“Our life is March weather, savage and serene in one hour.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

March 1

Night light. Stop light. God light.

March 3

Ella’s sticky face

March 6

Soup and sandwich supper

Neil is the grilled cheese master

March 8

Future soccer star

March 8

He gave up trying to grow grass and decided to paint the lawn instead

Just kidding

He sprayed on a crab grass killer. The crazy green color was to show where 

he had already sprayed so as not to overlap. Or something like that.

March 9

Gravity means nothing to a 2 year old

Ella lines up each crayon after she’s done with it

March 11

Pinch Proof

She wore her green to school today because next week 

is spring break - no class on St. Patrick’s Day

She’s had the best time kicking that ball around the back yard

Shelby and Ella making art

March 14

Elijah got a haircut!

March 15

Buttercup bouquets from Knox and Ella

March 17

Snapped this out my kitchen window because standing out there on

the sidewalk taking a picture of the damage a drunk driver caused

would’ve been in poor taste, I guess. And it was raining.

St. Patrick’s Day. The guy had been drinking in a local bar, got behind

the wheel of his car, drunk, and proceeded to speed down our street and lose

control of his car. He slammed into our neighbors SUV,

which was partially parked in their driveway. The impact shoved the SUV into

the same neighbor’s van, which was parked on the street. Their SUV, sandwiched between

the two vehicles, was totaled. And their van pretty messed up.

Neil and I heard the loud bang/crash. First thing I thought was our

car got hit. It was parked on the street, which we rarely do.

If our neighbors hadn’t been home—they usually aren’t that

time of day—the drunk guy would probably have hit our car.

Apparently, he was going way too fast. Drunk plus rain. He wasn’t hurt.

That’s the drunk guy’s car being hauled away (in the pic)

Thankful there were no neighbors out walking or kids out playing.

A series of unfortunate events indeed.

March 18

On our way to pack boxes at Churches of Christ Disaster Relief in Nashville

Hubby Neil and my sister Jane filling boxes as we move them down the roller belt

This warehouse is usually filled with probably a hundred or more people who

work for two solid hours to fill 1500 boxes of food and supplies. But because

of the virus, small groups come to pack as much as can be done in two hours.

I think we packed 275 boxes. Not too bad for a skeleton crew.

March 19

Time for the second shot

As we were pulling in here, one of the health department crew actually said,

“Don’t leave the tunnel without getting your shot.”

Wait. Why are we here?

Can we throw away the masks now?

March 20

Knox was here for a sleepover. We watched Guardians of the Galaxy.

11:00 PM Frosty run. Because we are just that wild and crazy.

March 21

My nieces Sarah and Julia with Ella. Somebody’s got pigtails!

March 23

The squirrels have been sliding off this metal bird feeder ever since we

hung it last Fall. It’s been a hoot to watch. But they are persistent little acrobats and apparently love

a challenge. At least one of them has finally figured it out.

Perseverance pays off.

March 23

Straight outta Lowe's

Neil figured the living room floor was as good a place as any

to unpack the new toilet. Ask him about the fun time

he had installing the thing.  

The bathroom makeover continues ….

March 23

March 24

Got her a new shiny pink ball to kick around the back yard 

March 26

She had to have this pretty little grape hyacinth

and proceeded to pick all the “grapes” off

March 26

Would have been my mom’s 100th birthday

She sure did love her cheese Krystals

March 29

The Handy Man Can

He installed the new faucets and drains

The bathroom makeover continues ….

March 31

13 inches of rain this month

March 2021 will end as the 2nd wettest March on record in our town, 

and this month ranks as the 6th wettest EVER, according to our local weather guy.

We had five feet of water in our basement after the past week’s rain.

Sump pump decided not to pump. Neil thinks the electrical cord shorted out.Timing is everything.But the redbuds and dogwoods are blooming and everything’s green again.

So it’s all good.

There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature

--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter.

~Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

“Only those with tenacity can march forward in March” ― Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

March 4 ~ this is grandson Elijah's 'do-you-have-to-take-my-picture-again' look

Yes! Of course! Especially since he got a new much shorter haircut.

You'd think he'd know by now after 11+ years that Granny is not going to stop taking his picture.

March 4 ~ Revenge! 

