Quick Timeline - Stay With Me

I have to make this quick. Too much happening too fast.
Wednesday and Thursday we got my grandparents packed up and moved into the Nursing Home. My mother and I worked hard until about 9 pm both nights. All went well, though, and their new room looks as comfy as we could manage working around hospital beds, wheelchairs, walkers and bed trays. I think it's the cutest room in there. G & G seem happy with it so we can relax a little on that end.
Friday morning my son, Brandon, got in from Spokane. He looks great, likes Spokane as it reminds him a lot of PA, and is liking his new training for his job of Survival Trainer for US Air Force. He wants to specialize in Interrogation and Torture Resistance Training. It's interesting! Then Mother-in-law, Millie, and Sister-in-law, Sharon arrived from Cincinnati in the afternoon. MIL was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago but she really wanted to get up here to see us and Brandon and hopefully new baby. I made a real nice home cooked meal for all last night. Brandon's request. Chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, applesauce, and strawberry cake. Millie ate everything.
Then last night Dee went into labor and in the hospital. Perfect timing. So I'm getting in the shower and off to the hospital. New baby coming, grandie #3. So excited!
TO BE CONTINUED!

Packing Up 93 Years

I'm tired, so this will be a quick one.
Tomorrow is the day that we move my grandparents, both age 93, from the Assisted Living to the Nursing Home. This is hard stuff, physically and emotionally. They are going from a two room suite into a one room hospital type room. Two years ago, we moved them from a 3 bedroom house into the Assisted Living Suite and that was difficult to do.
My mother and I packed up knick knacks, pictures, clothes, dishes, etc. and most of these life long personal belongings are headed off to Goodwill. It's so hard to do this. To wittle down a couple's life of 93 years to fit into one room and 4 drawers and two feet of closet space. We spend our whole life accumulating, fixing up a house, collecting albums of family pictures, buying new and better furniture, buying china, upgrading your china, buying jewelry, upgrading your jewelry --- you get the idea. Then you are so lucky? to live to 93 years old and be so blessed to be celebrating your 73rd wedding anniversary, and then your family has to clean out your whole life of belongings and pack away or haul away. It's hard and it hurts. We are trying to keep as much as we can, but we're midway or so into the accumulating phase of our own lives now. So in 30-40 years (if we are so lucky?) our kids can take all of our "stuff" to Goodwill. Anyway, makes you think and ponder!
Tomorrow is moving day. Mom and I are going to make the "new space" as pretty and comfortable as we possibly can. Using as much of their own furniture as will fit and hanging as many family pictures that we can.

And baby update - daughter in law, Diana, shows all signs that baby could come any minute. She's started to dilate, lost a little weight, baby's in position and dropped a lot, lots of pressure in the pelvis, and a little blood showing today. I told her tonight or tomorrow was just a little too busy and if she could hold off another day that would be great. My son, Brandon, her husband, is stationed in Spokane (Air Force) and will be home on Friday for 15 days for parental leave. If baby would wait until Friday late afternoon that would be perfect. Whatever happens, happens, though, and we have a very busy few days or so ahead of us.

OK, I've got to get to bed. This went on longer than I thought. Good night!

This picture was taken about 3 weeks ago. It's a little sitting area I fix up under my deck with my little perennial garden in front of it. I was
just starting to get it cleaned up and the plants are just coming in. I got my homemade deer repellent all mixed up to spray on my flox. It consists of 1 egg mixed with 2 squirts of dish soap, poured into a plastic spray bottle, filled with water, shake it up, set out in the sun so it smells real bad. It's worked for two summers now, and I've tried everything. Most all my plants are deer resistant, but for those that are not I spray after every watering or rain.

Here is my after picture taken yesterday. I paint all the furniture white. The perennials in front of and the annuals underneath the deck are all pink and purple. When the pink flox bloom it is so pretty. I'm no master gardener, but I enjoy being outside and "playing" in my little gardens.

This is my view when I'm sitting on my swing at 5:00 with my glass of wine.

As I was getting some tools out of my shed I heard some commotion above my head and
when I looked up I saw this mother robin sitting on a nest on top of my hoe. Just yesterday I heard some little "cheap cheaps" coming from the nest. I'm trying not to bother them and I just keep watching.

We Remember

As we honor Memorial Day, this whole weekend seems to
signify several things. First and foremost, we remember those that

have given their lives for our country and we will never forget them.

