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We don't really have any. It's step-daughter's birthday weekend and we've found out that there's a party but evidently the old folks aren't invited. I contacted step-son and let him know that if they went, we'd make the sacrifice and babysit the two grandsons. I know. Such a chore.

No plans for us, except trying to keep DH healthy enough we can follow through with our summer plans!!

Memorial Day, for our family was always a big day! Work at the ranch was suspended - at least as much as it could be - and EVERYONE came together at the cemetary to bring whatever flowers they had (usually peonies and iris), cleaned the plots, share remembered stories and then great food while we all caught up with what was going on with each other.

I miss those days.

Almost all of them are gone now - just the natural progression of life - but I do have to wonder, in another decade or so, will Memorial Day just be another 3-day weekend?

Sad, if so; understandable even. But, really, just very sad....

I've always understood the true meaning of the holiday. Growing up we lived many states away from burial sites of deceased family members so never did the grave thing. Now that my folks are gone they're in a colbarium so no fresh or fake flowers allowed.

This will be the first weekend we have not had an event, company, home-project, etc. We look forward to resting.

I'm too far away from family graves, but I occasionally send another family member some money for the grave flowers.

My understanding of Memorial Day is that it is a day to remember fallen soldiers. In my family...those known to latter generations all came back from WWII, Kor-ea, Vi-et N-am. I can't think of any in my genealogy research from WWI either.

Decoration day at the cemetery was different and could take place at any time of the year. My mother talked about that, but by the time my generation came along, a cemetery fund had been formed and donations taken to hire someone to take care of the cemetery grounds.

Vet-erans Day is different as many members of my family did serve in the mili-tary.

I have never, either as a child or an adult, lived near family. So we never had any graves to visit. Now that my parents and one brother-in-law have been buried in my birth city, my sisters visit the cemetery.

This Monday I hope to play Mah Jongg, if it can be arranged.

Growing up on Long Island in the 50's, Memorial Day in our little village was a pretty big deal. What I remember most vividly was everyone buying little plastic poppies from the VFW and wearing them in commemoration of the wartime fallen. There was a big parade through town, then everyone went home and had a barbecue, the first of the summer season.

Our town was the site of the country's first blackout of WWII, because of all the defense installations there. We are also home to the Long Island National Cemetary, where scout troops would decorate the grave sites with poppies for Memorial Day.

When I lived in DC, Memorial Day meant a walk to the West Lawn of the Capitol with a picnic meal as part of the audience for the annual Memorial Day concert, televised on PBS.

I don't much celebrate Memorial Day anymore in Texas, but I still like to watch the Concert on TV.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: aychihuahua,

Memorial Day's meaning has changed over the years from the remembrance of fallen soldiers to remembering ancestors long gone by decorating graves to now a three day weekend spent, often, at the water (whether lake or ocean!) or a cabin in the woods!

We're at home this Memorial Day and husband Jim and I will attend the program at our National Cemetery (which is #1 by the way, Arlington is #3 and Gettysburg is #2) and Jim will help take down the avenue of flags that lines "National" street up to the cemetery on Monday afternoon.

We're having company tomorrow and we're hoping to be able to eat outside but if it is too warm (and this year it is too warm for May) we'll bring our dinner inside.

Whether inside or out, it shall be the same -- mussels in garlic butter to start; smoked lamb with potatoes, onions, turnips cooked under where the meat can drip on the vegetables, and a big spinach salad with bacon, radishes, garden onions and that hot sweet bacon dressing. Dessert will be a blueberry pie (or tart since it's one crust) made from local blueberries.

Martha

Martha, wish I could eat at your house!

Although not strictly about Memorial day, a new (to me) project has just been brought to my attention. People photograph graves in their area and post them to a site called "find a grave" This is of vast help to those (like me) who are interested in doing their genealogy.

By happenstance I did photograph two graves when we were on the island of Kauaiia (sp?)
in Hawaii. Not for this purpose but just because they both had ties to where I have lived. I will submit them to the site.

I visit the graves of my family on memorial day. Assorted relatives go. We place flowers on the graves. I love doing it.

Interesting idea, LOS about photographing the graves. Last year I took photos of all our family graves, and then I went home and wrote everything I could remember about the people buried there. Any little memory. I also described what I remembered about their personalities, what they wore, what they did, how I felt about them etc. It was a fun project, and I now keep it with my genealogy.

We did wind up with plans. We are at stepson's and I'm getting to play with my grandsons. Stepdaughter and her family will be here for lunch today. So I get an added bonus of playing with granddaughter too. Ex-wife-in-law and her family will be here too. (We get along just fine as I came along several years after the divorce.)

A rather impromptu weekend that will be about family this year. It's also stepDs birthday and I'll be making a cake as soon as breakfast is over with.

Before knowing the others would be here, I made peanut butter cookies yesterday. With what I found in future DILs pantry and a quick run to the grocery store for more food for lunch today and a couple of items to bake a birthday cake, I'll be making a Bailey's Irish Cream cake.

Cocok -- what you have done is a priceless bit of history for those who come after you. When doing genealogy, it's easier to find names but then you don't have the other info that makes them real people to you. Good for you. And I bet you enjoyed every minute of it, too, didn't you?

Our dinner last night -- smoked lamb, potatoes and onions with a salad of fresh spinach, green onions and radishes with a hot bacon dressing.

Martha

Saturday, stepson grilled steaks and corn, roasted asparagus covered with bacon...and peanut butter cookies.

We had drunken chicken (grilled beer-butt - sorry - chicken), another variation of the grilled corn, fried cabbage, a crudite plate stepson threw together with whatever he and I found in the refrigerator. OH! A plate of sliced tomatoes! Then finished with Bailey's Irish Cream cake with whipped cream and a few more cookies.

And, if you're wondering, stepson and wife have two little boys...18 months and 2 months. She has her hands full and he realizes it. He does the majority of the cooking, and most of it is on the grill or griddle. Before leaving town, he called that he had the meat and asked me to furnish the sides.

We still had to make a run to the grocery store Saturday. I asked daughter-in-law about a dollar store and she directed me there. I came out with a kiddie wading pool and she grinned. Colt (19 months old) and cousin Isabel (17 months old) had a splashing time...and danced in the water to the music. LOL We had a blast watching them!