A new family member.

Join me in welcoming Agnes to the Van Buren family. Another labradoodle. No surprise given how important a member of the family KatyBelle was. So far she's been pretty laid back but no telling how long that will last.

We're not ready for this.

Winter. We once looked forward to it. Skiing, you know. Well, that's long gone. Now we want to spend more of winter down south. Last year was one month in St. Augustine. This year another month there preceded by 2 weeks on Amelia Island. Snow in Chicago last week and snow forecast for us this week. Bah, humbug.

St. Augustine           Amelia Island

Daylight saving time?

So really, why do we need it? Seems to me it's better to get the hour of sun in the AM all year long. If you live closer to the equator, you don't need it and we in the north don't care much any more. Spring forward, fall back has seen its time.

Grace had another meet this past weekend and earned some recognition. There's a limit of four events for each swimmer, and she's always at the top. You go, girl!

Obama on the mark

I enjoy Halloween. I'm in charge of giving out candy. It will be windy, cold and rainy tonight. Bummer.

Even Ann Coulter praised Obama for his comments on "woke." Me, I wish he were still president, But I guess I can live with him being able to impact our discourse.

An eventful weekend

Zann is reuniting with college friends in Chicago and Grace's first college swim meet, against the University of Rochester, was last night. Zann is planning fun things like the architectural tour on the Chicago River and taking tomorrow to visit with family in Tinley.

Canisius walked (swam?) away with an easy victory and Grace won both her individual and medley races. Very exciting.

She's in lane 4 

We're jealous of Zann and hope she takes and shares a lot of pictures.

Our Catskills visit

We planned on 6 nights but returned after 3 because our friends Ralph Vastola and Katie Martin died. We are mourning two old friends but celebrating their lives.

The Catskills only needed 3 nights anyway. Great to see, no rush to return. Unpopulated, winding roads, very small towns, but definitely worth a must-see if only for the scenery. The Grossingers of past years are long gone, replaced by the "fly fishing capital of the world" (Roscoe, NY) Here are our few pics.

Catskills 2019

Next up, Amy's birthday party on Sunday.

Remembering sisters

Frannie died 4 years ago tomorrow, Joaners 9 years ago in January of this year. They aren't gone if we remember them and I for one do that a lot. My beautiful sisters.