Growing up.....

Page wanted me to get a picture of her with her glow-in-the-dark wand last night. The flash on my camera made it look like the lights were on. I turned the flash on my camera off and all you could see was the wand. I can definitely see some changes in Page since school has started. She is obviously getting taller but she is also growing up in other ways. She has her own interests now and isn't shy about pursuing them. BigD commented on not seeing much of her but we let her do her own thing. She has her own favorite shows and games and thankfully likes to read. She is also still very loving. Kurt and Leah said they had a real good time at the "beer"/taco party and bonfire. They met some new people and enjoyed the gathering very much. I snatched this picture from the hostess pictures on FB. Page ended up sleeping with me last night. I guess my snoring wasn't too bad last night. :)I uploaded some pictures from their camera and love these pictures from the Cinderella on Ice evening they enjoyed.I LOVE her EXUBERANCE!!!! You might think - what? But you haven't seen her with the other girls. They were all excited but when you look at the next picture you will see what I mean.Isn't the little girl on the end in blue the cutest little thing you have every seen? You should see all the pictures and you will agree. Leah says she is a darling little girl.I also love this picture of her at the District Convention this summer meeting a member of the Governing Body - Brother Jackson. She was with her Gma and PaPa. I love the look on her face.This is her with a distant cousin in some caverns near where they live. I definitely want to go there the next time we are up for a visit. Tre'cool. I am still so excited about her learning how to play the guitar. I didn't get to hear her this short weekend but maybe at the beach next month she will play for us.Poor Hiro - Miya has it made when it comes to being picked on I guess. I love how Hiro loves Page - she has definitely made him hers from the time he was little. Leah said Page pretty much laid claim to him and he tolerates about everything she wants to do with him. Thank goodness Kurt and Leah got to cut Miya's nails and put her flea meds on while they were here. Saves us a little bit of money. So as you can see, Page is growing up. Still tiny but very busy making memories - wonderful memories. I love how Leah keeps her involved in so many activities. I tried to hook my new scanner up but my new computer doesn't like it at all so I'm going to have to wait until my computer guru gets home from a camping trip and try to get it working. Hopefully I'll be able to purchase an attachment to scan slides so I can do the ones I want for my friend's family. An so ends the 44th weekend of the year 2010 - going by so fast.

Coconut Cake....yum

Leah called me this week to see if we like Coconut Cake and I had to share with her that it is one of BigD's favorite cakes. He has fond memories of helping his Mom crack the coconut, picking out and shredding the meat and drinking the fluid. His Mom could add sugar and eggs to anything and it was good. She read me the recipe she found that had over 2000 excellent ratings and after I heard it I understood why. We were not disappointed - it is delicious. Thank goodness it has been cool enough to leave it out on the porch because there is no room in the fridge. BigD cooked spaghetti for dinner and it was excellent as always. Today has been a very lazy Saturday with family and now Leah and Kurt have gone to the beer/bonfire gathering they came down for. Hope they get some good pictures. I just realized this tree stood out to me because there are so few that have really changed so far this year. Hopefully we will see more color over the next week since it has finally cooled down some.A friend had a call downtown yesterday and I looked out the window and
there it was - a CHICKEN! It was very pretty and when I would make the little clucking noises, would run toward me which terrified my friend. Sorry - couldn't help but laugh. I wanted to share a few pictures of some knit boots and some shoes Leah bought Page for school. She also brought one of the tops her Mom bought for her - so pretty. We were looking online for a pair of nice leather boots for her to wear to school but so far nothing we really like (that we can afford). We also looked at some skirts and are thinking we may need to get a pattern and let someone make her a few. She just keeps getting taller but no bigger. I gave her the little necklace I ordered for her. It is a heart with a small crystal in the front and then on the back it tells her how much her Granmommy loves her. Leah also brought me these lovely Spray Roses. We loved the varigated color of them. I do love me some fresh flowers! Have I mentioned before what a sweet daughter I have in Leah? If not, let me mention it now - she is wonderful. Poor Miya - Kurt got tired of watching her sleep and started using her head as a target for the rings we have that go with one of our games. Poor baby - hard to look dignified with a ring around your face. Bad Kurt!Maybe I need to make him read one of my signs on the porch? Nah - one thing I don't doubt about Kurt is how much he loves cats - especially Miya and her brother Hiro.So that's our weekend so far. Got to put Page in the shower before it gets too late. BigD is starting supper - shrimp, taters and salad. As soon as the race is over, we will put on a program Page likes so we can all be in the same room together. :-)

Fourteen Years.......

