At long last Matthew Seamus Hargreaves was born at 10:10 p.m. on 28th February, 2012 at Quincy, California. He was ten days late, 9 lbs. 5 oz. and 19 inches, but was not breathing well, so he was taken to Renown Medical Center in Reno.

Polly and I drove up to Sacramento on the 29th, stayed overnight with my niece Debby, and started for Reno on the 30th. It began snowing and we had to use chains to get over Donner Pass. Polly says, “Never again!” Beyond Truckee the road was dry.

We met James, Emily and Michael at the Medical Center (which is celebrating 50 years) and then checked into the nearby House for relatives of those in hospital. We all squeezed into one room, but it wasn’t bad as there was a dining room (with dinner served by volunteers), a small library, a computer room, a laundry room and a play room for kids.

Next day Polly and I got to meet Matthew who was still on oxygen. During the day we went to Sheels, a huge sporting goods store in Sparks. We rode the Ferris wheel, looked at a mountain of stuffed animals, listened to past presidents, watched fish swim and sampled fudge.

On Saturday James, Emily and Michael went to lunch with friends and Polly and I ate at a small Chinese place and went shopping. On Sunday we all went to Toys R Us and pigged out at Claim Jumpers. Then Polly and I took Michael back to Greenville, stopping at the Polka Dot stand in Quincy for ice cream and a scallop.

On Monday the 5th we took Michael to school and shopped at the Evergreen Market. We were almost late to school because we had to scrape ice off the car. I’m glad I don’t live in the mountains. Tuesday began with snow flurries, but we were prepared for scraping the car.

Wednesday was a bit warmer and there were a dozen American “robins” a block from the house. There were also crocuses peaking through lawns. After school we took Michael to Quincy for drama class. James and Emily were there from Reno with Matthew who was now breathing well. The two brothers finally got to meet. We celebrated with dinner at the eclectic Pangaea.

While Michael was in school on Thursday, the rest of us went to Anna’s Restaurant for breakfast. On Friday we celebrated James’ birthday and then Polly and I left on the road down the Feather River Canyon. Midway we saw white “buttercups” and then collected more serpentine at Yankee Hill… That night we had dinner at a Mongolian BBQ in Sacramento.

Next day we went to the Effie Yaw Nature Center with John. The red buds and winter vetch were in bloom. We saw Canada Geese, wild turkeys, Steller’s Jays, rabbits and deer. Now we know where the deer in the creek by John’s apartment come from. Then we drove to Fresno and were treated to dinner by Polly’s sister Martha. Finally on the 11th we got to Bakersfield in time for a family lunch at Coconut Joe’s.

We were at the BCSS meeting on the 13th and heard Woody’s talk on Namibia again. (You will note we missed the Fresno meeting this month.) We had a long St. Patrick’s Day celebration beginning on the 16th at our exercise group which had a luncheon. I won a green cup with white shamrocks at the raffle. Next day we went to Sabrina Mesa’s to see her plants. (A lot of succulents in the Crassula family) and eat a luscious lunch. Then we took a green cake to Linda (my brother’s wife) who has a birthday that coincides with St. Patrick’s Day.

That evening we went to a Flics film and the next day Polly treated us to corn beef with cabbage and black and tan brownies. Then we heard the BC choir (which Polly and I sang in back when we first met) at the First Congregational Church. They sang a lot of folk songs besides Irish. It was a long month.