My apologies

Sat., December 28, 2002 - Greta called.  Nancy came in p.m. with groceries.  I showered.
Sun., December 29, 2002 - Nancy & I left in time so we attended church in Wahoo.  The family gathered at Bill's for our Christmas get-together.  Merilyn couldn't come.  Had a wonderful dinner -- had gift exchange.  Went to see Jayson & Lora's new house.  Will be real nice.  Lovely day -- pretty ride home with all the Xmas lights.
Mon., December 30, 2002 - Annabelle called.  She was in Lincoln but didn't care to drive in Lincoln.  Had a very nice visit with her.  Played cards again this evening.

Life has been a bit crazy for me and so I have been even more negligent in creating posts.  But, each one is one more done, so no harm really.

The coronavirus is making life interesting and difficult for a lot of people, but not so much for me at the moment.  Hoping this situation is resolved soon and things get back to normal.  Brought the dogs in last night and they did very well for outside dogs.  There wasn't too much fighting for the privilege of sitting close to me once the initial excitement wore off.

Getting back to normal

Mon., November 25, 2002 - Home nurse came today.  A meeting of the membership this evening.  Pumpkin pie was served.
Tues., November 26, 2002 - Snowed most of morning.  I had to cancel my hair appointment.  Played cards (Seven Up) in evening.
Wed., November 27, 2002 - Lora came & took me to 2 Dr. appointments.  In the morning to the heart specialist & in p.m. to Dr. Semin.

Mmmm, pumpkin pie.

I quickly researched pumpkin and unfortunately, did not find anything particularly interesting or surprising.  Wikipedia did tell me this, which I found somewhat worth the mention:

"As one of the most popular crops in the United States, in 2017 over 680,000,000 kilograms (1.5 billion pounds) of pumpkins were produced.  The top pumpkin-producing states include Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California.

According to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, 95% of the U.S. crop intended for processing is grown in Illinois.  Nestlé, operating under the brand name Libby's, produces 85% of the processed pumpkin in the United States, at their plant in Morton, Illinois. In the fall of 2009, rain in Illinois devastated the Nestlé crop, which combined with a relatively weak 2008 crop depleting that year's reserves resulted in a shortage affecting the entire country during the Thanksgiving holiday season.  Another shortage, somewhat less severe, affected the 2015 crop.  The pumpkin crop grown in the western United States, which constitutes approximately 3-4% of the national crop, is primarily for the organic market."

And that's all there is to that.  From me, anyway.

Done and done

Tues., November 19, 2002 - Nancy here at 7:30.  We thought the surgery was to be in the morning but it was changed to afternoon.  Mary came & we told her to come back after lunch.  The nurses took me to the "room" about 12:30.  Mary came back a little after 11:00 and Dale also came.  Back in my room about 3:00.  All went well.  Tom came in the evening.
Wed., November 20, 2002 - Bill's birthday.  Nancy stopped in the morning before work.  Lora took me home from the hospital.
Thurs., November 21, 2002 - A home nurse came in a.m.  Zoya brought telephones so I could pick one out I wanted to use.  Lora brought a scale.  I was told to weigh myself every day-- since I had no scale she brought one -- my Xmas present from the Wahoo Iversens.  Nancy came in evening -- brought potato soup -- did the laundry.

It still amazes me that one can be opened up for a fairly involved surgery in the afternoon and then go home the next day.  It's good in most cases I'm sure, but still impressive and slightly unnerving in my opinion.

How nice that even with everything going on, the first thing Grandma mentioned on the 20th was that it was Bill's birthday.  Seems fitting to find a photo of the three kids that were mentioned in these entries.  (And look, Tom's smiling!)  Surely Mom called at some point there to find out things were going?  Maybe she talked to someone other than Grandma.

Almost too much excitement, then and now

August 1, 2002:  Talked to Myrtle this morning.  Tom here this evening for the usual tasks -- laundry, shower and Rummikub.
August 2, 2002:  Made rhubarb swirl for tomorrow.  Not a "blah" day.  Dolores came right after dinner and we played Rummikub.  Zoya came about 3:00 -- brought some Pepperidge Farm snacks. Delores left then.  Later Marilyn M. came -- she brought some "egg rolls" -- first time I had some -- really good.  Zoya and I played Rummikub before Marilyn came.  Was a very enjoyable day.
August 3, 2002:  Tom came for me at 11:00 a.m.  Merilyn had to work today.  We went to Nancy's for the July birthdays.  Bill's and Jayson's couldn't come -- had a wedding in Omaha.  Greta, Mary, Mitch, Anna, Dale and family, and Jeff M. all there for dinner. The men helped Dane move some furniture.  We gals and kids went over to Dale's new house -- really nice.  They will be spending tonight there for the first time.  Quite an occasion.  Mary, Mitch, Anna, Tom and I had lunch with Nancy before we went home.  A wonderful day!!!

