It's time for a Rendezvous: Lewis & Clark Style!

It's Festival time in St. Charles! May means it's the LEWIS & CLARK RENDEZVOUS!




What a gorgeous, sunny morning greeted us today! Perfect weather to head outside...and down to the riverfront we went. There we found the Lewis and Clark Rendezvous well underway. This is an annual St. Charles festival celebrating the stop made here by those intrepid explorers before they made the trek of their lives starting in 18-oh-something or other. It's a big deal and attracts re-enactment types from all across the country. They had a chilly night in the 40's to camp out in last night, but awoke to a gloriously sunny day today. Sydney was most fascinated by all the colorful clothes and the music. We had fun watching her discover her shadow and also her efforts at trying to push her stroller from down below!

Little Girls and Pretty Flowers

We have some new excitement at our house. Sydney has come to live with us along with her mommy and daddy (we let her bring them along). There's a great reason for all this excitement; Gretchen and Leon are building a new home. They were equally blessed in that their former home sold quickly and that means they are nesting in with us through the summer. As grandparents, we're ecstatic!

Last weekend was the weekend of the big move and everything sailed smoothly. So now, while we are still shuffling a few things around here and there, we are no longer empty nesters for the next few months. What fun it's already been to wake up to see see Syd having breakfast in the mornings and to get to read to her whenever we want to. She's been busy playing outside and seems to think nothing much about all the big changes. I guess when you're little, as long as you have the people who love you all around, the rest of the world is perfect too. There's a lesson in that...right?

What follows are some of the iris and columbines that are blooming all over my garden Enjoy!

Tea Parties, Toddlers, and Time on the Beach

Me and my baby girl, Katrina!

Rhy is so cute... this is her caught by surprise face!

Ash up a tree!

Rhy follows mommy down the beach.

Time for tea!

This past weekend we were able to spend a lovely long weekend with the family in the North. We drove up to St. Joseph, Michigan for some wonderful time with all the Harrmanns, particularly our 3 grandkids, Gabriel, Asher, and Rhylah. It was fun in so many ways just to hang out, enjoy watching the kids play, and to catch up with one another. The kids are changing so much and each time we see them we are amazed at how much bigger they have gotten. Gabe is into baseball now, Asher is teaching Rhylah all sorts of new skills like an ideal big brother, and Rhy is getting into playing pretend. The tea set we got her this weekend kept her busy making imaginary beverages for all of us the entire time we were there. So cute! It was a PERFECT weekend!

One Year from Free Coffee!

I celebrated my 54th birthday on Monday, and the funniest thing anyone said to me was my mom's reminding me that I have only a year to go before I am eligible to get free coffee at McDonald's! I had to laugh at that because besides being a Burger King fan, I am generally not the type that gets all whooped up about freebies. But I guess there will be some "perks" to being 55 in another year. Ed has yet to take advantage of this exciting aspect of his age, and I imagine a certain southern location will likely freeze over before he does, but it's fun to joke about it.

My birthday was excellent... the following things happened on it: (or almost on it!)

1. No one did anything lame or disgusting on the news front. Being born on 4/20 sets you up to have nasty events take place (Columbine, drugfests, etc) on your day.

2. I got a lovely grandmother bracelet from my kids with the grandkids' birthstones on it. Very pretty!

3. I went out with my family to dinner... Fratelli's was wonderful; everyone should eat a canolli on their special day!

4. I found out my mom loves "Dancing with the Stars" almost as much as I do, and we laughed and talked together long distance while we watched it.

5. I didn't feel like I'd gotten any older.

6. I got a ton of greetings from Facebook friends which made me feel very much loved.

7. Today I ran 1.5 miles on the track.... something I know a lot of 54 yr. old women couldn't/wouldn't do.

8. I still haven't joined AARP!

9. My Publications staff kiddos surprised me with a birthday cookie/cake today... delicious and so nice of them! Thanks Elaine, you're a doll!

10. My school week has been going really fast this week for some reason... which is not a bad thing when you teach mostly seniors.

"Can You Come Out and Play?"

Here we are by the famous "Phil the Gorilla" Statue.. a St. Louis Zoo photo landmark!

