$1,000 REWARD!!!!!!

Not really.

But my Chacos, the shoes that I have worn since surgery on my left foot, the shoes that have prevented surgery on my right foot, that have just the perfect sponginess to support my foot, and that along with my Birkenstocks (stylish----c'est moi) have kept me comfortably shod all these years, they have

GONE MISSING !!!!!

Please, please come back...

Now logic is my middle name (not really---it's Louise), and logic tells me that shoes can't possibly disappear in one's own home. But I have looked everywhere (except where they are, obviously), and they are just flat-out missing. I grilled my recent houseguests: two daughters, four grandchildren, and I do mean GRILLED, until they almost r u n n  o f t, and they all denied having any involvement with the disappearance of my shoes.

Yes, I have other shoes.  Yes, I even have other Chacos, but these were my most recent purchase, and my favorite.

I may have to give up and go to the store for another pair, and then, I am sure, the missing shoes will show up.


***************

In other news, we all had a great time, in spite of the nearly constant rain.  It rained, sometimes ALL day, each and every day that they were all here. (It's raining now.) On Monday though, the rain held off  until later in the day, and my husband, daughters and grandchildren had a great time at Six Flags.  I, martyr that I am, stayed out of the heat and sun and off of the scary rides and made the aforementioned Ile Flottante. My husband is out of town every other week, so I rarely have guinea pigs diners I can experiment on cook for.  But in spite of being left behind, I had fun making dessert.

However, I need my grandchildren to answer for this affront:

WHY, oh WHY, are there goldfish left in this container? WHY didn't you eat them all?  Grandpa doesn't like them, so now it's left to me to finish them off.

Martyr, thy name is Knittergran.


UPDATE:  Chacos found!  Yay!

A Good Time Was Had By All

Well, by me. I like watching someone else work. And occasionally bossing someone else around.

We have a small pond, about 350 gallons, we think. DH put it in 15 years ago. Since that time we have gone through lots of fish, snails, and frogs. The frogs or toads, whatever they are, last the longest. But in those 15 years, we have never taken out all of the water, cleaned the pond, and put in new water. We relied on rain, chemicals (bad, bad, bad, I know) and occasional additions of fresh water to keep the whole thing going.

However, this year we couldn’t even see through the water to determine if we had any fish left after the visit from the heron. The water was pretty solidly green, and actually, pretty solid. Sort of thickish. A friend who has a pond told me that she removes the water, cleans the pond, and has new water put in, EVERY YEAR. (Really, she hires someone to do it. Cheater.) So yesterday, in frustration about the lack of clarity in the water, we went to the pond store to see what to do, assuming that they would have a chemical solution. Enzymes! Water-purifying magical elixirs!

Nope. Empty the pond. Clean it. Put new non-chlorinated water in it. Rats.

This is what followed. For about four hours:

Gross......

Kind of embarrassing, really. But in our defense, walking in the pond stirred up a lot of crud.

On the other hand, it was a gorgeous day.

Anyone know what this is?

Today, the pond is clean and beautiful. And we discovered that we have six fish.

Until the heron shows up, I suppose.