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love, Val

James, 1999 I ran across this in a folder, something written in 1999: “I am pleased to say that we are down to the last six weeks of winter here. One Valentine’s Day many years ago I bought a crocus for myself and one for my neighbor who was also at home with tiny children.  

And hard to get a good picture of it!   It’s cold here today, maybe about ten degrees with a sharp wind.  My bare hands were burning while I carried in the groceries late tonight, and the storm door glass was all frosted. But this little plant I bought at the grocery store is liking life

  a cute picture from October  My grandma died in December, and my grandpa died in April a few years back.   So now the house is sold and mostly empty.   Thursday we went there to help empty the second floor of the house, to get all the last remnants down the skinny, steep stairway, and

 After the trains, we had lunch at the playland.   It’s all hard surfaces and hyper kids prone to shrieking. It was fun to watch them play though.  A little screaming never hurt anyone.  And I got pictures of all my little boys: That one is getting cooled off by his mom rubbing ice water in

 Saturday morning Dan had the idea to meet at the Model Train Museum.  The building it’s in is cool, used to be a train station. On to the models:  I asked John, “Why do I have so many pictures of you yawning?” He said, “I don’t know, Mother.” Oh my.  What a great morning.    love,

These rowdy videos were found on my camera tonight.   At one point I saw what they’d done–link together many, many rubber bands to make a huge bouncy rope, and as they aimed it at the stairway, I snapped, “You’re aiming at a window and an antique light fixture. Think about that.” I think this is

Today was Grandma’s funeral. We drove out on the most treacherous nasty roads, through the most beautiful hilly Wisconsin countryside, all the fields light pink and golden, snow coating the pines. The sweet little church was filled with cousins and aunts and uncles. Above is a picture from 25 years ago, and below one from

Yeah, we made it to church and back, and Santa is struggling.   Hang on, Buddy. We keep shaking the snow off him and straightening him up.  We’re not sure how it would play out allowing him buried under a foot or two of snow and then trying to get him on his feet again.

I love it when I find wonderful pictures on my camera–ones I did not take. Awww, this is Lydia:  Lydia Karina, aka Kari, dressed in her new white blouse and black pants, ready for her first band concert.   My parents were there too, the most devoted grandparents ever, besides her dad and also Ole