14 posts tagged “grands”

Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer for most families. It is usually the last time the family gathers at our lakeside cottage. This past weekend was no exception.  My two daughters and their children were up and one son in law made it, the other had to work all weekend.  A quiet lakeside retreat it wasn't. Not with a fifteen month old, a two year old and a four year old.  It was busy, busy, busy and now we are home, I am recuperating!

I was able to give my girls a reprieve from cooking and doing dishes. On Saturday night, I was really tired and the world's best son in law did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen for me.  I went out on the lawn with my neighbors and sat!  The girls were busy getting the grands bathed and in their pjs.

Next summer the toddlers will be bigger and have even more to do. They all are water babies and love the lake. They are learning not to throw sand.  They watched as Papa  and B flew kites and they collected sticks.  I hope they all  lern to love the lake and the area as much as their Gramma and Papa do. We both have gone there since we were very young.  It is nice to teach another generation respect for the lake, the shore, and the environment we love.

I love cloth books.  They are hard to find but I have been lucky to be able to find panels to make three.

 The first is a teddy bear book ..with ABCs, numbers, colors, and pictures of toys in it.
                                                          The second is the sweetest bedtime story, My Little One, by Flavia.  Soft colors and loving words.
                                                               

And the third, a Dora book written in English and Spanish.

I enjoyed making them and hope Katie and her parents enjoy them too.  Most of the soft books are made from vinyl now and her little teeth can cut into them.  These can be loved, chewed and most importantly, laundered!

Sometimes knitting still frustrates me.  I am working from a picture to copy a knitted garment for KTG.  The original garment is expensive for a toddler who keeps growing out of everything.  And I enjoy the challenge of figuring out patterns.  But today, after hours of knitting, days of knitting, I looked at what I had finished and decided it just wasn't going to fit.  So, I ripped it out.  And ripped out. And ripped out.

I have just finished casting it back on.  Fewer stitches to make a different gauge.  I think I finally have it now.  I hope so.  I learned to knit when I was 8 or 9. My grandmother thought all young ladies needed to know how to embroider, sew, knit, and crochet. So I know how to do all these things. None of my cousins learned, but I did. And I am so glad.  I became serious about it after I graduated from college. It became a stress reducer after long days of teaching in an urban school in the late 60s when civil rights demonstrations and the killings of JFK, RFK, and MLK all made days long and difficult.

Then as a young mom, it became a way to save money on hats, scarves, mittens, and sweaters.  I don't think my kids had a purchased sweater until they were half way through elementary school. My mom and and I kept those needles flying.   I also sewed pay clothes and dresses for my girls.  After I returned to work, I did more counted cross stitch than knitting.  But with the arrival of my beautiful grands, the knitting returned to top of my list.  I sew, I quilt and I still stitch once in a while, but knitting is a love. Like most people who knit, I have a huge stash!  But as I tell my husband, it is cheaper than psychiatry!  And much more fun.

What will you remember most about this summer?

While it is her second summer, this is the first summer that KTG. has enjoyed the cottage. She scampers in the sand with her pail and shovel, she walks into the lake, she enjoys the water lapping at her toes.  And this summer the lake has been especially warm and inviting...not the cold water that takes a dunking to get used to. Another generation of the family learning to love this area....

Show us something that's ridiculously cute.  I think our beach bum qualifies!

But that is what the extreme heat and humidity do to me. 

Went to a major sporting event today.   Had to leave due to the storms that were coming through.  Seems like it always storms when this event is held.

Touched base with one of my dearest friends.  I wrote before of the problems her marriage has been hit with...two weeks before her 47th wedding anniversary.  Makes one wonder about marriages, people used to be able to keep their commitments to each other but something has changed.   We have 43 years behind us and I can't imagine things falling apart now but her experience is upsetting and making me wonder.  I don't know what to say to her...I just listen when she needs to vent. We have had long emails and hours long phone conversations and I still don't know what to say.  She is very much on my random mind right now.

We came home from the lake yesterday and are trying to get ourselves organized to go back for the holiday week. We had such wonderful weather while we were there. It only rained twice...both times in the middle of the night so we had long sunshiny days and the lake was so blue and dazzling.  We saw several freighters...lots of sailboats. It makes me angry that the gas prices have left the marinas very empty and many boats are still in storage. Several motels are up for sale....and even with an art fair on th beach last weekend, there were vacancy signs.  Seeing that there is no good reason for gas to be priced as it is, it makes me sad for our state that depends on tourism.

Our next trip up should be fun. We are taking our two oldest grands with us ( the blonds). B and KTG will be coming too.   GIven the midweek holiday, work will prevent the entire family from gathering.  But we will have fun and weather permitting, gather on the beach to watch the fireworks along the shoreline and in the nearby town.

Then there is the matter that is making me angry.  The doctor added a med for me.   I developed side effects from it and had to quit using it. I used 6 pills from a 90 day supply that cost me $50!   Today I picked up the replacement  and it was over $100!  Thank God I have insurance. I would not be able to pay for all this crud!   I was so astonished I forgot to ask the pharmacist how to safely dispose of the unused $50 stuff.   I wish I could donate it to a needy person rather than tossing it. ( I know..I can't just toss it..I need to dispose of it safely).  What really gets to me is that I let myself gain enough weight to cause a cholesterol problem.  As I am losing my blood pressure is coming down and doesn't need to be treated.  I have changed my eating habits a lot and hope to have the cholesterol thing under control soon.

