A Baby Shower

Sunday I went to a baby shower for my new niece, who is due to have a little girl in June. The shower was at the Salem Red Sox stadium in a sky suite. First time I'd ever been to the stadium or in a sky suite. There was a game going on at the same time so some people elected to go watch the game rather than join the party.

I gave the baby a little outfit and a little pair of pants, along with two books by Margaret Wise Brown, a Hollins alumna. The books were Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny.

Anyway, here are some photos.

Lots of presents.

The happy couple.

Outside of the sky suite at the stadium.

Team mascot stopped by for a visit.

Mom-to-be and mascot.



A calendar for guessing the birth date of the newborn. Oddly no one chose the actual due date.

Dance! Dance! Dance!

Every year my niece has a dance recital and most years I go. There is also a part called the "dad's dance" wherein the fathers of daughters in the recital do a dance and finally end up dancing with their daughters at the end.

So Saturday I sat watching dancing. The theater is dark, and I sometimes do well with photos and sometimes I don't. This year I did not do so well. But here are photos anyway:

My niece on the right, laying a bell hop.

This one came out ok.

No clue who these little ones are, but they were adorable.

More adorableness.

My niece in a cheerleader routine.

More adorable.

My niece on the left there.



More adorable.

My brother in the turquoise and black.

Brother in the back there.

Whee! Go cowboy!

This one is a little out of focus.

My brother had a little solo of his own.

More cowboy antics.

My niece comes out. Giddy up!

An overview shot of everyone doing their dance thing.

My niece doing her cow girl thing.

Wish I could have gotten a better shot here.

She looks good in a hat.

It's So Party, Let's Go Dancy

Saturday night we threw a party at the Botetourt Golf & Swim Club. The event was to congratulate my nephew and his new bride on their elopement in January.

It was a nice little shindig.

Me and the unmarried nephew. Ain't he handsome?

Early beginning, just to show the decorations. Teal is the bride's favorite color.

Still waiting on folks to come.

Not as boring as that might look.

My sister-in-law. This is probably the best picture I've ever taken of her.

Party going in full swing now.

My mother-in-law (l) has a chat and a laugh.

Family photo of groom's family.

The cake!

Bride and groom cutting the cake.

Smiling at another photo op.

Chowing down!

Lots of discussions.

Grandma with grandsons & new bride.

Special thanks to my dad for letting us use the room at the country club.

Missing Grandma

Today I am missing my grandmother. I am not sure why, exactly, except that I would like to talk to her. I have things to tell her.

My grandmother always had time for me. It made no difference when I called her or dropped by. She stopped whatever she was doing and spoke with me. She was a great fount of common sense knowledge learned by life's never-ending lessons. I valued that. I still do, although as one of the older generation myself now perhaps I don't listen as well as I should to my elders. (Yes, I still have elders. I'm not that old.)

Grandma had a fourth grade education, I think it was, but she read a lot. A set of World Book Encyclopedias was one of her proudest possessions. I could sit and read them if I was careful. I could not have food or drink in my hands when I did so. I am not sure how many children actually sat and read encyclopedias, but I did. I suppose few do that today, what with all the answers online.

She also had other books that I read, like Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, and the Little House on the Prairie books. I also found Nancy Drew books at Grandma's house (I think they belonged to my aunt).

My grandmother made chocolate pudding for us when we were children, the real kind with the skin on it.  It was a treat, not an everyday purchase you could make at the market like it is now (Hello, Jello Pudding in my refrigerator). Sometimes she would let us have a Little Debbie Oatmeal Cookie, but those were only for special times. They were actually called "Granddaddy cookies" because my grandfather carried one in his lunch each day. I had to be in tears and bleeding to earn a Granddaddy cookie.

She spoiled us, my brother and me, but not too much. She was, after all, also raising two boys who were not that different in age than I was at the time (one is actually a year younger than I).

