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.

Monday...in a room full of kittens

 Coleus

Today is supposed to be the day when the kittens go to the farm.  We'll see if the courier flakes out on me again. (It's her cousin's farm). I haven't heard anything from her yet.  I'm feeling a little ambivalent, of course, but it has to be... I am debating on keeping one of my favorites, because the little thing does not want to use the litter box, and I am so done with cleaning up after cats on my carpet...I adore Little Bit, but in a barn, he'll not have to worry about where he goes. He is actually catching up to the others in size now too, and that was one of my reasons for keeping him in the first place-he was much smaller than the others.  He is very affectionate and adorable...well, we'll see.

[This my sweet Baboo...he's definitely staying....]

  Yesterday was my family reunion at the lake. We had a great time. The weather cooperated beautifully. It never got above about 83 degrees and was breezy and bright and sunny. Humidity was minimal. A perfect day for sitting around and chatting and eating and reminiscing. We had a visitor--a very old man who was best friends with my youngest uncle for all his life. He came over and said--you don't remember me, I bet--and told me stories about when I was a little girl and he would be at my grandmas house and give me nickels and pennies when I was there.  He said "You were the prettiest little thing..."  It was kinda neat/creepy.  lol  He and my aunts all sat around telling stories about when they were kids and the things they did and got in trouble for, lol.   The aunts enjoyed themselves tremendously.  My nieces and nephews and cousins kids all brought all their kids. It was pretty cool.  We got home around 7 PM and it was a long and tiring day, and I was asleep by midnight.  

  I am meeting someone at a noon meeting hopefully and then taking someone else to a meeting tonight. It will be a busy day for me, all around.  I have cherries to pick, wild raspberries to pick and much housecleaning to do. I won't get it done today probably, but I will stay home all day tomorrow and get it done.  Grateful that the yuckies have pretty much passed.  And I can be a productive person again, taking care of things in my little world, instead of just spinning around aimlessly.  That feeling reminds me of the days when I was so restless, irritable and discontent that I was almost paralyzed with anger and fear. I couldn't accomplish any tasks at hand, couldn't stand to be in my own skin, couldn't bear to stay in any one place.  Ugh.

  OKay--time to get on with the day.  Make a call, get some clothes on and sashay out into the world of the living. lol

  Have a grand Monday, all y'all.  May you be blessed in all ways imaginable.

Namaste.

Seriously...Saturday????

(I've always been one to give my "ALL" for a good cause...)


It was a strange and lovely day today...weird ass July weather in the mid 70's for crying out loud!! We attended a family get together that was just wonderful and came home around 6:30. Stopped at a local produce stand and got 2 glorious large cantaloupes. Both are sweet and meaty and fragrant. Left them in the trunk of the car and when I opened the car to leave, the smell nearly knocked me over.

Got to spend some time with my favorite 6 year old niece and my brother and sister-in-law.

Am dead tired now. Thinking I will stay home tomorrow while my beloved goes to his meeting and I'll plant irises and do a little clean up work out there. I need to make a grocery run as well, sometime tomorrow, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Feeling greatly blessed tonight that I have a loving family. A bunch of cracked pots, certainly, but still... I feel blessed that we can break bread without breaking each others necks. I feel grateful that we're all doing alright, both financially and healthwise. We're not a rich bunch or anything, but we've surely all got everything we need on a daily basis. And we all love each other. My son came today too, with his wife. We had a good time and I got some hugs and kisses from my sonny boy. Every mom is grateful for that!

Feeling glad that tomorrow is another day and that I am loved and able to love...all the people in my life....


Namaste.