Knee-High by the 4th of July (Leila)

I would have written sooner, but have only recently retrieved our camera after forgetting it in Cornell for a week or so. Since it has over 300 pictures that I haven't developed on it (and since I just received the camera this past Christmas as an expensive gift from Jon), I was very glad it was in my mother-in-law's safe keeping and not permanently lost. Yikes...

So lots to cover on this blog! Let's start with a picture of a sleepy little Leila, who celebrated three months of life on the 4th of July. What did we ever do without her??

John and Jim stopped by a week ago. They were invited to a wedding in Bloomer, and since Bloomer is only 15 miles from Colfax, our house was a logical place for them to stay. We were very glad to have them.

Actually, this was Jim's first time seeing our new house. Jim grew up on a family farm, so we thought he might enjoy seeing the farm next door. We took a morning walk down the road to our neighbor's farm on the top of the hill. She has free range chickens, as well as milk and beef cows. We're buying eggs from her now and plan to buy beef next time we need it.

Interestingly, her sister has also moved to the area recently. I know that because the sister (who's building a house kitty-corner from us) came by last week to introduce herself (and thank Jon for corralling a stray cow). She brought us a homemade apple pie with the word "Welcome" pricked in fork marks on the crust... now how country is that?

John and Jim looked very handsome in their wedding attire. On the morning they left, Jim started to get a little anxious about the time (as John puttered about with last minute adjustments to his attire and and a quest for misplaced items). Of course, as soon as Jim revealed any concern or doubt about John's timeliness, the teasing had to begin... John has always been A BIT of a teaser. I always enjoy the antics (as long as I'm not the target!).

David has adjusted well to the comparatively slower pace here. Before he came for this summer visit, I worried how he would handle our lack of TV channels... he's used to having satellite TV and watching his beloved anime cartoons and other shows whenever he wants. All we have here right now is an antenna and about five snowy channels. But he really hasn't complained or seemed bothered. He's always been good at entertaining himself... when he was little, he could amuse himself for long periods of time, just playing with his fingers.

He seems to enjoy the quiet here. He plays chess with Michael but also sometimes goes walking alone on our trail. He draws anime characters and began writing a story on the computer, recently. Emma and Michael both love hearing the music from his iPod-- younger kids really absorb a lot from their older siblings. One night they played outside with sticks, like they were ninjas (only one mild injury). It reminded me of enchanted summer evenings I recall while growing up... outdoor games like Statue Maker and Ghost in the Graveyard, frogs and crickets chirping, dirty knees and bare feet, fireflies in the growing darkness... it was nice watching David, Michael, and Emma have an evening like that, for once...

Occasionally David and I'll have a long late-night conversation about something in the world he's been thinking about... he's really gotten to be a questioning and reflective young man. David can laugh at himself, too... a lot more maturely than I could when I was a self-conscious, self-righteous 17 year old. For bright as he is, his inward thoughts sometimes get in the way of his practical observations... for instance, the other day I asked him to open up a can of pineapple for Emma. Let's just say he has not mastered the art of opening a can. When I realized he was having difficulty I went into the kitchen to assist, and found a can so mangled I had to flip it upside down in order to open it. We had a good laugh, but wow... time to work on some practical life skills, I guess!

And he's bonded with Leila. Who can resist her happy sweet Leila-smile?

This year we attended cousin Peggy Linskey's annual 4th of July potluck lunch. It's been probably five years since I attended, so we were long overdue. Mom and Dad were there, as well as two of Dad's sisters (Irma Voss from Ladysmith and Margaret Racanelli from Eau Claire) and his youngest brother (Chuck from Racine). All of Aunt Margy's kids were present (no small crew: they include, from left to right Mark, John, Heidi, Aunt Margy, Geno, Carol, Mario, Don, and Ann).

I especially enjoyed seeing my cousins Carol and Jean, who are closest to me in age and girls I used to play with while growing up. But over the years I've gotten to know some of my older cousins, as well, including the other Racanelli kids. I got to know the Racanelli's pretty well because their family is based in Eau Claire, where I lived from 1987 until recently. As a young college student I did my laundry at their house and was a frequent guess at their Sunday dinners, when Uncle Veto would make his famous spaghetti. I even lived at their house for a semester; I was living at Aunt Margy's when I first met my husband Jon).

There were lots of babies there, though most of them were my cousins' grandchildren rather than children. Emma jumped on a trampoline and fished with second cousin Craig Richter. Michael followed in the tradition of the Bragg kids and was pretty shy and quiet. He stayed glued to David's side as much as possible. People had a hard time believing that the tall blondish "stranger" in the hat and dark glasses was my stepson David... last time they saw him he was a little boy.

Here's Dad with his oldest sister, Irma. Irma showed me her necklace, which has a birthstone for each of her 18 children. That's right-- 18 children! Her and her husband Fred Voss raised them on a farm in Ladysmith, which we used to visit when I was a child. They seem like a loving, close-knit family, though now that the kids are grown and grandparents themselves, their numbers are boggling. I don't try to keep track of names, though I can sometimes pick out which grandchild "belongs" to a given cousin.

We left Peggy's in the late afternoon, and headed back over to Bud and Jane's. We spent a few hours visiting with them, sitting on their porch sipping pop and munching on freshly made sugar cookies. Emma has gotten to know a couple of little neighbor girls who's backyard trampoline we can see from Jane's porch, so we watched them jump and play for awhile. The 7 year-old even had supper with us.

After supper we went back to Holcombe, this time to Jon's brother Phil's summer cottage on the lake. Phil and Jill have a beautiful cottage and pontoon on Lake Holcombe, so their place is an ideal location for watching fireworks on the 4th of July. During the actual fireworks, we sat on lawnchairs right by the water, me holding Leila on my lap. She was awake and must have heard the booms, but her eyes were closed and she simply nursed through the entire show. What a good, easy to care for little baby!

Here's David sitting by Phil's youngest son, Jacob, on the pontoon.

Phil's older son, Adam, is in an up and coming band called Solid Gold. They hail out of the Twin Cities, have a couple of CDs out, and have played some international venues. Here's a link to their mySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/solidgoldband Phil and Adam entertained us with a little outdoor guitar music.

Luckily Mom had given Emma some new summer outfits when we saw her at Peggy's picnic. I had forgotten Emma's swimming suit, and the poor girl has not had a chance to swim in a lake yet this summer. So I let her go in the water with her clothes on. She was supposed to wade, of course that didn't last long. When it started getting cooler and the light faded, we called Emma out and had her change into one of her new outfits. Thanks Mom!

We found out on the 4th that Jon's oldest brother, Brent, was scheduled for surgery (which he had this morning). A couple of weeks ago Brent hit his head on a pipe while doing something in his attic. His head hurt, but he didn't think too much about it. After experiencing a recurring headache, his fiance Kristin urged him to see a doctor about it, and they told him he had water on his brain, which they would have to drain off by first drilling a small hole in his skull.

He had the surgery this morning, and apparently it was successful. He'll be going home soon. But apparently there was some blood mixed with the water they found on his brain, and I don't think they were expecting that. He'll have to undergo more tests... but at least the headaches are gone. So keep Brent in your thoughts... we wish him all the best. I'm not sure exactly how old Brent is, but he must be approaching sixty... however, he is physically active and extremely healthy. He rollerblades, kayaks, bikes... you name it. So if he's going to have some health challenges, his body should be well-prepared.

Well, I better sign off! Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend!