Back for More

Back again, for the second year in a row, to grab some of the wool that Mom left behind...

Old Friends (Part 2)*

Sam had show-and-tell at the Arc yesterday and chose to bring his old friend, Brownie (or as Sam referred to him in his Instagram post, his "little night time pal").

Brownie has been at Sam's side in times of joy and in times of fear and trauma. Through it all, Brownie has always listened, provided comfort and, most of all, loved Sam for who he is. 

We should all be so lucky.

*** 

At the Arc... 

And on the ride home..

 (*Part One appeared just over eleven years ago.)

Another Sign of Spring

Photo from my Instagram

 

I have vague memories from when I was a little kid, of a particular Easter morning. It was after one of the few times we had gone to church and I was walking down the narrow brick path that ran along the south side of our house. 

The crocuses were just starting to bloom and I remember thinking how pretty they looked and how, before they fully opened, it looked as if we were growing a garden of Easter eggs.

I somehow feel connected to that very brief moment every spring when the crocuses reappear. 

Perusing His Treasure

Sam has an incredible eye when it comes to spotting stray pennies along our walks. I don't have a lot to say about it, it just gives me an excuse to post these photos...

 

Signs of Spring

 Back to our canal walks and, even better, the creamie is now open.

 

(Also, I'm glad that Sam seems semi-tolerant of me basically documenting his life.) 

Wrapped Up

Sam wrapped up in his gift from Rachael - a burrito blanket. (In the second photo, Rachael demonstrates, for emphasis.) 

 

 

Birthday Bash

Rachael made it home to celebrate both her and Sam's birthday this weekend. Their birthdays are separated by three days and several years.

In an odd way, it reminds me of me and Dad and our birthdays. More often than not, we, too, celebrated our birthdays together, ours having been separated by exactly a week and many, many years.

When I was small, I kind of wanted my own celebration. But as I got a little older, I realized how special it was. 

Rachael and Sam are both smarter than me. I think they've appreciated how special it is all along.

Twenty-Eight Years

 Happy Birthday to my near-constant companion and one of my four favorite people...

 

I love you, Sam.

And here's a bonus photo. This one was taken just days after his fourth birthday. It's a small photo - and you can't really see any faces - but it's one of my favorites...

Rest Easy, Little One

 We will all sleep better tonight knowing there is a realtor on duty.

Barren Wasteland

 aka My Front Yard...

 

Today's Re-Post

Since, with all the bad weather, there is even less going on than usual (which is really saying something), I'm re-posting one of my all time favorite comic panels. 

This was me every night throughout elementary school (and beyond. WAY beyond)...

 

Glazed Over

I found a new bundt cake recipe online a while back and Sam and I finally got around to trying it out. I let Sam do the glazing.

It was delicious, by the way.

Let the Party Begin!

Neither Sam nor I are sports fans but that didn't stop us from having our own Super Bowl party.

Here, for your enjoyment (and envy), are a few exciting shots of the festivities... 

After that, we went to bed.

Time to Spare*

Today was a day of bowling for Sam, which was fortunate because with all the bad weather lately, getting any exercise at all has been almost non-existent. 

Today though, he had two different bowling groups, each at a different location. 

The first event was with one of his social groups. It started at 11:00 and ended at 1:00 (sort of). The  second group was a birthday party. This one started at 2:00 and was about 40 miles away. 

It took every minute of that one hour window to get from Point A to Point B. - but we made it. 

Barely.

(*ouch)

What I Love Doing at 6:20 A.M.

 Just kidding.

 

Winter Carnival Photos - Part 3

 Ok, so back here, I mentioned that, when it comes to the Winter Carnival, Sam and I only involve ourselves in two of the activities. Technically, that may not be quite true (surprise!). We also watch the fireworks, which takes place after the Parade of Lights.

The thing is, we don't watch them from the field - which is the same field from where we would watch them on the Fourth of July (here and elsewhere). There's something about standing in a snow covered/iced covered field with a bunch of people breathing on me while fireworks explode over us that doesn't appeal to me. 

(I don't know if this is the same reason Sam doesn't want to go there. All I know is he has no interest in going - and that's good enough for me.)

 No, instead we watch the fireworks from our living room window.  

Granted, this is nowhere near as dramatic as being in the field. And some of these fireworks can be hard to see. But every so often, one of them gives the illusion of our neighbor's house spewing out what could be interpreted as a colorful and festive chimney fire. So that's pretty cool.

Plus, it's fun watching them with Sam (and not having anyone else breathing on me). 

Winter Carnival Photos - Part 2

Same night/different photos. Here are a few photos (and a very brief video clip) of the Parade of Lights...

 

And here's the VERY short, four second video clip which, I think, gives a good feel for why I would go out on a Saturday night and walk on ice covered sidewalks in the freezing cold...