" Good Evening to All "

Good Evening everyone! I hope that we all enjoyed Wanda's birthday today! I didn't have any cake on hand but Katie did make these really good Turtle Cookie Bars last night so Wanda, I was thinking of you today when I had one. Also, calories, fat and cholesterol but it's your birthday so I won't dwell on those nasty words!

If you haven't yet wished Wanda a Happy Birthday or if you've never been to her blog, "Moments of Mine", there's still time and it is a beautiful place to visit.

I can't believe that it's only Tuesday. It is also spring break which means that no matter what I suggest, I will be hearing the same phrase all week " I'm Bored!".
But it's all good as I do have plenty to keep me busy.

The husband, after several hours of hard work and very sore muscles, did get the ceiling painted on Saturday. I was useless as I was still nursing a sore shin muscle from when I hurt my foot and my knees kept giving out. So I watched. Our ceiling is about 30 feet by 20  feet and 12 feet high. Oh did he have a sore neck and back! But he did a beautiful job and was very proud of his efforts as was I.

Sunday was indeed a day of rest! Jake went back to work early on Monday morning and I felt good enough to paint the front door. It took three coats and still needs a forth. I painted it the same color as the ceiling. I can't tell you the color as it's all hush, hush until the final day when all is completed. It will be sometime next month.

Today I was up and down the ladder priming one of the long walls with the door and four windows. It will need another coat but I will save that for tomorrow. I am trying to be careful and pace myself. My goal is to get the whole room primed so that when my husband comes home in two weeks, we will be able to paint it.

If things go well I may even get the paint on it myself, but again I don't want to over do! I took this week off of work so that I can work around here. I wanted to go out for a drive with Katie to "Devil's Prop" with a picnic lunch and our camera's but I'm not sure that she wants to go. She's been going back and forth to her friends house and as we all know, when you're 15, friends are more important! 

Speaking of Katie, I didn't have time this weekend to do a "Retro Weekend" post but I have a couple of photos that I am going to slip into this post. The following is a picture of Ginny, Frank and Katie, my three children at Frank and Amy's wedding nine years ago.

My how Katie has changed! My how we all have changed! Ah but they are wonderful memories and I do have many beautiful photo's of that day. It was such a long day and there were so many pictures being taken that by this time poor Katie was starving!

I had a lot of time this weekend to sit, as that was about all Jake would let me do! So I went through some more of mom's photo's. I'm trying to pick out all of the photo's that I want to hang up in this room when it's done. This way I'll know how many frames that I will need. I am going to use all black frames this time.

Anyway, mom had at least as many photo's as I have, so this is a challenging task to say the least. And I really didn't even get into the sorting part yet but I did find a photo that I had totally forgotten about. It was mom, me and my grandma Laverne at my old house in Chicago. I'm guessing it was around 1982 or 1983. I had Ginny in that house and she couldn't have been more than one or two at the time. 

I loved this picture because it showed mom and me being silly as we often did, and grandma just enjoying the whole thing! Ah yes we sure did get silly and have fun back then! Makes me wish that Katie wasn't so serious all the time. 


As for the rest of the week I just plan on working. I am going to make a point of going for a spin on my bike as the temperatures are supposed to be 70's and sunny. I'd also like to work in the yard but I'm not Wonder Woman anymore for crying out loud! At the moment all I have is paint on the brain! But I do intend on actually enjoying this beautiful weather sometime this week as well. I hope that you can too, if you are fortunate enough to have some beautiful weather too.


If not, don't worry, it's on it's way! I wish you all a beautiful evening, Love and Blessings to you all! 
 

" A Little Piece of Heaven "

When you feel the need to get away, there's a place that you can go.

When you feel the need to be at peace, there's a place that you can go.

When you feel the need to be at one with nature, there's a place that you can go.

When you feel the need to explore the outdoors, there's a place that you can go. 

When you feel the need to put your feet up with a nice cup of Joe, there is a place that you can go.

When you feel the need to experience a bit of heaven on Earth, there is a place that you can go.