On the another front, I have finished four sewing projects and 3 and 3/4 knitting projects for the fair Katherine.  I can't wait to see her on Friday!!

We had a wonderful, fun weekend. First on Friday night, the fair KTG and her parents arrived. While Mama and Daddy went to a nearby venue for a concert and a well deserved date night, KTG and her blond boy cousin played. He is nine, she is one. He amazes me with his patience and ability to relate to his toddler cousins. He loves them and watches over them and has a good time.  Anyway, I gave her a bath and got her to sleep and enjoyed her so much. If you read her blog, you know that she does not like to sleep and seems to need very little. It took about an hour to get her to sleep.  I ended up laying on the bed with her and she was sitting on me. She jabbered and chatted and I pretended to be asleep. So she pulled my nose, tried to remove my ear, and generally had her way with me.  It was so hard not to laugh.  Finally she said "bye" and laid down on me and went to sleep. 

Saturday we all went to the park and we walked.  The blond did not want to and told me that he did not need to diet. I told him it wasn't about dieting, it was about being physically fit and that he needed to exercise. KTG began in the Baby Bjorn on her daddy, but ended up in the stroller.  We went to lunch on a $20 bill I found in the park.  KTG amazed all of us with all she decided to eat. She had yogurt, bits of her Papa's hamburger, bits of her mama's chicken, and tastes of her daddy's Frosty. 

After a nap, we all went to her aunt's house to play in the pool with her redheaded cousins. Lots of splashing and laughing.

When we got home, Papa and KTG's daddy attended to the grill and we had an early Father's Day dinner, since the family since Katie and her parents needed to leave in the morning.  KTG again ate like a champ. She had mashed potatoes and gravy, roasted chicken, and some veggies.  She drank some milk and had a good time.  Then it was time to play in Gramma's back yard. KT's cousin found a huge leaf that she played with for a long time. She also made off with Gramma's huge water bottle. It is almost as big as KTG!  All in all,a relaxing evening. But after her bath an before her bedtime, Gramma had fun playing with her again.   Gramma zerbitted KT's tummy and made her laugh and laugh.

This morning, after KTG and her parents left, our son arrived to visit his dad...and his son.  The blond one decided to go with him for the day and then have us pick him up in the morning to go to the cottage.  After they left, Papa decided he wanted to take Gramma out for a dinner to mark Father's Day and our Anniversary ( posted on Wednesday).  We had a nice dinner and then went home to find our oldest daughter and her redheads.  They gave Papa a gift and then had some ice cream before they left.

It is quiet here now after all the activity.  But it was a wonderful weekend!

 

It has been a very relaxing day, so far.  After a morning of coffee and the paper, we took advantage of the brief respite from the rain to walk in the aprk. We did our mie and a half and then left to run a few errands.  First off to Sam's Club to pay the bill. I ran in while the Husband worked on the crossword puzzle in the car. And ran into a woman I used to work with. She is retired too. I hadn't seen her for 5 or 6 years. She asked if I was living out in this suburub and when I said yes, she said we moved here too.  I asked where and she said the condos out near the high school. I laughed and told her, that's where we moved.  It is quite a large area and we live in a court near the front.  She lives way in the back overlooking the wetlands.  We had a good laugh and told one another we would look each other up in the "hood",

Out to the car where it had begun raining again. We drove the 15 miles or so to the mall and I went in and paid another bill then we left to go to Michael's. For once I made it out of there without yarn.  I told myself that I needed to wait to visit the new yarn shop near home.  I picked up the frames I went in for and we went to a restaurant near where we used to l ive. It just popped into my mind that we should have lunch there since we seldom are nearby. We walked in and saw a couple we haven't seen in several years. Bruce and the Husband worked together when the Husband wrote curriculum and retrained GM workers for several summers.  Bruce now has Altzheimer's.  He recognized us right away and Maryjo told us that we fit into the time period where his memory is still active. He looks so fragile and she told me that he is undergoing radiation for a Stage One cancer but is doing very well.  We went to our table and ordered and they came over and sat with us when they were finished. The two guys looked so happy, catching up on things and making plalns to play golf soon. Maryjo told us he could go play and later I told my husband he would be doing her a huge favor by taking Bruce out for a morning of golf. Maryjo could actually have some freedom because she told me she never leaves him for more than an hour.  After they left, my husband said it was so strange that I had asked to go there...he had just been thinking of Bruce last night due to a program on tv that was discussing the retraining of workers for the new Global Economy.  I told him I do not know where the name of that restaurant came from this morning but I was so glad we went there.

After we got home, I framed some new pictures of KTG that I had printed. I especially like this one. I matted it with white and put it in a  black frame.  It is very striking .

 Then I decided it was cool enough to bake so I made Banana Bran muffins.  I had the perfect over ripe bananas to use.  Now I will spend the rest of the day reading and knitting.  It is still raining softly off and on.  Just a nice quiet day.