A Triple Bonus

It's over, done, complete and the only evidence remaining are the leftovers.  And who doesn't like leftover turkey day nibblings.  And yes, it was a near perfect day.  Cold, but sunny....the aroma of turkey baking in the oven, a football game on TV, lots of loudness from both humans & animals...Cinder definitely did not like Mac (the Huskie) and she let him know by her growls that she wanted absolutely no part of him.  The little princess's kingdom had been invaded by not one but two strange dogs....and no amount of growling or barking convinced either of them to leave.

My daughter was a godsend in the kitchen, helping me with the remaining cooking, and my son & daughter-in-law and grandson & granddaughter-in-law...did the clean up. If you dislike (HATE) cleaning up the Thanksgiving dinner mess as much as I do, then you know what a blessing that was.

Family pictures were taken and I don't know what in the world I was thinking (I am blaming it on the excitement of having my entire family with me and the stress of my sweetie being in the hospital....I just have to place blame somewhere) but I guided everyone right out into the middle of the sun, in the middle of the day.  Now how smart was that???  I think I was also worried about the temperature since it was hovering around 30 degrees and no-one had their coats on.  I am disappointed in the pictures because of the brightness, but it's all my fault, dang it.  Bright spots, shadows, and squinting oh me oh my....but I love every uncooperative dog, every squint, every blink, every bright spot and shadows because this is my family, this is love.

My sweetie was released from the hospital today returning once again to the nursing home facility. He was in much better spirits and I even got a smile, a hug, and "I love you" from him today.  That makes my heart sing when I get a smile, a hug and a "I love you" a triple bonus.   For all of this I am grateful.

Hope your holiday weekend is filled with joy and left-overs....!!

"Expressed affection is the best of all methods to me when you want to light a glow in someone's heart and to feel it in your own,"  ~  Ruth Stafford Peale

PS  If you hop over to my collaborative blog Focusing On Life, I shared one of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes today.....

Sharing with

Until next time.....

Letters on Friday

Dear Week, I don't know about you, but it seems like when there is a holiday during the week, it really throws me off. Yesterday seemed like Saturday, but yet it was only Thursday.  I think I will vote for all holidays to be on a Monday from here on.  But then my working friends probably enjoy a day or two off during the middle of the week, so never mind.

Dear "The Heat"....not too crazy about you.  I really thought that having Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in a movie together, that these two zanies would give us one continuous laughter...but the language dampened the spirit of comedy. Way, way too many F bombs almost continuously.  McCarthy's character was rough & tough and a few foul words would have been enough, but it was way TOO much.  Just sayin....

Dear Garbage Disposal....what??  You didn't last but 5 years, and with the little amount of cooking I do, you should have lasted 20 years, but instead you decided to start leaking.  And leaking under the kitchen sink is not a pretty site. Thank goodness I found me a great guy that does EVERYTHING....remember the leaky outside faucet?  To the rescue he came with new garbage disposal in tow.  I would show you a picture of a garbage disposal but never mind.

Dear Search....I mentioned last week that I am now in the midst of trying to find a new place for my sweetie, he now needs skilled nursing care.  I think I have found a place, closer to home, and highly recommended by the Activity Director where he currently resides.  Now it is a matter of a visit by them to his current location and then the logistics of the move.  I hate (strong word) that he has to move.

Dear Garden....you do give me peace.

Dear Marti....you are the best.  You include me in your holiday celebrations with your family, you feed me, you love me.  And speaking of feed me....your Sammie really enjoys your cookies.

And she is quite the cook too....

Hope you all had a great week, it's summertime and the livin' is easy!!

"Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."  ~ Henry James

Linking to Nancy's Random Five on Friday.....

Until next time....

It Was A Good Day

Oh I had a good day yesterday, Easter Sunday.  The sun was shining, the temps hit over 50 degrees, I spent time with the Lord and time with family.  You can't get much better than that.  I have a tub chair (I think that's what they call them, or is it club, well either way, I have one) in my living room that I have turned towards my front window so while I drink my coffee and ponder the day ahead I can see if there are any interesting birds or critters that I need to capture with my camera.  I wasn't disappointed this morning.  First I had this.....

And then I had this...both a couple of beauties.

I spent the afternoon with my girls, my daughter, and my two granddaughters which was a delight since I really didn't know if we would be together or not due to their schedules (either school or work for  my grand girls.).  But as it turned out they were both free for part of the day....Bailey had to work in the morning and Brie had to leave late in the afternoon to drive back to school.  Limited time, but sweet time.  Oh, and my son-in-law Sam was there too, can't forget Sam...he is the best son-in-law a Mother could ever ask for.  And an extended coaching contract just came his way...so proud.