Well, I got a bit confused with the above retelling of 2002 events.  I think the men probably helped Dale move some furniture since Dane would have been 14 years old and hadn't moved out of the house yet.  And I think the last bunch of us had supper before we went home; lunch was probably with the big bunch.  But, it sounded like a grand couple of days for Grandma, so maybe she was thinking faster than she was writing.  Or else, equally possible, I am just missing something obvious to everyone else.

The internet at home is up and running!  As it turns out, three volunteer trees, one by the east pasture gate and two in the goats' pen had grown enough to block the radio signal from Ceresco.  So, the very nice internet guy that came out (ex-Army, which explains it) helped John cut down the trees.  Then we had a 100% signal.  Yay!  I told John to leave the branches in the goats' pen where they were because 1) it was 98 degrees out, and 2) the goats love eating leaves and bark.  That turned out to be a bit of a mistake.  The goats had a great time to be sure, but one of them apparently does not have an "off" switch.  He was bloated-looking last night but acted okay.  This morning when I went for chores, he was down instead of standing like he always is.  I had read previously that sick goats can go downhill very rapidly and die without much warning.  So, I consulted some online friends and have been tending to poor Andy ever since.  We went for a couple of walks to get his innards moving and of course, had to take Barney along so he wouldn't cry.  I have massaged Andy's belly and generally have been checking on him every 30 minutes.  I think he may be out of the woods; for awhile there he was straining like he was throwing up, but instead of anything coming out, his cheeks would fill a bit and he would chew, like a cow chewing cud.  I am thinking that meant he was re-arranging things, so to speak.  I also heard some loud bowel sounds around that time.  Lesson learned with excess leaves.

Here's a photo of the sick boy and myself last night before he got sick.  [Oops, noticed after originally posting that this is Barney, not Andy.  And for the record, Andy seems to be doing much better.]

Well, that explains it

May 12, 2002:  Tom took me to Nancy's for Mother's Day gathering.  Merilyn came alone as she had to help Linda.  Bill and Jenny and Jayson's family came in p.m.  Rest of family there for pot luck dinner.  Lynn couldn't be there -- some sort of track meet.  We had a most enjoyable day.
May 13, 2002:  Nancy took me to the doctor in p.m.  Still doesn't know why my right [foot?] is swollen and causes pain at times.  Played tapes that Lester made for me -- some beautiful songs.  Played Seven-Up in evening.
May 14, 2002:  Had my shampoo and set.  Started copying material from old journal into new one Greta gave me for Mother's Day.  Called Lester to thank him for the tapes -- 4 of them.

I had noticed that this most recent journal, unlike others before it, were written in the same ink and in very consistent handwriting.  I would bet that this journal is the new one Grandma is talking about and the one she had been copying in to.  I peeked ahead and found other colors of ink and other variances.  Mystery, small as it was, solved.

Grandma left out a word and I thought it was her foot that she was having problems with.  Maybe we will see as we go along if I am right or wrong about that.

The photo isn't from 2002 since it was taken at Bill and Jenny's, not Nancy's, but I am thinking it may be a Mother's Day photo but the mix of short and long sleeves may mean it was Easter.  I like it nonetheless.

Dental fun

"April 15, 2002:  Played lazy today.  Went to party room to play Seven Up.  Dolores came afterward to play Scrabble.
April 16, 2002:  Cancelled my hair appointment since I'm going to Wahoo.
April 17, 2002:  Bill came at 7:00 and we went to the Dental Clinic at the University.  My appointment was at 8:00 and Bill's at 10:00.  Had my mouth open a lot -- took x-rays.  Tentative plans are to have five teeth pulled and have a partial lower plate.  They advised that I get a new upper plate -- will be able to get a better fit with the new lower plate.  Drove to Wahoo and ate at The Wigwam -- good food.  Then to the house -- Jenny gave me a permanent.  Had supper there -- Jayson and family were there, too.  Bill brought be back to Lincoln.  The clinic will contact Bill for my appointments and he will take me there."

