Ten of the longest and fastest moving years.

 I can't believe it's been ten years.

I can still hear your voice...

and Arnie's bark.

You are missed!

Birthday Season!

 It seems that we have birthday seasons in our family...

When Mr. K and I married, we compounded that!

We had July, my brother, me, Mr. K's daughter-in-law and son...

Let's get August with Mr. K, Tony and Mindy (4 days apart), 

And today, September 1, we have Andy!

So for now, we can take a little break...Until October!

I'd post everyone's photo but I don't have time to look for them!

Maybe later!

What Happened Next?

 We got things under control, somewhat...

After paying more that $300 each for four keys...

Mr. K got his car inspected...

He still had to park it in the driveway because Kia issued a recall for some fire danger,

but they didn't know when or even if they would fix it.

I didn't care, I LOVED parking in the center of the garage.

Suddenly, Mr. K realized his car was 5 years old.  He said he never keeps a car longer than 5 years...

I just shook my head...I've had cars that were 21+ years old and they were just fine!

I told him that if he was going out to buy a SUV, I'd like one with third row seating...

After all, our family was growing!

My wish was his command.

In two weeks, we racked up 1800 miles when it started acting crazy.

Mr. K called the dealer.  They offered him a service appointment three weeks away.

Furious, he called Kia and they told him to go to any Kia dealer, so he did.

A week later, they told him they had to replace the transmission cooler or something like that.

He asked for a loaner and they told him they had none.  He had to go across the street and rent one.

So he did...

The only car they had was a Mitsubishi Mirage...

I said it was more like a miracle (that he could get in it).

A week after that, they told him the part was in transit. Then they didn't know...

Again, he asked for a loaner...they had none so he called the rental company and they did get him a bit bigger car...

Finally, the part came in!

It did not fix the problem, they said they would have to replace the transmission but really didn't know when they would get one.

A few days later, I got in my car and it said that my key was not in range.

I knew it was, so I tried again and it started, very slowly.

I backed out of the garage, put the top down and went to the convenience store.

When I went to drive home, my car wouldn't start!

Two really nice guys, one weighing 300+ pounds and carrying a chihuahua, tried to jump my battery.

No go.

Now, you realize that in our house, crap comes in twos, right?  

I called Mr. K and he came over and called AAA.  After a 20 minute phone call, they told him a tow truck would be there in 25 minutes.

We sat inside, eating convenience store food when I looked out.

It was raining!!!!!

I ran out, not sure what I was going to do, but just before I was soaked, the tow truck pulled in.

he got my car started and I was able to put the top up...

I drove home.

Long story short, my battery died...had to get a new one!

Good news, the Kia dealer gave Mr. K a loaner, it's even nicer than the one we bought! 

They have had the car for 35+ days.

Kia never responds to us.  So far, it was $2700 to rent the car.

One last thought...He bought the Kia  because of the great warranty.  10 years or 100,000 miles.  Wonder if they are waiting out the ten years?

I'll be back soon!  Promise

She said her name is Grandma Jan

Over Keyed!

 Last Tuesday, we got the call from the VW dealer...

My car keys were done and I could come and get my car!

If my arthritis wasn't so bad, I would have done a happy dance.

Sad part was I didn't have anywhere to go...

Mr K didn't have a key to his car, but he could always find places to go...

I considered renting him my key to his car... 

On Thursday, I took Locklan and Teagan to visit Henry and Luca!

Oh my goodness, Henry was so happy to see them he kept hugging them and giggling.

Luca got plenty of attention...

I didn't think Locklan was ever going to let him go!

I finally got them all to sit pretty still...

Every time I look at this, my heart sings!

Oh my, grandma life!

Lots more going on but I have things I have to get done before Mr.K and the dogs get up!

Here's the Key

 Actually, there is no key.

Let me start at the beginning, or even before that.

Last Friday Mr.K went to Tractor Supply for dog food.

Later that day, Mr. K could not find his car keys.

