New morning

Today, I am refreshed. I had a nice hot bath to start my day. I am getting some things done around the house. Smiling and planning a trip to wallyworld.

Crying

Christina flies back to Idaho in the morning. Jamie, her boyfriend, is taking her to the airport so I do not have to sit in my car for 15 minutes and cry before I can drive back home 1.5 hours. She is staying at Jamie's tonight so they can leave and head to Atlanta for her 7:45 flight. She left about 40 minutes ago and I am still crying. Everywhere I look, I see her. A picture on my tree, the blowdryer she used, the drink cup she used right before she left, my husband screen saver, things she left, things we have to ship all taunt me with remembrances of her being home. Maybe she will see the necessity of living closer. I should have screamed and demanded a big NO when she mentioned Idaho. It is so far away. I have plans to watch the airlines for cheap tickets throughout the year and hope to catch a glimpse of her during the year. My face is hot with tears and my heart is aching. I do not want this arrangement. I want my babies home. Then again, if my babies were home, they would probably be under foot. But couldn't we make closer arrangements?

White Christmas

This was taken last night, December 25, 2010 at the end of our driveway with a timer. The landscape was so beautiful; we had a hard time loading up and going to Jon's house for the night.

This weekend has been wonderful for me. Family together, snow, neighbors, snow, warm house, snow, my camera working, snow, good food, snow, and snow.

Christmas Eve was a bit more relaxed than I have been in a while. I actually sat down and started reading 'Hundred Dollar Holiday' which is about controlling the commercialism, extravagance, and unruliness in our own heart before we even consider encouraging others to do so. I could read with leisure as I sat with all my packages, boxes, and bows tucked nicely under the tree. One thing I really wanted to do was go to the wally world and watch the circus. It is so much more enjoyable to watch the mob scramble, claw, and wrestle until you look up to discover "I am the mob." This year, my kids are home, my house is warm, my stove has simple food plans, and my radio plays quiet music.

Christmas Day, had a breakfast of awesome cream puffs(first time attempt), eggs, ham, and coffee. Steve read from Luke. Both of our girls, although grown, still desired to hear their father read the Christmas Story. We pretended to open gifts, while in reality each one of us was waiting and watching for others to unwrap the special treasures from us.

While we unwrapped gifts, God blessed us with a beautiful blanket of white snow. After a snowball fight, Jessica and Brian headed out to visit his family. Jamie headed to his parents, while Jon and Christina stayed with us. All four of us walked to the neighbors taking pictures and catching snowflakes in our mouths along the way.

In the evening, Jonathan and Christina headed to Jacksonville. We all met up at Jon's house in Oxford where Jon and I built a snowman for his front pillar.

Arg!!! The sun is coming out and I must run to get my camera and catch the glistening snow.

Not right

I just wrote a whole long post and it didn't post. I hate that.

Anyone there?

Does anyone read my blog?

Wowsers I have been away too long.

I must set aside a block of time today to do some blogging. But where do I get the time. Off to the bath now, and then, off to help my son's laundry room with a coat of paint.

danish, waffles, and cleaning

I tried to convince myself that I was not going to be concerned with decorating this year. If I was able to get the house cleaner this year, that would be more important. I was wrong. I wanna decorate! I want my greenery up all around with bright red country apples, white lights, and snowflakes. I love the country Christmas look all over my log house. I am trying to set some goals for getting areas clean enough to bring in the boxes. I will probably start putting up the decorations on Monday. Be able to work on and post pictures to my Facebook has helped me quite a bit. I wonder though if the pictures are only waking up in me the enormous love for decorations.




We were out of milk this morning. Instead of cereal, I made homemade waffles for breakfast. Waffles made me think of baking, and having cream cheese sitting out at room temperature pushed me to try my danish recipe. Homemade danish pastry and filling are in the refrig for fresh cheese danishes in the morning.

Merry Monday

I was awake at 4:30 thinking of all the opportunities I have today. I made a couple of lists last night. Over the weekend, I was able to get the upperloft totally cleaned out and organised. I am hoping to keep up with the areas that I cleaned before and make a bit of progress every day. I seriously need to get my photo database worked on.

It is too early to write much of anything. I feel like crawling back into bed, but I already made the bed. The couch is an option.

