Back once again

I got back Tuesday. After ten hours of driving there, then ten hours back, with 2 kids in the car, I can honestly say that I'm still worn out.
The family reunion part of the funeral was much fun. Click on the photo titles, beneath the photo mosaic, for the full picture and a brief description.

1. WWII veteran, 2. for the military salute, 3. all the photographers, 4. all the cousins, 5. Mom and I, 6. all the cousins Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Things I'll always remember from Grandad,

• a big white house with green roof and shutters
• a big yard with lots of trees, grandad always planting a few new trees and updating us on which ones and how they grew
• rides in the tractor wagon when we were still little
• cocktail hour at the VFW
• the best tvs, 'cause Grandad owned a tv dealership when we were young.
• cardboard houses made from appliance boxes

Everything is a little dry and faded there now, without him to keep that particular American dream alive. Still, I see that I continue it in my own life, right here.

• a big white house with a green roof
• lots of yard and always planting new trees or thorny roses
• telling my kids and husband how the trees and roses grow
• cocktail hour at home, usually while playing Pirates online (potco) on a good computer (rather than tv)
• and more, we continue some old traditions and build new ones.

With all of this travel, I haven't had any time in the studio. Believe me, I do have lots of metalwork to get done. I will have some new metalwork to show you sometime next week.

We had six yards of mulch delivered for the rose garden. Husband tackled 3/4 of it and came down with a nasty case of tendonitis. Poor guy! He's definitely suffering. Now it's my turn to tackle the mulch, hopefully without any injury.

I am such a wimp. You think a blacksmith would be strong. No, this blacksmith is just smart with a hammer, not buff. I think I should have paid someone to do this.