thanks for the memories

Monday, June 27, 2016

A New Day Book 27 June 2016

Outside my window...there is a gentle rain falling. MK and I were sitting on the porch when the rain started. What a sweet and refreshing scent as it started out gradually then developed into a steady downpour.  We have had a stretch of warm dry weather and this rain is welcome.  The first cutting hay is all in now God is watering the fields so second cutting will grow.

I am thinking...about my daughter.  Though she may not agree with me she planned and prepared a delicious dinner last night all the while making her guests and family feel welcomed and at home.  She even got some time to admire her god-daughter.

I am thankful...for all that God blesses me with each day.  Last summer Layn would barely come down off the steps of the pool and would panic if he thought he was going to go under water. This summer he is constantly dunking himself and laughing all the way.  Christopher continues to have no fear, both a virtue and a curse.  

Standing on the platform yesterday waiting for the train to come.  Annie enjoyed her first train ride yesterday and grandma enjoyed it through her smiles.

After the train ride we went to Destiny for the sole purpose of riding this carousel.  It is a piece of history for many Central New Yorkers who remember riding this at Roseland Park back in the day.  Now for a dollar you can ride a noble steed, a gentle pony, or recline in a horse-drawn carriage.

I am (still) reading...St. Faustina's diary.  

From the kitchen...there will be no cooking going on today.   Thanks to MK's feast yesterday there are plenty of leftovers.  

Creatively speaking...I hope to start a couple of bags today.  My business has been mostly on hold since moving into this house.  Now my muse seems to have found our current address and we are becoming acquainted again.

A few plans for the rest of the week...I think I will abandon planning and let circumstance and folly direct my life.  (like that is going to happen! But it looks good in print.)  This week, and every week, there will be laundry to wash, floors to scrub, food to cook, and errands to run.  I hope that those things will fit into the cracks between loving my family and thanking my God.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you...


Mary-Kate's little look alike.  She hates the heat but still managed to charm all who saw her yesterday.

Monday, June 20, 2016

A New Day Book 20 June 2016

Outside my window...the sun is out in force today. By 9:00 the temperature was already up to 82 and slated to climb still higher.  All of that being said I think it is a good day to stay inside and catch up on correspondence, do a little sewing, and enjoy the company of my girls.



I am thinking...yesterday was Father's Day which makes me miss my daddy more than usual.  My dad was an avid gardener and the grounds of wherever he lived were always beautiful to behold with various plantings and nary a weed to be found.  Dad's birthday and Father's Day fall within weeks of each other and it was my habit to encourage his gardening habit by gifting him with several bushels of rotted horse manure on both occasions.  He frequently joked that it was a true and loving daughter who would give her father manure for a birthday gift.  I miss seeing him smile when I came over with his gift.
I am thankful...for the privilege of being allowed in the lives of all my little people.  The way little Edmund's face lights up when we FaceTime, hearing the chatter and laughter of Evie over the computer and the little people who live close by.

I am reading....St. Faustina's diary still.  

Friday this 6 year-old graduated from Kindergarten!  There was no more proudness left in the world when this grandma watched him walk across the stage and get his certificate.  Thank you, Layn for all the fun we had the rest of the day and for letting me celebrate with you.  

From the kitchen...there is homemade chicken soup for my sick people, a batch of strawberry rhubarb sauce for my love, and possibly something good for supper.  The temperature, weather, and schedule will be my determining factors.  

Creatively speaking...I have a package ready to ship to WA for my little Evie and another for Sir Edmund.  The bag making bug seems to be biting and so that will be my source of outlet for the next few days.  It being a bit too warm and muggy to play outside doesn't hurt either.

A few plans for the rest of the week...a whole lot of the usual and a little more of the same.  Friday I will have my usual date with Christopher while his mom gets groceries, and Wednesday is Layn's last day of school which will call for some kind of specialness.  Papa and MK have been fighting something respiratory for better than a week now so much of this week will be consumed with getting them over it.  I don't like it when my people are sick


 Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you... 
 This little boy is someone to write home about.  We left NY two days after he was born. When we first met in person after that he wanted nothing to do with grandma (I know, go figure)  After we moved back and lived with him for awhile he was sure that his parents were punishing him for something serious.  Now, though, he actually asks to come a be with me!!!!!



