White Wednesday...

...there is a saying around these parts that goes "it isn't summer until the 5th of July."  Meaning, don't expect June weather to be nice, don't expect the 4th to be anything but raining.  BUT, come July 5th you can pretty much be guaranteed sunny, warm, blue skies until October.
With that in mind, and the fact that June has been particularly cold and damp, I still have no flowers blooming outside.  My veggie patch (from starts) is sadly struggling for survival and my bedding plants have seen better days.  What is a girl to do?  Well, this one stopped at the grocery today and while she was there she picked up some Spider Mums...enjoy!

Please join Kathleen at Faded Charm for more Wednesday Whites.  Thanks K!

walkin' and talkin'...

...I took my camera for a walk today.  I decided, before I go out and buy a new grandma upgraded camera, I should learn how to use all the settings on the old one.

I have a Canon A560 which was a gift for Christmas from my daughter a few years ago.  I love how easy it is to point and shoot but I wanted to be able to get some real sweet close-ups.  It has several settings on it so I tried experimenting with them.

standard:

landscape:

manual:

kids/pets:

and finally Auto.  As you can see I clearly need to find the owners manual and figure out what the heck I'm doing.  Otherwise, all I really accomplished was getting dizzy!   What kind of camera do you have?

Seven...

...sitting on the edge of the bed, taking off my shoes for the day, brings to mind another day so long ago, when I ached to talk to you much like I do now.

We were all at a  birthday party together and from the get-go I knew something was not right.  When I came over to talk to you your big brown eyes (when did your eyes turn brown?) flashed at me as if lightening in the sky.  I could feel the anger emanating from your every pore.  I didn't understand what was happening or why, and to this day I still do not know.

I called you that night, while sitting on the edge of my bed taking off my shoes.  I desperately needed to talk to you, to hear your voice.  The voice of our mother.  You didn't answer the phone but the words I heard next were devastating.  "I was no longer welcome in your life, I would never be allowed to speak to you again."  What could be so egregious that you would have him tell me that.  Why couldn't you tell me what it was.

A few days later I had a heart attack no doubt brought on by the stress of grieving yet another loss in my life.  I thought that what ever it was between us that you would find a way to be with me but I was wrong.  I've been wrong so many times.  For all of my days and nights that I have left I will never be able to understand how you could walk away.

I haven't forgotten you.  Not a day passes that you don't come to mind.  I've sent you cards and letters, e-mail, texts, phone messages and even sought you out on facebook.  For what ever reason you do not respond back, not a word, not a worry.  When will I learn.

I still grieve for you, for us.  Not only did I lose my sister, my friend, my confidant and partner in crime...my children lost their aunt.  It is unforgiveable that you would walk away from them.  And now, now that I have something happy and wonderful to share with you I am once again at a loss.  Sometimes it is overwhelming.

White Wednesday...

...we had a rare sunny day here today.  In fact, it has been 272 days since we've had a day with temps over 73degrees.  Crazy.  Luck be mine I was sick as a dog today and after running an errand it was 4pm before I got outside to take some photos.  Enjoy~~

thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out all the other WW whites at Faded Charm, with our host Kathleen.  Thanks Kathleen!

signed:

'i'm gonna be a grandma~~whoo-hoo!'

A day late but I still have my dollar...

...this is my family.  The guy there in the middle (?) the hubs of many years.  A very kind, generous of spirit, would help anyone, anywhere, anytime, anyplace kind of a guy.  More importantly he is the father of my three children, one of who is no longer with us.  My beautiful daughter Lindsay on the left and the handsome son on the right Jeffrey.  They would be the first to tell you that they hit the jackpot when they got this man for their dad.  And the dad would tell you that he is the lucky one.  Either way, we love him and give thanks to him everyday, but especially this day.

...daughter's hubby was unable to join us for a very rainy, dark and dreary bbq yesterday and we sure did miss him!

This lovely young lady with my son is our sweet daughter in law Lauren.  And this....this....

THIS is the belly where my grandbaby is cooking until next February when we will become grandma and grandpa!  Our FIRST grandbaby.  What a sweet, sweet Father's Day surprise.  Happy Father's day to my husband and our son-daddy-to-be!

White Wednesday...

...my hubs had a doctor appointment today and I rode over with him so he could drop me at the junk mall on the way.  I ducked in, it was dark-cloudy and hailing at the time, and spent some quality time with me and myself!  Oh, and I found a few goodies too:

another pocket vase to add to my growing collection

this old heavy iron bracket,

don't know where it will go yet

lasy weekend, while cleaning out the garage,

I came across this old, chippy, iron

plant hanger that came from the hubs

gradmother's house in Minnesota...

very, very old.

and lastly today, I found this vintage table cloth

which will be making an appearance out on the

porch table next sunny day.

Happy White Wednesday

joining

in

with Kathleen at

Faded Charm

check it out!

Through the looking glass...

we had a glorious weekend here, sunny-weather-blue-skies-mild-breeze-75degrees--ahhhhh!  Translation:  get out the shorts and flip-flops baby!  We were finally able to get out in the yard and catch up on all the things that didn't get done last Fall or earlier in the Spring.  It was delicious, and sunny, did I mention that?

