March marches on

The week started out rough for Hannah, who took over Vivi's yucky sickness. Here's a "getting better" photo, which is a step up from a shot sent the day before.

 Vivian was back to her regular self, and helped plant a tree to prove it.

H and V are both smiling again this weekend. At first I thought Vivi was showing us a loose tooth, but I think she just has itchy gums!

Miles and Westy spent some time with us on Friday and Saturday, and also visited Grandpa Dave and Grandma Doreen. They were busy coloring, reading, and building 3-D sculptures. Here are their flying-fish-turned-cool-masks.

The MN cousins played together yesterday. First order of business was fun at Charlie and Angie's house, including playing outside, finding the first salamander of the season, and doing some cardboard construction.

After lunch, it was time to explore Gustavus. First the Book Mark to collect I Love to Read Month prizes for Ethan and Owen, then outside to enjoy the great weather and burn off some energy.

The Whispering Wall was a hit with Ethan, seen here using his voice to create echoes.

The wall is also a great place to recreate the cousin version of Mt. Rushmore... 

...and to march and play follow-the-leader.

Getting on top of the cylindrical pedestals and becoming statues is fun, too.

And who can resist a selfie in front of Old Main? Not these guys!

 

Westy and Miles continued the cardboard construction craze at our house later in the day. Auntie Angie knows how to inspire young engineers with cardboard, scissors, and masking tape!

It's Sunday afternoon and we're waiting for a FaceTime call in a few minutes from NC to catch up with the now-healthy Hannah and Vivian. The skies aren't as blue and bright today as they were yesterday, but no complaints. I have tax information to organize, and a gray day is better for that kind of work! 

If you're Irish, Happy St. Patrick's Day on Tuesday. Same if you're not, but you wish you were.  

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P.S. We were treated to a show put on by H and V this afternoon.  Here are some blurry shots of two scenes from the much-loved (by H and V) musical, "Annie", adapted for FaceTime. It's a hard-knock life, you know.

Warming up

Hurray that the weather is getting warmer and the dirty snow piles are receding! Gpappy/Larry/Dad just reported to me that we should see 60 degrees or better for the next several days. Can this be true?

The warm-up began on Friday. Speaking of warm-ups, Ethan and Owen tossed off their jackets and played snow soccer and shot some hoops on Friday afternoon. They were a bit too optimistic, and the jackets went back on eventually.

 Bros in the snow

Miles and Westy spent a little time with us on Saturday, while A and T were with Dave and Doreen. Later they returned to D & D's to celebrate Uncle Will's birthday. While they were here, M & W practiced drinking champagne out of fancy glasses. Gppy and I had gone to the opening St. Paul Chamber Orchestra concert at the remodeled Ordway with Uncle Don and Aunt Janet a few days before, and part of the event was a champagne reception afterward. Or a bubbly fake champagne reception. I didn't drink any, but Gpappy says it was pretend. No matter-- the fancy glasses are cool!

 Examining the bubbles up close

More bros

We had a FaceTime conversation with the NC cousins on Saturday afternoon, first with ESPD and sickie Vivi, and again later in the day when Hannah joined in. Poor little Vivian was too lethargic to chat. Elisabeth said she perked up on Sunday, but ran out of steam. Earth to Vivi: We hope you're better today. 

Hannah, on the other hand, was big into community service this weekend, volunteering to help clean up the neighborhood. She looks good in an orange vest and worker gloves!

Sadly, I don't have a picture of H and V hugging each other. I'm guessing that didn't happen because of Vivi being sick and Hannah's barf-o-phobia. Maybe next weekend?

Snowmen, silly boys, loose teeth, and bread

I haven't felt much like writing lately, but I do want to post a few pictures so I'll have them at the end of the year when I print this blog into a book. It's always fun to look back and see how much the kiddos have grown and changed in a year.

Vivian and Hannah had REAL snow last week in NC. Enough to build a snowman or two. Looks like a couple of little Olafs made of snow and vegetable parts! Notice that Vivi isn't wearing mittens and Hannah isn't wearing a hat. Northern girls. Thanks for the pic, Elisabeth.

 

Here are some northern boys who were acting goofy together on Saturday. This is the most focused-- or should I say least blurry-- shot I could get. Westy kept making everyone laugh just when I'd get them all in one spot! And, my finger got in the picture. Sigh. They're all pretty dang cute, even when they're out of focus.

A recurring theme among the four oldest cousins is wiggly teeth. E and O appear to be next in line for a tooth fairy visit, and based on Saturday's amateur dental examinations in the sunroom, Owen will be first.

Speaking about holes in things, take a look at these slice of bread from the Mankato Panera store. Yes, I'll name it. I even put the picture on Twitter, aiming it right at Panera. 

I love their bread. I eat a piece of it -- sesame, country, or sourdough-- toasted with pb on it almost every morning for breakfast. I always have an extra loaf in the freezer. I'm a good customer. But one out of a dozen loaves isn't really a loaf. It's a bread TUBE. I have mentioned it more than once or twice when buying bread at Panera, asking the employee to please pass along my concern to the manager. I must be the only customer who mentions it, or even more implausible, the only customer who has ever gotten holy bread there, because the response is always one of surprise.

When I posted on Twitter,  I got a response back fairly quickly from the Panera person in charge of such things, asking for the Panera location so they could check into it. Admittedly, this is the holiest loaf I've ever had, with all but about four slices having a substantial opening. Usually there are at least six. Ha! I don't have any more to say about this holy bread thing, other than I'll continue to post pictures of anything similar I get from Panera in the future. That's about as edgy as I plan to get at my age.

