The Knight is always darkest...

before the movie is over?

I saw Dark Knight this afternoon! What a good movie! It was very long, but it didn't feel very long.

I read somewhere that Heath Ledger had trouble sleeping after he made this movie. Oh really? Sheesh! I had trouble sleeping after SEEING it. I can't imagine what Heath Ledger took home with him every knight (oh... clever, eh?). If he doesn't get some kind of award for this movie, I'll be surprisedl

This was VERY dark! I wasn't expecting the Sound of Music, but this was REALLY dark! The Joker was a very scary character.

I'll tell you what I didn't like, though. I didn't like that phony, raspy voice for Batman (or THE Batman, as they referred to him in the movie). The timber was bad enough, but who told him that he wasn't allowed to move his mouth when he talked? It wasn't me - I promise!

Should you go see it? Absolutely! But just once for me. Once is enough!

Chicken A La Floor

Dinner with Julie, Kate, Richard and Michael last night at Nino's. Kate is into the "food throwing" stage at the moment. Hey... it's part of the process of growing up. BUT... I have a VERY hard time not laughing when she looks her father square in the eye and throws her chicken onto the floor. She doesn't look defiant; she just looks like she's measuring him. And I don't mean she drops the chicken. Oh no! She wings it! (pun intended) She winds up and really throws it!


I guess I really shouldn't laugh (although she is SO cute, I should be allowed). At some point, I may be at that stage - again. What a thought!

ANYWAY... we were sitting there last night like 5 people out to dinner (wierd) and Kate reached across the table toward Michael. I watched, wondering what she was wanted and that fast ---- "Here Mitel". WHAT???? Julie and I looked at each other at the same time and Julie said... "Did she say Michael?" She DID! Another first!!!!! The child is brilliant. What can I say? She just is!

"Before you were conceived I wanted you
Before you were born I loved you
Before you were here an hour I would die for you
This is the miracle of life."
~ Maureen Hawkins ~

"When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments; tenderness for what he is, and respect for what he may become."
~ Louis Pasteur ~

Words to live by...

like "wahbu" and "nee"!

The power went out again yesterday. I don't even want to talk about it. I screamed when it went out. I think I almost frightened Michael to death. I'm not by nature a screamer.

ANYWAY... while the power was out, I stopped to see Richard, Julie and Kate to hear about their vacation. Kate (and Molly) greeted me at the door (which was fantastic). Kate proceeded to find a toy to play with and I sat on the couch behind her. I asked her if she had a good time on her vacation (which I decided, as soon as the question was out of my mouth, was really a dumb question to ask an almost-18-month-old). But she nodded her head with enthusiasm and answered "yep".

Richard changed her diaper and talked about the new swimming diapers that they now have. Kate repeated "schwimmy diapee". Richard looked at Kate and said... "Right... swimmy diapee for the water". Kate repeated "wahbu" (water). Then Kate frowned and said... "no wahbu - No WAH BU". Ok... no water. Then... a smile... and a nod of her head... "neeeeeee" she offered.

Translation - "No water! Sand!!!!" Kate doesn't like the water but she DOES like the sand!! Well, how cute is THAT??

Then Julie was telling me about the baby that was there with them - Ashley. She said Ashley was cute. Kate said "Ashley fry fry fry. Ashley frybaby". Yup.... fry = cry. How funny! Kate was very much part of the conversation, chiming in her opinion. Soooo funny!

Richard and Julie are as much fun to watch as Kate. I don't know which one looks more delighted with every new word and new achievement for Kate. What a fan club! :)

Time moves on

I can tell that time moves on because I can see the hands of the clock move today. Some times the simplest things can bring a great deal of relief and pleasure.

Quiet day. Michael worked and I "played" jewelry for most of the day.

Richard, Julie and Kate have been in North Carolina at the Outer Banks for a week and they're returning today! I'll be SO glad to see them!!! Richard called this afternoon and we talked for quite a while he was "drivin'". It was great to hear his voice.

They had a "good" time! Kate loved the sand, but hated the water. She spent about 2 hours sifting the sand (which she calls "nee" for reasons no one knows). Richard said she had a big bucket and a tiny bucket. They filled the big bucket with water and Kate used the little bucket to take water from the big bucket and dump it down the front of herself. She is always SO busy!

Richard said it was fun going with 3 other couples, but it was also challenging. Only 1 other couple had a child; a baby girl, 6 months old. So it sounded like Julie and Richard's schedule for Kate was a little bit of a frustration for the others. Those who haven't "been there", just don't understand. All in all, though, it sounded like more good than bad.