My mother died before my grandmother did. I have often wondered how she felt, losing her first child like that. My mother was only 56 when she passed away. How young that seems to me now as I approach that age. How young did it seem to my grandmother, I wonder? She would have been 77 when my mother passed away. Seventy-seven no longer seems so old to me, either. Does 56 seem young to someone who is in their 70s? Anyway, I can't imagine how painful it must have been to see her daughter die of pancreatic cancer at such a young age. I'm not sure I was there enough for her when that happened, but of course I was also grieving the loss of my mother. Knowing my grandmother, she understood that. She was good that way.

On my grandmother's deathbed she saw my mother. She told me she was talking to her. But she never told me what she said.

This is not a special date or anything with regards to my grandmother, though the slight greenish tinge to the grass reminds me of her. I remember how much she looked forward to spring. She'd always wait for the robins to appear, and point them out to me when they gathered on the lawn. "Warm weather will be here soon," she would say. Even now I look for that first robin that indicates spring is on its way. I have yet to see one this year.

Later, she'd tend to her peonies, which always had magnificent blooms. She had them in rows on each side of the back yard. The bees loved them. She gave us jars for lightning bug, and long pieces of thread for tying to June bugs (neither of which would be considered politically correct these days, but that was the time I grew up in).

Grandmas can be very special people. I know not everyone has a good grandmother, and that's unfortunate. I hope those people have other special women in their lives who have held them up and helped them out somewhere a long the line.



*A little tribute to a wonderful woman in my life, in honor of March being National Women's History Month.*

Farewell, Uncle

Yesterday evening I learned the horrifying news that my uncle, his wife, and my cousin died in a house fire at their home in Ogden, Kansas.

This is an old photo taken when my mother passed away in 2000. That may have been the last time I saw Uncle Butch. He is the one on the far right. I don't recall seeing him at my grandmother's funeral in 2007. I suspect this is the only picture of the four brothers as adults in existence. They weren't much on get-togethers.

I don't know that I ever met Uncle Butch's wife. His son, whom we called Buddy, had a rare disease that required a lot of treatment. He was never able to work and lived with his father and stepmother. I hadn't seen Buddy in years.

Uncle Butch served in the U.S. Army and retired from service. I am not sure why he chose to live in Kansas. I think he ran a video store there until video went out of style; then I am not sure what he did. He was about 70 years old.

According to news reports, the fire started in the wee hours of the morning, around 3:40 a.m., and rescue efforts were hampered by 5 degree temperatures.

Four people perished in the fire. I do not know who the fourth person was; I have been told two things - that it was a renter and that it was a homeless person my uncle had let into his home because of the low temperatures. I don't know which is correct. I do know it was not my other cousin, Uncle Butch's daughter.

Fire and/or smoke inhalation is a bad way to go. My uncle had Parkinson's disease so he may not have been able to get out regardless. If smoke overtook everyone as they were sleeping, perhaps they had painless deaths. I shall hope so, anyway.

There is a story about the fire here and another here. If there is an obituary I will post it; I think at the moment there is confusion over the funeral and who will be taking care of what, since Uncle Butch's daughter is, unfortunately, incarcerated on drug trafficking charges. I doubt she will be much help.

Updated:

Here are the obituaries from the funeral home:

Roger Duane Harris, Sr, died on January 31 at his home in Ogden, Ks. Roger was born in Roanoke, Virginia and is preceded in death by his parents, Claude and Melba Harris, and his older sister, Glenda Bruffey. He retired from the Army with honors after 20 years of service, including time in Vietnam, making his home in Ogden. Roger is survived by his daughter, Anita Jo Albino, sister Carolyn Hunt, and brothers Melvin Lee Harris, Claude Harris, Jr., and Gerald Thomas Harris as well as many loving friends in the Ft Riley and Ogden area.

