Bits & Pieces

To catch up with things in the Fixit household:

School is out. Cole graduated from high school, and Bella from fifth grade. Cole begins his college days and Bella is now a middle school student. Levi is going into the second grade. Unbelievable!
Noah’s Award Day was a good one for him. He won four out of the five scholastic awards. He had an average of 100 in all four. He is so smart, and he works really hard. Owen makes the A honor roll, too. We are so proud of all of our grandchildren.

Summer has arrived with a vengeance. It’s hotter than heck. We have had tons of rain; the lake levels are finally at full pool. The first tropical storm of the season dumped a bit of rain on us followed by another line of storms that brought rain and tornados.

Cole has started playing with his showcase baseball team. He had one tournament in Charleston last weekend, followed by a four-day one that began the next day in East Cobb, Georgia. Those people take their baseball seriously. Sometimes there are teams from the all over the US. East Cobb has to be one of the hottest, most humid places in the south. It was not pleasant. We didn’t go to Charleston. It’s just too far. We would have had to drive 4 hours one way and endure the heat there. I just can’t do that any more.

Noah and Owen are both on travel teams. Thank goodness, we don’t have to travel as far with them. They both have tournaments this weekend, but in different towns about 2 hours apart. Jason is coaching both their games. He’s going to be a busy guy.

After having the tube put in my ear, I developed another bad cold. I was afraid that it was going to cause a problem. I can still feel what seems like fluid in that ear. This morning I had a check-up and another hearing test. I was told that the tube is still in place and there is no sign of fluid build up. My hearing is almost back to normal except for a little loss that likely is caused by age. (Yeah, I really needed to be reminded that I’m no spring chicken any more.) She decided to leave the tube in for a while longer.

Having this cold has enabled me to laze about spend a fair amount of time recuperating. Since I ‘m not completely down and out, I’ve been reading a ton. I found a new series that I really enjoyed—the Bay  Tanner series by Kathryn R. Wall. I’ve read ten of them. There’s only one more to go; I have it on hold at the library. Her setting is Hilton Head, and she has mentioned the Upstate including our county. I like the characters very much and the writing is quite good.

William Kent Krueger, who writes the Cork O’Connor mystery/adventure series (another one of my favorites) has a new stand-alone out. It’s Ordinary Grace. It’s not exactly a coming-o -age book; it’s the story told from a 13 year-old boy who has to come to terms with loss. Mr. Krueger is a very good writer. I recommend this one.

My reading list also included a couple of cozies and a couple of romances. It’s always pleasant to read a nice little romance when your nose is runny, you throat is scratchy, and your cough just about rips your throat out.


(Cole’s graduation ceremony was held on the Clemson University campus in the Littlejohn Coliseum. I don’t have a picture of our other graduate. I tried to take pictures at her graduation, but they were too dark. I think my DIL may have a photo of her, but she’s been so busy with Cole’s travel, I don’t want to be a pest.)