Numbers

It is now 12:43 pm.
I have changed 3 diapers.
Fixed 1 bottle, 1 sippy cup and fed Althea 1 banana.

I have made 4 phone calls and received 3. Picked up 6 dirty glasses or empty soda cans and dried 1 load of clothes.... I am listening to the 3rd cartoon and 1 crying toddler.

I have a doctor’s appointment at 1:45; finally as this is the 3rd week I’ve attempted to get in!

I just took a 5 minute break for 1 huge hug and 3 kisses from my #2 granddaughter, Althea who will be 15 months old in 8 days… #1 granddaughter, Dorie and her mommy will be here soon to take us to town….

I have been blessed to live almost 52 years, 31 of those with the love of my life. We have 3 children, and 2 grandchildren.

It is now 12:52 and I need to get up and fold the last load of clean clothes and start washing the 3 dirty ones left… I also need to make the bed for the 8000th time.

It’s funny how people can now claim injury for repetitive duties… I Googled repetitive and found 3 different types of injuries… repetitive strain, repetitive stress and repetitive motion injury…and yet we go through our daily lives repeating the same actions over and over.

Now, before I begin to repeat myself… I’ll call it a day for this blog, which is by the way the 33rd blog I’ve ever written and wish you all a safe and happy day… it is now 1:01 and I just sneezed 2 times which set Althea off to crying… once again.

Bridges... My Town Friday Shoot Out

When I first saw the topic of this weeks shoot out I did not know what the the world to do... around here we have some pretty flat land and the nearest bridge is about 40 miles away... so I pulled a few photos from my back pocket and decided to work with them...

The first photo is of my grand daughter Dorie and my husband who were walking across a small bridge at Cape San Blas beach in Florida. I grew up in this area and we had gone "home" for the first time in 30 years. I was walking behind them and was struck by the notion that they were so different in ages but at that very moment you could see that they were so in tune with each other.






The second photo is a shot of the Swanne River... when I was a child this was the half way point between our house and our grandparents home; we always stopped here and ate lunch or took a break... many people who travel to Florida have never seen this side of the state and believe that Florida is all sand, sea and amusement parks.





And finally, the last shot is looking through the underside of the boardwalk out at the Gulf of Mexico.

Friday Shootout my Favorite Color

When ever I am asked the question “what’s your favorite crayon?” I usually just choose Navy…but to tell the truth I fell in love with Green a long time ago. Today there are 20+ colors of green crayons …including Screamin’ Green, Inchworm and Fern. I have no idea how many paint colors there are, but my husband told me last year I couldn’t paint any more of the house green!

My mom’s eyes were the greenest of green and my dad’s were that gray that often looked green and at times mildly blue. Mine are hazel, neither blue nor green. Two of my siblings had green eyes, none of my children do. Nor do my grandchildren; however Althea did have a green face on her birthday and she loves her green spoon!

When I think of green, I think of a fresh spring day, with green buds on the trees and laundry drying in the sun. Flocks of Sparrows and Finches whirl from the feeder as I walk in the garden looking for the first bulbs popping up through the ground. I also dream of the land my g.g.grandfather left behind..Ireland. This quilt is an Irish Chain made by my husband's mother for my birthday.

I grew up on a beach where the ocean was as green as the sky was blue and we would wade into the warm water every summer like a baby climbing into its mothers lap; we were finally at home among the waves. I have long since moved from the beach and water, but they have never left me and I have decorated my house to reflect and embrace my love for the sea.

Although this photo was take a few years ago, I had to include it... this is where I first fell inlove with the sea...

Lemon/Lime Cake I made for Frank.

I did not realize exactly how much green I had in my home decor until this week’s topic... I have been stuck inside for the most part of the week suffering from a stomach bug that has made me feel “green” around the gills so I decided to shoot photos of a few of my favorite green things… I also pulled a couple of photos that were taken within the last year... one of those is of gourds growing up in a tree at my sisterinlaws house.. Patsy's garden is a magical place, one that is always full of life, secrets and usually something green.

I hope you enjoy!

Friday Shoot Out - Wrought Iron

Some of my favorite places are full of wrought iron fences, peaceful gardens and ghosts of days and people who have passed on... St. Augustine Florida, Savannah Georgia and right here near home of course Charleston South Carolina... everywhere you turn there is a new style of fence that says keep out, but please look!

I grew up in rural Florida and Alabama but back home in Bama I had many family members who worked in either iron works or coal and many, many trips home we would pass by the Vulcan who stands guard over Birmingham... he is now at home in a beautiful park and he is the largest iron statue in the world!

This photo was taken in Charleston, SC last August when the girls and I escaped to Charleston for Becki's birthday.

White lace and promises...

Love is in the air and it seems that everywhere I turn I am reminded of this...

I just put the finishing touches on 5 bouquets for niece's attendants; along with her bouquet (which is awaiting the final wrapping) and all the posies, boutineeres, and bows that are needed for her upcoming marriage to Luke...

