Hi, everyone!
This year, Labor Day was on the first day of September. That made Labor Day weekend the last weekend in August! We had a family celebration at the bay. I helped Grandma shuck corn for Sunday dinner. When we went to the Point for sunset, the sun was setting farther south — close to land. After sunset, I hung out with James and watched Ted Lasso with the rest of his family.
Grandma wanted to make a special treat for James and Thomas as they went back to school that week. She found out what blend of ingredients they each liked in party mix and made special batches for them. We made some of Uncle Steven’s favorite blend, too! I helped with measuring and stirring and keeping the batches separate. While we were working, we defrosted pulled pork and AWACs cheesecake for a “first day of school” family dinner. We had a nice dinner together and Uncle Steven’s family took their party mix home with them for after-school snacking.
The first Friday of September, there were workers in our front yard. They were making sure there was no lead in our water pipes. Grandpa knew our water connection pipe was copper, but they checked every property anyway. Then we went back out to the bay. It was a pretty afternoon, so Grandma took me kayaking. The rose mallow leaves on Clark Creek were already turning fall color! The sunset was even closer to land than the week before!
Remember when Grandma and I were painting a new, wider, door for the family room entrance last spring? We’ve had a stretch of very dry, warm weather for putting it in! Uncle Steven came over to help Grandpa take out the old door and frame. Then they made the opening large enough for the new door and got it in place. Since then, Grandpa has been working on replacing siding on the outside and attaching the new storm door. Grandma and I will have work to do refinishing the inside wall, but the outside is just about done!
Last Saturday, we stayed in Fairport but Grandma needed peaches. She was making a peach crisp for the church picnic. We went to the Fairport Farmers Market! We found peaches and more! I made lots of friends, and we brought home a giant cauliflower and some corn for dinner.
Last Sunday, when we watched sunset at the bay, the sun set over land, not water. We usually stop going to the Point to watch sunset after that happens.
Something exciting happened for me, but it’s a long story! When James was born, Grandma gave him a Jellycat lion just like me. In fact, the only way to tell us apart was Uncle Steven put a “J” on James’ lion’s tag. When Uncle Steven’s family was living in the Netherlands, James’ friend Anna liked to play with James’ lion. When both families moved back to the United States, Anna asked James to bring his lion when Uncle Steven’s family went to visit hers. She didn’t want the lion to leave when it was time for James to go home, so he let his lion stay with her. Grandma had a different Jellycat lion in reserve and gave that one to James. Right after school started this year, Aunt Kara had a reunion with Anna’s mother and some other friends from the Netherlands. Grandma made dinner for everybody the day Aunt Kara got back. Guess what? She had James’ lion with her! Anna is now very involved with horses and decided James’ lion could come home. Since James already had the replacement lion, he gave his original one back to Grandma. Katie’s lion has been back for a few years, so now there are three of us! That’s enough for our very own pride! I’ve had more adventures than either Katie’s lion or James’ lion, so it’s easy to tell us apart now!
Love,
Lion-san