Yes Chef!

So on our vacation this young man was in charge of our menus, cooking and grocery lists.

Before everyone was up, he was already concocting a wonderful breakfast for us.
One day it even included hamburgers. Handsome was VERY happy.
He had plans for lunch each day.
And dinners, they were to die for.

 

In the kitchen, he is a one man band. One of the evenings, he was making frozen pizza, roasting garlic, putting together an alfredo sauce, grilling chicken and hamburgers and guess what I did? I stirred the sauce and got together some garlic bread.
#1 is something to watch. He is a Food Scientist after all.
He does all this without complaining or yelling. (I did ask him if his back ever hurt, he said no, so there, that explains his lack of crabby!?)

This is the night we had Tex Mex Chicken with homemade croutons, lime dressing and avocados. (I cut up the romain!)

He is married to Cinderella. And she is a DARN good sweeper.

A great family to be on vacation with and if the End of the World comes, #1 will feed us well.
Thank you #1...we love you!

My Shame

Well, I feel I have to share this...I have been following one of the people who went on a Compassion International visit to Haiti. I am appalled at the conditions there. Tears run down my cheeks as I read. I am wondering why it hasn't made the news lately. I am convicted to help a child.

I went to the website. Pick a child...what? How do you pick one? A boy maybe...who would grow up to be a leader and a responsible man and father...there were older boys on the sight...would a younger boy need help more? Then I looked at the girls...the girls are the ones who care for the babies that they are left with...a girl...hmmm...What country, Haiti, one that is full of aids or one that has very endangered children?

How do you chose...who am I to chose...do I chose mosquito nets or clean water in more of a generic attempt...I went back and forth all day...let Compassion chose? I prayed, I thought, I got distracted...my printer broke...I spent much too much time on that...soon it was late...I did not chose any child...I blame it on the printer...how important is that blasted printer when children need help?

I bow my head in shame...Dear God help me chose today...I do want to help...so many times I think "they", "they" need to help and as I am pointing the finger, the rest are pointing back to me.

This is where we were...Jealous?

Don't they all look important!

Our favorite beach.
We even have an umbrella.

The view from the house we rented.
It was perfect.
Spacious, cool, and most importantly...
NO FLEAS!
More to come...

Happy Birthday my dearest Middle Rose

I love my jewel, Grandma.
Shhhh, its my favorite.

I love you and happy birthday.
I can't believe how the time has flown
and how you have filled my heart
with such joy and happiness.
You are one of a kind.
Happy, sensitive, loud,
not afraid to do most anything!
You love to do things for people.
You surprise me with a glass of water with ice
or a chocolate which you say is so silky on your tongue.
I am so happy to be one of your grandmas!

Summertime....and the livin' is easy

7,6 and 5 they were...
searching for shells with their Grandma,
feeling the salt on their skin,
watching the waves lap the shore.
We put "coins" in the water in the hopes the waves would come.
We would pretend to be sea horses frolicking in the water.
I had to be brave, for the littlest one was a bit afraid
and I, I couldn't swim a bit and was more than afraid.

By this time, there was a new cousin.
You were all swimming well now. (except me of course.)
The littlest could outswim you all.
I nicknamed her mimming and she was something in the water.
Mermaid is what comes to mind.
Ah, they were all mermaids then.
They would sit nicely and let me do their hair,
braids of all sorts, side tails, pony tails.
The littlest would allow it, but she would tear it out 2 minutes later.
We would eat dinner on the lanai.
Auntie had cooked something wonderful.
The girls would clean up.
The lights would come on in the trees across the canal.
The fan swirled overhead.
The frogs croaked loud and in rhythm.
We would tuck them in.
Giggles and then quiet.
Sleeping the wonderful sleep of the young.
What summers those were.

Happy Fourth and Various and Sundry Items

This was The Farm's decoration for July 4th.
Quite spectacular in my opinion.

Can you hear him making the Chubacca sound. Tell me #2 is that how you spell Chubacca?#!

This is the face of EVIL.
Call him Alvin.
Call him Chickamonk.
Call him anything but nice.
He is teasing Burley unmercifully.

Oh how good it feels, the arm of an old friend...

Nostalgia

November 1994

We rescued you from a shelter.  I chose you. You were barking like mad, but I wasn’t afraid of you. We brought you home.  You were a nice dog, except for the incessant barking and escaping from our yard and house. You ate Ducky and 2 trees.  I was never afraid when Handsome went out of town.  You were a great guard dog.

You were Handsome’s dog.  He loved you very much.  I on the other had did not give you my heart for 7 years. 

When I did I loved you very much. You finally stopped jumping up on everyone.

Your appearance was beautiful. Your coat was luxurious and you had an undercoat and molted every spring and fall.  I always wanted a sweater made from your beautiful fur.

As the years went on, your hips started to give you 

trouble. We did our best, getting you shots, helping you up and down the stairs with a towel. The girls and I even stomped down the ice and snow so you could go potty.

You were 15 when we went to Florida on vacation. We put you in a kennel. You loved going there. When we returned, Handsome found out that you had died. The owners buried you under an oak tree.

We miss you Bear. Even I…yes, even I.