NC Visit

Family is precious.  The wonderful B & P in North Carolina are in the highest category of precious in my book.  They have been through hard times with me in the most supportive way.  One of the pleasures of being on the right hand coast is to be nearer their new home.  Last weekend, I visited with them.  Words are insufficient, but here are a few photo memories. . . .

White Ginger blossoms: the scent is heavenly!

Can you tell from our expressions that the woman who snapped this photo is wearing a "Drill Baby, Drill" tee shirt?  I almost didn't ask her to do the snapping, but she was the only one around.  We are in the Duke University Golf Club. . . . maybe that explains the woman's politics.

B & P are living in a community developed on a former farm.  

Much of the farm has been preserved including these "oreo" cows.

The old barn is now a setting for weddings!  

Seeing B & P's life here was a treat; just being with them was the best.   

More Reading

So, someone is reading this!!  Thanks so much for the emails about what you are reading.  I'm noting the titles for my future reserves at the library.  So much of my reading is "Go Dog, Go", "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", and the new favorite, "Baby Loves".  Baby Loves has little rhymes, "baby sits, baby stands, baby smiles, baby hands" illustrated with paintings of Mary Cassatt.  I'm enjoying exposing Miss C to good books and great art.  We'll go to the art museum soon.  With no TV here, you'd think I'd get more reading done, but I'm finding TV on my computer. . . . .

Reading

So, what are you reading?  

I loved Bill Bryson's book about driving around the USA: The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America.  It was written in 1988, so a bit dated, but his observations were right on, he writes with laugh out loud humor, and I my drive to the right hand coast kept coming to mind.  

Loving Frank was my book group's book, so I checked it out from the library.  (I have a new library card, the first new card for me in 33 years!)  I enjoyed the story of F. L. Wright's long time love affair with Mamah Cheney, her struggles with doing the right thing, and the difficulty of being a divorced woman in the early 20th century.

My airplane book this weekend is The Madonnas of Leningrad, another Book Club choice.  More later about this one.  I'm off to see family in North Carolina.  

Birthday at the Zoo

Birthday Elephants

Birthday Ice Cream

Birthday Wagon

"Apple"

Right on schedule Miss C is talking real words.  An alphabet book "A is for Apple" has fascinated her, so Mom pulled out a real apple when Miss C was saying "apple."  She chomped right on.  She is signing a few words, too, but the most consistent one is "book".  I don't have a photo of it, but it looks like she's praying when she signs "book," so it's impossible to resist.  Such an earnest plea: "read to me!" 

Miss C is ONE!

Birthday Sunday for Miss C.  Guests included Nonnie & Papa, Uncle J, Gma LaLa, and Mom and Dad, of course.  Miss C takes her time to warm up to people that are new to her. . . . and Uncle J had just the right touch with a book -- Miss C's favorite thing. 

Uncle J can read the ones in Swedish!

 

The most comfortable way to make contact: the one finger touch!

Lemon cupcake: delicious!

Birthday Monday: day two of the festivities.  More presents.  

Lucky Gma LaLa gets to help.

"I found my tummy!"  

We're waiting for everyone to be ready to go to the zoo.

It was a whirlwind two days, and I paid the bill: one cranky child on Tuesday!  But by Wednesday Miss C was her usual self.  Childcare for this grandchild exhausts me some days, and gives me energy on other days.  Earlier this week, Miss C had me in stitches and I can't even remember why, but laughing is good.

Wednesday we met up with a woman who has moved here near GTown for good.  She is caring for her 4 month old granddaughter, so we met at a park downtown and compared notes.  It turns out that our daughters were in the same high school class.  Small world.  We'll probably see each other again.

Obama in GTown

Barack Obama came to GTown yesterday, to a park 2 blocks away.  I had to go, of course!  I was way back in the line up, didn't get into the close crowd, but had this view via my longest lens on the camera.  History goes forward, too!

Battle of Germantown

Miss C and I walked up the road today to see the reenactment of the Battle of Germantown, a battle in the Revolutionary War on October 4, 1777.  Miss C is checking out the British Troops.

Here come the militias under the command of General Washington.

The British are defending Cliveden, the home of Benjamin Chew, a loyalist.  The British had taken over the house for their own use and were able to defend their position. 

The muskets were loud, and filled the air with smoke.  Part of the battle, with cannons, was raged right on Germantown Avenue. 

History really comes alive when you are surrounded by it.  Seeing this reenactment today sparked my curiosity, and I did some research on the internet to learn about other nearby historic homes.  Each is worth a visit, and I'll take you along as I explore.

One negative of living here in this big city is having to park my sweet car on the street.  Last week when work was being done on the street -- a new water connection for the house across the road -- Blanche was in the way.  She got concrete splatters all over the driver's side.  I found on the Internet that Muriatic acid would remove it, so that was my morning job.  Not fun, but it all came off.  Then I treated Blanche to a car-wash and wax.