Ladder Safety

A couple of days ago our 8' aluminum stepladder fell over. Unfortunately I was on it at the time trimming the wisteria vine. I landed on my back, elbow, and noggin on the brick patio -- forcefully enough to abandon careless use of said ladder in the future. I'm OK and have regained the necessary respect for ladder safety. All is well.

Hollyhocks at their peak

The hollyhocks look great in our gardens right now!

Baptism

This is the first post of the Poppyspace blog so I thought the topic of baptism would be appropriate. I am referring, of course, to the recent baptism of our #2 grandson, Charles Wilkinson Smith, Brian and Kelly's 1 year old boy, at Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh. He was baptised by Rev. Leslie Reimer, who had also married Bri and Kelly and baptised their first son, Henry. And here is the great moment.

This was a big event for our family. Kelly's mom Peggy, her brother Tom and his family, my mother Virginia, and my sister Chris and her husband Gary were all there. Here is the Smith side of the family:

And the Bott side:

It was a wonderful day for our families!