This place is "Moments of Mine". The proprietor is Wanda. She always makes us feel welcome and her little piece of the world is a bit like a little piece of heaven.


It is a very calming place to visit. So won't you please join me today in visiting this very special and sweet woman today and wishing her the best Happy Birthday ever!

Happy Birthday Wanda!
I am very happy to know you and have enjoyed your company. I hope that you have the best day ever.

" This and That "

This has been a busy week for me. How about you? I initially had the entire week planned out but you know what happens when we plan things! 

I've found that when I plan things, God usually has something else in mind for me. I believe that God has a great sense of humor. 

I told you about my dead battery in the car. That threw the whole week off. Not that it mattered much, it just wasn't how I had it planned.

I did manage to get my yard all cleaned up and ready for planting. That is something that I didn't have planned for the week.

It's been raining all day so any planting will have to wait. I have many Canna bulbs to get in the ground. Last year I planted them much to late. I'd like to get them in the ground early this year.

With all of the raking I've done and with cleaning my people's house today, I'm pretty sure I over did something in my back. It's pretty sore. My foot feels great though and the doctor said that I can ride my bike whenever I feel ready.

It is supposed to rain on and off for a few days so maybe next week I'll be able to go for a spin.

The husband should be home sometime tomorrow afternoon I hope. Maybe evening though. He is going to paint the Living room ceiling on Saturday.

It's the only day that it's not supposed to rain. He will probably have to leave on Sunday. Once the ceiling is done I can work on priming the walls. It's such a large room that I may only be able to do one wall every few days. I just don't have the stamina that I used to.

We are both anxious for this room to be done, it's been an eleven year wait! I have taken "before" photos. So if it ever gets done I will post the "before" and "after".

I think you will be surprised if not shocked!

Oh and here is some news. I thought it a bit funny.  My doctors office called yesterday. I had blood work done. I was a afraid that a past medical problem had returned. They weren't calling about that. They wanted to know if I was still taking my cholesterol medication. When I replied "yes, everyday.", the nurse says "Well the doctor says that it's still too high so he wants you to double up on your medication.". When I asked her what my number was I was surprised to find out that it had dropped 50 points!

It is still too high but wouldn't it have been nice to hear, "You did a great job by dropping your number by 50 points but we still need to work on it some more!".

I know, I'm asking for too much. Still a little pat on the back would have been nice. Oh well. 

When I asked about the other test I heard, "The doctor would have told me if there was a problem!". Gee, I'm sorry I asked. But I didn't let it bother me, as to me it was good news. 

So it looks like I'll be around for a bit longer. That is if I'm careful on the new bike! Yikes, it's been about forty years since I've ridden one except for the little spin I took when we bought it!

I have a new look on my blog as you may have noticed. I can't take credit for it as I am technologically challenged. 

All of the credit goes to my daughter, Virginia. But don't call her that, she likes Ginny. She is the computer genius in the family and even designed my new header just for me.

 

She sent me this photo about a week ago titled "Me and your grandkids!". I love it and I love her. Thank you my sweet daughter for doing this for me.

I have no doubt that I could do it myself but I would feel more comfortable with her showing me first. I like to take notes, it's the best way for me to learn something. 

I am hoping to be able to visit her in the late summer or early fall. I've never been to North Carolina. I've been told that it is beautiful there. And a weekend away from the house sounds like heaven to me!

But I won't plan anything definite. We all know what happens when Di plans things!!!!

I hope that you were able to get outside this week to enjoy a bit of nature. I have heard that some of you are still having snow. I'm sure that it will end soon.

I had to laugh about something I saw on the weather channel. Do you watch the weather channel? It is one of our favorites around here! Anyway they keep advertising "Tornado Week, April 4th!". They seem so excited about it. I think that the thought of one's house blowing away is a bit scary.

I realize that their job is to make us aware and to keep our eyes to the skies for safety reasons, but I still somehow feel an undertone of excitement there!

Oh what do I know!

Have you bought any plants yet? I would like to get some flowers for my hanging baskets on my porch. There is still so much outside work to be done!