Piano, desk, and Christmas Lights

This week in review! Sounds like some news show title. Anyway, I didn't realise it has been a whole week since I posted. The best way to do this is by day. Here it goes!





Monday, I worked on . . . I don't remember.





Tuesday, my son, husband and I went to The big thriving metro area of Gadsden, Alabama to pick up an executive style desk. We found it in the Craigslist. It is a $4,000 desk new. We had gone over on Saturday to look at it. The lady said she would come off of her $1250 price to $800.


It looks new. She took very good care of it.
We picked the desk up in our CRV. I should have taken pictures. We had the hutch on the roof, the L shape desk on the right in the back of the vehicle, and the base desk on a smaller trailer being pulled behind.

On Wednesday, I mentioned something about moving the piano which inspired my son to start disassembly of the prized love. I could not see parts all over the house with the mess that was already there. Spur of the moment we borrowed a neighbor's truck and ask some different neighbors to come help us. They did. We did. They came at 1:30 and we had it moved to its new location by 3:30. We came back to the house and I fed the helpers and the fam dinner of a crockpot porkchops, onion, and potatoes. Oh so good! Think I will keep the crock pot handy.

That night, I looked around and mess was all I saw. We invited my brother-in-law and his family for Thanksgiving dinner. I felt very very very very overwhelmed. I had gained all this room by having the piano moved but the new area needed to be cleaned. The old area needed cleaned. The house was a mess and I had not even started the cooking of pies. So with pen in hand, I made my list. I then prioritized it and went to bed. If it did not get cleaned or cooked or put away or cleared so people could walk, I did not care. I was sticking to the list and staying focused.

Thursday morning greeted me with a list of its own. First thing, I spilled juice in bed and had to change the sheets. Not to be deterred, I put the load in the laundry and went to my list. First on the list bake pies. While pies were baking, I cleaned the kitchen and did a few small things on my list. Second, I took a bath. A bath just has those restorative properties that generates energy beyond belief. Fresh hair, fresh face, fresh life, BRING IT ON!!! Where's that list? I cleaned out my food pantry, my dish pantry, my frig, and freezer. At 1, the cooking started. We had a wonderful dinner with family.

After the dinner, there were dishes, pots, bowls, plates, and pans. You name it and it needed washed. I set the dishes to the side to enjoy time with family. We piled into cars and rode to my son's new-used house to show it to the family. Steve opted to stay home. I thought he was taking the opportunity to rest and be lazy. When I came through the doors, every last dish, pot, pan . . . you name it IT WAS CLEAN. I thought I would be three days soaking and doing those dishes. I just broke down and cried in my husband's arms. Such wonderful love for him to do that for me.

Friday, we went to Lowe's to get some repair items. We came home in time to watch the IRON BOWL. If you live in Alabama, you know what it is. If you do not live here it is the annual battle between Good and Evil. Yes, you heard me. Two football teams get together to have a game of good old fashioned head-to-head combat while the fans argue old scores, start new jokes, and hold high the flag of winning or is that whining. All year long, people run their mouths, hype their teams, and belittle the competition. Then on game day, they hope their team's flag is the one flying the big W. If your team loses, no matter; it's just a game! The minute after the game is over, the banter of year long chanting begins with, "We will get you next year," which quickly ramps up into the war between good and evil all over again.

Saturday, Steve got up real early in the freezing cold and went to hike through the woods to look for caves. My son and I went shopping for a tv and ended the day putting Christmas lights on his house.

This morning, we have a fire in the woodstove, coffe in the pot, breakfast on a plate, and the keyboard within reach. How much better can it get?

Sunday Sitting

This weekend I have worked on trying to layout what I want my Christmas letter/card/greeting/bragblog/book to look like. I tend to make my letters to long and wordy.

Friday, my son and I went to his house and worked on a couple of projects. I hauled a bit of stuff to his house to put in an upcoming yard sale. He lives right off the main road, so there is a great deal of traffic.

Yesterday was somewhat laid back and boring because football seemed to have taken a week off.

Steve worked on his class project, while Jon helped him. About 11, the three of us loaded up and went to Gadsden to look at an executive desk for Jon's house. I took a chance that they would accept a check which they did not. Jon left a deposit and we plan to go back on Tuesday to pay and haul the desk to Jon's house.

