The End..of the week

Yes, it's the most beloved day of the week. Friday. It's been a crazy busy week. Today is no exception. When you see this line up you either join in, hop in front of the line, or take a pic to blog about it.
Yes, we work hard here...to prove it here are two hard working nurses leaning against the crash cart obviously engaged in a very technical conversation.
This pic reminds me of the Sesame Street song..."one of these things does not belong here"...can you guess? It's brown. We're blue. He's fixing something for us so we let him stay.
Today was Dr. B's 40th birthday...he's just a baby! We had a carry in lunch. Have you ever seen so many crock pots in your life? There are many great cooks who disguise themselves as nurses! Food was delish and I know he liked it. He liked it so much that after his last case he injected both my knees with cortisone to celebrate. I only winced, jumped a little and didn't even cry! Hmmm, I wonder what he'll do to me on his 50th?
This lovely cheese tray was sent by Donna's (starkeyhollow) husband to thank us for, as he put it, our friendly help in giving him pain. The knee will heal and you will forget the pain Larry. That's the same bull they told me when I had my kids...liars. Hey, thanks for the cheese tray though!
October is half over and I would like to take a moment to pause and remember that it's also breast cancer awareness month. Here in surgery we honor that in our own special way. We wear pink gloves all month and also these cute masks are available. If you make the pic bigger you will see the little pink ribbons on the mask...also you will see the wrinkles on my face. Those were not handed out, I earned them all by myself... with a lot of help from my children.

Humor Me...Please?

Here are some more pics from the wedding weekend. Since I publish a blog book at the end of the year I wanted to have more pics from that weekend. So these are some of the characters that make up my family, my blog and my wonderful life. Probably pretty boring for anyone who is not related and probably for the related ones too, but you'll just have to humor me or scroll on by. You won't hurt my feelings...I love you all anyway! But before you scroll on by, I must tell one little not funny at the time, but now is funny story. After the reception was over, I had gone home, changed into working clothes, came back and helped clean up. I had my Mom's house keys. As we were all leaving, she asked if I had them. I then proceeded to hand them over because Mom and Midge would beat us home. So we all went to our cars. When we pulled into Mom's driveway, they weren't there yet. So we sat and waited. I was holding a large hunk of wedding cake that Midge had me bring home. And we sat. And sat..with the cake on my lap, and, well you get the picture. I was hearing voices in my head (nothing unusual for me) telling me to go back to the Church.I ignored them. Over and Over again. After about 1/2hr I saw these two people walking down Mom's street. Yep, Midge and Mom had walked home from the Church. Their car didn't start. They called and called me on my cell which I had left in the house. The same house we were locked out of because I gave the key to Mom! They were still in their fancy wedding duds and poor Mom had on heels. Poor Midge was carring a huge hunk of wedding cake too. I don't know why I find that funny, but I do. It was about 2am and Mom wasn't sure she could make it. She did it though. Midge said they looked like 2 old hookers hoping to get lucky on a Friday night. At one point Mom had jumped into the street to flag down a car she was sure was ours...which of course wasn't ours because I was sitting in the car with a huge chunk of wedding cake on my lap, listening to voices in my head and ignoring them. So now we smile about it and Mom feels pretty good about making that hike at 2am and her being 84 and all...bragger! So humor me while I throw out some pics from the rehearsal dinner we did in Mom's backyard and other little funny tidbits. Tidbits only funny to me I'm sure.
Greg (my brother) and his wife Deidra.
The Man and Woman of the hour..Amy and Eric and then there's Uncle Jack..the man of all my hours!
Katie, sister of Bride Amy
Bill (brother of Bride Amy) and his wife Laura
All three flower girls..they did a great job at the wedding! Threw out the rose petals like they were born doing it!
This is Anthony our Grandson at the rehearsal dinner. He wanted to know why we had to rehears eating dinner. I thought that was funny... I guess you had to be there.
What's so funny about these ferns? Nothing really. I got a great deal on them from the flower shop by Jack's office and we drove them out to Chicago in Aug. because Midge said she needed them for the wedding. We named them. Big Fern, Little Fern, and Birdnest Fern. (it had a nest in it..that means good luck)We are so weird.
I mentioned before that I had problems with blurry pics. My fault for some, but this one is probably not because of me. When it was Amy's turn to say her vows, Fr. Damien, trying to be funny, slipped in the phrase..."I promise to be obedient..."Both her and Eric whipped their heads at him, not quite sure he really said that...then Fr. Damien burst out laughing and so did everyone in the Church. We know Amy is just not that type if wife! Obedient? He did that on purpose and it's so out of character for him that it made it more humorous.
My Mom cracks me up. She's introduced and escorted into the reception by my brother Phil..it looks like he can hardly keep up with her! She has to sprint everywhere. Show off.
This is a funny shot..not haha funny, but weird, weird funny. Addy looks like she's on the dance floor with ghosts. I really need a new camera. Or maybe some lessons in photography. Or maybe it's just artsy fartsy!
Finally, what's humorous about this isn't the fact that Addy is crying her eyes out...not sure why...it's that all the kiddos are wearing red plaid. They come from different families...different states...yet they all have on red plaid. Ok, so it's not hilarious but it did make me smile and isn't that what life's about? The small smiley, sort of humorous things?

