Dominique, Jackson, and I had a couple of free hours yesterday so we checked in at The Drop Zone, a Tallahassee hot spot for school aged youngsters. Why weren't these trampoline play areas around when I was a kid?
My photography won't win any awards, but that's okay. Jackson had fun while Dominique mainly lolled around the spectators' area with me.
Peace and trampolines, people!
Poppa (aka Studly Doright) and grandson, Jackson, have been busy in Poppa's shop the past couple of days. Neither Dominique nor I were allowed to participate, so we had nary a clue what might be the outcome.
Late yesterday afternoon we were rewarded with the results of their labor:
It's a miniature katana sword and display stand inspired by a YouTube video Jackson had watched. Tomorrow they're planning on constructing a sheath for the sword.
Here's what the sword was originally:
A scarred paint scraper!
Now, I wonder if they can make me a crossbow in case of a zombie apocalypse….
Peace, people!
You can’t tell from my photo, but a soft rain is falling through the forest in my backyard while a constant roll of thunder provides the soundtrack for a beautiful north Florida evening.
Our granddaughter, Dominique (14), is bright, beautiful, and growing up way too quickly for my liking and too slowly for hers.
One of her closest friends will celebrate her quinceañera (fifteenth birthday) on Saturday and Dominique has been invited to sit at the head table. She already has her dress for the occasion, but needed a pair of heels, and since she isn't flying home until Friday, we had to take action.
I'd love to tell you that she tried on dozens of pairs of shoes, oohing and ahhing over every detail in an effort to find the perfect pair, but that wasn't the case. Dominique marched straight to the rack where a dizzying array of special occasion shoes were displayed, pointed at a pair of silver heels, and said "Those."
No amount of cajoling her to try on a pair of strappy sandals would sway her, so it was done. I didn't know whether to be elated that the process had been so simple or sad because it was over so quickly.
I took her for lunch afterwards at a high end burger restaurant, and she took far longer agonizing over the toppings she wanted than she had over the shoes. Come to think of it, she's a lot like me.
Peace, people.
The Texas grandkids are visiting us here at Doright Manor, and they don't always want to do the same activities. Yesterday Studly Doright took Dominique to the Tallahassee Museum for zip lining adventures (Jackson doesn't meet the height requirements) while Jackson and I went to a local arcade.
I didn't take many photos though, because I was too busy being defeated in two player challenges. This kid knows his way around video games.
When we returned home I challenged him to an old-fashioned type of game.
I won, thank you very much.
Hopefully Studly Doright took some photos of his time with Dominique, but I won't hold my breath.
Peace, people!
Poppa (Studly) Doright and I keep motorcycles for the grandkids to ride when they come to visit. All year long he searches EBay and Craig's List looking for used bikes that are just the right model and size for each child. Once he gets the bike home to Doright Manor, Studly tinkers and tweaks until the bikes run like brand new ones.
He hit the jackpot with Jackson's little Honda.
But Dominique's scooter wasn't ideal for trail riding. She'd wanted one she didn't have to shift, and that part was great, but the scooter just didn't do well in the dirt.
So Poppa began scouring local ads and found what he thought might be the perfect bike. Unfortunately it came unassembled in a box:
But it didn't take long for the bike in a box to be ready for action.
It's a pretty little off brand thing called a Viper. Contrary to what the guy we bought it from told us, the Viper isn't an automatic, though, so Dominique still doesn't have a bike.
Back to the classifieds and Craig's List we go. It's one adventure after another here at Doright Manor.
Peace, people!
Our youngest grandson, Jackson, is something of an old soul. He's much more interested in shopping at vintage and antique stores than in shops selling toys. When he and his sister visited last summer Jackson found a knife for his collection at Planters Exchange in Havana, Florida. So yesterday morning he asked if we could check out their merchandise.
Dominique has almost no interest in shopping for vintage items, so she wandered and grumbled.
Although, at another shop she was tickled to find a wax apple with a bite mark on it.
And she wanted a picture of a funky door at Planters Exchange, but only if I'd pose with it.
Jackson came home with a new knife for his collection, so our trip was a success.
I'm exhausted, but at least everyone is happy.
Peace, people!
I took the Texas grandkids to the Tallahassee Museum today to check out the tree to tree adventures and the resident animals. Unfortunately Jackson wasn't tall enough to tackle the challenge he'd set his heart on, so we just concentrated on the animals instead.
Broken hearted kid^^^
Dominique was more enthusiastic about walking through the exhibits than her brother:
And the only way I could get a photo of both of them in the same shot was from a distance:
We did pick up a strange stalker on our visit.
There's nothing like being stalked by a vulture to make you wonder if there is something he knows about the impending future.
This little museum is a wonderful slice of Florida.
Forty-one years ago Studly Doright and I exchanged wedding vows in a small Baptist church in Dumas, Texas. We were young, dumb, and totally in love. We were also poor, a fact I didn't fully comprehend until I began counting the funds we had remaining after spending a quick honeymoon in the dubious luxury of the Camelot Inn in Amarillo, Texas.
We'd gotten married on July 30, 1976, and I remember turning to Studly on our 45 mile drive back to Dumas, Texas, and the rental home we'd signed a six month lease agreement on and saying, "This can't be right. We only have a hundred dollars left and you won't get paid again until the 15th."
Thus began my understanding that my life had changed forever. No longer was I under the financial protection of my mom and dad. I was now a partner in a brand new relationship that extended beyond romance and into the arena of money. I was woefully unprepared for this new reality.
Thankfully, Studly was barely more prepared than I had been. Did I mention how dumb we were? The difference between the two of us was that he never doubted his ability to provide. I worried, but he never did.
Somehow, we always managed to scrape enough money together to pay the rent and buy groceries.
Nowadays, the money isn't as tight. I still worry, though. Studly still doesn't. I guess that's the whole opposites attract theory in action. We've made it this far and that's no small feat. I think we'll shoot for at least another twenty years.
Peace, people.
Sugarcoat This
By Leslie Noyes
I cannot sugarcoat this, the life you are destined for. It is not fair, but then life never is. Child, girls tend to get the short
End of the stick. What can I tell you? I am just an old widow, but maybe you should remember to do the bidding
Of your husband. Be sure to do your wifely duties, that might keep him faithful. Cook him three square meals a day,
And always look your best when he comes around. If you play your cards right there might be some sort of
Silver lining down the long road. The young woman listened respectfully to her old granny's words, nodded in all the right
Places, and patted the woman's gnarled hand. "I can't sugarcoat this Granny, and I mean no disrespect, but screw that."
Praying for Eyebrowz 