243/365 - A very hot day

Today I had both Marley and Mason. Marley stayed overnight last night and Mason came around 2 o'clock when his Dad went to work. The kids played in the little pool for quite awhile. I had filled the pool a couple of hours before they went in so the water wouldn't be so cold, but it was so hot out that I had to add cold water!


I think Mason loves the water as much as Marley.



Here Marley was feeding him a freeze pop. He loved it!



Check out those water shoes!



By the time supper was over I was wondering how I ever survived having two children of my own. I guess I was a lot younger......but I love it!

242/365 - Christmas Card from the 1930's

On Sunday when we were in Woburn, Janelle's mother Stacia and I got talking about old pictures. She showed me a Christmas card that her grandmother had made. She posed her children (Stacia's father and her aunt) outside in the snow like they were making a snowman and took a picture. She would then cut the children out of the picture and glue them on a piece of paper, and draw a winter scene around the pictures of the children!

This is the first draft of the card



Then she would somehow have it printed onto a card.



I just think this is so neat. Stacia said her grandmother sent different cards like this out for years. Stacia is so lucky to still have several of these cards that have been saved over the years.

241/365 Sunday....

First of all, Marley won the Candy Bar Contest in her 3rd grade Sunday School Class.



It really was a lot of memory work. She did a great job! This is the largest candy bar I have ever seen; 5 lbs.

These are her two teachers. She has loved her class this year and it is because these two ladies put so much into their class.




After church we went to our annual cookout in Woburn with Janelle's family and friends.

It was all you could eat lobster. Does Paul look like he is happy?







Mark and Janelles' good friend Maria with her daughter and her mother.



And, of course, corn hole!



Thanks Stacia, for another great day!


P.S. Happy Anniversary Paul, 40 years today!!

240/365 - Kayaking (and fishing) at Buckley Dunton

Today Paul and I went kayaking at Buckley Dunton Lake in the Berkshires. What a beautiful day. After almost a week of rain, damp and cool, today was wonderful, low 80's and sunny. Buckley Dunton Lake is in Becket, elevation of 1,750 feet.


The beavers are very active on this lake!





Paul caught a chain pickerel. It was a pretty good size (he forgot to weigh it).




While he's fishing, I usually read. It's so relaxing.










The lake was so beautiful today, very calm.


We haven't been kayaking too much this summer. Actually, the last time we went was on July 3rd with Marley. It was so good to be back out on the water today!

239/365 - Honor Prims

Tonight was the Girls Ministries Honor Ceremony at my church. This picture is of our two Honor Prims with their moms.

It was a special night for the girls, 9 in all from Rainbows, Daisies, Prims, and Stars, ending in a really nice banquet. The chocolate covered strawberries were a real hit!

238/365 - August 26, 1972

38 years ago today. Happy birthday Kris. I love you, Mom

237/365 - Prims

Tonight I got this from one of the girls who is moving up to Stars in a few weeks. Things like this make it all worthwhile.

236/365 - Letterboxing and sneakers

On my day off today we had two agendas: buy new sneakers for me and go letterboxing. My sneakers are at least 11 years old and I really need new ones - half of the soles are missing. The reason I haven't bought new ones is because I couldn't find any that are comfortable. A few months ago the people in the shoe department of LL Bean in So. Windsor told us of a New Balance store in the same shopping center that has a scanner that shows "hot spots" on your feet. This shows them what type of shoes you need.

So....I thought I would try LL Bean one more time for sneakers and if nothing, try that New Balance store. We decided to look for a letterbox in the same area just for fun.

We did the letterboxing first (in case it started to rain later). Union Pond Park is very close to the LL Bean store in So. Windsor. There were two letterboxes to be found there. We found the first one.





The second one, we think, is missing. We followed the clues, but....no letterbox. We'll e-mail the owner and ask if they know about it.


Then we headed off to the New Balance store. Within fifteen minutes of walking in the store I bought these. I can't believe how comfortable they are....pricey, but comfortable. I couldn't believe it. I have tried on lots of sneakers, and none of them were comfortable until these. I guess they know what they are doing in that store!

