happy birthday, jay

April first could only ever be about YOU.   There you are back when we used to be able to get together and have a party.

Twenty nine years, buddy.  That's a long time.

I hope this year will be full of great things.

Happy Birthday, Jay

We love you like crazy, Mom and Dad and Everybody

from the past

It's her, my oldest friend besides my sister.   We text often, anything happens--anything funny, anything weird, anything on our minds.

Well, this text came a few weeks ago.  Barbel is my old barbie doll from when we were kids.
 

Oh, the light bulb mishap, of course. The shade had come off the lamp and somehow the hot lightbulb bumped Barbel on the back of the head and melted her hair.  Then while we were looking at her head going, "Oh no! Oh, dear!" the lamp was against the padded plastic headboard of my bed and melted a hole in that.  Yeah, we were quite the squirrels, honestly. 

So there's that--friends for fifty-five years now, maid of honor in each other's weddings, our babies slapping each other in the basement over a Little Tykes car, all the years that have flowed by one after another, and so glad for another person on earth who remembers our barbies.  

She had an old-timey Ken (not the suave Malibu Ken that came later) but one with a crew cut and serious face, and his arms constantly fell off, and she reminded me how we'd dress him and then shove his arms up the sleeves to keep him going.   Yes, indeed.  

She and Pam and I also used to gather up all the bath products and lotions and sprays and make up and anything we could find, put it in a suitcase, and play Avon Lady, "Ding dong! Avon Lady!"

(We didn't have Internet.)

I love you. 

Thanks for being mine,  Val

who is my twin?

Pam told me she thought she saw me in a photo on the local newspaper's website, in a picture of the crowd at the State Fair.  The date is August 24, 2017.

I do not believe I was at the fair that year.  That definitely looks like me-- the hair, the little squinty expression, the tilt of the chin.  But I don't recognize those clothes, pretty much never tie sweaters around my waist and don't remember that purse either.

Jay looked at it too and said the arms looked too toned to be mine.   Not disagreeing.

I don't know!  There's nobody else in the photo I recognize, and Lord knows I go almost nowhere alone, definitely not to the fair, and that was a busy month.  We definitely went in 2015, but 2017?  Don't think we did.

Anyway, a fun little mystery.  (Who is this lady who looks that similar??)

Good night.

Love, Val
 

officially spring

That happened this week.

Also St. Patrick's Day and the leprechauns.  For the first time ever the candy was left in a bowl on the cupboard, not thrown around, and this was the note. 
 

It's been rain off and on all day, which is sweet and lovely compared to snow.

Don't have to shovel it, and way less slippery.

So glad it's springtime again.

Love, Val

happy birthday, payton!

Happy Birthday to the sweetest dog.

We do love you, 

Love, Grandma and Grandpa and Everybody

 

it is tuesday

These are Renee's birds, Basil and Dill. I love them, how delicate and tame they are.   She said they never call them by their names, call them, "Little shits" instead.    I can't believe the dog and cats don't gobble them up, but no. They don't.

And here's the progress on the back of the garage.  Sunday two coats of fresh paint went on, good for another 20 years.  Only the eave and gutter is left, and we'll get that once this stupid snow melts and it warms up a little.

Onward.

Love, Val
 

of course

So we were working on this today, getting the back of the garage ready to paint.   Last time we did this was in 1997.

The city sent us a citation about the back of the garage.  I had a three month old baby and was sure they were completely insane.

But we had a lot of teenagers at the time and we had it scraped and painted in a few days.

The end of the garage we painted in 2015, that still looks good.

After a bit, he moved on to cleaning out the gutter while I was still working on scraping the lower boards, and all at once he threw out a big glob of dirt and leaves and chucked it right onto my head!

It was an accident completely, but then he howled how it was my fault for not standing in one place.

Right.

Then as he continued to blame me for the fact he threw a huge ball of dirt on my head he said I have OCD.

That's when I yelled, "Shut up!!  I don't want to hear your psychiatric diagnosis of me after you threw dirt on my head!"

He said, "Sorry."

Of course. It was an accident. I am 100% fine, and in fact, couldn't stop laughing.  Forty two years of marriage, guys.   Oh yeah.

And this pretty cat--Little Jay sent this picture in the afternoon. She's so sweet.

 They are also painting this weekend, looking good!

Onward to the painting, and moving the clocks ahead.

So much love, Val

james, happy 24

Supper meal, provided by Applebees.

 

All good. 

You, our best buddy. 

We could not love you more. Thanks for being ours.

Happy Birthday, 

love, Mom and Dad and Everybody

birthday basketball

It was a birthday wish of his to have his uncles over to play basketball on their basketball court.  They moved into the house last year just as pandemic hit, so first it was Stay At Home orders, and you all know how the year has gone.

But it was warm and it was a great afternoon to be outside in the sun.

James has a birthday this week, so there was a gift and candles for him too.

And for her also:

Happy Birthday again, Bud.

What a great day.

Love, Grandma and Grandpa and Everybody