No baby yet!

Well, we are still waiting. Daughter Alipurr is "nesting" and doesn't want to be disturbed at the moment. She said they would call when she got to the hospital. We are being patient and keeping ourselves busy. I carry my phone next to my body so I won't miss THE CALL.

When we were in Berea two weeks ago, Sandy gave us this quilt to give to daughter for new baby boy. It is beautifully hand-stitched and so cleverly made. Daughter and girls loved it and thank Sandy and Jimmy for their thoughtfulness.

Isn't this lovely?
Sandy has good taste and both girls wanted to keep it for themselves.

While I was in and out running errands today, I noticed some flowers in my yard that were blooming. As soon as I got back into the house, I grabbed my camera and started shooting some pictures.

The first lily to bloom

Can you see the Early Girl tomatoes?

Stella D'Oro Daylilies

Pink and white begonias and yellow and orange marigolds
(can you see the beautiful orange butterfly on the marigold?)

Petunias

White Astilbe

Red Astilbe

Dusty Miller and Moss Rose

White begonias, pink geraniums and moss rose

Finally, I will leave you with this bit of cheese to lighten your day.

A pregnant lady was in an accident and she woke up in the hospital. She noticed she was not pregnant anymore and asked the nurse what happened to her baby.

The nurse said, "You have two healthy babies, a boy and a girl!" The lady said, "Oh, I must name them," but the nurse said, "You were unconscious, so we called your brother, and he named them!"

The lady said, "But he's as dumb as a box of rocks! So what are their names?"

The nurse said, "The girl is called "Denise." The woman replied, "Well that is a pretty name, so what did he name my boy?"

The nurse replied, "Denephew!"

Remembrance

This is the day we remember those who lost their lives in combat over the ages.

My Uncle Al died in World War II in April of 1945. I really don't remember him and I only found three pictures of him.

Uncle Al, Miami Beach, Feb. 1940

Uncle Al with my grandparents and aunt, Miami Beach, around 1940-1941

Uncle Al with his daughter Elaine, Hammond, IN, 1942

Uncle Al was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1918. He emigrated to the United States with his father Jack in 1937 and they lived on the south side of Chicago. He was friends with my dad and my Uncle Morrie. I guess you could say that he was responsible for introducing my mother and my Aunt Lil to their future spouses. He also had family who remained in Canada. They still have large annual reunions and members of the U.S. branch of the family attend.

In my mind, he didn't look like a soldier -- he looked more like an accountant with his mustache and his glasses. I just can't imagine him fighting, shooting his gun, and killing people. I was only three years old when he died. I think of him often and how his death changed our family. My aunt said that he was the love of her life. When my mother died, I found some letters that he had written to my parents when he was in the service. I still have them. My aunt remarried after Uncle Al's death and subsequently had two children with Uncle Mickey. If Uncle Al had lived, I would most definitely have different cousins and my aunt would still be married to the love of her life. If he had lived, he would now be 89 years old.

Today I am also thinking of those other family members who are no longer with us. My mom and dad, of blessed memory, my grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, friends, and many acquaintances. Oh, how I miss them all and wish I could see them just one more time.

I was reminded the other day how tenuous our short journey in life really is. I read an obituary about a woman I knew. She was a practicing psychologist who came back to her hometown to care for her mother after her father died. She gave up her home in Nashville, her friends, her practice, and everything she knew to care for her mother during her mother's last years. This woman stayed here after her mother died to live in her childhood home. She died the other day, all alone, at 12:50 a.m. There were no surviving family members. This woman, who once invited me to be her friend, was a year younger than I am. The obituary said there would be no visitation or services, just a graveside prayer by the minister.

I am reminded today that the wheel of life is constantly revolving. We are expecting a new grandson any day now. His generation takes the place of the previous generation. My hope is that my grandson will never have to fight in any war and his parents will not have to experience the agony of losing a son in a battle of wills.

I feel great sorrow for all those parents who must live the rest of their lives without their precious sons and daughters who died in war and with those sons and daughters mutilated all in the name of freedom. How can we forget any of them, on this or any other day?

We honor our fallen heroes on this day, lest we forget.

Tap, tap, tap

Baby boy, grandma wants you to come out and play! I'm ready and waiting.

I'm on pins and needles!

Have you ever experienced "baby fever?" I'm so excited about this new baby boy that daughter Alipurr is having (momentarily -- her baby ticker says "ten days"), I can't think clearly. (Sue, I may not be blogging regularly, but I'm still here.) My husband, the saint, is just barely putting up with me and daughter is laughing at my nervousness. I guess you will all just have to bear with me until this little guy decides to come out to play.