The motto of our own St. Louis Zoo is "Can You Come Out and Play?" and believe me, EVERY kid in St. Louis was taking that to heart today! We had a classic St. Louis area spring day today. Sunny, light breeze, 74 degrees... PERFECTION! So off we headed for the zoo. It was a veritable stroller convention, but everyone was so mellow and just loving being outside that it was the MOST fun! Everyone was grinning, making sure all the "little people" in the crowd could see, taking turns, it looked like a toddler manners workshop or something along those lines. Loads of grammies and papas were strolling about with tots in tow. Syd LOVED it.

Once inside, we got her the obligatory Zoo Safari hat and off we went! She watched people as much as she watched animals. We saw: seals, prairie dogs, monkeys, giraffes, camels, gazelles, and all the birds we could find (since her daddy doesn't enjoy birds... we saved the bigger slow moving critters for when she takes HIM to the zoo next time!). She saw a peacock spread his tail, saw ducks and pelicans swim, and a giant hornbill hop! She got very good at watching for movement, and after that, anything that moved had her undivided attention. So in answer to the zoo's question, "Can you come out and play?" - our answer is a resounding, "YES!"

Sydney is totally "in the moment" on a snack break! Watching people and seal lions at the
same time as having a good animal cracker! YUM!

We are looking at Toucans, the "Fruit Loops" birds! Syd got SO excited by their bright colorful bills.

Papa can always be counted on to give you a boost to see better.

Yeah, I know she's showing way too much cookie in this shot,

but she was having such a great time that I had to share it!
Oh, and yes- she left her safari hat on the whole time!

All you need for fun is a WHEE-lbarrow!

In the world of toddlers, there's not much better than a "Papa-powered" fun ride. Check out Syd as she discovers the fun of one-wheeled vehicles... namely her Papa's wheelbarrow! She kept very still but squealed "whee" all away around the yard! It is a ride that I am sure she'll enjoy repeats of throughout the coming summer!

There's nothing like being a wheelbarrow princess!

Sydney Plays House

"All babies, go to sleep... nonny time!"

Sydney is vacationing at our house for a few days, and we are having a great time. We brought up some "little girl" things from the basement that had been favorites of Gretchen and Kate when they were small. She spent a solid hour or more rocking her assorted ''babies'' and giving them breakfast. The entire time she was doing it she made all the noises we make when we feed her, lots of "mmmmmmm's" and "ahh's" along with Sydney gibberish that sounded like "baby", "eat", and "rock-rock". It was adorable. She is even wearing a little apron that Ed's mom made for our girls ages ago. I have to believe that Great-grandma Irene is smiling somewhere up in heaven today as all this pretending was going on!

"Mmmmmm, eat your cereal!"

"Everyone will get a turn."

"Now it's Hugsie bunny's turn to eat."

Let's Hunt for Eggs!

So how many grown-ups does it take to find 18 Easter Eggs??? That was the deep philosophical question we strove to answer in a very chilly backyard this Easter. What fun! Sydney, always a quick study on these sorts of things, figured out right away that having an egg in each hand was quite enough for one little person. She did get into the whole thing by the time we made one sweep round the garden. We (that is the grown-ups) had as much fun saying, "Look, look!" and oohing and ahhing over her colorful treasures.






Happy Easter to one and all!!!

A Day in the Vineyard.. and the Lessons of Holy Saturday

Today we spent most of the day in the vineyard wrapping grapes and enjoying sunshine. For the uninitiated, wrapping grapes has nothing to do with paper and bows; it has to do with putting the trimmed vines up onto the supporting trellis wires and twisting them round and round so they'll stay put all summer long. Then you complete the task with a tie that holds them fast as they begin this year of growth. Thus begins a new year in the vineyard. The old growth is gone, sitting in piles waiting to be burned. The new growth has yet to begin, but the vines are softening more and more each day and now are flexible enough to be "trained" back onto the wires.

