This Weekend

 The weather has been absolutely gorgeous! What a weekend! It was so beautiful today that Sergio and I opened up the garage and dragged the picnic table out into the driveway for today's gathering of my kids and grandchildren. (It's my birthday tomorrow...) The afternoon was filled with food, fun, and action. They are loud, they are crazy, and they are wild. They are also mostly boys. Ha! It was beautiful and I am blessed beyond measure.

Yesterday was also lovely. My friend Gail picked me up late in the morning and we drove toward Syracuse to take part in a Quarter Auction fundraiser. There were plenty of lovely things to bid on, and we bid on plenty, but the drawings for the winners were random and we didn't win a thing, Ha ha! It was still fun and I would definitely do it again.

Back to work tomorrow. I stocked up on Birthday Cake Oreos to bring in for a treat.  I'm still counting birthdays backward and I'm all the way down to 33 again! It's quite fabulous!!! 

Memorial Day Weekend 2020

Holiday weekends have become a bit complex over the past few years. I don't want to ignore the opportunity to gather family, and yet a gathering can feel daunting. There haven't been any major (or minor, that I can recall... ) confrontations lately and this weekend worked out beautifully.

Last night, Sunday, we had a small gathering and a small dinner followed by a bonfire in the backyard. There were some kid games too, along with a bit of chalk art on my dad's backyard chimney. Hed have a fit, but I know the rain will wash it away and the little ones are making memories. (Did I mention I started it?)

Today several of us met at a State Park along the shore of Lake Ontario. I was very careful of the sun while enjoying the kids on the beach, and then we had lunch... (Oops) Anyway, it was a gorgeous day.

Tonight, when the sun was hidden behind the house, I planted the rest of the marigolds and alyssum I bought at the garden store yesterday. 

August Picnic

The Cabinet Maker decided to have a gathering. His garden is lush, growing, and prolific. He's been roasting peppers and picking tomatoes, and he wanted to share. We used to have gatherings like this, but it's been a long time.

There was chicken on the grill. Special chicken, marinated Puerto Rico style by a friend who ended up having to work. There is nothing in the world quite like Filipe's chicken. We had fruit, and beans, and potato salad, and corn, and salsa... So much yummy stuff!

The kids ran wild and I didn't have to worry about it. I've even given up (mostly) trying to keep track of toys that get dragged out of the house and into the yard.

Five of our seven were present, seven of our ten grand- children, along with significant others and several friends. It was a good day. I tried not to be a nuisance with my camera, but you know I can't just not take pictures.

It was a good day. I will admit that I was a little concerned for a bit, but everything turned out very nice. I even brought home a bag of fruit salad for lunch this afternoon. Oh yeah! So yummy!

Baby Shower in the Park.

It was a baby shower in the park. We gathered yesterday and I learned firsthand that 1 pm in Mexican time means 2 pm, and there is no such thing as late. One sweet lady showed up with a gift 3-4 hours into the party and no one batted an eye.

There was lots of food. There were a few games. (We all took a guess at how big around the mommy to be was and ripped off a strip of crepe ribbon to show our guess. Hannah's sister in law cheated a little bit by hugging her middle, but nobody seemed to mind... ) There was conversation, most of it in Spanish :0), and some relaxation. There was swimming when a few boys decided to take off their shoes and jump in the lake. It was the perfect day for it.

And there were presents, lots of presents. Good thing for gift bags, and good thing for two parents to be to open them! Sergio and Hannah's baby is going to be very well dressed!

I finished one of my woodland animal paintings just before wrapping him up for the shower. It's been crazy busy and I got a late start on painting because my name is really Last-Minute-Martha. He turned out cute, I think, and will be kept company by a bear, a raccoon, and possibly a skunk, though the last animal is still up for debate.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Yesterday we went on an adventure to Sonnenberg Gardens. Jim and Michele with Austin, Beth and her three children, Hannah, and me. It was a hot, muggy afternoon. I took a ton of pictures which will likely show up here and there for the next several days.