My dream vacation would be to rent a house - right on the beach somewhere - big enough to house the "whole gang". What fun that would be! I guess I'll just have to keep filling out cards to win a week at the Grotto Beach House for next summer!!

My cousin Gina called this afternoon! What a treat!!!!!! I've always loved Regina! She's so smart and so kind. I think that she and I are the most like Grandma Kennision. Gina is much nicer than I am, though. I inherited a little too much of my mother and Ginny.

ANYWAY, we talked for a couple hours and I loved every minute of it. I would love to live closer to Gina!

Living in Light

The electric is on this morning! Hurray!!!

Michael and I left Richard and Julie's at about 8:00 this morning, hoping that we had electric again. Thankfully, we did!

The refrigerator was humming happily; the paddles on the ceiling fan in the den waved a happy "good morning" to us; the radio in the computer room sang us a "welcome home". Ahhhhh! Life is SO much better WITH electric!

After we finished our morning preparation for the day, we loaded up the scooter and headed to the Middletown Farmer's Market to check out the new bead shop there. We weren't impressed with the bead shop, but the Farmer's Market was terrific. We had a wondeful ham sandwich made with freshly baked Virginia ham. Michael got some chocoate (of course) and I bought some sticky buns for Scott. We had to wait for them to come out of the oven. Talk about fresh! :)

From there, we went to Barnes and Noble. I wanted to find a couple of books for Bryce. I got a couple for Bryce and some for Kate. I do love to buy books for the kids. Gregory and Alex used to read a LOT, but they don't seem to read much any more. And Matthew threw the last two books I bought him across the living room before he ever read them (or had anyone read them to him). I guess with all of the electronic entertainment these days, maybe kids just grow out of books early these days. Makes me feel old and out-of-date.

Then, next door to Ulta for the big shampoo sale and to grab some bath oil beads (so decadent). By then we were exhausted and went home for an afternoon nap.

Busy day for a couple of weary campers. It will be SO good to sleep in our own bed tonight!

Powerless!

Powerless = without power = no electric!

Michael and I went out for pizza to Taverna last night (Wednesday) in the middle of a thunderstorm. The front part of Taverna is almost entirely enclosed with glass. The bottom is brick part-way up, but the wall is mostly glass.

ANYWAY, we were sitting there - lightning crashing all around us - thunder that sounded like it came from the table next to us. I was thinking how much I LOVE storms - the power - the fury. I love the lightning and the deep bass boom of the thunder.

Yeah right!

When we got home from Taverna, our power was out. We sat around for a little while and then called the electric company. The recording said that our power should be restored by 4:00 in the morning.

We decided to go to a motel for the night, thinking that by morning the power would be back on - we could go home, take a bath and go to work.

Wrong!

The 2nd estimate we heard for power restoration was Thursday, 6:00 am. The next one was Thursday, 2:00 pm - then it was Thursday, 4:00 pm. Now they're saying it will be Friday, 6:00 am.

Richard, Julie and Kate were in North Carolina, so I called Richard to ask him if we could sleep on his couch tonight. He offered us his guest room, but I don't think I can climb the flight of stairs. I'll be grateful for a couch in an air-conditioned house!!!

I met Tony at Richard's this morning at about 10:30 for a key exchange and a lesson on the security system - then back to work. I keep checking the recorded update, but they're still saying that we won't have electric until tomorrow.

There's no sense going home, so I guess I'll go get a manicure and pedicure (I could use one. My toenails are soooo raggy looking!) to kill some time and then go to Richard's and wait for Michael when he finishes work at 8:00.

Since we still don't know what's going on with the power, I requested a vacation day for tomorrow. I'm so tired! I can't imagine getting up again tomorrow at 5:00 am to rush home to take a bath - then drag my hair dryer, etc. to work to finish getting ready. Michael's off tomorrow, so if we can sleep, we don't have to get up so early tomorrow.

G'night! Sweet dreams! Say a "grateful prayer" for your electric! :)

Wrestlers For Lunch!

Well... kind of!

Bryce had a doctor's appointment this morning and he was SO good that his dad promised him a trip to Toys R Us (which isn't far from where I work). Scott called to ask me if I could have an early lunch with them and of course I said... YES!!!!