We honor them forever for our freedom and liberty. We also remember

family and friends that have gone before us. People that have individually been a part of us and made us who we are.

Every year, my mother and I go to the cemetary where my grandparents and aunt are buried. This would be my mother's parents and sister. We plant flowers at their gravesite, then we go to lunch. It's a pretty drive out in the country and it is such a bonding experience with my much loved and missed family that have passed and also with my mother. Just seeing their names on the head stones immediately brings back wonderful memories. And the annual experience of doing this with my mother will holds it's own special memories in the future.

Another part of our weekend was the family cook out at my house yesterday. It was a beautiful day, even though we had a quick rain shower in the middle of it. Bob and I enjoyed my parents, daughters-in-law, grandsons, and brother of DIL Melissa. My sons', Austin and Brandon, are in the military and stationed in San Antonio and Spokane respectively right now, and were unable to be home with us. I thought of them all day as we all missed them, but remember why they are not here and how proud we are of them.

The meaning and memories I have for this Memorial Day are good ones. I would wish this to be so for everyone.

American Idol Withdrawal

American Idol is over, and as I've mentioned before, I really get into this show. I wanted Adam to win, but I had a feeling that Danny's votes may go to Kris and maybe that's what happened. Adam's going to have a wonderful career, though, and I'm happy for both of them. It's fun to watch where they go from here and what they accomplish. I love to see the transformation these young people make in their lives and how much it changes for them. I always hope for changes in a positive way for them and what a thrill to have your dreams come true.

Anyway, I do have a soft spot in my heart for Kris because he looks a little bit like my son, Austin. My mother first mentioned it and said that she thought he looked so much like Austin that Kris was immediately her favorite for this reason. So I started to notice him a little more and he not only looks like Austin, but his personality and demeanor is very similar. He also seems to have a very nice family and a beautiful wife.

Don't get me wrong, I think Adam should have won and is more talented and entertaining than any one ever has been on American Idol, but I congratulate Kris.
I'll quit my American Idol obsession now and since "So You Think You Can Dance" started last night, I'll keep you updated with my opinions on that show.

Kris

Austin

So what do you think of the resemblance?

Most Wonderful FAVORITE Award

I received this award from Squirrel Queen. I am so grateful. It feels so good to know that my ramblings may be interesting to others at times. Thank you S.Q.

These are the rules in accepting this award:

Deliver this award to eight bloggers who then must choose and deliver the award to eight more and include the following text into the award.

"These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers."

I would like to honor the following bloggers. As noted in the text above, my aim is to find them as friends. These are some really great blogs that everyone should check out and follow. Thanks all.

1) ask grandma j at: http://askgrandmaj.blogspot.com/

2) My Romantic Home at: http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

3) The Pleasures of Homemaking at: http://thepleasuresofhomemaking.blogspot.com/

4) Quilter Going Bananas at: http://quiltergoingbananas.blogspot.com/

5) Snooty Primadons at: http://snootyprimadona.blogspot.com/

6) cozy little house at: http://cozylittlehouse.blogspot.com/

7) Melissa's Heart and Home at:http://melissasheartandhome.blogspot.com/

8) Airman Mom at: http://airmanmom.blogspot.com/

T.G.I.S. (Thank Goodnes it's Summer!)