Today, Steve continues to work on his project, Jon is reading and preparing to head back to his house, and I am working in the office. I need to work on the database of my photos, but I quickly get overwhelmed. If I do not get overwhelmed, I get distracted. Below is one of the photos I worked on for my daily photo post on Facebook.

de-dusting

Today, I finished de-dusting my bedroom. It took 10 days, but now it is done. I moved into the bathroom. It is complete now. It is much smaller, the ceilings are not vaulted and I don't think it has been too long since I deep cleaned the bathroom. It was so much easier. Tomorrow, I start tackling the photo closet. It is full of gowns, suits, and props for photography. I am decluttering it and moving out the dresses that I do not think I will ever use.

My new boots

Last Saturday, I came across this cute pair of boots. They fit me, and the comfort was awesome. The heel cushion was great and I new Ihad to have them. And when I heard the price, I had a hard time keeping myself on the ground.

I plan to wear them as well as use them for a photo prop.

I wore them to town yesterday . I noticed a little rubbing on the top of my foot, and to help while I break the boots in, I will wear a bandaid.

I just love them and think they need to be sitting in some kind of china cabinet on display.

I still have to wear them with jeans to see if I like them better with the skirt or with the jeans.

dusting

I am going to try to tell a long story in the short form. OOOOps too late. Anyway, I was keeping three boys for a friend a long time ago. She dropped them off and they filed into my house. What I am about to tell you is not a made up fictious story dreamed up to enhance the effect of my inadequacies. One boy came into the house. Our vaulted ceiling must have pulled his attention upwards. He looked up at my ceiling fan and the very first words he said to me were, "Boy, that fan needs to be cleaned!" The second boy came in about 20 seconds after him unaware of any conversations, looked up and said the eact same thing, "Boy, that fan needs to be cleaned." The third boy unaware of what his two older brothers said, looks up and says, "Boy, that fan needs to be cleaned." That hour the fan was cleaned. I said that to say this. My husband just went through allergy testing and we must DE_DUST the house. The doctor says to start with the bedroom. So, now I have started the process of de-cluttering and de-dusting the bedroom. It also has vaulted ceiling. I have evaluated the bedroom and discovered the very first thing we need to do is go shopping. Pillows and pillow covers must be bought. I also need to replace all the storage baskets with lidded boxes that will be easy to dust. This gives me a good excuse to get rid of all the extra junk in my life. But how can it be extra if I use it????? Arg. Well guess I need to get back up to the PROJECT!

Paint

Here are the pictures that you wanted to see.

November Thanksgivings part 2

I shall continue my nine things that I am thankful for in photos.

I am thankful for . . .

the light at the end of the tunnel.

bike trails.

curves and lines in Chattanooga, TN.

cave friends.

I do not know why the post turns out all wrong. I am still thankful.

November thanksgivings

PART ONE

During the month of November, each day, I am being thankful for the number of things in the day. November 3rd, I was thankful for three things. Today is the 9th, so I am thankful for nine things. I have been posting to facebook and should be posting to here as well. Yesterday, I decided that for today and tomorrow, my thanksgivings would be a photo thanksgiving.

Today, I am thankful for . . .

highways that make it easier to get through Atlanta.

trashcans that most of us use.

cool lights for special nights.

northwestern sunsets.

hearts that are filled with dancing.

I did not realise that blogger limits me to five pictures per post.

painting

I completed the first coat of Nautical Blue color on one of my son's room in his new house. I started around 10:30 and finished up around 5. My body has a few sore spots in the shoulder blades from reaching.

distracted

All last week, I finished up pictures that I was working on from a wedding in Florida. I also got started and finished the edit process of a wedding that took place in Ohatchee, Alabama at Janney Furnace. In the 30 years that I have lived here, I have never been. It is a very pretty place. The wedding was complete with a bride, groom, preacher, field, huge oak tree, horse, carriage, witnesses, dresses, suits, relatives, and photographers to capture it all "on film."

This week has been more laid back and relaxed. Monday, I went to the hospital and took pictures of a 12 hr old baby girl of some friends. When I was done at the hospital, I drove over to another friend's and took pictures of a baby boy. Tuesday, I painted the second layer of Kilz on a room in my son's house. It is now ready for the color. Today, I was going to put on the color, but I stayed home and just took it easy. I worked on narrowing down 1000 pictures that I took on our trip to Idaho in August, rode my bike for about 2 miles, cleaned my office, and relaxed.

