I love to see the Temple

We went to Washington DC for a weekend to visit the kid and grandkids. We stayed at a nice airBnB in Alexandria. I wanted to go to the Temple to see the festival of lights. I haven't been there during Christmas time in over 30 years. It is such an amazingly beautiful sight. I wanted to take both boys, but everyone had the flu. Poor Marcus wanted to go anyway. Maybe next year we can try again. They are going to have to relocate, but THANK GOD they are only going to move to Ft. Belvoir. That will put them about 20 minutes closer to me! I'm just thrilled they aren't going to California or Alaska. I want to keep my family within driving distance. We're looking forward to a very quiet Christmas this year.

More pictures of the boys

Early Thanksgiving Celebration

My daughter, her husband and the boys came to town. We met up with my son and his boys at Morehead Planetarium for a fun presentation on Sun, Earth and Moon. As we were leaving, James T. said to the student presenter "Thank you for teaching us about the solar system." He's SO cute! We had lunch in Carrboro at Weaver Street Market. The next day we met at Lake Michael for a picnic, even though it was a bit chilly. The boys didn't seem to mind. They got to feed the ducks and there was even a bunch of ducklings, which I thought was kind of weird for this time of year.

Renaissance Fair at Pluck Farm

Took the boys to the Fool's Faire last Saturday. It was the first Ren Fest for the meadery and brewery at this location. We have been to a couple in Pittsboro sponsored by the meadery there. They were both in the summer which was kind of miserable. I can't be outside in 90 degree weather. Also, at the last location, James T. stood in a fire ant pile which pretty much ruined the day for all of us. Poor kid. The weather this weekend was beautiful, as it usually is after a big storm. The remnants of Nicole blew through on Friday, so things were a little damp on Saturday, but otherwise perfectly lovely. We can't have a kid's outing without at least one injury, so while in the bounce castle, James A. got head-butted by some other jumpy kid and ended up with a black eye. He was not in a great mood after that. But it was still a fun day and I know I'll be back next year.

Halloween 2022

Trunk or Treat at the church with the boys.

Weekend in D.C.

Took the train up to DC this past weekend to visit the boys. We went to the Smithsonian on Saturday--Natural History Museum and later had dinner at the Silver Diner. Marcus only eats pancakes these days, so we have to find restaurants that serve breakfast all day.

A couple of former co-workers

A few other people I used to work with showed up for the retirement party. Not MY retirement, I'm sad to report...but hopefully it won't be too much longer.

New Toy

In "inherited" an old sewing machine from Mike's mother. I believe it's dated from the 30s or 40s. I found a youtube video that explained how to thread it, and I was off and running! It's very basic, just sews a straight line, but it works perfectly...exactly what I wanted.

My Co-workers

The entire department got together for the retirement of DN. It was the first time I have actually seen some of them. We all work remotely, so no face-to-face meetings.

Afghan is finished

Or it's as finished as it's going to be. It's not really a blanket. It's just something to add some color to the room.

After the storm, a rainbow

Lunch Break

Met a couple of my former co-workers in Durham for lunch. It was nice being able to see each other in person and spend a little time catching up with the latest events in our lives. We ate at First Watch near the old office. Good food, great company. I love working from home, but sometimes I miss the socialization. Especially with wonderful women like this. I've been truly blessed to have worked with some fabulous ladies over my career. A few duds here and there, but not too many. Most of my co-workers, past and present, have been people I've liked personally and professionally.

That 70s Room

The TV nook has been painted dark brown. We would have preferred paneling, but that stuff is hard to come by these days, as is retro patterned rugs and furnishings. We are doing this on the cheap, so can't invest in actual vintage items. I found a love seat for free at the dump which was in great shape. Just need to find some sort of throw or slip cover in the correct color. We're keeping to orange, yellow, avocado. I've been working on this afghan to use as a throw. Even finding the appropriate yarn color was a challenge.

Pyromania

My little firebugs. They came to visit yesterday and spent the afternoon puttering around. They decided to help their dad burn some brush. Got to love country living! Setting fires in the yard--can't do this in the city.

