Four is a great age to be.
You’ve seen her pop bubble wrap. Eat cake. Pose with Murphy the Airedale. Run with her siblings across the lawn, carrying an Easter basket or a doll, wearing a red hat. Gardening!
It’s been a fast four years!
And the most recent shot below
Sunday morning. Breakfast at Joan’s. A cadre of colorful windup toys in her kitchen… I asked if I could photograph them. I can’t remember a specific windup toy I had as a child but these all felt familiar and provided a relaxing and fun time as she wound them up and they executed their motion while I tried to photograph them.
Guess they are making a big comeback. I am going to get some for me the grandkids so I they can play with these adorable windup toys.
Last week when I was in Columbus visiting the family, I noticed my youngest granddaughter Maura’s baby dolls all lined up on the ottoman in the family room.
There wasn’t much available light and the auto flash went off on the iPhone as I shot the picture.
It wasn’t until I looked on the screen, that I noticed the middle doll’s expression on her face! I ‘d just been trying to capture the tidy line-up of little doll bodies. 
And Maura is taking good notes!
Lots of people enjoy the satisfaction of popping bubble wrap. Even the virtual kind. On one listing for a computer game it’s called the ultimate time waster. There are apps with popping bubble wrap games. Some people find it a stress reliever and like hearing the pop. Lately I have been receiving packages with a different kind of plastic with air trapped inside and they aren’t nearly as fun, just half heartedly filled with air and don’t make a good POP! More of a fizzle.
You don’t have to explain the rules to this activity. Here’s Maura on Aunt Linda’s back porch, concentrating on the task. A detailed post of various methods of popping bubble wrap has been published over at 1000 Awesome Things( #840) so check it out here. There’s a photo of someone jumping on a big sheet of it! And there are various size bubbles.
Maura was popping the bubbles one at a time and it was fascinating to watch her take her time. It seems a skill that’s a natural one. Pick it up. Squeeze. Pop!
and Jack has found another use for bubble wrap
Seven years ago I was in Florida watching Anna while Erika and Mark went to the hospital. Happy Birthday Michael Joseph! He just lost his first tooth and is starting First Grade on Wednesday so your last day of summer vacation you don’t have to go to school. Bet you’ll find time to build something with your new Star Wars Lego today.
Blogging from Aunt Mary’s computer in NYC at 3 AM so when you wake up you can see your birthday post. Love, FF Ruthie
On the left, lounging at the beach in Bibione, Italy as a toddler.
Center- A baby blessing/birth stats I cross stitched in 1983. The town is spelled incorrectly- missing the first C- Eschenbach!
Photo on the right and below as a bride are from 6 months after the wedding in Columbus OH with husband James.
This is what the sky looked like as we made our way down the midway to the van.
Then the rain started. We’d been at the Ohio State Fair about two hours. The photos are not enhanced, that’s the color of the sky!
A deluge. The view from the van shows the lightning. Shortly after four in the afternoon. It got dark as night. When we got home, the power was out so we
went to eat dinner at House of Japan. Thanks to the Kroger booth people at the fair for sheltering me and the kids while Erika ran and got the van and the nice State Trooper who guided us to the van as the wind blew and the rain fell. No hail today, thank goodness. We got pretty wet and it came up fast but all is well.
The first photo of the fair is a small combo at the entrance gate playing Life is a Cabaret. They were good musicians and set the mood.
As we listened to the music we saw this gentleman approach the exit.
His name is John and he blew an eleven inch bubble to win the bubble gum machine and the trophy. He was a good sport and allowed me to photograph him.
The nice woman with the mini-dachshund, Pickle ( 1 yr), let the children pet the sheep and Michael had fun feeding one. Thanks Carrie.
William , originally from Wheeling, was one of the men running the Model Railroad display.
And that is Dave in the PETA shirt in the Sheep Pavilion.
I asked one of the men how they judge the sheep in the competition. He said, they’re choosing the ones who will look best on the table. Some of you know that two out of my three kids are veg, but the one said to me, “Ma, ask that man if you can photograph his shirt!”
Thanks for graciously allowing me to post your photos on the blog today. It was good to talk with everyone we met.
I wanted to use the word cul-de-sac on the blog ever since I’ve been visiting the family. Just don’t write or use that word in my daily life in the city. Nice for safe bike riding after supper.
Three out of four took a break to greet the neighbor’s lovely dog, Misty. We sat in the driveway and watched until the sun went down and it was time to come in and get ready for bed. Although it was a hot day, the evening temp dropped and it was a perfect summer evening.
A busy picture. So busy I –
transformed it to black and white due to the wild colors, stripes, patterns and conflicting light. Caught with the iPhone without a flash, just a snippet of the fun I enjoy with the grandchildren when I visit. Now the boys say they want a campout with grandma but I think it is my iPod touch they want to use to watch a cartoon. We’re in the basement guest room. Maura(3) looks around and says,”There are no windows.” That’s true, not in this room. Hope no one wakes up at 3 AM and is missing his or her own bed.
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