Puzzle swap at the library

There was a puzzle swap at the local library yesterday afternoon and I happened to have some 1,000-piece puzzles, completed, sitting in the basement just waiting for their next home. They wanted the pieces in ziploc bags so I did that and off to the library I went in search of good swaps. I took five puzzles.

Came home with these five even though they said to take as many as I wanted. I considered a couple more but they both looked pretty difficult.

And while I was there, I checked out this book. My friend, Renee, read it for the church women's book club and said even though it is almost 500 pages she read it quickly. She was a littled annoyed she got through the whole book then had to miss the book club meeting when it was discussed lol. I'm not a huge reader so I'll see if it grabs my interest.

Meanwhile in Colorado, L saw cows.

She said they looked mean.

Difference of 14 years

This picture of L popped up in my Facebook feed, asking if I had a current picture to compare it to - and I did. I didn't post it, but did take this screenshot to send to L. Her response was "Oh, wow." I'd say. Kind of funny that she was at Disney in the first pic and now she works there. Quite a difference 14 years makes.

As for her vacation, they had brunch with the family. She didn't send a lot of pictures but W looks nice in his new cowboy hat. When in Colorado ...

Lucky quarter?

I know finding a penny is lucky but now that pennies are no longer being made, are quarters be lucky? I found this one by a (stupid) speed bump when I went out to move my car at work yesterday. The wildfire smoke has cleared up so maybe it is lucky?

The neighbor kids texted me to say there was a three-car wreck in front of the house that took out a stoplight. Yikes! So I came home a bit early to work on the next newsletter and got a closer look. The question is how in the world did that happen? And it's the second crash at the corner this week. We get regular crashes but two in one week is unusual. Maybe they didn't have a lucky quarter.

L's Friday was shopping. She loves that!

Colorado wineries

Today L and W went to wineries.

They were riding in style. Went with his mom, her friend and his grandma.

Enjoying some wine.

And W cooked dinner for his family. I thought that was a pool behind him but it's a pickleball court.

Meanwhile in Chicago our air quality is horrible because smoke from Canadian wildfires has moved in. It smells smoky.

Colorado Monument

I'm loving that L is sending me pictures of her trip. She said this was today on their way to the Colorado Monument. I had no idea what she was talking about but a quick google search and I found out it's a national park.

And a pretty one at that.

Picture taken by W's mom.

They drove through the park. She said it was too hot to hike.

Not sure if this was on the drive to the park or in the park but what a neat picture going through a mountain.

So pretty.

Be careful! That first step is a doozie!

Close-up.

L and W in Colorado

L and W left Orlando early this morning to fly to Colorado where they're staying in Grand Junction, with his mom.

She wasn't able to join us in 2024 for Cousin S's wedding in Colorado so I'm pretty sure this is her first time seeing mountains ... except in Japan maybe.

Their first stop was apparently a Mexican restaurant for dinner. More to come.

Family check-in

I got a texted picture from each kid Saturday so let's do a family check-in.

Being on the East Coast, L was first with a picture of Sully at the vet. Uh oh. He ended up with some nauseau medicine and allergy meds so he stops scratching himself. L and W leave for Colorado to visit his mom on Tuesday and wanted Sully in better shape before their roommate, T, is left to watch him. Probably a good idea.

Then B texted a picture of a waffle he made in the waffle maker we gave him for his birthday. Looks delicious. In addition to the waffle maker we gave him vegetable oil and waffle mix so he was all set to make breakfast whenever he got around to it.

E and D have been getting some work done on the condo so she sent a picture of the backsplash tile they had installed. They also got new can lighting in the kitchen (no more fluorescent lights) and will have the cabinets resurfaced next. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.

It was Saturday so Andy was golfing. Here's a picture of the group at the 19th hole. He shot an 84 - his best of the year at Old Oak - so he was happy.

And, since it was Saturday, Allison and I hit a few yard sales. I got nine Waterford napkins (they make napkins?) that are a nice fall color for $2 and these red Crate & Barrel Westerly plates were a quarter each. I thought there were only 11, but Allison found the twelfth! And the woman only asked for $2.50 for them. Either she couldn't do math or she wanted to give me a deal. She even had me to take a free plastic Christmas platter. She really wanted to get rid of her stuff. I plan to use them for my candy cane-themed family Christmas dinner this year. (Red plates, white tablecloth and the opposite for the "kids" table. It's all coming together.) I know these plates would have been at least $2 each at Goodwill and saw them online for $10 a plate. Yikes.

On the way home I saw this truck with plates that said "Weldgod" which made me think of W who's a welder. At least that's how I interpreted them. Sometimes you just don't know. If the person is a welder, though, they must think pretty highly of themself.

Slow July Fouth

This sign welcomed me back to the Farmers Market Saturday morning for my second donut shift of the season.

I was the outside coffee server, working 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. and this was my breakfast. It was a holiday so it was a pretty light day. Regardless, I was a bit achy after standing for three hours. Andy was the first donut captain then left to play golf. Needless to say, he gets home, falls asleep and there, again, our day is shot.

Meanwhile in Florida, L sent a video and pictures of the Air Force doing a fly-over at Epcot. They flew over Magic Kingdom too, but she was working in the Members' Lounge at Epcot.

A closer look.

I had planned to grill out Italian sausages for dinner but it was raining with no chance of letting up for two hours. Good thing our local pizza shop was open!

Random Disney

The new Polynesian Tower resort is so pretty.

This is the Lava Rock Lounge on the fourth floor (we're on the fifth).

We toured the resort when it was just opened and I never noticed these light fixtures by the lobby elevators that mimic jellyfish. And look at that beautiful tile. I love the attention to detail.

L's bear anxiously awaiting for her to come pick him up. (We ended up dropping him off).

We saw this Mickey on our way to dinner Sunday night. Andy thinks it's an electrical pole support.

L said these hurricane evacuation signs are a common sight during hurricane season.

Buzz Lightyear sighting in Hollywood Studios.

This was the picture L's coworker E took of us before she got silly with the selfie. We don't expect to see L until October.

Tuesday at Disney

This was a beautiful sunrise to wake up to on Tuesday.

We spent the morning at Hollywood Studios. We got in line for Rise of the Resistance before the park was open to the general public, then went on the Buzz Lightyear shooting ride (let's just say Andy's too competitive to keep it fun) and then sat in on the Frozen sing-along.

We went to our favorite people-watching spot for a beer and a charcuterie board when I noticed the DVC associate across the way. I texted L to see if, and where, her friend J was working today and she said Hollywood Studios across from us!

Of course, we went over to say hi and had a good conversation. He's enjoying the job and Florida. He and L met when she worked at Journeys in Yorktown Mall.

Then we talked our way into Saratoga Springs so we could see L before we flew home. She introduced us to her coworker, E, who took this selfie. She was calling us mom and dad and said it looks like a fantastic family Christmas card picture. Funny.