Monday...after the big weekend....

 The beginning...people just starting to arrive, shortly before noon.  

  It 's a really nice place that we hold our family reunion every year...a state park, where we have this pavilion that's just steps away from the lake and the playground (and the bathrooms) lol. it's got a huge bbq grill set up over to the side of it too. There are about 8 banquet sized tables under there, and everyone brings their lawn chairs and scatter all over the perimeters.  I am guesstimating that we had about 80-90 people this year.  Not a bad turnout.

The guy with the camera is my brother who came in from Georgia, and his motley crew. AND--looks like there's one kid missing, now that I'm looking closely.  A grandson. Jake. lol 

lol..the beautiful mommy-to-be...my niece, Kelly Ann...wanted a good picture of her mommy tiara. Here's a better photo of this beauty

Holding her cousin, baby Rowan.

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  It was a good time and everyone had a ball. We had new cousins for everyone to meet and lots of really great food and perfect weather. A Trifecta!

Got home last night at about 8:30 and fell into an exhausted reverie, thinking about how it use to be and how many of the old aunts and uncles we've lost. One of the cousins (whose mom just died this year) brought a couple of boxes of old photos he found while cleaning out her house, so there was lots of that too.

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 I just wanted to stop in this morning and say hi...got to meet my cousin for coffee in about an hour, so I need to get going here. Then I'll come home and clean house and do some cooking and take it down a notch. I'm still riding the family high, lol.  My sister from Florida, her husband and one of her sons with his girlfriend came too, so all of my siblings made it this year, which was very cool. Although my brother from Georgia came and brought his wife, we didn't see much of her, I'm afraid. She's an only child who can't handle the crowds (I guess).  But it was good to see him and her for the one minute I did.

  Have a grand day everyone. You can imagine my house and the dog hair quotient, since I was gone from here 2 days and didn't vacuum. I have my work cut out for me today...

(BTW--while I was gone my butterbeans grew another 2 inches!!!!! )

Namaste.

Just when you think it's safe ...

...to take a day and do NO housework--your favorite brother calls and says they're coming tomorrow for a VISIT, if that's okay.  And of course you say, yes--it's okay--knowing full well you have a 10:30 massage and reflexology appointment that will save your life and you can't cancel on such short notice.  Which leaves no time for housework, as they'll be here when I get back.

  So, you cheerfully tell them to come at their own risk, as the grass is high and the oak seed pods have taken on a life of their own and are everywhere, choking the life out of everything.  I swept the porch and swept them out of the hall going to the front door, and 10 minutes later they were back.

 And the peaceful serene look of this place, harbors a dark underbelly, which will reach out and pull you under if it's not kept at bay by my whirling dervish-type housekeeping schedules.  (Believe me--the yard looks nothing like this right now. I mowed last Tuesday and the dandelions alone are already 2 foot high). And the back yard has not been mowed at all, too busy working the garden beds to be bothered with it, and now it's supposed to rain for like, I don't know, 6 days straight, and do you know what that is going to do??  The grass is already high back there, and the only thing that may save us is that the weather is shifting back to almost normal April temperatures. Freeze warning tonight.  Sigh....maybe the grass won't grow. (Right.)

  It's been a lovely cool day today, and I didn't do a damn thing except drive to Edwardsville for dog biscuits and a few odds and ends. And I drove 55 all the way with the cruise control on and had the windows down off and on. Roxie was with me, of course. She thinks she's a magical dog when we go into Petco and the doors open for her, lol.  I picked up some more soy yogurt (vanilla) and some fruit and a few vegetables. Going down the road, I realized I hadn't been in the car since Friday.

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  I installed a new photo app on my iPhone today--really didn't like the way the other one worked. This one seems better so far...it's called Instagram, and I understand  the spawn of Facebook bought it recently. I don't care who owns it...it was free and it works pretty well.  A winning combination in my book.

  Made Pad Thai for supper and it was good. And easy. (Another winning combination). lol

  Not sure what I'll make for my brother and family when they come tomorrow, but it probably doesn't really matter. They rarely eat with us, very concerned that I don't go "out of my way" for them. lol  But we'll see how it goes. I was thinking  maybe a big pot of beans and cornbread might be good. I got some buttermilk today while I was out...so I could make a skillet of my sweet moist cornbread...mmm...making me hungry just thinking about it.

  Read a few blogs, said a few prayers. I'll get up early with the Irishman and take an hour or so to run the vacuum and dust and straighten up. It'll be good enough. I'm gonna go start a pot of butterbeans to soaking before I go to bed, so I can just get them going early. Trying to decide if I want to put a hamhock in them that I found in the freezer.  We haven't been eating meat, not buying any, but have had fish a time or two when we are out to eat.  I found a turkey breast in the outside freezer and a package of goat--ribs I think- I could cook that turkey breast too.  I had thought of cooking it for Easter, but wound up not having an Easter meal. I didn't realize we still had stuff in the freezer, or would have eaten it up long ago. lol  The goat will probably be a doggie treat, because it's mostly bones-something someone had given me last year.

  So many decisions to make this late at night...lol

  Time for me to go to bed.

  6 AM comes mighty early around these parts.

Namaste.