big enough to go by herself.  Sometimes, she only wants me to stand outside the door.  I have no idea why but it's almost as if she's afraid of something and isn't really sure what it is.  If she wants something to eat and I tell her *just a minute*, she will moan and groan and tell me she is *starving* until I get her whatever it is we have agreed she can eat.

She can forget to say please and thank you at times but I won't move until she does say those things.  We call them the *magic words*.  Most of the time she doesn't forget so I give her points for that.  She will also say, *No, thank you* if she doesn't want something she's offered.  If she tells me something that sounds a little fishy to me, I ask more questions until I understand exactly what she was trying to tell me.  Kids speak a different language sometimes and it's up to US to get it clear and right.  I could think she was lying if I didn't clear things up and I wouldn't want to punish her or think badly of her wrongly.

She told me Harley hit her today.  I asked her why he hit her and she said, *Because he likes me.*  It was said matter-of-fact.  I asked her what she did when he hit her.  She said she told the teacher and he got a time out.  I was startled but said, *All because he hit you because he likes you?*  She gave me this disgusted look and said, *No, it was because he BIT me, too*.  I laughed a little inside but said, *Well, you didn't tell me that he bit you, too.  Did he bite you hard?*  She said, *No, but biting isn't nice.*

I found out that Chewlee calls her dreams a *dream story*.  She has become afraid of ghosts, monsters, dinosaurs and biting ants.  She actually called me to come and get her because the guest room door was open but the room was dark and she was afraid to walk past it alone.  I spent the next 10 minutes telling her that *I* wasn't afraid of ghosts, monsters or dinosaurs and, if any showed up around here, they had better be afraid of ME if they scare my Chewlee.  She got the biggest grin on her face and said, *So you don't have any ghosts or monsters or dinosaurs in your house, huh?  You make a monster face (she made one) and scare them away!*

She then told me about her *dream story* last night which was about a BIG bug and even her mommy was afraid of it and it was telling her it was going to eat her.  She imitated the voice she said was the bug's telling her this and said she was scared and she was running away.  When she stopped, I asked her what happened to the bug?  She said her mommy got mad at it and she killed it.  She stepped all over it and sprayed it with big bug spray until it was dead.  I told her that was an exciting dream story and she said, *Yes, it was but it scared me and I told mommy about it and she said she would make sure she always had big bug spray.*  Reassurance that every child needs for a happy ending to a scary *dream story*. 

When the Princess got here to pick her up, the very first thing Chewlee told her about was Harley BUT she included the fact that he bit her finger (she hadn't told me WHERE he had bitten her) and he had to go to *time out* in the baby room.  Her mother made the proper fuss over it all and then she told her what we had learned today......*try it....you'll like it!* which was about trying new things.  She had waved off trying a fresh blueberry but I coaxed her into it with a Yo Gabba Gabba lesson/song.  So, she tried it and she liked it.  In fact, I caught her with it in my computer room, eating them like popcorn.  I made her put them back because they are the Beast's for his peace of mind regarding the cancer.

It seems the Princess and Johnnycakes will not resolve their issues as a couple and this means a sad breakup.  It's especially sad because for over two years, Johnnycakes has been the father figure for Chewlee. 

I have noticed something however that's been going on with Chewlee for about 2-3 months.  She has taken to calling him by his actually name and not often as *daddy*.  Whether this is because she has sensed something not right between the Princess and Johnnycakes or if he started telling her to call him Johnnycakes because he didn't like people thinking she was actually HIS child, I don't know.  But, when I heard he had told the Princess that *she (meaning Chewlee) isn't MY child*, it broke my heart. 

I like Johnnycakes but I've been noticing quite a lot of rather juvenile behavior from him.  This made me sad but I kept thinking he would grow up and get over that part of his younger side.  It's tough to make it over the fence from young and single to adult and committed.  However, after giving it some thought, I decided that he is either the type of person that can love a child even if it ISN'T his by blood or he isn't.  I don't really think you can grow into that. 

It saddens me because he always knew that the Princess and Chewlee were a package.  Love one and love the other.  He doesn't *get* the idea of being a family and doing things WITH THE KID.  Yes, you may want to go out as a couple, too, but you have to strike a balance somewhere.  When you have a kid, you aren't as free to just *pick up and go out with friends* unless you have a nanny.  If you do, hey!  The skies the limit.

I often babysit when something comes up and they want to go out.  I'm perfect because I'm a free babysitter (although I think the occasional bottle of Mudslide or Vodka would be a nice gesture...hint!  hint!)  I know finding a babysitter at the last minute can be difficult if not impossible at times.  I can dig that and try to be available. 