ANYWAY... the wrestlers! Bryce chose a pack of 10 wrestlers as his treat for being so good at the doctor's office. And of course, he brought them to lunch! So I got to share the treat. Well... sort of. He really didn't want me to touch them when he first got them out, but after he played with them for a while, he was willing to let me look at them. :-)

I'm amazed at the way he plays with his wrestlers. He's pretty young to pretend as well as he does. He's fascinating to watch. He's also very young to play so well by himself! I could have watched him all afternoon! AND he knew the names of all ten wrestlers! As I picked each one up, he told me the name of the wrestler. I was impressed! I got the feeling that he knew ALL the names of the wrestlers, not just the 10 he had with him. :-)

Bryce was SO good at lunch! He's also very decisive. When given a choice of what he wants to eat, he has no problem making up his mind. He chose chicken fingers and french fries and when it came, he ate until he'd had enough and then he pushed his plate away and told Scott he was done. And that was it. He was done. And he was allowed to be done. Scott didn't try to talk him into eating more. He just let him be finished. How wise!

The server came with the bill and asked if we wanted a box. Bryce answered casually that he did. It made me laugh to see him make a decision about his left-overs and to decide what he wanted to take home, which included several peanuts that I had shelled for him. (and, oh! By the way, he wanted me to shell the peanuts - not Scott! And I LOVED it! Thanks, Bryce!)

Scott says that Bryce is going to start pre-school in September - two mornings a week. What a great idea and just enough! I would love to be retired and to be well enough to help some with Bryce while Scott and Crystal work. That would be SO much fun!

What a super day this has been! I'll be smiling all afternoon!

Sleepfest!

This weekend was a sleepfest!

I talked to Scott on Saturday morning on his way to work. He asked about my day - what I was going to do. I told him I was going to lie on this end of the couch for a while - then I was going to lie on that end of the couch for a while. Big plans! Weekends are my recovery time from the previous week and I intend to take full advantage again today!

Scott said they had a great time at the beach last week. Bryce loved the sand, but wasn't at all interested in the water. Since he's not quite 3 yet, that was probably best for everyone. It was a "family week" at the beach for Crystal. They went with her parents, brothers and sister, and Crystal's grandmother. Pop-Pop stayed home. The beach is just not his "thing". A week of solitude can be a vacation too. :-)

Maybe next year I'll take a trip down while they're there and take them out for dinner or something. A ride to the beach during the week can be a nice break, but not something I'd care to do on the weekend. Delaware is a big old parking lot on Fridays, starting before noon, and it continues through Sunday afternoon and evening. Monday mornings aren't a whole lot better.

Greg, Amy and the kids were at Wildwood this weekend. They left on Thursday and they're coming back today. Greg sent me a "phone picture" of Matthew playing miniature golf right outside the door of where they're staying and another one of Alex riding a bike on the boardwalk. I love getting pictures of the kids!!

I gave each of Greg's kids $10 to take to the beach to add to their "fun money". Matthew was SO excited! He carried it around - put it in his pocket - took it back out - over and over, running and smiling - so happy. Greg said that at bedtime, Matthew wanted to sleep with the $10. Greg put it in a plastic bag and wrote Matthew's name on the bag and put the bag on Matthew's dresser. The next time Greg looked at the bag (I think he said the next morning), the writing was gone from the bag and Matthew's hands were black from the marker.

Greg asked Matthew how he was going to spend his $10. Greg said that Matthew looked at him like he had 2 heads! "I'm not going to spend it, Daddy", Matthew informed Greg. "Grammie said that it was to take to the beach, so I'm going to take it to the beach and play with it!" Greg tried to explain to Matthew that he was supposed to take the money to the beach to spend, but Matthew wasn't buying it (no pun intended). Greg and I wondered how upset Matthew would be if he DID spend it and then it was gone. I called and left a message on Greg's cell phone - for Matthew. I told him to take the money to the beach and spend it on something fun and that I'm sure he'll get another $10 bill for his birthday. I can hardly wait to talk to Greg and find out if Matthew spent the money. :-)

We missed Richard, Julie and Kate for breakfast this morning. They were up and out at 5:00 this morning for fun in the sun! Our Sunday morning breakfast has become a semi-regular thing and I love it! What a great way to start a Sunday!

We were able to have dinner with them last night at Chili's, though, and that was fantastic! (as usual) As Kate gets around better and as she gets more inquisitive, her "sitting span" is decreasing. She definitely knows what she wants and when she wants to get down, she wants DOWN! She loves to find babies in the restaurant and go visit. She's just so cute! It appears that if I want to continue to have dinner with Julie, Richard, and Kate, I may have to start cooking! Egad! What a thought!!!!

Just the thought of cooking is enough to send me back to the couch! See ya'! :-)

Life doesn't always bring you what you want...

... so some times you just have to "settle". "Settling" is not a concept that I embrace, but today it feels like one that's necessary for survival. And some days, that's good enough.

Last night was awful. Richard and Julie gave me tickets to see Les Mis - GREAT seats - lower mezzanine. I was more excited than I can tell you. But when Michael and I took another look at the seating chart, we decided to call the theater to check again on elevator locations, stairs, etc. Long story short - we decided that I just couldn't do it. It was a sad day in Mudville, as the poem says.

The question is not whether or not I can change my life. We can all change our lives to some extent. The question is how much we can change our lives and in what ways? Physical changes for me are slow and not always in the direction I'd like. Richard might tell me that I need to manage my expectations (and he would be right). But managing my expectations doesn't mean giving up. I may never get to another show. But I'll do whatever I can to be better next year than I am this year. With work and God's grace - I'll be better.

Sooooooo Michael and I went to the movies this afternoon to see "Mamma Mia". What a fantastic movie! Meryl Streep surprised me, although I don't know why. I've never seen her be less than phenomenal! This one is defnitely a "see twice" movie! Lovvvvvvvvved it!!

Tough day!

Dinner With A Daughter

I had the WORST day today - not as in physically bad, but in emotionally bad. Work was the pits! I mean REALLY bad! Michael was working until 8 and normally I would have gone home and flopped on the couch, but I had already agreed to have dinner with Julie and Kate, soooo I left work, dropped off money to Greg (that I owed him because he paid for my new gutters) and then met Julie and Kate at Chili's for dinner. What a great idea THAT turned out to be! Julie and Kate completely turned my day around. I felt tons better after spending time with the two of them. It's so easy to forget what's important in life. I'm grateful that they reminded me!

I'm glad that I could shower a li'l love on Julie, too. It seems Julie's day was as bad or worse than mine. This has been a very tough week for her with Kate sick and Richard out of town until tomorrow. It will be great when he rides back into town on his white charger (or grey Honda) to save the day and give Julie a much-needed break. I'm sure he'll be exhausted, too, from long hours and the time change. It would be a great time for a vacation!

Summer Fun - Long Ago

I talked to Greg today. He told me that Richard reminded him about the "Fun Fountain" the had when they were kids. It was a clown sprinkler with a hat that shot up into the air. When they ran through the sprinkler, the hat would start to fall and then as soon as they were through the water, the water would lift the hat again and it would rise toward the sky. Sounds like fun, right?

Well, our little darlings always seemed to find alternate uses for so many things! What they discovered about the sprinkler is that if they turned the clown upside down, the concentrated spray would dig great holes in the ground. Their father was less than delighted with their creativity!

Memories about the sprinkler led Greg to memories of the "basket ball hoop" that hung on the tree in the back yard. I think it was an orange hoop - no net, that they found somewhere and nailed to the tree. Under the hoop, they put a mini-trampoline - which led to "dunking" contests. Greg, Richard, Alex, Matt and I don't remember who else (Greg H. maybe?) spent the summer running, jumping and dunking basketballs in that hoop. Scott was little, but I'm sure that somehow he was involved in the basketball summer, too.

It was amazing to watch the things they came up with to entertain themselves. I remember a lot of laughter, lots of friends around, busy summers. I know this sounds dangerously like "back in the OLDEN days, when Richard, Greg, and Scott were kids... *sigh*

It's true, though (yup... I couldn't just leave it alone). Toys didn't have lights and sounds to entice and entertain. They were just toys - toys that encouraged creativity - toys that needed lots of "kid input". Blah... blah... blah! I'm old (as if we had any doubt)! Okay... I'm done.

I'm off to remember...

Happy Birthday Gregory!!!!!!!!!!

DOUBLE DIGITS!!!! How can it be????? (Did you note the exclamation point clue again? Pretty tricky, eh?)

Gregory is 10! Where have the years gone? It doesn't seem possible that he could be ten years old already! Amazing!

We knew from the beginning that Gregory was REALLY smart! It was obvious from the time he was tiny! It's been great watching him grow up. He's an extremely sweet and sensitive child. Such a thinker! He analyzes everything! And perceptive? You bet!

If I had to make list of the top 10 people I'd love to spend time with, Gregory would surely be on that list. I LOVE spending time with him. Conversations with Gregory are never dull! He displays an amazing amount of depth for someone so young.

And he makes me laugh - partly because he's so serious! He told me once that he was considering a career as a stand-up comic. He feels that he has a gift for making people laugh. I think Gregory got more than his share of gifts! Making people laugh is just one of them. But what an interesting career choice for a (then) 9-year-old! I can't think of another child I've ever met who would have given me that answer.

