Grateful

As you can tell from Pam's brief posting, things have been a bit crazy. We are all very grateful that John is doing so well, and now it will just take some time for all to return to a semi-normal state.
It has been difficult to concentrate on anything else, but I did manage to take some pictures (I love photos) that I will share.

While John was in the hospital here, and Pam was with him, Erin and Daniel and the three dogs stayed here. It was lively and kept our minds off scary stuff. O'Reilly loved having all the company; but as you can see, Erin didn't get much rest.



Daniel is standing beside a gift from John's friends (their name sounds like "bear"). It was HUGE and fun.
O'Reilly was very curious about this bear.

I have been wanting to can fruit since July, but it hasn't happened. This week I took a leap of faith and purchased several boxes of peaches, pears, and tomatoes. It is such a satisfying feeling to see the jars with their beautiful bounty. Mom loves to eat the peaches & pears all winter, the tomatoes are great in chili and stews, and I like to make jam for gifts.

A visit from Pam and Daniel

Grandson Daniel had fun with all three dogs when they visited. O'Reilly loved playing with Scruffy and Marco. Scruffy is the littlest one; Marco is the tallest. O'Reilly is still puppy enough that he wouldn't give them any rest... wanted to play all the time. Whew! They all dashed madly about, through the yard and in the house. Not so long ago Pam's dogs could escape O'Reilly's attention by jumping up onto the couch, but O'Reilly has grown so that he jumps right up too. Finally on the second day everyone settled down somewhat. But by the time they left, O'Reilly was so tired he slept most of the day.
This is my button collection. More than twenty years ago I got this glass Railroad Carboy and began to save buttons. Daniel said he had always wanted to empty it out and look at all the buttons, so we did. Pam picked out a few to use in her sewing projects, and we even found one to replace a missing button on a pair of shorts. Now they are all back in the carboy. Some of the buttons are very old, some have been cut from our throw-away clothing, and some have been donated by friends. It's always been a conversation starter, great for using in crafts, and the grandkids love it.