Yesterday was such a good day, and so was today. I just love summer and it's finally getting here. The sun is out and it's warming up. The windows are open and I can hear all the windchimes in the neighborhood making their pretty music, along with the birds singing. LOVE IT!
The first bit of good news is that I sold my gas clothes dryer yesterday morning. We had to buy a new electric one because we smelled a gas leak a few weeks ago down in the basement and we narrowed the smell down to the one lonely section of gas line that was going clear across the basement ceiling (covered up with drywall) and up the wall in the garage into the laundry room. So My Bob turned off the gas valve to this one line and the smell went away. We decided it would be a lot cheaper and easier to change to an electric dryer rather than have to tear down the whole ceiling look for and replaceing the gas line. Well, our gas dryer was only a few years old, worked great and looked brand new, but the appliance guy wouldn't give us any trade in. He would haul it away for free, though. I thought, yea, then you'll sell it for a couple of hundred dollars. Bob said, "Just get rid of it, what are we going to do with it?" And I said, "No way, it's worth some money". So I put a five day ad in the local paper, and I got one phone call on Sunday. That couple came to look at it Monday morning, said we'll take it, handed me $200 cash, loaded it in their truck, and off they went. I was so excited and proud of myself. I'm looking around the house thinking, "What else can I sell"? That was so easy.
Since it was such a gorgeous day, and the dryer was now out of the garage, I decided to clean out the garage. What a filthy mess. Now, I keep my house as spotless as I can considering three dogs, a cat, and two grandsons part of the time, but the garage is My Bob's territory. He thought the garage was perfectly clean enough and couldn't see the problem. Are men just blind to dirt or what? I took my handy dandy leaf blower and just blew everything out of there that didn't belong. The whole time Bob is yelling down to me, "What can you possibly be taking so long to clean down there?" Blind, I tell you. So I got that done about two hours later and it felt so good. Well then all the dust balls, dirt, old gravel and crap was now in the driveway, so I continued my cleaning outside. The leaf blower, which is like my outside vacuum and dust rag all in one, was working overtime. Then guess what, it died! I'm devastated. So guess where that $200 is going to have to go? My extra little stash is already spent! It's always something, isn't it? I still felt good, though, because I was outside and I was seeing progress. Then I worked in the gardens a little bit and the perennials are starting to come up. Another good feeling. It is a continual work in progress with flowers around here because of the deer. We have so many deer that they aren't even frightened away by people. They'll just about walk right up to you. I've even had flowers on a stand on my front porch and they've walked right up on the porch in the middle of the night and eaten them. So I have researched over the years the different perennials that deer don't like. I get a few at a time and see how they do before I get more of that same kind. Sometimes a book may tell you deer won't eat a certain plant or flower, but they do. So I get excited over each plant that comes back again in the Spring/Summer. I'll fill in the bare spots with a new deer resistant find, or maybe a tried and true.

My daughter-in-law, Diana, came home from her weekly doctor's appointment and the doctor said the baby is ready and could be coming anytime. She's actually due June 8, but doctor said that if she hasn't had the baby by June 1, then he'll induce. They figure the baby is already weighing about 8 lbs. How can they know that? But from the size of Diana's belly, I would agree. We don't know if it's a boy or girl, but Diana and her girlfriends did the Drano test just for fun and it's a boy! Anyone ever hear of the Drano test? I guess you mix your urine with some Drano and then if it turns a certain color (I don't know what color that is) it's a boy, and another color, it's a girl. I have a mother's intuition hunch that it's a boy. I have two brothers, two sons and two grandsons. I just don't "feel" like a girl is in the plan for my life. That's OK.
My son, Brandon, is leaving for Spokane from San Antonio tomorrow to start looking for a house and start to get settled and prepared for Dee and baby to move out. For those of you not caught up, Brandon is in the Air Force and will be stationed in Spokane. So as soon as he gets "the baby call" he'll be on a plane back here to PA and will have 15 days leave. I can't wait!! Then he'll go back and Dee and baby will move in about a month. I'm not looking forward to that. I may need to go with them. I'm serious!

Stay tuned for updates on my sons, the Airmen. They're doing well and I'm so proud of them. I'll also be showing some before and after garden pictures as soon as the after comes in a little more. And, of course, baby updates will occur frequently. Life seems to be moving at warp speed right now.

Big G.G's Birthday and Boat

Yesterday was my Dad's 72nd birthday. He's affectionately know as Big G.G. This nickname came about after my grandson's came into this world. They are lucky little boys in that they have several older generations of relatives; 6 grandparents, 5 great grandparents, and 2 great-great grandparents. We had to come up with different "names" for all of us to differentiate. Since they couldn't say "Grandma and Grandpa" for a few years, my Bob and I are just lovingly called "Bob" and "Nina" by our grandsons. And ever since they heard Bob's mother call him "Bobby", that is the new name given to him by the grandsons. We think it's so cute. Well, Great Grandma and Great Grandpa was just too much of a mouthful for the little guys, so their names were shortened to "Little G.G" for my mother, Great Grandma, and "Big G.G." for my dad, Great Grandpa.

