Updates, grand enough

Life continues to be rich and full in Enoughsville.  It's been two weeks since I did the update, partly because of so much happening last weekend, in fact.  

The leitmotif for this middle-of-June is probably "grandchildren and children".  The fortnight started off with grandkids; the midpoint was grandkids; and the end of the fortnight was (you guessed it) grandkids again.  It's been grand, folks!

The specific grand-activities were (beginning) birthday party, (middle) dance concert, (end) cherry picking.  I'll just intersperse pictures of some of those events sporadically while telling you about other stuff. 

The birthday party theme: "Where the Wild Things Are".
Kinderling made wild cupcakes.

Health and Financial maintenance have gobbled up a bit of my time.  Health-wise, it's been the time of year for my annual check-ups (what my husband and I call the "Annual Celebration of Health").  Indeed, pretty much all seems to be ticking along just fine in this body of mine, with the exception that I still have ringing and ear clog issues.   [The doc I saw tried clearing out ear wax, but when that didn't resolve the issue, referred me to an ENT who I'll see in about a month.]  I am apparently passing into a new phase: for the first time ever, the doc used the phrase with me, "As we get older . . . ".   Okey, dokey!  Let's do it!  Let's keep getting older!  I'm ready.

Pin-the-Tail on Max
(although, actually: Tape-the-tail somewhere near Max)

Financial-wise, I've been chatting with various TIAA reps because next year we'll go from putting money into our accounts to taking money out.   I like my rep, but she suggested I get an accountant as well, so I've also started conversations with a fee-only advisor.  Man, it's fun to chat with someone who likes to get into the weeds of finances!  I'm kind of enjoying geeking out over this. 

Kinderling attempting to tape the tail on, 
with help from another grandmother.

Speaking of geeking, I have also of course been enjoying the wide open spaces to think about math.  I got to have lunch with a collaborator who shared his camera lucida with me -- a cute little prism device that allows you to see both your paper and the thing you're drawing in the same place, so you can essentially trace the thing in front of you.  It's both very entertaining and very tricky to use, and I'm kind of thinking of getting one for myself.  

Gathering after the dance concert. 

In addition to seeing Achild's dance concert, I got to go to Inkling's choral concert.  This was at a lovely outdoor venue, amid a bunch of quaint shops (shoppes?) and ice cream parlors.   Not only was the concert itself a lot of fun, but it also felt like a happy tradition -- it was at this same concert two years ago that Inkling happened to walk into a nearby yarn store and found her dream job.  This year, after the concert (and ice cream), I got to have a personal tour of the yarn shop, including seeing a bunch of cute samples she's made for the place.  Nice!

My attempt at a selfie (us-ie?). 
Three performing artists!

And lest you think that Achild and Inkling are the only passengers on the song-and-dance train, I'll happily add that my impromptu "Thursday Thrillers" crowd has now made it all the way through the moves of Michael Jackson's Thriller dance.  We'll keep gathering on Thursdays through July, but from now on, it'll be more about rehearsing and cementing the moves than about learning them.  I'm having so much fun with this.  

And that's a lot about me . . . sheesh. To expand a bit, here are some other family updates. 

My guy and Inkling separately and together attended a bunch of Juneteenth and Pride events.  OfSnough is also becoming increasingly active in Ukraine fundraising committees.  Inkling is heading out this week for (I think?) square dancing.  I think it's square dancing; it could be yarn/wool related, but it's probably dancing.  Shoot; I'm supposed to remember these things.

We really got into picking cherries;
the cherries really got into (and onto) Bchild!

Nelson is enjoying his new job.  He has been working night shifts at the gas station, and he says he likes these shifts:  he finds them relaxing, because there aren't a lot of people, but the people who are there are generally pretty chill.  I am so glad to hear these updates from him, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing him in person in a few months.  

Xavier, in Haiti, is recovering from his foot surgery.  He says he's sleeping a lot (not surprisingly), but all seems to be going well.  Phew!!

The maiden voyage of my new electric water bath canner 
was highly successful.  I  love it!

We're not the only ones whose efforts have borne fruit: Gosling has literal fruit growing in her yard.

Gosling:
"First blueberries of the season from Amelia's blueberry bush 🫐"

And that's the news from our family, which continues to be wealthy in our adventures.  May you and yours be similarly prosperous.