Bailey & Me...Bailey is graduating from college Mother's Day weekend.  I don't know who is the happiest, Bailey or her parents.... I think my son will be here for that momentous event which will mean I will have my two kids and my grandkids all together at the same time, in the same place which happens very rarely.

My daughter, Lisa and Sam

The girls...

Sam trying to give Brie a kiss...love that look on Brie's face!!

Brie, my youngest granddaughter, about ready to finish her 2nd year at Iowa State.  

Lisa's springtime door.  And the sign above her door, says it all.

Not only did Lisa prepare a wonderful brunch that we all over-ate, I mean really over-ate she was busy this entire week getting ready to open a new location for her dance studio.  Recently she was offered a different location, larger, private bathrooms, storage area, bigger office space and she jumped at the chance.  It is in the same building so really no long distance move, but walls had to be installed, new doors, new dance floor, ballet bars, painting etc etc.  This was all completed in one week by Lisa and her small crew of willing helpers and good friends while the kids (her students) were all on spring break.  Now tomorrow, they are going to be totally surprised when they come for dance and they have a brand new space.   

She is a happy lady...I wish I could be a little fly on the wall and watch all the kiddos come in to the brand new studio.  

On my way home, I had to drive down one country road for a barn shot.  You can drive down any road in this area and find some kind of a barn.  The only thing I can say for this one is it probably has good ventilation...other than that it's pretty useless.  Added a couple of textures to pizazz it up a bit.  

April Fools Day everyone...hope nobody fools you today.

"The trouble with practical jokes is that very often they get elected."  ~  Will Rogers

Linking with Tricia's Barn Charm....

Until next time.....

Happy Easter

Happy Easter Everyone!!

May you all be blessed with the graces God gave to us through his son,

 our Lord, Jesus Christ, 

who has risen on this glorious Easter Sunday.  

Until next time....

A Little Wear'n of the Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all you Irishmen and women and those that suddenly develop Irish tendencies on this day.  But since my Dad's name, my Mother's maiden name, and my husband's name all ended in ER and are all very GERman, the chances of me even pretending to be Irish would be laughable.  No freckles, no red hair, no porcelain skin, no Irish brogue, nothing.

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by many but here are a few facts I bet you didn't know about St. Patrick and the day we celebrate.

1. St. Patrick wasn't even Irish.  He was actually born in Kilpatrick, Scotland.  When he was in his teens he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and enslaved as a shepherd for many years.  
2. The legend that St. Patrick rid Ireland of snakes is so not true....Ireland never was the home to a single snake due to the waters surrounding the Emerald Isle are way too cold for snakes to survive.  
3. Green may be the national color of Ireland, but the color most associated with St. Patrick is blue (I did not know this)....the order of St. Patrick was established in Ireland in 1783 as the senior order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Ireland and adapted the color blue to identify it from other orders already established in Ireland.  
4. The first recorded St. Patrick's Day parade was held in Boston in 1737.  Now the largest Irish parades are all held outside of Ireland, with New York having the largest.
5. Using the simple shamrock with it's three leaves, St. Patrick explained to pagans the Christian belief in the Trinity.  

And now....just for fun.  I searched Pinterest for a few fun pics celebrating the day.

An Irish blessing to start....

A little cupcake to enjoy...

A couple of our furry friends to help celebrate the day....

And I am not sure which costume I will wear for the party....can you help me decide??

Now that you have picked yourself up off the floor from laughing...I do hope you all have a Happy St. Patrick's Day...enjoy all the green beer, corn beef & cabbage, and fun times.  Now I am off to McDonald's to enjoy a Shamrock Shake!!

I have changed my comment moderation...don't be surprised.  No word verification (thank goodness), but I am now approving my comments before publishing.  I was being buried in spam.  Thanks for your understanding.

Until next time....

It's Over

It's over....the Thanksgiving turkey, the pumpkin pies, the cranberry sauce are all just memories,  or if you are lucky, there might be a few leftovers waiting for a re-visit.  There are still a few dishes to be put away, not to be seen until next year, and if I am lucky to remember where I put them, and the Fall decorations to be stored in their plastic storage tubs, only to be replaced by the many more that are filled with Christmas Decorations.   I planted pansies on the front porch this year instead of mums in hopes that they would last longer, and they did.  Still blooming, even after several nights of frost but now evergreens & red berries & lights will grace the front porch for the holidays instead of the orange pansies.

