On the Garden Path

The local Botanical Gardens is a peaceful place

amidst noisy traffic and busy lives.

I took my grandchildren there recently.

Most of these pictures were taken in the Butterfly

Garden.

It was hot, hot, hot, so pools of water were

refreshing.

Love the fish fountain!

The kids wore their bathing suits and played in the

rock fountains.

My favorite picture of the day!

Rainy Day

It's a rainy day. It's been a good day for staying home and catching up on housework.
My daughter decided it was a good day to sort through the girls' toys and winter clothes. My oldest granddaughter, "Teka", finally got her own room. She is going on nine. Can you guess what her favorite color is?

"Teka's" new room

The girls have tons of stuffed animals.
My son-in-law, who works for the sheriff's department, suggested that they donate them to the deputies. They keep stuffed animals in their patrol cars to give to children when they go on calls to help comfort them in tense circumstances.

My middle granddaughter promptly asked, "Are we going to jail, Daddy?"

You gotta love 'em.

Christmas Letters

Vintage Christmas Card

It is that time of year and I am writing my Christmas letter. I send a lot of cards, but haven't enclosed a letter in the past few years. I enjoy reading the newsletters I get from friends and family and catching up on the latest news. One of my former neighbors, who now lives in Virginia, is very creative and includes photos of her family with cute little captions in her Christmas newsletter. I did this one year, with my daughter's help, as I am not that tech-savvy. So this year I'm writing a simple Christmas letter on pretty stationary.

I have lots of news to share and many blessings to be thankful for. It has been a year of travel, to the Florida beaches and the Smoky Mountains. It has been a year of reunions and celebrations. I reunited with an old childhood friend in October and we celebrated my mother-in-law's 90th birthday in November. For my grandchildren, it has been a year of beginnings. My youngest grandchild turned one and is quickly catching up with her older siblings; my grandson started pre-school and my second granddaughter started Kindergarten. Small things, but big events to the little ones.

Still, amidst my blessings, I want to remember those friends and family members struggling with grief and loss, health problems and other serious issues. I just hope that Christmas brings a sense of peace and hope and shines a light on them.

Thankful

I am thankful for so many things that I am sure I will leave something off of this list.

I am thankful for my family...
for a son-in-law who works hard to provide for his family and serves our community as a law enforcement officer.....
 I am thankful for my two daughters that I am very proud of and that I consider my best friends....
 I am thankful for the beautiful grandchildren they have blessed me with and the joy they bring to my life....
I am thankful for a job, with a retirement plan and good health insurance, when I know there are so many people unemployed and less fortunate than I am....
I am thankful to have a good relationship with my sisters and though we have our differences, always make up...
I am thankful for many friends who keep in touch with me to let me know they care...
.I am thankful for my cat, who keeps me company, curled up on my lap at night.....
I am thankful that the mail still runs every day (except Sunday)....
.I am thankful that I have a good boss and great co-workers that makes it so easy to go to work each day....
.I am thankful that I can worship God openly and for his daily blessings......
I am thankful for Thanksgiving and Christmas, my two favorite holidays of the year....
I am thankful for the mild temperatures that have kept my utility bills down....
I am thankful for libraries....for the written word.....newspapers and the Internet, and Amazon.com....
.I am thankful for afternoon naps, flannel robes and slipper socks, and hot cocoa, for cold nights....
I am thankful for Hallmark movies, all Charlie Brown re-runs and Christmas songs on the radio, even before Thanksgiving...
I am thankful that I have one pair of boots that I can wear....
I am thankful for the spirit of Christmas, wishing it would last a little bit longer...
I am thankful that the elections are over....
I am thankful that my mother-in-law celebrated her 90th birthday...
I am thankful that a friend finished her radiation treatments...
I am thankful for this blog, where I have met some incredibly nice people.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere

Fall is my favorite time of year. And Fall just wouldn't be the same without a visit to a local farm to pick out pumpkins, let the children play and pet the farm animals, and, of course, eat funnel cakes and drink hot apple cider on a chilly day.

 

 

There are pumpkins in a wagon

 

And pumpkins on the ground

 

 

Tiny pumpkins sitting in rows

 

 

Pumpkins in the stands, waiting to be picked

 

 

There are pumpkins white as snow

 

 

And some gourds not quite so pretty

 

 

Pumpkins named "Cinderella" (after midnight?)

 

And pink pumpkins shaped like a ribbon

 

 

There are even "Turkish Turban" pumpkins 

 

 

There are pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere!

 

 

 

We came home to bake cupcakes

 

 

and collected leaves to make leaf rubbings.

 

 

It was a perfect Fall day!

September Stories

"Accidental Mondays"

I woke up this morning with a killer headache, and, dragging my feet, got ready for work. I took an Advil and left in plenty of time, hoping to feel better soon.
"Hi Anita,"said my boss when I got there.
"Today's your off day. Remember we had to change the schedule?"
Oh, yes, now I remember.

