a visit to my aunt's house for Father's Day

I spent a couple of hours at my aunt's house today with my mom's side of the family. Mostly, we were there to honor my grandfather, the celebrated World War II veteran and pillar of my family for many many years. From left to right, here's my mom, my granddad and my grandma all posing for a pic:

Can you believe that my granddad is 88 years old and that my grandmother is 84? Jennifer has often jested that I'm descended from a line of elves...

And yes, I brought that champagne you see in the foreground. It was Chandon - good crispy stuff!

My grandmother is going through some early stage Alzheimer's right now, and it's quite tragic. So far, the Aricept has been staving off the inevitable, but unfortunately we all know that her illness is just that - inevitable... I owe them so much love for the love and kindness they have shown me over the years, and I feel powerless in the face of this disease of forgetting that is slowly encroaching... All we can do is enjoy days like we had today when grandma was so much like her old self. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, my friends...

As a sidelight, here's a squirrel that came to drink from Debbie's birdbath. The picture looks kind of faded because I took it looking through a screen door...