Spring Has Sprung - Finally!

I think Spring is finally here.  There's been an awful lot of rain, but everything is now green and I've managed to finally get a few flowers on the deck and porch.

I'm getting so many pretty birds coming to my feeders.

Couple of days before flowers went in

I was finally able to get outside some more to work in the yard and gardens.  I think if I can get a couple of more good outside work days I'll have it done, as far as clean up.  

Tomorrow is the annual decoration day at the cemetery for Mom and me.  We'll get out early to buy flowers and go out to the cemetery to decorate my grandparents and aunts grave sites.  Then we go out to lunch.  This has become an annual event for us that we try to look at as a nice day.

This last week has also been filled with end of the school year activities for our pre-school and kindergarten grandsons.  We made it down for Landen's end of year dance recital on Sunday evening.  We weren't able to take pictures in the auditorium because they want you to buy DVD's of the show.  Landen was so cute being the only boy in his dance group.  

Here we are with the kids after the show.

Last night we headed back down the 1-1/2 hour drive to see Logan's gymnastics show.  This is Logan's 2nd year in gymnastics and he did a great job.  With Logan's slight autism, gymnastics seems to be so good for him.  He likes the focused activity with lots of action.  We could see his improvement.

The teacher instructing him before he starts.

Proudly accepting his gold medal at the end. 

Sorry for the poor picture quality.  I was trying to zoom in and the lighting wasn't very good.  Not to mention the photographer (me) not always doing a good job.

Oh, and look at this.  This ugly fish washed up in our back yard from the lake.  We've never seen anything like this or this big in the lake before.  We were told it's a Northern Pike.

It was as big as the neighbors' 4 year old grandson!

Yuk!  And boy did it stink.  It sort of worries me a little because my kids swim in the lake all summer.  Oooh, Gross!!

I hope the weather is nice this weekend as I'm hoping for a nice, quiet, Memorial Weekend.

Linking to:  Cindy's Show and Tell Friday
       and Alison's Fridays Unfolded

Lost Grandma!

This is me lately!  I've been doing a lot of computer work the past couple of weeks; business and an on-line class.  Unfortunately the fun things, such as my blog, gets put on the back burner.  A friend sent me this and I got such a laugh out of it, because I felt like it described me.  I wanted to share because I'm sure many of you can relate:  ENJOY!

The computer swallowed grandma (me). Yes, honestly it's true She (I) pressed 'control' and 'enter'  And disappeared from view. It devoured her (me) completely, The thought just makes me squirm. She (I)must have caught a virus  Or been eaten by a worm. I've searched through the recycle bin  And files of every kind;  I've even used the Internet,  But nothing did I find. In desperation, I asked Google My searches to refine. The reply from him was negative,  Not a thing was found 'online.' So, if inside your 'In-box,'  Grandma you should see,    Please "Copy,Scan and Paste" her (me)  And send her back to me.(this way) This is is a tribute to all the Grandmas who have been fearless. . And learned to use the Computer.......  They are the greatest!!!  We do not stop playing because we grow old;  We grow old because we stop playing ....  NEVER Be The First To Get Old!

Judgement Day Didn't Ruin Our Weekend

Well, I guess somebody misjudged Judgement Day!  Who comes up with this stuff anyway!  I have to admit, though, that just a minuscule little part of my brain had this fleeting thought of, "What if?".  I'm glad we're still here.  You know me, I just have way too much still to do!

Friday we drove the 1-1/2 hour drive to watch Logan in his 20 minute kindergarten end of year choral program. We wouldn't have missed it.  It was so cute!  Logan seems to love to perform.  He did a great job.  One thing you notice right away, ( second to how cute he is) is that he can not stand still.  But that's OK.  At least he's not a lifeless lump standing up there!

Logan's in the red T-shirt.

They were supposed to make a face!  He got into it!

He kept looking at us, knowing we were taking his picture

We picked up pizza and went back to Austin and Melissa's house after the program to visit with all the kids for a little while.  Then we headed back for the 1-1/2 hour drive home.  I've found that I don't mind the drive time at all anymore because I take my knitting and get a lot done in the car.

I knew on Friday that Saturday was going to be a beautiful day.  All the weather reports were saying so.  We've had so few of them to date that I was planning my whole day around it.   Hubby had wanted to bring Leanna home with us on Friday since we're going back down there again today for Landen's dance recital.  I had to stand my ground and announce that my firm plan was to work outside all day on Saturday.  Hubby even suggested that I just put Leanna in her walker out in the driveway while I worked!  Give me a break!  I adore her, but I'm not doing that!  

