Aug 5 - home not alone

Sandy went into Sudbury ... alone.  I stayed home ... not alone.

The girls and I had a great time.  We went boating twice, played on the beach, watched TV, walked around the yard (Zoe loves walking around), etcetera ... wait, how can etcetera not be in the google dictionary ?  If I want to spell it out, I should be able to ?

There's no level ground here and Zoe delights in walking up and down ... everything ... the slopes, the stairs, you name it.  She LOVES the life jacket because she knows that it means "outside"; same with the Crocs.  She was tired at dinner time and she wanted her Crocs on even though she was already wearing sandals. 

I kept her amused for a little while at dinner time with Cats playing on the outdoor speakers.  She danced, naturally.  Emma rode on the deck with the 3-wheeled plastic bike.  Earlier, Zoe had also ridden the bike, pushing with her feet of course; too short for the pedals.  She also rode the horse that she got for Christmas.

Emma has been a delight.  She's calm, focused, no acting out (or up).  Of course the environment can't get any calmer than this -- just the four of us.  Well, actually, Jason, Lo and Kim were here until late afternoon but they don't exactly provide stimulus.  Neither one has to compete for attention here. Neither one has asked for snacks, so no sugar spikes, which probably helps.

Sandy was back in time to say good-bye to Lo, who popped over.  Jason had visited earlier, as had Jim Matthews, on his way to Parry Sound.  Jim's seeming better but he's prone to losing his balance, still affected by the TIA. 

We spent some time at Jason's dock; they were swimming and Emma joined them, wearing her life jacket.  Zoe walked up and down the ramp to their dock :).

Abby went into the water every time Emma went in, making sure that she was ok ... "saving" her.  She got more swimming than she's had in the last couple of years -- that thyroid medicine has made her a new dog !

We collected acorns.  At one point Zoe fussed at the beach because of something and I distracted her by finding an acorn.  For the next 1/2 hour the three of us collected acorns. 

So ... the day was done.  Sandy and I had bass for dinner; the girls had already eaten. 

Today -- meet with Susan and Pat at Lost Channel Inn to prep for Friday's meeting and then, hopefully, go biking.

Onward !