Happy Birthday To Me!

57 years old today.

I know!  I can't believe it either. haha.

♥

Memorial Day

"We owe this freedom of choice and action to those men and women in uniform

who have served this nation and its interests in time of need.  In particular,

we are forever indebted to those who have given their lives

that we might be free."

Ronald Reagan

♥

Random Thoughts

1. Did you have a nice Independence Day? We had Taylor and Lauren home for the last several days and it was a very nice time!  I need to see those big kids every so often! He turned 26 on Sunday, which is hard to believe. haha. They traveled home today and tomorrow we get back to our regular routines.  You know Wednesday is going to feel like Monday, right? 
2. I bid on this old chippy colander at an auction recently.  I thought I might sell it but it seems to have found its way into my kitchen to stay.  I'm thinking it will be a good thing to have when I'm out in the garden picking veggies!  It can go straight into the sink for everything to get a rinse!
3. Our new little rescue cat Pepper is doing great!  I still haven't gotten him into the vet but he is improving every day.  And what a sweet kitty he is!  Nobody responded to my notice on Facebook about him, so I guess he's ours forever and that's ok with us!
4. Can you believe it's July already?  The summer is flying by!  Here in Ohio our gardens are starting to flourish with lots of green fruit growing and teasing us before everything ripens.  It's always fun to watch sprouts break through the ground and thrive in the soil and a good watering every day.  Speaking of watering, it's hilarious to watch the cats when I use the garden hose.  They act like it's a big snake and they are ready to pounce if it makes a move. :)  Never a shortage of entertainment in this house!
5. I think I'll be picking my first basket of blackberries this week. There actually might be enough for a small cobbler!  Yum.
6. And God Bless you, America.  Happy Birthday to you!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Day to all the moms out there!

And to all the moms with special needs kids

I want to wish a HUGE happy day, especially to you!

This day isn't happy for everyone, though.

You may have lost your mom or had a mom that was hurtful

or a disappointment.  Maybe you never knew your mom

or are trying to become a mom and a baby hasn't come yet. 

Maybe your child died as a baby or as an adult,

you had a miscarriage or your child is living in such a

dangerous way that you live with constant worry.

Whatever life has been like for you, I wish you a day

of peace and strength.  May your prayers and wishes

come true and may you find happiness despite everything

you have experienced.  Sending love....

♥

Good Friday

photo seafieldetcwoodpress

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,

that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

By his wounds we are healed.

I Peter 2:24

♥

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, Friends!

I hope you have a bit of romance, friendship,

and love today.  And if not, show someone else some

love that needs it.  And love yourself....buy yourself a big

ol' box of chocolates and enjoy them all in one sitting. :)

♥

Happy New Year!

Wishing all of you a better year ahead than

the one we leave behind!

Happy New Year to you, friends!

♥

Merry Christmas!

♥

Something Sparkly

It's our 33rd wedding anniversary today!

I got a little something with sparkles!

Pink morganite, diamonds, white gold.

And you know what?  I deserve every little

glimmer in that ring. hahaha....

I got the mister something sparkly, too...

a white and pink gold watch.

We were going to celebrate with lunch out last

Thursday but the boys were home with a snow day

and they've been home ever since.

I'm definitely cashing in that rain check some day soon!

We're hosting a little Christmas party here tomorrow night

for The Mister's office.  Always a fun time!  I've been cooking

and baking a few yummy things.  We do heavy hors d'oeuvres, 

desserts and white elephant gifts.   I love hosting.  It's a

  great group of people and I don't get to see them very often!

Monday night Taylor and Lauren arrive from Pennsylvania

and are staying through Christmas Day!  So, I may be missing

for a while.  I still need to wrap gifts, deliver gifts to teachers,

aides and bus drivers...and ship out a few etsy sales!

I'll be back to wish everyone a Merry Christmas before the

big day, though!  In the meantime, I hope you have fun

with the hustle and bustle!  Don't forget to slow down

and remember the reason for the season!

♥

National Cat Day

Slate's paws and tail this morning.

I could post a kitty a day for 2 weeks and not repeat. haha.

Happy cat day to all the other feline lovers out there,

especially those that have taken in rescues and ferals and let

them enrich your life.  It's a better world for you and them! 

♥

Cake For Breakfast

I had a fun little gathering at my house this morning with

some of my girl friends and neighbor ladies!

Chocolate cake, coffee and conversation!

I think we had 19 come since that's how many dirty

plates I had when everyone left!  Very fun!

I think we've started a new tradition...maybe semi annual?

We all need chocolate cake and girl talk at least 

twice a year, right?  Yes, indeed. 

♥

♥

♪♪♫♫♪

Happy Birthday, Boys!

Our babies turn 23 on Tuesday!

♥

On Turning 55

That's right... September 21st is my day!

I asked The Mister recently to take a picture of me.

"You?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.  Well, yes...me!

He is not into photos, selfies, social media or any kind

 of sentiments.  If I didn't take photos of our kids the last

25 years, there wouldn't be any photos at all! haha.

