Saturday, Oct. 1

Another month gone, and what a month it was...sort of a microcosm of life: sadness at the loss of our beloved dog, joy at the birth a great-granddaughter, and anxiety when a daughter broke her ankle and then had a mild stroke. October promises to be very busy, but we fervently hope it will be less stressful than September.

We were up at 6:30 this morning to get ready to travel a couple of hours south to gather with family to see a new great-grandbaby. We arrived at Son and Daughter-in-Law's house around 11 a.m., and Daughter-in-Law and I immediately set to work preparing lunch. We heated cheese dip and chips, sliced tomatoes and Vidalia onions, put veggies out on platters (cauliflower, broccoli, carrot sticks, celery sticks, and bell pepper strips), and platters of deli turkey, ham, and cheese, along with a variety of breads (rye, wheat, and wheat bread rounds), as well as a chocolate cake and peach cobbler.

Family began arriving as we were preparing lunch, and everybody was gathered and ready to eat by noon. Both before and after lunch, family members passed the new little one around. I eventually got my turn (after I'd taken lots of pictures of her with her great-great-grandmother). She's such a precious tiny bundle of cuteness! None of us could get enough of her...though I think she probably got all she wanted of us passing her around so she couldn't rest.

Before the afternoon was over, Hubbie took multiple five-generation snapshots of Mother, me, my son, my grandson, and the baby.

Around 3:30 p.m., we left Son's house to follow Daughter to her new apartment. She is not fully moved in, but we wanted to see where she lives so we will know how to get there when we visit.

We didn't stay at Daughter's house long, and were on the road by 4:30. We decided to stop at a town about 45 minutes away to have supper at a favorite restaurant. We were back home around 7 p.m.

After I accompanied Mother to her house, I sorted pinto beans to soak overnight. We plan to have beans and ham, new potatoes, and turnips for lunch tomorrow.

While I was sorting the beans, we watched our favorite college football team, as they played to a much needed win. The game actually began at 11 a.m., and it was playing on Son's TV, but I was too busy to pay attention to it, and Hubbie purposefully ignored it, because we both knew we wanted to watch it later on DVR.