Mother's Day And Birthdays

 May is a big month for gifts around here.  We have #3 son who's birthday is today and I always tell him he was the best Mother's Day gift I ever got! Happy Birthday Phil!  May 7th was our Granddaughter Lexi's 15th birthday. Oh my, she's growing up so fast!  She's an amazing young lady.  So smart and sweet and a wonderful big sister to Rae Rae!  May 12 is our Granddaughter Katie's 19th birthday.  Sure wish she and family lived closer to us. We'd love to spend special days with her!  May 21st is our Granddaughter Summer's 23rd birthday.  Now we're getting up there in the ages! But May is also Mother's Day.  A big Happy Mother's Day to all of my blog buddy Moms!  It's a bitter sweet Mother's Day for me since this is the first one without my sweet Mom.  Last year, thanks to Covid, Mom couldn't have visitors in the rehab facility and we did a Zoom with all of my siblings.  It wasn't a good day for her and she just wanted to come home.  I cried after that and felt it was a horrible Mother's day.  Her birthday is also in May.  May 17th and last year she turned 94.  I was out in Chicago and we stopped by and dropped off her gifts and flowers but it wasn't the same.  Mom came home a week later finally and we were so hopeful that she would continue to recover and we'd be celebrating Mother's day with her this year along with a birthday for turning 95.  But it wasn't to be as she passed away a few weeks after her birthday on May 29th.  So I will remember Mom fondly and all the things she taught me over the years.  I'll remember all the phone calls and the times we got together with my sister and laughed ourselves silly and talked until the early morning hours.  Her talents were many and I always said she was the smartest woman I knew.  She was fearless, loved to travel, a wonderful cook, and a fabulous seamstress.  She was a smart business woman also and my siblings and I were sure lucky to have her as our Mom.  Happy Heavenly Mother's Day Mommo! Sure miss you.  

Mom and Arnie.

Phil and his girls...Lexi in tan and Rae Rae in red. 

Miss Katie!

Summer...who we always say her personality is bright, warm and fun just like the Summer season. Happy May birthdays to everyone and I hope it was a lovely Mother's Day also.  If your Mom is still with you, hug her and know you are blessed!

Happy Easter! (Greek Easter I Mean)

 Although I'm not Greek Orthodox I am half Greek. Growing up we always celebrated both Easters.  My Mom's relatives would do the whole roast the lamb on the spit and tons of food thing and we would go and manage to have a good time even though we didn't speak Greek and didn't understand many of the grown-ups.  But the memories of those days have stayed with my siblings and myself and have become sweeter over the years as all those adults that were there have now passed on.  I know many of my cousins have taken over those traditions and it makes me happy when I see that on Facebook.  Today we decided to gather our kids and Grandkids and celebrate Greek Easter since we didn't  get to have regular Easter in April because of my accident.  So I made some traditional Greek foods and we did ribs instead of Lamb and there were lots of other goodies brought by those that came today.  We had  our traditional Easter Egg hunt and even did an Easter Egg hunt with the adults who seemed to have as much fun as the littles!  We put money in the little kiddo eggs and the adults had candy in theirs and then were awarded lottery tickets when they completed the hunt.  A few won a little dough even!  The weather was perfect, the food was really good and the smiles and laughter made it all the better.  My hope is they all will have fond memories of time spent with YaYa and PawPaw and remember the traditions we've shared.  My sweet  Mom was on my mind today as I was putting out the food and making sure everything was going well...just like she did when I was little and also when I was all grown up.  I sure hope she had a smile on her face in heaven  as we celebrated her heritage along with our family traditions.  Miss you Mom!  Here's just a few pics of today.  I usually snap food pics but I guess I was too busy having fun!

The weather was sunny and warm and perfect for gathering on the deck.

Lexi is old enough to get the Gator out and give rides to the younger ones and keep them entertained before lunch.

The kids enjoyed the Easter Egg hunt and then they hid the eggs for the adult hunt.

The dude in this pic is our #3 son, Phil.  2 things about this make me smile.  #1...It's been many years since I saw him carrying his own Easter basket hunting for eggs and #2...He's pretty grey on top!  But it looks good on him and his Dad always says..."Our hair may be grey but at least we have a full head of hair!"  True words.

The hunt was divided into teams and team Jackie and Evelyn were the first ones done! Winner, winner chicken dinner!  Well, actually rib dinner and Jackie had a $20 winning ticket!

A couple of other egg hunters...Summer and her brother Anthony and Driana and her fiance, Jonathan. Driana won $20 too!  Some others won small amounts but at least not all were duds!

Everyone was busy scratching off those tickets! We decided this was going to be an annual event and I was glad they all enjoyed the day and the games.  I love it when we can all gather together and make memories.  Happy Easter everyone! 

