Granddaughter Time

Miss J providing the drawing lesson

We had the granddaughters for an overnight. This time, they had input on the time their arrival time. At our last overnight, they thought they were going on a 10 mile hike and their folks got them up at 6:30 in the morning. 

The youngest granddaughter thought that 5:30 would be a good time to get up. The oldest thought 6:30 was way too EARLY. Any other time would be fine. Their mama asked the oldest, "Then 6:15 is is good?" To which the oldest replied with a death glare!

They decided that they would get up at 6:50 and leave at 7 so they would arrive in plenty of time for breakfast! Breakfast was sourdough pancakes with plenty of bacon. 

Work samples

After breakfast, Miss J led us through a drawing exercise. We drew a teddy bear holding a heart. We started with the heart with a couple extra lines. 

Miss J was succinct and descriptive with her comments. You could almost draw listening to her words. I was impressed.

Instructor J and  Instructor K

I did put some circles in the wrong place. Why? " I was listening" and not watching. Miss J laughed about my comment!

Miss K led us through an exercise in "realistic people drawing except the eyes."Again, I was impressed with how quickly simple lines became figures.  It was fun play time.

For lunch, we cooked chicken noodle soup with lots of noodles which is another favorite dish. We took the dog for a walk and then gave her a good grooming session.

Realistic people drawing exercise  

There were a number of imaginative play sessions which were fun to watch. I liked the set up.  Q:"Are there parents?" A: "Yes" Q: What kind? A mom and a dad or two moms or two dads? A: "I don't care. You pick." Q: "Okay, two dads this time. Kids?Once they had determined the household and background information, they role played for some time. 

They looked out of the window and asked who was visiting Papa. The friend was over to help with cleaning up of felled trees.

Last February, we had heavy rain and then freezing temperatures. The result was lots of tree branches and a number of tree trunks succumbed to the weight of the ice and fell to the ground. You can read about it here.

Stitching blocks

In January, we hired a company to cut the trees that were leaning toward the house as well as those that were damaged in the storm. Area tree service companies have been swamped the entire year. In all, we had seven trees cut down or trimmed. We hope we won't have future tree damage. We hope the house will be safe.

The granddaughters asked what the friend was doing. I explained the friend came for a play date with Papa. They thought Papa playing with a friend was funny. I explained that this friend brought toys. They wanted to meet the friend and see the toys which were a wood splitter, a hydraulic trailer and chainsaws. They thought this variety of "toys" was interesting. We stacked firewood and enjoyed the sunshine. They decided cutting and stacking wood was not a good play activity! 

Two rows of blocks coming together

Then, we sewed a little. One of my goals this month was to stitch the 2021 RSC blocks into rows this month; but Miss K asked to sew the blocks on her own. I'm over the moon with joy that she has claimed these blocks. I'll amend my goal of stitching the blocks to allow her make progress on this project at her pace.  

I helped her pin the blocks; but, I turned a few the wrong direction. While I created a different pattern, it wasn't the pattern Miss K had in mind.  She tripled checked my pinning after that. She stitched a couple rows together.

Miss J started string piecing flannel scraps on a newsprint foundation. We worked up an appetite for "Papa's spaghetti." Miss K helped me make the cobbler that we had for dessert. Miss J helped me make the salad. Dinner was delicious. Many hands sure make light work.

At the end of the day, they were in bed by their regular bedtime. . .eight o'clock. They were tired. I checked on them at 8:30 and they were sound asleep in the same position that I had left them after their bedtime story. I was in bed soon after to ensure that I had enough "juice" for the following day!

Two rows stitched together

In the morning, Miss K was up at five o'clock. She wanted to know what we could bake for breakfast! I gave her a couple options and she picked blueberry muffins. I gave her a bit of help with putting the batter in the muffin tins. She completed the rest of the process herself. The muffins were delicious. Miss J got up at seven-thirty. 

They determined that they would groom and walk the dog after breakfast so that we would have more time for "projects." Miss J wanted to draw and Miss K wanted to sew. I don't have photos of Miss J sewing because while I was winding a bobbin for her, she was being a balancing maiden (imaginative play) and took a fall. She needed medical attention. So our Sunday session was shortened by a few hours. She let me know that she strained her wrist and would be okay in a couple of weeks. 

They both wanted to know when they could return for another sleepover. We have a date planned for next month!