COUSINS AND COUSINS OF COUSINS.

Toni Moore is my cousin by marriage. Her husband of 26 years, Commander James Moore of the Sheriff's Department (deceased) is my first cousin. Our fathers were brothers.  But, our relationship goes deeper than that. I attended High School with Toni and introduced her to Jim. While visiting the archive, I discovered she was planning a family reunion and she asked me to join them. The afternoon of the Archive meeting, March 16th, I went with her to Costco to shop. Toni is handicapped and can't drive. On the 17th, it was St. Patrick's Day, she took me out to dinner for corned beef and cabbage. I think we licked the plates clean.

Her oldest son is Kurt Moore. He and my son Ken are close in age. We raised our kids together, often camping since no one had any money in those days. We all lived on tight budgets.

Her middle son, Todd, was closest to my son Doug's age, and the two of them were pals growing up. Toni's youngest son, Barry recently died and everyone is still trying to heal from loss. Todd lives nearby and is indispensable, taking Toni to her appointments, shopping and helping Todd keep up the place. He has one daughter, Briana, and I somehow failed to get a picture of her and her boyfriend.

The relationships get complicated for me to keep straight. Kurt's youngest children Teddy and Alex, with Gramma Toni are the reason for the reunion. They live on the East coast with their mother and visit twice a year. They normally come for Easter vacation and this year came early. So, Toni planned an early Easter.

Always smiling, Leslie Nolan, is Bob Moore's partner, who is a brother to Jim.  He doesn't like having his picture taken and ruins your picture, if he has a chance to.  You have to get one surreptitiously.

Here he is with his nephew, Teddy.

Kurt's oldest daughter, Sandy arrived with her husband Josh.  Kurt's son, John is serving in the Army and couldn't attend.

Now, this is Grandpa Kurt, hauling Sandy's two newest members of the family over his shoulder into the back yard. He knows a little about how to handle young boys. They are Caleb and Jacob ages six and four, recently adopted.

It rained off and on all day, but no one melted. The kids played bean bag toss. Emma, Sandy's daughter teamed with Teddy and Alexandria, Sandy's half-brother and sister, and her father Josh.

Emma gets a big jump closer because she is the shortest and youngest in the game. Cousin works as well as any moniker, and "cousin" Teddy doesn't mind.

As the day went on, the kids turned to hunting for treasure. Caleb is trying to figure out how to get up in the tree holding an egg.

An egg hiding in plain sight, up high, gives the older kids a shot at the eggs. Some contain money, some contain candy or little toys.

Heavy competition comes with a smile as Bob and Josh pair up with...

...Todd and Kurt.

Looks like Josh nailed it. The rules are much like horseshoes.

The kids enjoyed their treasures. Emma, in Easter finery, with a full bag.

Jacob enjoyed a green chick that is special because it has a squeaker inside.

Caleb liked his rubber Easter chick, too.

After dinner, everyone enjoyed dessert. Emma looking sweet 16 instead of 12 with frosting pink lipstick.

Alexandria, kissable in blue, is a freshman in High School.

Emma with her frosting lipstick plants one on cousin Alexandria.

Caleb wanted to try my camera. A quick learner, he took a bunch of pictures and did quite well.

This picture by Caleb is a tad blurry. But, not bad for a six year old's first time with a sizable camera.

This one was my favorite, where he caught his little brother taking pictures with my phone.  Maybe photography in his future, but without a doubt, a good time was had by all. HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE.

RETURN TO VIVIAN ALEXANDER

Yesterday, we returned to Vivian Alexander. It may be the only time we’ve returned to a place after blogging it.  I wanted to tempt myself into buying more Fabrage and I did. I signed up for their Easter, Mard Gras and Christmas eggs which are mailed to you at the appropriate time of year. They are signed and numbered. Above, Alex explained the holder he uses while working on an egg.

I saw things I didn’t see the day before. These eggs in process hanging from a shelf, looking as though they are drying.

And these beauties hanging above Liza’s work space.

Like stained glass, an enameled dragon fly hangs in a window.

And then Liza showed me a hat she had made for a costume party. I did not recognize what it was trying to convey until she explained it. You can spot a cricket, some leaves, a worm, a lady bug…?

From the top, you can see the banana skin. And now I will tell you, she went as a compost pile. I laughed because I’m an avid composter at home and because it was so clever. She loves her garden and I love mine, too. One of the things I miss on the road. But no one has more fun than Jim and I and we make compromises for our life style. Liza also put us in touch with another master craftsman that we will visit later today.
When I first met Alex, we talked some about silvering his eggs which put me in mind of  my good friend Dr. Robert Coleman,  a silversmith, goldsmith, enameler, painter, sculptor. He always joked that he had a PHD in silversmithing but he made more money in making papier-mache birds. He died last year and I didn’t  realize I had never taken his picture. But I did photograph some of his jewelry and birds.
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This piece was not actually his work. He traded with a fellow craftsman.  I took these photos because I loved doing it. It was before I knew what a blog was. I’m so glad I did.

The hands of his wife Margaret Mary Coleman. Her favorite rings.
These pieces were made by his daughter Peggy Harrold. My favorite piece of hers is the persimmon.
This is one of thousands of papier-mache birds he made signed BOBADOC.
In the afternoon, we packed up my treasures and shipped them to my house. I will fly out on the 12th and we are feeling the tug of separation. Jim is kind of hunkering back into his life alone, preferring quiet places to busy places. We are extending our stay at this spot because it is so peaceful. I will return to design a new place for my flooded mobile and take care of taxes. I’m fortunate to have a son who is a master carpenter and worked as a construction supervisor before he hurt himself. He will supervise and assist the building project.
I get to design my new place, but the building won’t take place until summer.