Izzy at 7 months

This is Izzy relaxing in her bean bag bed. Actually it is a hassock that she has taken over. She hops in, makes her nest, and then takes a nap or relaxes, has a bath, and watches us. She has certainly calmed down in the last month (she was on thin ice for awhile). She really loves us. I think the feeling is mutual.

A Note From Debbie's Technical Team

You can now click on a picture and see a larger view that is not too large. This does not apply to the "Izzy Pictures" on the left side.

Open House at Marley's School

Tonight I went with Kris, Toby and Marley to Open House at Marley's school. She is in second grade at the same school that I went to for junior high. Last year was the first time that I had been in that school in about 44 years! It seems as though Marley knows every adult in that school - teachers, secretaries, principal and she hugs them all! She was so excited to show us everything. Her teacher told us Marley needed to fill out an application for student teacher. She also said she was a joy (but we already knew that). The room was so bright and energetic. They had all made so many things for Open House. One thing that I thought was so cute was her self-drawing, and the list of her favorites.

Visiting Cape Cod

Paul's aunt and uncle, Judy and Bob, invited me, Paul and Marley to their house in Chatham on the Cape. They have a grandson, Jack, who is about the same age as Marley. This is actually the third time that we have gotten Jack and Marley together. The first time they were about 3, the second time about 5, and now they are 7. They really seem to have fun together. This year we went down on Friday evening after work, September 19th and came home on Sunday evening the 21st. Bob and Judy are such fun people; when we got there Friday night at about 8:45 or so, they asked us if we wanted to take a walk on the beach. They had been there the night before and said that the beach was full of fiddler crabs. The kids had so much fun looking for them with their flashlights. On Saturday the kids played on the beach and we also went for a kayak ride. Marley even tried her first steamed clam (she is braver than me). On Sunday we went for a little ride and ended up at the Chatham Town Fishing Wharf where we saw three seals. What a treat that was. They were waiting for fish from the fishing boats and they swam all around the wharf. We all loved seeing that. Before we left for home we went to Hyannis to play miniature golf at Pirates Cove. Marley got two holes in one, which she was so excited about. It was a fun weekend. Thanks Bob and Judy!

The Sweetest Little Gift...

For my birthday Marley made me this little "shell" with a pillow inside. She designed the pillow herself, stuffed it, and sewed it (with yarn) around the outside. She was so excited to give it to me. Later in the day she asked me if I really liked it. I told her that I loved it. She asked me where I was going to put it. "Where do you think I should put it?", I asked. "I think you should put it on your bed, and then you can use it as an extra pillow", she said. How sweet!

Prims - Second Time Around

Tonight was the Awards Ceremony for Girls Ministries at our church. Marley is ending her first year in Prims, which is a girls club for 1st and 2nd graders. This new year I will be "team-teaching" (or being a helper as I like to think) in Prims. This is the second time around for me. About 30 years ago our Pastor's wife asked if I would be willing to work in Prims. I told her that I didn't want to be the leader but would be a helper. When I went to the first class, a good friend of mine was there, also as a "helper." So, the Prims class had no leader, only two helpers. We did Prims for years, and still laugh about the fact that we were both helpers. So here I go again, "helping" in Prims.

P.S. Marley is the one in the pink shirt and gray pants walking up to get her badges.

Throwback Thursday - Influential Women

My aunt Esther is here from Delaware visiting my aunt Dot. Paul and I went over to Dot's tonight to visit with them. It got me thinking about the influential women in my life. I have had at least four of them. Two of them are now gone, my grandmother Lucy, and my mother-in-law Priscilla. I have two of them left, my aunt Dot and my aunt "Ettie". It seems no matter how old you get, it's nice to have a mother figure still in your life. They know you and still love you no matter what. Sometimes I feel bad that Ettie lives so far away, but whenever she visits, it's like the years go back. My cousin Lynda and I will still always be the kids, and they will be the adults. There is something comforting about that and I hope it stays that way for a long time.

(Picture taken May, 2005, Greenfield, MA)

A Post By Paul To Our Kayaking Friends

I recently had to replace my kayak rack because our Voyager three-kayak hanger did not hold up - even for two kayaks. At first the buckles broke which I replaced and then the straps themselves broke.

I think the setup shown in these pictures is simple, elegant, easy to use, and inexpensive. I paid $3.97 apiece for the four brackets - EB (Everbilt) Heavy Duty Arm Hangers SKU 030699012527 at Home Depot. I also had to buy four pressure-treated two by fours to create a flat base because I was mounting the brackets on an uneven surface. The cost of these was about the same as the brackets. These are much easier to take the kayaks on and off of than the hanger. Also, with the hanger, it was almost impossible to take the top kayak down without taking the bottom one down first.

Tip - every time I put the kayaks on the racks, I have a different kayak side on top. This way, hopefully I won't end up with one side of one kayak faded and breaking down from ultraviolet rays.

Thanks Deb for the space.

Paul

Lake Wyola (and thoughts of our vacation in 1958)

On September 4th Paul and I went kayaking at Lake Wyola. This is the lake where my family went on vacation back in 1958. I wish I could remember more about this vacation but, unfortunately, the only memories I have are the pictures that my aunt Dot took. Earlier this summer Paul and I drove up to the lake to find out where the public put-in for boats was. We went kayaking there for the first time in July. When we got home, I looked at my old pictures to see if any of it looked familiar, which it did not. Unfortunately, none of the pictures were of the cottage or its grounds. There were only pictures of the lake taken from the cottage. Paul said that if we brought the old pictures there, maybe we could at least determine where the cottage might have been by the lay of the land, that is if the old pictures were really taken in front of the cottage. A lot of ifs, but we decided to try (poor Paul, he always gets conned into my hair-brained schemes). Anyhow, it was a beautiful day and we set out with pictures in hand. After a couple of trips around the lake, Paul thought he found where the cottage may have been. We took loads of pictures, and when we got home, tried to compare them. In the end, I still don't remember anything other than what was in the old pictures but somehow I felt better for trying. It just reinforces to me that I need to document things, so that if in the future someone else like me comes along and cares about this stuff, they will have more information than they could possibly want!

The picture on top is Lake Wyola taken this year looking out the same direction as in some of the old pictures below.

***Update 9/26/2016 - Paul and I went kayaking at Lake Wyola today.  While going around the edge, of the lake, I looked for where I thought our cottage might have been when we stayed there with the Lundstrom's in 1959.  I remembered that it was not right on the water but across the street and there was a way to get down to the water.  Paul said that there must have been a public place for other cottages to swim, not just just walking through somebody's yard.  We found a Lake Wyola Association beach front and it could have been one of a couple of cabins across the street.  I so wish that we had taken a picture of the cabin!

Kayaking Pictures