I enjoy Rob Walker’s blog. His book “The Art of Noticing” is excellent.

I especially enjoyed today’s piece.

Not good. And it’s only going to get worse, kids.

Everly asked me if I ever had hair. It started me on a historical journey with her.

My little wolf cub!

Under my watchful eye.

Un poco mas cada dia.

It was so hot today. The humidity was killer.

It felt like way over 100 degrees.

OYB!

Mas palabras!

She has a few dolls.

Mas.

I finished all the stories on Duolingo. Over 350. Hours and hours worth.

I trimmed Everly’s fingernails. I’m super careful not to hurt her, but I usually have to bribe her with a little bit of chocolate to get her to sit for me.

She’s delighted to have it done.

We had fun with these big gloves.

I found a little paint in her hair from her helping her mom with some flooring.

Working with Penelope on sight words. I talked to a couple of families about helping their kindergarteners get a handle on this. This is the Pre-K list.

And the list for kindergarteners.

The girls had fun with sidewalk chalk.

Big smiling fish and a dinosaur.

What will it take to make us learn? So busy trying to make more money! The planet is fighting back.

Always great to see this!

Interesante!

OYB!

Mas y mas.

Guitar fretboard

I use the keyboard on my iPhone app Garage Band a lot.

I’m trying to learn all the intervals with songs that I know.

I went to Hibachi Grill this morning to meet with my buddy Chester from One Heart Church. He’s always a blessing to me.

While I was there, I noticed Sur 13 gang tagging. Hadn’t seen stuff like that in a while. Hate to think they’re back in the area.

Mas Harry! A veces entiendo casi todas las palabras.

After my meeting with Chester, I went to Evergreen to spend some time in the hot tub. My back is still hurting but it’s definitely better. It was pretty bad yesterday.

The water was pretty hot and I set the jets to massage my back muscles.

There is a Jewish conference coming to the hotel tomorrow.

I’m learning the keyboard, the intervals and scales. It reminds me of Spanish. SO much to learn. But I’m making progress.

Ordered groceries.

Transported squirrel #194 this evening. It’s never ending, really. I have no idea how many make it back to my house.

Good rest day for healing.

This is the second day that my back has been hurt. Usually, when something comes on like this it’s ok about the fourth day. Hope so! I tried to rest a lot.

I thought this was a pretty cool tradition.

We used to have these in Madagascar.

I’m a little surprised this is happening with the USA’s current situation.

This is one of my favorite shows en Español. I watched a couple of episodes today.

Palabras!

OYB!

Un mas dia.

I always like to see this.

I got a call from a guy named Omar with a 718 area code. NYC! I’m still not sure where I know him from.

I had a good talk with my Mom today. Lots to chat about especially Penelope and her first week at school.

Ordered groceries and picked them up this evening.

Working on ear training. It’s hard, like any skill that’s worth pursuing.

I had a few things that we left off the list, like bread! I’ll pick that up tomorrow.

Ralph Waldo!

I’ve been studying a lot with a teacher on line named Rick Beato. He has his office in Lawrenceville.

So true for me.

Español, SI!

Added some caulk around the sink.

OYB!

Nuevas palabras.

Cool tiny spider with blue legs.

Picked up my comforter from the cleaner. It’s actually my back-up comforter now.

Recorded a new edition of Verbal Surgery called, “More Storage.” It’ll release this week.

Deposited checks.

Started Book Three.

Rain storms blew in today.

Cashew Tofu.

I’m always happiest when I’m studying something new. I’ve been working on Music Theory. Part of that is Ear Training, which I’m focused on now. I’ve been playing and singing all my life, but this interval training recognition is pretty hard.

My musical aptitude is very good.

There is SO much to learn and it takes time. I always compare language to music. You have to get a feel for what’s right, but you also have to KNOW when it’s right. The course I’m taking now has lots of practice exercises with the different intervals, which is the core of music.

Harmonic means the two notes are played together as opposed to Melodic where one note is played and then the other.

Ordered groceries.

Wow!

One of my heroes!

Dali is one of my favorite artists.

Ashley wanted to know what desk and chairs I had. I think she decided on getting a couch with a table in front for Penelope to sit on.

Español!

Dawn!

Love my girls! Ashley always beats me to Global Mall now because she drops off Penelope so early from school.

