July 28 - Happy birthday honey

I am glad you were born, so I could have such a nice husband. I like your hipster glasses and your half-popped collar. You are a cool daddio. Happy birthday to you.

Does the baby have a daddy?

Several viewers of baby Evie's slide show wondered about the whereabouts of the father of the precious bundle. In my excitement I forgot him. And how often does that happen with a new baby? Poor dads get shoved to the side.

Here's Jake, an excellent father and son. (Jake's the older one on the left.) My goal for the day is to get a photo of mom, dad, and baby, all in the same frame.

my son Jake holding his new daughter Evie, next to his older son Jackson

The new baby arrives safely

Eva Claire is here now. And she is a girl. Mother and baby are doing well. She was born at 1:46 pm today, 7/23/08, weighs 8 lbs. 14 oz. and is 21 inches long. Why, that is nearly 2 feet tall! I can't wait to make her height mark on the pantry door.

Enjoy the slide show. As you will see, the big brothers are pleased with the outcome. As are the rest of us.

Here is a photo in case you can't stay for the whole show.

Grandma

We're Going to College

did you hear, Chris is coming to VT!

Just back from orientation at Virginia Tech. Hot there. Lot of walking. Good thing I'm not the one going to college.

We have an anxious child, and of course he was nervous when we got there. And who wouldn't be a little nervous about going to college. When we arrived on campus, I tried to lighten the mood by saying, as we looked across the big, big campus, "It's all yours, son." He didn't look like he thought much of that idea. I am happy to report that when we left, and he had his class schedule in hand, he looked and acted confident and assured. He'll be fine.

I was impressed by the beauty of the mountains in the early morning sun. I have ridden up and down I81 millions of times, but on this trip, the mountains made a big impression on me. All around were beautiful views, and at one point, I glanced in the side view mirror and was thoroughly distracted by the view behind us. Wow. We really do need to take better care of the planet, so these views are available for generations to come.

Tomorrow I go to take care of my two grandsons while their parents give birth to a new baby. They tell me it's a girl. We will know for sure soon. Wish us luck.

Kayak Update

On Thursday I ventured out on my little boat again. You will be happy to learn that I had a much better time and handled my boat with something close to competence. Yea me.

I have included a photo of the group of us who work out together. I participate in a fitness group called Seal Team Physical Training. We work out at 5:45 am on weekdays in various locations, including the James River. Our leader and CEO is a former Navy seal and this is the business he created after he left the Navy so that he could continue his own fitness level and have lots of people to yell at and boss around. We do a lot of pushups, situps, running, jumping, skipping, and we do things like buy kayaks and paddle around together. People of all ages and fitness levels participate, so don't be thinking I am buff or particularly fit or anything like that. I just slog along at the pack of the back and remain cheerful and reasonably obedient. Believe it or not, it is much more fun than the gym. It's amazing what the body can do.

Here is our photo; I am likely to be near the back of the pack, as always.

Willie Mays Blasting Caps Warning PSA

My old man and I were regaling the young lad at dinner with humorous accounts of our youthful television experiences. Naturally, Willie Mays and the blasting caps public service announcement came up. Here it is, from Youtube to the Empty Nest, because I want you to be extra careful when you are playing around construction sites.

Joni Mitchell-Chelsea Morning (1969)

A nice video of a nice song by a young and brilliant Joni.

Ups and Downs in the Garden

I haven't been back out on my little boat, so I have nothing to report other than I have not drowned.

It has been very hot and dry here and many of my plants have suffered. However, the last few days have been rainy, so perhaps there is hope for them after all.

I was thrilled to find 3 pumpkins growing on my pumpkin vines. The rain has caused them to grow right before my eyes. The two vines are growing toward each other, so maybe they will meet at some point.

hooray! pumpkins!

I was crushed to discover this evening that all of the nectarines are gone. Without a trace. As though they never existed. Whoever got them was very neat. What do you think: squirrels or birds? I am new to the nectarine business so I just don't know what to make of this.

no more nectarines!

Tomorrow I will take some more pictures so you will know the status of the nasturtiums, lavendar, and whatever looks interesting out there.

My First Boat

Today I tried out my new kayak. People keep asking me what I plan to do with all the free time I'll have when my son goes off to college. I don't know but maybe kayaking is one of those things I can do to fill some of this time they say I'm going to have. Or I could take more naps.

Here is my nutty husband sitting in my new boat. He is a bit skeptical of this whole venture. He has a lack of comfort in bodies of water larger than the local pool. We'll have to work on that.

I wasn't very good at paddling my kayak. I was in the James River in an area with a current. A strong enough current to flummox me a bit, but with practice, I'll get better. Our instructor told us where to go, so when I launched my boat, I was to make it go starboard upstream (that would be to the right). I ineptly managed to go to the left and rapidly approached a large bridge support. I had enough sense to use my paddle to shove off that looming bridge support and get going in the right direction. My instructor took note of my ineptitude. There were over 40 of us for him to keep an eye on so he had others to call out for various goof ups. We had to paddle a ways upstream (that would be against the current) , get off of the kayak and get back on. Well, that was not pretty at all. Something else I'll need to practice. Maybe the local pool will let me practice there. I need the water to be still.

There's always knitting if this doesn't work out.