At times it seems like it was yesterday and then it seems like ages ago. This picture "almost" mimics the tree Mama looked at out her window that beautiful October she was confined to her bed before she died. Interestingly, I feel I know Mama better now than I did before she died. Through the letters she wrote my sister Ann and my thinking about her every single day has kept her close to my heart in so many ways. There aren't too many days I don't mention her in conversation - especially with old friends like Rosemary, Eileen and Ruth. When I look at Page2, I wish so much Mama could have lived to experience the miracle of her life and that Page could have experienced the wonder of this strong woman. When I look at Leah, I wish Mama could have seen what a beautiful, generous woman her Kurt married and Leah could have met one of the most important people in Kurt's life. When I look at Kurt, I know she would have enjoyed seeing what a strong handsome man he has become. She would have celebrated his marriage, becoming a father, and his many creative talents. When I look at Page, I know she would be so proud of what a beautiful, strong woman her Page has continued to become and how she is so loyal to her friends and family. She would have been her champion through hard times and let her know she believed in her no matter what. I know Mama would have loved meeting Bentley and knowing he came through his surgery so successfully and that he continues to grow stronger every day. I would have enjoyed watching him fall under her spell and love her as much as all our husbands have. I also know she would probably be complaining about all of them living so far away and not being able to see them as often as she would like. Ahem. When I look at my siblings and their families, I know she would have been so proud to have such a large family who may not see each other as often they would like but who are always there for each other whenever needed. So in a way - it has come to this. From losing my oldest link to Mama when Ann died to being with Eileen when her Mom died and being with Ruth when her brother died all since the end of July, I come to this anniversasry of losing my Mama. A beautiful woman who worked hard to keep her life simple; who loved her husband and children without question; who embraced her daughter's husbands as her own sons without question; who embraced her grandchildren without question and who stayed true to who she was to the end. Always making other people smile with her quick sense of humor in the darkest of times and always listening without judging. I went to my dermatologist for my annual skin cancer screening this afternoon and as soon as she walked in and said - "so, how have you been?" - I found myself tearing up for no reason at all. Then I remembered these past few months and told her it had been a little hectic with illnesses, hospice and loss. Then I came back home to do BigD's bills and when he went to pick up dinner, I decided to write about Mama and have had to stop several times because I finally just lost it. I guess we all need a good gut-wrenching sob every now and then. The older I get, the more I know how privileged I was to have her in my life and I will miss and think of her every day for the rest of my life. Love you Mama.....

Spoke too soon....

Okay - so I spoke too soon. It was in the high 80's today so I can't swear that Autumn is "officially" upon us. It got downright steamy and hot today. You will have to admit that is a beautiful blue sky though. The only thing that saved us was a nice strong breeze later in the day. Of course I don't hesitate to turn on the AC when needed either. We had a great group this morning with Keith taking the lead. We have had some new people added to our congregation due to relocation, etc., and one of them joined us later in the afternoon. Even with the heat, I had a great day though - my sweet Katarina and her beautiful daughter Kena joined me for service all day!!Ami and Luz were with us this morning and then Ami went with Keith and Rie in the afternoon. I wanted Katarina to meet one of my older RVs - Grace - who is almost 95 and still lives alone, only reads large non-fiction books (mostly biographies), works the crossword puzzle every day and is one of the smartest women I know. Katarina surprised me with a delicious gift and wonderful card. As you can see - it is a dragonfly. I do believe almost everyone who knows me now is aware of how much I love dragonflies. Rosanne already knew about the dragonfly but had not seen the really thoughtful card Katarina gave me with the magnet. We both agreed she is a very special young woman and we both love her very much. Katarina calls Roseanne her "chosen" mother. As you can see, I have put it on the fridge with my other "special" magnets from friends, family and trips/adventures. The new sister I mentioned just recently moved down from Detroit, Michigan to live with her son after her husband died last year. She kept going on and on about how beautiful it was here and wanted to know if we were in the country. I told her not really but that I would take a few minutes to let her experience being in the country. I took her out Geer Street to Redwood to Cheek and then out on the bridge crossing Falls Lake into Creedmoor and back. She was amazed by how "we" build houses on hills instead of making everything level. Poor baby - can tell she has lived in the city her whole life. She said her persistent cough had cleared up since she moved here and she never knew the sky was so beautiful.When I was bringing her back through some back roads, she became super excited to see the little goats so I pulled over and we fed them some pretzels. One was pregnant and looked like she was going to pop any minute. Kena kept calling me Noni's friend so I finally told her she could call me what Brenda's children call me - Nana. She took me at my word and I think I'm officially Nana to her now. Her Noni came over for a glass of wine and for us to get caught up after I got home. After BigD said he was going to grill some pork chops, we called her hubby and told him to come by on his way home from work so they could eat with us. I love impromptu dinner parties you don't have to clean up for - don't you?