Wedding Day...Take One!

Amy and Eric's Wedding Adventure. Sounds like the title to a blockbuster movie. Any parent or couple who has ever put together a wedding knows it's as complicated, expensive and nerve wracking as a major motion picture. The day is full of emotion...laughter, tears, bridezilla moments and memories. Amy is my God child. I stood in the same Church and held her as an infant. Watching her walk down the isle, take her vows, having Jack and I due a reading in the Church brought the water works to my eyes. She looked so beautiful, but most of all happy. A happiness I hope she carries for decades and decades of celebrating a day that was all Amy! She ran the show in her style and did it the way she always dreamed. Her mother knocked herself out preparing this day for her. She not only did the decorating, the rehearsal dinner along with Mom and myself, but the food for the day as well. It wore me out just imaging all the time and effort involved. We all helped as much as possible, but this triumph was hers. I noticed Amy tearful as the evening reception went on and realized she was missing her little brother Jono. They were very close and I know he was watching from his spot in heaven...I even looked for a white feather.

This is a pic of the reception room. Midge did everything and I mean everything...from the centerpieces to every flower that was held by a bridesmaid, to every twinkle light or piece of netting..It was really beautiful. Great job!
These favors were on the tables..litte first aide kits. Good idea when the Bride is a nurse and the Groom is a fireman/EMT.
I was sad because many of my pics came out blurry...operator error I'm sure. This was the best one from the church and it's a bit dark. I wasn't sitting in a great place to take pics either because Jack and I did a reading at the ceremony and ended up sitting far from the aisle to catch any good shots. My excuse and I'm sticking to it!
This gentleman played the bagpipes as the wedding party was leaving the ceremony. Very cool!
The wedding cake was so pretty and tasty too...but the topper was the cutest thing. Look closely at the Groom on the topper.
The Groom's cake was amazing...a fireman's hat!
Midge looks so happy here because finally all the months of planning and making everything from centerpieces to salads was finally coming to a close and it was time to just sit back and enjoy the evening...hahaha, that joke is for you Mudgie!
I thought my Mom looked just lovely! Here she is (next to our friend Fr. Damien) happily applauding the Bride and Groom.
As Amy and Eric made their entrance into the reception, the happiness on their faces said it all and Amy's triumphant raising of her bouquet was classic Amy!
It was great that all my sibs could make it for the wedding and share a moment to be together for a photo shot..unfortunately the camera taker blurred it. Hopefully some of the professional shots came out clear.
The next day we all just chilled out and recouped. Grandma and Anthony had a nice moment to sit and talk about some very important things in life...It's sweet to see an 8yr old and an 84yr old sharing life's philosophies. However, I did see Mom slip him a few bucks, so I'm not sure what was said!
Last night Jack thought it was time to take all the cousin little tykes to the park by Mom's house. He even took Sophie, Midge's Jack Russel. Sophie enjoyed every last dog sniffin minute! The little cousin's parents also came along for the walk and were able to laugh and talk and catch up on their lives as each of them live in different parts of the country and don't get a ton of opportunity to get together.
The kiddos sure love this playground ride...Me?...makes me queasy just pushing it!
Even the adults (yes Phil, you are a grownup)got in on the playground fun! It was a nice way to end a very busy wedding weekend.
So all I can say is: Midge,you did it! It's a wrap! It was exhausting, funny, crazy busy,(and I wasn't even there for the set up!)but it turned out to be a happy day for Amy and Eric. Everyone seemed like they were having a great time...and as a famous person once said..."TTTHHHAT'S ALL FOLKS!"