How fitting that we do this work on the day before Easter. Lent has taken care of "trimming" us once again. Cutting off our "old habits", making us consider again what new fruit we could be bearing. Then along comes Good Friday and we observe our Lord's sacrifice. He was stretched upon the tree so we would never have to be. But we still need "training" and something much bigger than our own selves upon which to depend. So we are refastened, and wrapped up in our risen Lord. Grafted into that message of Easter... "as the branch is to the vine... I am His and He is Mine". Blessed Easter everyone! He is Risen Indeed!

Holy Week - Wholly Hectic!

Can't help it, this week has been a bummer in so many ways that I have to vent a bit here. There is a ton of yucky stuff (not directly mine) happening at school, but I spending a lot of time listening and offering empathy and advice. I don't mind that, I just feel so badly for my colleagues who are doing the very best they can under such stressful and trying circumstances. Makes me want to get out Ed's famous rolled newspaper and go "whap" some folks on the nose! That's for sure!

Then, it's Holy Week... not my favorite week of the year, but one where I do TRY to stop and contemplate matters of faith and my Savior. Suffice it to say that the endless "busy-ness" of the week is making me feel more exhausted than contemplative! The entire concept of Lenten quietude is blown when you can't seem to clear your schedule enough to eat dinner on more than a dash past a pot on the stove.

Ahhh well... just 48 hrs to Easter Break... and we ALL need it! For this we are TRULY thankful!

Syd, Spring, & Socks

It's the "little things" in March and April that make you convinced you just might be able to hang on until Spring fully arrives. Some of these include early blooms of daffodils, spending time with a toddler who finds eating a zwieback cracker while spinning in circles in her Papa's big desk chair the most entertaining thing on the planet, and new socks. So here are some shots of those things....

The daffodils bloomed under our maple tree in glorious abandon this March. I love their delicate tenacity; these even survived a late March snow of about 2" that fell on them and melted quickly away.


Syd and Ed had a delightful time recently while whooping it up in the office on his desk chair. She has figured out how to climb up into the chair all on her own and takes great delight in yelling "Wheeeeee!" at the top of her voice while we spin her about. I've tried the same trick for myself, and find the true "wheee" is just not there at 53.... sigh... but I sure get a charge out of watching Syd spin joyfully!



Finally, I did it! I completed the "biggest socks" of my knitting career to date... I made Ed a pair of lovely SIZE 13(!!!!) washable Merino wool socks and he LOVES them. He's going to wear them to school tomorrow and tell everyone his talented wife made them for him.

It was a good weekend, all the way round!

Blankets, babies, and blossoms

Tra-la... it's spring!!! (Well, sort of...) The temps have hit the 70's more than the usual accidental number of times, and we've passed the magic date on the calendar which declares the season here. I have planted potatoes and asparagus in my garden, and the trimming in the vineyard is finished. So it must be spring.
In addition, I have finished my big "winter afghan" project... I found it in the basement just before Christmas... a long-forgotten afghan that Katrina had started in 7th grade. Not being able to resist finishing a UFO, (that's knit-speak for "unfinished object") I pulled it out and began working. My goal: to surprise Kate with it on her 30th birthday. I didn't quite make it, but I came close. She and her family were here over the 14th & 15th of March and I gifted her with it then. The kids snuggled up under it like bunnies hiding in a cozy den. It's a big afghan... sideways it covers 4 people quite easily...especially if they're little. Longways, it will cover Nathan, who is one LONG drink of water!
So now I am on the lookout for my next spring project - maybe some charity knitting. That feels like fun. I could make squares for veterans or hats for preemies. And I am STILL trying to find the perfect sock pattern for Ed's size 13 feet! So we'll see what happens next!
What follows are also some shots of Rhylah and Sydney when they were together a couple weekends ago. They are SO cute toddling around and playing together. They haven't yet quite figured out what to make of one another; and it's funny to watch them "size up" the potential for playing in each other! They are going to be heartbreakers one day, as cute as they are now!

St.Patrick's Day Run - 2009

Will she make it? Only time will tell?

