July contains five very special days. The earliest is Carolyn Sheldon's birthday (Nan's Mom).

 
Carolyn

    The 13th is split between a birthday for Jack Lightfoot and his parent's anniversary (Hildy and Dan). Another split day is the 31st, shared birthday for Heather Lightfoot Withrow and Russell, our Dave's oldest son.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS TO CAROLYN, JACK,
HEATHER, AND RUSS

AND A VERY HAPPY 32ND ANNIVERSARY TO
HILDY AND DAN

    And now we have another wedding day to add to our list of anniversaries.    
     John-Robin Nordstrand and Leslie Cunningham were united in marriage with a unique and beautiful ceremony at a lovely, small chapel in Snohomish.
     Weddings are always beautiful, but this one seemed especially so to me. The bride has been an across-the-street neighbor to Paul's family since she was born and is Molly's best friend. (Molly is John-Robin's sister). Zoe (another sister) was a bridesmaid. John's brother, Christopher, was best man and Hildy's son, Jack, was a groomsman. Lots of family represented. They all looked so good to me dressed up. I usually see them all in jeans and T shirts..a far cry from the dressy black suits and amethyst satin gowns. and, of course, the snowy concoction on the bride.
     A beautiful occasion.

For more pictures, see My Family Snapshots, to left

    And (blare of trumpets, please!), the very next morning at breakfast, Russ and Jana announced their engagement. No date has been set as yet. They kept it a secret until then so as not to intrude into his cousin's wedding celebration. They told me so that I could make the formal announcement in this column.. my very first "scoop".

     All our very best wishes to Russ and Jana.

    I hear that every life must expect some rain to fall and right now our "rain" is the loss of our neighbor of several years, Anne Evans. She has earned her master's degree in nutrition from Bastyr University, here in Seattle, and will be moving to New York to do her internship.
     Anne is a darling girl. She and her dog, Lola, a big, black hunk of doggie, have been renting the house just behind us. Anne has kept a fine vegetable garden in her yard and we have been entertained by watching her "practice what she preaches" by seeing her out in that garden picking salad greens and pulling veggies. She spent many hours sitting with Lola at the top of her back steps doing homework. She surely was a decorative addition to our neighborhood.

    The Summer Family Party hosted by Hildy and Dan at their home on July 15th was a huge success. Good turnout.. I think there must have been at least 35 who came. Heather, Thomas, and those precious kids (our great-grandkids) Skyler and Tasia, were the "out of town" guests. Skyler was a year old last October and Tasia is just five months old. The baby's name is really Anastasia for her Lightfoot great-grandmother, but that is just too much name for a baby. The Withrows live in Maryland, so it was an especially wonderful thing to be able to actually hold them

    I had a fun of watching a lot of scandalized double-takes when I showed up wearing a silver nose ring. even though the darn thing wouldn't stay put for very long at a time. Watching chins drop was very rewarding. Made me feel like a rebellious teenager, very temporarily, of course.

    The weatherman blessed us with the most beautiful of days. just warm enough to thoroughly enjoy being outdoors to soak up the special beauty of the Lightfoot gardens. Even their lettuces look like ornamentals with all their frilly, crisp edges.
     And FOOD.. Grilled, barbecued chicken, skewers of bacon-wrapped shrimp, veggies and dips, pasta and green pea salads, luscious fresh fruit, platters of cookies, and homemade ice cream with fruit and chocolate topping...

    Nancy and John delivered us (and our wheelies) out and back, making it nothing but sheer pleasure for us old folkses.
     Someone from Paul's family brought the huge album of pictures from the "hat and gloves" tea party that was a shower for Leslie and many pictures from Leslie and John-Robin's wedding, July 2.

    Special for me, Heather presented me with a copy of the children's craft, puzzle, and coloring book she designed and did the drawings for as a commission from Gallaudet University. They will be used as public relations for the college. She also gave me the small box of crayons that will go with the books. I feel very privileged that she remembered to bring me one with all she has to think of these days with her growing family.

    This has been a very weird month for weather. Our normally temperate days have been replaced by some mighty unpleasantly hot ones. When our temperatures soar into the 90s, Seattle folks grump about it. We do as badly with heat as we do with our occasional snowstorm in winter. We are simply not used to either..

   Thought for the day:
   Most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be.
   -Abraham Lincoln-

'Til next month
Dixie/Dorothea, Senior Editor

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