Back to the Real World

After a fantastic ten days of family time, my kids have gone back home to their lives and I am getting caught up here at home. We all enjoyed our time together and I am so happy they were here to celebrate Julia’s graduation from high school. It was so much fun to have this long visit together.

My last post was celebrating my five year blogging anniversary! I want to let you know who the giveaway winners were.

For the charitable donation, Jinger S. was selected by the handy dandy Random Number Generator. Her charity of choice is the Alzheimer’s Association. She has family members who were or still are suffering from this insidious disease. I am happy to donate $50 to this cause. I hope someday there will be some way to prevent the disease or at very least, stop its progression. Interestingly, June is Alzheimer’s Awareness month so the timing of this giveaway couldn’t be better. If you would like to see a few of the facts and figures about Alzheimer’s, click here.

For the handmade wooden point turner, Random Number Generator chose Robbin G. Robbin is a reader who actively participates on the blog. I always enjoy her comments on my posts and I am happy to send this prize off to her!

Last Wednesday, during an incredibly hot evening, Julia graduated from high school. I was so proud of her and her classmates as they all completed this phase of life. She had such a great experience at Ghidotti and I know she will grow even more when she goes off to college in September.

Having cake together after graduation.

My grand daughter endured the hot, long (and for her quite boring) commencement like a champ. The high school is quite small, Julia’s class had 43 students in it. The Parent Association provides cake and lemonade at a reception after commencement. I love this picture of H looking up to her Auntie Julia.

The rest of the week was spent celebrating graduation with a family party and just hanging out on a stay-cation of sorts. H loved watering with this little watering can I picked up for her at the Dollar Store. Luckily it was really warm so my plants didn’t mind her zealous watering routine. Haha.

As usual, the cherry tree ripened all at once! We have so many cherries. Ray spent some time pitting fruit and freezing it. We were too busy to can or cook jam. Hopefully later on we can get to it. Cherries rot so quickly but we were able to take advantage of some of the fruit.

Aside from her watering chores, this girl enjoyed pushing a little red wheelbarrow around the property. Isn’t she the cutest?

We also spent an afternoon on the pond at the edge of our property. My son, Ian, caught a bass and it was fun to see H’s response. She was enthralled with the whole process and enjoyed watching the fish swim off when he was set free.

Today my plan is to clean up the house a bit. There are toys strewn everywhere. Then I need to open the many boxes of Mercyful Quilts that arrived last week. The only package I did open last week contained this gorgeous piece by Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts. Preeti named it Oasis and you will surely enjoy her post telling more about the quilt. My grand daughter clearly approves of this donation. It is so pretty and has an hombre effect with the blues gradually changing shade. Thanks so much Preeti.

Once the house is (somewhat) under control, I need to baste my Squared Away quilt top. I am excited to quilt this one up. It is going to be a warm day so this will be a perfect way to spend the afternoon. How about you??

24 thoughts on “Back to the Real World

  1. Wendy

    Sounds like a wonderful time celebrating with Julia and enjoying family! You have some great photos and memories in this post! Nothing much going on for me today; I’m nursing a bad back.

    Reply
  2. Roseanne

    Hi Bernie! Oh, that picture of H watering is just priceless. I’ll have to pick up a watering can myself and get my sweet boy into helping me. Congrats to Julia again – she looks quite happy to have this phase of her life behind her. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne

    Reply
  3. Jinger

    Congratulations to Julia and to her parents! I love the picture of Julia and H, so sweet!

    Thank you for your kind and generous donation to the Alzheimer’s Association; it’s such a devastating disease and one that affects so many families.

    Reply
  4. B2

    How nice you had such a great family visit! I truly love your posts—it makes me feel connected 😁 and they are always so interesting! I’m jealous of all those cherries!!

    Reply
  5. Christine Ellen Barnes

    So happy you had time with your family, Bernie! What a sweet post, with adorable pictures of Julia and H—you can tell that they are both super special. I just returned from a four-day trip to Portland (a guild lecture only, then time buzzing around the city with friends). My house is also in need of “disaster relief,” but I can’t name family as the cause of the chaos! 🙂

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      Haha – disaster relief!! That is cute. I got lots of the house picked up so it is reasonable now. That means I can head to the sewing room this afternoon. It is going to be warm again today so a good day for sewing! Hope you enjoyed your time in Portland.

      Reply
  6. Preeti Harris

    Julia is so pretty, H is so adorable and the men are so handsome, I am surprised you get anything done!!!
    I’d be just staring at them all day 🙂 So much handsomeness, beauty and loveliness in one post!!!
    Thank you for the shout-out, Bernie. I am glad to be a part of the Mercyful quilts drive.

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      Haha – we don’t actually get much done when family is all here – lots of time spent just hanging out together and playing with H. It is the best. I am so grateful for your donations to Mercy Hospital. Thank you again Preeti!!

      Reply
  7. Helen

    It has been lovely watching your granddaughter grow from a distance . And congratulations to your daughter . And of course to you Bernie on your 5 year blogversary

    Reply
  8. Katherine

    Congrats to Julia! Great picture of her!
    Wonderful pictures of you family time. So glad you were all together for this special occasion.
    Yum on the cherries!
    Have a good week readjusting. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      Well the house is mostly clean so that is something! Today is supposed to be quite warm. Errands this morning and I am going to sew this afternoon. I am really looking forward to it!!

      Reply
  9. Sue

    Amazing photos! May I ask what kind of camera you use?
    Congratulations on your daughter’s graduation!

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      Thank you Sue. Honestly I usually use my iPhone. Some of the photos were taken by my son who has a much nicer camera. (I have no idea what it is though) I do love when he shares his pictures with me though. 🙂

      Reply
  10. Val

    Congrats Julia!!! Such an exciting time. And yes, little miss H….is just adorable!!!!! (They grow so fast don’t they!!)

    Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      They all grow fast – be it my grand daughter or her 34 year old father! It is crazy. Are you out for the summer Val? Or does your new position not have the same schedule? Either way, have a great weekend.

      Reply
    1. Bernie Post author

      So Many Cherries!! They are yummy – I don’t know why we have so many – usually the tree doesn’t do much. I guess the weather (or something??) must have been just right this year. Gardening is always full of surprises. Have a great weekend Emily.

      Reply
  11. Robbin Golden

    Bernie,
    Thank you for picking my name for the beautiful oak point turner that your husband crafted! It’s perfect for pushing out the ends of the neck coolers we are making at church to give away and also for turning the bag and lining for cancer-care tote bags for a friend who wanted to bless people who were going through cancer treatment. She is going to fill the bags with magazines, puzzle books, coloring books and colored pencils. The oak point turner is admired by my friends. I’ve passed along your husband’s contact information. Again, thank you for the wonderful tool!

    Reply

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