If you have read Sandy's blog, you will know that we just got back from a weekend visit. What a terrific and fun time we had. We were able to visit with all the family, enjoy lots of great meals out (no cooking!!!), and enjoy a lot of laughs and good times.

(Double-click each picture for a larger view.)

Our wonderful hosts, Sandy and Jimmy, with husband

Husband was taken on a motorcycle ride on Saturday. I am a little afraid of motorcycles and I had to refuse. Sorry, Sandy.

What I did during our visit was buy several pieces of stained art glass which is a passion of mine. Here are the pieces I purchased at the art fair Sandy and I attended.

What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet

-- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 1594

A little Jiminy Cricket garden art for my friend Saundra

who was so kind to take care of my kitties while we were out of town

A little peace for my hippy husband

A Star of David for me

Ocean's Breeze -- a fantastic art piece that Sandy
purchased for me during our last visit

This was the most wonderful thing we brought home --
a gorgeous walnut bowl that nephew Brian made
and presented to husband and I

This was the second bowl he ever made
and we are so happy to be the proud owner
of this lovely work of art

Thank you, Jimmy and Sandy, for a wonderful visit. The next time we see you we will have a new addition to our growing family. I can hardly wait.

Unusual visitors

I was talking to my sister in Las Vegas on the phone this afternoon discussing, amongst other things, unusual birds who have visited our gardens this year. She just had a Hooded Oriole arrive at her house.


Suddenly, taking me completely by surprise, this little guy landed on my hummingbird feeder and proceeded to take a nice, long drink. I didn't dare get up to get my camera because I was afraid of scaring him away.



Even though these birds are in the same family, you can see how they differ in their coloring.

We have several hummingbird and seed feeders in front and in back of our house, positioned so we can watch the birds wherever we are. I find I am constantly filling my feeders because we have attracted so many lovely birds. We're also always on the lookout for unusual feeders and try to position them where our cats can't get at the birds.

Unfortunately, I have been "blessed" with some good hunters and have already been presented with several "gifts" from my kitties. I wish they wouldn't do this, but you can't take the wild hunter out of the domesticated animal if they are allowed to go outside when they want to.

Alleycat (14 years old) and Dolly (one year old) watching me
while I was working in front of our house

This is the way my kitties should be -- content to stay inside --
but I know that's not going to happen.

The "art" of relaxation

Thank you Susie, Susan, Sandy (how's that for alliteration?), Cristal, Cheyenne, and Alissa for your encouragement and kind words. Miss Susie, especially, you are such a dear heart. I'm sending you a huge Motherkitty hug for what you've done.

One thing I've learned is when you're down, if you're blogging, you're not out. All you have to do is reach out a hand and a warm hand of friendship will be extended.

What more can a person expect?

Where, oh where, have I been?

I've been home, with husband, piddling around the house. We're watching our pennies because gas has gone through the roof and we expect it to get worse. We filled up our van today and it cost $44.00 for 15 measly gallons of gas. We've been working on the garden and the yard, trying to overcome all the damage from our April frost. Things are looking better around here but we're still pretty disappointed. I noticed some of our irises were blooming today.



We have several other varieties planted in the same patch, but these are the only two colors that bloomed. We had a few Paperwhites to bloom but nothing like they usually do.

Thanks to those who have asked where I've been this past month. To tell you the truth, I faced a hurdle and just couldn't get past it. I think I'm better now, so thanks for thinking of me.

(Double-click on pictures to enlarge.)

Daughter Alipurr at her baby shower on April 28
Only about 28 days to go before Baby Boy is welcomed to this world

Little Sister and Dancer Girl were very helpful
in helping mommy open her gifts

Both girls couldn't wait to play with the pull toy
we got Baby Boy

Daughter had a great time at her shower and many of her friends attended. She received some really nice (and useful) gifts for the baby. We were very happy to see the girls again. They had been sick quite a bit since the middle of March and the shower was the first opportunity we had to see them since then.

Husband has opened our pool for the season but it's still too cool to swim. I can't wait. I'm looking into getting solar panels to heat the pool and extend the swimming season. Although Spring is my favorite season of the year, I also love the hot summers spent swimming and lounging around the pool on our deck. (So, if you come to visit us, that's probably where you'll find us.)

Some of the annuals we planted yesterday in front of the house

To tell you the truth, I was actually at a place where I thought about shutting down my blog for good. I asked myself if I wanted to continue, and the answer was no, I didn't want to stop blogging. I took a little time for myself and now I'm back -- a little worse for wear -- but still sane. I hope you will continue to visit me (during my hiatus I didn't stop reading your blogs but I might not have left comments) and I will continue to visit you. After all, where would I be if I didn't blog? I would be all alone with husband and seven cats and that ain't good for my temperament. Ask husband. He can tell you how grouchy I've been lately.

Just before it started raining (again) this evening