Grandma had quite the busy day there.  You would think the entry about playing lazy would have been after that, but I peeked ahead and she had a normal day on the 18th.  Good for her.

I am pretty sure The Wigwam is gone and I do not believe I ever made it there.

I took a small break from Winside's history, but I found a entry that Mom will like.

One of the most able and most successful young business men of the town is E. T. Warnemunde, cashier of the Winside State Bank.  An honor student in Winside High School from which he graduated in 1923, his ability was recognized even in those early days and he was given a position as bookkeeper in the Merchants State Bank.  In those days a job in a bank offered much better opportunities for advancement and Mr. Warnemunde naturally was proud of the assignment and looked forward to bigger things, but the depression came along and like many other good banks, the Merchants State Bank, was forced to close its doors in December, 1931, and that was the end of the dream of another aspiring young man.  At least for the time being.

But Mr. Warnemunde was not idle long and for the next year and a half he found himself working for W. R. Scribner, bank receiver, who had two local banks to look after.  In 1933 and '34 he engaged in the insurance business and then helped organize a co-operative credit bank, receiving the appointment of secretary-treasurer of the new institution.  He was in charge of this bank until January 4, 1936, when it was dissolved and the Winside State Bank organized in its place.  Mr. Warnemunde probably was more responsible than any other one person for the organizing of this bank and he was rewarded for his efforts by being made cashier and placed in charge of the new institution.  Under his able direction, the bank has made fine progress and has grown substantially.

Mr. Warnemunde was born on a farm new Winside on June 16, 1904.  Since that time Winside is the only town he has ever lived in and he is truly devoted to its best interest.  He is a member of the school board, has served as village clerk for 10 years and as secretary-treasurer of the Wayne County Old Settlers Association for several years.

He was married to Irene Render on January 7, 1926.  There are two children:  Bradley 9 and David 3.

The photo isn't of the farm where E. T. was born but it is a farm near Winside nonetheless.  And lots of us have fond memories of that particular place.  By golly, I don't remember a swing set though. 

Christmas 2001

"December 21, 2001:  Took my walk today.  Made cereal snacks.
December 22, 2001:  Baked three pies for tomorrow.  A bleak day -- Howard died on a Saturday a year ago.
December 23, 2001:  Nancy and I to Wahoo.  Left early enough to go to church.  The service was all singing by the choir.  Jayson sings in the choir.  After the service to Jayson and Lora's for dinner.  Everyone there except Lester, Tom and Merilyn."

I am wondering if this is the first year we did the auction/exchange instead of drawing names.  It seems to me the first time we did that was at Jayson and Lora's -- two houses ago.  I do know we were much more reserved and polite about stealing gifts that first time, namely Grandma's throw and Patty's tabletop waterfall.  But even discounting those gifts, we were super polite.  It took us a few years to get cut-throat like we are now.  Most likely due to our fine Scandinavian Lutheran upbringing.

Up top is another 1954 photo.  I think it shows how extremely fond Nancy always was of her little brother.  What I can't get over, though, is how teeny her purse is.  That would never fly today.  As per Nancy's comment from yesterday's post, Tom is wearing a favorite shirt -- again.  It looks likes Nancy's sleeves are different, so either she rolled them up and down or Tom wore the same shirt on two different days.  I put it here below for easier comparison in case someone wants to weigh in and disagree or agree with me.

Sorry about that

I was home for two days and since it was unplanned, I didn't bring Grandma's journal home with me.  Hence, no posts yesterday and the day before.  Back in the groove now, however.  I think.

"October 31, 2001:  Nancy took me shopping.  Bought a new coat.  Drove past Dale's new house.  Laid in a supply of groceries -- a senior discount on Wednesday.  Stayed at Nancy's part of the evening to watch the Halloween children.
November 1, 2001:  Myrtle called in a.m.  Mary, Mitch and Anna here in evening.  We played one game of Rummicube.
November 2, 2001:  Jayson and family came in the evening and brought Chinese food.  After we had eaten, put up pictures, clocks and items in the kitchen.  A lady came about 8:00 and said the pounding kept her awake!!!!  Sarah is quite a go-getter."

Not much of a segue there, but I bet Sarah was a go-getter.  She would have been a bit over one year old at that time.