Christmas in July

Actually Christmas 2011. The annual departmental holiday party at Jackie's house where she always made lasagna and spinach/strawberry salad. It was the one time a year that Denise would eat anything "green." Seems like a million years ago. Denise and Susan have passed on. Molly, Jackie and Beth are retired. Diana is retiring in a couple months. That just leaves me, Lynn and Sharon to hold down the fort. Hopefully not for TOO much longer...

Co-Workers

The entire department, except for the 3 people who live out of state, got together for lunch to celebrate the 35th anniversary of one of the co-workers. No names please, I didn't get anyone to sign a release. We met today at Firebird in Durham, at the Streets at Southpoint (AKA Southpoint Mall--although the restaurant is outside of the mall on the "streets"). It was really nice to see everyone. I actually had never seen my boss in person. Except for the Spring Fling a couple months ago, I had not seen anyone for over 2 years. This restaurant is a steak and meat place, but I had a really delicious salmon salad. It was a bit spendy, but it's not like I go out to a place like this every day or even every month. Once every couple years is probably enough. Doubt if I'll be back though. I prefer slightly more exotic cuisine. For this occasion, I went mostly just to see the team and to congratulate my co-worker. It was fun. I kind of miss the office comraderie.

Flowers and condolences

Flowers arrived on my doorstep. One batch from someone at the church, either Stephanie or Susan. The note only had an "S" on it. The ohter from my coworkers. Very nice gesture from all. It was Mike's mom and yet no one sent him any flowers...hmmmmm. Interesting. I feel so loved! It's a weird time right now. Just plain weird. No more parents in our lives.

Margaret Estelle Britts Nicholson

Mem passed away May 13, 2022 at a hospice facility in Yanceyville. She had been at home until the last couple weeks when she decided she was not able to take care of herself. She had a hospice home care, but they were only there a couple hours a day. She really needed more overnight care. We went to visit her April 10. She got to see her great-grandkids once more which really made her happy. She was cremated and we will have a graveside ceremony on June 4 to place her ashes next to David's and her mother. Mike and Britts still need to clear out her home and take care of the rest of the estate. It's sad, but she lived a good, long life and the end was relatively quick and painless. As Pam said, now she is finally back with her beloved David.

Latest Crochet Projects

I found a crochet pattern for this purse and decided to give it a go. It was a little tricky, something new for me. The blue one was the first effort. I didn't line it or put in a closure. I may later...or maybe not. It was a practice project. The beige one is lined and has a magnetic closure. The handles didn't turn out right, but whatEV. It is good enough for my purposes. It's the process that counts, not necessarily the end result. I have a few other things to try next. I need more yarn and I have to consider how much I'm willing to plonk down. Yarn is expensive, even though I am using the cheapest thing I can find. All this crocheting is killing my old arthritic fingers, but I really enjoy it and plan to keep it up as long as I can.

Updates April 2022

The puppy. She is just the sweetest little thing, but Sophie and the cats really hate her. Early tolerates her, but her presence has everyone on edge. Not to mention the mess everywhere. So, when Bert was packing up the boys after their visit, she took the puppy with her. She'll take good care of her. Maka will enjoy having a new playmate. At least we hope so. This means I will get a decent nights sleep for the first time in over a week. Yesterday, we met the cousins and Bert's childhood friend and her little boy at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. A lovely time was had by all. It's a nice museum. The boys played in the tree houses and the "creek". I like the butterfly house. It's a rainforest filled with hundreds of butterflies and moths. Amazing and beautiful. Everyone went home today. Sophie had to have some surgery to remove a cyst on her shoulder. She's home now and doing fine. The past week has been action packed. I'm exhausted and looking forward to a very quiet and peaceful Easter weekend.