I take care of her five nights a week so that Johnnycakes can go to the gym and work out, or go out with his buddies.  He doesn't like taking care of Chewlee because *she's not my kid*.  She's fully potty-trained now but she's mischievous and messy.  She gets into her mothers makeup and the nail polish because she wants to be like mommy but....she wants to do it all herself.  **Sigh**  You have to love a child enough to realize it's all part of growing up and just how to punish her.  With a child, everything is a lesson whether you know it or not.  You can't be overly angry or cruel.  It's how we, as parents, learn the value of patience.  I used to say to myself....they will grow up, they will grow up...maybe.  If I let them live.   

They constantly test you.  They cajole.  They try to get around your rules by bargaining.  Their actions can be really cute and funny at times but you can't forget that YOU are the adult and set the rules.  The rules are not meant to be broken and they have to learn that.  They are young.  You have to teach them how to act properly to prepare them for eventual adulthood.  And that's tough if you don't have real love for a child.  Otherwise, you are just stern and cruel.  There's no love there and a child KNOWS when they are loved.  Trust me on that.  They are smarter than you know!

I told the Princess that, regardless of HER feelinhgs for HIM, his own actions say he is NOT the man for her and Chewlee.  In fact, I wouldn't label him a man just by his statement but that's just MY opinion.

When I got up today, my feet were so cold that it was painful.  Sometime during the night, the damn dog got up on the bed near my feet.  He was restless and kept moving and twisting.  He woke me up briefly once but I was really tired so I fell back asleep.  I know he was restless because he uncovered my feet and it was COLD in the bedroom.

I got up, moving around gingerly because my feet felt like they would break if I hit them on anything, and got out the heating pad.  It's nice and big so I folded it over to make a little *cave* out of it and just slip my feet into it.  It's just on warm but I may keep my feet there until our warm weather returns.

Actually, I think I  may have PAD (peripheral artery disease), which is not unusual for a diabetic I understand.  Buttmunch is having much the same problem with her legs and told me it makes it hard for her to sleep.  She thanked me for sharing both my IBS and now, possibly, PAD with her.  I told her it was our personal bond and helped us be close.  She just laughed.  We compared symptoms that she had and said she was told that it was possibly PAD.  The symptoms of it sure match what I am experiencing.  I'm holding off going to the doctor over it until my Medicare kicks in the first of June.  If I have to pay the deductible, fine...but at least I know that if I have to have an MRI or something, they DO pay.  That's unlike the crap insurance I have been paying for the last couple of years.  They're not the original company even.  They've changed hands two or three times and they haven't paid a couple bills nor the doctor's visits I paid for.  All they seem to be is a scam company that collects money legally.  I complained to the proper insurance authorities to no avail.  AND THAT PISSES ME OFF! 

I also have had two people that apparently joined Xanga and wanted to be friends.  They even subscribed to my blog.  However, they never really intended to blog (I checked them out and found their so-called first posts were almost identical).  However, their comments on my blog are just scams to try to sell insurance!!!!  And guess what?  Xanga doesn't really seem to give a shit.  I just had to block them finally.  I would have done it the first time but it took me a bit to find out how to do that.  And THAT PISSES ME OFF!  Not just the Xanga part but the damn people who pull that kind of crap.  I wouldn't use any insurance company they tout just because of their actions.

Other things that PISS ME OFF:  phone calls with robots that tell you to *Hold for an important message*.  SPAM in my email inbox.  Those freaking plastic holders of store items you purchase that you can't even CUT to get the item out of it.  It never fails.  I will cut myself on them while I am trying to pry them open with a crowbar and various wedges.  THOSE REALLY PISS ME OFF.

Buying peaches or nectarines at high prices per pound that are hard then, when you put them on a window sill orin a table basket, they don't ripen, they ROT.  If they don't just rot almost overnight (they must know they've been sold), they soften but are just nasty inside and you have to throw them away.  THAT PISSES ME OFF.  It's just wasted money.  It's also why the Beast wanted his own trees for fruits but, of course, he has the worst damn luck.  He's done nothing but fight one problem or another since he planted them and they started to produce.  We had ONE good year.  The hell of it it, the trees look wonderful!  They've grown so much and have nice thick trunks.  They had loads of flowers this year so we have every reason to believe we will get SOME fruit from them...except the apples which have fire blight (which is caused by the damn fungus!).  The Beast has been spraying like crazy in an attempt to ensure the fruit gets to ripen this year.

