This is my cousin Pat and me with our grandfather Virgil.
Pat’s mom (Daddy’s sister Allene)…and a group shot:
This photo was made July 1948, and most all these folks are now gone. Cousins Pat, John, Phil, and Faye are the only ones left. The blonde boy on the front R is my brother, Mickey, who died just a few years ago. My father is back R, who was one of 10 children—two brothers and one sister shown here. My mother was off birthing my sister, I suppose, since she is absent from the photo, and July was the right time frame for the photo and Donna Kay’s birth.
Too bad there is no one around to tell the story, because I am sure there was a good story that could be told with this much kin all gathered in one spot. That new baby girl was born with some complications, so that probably brought everyone together. We’ll never know for sure.
Although I only have one memory of this grandfather, I did and do know everyone else in these photos, and am happy to preserve a little bit of the past.
Making memories, one photo at a time.
Our boy scared us last night. We heard some awful animal noises outside way after dark, with no KC indoors. Still no boy at 2a, or 4a. Mommie was worried. MM got up at 7, and there was the boy, minus his collar, wanting to come inside!
He is tired, but fine, and not telling anything about his adventures. Butthead! How do you put a kitty on restriction?
Since we are running out of November, I did my five-minute Christmas decorating yesterday—red bow on grapevine wreath on the front door, Christmas table runner on dining room table, fake tree placed in living room (topped by a red bow), and some Christmas tea towels. D fer done. Simple, no fuss stuff…because it will have to be put away before we head south to the land of palm trees.
I love the smell of a real tree, so I need to dig out my Christmas candles. Yep, I forgot those.
Sure, I miss having a big tree, filled with all the special decorations we’ve collected and enjoyed over the years. Those are part of the legacy we will leave for the children and grandchildren to enjoy, because I’m thinking big-tree days are totally over in this household of two. I’m OK with that.
Have a great Sunday. I plan to walk a bit in the woods, hunting for a blue kitty collar. Chances are slim to none that I will find it, but I will try.
Life is never dull.
I finally got a photo of Ansley (on the L), all decked out for Fall Ball with two of her besties. Somehow or other in all the teenage haste, no photo was taken of her alone. She is loving the ease of her short hair after donating for Locks of Love, remember? Sure you do.
Did y’all know that both black and green olives grow on the same tree? Not me. Bob learned the hard way that they are NOT tasty right from the tree. I would trust him on that tip.
We literally saw hundreds of acres of terraced olive groves that are centuries old. These terraces were created by manual labor. Think about that! OUCH, says my back.
The Portuguese government has control over where grave vines can and cannot be planted…in the shale ground. The vines never get watered, except by what rain provides and shale shares. Shale is good, because it absorbs the heat of the sun that then gets released to the vines during the night. They even use shale strips to stake the grape vines, rather than use wood stakes. That solves a rot problem!
Check out this orchid “tree” that was in the lobby of the Lisbon Ritz:
There were dozens of pots containing hundreds of orchids in this big, fat arrangement. Really outstanding.
This photo was taken from the rooftop of the Ritz, overlooking a beautiful plaza and the city of Lisbon:
It was 23 at our house this morning. Thankfully, the sun is out and we are now above freezing. This is unusual for the North Georgia Alps, even for late November. I’m thinking palm trees already!
Who wants to go to Florida?