I must be crazy

Yep, I need another dog like I need a hole in the head, but here we are...once again adopting a dog. The across the street neighbor was "gifted" a puppy and the dog they already had just hated her. They knocked on our door, since they know what softy dog lovers we are and we took one look at her sweet face and...well...that's that. She's 10 weeks old and is supposed to be yorkie-shih tzu mix with a little pitt thown in, but she looks mostly like a pitt to me. She is super good natured. Sophie and Early seem to tolerate her. The cats not so much. It's weird having a puppy in the house again. She is a ball of energy and pees a LOT. We haven't quite landed on a name. I like Luna. Malcolm prefers Sailor Moon. Right now I just call her Puppa. I can't quite believe it. I was kind of looking forward to a life without a house full of messy animals, but here we go again.

Mini Me

Latest crochet creation. It's me! Pattern is from the book "AmiguruME" by Allison Hoffman. Fun stuff. If I had more time, energy, motivation, etc. I would do one for every member of my family...but you know...effort.

Sophie in middle-age

Here's my sweet girl. She's showing her age now.

New Haircut

Warm day

The temperature went up to 70 yesterday, so me and the dogs hiked out to one of our favorite spots. It's along an old logging road. I'm trying to get out as often as I can. This beautiful weather won't last long. I'm sure we'll be back to normal winter temps soon. And before you know it -- it will be summer again and I won't be able to get through the woods because of all the bugs and undergrowth. I did see some daffodils poking up already. There's a spot behing our house where there used to be another house. Apparently someone planted daffodils back there at some point. Now, at the end of winter a bunch of daffodils come up. I really need to dig some up and move them to my yard.

Happy Anniversary

To mark the occasion we decided to find someplace to eat that was "different". We wanted to try something we'd never had before at a restaurant we had never been to. Mikey found this place in Cary. There was no dining in, so we ordered take out, then went next door to look at a cute Tibetan shop while waiting for food. Mikey bought a couple of scarves and a small shoulder bag for me and I finally got some Tibetan flags--something I have been wanting for awhile. I'm glad I didn't have to go to Amazon. So, we got our food and took it home to eat. I have to say it was wonderful. A lot like Indian food but different spices. Very good! We'll definitely go back.

It snowed again!

I'm not posting another snow picture because they all look alike. We only got an inch, so the world didn't come to an end. Instead, I'm posting a recent photo of my sweet grandboys.

Third Snow of the Year and Month

It snowed again. Actually had some accumulation this time. Beautiful fluffy powder.

Second snow of the year

DOGS ROMPING IN THE SNOW

 We had several days warning that a winter storm was coming. That gave us all time to rush to the grocery store and load up on bread and milk. It takes no time for the already half empty shelves to completely empty out. I am not worried about running out of food, the real fear is loss of power. If the electricity goes out--which is always a possibility during any kind of storm--we will have no way to cook or keep warm. And it's unbearably BORING sitting around in the cold, dark with nothing to do. The ice and snow started early Sunday morning and continued most of the day. Things thawed out a bit on Monday (MLK holiday), but froze up again overnight. It looks like it will be a dry week, but a cold one.

We spent most of the weekend binge watching a series "Raised by Wolves." It is awesome! So interesting, smart, beautifully filmed, with excellent effects and great acting. It's a refreshing change from our usual fare. We've been watching a lot of bad movies lately--on purpose. Low-budget, grade B movies from the 50s and 60s mostly. Some of them show up on "MST3K" and "Rifftrax". Others we randomly find on YouTube. But after that, we need to see something really good, you know, to cleanse the palate, so to speak. 

So, that was that for my 3 day weekend. It's back to work today.

First Snow of the Year

 The day before it was 70 degrees, then overnight we had a terrific rain storm with wind, lightning, thunder--the whole bit. There was some flooding in the low lying areas. The temperature dropped to below 40 in the morning and then it started SNOWING! It was freaky. Then in the afternoon, the sun came back out. All this over the course of about 12 hours. 

Bert said they got over a foot of snow in the DC area. I heard that there was a massive traffic jam around there with people stuck on I-95 for upwards of 20 hours. 

Yo, NATURE, dude! It's amazing.

I hope we get another snow fall this season--I love snow, as long as the power stays on. We haven't had any real snow to speak of in over 3 years. I think we're overdue.