Janet, my best friend from high school and her hubby Brad will be renewing their wedding vows this summer and I look forward to being there just as I was 25 years ago when they first said "I do"

When I mentioned this to Frank he said that we might do that this year or next... and I said we've been wanting to go to Vegas and he say well then we'll just have to find an Elvis impersonator and do it! BTW, the photo is of Frank and I back in 1979.

Can ya'll see me and Frank at the Chapel of Love on the strip with Elvis saying I do? This from the same guy who says he quit school cause of recess? Whatever or whenever I look forward to this ...

Parsley, Sage Rosemary & Thyme... Oh and Lupines!

We've been busy as bees around here today; first cleaning out the fridge then scrubbing it down... then a picnic until the sun moved and we rushed inside to get warm! Then finally as Frank worked on building me a small closet I got out my seeds and planting trays and went to work... I went gaga this year with the seed catalog and have many more seeds than I'll ever plant but I can't wait to see what all will make it...

Of course I planted herbs, the usuals like Parsley and Oregano but a few new ones for me like English Thyme and Lemon Grass. I also ordered some new flower seeds as well like Evening Primrose that used to grow all over Alabama when I was a little girl and some Lupines and Texa Bluebonnets... I fell in love with Lupines while in Maine years ago and the variety I planted are suppose to love the heat so we'll see.

I also planted some old garden favorites like Cleome (which I love), Queen Annes Lace and something called Love in a mist.... Stay tuned and I'll keep you updated with words and photos.

Night's are so lonely without you....

Sorry to say this is going to be another sad one; it is night two without Lint and although she may have been just a cat to some, she was a friend to me. Sometimes we fought or argued like old women but we loved each other and I miss her dearly.

I kept waiting for her last night to come strolling into my room like she owned the place and she was just allowing me to sleep in the bed. One thing we could never get straight was I insisted the bed was not a place to take a bath and would a make her get up and go elsewhere to lick herself.

She would sit there on the floor with her back to me and just shun me in that way that only cats could do and in her own sweet time she'd wander back by and soon I'd feel the wait of her mere 7 pounds as she curled up beside me to sleep for just a bit.

As I walked around the house this am, I saw her everywhere I looked, her favorite window to watch the birds in and tripping me up to beat me to the kitchen where she would beg for food whether she had a full bowl or not; this is how I first knew something was amiss on Sunday when she did not meet me as I got out of bed.

As I sit here typing I fully expect to look around and see her waiting there for me with that look in her green eyes that says... are you never coming to bed? But I know she is not there but in a far better place on the other side of Rainbow Bridge... one day I will tell you the story of Rainbow Bridge and of some of Lints travels and escapades as well.

Good night and God Bless.

Good bye my friend...until we meet again

Many, many moons ago on a cold and wet night, our cat Kay gave birth to several kittens out in the barn. She had chosen a good spot for her family but the rain came and began to leak under the floor boards where she was hiding her kittens.

As we rescued mother and kittens and began to dry them off, one little bit of a thing that looked like a drowned rat really puffed up when we dried her fur and the kids laughed and said she looked like dryer lint and the name stuck. Lint became part of our family and her best friend was my mom.

Momma was the only owner Lint ever really had as she owned the rest of us like most cats prefer. She would spend her days laying in Momma's lap or beside her chair and her nights were spent curled up at the bottom of Momma's bed. When Momma passed away, we almost lost Lint as well for she mourned along with the rest of us and we finally had to banish her from Momma's room.

Lint was a well traveled cat, she has been through several states and lived in 4, Connecticut, Maine, Tennessee and South Carolina. She has been snuck in fancy hotels and stayed in pet friendly places. She would ride in the car or truck with Frank and I looking out at the people and cars passing by and drew crowds of onlookers as we took her to the pet area of a rest stop on a leash! Oh the indignity of it all, she tolerated it, but just barely!

Once while up prowling the house in Maine she almost escaped into the wild through an open window when she managed to tear a hole in the screen. I caught her just in time and reached out and grabbed her. She must have thought the devil himself had a hold of her cause she bit the pure sh*t out of me. My brother Brad gave her a wide berth after that (seeing it took several months of med's to get my arm looking normal again)... I still bear the scars proudly.

Lately she has spent more and more time in Becki's room and it wasn't until I set down to write this that I realized it was really her room; her's and Momma's so long ago... it has finally come the time for Lint to pass on and we will do that with dignity, for she is a proud cat, a very loved cat and as I sit here crying, I am not ashamed for she was my friend, my confidant and my last thread to my Momma...

I only hope that when my time comes, I have a loved one by my side and my doctors have as much compassion as those at Dogwood Animal Hospital. Lint is home now, with my mom, Brad, her brother Alabaster and all those other beloved pets who have gone before us.

We buried her out under the oaks with a slab of Maine rock as a headstone; although I promised to bury her at Seven Pines I think she would have liked this spot. Godspeed Lint, Godspeed...