It just so happened that Big G.G's boat was delivered to our dock on his birthday. The day "Big G.G's" boat comes back for the summer is always an exciting day. We have the boat dock, but the boat belongs to my dad. We live very close to the Marina and each day now boats are coming out of winter storage and being delivered back to their rightful docks. Logan and Landen, the precious little ones, had spent the night on Friday with Bobby and Nina. Their mother, Melissa, had just come to pick them up when Big G.G came by to say he was going to the Marina to pick up his boat and bring to the dock. Logan and Melissa went along as Landen and I stood on the deck waiting for Big G.G and his boat and two passengers to show up on the lake.
Just as we saw the boat coming across the lake, the dark cloud right above us opened up and it poured for about 5 minutes. We ran in the house and watched the docking procedure from the window, and the Skipper and his Crew got soaked.
Now if I can get my Bob to get my blue kayak out of our storage shed for me, then summer can officially start.

My dad is the perfect father and grandfather. He loves to be around all his kids. We are all so lucky to have such an active, healthy, young father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He's always supportive, even at times that his support is not deserved; we're always loved unconditionally by him, even at times that we may not be that lovable; and he's always forgiving, even when we probably shouldn't be forgiven. I know my grandparents and mother would agree that he's also a wonderful son and husband.

Dad is very intelligent, extremely successful and accomplished, and admired for his community volunteer work. I'm sure the whole family, though, would agree that his OCD (obsessive/compulsive disorder) and his ADD (attention deficit disorder) keep him from perfection. But I must say that these two traits seem to run in the family and we all must embrace these traits and make them work. We can't help it.

Happy Birthday, Big G.G. and I hope you're around for a long time, long enough to become Big G.G.G.

American Idol

I don't know you all that well yet, and maybe I shouldn't admit to this, but I love American Idol. I haven't missed a show this season and I'm so excited about the final next week. My favorite and pick to win is Adam. He's an excellent singer, but he's also a performer. I love to watch him. He just mesmerizes me. Even though he's the same age as my sons', and even though he's said to be gay, I think he's very sexy. My sons and husband would probably cringe if they knew I said that.

So who's your pick? Adam or Kris?

That's all there is to this post. Not philosophical, not political, no deep thinking. Just short, light and fun.

So Much To Do, So Little Time!

I'm feeling a little frustrated. I should be in bed right now (it's after midnight), but I have to stay up late to get everything done that I want to do. Maybe I have too many hobbies. But I don't want to give any of them up. Or maybe I'm just a little too anal about keeping my house clean. But I wouldn't be able to relax and feel good about myself if I didn't keep it clean. Maybe I don't manage my time efficiently. But I think I'm pretty good at planning my day out and prioritizing. And then there's the laundry, the grocery shopping, our business (the real job that makes the money), the husband that feels like he needs attention, grandchildren I like to have visit, and the list goes on. So I try to take care of all the "have to's" before I can justify my "want to's". I also love to garden if it's nice out. I like to cook and make two meals a day at least 5 days a week. Since my Bob works from home I make a sit down lunch as well as dinner. Now let me make it clear, I'm not complaining. I have a nice life and I'm very fortunate in many ways. I love being a domestic goddess and trophy wife --- HA! HA! HA!, but it takes up a lot of my knitting, quilting, writing, reading time. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to sleep at all and I just can imagine so much more that I could accomplish. No, I am not complaining at all. I'm just trying to figure out a schedule for myself.
Well, I am getting tired now, so I'll turn on my little book light and read for a while, then I'll lay there and contemplate my schedule for tomorrow.

Not Your Typical Wedding

Saturday evening, some very good friends of ours got married. This is the first marriage for them both and they are 40 years old. We are so happy for them. The wedding took place in Pittsburgh, which is about 100 miles south of us. We were supposed to spend the night Saturday night after the wedding at the Hampton close to where the wedding was held, but my Bob decided he'd rather drive back home and wake up in his own bed in his own home. My parents were also with us. I have to say, I was happy for that decision on Sunday morning. He's right. It feels good to sleep in your own bed.

So back to the wedding --- Staci, the bride, started out as my interior decorater whom I purchased a lot of my furniture from and she's given me many good decorating ideas. Over the years she has become a very good friend of ours. She just turned 40 and was convinced that she would just never marry. Then she met Frank. Frank is very wealthy from an inheritance of a gas drilling company and his job is playing golf. Hey, good for him! He had asked Staci to decorate his condo for him and the rest is history. (she signed a pre-nup) Now they are in the process of building a new home in Punxsutawney.