I was pulling up floor tile in Grandma's unit (before she moved in, obviously) so the contractor could lay new flooring.  I suppose it was a bit late and I hadn't figured the tink-tink-tink sound of my screwdriver/wedge and hammer would carry.  Knowing now that it did, I didn't have a problem with someone calling me on it.  However, I did not like that the man scared me half to death since he did not knock on the door and wait for me to answer it, but instead, since he had a key, he just let himself in.  The first inkling I had of any problem was when he was addressing me quite emphatically with my back to him.  Holy cow, talk about civility!  Lucky for him I didn't over-react and toss a hammer at his head.  I recovered, apologized, and quit for the night.  I still think that was very rude.  Hrumphff!!

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo, but here is Sarah a few months after Grandma's journal entry.  I think she was probably still being chased around by her parents a lot of the time.

Vacation in Lincoln over

"April 8, 1995:  I did up all the washing.  Nancy came for me -- was after 6:30.
April 9, 1995:  Palm Sunday.  Couldn't get my shoes on this morning -- so wore my house slippers to Bill's.  Tom rode with Nancy and me.  Had our family Easter dinner today.  Afterward a family baby shower for Alicia.  Lora's folks were there.  At 4:30 left for home -- raining most of the way and from Wayne on home it was freezing on the sideview mirrors and bug guard.  Home by 6:45.
April 10, 1995:  Sleet and rain all day.
April 11, 1995:  No power for several hours in p.m."

I have been calling Grandma's trip to Lincoln a vacation, but with all the chores and running around doing this and that, it wasn't overly restful I don't believe.  I do believe, however, that she had a good time.  Time spent with family was always good as far as Grandma was concerned.

Like a lot of events, I am not recalling this baby shower but I am guessing I was there.  Seems I should have been keeping a journal of my own all these years.  I am doing it now, but . . .

Speaking of family, here is Grandma Anna at a Kahler reunion.  I absolutely love this photo.  I can't explain why but I do.  I do think Grandma Anna is looking very nice in that dress.

Two babies in one day

"March 31, 1995:  Finished Alicia's quilt.  Merilyn came home in p.m.
April 1, 1995:  Merilyn feels good.  Nancy came after me in late afternoon.  Tom grilled steaks for us for supper.
April 2, 1995:  Jayson, Lora and Alicia stopped to see us in p.m.  After they left Nancy and I went to see Doug, Dana and new baby Madison Marie -- then over to Tom's.
April 3, 1995:  My feet are so swollen I can't wear my shoes.  Tom worked late."

It's very irritating that work is keeping me busy as of late (no post yesterday) so I am doing this semi-first thing in the morning to be sure I get it done.

1995 was the year for girl babies, I guess.  Nothing wrong with that.  And Grandma got to see two in one day.  Nice!  Also nice that Merilyn was doing well.

I couldn't resist adding this photo of another girl baby.  Isn't she just precious?  :-)

A new baby!

"March 8, 1995:  Jayson called.  They have a baby girl -- Alicia Kaitlin born at 11:03 a.m. -- weight 7 lb. 14 oz. and 20 1/2 inches tall.  Finished piecing the Rail Fence quilt top and started putting together brick quilt pattern.  Pieces were cut several years ago.  Cold and icy -- didn't go to WELCA.
March 10, 1995:  Warmed up -- Club at Ida's.  Arlene R. took me.

Well, I was unable to lay hands on a baby photo of Alicia last night.  She was a cutie, though.  Still is, even though she is now all but grown up and ready to graduate at the end of this school year.  It's crazy how time flies.  Oh and Grandma didn't mention Lora by name, but since she did all the hard work, I've included her in the labels for this post.  It seemed only right.

Here's the only photo I had ready of Alicia.  She's the one on the yellow looking at Grandma.  Very cute!

Yay, January!

"January 13, 1995:  Arlene R. took me to Pinochle Club at Elsie J.'s.
January 14, 1995:  Finished piecing baby quilt for Jayson and Lora this past week and started putting the 9-patch sampler quilt together.
January 15, 1995:  Greta, Howard and I left at 7:15 for Lincoln -- trees, wires, everything covered with frost until we got close to Lincoln.  Foggy most of the way.  Went to Nancy's.  Mary, Rick, Mitch, Bill, Jenny, Jayson, Lora, Dale, Lynn, Dane, Kyleah were there.  They brought the dinner -- soup. sandwiches, salad and dessert.  Celebrating Mary's, Kyleah's and Jayson's birthdays."