In this house, we have two complete sets.  We each have keys to both cars.

On Saturday I took my keys apart and handed him a key for his car.

We were fine...well, almost fine.

That's when he noticed that his inspection sticker expired in JANUARY!

We made it through the weekend and then Monday morning I was headed to Tony and Mindy's to babysit Henry while Mindy took Luca for his one month check up.

I grab my purse (where I always keep the keys) and hit the ignition.

It says the key is not in the car.

A quick dump of the contents of my purse on the front seat.

Nope, no key.

I asked begged Mr. K to help me find the key.

No key to be found.

The only car we have with a key is his out of inspection Kia

(that incidentally is parked in the drive because Kia recalled it and said not to park it in or near structures because of fire danger)

I jumped in his car and drove (very carefully) to baby sit.

This morning, the first available time for inspection the car was legal!

Still no key for my car.

Mr. K started making phone calls.

Finally, he spoke with Nationwide.  They agreed to help find a towing company that could get my car out of the garage and tow it to the VW dealer where they would program the new keys...when they come in on Monday or Tuesday.

We were just getting ready to eat dinner with a guy comes to our door.  He came to tow my car to the dealer.

Now, I usually park in the garage with my window open.  Don't ask why.

The guy knew how to put the car in neutral, but he could not get the window up!

Mr. K helped him put plastic over the window!

So there I was...

Watching my darling VW on the back of a tow truck...

Headed for the VW dealer to be parked in their lot with the window down?

Until Monday or Tuesday.

Somehow I could not make sense of it all, but in guy-talk, I was wrong...

The service manager (and I have plenty of bad experiences with them)

said he would send someone out to throw plastic over it.

The key is...there is no key!

But to brighten my day...

Henry and Luca took their first bath together!

~sigh~

Grandma life!

Look Out for Flying Time!

How could it go so quickly?

On this very day, 

52 years ago... 

I became the mother of what would become one of the world's most inquisitive, talented, funny and  handsome guy!

Michael Ambrose B. III plopped into the world weighing 9 pounds 14 ounces and standing 24 inches long which entered him into the tallest baby ever born in that small town hospital!

I would probably say it was easy-peasy but looking back...

23 hours of labor

this kid was born with the mouth of a sailor

he performed dare devil stunts from day 3

and although he only broke one bone, he had enough stitches to make a quilt.

We waited patiently for him to get married...

But he was picky, it took him a while to find the perfect one!

But he did!

Happy birthday, Michael!

Mama loves you.

Michael and his first girlfriend, Marcy.

The fab four on Michael's wedding day

At Tony's wedding...

With Catherine

And a wicked sense of humor.  I fell off my bike in the middle of the street.

Ashley ran and took a picture of me and sent it to everyone.

Thanksgiving day, Michael wore his custom t-shirt!

Yes, that's Andy photobombing!

~sigh~

Mom life!

(almost as much fun as grandma life)

Corgi Day?

 This morning my newsfeed announced that it was National Welch Corgi Day.

I begrudgingly thought it was only appropriate to honor Miss Shirley...

But then I saw that International Corgi Day was scheduled for June 4, 2021...

What the heck, another day to honor her?

I did find yet another day, 

International Corgi Day is April 20!

Shirley said it's going to be a big celebration so she's cleaning house...

And getting supplies...

It's going to be a big one!

Which is making Winnie rather disgruntled...

How about that?!?

One whole post without photos of grandkids!

Think again!

~sigh~

Grandma life!

Scraps of Life...

 Just some bits of this and that from the past week...

Photos the kids shared, things I did...

Places my brain went...

First off, I'm in up to my wazoo with my mom's estate.

So many things to do, questions to ask, STUFF to deal with.

I remember that for the past ten years, each time I visited my mother  she tried to give me things out of her house.  I usually refused, saying I had more than enough STUFF at my house already.

Now I see that it would have been easier to take the contents of her house piece by piece than to deal with the whole mess at once!

