Odds & Ends in July

I am publishing this a day late because I forgot to have my husband read it last night.  He likes to be the first person to read everything I write so he gets the final read-through before I publish.  He's a polite critic!

I can hardly believe that it is July 31st already.  Where has the time gone?  It has gone so fast that it completely slipped my notice and I had to throw this together last minute.   

If I had to sum July up in one word other that "fast", it would be "rain".  Rain, rain, rain.  So much rain that huge portions or our lawn are brown from being boiled to death (it was HOT).  So much rain that a minor malfunction in our sump pump cause our basement to flood.  We had about a half dozen fans going in our living room and guest room to dry out the carpet.  So much rain that some of my potted plants actually drowned.

One plant that thrived with all the rain... my hydrangea.  Its blooms range from almost white to purple to blue.  Here is a pretty pink one.

A friend and I went to get pedicures together.  This is only the second one I've ever had done professionally.  It was nice!  Yes, I have a tattoo on my foot.  Poor quality, I know, and I may get it fixed one day.  Or I may just leave it as is.  The guy doing my pedicure was rather curious about it and asked me if I regret getting it now that I am "older".  I remember laughing because I got it when I was "older" (40) but I don't remember what I said.

 

 

I make sun tea almost every day for both my daughter and me.  She changes up the flavor of hers, currently lemon, but I use a mixture of hibiscus and green.  Hibiscus is shown to lower blood pressure.  In just 4 weeks mine went down by 9 points (bottom number).  So I'm sticking with it!

This is a picture of me and my twin grandsons, Levi and Liam, at a church function.  Those little guys bring me so much joy!

 Liam wearing Auntie Bia's glasses...

Summer bring the bugs!  I used to love these snapping bugs when I was a kid.  I let it snap at me a couple times, then out the door it went!

 

 I've done a bit more glass etching but it is so hard to see in the pictures I take.  I need photography lesson, I suppose.  This green olive oil bottle has 4 flat sides on which I etched these small embellishments.  Perfect to display dill cuttings.

 

 We had a crab feast when we had a guest staying with us.  He wasn't overly fond of the "ripping them apart" process but gave it a good try!  My son made up for it by picking 24 of them!  Since we bought a bushel of them, we had plenty left over to make crab cakes a couple nights later.  Bless my husband's heart, he did all the leftover picking.  He earned a big 'ol "Attaboy!" for that one.

These are my 2 puppies.  I call them puppies even though they are 13 and 14 years old. Maggie (short hair) is the older sister.  Penny is the younger.  They are full sisters from separate litters but that is where all similarity between them ends.  They began their life together hating each other.  Maggie now just tolerates the indignity that Penny forces her to endure.

 
So that's my July.  As always, the Odds & Ends of pictures barely scratch the surface of the Odds & Ends of life.  Beginnings and Endings.  Ups and Downs.  They are all there.  All these things add up to make my life.  And I am content.