Diamonds are a girls best friend - especially if she buys them for herself .....

Oh yeah - I love nice diamond earrings just like this one. Ever since my bosses' hubby bought her a nice pair one year, I've known I would love a pair like this. I wish I could say these are mine but that would be a big fat lie! Anywho - I just found out (from the person who belongs to this ear) that if you have a diamond anything - you can take it to the jewelry store and trade up - paying the difference in value - not a bad deal to be able to have exactly what you want. BigD bought me a pair of tiny ones for my back hole one anniversary that I never take out. My sister Ann gave me a pair that have gold around them when she died and they are sweet. But the ones above are really more of what I would love. Not as much as I want a smaller Dyson Ball vacuum cleaner but right up there with it. LOLOLOLWe had a nice rain today. I didn't get any sleep at all last night -stomach issues and then just couldn't get to sleep until around 6am until 9:45am. I called the friends and they brought me some NH's so I could write letters but haven't really had much time. Got my hair cut, took care of some business and before you know it - the sun is setting. We do still have some pretty leaves to fall so hopefully this will be a good week to be out. Ruth called to say she is finally going home tomorrow. Hopefully Lane will be okay but I get the feeling his recovery will be lengthy. I told her BigD and I are going to miss her - she has been here almost 3 months. We had gotten so used to her being here, BigD would say, why don't you call Ruth and see if she wants to come over for dinner. Will miss that.....

43rd Sunday, 10th Month, 2010th Year....

Wow - a busy weekend but a good one. There are only 9 more Sundays left in this year. I got a call from Ruth right before the meeting today. It seems her children's Dad fell off a ladder yesterday and is in the ICU in Orlando. After the meeting, I picked up some pizza from our favorite place and took it over to share with her and her Mom. I got to sit in one of her Mom's new chairs after we ate. We waited for her children to get back to us with more details about their Dad's condition. It isn't great news but they are in a wait and see mode right now to determine just how much damage has been caused. He broke his back, breast bone and rib and has a small bleed in his brain. An enzyme test indicates he has either had a heart attack or may be in the process of having one. Because he continues to thrash about, they are having to keep him sedated to protect his back. On top of that, they can't treat the heart because of the bleed in his brain. Hopefully Ruth will get more of the endless paperwork from her brother's death completed in the next few days and can go home for awhile. I know she wants to be with her children.Leah and Kurt babysat for some friend's dogs this weekend and she sent me this phone picture of one of them getting her belly rubbed. I'm on the lookout for a small sized older dog for Ruth's Mom. A lady who rescues dogs brought one over today for her to look at. It was a cute little thing but she wants $200 for it - said for her she would only charge $150 because of what she has gone through. That just doesn't seem right. Leah also let me know they will be down this coming weekend. I'm keeping Page while they go to a big party out near Roxboro with some other friends Saturday night. They plan to leave early Sunday because there is going to be a big bonfire for the kids up there Sunday evening. Can't wait to see them. Busy week ahead.....

Little tidbits...

A picture of Page and her friends who were given a limo ride to see Cinderella on Ice. Aren't they so cute?I can't help but wonder who enjoyed the limo ride better - the girls or the women? I think they all did - how special. Ruth's gorgeous son and daughter-in-law getting ready to attend the Firemen's Ball. Could either one of them be any prettier? And I couldn't leave out their beautiful little Paige in her cheerleader outfit. I want to snuggle that little one again soon.And last but not least, a picture I snatched of GG's youngest son with her oldest grandchild. He was born in August, Page was born that next January and GG's oldest granddaughter was born the next March. What wonderful memories come flooding back of our babies laying on their blankets while we sat around GG's table eating, drinking coffee and talking about our babies.

Intervention - Nah. Just good food and friends...