Tomorrow, I think I will go on over to my son's and put that color on the walls.
Pictures? You say you want to see pictures. okay let me see if I can load a few.

This is the shore next to our campsite at Glacier National Park.

These pictures are from a wedding in Cottondale, Florida. There was a gorgeous lighted open pole barn for the reception complete with a dresser and mirror for the guest sign in table, along with a clothesline to post your wishes onto a quilt square to be turned into a wedding quilt for warmth and love in their home for many years to come.

.
Dress in her mother's room for safe keeping.

Dress in the parlor on the pink couch which was used for their engagement pictures.

These are pictures from the wedding at Janney furnace.

Baby girl with mom and dad hands!

Baby Boy with hand!

Pictures, Portraits, and Pleasure

My last post was interrupted by my family coming in the door. Rather than complete it, I must move on. This week I have completed several photo projects. During my Florida photo trip, I stacked up quite a few projects. A wedding in north Florida, a cousin's little girl, a little nephew of my sister, my 4 nephews, and a high school senior girl. Included in my sister's four boys is all four of their school portraits, two oldest ones tuxedo portraits for graduation, and the same two boys a casual senior portrait shoot. All the pictures have been edited except for the 3,000 wedding pictures. I went as a wedding guest and just had fun with my camera, so no one really is relying on my pics to make the event complete. On top of all the projects, a friend became a grandma, so off to the hospital I ran with camera in hand. I cannot deny that I love it. I completed those pictures as well and sent off an order as a baby gift.

I have been trying to clean out my car from the trip all week. I barely got everything piled onto the porch. Today, I cleaned the porch,but basically all the stuff was just moved to the interior.

I have junk piled everywhere. I am planning to go on a trip to Memphis with my husband in the morning to pick up a recumbent bike. He has been shopping for just the right bike for about 2 years. All it will take is one word form him on how messy the house is AND I WILL STAY HOME AND CLEAN TOMORROW!

Aside from all my busy-ness, the weather outside is splendid. Hubby is home for the weekend now. With that being said, Bye for now.

Overwhelmed

For those of you who read this, maybe four people, I think I know what my problem is. It has got to be ME. I think it is everyone else. How can everyone else be the problem? I have been in Florida for the past week. Friday, we were late going to a football game because someone else thought what they had to do was more important than being on time. Then after the game someone else threw a fit and because of it, I was on the football bus getting in at 12:30 when I could have been home at 10:30 or 11. Then Saturday morning, I had two people lined up for tuxedo pictures. It took me over an hour to get all the backdrop and lighting set up in the kitchen. Then they both backed out. So, I packed my bags and headed home. Forty miles into the trip, I barely got a glimpse of a motorhome, like a bullet, leave the pavement of I-75, go over a ramp of sand, go flying into the trees, twist and then flip as it came to a stop. No idea what happened or how it ended. Traffic was heavy. I got home in record time stopping for gas twice and no bathroom break.
More later . . .

house projects, photography, and trips

I was going to post a before and after picture of my son's house. My daughter and I worked last week to get his kitchen stripped of wallpaper and a fresh coat of paint. I finished it yesterday, and the fresh Navaho White color bring more light into the space and opens the small area beside the frig. Before I thought a small table and two chairs would crowd, but now, the space looks like it has plenty of room.

Monday, I watched the clouds all day hoping it would clear for a photo shoot for some engaged friends. We canceled and then the storm cleared out so we called it "back on." The pics are so good, but I have to wait until I get back from a Florida photography shoot.

I am leaving for Florida to watch a friend get married and to take the Senior tuxedo portraits of my nephews. Along the trip, I also booked 3 other photo shoots.

My son's house projects

My son says the other day, "I have no style, and mom has bad style." So we have ordered one of the experts. My son took a half day off of work on Tuesday, and we rode up to Huntsville, Alabama to get Jessica, my youngest daughter. We also picked up a washer and dryer for my son's house.

Last night, after several hours of pouring through books, magazines, and paint chips, Jessica became overwhelmed, threw her heart into the air and said, "I do not know why I am here. I cannot help someone pick the right colors if they have no idea what they like."

I am letting her sleep as long as she wants this morning. Maybe she will wake up with renewed energy and will enjoy the trip to Lowe's.