When we lived in South Florida, we had some amazing citrus trees on our property include pink lemons (that where pink lemonade comes from...honest!), blood oranges, several experimental trees from a lab....too many for me to remember.  Well, someone several blocks away got citrus canker and it resulted in the state coming and taking all our trees out of the ground to destroy them.  I thought the Beast was going to die right there and then.  It was awful to watch them, heavily gloved, feet covered with disposable covers that they threw in after removing the trees so they all could be burned, too.  We were given some compensation but it never really covered what we lost.  But citrus canker is serious business in a state where it's a primary crop.  They take no chances.  One poor neighbor was in my arms in tears because of her trees she lost.  They were older and bigger than ours were and she had raised those trees from babyhood.  It was like losing children to her.

I guess that's why I'm glad his garden is doing well so far.  That means a lot after all the effort he's put into it so far. It looks wonderful...so far.  He's out there every day checking it over.  Even Chewlee likes to go out and look it over when I have her here.  Since that's five days out of the week, she really gets to see things maturing and growing.  She gets so excited over it!

Today was overcast and cold.  When the Beast and I got out of bed this morning, I could tell the kind of day it was going to be.  We both were moving slowly and didn't even feel like talking.  Of course, that's not necessarily a bad thing.    I made coffee, he made his tea and we sat down, not saying a word and just tried to wake up.

It didn't work and didn't even warm me up.  I retired to my computer room, closed the door, turned on the small heater, covered up well and went back to sleep with my feet up.  I mentioned that I've been having a problem with my legs lately that seemed to be more than normal neuropathy due to my diabetes.  It really was starting to scare me but I finally found the major problem that was causing this.  It's my computer chair and the height I've been keeping it at.  The chair is in terrible shape having lost its padding over the years I've had it.  Oh, it's there....it's just flat as a pancake.  The height was putting pressure on the underside of my legs at a bad spot and creating the problem by pressing on some nerves.  The pain was caused by the nerves once the pressure was released.

I know this because I lowered my chair and have been sitting on two throw pillows to allow a better angle.  The end result is that I am finally getting some decent sleep and have less pain.  I wish I could say I had no pain but....hey, I will take what I can get.  At my age, nothing works like it should and everything aches at one time or another.  I will be replacing my chair...and probably my desk (which is falling apart slowly but surely) very soon.  I may just get them and tell the Beast he's off the hook for my birthday present. 

The rest of the day was pretty much just taking care of our eats and drinks.  The Beast did run to the store for a few things on my list.  I have a small white board on the fridge that I write down what we have run out of or will shortly.  I had to write it down on a piece of paper for him because his memory is about  (    ) <---that big.  He also put another two bags of dirt in the newest planter box he finished but he decided it really could wait.    He just didn't have the energy.  His *get-up-and-go, got up and went*.

I just barely mustered up the inclination to make my bed and that was pretty much it.  Oh, I lie.  I also put the clothes I hung up yesterday away in the closet.  I have a clothes rod over my washer and dryer that allows me to hang up clothes right out of the dryer and I can leave them until I have the time (and energy) to put them away.  I love it because some days I just feel lucky to do that much.  At least that keeps them from wrinkling.

So, the day passeth slowly and peacefully.  A truly boring day here at the brat farm.  The Beast bemoaned the fact that he has things he should be doing but just didn't feel like it.  I told him to just be content and relax for once.  He's been so hyper his whole life, I swear he thinks he's going to die if he stops moving for too long.  Yeah, like he would do me that favor. 

Oh well, I'm resigned to the fact that we have at least three more days of this cold and then we get back to nice, warm weather again.  My blood will flow freely once more and I can then work on things I should be doing.  I DO have a few things that *I* need to do too.  I have more flowers to plant and some strawberries that should be ready to harvest.  I also have to check the bean plants again and pick any that are ready to cook.  I have a special bag for them in the fridge.  I used up what we had the other day when I cooked our *non-meat* dinner.  Oh, oh....the tomato plants have little bitty tomatoes on them.  Looks like a bumper crop is in our future.

Today she was especially busy making the Princess crazy when she was trying to get a few chores done before work (of course, doesn't it always work like that?).  Because the Princess was busy and distracted, that was the time Chewlee got sneaky.  Of course, when she isn't bugging her mother, that is a RED FLAG ALERT all in itself.  One of those things that make kids think their mothers are pschic or something. 

