Friday - May 29

 A beautiful summery day.    We were off at 7 AM with Blair to Liberty Middle School for her last 1/2 day of 7th grade.

Mark and I went to Waterbean Coffee for coffee and shared a bagel.  Then back to school for her 7th grade awards ceremony.   Blair got straight A's for the school year and a few other awards.   This timeframe (9:30-10:30)_was for the 7th graders (6 classes)  

We ran a few errands as Blair stayed at school till 11:30 dismissal.    Back to pick her up and onto Town Tavern to meet judy and Bob (Brooke's parents) for lunch and a fun visit.   

Blair with her grandparents

Our rising 8th grader

Brady left at 3 to visit brother Davis near Winston-Salem.   They drove to Raleigh to see the hockey game and Brady is spending the night with Davis.

We had leftovers with Blair and also enjoyed a trek down to the dock/water - beautiful evening.

Anne got her stitches out this afternoon and Dr. Su said "no melanoma" and she is good to go1    Very thankful for this news!

Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday - May 28

 Brooke took Blair  to school for her last full day of 7th grade.   Rain was in the forecast this morning, but missed us and was a nice sunny, warm day.    Michael and Brooke left for their European river cruise at 10 - Brady took them to the Charlotte airport.    They will spend a few days in Switzerland before boarding the ship.

Philip, Annette and kiddos flew to IL yesterday and Luke and Maeve will stay with their other grandparents (Judy and Dave) while Philip and Annette do the river cruise.    There are a total of 33 going from Lake James and beyond with some side trips planned.

Mark and I will hold down the fort with Brady, Blair and Millie till we take Blair to Catrina on Sunday.

Last night Michael and Brady were watching the Carolina Hurricane play and beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0.   They were screaming and yelling....the Hurricane are up 3-1 and tomorrow night, Brady and Davis plan to be in Raleigh for game 5.

Liam arrived in Minnesota (suburb of Minneapolis) this afternoon and will start his summer internship on Monday.   He is living with his freshman roommate's family.

Brady drove us (and Blair) to Morganton and dinner at The Madness, a burger and sushi place that opened exactly 1 year ago today.    It was very good.

Pat, Blair, Brady, Mark

Wednesday - May 27

 The rain held off till 4 today.....we've had almost 6" since we got here last Friday.   It was a fun day for us....Mark worked on the thermostats again and Brooke and I visited till she got ready to run errands and pick Blair up after school for gymnastics and a meeting.

Brady was off to play golf with a friend in Morganton.    Mark and I drove to Marion and met friends, Bev and Jim for lunch at Smokey Q's.   Oh what fun to catch up with these folks who we met in  August, 2018 in Brewerton, NY when they were starting their Erie Canal boat travels and we were finishing.    Then in October of  '18, we visited them in their lovely home in the mountains near Marion.   Wow....almost 8 years and they are just as fun and interesting as ever.    They also have a travel trailer and planning to spend 2 months out west this summer.

Bev and Jim

Stopped at Lowe's for some screws Mark needed (another project at Michael's) - he likes to keep busy while he's here and his boys manage that just fine!   😂

Brady and Grandpa did more with the thermostats - not the easiest job but these newer models are definitely more challenging.

Brooke made another yummy dinner - chicken in a wonderful sauce with pasta and fresh asparagus!    We watched the YouTube video of the 2026 commencement speech at University of North Carolina given by North Carolina native, singer and songwriter, Eric Church.    Mark and I had heard it a few weeks ago - it is phenomenal and highly recommend you watch and/or listen to it.

Michael, Brooke, Millie, Blair, Brady

Tuesday - May 26

 Today would've been Mark's Dad's 105th birthday!    What a guy!!!  67 years of marriage, 13 children, 38 grandchildren and 70+ (and still counting) great grands!!!

Heavy rain last night and a little off and on today and very humid.   

Annette, Maeve and I went to town - stopped at WaterBean for coffee/macarons and then Maeve and I got manicures at Nail Time.    Ran a few more errands, picked up Jimmy Johns for lunch and on home.

Pampering Maeve

Girl FUN

Mark and I got our stuff gathered and headed over to Michael and  Brooke's to settle in for the next week.    He worked on installing some new thermostats.    Brooke took Blair to gymnastics after school and ran some errands.

We went back to Philip's and I emptied the dishwasher in the carriage house and put towels in dryer.    And then good bye hugs and more pics

Sibling love

Luke, Annette, Maeve, Philip

Blair started packing for our trip to Port Clinton next weekend.   Brooke made spaghetti and meatballs/sausage, caesar salad and breadsticks for dinner.    Sat around and visited and got the scoop of what's ahead the next few days.

Memorial Day - 2026

 

Remembering our veterans who gave their lives for our freedom....

THANK  YOU !

When we were in Black Mountain yesterday, we drove past the veterans cemetery which was very large and every single gravesite had a flag flying beside it.    Very sobering sight.

Maeve came over this morning with some kringle for our breakfast and a coffee for grandma!   Later we went for a walk (Annette, Luke, Maeve and me) - heavy rain around 11 last night with nasty thunder and lightning.    Very wet and humid to start the day. 

Crafty Maeve made this potholder for Grandma

The walkers

Mark worked on various projects for Philip at "our" carriage house.    We cleaned up some leftovers for lunch + Annette's delicious minestrone soup as we leave tomorrow and Wednesday for them.

The kiddos and friends went tubing in the afternoon - sky was threatening but they had fun before the next batch of rain.    We even had little spurts of sunshine!

Captain Philip

 Max, Maeve, Ivy

Luke and Maeve

Went to Ryan and Erin's for drinks and several yummy appetizers.    Fun catching up with them.   Philip, Annette and Maeve joined us later.

Ryan, Erin and "Karen"

The rain started again as we left their home.    We went to Philip and Annette's and played 3-handed euchre (Mark, Philip and me) which I won and then 4 handed - Philip and Annette beat Mark and me 2 of 3 games.

The rain is coming down fast and furious!    Nighty night!