235/365 - Edward Radtke

This is Paul's grandfather, Edward, (front center ) in the German Army during WWI.

This is the same picture, just an expanded view of his unit.

234/365 - Happy Birthday Big Baba!

My family is heading into birthday season. Between August 22nd and September 23rd we have 6 birthdays. We usually have one big birthday celebration, but today is actually Paul's father's (Big Baba) birthday, and seeing it was Sunday and we were together, we had a little birthday celebration. Happy Birthday Big Baba!

233/365 - Funny sisters

This my friend Janice (your left) who hosts the (almost) monthly scrapbook crops, her sister Elaine and Elaine's granddaughter Madison. Janice and Elaine are two of the funniest ladies I have ever met. They sure keep things hopping. You never know what they are going to come out with!

232/365 - Purple toes

I got my toes painted tonight. All summer I have had red toes and so I decided tonight to do something different. I picked out a purplish color and as the toe lady was putting it on I decided that I really liked it and asked her what the name was. With her Vietnamese accent she read Pamplona Purple by Opi. I finally asked her to spell it - LOL!!

Well, when Paul saw it, much to my surprise he said, "Purple, I hate purple toes." Who would know he would even have an opinion on the subject. I'm sure he will get used to it (actually he'll have a long time to get used to it because August is usually the last time I get them done and then I just let it wear off over the winter LOLOLOL!!). And it's not really purple purple, just sort of purple, right?

P.S. They actually look more purple in this picture than in real-life!

231/365 - Pretty sky

The sun setting behind the clouds was pretty tonight. By the time I found a place to take the picture the sun had lowered a little and it was not quite so impressive, but still pretty.

P.S. Today marks two years of blogging!!

230/365 - Mysterious digger

Today Paul discovered that something has been digging under our back steps. It's amazing how much dirt has been displaced. It's hard to tell from this picture, but the dirt almost covers these two gallon bottles of windshield washer fluid. There must be some burrough down there. I hope the back steps don't sink into a hole!!

229/365 - Covered Bridge

I'm not sure when this picture was taken, probably early 1920's. Actually it is a postcard. It was in my grandmother's photo album. My grandparents lived in Brattleboro, not far from this bridge, when my Aunt Dot was born.

This picture of the same bridge was taken on July 4, 2002. It still looks pretty much the same. I wish I had taken the picture from the same angle, but when I took this picture I didn't even know we had this old picture. I love it when I find things that have survived for so many years.

228/365 - Mason in Marley's little chair

Janelle brought Mason and Marley (she watches her on Mondays) over for a little visit today. Mason is starting to like Marley's little chair.

The story of the little chair - We went to a get together at a friend's house and there was a little chair there that Marley just loved. To make a long story short, Paul and I went to Irasburg VT to a craft fair where the man who made this little chair was selling them (he had been at the Enfield Mall a month earlier but we missed him).





She loved it and the chair has been in my kitchen ever since. Now Mason is taking an interest in it.



July 2002 - Marley the same age that Mason is now.

227/365 - Weekend Vacation, Trip to Delaware 2010, Amish buggy

The New Jersey Turnpike was so congested on the way to Delaware yesterday, that we decided to go a different way home today. We went through Lancaster and the Amish Country. Too bad it rained almost all the way home because it is really beautiful country down there.

226/365 - Weekend Vacation, Trip to Delaware 2010, Sophia's Brouillette's first birthday

Today Paul and I went to Delaware to my cousin Lynda's granddaughter Sophia's first birthday party. This little doll was one of the very first presents she opened. She was so excited when she saw it.






This is Ray, my cousin's husband, Sophia's grandfather. She sure loves him.




This is my aunt Esther, Sophia's GG (great grandma).




When it was time for cake, as we were all standing around the table singing Happy Birthday, she just looked at all of us. I could almost read her mind saying, "What are you all doing?"






After cake, she had to get in the tub!



I'm so glad we got to see her on her first birthday. She sure is a cutie!