The first thing she did was sneak into her mother's makeup, then shut herself in her room and begin to apply it the way (she thought) her mother does.  Of course, the Princess caught her early enough that no damage was done to anything other than Chewlee's nerves from being caught.  BUT....the next thing she did almost cost her her television privileges until she was 30. 

She somehow managed to capture a salt shaker without the Princess seeing and then went into her room, closed the door and proceeded to *salt* her DVD's before inserting them into the DVD player.  It definitely was not a good thing to do to her DVD player.  When she was finally caught (probably when she complained that her DVD wasn't working), it took the Princess two hours to get the DVD cleaned out and working again.  Now Chewlee is no longer able to select her own DVD's nor put them in the DVD player as she has been allowed to do for quite some time now.  Trust me on this, she is really upset about that because I won't let her put the DVD's in here either while the ban applies at home.  She also gets no gum, candy or popsicles because those are for GOOD girls only.  She now has to have even the teachers tell her mother she has been good all day long or the ban stands. 

She has spent her time with me TRYING to be good, throwing her arms around me and asking me if I am mad at her.  I tell her I am not mad at her but she has made me very sad because she broke her promise about not writing on herself any more.  I told her she only writes on paper, nothing else and she promised she wouldn't do it any more but....that promise didn't last, did it?    She tells me she is sorry and I just tell her I know she is right now but only if she doesn't do it again will I believe she means it.

She tried testing me, of course.  Asking for treats but I held my ground and didn't buckle.  Each time she asked (and she has this idea that saying *please* is the magic word), I told her no and that it was a treat that was only for good girls.  She kept insisting she was being good but I told her being good for a little while didn't count.  She had to be good all day.  She finally accepted that and stopped asking for treats.  When she asked me if she was going to get a bath today, she stopped and said, *Or do I have to be a good girl for a bath?  I will be good, Grandma, please, please, can I take a bath?*  With that, she put on her best and most winning smile and hugged me.  Cunning little girl. 

I only say *I think* because we used real butter and, of course, we drink milk.  Maybe I should have said today was a meatless day.  Yeah!  That's the ticket!  It was a meatless day today and some of the veggies consumed were from our garden.  As Bratfink commented to me yesterday, with all the work the Beast has done the last several years, it looks like it might (once again) be a bad year for his trees but it's going to be a banner year for his garden.  ROFLMAO!!!!

On the menu was sliced tomatoes, fresh green beans, steamed cabbage, candied baby carrots, crook neck squash done up like stirfry.  It may not sound like much but it sure filled the bill.  Different flavors, different textures and seasonings.  Wonderful!  Chewlee approved of the baby carrots after some cajoling.  Don't ask me why because she DOES like carrots.  Just wasn't something she had wanted.  But she insisted on her hot dogs, had some carrots then ate some fresh strawberries off the strawberry plants.  We have to keep an eye on her because she knows they are ready when they are red and she would eat all of them until she made herself sick.  Little kids have a lot in common with puppies. 

Chewlee helped pick the string beans so she was both happy and sad that we were cooking them up to eat.  When I asked her why she thought we were growing all this food if not to eat it, she just shrugged her shoulders so I guess she really hadn't thought about it.  However, when I pointed out that she liked to eat the strawberries we are growing, she got this shocked looked, stopped dead in her tracks and said, *OH!  I get it!* 

Since the Beast has now become extremely concerned over his health because of the cancer that he was told WILL return (but there are things to be done to forestall the next growth), he's been checking out all kinds of information on the internet about homeopathic ...well, I won't say remedies....but things that he can do to make his diet healthier and hopefully fight toxins in his system.  So, when I suggested this non-meat meal, he was all for it.  Trust me, it was filling and I didn't feel like I was missing anything.  The Beast and I talked about that and decided that we both were becoming less and less concerned about meat in our meals.  Heck, we seem to eat things where meat is the least ingredient in it except for tuna salad.    Is tuna a meat? 