Minnesota has been here since Saturday. It's been a busy week. They say time flies when you're having fun, and we've had a lot of that. Austin is at an especially cute age, old enough to understand a little bit better who we are, and little enough to be terribly cute and funny. I found myself smiling this morning when he looked down the stairs, saw Lucas, Simon, and Aubrey, and called out "Hi, cousins!"

Today was a stay at home day, but not necessarily more laid back. The three grands were here all day like usual. That always makes for some wild activity... I made a double batch of stuffed shells and meatballs this afternoon, and the entire gang returned for dinner, ice cream sundaes in honor of a little girl who turns five tomorrow, and a grand fireworks display when it got dark.

Lots of hugs, kisses, and goodbyes were said as family members left a few at a time. I felt myself get a little emotional when Austin hugged Aunt Bethany and Jilly-a-Baby, but my time to shed tears is not tonight. I can cry tomorrow when the car pulls away and heads off down the road, and then remember to be grateful for the time together and love we share.

Tomorrow I'll be pulling the house back together, putting things away, and feeling the silence settle in. I'll await a call from the agency I interviewed with on Monday, probably take a nap, and miss the hustle and bustle of the past few days. And I'll settle into whatever comes next. Maybe I'll even take a walk.

I have some great photos from our days together and plan to print up one of the "grandchildren" pictures from the 4th of July. I love those group photos and I'm glad there are cousins of all ages. It makes a great little group.

A Minnesota grandpa saw this picture yesterday and said, "I miss that little guy." I have to admit, there is a little piece of me that is jealous. I want more than a week with this small grandson, and then I recall that he is the only grandchild the other grandma and grandpa have (No wonder he is so special.) and I am happy all over again that he has Minnesota grandparents too.

"You Gotta have Pie on the 4th of July!"

It was a great party! For the first time since September we had all our offspring (and their second halves) in one place. The cousins had a wonderful time, the grown ups had a wonderful time, even the chickens had a wonderful time!

Looking for the cousins...

Fruit pies by Michele. Strawberry rhubarb, peach, and blueberry.

 Pie sampler, because, why not?

Something Naughty going on. (Photo courtesy of Priscilla, Michele, and Bethany. It was a group effort. See cat, figure out camera, take picture.)

Uncle Joe takes a nap in a spot of shady lawn.

Little flower. Austin calls her "Jilly-a-Baby."

Spencer still loves the chickens. He found it totally amusing that they were out of the cage.

All in one photo, Numbers Seven, One, Eight, Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six!

I thought Numbers Ten and Nine should get in on the fun too so we added Sabrina and Hannah.

Our own seven and their others. Ben and Joe decided they could be a couple too...

One with Mom and Dad

Sweet rewards. They were bribed with Freeze Pops to sit for a photo. I'd offered them bubble gum, but was told by a small girl that it had "dye and modified corn starch and that's like poison"... That's okay because I like bubble gum too.

My nephew Allen brought a slack line to walk on. I had to try. I got three steps in before falling off.

I heard Sergio did pretty good, even tried running across, but I must have been down by the chickens with Spencer.

Jake and Aubrey are best buddies. Kissin' cousins even.

So much fun watching everyone together. I just don't want it to be over. Maybe we can gather them up one more time before Minnesota packs up and heads home.

First a Party and Then Back to Work

It's a quiet morning. The sounds around me are the quiet, settled kind, a bird chirping outside, the tick of the wall clock, and a the low growl of a fan running in the upstairs bedroom. I can hardly believe we're all the way back around to Tuesday again. It's my long day of the week. Soon I'll be out the door...

Yesterday was a busy one. We cleaned the house, as much as is possible in the midst of kitchen renovation, set up the back porch, and had a picnic. Our friend Don came with his wife. He's been a longtime friend struggling with multiple health issues and had hoped to see our kids on his visit. He was not disappointed. We had six out of seven, plus seven grandchildren. I think it was a nice day even if it did go by in a blur. ha ha!