If I didn't take selfies, there wouldn't be any photographic

documentation of my existence in decades. 

And no, he didn't take the above picture. :)

Some day when my great granddaughters inherit my

finer jewelry, I want them to be able to see who I was

  and laugh at the styles of clothes and hair "back then".

I hope they will hear something about who I was, too.

Good things, I hope.  And as I get older, the legacy I leave

 behind becomes more than a passing thought.  

There are quite a few things I enjoy about getting older.

Hopefully, we become wiser. :)  We aren't as shy.

We are more sure of ourselves.  We know when to stand

up for ourselves.  We know what we believe and why.  

Our faith is stronger.  We seem to be able to keep 

perspective when bad things happen.

We've learned how strong we really are.  We've learned from

our mistakes and we've learned from others' mistakes.

We've learned what toxic relationships look like.

We've learned to say no.   We've learned that quality is
better than quantity and that goes for everything from
friends to possessions.  We can laugh at ourselves.

We've learned that happiness is a choice.

We've learned that our story is just a thread in the tapestry

of history and it's up to us to make our little thread 

as beautiful as we can.  Since I love gray, maybe mine 

will be gray?  haha.  Or maybe it will look silver. :)

And just as importantly, our little thread of a life isn't

running through that tapestry loose and independently.

It is connected to those threads around us...every other life

we've touched.  They are all sewn together and influenced

by each other.  The length of the thread isn't as important

as the color, strength and beauty of it.

Didn't I read somewhere recently that the 50's were the new 30's?

Yes, I like that thought. You're only as old as you feel, right?

♥

Happy July 4th

The Blue Garden, this evening.

Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans!

And Happy 240th birthday to our country!

I was on Facebook this morning and read a post by

someone that said she wasn't really patriotic.  Reading that

has bothered me all day!  Anyone who has learned about

the blood, life, and sacrifice it has taken millions of people to 

 make our country what it is should be humble, grateful

 and proud.  No, we aren't perfect, but we are a most giving,

heroic and helpful nation to the entire world.  We're all from

immigrants and our ancestors worked hard to make our country

better for the next generation.  And that's why the majority of us

proudly and thankfully celebrate our freedom and our patriotism!

Even Garden Girl celebrated today with her blue flowers!

At one point this evening there were red cardinals there

and lightning bugs too, which was the perfect

finish to the day!

God bless America, my home sweet home....

♥

Memorial Day

Thankful for the stars

who protected the stripes.

♥

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Day to all the moms out there!

I hope you feel loved, pampered and encouraged

on your special day!

♥

She Had A Birthday!

The lovely Lauren had a birthday this weekend!

We celebrated yesterday with some of her favorite foods 

and presents (mainly a big wad of cash so

she can go shopping!).  We decided shrimp scampi

is so delicious, we need to have it more often and

not just on her birthday each year!

The big kids are turning 25 years old this year!

I can't believe that!  Time is flying!

The both get better looking each year, if

that is possible.  Aren't they a gorgeous couple?

♥

A Little Sapphire Blue Celebration

Last Thursday was our 32nd anniversary.

I know!  Hard to believe!

The Mister gave me this white and blue sapphire bracelet.

Beautiful, huh!? 

Sometimes he gets me gorgeous things and other times

I have to say thank you and then later admit that I wouldn't be 

caught dead in it.  Has that ever happened to you? :) 

Thankfully, he would rather I did an exchange and get something I loved.

But this time I loved what he picked!  And that is how it usually

is, but there have been a few exchanges over the years. lol...

I also got a dozen of these....

love the color!

I added to The Mister's vintage watch collection.

This one is from the 1950's.

He likes watches like I like bracelets!

And I guess we both had blue in mind....

♥

So, We Had a Party....

We had a little group of people who work for The Mister

come with their spouses for some Christmas fun!

Fancy hors d'oeuvres, a little wine and white elephants gifts

all make for a good time, right?

I was busy and forgot to take photos of the food

so you'll have to trust me that it was yummy. haha.

We had steak and goat cheese sliders, shrimp cocktail,

a cheese ball, salad skewers, veggies & dip

 and sweet & sour meatballs.

Then for a little dessert ~ red velvet cake, lemon sugar

cookies, chocolate covered strawberries
 and chocolate peanut clusters.

The white elephant gifts are the best, though.

I had to show you what I got!  A Sculpt Your Own Boyfriend kit!

hahaha....little packs of clay, instructions and all!

I think The Mister felt threatened when I obviously 

loved it. lol.....

One thing I love about this group is how loving they are to our

boys!  They let them open their gifts, sit by them, etc. and I love 

 that.  Their kindness and acceptance does not go unnoticed!

We are up to our eyeballs in receptions and parties

over here!  The Mister has to attend many and host many

because of his job, so he is crazy busy and gone most 

evenings.  This week we have two more dinners to attend

together and our anniversary is this week.

Next week we have three gatherings to attend...oh,

and there are two auctions and a doctor appointment

in there, too! Whew!

♥