HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GARY JR.

June 20, 2012

Good morning.  Today is going to be a steamer, hot, hot, hot.  It's also my son's birthday, so the hot weather is quite befitting.  The day he was born was also a wicked hot steamer.  Gary Jr, I hope your special day is filled with love and happiness.  Happy Birthday and I love you.

Today is also the first day of summer.  It's unbelievable how quickly it got here.  I guess we won't be having a veggie garden this year.  Planting time was not so good for planting, and now there really isn't much of a growing season ahead.  Maybe we'll still try to put in some tomatoes.  We'll see.

What else is happening today?  It's the last day of school in our area.  That means that Dee Dee and I can start working on our Brazil Butts.  Jasmine wants to join us, but I'm not sure why.  Her little butt is right where it belongs.  Mine is the one that has dropped low enough to almost kiss the back of my knees.  Now that's going to take a bit work! 

There's not much news for today.  I do have a couple of hummingbird photos to share.  These were taken a few days ago at work.

I keep trying to get a decent photo of the male hummingbird, but he is such an elusive little bird.  His eyesight is super keen, and he seems to flit in, get a sip of food, and flit right out again in just a fraction of a second.  But I keep trying.

Now I'm off to make some brunch for Tootsie and me.  She's lying here beside me and watching SpongeBob SquarePants on TV.  She just loves the cartoons.  Till tomorrow, Y'all have a fabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.

A Lovely Morning Surprise

June 19, 2012

Good morning.  It's quite nice outside at the moment.  A bit cloudy with lots of sunshine mixed in.  Mother Nature is gearing up to dump some hot muggy stuff on us starting tomorrow to celebrate the beginning of summer. 

Yesterday, my mind had so many ideas of things to do, but my body had other ideas.  It decided to make it another lazy day with a nap in the middle.  Tootsie didn't mind though.  She actually likes to take naps.  I think today, though, we will be wanting to get outside for a bit before the heat gets here. 

Yesterday morning, just before I left work I had a lovely surprise.  I went outside to put my workbag into my car, and noticed a deer standing across the street,  It looked as if it were pondering whether or not it wanted to cross the street.

I got my camera and came back out to get some photos.  Once the deer noticed me taking pictures, it turned and ran back into the field.  It made me wonder if maybe if this was Gator, the deer that was raised next door.  Hmmmm.  Usually, the deer don't come out of the woods here by themselves.  They usually travel in small groups. 

I've been missing seeing the deer in the field across the street.  There's been building going on, and what with all the people and vehicles (and dogs), the deer just don't come out so often anymore.  So this was quite a nice treat.

Nice it's time to start thinking about what to make for Tootsie and me for lunch.  After that, maybe we'll just hop into the car and go somewhere.  We'll see.  So till tomorrow, Y'all have a wonderful day. 

Hugs, Edna B.

Happy Fathers' Day

June 17,  2012

Good morning.  The sun is shining brightly, and it's a bit on the cool side.  It's 59 degrees, and working it's way up to the mid 60's.  It's also Fathers' Day.  So to all you guys out there, I wish you a super grand day.

Yesterday, I was  going to do a bit of food shopping, but somehow the lazies got to me.  Instead of running around, Tootsie and I had ourselves a very enjoyale lazy day.  Besides, Tootsie didn't want to stray too far from the potty room.  Hopefully, that problem is better now.

Later in the afternoon, Eddie came by with the boys for a visit.  Here's a photo of moi with my great grandson Niko, and my grandson Kevin (a.k.a. Koolaid). 

After everyone went home, I played on my laptop for a while to create a QP for the Quick Page collection game at DigiScrapStation.  I've included both an 8x8 and a 12x12 size in the folder.   The kit I used was created by Lily Kay. 

And here is your download link:

EXPIRED

I also have an interesting photo to share this morning.  The lighting isn't great, but I don't usually get to see the hummingbirds with their mouth open.   Actually, I didn't see this until I looked at the photos on my laptop.  When photographing nature, I keep my camera on continuous shoot.  It gets me some interesting shtos.

Now I want to get dressed, and make a quick run to the market.  I still have a bit of laundry to do this afternoon, then it's back to work tonight.  Tomorrow, I'll be back with two more parts of our collab kit,  "Monkey See, Monkey Do".  Till then, Y'all have a fabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.

God, It's Me And We Need To Talk

June 15, 2012

Today I need to have a little chat with God.  So stop right here, and just scroll all the way to the bottom to the photos. 

