It has been many months since we have published a, “Time out for art” post. This post should make up for some missed opportunities for it represents an awful lot of “time out” as Mary and I both worked many, many hours on this project!
We have shown many pictures of our yard from different angles over the last year, but this is what it looks like from the front yard approaching our front door.
What is that multi-colored shelf-like structure to the right of the doorway? Here is a closer look.
Perhaps six months ago, Mary was inspired by something on Facebook. Someone had posted a display showing the names of their grandchildren and Mary determined that we should construct our own tribute to our grandchildren. After gathering up lots of flat rocks and then cleaning them, Mary went to work painting and decorating an individual stone for each of our grandchildren to show the world that:
The thing is that Mary and I together have (as of last count) twenty-four grandchildren!
We were going to need a good sized shelf to hold all of those rocks. In true Ecuadorian fashion I transported the pieces of lumber needed for the shelves home on my bicycle and then Mary and I worked out a design that would properly display the rocks.
There is no particular order in the placement of the rocks, but each or our children have a background color exclusively for their family. Then Mary worked this afternoon to arrange the rocks so that the colors were artistically varied. Here is a closer look so the grandkids can locate their own rock.
We have another grandchild scheduled to arrive in a month or so, so we will have to shift some rocks soon!
We are so very blessed to have each of these special spirits in our family. This display will help to remind us each day of those blessings!
Life is good in Ecuador!
What a unique and touching tribute to your grandchildren! I love it ❤
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Thank you so very much. It was a fun project and several of our neighbors have already commented on how nice and bright it is. I was just outside waiting for the chickens to go up to their roost and was working to memorize all of the names. Sounds funny, but this will be a good tool for the old man! Cheers!
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The ‘Our Grandkids Rock’ would make anyone smile, and that was such a clever way to organize the different branches of the family tree! Buen trabajo!
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As is Mary’s fashion, it is nice and colorful and should be a conversation piece for anyone who stops by. Glad that you liked it. Have a great day.
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ah.. two days in Sto Domingo kicked my pulmonary health.. the day’s great but cautiously as I work to undo the pollution’s effect!
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When I moved from Minnesota to Southern California in 1989 I had a physical where they had me blow into a tube to see if I could blow the stopper up to the top rung and if so to hold it as long as I could. I was in very good shape and blew the stopper up to the top and after almost two minutes the doctor told me that was more than enough. I was in Rverside and San Bernardino for almost nine years and at my final physical I could not quite get the stopper all the way to the top and quit trying after ten or fifteen seconds. The doctor told me that was very good, but I was thinking about how quickly my lung capacity had failed.
Now Mary and I live on the coast with aires pura filling our lungs everyday. I am sure I could get the stopper up to the top and hold it for at least ten or fifteen seconds. City living stinks!
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i understand totally about that test. a pulmonary doc in quito recmmended a gadget that measures the pulmonary strength.. it measures the force, and i have never been able to get it t hit ‘green’ – always orange but thankfully never in the red.. the doc kept saying,’you can do better than that..’ but no.. repeated attempts just triggers the cough… the damage must have been done years ago, damage that cannot be reversed – just cared for and guarded…
i’ve thought of you a lot with Comey in the spotlight. He carries himself well as others try to find faults in his character… The FBI folks should all be proud that he is still their face man….
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Well, you take care of yourself. You are one of our favorite people and we want you to go on breathing for many, many years ro come!
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I am now much better, gracias.. sometimes we just have to throw on brakes and let our bodies do what’s best! i love you both as well!
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Looks good. Will probably be a year and a half or so til we can see some more blue in there.
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No rush – You guys are still young. No need to try to keep up with Johnny and Kristine! If you keep the names short like, “JJ” we should be able to make room for a few more (or build another shelf!) Love you, Bud.
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I love this! Super colorful and Wow! That’s a lot of grandkids! Can you believe it?? Love you guys!
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And we love you. Did your kids find their names? With twenty-four rocks, even the close-up did not give them a great view of their rocks. You will just have to come down to visit sometime and see them up close. Have a great day, Beauty!
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Wonderful idea! I love the way you made all the rocks the same color for each family. Easy to find their siblings.
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Yes, and my oldest son occupied the field with seven! Life is good and God has blessed us abundantly with healthy, intelligent, beaurtiful (and handsom) grandchildren. Now maybe I can remember all of their names.
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