Bright - sensitive - perceptive - funny - quirky - "coooooool" (that one is new) - creative - with gifts yet undiscovered!

Happy Birthday, Gregory with love forever and ever!

A Scooter Saturday

Michael loaded up the scooter this afternoon and we went to Lowe's. What fun!! We looked at everything from light bulbs to bath tubs! Sometimes I feel so out of touch with what's going on in the world. It's great to get out and see what's new - what's in style - how things change. If I hadn't stayed home from work yesterday, I'd have done nothing but lie on the couch today. Staying home was definitely the right thing to do.

Greg called to say that Charlie's roof was finished. Charlie has had such a hard time. I'm grateful that Greg was able to do his roof. Greg does a great job (at anything and everything he does)!

We met Richard, Julie and Kate for dinner. We tried to go to Cheeburger, but everything is fried in peanut oil and Kate hasn't had nuts, so we got up, left and went to Ruby's Diner - a new place for Michael and me. We LOVED it! We weren't very hungry because we went to Grotto's for lunch, but we loved the company and the food looked great! We'll definitely go again!

I got a new toy with pop-up animals for when Kate comes to visit. We packed it up and took it with us to dinner for Kate when she had finished eating her dinner. It turned out to be one of my better ideas. She loved the toy and it kept her busy for a long time. She laughed out loud every time the panda popped up - sooo cute. But the funniest part was that Julie growled like a lion when the lion popped up and pretended to claw at Kate. Kate and Julie both laughed so hard, it made everyone near us laugh too. Kate, of course, had to growl and claw back at Julie. I could have watched the two of them all night! Adorable!!!!

Kate had a little ice cream cone for dessert. I wish I had a picture of her eating the cone. Everything she does these days is amazing and spectacular! And I'm TOTALLY objective! Totally! HaHaHaHaHaHaHa

Scott, Crystal and Bryce are coming back from the beach today. It sounds like they had a great time, even though it rained almost every day at some point. Bryce loved the sand but wanted nothing to do with the water - probably best for this year - at least for Scott and Crystal. I hope they had a relaxing week!

Because Michael said so...

... that's why!

That's why I stayed home from work today. I felt soooo lousy this morning that I mentioned staying home. Michael agreed so strongly that I just had no choice. Okay... so I had a choice, but I think that often he knows me better than I know myself. So, I stayed home. He was right. I feel SO much better tonight!

When Michael got home, we went to Taverna for pizza and then stopped by Richard and Julie's house to see Kate (and Richard and Julie, of course) before Kate went to bed. Molly got a haircut - must be Richard's barber. She has her "summer cut" - for sure! Maureen and Bed were there, too. I'm always so glad to see Maureen! It was a nice visit. :-)

The end of the week! Whew!

Services will be held on Friday for...

... Realism!

I got back a couple of hours ago from seeing "Hancock" with Will Smith, Jason Bateman, and Charlize Theron - soooooooooo good! Hmmm that sounds like I went with Will, Jason and Charlize. I didn't. They already saw it.

But, I feel I must tell you that Richard's old friend, Realism choked on his Coke in the first 2 minutes of the movie, continued to suffer for the next 58 minutes at which time he finally breathed his last and was carried out in a body bag. The movie continued for another half hour without any trace that he had ever been present. (Which was NO problem for me!)

If Will Smith is in it, I'm there. And Jason Bateman? Hysterical! The critics didn't seem to think much of this story, but I really enjoyed it (why aren't you surprised??)! I MIGHT even see it again.

Happy Birthday Greg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Note that there are 35 exclamation points. It's a clue! :-)

Greg spent the day down south, but he made it home in time for pizza at Taverna with Richard, Julie, Kate, Amy, Gregory, Alex, Matthew, Lori, Josh, Tyler (and Tyler's girlfriend), Michael and me. We had LOTS of pizza and Amy brought ice cream cake! A good time was had by all (but it was tooooo hot in the restaurant)! Scott, Crystal and Bryce are still at the beach. We missed them.

Greg got lots of cards and a pair of 'water shoes' for the boat. I owe him a present 'cause I'm not sure what he wants, but we'll figure it out. Maybe the "gift of love" would be enough. What do you think? (Funny, eh?)

It's hard for me to believe that Greg is 35. I keep telling the kids that people generally are at 35 who they were at 2. With Greg, that's certainly true. Greg was always busy - didn't sit much. He was smart, independent, a self-starter, thoughtful, observant and a million other wonderful things.

