We left Buffalo on Sunday afternoon, October 21st and drove to Rochester, NY, to visit with daughter Jill and her husband, Julius, and our grandsons Tom (13) and Kevin (10). It was 80 degrees and so humid that we had to borrow tee-shirts (and Don, shorts) from Julius. We had a restful Sunday afternoon, including a walk around their neighbourhood with Jill and Max, the Welsh terrier. That evening seemed perfect for hamburgers and hotdogs done on the grill out on the deck. Yum! I think we all went around barefooted all afternoon. Who would have thought that at the start of the 3rd week in October in Rochester, NY, we'd go to sleep with the windows open and the overhead fan on?
On Monday morning the boys went off to school, Jules went off to work, and Don, Jill, and Max went off for a long walk through some nearby trails. I stayed behind and took it easy reading the paper, drinking coffee, and working the crosswords. It had been beautiful earlier in the day but then clouded up and began to rain. We and Jill went out to do some shopping. (Clothes, on average, are about 50% less expensive in the U.S. compared with the UK--even when spending US dollars--and so we had gone over with quite a list.) We also stopped to pick up a brisket of beef for Don to start cooking for Tuesday night's dinner.
That night one of the boys had soccer game at 5 and so we ordered out pizza and wings. Don went along to the game with Jill and said it had turned so cold that he had to spend much of the time sitting in the van. I stayed behind and minded the brisket, which is a 2-day process. After dinner we got to hear Kevin practicing his electric guitar and his sax and Tom practicing his trumpet. We can see great improvement in the sax and trumpet since last year; the guitar is a new addition but coming along nicely.
Tuesday it turned bright and warm again. This was the big day when Jill, Don, and I met Cousin Harvey and Aunt Shirley for lunch. Another cousin, Wendy, whom the three of us had never met, also joined us. We were amazed that at almost 103, Aunt Shirley was up to coming out for lunch. She looked fabulous (as you can see in the photos). We had an enjoyable lunch and heard more of Shirley's priceless stories. Harvey is talking about the possibility of a family reunion in Rochester sometime next summer so we may have a summer trip instead of an autumn one next year.
We did a bit more shopping on the way home and then Don had to get back to the house to change clothes as he and Julius had made a golfing date. It was a gorgeous afternoon for it with blue skies and temperatures in the upper 70s along with a light breeze. Don came back from the game saying he did pretty well and that his shoulder didn't bother him a bit. Hallelujah!
I had stayed behind minding the second cooking of the brisket. That night we had a great family dinner together of brisket and gravy, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, corn, and salad. Everybody loves Don's brisket but the boys are particular fans and really chow down. That night we sat down with Julius and the boys to watch the Tom Hanks' film Big from 1988. I think we actually got more out of it than the boys did but they at least had popcorn to keep them happy!
Wednesday morning we left for Albany. It was a short but sweet visit. It is amazing to see how much the boys change in just one year. The other grandchildren we manage to see twice a year but because of school and sports schedules, the Rochester family doesn't make it down to Maryland in April. We're hoping to get them over to Scotland sometime next summer.
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