God, I need a few moments of your time to try to work my way through some troubling time. 

I was raised in a world where you respected your elders and most everyone in general.  You did not have to like everybody, and you did not have to act like the people you didn't like were your best friends.  You just had to respect other people and their feelings and beliefs.

My world has also been one filled with tremendous loss.  Because of my mother's illness, we kids were brought up separated from the rest of the family.  Next came the loss of my parents.  My youngest child was given into a world of her own at four months when she contracted meningitis, never to know us again.  My eldest child was among the missing for nearly thirteen years before being reunited with us.  I have to say that this was the worst loss because of the unknown.  Is she alive?  Is she okay?  This has to be the biggest heartbreak for parents.  At least death has an ending.

Next came the deaths of my two best  friends.  In between all of this, life happens and continues to toss in lots of painful obstacles.  But I persevered.  After this I lost a daughter to a car crash, my hubby was next, and then my brother.  My little dog has been battling a nasty debilitating disease for nearly seven years, all with no complaining. 

When Michael and I met and fell in love, it wasn't all peaches and cream.  The biggest problem was my soon to be mother in law.  This lady spent a good many years doing her best to make my life hell.  Not only did I come along after hubby and his ex-wife decide to divorce (this alone made me a tart), but the real biggie was that I was not Jewish.  Ma Ruth wanted a nice Jewish girl for her son, and that was that!  I'm protestant. 

Through all of this, I was never rude to her.  I did not like her very much, but she was my Michael's mother.  I never tried to stop him from spending time with her or doing things for her.  I never ever made him feel that he had to choose between her or me.  This was his mom, and he had every right to love her and be with her.  I think this is probably part of the reason that as the years went by, Ma Ruth actually came to like me and accept me as her daughter in law.

When my son remarried, I thought his new wife was just lovely.  She was very pretty and soft spoken.  But she lied to me about a few things.  I let all of this go, and accepted her for who and what she was.  My girls and her did not get along for various reasons, and I spent many years trying to keep the peace so as not to alienate my daughter in law.  So many times, I bit my tongue and kept my feelings to myself. 

I did not have to agree with her ways, but I did respect her and her wishes.  She was my son's chosen partner.  He should love her and their children first, but then still love and enjoy the rest of his family.  This, however, was not to be.  His wife has spent so much effort over the years alienating him from the rest of us.   I won't go into all the many details, but a lot of it has really hurt my heart.

Yesterday, I got a package in the mail.  This one was another heart breaker.  I sent my son a package of coffees because I know that they like ground coffee, and can't always get their favorite kind near where they live in Florida.  The coffee was returned to me along with a "like her or else" letter.  So I guess she's not going to let him even have a connection with me any more. 

My son now only has one family member left that he's allowed to be friendly with.  I can only guess how long that will last.  I have never mentioned this lady or her children by name here (that I can remember), and I've never posted their photos here because she forbade me to.  I respected her wishes, and left them off  my blog.  A little over a year ago, Belinda and her children, Jeremy, Jessyca and Jordyn let me know in no uncertain terms that either I played nice nice to Belinda, or they would have nothing more to do with me. 

So now, they seem to all have hurt feelings because I no longer send cards or presents.  No more phone calls just to see how they are doing.  Excuse me, but they DID say they wanted nothing to do with me.  So why do they still want cards or presents?  Why do they feel like I abandoned them?  Don't they realize that they chose to abandon me?

God, my heart is heavy and I'm really getting tired of all these mountains you keep leading me to.  Can't you make them just small hills?   At least for a while?  I know I shouldn't be whining, but this morning I'm a bit tired and feeling blue.  It will pass.

I am thankful God, for all the blessings you have bestowed upon me.  Today I will change from my flip flops to my sneakers, at least until I get to the other side of this hill.   And God, thank you for letting me get a lot of this off my chest.  Now I'm going to hug Tootsie and enjoy my day with her.

Love, Me. 

Here are some turkey photos that I took around 5 a.m. this morning at work.  I think they are quite appropriate for today.  lol.

A Long Busy Day Today

June 14, 2012

Good morning.  It must have rained through the night because everything is wet this morning, but the sun is shining beautifully now.  The weatherman is promising us a gorgeous day.  Today, I'm at work, so here's hoping that the next couple of days are just as nice.  (I will be off then.)  This will be a long day.  I work till 3 pm, then go home to feed Tootsie and give her some meds, and then back to work by 7 pm till 7 am tomorrow. 

