Coming out of Hiding

Whew.

It's been a little stale around here.

Truthfully, things at the Browne household have been less than stale, although, as I'm sure you can imagine, I've had my share of stale laundry a-brewing out in the sweltering garage.  That is, until my dear sweet Mother-in-Law washed, dried, and folded a whopping four or so loads last week while she was watching Miss P.  Her expert folding lines were more than I could ever dream of producing.

Sigh... Perhaps Piercy Joye will be blessed with the magical Browne housekeeping gene!

Since my last post in April, we've been busy. Busy enough that it's taken me almost two full months to carve out some time to download photos from my camera and write.

May was a blur, but included many trips to the Liz Carpenter Fountain in Butler Park downtown.

We also helped The Trail Foundation organize a volunteer work day to replace nut sedge-ridden soil from a neighboring planter on the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge. My little helper was great at delegating tasks to our crew.

And her Daddy was a real motivator and workhorse.  He, my younger brother Joe, and a couple of cross country runners from Regents High School put in a full day of manual labor for the beauty of our Beloved Trail!

A couple of weeks ago we took a trip to Southern Illinois to visit my Grandma Huddle, who summers in the home my great-great grandfather Norman Piercy built and gave to his daughter, my great-grandmother, Norma Piercy. Grandma has been contemplating selling the house (it's on the market, but she seems understandably hesitant).  I haven't visited the beautiful old home in ten years, when my Huddle grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Since then, my dear Grandpa, Norman Piercy Huddle, has passed away.  I had not yet had the chance to visit my Grandpa's grave or gain much closure concerning his passing. We were able to learn all about Piercy Joye's eponym: the Piercy family of Mt. Vernon, Illinois.  These relatives of mine took great time and care to record their history, and Greg and I were both blown away at the amount of information available on the many individuals of our family.

Piercy Joye visiting her Great Grandpa Huddle's Grave

We visited the two cemeteries where the forefathers (and mothers!) are buried, and took some fantastic photos with our little Piercy Joye.

Miss Piercy with her Great-Great-Great Grandparent's headstone

John Bond Piercy, Piercy Joye's Great (x4) Grandfather's marker

Amanda Caroline Moss Piercy, John Bond's bride's side of the same marker [Piercy Joye's Great (x4) Grandmother]

After our thorough history lesson, we spent a phenomenal evening with many relatives in celebration of my Grandma Huddle's 85th birthday, and my Grandpa's cousin's birthday too.  The same Norman Piercy (my great-great Grandfather) who built the home my grandmother lives in built this beautifully restored house.  My Grandpa's cousin, Norm Piercy (can you tell they loved that name?!), and his wife have brought this incredible home and its grounds back to their original beauty.  The last time I set foot on these grounds was in 1994 and the home was completely dilapidated.  It is miraculous to see the change that has occurred.

Grandma Huddle ("GG to Piercy Joye), Greg, an adoring Piercy Joye, and yours truly

Peek-a-boo! 

Who knew Hastas bloomed in cooler weather?!

Antique Rocker

Playing Piggies with GG

Grandma Huddle, Norm (Grandpa's Cousin) and Gerry Piercy, Barbie Breeding (Grandpa's Cousin), Nancy Watson (Grandpa's Cousin), Alice  (Grandpa's Cousin) and her husband, and Piercy Joye and me

Grandma and I had a great time getting to know each other better in this new stage of our lives, and she really got to know Greg, who she very obviously adores, and her first Great-grand, Piercy Joye, who I can tell she loves very much.  We had so much fun getting out of the hot weather and enjoying each other.

What a sweet gem! Beautiful Mommy (and Auntie Amanda)

We shared an evening viewing slides from Grandma's childhood home in Milwaukee, and graduation photos from her sister, Nancy's, college graduation. Grandma broke out Grandpa's scotch and poured a glass or two for Greg.  My husband has turned into quite a scotch drinker in the last year (thank you parenthood?) and enjoyed toasting my Grandpa with his very own hooch of choice. We heard all sorts of phenomenal family stories, but I believe my favorite was this...

Grandma was telling us that my Grandpa would pack his large, green Navy-issued duffel bag before he left the family when they were stationed abroad.  His "Six Day Pack-up" was always stuffed to the brim, and the kiddos would beg to know what their daddy was taking with him on his adventure.  Grandpa's response?

"Just a bottle of booze and a bandaid!"

The morning we were set to leave, Greg was digging lilies and irises out of Grandma's yard to see if he couldn't bring some back with us to plant in our yard at home.  Grandma came outside, and when she realized what he was up to she said, "Norm's six day pack-up was a bottle of booze and a bandaid, and here you are digging up an old woman's irises to take home!"