This is SO GREAT! Thanks for sharing with us! I too have one son and one grandson (although my DGS is only nine). Isn't it wonderful to enjoy all the 'boy stuff' one more time? Our DS was an all-star in Little League but didn't continue in HS. He's co-coaching DGS's team again this year. They were just here this afternoon -- both breaking in new gloves.

Claudia, I LOVE that picture! It reminds me of my girls at that age, "stuffing" a turkey nearly as big as they were. And now the grandkids are getting big too. (sigh) I didn't think about great-grandkids, so there's still hope of little ones "helping" me in the kitchen! Sharon, I'm more patient with the grandkids than I was with my girls, but I had a busier life then too. You'll do just fine, plus you can teach all the "fun" cooking stuff, instead of the day to day "duty" cooking... Annie

Geeze, 15 yr old boys often have no idea why they do things. He's a very nice boy, nice parents, lovely grandparents, well brought up. I think boys that age gave occasional "brain farts". The only cure is another year it two of age. Thanks for your help. We live this house and I always feel very responsible for it when we're here. It's not a typical rental house. It was there summer home for years when the owner taught at a boarding school and lived in faculty housing. They rent it for 4 wks each summer and are here the rest of the time - it's a real home and we feel very lucky to rent it each year. Fingers crossed the tree will be okay. I'm going to insist this boy come and apologize to the owners when the return to the island.

Thank you for updating us, it's good to know your grandson is on the road to recovery. Also good to know he is taking this 'lesson' to heart! ! And to be perfectly honest, I have learned from this, too! It never occurred to me that minor scrapes & scratches can be so dangerous! I have reached the age where my skin is thin, very thin! So I am forever getting little nicks and tears, especially on my arms. Sometimes I don't even notice them until I find some dried blood dripped somewhere. (I am on blood thinners, so there is always a lot of blood with even very small skin tears.) Then I just wash them of & go on with what I was doing. But from now on, the wasting off will be followed by antibiotic cream & a Band-Aid! And by the way, Anglophilla, Band Aids were causing bruising and skin tears on me, too. I found the Band Aid brand 'Comfort Sheer' comes off pretty easy. And something I learned from a nurse after my second cataract surgery, gently massage some type of oil into the bandaid and it will come off very easily. In fact, the Comfort Sheers will almost fall off! I think any type of oil or lotion will work, the nurse that used this method on me was using what looked like hand lotion. I've used Vitamin E oil because that was what was handy at the time. I just wish I had known this trick 50 years ago, when I had a house full of growing boys! ! Rusty