Covered Bridge

The picture I was looking for is from early Summer when the daylilies were in bloom. I do not see it, but I did find these.I have got to do something about this photography database. My son and I put 22,000 photos in it. I probably have another 5,000 I have taken since spring that need to be put in also. And all those need to be tagged so I can find what I am looking for.

Life and Death

I always find myself totally aggravated and upset when I hear the news stories about how some adult found it in their right to abuse and sometimes take the lives of children. Who do they think they are? I become incredulous at their behavior and overwhelmed with sadness all in the same minute. My spirit is so hurt by the facts that some parents want to throw away their babies, while others are just begging for one more minute with the precious baby that has touched their lives for such a short time. Glory and honor to you, God for allowing me to be touched by your love in my life. Help me not to get caught in judging others but to concentrate on bringing healing to the lives of those that are hurting.

New week

It's a new week on the way to forever. Monday morning always brings a sense of new ideas, apprehensive change, and open expectations. I wonder why Monday has such a bad reputation. Could it be that in anticipation of the weekend, we have transferred Friday's problems to Monday's possibilities. As a girl, Sunday night was such a drag, dreading Monday morning "back to the real world" feeling. In the other thought, Monday morning offers so much potential with a new start to conquer the projects of today.

Knoxville Nook

Down a city street, tucked in between all the houses, a pretty little wooden gate invites you to come into the private, secluded, harmony of my daughter's backyard. If you walk along the sidewalk and see a yellow country cottage with a narrow side yard newly covered with mulch and your heart wants to travel towards the vine arch that protects those who enter, then, my friend, you will know you are at a special place. My daughter wants to name this special place Daffodil Cottage, but alas she is moving. Leaving behind this special place that she turned into a little cozy spot for her husband and herself. They are putting their special place up for sale this Tuesday, packing their bags, and moving to Huntsville, Alabama. It is closer to me, but I know she will miss her nice big kitchen along with the rest of this house.

Caves, Coves, and Calm

This Monday morning, I do not feel like moving much. Saturday, my husband and I went caving with four other people. Since I am not in as good of shape as I use to be, the cave was very strenuous for me. Yesterday was a very slow half recovery and today, I feel like a car with flat tires trudging along with my rims burning. It was good for me but this slow moving is something I am not use to.

My neighbors called last night and I committed to ride bikes with them this morning. It will be good for me to take my body off of my mind or my mind off of my body. Whatever way you want to put it I am moving in slow motion with soreness everywhere.

On the bike ride this morning, I will take my camera. That way, if I want to wait on them after a few miles, I can take pictures. The scenery is beautiful.

The place we went caving was in McLemore Cove. It is absolutely beautiful.

This picture was taken during my morning bike ride. Black and White OR color???

Let me try to post for a third time now!

Sleepy

It's that time of day again. My motor slows to a snail's pace, my eyes droop to my cheeks, and the couch is very lonely. After a couple of weeks of getting up early, last night was the first night that I crawled myself into bed at nine and went to sleep. I usually struggle to get my mind to shut off.

Today, I had company to come pick blueberries, swim in the pool, walk with me up to the spring, and eat grilled cheese sandwiches.

Now, I am waiting on my mail. Hopefully my pictures will be here today. I think I will set the timer for 30 minutes and take myself a nap.

Cookies and Friends

A special little girl and her grandmother brought me a small plate of cookies. They were delicious. I knew they would be gone fast so I hurried to get a picture.

She was very sweet to think of me. Children have a way of giving of their special treasures whether it is a special stick that they found in the woods, a bundle of spanish moss that they found in the sand, or baked goodies that they watch to perfection as the oven does its work.

ThAnK yOu! for making my day sweet!

Bikes and Blueberries

While I was on my bike ride, I was bitten by one of those aweful little sweat bees. It really is no big deal except the location was inside my mouth on the edge of my bottom lip. Regardless of how it managed to get there, it really hurt. It happened about 1 1/2 hours ago and most of the pain is all gone. The sweetness of the morning blueberries that I put on my breakfast cereal helps to distract me to the wonderful side of life.

Collages

I have learned how to make a collage which takes my photography a bit further. I love it and only wish I had the time to play. The blog is having a very hard time uploading my pictures.

What is a pool pond?

