Winter rain, Jan. 21, 1996

And then came the rain - it poured and the wind blew.  We had all available piepans out on the deck and the drip, drip, drip made its own song.  Grampa was amazed at how much one of the bushes had grown - till we went out there, and found out it was our cedar tree uprooted.  So now we are going to have a flag pole made out of it.

On Sat., Jan. 20, my 38th (I think) great-grandchild was born to Jim and Betsy (Uncle Tim's son), Mary Margaret - to be called Meg.

Grampa just came in - wants to know when we are going to have supper.  He has been sitting out in the oversized gazebo and he hasn't gotten dressed yet.  We went down to get milk - Grampa in his pjs and slippers.  I guess you know who went in for the milk.

Mon. morn - Grampa has taken the car over for lube etc. and I am having a cup of coffee and watching 2 squirrels at the feeder.  One chases the other away and then comes back and feeds his face while he is watching me.  You can go right up to the window and talk to him before he scampers away.  It almost looks like Spring, we can actually see the green grass, and right now there is some sunshine.

I can just imagine a day like this - windy, rainy, where you don't want to get out of your pajamas... I love how Grammie still makes it poetic and humorous.  She noticed all the little things that most people pass by: the song of a leaky roof, the silliness in a trip to the corner store, the tantalizing signs of a new season peeking around the corner.

Just today, in the heart of an Indiana February, my 4 year old son mentioned it seemed like summer.  "What do you mean?" I asked him, as I looked out at the frigid, snow-covered world.  "The birds are chirping and it's sunny," he replied matter-of-factly.

He can see it, too, Gram...