Frank got his own library card!

Four year old Frankie got his OWN library card this weekend.  He is SO proud of it.  They gave him his own lanyard and everything.  He went later and checked out his own book!  They even asked him if he wanted a receipt.

Matt held in a head lock

No, it's the Valentine Dinner hosted by Chef Lee (who's administering the move)  We love to go to Chef Lee's dinners when we go to Bloomington.  Yup, Chef Lee was a professional wrestler in a previous life.  His character was the bad buy that everybody hated.   Was a wonderful dinner!

The second picture...same as the first.. at another dinner a year or two earlier.

Piano - view from my parent's house (2010)

 A view from my parent's last house shortly before my mother died in 1910.  This piano belonged to my paternal grandparents.  I think they bought it for father to take piano lessons.  The depression didn't hit them very hard (unlike my maternal grandparents)  Mason & Hamlin baby grand.

It came to us when I was in high school.  Every house they lived in hence had to have an appropriate place for the piano.  A friend of my brother's took it when my mother died.  What would I do with it.  I already have a piano I rarely play.  I guess the bench with the needlework went with it.

My father loved to play the piano, played almost every night.  He liked a boogie woogie style but everything he played had its own idiosyncracies like you really couldn't sing to it.  It was an indication of his general health.

This was in Rockford.  My mother had living room furniture put together by and interior designer in 1964.  French Provincial in shades of light green and aqua.  Sounds weird but I liked it.  Kind of low and slung.  I couldn't do anything with it.  Ilana's famous Napoleon lamp was part of that set.

Strange sight

 This not some strange dominance or hazing picture.

This is soon-to-be son in law (on the bottom) and my husband (on the top).  They are trying to install (for hours) a new under-the-countertop microwave.  It is not going well.  Stephen is holding it up and Dennis is trying to mount it in the cupboard.

They finally got it up but I think it still needs work (it always needs more work)

Bowen with his favorites

Here is Bowen's (the dog) favorite people -- my granddaughter Melina and her partner Chris.  At least once/week, they come over and walk Bowen.  He LOVES it!  He double loves it!  He gets so excited when they come.  Even after the walk, he will stand right by Chris (see above).  Naomi says that  the person Bowen likes the most is Chris.  Second is Chris.  Third is Chris.  Fourth (maybe) is Dennis.

Chris is his favorite.  He is a bro dog.

 

Going to the Ducks game

 Last Friday, I went to the Oregon Ducks game with Megan, Suzie and Scout.  I dressed in whatever Oregon stuff that I had left including Suzie's letter jacket.  We sat in the outfield and we had a great time with other Oregon fans.

Did I mention that we were playing the Washington Huskies.  Yes I have many ties to UW but when UW plays UO, I have go with UO.

UO mercied UW 9-0.

Scoutie had a great time eventually running all around.  Some coach gave her a ball.  

A good time was had by all.

So the mother of the bride talks to the mother of the groom

 So the mother of the bride talks to the mother of the groom.

Whoa, things start rocking and rolling.  Stand aside.

We realize that there are a lot of things that have distracted us, things to consider.  What about this?  What about that?

What about a bridal shower?  Have we even THOUGHT about a bridal shower?  Maybe we should be planning a bridal shower.  Maybe we should have been already doing this?  Do they even want one?  What can we do?  What should it look like?  My house?  Your house?  Traditional?  Couples?

What about a brunch the morning after?  Kind of ends the wedding weekend.  Your people, my people?  Both together?  Your house?  My house?  Somewhere else?

One big distraction is that the wedding couple have been selling their houses and buying a new big house.  This is all on the line right now.  So much anxiety.  And working in these stressful times.

We realize that we gotta figure these things out!  Dennis doesn't even think of objecting because we are rolling.  Don't even think of interfering.

Who are these people?  I dunno but I needed more than one mother.

Lamp(s)

Hard to believe, really hard to believe but we bought two table lamps.

We have never had matching lamps.  Though we do have matching tables at either end of the sofa which were my parents.  Currently we have a distressed big white lamp which is really marred at the bottom on one wide and another lamp of my parents which I kinda like but the lampshade keeps falling off.

Um, we last bought a sofa and bed mattress in 2006.  Which we barely could believe we would do.  Thinking of our nearly 49 year old marriage, I think we bought a few wooden kitchen chairs in 1980.  My mother in law was an antique dealer and she was always dropping stuff on us.  Other, we just acquired as we went along.

I sometimes describe our living room as the "our parents are dead" style.

But we saw a program about people making lamps from Alaska beach rock.  I said I wanted one.  Dennis announced that, before people came to visit in June, he intended to buy new matching lamps for the living room.  Like BUY them????  What???

Keep in mind that our mean time we tolerate for a shopping trip is about 45 minutes.

And not from Amazon.  Nope

I have complained for many years that our living room is too dark.  This may be my chance!

So we bought two lamps like this at the lamp store.  Notice there are two chains.  That's because there are two light fixtures in this lamp.  So, so when I want extra light from the high powered light bulb, I can switch it on.  It could work!

It's not real wood but lots of stuff isn't.  Displayed picture is from the lamp store.

That cute Simon!

 That Simon, he's so cute!  Just over 1 year old.  He wants to do everything.  He only has 2 teeth but he eats all kinds of food.  Whatever's going on, he wants to be part of it.  He'll be walking really soon!