The basic idea is a hole in the ground with a tarp lining the hole. It is a red-neck pool on a really large scale. Our pool pond is approximately 45 feet x 15 feet. Our source for filling it is a creek that is higher than the pool pond. We filter the water as it enters the pool pond. When the water gets nasty we just empty the pool pond through a capped 4 inch pipe at teh deepest part and it drains into the lower creek. The pool pond is filled and emptied using gravity.

Hello, Sunshine!

Yesterday, when I thought about getting up earlier, I did not think it would be worth it. I jumped on my bike and down into the valley I rode. What a sunrise! What a sky! Billowing clouds were glowing white with the greeting of the morning makes wonderful fillers on the canvas. The sun rises over the valley a bit later due to the high ridge of mountains. There was a soft light fog that quickly burned off. I rode the whole six miles without walking, even up the grand hill to the house.

I promised yesterday that I might discuss graves, and what was that other thing? THe reason I am thinking of graves is our neighborhood cemetery will raise the price of a two burial plot on August 1. The costs of a plot which includes room for two costs $100. On August 1, the price goes up to $500. My husband does not like the idea of buying a burial plot, but I do not think we could go wrong. I will sit down tomorrow morning, look at the budget, and make one more plea.

Aside from graves, change is once again rising in our family. Our oldest son is seriously looking at a house. He put in an offer. They counter-offered. He accepted last night. Contingent on home inspection, the deal will probably close on his birthday in August. It is a huge house for one person, but it is a deal and only ten minutes from his work with only right turns on the way to work.

Another big change is that our youngest daughter and her husband . . . NO! They are not expecting a baby. Her husband is expecting a new job. He is waiting to hear back with an official offer any day. He started pursuing this job about a month ago. Yesterday, he received word that his present employer would no longer needs his services. Talk about change. And he no longer has the obligation to give anyone a two-week notice.

Today, I am excited because two little peeps are coming to visit me and get their pictures taken. I have a tuxedo and formal dress all laid out. YAHHOOOO!

Blessings for your day!

Ramblings

Again, my day starts kinda sluggish. What I mean by sluggish is that it took me 30 minutes of laying in bed before my feet hit the ground running. I made the bed, got dressed in my bike clothes, grabbed a bottle of water, and out to the bike. Helmet in place, I flew down the driveway on my bike. The first half mile leaving my house is all down hill. I took a right and climbed the short but steep hill. I made it to the top without walking my bike which I feel is a great accomplishment.

Along the ride there is a beautiful spot where I thought, "If I leave an hour earlier tomorrow I could possibly see the sun rising over the valley." That means I would have to start waking up and hour ealier. I don't think it will happen.

Once again, I had to push my bike up the last forty feet of the hill to my house. I park my bike and can see the pool-pond. Shall I tell you now about the pool-pond or save it for tomorrow.
I take a dip for about 20 minutes. It is refreshing, and I am happy to be awake this early.

Upstairs I look into the closet. What to wear, what to wear? Where will I be today? Who will I see? Will it matter if I look presentable or not? Oh first things,first. Before I decide anything, I might as well get my priorities straight.

THE PUSH-UP BRA! Any bra, even the granny style, that I wear automatically falls into the push-up bra catagory. Over forty, I find that any thing will help. My sister and I went for a brief visit to see my brother and his wife who we will call W for wonderbra. Our 10-minute visit turned into a 5-hour bra fitting/info class. At his point we were informed what bras were really for. "To make you feel good about yourself. The right bra with the right shirt makes all the difference." That was 1 1/2 years ago. She says we should throw out our granny bras. I say the granny bras are quite comfortable. I paid $20 a pop for my playtex. So playtex or not, anything I put on will help me feel better.

Bra in place, I can now choose the right outfit. Ah these jeans. They feel nice, but according to Stacy and Clinton on the style show, I should not wear faded thigh jeans. "They highlight the leg and add the appearance of bulk." I look in the mirror and guess what? Could it be that my thighs really are big? I think the jeans make me look better.

I must admit that occasionally I will watch the "Why do you wear that?" Show. Sometimes I think they are blinded by popular fashion and the show is more about what they think. And do you think that some of it is hype? Noone really dresses that bad. AND THEN YOU SEE IT.
Walking out of the Target store, right in front of me is a mother with her two daughters. All three are dressed in tight sweat kinda pants. The daugthers were okay but the mother should have never been allowed out in those pants. She was not that overweight but the pants hid nor did nothing for her. Wait, they did highlight every crack, crevice, roll and pinch that she had.
Most of the time, I am pretty good about not looking to the outward appearance but to the inner. Some people just make that very hard to do.

