Memory Monday....

I'm back after spending four days with my daughter and grandsons.   We had the priviledge of seeing Dolly Parton in person.  She came to Thompson- Boling Arena in Knoxville for a concert.   It was great.  I really like her.     I came home last Sunday and the boys came with me, so we enjoyed our week together.  That will be the last time for a long visit because school starts soon.   But anyway....this morning as the soft, gentle rain fell, it brought back memories of my childhood.   We loved to play in the rain. ... running through the puddles and catching rainwater in a barrel.   When it rained, we could always find these tiny frogs.  I never see them now.  They would come out by the hundreds.   We thought it rained them from Heaven.  It sure didn't take much to make us happy.   Does anyone else remember seeing these little frogs?

Memory Monday.....

I was thinking this morning about blackberries.  We used to pick them by the gallons when we were kids.  My Daddy would get us up (it seemed like the crack of dawn) to go pick berries.  We each had a gallon bucket and we stayed until we got it full.  Next would come the jam making.  I never actually made the jam, but I always had to get the jars ready.  I could still get my hand down inside the jar to make certain it was clean.  My Mother would work tirelessly until the jam was ready to be put on the shelf.   I can still pick blackberries at my daughters house, and that brings back all the memories all over again.  A jar of blackberry jam would be nice right now.!  Did any of you pick berries when you were kids?

My Trip to San Diego, CA

Here are just a few of the MANY, MANY picture I made in San Diego. That's us on the sail boat. It belongs to Fred and Denise....the couple we stayed with.  Click twice on any photo to enlarge.

Here we are at Safari Park. It is part of the San Diego Zoo.

This is Palomar Observatory Telescope. The dome opens up and the telescope inside is just as big.

An Orange Grove. We drove through it.

We went camping one night and I loved it. First time I had been camping since Lisa and Gary were small. It was wonderful.   Ryan and Lucas have on their pajama's and note the jackets.  It was really cool.....7000 feet above sea level!

This was at our camp site. That's Lisa reading Gap Creek by Robert Morgan and that's me sitting there waiting until she gets through so I can read it! It's a good book!

We drove into Tecate, Mexico one day. Here is a sidewalk sale and entertainment outside the restaurant where we ate.

This is really a diet coke.

We were seranated at our table as we ate.

This was my plate of food. Tortillas, refried beans and rice. Doesn't that sound like Mexico> It was good!

This is SHAMU at Sea World.

Here we were in the tram riding though the "bush country" to see the wild animals. It truly felt like I was in Africa. Loved it! Safari Park is GREAT!

Hot air balloon at the zoo. We were going to ride it but it was $17.00 a piece for just a few minutes so we thought it was sufficient to watch from the ground. It was tethered.

Donaldo, Lisa Ryan and Lucas at La Jolla Beach. A beautiful place. Here is where the "rich" people live. (well, ONE place)

This is Anza Borrego. America's largest state park. In the distance you can see miles and miles of desert and the salt sea.

Part of the Safari Park.

You can by-pass this one if you like. It's Lisa, Ryan and Lucas. I'm glad that's her instead of me!

And here....we are taking a break from the zoo and park and eating lunch on the ground in the parking lot. I liked it. Well, that's just a few of the "shots" I made. Hope you enjoyed looking at them. If you did...maybe I will post more later.

Memory Monday.....

Well, here I am....feeling good but can't get back into the "real world."    My mind isn't working very well this morning.  Maybe by next Monday, I will think of something interesting to write.  There are so many things going around in my head.  I'm sure something will pop up by then.  Until then.... here I sit in San Diego at "The Concert In The Park."  That was fun!  Please do NOT click to enlarge.....LOL

I'm HOME and All Is WELL!!!!!

WOW!!!!   that was the most wonderful vacation.   We saw so many things.  There was someting BIG to do each day.  Sea World was "out of this world."  The zoo and Safari Park was like being in Africa.  That is scratching the surface of the things we did.  I'm in the process of sending my pictures to my computer.  (all 600 of them)  LOL   I cannot upload them all at one time from my iphone, so I'm having to send them one at a time to my computer.  It may take a while.  Here's one made at the ZOO! 

From  L. to R.   Donaldo (Lisa's husband) Denise, Ryan, Me, Lisa and Lucas.  Click to enlarge.

On THE ROAD.....

I won't be home next Monday for Memory Monday!  I will be in San Deigo.   I'm going with my daughter and her family.  We are out there making memories!  Gary (son) is staying home (holding down the fort)  I will tell you all about it when I return.  Pray for a safe trip  We are flying from Atlanta... Be back the 30th!

MEMORY MONDAY.....

                              MUSIC ......                                                 Music was a big part of my life growing up.....There were seven of us.  I had three sisters and three brothers. The sisters are the ones who sang together.  One of my brothers could sing and he still sings.   We always had a piano (I will tell you a story about it sometime) I took piano lessons for about two years and I taught my sister the notes....well....very soon she was playing circles around me.  I'm not exaggerating...she could hear a song one time and then play it on the piano.  One Christmas she got an accordion and she had never played one before.  By the next day, accordion music filled our house.  My Mother played the guitar.  In the summertime, we would sit on the front porch.  She would play the guitar and we would sing.  No matter who came to our house, we had to sing for them.   I wonder if we could still sing together.   What sweet memories.....  I would like to do it all over again.      Next???      

IT'S MEMORY MONDAY....

