AQUARIANS, FAT BIRDS, AND SWEETHEARTS

My mind has turned once again to family--especially in February!! We have so many birthday babies on our calendar. Actually, my mind is almost always on family and friends.

Just a small tribute to my dad. He is the little boy on the left in this picture. The other two brothers are Cy in the middle and Jack. Daddy would have been 89 this year. Grandpa was an extremely sensitive man; he cried at the drop of hat. I still remember finding myself a seat where I could watch him watch the Friday night fights. His air punches, mouth-gyrations, and obscenities were far more entertaining than Cassius Clay! He was self-educated. Because of the great Depression, he never graduated, but he loved to read. I remember him reading few novels, but he read the newspaper, Readers Digest, etc. Although a shy man, he was, in the later years of his life, able to pursue a career he'd dreamed of as a barber.

Ivan turns 4. Ya gotta love that crooked little smile. Ivan is a Lego guy. He spends countless hours building his own creations or getting his big brothers to build them for him. He provides lots of fodder for his mama's blog through his entertaining antics.

Brenna will be 5 this year. Brenna is an artist, an imaginative, loving little girl. She asks lots of questions of her ever-patient mom.

Connor is our 7 year old. He's also a Lego guy, whose greatest goal is to work at Legoland someday. He's also a Cub Scout now--shown here on a fishing trip with fellow Scouts.

Ben is over-the-hill slightly. He's a career Navy man, a builder of Lego projects for the boys, a builder of his own projects as well. When I asked Marie what Ben would like for his birthday, she said, "A gift card for Home Depot!"

Nicole is not quite over the hill but chugging right along. She's so busy with her boys, her husband, part-time jobs, her herbs and garden, and her internship as a midwife that I wonder if she takes enough time for herself.

I can't believe Mark's age this year. I usually think of him as a little boy in a cowboy suit telling me the plot of "Freebie and the Bean!" He's still doing his writing and research in the vast desert of Saudi.

February is also the month of sweethearts and love, and I couldn't blog this week without paying tribute to my eternal sweetheart.

Dad and I have such a good time together. For the first time that I can remember, we aren't going to be together on Valentines' Day, so we'll celebrate early. We're taking advantage of our Christmas gift from Mark and Jennifer to have a nice dinner at the Columbia Gorge Hotel. But, we don't need fancy cards or dinners to remind us of our love for each other. I once had a locket that had Dad's picture in it, and a little girl in the ward would constantly ask if she could look in my locket at my bee-you-tiful husband. He is a bee-you-tiful man! Dad is such a thoughtful, protective, kind man that I'm told every minute of every day how much he loves and cherishes me by his every act and deed. In many, many ways our love has deepened as we've been able to spend so much time together in our retirement. We are so funny. We have this great big house, three televisions, our own "study/sewing rooms;" yet we spend every evening cuddled together on the love seat in the family room!! Ah love, ain't it grand??
I'm getting ready for my trip to Guam. I admit to being nervous about venturing out on my own. This is the longest I've ever been away from Dad and the longest distance I've ever gone. I'm apprehensive about layovers, Honolulu Airport, etc., but I won't miss this for the world. I'm anxious to see Marie and her family and to deliver all the goodies that await some grandkids. You see them here packed into my new blue duffle. Lest others are too jealous, this bag is full of items that Marie's requested that they can't get.

I'm working on Grandkid Quilt #5 for Mr. Ethan. Here's a small part of the quilt. It's a rainbow, crazy quilt where every row--forward, backward, up and down has the ROYGBIV colors of the rainbow. DeAnne, Harmony, and Ethan all have some of the same pieces of fabric in their quilts, many of them from Grandma Whitby's stash.

Dad has been doing mostly projects outside, but, most recently he installed a new shelf for the microwave above our new stove.
He's still feeding the birds. The quail are so fat they can barely waddle or fly, but, oh do they love Dad!!
All is well here. Happy Birthday to our Aquarians, Love and Kisses to my lover, and Bon Voyage to me. I'll blog when I get back. Love, Mom

"Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game."