On that note, lets all daydream about beautiful spring days in the garden and the yard. I think we are going to break out the grill this weekend. That sounds good.

Thanks for stopping by today. I love visiting with you. I hope that we all get to see some sunshine this weekend.

See Ya!

" Seems Like a Long Time "

That was a great song by Rod Stewart by the way. I'm probably the only one that remembers it!

It does seem like a long time since I've been here although it's really only been a few days. I wanted to fill you in on what's been going on around here and apologize for taking so long to visit everyone.

I have missed you all.

I wasn't feeling well most of last week and suspected that a past physical problem had returned. I had some blood work done and still don't know the results. But I woke up Monday morning feeling back to my old self. So yesterday and today were very good days for me.

Well at least physically!

The following is a photo of an empty garage.

 

You see, this morning after I had showered and got all dolled up to run several errands and then go to work at church I went out to this garage to start my car. And guess what?

No, the car wasn't stolen but she wouldn't start. Nope she was dead as a doornail! Oh dear I do think I just showed my age there, well 

whatever.

Anywho, I started to feel frustration come over me and then I thought well I guess God wanted me to stay home today. I was having troubles the past few months with it starting but when I had the battery checked I was told that it was fine, Mmmmm.

I was praying that it wasn't something more costly and in the meantime called my boy to come and give me a jump after he got through at work.

Meanwhile I got undolled up and put some yard workin' clothes on.

I took out my trusty rake and worked for several hours cleaning up the yard. This is only one section of it. It's an odd shaped yard. There are four different sections to it.

The old blue table and chair were mom's. Nobody wanted them. Except me. She had them sitting way back in her yard. I can picture her sitting there with a good book, relaxing or praying.

O.K. I had a few bad days over the weekend. For some reason mom was heavily on my mind. I did a lot of crying. Then it occurred to me that my birthday is just around the corner. My first one without mom.

This is still hard to think about. And I'm sure it's hard for my son as well. His birthday falls on Easter this year. Spring was mom's second favorite season, summer being her first.

I have been sitting in her chair and it has given me comfort. 

It was early afternoon when Frank came by and jumped my car. The dealership is just a few blocks from my house so he followed me there and gave me a ride home. He's such a good man. 

After he dropped me off at home I continued to work in the yard.

I got about 3/4's of the yard cleaned and felt very good after I was done.

That was a photo of the little mysterious Hyacinth that I posted about earlier. It looks a little sickly to me but I think that given a few more years it will grow big and strong!

A lot of you have asked about my ankle and I am happy to say that it feels great. Most of the range of motion is back except for when I turn it inward. It only hurts a bit when I do that so I don't do that!

I did keep myself busy while I was off my feet. I hadn't crocheted in so long but decided to start an afghan for my recliner. You know, just something to throw over me when I get to take those wonderful naps!

 I like this pattern and it's nice and warm as it is a very close stitch.

The car dealership called with good news. It was just the battery and I now have a new one! So lets see, the car is good, the yard is good, the ankle is good, my son is good and I feel good.

So I have lots to be grateful for today. Tomorrow I go to see the ortho doctor. We will discuss the ankle and the knee. I think that I am ready to ride my bike but I want to make sure before I hop on. 

However I almost did it anyway today!

I feel ready. I feel good.

 

" Retro Weekend "

Wow it's time for yet again, another "Retro Weekend "

I can feel your excitement.

I apologize if this seems to be getting a little "old",

no pun intended. Well really there was a pun intended.

Just remember, no one forced you to come here and it's my blog. So, I can do whatever I want!

Yes I am sure that one day there will be a new amendment added to the constitution that will include

"The freedom for all to blog as they wish".

Today I am going way back in the "Way back machine". 

When my mother passed away this past December, I was fortunate enough to inherit most of the old family photos.

Upon going through these photos, I discovered that there were many that I had never seen. Now I know mom wasn't trying to keep them a secret, but I just can't figure out why I hadn't seen so many of these photos.

One of life's mysteries I suppose. Or maybe mom figured they would be a nice surprise someday.

Whatever the case may be lets get on with it shall we?