Our Minnesota son is in the hospital. He had a rough day Saturday and ended up at Urgent Care on Sunday morning thanks to the encouragement of my favorite daughter in law. Turns out he had a partially collapsed lung. The doctors inserted a tube to release the air that had collected around the outer area of the effected lung and are now looking into why this happened. It's hard to be seventeen hours away from your child, even a grown up one,when they are hurting. I am grateful to have Michele on the other end loving and taking care of that firstborn boy of mine. She is my hero today.

Splishin' and a Splashin"

One last shebang! (Don't think I believe that for a second.)

My sweet daughter called yesterday morning to see if her family might come over for dinner last night. I asked James what she was bringing for supper... :0)  Since we'd had a reduced  number of guests on Christmas Day, I'd made just one lasagna and still had most of the ingredients for a second. We decided to make it a small party (just 10 of us this time) and send out an invite or two.

We sat cozy-style with all of us around the dining room table, jostling elbows, each getting in other's space. Bethany brought salad and we cut up the loaf of Italian bread James picked up earlier in the day. I stirred up a boxed gingerbread mix and we topped it with whipped cream for dessert. It was perfect, even if I had intended to start the year gluten-free. (I'm starting over again today...)

After the presents had been presented, we decided to play the new Apples to Apples game James bought Hannah. It's a kid's Disney version that he thought she could play sometime with the kids at Sergio's house. We had seven adults playing along with Josh who happened to notice the box said it was for ages 7+. He did a good job and was quite pleased to play, especially when he chose Grandpa's answer (money) when it was his turn to be the judge for the word "useful." He got a high-five from Grandpa, and Grandpa got an award-winning smile from Josh.

The Christmas gatherings are now over and we are on to gatherings of another kind. My Daring is hoping for a Star Wars weekend and Joe is turning 27 on Sunday, so we'll see how it goes.

Christmas Party 2014

Saturday. It feels like Saturday, but then every day for the past week has felt pretty much like a Saturday. I've heard the expression "a week of Sundays" but never Saturdays... (or was that "a month of Sundays?" Whatever it was (or is) it seems like there have been an awful lot of them lately.)

Our Minnesota family has come and gone. Yesterday we had 27 in the house for our Christmas party gathering. It was a little bit crazy here!

I absolutely loved having my little grandson here to visit, along with his mommy and daddy. We were disappointed to have Bethany sick with the flu not only on Christmas day, but on our party day as well. With a 103 degree temperature the previous night, there was no way she was going to make it. We were thankful to bring her in on Skype (on my new laptop) along with Gramanita who came in on Skype from Nova Scotia, Canada on Jim's Mac. Perhaps I do love modern technology.

Several of us took a turn holding our newest baby. He was passed from family member to family member and although Spencer didn't appear to mind the transfers, another small child was not pleased at all to find a strange baby on his daddy's lap. He toddled around the end of the couch to find his daddy snuggling his little cousin and burst into tears.

Gramanita stayed with us (on Skype) for almost 3 hours, taking in conversations, watching our gift exchange, and visiting with various family members. She was even taking pictures on her end. Austin tried on a bag hat while she amused him with antics all her own on the other side of the computer screen. I'm told Austin enjoyed the entire conversation and I think she did too.



I was lucky enough to sneak in a little snuggle with my faraway grandson. He is a busy little guy with a grand repertoire of facial expressions and a thirst to explore. He prefers toys and books scattered across the floor rather than put neatly in their places. He doesn't sit still for more than five minutes, and prefers to keep his daddy within eye shot. He's adorable, funny, and super smart, just like all my other grandchildren. (I think I know who they take after.)

This holiday didn't find us taking the group photos we'd anticipated. We were missing an entire family due to illness and I didn't want another incomplete group photo. Instead I am looking forward to Jim and Michele's return trip when the weather warms up (providing it ever cools off....) and we can gather everyone for a grand reunion. I smiled to see my middle son willing to humor me (and his grandma) by throwing Gramanita a kiss before she signed off the computer for the evening. I'm pretty sure she was smiling too.
:0)