It's 7:41 p.m. and it Feels Like Midnight

I love having a foster grand baby, but I had forgotten how tiring it is to be at the beck and call of a nine month old. And call he does. J is very vocal, trying out new sounds -- and his latest favorite is a high pitched squeal that puts dolphins to shame.

He's a very happy baby and only cries when he's hungry, which is a good thing. He has a genuine Buddah belly and he giggles if you tickle his belly. We have been having fun giving him new foods to eat. So far, he likes beef stew, does not like canned peas and carrots. (I don't blame him, I hate canned peas myself.) The baby foods that comes in a squeeze pouch are weird combinations in my humble opinion, but he eats them.

J is a joy, but at 22.5 pounds, he is difficult for me to lift. And Mom shouldn't really lift him, but I did put him in her lap because he's a very good snuggler. I will miss them terribly when Emily and J go back to Massachusetts on Thursday.

Tonight we said goodbye to Deb and Paul because their return fight is at 5:45 a.m. tomorrow. I miss them already. Auntie Deb is wonderful with J and she couldn't resist buying him genuine boat shoes. Uncle Paul is a huge guy (he competes in Strong Man competitions and pulls trucks and can lift 400 pounds) and J loves him because Paul tosses him in the air. But also Paul lets J perch in the crook of his arm and they 'relax' together.
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So now it's tomorrow and Deb and Paul have been in the air for hours. It's a beautiful sunny day, predicted to go to 77 degrees. Mom's out, baby J is asleep and Emily is showering. Ah, a moment of peace and quiet! I am savoring it.

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Our next adventure will be to bring J to a park and see if he likes the baby swing. We already know he will love it because he loves 'riding' the swivel chair. We have given him two tastes of the pool, (It's heated to 86 degrees.) He loves to splash, splash, splash!

Edit -- days later. J loved the swing. We had fun in the well-appointed baby section at Demuth Park. We saw so many pickle ballers waiting for a court that I wondered if they were giving away crack.

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I just finished making online charitable donations -- it is Giving Tuesday, after all.

I'm feeling virtuous and stingy. Should I give more? Should I give to 10 charities instead of 4? Unfortunately, I like living well -- should I feel guilty?

I prefer to give my time as an "extra" but I have yet to find my niche in California. I think I'm going to have to look harder ...

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It's fun watching the hummingbirds outside of Mom's front door. She has put up a feeder with two pots of nectar. There is one male, however, who chases everyone away. I don't know why he can't figure out that there is plenty of nectar for all of them. As soon as it gets low, Mom replenishes it.

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So it's Saturday and Emily and J have been home since Thursday.  Sigh. The house is very quiet ...

Friday we had a luncheon and today we're waiting for the 1 p.m. reprise of the Met's Magic Flute (at the movies). Of course, we missed the time on the email and showed up for a 10 a.m. showing. That will teach me to read things more closely!

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The weather is still delightful for this New Englander. I was wearing a sleeveless shirt last night when we played pickle ball. Although, I have to say, it is a bit chilly in the mornings -- about 40 degrees. We did have a rain storm that was heavy for the desert but nothing like the downpour and flooding that Riverside County got.

And we were dismayed to hear of the Alaska earthquake. Mom thought she felt a tremor the other day -- I didn't -- but many of the paintings on the wall were askew. That's always the telltale sign of a bit of seismic activity.

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I have been using my new Chomebook successfully with Deb and Em's assistance. But using Google Docs in editing mode is totally new to me. Kate Flora has again entrusted me to edit one of her incipient books and I think I have to re-start and figure out the best way to use the editing part of Google Docs. I like the Office way of showing the edits. That way, she can zip right to anything that is highlighted. My excuse for not having progressed was having every waking moment take up by the baby. Now I have no excuse and need to wrestle that program to the ground. The reading/editing is a pleasure.

Cheers for now.