Summer Sweeping By

Four grandchildren are heading off to school for the first time this September.  

Apparently, my angst over this fact shows up all over my face.  Now, when this delightful passel of pure innocence barges through the door ~ all tripping over each other in the mad crush to be the first to update me with the latest school supplies, they check themselves.  They even assume an apologetic tone and quickly assure me that they can still visit when they have holidays.
Pfft!!

      I am trying to put on a braver face and act more mature.

The grandkids are wearing their crochet hat creations by Tricia.
As soon as I can recover the name of her business, I shall set up a link here.

L'il Ones Custom Crochet Creations

Thanks Amy!  :)

One thing I AM celebrating with great pleasure

is the completion of my first ever blog book!

 A Once-in-a-lifetime trip to England in 2008 with my baby girl was encapsulated in my first ever blog which in turn has finally become my first ever blog book.
I had set aside July to get that job done and missed that deadline by a mere three days.  

160 high quality gloss pages showcasing more than 600 photos and accompanied with copious amounts of  journalling and memories.

 I am extremely pleased with the results.  And trust me, 

ANYONE can do this if I can.  

Look up Blurb Booksmart  and let your imagination go!

A fitting tribute to summers end may be a picture of my first ever sighting of the Cicada.

Who can even imagine the haze of those hot summer days without the piercing buzz of the Cicada? 

One of these locust-looking insects woke me up at 4am from its perch on the foyer wall a few weeks ago and I simply had to take a picture.  

Then I had to find some courage to 'dispose' of it somehow so I could get back to sleep.

This particular specimen was about two inches in length, VERY leggy and three dimensional.

 I could not stomach the idea of splatting it against the wall so I swatted it with a wad of wet paper towel and scurried it out the front door.

*ish*

It was minus two legs ~ carnage I found in the morning.  Ugh.