The first photo is of my Great-Grandmother, Earlie May.Yes that's right, Earlie May. 

She was born in.......

You guessed it, Early May. Now some folks in the family Say that the spelling of Grams name was questionable. My cousin, Roxanne is the genealogy expert in the family and says that she has seen it spelled both ways.

So being that this is my blog and I can do whatever I want with it, I will spell it the way I remember it being spelled.

And that was Earlie May.

You couldn't possibly tell where I might get some of my, how do I say it......

ATTITUDE, from can you?

This photo was taken in 1939. I don't know how old Great-Grandma Earlie was at the time. I can't ask mom anymore, but I am blessed to have a wonderfully beautiful cousin, who is into genealogy.

So Roxanne, I know you are reading this. I don't know when Great-Grandma Van was born. Make a note of that please for your old senile cousin!

I was fortunate when I was a very young girl to be able to stay with Great-Grandma every other summer or so for a while. She lived on a beautiful lake in Angola, Indiana. My beautiful cousin and I used to have so much fun there exploring the lake and the woods. Roxanne still lives on that lake. 

Lucky woman!

The next photo is of my Great-Grandma's daughter. My Grandmother Laverne. In this photo which was taken in May of 1943 she is with her brother Bill.

I had never met him. From what I remember he was a pilot in the war. I believe he was killed during battle. At least this is what I remember being told.

Roxanne will correct me if I am wrong!

Grandma Laverne was "THE BEST GRANDMA IN THE WORLD!!!" Oh I know you are saying that your grandma was but really mine was. Really. I'm not joking.

I was so close to my grandma Laverne that I could talk to her about anything up until the day she died. I could tell her things that I wouldn't dare tell my mother and grandma would always, always be understanding and helpful.

She was a lot of fun to be around. And one of her favorite things to do was go ballroom dancing.

She is where I got my love of ballroom dancing from.

I would often spend the night with her as a young girl.We would always go out to a movie and dinner or to the arboretum. 

Grandma Laverne always had many fancy clothes, shoes, stoles and jewelry. She went ballroom dancing quite often. She would always let me dress up in her fancy clothes and accessories with never a word of complaint.

I just know that she would have loved "Dancing With The Stars". When I was younger and we all still lived in Chicago, she would always call me on the phone to tell me when PBS would be showing the Ballroom Championships.

We would stay on the phone and comment to each other about the different couples. So now when I watch "Dancing With The Stars" I can't help but have a private imaginary conversation with gram about the different couples.

Oh how she would love that. And me too.

O.K. so on to the final photo. The date on it was 1955. Just a few years before I graced you all with my presence! It is my mom before the prom. 

Alright I thought it was her senior prom but again I am not too sure. But I do remember her telling me of the bad, bad sunburn she acquired when she fell asleep on the beach trying to get a tan for prom!

 

The white prom dress did stand out a bit against mom's skin. And I don't know about you but I love the sandals!

Notice if you will that she is sticking her tongue out.

And, again.......

ATTITUDE!

Alrighty then, now we all know where Di get's it from.

And I bet you all thought that I was the bad girl in the the family.

See you learn something new everyday!

If you have managed to make it thus far through the "Way Back Machine" with me, 

I would like to thank you.

So, Thank You and Gods blessings.

" Anybody Gotta a Clue ?"

O.k. so I'm not going to do a St. Patrick's Day post for tomorrow. But I do have something green for you today!

I took my dogs out today for the first time in a week. My ankle is getting better but I still can't be on it too much. It's a tendon thing! Anyway I do pretty well as long as I am careful and don't stand for too long, and the range of motion is slowly coming back. I am being very cautious with it so as not to injure it again. I can't stop dreaming about riding that bike!

My husband had noticed a plant coming up in the yard last weekend. He had asked if I knew what it was since I know where all of the perennials are located. I told him that I hadn't a clue as to what it could possibly be.

So today when I had Ruby outside this is what I saw.....

 

To me it looks like some sort of spring flower like maybe a Hyacinth.