The Happy Couple

Back to the wedding --- This was the most unusual wedding I had ever attended. Very artsy-fartsy. I loved it. Staci's brother has a photography studio/winery in an old Fire House in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. This is where the wedding was. The ceremony with their 100 guests was held on the top floor of the building. This is the photography studio. Staci's brother (Doug) is a very accomplished photographer and does most of the photographs for the Steelers and the Pirates. He also owns all the Roberto Clemente memorabilia and has the Roberto Clemente Museum in part of the top floor. The basement level is a winery and Doug's wine is wonderful.

Staci had decorated with grape vines on arbors, with candles hanging from the arbors. After the short ceremony, the reception was held on the main floor, which used to be the garage for the fire trucks. Several of the guests slid down the fire pole to enter the reception room. There was a singer/guitarist to start, then a DJ. Wine was tapped and poured straight from the barrel. And they had flown in a professional magician from Atlanta that walked around from table to table doing magic tricks. He was good! This could have been kinda cheesy, but it wasn't because he was so good.

This was definitely not your typical church wedding, but I loved it!

Me and my Bob

Thanks For the Tag!

Life is a Meme-ingful Experience!I have been MEME tagged by http://mzzlily.blogspot.com/ and http://charmine-myfavorites.blogspot.com Respond and rework. Answer questions on your own blog. Replace one question. Add one question. Tag 6 people, more or less. And here we go . . .
What are your current obsessions? knitting, quilting, spending time with grandchildren and family, gardening, cleaning, decorating and organizing, blogging, reading.

Which item from your wardrobe do you wear most often? sweats

Last dream you had? That something happened to my son. I don't want to talk about it.

Last thing you bought? New placements and runner for kitchen table

What are you listening to? The Ellen Degeneres show

Favorite holiday spots? Key West, Florida; Tuscany and Vienna; Carmel, California

Reading right now? Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone" - excellent!

Four words to describe yourself. loving, sensitive, creative, and a little obsessive/compulsive

Guilty pleasure? knit or sew during the day when I have work to do

Who or what makes you laugh until you’re weak? My girlfriend, Francy, and her mother, Dorothy

Best spring thing to do? Clean up my yard and garden, if it's warm enough out

Favorite drink? Cappuccino in the winter and iced tea in the summer

Dream vacation? Any of the above vacation spots, but with no time limit and let alone to relax the whole time

Favorite ever film? That one with Richard Chamberlain - can't think of the name

Care to share some wisdom? Everything always works out for the best.

Something you are looking forward to? My new grand baby being born within the next month.

What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten? Pig's blood while I was in Spain. It was cooked or fried and is a delicacy there, but I thought it was disgusting.

One wish? That everyone in my family always be free of stress, worry, and any unhappiness.

Favorite TV Show? American Idol

And now I am tagging:
http://askgrandmaj.blogspot.com
http://cozylittlehouse.blogspot.com
http://melissasheartandhome.blogspot.com
http://romantichome.blogspot.com
http://snootyprimadona.blogspot.com
http://marphilback.blogspot.com

And anyone else that may enjoy participating. It's kinda fun!

Am I Getting Lazy, Sick, or Just Old?

It seemed to be a busy week and I feel so tired. I just want a whole day to spend alone without having to go anywhere. But in looking back, it was a good week. I think the thing that is affecting me is my grandparents. I went in twice this week to help Grandma with eating and other needs and it's so sad and emotionally wearing. She's 92 and when she tells you she wishes she would die it breaks your heart. More on that another time.
My parents had visitors this week from Vienna, Austria. Mom and Dad lived there for five years before my Dad retired back here in PA. Hans and Michelle were in the U.S.A. to visit their son who is attending Temple University in Philadelphia and so being so close to Mom and Dad (4 hours west of Philadelphia) they came to visit and expand their view of Pennsylvania. Bob and I also had met Hans and Michelle and their son, Mathias, about twelve years ago when we were visiting Mom and Dad in Vienna. They are a wonderful family and speak German, French and English fluently, along with a little bit of Italian and some others. I don't know how they do it.

Mathias thinks of "Groundhog Day", the movie, when he thinks of PA. He and his friends in Austria have rented this movie and watched it over and over. When we told him that we only lived 25 minutes from Punxsutawney he was so excited. So Thursday morning, off we went, six of us crammed into my parents' Jeep Cherokee, (probably not legal) for a sight seeing tour of Western Pennsylvania.

Mathias and his parents totally enjoyed Punxsutawney. We saw the real Punxy Phil groundhog behind his glass front den. Punxy also has groundhog painted statues all over town and then a souvenir shop. They took dozens of pictures. It's amazing what we take for granted since we live here and it was so much fun to see it through new and excited eyes.


