No one looks back and says, "I spent too much time with my grandchildren."

Blessed Beyond Measure

Strawberries, Gardening and Dumplin' Day

 It's an absolutely beautiful morning
here in my little corner.
The sun is shining and there is a
lovely, little breeze blowing.

Perfect morning for coffee on the porch.

Lou and I are still recuperating from the weekend.
We set up our display at one of the largest
Strawberry Festivals in the area.

I am finding the need to actually be able to meet
and talk to the folks who are our customers.
Selling online is certainly easier physically but
we don't have that personal interaction.

We left the house around 6 am and it was overcast,
not too warm but very, very humid.
We were lucky enough to to be able to drive
up right at our spot, pop up the tents and
unload the truck and trailer.
I had put on some make up before leaving the house,
but by the time we finished setting up
I felt like the wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz
and was crying, "I'm melting, I'm melting!"
and the makeup had melted off my face.

However, strawberry shortcake with
ice cream and whipped cream
for breakfast made it all much better.
Plus, I always freeze wet washcloths
the night before an outside show and
pop them in the cooler,
so I was able to clean up and cool down a bit
before having to face the world.

We met some wonderful people.
Many new faces but more than
a few old time customers
We also had some special visitors.
One of the crafters who participated
in The Basket Accessories Roadshow
with us years ago, made a special trip
to the festival for a quick visit.
So nice to see you Lisa.
Also my sweet nice Elizabeth
stopped by with her two girls. 

We packed up after the show
and were home about 7.
Sat down, put our feet up.
Discussed what we might like
to do for dinner and
actually fell asleep before
deciding what we wanted to eat.

I try not to think of us as old
but we certainly aren't as young as
we used to be.
 

Sunday, I potted some plants
and Lou cut the grass.

Lucy snoozed, while we puttered
around the yard.

The weekend ended with this beautiful
pink sky Sunday evening.

It's Monday, so that means I'm with the Dumplin'. 
He just woke up from a nap so I'm
off to dance with him
to the Mickey Mouse Playhouse tune.
Have a wonderful day!

Back Tracking A Bit...Blast-Off

 One evening last week, before the deep
freeze made its way into our little corner,
Gramps and the Grandlittles
went out to launch rockets.

 

 

A new generation of rocket shooters was born.
Lou did this with our daughters and
all the nieces and nephews.
Seems Santa thought it was time
to start this tradition again. 

 Lots of instructions and rules to follow...

 3-2-1

 And...Blast-Off!

 Young legs to go fetch it when it comes back from
its journey and hits the ground is a plus.

...and we had a beautiful sunset that evening.

A Day with my Darling Girlie...

Got to spend a special day with Riah J .

Her brother had a field trip to the Maryland Zoo
and my daughter was chaperoning.

I love having both of my grandlittles
but sometimes it's nice to spend
time with just one.

We went flower shopping...
in search of a Lipstick Sage plant. 
I always have greater success of attracting
hummingbirds with plants rather than feeders
and the hummers just flock to this plant. 
The one I had last year did not make it
through the crazy winter we had.

We weren't able to find Lipstick but
did get a variety called Bright Eyes.
Hoping it attracts lots of hummingbirds
for the Girlie and I to watch.

The Country Workshop

They Love Me...

Kindergarten homework...

 

Use the word "me" in a sentence and draw a picture.

Our darling grandson drew a picture of
his Gramps and Mom Mom,
and himself.

The sentence is short and sweet.
They love me.

And yes we do!

The Enchanted Forest and Elioak Farm

 Took the munchkins to Elioak Farm in Clarksville on Friday. There are attractions from Enchanted Forest that have been restored.

The Enchanted Forest was a park that had attractions based on fairytales and children's stories.  My grandparents took me there as a child and I took my daughters when they were young.  Unfortunately it closed and the attractions fell into disrepair. 
With the help of  many volunteers, the folks at Clark's Elioak  Farm have recreated many of the original attractions.

 There are also picnic areas, playgrounds and a petting zoo.

 

The grandchildren, Gramps and Mom Mom had a wonderful day together.

The old folks slept well that night.

Sunday...

It's a cold morning here... and off and on snow flurries. Thinkin' I'll just sit here, finishing my coffee and try to decide what to do with the rest of the day.  I need to come up with an idea for dinner with what I have on hand...may just make meat sauce in the crockpot and cook some pasta.  

We had a family dinner last night to celebrate my birthday, which was earlier in the week.  It was a big birthday this year...one of those milestones...older than dirt kinda birthdays.  I told the daughters and Lou that I didn't want a surprise party (my 50th birthday they surprised me with a party.  Went to see a movie with the tricky husband and came home to 40+ people in my house).  So the girls made dinner and it was just Lou and I, the daughters and their husbands, my Mom and the grandbabies.  Nice and cozy and exactly what I wanted.

 My best gifts...

 Have a wonderful Sunday...

 

A Secret Revealed...

For a week I've been keeping a secret...

Darlin' D's shirt says it all...

Grandparents...Who knew?

Your life certainly does change when you become a Grandparent. On Friday night, Lou and I met Donna and Ron, my aunt and uncle, for dinner at the Gunpowder Lodge. We hadn't seen them since Christmas and had lots of catching up to do. They both retired at the end of last year and had spent 6 weeks in the land of Mickey Mouse (Orlando, FL). And what did our conversation keep coming back to...our grandbabies!

Their grandson Paul was one last week...A birthday party for his First Birthday was held on Sunday. He is such a happy, beautiful child and just loved the birthday cake his Mom Mom made for him.

Dylan loved the bubbles...

We all talked about how these precious blessings have so filled our hearts and lives and how, after spending a day with them, we are just worn out. It is such an overwhelming love.

And of course, the above is soooo totally true.