I worked mostly on the patio, getting it swept up and getting the outdoor furniture in order.  Got some bedding plants planted and even cleaned out the fountain.  Unfortunately she didn't survive the winter without some damage.  There is a huge crack in the lower bowl (the larger one) and I will have to go into town and check with the fountain guys to see if it can be fixed.  She is very special to me and even if it can't be fixed I will keep it, it holds some very important memories, for another post.

Recently, after deciding I was the only person on earth to not be on it, I joined Facebook.  Against my better judgement too!  I just didn't need something else sucking time out of my day.  I see why it is referred to as Facecrack, dang, I have been having fun looking up some old high school friends.  Now laundry and dusting will have to wait even longer!

I will leave you with this...this is my 400th post.  Woo-hoo, seems like you should give me some kind of award or something for putting up with me...yes you read that right.  Take care y'all and have a good Monday.

jj

Soul searching...

the human spirit

longs

for places

where nature

has not been

rearranged

by the hand of

man.

~anon~

53 days.  God help us all.

Keeping promises...

...the rumors have been flying for  months, years really.  "They," (and by the way, who are they and how do they know so much?) said that we are getting a Kohls.  Wow.  Right here in my little burb, my neck of the woods, my spot on the map--Kohls.

We have the usual big names around here: both a Home Depot and Lowes, a Safeway and Kroegers, a Rite-aid and, and, well...another Rite-aid, movie theatres, drive-thrus, thrift store,  a Target and Walmart, but a Kohls...this is BIG news.   AND, they are going to build it right over there...at the crest of the hill right across the street from the other big stores.  Ah,  yes...Kohls.


The first time I went to Kohls was in Tucson.  I was there visiting my college-bound daughter and we had spent a day shopping for apartment necessities.   And there it was, across the parking lot, a store that I had never heard of nor set eyes upon.  "Oh, mom, c'mon let's go...you.will.love.it!" said my beautiful girl.  Of course I had to trust her and by golly, she was right.  I did love it and the prices and they even had sizes that fit me and were stylish and pretty and their clearance stuff was great, especially the housewares and oh, my, gosh, I was in love.

We are getting a Kohls...woo-hoo, alert the media!



Days passed and progress was slow, weeks passed and progress was slow.  Maybe it will be open for back-to-school, maybe the holidays, maybe...and progress was slow.  But we waited patiently and held our collective breaths because our burb was getting a Kohls!

 As the building started taking shape I began to have doubts.  Isn't this a strange place to build a new departments store, I mean, the entry way is on the wrong side and there is a gas station on the other side of the parking lot.  And isn't that the oddest shape...for a department store anyways.  It didn't seem right, why would they put it on the edge of town? Away from the freeway and the main streets, and why wasn't there a sign announcing this wonderful new store....there was just something that caused me to have an uneasy feeling.  

Last week the parking stripes went on and the sign went up announcing the grand opening.  Oh, there were flags and balloons and colorful advertisements.  All through the town you could hear the cries of dispair.  Everywhere was the look of disappointment and defeat...you could hear the whispered echoes "we're getting a Kohls," and the wind cry at night..."no you're not."  And the wind was right...

*disclaimer,  I have nothing against Winco, in fact, I have never been to one but I understand they are a discount food store.  My disappointment is in NOT getting a Kohls...that's all...I wanted some new clothes.   thankyouverymuch.

NOLA on my mind~~

~~whenever I think of New Orleans I have an image of Fleur de lis, the beautiful stylized lily (fleur=flower, lis=lily) that has been around for centuries. It has many connotations from religious to political, coat of arms to military dress. 

In 2008 Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisana, passed a law making the Fleur de lis the official symbol of Louisana.  After hurricaine Katrina the Fleur de lis became a symbol of support for New Orleans.

In honor of New Orleans, Louisana and the entire Gulf~~~

believe it or not

this is a cake!

In 2007 the Art Council of New Orleans and the Fore!Kids Foundation teamed up with 40 local artists for the first public arts project since Hurricaine Katrina.  The 40 fiberglass Fleur de lis were then spread around town for several weeks eventually being sold at auction, with the proceeds going to 40 different charities supported by Fore!Kids.
For more info on the artists and to see the other Fleur de lis go here.

New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf~~after seeing the beautiful pristine waters of Prince William Sound dessimated by the Exxon Valdez~~my heart goes out to you.  My thoughts and prayers are with you in my every waking moment, and may this nightmare end soon....if only.

White Wednesday...

...if you read my post yesterday then you know that I spent my weekend in search of Spring.  It has become painfully obvious to me that Spring has taken a detour from our area and our days are dreary and soggy.  In fact, there is a flood warning up tonight for a local river, the one that is 1/2mile from my house.  Oy...

While I was searching I came across some lovely whites that have gone onto my 'wish' list.  If you are in the area and searching for a gift for me~~any of the following will suffice!

Thank you and congratulations to Kathleen at Faded Charm for hosting WW.  This is the 50th week of the WW...and hopefully many, many more.  Be sure to check it out, I gurantee you will not be sorry.   Happy Wednesday y'all.      jj

*blogger is messing with me again...not the font or font size that I usually use...gah!