Our tour continued about 20 more miles south into Amish country of Western PA. Through hills and back country into Smicksburg. Again, we just don't realize that Austrian's have only ever read about and seen movies about Amish and they just couldn't believe that these people are real and actually live the way they do. Amish are a quite interesting study. Why would people today choose no electric, no indoor bathrooms, no cars, etc. is very hard to imagine. When you drive through this community you feel as though you have just been transported back in time about 100 years. You become the out of place entity in your car and strange clothes. We tried to get several pictures for our Austrian friends, but Amish do not like their picture taken, so it makes it a little difficult. We managed some.

This is a little boy and his mother in front of their house. By the way, all their houses are white with white plain cotton curtains pulled back in every window. You can always spot an Amish house. There is a little something serene and cozy about this.

You have to drive very slow and be very careful on the back roads along with the horse and buggys. They have the right of way. Of course, the roads are very scuffed up from the horse shoes and lots of horse poo.

Here is a little school house that is now an antiques shop. Many of the Amish do have gift shops that cater to the curious.

After stopping to eat and browsing some shops we headed back. And thanks to our Austrian friends I have a new appreciation for how beautiful and interesting Western Pennsylvania is. And I'm glad Mathias saw another side of PA. His only view until Thursday was of Philadelphia. That's a wonderful historic city, but very busy, loud, crime, dirty and lots of people. As is the case in certain parts of any big city. But I'm glad they saw another view.

The next morning our friends headed off for New York City, where they will depart from on Sunday to return to Austria. They certainly will have a well rounded picture of the United States in just a few days.

I went back in to help Grandma yesterday. She is just so frail and helpless and she can only talk in a whisper. After coming home from caring for my grandmother, I had my grandchildren for the evening. Talk about extremes, but yet require just as much care. They are busy and noisy. Thank goodness they are normal boys. After dinner, bath and a movie, their mother picked them up about 10:00. I was just exhausted. I don't like being so tired. I probably need to ramp up my exercise program and eat better. I need to stay energized and healthy in order to take care of my family. More sleep would be nice and helpful, too.

We just found out yesterday morning that my great aunt just died at age 93. She was my grandparents' sister-in-law. The viewing was this morning from 10-11, here in town. I should have gone and feel guilty that I didn't, but I just couldn't make it. This afternoon we have a wedding to go to in Pittsburgh. They are very good friends of ours, the first marriage for them both and they are 40 years old. So, time to get moving again and get cleaned up and dressed up. That takes a lot longer than it used to.

Tomorrow's Mother's Day and a perfect day for me would be peace and quiet. The bad news is, I have way too many friends and family in this town. The good news is, I have so many friends and family in this town!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you that nurture.

This 'n That for Today

This was a good day. Any day that I can just "putz" around the house, cleaning, fixing, decorating, blogging, and just doing my thing, is a good day. I didn't have to leave the house to go anywhere. I hate to have to leave the house. The whole day is interrupted and I feel like I don't get anything done. You can't get into any projects and you're always looking at the clock.

I also got caught up on some work. Real work, the kind that helps bring in some money. I work with my husband whose office is in our home.

I cleaned all my floors. We have so much dog hair all over the place now. It's from Layla, my son's dog that is living with us temporarily. She's a Sharpay/Golden Retriever mix. Beautiful dog, but she sheds and is scratching all the time right now with allergies. The dog hair is driving this clean freak crazy.

I was able to finish my new window box project. I've been wanting to get this done since last fall.
I had the window boxes since then, but I needed my very busy husband to put them up for me. And they had to be drilled into brick. So a couple of weeks ago he borrowed the neighbors drill, went to Lowe's and bought special drill bits. It was not an easy job. I got the cutest picture of Layla and Bob at the windows he was working on. Layla misses her "daddy" and clings to "grandpa" as next best thing.





Today I finally had the chance to get flowers into the boxes. Little secret, though. They're not real. They're up so high I'm hoping you can't tell, and if I put real ones in it would have been too difficult to keep watered, then water would have dripped down the bricks. Besides that, I would have had to wait even longer to get real flowers in because annuals just aren't ready here yet.
All the flowers in my gardens are purple and pink.

The purple hydrangeas bloomed last week and are beautiful in front of the house, but unfortunately they don't last long. I think early next week will be the end of them.