But really I don't have a clue. The bud on it isn't that of a tulip although the leaves resemble one. I have some Easter Lilly's coming up and some Daffodil's. But they are no where near this unidentified plant!

So what do ya think? Anybody got a clue?

" Retro Weekend "

Well I didn't think I'd make it back for Retro Weekend as I was very busy wallowing in self pity! The self pity party is gone although I still can't get around very well.

So I am back to bore everyone as much as I have been bored these past few day from sitting and sitting. I did however pick up needle and yarn and started a new afghan. Weather or not I finish it, we shall see.

Much bike riding daydreams have passed through my thoughts with the beautiful spring like weather we have been having. Oh well, hopefully the ankle will heal quickly. So now on with the show!

Can you guess which decade this photo was taken in? A couple of hints.... Michael Jackson's wardrobe was in style at the time. This brother and sister were seven and four at the time. It is my son Frank and his sister Ginny. 1985 was the year.

I couldn't leave without posting a photo of a young Katie. Maybe not quite as retro as the last photo. Katie was six years old and is wearing a witches costume that I had made for her. It had a beautiful purple slip that I made underneath the dress. I remember it being the first costume that I had made as a beginner. I was so proud of how it came out and was hooked on sewing after that.

Katie was a sweet little thing back then! She's 15 now. Self explanatory! 

" Poor, Poor pitiful Me "

I despise feeling sorry for myself. Really, truly, honestly despise feeling sorry for myself. I have always been one to believe that I can do anything if I put my mind to it. Including make the best out of any situation.

I am, by nature, an optimist. I don't care for pessimistic personalities. Bad mojo. I have always felt that if given a bad situation,it is for a reason. God has put us there to work it out one way or another. So keeping this in mind, I have always looked for the light, taken the challenge, gone the extra mile. Maybe not with a smile every time but always with the thought in the back of my mind that in one way or another, I would succeed. Perhaps with just a wing and a prayer but I would succeed.

Tonight I have felt sorry for myself and it is also making me angry with myself. Even though I know better. Even though this happened for a reason. Still I can't help but feeling sorry for myself.

Earlier this evening I got up to walk Ruby. I could have gotten Katie to do it as it was her turn anyway. But she has been so tired after school and it was nice outside so I wanted to do it myself. When I got up and took a few steps my foot locked up on me. This is not unusual for me as I have sprained it a few times over the years. 

When I was a young girl, I ice skated a lot and sprained it twice. And another two times over the past twenty years. I also know that there is arthritis in this foot so occasionally it locks up. When it does I simply move it around a bit and within a step or two it frees up and I can walk again. 

This time it didn't work. I kept walking on it while it hurt a bit and by the time I got to the back door I was in a lot of pain. So what did this idiot do? No I didn't call for Katie, that would have been the smart thing to do. And while I don't think of myself as stupid I do know that I am very stubborn. I put Ruby's leash on and took her out anyway. Yeah it was a dumb and stubborn thing to do. 

By the time I reached the grass I could barely walk and my ankle felt as though it was swelling inside. I managed to baby step in severe pain back to the house, Ruby did wee wee by the way! I had to sit on the back stairs and yell for Katie. That was it, I couldn't put another step on that foot. And of coarse it was the foot on my good leg so my bad knee had trouble holding all of my weight on it's own.

I'll spare you all of the in between moaning and tears part. By this time I am grateful that Katie has her permit as it was my right ankle, the one that I use to drive. So my Katie girl took her mom to the E.R. After about two hours and an x ray, it was determined that it at least wasn't broke or fractured. The doctor said that between the possible sprain or tendenitous and the severe arthritis in my foot ( I had no idea that it was severe ) that the pain could be pretty bad. No !#@!. By this time it was very swollen and after a shot of tramodol ( which did nothing ) and two Vicodins, they put an air cast on it and gave me crutches. I've never used crutches. I am not in a good mood but I am in a lot of pain. 

Katie drove us to Walgreens and went through her first tight drive through. She is amazing by the way. Then she took us home and helped me in the house. This was not easy. I couldn't do the stairs. I had to sit down. That's when I started to cry. Now I am really feeling sorry for myself which is making me even angrier at myself. 

