The Word Processors

Yup, we're safely back in Amsterdam. And Yup! Back to Farm Day!

Sister Nancy (on the right) had a deadline to get some word processing done by Monday for printing. She was condensing a 1000-page HUD handbook into a more manageable 250-page book, simply by reformatting it. That's Wilma, my brother Jim's wife, trying to help her with a formatting hitch.

No amount of finagling could get those @#$@*& columns to line up in the Table of Contents!
So, enter Donica, the Word Processor guru.

Nancy tells Donica exactly what she wants and what the blasted program isn't allowing her to do.

And listens while Donica discovers that the original handbook was mixing Word Perfect and Word in it's document. UGH. No wonder!

Wilma comes back to get in on the action.

And even my brother, Jim, acts like he gets it! Nancy says that what Donica did saved her hours of time. So, thank you, Miss Microsoft guru! (Don't get Donica started on Microsoft!!!)

BTW, Jim and Wilma are the parents of nephew Paul in The Jammer's post. And Nancy is the mother of nephew Eric, the lead guitarist.

Blending Kids

Hold the Farm Day thought for a minute. There's still more to show but you'll understand why I just have to take a break.

Dennis (Amy's fiancé) flew into Atlanta from LA with his two girls this weekend. It was Donica's and my first time to meet the girls. Nicholas had just spent a week with them at the beach in CA back in July.

Straight from the airport on Thursday evening, we all met up at Kobe's for Japanese, followed by this photo op outside afterwards. (There are 75 of these turtles, BTW, all over Atlanta, kinda like Berlin's Buddy Bears.)

Then on Friday morning, I was invited to join Dennis and the kids at our GA Aquarium, while Amy and Donica worked. Nicholas was already in his first week of second grade but his teacher gave him permission to miss school. When Amy left it up to him, his first response was that he'd rather learn than walk (he is totally loving school)! But as the days passed, he got very excited about showing the girls his aquarium.

So introductions are in order. You already know Nicholas, my 7-year-old one-and-only grandson. This is a spot at the aquarium he always runs to and then says, "G'ma, this is a perfect spot for a photo, remember?!" It's serious stuff!

And of course, now everyone has to have their picture taken there!

But wait. More introductions!

Here's Daddy with Noelle, the eldest. She's 13 and in 8th grade.

And Daddy with Brooke. She's 9 and in the 4th grade.

Okay, I did some Tom-foolery to get this pic like this (my first experiment, to blur everything but the girls), but here they are together, the two girls. I understand they can squabble with the best of them, but I guess that means they're ALIVE. I saw lots of TLC throughout the day between them and fell in love with them.

And now blended! It's good Nicholas is a boy, I think, because they have quite taken to him. No sisterly competition, in other words!

That's pretty cool to have a big sister who can ride you piggy-back, don't you think?!

Even Deepo thought it was all pretty darn-tootin' cool!

So, Dennis and Amy have their parenting skills cut out for them as they blend this family! The girls live with their mother in LA, so they won't be together all the time. However, both before and after the wedding, June 1, and once Dennis moves to Atlanta, they will make sure there are lots of blending times together.

The world keeps getting smaller and smaller, doesn't it! I find it quite amazing and...thrilling!

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On Monday afternoon, Donica and I both fly back to Amsterdam for a short stint until the 31st. I'll go back to Farm Day pics once over the pond!