News Day Tuesday

Let me begin today's blog with a little story. In the shed right beside my porch there is a little freezer... one of those old fashioned chest type freezers with the lid that lifts up. It always reminds me of my Granddaddy Pennington's worm farm but that's not what this story is about. The freezer is wedged tightly in the corner of the shed... tight enough that if you lift the lid to a certain point it will stay held in place against the shelves... most of the time. Last night I was rearranging my inventory of Luigi's Mango Flavored Italian Ice and the unthinkable happened... the lid slipped out of place and whacked me on the head... just above the hairline. I immediately saw stars but the worst thing is my back... a sudden jolt is the absolute worst thing possible for my back. The force was so great that my HEEL hurts from being pushed into the ground, like someone was hammering me in. It hurt last night but today it. is. killlllling me! I have this dull headache and my head is so tender that I can't bear to brush my hair. My back is stuck in a certain position and if I try to force it into a different position the pain takes my breath away. It's frustrating and hilariously ironic, all at the same time. There's no limit to what my body has to endure, it seems. And honestly, Luigi's should have made me their spokesperson by now.... how I've SUFFERED! (must be read in the accent of a Jewish New York mother)

And yes, my granddaddy really did have a worm farm. He had big old refrigerators on their side full of soil and the worms would be all wiggly in there. People would come by and buy an old cottage cheese container full of worms for... I don't know how much, probably a quarter back then? I think we could put a dollar's worth of gas in the car then and actually get somewhere on it. You know what he fed them? Purina worm chow. It's a real thing. Google it if you don't believe me!

So the theme of today's blog is the same as pretty much every other blog... oh my aching back! And head. And neck. And heel... because the concrete slab put up a lot of resistance against my being driven into the ground. It's gotten worse as the day has progressed even though I've been trying to get up and walk around a bit and keep from getting stiff.

The subplot for today is Snapchat. For those who are uninitiated... Snapchat is an app that allows you to record photos or small snippets of video to be shared with your friends. The photos and videos stay there for 24 hours - or, you can save them for posterity as I have done by forwarding them and saving them here and on Facebook. My favorite part is that Snapchat has filters... ways to dress up your photos and videos so that, for instance, if you're looking like death with uncombed hair, you can transform yourself into a lovely hippie lady with a floral crown. Or Little Red Riding Scary Hood as pictured above. It even adds a touch of lipstick and mascara for you in some cases! I just started Snapchat on Saturday so I'm still figuring it out but if you want to add me I am hgant5. I have one story so far. My main thing was that I wanted to be able to use the filters with the babies but also some of the youtubers that I watch have snapchat as well and waiting for the next youtube video update is the same as waiting for the next blog entry... you just want to know the rest of the story already! Technology just keeps on changing and although I am waaaay behind, I try to keep up. If you try to navigate the Snapchat waters, I would recommend watching a tutorial on Youtube vs. trying to learn from Snapchat's instructions. Let me know if you're on Snapchat so I can add you! It's all about the non-intrusive means of communication for me, folks!

Austin had some friends over today and they spent the day out on the lake. The paddle boat hardly ever gets used so it was nice to hear splashes and laughter wafting up from the lake. There were a group of four of them and they picnic'ed and fished and rode around the lake and really had a good time. The sun was so bright and the sky so clear that I'm sure they're going to all be sunburned. Austin needed a carefree day like that. Tomorrow he'll be pounding the pavement and Thursday he has a root canal. #adultingishard Thanks to those of you who sent texts and messages and comments wishing Austin well in his new job search. I know I'm completely biased because he's my kid but he has had such a hard year and he deserves so much more out of life! Also... I'm about one frustration away from being in the news so we just need to ride the year out peacefully. Is that too much to ask???

Anyways... I thought I'd share a few photos taken from my vantage point of the bright sunshine and crisp clear lake and just a little fall color. It doesn't show up well on my phone. I didn't use any filters of adjust the colors on these photos but I did zoom in (obviously) on the one on the right.

In other news... Tasha and I have had this ongoing discussion about whether or not Cosette needs to go up to size four diapers. She's still a little bitty doll but she is getting a bit of thigh chub. Tasha has an unopened box of threes that she's going to return and I'm debating returning my unopened package of threes that I have. We don't go through a lot of diapers here and I'm afraid that if I open the package by the time we finish it the diapers will definitely be too small. Check out those chubby little thighs! (Note to ten year old Cosette - if you see this, don't be offended by Nana calling you chubby. Chubby babies are sweet and cuddly and precious and when we say you're chubby it means we love you!) (Had to throw that in because ten year old Jamie objected when she saw that I had blogged about her chubby little baby self - which was ADORABLE, both when she was chubby and when she objected to being called chubby!)


Let me see if I can find a chubby little Jamie picture to share... because it's a slow news day here anyways...

Hope that all the news you have to share is GOOD news and if not, just hang in there! It gets better!
Love and hugs, y'all!