Tuesday, June 14, 2016

A New Day Book 14 June 2016

Outside my window...the sun is shining, there is a light breeze and the air is full of pollen and fuzzy things.  Waking up to a temperature of 54 degrees makes me look forward to today's high of 71! 

Although, in spite of the chill last week, we all managed to enjoy the presence of the hot tub in the back yard.  Even Papa got in, twice!

I am thinking...about our little birthday girl.  Sunday we celebrated Annie's fifth birthday.  She is our little blessing, hope for a happy future, and the sunshine that lights up all our rainy days.

I am thankful...for all my little people! Sunday's celebration yielded pictures of this little imp enjoying his cake and it eating him too.

Brothers forever! 

If Annie is the sunshine in our days Kaycie is the storm clouds that blow through.  She can as easily smile as put on her grumpy face. She loves you on her own terms and each hug and smile is a gift that is unimaginably sweet.

I am reading...the diary of St. Faustina.  

From the kitchen...there are leftovers! Today is Farmer's Market day so I try to get all the leftovers gone from the refrigerator to make room for all the wonderful produce I will be buying.

Creatively speaking...I have completed the apron for little Miss Evie along with a jumpsuit.  I have a couple of bags cut and ready to sew that will be for sale.  I hope to be posting pictures soon.

A few plans for the rest of the week...finish writing the English course that I have been working on, attend Layn's kindergarten graduation, and spend some time with Annie at a program that Toys 'R Us is having.  

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing....

For her birthday gift Papa and I plan on taking Annie for a train ride.  We gave her this toy train and asked her to guess what it stood for.  Poor kid got a couple of "representational" gifts this year that she is going to have to wait to receive.  I look forward to Sunday and watching her face as she boards the train.  This is the kid that always wants to walk to the train tracks when she comes over and then is quite disappointed when no train passes by while she is there.  She reminds me of one of her Uncles when he was a young boy.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

A New day book

Outside my window...it is cloudy, chilly, and a generally gloomy day, but all I need to do is open the door and look out to my sanctuary and the sun in my heart starts to shine.  My sister once embroidered a saying that hold true today as well as days past, "Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want but the realization of what you have."

I am thinking....about blessings.  I'm thinking about this little boy who brought a new phase to my life. This little blessing that opened my shut-up heart and showed me that love is possible anywhere and everywhere.  


I am thankful...for the small things.  Sometimes one's faith needs a kick start. Sometimes life moves along and clouds the small things.  Lately those are the things I count. They are what fill my thoughts and heart.  Little things that fill the moments between the big things; hugs from my grandbabies, conversations with my daughters, quiet looks between myself and my love.

I am reading..."One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp.  This is actually about my fifth re-reading of this book.  Each time I go though it I find more and more truths to store away in my soul.  

From the kitchen....I have 4 dozen eggs hard boiled, a plan for supper, and the cool weather necessary to accomplish it.  I also noted that Papa is nearly out of bread! How provident that today is cool and a good one for baking.


Creatively speaking...I am finishing an apron for my granddaughter, Evie, two quilts, a couple of little dresses and a whole pile of mending!!!!  If I never created another thing there would always be sewing to do in the form of jeans to patch and little girls play clothes to put back together.

A few plans for the rest of the week...here it is Wednesday and the week hasn't gone as planned yet!  Tomorrow I have to meet Layn at Barnes and Noble to help him pick out some books then there is this dinner tomorrow night that I must attend. There are lawns to mow and gardens to rid of weeds along with grandkids to love, conversations to be had I will not lack for things to do.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you....

The wind yesterday sort of upset my begonias but St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother stand sentinel on the back porch and all is right in my little corner of this planet.