CALVIN CAR FEATURE, FAN SWEAT, & LEFTOVERS

2024, March sometime

Jessica has been helping the guys with cleaning their house.  She says she hasn't been given permission to clean Calvin's bedroom yet.  

I said you may not want to, I found a dead mouse in there once.

He said, "Yah.  You don't want to.  There was a dead mouse in my fan.  Ugh!  It was bad!"

" My fan was going," and he made circles in the  air, "and making this weird sound, and that wasn't rubber I was smelling!"

2024, Feb. 5, Monday

Calvin’s brother was telling a story and getting distracted by his phone before finishing it.

I can just hear Foghorn Leghorn saying,  “What’s it all about son, elucidate!”

Yet, Calvin had his own take,

 “I can sweat faster than you can talk.”

2022, Jan. 12, Wednesday

This is a funny from Calvin.  A woman in Indy rammed into his Silverado door.  

He's getting it fixed.  Rented a Camry in the meantime.  I asked how he liked driving a newer model car instead of an old truck, he said it has some good points but he didn't like being so low to the ground, then he said, “If I ever get a new car ... ” 

And here I began to think of the many new features like Jessica's backup lines on a cam dash, or self driving like Jeani’s new SUV, or the latest infotainment system.  But he said, "If I ever get a new car, it will have a butt warmer!"

2021, Aug. 13, Friday

A funny thing happened Friday while on the way.....I mean, while I was still upstairs.  I came down to find Calvin sitting on my couch finishing off leftovers.

 

"What are you doing here?"

"You texted me, and said "after groping for coffee in your fog, you can come for lunch."

I said, "Calvin, that was an old text.  That was Monday!"

We had a good laugh, filled him up, and sent him to work smiling.

GrammyPan 's Grand-kids (Clinton's)

Lilly and Jacob, Clinton's kids think they can.  They think they can ride horses and play a song on the harmonica at the same time.

  

They think they can play a game of chess.  Lilly has played one time with her mother standing over her shoulder, Jacob has never played.  Besides!  They're only 4 and 7 years old, but they think they can!

Master Jacob, 4 years old, while helping me and his sister make chocolate chip cookies, said, "Oh, you're good at baking, sissy. "

Miss Lilly conversationally, replied, "I learned at school and I do it on my computer.  I get to pick it on my own."  Interesting.

Jacob, as a toddler called me Ipad.  Then improved it to OilPan.  Lately, he calls me GrammyPan.  Note the N at the end.  Someday, some day, he'll get it right, LOL.  In the meantime, I'm just glad to be called.

Miss Lilly, now 7 years old in first grade, was here Sunday all afternoon with her family.  The grandkids always give me hugs and kisses on their way out the door.  This time, after Jacob gave me his, and then Miss Lilly shared hers, they ran down the deck and out about 15 paces.  Suddenly Lilly loudly said, "WAIT!" and bounced back to me saying, "Another huggy.  I just don't wanna leave you."

Oh, so sweet!  Smooch, smooch, hugs and squeezes!

They skipped back to the SUV, and bebopped into their car seats.  I waved goodbye with a grand smile.

My eyes caught movement under the big maple tree.

And the little wood swing swings.

OmmyBomb's Grand-girls (Rusty's)

First pic below is Ainsley opening a Christmas gift at Clint and Jessica's house, it's 2023.

Ainsley, who's only 2, and is slight as a feather, and she's so sweet and quiet you can hardly hear her.  But instead of GrammyPam, she calls me, "OmmyBomb".   

                     

Noelle is chewing on gummy noses, ears, and teeth in the pic above.  She's laughing because she's got vampire teeth between her lips

Noelle asked me, "Come here," and leads me from the kitchen through the family room..  Turns out she wanted to clarify who's who in the hallway of pictures.  

And, boy, does she get it right, "Is that grandpa John when he was a teenager?"  

She points to a black and white photo of a girl toddler sitting at the table looking at her birthday cake with one lit candle.

"And that's you when you were one years old?" 

And the grandkids love the collage of each of them sitting on grandpa's lap reading them a story book.  Sweet!

Alayna knew we were coming that December afternoon in 2021 when we dropped off a couple of bags of stuff for Rusty and Amanda.   The kids were like little blitz of sparking energy!  

But Alayna had to put on her candy cane striped dress to show off to GrammyPam, her mother said.  It was one we'd purchased for her.  Her dark looks complimented the dress, so Christmassy!

I pulled suckers out of my pocket to pass around and bribed them into sitting next to me.  Of course, they loved it.  Then...they got excited, restless, and we had to do some escaping spider tickles.   You know what that is, right?  The hands come out with wiggling fingers and start heading towards any child, LOL, and creates laughing fits.

Noelle mosied off to play alone, but after awhile I heard a little girl's 2 y.o. voice call, "Gramm-ee Pa-am, come play."  Absolutely, of course, we played Peppa Pig and Moo Cow, LOL.

Now, it's Christmas 2023.  Alayna came up to me, head titled up my way, and announced, "I have 3 loose teeth."  and she points to a vacant spot in her row of teeth, "and one is missing."  

