Another Family Visit

This weekend, daughter Kathie and Granddaughter Renee came for a visit. Both are super-busy right now with work and school, so they were only able to spend the weekend, but it was a delight to have them here.

Renee is expecting our first great-grandchild in November. She and husband Adam have decided they don’t want to know the child’s gender yet, so they have named the baby “Boss” until he/she is born. All of us are excited by the prospect: Renee at becoming a mother, Kathie at becoming a grandmother, and us, of course, at adding “great” to our job titles.

They arrived at 9:00pm Friday after flying from Reno to Tucson by way of Los Angeles. We used the first evening for gift exchanges. We had purchased handmade placemats and table runners from an RVing friend who teaches Swedish Weaving at rallies, and gave them to the girls as early Christmas presents.

Then for Renee and “Boss” came the blanket and caps that Suzy had crocheted (we showed them on the previous blog).

Renee was delighted with them, especially the matching “Momma Cap.”

Living in Carson City, NV, she’ll have some cold winters during which she can get a lot of use out of that.

In turn, Renee presented Suzy with this little Prayer Box, displayed here on a musical jewelry box I made for Suzy many years ago.

In the close-up you can see the tiny angel charm within. Renee thought this an ideal gift, as she has been praying for her Gramma during Suzy's continuing medical problems.

Kathy gave us a piece of her original beadcraft, this window decoration, to hang where it can catch the sunlight.

She also gave us a pottery dish, made by Clays in Calico, a Montana company. When we lived in that state, we had purchased quite a bit of their pottery for our home, so we recognized it immediately.

Suzy made a special presentation to Kathie: my mother’s wedding ring.

From Kat and Nee Visit July 2009

We have carried that ring with us for years, always knowing it would go to Kathie, and this was our chance to pass it on to her.

On Saturday, Kathie and Renee came for the day. Suzy had cooked all day Friday to be prepared to enjoy Saturday. I helped a little, making a gelatin salad and a batch of cowboy cookies. Suzy prepared a potato salad, cucumber salad, pea and cheese salad, and guacamole. I marinated a 3# London broil steak for 24 hours, so it was ready for dinner.

In the afternoon the three ladies visited a neat bead store here in town.

From Kat and Nee Visit July 2009

It is operated in the owner’s garage, so the overhead is low, resulting in fantastic prices. Renee and Kathie both bought quite a lot of beads and things to take back to Carson City.

From Kat and Nee Visit July 2009

That evening the four of us played Mexican Train, with Kathie as the big winner and me as the big loser.

Sunday morning we met for breakfast at Apple Farm, then bade them safe journey home.

As a postscript, we want to thank all of our readers who took the time to applaud our recent award. It was certainly a surprise to us, and quite possibly to you as well! We'll keep blogging as long you you keep reading (and occasionally responding to) ... Our Life on Wheels.