The 'eyes' have it

One of the joys of being a grandparent is getting to see the world again through the eyes of a child.

- David Suzuki

I is for....

I've gotten a little behind this month, missing blogging at Mother's Day and on my birthday, and I'm almost about to miss this week, so I'm remedying that.  Thanks for bearing with me!

Today is Memorial Day, a day when we honor the men and women who have sacrificed their lives in the service of our country.  We Americans remain the land of the free and the brave because of them, and I for one am grateful for all who serve.  My thoughts are with the families of those who were killed in battle or while on active duty.  I was moved by many of the tributes I saw on television today, and I hope I never take for granted the liberties we enjoy because of those willing to defend our freedoms, even at the cost of their own lives.

Even though it's still three weeks before the calendar says it's summer, this weekend also marks the 'unofficial' start of summer here in the States.  At least in the South, anyway!  Here on Tiki, most every house was full this weekend (about half of the houses on our little island are owned by 'part-timers') and the smell of charcoal fires filled the air.  Boats of all sizes came and went all day, every day, and even into the night.  Our house is right at the end of the 'Tiki Cut' - the channel that goes from the intercoastal waterway to Tiki Island, so we see all of the comings and goings if we are outside.  We spent a good deal of the weekend out by the pool and we ate most of our meals outside on the deck.  We were lucky to have Kim, Blake, and Morgan here for the weekend, and it was Morgan's first visit during pool season.

The water baby gene was apparent, as Morgan didn't even whimper when we first dipped her toes into the water (which was not all that warm!!).  Kim had brought a little ring float with a shade on it, and Morgan was happy to sit and splash.  She looked so cute in her little water hats, and I am so impressed with the care that today's parents take with regard to sun exposure.  Morgan, like Elliot and Gray, seemed to love napping outside with a little breeze blowing, which was good, because that allowed Crockett time to get into the water, too.  Our pool is not big enough to share with Crockett!  We are still hoping he will learn how to return the water toys to the tosser this summer....

Morgan has just turned six months old, and she's entering the 'real people' phase of life.  She can't quite sit up on her own yet, but she's getting there.  Her clear blue eyes are huge and round, and she looks like she is questioning everything.  She is enamoured with her fingers and toes, and she's learned how to get her wub-a-nub back into her mouth.  She had her first taste of solid food, and she's gobbling it down.  Here's hoping she will be a good eater!

It was such fun to have the Kim and her family here - I love watching our kids become parents and see them raising their kids.  It does my heart good to see the love and patience and care they show to their babies.  Everyone always told me that being a grandparent was the best - I'm inclined to believe them!

It's been a busy month - Dave's birthday, Mother's Day, our 38th anniversary, the royal wedding, my birthday, and this holiday weekend - plus houseguests, Derby Day, and a yard sale - but that's just how May is at our house.  Dave always called it "All About Mom Month" so I'm hoping that now that he's grown he gets a little more attention.  If he'd been born on his due date instead of two weeks late....  In the middle of all that busy-ness, I managed to finish my Danube Cruise photo book (from our 2016 Viking River Cruise), just in time for our next Viking Cruise.  We'll be heading to Iceland and then an ocean cruise of the Baltics next month, so excitement is high!  Here's hoping you have had a fabulous month and are looking forward to more fun in the months to come.

A Perfectly Fun Weekend!

We're so quick to go to make things black and white, and to put things in their box. But everything is this mixture - and that's what this world is - is this blend of different things.

- Matisyahu

Week 18: Black & White

One of the best things about this past week was having company!  My p2P friends were here until Monday morning, then our Paducah friends Judy and Randy arrived on Thursday evening for the weekend.  I love having the house full of friends or family - it just makes life a bit more exciting.  We have had to laugh since we moved to Tiki - we have probably had more company in the not quite eight years that we've been here than we did in the 30 years we lived in North Carolina.  To be fair, at least one factor in that equation is timing - neither we nor our friends were as free to travel and visit when we were younger and raising kids - but it's still kind of funny. 

Another thing that is interesting about life on Tiki is that once you're here, it's easy to just stay put.  If you follow any of my travel blogs, you know that I tend to pack a lot of action into my vacations.  I go to museums, attractions, restaurants, parks, anything that looks interesting.  So when I moved here, I intentionally did not go to all of the touristy things available on Galveston Island, because I figured I'd be going there often when we had company.  And now, years later, there are many of those attractions that I have yet to visit!  Turns out, it's easy to just sit on the back deck or lounge by the pool and just chillax on Tiki, so that's often what we do.  We may venture across the causeway into Galveston or 'up the road' for a meal or two, but staying put seems to fill the bill.  I love that!

This weekend, we even went all the way to Houston because we had tickets to Hamilton!  Judy and I had seen Hamilton on Broadway a couple of years ago (just before it got really hot!) and Judy and Randy had just seen it there again, but this was Rex's first time to see it.  We all loved it!  The Houston cast was stellar - my favorite actor played both Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson - and all of us who had seen it before got more out of it seeing it again.  It's such a different kind of musical - all of the dialog is sung in hip hop - and there is a portion of the stage that revolves (so appropriate for such a 'revolutionary' play!), so there is a lot to hear and see.  It's almost too much to absorb the first time, so I was grateful for the opportunity to see it again.

We ventured out for a few meals - we stopped at Whiskey Cake on the way back from the airport Thursday night for a late supper, then we had drinks at the Rooftop Bar at the Tremont on Friday before walking down to Riondo's for dinner al fresco.  We had a delicious lunch at The Grove before the play on Saturday, and we had time to walk around Discovery Green while we were there.  We made it home from the play ALMOST in time for the Derby - we watched it on Randy's phone while sitting in the driveway - so we had our mint juleps on the deck afterwards.  Following that was a nice dinner at Number 13 - that was a full day!  Sunday we lazed by the pool after breakfast and watched Crockett enjoy his first swim of the season.  All too soon it was time to get cleaned up and head to the airport...

Now the house is quiet, with just Crockett and me knocking around.  I have work to do (that I'm avoiding) as we are having a neighborhood-wide yard sale in a couple of weeks - so much stuff to go through and purge!  It's funny, isn't it?  We fill our homes with stuff and then get rid of it!  I also have a big pile of photos and slides that need to be converted...guess I'd better stop procrastinating and get to it!

Have a fabulous week and when you need a break, remember you're welcome on Tiki!