Monday, September 24, 2007

A Weekend Trip
We arrived at Tom and Kelly's lake house in the Poconos Mountains of New York, driving here from Michigan on Friday. Because we are in the mountains, it is cool with sunny and beautiful days. We are happy to see Matthew who is now 4 1/2 months old, changing and developing so rapidly as only babies can do. He smiles easily, especially when his grandfather talks to him. Somehow babies always respond very well to Tony, thinking him funny, and smiling a lot.





We had two purposes in our visit here: most important, seeing Tom, Kelly, and Matthew, and second, to help with a house project. The lake house has a balcony on the upper floor that extends across the house on the lake side. The balcony had large open spaces making it very unsafe for a small child soon learning to walk. beneath it. Tom had a very good plan to make this safe for Matthew next year when he'll be walking and wanting to be outside. My job was to do the painting so you can see me here in my paint spattered jeans with the lake behind me. The wooden spokes you can see me painting were assembled, painted, and then carried up to the balcony to be attached securely onto the railings of the deck. We worked steadily on the project and got a majority of it done during the weekend. It is very satisfying to undertake a project and see it go so well.

Matthew enjoys books, listening to the rhythms of the words and curiously gazing at the pictures. There is nothing better than spending time with my grandchildren.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Friday was a beautiful early autumn day. I picked up my little friend Ann Marie at school and we spent a little time at the park. Then we went to my house to make cookies. Children are always very interested in cookie baking! After the cookies were in the oven, we spent a little time on a sewing project. I was teaching her how to sew a button on fabric. She did pretty well but was a little worried about the point of the needle. Next I showed her something that I had made for her: I had knit her a bright green sweater, which I gave her and she promptly tried on. We decided it looks really good on her plus she modeled it well.
Ann Marie is a very nice little girl and it was a pleasure to have some time with her.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Change
Just now we've had a change of seasons. A few days ago it was too hot and we needed the air conditioning. Suddenly the cooler weather is here. This morning the temperature is 46 degrees. I've started thinking about long sleeves and jackets. Trees are starting to change color and a few leaves are beginning to fall. My garden, though still full of red tomatoes and green beans, is starting to wind down. School began a couple of weeks ago. And I notice I'm feeling really good! I can work much better and think more clearly in the cooler months. I love to wear fleece. It's a great time of year!
I have a few projects in mind now. I always have a couple of knitted items on my needles. Right now it's a lace shawl and a Baby Surprise sweater. I have some sewing projects in the works. A wonderful novel I'm reading right now: A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, about women's lives in Afghanistan. Such an excellent book, the best I've read in a long time. I'm back to exercise classes and have even joined pilates where all the students (and teacher) are half my age! From Monday through Thursday I'm seeing my students, kind and eager to learn, such a lovely group of people that I am privileged to teach. My little friend Ann Marie will visit me tomorrow and we will bake cookies together. Is there anything better than baking cookies with a child? We have a trip to New York next week to visit with Matthew and his parents plus we will get to see the other grandchildren as well in the weeks to come.
Life is good.


Friday, September 07, 2007

A Blogging Break
Without planning, I have taken a blogging break; it's been quite a while since I posted, but here I am again. A flurry of activities near the end of August came and went too quickly. There was a wonderful family get together on August 25, with barbecue overseen by Tony, the greatest day with all my children, grandchildren, and so many other very dear family members. It was a time to catch up on the latest news, admire the new baby, remark on how children had grown, and plans for the coming year. Here are some random pictures. I didn't get pictures of everyone and I'm very sorry about that! I want to experience that time over and take tons more pictures. I wish I could see everyone more often!