One Year Ago...

Our first grandson was born.

It's gone by so quickly-so many things have happened-new grandsons, new house, etc. He had a good birthday-just a family affair and his own piece of cake!

Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet little man!!

I'm Freezing!

Not really-it's 90 F outside-but I'm thrilled to finally have a freezer again! We sold our 38-year old freezer when we moved here and hadn't gotten around to getting another one.  It was made a more immediate need by the untimely demise of our refrigerator. We were able to find a good used freezer for about a quarter of the price of a new one. It's ten years old but has been "gently used" and works like a champ. I'm looking forward to being able to buy things on special or in bulk since I'll have a place to put them.

When we bought this house, it had a homeowner's warranty policy on the appliances, so we have been dealing with the warranty company trying to get the refrigerator either fixed or replaced since the beginning of the month. The repairman comes back today to (hopefully) get it working again. He said it has a Freon leak. (My husband isn't sure that's the only problem, but we'll see what happens.) I personally would have preferred that they replace it, but I would imagine that's a last resort for the warranty people. I just hope they don't keep us limping along for weeks while they keep trying to figure out what the problem is.

"In other news"...I had a birthday yesterday and enjoyed having all of our kids and grandkids together this past weekend.  We ate at one of my favorite places and my daughter supplied the birthday cake. I was down with a bug for most of last week, so I was really glad to feel good enough to celebrate!

Update: a more experienced repairman came out and looked at the fridge and pronounced it not worth fixing-I'll be getting a new one next week at no cost to us!

August

Seems hard to believe that August is almost half over. A few brown and yellow leaves are showing, the light looks a little different now and the days are a little shorter.  We still have a while to go before we get real autumn weather in North Texas, though. Yesterday's high was 102 F and today should be close. It should be in the mid-80's for the latter part of the week, so it's gradually starting to cool off. (I'm almost afraid to say that-it will probably be 110 next week!)

It's a big birthday month for our family. My husband's birthday was the 1st, my grandmother's would have been tomorrow, three nieces have a birthday this month and mine is the 19th. Our grandson will be 1 year old on the 27th and one of our grand-nephews will be 1 on the 29th. (I predict that those two will be big buddies in a year or two!)

Yesterday I went shopping with my daughter and oldest granddaughter for school clothes and supplies . She's 7 years old now and her tastes have changed significantly. No more Hello Kitty or Disney Princesses for this girl!  Everything my daughter looked at was met by "No, Mom! I'd be embarrassed to wear that!" Second grade must be more sophisticated than I remember!  She did get some pretty tops, leggings and jeans, but all seemed impossibly grown up looking. Ah well. The 4 year old starts Pre-Kindergarten next month she still loves princesses, fairies and kitties.

I think I'm going to roast some potatoes, carrots, and butternut squash with onions, garlic and rosemary for dinner tonight. That will taste like fall even if it doesn't feel like it outside!

Welcome Respite

It didn't last long, but it was wonderful!

Summer Shower

A drop fell on the apple tree,
Another on the roof;
A half a dozen kissed the eaves,
And made the gables laugh.

A few went out to help the brook,
That went to help the sea.
Myself conjectured, Were they pearls,
What necklaces could be!

The dust replaced in hoisted roads,
The birds jocoser sung;
The sunshine threw his hat away,
The orchards spangles hung.

The breezes brought dejected lutes,
And bathed them in the glee;
The East put out a single flag,
And signed the fete away.

Dickenson, E. (1896). The Poems of Emily Dickinson: Series One.Boston, MA: Roberts Brothers.

Ancestors

We've just returned from my husband's family reunion. It's held every two years in the New Mexico town where we were both born, and where his mom's family has lived since the early 1900's. The above picture is my mom-in-law's parents wedding picture taken in 1903. At 86 and 91, my mom-in-law and her sister are the only ones living of the 9 siblings in the family.

It was our turn to host the reunion this, so we spent the last few weeks cooking, sewing, crafting and working on genealogy. It's been interesting finding out about his ancestors-Ancestry.com makes everything so much easier. (When my dad was alive he was a genealogist, and I am finding myself wishing that he was still here. I would love for him to see everything that's online now. He had to do all of his research by hand spending hours looking at microfilm, writing letters and making phone calls).

We made the 12 hour trip to New Mexico last Wednesday with our daughter and three of our grandchildren. The kids did amazingly well considering that the girls are just 7 and 4 years old and our grandson is 11 months. Our son and daughter in law met us there with our other grandson who is almost 7 months old. The girls had a great time playing with their cousins and doing activities at the kid's table. They also surprised us by spending a lot of time talking with their older aunts and uncles. They made a great impression with everyone and we were very proud of them! Of course the babies made the rounds of all the aunties, because after all, who can resist a cute baby?

It was a great day of visiting, eating, domino and card playing and genealogy and was topped off by a "white elephant" auction. Everyone brought things they had made or funny old flea market items and even an antique or two. The funds raised helped to pay for the building and food. It wasn't as well attended as it was 2 years ago, and the time was a little bittersweet since my father in law, and one of my mom in law's sisters passed away just a few months after the last reunion. We made the long trip back yesterday and today we are vegging and sharing pictures and comments on Facebook with the cousins. They're already talking about the next reunion!