This past week...

J & A pretending they care...  J ran over to hug her after she got him a birthday present... 

A opening her "going to college" gift.  She was a bit stunned.  Almost speechless!

J waiting to blow his candles out...

J, R and Mom at G & R's picnic.

The baby!!!

Me holding the cutie last Monday!!!

Some photos from the past week or two...

On the way to where?  Lowe's, of course!  We had gone 24 hours without visiting either a Lowe's or a Home Depot!

Hello from Little E!!!  We went out to dinner with her, her mommy and daddy, and her Nana P.

My niece A, at our house, just before we went shopping to get her a planner for:  college!  NO!  Say it isn't so!  She can't possibly be old enough to go to college!!!

My nephew J and his girlfriend J; they came up to the lake for the afternoon yesterday.  We had a great time!  Hope they visit again soon!

He's building a canoe...

If you've ever read any of my blog, you've probably figured out that my husband just doesn't like to sit still.

In fact, it's safe to say that he CAN'T sit still. I do believe he'd spontaneously combust if forced to sit down and do nothing for any length of time. With one notable exception: when we go on a cruise he has no problem parking himself in a chaise lounge and just veg'g. But ONLY on a cruise ship!

His latest project is a cedar strip canoe. He read and read, and bought magazines and books, and read some more, and finally decided to buy a kit, rather than buy all the supplies himself, at least for his first boat.

So here are some representative photos, so far...  The last 5 were taken today, with the application of the first coat of epoxy...

Impressive, right?!  And he's all mine, girls!!!

There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile...

Jack went to my mom's house to pull weeds yesterday, weeds that were allowed to overtake the garage from the neighbor's house...  Not paying attention to the fact that he's not 20 years old anymore, he pulled weeds for two hours.  Pull, turn, toss, turn.  Pull, turn, toss, turn.

And so on.  And so on.

He pulled weeds for two hours and after two hours, couldn't stand up at all.

He's in agony. 

He can't stand up straight, he's walking like an old man, bent over, with even his head bowed down, looking toward the ground.

You know he's hurting when he takes 3 Advil without argument.

Usually I'm walking behind him, like a good squaw, but these past two days?  He can't keep up with me.  He's in slow motion, and can't speed it up at all!

Please send get well wishes his way!

I have to brag...

I have an absolutely BEE-YOU-TEA-FULL great niece.  Here, let me prove it to you...
And my mom?  She's beautiful, too.

Lions and Tigers and BEARS, OH MY!!!

So we were at the lake this weekend.  We've had conversations like this one many times over the last nine years ---
Me:  I think it's really cool that a bear crossed the frozen lake and climbed up on to Bob and Chris' deck a few years before we moved next door.
Him:  It may be cool but we REALLY don't want a bear on our deck.
Me:  Well, okay, maybe not ON our deck, but I think it would be SO cool to see a bear up close.
Him:  Not TOO close.
Me:  Okay, not TOO close, but close enough so it's not, like on the other side of the lake.

FYI.  It's official.  In the bank parking lot IS.TOO.CLOSE.