Seattle grandmothering

Middle Daughter had a chance to go on a trip with hubby, so I was invited to come and help with child care.  It was such a fun visit! We had  a Wonderful fun girl's night the second evening  I was there. I just can't express how much I enjoy my daughters...all my children!  There is nothing better than having your children grow up to be delightful people that you enjoy being with. People you admire!  And then they have these darling kids!  Just fantastic!  Anyway, after a delicious meal of dumplings and dim sum, we went shopping.  I bought my first pair of skinny jeans.  They actually put a little compression on my knee.  So fun!

 

I had to take a photo of Cute Penny in her  Spiderman socks.  I don't remember why she was sad.

 

Geneva has been wanting alpaca.  As part of her research, she found a near neighbor that has them so we went to visit.  The animals were wary of the kids.  The adults had a great visit! She wants alpaca even more.

 

 

 Part of the appeal of alpaca is the chance to use their wool.  She couldn't wait so she bought some wool and a spindle.  This is her first yarn.

 

Then off she went with hubby for 4 days.  With Elena's help, we had a good time while she was gone. Elena and Penny had a sleep over one night and she came over another whole day.  An other adult makes it so much easier.  I don't have the stamina I once had.   There is a country/western song that says 'I'm not as good as I once was but I'm as good once as I ever was'.  I think it may apply.

 



Playing monopoly was a favorite.

We had some wonderful weather, hail, rain and snow, and it made for gorgeous photos.

 We played outside when we could.

We made an arrangement from the plants in the yard.

This little man had a good appetite.   He likes canned peaches.

We 'ate' a lot of plastic meals

 We had a fun lunch at McDonalds.

Of course the play place is the best part.

 

 

 

 We made slime! It was a hit!

The other hit was a Shel Silverstein book. It was the reward for going to bed without protest.  I don't know if it was the poetry or the drawings, but they loved it.

The final project was a welcome sign! 

 

We had a wonderful time. I certainly have a wonderful bunch of kids and grandkids!

Fun in Feburary

Elena came!  I sure do love having my kids visit.  We went with her to see the other kids too. Win-Win!

 

 

 An advantage of living close to the temple, it makes visiting the grounds so easy and theyare beautiful!

We got to see Weston's football practice and play at the park!

 

A great catch!

 I have the best family!

Still trying

 I'm posting as myself again.  For a month.....maybe.  I find technology getting frustrating again.  Ugg. I guess I've been home from the mission too long.  I no longer have easy access to tech support and I have used up the blessings from that service.   Anyway, I have a lot catching up to do.

Geneva and John came down from Seattle to visit just after Christmas.  We are so grateful to see them!

 They enjoyed weather warm enough to eat ice cream.

For Christmas,
Oldest daughter took us out to dessert...a delicious bread pudding.  It was wonderful.

We had to try a couple of other desserts but the bread pudding was the best!

 A year ago I met Margot at ceramics. She is from Switzerland. I did my best to translate class instructions into French for her.   When she came back this winter, we got together for a visit to the Botanical gardens.

 

We had a wonderful time, enjoyed the beautiful plants, and I loved speaking French...even poorly.

I bought black eyed pea seeds...and had a surprisingly large harvest.  This is the last of the batch I cooked.  Eating them on New Years is supposed to bring good luck.  At the very least...we enjoyed a tasty meal.



PS they are in one of my new bowls.. I sure enjoy ceramics.

January jubilation

I'm  surprised that the first month of 2017 has already gone by already but I shouldn't be.  Surely I should be used to it by now.... after 65 years! I'm trying to get used to that too! So strange!  Now I'm married to a sixty year old man! Truthfully, he's in better shape now than he was 10 years ago.  I'm so proud of him and wish I were doing as well.  He wanted a celebration for his birthday where he could visit with former single's ward members, other friends and family.  Thanks to Alicia, we made it happen. She did the inviting.  Donnie and my Mom helped with the food making soup and bread..  And since it was Rod's birthday, we had carrot cake and donuts! It turned out to be a great evening.

The grand kids helped put the candles on the cake.

Singing Happy Birthday!

Everyone had to help blow them out!

Lots of  the current ward members came.

And many from the previous ward.

Cherished friends.

And Family!

 

So many dear people!

 

The most adorable grand kids!

 

The Tucson family came up and, as usual, Todd entertained numerous kids!

 

 I didn't get photos of everyone, but it was so fun to see and visit with so many people.  It was a really fun party and it was so fun to celebrate the amazing man he is!  He found his 'birthday present' on line, a fancy road bike.  He had trouble sleeping the night before we picked it up cause he was so excited. 

 Rod has focused a great deal of time and energy on his tile project.  He has loved the tile at the Alhambra.  He originally wanted me to quilt that pattern....I told him NO!  Sooo, he has decided to paint the pattern on silk.  He spent many hours figuring out how to draw the pattern on paper. Then he used an exacto knife to cut it out of card stock.

He used that as a template.  

 

He spent a great deal of time learning about painting on fabric with wax resist.

this is his 'practice' on cotton.

 He traced the pattern on watercolor paper and painted it to get a feel for how it will look someday.

It's gorgeous!

I am so very grateful for this man.  He has made my life a joy and an adventure.  He honors God and our Family, and is anxious to take care of me and do anything that will make me happy. I am so blessed and grateful!