So now here I sit. It still hurts like hell. I have iced it. I will have to sleep downstairs. I am grateful that we have an extra bedroom down here even though I don't know if I can sleep through this pain. I may just stay in my recliner for the night. 

I am still wallowing. If this doesn't heal quickly, Katie will have to do so much around here. This is where my OCD will kick in big time. Things won't get done and they won't get done the way I want. Stress, stress, stressed is how I am feeling. 

Now I have some good news and some bad news. I went to have my hearing checked this morning because I have had ringing in my left ear since January. The audiologist told me that my hearing was off the chart good! He even showed me where the average person ranks on the chart. I was quite a bit above that! Did you hear me? Then I went over to the ENT doctor who read the results. He asked me if I was under a lot of stress. I told him, not really but I am very stressed filled. Then of coarse he told me to try and relax more. O.K. he is not the first doctor to tell me this.

One of the reasons for me wanting to ride the bike was so that I could relax and enjoy doing something that I've been wanting to do for a long time. 

Now I am just feeling disgusted. Stupid. And sorry for myself. 

I know that I will get over it. And I know that I will probably feel better when the pain lets up a bit. But for now I just want to cry. 

" What A Weekend ! "

I guess it started on Friday for me. Jake couldn't make it home until Saturday but it worked out for me as it gave me extra time to finish things up around the house. Katie, as usual spent the night at her friends so I got the house cleaned, baked a cake for Jake's birthday, chopped lots of vegetables for our dinner Saturday night and worked on one of Jake's gifts.

One of his gifts was a new wallet so I printed up some new photos, cut them to size and filled the wallet with them. I also got the gifts wrapped.

As we have been preparing the living room for the redo, I have had everything stacked in the dining room so I moved it all into the spare bedroom. I thought it would be nice to have a table to sit at for dinner!

Jake got home around 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, came home for a bit and then we went for his eye exam at 1:00 p.m. We got home around 2:30 and everyone was due to arrive at about 3:30. In the meantime Kate came home with her friend, I started dinner and added an extra plate!

Once the kids came over all the fun started. Sarah brought a friend so I added an extra plate. 

 Jake and Frank started tearing into those radiators. Loud saw blades, two 15 year old's, two 7 year old's and a 1 and 1/2 year old, add two barking dogs to the mix and you have a bit of chaos but a lot of fun!

 

Don't worry baby Jack got to go out and play too!

As busy as we were, we couldn't say no to those baby blue's!

It took Jake and Frank longer then they thought to get those heavy monsters out of the house, and I know there were a few strained muscles, sorry guys....

 

But I was so tickled to get those things out of the house that I felt like dancing on the spots where they were! After 11 years they were finally gone and I can actually move the furniture where I want.

And I can put the Christmas tree in front of the window, something I have always wanted to do.

Now that the work was done it was time to eat. Thank goodness as by now the kids were starving! Jake originally wanted meatloaf but changed his mind at the last minute. He wanted homemade Mac and Cheese with hamburger and bacon added to it. I also cook a bit of onion in it. This dish is not healthy at all folks, but it is so good!

I also made a Greek salad, corn on the cob and Cheesy Asiago bread.

After which we had cake of coarse!

 

If my husband appears tired looking in this photo it is because it got up at 1:30 a.m. so that he could make it home in time for his eye appointment! Despite all the hard work though, he thoroughly enjoyed his party.

And even with all of the kids running around, Amy and I got to visit which we don't get to do as often as we'd like!

 

Jake sneaked in this photo! At one point while I was cooking there were five kids in the kitchen with me, I had to shoo them all off as my kitchen is the tiniest room in the house! I didn't want any accidents around the stove.

After everyone left, Katie and her friend went down the street to the old theater for their very first concert. Jake told them to be home by ten and they got home at 9:30! Good girls! They had a great time and Jake and I were able to go to sleep, finally!

Sunday morning Jake and I got up early and went out for breakfast. We had a bit of time to kill before the restaurant opened so we decided to wander around Wal-mart at 7:30a.m. Aren't we the exciting pair!

