What I've Been Up To

Ok, I know I haven't posted anything in a while. I have just been busy! Sometimes, life is just a whirlwind and the last few weeks have been like that.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Louisiana for the weekend. Donald's aunt is moving to North Carolina to live with her daughter. We went so Donald could see her one more time before she leaves and to help clean out the storage buildings she has there. A lot of his dad's stuff was still there from when he died. So we brought home a bunch of stuff. We gathered with his aunt, his sister and her husband, his brother, a cousin and her husband, two of Donald's deceased brother's children along with their families or boyfriend, and then another nephew who came to help out. We enjoyed visiting with all of them so much. Donald's family has really shrunk since his mom and dad and brother passed away. We don't see much of the nieces and nephews. His brother used to live one block over from us but has built a new home in Louisiana and recently relocated there. It is a beautiful place.

Then the next weekend Donald left on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. I loaded up Jackson and some stuff and went back to Louisiana for a family reunion. I went with my Daddy and his wife and two of my sisters. And Jackson, of course. It was a reunion of my paternal grandmother's family, her brothers' and sisters' descendants. She and all her siblings are deceased. I think there was one surviving spouse there. Anyway, I did not know many people there. But my Daddy's older brother, Uncle Willis, came along with his two daughters and their husbands. I was very happy to see them. Uncle Willis is just a sweetheart of a man. He is 89 years old and still pretty sharp. He lost his wife, Aunt Ina Vee, back in 2002 and that was the last time I saw him and his children. They were the ones I was closest to growing up. Joan and Sharon were great to us and we just loved them to pieces. I enjoyed seeing them last Saturday.

Left to right, my cousins Sharon, Joan and my sister, Gale

My Dad on the left and Uncle Willis

A page from a photo album that was there

Sharon, Joan and Uncle Willis

Daddy, his cousin Spruce and Spruce's wife in the background

Daddy pointing out to Joan who is who in an old picture

Sharon, Joan and Yours Truly

Daddy and Jackson

This week has been busy even though Donald is still gone. Monday and Wednesday evenings were pretty quiet but I had the boys Tuesday night and then last night Jackson came to spend the night, a normal occurrence on Thursday nights. Today I have Mikey all day. He has been pretty good today. We walked around the block and I worked outside while he played. I planted some herbs and tomatoes. Let me tell you, this is not normal for me. I never work outside. And I certainly do not plant things. But I love basil and rosemary and thyme so this morning after picking up Mikey, we stopped at a nursery and bought a few things. We will see how it goes. I got them all planted and once I did and was reading the labels on everything, I saw that they all need good drainage. I checked and the containers I put them in had no drainage holes. So I found Donald's drill and made some holes. But not until after I put in a call to Josh to find out how to put the drill bit in the drill. I managed to do all that without hurting myself or the drill which is pretty amazing. I put Mikey down for a nap before I did all that with the drill. I don't think Mikey and power tools are a good combination.

The work of my hands

Rosemary and tomatoes

Basil and thyme

Tomatoes