Typical, she's the right age.  I smile.  She continues, proudly with a big grin.

"I shot it out with a nerf gun."

Jayden With Child-like Bravado

When Jayden first came around at age 3, he couldn't say his name.  He'd make a fist, thump his chest lightly and say, "Abate!"  Ever since then his uncle calls him Abate, and that explains the photo above.

Made a sling-shot with Jayden, after walking around barn lot looking for other stuff

...John said, "Look, there's a robin.  Don't be shooting a robin.  God made him."

...Quick witted Jayden said, "For me to EAT!"  and we all laughed.

Here's Sunday

Got Jayden up

Fixed him eggs and sausages and he said, "Why am I eating a baby bird!"  and giggled

Packed him snacks for church, "You want 2 or 3 graham crackers?"  

...I want 10

...No, you want 2?  or I can add more?

...He looks at his hands under the table, I can see the brain synopsis firing, and he comes up with, "7 more, please."  

...He's doing math on me, the little scamp!!!

Jayden in 2nd grade with Child Bravado

Lilly:  Jayden, did you know flowers have roots?

Jayden:  I know everything.

GrammyPam:  What's 1 + 1

Jayden:  2

GrammyPam:  What's 1 + 1 x 2

Jayden:  4

Jayden:  What's 100 x 5

GrammyPam:  500

Jayden:  Easy.  Numbers are easy for me.

Jayden in 3rd grade

Talking to Alayna:  Tic Tac Toe, I always win.  I am the master

.....When I looked in the mirror

When I looked in a mirror there was a wild black hair proudly standing out of the crowd just under the left of my chin!

"What are you doing there?"  I asked it, "I could use you in my receding hairline!"

And that yellow head, "When did you fester?  I haven't had zits since I was dreaming of my first kiss."

Wrinkles, durned if wrinkles haven't come to perch like crow's feet.  Add bunny lines, cobblestone chin, dimples that aren't dimples, and laugh lines hanging about even though I'm not laughing.  And, I'm not.  

"I want to know," I addressed the face in the mirror, 

"When did I give you permission to do that?"

It didn't answer back.  The eyes rolled at me, exasperated.

"Well, you can roll your eyes at me if you want, but I remember that first date --zits & kiss & all!"

"Let's see..."  and I put my fingr to my chin, "What was his name?' I asked the face in the mirror, " Oh, yes, that was the other John.  He wrote me poems and letters and drew me pictures of Snoopy.  Even decorated my notebook with little puffy love art.  It was all the rage back then, you know, the puffy, cloud-like, pillow way of writing love, and kiss, and girly figure measurements."

"He liked my measurements.  Go ahead, twinkle with all-knowing eyes, it was flattering & fun."  I pursed kissy lips at the mirror.

"Did you know I promised him a kiss?  Yep.  It was a dare.  If he made an A on a test, I'd give him a kiss."

The Rainbow Roller Skating Rink is long gone, along with those bushes behind the stone wall.  Mom and Dad parked out front, 2 spaces right.  We secreted away easy enough.  

I looked back in the mirror.  The eyes were rolling again. 

"Well, what was a girl supposed to do!  He made an A!  Of course, I kissed him!"

JACOB A NAP? LILLY NO DIRT!

Yay, I got to have Miss Lilly and Master Jacob ride in the back seat of my pick-up as we drove from Bird's Smokehouse BBQ to my house.  Since it was a little warmer outside than usual, while we were moving slow, navigating the exit and the stoplight, I let them keep their windows down, but as we got out onto the highway I thought it too much wind so rolled the windows up.

"Huh?"

They looked around the window and at the door buttons.  Neither knew I could control the windows and lock them into place from my seat behind the wheel.

It was warm in the truck and their chatter was dying down, and Jacob looked decidedly sleepy.  As we were nearing closer to home, I cautioned them, "When we get to GrammyPam's, your Dad, his brothers and I are going to talk business around the kitchen table.  You two can go play, or you can go on the couch, or the living room carpet, or the back bedroom and take a nap in the sunshine."

4 year old Jacob immediately sat up, bugged his eyes and let out a loud, "WHA-A-A-T!"

***

For background you should know Miss Lilly and Master Jacob's grandfather is a big-wig at a company that is a leading provider in 6 states of aggregate, asphalt, and concrete.  

Also, for background it's good to know we had a trench going from the electrical ground box on the east of our driveway to our barn on the west of our driveway to lay new electrical lines for the barn to have it's own meter.  To fill in the trench my guys dumped a fresh layer of topsoil on it.   So its about 2.5 feet wide and 100 feet long and makes a great road for toy vehicles!   

Today, the Cozy Coups traveled that trench.  Lilly's Cozy Coup had a stuffed giraffe as passenger.

As I passed through, walking to the big black truck to talk to their dad, Miss Lilly's voice caught my attention.  I turned back to see what she was doing and about what she was talking.  I saw her holding the giraffe using it like a puppet, she shook its head making its eyes look down.  His nose was pointed to the dirt road.  She was stern in her admonition, "THAT should be concrete!"