Sunday afternoon, we celebrated Labor day with my brother-in-law's family. My newlywed nephew was up with his new wife from Virginia. They were married over the summer down there, a wedding kept purposely small, and so I was really happy to be able to give them a wedding present.
He has a hereditary disorder that caused him to lose his eyesight over the course of a few years, and life has been hard for him. He met a lovely woman, a widow with two beautiful daughters, and it makes me happy to see him happy again after years of struggling.
He's even regained his sense of humor. He said, "She wanted to tan a little for the wedding and so I went with her to the tanning place, and the woman said 'Have you ever had issues tanning before? I always ask when I see freckles.'
Tommy said in mock total disbelief, "Wait!!!! She's got FRECKLES? I don't know. That might be a deal breaker right there..."
I said, "Boy, it's easy to see why she fell for you."
Tommy's son, Lincoln had a birthday coming up, so we celebrated that too. He is turning 13, like William.
The party is a giant pot luck. Everybody brings something to share. Our contribution was a crockpot full of Italian sausage with peppers and onions and tomatoes. There were buns and mozzarella cheese. There was bbq pork and meatball subs and all manner of salads and trays of corn on the cob. Nobody went hungry, that's for sure.
The main event though, is the bonfire in the evening. This year's was huge. William was mesmerized. He likes nothing more than a good fire.
It was a fun way to spend an afternoon.
One exciting moment: William has long despaired about being short. I've told him right along that he will sprout. Both of his parents are giants, so that's a fairly safe bet. We haven't seen a lot of William this summer, but at the party, I noticed that he looked a lot taller. Yep. He's had a growth spurt over the summer. If he grows another inch or two, he will be taller than me. I think that he was quite anxious to return to school for that one reason alone.
Today, we worked on a different house: our current house. We had a picture window to fix. The police took estimates of the damages, but realistically, I don't see how we'll ever get the money back. I mean, these are kids. You cannot get blood from a turnip. Probably 20 years back, we had a batch of boys smash mailboxes. They, too, were ordered to make restitution. We received two payments of $1.25.
So. We're not holding our breath on getting any money at all.
The estimate from the glass repair place was an eye watering $450, but compared to the price of a new picture window, well...it sure was the lesser of two evils.
Then, Tim happened to see an ad. A guy was remodeling the house, and he had torn out a vinyl picture window. It was a very nice window, double paned, vinyl cased. It was the same size as our broken window. He drove up to look at it. It was in perfect shape, so he bought it for $125, a considerable savings.
That's what we did today, which was fine. I'm still not feeling really energetic. The window was extremely heavy, but we got it in. Tim said, "I think this glass is a lot thicker than the old window." I said, "Hopefully it is thick enough that if some stinker throws a rock at it, it will bounce it right back to them."
We went down to the new build to collect the tools for the job, and to feed the kittens. No sign of mama today either. It makes me wonder if mother cats go off to have their kittens away from the others. I don't know. But the kittens are much more sociable without Gaza around. Possum, especially. He comes when I call him. He won't be petted yet, but he's very interested in people.
In any case, it is the first day of September and it feels like fall. It is cool and overcast. Tonight there are frost warnings.
It's a very fine fire.
ReplyDeleteWhat a piece of good luck to get the right window for such a cheap price.
It was. I guess that I will always be amazed at people who just rip a house apart to do something completely different. This was a perfectly fine window. It replaced an old wooden framed window, so I guess anything was a step up.
DeleteWhat a fire. It was hours until a marshmallow could be roasted.
ReplyDeleteNo marshmallows in a fire that big. Those logs were bigger than some of the kiddoes there. We didn't want to encourage them to go close to it. That's a watching fire, a visiting fire, a sitting fire.
DeleteThat was a good gathering..with excitement!!
ReplyDeleteYou're both good at spotting bargains.
Yes, Gaza has probably gone to somewhere to have her next batch of kits..and left these with you...a feline compliment?
I hope she donates the next batch to some other sucker. But we've really made progress in taming them since she decamped, that's for sure. She really did not look hugely pregnant when she left though. Just at the "Hmmmmm...that cat looks pregnant" stage.
DeleteWonderful bonfire. If we had one that size, we'd set our neighbours' houses on fire.
ReplyDeleteIt was good to hear that William has grown. When my son was 13, he wasn't very tall, but he grew and grew, finally ending up at 6'3". Both his sons are taller than him.
They live in the woods. They only have to worry about the trees.
DeleteSounds like a fun gathering. Lucky that Tim spotted that window at such a good price. Hope you feel better this week.
ReplyDeleteHe has the darndest luck finding things.
DeleteHoly bonfire, Batman! We used to have campfires at the cottage, but a bonfire is on a whole other level.
ReplyDeleteZowie, Robin! You're right about that.
DeleteMy brother had an issue where his bone "age" was two to three years younger than his actual age. The result was that he was the shortest person in his class all through high school. Then he grew 12 inches while in college and is the tallest in his class. I had never heard of such a thing before or since and only believe it because I witnessed it with my own eyes.
ReplyDeleteTim's son was like that too.
DeleteFires that big are fascinating but they frighten me somehow, even if I know they're under control. Or, almost under control.
ReplyDeleteGreat find on the window!
They make me nervous too, truth be told.
DeleteYou have inspired me to reuse and repurpose things a lot more and I thank you for that. You guys are amazing.
ReplyDeleteYesterday we were at a lake and a young guy didn't want his golf bag anymore, because he left a banana in it and it melted. I couldn't believe he was too lazy to clean it, he was going to throw it out. So I brought it home and now I have a lovely, large umbrella for the lake, or spray park. Tomorrow when it's warm again, I'll clean out the golf bag and donate it to a thrift store.
That bon fire would terrify me, too big for me. That's what she said. LOL.
It's such a sensible way to live. We always wind up with nice things because we are picky as heck.
DeleteThat is a BIG fire! We have a pe to burn but it must wait for more rain. Still doesn't feel safe here yet.
ReplyDeleteGrandson Jared was like your William. He was so tiny for so long, then shot up and is now about 6' tall.
This sort of information makes William happy. I think he feels a lot better about himself.
DeletePotluck dinner sounds like a wonderful meal.
ReplyDeleteIt is! We had all manner of food. When you have 50 or people, there is a variety.
DeleteThat’s a very impressive bonfire!! I love them, but my husband has been a volunteer firefighter for many years and he’s very cautious about bonfires…we do have a fire pit, but it has t been used too much lately..
ReplyDeleteGood deal on the window replacement! It also saves a lot when you know how to do it yourself.Best of luck to your tall grandson William’s new school year! I’m so grateful the 6am wake up days are over- though sometimes I do get up that early😅🥰Xo Rigmor
I can tell you that we rarely get up before 7. Usually between 7 and 8. We B retired.
DeleteYou really are masters at finding construction materials at a discount!
ReplyDeleteI think that bonfire would terrify me, especially after setting something on fire nearby. Yikes!