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That about summers it up
Monday, August 21, 2023 at 07:44PM 
Classic South Carolina late-August sky: hot blue with huge puffy white clouds
As summer is on the wane -- two thirds over but somehow it seems like more than that -- and something in the quality of the air makes us think of fall (although it is still scorching here), I feel the need to report.
I'll be honest: as life goes through its many and mini-phases, I am always pondering the ways that beginnings segue into endings, and vice versa.
It's deep water. Even for a pesky pirate. Perhaps too deep. But let's wade in.
Where to begin and where to end?
Well. Our grandson Guy Preston Weber is set to make his appearance later this week.
We are all beside ourselves with excitement, not least Baby Guy's parents, Andrew and Brittany, and big sister Ember.
I began working at age fifteen too ... at Burger King
Speaking of Ember, she started back to preschool a few days ago. Her second year.
She also got her first haircut -- that being significant because both Ember and her mother are known for their abundant strawberry-blond tresses.
(To me, Ember's features resemble her dad, while her coloring -- especially her hair -- are all her mother.)
If possible, after the chichi cut and style, she looks even more like Brittany.
Ah well. She is about to experience the life-changing realities of having a sibling.
That certainly has the potential to curl your hair.
Ember in the stylist's chair
Allissa, one of the (three) original Tar Heel Tootsies, just this week started her sophomore year in high school.
She has also landed her first job.
Our second-eldest granddaughter will be working part-time (mostly Saturdays, plus one or two days a week after school) at Leap of Faith Christian Bookstore in Lenoir, North Carolina.
I'm sure she'll be an asset there but can you believe? Our little Allissa, gainfully employed?
It strains credulity.
There's been a new beginning for our Dagny too. She has begun fourth grade.
She exceeds the legal limit of cuteness
Only, this year, for the first time since beginning her academic career as a kindergartner in 2019, she is not matriculated at Grace Christian School in West Columbia.
She is being home schooled. Classes started last Thursday.
Things are going well so far. Audrey invested in the abeka curriculum, which includes a great deal of instruction by video as well as one-on-one learning via parents and maybe even the well-placed tutor.
Several weeks ago Audrey, Dagny, and I were walking in my neighborhood when we saw that a homeowner had placed an interesting piece of furniture at the curb, with other trash.
It was a table with a sturdy steel frame and a black glass top. Audrey set it upright and put the glass pieces on, and was impressed.
We called TG, who came down with the car and picked it up to, we hoped, serve as Dagny's school desk.
My brave sister battles cancer ... for the second time in ten years
(She has a couple of options for desks, but this was the roomiest surface-wise).
A small piece of glass was lost in translation but TG amended the design to include only one section, and it was the bigger one, so home it went with Audrey and Dagny.
A new beginning for a cast-off table that no doubt believed it had reached its end.
In other news, my sister, Kay, has completed her three chemo treatments for gastric lymphoma and is now going through a course of radiation.
Pierre-Philippe took her out for lunch a few weeks ago, to celebrate finishing chemo. This was huge, because for several months she had been able to eat so little, and had lost a lot of weight.
She is tolerating the radiation treatments well and we are hopeful that soon, she can start all over, cancer-free. Again (she survived breast cancer eight years ago). And her appetite has returned. Begun again, as it were.
A table at its end has begun again ... as a desk
Kay's son-in-law, Jacob, husband of hers and Pierre-Philippe's youngest daughter, Joanna, has ended one thing and begun another as well.
In May, Jacob completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA) in Piano, at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
He is currently pursuing a career path as a concert pianist, and recently received some good news which I am not at liberty to share. But I will when I am able.
I wrote in late 2021 about the sad news of Jacob and Joanna losing their baby son, Noah.
They already had Freddie and now God has given them a new baby son whom they named Andrew.
We are officially lousy with Andrews in this family.
Jacob and Joanna in Asheville last February
The pirate really digs classical music so Jacob's achievements hit big-time for me. I hope they will for you too.
Jacob was guest pianist with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra last February. He played the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's only piano concerto during their Masterworks 4 Aurora Series.
If you'd like to hear Jacob play, treat yourself to this half hour on YouTube. That's our Jacob, playing Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto Number 3 in C Major, Op. 26, with the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra.
It's all jaw-dropping but the last minute or so of Jacob's performance is positively hair-raising. For all the right reasons. So if you cannot or prefer not to watch all of it, at least watch that.
This is Russian collusion I can get behind.
I'll keep you posted on Jacob's pursuit of his dream job, but for the nonce he has joined the faculty at Cleveland Institute of Music.
We treated Henry to lunch at Cracker Barrel. Photo by Dagny.
Meanwhile Henry, my late mother's widower, turned ninety-one on August fourth.
TG, Dagny, and I met him at the Cracker Barrel in Simpsonville a few days later, and treated him to a birthday lunch.
Henry looks good, feels good, and is more active than many men half his age.
An ending will eventually come (of his life on this earth), but the Grim Reaper does not appear to be dogging his steps.
Perhaps the sickle-wielding ghoul is distracted. One can only hope. At any rate, we are grateful.