Saturday we woke up to the beautiful day I was expecting.  My plan was to clean out the rest of the weeds and leaves from the bushes in the front of the house.  And there's a lot.  Before I started, I got on the phone trying to find an available painter that would power wash and stain our back deck.  I was only leaving messages and no one was even answering the phone.  Why are contractors so hard to get a hold of?  I guess they're all so busy in this bad economy, huh?  Finally, Hubby said, "I'll just do it myself.  No use paying someone hundreds of dollars".  I thought, "Oh great - he's going to rush through this and not do it the way I want it done".  Of course, a job that he does is always a job that we do when it comes to a lot of projects like this.  He told me to clean the deck while he went to Lowe's for stain.  I did, because I wanted it done!  But that threw me off my weed and leaf cleaning schedule.  

After some frustration and yelling at each other (nothing too harsh) he finally got to staining the deck in the back while I went to work on my project in the front.  By the end of the day his job was all done and mine was partially done, but I felt good about our accomplishment for a day's work.  We both have sore backs today, but saved money.  It was worth it.   Just a side note - not one of those painters I called have yet to return my phone call!   And I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures of us working so hard out in the sun, but it didn't even enter my mind.  I'm always mad at myself for missed photos like that!

Anyway, after a glass of iced tea, I then poured myself a glass of wine at 5:55 and sat for 5 minutes sipping my wine, wondering what was going to happen at 6:00 for Judgement Day.  Nothing!  Absolutely nothing!  It was a good day!

Now we're back to a rainy, gloomy  Sunday.  It would be so nice to have at least two days in a row of nice weather.   Now I need to get dressed and ready for another 1-1/2 hour drive down to the kids' house for 5 year old Landen's dance recital.  He wanted to take dance lessons this year instead of gymnastics and I understand that he's the only boy in the class.  This should be another cute picture day!  And more knitting to get done! 

Life This Week

I can't believe it's Thursday night already.  This week has gone by so fast because it's been a busy one.  I'll have to put my Bermuda series on hold for a few days until I get caught up with the present.

Last Friday (wow - almost a week!) my cousin, Brad, his wife, Jane, and their children, Grady and Libby, came up from Harrisburg to spend the weekend with us.  They had a wedding to go to on Saturday close to here.  They arrived here shortly after Hubby got home with our little granddaughter, Leanna.  He had gone to pick her up to spend the weekend with us.  This was the first time we have had her alone without her older brothers.

The weekend went well.  Cousins left about noon on Saturday all dressed up for the wedding.

Don't they look nice?  Grady just had to hold that sword in the picture.  And look at beautiful Libby's gladiator sandals.  She sure has turned into a beauty at only 14 years old!

Leanna was just the best little baby.  She's happy all the time and entertains herself as long as you're in the room with her.  She loves to be in her walker, which is great because she's crawling and standing and I'd be running after her all day otherwise.  We just stayed in the kitchen together with me cleaning and cooking and Leanna motorin' all over opening every cupboard she could reach.

About 7:00 at night it was bath time.  Grandma (me) prefers to give a bath in the kitchen sink while she's still small enough.  Leaning over a bathtub is a killer!  I said she's happy all the time, except when bath time is over  She did not want to get out of that sink!

She goes right to bed with barely a wimper at 9:00 and sleeps sound until 9:00 the next morning.  She's such an easy baby.

I was up early, way before anyone else.  Cousins got in late, so they were all sleeping in.  I made a fresh fruit salad, cinnamon rolls, and coffee.  I decided to use my Homer Laughlin's Virginia Rose dishes.  Most of the set was passed down to me from my and Brad's great-grandmother.  I've added to the set when I find pieces in antique stores or a flea market.

As soon as I had breakfast and the baby taken care of, I started on lunch!  I was having Mom and Dad over for a late lunch for Dad's birthday, which was the next day, Monday.  I was hoping cousins could stay to celebrate with us, but they needed to head back home at noon.
I fixed two pans of lasagna, a salad, and whole grain dinner rolls.  So I cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen from the breakfast crowd and reset the table and had lunch ready for the lunch crowd at 1:00.
Chocolate crunch ice cream cake from  Dairy Queen, with a big "7" candle and a big "4" candle was the co-star, along with Dad!

It was a small party, just me, Bob, Leanna and Mom, but it was nice and the food was good.  Can I say that even if I cooked it all?  And those Dairy Queen ice cream cakes are delicious!

Sooooo, I was exhausted by 3:00!  Hubby and I were going to  drive the 3 hour drive together to take Leanna home, but Hubby was so good in offering to go himself.  I packed up the baby and all that goes with her, along with a pan of lasagna, and then (tired sigh!) I was home alone!  I got the kitchen cleaned up (again!) and sat.  I so much appreciated that right then.

