Niece, Nephew, 1st cousin once removed, and children to whom I am not blood related
This last week I took the opportunity presented to go and meet my niece Portia, who is adorable, and spend about a full day with her. Most of what we did Friday was visit some roommates of mine who have children of their own. We spent quite a bit of time with Janice and her daughter Alyson, partly because it was time for Portia to eat and she was taking her time doing it. She was rather distracted when it came time to eat. Take a swallow, look around, have another swallow, check out the other direction. Quite the contrast to Adam who stares down the bottle when in view and is currently a pretty focused eater. Of course, Alyson was practicing somersaults so who could blame Portia for finding that fascinating? The other reason we stayed was we really didn't have anywhere else we could think to go. Alyson was happy to share her toys with the baby, although she eyed her suspiciously quite often, and Portia found the 18-month-old quite entertaining. Both had a crisis moment while we were there. Alyson's came when reaching into her toy chest and she got tipped over a bit too far. In she fell. Janice and I thought it was pretty hilarious and had trouble putting on the sympathetic face. She recovered quickly though and was soon reaching in the chest again. Portia's was less, and yet more dramatic. She was sitting and fell over reaching for a toy. In less than a second she was wailing and the huge tears were falling. That adorable sad face is going to be trouble I can see it now. Look out daddy, those tears and quivering lip will be your Kryptonite. After a minute or two she was done and ready to play again. When Portia started getting a tad fussy we left Janice to visit Joy, another old roommate of mine, who has a 4-month-old girl and a couple of rowdy little boys. I believe Portia found that boys were kind of loud and obnoxious, but sometimes worth a little entertainment. After that came Portia's 3rd time in the car seat for the day, to which she voiced her disapproval. I took the opportunity to get a free oil change out of the trip and Portia had lunch as we waited. Luckily just as she ran out of patience for the car place they finished with the car. Another trip in the car-seat, and the final drive to meet up with Peyton. Unfortunately for Portia it would mean a few more trips in the car-seat before she could call it quits for the day. She really did quite well the first few times getting strapped in, and she was almost always quiet once we got moving. I know she fell asleep a few times, but there was so much construction and rough roads I doubt she ever stayed that way for very long. It was a good day with her, and I was sad to look in the mirror and have the car-seat gone at the end of the day. Now I'll have to wait until Christmas to see my niece again...and I'll have to share then.
I spent Friday night with Liz and Adam and their kids. We really didn't have time to do anything fun or interesting, but it was nice of them to let me crash there on such short notice. I was glad I brought my earplugs, as Adelyn and Kelty seemed to be having a disagreement in regards to bedtime.
Then it was home again for the Boise State game. Veralyn and Dell came over with Adam. They played with the internet while Adam and I watched the game. Then it was to bed and ready to get back to work the next day.
The new doctor is making friends fast
We have a new doctor in the ER who is making friends with the nurses fast. For one, she picks up and sees patients quickly. Two, she's friendly and will joke around with the nursing staff. and three, she's blunt and to the point with patients. There was a frequent flyer in for dental pain and she asked him "do you have a dentist, or do you just really like coming here to see us - because you are here for dental pain a lot." Then she told him she would give him a numbing shot in his mouth for the pain and he was squirming and trying to say how he'd rather take a pill. She told him to "man up" and hold still. We were sitting at the nurses station laughing and mouthing "love her" to each other. I wish "man up", or "deal with it" were an acceptable instruction to give to more people. Some one came in last night because their dog ran into their leg when they were playing fetch with it. Really? Did you also bump against a table in the dark, because that can be excruciating. Bunch of pansies.
Fritz turns a year old and has early onset Alzheimer's.
Fritz is now 1-year-old, which I guess puts him into his adolescent years as a dog. I don't know. He's still a crazy energetic boy who lives for treats, go figure, and belly rubs. He's gotten better at sitting and waiting instead of jumping all over - which he still does plenty of. What he seems to have forgotten is the command "lay down". He used to think lay down was always the answer, and you could hardly get him to sit. Well now, I can't get him to do anything but. When he does lay down it is on his back for a tummy rub. Silly dog. From his strongest command to "what are you talking about?" He continues to have anonymous donors for chew toys. Odd bits and pieces of everything are scattered around the yard. I think he'd be a good companion for Della on her hunts for rocks too, because he manages to find all of those and strew them about the yard as well.
Recent projects and future dreams
I finished the rough draft of the Clue game based on grandma's house. I made clay figures for it too. Now it gets to be a job for someone else to do the artwork. I have a plan drawn up for a mini-golf course at grandma's, which is ready for approval or suggestions from higher powers, whoever they may be. For my own yard, I'd love to have a tennis court in the backyard. It's large enough. It's kind of a pity that there are automatic sprinklers in the lawn because that actually makes my plans a bit more difficult. Of course, if I didn't have automatic sprinklers I can guarantee that my lawn would be dead. Lawn care is proving to be not one of my most favorite things. we shall see what becomes of this.
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