Sunday snippets

It's a good weekend when we get to see some of the cousins in person or via Skype or FaceTime, and it's a great weekend when all six of them appear one way or another!

E and O came over on Sunday morning with their mommy and daddy for coffee cake and to play a bit. I didn't think to take any pictures, dang it. I really wish I'd gotten a shot of Owen with his adorable new hairstyle-- he's gelin' these days! 

I stole this photo from Charlie, taken earlier in the week showing the boys eager to hunt for the St. Peter Winterfest Medallion. The medallion was hidden very close to their house, and wasn't found until the following evening. It took clues to locate it. Better luck next year, E and O!

In the afternoon, H and V checked in on Skype to show off the NC weather. Shorts and lying around in a hammock were the order of the day for those two chicas. We caught up on the Bouncing Bulldogs and Puppies, getting new vests, and recent fun with friends. The pics are screen shots. It wasn't easy capturing the elusive Vivian, as she wandered behind her mommy.

Apparently Hannah languished the day away,  reading chapter books and picture books while gently swinging in the hammock.

More screen shots. On Sunday evening, we talked with M and W on FaceTime. Miles was a big winner at the school carnival. He won a silent auction to be "Principal for a Day" at his school. We're eager to hear the inside scoop on what a principal does all day. Especially one who is 7 years old and in First Grade!

And here is Mr. Trouble, fresh from a bath and casting spells on us with his magic wand!

Thanks for the visits and screen time everyone. I know we all take technology for granted in 2015, but I'm still in awe of the magic and fun of connecting through cyberspace!

First birthday of the New Year

Charlie holds the honorable position of 

First Potts/Dellon/Grimmius Birthday of 2015

Congratulations, Charlie, and Happy #36! 

Love, Mom and Dad

Ed's DX

This postcard is for sale on Ebay, and I want it. It belongs in my Spring Valley postcard collection. Ed's DX, owned by Ed Buss.

I'm not likely to get it because it's already been bid on, most probably by someone who collects old gas station postcards. I rarely have competition for Spring Valley postcards on eBay, except for the old First National Bank, which I have yet to win in several tries, and now this one. Dang it! But it's a kick to see this familiar building again, which has been replaced by a Kwik Trip.

I checked with a friend and with my brother Mark about what they remember about Ed's. We used to go to the DX to catch the bus to the elementary school, which was located on the other end of town. The walk to the DX was about a block, but seemed like a mile in cold winter weather. Maybe Dad used to drop us off there on his way to school, but since the high school and the elementary school were on the same property at that time, I don't think that happened because he could have just taken us with him. Sorry--I'll stop thinking about that detail now and ask Mark.

Waiting for the bus inside the first car bay--the one on the left in the picture--is a crystal clear memory. We waited inside in cold weather. When the weather was nice we could be outside, or else the door to the bay was opened up and we were inside, but had fresh air. And we needed fresh air. The guys who worked at the station all smoked, and back then no one gave a thought to polluting the lungs of the young kids waiting for the school bus.

This was a gas station, if I haven't made that clear enough, so of course there was a pin-up calendar on the back wall. For anyone who reads this who isn't familiar with the concept of a pin-up calendar from back in the old days, think Playboy swimsuit issue, but not as risqué. I remember averting my eyes the first time I noticed the calendar, but curiosity won out, and I took a look as often as I could as did all the other kids. My brother Mark claims his Catholic upbringing had convinced him it was sinful to look, so he didn't. Yeah, I believe him! 

Older kids of the high school variety used to openly smoke at the DX.  Mark reminded me that we called guys who smoked and defied the rules "hoods". We heard some off-color language (or at least I did; Mark probably covered his innocent ears) and Ed used to yell at the kids who messed with whatever greasy tools and rags were sitting around the car repair bays. I always had the feeling he wasn't too keen on being a holding tank for curious 5 to 12 year-olds five days a week. He shooed us outside whenever the weather was tolerable.

The gas station itself had a great candy selection inside the requisite glass display case. Mark says I sometimes bought him a treat in the morning on the way to school. I was a generous big sister. Apparently.  Mark and I and some of our neighborhood friends also made treks to Ed's DX in the summer time to buy candy.  It was a block from our house along the busy highway (not busy by today's measures), but we went through the empty lot that had a pile of sand or gravel stored there for road work. I remember walking through the grass around the sand pile, and it gave the feeling of trudging through sand dunes. 

Four of the cousins ride a bus to school. I hope they'll remember their experiences when they are older adults like Gma Jill. Of course, what I remember is about Ed's DX and not so much about riding the bus...
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Addendum on Sunday, January 25:  I am now the proud owner of the actual DX postcard shown above. Surprisingly, the other bidder didn't place a bid after mine. Maybe that's because I waited until there were just 30 seconds left until the end of the auction to place my one and only bid. Happy to have it!
 

Brownies, basketball, and beauty

Here's what everybody who is anybody was doing today...

Westy and Miles were in town to visit Grandma Doreen and Grandpa Dave, and took a break to help out with brownie-baking at my house this morning. Miles is an eggcellent egg-cracker, Westy pours with precision, and both are magntificent mix masters. The brownies were beautiful, baked to perfection.

This photo of two graceful girls giggling while aglow with green goop and goofy grins showed up on my phone a few minutes ago.

Immediately following, I checked again and found this picture of a dynamic duo of dribblers-- a double delight!

 Aren't they all adorable? Smooches all around. Happy week ahead.