Well I have to tell you what I did there. O.K. remember the whole dream bike thing? Well guess what happened? I went on line to order it and it was gone! I was sooooo disappointed. We searched other web sites and apparently it was a one time special.

So while I was at Wal-Mart I looked at what they had. There were two bikes that I liked. On was very retro looking. The other was a cruiser but a bit more updated. 

I figured that the best way to know which one would be a good fit would be to just ride them. And so I did. Both of them. Three times each. All around the store as my husband stood there shaking his head at me. Don't worry there was no " Cleanup in aisle 6." being called out! I really liked the way the retro one looked but as it turned out the other bike was a much better fit. It was much lighter in weight and handled much better so.......

 

 I have been riding it already. I was a little wobbly at first but it all came back to me and it was so fun! I must admit that it will take me some time to work up more stamina but I am just loving it! And it doesn't hurt my knees at all. The basket was a very special gift from a very special friend!

After all of the excitement it was time for Jake to put the new faucet on the kitchen sink. It is a tough job under that old sink cabinet but with just a few tools and some words I won't repeat, he got that task done and the new non leaking faucet is beautiful!

We didn't get any painting done. We were both just too tired and sore! We've waited this long so we can wait a little longer.

I am off to bed early tonight. It's been a fun and busy weekend.

 

Goodnight All!

 

" Retro Weekend "

 

I think this photo was taken in 1989. Jake thinks it was taken after we were married but I don't agree. 

We met July 29th 1989. Frank was eleven and Ginny was eight.

This photo was taken at my mom's house when we all still lived in Chicago. It was taken in the summertime. 

Frank and Ginny looked about 11 and 8 years old in the photo. Which leads me to believe that it was taken right after we met that summer.

We were married exactly 5 months after we met. We were very much in love and I didn't feel right about us living together since I had two children.

A bit old fashioned I know.

Check out those HUGE eyeglasses! My how things have changed since then. We have all come a long way in twenty years, haven't we?

Retro Weekend Update:
I got to looking a little closer at the photo and I noticed that Jake and I were holding hands. There was a wedding band on a finger.

O.K. he was right AGAIN!

" Could There Really Be A Superman ?"

Well I don't believe it. But I suppose somewhere on this gigantic ball we like to call Earth, there are some that do.

 

I really need to believe this to be true. As you may or may not know,

my husband and I are in the SLOW process of redoing our living room. It is large. Very large.

And as you may or may not know, my husband is only home about four days a month! This makes for very SLOW progress in many of our home projects. I do what I can while he is gone but lets face it, I am not Wonder Woman!

So here is the plan for Saturday, are you ready? I have to take a deep breath.......

Hopefully My husband Jake will get home on Friday, if not Saturday will have to do. I will pick him up and bring him home then he has to change the kitchen faucet that is leaking, cut the two, five foot long old five hundred pound radiators into easier to handle pieces so that when Frank, Amy, Sarah and baby Jack come over Saturday evening to celebrate Jake's birthday because he won't be home on his actual birthday, Frank can help him take the radiator pieces out and the old window air conditioner out of the window, so that Jake can paint the ceiling before or maybe after he goes to the eye doctor for an exam for new glasses which he will have to pick out before the kids come , while I make dinner for seven, all the while trying not to worry as Katie will be going to her first concert ever, even though it's only two blocks from the house, but he'll try not to worry because in between all of the work he will have to play with baby Jack and Sarah as he never hardly gets to see them........

sorry, had to breathe....

Oh and I almost forgot, he also wants to prime the walls, attach my mom's antique desk to my bedroom wall because the cat jumps on it and knocks it over and I know there was something else but give me a break, do you really think that I who am NOT Wonder Woman can remember all of the things that need to be done while I am baking a birthday cake, wrapping gifts, cooking dinner and helping with the chores, worrying about Kate and playing with my grand kids ?

Of coarse I can't. But apparently SUPERMAN thinks that this will all happen!

 

I'm tired. Aren't you ?

" This, That and Experiments Too."