Roger Duane Harris, Jr, died on January 31 at his home in Ogden, KS. Roger was born in Roanoke, Virginia and is survived by his mother, Dottie Prince and sister Anita Jo Albino as well as several aunts and uncles. Roger, often known as Buddy to friends and family, perished on the same day as his father, Roger Harris, Sr. He will be fondly remembered by many friends in the Ogden area, including special friends Angie Reffner, her children Melissa, John, Steven, Shyllyn, and Jennifer, Angie’s grand-children Krystyne, Viktor, and Emerie, special friends Harvey and Michelle Naffei, and countless other children he has watched grow up over the years. A memorial service will be held at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Ogden, KS on Thursday, February 7, 2019 at 10:30 am with a luncheon to follow.

Rae Elaine LaPorte Harris, 72, died on January 31 in a fire at her home in Ogden, KS. Rae Elaine was born July 5, 1946, in Utica, NY, and was preceded in death by her father, Raymond LaPorte, and her brother, John LaPorte. Rae Elaine graduated from Indian River High School in Philadelphia, NY, and attended SUNY Oswego. After college she became the secretary to the fashion editor of Family Circle magazine in NYC. She then worked as a secretary at Fort Drum, NY, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD, and Fort Riley, KS. She changed careers again to become a cross-country tractor-trailer driver, and then she started her own video rental business in Ogden. She loved to sing and was a member of the Junction City Troubadours. Rae Elaine is survived by her step-daughter Anita Jo Albino of Ogden, KS, her mother Mary Jean LaPorte and sister Linda LaPorte Gross, both of Simpsonville, SC, her brother Dan LaPorte of Sabillasville, MD, and her nephews Michael Gross of Carson, CA, and Steven Gross and Raymond James Gross of Simpsonville, SC. Rae Elaine was a friend to everyone she met and will be missed by all.

A memorial service will be held at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Ogden, Ks on Thursday, February 7, 2019, at 10:30 am with a luncheon to follow.

Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Patrick's Catholic Church or to the Riley County Firefighters Association in care of the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, Kansas 66502.

Christmas with Hubby's Family

Christmas with my husband's family has always tended to be as much about eating as about opening gifts. Maybe it's even more about eating. At any rate, there is always a meal there at Christmas time.




My brother-in-law and my sister-in-law. My sister-in-law surprised by making fried
green tomatoes. I thought I was the only one in the family who liked them.



My mother-in-law.

My mother-in-law checking out the dip.

A big ol' sliced ham.

Opening the presents. That's my brother-in-law and my mother-in-law.

My nephew in the back; his mom in the front.



My nephew brought his fiancée  with him. This was the first time I'd actually met her. She seems very nice.
 

And thus endeth the holiday season. Hurrah.

Christmas at Dad's

Saturday evening my husband and I had Christmas with my father at his house.

This was the first time I had had what one would call a Christmas over there since 1999, so I guess if you look at it that way it was sort of a big deal. They had been coming to my house for the last few years, but my father broke his foot so I suggested we move things there so he wouldn't have to walk around. Not that he sits still, but I was trying to be kind.

We had a nice visit with my father, his wife Rita, my niece Zoe, and her mother, Dina. Rita served up BBQ and chicken salad along with beans and chips and things. Then we opened presents, and after that my father and I played Christmas music, which Dina taped and posted live on Facebook. I have no idea how to access that so it can be seen, however.

Anyway, here are photos of the present-opening part. I forgot to take pictures of the food.

Rita with Zoe. Zoe turns 17 in January.

Zoe opening up a present. I remember when I had hair that long. Almost the same color, too.

My father.

Zoe again. She's the closest to a child we have in the family now.

My feller looking on at the gift-giving.

Zoe reading a card.

My father again.

My father and Zoe.

My husband opening a gift.

He required a pocket knife, I think.

Rita, my stepmother.

Zoe with Dina, looking on.

Rita with a present from Dina, I think.

Zoe gave Rita an ornament that looked like Zoe's new driver's license.