Let's take a trip down Memory Lane......I told Margie I would tell about my "feed sack" days.    Well, here goes.   I also am from the era of when feed came in printed sacks.  I was nine or ten years old and my Mother made me a lovely gathered skirt from a green flowered sack.  I though it was the most beautiful skirt I had ever seen and could not wait to wear it to school the next day.  Off to school I go with a big smile on my face.  I walked into the classroom and there sat a boy wearing a shirt  made from the same feed sack.  The smile left my face immeadiately.  To make it worse, it was a boy that I didn't like.  I remember his name to this day.  As you might guess....I never wore the skirt to school again.   He never wore his shirt again so I think he probably felt the same as me.   I would love to see him today and ask him if he remembers.  We would laugh!     Please share a memory from your childhood!

Is It Hot Where You Are?

  I'm sorry if I complained about the snow last Winter and up into the Spring.  It seems I even complained about Dogwood Winter.   Now .....why did I do that?

IT'S MEMORY MONDAY.....Please share a memory from your childhood.

I'm starting Memory Monday.  Every Monday morning let's share a memory from our childhood.  Here's my first one:    My Daddy  raised tobacco when we were small.  We helped him work in the fields to set it out and everything else that had to be done to it.   We  looked forward to the time when he took it to the market to be sold.  Every year on that day, when he returned, he would always bring a box of Beech-Nut Chewing Gum and bags of Chocolate Cream Drops.  It was like Christmas before Christmas came.  Oh  what a sweet memory.   Looking forward to some of your memories from childhood.

~~ ONE WISH ~~

      

                                                          Gary & Lisa...1967    

  If we were granted any wish,  I'll tell you what we'd do....We'd wish our kids were small again, for just a month or two.

  To hear their squeals of laughter, to watch them while they play.  And when they ask us to join in, we wouldn't say "not today."

  To hug again their chubby frames, to kiss away their tears, and cherish childhood innocence that washed away the years.

  Then when it's storytime again, we'd stay a little longer, to answer questions, sing the songs, so memories would be stronger.

  But time is callous, wishes, myth, yet God in his wisdom, has given us another chance before we join His kingdom.

  Your faces may not be just the same, your names are changed, 'tis true, but yet the smile that radiates, reminds me so much of you.

  God must have known that grandparents would need a chance or two.  For many little happy things we hadn't had time to do.

  So God gave love to grandparents to equal that before, that, in effect embrace those little lives once more.

Lucas.....AT HIS 8TH GRADE DANCE......

  My grandson......Click to enlarge......Can you tell he is having a good time?   The girls look pretty happy too.  He is 16 years old and such  a joy to me.   I remember the day he was born.  They lived in Lake Charles, LA.   I knew Lisa was in labor and when I left here that morning to be there for his birth,  I didn't know that he would actually wait for my arrival.   I went straight to the hospital after a 14 hour drive,  and he was born by a C section about an hour after I got there.   I remember his nose was mashed really flat against his face, but it wasn't long before it was normal.  Oh Sweet, Lucas.   How I love you!

My House Before And AFTER New Metal Roof......Click To Enlarge....

My next  project is a walk going over to the driveway!

WHERE DOES TIME GO?

I bought this clock the year we got married.  That was 55 years ago.   The other day I was going through a closet and decided to plug it in to see if it would run.   IT DID!!!!    The "granny"  still rocks in her rocking chair and the bulb still  made the house glow.   The clock has again found a place on my mantle. (Click twice to enlarge)  Wish Bill could see it!

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE.....

YOU CAN'T ALWAYS BELIEVE WHAT YOU READ IN THE PAPERS.....Dermot McCann opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died.  He quickly phoned his best friend Reilly. "Did you see the paper?"  asked Dermot.  "They say I died."  "Yes, I saw it."  replied Reilly."   "Where are ye callin' from?"

Relay For Life ......

Good Morning friends and neighbors.  This past week-end I went to the Relay For Life Cancer Suvivor Luncheon in Asheville NC.  It was held at Crown Plaza.  The food was great. After the meal a fashion show took place and all of the models were cancer suvivors.  That was way COOL!  I won a door prize which was an herb garden.  That's right at the top of my list of things I like.  I hope everyone is having a good day.  It's raining here in NE TN and more storms are headed our way.  Today will be a great day to read and sneak in a nap.

Cute Baby!!!!!

I gave the knitted cupcake hat to this cute baby that sits in front of me in church every Sunday.  Isn't she precious!   You should have seen her Mommy and Daddy smiling.....and me too!!!!  Click twice to enlarge.

On The Lighter side.....FUNNY SIGNS

• In a Podiatrist"s office:   Time Wounds All Heels.
• On a Septic Tank Truck:  Yesterday"s Meals- On Wheels.
• On a Plumbers"s truck:  We  Repair What Your Husband Fixed.
• On another Plumber"s truck:  Don't Sleep With A Drip....Call Your Plumber.
• On a Church's Billboard:  7 days without God makes one weak.
• At a Tire Store in Milwaukee:  Invite Us To Your Next Blowout.
• On an Electrician's truck:  Let Us Remove Your Shorts.
• On a Maternity Room Door:   PUSH...PUSH...PUSH.
• At an Optometrist's Office:  If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place.
• Outside a Muffler Shop:  No Appointment Necessary;  We Hear You Coming.
• In A Veterinarian's waiting room:  Be back in 5 minutes.   Sit!  Stay!
• In the front yard of a Funeral Home:  Drive Carefully!  We'll Wait....
• Sign on the back of another Septic Tank Truck:  CAUTION.....This Truck Is Full of Political Promises.

Quilt Square # 15....Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.....

Now this one has become my favorite....:-)   A lot of work went into this one.  I haven't done anything to the curtain, except the edge.   I may leave it this way.  What do you think?  Click twice to enlarge.

Home from Lafayette, Louisiana......

We had a great time in Louisiana,   Everything is in full bloom....even the trees and grasses are green.  The Temps were in the upper 70's and 80's.   I loved it!   I will have to get busy at home now and get my yard and garden ready for the season.   I love that too!!!!  I will post some more pictures later.