Today I did something for only the second time in my life; I ran in a race. This time it was to celebrate the almost 30#'s I've lost since Sept. 17th of 2008. Kate and Nate joined Ed and I, and we ran in the St. Patrick's Day Run. It's a 5 mile jaunt through downtown St. Louis, quite scenic and very silly with a large percentage of bizarrely-dressed people running in everything from green tights to leprechaun suits! I am happy to report I survived it and managed to finish the whole thing. Kate, Nate, and Ed completed it some 22 minutes ahead of me; but all in all, I feel really good about getting out there. (It's not a bad thing to discover that you can still go 5 miles at 53!)
We had a gorgeous morning to run with temps in the 40's and nice sunshine. It was Kate's first-ever attempt at running in a race and I think she had a good enough time to do it again in the future.
When we finished, we celebrated with pastrami sandwiches from Carl's Deli and frosty cold Fitz's root beer! It was a great morning!

Nate and Kate sign up and get their numbers!

A shot ahead of some of the more than 9,000 people who ran today.

Well, I didn't come in last.... actual time 1hr.16min. for 5 miles.

The happy finishers! Let's go eat and celebrate!

Can We Go Outside for Class???!?!

Spring has sprung in St. Chuck! Today it hit nearly 80 degrees, the convertible tops came down, and the hearts and minds of my students went out the window! "Can we go outside for class?" was the question heard throughout the halls as kids begged like 3rd graders for time out in the soft breezy air. And I almost.... just almost... gave in. I must admit, in my heart of hearts, I felt for them. What is it about education the necessitates "trapping" adolescents in a building for 7+ hours a day. Part of me KNOWS there has to be a better way to greet spring than just reading Wordsworth's "Daffodils" - it's high time to go ROMP with them!

Daffodils (1804)
I wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside a lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance,

The waves beside them danced but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee;
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund comapny:
I gazed.. and gazed.. but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
by William Wordsworth

Here's to my Littlest Girl

Yesterday was a special and somewhat unsettling day; my "baby" turned 30. She had a wonderful day. Her husband and kids spoiled her in all the right ways. But sitting here in Missouri, I felt strangely old. I used to imagine that it would be eons before my children were "thirty-somethings" and now BOTH of them are.

Kate is handling all this with her usual balance and aplomb; I am feeling like an "old shoe". Her dad is just not saying where his head is at, although when I mentioned on Monday evening that the following day his baby would be hitting the big Three-Oh he said, "No, not really?! You're kidding, right?" (Men rarely keep tabs on these sorts of events!)

I am very proud of both of my daughters. They are strong, confident, and accomplished women. They face life full-on and have rock solid principles. Both are well grounded and have married excellent husbands. So what's the big deal about another number on the calendar?

Katrina, here's to you on 30!!! May the next 70 birthdays be just as fun and may you always celebrate every candle on the cake!

Time for Free Coffee?

Ed is turning 55 tomorrow, and he is greeting it with good spirits. Lots of friendly jibes came his way today and he handled them all with grace. The most frequent comment was "now you can get free/cheap ________" (fill in the blank) a. coffee at McDonald's, b. breakfast at Denny's, etc etc.

This raises the obvious question Ed frequently asks, "Why should turning 55 entitle one to free ANYTHING?" I have to laugh because Ed is possibly the least likely person on the planet to go anywhere to get a free item. He is a big believer in "paying his way" wherever he goes... so this will be a new experience, watching him turn down freebies!

The Day the Modem Died

Ed & I are sitting in the public library and working on our laptops... not by choice (although I think we have one of the nicest libraries in the country!) but by necessity. Went to log on at home this morning and discovered that our modem had kicked the bucket. This is when it became painfully clear just how accustomed we are to being able to connect to the big, outside, electronic universe at a moment's notice. Failing that, the library became our haven for an evening of "getting some things done...".
Lesson learned.... modems are not eternal, (plan your work accordingly) and libraries are wonderful places. May we always have them and gladly pay taxes for them!!

A Knitting Grammy's Reward

Here you have it.. and it doesn't get any better than this. My little buddy got his hat that I made him in the mail on Friday. His mom reports that he slept in it for his naptime. Logical thinking on his part; it is cold in Michigan right now. But here's the pay-off - by my book, this is an offical 1 million dollar grin. Makes me want to go right back and knit up a storm!