What was I talking about? Anyway have a great day! Tomorrow I shall try to talk about graves and pool-ponds.

Fond Friends

I went to a funeral yesterday. I could not help but notice the children and how they can be such a mirror of the adults. One child fidgeted and could hardly stay still. I thought of the young men on the front row who must feel just like the little boy, wanting to be anywhere but in their seat. Another child was crying for food, too young to even know why she was there. Another child had a quiet look about her as she laid her head on her mother's shoulder and went off to sleep, peacefully dreaming of another place.

It is hard to say goodbye to those we love. The last relative to leave the graveside was a granddaughter that could not quite give up but tried to hold fast in her heart the treasures that he left behind. We took comfort in knowing that he was purchased by the creator and we shall see him again one day.

I most every time I am at a funeral I think of how wonderful it is to have special people in my life that have chosen Jesus. I always shed happy tears knowing that Heaven is my eternal home and sad tears because my earthly father has not chosen the same eternal home.

I'm back!

Good Morning!

This morning, I shall venture to start my blogging again.

At 5:30, I woke up with a muscle cramp in my right leg. I laid there thinking about my resolve to start an exercise regiment this week.

At 6, my son shouted up the stairs, "Mom, did you want me to wake you up?"

I answered, "Yes, thanks!"

I heard him say "Bye," and he headed out the door.

At 6:30, I rolled out of bed and had to ask myself if I was really sure about an early morning bike ride.

At 7:30, I was pedalling up my driveway after riding 5 1/2 miles. Riding around our neighborhood, with all of its hills, has more challenges than riding on the Rails to Trails.

This is a barn along my bike ride.

Springtime!!!

I listen to the birds singing outside the open office window. The window faces the north. I can feel soft gentle breezes in the air (from my ceiling fan). I can see the blueberry bushes all in bloom.

Today, my goal is to get done with all the tax filing. I thought I had completed my federal taxes only to discover that I left out that very small distribution (less than $20) from some pension plan that I don't believe we ever received. Not sure how you dispute it but I guess I best report it or the "BIG SAM" government peeps be at my door.

On to other, less discouraging news. I went out into my yard yesterday and took pictures of the pretty colors.

Saturdays, Sweets, and Sales

It is raining outside. It has been raining for the last three days. Instead of braving the wet, here I sit, being lazy, watching the "How to Steal a Million" movie. It is a beautiful old movie.

My sweet kitty is softly laying on my blooming lily plants, pushing the tall stems over and off to the side. She is working on destroying the delicate, lightly irridescent, orange blooms. They have blooming for about seven days.

Earlier today, I baked an Italian Cream Cake for my husband's 50th birthday. About two weeks ago, my husband tasted the dessert at work and brought the recipe home to me. It is made from scratch and is delicious.

Could someone who has sunshine send some to us?

Wonderful weddings and wet windows

Nothing has really changed since my last posting. I do think now that I need to make a list of all I hope to accomplish in the next two weeks. Then, I need to put feet to my list. Yesterday my husband and I went on a hike through the woods hunting for caves. Our hike was a total of three and one-half miles. I have definitely got to get back into my daily routine that includes walking.
Aside from walking, I hope to finish some photo orders from weddings.
I and my camera have been blessed to be a small part of two weddings recently. They were both wonderful. I think I have found out that I like to be the back-up photographer, catching the candid, whimsical, and personal shots that often are overlooked until the small box in my hand is opened to reveal treasures, such as the little children giggling at the sight of the practicing wedding party at rehearsal or the shared secret between two friends who are sure noone else saw it. I love to catch the tapping of soft light on the shoulder of the bride as she glances an apprehensive look at her father's face. Oh well, enough of my glamourizations and onto making that list for my next two weeks.

It has been a long time.

I talked with a friend today, and she mentioned her blogspot. The conversation started me to thinking on my blog. I have been really bad about posting lately. If I did everything I wanted to do, the stress would take all the fun out. Let me see what I would like to do most. Photos-arrange, organize, tag, print, edit, scrapbook, Spanish, writing, clean my yard, get ready for spring garden, build a trail around my property, clean out my sheds, change the oil in my car(not but it needs to be done), so many things. Good Night!