I do love my hot wings but I don't have those even once a week or so.  It's more like once a month that I get a craving for them.  I like shrimp but that falls into the same category.  And I confess to loving a good steak cooked on the grill.  I can, however, forego that if it's NOT going to be cooked on the grill.  Call me picky.  The one thing that I could eat anytime is......lobster.  I ate lots of lobster when the Beast used to skin dive in Florida.  Heck, even his one buddy kept us in lobster because he knew how I loved it and he dove darn near every day.  The Beast usually only dove on weekends.  His buddy was single and loves skin diving to this day.  The last time I actually ate a lobster, however, was approximately 3 years ago.  **Insert very sad face here**

The Beast made what he says is his last planter base for the garden.  It's another 12 foot long one.  It's on the side opposite the one I posted the other day.  Now he has to fill it with soil and his Miracle Grow mixture before he plants the rest of his seedlings that he started in his little greenhouse thingy.  It keeps him busy.  What can I say?  He's so bummed about his apple trees having that blight...I forget what it's called but they look awful.  He spent so much time spraying them and spraying them, even during the winter to try to prevent it.  He spent two days cutting off the affected branches, putting them directly into the contractors garbage bags so it couldn't spread and then took the bags to the dump.  He looked so sad....but he swears he's not defeated yet.  I'll know he is the day he cuts them down and not before.

Well, time to get this posted and clean up the kitchen.  Poor Chewlee had a small case of sudden poops and was in tears when she called me in to show me.  I have to get those washed  and dried before her mother comes to pick her up.  Thank goodness I had a pair of big girl underpants for her or she really would have been upset.

After picking her up from preschool, we got home and she pronounced she was hungry.  When I made her up a bowl, grabbed a spoon (her choice) and gave it to her.  She took one look at it and told me, *Grandma, I don't want this.  This is boy's food.*  I, of course, was incredulous at how she comes up with stuff like that and asked her how come it was boy's food.  She said, *Boys like macaroni.  Girls like noodles.*  I ate some to show her that *girls* eat it, too, but she pushed it towards me and said I should give it to Papa or Baron.  She wanted hot dogs instead.  I rolled my eyes but I did give her hot dogs and chips.  She ate three and a half of them so I guess she really was hungry but she didn't like my *goulash*.....for want of a better word.

Later on, after I had finished mine, she felt compelled to explain to me about food that is for boys.  Sardines is boys food.  I wonder what she will think when she sees her mother eat them on crackers or rye bread?  From some of the things she named, I finally said, *So you mean spicy food and anything that is fish is BOYS food?*  She grinned and said, *Yep.*  I just laughed.

She constantly surprises me with little things she will say.  Dora the Explorer tonight was an episode about space aliens that landed because their ship was broken.  They were all youngsters, of course, and they had to consult *the map* to find out how to get them home to their *purple planet*.  The first destination was the Milky Way which I recognized, of course.  But Chewlee, sitting in my lap saw it show up and says to me, pointing, *That's the Milky Way, Grandma*.  I was surprised she recognized what it was supposed to be but then she surprises me even more by saying, *WE live in the Milky Way, Grandma.*  I had to tell her how smart she was and I asked her how she knew that.  She just shrugged and said, *I don't remember.  But it's true, right, Grandma?*

Kai Lan, another of her shows, had an episode about roller skating.  Chewlee has decided she wants roller skates for her birthday...she told me she already had a helmet but she will need "those things" for her elbows and her knees so she won't get boo-boo's if she falls.  She then gives me this big grin and says, *You don't want me to hurt your baby, do you, Grandma?*  ROFLMAO!!!

I told her that, like Kai Lan showed, skating is harder than it looks and she explains to me that she knows that.  She will just have to go slow and hold two hands at first, then one and then she could skate by herself.  That is part of what she learned from THAT program.  She then hit her mother up with the same information when the Princess showed up to pick her up.

Earlier today, we got the rain the weatherman promised.  It was really pouring and the Beast happened to notice that one of the drains from the gutters was clogged.  He actually went out in the pouring rain, grabbed the ladder and I have no idea what else he had to help him clear it but...after clearing the one (It looked like a birds nest had washing into it), he found the other one in front was clogged.  So he drags the ladder over there and clears that one, too.  Now, mind you, it's pouring this whole time.  When he made it back inside, I was waiting with a towel.  I said to him, *You know, we have inside showers here.* as I helped peel him out of his t-shirt.  He just gave me this *look* and said, *Oh but a cold shower is so refreshing.*  He did stop to tell me the other drain was clogged with pine needles as he headed to take a hot shower.

We have two more days of rain supposedly and then back to clear and hot weather once again.  The garden is thriving.  I'm having to harvest more string beans than you would believe and the lettuce is going crazy.  I will also have to pick strawberries in another day or two.   The tomato plants are finally flowering and the melons are just full of blossoms.  The Beast is just thrilled.  If nothing else, we will have plenty of veggies this year.

