- So much to do ...

Retrospective (11/20)

Patch #294 Balance in all things

Original Post 

So little time ... always it flies by!

A visit to tiny tumbling class with Jace's creative solution to walking on the stepping stones: one foot off, one foot on, diddle-diddle dumpling ...

a round on the rings ...

and sticking the landing off the balance beam ...

Play-doh play with J ...

"Mom, can you make her stop taking pictures?" ...

Installing the growth chart that PopPop made for Jace ...

Rolling lasagna noodles (from yesterday) ...

And last, but not least, pumpkin-prepping ...

Ewwwwww ...

- Just Jace

Retrospective (11/20)

Patch #293 Bat boy

Original Post 

When you're the second-born child, every picture of you has your sibling in it. So when Jackson went to pre-school, I decided today's pictures would be just Jace.

We were headed to a pumpkin farm, so Jace got in his car seat, then invited me to squeeze in to my comfy little spot in the back ...

It might have been a cloudy day, but there was lots to do from exploring tractors ...

to climbing a hill with corrugated plastic pipe slides dug into it ...

riding a rubber tire horse ...

and a Pony Express train ...

swinging ...

and getting to do stuff mom would never allow at home ...

basking in the undivided attentions of Nana and Pop Pop ...

until all too soon it was time to fly away home ...

- Helicopter Nana

Retrospective (11/20)

Patch #292 Many moons

J's favorite read-aloud during this visit.

Original Post 

My daughter's neighbors on either side and across the street all have kids ... a glorious total of twelve kids in four houses. After dinner last night, J and J's two best buddies Kelsi and Kendra came over to inspect the newly cleaned garage ...

"It's so organized," declared Kelsi.

Relatively unimpressed, Jackson pleaded, "Come on, let's play!"

And play they did, taking to the cul de sac where all the neighbors are well-accustomed to watching out for them ...

having an absolute blast ...

playing with wonderful abandon ...

I freaked ...

Later, as I apologized to my daughter she asked, "Don't you remember how you let us go totally unsupervised on Nina Lane?"

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Ha!

- Not quite SunMoonStars

Retrospective (11/6)

Patch #291 J's Nana

Original Post

There's a part of me that's feeling somewhat guilty/apologetic about all the grandkid posts while everyone else is stitching along with Jude. But the reality of my Remember 2016 project is that our little ones are a very large part of my life and the memories we're making.

So my stitch bag remains in the suitcase as I "ooh" and "ahh" over J's penmanship ...

destined to be today's patch ...

And I refuse to try to take selfies while reading, but this is what came to STL with us ...

A library book I remembered loving as a child ...

then re-found when I became an elementary school librarian though I had forgotten the title, but could clearly remember the story. I especially love this newer illustrated version by Marc Simont ...

 which will surely inspire a patch. And the words! You have to love an author who leads off with "a surfeit of raspberry tarts."

Then there's the family tradition of making chocolate chip cookie dough (with pasteurized eggs to avoid salmonella). Yes, we're taking a chance with raw flour, but who could resist eliciting such joy?

Not I ...

- Long light

Retrospective (11/11)

Patch #290 Autumn sun

Original Post 

Early morning sun ...

throws long light, warming skin well before the air can ...

Likewise late afternoon, shadows lengthen and days get short too soon ...

We got to drive off into the sunset as my son-in-law's parents had offered to watch J and J ...

We waved good-bye and headed out to dinner, our first time out together without the kids in over four years. We took our time, talking about our respective first dates, eating food without cutting kid-size pieces, avoiding politics (which we had already gotten out of the way, finding ourselves in accord and thoroughly sick of it all), sharing various dishes, enjoying the experience of slow food.

Then drove home by the light of the rising moon ... happily sated.

- Change is in the air

Retrospective (11/11)

Patch #289 J's new wheels

Original Post 

It may still be summer in Texas, but here in St Louis the times they are a changin' ...

Even though it has only been five weeks since we were last here, J and J have grown. Today was an especially big day as Jackson got his first "real" bicycle ...

something that required fierce concentration ...

And since J was occupied with his new bike, Jace got to try out J's old strider bike ...

which he thoroughly enjoyed ...

almost as much as playing with pumpkins ...

and running after "cars" ...

Needless to say, we all had a good appetite for dinner ...

Acorn squash stuffed with Italian sausage, apples, celery, onions, garlic, panko crumbs, and cheese, seasoned with rosemary. The perfect Fall dinner.