A visitor

 Last weekend was a busy one, with an overnight visit from our six-year-old great niece, Miss V.

We always pack a lot of activities into her visits. This visit was no exception.

Soon after her arrival, she asked if she could "do that trick with the colors." I knew she meant the vinegar/baking soda/water/food coloring activity, so I promptly set it up for her. The most enjoyable part of this activity is playing in the colored water and mixing the various colors together to see what new colors she can create.

 Violet announced before she even got to our house that she hoped Uncle Ken would show her how to build a bird house. The two of them set to work on this project first thing the next morning. Or at least Uncle Ken set to work. That's Violet in the distance, sitting in the back seat of Uncle Ken's Model A. Violet's dad said this is Violet's version of "distance learning."

She did, however, get into the spirit of things once it was time to drive some nails. She'd been hoping to learn how to use a hammer to drive nails, and that dream became a reality.

I found it a tad anxiety-producing to have someone else in the house who enjoyed using my iPad. Ken never uses it, so it's all mine, all the time,...except, I now realize, when Violet visits.

We planted some seeds in egg shells, which Violet took home with her. I hope the cukes and basil sprout and she's able to grow them outside once the weather warms up.

Here Violet is strolling through my larger flower garden, which she calls the Fairy Garden, because she and I built a fairy house there last year. This past winter wasn't terribly kind to the fairy house, so Violet did some general maintenance work around it, hoping to lure the fairies back again.

Violet and I enjoyed a couple of walks in the woods. Violet loves nature, just as her mother does, and keeps an eye out for interesting sights. We think we spotted a tree stump where other fairies are living.

It was interesting to see, first-hand, how well Violet now reads. She's in first grade, after all, so she reads like there's no tomorrow. Late Saturday afternoon she said she'd run out of things to do, so I suggested she read to me while I knit.

And that she did.

In every position imaginable.



Just before she went back home Saturday, evening, I said, "Well, Violet. It's been a good visit."

She immediately corrected me: "It's been a GREAT visit," she said.