It's always something with the Beast.  And it always ends up costing us more money than we should be spending.  He's on a health kick.  By health kick, I mean he has suddenly decided that everything we are eating should be organically grown.  Heck, I'm not even sure OUR garden will qualify because I know the minute a pest shows up, the Beast will be spraying it with some chemical or other.  Watch and see.

However, he takes a 40 mile trip to a health food store in Huntsville.  He comes ome with sprouted wheat bread, rice bread, unfiltered honey (local), several different kinds of vegetables, a bunch of herbal teas, some different fruits and juices.  I haven't wanted to look to see how much everything he got cost us even.  But I know the Celestial teas he bought he paid more for than it costs at Walmart or any other regular grocery store.  He bought this roll of non-meat product chicken *meat*.  It's actually good and can be cut up and used for salads, casseroles...pretty much anything.

He also bought some other things I'm just finding out about.  One is some sort of liquid cell formula that is supposed to help oxygenate your cells to help you sleep.  He thinks that will help me sleep better at night, although I don't see how since what has been waking me up is either a muscle pulling in my lower leg and foot or this burning, tingling, throbbing pain in my foot.  I realized today that I have these problems on the nights I have Chewlee usually and I think it's having her sitting in my lap, pressing the back of my legs into the framework of my desk chair.  She is a regular wiggle butt so it adds insult to injury.  My legs will be hurting even before she goes home.

I told the Beast I need a couple things.....and soon.  I need a bigger desk, which he already knew and I need a new desk chair.  Un til then, I will have to ban Chewlee from my lap when I am sitting at my desk.  In the meantime, I am trying out various pillows to put me at a different angle...something....anything.  Anyone have any other suggestions?

Chewlee is totally preoccupied with her birthday which is at the end of the month.  Her paternal grandfather says he is sending her $200 for her birthday and the Princess intends to put it in her savings account.  I'm going to suggest she keep about $50 out so Chewlee can buy something she likes when they go to the zoo.  Or even when they go to Colorado mid-June.  Me?  I'm going to get her a couple zhu-zhu pets and the special Barbie doll she wants (the fairy one).  I will also probably be picking up a couple outfits for her (Garanimal brand from Walmart) since they are not expensive, are cute and wash well.  I'll also have to find out if the guests will be wanting some lunch and, if so, sloppy joe may be on the menu along with a salad from our garden.  Yes, the lettuce is doing fantastic! 

The garden is thriving so far and it really IS starting to look like a brat farm.  Chewlee made the rounds of the early plants and watched me cut some of the leaf lettuce and the string beans that are ready.  There's enough leaf lettuce for a nice salad for the Beast and me.  The string beans will take another couple days before we have enough for a side dish to a meal.  There are loads of beans on them but they are too small right now.  Chewlee was fascinated.

She pointed to everything and wanted to know what they were.  I told her what everything was but she finally ran down to the far end of the planters and found the strawberries.  There are about 8 plants there (I also have one in a pot on the patio) and she knew exactly what they were.    She pointed out all the little strawberries on them and said, *Those will turn red and then I can eat them!*  When I told her she would have to share them with me and the Beast, she said, *That's okay.  I share!*  She went dancing off and up on the deck to tell papa she had seen the onions (YUM! was her comment).  She keeps looking over at the rototilled section on the other side of the yard and asking the Beast when the watermelons and *'talopes* will be ready (that's cantaloupes, of course).  They have some growing to do before they flower and start producing melons.  She's just in a hurry for everything.  She hasn't really shown a lot of interest in the tomato plants yet but she will once they start producing.

The Beast is almost as bad.  This is his first garden in truth.  He has beets he's anxious to see also some crook neck squash.  Get this!  He's even planted sweet and regular potatoes over on the rototilled secion.  That's going to be something to see.  Neither one of us knows when those will be ready to harvest.  LOL!  This will be fun........NOT!!

It was really hot here today.  Hit about 89 I think the weatherman said and will be hotter tomorrow but with rain possibly added to the mix.  Yuk! 

One little funny that occurred tonight when the Princess picked up Chewlee.  She asked Chewlee if she wanted to stay home and spend the day with mommy or go to school.  Chewlee thought about it for a minute and said, *School*.  When she was asked why she wanted to go to school, she just shrugged but when her mother asked her if it was because of Harley, she smiled and shook her head yes.  Now Harley is the meanest kid in class but he and Chewlee walk around holding hands ALL DAY LONG if the teacher doesn't keep them apart.  But, when she was asked if Harley was her boyfriend, she got this puzzled look on her face and said, *Boyfriend?*  She had no clue what that meant.  The Princess and I just laughed.