Greg is the family "herder". He keeps us all together. If someone drops off the radar for too long, Greg rounds them up and gets them back in the loop. It's rare for two days to go by without a phone from Greg. Life is hectic for Greg with work and his family. I treasure the phone calls when he's traveling from one job or meeting to another - even if it's only for 5 minutes. Sometimes we talk about absolutely nothing. But I seldom talk to Greg without learning something interesting. He has a vast amount of knowledge about a huge scope of things. Evan a casual conversation that starts about the weather can leave me on the verge information overload. Amazing!

Greg makes every day of my life fuller and richer. He's incredibly sensitive to what's going on in my life - the daily difficulties and frustrations. I know there are times he'd love to just make it all go away for me and he can't, but knowing that he understands is a far larger gift than he knows. There is an understanding between us that goes beyond words. I'm so proud of the man he's grown up to be.

Okay, this is getting way too mushy, so before I go over the edge (as if I haven't already) - on to something "newsier"...

Michael got a letter today telling him that his college loan for Chelsea was approved. She was SO excited! I'm sure it's been hard to live in limbo, not knowing if she was going to school in August or not. Now she can make plans and really start getting ready.

She was originally going to major in Creative Writing, but she's changed her mind. Although she writes well, she doesn't really seem to enjoy writing. But she DOES love children, so she thinks she'll change her major to something that would qualify her to work with troubled girls after she graduates.

I'm soooo tired tonight! If I manage to stay awake until 10:00 I'll be surprised. Any wagers??

Start the week off with a...

... steak. (Kind of like a "bang" but juicier.)

Lunch with Richard and Michael today at Lone Star. What a great way to start the week! The Lone Star down the street from where I work has a large glass-enclosed patio room that I love. I think it's my favorite place to eat - not so much because of the food - more because of the room. They don't usually seat people there, so it's quiet and I love all the glass - strange for a person who spends all day in the dark - or maybe that's why.

ANYWAY... it was fun!

Richard told me that on Saturday night that he and Greg, Gregory and Alex went to a bar/restaurant at 10:30 at night to watch the Ultimate Fighting Championships on Pay Per View. The restaurant offers it free to patrons. It sounds like they had a great time - didn't leave until almost 1:00 am. When I talked to Greg about it, he said Gregory said the he forgot to go to bed on Saturday, but it was okay because he went to bed twice on Sunday - once at 1:00 am and again at his usual bedtime in the evening. I think those are the kinds of things the kids will remember forever! What a super memory!

Old movies and new dresses

I got a couple of new dresses that needed to be hemmed so this morning, after Michael and I made our run to the Farmer's Market and then to take Michael to work, I decided to watch an old movie (or two) and hem the dresses.

The first movie was "Bunny Lake is Missing" - a black and white film from 1965 (I was a junior in high school that year) that was kind of dark, but I really liked it. Michael says the great thing about the old movies that are on television is that they've weeded out the stinkers and that most of what's on is pretty good. So true!

I thought I'd be finished by the time the first movie was over, but I was having a "slow" day, so I was well into the 2nd movie by the time I finished.

The 2nd movie was "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon" from 1949. 1949!!! I was a year old. Wow! I know I'm old, but THAT old???? *sigh* ANYWAY, the yellow ribbon that women wore in their hair in "those days" was a sign that they had a "sweetheart" in the calvary. I wonder if that's the origin of the yellow ribbon we see today.

Sooooo... that sent me to Google and what do you know! Look at this: History of the Yellow Ribbon . Okay, so that might be more information than you care to have.

The movie was terrific (John Wayne - how could it be anything else??) and the hemming was finally completed. Between the picnic yesterday and the activity this morning, I headed for the couch when the dresses were finished and that's where I spent most of the rest of the day. It certainly doesn't take much to wear me out these days.

Happy Birthday America!

We celebrated the 4th of July at a cookout at Julie and Richard's house - Richard and Julie, Julie's parents, Greg, Amy, Gregory, Alex, Matthew, Michael, and me. (Scott, Crystal and Bryce are at the beach with Crystal's parents.) Oh! And we can't forget Molly!

Since Michael and I don't have a working grill, the burgers and dogs (which Tony cooked to perfection) tasted especially good. Julie (as usual) did a fantastic job of planning to make the day a wonderful success! Everyone brought something, but Richard and Julie graciously provided most of the eats and offered their home (and pool). The 4th of July cake that Julie made looked good enough to be in a magazine!

We ate inside and then adjourned to the pool area to watch Kate play and to watch "the boys" swim and play "hoops" with Uncle Rich. Matthew was so excited about the pool that Greg had to go in for a rescue almost as soon as they all got outside. A life vest provided the assistance Matthew needed to jump in off the side and swim all over the pool. He swam sooooo much, he may still be wrinkled on Sunday!

