April 24, 2010

Steve Brubaker giving one of his keynote addresses.	Saturday morning I got the children fed and ready then we went to the school for next session of the anniversary celebration.  Ina Sue stayed home with Claudia and rested.  The school gave a short program then Steve gave another talk.  Afterward there were four people from the schools past who had been asked to share memories.  Then there was about an hour of open mic with numerous people sharing memories of  past years.  An interesting program.  Delmar Diem had BarBQ'd a pig for dinner with rice, beans and hash so we stayed and enjoyed that then headed home.  Sharon Brubaker took Savannah home for the afternoon with her.  After we got home I put the children to bed then mowed the yard.  K and Sarah Epperson dropped in for a visit then Steve Brubakers also dropped in later in the afternoon.  Duan and Janice and their family came for the evening and brought supper for us.  Duane grilled hotdogs and we all ate outside on the screened porch.  They left before too late and we all got to bed in good time.
Many old acquaintances got together again.	We decided to all stay home Sunday morning.  It seemed that after the big day Saturday we all needed the rest.  We had our own little church service in the morning.  I made up some leftover lasagna for dinner and a new asparagus dish called Asparagus Mornay.  Yummy!  We had a wonderfully restful afternoon with the children.  Grandmother Showalter arrived here around 8:00.  We were all happy to see her.
Duane and I with our little girls.	I headed back to work Monday morning and left my family in Grandmother Showalter's care.  She worked on the laundry (which thankfuly was not much because I had just done it Saturday evening)  In the evening Dena Skrivseth brought us our supper of BarBQ leftovers from the school lunch.  My kind of leftovers!  Grandmother worked on the ironing in the eveing.
They don't stay this small very long.	Grandmother made us my favorite breakfast casserole Tuesday morning.  I headed in to work.  Ina Sue took Claudia up to Dr. Glen's office for her checkup with Leigh Wood.  She gave her a good report.  Meanwhile Grandmother kept the children and did some mending.  She spent the afternoon sanding down some old flooring board for me to use to replace some of our old fungus eaten baseboard.   Then she made us a veritable feast for supper with beef and noodles, baked asparagus, Southern Raised Biscuits, etc.  Wendell & Naomi dropped by for a visit in the evening.
Grandmother and Claudia.	I stopped at the strawberry patch on my way to work on Wednesday and picked two pails of strawberries.  They are huge and beautiful this year.  Almost like eating apples...  I went on a service call to Columbia part way through the morning and it ended up taking way longer than I had anticipated.  I actually didn't get back to Govan until after 8:00.  Grandmother put several coats of finish on the boards, then washed windows and did some cleaning.  After I got home in the evening I read the children there stories and put them to bed then worked on hooking up the controller for our irrigation system.  I scheduled it to start running at 11:00 and it seemed to work great.  Went through all 7 zones without a hitch.
Our two little "babies".	Grandmother had been planning to go home Thursday morning but due to a holdup with Jeanne's moving date she decided to stay and houseclean our entire house instead.  What a mother-in-law!  :)  When I got home the ladies had supper of beef stroganoff over rice and a squash pie waiting.  In the evening I went to my first school board meeting.  My term does not officially begin until after the school year closes but they want new members to hit the ground running so they wanted me to attend meetings until then.  While I was at the school, Mary Korver and her children came over to visit and to see Claudia.
The revised "Strites at Jasmine Cottage".	Grandmother left for Virginia sometime around 5:00 Friday morning.  She insisted that she didn't want us getting up to see her off.  I had to go into work so this was Ina Sue's first whole day with the children.  She said it was busy, but doable.  She and Carolina cut out a new dress pattern.  Cheryl Bange brought us yet another delicious supper.  Potato ham casserole, green beans, rolls, fruit/jello salad and fresh strawberry pie.  Wonderful!  Carl and Grace stopped by during the evening for a visit.
Saturday was another great day at home.  After breakfast we all made a trip in to Barnwell .  My truck has been sitting at Barnwell Service Center for the last two weeks waiting to be picked up.  We picked it up then went to GreenTek Nursery to pick up a couple flats of impatiens and vinca for our beds.  Also to Walmart for some quick shopping.  Claudia did great on her first time away from home.  We got back by 11:00 and Ina Sue worked on putting up 9 quarts of thickened strawberries.  I mowed the yard and cleaned up the shop.  In the evening I made us a chicken/bacon/ranch pizza.  Pretty good if I have to say it myself!  Then the Saturday evening baths, hair cuts, bedtime stories etc.  After the children were in bed I drove the van up to Denmark and filled it with gas then washed it.  Keith & Jeanne moved into their new house/mansion today. :)