The long and short of it

What a week-end! We left our house Friday around 1 and drove to my dad's house in PA...arriving to Thurmont, MD around 6:15 or so, eating dinner with Dad and Kathy and then on up to their house in the mountains after that. Saturday the kids were up early and we had a family & friends picnic at Pen Mar County Park. The picnic was great...everyone had such a fun time...and the weather was absolutely GORGEOUS! The kids needed sweatshirts most of the day. What a nice, nice change from VA. A lot of my family I haven't seen in at least 3 years so it was good to be able to talk and catch up with everyone. Richard's (my cousin, only 8 months younger than me) first words to me were "What's up, Scrub?" Nice, eh? He hasn't seen me in forever and that was his greeting!!! Some things never change. But I love him and had to laugh.

Sunday was, appropriately, a rainy and gloomy day. I drove to Harrisburg for the unveiling of Stace's tombstone. John, the boys, Bernie and Bobbie appear to be holding up ok. It was rough to be there. I haven't cried a lot since the first days of Stace's passing but I couldn't really hold back there, even though I tried. I still can't believe Stace is gone. There is always so much I wish I could say to her. I find myself sitting down sometimes to send her an email and then I remember I can't. It breaks my heart. I know John is going through a lot of pain and mine is nothing in comparison...but I miss her like hell.

On my way back from Harrisburg, I kept seeing small white signs along the road. One said "Small is beautiful" another was "Handmade pottery", "Come meet the potters", so on and so forth. When I got to the exit for 134 in Gettysburg, I couldn't resist seeing what was at the end of the sign trail...so I followed them. Turned out to be a cute little house with fresh farm produce (peaches, tomatoes, zucchini, etc), honey, handmade soaps and pottery. AWESOME! I was in love and dropped a few bucks, of course. I can't say too much about what I bought because I am afraid Liudwih will read this and know what her surprise is...but I *did* get a 1/2 bushel of peaches with the intent of canning them. (Oh, for more about the owners of this wonderful place, see this here link) If you find yourself near Gettysburg, PA, it is definitely worth a look.

So...on back to my dad's house to hang out with him and Kathy for the remainder of the night. After the kids were in bed, Kathy and I hit the 24 hour Wal-Mart for my new canner and some jars and a few school supplies for Delaney. Can't say enough how nice it is to be able to get away from the kids for a bit. I love them to death but I feel like a better person after I've had a break.

Back to VA yesterday. We made pretty good time, leaving my dad's house around 9 a.m. and arriving back here to our house around 4:00 or so. On the way home, I got to meet my friend Rose in person for the first time. Sweet, sweet lady! The kids and I loved her! She brought snacks and books for the kids and a Benni Hemm Hemm CD for me. I had groovy new ICELANDIC music to listen to as I finished my drive back home. (Thank you so much, Rose!)

Today has been spent: sleeping in (7:15), walking the dog, canning peaches, and swimming in the pool. It's hotter than heck here again. I think fall in VA will be nice. I'm really looking forward to cooler weather after this past week-end in PA!

Below are photos for you to enjoy. Delaney's horn from music camp. Swinging on a vine in my dad's yard. Twins on a seesaw. Fern Hill that I mentioned in my last blog entry. William at High Rock. Delaney at High Rock. Tinna climing on the lower rocks. The view from High Rock. Hang gliders preparing for take off. Tinna's beautiful eyes.