A view of summer!

Hello my sisters!
It is a beautiful day! We have been very fortunate to have had such nice weather this summer! Enough rain to make the gardners/farmers happy but not enough to keep everything soaked too long. The temps are warm and cool breezes keep us from complaining. This season suggests a good harvest for fall. All is well here with us. Have a BBQ planned for friends, camping trips, air trips in Sept. and Oct. will finish off the good weather season for us northerners. Looking forward to some fun days before we pull out our fall coats again. Hope everyone is doing okay. I am including a thought for you all...one that I think is beautiful and true. Till later.....

"In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things and happy in small ways." ...Edith Wharton, A Backward Glance

I am personally working on that one! I love you all,
Rose

Family Reunion

Well since no one else is going to write about our week's vacation, I certainly will. What a great week we shared with all of the kids, which of course includes the husbands. The weather was great, the water was cold and a good time was had by all. Thank you Linda and Peter for allowing us to share this time with everyone, it truly is worth waiting for every two years. The house was wonderful, big, roomy and with spaces to get away if you so desired. Even the two dogs enjoyed it, though Lucy is a little chewed up...........................just kidding Lin. Thank goodness we took the boat with us, the kids got to go tubing and were able to watch The Blue Angels fly right over their heads from the boat. (Course they came home alittle crisp from the sun, but loved it). Its always so great to catch up on everyone's busy lives. Ing it was wonderful having you there the whole week and Finny was loving it. Thank you for taking all the kids to the movies, what a treat for them. It was restful, though chaotic as usual, but thats what it is all about. Cindy, we missed you terribly and would have loved to have Maya in the mix, she would have loved it. Hopefully in 2010 you will be there as well. All we needed to complete the picture was Kathy and Erik and Reese and Kelly. Maybe next time everyone can come and it will be the best yet. It is so hard to come home after having such a great time, but alas, all good things must come to an end. I loved every minute of the time we spent together and am already looking forward to the next one. Thanks again for a wonderful time. Es

Just An Update

Well I have returned from Kentucky and had a wonderful trip. Thanks again Ed and Cindy, you are such great hosts, it was fun and lucrative.........(wink!). By the way, we got our grass Cindy and I am planting today, so will keep you posted, how did your flower boxes turn out? Have you made a decision on whether you can make it to Traverse City? I am keeping my fingers crossed. Stan and I went up to Northport yesterday to check out the marina. Didnt want to take the boat up if there wasnt alot of room, but as it turns out, its perfect. No one was staying at the house either, wondered if we couldnt get in early if no one has it this next week............what do you think Linda? The boys left for Calif. Thursday night, had a three hour delay and made it out after 10 p.m., which made a late night for Theresa and I. Called at three a.m. to let us know they arrived and havent heard much since then, must be having a great time. I am looking so forward to our vacation week, it will be so wonderful to see whoever makes it. For those that cant we will be thinking of you and missing you. Well that about sums it up, see everyone soon. Rose and I will be getting together to discuss the food and menu's today and then Tate and I go to Splash Village in Frankenmuth to spend the night and play in the water. Love you all, Es

A poem!

Hi girls! We just got done with a thunderstorm and dime sized hailstorm! Whew! Its a quiet Sunday now so I thought I would write a little note on the blog. Went to church this morning and visited with the regular church folk, had a good sermon. We sure do like our Pastor and admire what he and the church is all about. It makes Sunday very special to us. Went to lunch with my old friend Vera and her 94 year old friend Lena after church. Two absolutly great women. I enjoy their company any time we are together. Larry had a golf skirmish in Saginaw with a bunch of friends...he was itching to play an 18 hole game of golf. Unfortunatly he may be rained out!
Olivia and I are heading for Ky. to visit Aunt Cindy and Uncle Ed in Sept. Looking forward to another visit with my sister and Livey is excited about the plane trip. Then in Oct. we may be heading to Calif. for harvest and a visit with Kathy and Jeff. Looking forward to going West again. Life is good...we are well. Hope the same for all of you. I am including a little poem that I love so I am sharing it with you. It comes out of the book "The Storytellers Daughter"...a very good book about the Middle East. Hope you like it. I love you all, Rose

From every heart is a window to other hearts,
They are not seperated like two bodies
Just as, even tho two lamps are not joined,
Their light is united in a single ray.

Masnavi, Jalaluddin Rumi-author

Heading South

Well no one seems to want to post anymore..............whats up with that? I am heading down to Kentucky for the weekend to spend some time with my little sister. Will be leaving this afternoon and getting there tomorrow afternoon. I am taking my little Lucy with me so it should be quite an adventure for her. When I return the boys will be heading to California and after that we have the Traverse City house so it is going to be a full summer, one of which I am looking forward to. I hope everyone is happy and healthy and enjoying their summer so far, I think of everyone alot and love you all. I will write again when I return, see you tomorrow Cin. Love Es.

Whats Up Girls???

Well no one seems to have anything to write about lately, whats up with that? Has anyone started with their photo ops, still not sure what was decided upon. Cindy, I dont hear from you much, havent even gotten any updated pictures of Ellie Mae and Linda we are expecting to see some of Fergie once you get her. Rose you will need to start thinking about a puppy too, or yours will be too young to play with ours..............................lol. Anyway girls, publish any new info so we can all enjoy it and I love you all, miss you lots and cant wait till we can go on another sister trip, I have the gifts already.....................................smile! Love Es.

A day with the old girls!

Hello my sisters!
Yesterday I drove my 84 year old friend Vera to see her sister Gladys (age 88) in a neighboring countryside. Another sister Doris (age 86) was there for a little while getting her hair rolled by Gladys. There is one more sister (Retha) that lives an hour away who is 90?. Now, Gladys is about 5 ft. but has a twisted spine so that her right shoulder almost meets her right hip causing a swagger when she walks and reduces her height to 4ft. 5 in. But that old girl (she has had 2 strokes...you would never know it) still does her own garden, cans ALL her own produce from that garden, cleans house, drives and put on one hell of a good dinner for us we visited! All the sisters still live in their own homes, drive their own cars and refuse to be helped by anyone....they are firmly independent. Listening to their stories of their farm life as children, all the things they could do, their strong belief in God and family made that afternoon a very humbling experience for me. I reflected on my own siblings and our lives together and away from each other and I realized how similar we all are even tho a generation separates the old girls from us. They love each other fiercely and always want to be together when ever they can. There are squabbles among them and certain sisters favor the company of another sister but they all celebrate the times they are ALL together! I was amazed at how much in common I felt I had with these seasoned women and how very grateful I felt for my own four siblings. Every day we watch ourselves get older but our love for each other is always there and always strong. It will see us through many sad times in the future.
I love you all, Rose