Alrighty then, lets try this again shall we? This is quite experimental today as I have switched to the New Blogger Editor. I thought, " What the heck, if I don't like it, I can switch it back." Right? Right, so here we go.

As you may or may not know my granddaughter Sarah spent the night with me Saturday night. Meanwhile, Katie spent the night at my son's house to babysit for baby Jack. This way my son and his wife could get away for a few hours while Katie made some extra cash.

I really expected Sarah to arrive worn out. She had to cheer at two games, and then went to a FOUR Hour birthday party before she even came over. Those must be some super human parents to have a four hour party with seven year olds! When she did come over, she was ready to go. I decided that we would go and see...

The Tooth Fairy Movie ! So off we went and off Katie and Amy went. Katie got to drive the van for the first time! And Sarah and I got some much needed one on one time. When we arrived at the theater we purchased a bag of popcorn, two sodas and a box of Dots for Sarah. I must admit that I really wasn't too sure how the movie would be, but to my surprise it was very enjoyable with plenty of laughs and a good moral to the story! Julie Andrews as usual, was excellent in her roll as head Tooth Fairy. And Billy Crystal was quite hysterical as the Fairy that was in charge of all of the Tooth Fairies props.

We ate tons of popcorn and drank lots of soda. I will try and remember next time that grandma's bladder is much older than Sarahs ! We left the theater happy, full of popcorn and Dots stuck in our teeth! What more could we ask for? We got home around 8:30 and weren't ready for bed yet, despite the fact that it was past Sarahs bedtime. She reminded me twice that there was no school tomorrow! So we watched funny cat and dog videos on You Tube. Before we knew it, it was 11:30p.m. and we were by this time, ready for bed!

I knew I wouldn't get much sleep that night. My granddaughter is a known BED HOG! We have four beds in the house but she always wants to sleep with grandma. I think I got about three hours of sleep in. But it was worth it for this...

Sarah had a busy day indeed! The next morning I fixed us some bacon and waffles after which we colored for an hour or more.

 

After coloring we read some Junie B. Jones. I have had this series of books since Katie was in Kindergarten. Sarah has always loved for me to read them to her and I enjoy them so much. They are very funny! Sarah can read so well now that she suggested that we take turns reading chapters. I was truly amazed at her reading skills! And we always have several hysterical laughing fits while reading Junie B.!

We decided to head back to Sarahs house around noon Sunday. I wanted to spend some time with my son, his wife and baby Jack. The weather has been such as of late that it's made that difficult. So off we went and after we arrived we had a great visit. I didn't get to see much of my son as he was working in the garage on his truck. I tried to get his picture but he said "No" as he was covered in grease! I still thought him handsome but had to respect his wishes! But I did get to hang out with my daughter-in-law and baby Jack.

 

Sorry about the red eye but it's hard enough to get him to stand still and smile for me at the same time, so there was no time for any camera adjustments! 

When it was time to leave, Katie, as I suspected, wanted to drive home. Wow there's a surprise. So after a little bit of blackmail I let her drive home. You know, " You can drive home if you let me take your picture!". Well it worked. Not only did she drive us back to town, but I let her also drive through town to the video store. She's really doing well. And as you can see she is taking the driving thing very seriously!

Well there you have it. I have used the New Post Editor for Blogger. I am going to publish this and hopefully it will come out alright. There are different options that I haven't tried yet. I just wanted to test it first. I do like the way you can add photos much better then the older version.

"Help"

I am having Blogger problems, Ummm....

What to do, what to do?

You see ever since I got my new computer and I go to post a new post and then add photos, sometimes it comes out right and sometimes it doesn't.

I've not had this problem before. There will be these huge gaps between the text and the photos even after I move them where they are supposed to be. I make sure to save the changes. 

Also it looks how I want it to in the compose window, yet when I go to preview the post, that's when I see the gaps. And that is also how it posts, with huge gaps.

So now I am feeling frustrated and like giving up. If anyone out there has any idea what the heck I am talking about and maybe what I am doing wrong, please let me know. And keep in mind that I don't speak html !