Last week I wrote about my trip to Idaho to stay with my granddaughter Annika while her mother was out of town. 

I told about the “To Do” lists Annika printed, the trip to the bookstore, the silent reading and other pleasures.  Staying with Annika is easy!

Taking over for Debbie could be a daunting endeavor, though, if I tried to do a tiny percentage of what she does.

Here is a woman who can take out a wall—I have witnessed this.  She can cut a hole to bring light into a dark room—and have the new window installed before her husband gets home from work.  She can build, repair and design.

Shortly before my visit, Debbie removed the old shower stall from the guest bath and built a new shower stall--out of galvanized roofing, complete with sheet metal screws.

She constructed an angled shower rod out of pipe. She painted and built shelves. And she replaced the boring ceiling fixture with a recycled crystal-look chandelier. 

Some people with conventional tastes might not prefer that guest bath, but I do.  It deserves a spread in Country Living magazine.   

Speaking of country living, my son Brad and family chose to buy a property that would allow for owning some animals in addition to their dog and cat. 

To begin with, the property came with three barn cats, which needed to be immunized and such. (Most barn cats get rather casual care, I think, but not these. Two of them recently disappeared and were mourned as much as indoor pets.)

Debbie bought a batch of baby chicks, fuzzy yellow creatures, cheeping away in her craft room, voices audible throughout the house.

She read books about chickens, built a henhouse onto the old barn, installed perches, nests and a heat lamp. It didn’t seem long before she and Annika began gathering eggs every day.

Next she added a Tom turkey and his striking white-feathered wife.

These grew into extremely large—and sociable—birds. Debbie became quite attached to them, though Thanksgiving had factored in her original plan. Tom suddenly died one night. (That’s enough about the turkeys. Deb says never again.)

My daughter-in-law next focused on beekeeping.  She studied for some time before she purchased bees and is fascinated by the complexities of beekeeping.  This summer she anticipates the first honey.

Latest acquisition? River, the quarterhorse.  The next animal might be a companion goat for River.  Or sheep, for 4-H for Annika.  We’ll see! 

Of course, in between caring for animals, Deb gardens, growing everything from raspberries to corn to zucchini.

While Debbie was away, I put on her rubber garden clogs and trudged through the rain to feed the horse. 

In sunshine, I brushed him. 

I carried table scraps to the conversational hens and—usually with Annika-- fetched warm eggs from the nests. 

I hacked off rhubarb and baked a pie. I weeded along the barn and planted sunflower seeds along its side. 

I had a wonderful time, pretending. 
Then I welcomed my daughter-in-law home.