Our son-in-law Jerry's birthday was last Sunday, and we ate lunch after church at El Tapatio, where Neil informed the server that it was Jerry's birthday. So of course they put the birthday sombrero on Jerry's head and all the servers sang a happy birthday song in Spanish.

So. 

A week later, and a few days after Neil's birthday, we ended up eating lunch after church at El Tapatio, where Jerry wasted no time getting his revenge on his father-in-law.

That's what you call Karma.

March 6 ~ shadow time ....

.... and the days are getting longer

March 7 ~ Grackles tend to congregate in large groups, popularly referred to as a plague or annoyance, according to Wikipedia. Totally true. Lately, they've discovered our bird feeders where there are sometimes ten or fifteen of them gathered around on the ground, pecking and posturing and fighting each other over the seed. 

They seem hateful and greedy and mean. Plague and annoyance are spot on descriptions of their gatherings. 

March 8 ~ A group of squirrels is called a 'scurry', although they don't run in packs. They should be called a plague and annoying. Greedy little buggers. But I think the Grackles got them beat.

When Neil and I started dating way back in 1972, one of our first dates was at Gondola Pizza House. That's when it was located just down the street from TTU. When it came time to order our shared pizza, he told me to choose the topping. How generous! What a guy!
Many years later, he finally told me that he about gagged that night when I chose MUSHROOMS for the topping. He hated mushrooms, those gag-worthy slimy things.
Whenever he tells that story about that date, I always point out to him that we could have ordered a half-and-half pizza--mushrooms for me and something else besides mushrooms for his half.
Like I said, what a guy!
Flash forward 46 years (!?!) and look who's sharing a mushroom pizza at Gondola Pizza House. I feel obligated, even now,  to point out to him we don't have to get mushroom, that we can do a half-and -half. But he's come to enjoy those Gondola mushroom pizzas.
I knew he was a keeper.

How can anybody eat a pizza and use only one napkin. Not me, apparently.

March 9 ~ For her cosmetology business project, granddaughter Shelby had to pull together and organize a beauty salon business, detailing how much it would cost from start up to opening day. Plus, she had to build a mock-up of her salon. She made everything from scratch, even painting the street in front of the salon. She handcrafted a tiny realistic-looking blowdryer and a hair straightener. 

She made a 94 on her business profile (the highest grade was a 97), and she made a 100 on her salon mock-up. After the hours and hours she poured into all of it, she was thrilled with her awesome grades. Way to go, Shelby! So proud of all your hard work!

The Grandpeeps

Grandson Knox discovered the joys of the typewriter when I showed him the typewriter app on my computer. It's the Hanx Writer app created by none other than Tom Hanks, who I've heard loves and collects typewriters. Knox had a great time typing messages on the different models of typewriters. They even make the key click sounds and the ding of the bell on the carriage return. Coolest thing ever. But not as cool as the real thing.

Knox's typewritten message to his mom

March 10 ~ Winter and Spring are duking it out here in Tennessee. 

Unexpected unscheduled baseball games today for Elijah who plays on his middle school's JV team. Elijah had to be there before 11:00 this morning, not knowing when he'd be playing in one of three games his team was going to play. Of course, he ended up playing in the third game at 2:30, so that's when Neil and I showed up. But Holly (E's mom) had been there the whole time, leaving during the second game to bring in some lunch.
The sun was clouded and the wind blew cold during E's game. We huddled under a blanket. Thus the frowny faces. Plus E's team was totally outplayed by their opponents.

Three up, three down every time E's team was up to bat. They were having a really bad game. He finally got to bat in the 4th inning ....

.... and, unfortunately, struck out. It was the only time in the whole game he got to bat. Major bummer. More frowny faces (see previous frowny face picture)

After the game, Elijah told us his team was one point short of the ref calling the mercy rule. He had to explain to me what that meant since I had no clue.
15 to 0 in the 4th inning. Game over.
If you've never heard of the mercy rule, here's a little info. Don't say I never taught ya nothin'.

The mercy rule is a provision in the rules that terminates a game early if one of the two teams has taken a substantial lead, considered to be insurmountable, after a minimum number of innings have been played. ... The mercy rule is often called the skunk rule in slang, particularly in youth baseball.

SNOW DAY!

“Are ye the ghosts of fallen leaves, O flakes of snow, For which, through naked trees, the winds A-mourning go?”  

― John B. Tabb

Did you enjoy your snow day?