I made just a light dinner of tuna sandwiches. I've been eating way too much since winter. I hope it starts getting warmer soon because I won't have the desire so much for the cold weather comfort food.

Then I settled in after a nice bath for American Idol. I'm obsessed with it. I won't plan anything or answer the phone when it's on. This sounds crazy when I actually write about it, but oh well, who cares? My pick is Adam Lambert.

It was a nice day.

Baby Shower and More

Sunday was the big day. The long awaited Baby Shower. It turned out so nice. Diana's mother, Lori, did most of the planning and most of the work and she did a beautiful job. Since we don't know if it's a boy or a girl, we went with yellow and cream. I would have loved it to be pink because, #1 - it's my favorite color and #2 - I have two brothers, two sons and two grandsons. I would just love to be able to make and buy little pink, frilly, lacey things. But as my grandmother says, "we know how to do boys". She's right, I certainly do love little boys. Hey, real boys can wear pink, right? It would never go over in this family. Anyway, I digress.

There were 75 people and the food was absolutely delicious. It was catered by a local little market that Brandon and Dee used to work for when they were in school. The centerpieces on each table were yellow and cream baloons and a teddy bear. The teddy bears on the gift table were "Brandon and Diane (Dee)". As some of you may know from previous posts, Brandon is in the Air Force.

Lori and her mother, Grandma Bootie, baked cookies for 3 days that were so delicious. I feel a little guilty in that I would have liked to have done more to help, but Lori is very particular and likes to do everything absolutely her way. I can appreciate this since I am very much like that, too, so I could completely understand. I'm so lucky that Brandon's mother-in-law also is a friend of mine. He and Dee have known each other pretty much their whole lives, close to 20 years, and Lori and I the same. - I digress again-

I helped set up the tables, serve food and clean up.

Then the question came up, "Where are all these gifts going now"? Dee is living with us while Brandon is in training in Texas and her parents now live in Pittsburgh, about 90 miles from where we live. So we inherited the baby stuff. When 3 SUV's pulled in front of the house loaded down with baby stuff, my husband, Bob, couldn't believe all this stuff is needed for one little baby. He's now thinking there must be twins and we're not telling him.

The fun continues ---

The SUV's pull around back and unload into our basement, which is a finished family room. All three dogs (my two and Diana's one big one, Layla) come running out to meet us, so excited, along with the two grandsons in stocking feet. Bob was babysitting so that my other daughter in law could be at the shower. He's a great grandpa! Anyway, Layla is so worked up she throws up in the driveway and on the carpeted basement floor. Because of this, we knew that she had been eating poop earlier in the day. Yes, it was a terrible, stinky, gooey mess. Well, three year old stocking footed Landen stepped in it, so off came his socks and pants. He's so proud of his Sponge Bob big boy pants that he didn't mind. Then in all his excitement, he jumped up and turned quickly to run after something and banged his forehead right into the corner of the kitchen counter. He started screaming, Melissa (his mother) started screaming as blood started to cover his whole face, all three dogs started barking and I remained calm surprising even me. After washing his face and the cut on his forehead we determined that it really wasn't that bad and did not need stitches. The bleeding stopped rather quickly and I held him quietly. -I hate to say this, but I'm sure mothers and grandmothers will understand, they are so sweet when they're hurt or sick, aren't they? -
Everyone finally calmed down. Landon put his cowboy boots on and he, Melissa, and brother, Logan, left to go back home. Dee sat to put her swollen feet up, and I cleaned the carpet.

I was exhausted!
Still didn't sleep good, though. What's up with that?

BTW, I've posted a picture of the baby quilt I made on my other site: http://mycharmingcreations.blogspot.com/

Brie Pastry

This appetizer is so good I wanted to share. I made it for my jewelry party on Wednesday night. It's also very good at Christmas time.

1 (8oz) brie
1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 sheet puff pastry
1 egg beaten

Slice the brie in half horizontaly. Spread cranberry sauce over bottom half. Sprinkle chopped pecans over top of sauce. Place other half of brie on top. Wrap with puff pastry sheet. (Set brie in middle of pastry sheet and fold up all the corners to the middle) Brush with beaten egg. Bake in 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 1/2 hour before slicing. Serve with crackers and love.
Enjoy!

I wish now I would have taken a picture of it when it came out of the oven to show. It looks as delicious as it tastes.