Jarring Experience

Wow!  That certainly got my attention!  About 20 minutes ago my house started shaking like a tree was going to fall right on top of the middle of it!  I ran into the hall, waiting for it to hit, while the dishes rattled and the house shook worse than it did when the biggest of trees in the area has fallen, but "the tree" never hit the ground.  Turns out it was an earthquake in VA that registered 5.9 and shook things up all the way up to NYC at least!  No damage here that I know of it, but it surely was exciting!

A Birthday Celebration in PA

Over the weekend the Haber clan celebrated Len's birthday.  There was a cake and a family dinner on Saturday at the senior Habers' abode, and an extended family party happened at Jen and Len's place on Sunday.  On Saturday the featured cake was created by Clays, cake bakers extraordinaire!  

Since Len is a Phillies fan, the cake had that motif.  Here his offspring help admire the cake (while they mug for the camera).

On Sunday there were gifts to be opened, and there are always volunteers to "help" open them--first Elizabeth, then Ava, followed by Emily K.  Len's dad Ken kept an eye on things.

It was hot, and the pool go a lot of activity.  Ava and Elizabeth are both swimming very well and have graduated from "floaties", but the younger children still required a lot of support and supervision.  Emily's suit surrounds her with floatation material.  Jake and Abby just enjoy life from the floating seats.

 Ava did a great cannonball!  Fortunately there was no one close enough to be affected by the big splash.

 Emily and her dad had a great time with the toss and catch game.  She apparently loved every minute of it!

 Abby thought the rest of them were a little nuts with all that splashing and bouncing.  She just grinned and showed her new teeth.l

 Jake thought splashing was fun, but he cautiously did it from the safety of the swimming tube.

As usual, Auntie Em took far too many pictures, some of which have been pulled into an album on Picasa.  If you want to see more of the busy weekend's activities check:  http://picasaweb.google.com/ejoyce2

Happiness Is...

Happiness is, among other things, ticking projects off the to-do list, especially when the projects have lingered on the list for a while.  Today's checked-off item:  a new ceiling fan in my living/dining area.  The one that was there was put up when the house was built in 1986 and has caused problems off and on since then.  It was literally falling apart, and I could neither find a true fix for it nor use it.   I've been in a fix-up-the-darned house mode this summer.  First things checked off the list were staining the outside of the house and getting about half the inside re-painted.  Today was new-fan day.  After agonizing over choices for several weeks, I found what I wanted on Amazon.  It had a good user rating, and it was shipped to my door.  The chore then morphed into find-an-electrician.  No one I asked had a recommendation, which is how I usually find workmen when I need them, so I did a bit of Yellow Pages and telephone research.  The company I chose had a good reputation; the workers came prepared to work and didn't mess around; they cleaned up after themselves and hauled away the old fan; and I got a senior discount.  If I need an electrician for something else, Weisman Electric in Annapolis will get the call.  Here's the new fan.  Photos of something up in the air are hard to do, but the idea is there.

Next up, carpet cleaning!

Family Fun on the Fourth

 Celebrating holidays with family is always fun.  Over the Fourth of July weekend, I celebrated with the Pennsylvania part of the clan.  As always there was good food and good fun.  The children kept us entertained and busy, too.  All of the children are growing so quickly.  It had only been about five weeks since I saw this crew, and already the previously toothless Abigail has several teeth.

Sister Emily wasn't feeling too chipper, but she seemed to enjoy arranging things in and around the doll's house.

 Elizabeth is our drama queen, and she plays all kinds of roles from comedy to that of a model.  (You should see the video of her descending stairs posing as a model.  I haven't mastered the best way to share videos yet, but take my word for it--she could have a career that way!)

Ava is our budding young lady and is so good with brother Jake--at least most of the time.  She is also good at swimming and bubble-blowing!

Jake is full of joy and energy, and he loves doing things with his daddy.

While Daddy Len entertained the troops with bubbles, the sisters had time for a chat.

At some point they decided to celebrate my birthday since I wouldn't be there on the actual date.  What a beautiful, delicious cake that was!  It should be illegal for anything so beautiful to taste that good.  There were even sugar-molded birds as part of the decorations on the cake.  And of course I had plenty of help with the candle.

It was a great way to celebrate the holiday.  For more pictures of the weekend, see: http://picasaweb.google.com/ejoyce2

ARGH!

If I could figure out who the culprit is, I'd give someone a piece of my mind!  What a dad-blamed nuisance!  Someone started using my credit card number over the weekend--apparently to try to buy an Iphone, because that's the kind of charges that were made (apps and equipment).  Fortunately, I monitor that card fairly carefully because it WAS my primary card, so I've gone through the rigamarole of cancelling the card and trying to remember who has charges outstanding (season tickets for a couple of things for next season, for example) and giving them a valid card number.  When I get the new card, there are several places like my prescription place that have to be notified!  What an aggravation.  At least I caught it before too much damage, but...  This kind of crook needs to get a job--and a CHEAP phone with their own money!

Rattling Around

The house seems almost empty this morning.  Steve and Julie were here from Saturday until this morning, and it was so great to have them.  We did the Annapolis Secret Garden Tour on Sunday, which was nice, but it was VERY hot and we didn't quite finish it before we had to search for cold drinks and less heat.  Yesterday we cruised around downtown Annapolis, checking out the shops.  I should do that more often.  I discovered a neat tea and spices shop I didn't even know was there!

This morning they left for Michigan and a visit with Julie's mom Joan.  I miss them already, but I know I have to share!

 Safe journey, Steve and Julie. 

A Week at Nags Head

A delightful way to spend a week in late spring is to be at the beach with family whose company you enjoy.  I was blessed to have this chance at the end of May, spending that week in Nags Head, NC with sister Pat and her husband Bob, two of their children and the spouses of those children, and five of their seven grandchildren.  We had a spacious house on the beach and a swimming pool just out the back door.  Dolphins swam by and put on performances that seemed to be just for us, sometimes for twenty minutes or so at a time.

The first night we celebrated Emily's second birthday.  She hasn't quite mastered the art of blowing out candles, so Ava and Elizabeth helped out a bit.

The children (and adults) enjoyed the beach in the morning before the days got too hot and the little ones got too tired.  Emily and her bucket and shovel were very busy.  Sometimes she did it solo, sometimes with the help of the cousins.

Elizabeth had a whole village of sand castles, and she decorated them with shells and whatever else she could find.

Jake liked the ocean as long as he was close to daddy--or the waves didn't come too close to him!

When the sand and heat got to be a bit much, the gang retreated to the pool, where they were content to spend hours.  The pool came equipped with a slide, and with a daddy or mom at the end of it to catch the younger ones, they had a splashing good time, although Ava and Elizabeth could also manage splashes into the pool on their on, too, thank you very much!

Baby Abbie got some pool time occasionally, but she was most often found snuggling with one of the grown-ups.  Here she's getting a big kiss from her Aunt Jen in one shot and sharing deck time with Grandmother Pat in the other.

We fed stale crackers to the laughing gulls and watched the beach replenishment process(toward the end of the week, thank goodness).

The "mother ship" that hauled the sand from far out and then piped it back to the beach

Moving the retrieved sand into place

A good time with loving family and good weather--even if there was occasional smog from a forest fire to the west of us across the sound. This group offered lots of opportunities for photos.  If you are interested in seeing more of them, try:  https://picasaweb.google.com/ejoyce2 .