~ one in a million ~

R. Thorpe Jones

December 1917 - July 2010

Grandaddy and GP

One of those people who knew everyone,

and was loved by everyone.

He always had a kind and encouraging word.

Truly a one-in-a-million soul.

~ liv and laurel with their gp ~

I spent several weeks each summer for many years 

at their home in Greensboro.

The visit were always rich and full.

Museums, tennis lesson, swimming.

~ laurel always had a love for her gp ~

My first trip to the Farmers' Market around age 8.

I remember how everyone knew Grandaddy.

And he knew who had the best ham biscuits.

Watching him eat cantaloupe with so much pepper

that tears streamed down his face

and he liked it that way.

~ gp and liv ~

"Do we need to go the store?" 

There was always plenty of good bread,

which he considered a utensil.

He was a WWII veteran

and made strong Navy coffee.

He took pies and rolls to friends

when they lost a loved one.

Kept a bottle of Listerine in the car.

~ laurel and gp ~

Summers at Wrightsville Beach, NC

and the adults ate shrimp lamaze 

until they nearly popped.

The grandkids had cocktail sauce.

Now that I'm an adult,

I enjoy shrimp lamaze too.

And the cocktail sauce stays in the fridge.

~ my favorite picture of lela and gp ~

Bookcases full of books.

Cabinets full of jazz on vinyl.

One minute phone conversations.

Hour long stories in person.

A grandfather who wrote letters.

A man who cared enough to remember everyone's story.

You will be missed greatly

and are loved much.

I'm grateful for having known you

from birth through adulthood

and that my children have known 

and will remember your love.

fireworks over the water

We enjoyed a late night

watching fireworks over the lake.

In the distance were hundreds and hundreds of boats

crowded around the bridge,

with green and red lights.

We sat on our blanket 

together as a family

oooohing and aaaahing together.

Thankfully, earplugs weren't needed.

Though we came prepared.

Watching the water shimmer and dance

was also a nice show.

Happy Fourth of July!

Carrie

fourth of july crafting

I am just going to pretend 

that I didn't drop out of blogging

so abruptly.

Won't you?

~ liv, lela and laurel trying to keep our new dog from eating their cookies ~

I was inspired by this starfruit print banner 

that I saw on The Crafty Crow.  

~ crafting with daddy is extra special ~

I made a few minor changes.

I used some old sheets for the flags.

We painted the stars on instead of doing the printing.

The flags were pre-sewn so they could immediately be hung.

~ liv working on second flag ~

~ but those cookies are so yummy smelling ~

I also used window crayons to draw

some red and blue stars on the sidelights.

Trying to be back in this space

more regularly these days.

And to share a proper introduction

of our new family member!

with banner flip-flapping,

carrie