All right!!  I remember gathering during more than one July to celebrate those birthdays, but here we did January's people.  We skipped several months, ten if memory serves, since July and January are the only multi-birthday get-togethers I remember.  Of course, it was due to a preponderance of birthdays in those months.  I imagine we didn't do December because of Christmas, but we had Grandpa, Lora, Mitch and Gavin all in December -- I hope I am not missing anyone.  And we have more Julys since 1995, too.  Maybe we should resurrect that idea.

No disrespect to two in the photo (my ancestors) and the man with the cake, but I hope we had more fun on 1/15/95 than these folks appear to have been having when this photo was taken.

Christmas 1994 and Post #300

"December 22, 1994:  TOPS had Xmas party here.  Low calorie snacks and gift exchange.
December 24, 1994:  Nancy came at noon.  Helped me for evening.  Greta, Dorothy Jo, John, Helen here too for soup supper at 5:30 -- then gift exchange.  Greta, Helen and Dorothy went to 9:00 p.m. Christmas Eve service at church.  Nancy and I played Rummicube.
December 25, 1994:  Howard rode to Wahoo with Nancy.  About 10:30 when we got there.  Jayson and Lora left before dinner.  Exchanged gifts in p.m.  Tom and Merilyn not there -- her sister and husband were at their place.  John and Helen and all the others there.  Came home about 8:30 -- saw so many pretty lighted places on the way."

How very well I remember soup on Christmas Eve -- I had chili and left the oyster soup (ugh!) to others.  The evening also included church and singing carols by candlelight and the goodie bag we kids got when the service was over that always included an apple or an orange (sometimes both!) plus peanuts in the shell.  Nothing so extravagant as to write a book about, but remembered traditions nonetheless.  I suppose I was a wiggly pest waiting for the soup and polite conversation to be over so we could open gifts.  We didn't do things in the order Grandma lists here.  It was church, supper and finally presents.  Hard to wait through all that when you are a kid.  Even an older kid.  I became a mean mother and had my kids wait until Christmas morning.  I figured it was actually less torturous that way for the adults than the wiggly pest thing going on for a whole day.  They survived quite nicely.

I am out of Christmas photos, so thought I'd just use this one of the almost-Christmas baby.  He's two days old here, so it was December 28 of that year but oh, well.

Eagle Scout

"October 30, 1994:  Helen, Dorothy Jo, Greta, Howard and I went to Wahoo.  Left at 8:30.  We had dinner at Bill's and then to church by 2:00 for the Eagle Court of Honor for Jayme.  After the program a reception in the basement and then to Bill's to visit -- Dale's, Tom, Merilyn, Nancy, Rick and Mitch were there.  Mary wasn't feeling too good.  Jayson and Lora there, too.
October 31, 1994:  Lois K., Arlene R., Lila and I finished quilting Greta's quilt in p.m.  Nice evening.  Had about 20 - 25 tricksters."

I remember missing this particular event, and I know now probably why I did -- morning sickness which sometimes lasted more than just the morning.  Little Anna was on the way.  I am not sure if we knew that at the time but I know I was sometimes sick in the early going.

It would be appropriate here to have a photo of Jayme as an Eagle Scout, or perhaps Anna as a little baby, but since I have neither of those ready to go (and our scanner conked out), here's a hybrid-ish photo of Jayme as a baby.  Interestingly, it looks like he's holding a red Solo cup.  Hmmmmm.  Must have been quite the Christmas party.

Family reunion 1994

"July 1, 1994:  Rain and wind.  Couldn't go to Elmer's in the evening for the weiner roast.  Bill, Jenny, Jayme, Jayson, Lora, Tom and Merilyn here in evening -- played cards.  They all stayed in motel in Norfolk.
July 2, 1994:  Reunion at Legion Hall.  Paul, Trina, Lynn and Lorraine, Gary, John and Mike; Jean, Toni, Marjorie, Frances, Dana.
July 3, 1994:  Heather and Mike here in p.m.
July 4, 1994:  Jean, Marjorie and Dorothy Jo here in a.m.  Nancy left about 1:30.
July 5, 1994:  Rose's funeral in a.m.  She died July 1.  Lorraine, Lynn, Paul and Trina here in p.m.

