Carrie & her boys

Over the weekend, I stopped in to see my Uncle Joe & Aunt Helen. They had a minor car accident on Friday and both were dealing with the discomfort of bruised chests from their seat belts (which, of course, is better than having a concussion or worse!). I found Uncle Joe (who turned 89 on Valentine's Day this year) standing outside enjoying the beautiful fall day...greeting me with "Is that you, Joanie?"
He and Aunt Helen welcomed me inside, offered me a cup of tea and a piece of apple pie - made from the Baldwin apples from the tree up on the hill. A plastic container of chestnuts was sitting on the table - picked up from the ground under the trees over by the barn. We chatted about family, the weather, their health. Spending time with my dad's brother made me think of the same easy conversations I had with my dad, who passed away over 6 years ago in January of '99.
Aunt Helen pulled out the latest photos of my cousins and their kids...who are growing up just like mine are. An old family album came out next, with photos of my grandparents (the ones from London). I asked to borrow it so I could scan some of the ones I don't have...and I found this one - it's a picture of my dad (on the left) with his mom (my grandma Carrie) and Uncle Joe (who was called "Jo-Jo as a baby). It was taken around 1918, when Joe was about a year old and my dad was 7 or 8. The photographer was my grandfather, who took many pictures with his "Brownie" camera.