I have to say, I'm still not feeling well.  I just keep coughing, which makes my throat sore and my head is so stuffed up.  I think I have "The Walking Pneumonia and the Boogy Woogy Flu"!  Remember that song?  I think I'm starting to feel a little better, then I do too much, get overly tired, and then I'm down and out again.
But, resting is not much my style.  Monday I spent the day washing sheets, towels, floors and bathrooms.  My normal routine with a little extra.  Monday night I wanted to just sit and cry.  I was so annoyed at not feeling well when I have things to do.

Tuesday still wasn't time to take it easy.  It was voting day and Dad was running for School Board.  Mom, Bob and I were all helping by manning different polling locations and handing out his card as voters walked up to the polling station.  My shift started at 7:00 am.  I woke up at 5:00 to 48 degrees outside and the threat of rain!  At 5:00 a.m., my thoughts were, "Lord, let me die"!  I have to say, though, by 8:00 a.m. I was getting into the whole process and it actually became fun.  I knew a lot of people and got to know the other candidates standing outside with us.  I shared shifts with a friend that was also volunteering for Dad, so I had a few breaks.   When on duty, I was on my feet, in the rain, and talking all day.
Here's the gauntlet line we formed that voters had to walk through to cast their vote.  Most of the day we were all holding umbrellas, but here's a moment of clearing.

Here's Dad, third from the top right with the phone to his ear.

It was worth it, thank goodness.  We knew by 11:00 that night that Dad won the Republican nomination by quite a large margin.  In fact, he only lost the Democratic nomination also by about 6 votes!  Now he'll have to run again in November.  If he had won both ballots he'd be in and would run uncontested in November.   We're all so proud of him.  Now this means we do it all over again in the late fall.  Oh my, it could actually be snowing then!
Right now I just look forward to the day when I feel healthy again!

Linking to Alison's Fridays Unfolded

We Made It To Bermuda!

Wednesday, May 4

We were rockin’ and rollin’ the whole night through!  Very rough waters all night.  I felt OK, it was just a lot of movement and very loud.  I think maybe there was a storm.  All I could think about in the middle of this stormy rocking night was the Bermuda Triangle.  I was thinking we must be getting close to it and I hope we make it.  
We did!  We woke up anchored in the bay of  St. George where those of us that wanted to go ashore were ferried in to the island where we had booked a tour. 

View of our ship from St. George

St. George is the original Bermuda settlement.  In 1609, the English ship, “Sea Venture” was on it’s way to the new American settlement of Jamestown.

 A hurricane grounded the “Sea Venture” just off St. George and the survivors became the first residents.

We toured old Fort St. Catherine,

Dad guarding the Fort

 visited St. Peters Church,

 saw the “Unfinished church”

which was left unfinished due to financial difficulties,  and remains standing that way to this day.

We visited the Towne Hall,

 walked up the narrow winding staircase of the old lighthouse,

Me and Bob with Don and Kay standing at the top of the lighthouse

 and stopped for a rum and coke at an outdoor pub along the beach.

Bob and I with Gomby the pig outside the pub

There are old cemeteries and beautiful flowers everywhere.

 The buildings and houses are built from concrete block and limestone so that they can withstand hurricane force winds.  The limestone roofs are all painted white and the houses themselves are painted  pastel colors.

 I can imagine that this would look terrible in Northeast PA, but it looks so pretty here next to the beautiful bright aqua water!

We did a little bit of shopping before we had to get back to the ship.  As in normal man fashion, Dad and Don sat on a bench in front of Town Hall and ate ice cream.

For the first time on the trip we ate dinner in the Rotterdam Dining Room on the ship.  The food was delicious.  The other evenings we had just been grabbing food at the buffet or the pizza bar outside.  The dining room is beautiful, with a semi circle wall of windows overlooking the Harbor. While eating a first class sit down dinner an orchestra plays soft classical dinner music on the balcony.  It almost reminds you of a scene from The Titanic.

For some reason, The Bermuda Triangle and The Titanic are always on my mind!

After dinner the ship had sailed to the other end of the island in Hamilton.  Hubby and I got off the boat to tour a little bit of Hamilton in the early evening.

Back on the ship, the movie, “The Accidental Husband” was playing in the theatre.  It was just O.K.  I’m still not feeling real well, so it was hard for me to stay awake.  I really needed to just get back to our room and lay down for the evening.  We found this towel sculpture of a turkey waiting on our bed for us!

I was exhausted!  My throat is really bothering me and I’m getting very annoyed about it.  You plan and wait for a vacation like this, and then not to feel well when you finally get there is a little frustrating.

Overall, it was a very good day.  It's so pretty and sunny in Bermuda, even though it rained for a few minutes, it clears right up and the sun keeps shining.

Read about Day 1 of our vacation here
Read about Day 2 of our vacation here