As hectic a time as Grandma was having in 1994, I had quite the hectic few days here in 2012.  Thursday evening and Friday morning was spent finding to aged basset hounds that had wandered off.  Fluky thing with a door blowing open.  These same two dogs got winded just galumphing around the pasture a week ago.  In fact, one had to be hauled back to the house in a wagon.  However, when left to their own devices, they manage to wander over two miles from the house.  Found one by the side of the road, seemingly waiting for we pokey humans to show up; shivering, wet, a bit dazed but otherwise okay.  The other was less than a mile away on the other side of the road, and seemed a bit perturbed I woke him from his nap.  He was far enough down in the ditch that it nearly required me to slide down in the wet weeds to push him up and then wait for a rescue of my own.  Thankfully he was able to pull himself up with a little help from me pulling on his collar.  He is the terminally ill one but seemed much less stressed than the other, healthier one.  Then on Saturday and Sunday we moved the dog kennel panels around the yard and otherwise made a big job of relocating all four dogs.  In the end it looked great and we had an excuse to take some of the family out to eat to celebrate our combined efforts.

Now back to 1994.  Grandma must have gotten interrupted on July 2 as she has an incomplete sentence there and in reality it had no period, but I can't stand to leave it sitting there without one so I took some poetic license.  Other than that, it looked like a typical family reunion with folks coming from all corners of the USA to be there.  Fun times, to be sure.

I stumbled across a photo from Jayson's wedding.  Mitch isn't doing the silly, squinty smile he used for the professional photos, but he is cute nonetheless in his little tux.  Actually, it's a pretty good shot of all three of us, I must say.

More snow?!?

"April 24, 1994:  Greta and I went to Lincoln.  A shower for Lora at Merilyn's. 
April 28, 1994:  Between 4 and 6 inches of snow.
May 8, 1994:  Mother's Day at Nancy's for dinner.  All except Jenny, Jayson and Lora there.  Bill and Jayme came in p.m."

A bit nutty having that much snow in late April.  We had that 13" of snow in Lincoln in April of 1997; took three snows to get to that much but we did it.  Nice thing was, of course, it melted pretty quickly.

I recall Lora's shower.  If I remember right, she received silver napkin rings that Aunt Irene had.  Not sure of the Aunt Irene part but am sure of the napkin rings.  The shower was at Tom and Merilyn's place in Forest Lake Estates. I  always liked that house.

May as well use the photo of a shirtless Jayson with Nancy and Grandpa (shirts on), all looking very very thrilled to be doing whatever they are doing.  The photo is a nice one, however, of the back of the house a few yards over.

July birthdays

"July 26, 1992:  Greta, Raymond, Howard and I left Winside at 6:40.  Arrived at Dale's at 9:15.  Nancy came after Raymond, Howard and me -- went to Tom's and had dinner there.  Then to Dale's for the p.m.  Mary, Rick, Mitch, Bill, Jenny, Jayme, Jayson, Lora were there.  Celebrated birthdays of Jayme, Tom, Nancy and Dale and Bill and Jenny's wedding anniversary.  Had a wonderful time.  Dale had finished a fence around the yard for the children -- a wonderful job.  Howard put up new rain gauge that John gave him.
July 27, 1992:  Warm and sunny."

I remember this day and it was a wonderful time and a wonderful fence.  At some point we quit getting together for the July birthdays, not sure when.

Photo is obviously from another time, but some of the same characters.  Especially Bill, he's a real character.

Family reunion

"July 5, 1991:  Family weiner roast at Dorothy Jo's.  Bill, Jenny, Jayson, Jayme, Lora, Weiner and Nancy stayed here.
July 6, 1991:  Family reunion at Legion Hall."

I remember this particular family reunion, but not the weiner roast the night prior.  I remember Mitch was in a walker puttering around at the Legion Hall a little bit, but he mainly just sat.  It is also the occasion (I am pretty sure) of the Kissing Cousins photos that Grandma got such a kick out of.

I need to do better at the reunions of talking to people that I don't normally see and/or talk to.  But I think others need to work on that, too, because I don't have a lot of far-away relatives seeking me out to visit either.  Regardless, people must have a good time at these reunions because they keep coming back.

The photo was definitely taken at Dorothy Jo's and definitely during a 4th of July picnic but I don't know when it was taken.  Close enough.

Almost forgot -- Happy birthday to Grandma Anna.