RANDOM THIS THAT AND THE OTHER

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  John 15:5 [NIV]

Grandson Elijah on his way up the path to my house after his first day of third grade. He’s getting so BIG!

Granddaughter Shelby strikes a pose after her first day of eighth grade. She’s growing up way too fast, too! Daughter Holly ~ chauffeur extraordinaire.

Grandson Knox blowing bubbles out on the deck a few weeks ago. Serious fun.

My engineer hubby never ceases to amaze me with his ability to take this ……

….. and turn it into this [in a little less than two hours] …….

……. so I can do this. My orthopedic doc who did my knee surgery back in June said riding a bicycle would be perfect for building up those large upper leg muscles [which makes for stronger knees]. I don’t enjoy riding a bike, so now I can do the next best thing on our stationary bike. I can ride for miles and miles and go absolutely nowhere. I’ve been riding for several weeks now and can tell a big difference in my leg strength.

“Summer will end soon enough, and childhood as well.”  ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

 Candy Corn. Love it. Hate it. There is no middle of the road when it comes to candy corn. I love it. Saw it at the store last week. Could not resist. Can Fall be far behind?

Daughter Kelly and grandson Knox checking out the stash of books in our neighborhood Little Free Library. Such a cool thing. Every neighborhood should have one.

What kind of bee is this? It looks like it’s wearing body armor.

Elijah and Shelby playing with Elijah’s big bouncy ball in the street as we went for a walk last Sunday after lunch.

Our hydrangea bushes are finally blooming. Seems late this year. So pretty.
Walking around the block as the sun sets ~ sometime last week. We try to walk often these days. Strengthens those leg muscles and all, you know. Neil got caught up in the rays of light.

This evening after supper, we ended up at Ralph’s. What a sweet way to end this random TGIF. Hope yours was happy.

“We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.” ~ David Mamet, Boston Marriage

Nothing says Summer like a Lemon Ice Box Pie. It occurred to me a few days ago that Summer is nearly gone, and I had not made one of these pies. So I did. And we ate it. And it was delicious. So I made another one this evening.

I use my mom’s recipe (probably her mom’s recipe) which is sinfully easy ~ only three ingredients, well, four if you count the graham cracker pie crust. 1 can of condensed milk (Eagle Brand!), 3 egg yolks, and the juice of 2 lemons.

Mix all that together, pour it into a pie crust and chill in the fridge. For those of you who are reluctant to eat raw egg, you can heat the pie in a 350 degree oven for about 7 or 8 minutes and then chill it. Since I licked the bowl, that salmonella ship has sailed. No regrets.

My mom used to make real whipped cream to top it off. I’m not that industrious. Cool Whip is just as yummy, although the pie really doesn’t need anything else. It’s Summer on a pie plate! Happy TGIF, everyone!
“Cut my pie into four pieces, I don’t think I could eat eight.”
~Yogi Berra

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY, ELIJAH!

Grandson Elijah celebrated his 8th birthday today with family and friends at his house.

In keeping with birthday party tradition in their family, his mom and dad rented a giant water slide. How cool is that!?

Dad always lights the birthday candles. This year, Elijah had a Guardians Of The Galaxy theme.

He was excited to blow out those eight candles while we sang the Birthday Song.

Mom always serves the cake which was yummy.

Hard to believe he’s already enjoying his eighth birthday cake!

The best part is always opening all those presents and cards. He received a lot of cool gifts.

This Batman hoodie was from his grandmother Mimi.

And maybe best of all, a brand new bike from his mom and dad. He seems to be outgrowing them all too quickly these days. Kind of hard to think of him as “Little Man” any more. Happy 8th Birthday, Elijah!! We love you very much, sweet grandson!!