Oh what a "beautiful " Monday....

It's Monday again - and it's almost over. And what did I do today? Well, I went to Weight Watchers - gained a half pound. Nice way to start my day. I can't complain, I lost 3.4 pounds last week. Must be water retention - who knows - could be poop retention. I've stayed pretty much on course today.

I spoke with my parents this morning. Yesterday Mom was upset because she couldn't find her Florida phone book. I was driving home from the grocery store and told her I would help try to find her friends on the Internet. The one, it turned out, lives in Atlanta. I did manage to find her number and then Mom was able to get the other one's number from her. After our conversation, I remembered another conversation we had a couple of months ago about some nice folks in Buffalo, NY who were are neighbors. I told them then that I thought most of them had passed away. But, I forgot about it, until last night, and then I began my "research." Luckily for me, the Buffalo News keeps death records for 10 years. My last trip to Buffalo was in June 2000. Sadly enough, I typed in several names and each came back marked deceased. It was sad for me, too. I knew all these folks - grew up with their children. The most recent death was that of my brother's old friend, Charlie. His mom, Marilyn, died just a month ago. Seems that in reading the obit, Charlie had also lost his wife and a daughter. So, I called my parents with the bearings of sad news. They take it in stride. Just two weeks ago, I found out that my cousin, Ken, had passed away in a mall in San Diego - several hours before his mom, my Aunt Betty, had to be evacuated from her home in Rancho Bernardo, where the flames of the fires were destroying house after house. She was spared - her house was not damaged at all. But, she lost her youngest son at the age 55.

The second Monday of the month is always Knitting at the Library. It's a wonderfully diverse group who meet, eat lunch and knit. What more could you ask for? There is a wonderful little restaurant in the library called Provence. Delicious tuna and chicken salad, different sandwiches and if you're not worried about calories, the desserts are to die for So, I go in a drool a little.

Monday evening knitting group is at Angel Hair Yarns. We had a small group tonight, but we always have such fun and lots of laughter. I made a darling, dark green hooded vest for either Jake or Ruthie. Also bought a red, yellow and blue yarn to make another. Both will need zippers - which I purchased today - and I will take them to an alterations place in Brentwood to have the zippers sown in. Photos will be coming soon.

My trip to Denver

I just spent the most wonderful six days in Denver taking care of my granddaughter, Ruthie. What a little doll! She was such a good girl while her mommy and daddy were vacationing in Hawaii. And what fun we had! Grandma Kate, Jon's mom, was there until Wednesday. I arrived on Tuesday. A 19 month old sure can keep you busy - it was pretty much non-stop.

Wednesday, after our trip to take Grandma Kate to the airport, we stopped at WalMart on the way home. Oh dear, I should have known not to take Ruthie down the toy aisles, but what are grandmas for if they can't spoil the kids a bit. We ended up getting a really cute Fischer Price chair with a side table and lamp that has a story book on it. It plays music and does counting and alphabet too. To go along with that, we got the cutest Leap Frog train - all the cars connect by magnets and it, too, is a learning toy. Ruthie loves sitting in her chair - it's just her size.

On Thursday, I took Ruthie to the zoo. This was her second time in a few days, but of course, she didn't mind. It was a beautiful day and we spent over three hours walking around and looking at all the animals. We rode on the train and the carousel and ate animal cookies. I am certain that Ruthie's favorite area was a huge room with a step where you could go up to the glass and watch the Orangutans and the Gorillas. She was fascinated by what was going on and with the step. Up and down, up and down - for an hour! It wasn't easy getting her out of there.

















On Friday, we went to the Denver Children's Museum. Oh my goodness, this place was wonderful. Ruthie's curiosity and sense of adventure is fabulous to watch. She tried out everything. The museum has different rooms with different activities. In one room, there is a veterinary office with stuffed dogs and cats and "medical equipment." Here is our "Dr. Ruth"!

We also saw a real fire engine there. Here is Ruthie - the fireman...
Last but, not least, Ruthie had her first painting experience. To my surprise, she is quite the little artist and here is her first painting, which I framed for her mommy and daddy.

And here is Ruthie's framed masterpiece:

I can't finish off the blog today without a few more photos:

Ruthie is the sweater and hat that I made for her!

Gertrude aka Gertie

Hirschel