House Guests

Sarah and the boys flew out this morning after a two week visit. Alex got to go birding, David celebrated his 4th birthday (a little early) and Tom -Tom learned how to say Grandma! It comes out Gra-Mum! I love it!

But not only did I get to wake up to three happy, little boys every morning for two weeks, Sarah was excellent at managing the daily clutter. And before she left, she vacuumed my house, swept the kitchen, washed the dirty towels, filled my car with gas, vacuumed it out and took it through the car wash. She even washed the car windows :)

All I had to do after they left was replace all my knick-knacks that were moved out of Thomas' reach and wash the sheets on their beds. What fabulous guests!

It's quiet around here today and I miss them already. I cried on the way home from the airport and Stella's laying at the top of the steps in hopes that one of them will be coming upstairs soon.

I Love You, Grandma!

My Grandma has been my very best friend my entire life. As a toddler, I'd climb onto to her lap and say, "Hold your baby." I was her baby from then on. Her pet. She took me to visit her mother and sisters every chance she got and I have wonderful memories of those weekends.

After I got married and had kids, she transfered the "pet status" to Sarah.

She moved into my house and helped me raise my kids when I was hospitalized during their growing up years. She stayed for months at a time sometimes and was indispensible to our family. We all loved her very much.

After my girls had kids, the "pet satus" once again changed and Gage was the lucky one. How she loved it when he came to the nursing home to visit and would crawl in bed with her to snuggle.

Growing up I always told her she had to live to be one hundred and when she did, she laughed and told me she had kept up her end of the bargain.

Sadly, we lost her last Friday at the age of 102. I take comfort in the fact that I got to spend the afternoon cuddling her and telling her I loved her. She opened her eyes at one point and I saw a flash of recognition. I know without a doubt she knew I was there.

The only good thing is that Sarah was here visiting when she died and was able to change her airline tickets so that she and her boys could attend the memorial service yesterday. Did Grandma wait to die so that she could see Sarah one more time? I'd like to think so because after all, Sarah was one of her "pets."

Not many people can say they had a Grandma for 57 years and even fewer can say they had a Grandma that was as wonderful as mine. I'm really going to miss that special lady!

P.S. The picture was taken on July 4th of this year. Wasn't she beautiful?

Running

Had to run out to the Green Thumb for tomatoes, drive out to Allison's and deliver some pills, pick up cards at the Hallmark store, pick up a gift card, get my oil changed, stop at the post office, stop at the credit union and pick up groceries before I could come home and spend two hours in the kitchen.
I've got groceries put away, fruits all washed, fresh salsa made and a chicken prepped and marinating in the frig for tomorrow night's supper.
I'm going to go to a class reunion planning meeting tonight and then head over to the airport to pick Sarah and the boys up at 10PM.
The next two weeks will be full throttle.
I can't wait and I think I'm really glad tonight's meeting is at a bar ;)

The Lull Before The Storm

The Rockfest was a blast and I'll give the best band award to Blood Sweat and Tears for their fantastic horn section! Camping was fun but the highlight of the Rockfest for me was getting to bungee jump for the first time. I've always wanted to but never had anyone to do it with. Apparently Cindy's husband Ray had always wanted to also but could never find a willing partner. So we hooked up and took the plunge! What a RUSH!!!!!!
Now I can cross one more thing off my bucket list :)

Today I am resting. Sarah and the boys will be here tomorrow night for two weeks. Like I said, today I am resting! :)

Stella News

My sister Mary taught Stella how to shake hands while she was here.
I'm thinking of inviting her back so she'll teach her to roll over :)

Getting Ready

Well, Mary left after a fun packed weekend with family so this week, I'm getting ready to go camping with friends.

We're planning to go to Thunder Mountain Rockfest to see Foghat, The Guess Who, Blood, Sweat and Tears with Chuck Negron from Three Dog Night, Survivor and Night Ranger.
It's being held in a field a few miles from my friend Cindy's farm. A few of us are parking campers at Cindy's and plan to party the weekend away just like we did in the old days :)

My brother Joe pulled their 28 foot fully loaded camper out there for my enjoyment :) Man, I love having a nice brother!

Today I'm going on a hunt and gather excursion to pick up everything I need to bring along.