A wedding surprise

I was a bit upset that I learned about my grandson's surprise wedding via Facebook. What happened to family being involved, after all, aren't marriages a joining of families as well?

Not any more. 

I still feel surprised about my learning about my grandson's wedding in this way. After all, he'd called when they knew they were expecting. He was quite excited about sharing that several months ago. 

"You're going to be a Great-Grandma," he said.

They had already planned a big wedding on a cruise about this time, inviting all the family members. I declined due to health. Then they changed the date a year later to include the baby.

 They also had purchased a new house together about a year ago moving from Tampa to near Pensacola.

The new house is closer to his step family, who he grew up with. 

There's a step brother who's older than him, as well as his step-father who raised him after he was 9 months old.  

My son didn't marry my grandson's mother.  But that's probably his story to tell.

My first great-grandbaby. (We didn't have ultra sound photos when my children were expected in the 60s and 70s!)

The story of my grandson's birth and being raised by a step-father that he thought was his real father, that's his to tell, I guess. He did meet my son and start having a real relationship with his birth father in the last 15 years at least.

Sunday this week was the day my granddaughter, Caroline graduated from college. My blood line is sure busy these days!

Our family is just like any other family. We fall in love, we fall out of love. We have children, they grow up. We're all just doing the best we can with what we know and have at the time.

I wish the newlyweds much happiness!

For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is to let it rain.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

For breathing

 

Thankful Thursday. Last week I woke and didn't take the time to open windows for the usual couple of hours before the heat of the day directed me to close them. My kitchen windowsill's fairy and violets had to stay inside as I drove to Asheville for an early pulmonologist visit.

Not many people there that early, and I went right in to meet a nurse practitioner who's on my doctor's team. I liked Amanda Pattanayak a lot, very personable and knowledgeable. I gave yet another sample of mucous to test whether we've finally cleared out the bacteria that were bothering my lungs. Will have to wait to hear results from lab, which will be shared by email.

The old building has a pretty planted area out front. Did I mention that at least 10 miles of my drive on I-40 were through a lifting fog? Fortunately it was not on the roads, but just about 20 feet above our heads. It looked pretty eerie as a cloud all along the valleys.

A beautiful hydrangea bush outside the office.

Today's quote:

An old photo or 2:

My oldest son, Marty when visiting his maternal grandparents in St. Louis, as we moved from Texas to Connecticut.

And three plus years later, my mother holds Russ in our house in Connecticut. By then my parents had moved to Massachusetts. Marty, now wearing a red shirt and showing off his baby blue eyes, looks skeptical. And my husband, Doug shows an ear and his prowess with another camera which I captured with mine.

And happy birth anniversary to Amelia Earhart!

Neither here nor there...

 

Let's not be serious!

Blue Footed Booby (Sula nebouxii) is such a dear little bird! I can't help but smile when I see him.

Junior nobody in his "pram" with mom...bundled up for mildly cool weather, and Junior is happily munching on something I believe. In the background is perhaps a garage, and rooftops with chimneys.  Let's see what others have posted on Sepia Saturday this week!

A continuation of last week's post about workers. Here are those who helped build the Biltmore House in Asheville NC, 1898.

The Biltmore Estate - present day. I don't know when it became a tourist attraction, but thousands roam through the halls daily now, and around the beautiful gardens.

House in Houston's 5th Ward, 1973 photo by Danny Lyon

Clover Gap Mine community, Harlan County KY

You may note that the poorer people among us build with wood, while those who can afford to will choose some kind of masonry. 

As I recently showed on my blog, housing these days means clearing lots completely of ancient trees, then perhaps planting some fast growing ones after the house is built. But the logs above were from much bigger trees than I've ever seen in North Carolina...and unfortunately they were probably not meant to become lumber for housing. This was wartime.

This phenomena occurred about 60 million years ago when the Colorado Plateau shifted and felled many trees, which became petrified over that long time.

Another frame house, to which a farmer and his sons are retreating from a dust storm. Cimarron County, OK, April 1936.

Niagara Falls without water, 1969 (Are you getting thirsty yet?)

Woman on frozen Mississippi River, St. Louis, MO 1905

1910s photo of mother doing laundry while baby walks in a wicker frame.

I've now come full circle back to a mother and child, and shared most of the sepia photos that have come across my desk in the last week.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Today's quote:

To bear up under loss, to fight the bitterness of defeat and the weakness of grief, to be victor over anger, to smile when tears are close, to resist evil men and base instincts, to hate hate and to love love, to go on when it would seem good to die, to seek ever after the glory and the dream, to look up with unquenchable faith in something evermore about to be, that is what any man can do, and so be great. -Zane Grey, author (31 Jan 1872-1939)

Tomorrow's post will be about thinking outside the box and into a circle!

Happy Mother's Day

My mother around 6 years old, and her mother (my grandmother Mozelle Munhall)...around 1924.  Yes, my mother kept her photos in one of those black paper albums, but decided to be creative with how she framed most of them.

My mother as a young woman.

My mother and my other grandmother (Ada Swasey Rogers), my dad's mother.  Taken about the time that my dad and mother got married (and lived in his parent's house in 1939. Both the grandparents' houses were similar in San Antonio, Texas.

 My oldest son Marty, when he was 2-3 years old. (I gave him the album with all his baby photos)

Marty preparing for his baby brother, Russ, to share Marty's 4th Christmas, both stockings made by my sis, Mary.

August, 1967, there's baby Russ being considered by big brother Marty.

A scanned Polaroid photo of me holding son number three, Tai, when visiting my parents for Christmas, 1979.

Below is my sister, Mary, after giving birth to her daughter, Lisa, in 1971.

Today' quote:

Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.

Casandra Brene' Brown