Okay - I woke around 9am, ate a bowl of cereal and got started - deciding to focus on the kitchen, living room and bathroom - hello? I stacked piles in my room and office that will take me days to wade through. I'm not going to use the "clutter" word in this post - I promise. It has become pretty redundant to say the least. My pictures didn't turn out too good today but I did get a few. I have known Judy since around 1969 - I used to go with "our" spiritual mom on her and her sweet hubby's study. She arrived early - thank goodness - to find me still in my nightgown with "stuff" to do. As always, she pitched right in and cut up some fruit for me, put the spinach dip in the bowl and placed the crackers around it and washed the few dishes left while I jumped in the shower. People were showing up as I tried to cool down while pulling on clothes, putting on a little mascara and blowing my hair just enough to keep it from dripping on my clothes. My face stayed red forever from getting so heated up while cleaning and (hiding stuff). I just remembered, this is what happened at the last gathering I had here she came to except I never cooled down completely that night. Most of us got a glass of wine (or beer) and then sat for a bit to introduce ourselves to each other and tell a little about how we came to be here. Then we helped ourselves to some really good food. I'm usually good at getting pictures of food but this is the only one that halfway came out. Not sure what I was doing wrong. This picture doesn't come close to showing how much food we had and it was all so yummy. We continued our conversations - some people getting caught up, some finding out more about others and everyone encouraging Shenni to continue moving forward and telling her the importance of getting to the meetings. (Shhh- don't tell GG I was using her glass.) Even though I joked about this being an intervention for her - she started relaxing and seeing that these were just women like herself. They had experienced everything she has so far and were encouraging her to take the next step. She also saw that they were not only okay - they were so much stronger for doing it themselves. Of course I had to get on Lin and Ann - they had their own little party going on. Those two just can't get enough of each other and it makes me smile every time I think about it. Miya Chula Yum-Yum had to greet everyone in her own way and thank goodness we only had one person here who doesn't love cats. She insists on touching them up close and personal - even butting heads with them. We had some great desserts also including pumpkin rolls my sweet friend Gail insisted on making and bringing over even though she was going to another gathering she had cooked for and they were the bomb! Lin brought her delicious Lavender Tea Cookies and they were a huge success and I can't leave out the chocolate fudge cake Shenni brought. Yum. We all got some tea and dessert and then had BigD come in to take our picture. WOW - as I look at this picture - my cup actually does runneth over - what a privilege and honor I have been given to have known each and every one one of these women - some for over the past 40 plus years. To have been given the huge responsibility of teaching them the Bible (one with Judy's help) so they could decide for themselves what they wanted to do with that knowledge and the extreme joy when they made the right decision. WOW.

Family, friends, good food.......

After I got all my running around done yesterday afternoon I crashed when I first got home - dreading what I had to do to get ready for the luncheon. BigD bought some steaks and ribs and decided to cook the steaks. He went down to visit with GG and called to say she was coming home with him to eat. Her daughter has been here and was going to come by and pick her up on her way home. I love my sister-in-law - she is a very strong and unique woman. She has been a part of my life since I was a young teenager at Oak Grove. I have wonderful memories of the times I've spent with her and her entire family. I enjoy watching her and BigD together - seeing how much they love each other. If you look closely at the wine glass in her hand, I made it for her. My sister Ruth showed me how to do it and it turned out pretty good. She was bragging about it last night. I called my friend Ruth to see if she wanted to join us and the party was on. I can't even begin to tell you how good the steaks were. BigD and I got to chat several times with Page and once with Bentley - they were getting ready to do a New England Boil and wanted to make sure they had everything. I need to check and see if it turned out good. Dwight's niece and her gorgeous youngest daughter (of 3 wonderful young women) came to pick up GG and stayed for awhile to have a few beers and get caught up. BigD and I love this particular niece and her whole family so much. After everyone left, we again talked about how special they are to us and how much we enjoy being with them. Ahhhh - a good evening and nothing done in the house before going to bed. Oh well -

Nature at it worst and best?

This is what is left of the fire ant episode - still a little red and little swollen but think it is on the way to being healed. So glad I can wear real shoes now that the mornings are so nippy. I know every thing in creation has a good purpose but I'm really trying hard to figure out what good things these little buggas do. I really believe my severe reaction was a combination of the ant being trapped between my foot and my shoe and where the bites were on that bone in my foot. I opened my Bible in service today and this is what I found at the scripture I was planning to read at the door. I had forgotten I put it in there when I found it several days ago. You can't tell by looking at it now but it was a beautiful red. I had a good morning in service - Eileen came out and we had her study over the lunch break. Then I ran my errands with her meeting me at Costco to have me try on a little cotton/corduroy jacket she picked up for me. It was snug so she then met me outside Kroger with a bigger one that fit perfectly. She is so sweet! I tried to get a picture of the full moon with my cell phone on my way into the meeting last night - it was gorgeous.