I'm learning...look out kids!

It's been difficult working on the legal stuff.  I've known my attorney for for than 55 years.

He was a fuss budget in junior high and has only gotten worse.  We're both old and cranky.

I think he should have retired years ago...just kidding, Stephen!

Of course, there was my Tuesday dinner with Locklan.  Wouldn't miss it for anything.

I try to find something to play while we're waiting for our dinners.

This week it was dominoes!

He loved it and took the tiles home to play with his mom.  

He claimed he usually won but occasionally Teagan won.

Yesterday afternoon, the kids stopped by for an afternoon visit.

Within minutes, they gathered furniture from every room to set up their theater.

They took turns as master of ceremony and performing.

Teagan danced, Locklan sang.  The big problem was that when Teagan was Master of Ceremony, she would introduce herself, introduce the performers and thank everyone for coming.

That included going out and hugging everyone in the audience which included 3 bears, 2 cabbage patch dolls and a few stuffed animals.

She's amazing...

We had fun but I was beat after all that excitement!

I was happy to see Andy helping put my house back in order!

Tony sent me this...

Brothers having lunch?

Last night, he shared this...

I think they like him!

Wow!  That was a week!

Next week I get my second covoid injection, Mr. K has had both of his...

And (grandma) life goes on!

~SIGH~

Grandma and the Cricut

 I've had a vinyl cutting machine of one brand or another for 6 or 7 years.

I really didn't use them much until grandkids came along.

I did monthly baby shirts...

birthday shirts...

And even holiday shirts...

(the shirts were good, the kids were not)

Henry's dad (Tony) is a Nationwide agent.

Henry is obsessed with Nationwide.

He even tells the knock-knock joke:

Knock-Knock

Who's there?

Nationwide

Nationwide who?

Nationwide is on your side.

Mindy and I were talking,

she thought Henry would enjoy a Nationwide shirt.

Like this?

He was delighted.

So was Luca...

On Sunday Tony and I were talking about Blue's Clues.

Henry loves it and while he was napping, Mindy made him 'clues' out of construction paper...

That gave me an idea...

A Blue's Clues shirt.

Oh, yes, he's playing golf with MeMaw's walking stick!

Don't stand still, MeMaw will probably decorate you.

~sigh~

Grandma Life!

How do you say Netflix???

 How do you say Netflix in Spanish?

A few weeks ago, I tried to watch a movie on Netflix...

Everyone was speaking Spanish!

I remembered the time Mark, my late husband, changed all the settings on my mother's cell phone to Spanish.

I know that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...I accused my sons, of course.

I played around with Netflix for a few days.

Then I signed out, only to realize that I didn't have the password to sign back in!

I clicked on the 'forgot password' or at least what I believed was the right button...

I got an email telling me where to go or what to do...

It was all in Spanish!

By this time, I was ready to cancel Netflix.

I tried calling them, only to sit my non-Spanish speaking hind end on hold.

Then the very next day, there was a strange profile for a Juan Gonzolez on my account.

I called them again, this time I didn't speak Spanish and she didn't speak much English.

She couldn't tell me who Juan was or how my account turned Spanish.

After an hour, we finally got it switched back to English and I deleted Juan...

Oh...and I did get Tony to admit that once he heard that my account was Spanish, he invented Juan...

So, if you have read this far, here's a treat...

Henry and Luca!

Grandma life!

Home Sweet Home

 Yesterday afternoon, I made the 25 mile drive to Tony and Mindy's house...

( I really do miss having them 2 miles from me)

My job was to play with Henry while Tony went to pick up Mindy and Luca.

We didn't tell Henry where he was going.

When they came in, Henry and I were in his play room and Mindy came in to greet him while Tony got Luca out of his car seat.

Then we took Henry out to the living room.

He seemed stunned when he saw Luca.

At first, he just stared...

But before long...

My heart just melts...

~sigh~

Grandma life!

Under Arrest!