Simple Pleasures

The weather is cold and wet today, but we still have a smile on our face. I'm off of work today so that's always a reason to celebrate! This gives me extra time to get some house work done, packing for the wedding trip on Thursday and just plain enjoying fall at the Pines!
In warmer months you'll find Squeak sleeping on the deck or exploring the property..well, mostly sleeping. Now that it's cooler and wet, this is her spot. Under the desk by the kitchen fireplace. Smart cat.
All summer I avoided heading up into the Creepy Woods. After Jordan came back with a tick on his leg, I decided I would wait until cooler weather when I would be wearing long pants, boots, long sleeves and such. Today was that day. I grabbed my camera, the dog and some clippers to get me in. I usually take the big weed wacker back there at least once in the summer, but missed it this year. I'll get to it when we get home from the wedding because we're having a Halloween party at the end of the month and I'm thinking a scary, haunted story telling time in the woods is in order this year. It was pretty over grown but we tromped on in. Eddy was covered with burrs when we came out, but they brushed off easily. Sure was worth the hike... I now have a good plan for my party haunting!
After getting through the overgrown area, the walking became easier. That was a good thing because the batteries in my camera fell out. Don't ask me how that happened, but believe it or not I was able to find them after rummaging through and letting Eddy the wonder dog lead me right to them! Sometimes he shocks me.
This is actually a creek that runs through Creepy Woods. It was wet, but not running. Made it easy to jump over!
This path is made by our neighbor's 4 wheelers that buzz through here every so often. It helps to keep it walkable.
The first year we lived here, Jordan and his cousin Jono (who passed away at age 18 in 2004) made this "hut" in the woods. It was bigger and better put together then, but 9yrs and weather have left it still standing, but a bit altered. I usually pass by and smile to see it still standing and remember the two ornery boys who made it and wish Jono could see it...but I think maybe he does. Every time we find a white feather just randomly placed in our paths, I know he does.
After about an hour of tromping through the wet and cool woods, Eddy and I headed in and I checked the chili I had left simmering on the stove. All was well so I turned on the Halloween lights above the kitchen fireplace, decided it was the perfect day to hunker down and enjoy the coziness of a quiet house. Move over Squeak, I just might have to join you!

Someone Just Turned Two!!

On Friday Addy turned 2. Amanda's parents had a party at their home Saturday afternoon. Amanda did all the cooking and her friend Cassie (I hope I got that right!) made this cute cake. She did Alexis' cake back in May too. Very talented young lady. And it tasted good too!



These two sisters are best buddies. I smile when I see them together because Addy is almost the same size as 4yr old Alexis! Besides the cake, the only "Barney" item was the stuffed one. There wasn't a Barney birthday anything to be found in the stores!
Here's a big birthday hug from Alexis.
Amanda made a really yummy dinner of stuffed shells and the best green beans ever..along with a lovely salad and garlic bread. Very nice!
Addy picked out her spot for dinner at the kiddie table.
After dinner we headed to the livingroom to open up gifts.
She received lots of cute clothes and toys. She had help opening them from her big sis Lex and a friend named Vito!
Then it was cake and icecream time...Take a deep breath...and swoosh!
Hooray! Great job blowing out the candles!
I thought this pic was sweet. Addy received a squirrel that made noises and moved when it's back was petted. A funny toy but she was really enjoying it! Happy Birthday Addy Rae Rae! I still can't believe you're two already!