This year a couple of new traditions were added to the holiday....Mac, my daughter & son-in-law's Siberian Huskie, and Charlie, my grandson & granddaughter-in-law's Jack Russell Terrier.  Hmm, I am thinking a new great grandchild would be a better option, since there were a few too many scuffles that needed human intervention.

By the end of the day, Charlie & Mac got into one too many scuffles and Charlie ended up with a Huskie nip on the ear with blood.  In fact, I think Mac had his whole mouth around Charlie's neck because there was a scratch (with blood) on his neck as well.  We think there may have been a misunderstanding about food.

But before all of this happened we all piled in the car and drove to Danada Farm, a horse farm just a couple of miles from the house for some outdoor family shots.

Brie, Hilary, Brandon & Bailey

Lisa & Sam

Bailey

And back at the house....

Brandon

The day was filled with food, drink (both kinds) and laughter. 

I am so thankful for this family of mine....my daughter & son both grew into fine adults and all my grandchildren are doing well and are growing into fine young adults.  Brandon has already established his career as a graphic designer, Bailey is graduating from college in May, and Brie is a sophomore in college.  I have many things to be grateful for, but family is at the top.  

I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with many blessings!!  

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have

into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos

to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a

feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and

creates a vision for tomorrow."

-- Melody Beattie 

Until next time.....

Whoop Whoop I Did It...

Last night I took my tripod, my Nikon D7000 and my Tamron 18-270 up to the school grounds to attempt shots of the fireworks that were scheduled for 9:45.  The fireworks, and the pictures were a success.   I was in aperature mode,  set my ISO at 200, my F stop at 13 and held my breath as I began snapping.  Altho, the shutter took what seemed like forever before it would snap back into place....I guess that is what you call a long exposure...huh?  Don't have much  any knowledge of shooting at night.  But I am happy with what I did capture, knowledge or not, actually I think it was probably sheer luck.  If I get another opportunity I may try to shoot in manual mode, just to see the difference. Instead of boring you with shot after shot, I just put them all together in one collage.  Happy 4th!! 

I am so proud of this I am linking to Amy at Love Bug "Show off Your Shot" And for the first time Mosaic Monday at Little Red House

And since it is Monday, I also have a pic for Rosie's Color Me Weekly.  I captured this last Friday evening when the sun was beginning to set.

"The winds that blow through the wide sky in these mounts, the winds that sweep from Canada to Mexico, from the Pacific to the Atlantic - have always blown on free men." 
 ~  Franklin D. Roosevelt

Until next time.....

Just a Tiny Bit of Joy....

Looked out the back door onto the screen porch and saw something flit by....looked again and it was a hummingbird...a hummingbird at the feeder, oh joy!!  I hurried back in the house to grab my camera thinking that by the time I returned he would be long gone, but no....!!!  I managed to get a few shots, but I stood back and ofcourse shot thru the screen (and sometimes the camera focus's on the screen and not on the subject outside of the screen) so they are not the best images but they are a first for me in my back yard.  Oh joy, oh joy!!  Hopefully by later in the summer, I will be ready and get better images, but these will do for now.

Have no idea what kind this is...maybe a female ruby throated??  Anyone?

Did not feel well today, stuck real close to the house but did manage to finish a Kraft Book from Paper Coterie documenting my trip to Galveston.  I have so many wonderful photos from my trip that I wanted to put them in one place, other than my computer.  I have ordered from them before, a Canvas Wrap that is beautiful and a stick-up poster of family pics.  When I say stick-up I mean there is a sticky back that allows you to stick the poster on the wall and then move it and re-stick it again.  Pretty great stuff.  And the image quality is terrific.  They are always having specials, so hop on over and take a look.  (PS I am not paid for saying this, not even a coupon)

A couple of pics from Sunday's Memorial Day celebration.....

Brandon (grandson) and Sam (son-in-law) being silly....

Hilary (Brandon's wife) don't think she thought they were funny....

And two young things not wanting any part of the adult celebration....I think being with THEIR friends would have been much more fun for them...

Look how big Max is getting to be...Toby will not want to play with him anymore....and who buys their dogs their own personal swimming pool??

My daughter who said she would NEVER have a dog....that dog doesn't know how good he's got it...

Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend and that everyone remembered why we had a 3 day holiday.  (I think not only do I not feel well, I think I am kinda crabby as well...sorry)

Crabby is asking you to please stop by Focusing On Life where I am musing on our sense of sight today.

Until next time...