"A Real Dad"

I picked up my grandchildren yesterday to spend the afternoon with me. After lunch at McDonald's and a trip to the park we went to the nearby military post to get my grandson a haircut.
While we were waiting a soldier walked in pushing a baby stroller. When he sat down for his haircut, his two-month old daughter started whimpering. He reached into the diaper bag for her bottle and started to feed her while the barber cut his hair. After a few minutes one of the ladies who worked there took over the bottle feeding. It was the sweetest thing!


"Real Courage"

I met a retired nurse recently who truly inspired me with her own story. She had dropped out of school with only an 8th grade education, married and became the mother of five children. Many years later she decided to take her GED test. She passed the English part, but failed the Math portion of the test. Advised to take a manufacturing job at a local factory, she balked and went home to study, determined to get a passing grade. A week later she retook the test and passed! When her youngest was three years old and the oldest 11 she enrolled in college and eventually, nursing school, retiring after 30 years. And this from a shy and uneducated black girl who refused to give up. Now that's what I call courage.

"Porch Cleaning"



"The River"

After our trip to the barber shop and a side trip to get ice cream, the grandchildren and I drove down to the Tennessee River. They played on the playground and explored the boat dock. After a busy afternoon three very exhausted kids were ready to go home.

Beach Vacation

I just returned from my vacation with my daughters and grandchildren. It's been five years since my last "real" vacation, so I was ready! The change of scenery did my spirit a world of good, as they say down here in the South.

This was the view from our condo in Panama Beach.

We were on the 4th floor, and I opened the door

to the balcony first thing in the morning

to take in the awesomeness of the ocean.

The grandchildren loved catching the ocean waves,

building sand castles and hunting for seashells.

My oldest granddaughter (she'll be 8 in two weeks)

is like a fish. We couldn't keep her out of the water!

.

                                                                 
                                                                   Destin

Beach front restaurant in Destin. We ate shrimp, crab legs,

and Salmon. Yummy! The kids got pails and shovels

with their meals. It was an hour wait, but they had a playground

on the beach for the children and the scenery was definitely 

worth the wait.

We took a boat ride to see some dolphins. We saw a few, but

had to look really close. The boat ride was relaxing

and the ocean breezes were refreshing

after the summer heat.

The seagulls came and ate right from our hands.

The kids thought it was the coolest thing.

Shell Island

The view on the way back to shore. Gorgeous.

Spring

I love Peter Rabbit!

My dyed eggs

A bird's nest that I found when trimming a shrub

The egg hunt

My granddaughter's birthday party

Can you guess what her favorite color and design is?

Cherry Blossoms

The cherry blossoms are in bloom at at the park.

It was a perfect day to take the grandchildren 

to feed the ducks...

or sit and watch the fish...

This is the Japanese bridge.

A perfect day.

Ordinary Days

I love three-day weekends, even if I don't "do" anything. I live a simple life, an ordinary life. I'm one of the lucky ones, because if you've ever received bad news, your life turns upside down and there is no such thing as an "ordinary day".  So I am thankful for all the ordinary days.

Puttering

On Saturday I putter around the house. It rains most of the day, a repeat of January's weather. The weather is cool, but mild. I go about my housework, washing the sheets, taking out the trash. I empty the dishwasher. I make a second pot of coffee. Finally, I grab my umbrella and drive to the nearest Barnes and Noble, 25 miles away. For over an hour I browse to my heart's content, spending my gift card from Christmas, with enough left over to buy a White Chocolate Mocha.

A Quiet Evening

On Saturday evening my daughter, her husband and the two older children go to a hockey game. I baby-sit Mae-Mae (her nickname). Bath time...bottle...baby is soon asleep in my lap. When they return from the game, the older girls go home with me. One goes right to sleep. The younger one thinks that she is a grown-up ( she is going on five) and stays up until midnight. I give them my bed and the cat and I share the couch.

Mae-Mae

Sharing Popsicles

Sunday morning and the younger one is up early and already dressed. She hits the floor running. I am rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "Can I play with Play-do?" "After breakfast," I reply. Today the weather is gorgeous, bright and sunny. We go outside after lunch and the children (including my grandson, who came over) help me pick up broken branches in the yard. I rake up dead leaves while they play hop-scotch, kick the soccer ball, and climb trees in the backyard. They make friends with the two little boys who live across the street. The kids want popsicles, so my granddaughter asks me how many to get of the freezer, while she counts on her fingers. "Five?" "Yes, five", I tell her. While she goes inside for the popsicles the little boy across the street comes out with a handful to share with everyone. At five o'clock the kids go home. I am exhausted, but it's a good tired.

An Ordinary Day

It is Monday and I treat myself to a movie from my collection, "The Painted Veil." It is based on a book by W. Somerset Maugham and is about a doctor and his unfaithful wife. The story takes place in China, where the doctor is fighting a Cholera outbreak. It is a fascinating story. Later, I run errands, mail some cards, pay bills, balance my checkbook, put a pot roast in the oven, bake cupcakes, call my sister and a close friend; ordinary things on an ordinary day. I am blessed.

Blackberry Cobbler in a cute casserole dish