I saw these chihuahua puppies and had to stop and see them. Everly didn’t like them slobbering on her.

I thought these geese heads in the tall grass were cool.

I always offer fruit or smoothies to Everly. These were frozen so they were like Popsicles.

OYB!

Algo nuevo.

Redid the bird feeders and baths.

Cleaned the outside rug. Keeps me from tracking stuff inside.

Necesito continuar.

I gave Everly my jacket and a towel to use as a pillow.

Saw some words in English I wasn’t absolutely positive I knew. I would’ve gotten pretty close.

I picked up Penelope from school. The headphones Ashley had ordered hadn’t come in yet. I found some for her at Walmart.

I got Everly a couple of little things too.

Went by my office to check the mail.

Escuché Harry y Radio Garden de Madrid.

Penelope’s headphones had come in by the time I got home.

Transported a squirrel.

I had to download book number three in the Potter series.

Gassed up my car and checked the fluids.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery called “Is It New?” So good!

This sounds bad.

Mas Español.

Always great to see my girls!

OYB!

Palabra!

Made smoothies with Ka’chava and bananas this morning for Everly and me. Made a little extra for K. It tastes so good it’s hard to believe how good it is for you.

Everly putting a cast on the little dog’s ear.

Pop Pop school. Everything Everly draws I show her how she could make letters with it. Then I overwhelm her with enthusiastic praise. She copies the up and down motions as best she can.

My fasciata plant continues to bloom. So beautiful. I have eight of these plants. They were all blooming when I bought them (over the last ten years). This is only the second time one has bloomed again.

After we did our studies, Everly and I went to Evergreen to go swimming. She loves this escalator. I don’t take pictures when I’m around the water watching her. Not good for her nor the camera/iPhone.

She swam across that pool for over an hour solid. She was tired after that.

We went straight from the pool to Chamblee to get in line to wait for Penelope. I tried to make her more comfortable and ended up waking her up. I’m still figuring out how best to do it.

We played together for over an hour till school let out.

Never too much Penelope.

We went to Plaza Fiesta to eat hamburgers. I had huevos rancheros.

Then for frozen yogurt.

I thought this was interesting.

Estoy cerca de la ultimo del libro.

It seemed pretty hot.

I took the girls home and played hide and seek with Everly while Penelope chilled with Scooby Do.

I went by my office to pick up checks then deposited them on the way home.

I spend nearly an hour debriefing Kathy on what happened with the girls when I get home.

Wow!

Huh.

Preach.

Beautiful sunrise clouds.

I love reflection shots.

And shooting through branches shots.

Sweeties!

Everly and I went on a nature walk. I used my Seek app to try and determine what plant this was. It gave me a very non-specific answer.

Same for this.

I thought this scratch mark looked 3D.

Español!

Adelante!

As we start our new school year together, I’m focusing on Everly’s writing and letter recognition.

We were studying at Waffle House.

I love this song.

Our new neighbors have a dog. We kept peeking at it.

Deposited checks.

OYB!

Nuevas palabras.

More letter practice. We each have a dry erase board. The game is called, “Copy Pop Pop.”

More letter recognition and sounds. Earlier that morning I kept pointing out the NO Parking signage.

Everly has a good eye and pointed out this caterpillar to me.

I’m also teaching her to ride her bike. She practices balancing as she goes down a small hill.

She fixes me dessert. This was lime/strawberry.

We had a little picnic as we waited to pick up Penelope from school.

Long line of car riders!

I distributed school supplies to the kids at Azalea. We’ll start the after school program next week. They still aren’t getting any homework.

The grandgirls spent so much time at my house that their friends at Azalea thought they might have moved. It was sweet to see them together again.

Went by the church to check the mail, but they were having services so I decide to wait until tomorrow to get it.

Never seen this before.

It was cooler today.

Harry!

The start of a new week working with the girls. Except this was the beginning of a new year for just Everly and me. Seeing that we pick up Penelope around 2:30 PM, I still get to hang with them both for a good bit of time.

Sure do love these girls!

Don’t remember any meat legends per se.

Huh.

Everly and I were working on recognition of letters, E and e in particular on the signs around a shopping mall. While there, we saw this Imperial Moth. Fabulous.

I’m interested in stuff like this. My English friend Anthony said this is not in standard usage today.

