A SOLID WEEK OF SOLID FUN

It's a family tradition. Mom and Dad bought one of those time share vacation packages years ago, and every year they would choose a location, and then we would gather--Mom, Dad, Uncle Walt, Aunt Jewel, my husband, and me--and we would spend from five to seven days together.

We had a routine. In the mornings, for the first several days, the women would hit all the thrift stores and garage sales in the area, gathering booty, mostly things we needed for crafting.

"Crafting," you say? Oh, yes. Each woman was charged with selecting a craft all of us might enjoy doing, and bringing the materials for that craft. Many times, we've chosen crafts that utilized things you could get second-hand--glassware, placemats, old jewelry, etc. Hence, the garage sales.

The guys would go golfing, or take in tourist spots in the morning.

Noonish, we'd all gather back at the condo, and have lunch, and there was always a sort of ceremonial unwrapping of everything we'd found. The job of the guys was to exclaim over what great deals we got, and they were good at it. We hardly ever caught expressions of befuddlement on their faces.

The afternoons were spent crafting. Once in a great long while the men would join in, but mostly they watched TV or read.

Evenings after dinner we played cards.

Uncle Walt passed away about five years ago, but we went on. Dad died seventeen months ago, and then Aunt Jewel, a few months later. It was hard to think about going on after that. Mama didn't think she could bear it, until I suggested we make it "Ladies' Week". My DH thought that was a good idea, and said he wouldn't mind being left out.

So here we are again, at Eagle Crest in Eastern Oregon. For the first time, it's just the women, but we've added one, my eldest daughter. Actually, we've added two, because she brought her daughter along, too, five-year-old Meggie. We have four generations of women here! On top of that, my middle daughter will join us tomorrow, and actually asked if she could cook dinner. She cooks for a living, God bless her. We gave an emphatic "YES!" and are looking forward to her enchilladas. Oh. Yum.

This is day four of our week, and I'm just going to put up a few photos of the first full day's garage/thrift sale fun. I'll add more soon, but I'm a mile or two from an internet connection, so I don't exactly know when that will be.

My daughter and granddaughter checking out the goodies




Bags o' booty




What will we make, & with what?


We've spent a lot of time doing all the things we've always done, having fun, laughing together, playing and creating. And there have been poignant moments, too, thinking about the dear people aren't with us anymore, but I'm so glad we still have this time to share, so happy that it won't end, and that we're widening the circle, passing the tradition down.