As you know, our brother-in-law, Johnny, did not fare as well and has been gone now for two weeks.
Dagny's fourth-grade classroom. Click to embiggen.
A celebration of life in his honor has been scheduled for early September, in Ohio.
Lord willing, TG and I will be in attendance for that, and will stop in Knoxville both on the way north and on the way back south, to spend some time with Andrew, Brittany, Ember, and Baby Guy.
They say anticipation is part of the fun, but waiting on a baby to arrive is the most exquisite agony.
And I'm just one of the grandmothers.
I mentioned that, being the end of August, it is hot here.
And I mean H-O-T like, fry an egg on the sidewalk and bake a batch of cookies in your closed-up car, hot.
Rizzo occasionally wakes up and looks around, then goes back to sleep
Try not to boil your own brain walking into the store and back to your car, hot.
For the most part I stay cool, in the house. If I'm out of the house, I am in the pool.
With one exception: I have begun rising just before sunup, so as to get in a half-hour walk before the heat begins to be an issue.
So far, it is working well. Oh, so you're an early riser? you may be thinking. That's surprising.
I will thank you not to snicker. No, I am no stripe of an early riser. The pirate is a stay-up-late-er.
But I can get up to walk, because do you know what?
Sweetness a-doors being given free roam of three rooms instead of only one
When I get home after that walk, it's only seven fifteen. The birds are barely up.
And I return to my pillow.
Sometimes I even go back to sleep, for a little while.
And then I get up for the second time -- a new beginning -- and make coffee and empty the dishwasher and feed the pets. And do all the things.
It seems to be working well and I know that before too long, setting my phone alarm for six thirty will no longer be necessary.
Temperatures will become less nuclear and I'll be able to start walking a tad bit later in the day.
Ember is up early a few days a week, for preschool
I look forward to that but for now, I enjoy walking down the street in the early morning. The air is sweet.
Also as I go, I am listening to a book. That way, I don't get bored.
Rizzo and Sweetness don't seem bored either, but then how does one tell if a dog or a cat are suffering from ennui?
Sweetness has been allowed free roam of part of the house -- kitchen, TV room, sun room -- for an hour or so most days.
She scouts around for anything to get into and then, finding nothing, slouches in a corner or in front of the door to the upstairs.
Not being confined to the sun room all day seems to appeal to her, but then she is not hard to please.
Stay cool my friends
Rizzo sleeps the requisite sixteen hours a day but still knows how to tell time, as in, when it is time to wake up for a meal or a treat.
I know when it's time for a treat, too. I shall now treat you to this post finally being over.
And that is all for now.
=0=0=0=
Happy Monday :: Happy New Week
Reader Comments (14)
Well, I'll begin my comment out of order! Jacob's playing is...simply Gorgeous! Beautiful! Surreal?
I remember after accomplishing Exodus...I quit the piano.
And adding another Andrew to the family is a Good thing girlfriend!
SO ready for Summer to go back to wherever it came from!! Dante knows...
Awww! Sweet Allissa and Ember! Gorgeous girls...full of dreams. I also began work at 15...Waco Animal Shelter..sad..I don't recommend it for the young! A chicken place would have been better...
I'm sorry about your BIL...already two weeks? Goodness.
Love the desk for Dagny! Great find!
Praying for your Kay! I HATE cancer....
Have a safe trip and I love Rizzo and Sweetness! Sweet babies!
hugs
Donna
I can't keep up with all of the grands and others, but I get that it's still steamy down there. We have had a decent summer weather-wise. Lately the highs are ~75, which isn't bad at all.
I've been thinking of baby Guy this week as I knew his arrival was very soon. I will expect notice when that wonderful event happens! I agree with you on Ember, she does look like Andrew with Brittany's coloring. She looks cute with her new cut! I'm sure she's going to love pre-school.
And Alyssa! Congrats to her on a job. She's going to be a blessing to customers and staff alike.
The desk was a great find. Dagny will make good use of it. I think she has the best teacher!
Jacob is so talented! I listened to quite a bit of it while perusing blogs. Just beautiful.
I'm spending the afternoon with Alaina and Ruby, doing our annual school shopping trip.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon!
@Donna ... You made me laugh with "A chicken place would have been better" ... I agree that a sweet fifteen-year-old as you must have been, would have had her tender heart broken at an animal shelter. I hate cancer too. UGH! But with brave ladies like your Ruth and our Kay, it will take a hike at least for now. I know you're tired of the heat; you've had it so much worse than us. I really cannot complain but then, I don't have to "get out in it" on a daily basis. Love you girl! xoxo
@AC ... Hahaha a lot has happened since you used to read my blog years ago. We have four: Stephanie, Audrey, Erica, and Andrew. Stephanie is mother of the Tar Heel tootsies: Melanie, Allissa, and little Andrew. Audrey is the mother of Dagny. Erica is the mother of Rhett, plus a new baby boy due to be born in early October. Andrew is the father of Ember and baby Guy whom we will smother with kisses SOON! I'm glad your summer has been pleasant; my sister Kay and family lived for many years in Quebec and they used to tell us how brutal the summers could be. I know there's a lot on your plate so thanks for stopping by! xoxo
@Yes our baby Guy will be in our arms soon! Isn't it thrilling? And you are definitely in the loop! I will text you at three o'clock in the morning if I have to, haahaha! If I'm awake, you're awake; right? And we know more than anyone the pure blessing of precious granddaughters. Have a wonderful time with your girlies today! xoxo
Good for Audrey's decision to homeschool Dagny. She has taken on a very important role! I am excited for your new little grandson to arrive! Ember is adorable and will be a sweet big sister! Congratulations to Allissa on her first job! Sounds like a great job to carry her through high school! Good luck to your beautiful sister and I hope the treatments are successful. Also, good luck to her son in law. I will be watching the video after I finish this comment. Love your sweet fur babies! Stay cool my friend! XO
@Jeanette ... Awww thanks for watching Jacob play! We are so proud that we can say he is our nephew, haahaa! He's a super great guy too, aside from his prodigious talent. Yes Audrey and Dagny are taking to home schooling with zero problems. Dagny misses her friends a little but they stay in touch and will soon plan a play date here, a get-together there. I can't wait to post a picture of Ember with Baby Guy! Stay tuned and stay cool! xoxo
You know what they said in the movie Hope Floats. Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it's the middle that counts the most. It's SO exciting that baby Guy will be here soon. I imagine you already jump every time your phone goes off. I'm so glad to hear that all of your family is thriving and doing well. Prayers for continued recovering for your sister Kay. It has been a brutal summer here as well. We are in middle of an excessive heat warning with highs in the high 90's, hella humidity and feel like temps of 115. I don't like it at all and am anxiously awaiting Fall and cooler weather. Just walking from the Jeep to the building is horrible. Stay cool my friend!!
@Lori ... I don't remember that from the movie but it has been a while! Yes, endings can be sad but with so many new beginnings, it's best not to dwell on it. I told Brittany and Andrew to text or call the very minute they decide to leave for the hospital! No matter what time of day or night. It's so exciting and thank you for praying that all goes well. Sorry about the dreadful weather! I know you'll be enjoying fall and it's peeking around the corner! xoxo
Ahoy Pirate,
Amazing ... I love classical music and I have it in the back ground daily. Jacob has a true gift.
We are a homeschool family. When our Christian school closed its doors, I began to homeschool right up to graduation day for both our boys. Looking back we all are so thankful we did what we did. The boys have both thanked us for homeschooling them. Yes, we had to sacrifice and it was not always easy peasy. But it was WORTH IT!!!
I will be praying for the school year for your family.
Continued prayers for your sister.
And THANK YOU for sharing your pets with us... I love both of them. And I want to cuddle them.
Happy Late Summer,
Carla
@Carla ... well girl, YES! I was so thankful that Audrey reached the decision to homeschool Dagny. Dag is a social butterfly and I cringe when people ask the unimaginative question: What about their SOCIAL life????? Clutching pearls and all that. Look -- people will have social lives. They can be separate from their academic life in the strictest sense while the two still overlap. The truth is, Dagny's flibbertigibbet personality was distracting her from learning. And that was not good. And the (I think) insane tuition which Audrey gladly paid for four years, but in the last year or two was not yielding what she felt she was paying FOR -- that put paid to the whole thing, haha, at least for now. I'm glad to learn that you homeschooled Sam and Atticus because they are fine young men and how wonderful that they have thanked you for it. That's fantastic. Isn't Jacob amazing? And also a fine young man. All I can say is, Rizzo and Sweetness would lay all over your lap and beside you and honestly on your shoulders if you'd let them. They are the most precious animals and I love them so much. They are therapy on legs, haahaha xoxo
What a wonderful post of 'catch me up'. I have been in and out of the blog world with John's health issues being foremost in my life right now. I am praying for your sister. A return to chemo/treatment can be so disheartening...and scary! Prayers for health and for her peace of mind, too. Love that you have littles in the family. I do believe it is work to keep everyone connected and together when possible. Blessings to.you- xo Diana
@Diana ... indeed it is work but all worth it. Thanks for your prayers for Kay. She has done so well for now and we just want to see her all the way back. It's good to see you here! xoxo
Your Grands are really growing. Ember is a little girl now - a preschooler! Congratulations to Alissa on her first job. That's an exciting new accomplishment. I hope Dagny enjoys her 4th grade curriculum. Sam is in 5th and so far, so good. Henry looks great! I'm glad he stays so active. Let me tell you, it's not so easy as you age. Keep walking Jenny (but how can you go back to bed?). I'm so sorry to hear about your sister's battle with cancer. I hope she improves daily. Hugs to you, Barb.
@Barb ... well to be honest, I'm going to stop going back to bed because it takes me too long to go back to sleep. I stay up late so I am tired getting up at six thirty, and I am not a daytime napper. Soon it will cool down and I will be able to walk a little later in the day. Good for Sam, in fifth grade!!! I can't believe he is that old. Henry honestly just enjoys wonderful health and works hard in the yard and does so many things that I think I'll be shocked when he finally succumbs to whatever gets him! Haahaha best not to dwell on it. xoxo