Mrs has an appointment this morning to have her eye checked.  Last week, she had her second cataract removed.  So far, things are going nicely for her, and it's good that she can see well again.

I have a couple of photos that I took yesterday of the raindrops on the rosebush outside my door.  They really are fascinating, and they make such pretty photo art.

Here's another photo that I took a couple of weeks ago here at work.  This is a bald-faced hornet.  I had to look it up on Google to find it's proper name.  I just thought that it's coloring was quite interesting.  (Do some hornets have hairy faces?  Hmmmm.)

There's really not much news for this morning, so I'll take my leave here.  The Mrs will be waking soon anyway.  So, till tomorrow, Y'all have a fabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Yesterday Was Simply Awesome!

June 13, 2012

It's gray and wet outside this morning, but that's okay because I do not have to go out to do errands today.  It's a good day to catch up on some laundry.  Who knows, I might even squeeze in a little housework too.

Yesterday was such a fun day.  When we got to the new doggie beauty salon the fun started.  One of the groomers had her two Chinese Cresteds there with her.  I've never seen two Cresteds together, and really enjoyed this.  These are beautiful dogs, very royal looking.  Everyone in the shop really seemed to love animals. 

While Tootsie was enjoying some pampering, Eddie and I poked around next door in a seed store.  Gosh, what a fun store!  We were chatting with the woman at the counter, and I just couldn't stop staring at her.  I was really getting excited here.  This couldn't be, yet maybe it could.  Standing before me was my favorite female singer, k.d.Lang. 

I finally couldn't contain myself any longer and blurted out "Has anyone told you that you look exactly like k.d.Lang?"  The woman laughed and said "All the time!"  I've been stopped and asked for autographs many times.  I've even  had the owner of a restaurant send champagne to my table and come by to tell me how honored he is to have me at his restaurant.  Alas, I'm not she, my name is Melissa and I own this building and the businesses in it."

Well, blow me down!  We had a delightful time chatting with Melissa, and looking at all the wonderful products in her store.  When we left here, we went on up the road to Patriots Place.  This is the New Englalnd Patriots stadium and shopping center.  Wowee, what a gorgeous place. 

We only had time to explore one of the stores, so we picked The Christmas Tree Shoppe.  Oh boy!  You walk in the door, and right off you know you're going to have to spend some time and bunches of money on all the fabulous goodies.  Did I?  Well of course.  I'm a girly girl, and love to shop.  While we were at the checkout, my phone rang.  Tootsie was ready to be picked up.  What perfect timing!

Enough of my chatter.  I have some photos to share that I took a few days ago at work.  While I was trying to get a decent shot of the hummingbirds, I noticed this little one hiding inside the rhododendron bush.  Click!  Wow, not a bad shot.

Next, I have one of the plants that grows in Mrs' front yard.  I forget the name of it, but it's quite interesting.

Last, I have a photo of "baby grapes".  Pretty soon, they will be big and round and juicy, and the birds will have a feast.

Now I need to get busy here.  I want to get the laundry started and think about what's for lunch.  Till tomorrow, Y'all have a fabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.

I'm Putting My Cape And Tight Suit Away

June 12, 2012

Tis another gorgeous morning here, and I want to enjoy as much of the outdoors as I can because I hear that we have a few days of rain on its way.

In a little while, Tootsie and I will be on our way to her beauty salon appointment.  Her favorite groomer has moved to a new town, so Eddie will be going with us to make sure we don't have a problem finding the shop. 

Gosh, I can't believe how un-gutsy this old gal has become.  I often wondered what happened to super heroes when they reached their golden (I use that term quite loosely) years.  Now I know.  They become very cautious old geezers and geezerettes. Where we once flew from tall building to tall building, we now walk slowly and carefully.

I think back to my younger years, and I'm amazed at the amount of energy that I had and all that I was able to accomplish.  Now, during the same twnety four hour days, I feel pretty good if I manage to take care of one little doggie, wash the dishes and the laundry, and play on the computer too.  Hmmm, I  guess that means that I'm not a geezerette quite yet.

Today, I have some photos to share that I took from our kitchen window a few days ago.  This is one of the female cardinals that frequents our "birdie diner".

Now it's time for me to get dressed and maybe rustle up a bit of breakfast for Tootsie and me before it's time to leave for her appointment.  I'm wishing this wonderful weather for all of you.  Till tomorrow, Y'all have a marvelous day.

Hugs, Edna B.