Gregory, Alex and Richard played basketball in the pool and of course, did more than their share of water-wrestling. I think Alex laughed for 2 hours straight!

Alex is SO handsome. Greg did a great job with his haircut this time - very "now". And Alex's eyes are as blue as an azure sky. When he laughs, his whole face lights up. He scored extra "grammy points" the day Greg and the boys and I went for ice cream and Alex chose to ride with me rather than with Greg (and those points are not to be taken lightly). :-)

Gregory is growing up right in front of us. He's approaching double digits in about a week - 10 years old. How can that be??? Gregory is sweet and sensitive and "reads" people and anticipates what they're going to say. He's such a tender child.

Kate was her usual cheery self - playing with her sand and water tables and enjoying her swing as Julie and Amy took turns pushing her. Kate loves Julie's father, Tony. As the picnic was winding down, she curled up in Tony's lap and laid her head on his chest. They both looked completely content.

Although Richard is delighted that Kate loves Tony, I can feel the ache in his heart for Rich. Rich would have loved Kate. In fact, I'm sure that he does - and not in a sad way. The Bible tells us that in Heaven there are no more tears and sadness - no pain - no sorrow. I used to wonder how that could be. Did people in Heaven no longer see us? Are they completely disconnected? And if they are aware of our lives, how can they not feel pain and sadness?

I've learned that this life is no more than an eyeblink in time. In Heaven we'll understand, as we can't now, all about eternity - about forever. I believe that Rich knows what we will enjoy for eternity in a way that we can't begin to comprehend. The more I read - the more I pray - the more I'm sure that at some point, this will all make sense - at some point "we will know fully, even as we have been fully known". (I Corinthians 13:12)

Life is good! With all its pain and heartache, life is good. Our family is a gift from God - a special kind of love - given from the Father to his children - and they in turn, give that love to their children - and on - and on - and on.

Okay, so I got off on a tangent. I'm allowed! I'm old!

ANYWAY... we had a great 4th - good food - the love of family - a time to laugh. I loved watching Richard and the kids in the pool - watching the trust that Matthew had for Greg before he put his life vest on, jumping in, not holding on to anything, positive that he was safe because Greg was there - watching Kate play with her sand and water tables - watching Aunt Amy push Kate in her swing - watching Julie be the "hostess with the mostest" - watching Tony and Kate "snuggle" - watching Jackie follow Kate everywhere while Julie was inside. We were all tired by the time we left. (Yeah... watching makes me tired. What of it??) :)

Happy 4th of July!!!

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have." ~Frederick Koenig~

Another dose of anti-realism

I saw the Hulk this afternoon. LOVED it! I guess we can't ever get away from the continuing problem of the Hulk's pants, but other than that, it was terrific. Good story - lots of action - and a touch of the old King Kong. Go see it! Leave Mr. Realism in the car for this one, Richard! :-)

Headline: Child Genius Visits State Worker

The child genius, of course, is Kate and that fortunate state worker is... ::::drum roll::::

ME!

Richard brought Kate to work to visit me yesterday and it was one of my best days EVER! She is so appealing - so sweet - so smart! (One of my best qualities is my objectivity) She visited all the cubicles in my area and met the people that I live with back here in the bowels of the building. They, of course, recognized immediately that this child is VERY special! (I told you - I work with smart people!)

Kate wandered into my office and went straight to all of the pictures I have of "the kids" and their kids. The first picture she found was of Bryce - then one of "Mommy" and "Daddy" - then one with Richard, Greg, Scott, Kate, Bryce, Gregory and Alex (Matthew didn't want his picture taken that day). She loved doing "roll call" - naming everyone in all of the pictures.

Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered at the door to my office - people just smiling and watching Kate. She IS fun to watch! And everyone commented on her curls!

How could you not love this child? She engages everyone she meets! The same thing happens in restaurants. People have a tendency to just stare at her - and smile. What a wonderful way to begin life - to learn that when you smile at the world - the world smiles back.

Anyway... when Kate got tired of visiting with my neighbors, playing "roll call" with the pictures and my screen saver (more pictures of the family) and Richard was ready to leave, Kate again wandered the halls toward the door, stopping in cubicles along the way to see who was in them and to smile and get a smile in return.

At one time or another during her visit, Kate found all the parts of my face (eyes, nose, cheeks, chin, mouth, eyebrows), pointed to those same parts on her father and herself, talked, said "thank you", named the people in the pictures - really gave everyone a sense of who she is and how bright she is. I was SUCH a proud grandmother!!