Muchos dias en Español!

OYB!

Scratch!

Everly and I made banana smoothies with Ka’chava this morning.

This was an ice cream lollypop.

She cleaned up and organized her work station.

Mas y mas.

I’m having her practice drawing and manipulating the markers.

This is me.

There are 88 sets of stories on Duolingo. Most of them have four stories each. I finished them all this morning. Although Duolingo just added some intermediate stories recently that I’ll go back and do starting tomorrow.

I trimmed Everly’s bangs this morning. I’m definitely getting better at it.

Filled out my mileage report.

Everly and I ate lunch at the Buford Highway Farmers Market, then went to Huntley Hills Elementary School to pick up Penelope. It was my first day to do that job. I was there about an hour early.

We joke around a lot. I told her this was my new hat. Not sure where she got it from.

We were SO GLAD to have Penelope back with us!

Everly just hugged and hugged her. They stood like that at least two minutes. It was so touching. I felt the same way. She’s one of my best friends.

I brought her food back from our outing. She devoured her mac and cheese in particular. Her class eats lunch at 10:30 AM!

I was in Ashley’s bedroom and the fan didn’t seem to be blowing any air. It was so dirty that the air couldn’t get through it. I took it completely apart and cleaned it in the bathtub. It blasts air now. Amen.

Of course I got the bathtub filthy when I did that. Then had to clean the tub. It didn’t drain very well so I plunged it and pulled out gobs of hair. Pretty gross, but needed doing.

Did some research then ordered this on Amazon. I’ll work on getting the drains working in a couple of days.

I had a call from Chester of One Heart Church who wanted to meet up. I suggested this place. It’s very good, even for vegetarians.

While I was at Azalea, I talked to some of the kids as to when their bus got back home and when their homework would really start. They get there around 2:45 PM. I’ll probably start helping the kids around 3:00 PM to give them a chance to get a bite to eat and let me feed my kids. Also talked about distributing school supplies. I’ll probably do that for several days. They always need stuff.

Escuché Harry.

Gassed up my car and checked fluid levels.

Stopped by my treasurer’s house to drop off the financial report that Ashley compiles.

Viktor Frankl is a powerful author!

I didn’t sleep well last night. I was concerned about Penelope’s first day at Kindergarten! I assumed she’d do well and she did!

Doesn’t this seem like a lot for kids in Kindergarten?

Good one.

I had a great talk with my buddy Austin about bringing a team of Middle Schoolers in the Spring. Excellent.

This cracks me up.

I had another team call to cancel for a team coming in a couple of weeks from Alabama. Covid concerns.

Ordered groceries.

I picked them up this evening. They put in some extra stuff that I took back and didn’t have some things I really needed. I went into the store to get what I needed, but the place was packed and eventually I blew it off.

Cooler day today and for this coming week.

OYB!

Amen.

Español!

Cleaned and refilled the hummingbird feeders and bird baths.

I cut this sticker vine off my fence. While I was doing it, I noticed that the wisteria had reached across and was on my fence too, which I was fine with.

Harry! Si!

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery called “Strong Love!” ” It’s one of my best!

I saw this and had to ask my buddy Anthony who is British what it meant. He said “Eh up” can mean a lot of different things depending on the tone. In this one he said it meant, “Check it out.” England is a beautiful country. Way more than just London!

Anthony is my best friend. I let him know about Penelope starting school.

I like this concept. I got this from the Cool Tools newsletter.

I’m a big Bruce Lee and Yip Man fan.

I thought this was funny.

This also appeals to me.

Palabra interesante.

I cleaned my bedding this afternoon. Everything is fresh including my comforter. Amen.

OYB!

I’ve probably bought at least ten pairs of toenail clippers. These are by far the best. I trimmed K’s toenails this morning.

Cada dia.

Had a fun chat with my buddy Anthony and with my Mom.

Harry otra vez.

Definitely cooler today and looks like for this coming week. Amen.

I helped Kathy order some new shoes. I think she’ll really like them.

Since it was cooler today, I waited until after 7:00 PM to do some mowing.

Turned out I was able to do the whole yard because most of the back yard didn’t really need mowing. My lawn mower ran super rough. Smoothed out at the very end. I’m sure it’s fouling the spark plug.

Finished with blowing.