 Every Tuesday I grab Locklan, take him to kickboxing

And then we go out to eat.

Every Tuesday, same restaurant, same table, same server and we order the same food.

He loves it!

This week, Tuesday was also his sixth birthday.

I bought him a hat and badge...

Our server fussed over him.

He was having a ball.

While we were waiting for our food we played a game with coins.

We make it up as we go along.

I had my back to the restaurant when I heard a man's voice

saying, "I hear there is a birthday boy in here!"

I turned around to see four state troupers walking towards us,

cookies in hand.

One by one, they gave Locklan a cookie and then posed for a photo!

This kid was over the moon!

It was a birthday to remember!!!

~sigh~

It's been a while since I told you

I LOVE BEING A GRANDMA!

Grandma Jan Reporting In!

 Yesterday I got this text from Tony...

Yes!  Baby Luca is here and all is well.

He weighed 6 pounds 2 ounces and is doing well, Mindy too.

Grandson #4, grandkid #5.

So many other things going on...I hope to drop in and get everyone caught up.

Until then,

Granny Jan signing off!

Bucket Listing!

 Every Christmas, my mom and my aunts would spend a day or two making perogies.  Tons and tons of them...Every surface in the kitchen was covered with either roasting pans (remember the blue/black ones with speckles?) full of perogies or perogies in process.

We were not allowed to eat them until Christmas eve!

Do you know how difficult it was to be an 8 year old carbohydrate addict knowing there were hundreds of perogies lurking somewhere in the house and/or garage?

I think I was more excited about the perogies than I was about the impending arrival of Santa!

Finally my mom and aunts would bring out the perogies and melted butter with onions, diced so tiny, floating in it.

We ate...and ate...and ate...I remember the butter dripping off the fork and onto the table.

I think I remember my eyes rolling back in my head in pure bliss.

Too soon, the table would be cleared so we could sing and dance...

And before we knew it, it was time to go home so Santa could come to bring gifts!

And then it was Christmas morning!

 "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" 

The gifts...yeah, they were cool...now on with breakfast!

Yes, Christmas morning breakfast was leftover perogies with that magical butter...

What memories.  No wonder I was a fat kid!

Why am I talking about this today?

Because I was blog surfing, following links when I came upon this...

The world's largest perogy in Glendon, Alberta Canada

 (population 493 give or take)!

Every year they have a perogy festival that doubles the population of the town for a day...

It's on my bucket list!

Weldist?

A few weeks ago, Andy sent me a video of a man welding.

I recognized the surroundings as Andy's 'man cave' and assumed it was Andy.

We bought Andy his first welder when he was 16 and he's been welding ever since.

His welder is to Andy as my Bernina (sewing machine) is to me...

At the end of the video, he lifted his hood and to my surprise, 

It was Locklan!

Andy said he spent the day welding

 (or whatever you call it when they weld-after all the new thing to call someone who sews is sewist, not sewer, should I call him a weldist?).

Locklan later told me that he made me a present.

On Christmas eve, he proudly presented me with this...

A Basset Hound!

He did admit that it's ears were too small, but isn't he amazing...

He's not even 6!

Creative genes or crazy genes?

Did I mention I love being a grandma?

 

We Got Them Going!

Back in July I got a kick ass deal on digital photo frames...

So I got everyone one, even me!

During the holiday season, they were the farthest from our minds...

But Mindy being Mindy, she's always busy, as soon as her tree came down 

(Mine is still up), she started loading photos into hers.

Henry LOVES photos, especially of him, but he loves Teagan and Locklan too.

So it was a huge hit with him...

He even talks to it!!

I got a text from Ashley...

Her kids were fascinated as well!

Of course, I had to set mine up too...

Now last year I bought my mom one but since she didn't have internet access, you had to load the photos into hers...

Ours has wifi...we can send pictures to each other's frame.

Oh what fun!  Mindy got to see Tony's second grade picture!

Simple pleasures...