In retrospect, I find it fascinating that life seems to meet Kate on Kate's terms. As she went in and out of the cubicles, met people in the hall, smiled at my work buddies - she wasn't shy at all. She held her head up, looked people in the eye, smiled and "connected" with them. At the same time, it was obvious that she had her "space" and that people were not welcome inside that space. Interesting. She didn't cry - no one reached for her and caused a reaction. You could just sense it. And everyone respected it. Quite a "presence" for such a little girl.

It was a day I'll remember, for sure! And when I remember, I'll smile again - just like I did when she was here.

"Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just you all day and now the day was complete." ~Marcy DeMaree~

"The history of our grandparents is remembered not with rose petals but in the laughter and tears of their children and their children's children. It is into us that the lives of grandparents have gone. It is in us that their history becomes a future." ~Charles and Ann Morse~

On the downhill side

This is a 4 day week sooooo Wednesday is on the downhill side of the week - almost Friday - almost the end of the work week. I'm ready!

Cookout at Richard & Julie's on Friday. I called my father last night to invite him. He said he'll come if it doesn't rain. I'm eager to see the new patio at Julie & Richard's house - looks great in the phone-photos. They have such a comfortable home. It's always a treat to visit.

Speaking of visits - Michael and I stopped last night at Richard & Julie's on our way to dinner (pizza at Taverna). I made Julie a bracelet a while ago - very fine silver chain with peridot swarovski crystals which she enjoyed SO much that she wore it until it fell apart. Richard gave it back to me for repairs, but it was just too far gone. The bracelet looked like it had been through a war. What greater compliment could I get than the fact that she loved it and wore it as much as she did. So, of course, I had to make her a new one - just like the one she had. First I made one with a little thicker chain, but it wasn't quite as pretty, so I made a copy of the original and Michael and I stopped to deliver the bracelet to Julie.

Julie put the bracelet on as soon as I gave it to her. I took the one with me that I made first on fine, but thicker chain, too, to see which one she liked better. She liked the one like the original but I decided that I might as well give the other one to her also. She wore them BOTH! And they looked SOOOOO pretty on her! How much fun for me to be able to make Julie something that brings her so much pleasure! What a treat!

Yesterday was a busy day. Not only did I get to see Richard for a couple minutes last night, I also had lunch with him (kind of) yesterday afternoon at Red Robin. Michael was off but had a meeting at "Corporate" at 2:00 so we decided to meet for lunch at Red Robin, which is on the way for Michael and also 5 minutes from where Richard works. I texted Richard to let him know where and when we would be and he said he'd try to come, but he was NOT having a good day at work. He managed to make it, but he went outside twice to take a phone call from work. Frustrating for him, to say the least. It seems to me that he's very much under-appreciated!!

Realism is overrated!

I went to see "Indiana Jones" yesterday and loved it! Super special effects, some surprises - all in all a good way to spend a couple of hours. But realistic? Not even close.

I never used to even THINK about whether a movie was realistic until Richard made me aware. That's a conversation that still makes me laugh - so funny.

I had seen "Speed" (with Sandra Bullock) and I really enjoyed it. When I told Richard, he laughed (disdainfully, even). "Like that bus jumping the bridge was believable????" he chided. He proceeded to pick the movie apart, based on realism and believability. Okay, so I'm not the most discerning of movie viewers, but I LIKED it.

The conversation made me think, though, that perhaps I don't look hard enough at things like that. Maybe I'm not very objective and maybe I should be more analytical. Point made. After all, Richard should know. Right????

Okay... so time marches on and a few years later, Richard and I went to see the movie "Godzilla". We laughed... we cried... the whole bit. What a good time! When the movie was over, I asked Richard if he liked it. "Oh yeah! he answered enthusiastically. "I thought it was great."

Sooooo... follow me here down 4 years of movie-ciritc-self-doubt. "Speed" wasn't a good movie because it was not believable. But we ARE buying the gi-hugic lizard! Oh right! That's MUCH more believable! I'm thinking we may run into another one of those lizards any day - at the beach - visiting a city - WHAM - giant lizard. Could happen! Or is it only believable if Godzilla was the ONLY giant lizard of it's kind?

I guess we each have our own interpretation of "realism" - mine includes buses that can almost fly - his includes giant lizards. Fair trade.

What fun to laugh about lizards and buses, comedies and tragedies, thrillers and mysteries with someone so special! And yes, I even respect his critiques and opinions (most of the time)!
Life is good!

"Everything you can imagine is real." ~Pablo Picasso~