Returning to Normal

So I finally made it to Friday and my life is beginning to return to normal. That means that all of my family is back where they belong-probably won't be for long with my "love of travel" gang but for now Nana is happy. I won't go into the travel nightmares daughter #3 and her family had trying to get to New London, CT to get grandson #1 settled into his new life at the Coast Guard Academy. Flights were cancelled going up that required leaving from a different city on a different day-luckily daughter #1 lives in St. Pete so they were able to spend the night there before finally getting out of Tampa the next day. And then, two different flights were cancelled coming home with no new flights in immediate scheduling so they ended up driving from CT to FL. If my daughter didn't have a "new home" complete installation that she had to do, they would have gone with the flow and added an extended vacay but, unfortunately, she didn't have that option...and, it was a LONG day for everyone-those actually in the car and those of us at home worrying about their travel safety.

In any case, my grandson is at school. He is now considered a "swab" and can have no contact with the family for about 7 weeks. The Coast Guard does go to great lengths to take LOTS of pictures every day and post them every night so you can at least see what the kids are doing and that they are OK. I think the hardest part is not being able to talk to him...or at least text...but, we'll live through it and he has a world of adventures at his fingertips so, it's all good!

In any case, all of that going on and then waiting to get my car in for a new timing belt has kept me at odds most of the week. I know...because my kids have told me more than enough times...that worrying does nothing but disrupt my life. I KNOW that but, I learned from the world's BEST worrier (my mom) and there is truly nothing I can do to talk myself out of it. And so, the last week has been full of just silly little things to try to distract me for a bit. Luckily, I had my grand dog here with me so there was a little bit of company but, the days were long. I was constantly looking for craft ideas to keep me busy. And, since the 4th is almost upon us, I looked for ideas for my next decor which will be sun flowers. Believe me when I say, there truly are just so many sunflowers one can have in their decor...and after perusing last year's decor, I may have hit the limit. Lol But, I didn't have a Mason jar craft so why not? I actually just did this one at my desk. It is nothing special but I think it might be nice with some fresh flowers in it or maybe a few faux sunflowers as long as I don't have to buy more-there is truly NO more room to store even one more!

I didn't have any sunflower color paint so I mixed a little mustard with bright yellow and I think it works.

It took two coats and then I sanded off the raised parts of the jar.

Then, I sprayed it with a coat of matter sealer before wiping on some antique wax .

I finished it with a few wraps of twine and a bow. It looks a little sad right now but, it will look better when it has some flowers and, it's really all I have to offer. Lol

My car is in the shop and it looks like it will take awhile so, with the holiday next week, they aren't sure when it will be done so they told me to go ahead with my trip to St. Pete and they would hold on to it if it got done early! And so, I am off with my brother and sister-in-law in the morning to visit daughter #1 for 4-5 days. She just got her pool finished and the yard totally landscaped so I am anxious to see the results of many, many months of "construction" down there. Not sure how many more of the family may find their way there but it is always fun with this gang so I'm looking forward to it!

I will be MIA for a bit but I'll have lots of things to share when I return. I hope everyone has a happy 4th of July...stay safe and stay tuned.

I have to add a few pictures for the record. From the night before they hit campus, to their meetings with both the lacrosse and football teams to drop off and then the 15 minutes they got to spend with him after his swearing in. Be still my heart! I love this kid so much!

Now it's getting real!

And off he goes! Sniff, sniff!