I Hate To Do This

 I hate to post another weather phenom but next year when I go back and read what the weather was like in April I might want a heads up to not move the snow shovel off the deck until June.

On Wednesday last week, the 21st, we got 6 inches of snow.  To make it a perfect day I had to get a root canal that morning.  Yep, doesn't get more perfect than that!  The root canal was a breeze and by Friday the snow was gone and my neighbors were mowing their yards. Welcome to Spring in Ohio! 

The blossoms on my Dogwood near the deck were laden with the white stuff and I don't think anyone would have wanted to dine alfresco!

The roads were clear for my trip to the dentist thankfully.

A few days later all was good in my neighbor's yard.

Down by the creek all looked pretty.

Jack and I went to the cemetery this afternoon and this tree was so beautiful and smelled great!  I'm thinking we can resume our outdoor yard work as the temps will hit 80 by Tuesday. We have some tree stumps getting ground out this week and new trees planted.  I hate to keep posting yard pics but I know more will be coming as we get more done at the Pines. Thanks for putting up with me!  Happy crazy Spring!

Young Love

 I thought I'd better blog before it's super old news! Time has been flying by as Jack and I work outdoors to catch up on yard stuff and other projects. I try to do as much as possible one handed.  Not fun. Even blogging is a pain to one finger my way around the keyboard.  This past weekend I did do something that was fun for a change. My dear Granddaughter, Driana, is getting married June 11th and her Mom  and sister threw her a bridal shower. It was fun and the food was delish and she and her fiance received a lot of cool gifts. Much cooler than some of the gifts we got 47yrs ago! I didn't see one avocado green appliance! Do you remember gifts you received when you got married?

Jonathon and Driana.  I can't believe she's 25 yrs old!  She was just a little 5yr. old when we moved to the Pines!

Lot's of fun gifts and even the games we played were fun!  Hello Happy, Summer's little dog.

It was a brunch and all the food was delicious.

I love you Dri! She's the sweetest kiddo ever and also a wonderful RN who works with hospice patients.  She has a loving heart.  All the happiness in the world to you!

Projects...Gotta Love Them

 I thought I'd better do a post so you wouldn't think I had another crazy thing happen in our family!  I got my stitches out on Thursday. The surgeon was very pleased with with how nice the incision looked. Basically saying: "Gee I do good work!" Ha! He was also pleased with my range of motion. I was happy to get what I lovingly called my "boat anchor" splint off.  I have a lovely velcro splint that can be removed for showers and putting ice on.  Makes life much easier.  I even went out on Saturday  and cleaned out a couple of flower beds.  I'm not letting a couple of broken bones stop me! Well, they did slow me down but now I'm excited to see if I can mow! Jack and the boys (Jackie and Phil) worked on a project in the front sidewalk area. We needed a new retaining wall and they got that fixed up nicely. Jack had done most of the prep work done ahead of time so that made it go quicker.

Old wood out before the plants were completely grown in.

My two favorite Jacks going over the plan. 

Get out the big guns!

Go boys! 

There's tweaking that needs to be done...dirt filled in and a few other things but I was happy to see this project off the to do list. I'm excited for plants to grow in and in May I'll get more color with annuals. Even though we've had beautiful weather so far I don't trust Mother Nature to not send us another snow surprise! I'll get after shots later in the season. It's fun to see how green everything is getting. Have a good week!

April Fools

 March slid out like a lamb and Mother Nature just couldn't resist a little joke this morning.

A little Spring snow! 

Spring snow looks and feels a lot like Winter snow but I know our temps are warming up this weekend and already most has melted.

The red snow shovel hopefully has seen it's last use for a while.

I snapped a pick of Jack heading out to work this morning and I put a roast in the crock pot and watched the snow fall gently.  I'm recouping well as the surgery also went well. My pain level is low, just getting energy back is my goal.

A plate and 7 screws put this Humpty Dumpty back together again. I've said it a million times...the human body is amazing in it's ability to repair even as we treat it harshly. That was one of the reasons I loved my job in surgery...seeing it all put back. Have a safe and lovely Easter this weekend. Just watch that first step...it's a doosie!

A Shot In The Arm

 Jack and I got our second vaccine on Friday. We decided to do our usual Saturday running around right after incase we would have any reaction. Some do, some don't. We did. Saturday afternoon we had aches and very tired and I had chills. But better today.  Tomorrow more shots in the arm for me.  I'm getting surgery to repair my left wrist.

It's not suppose to bend like this.  They x-rayed my right arm too because it hurt. They said it was fine even though Jack questioned one spot by the elbow when he looked at the x-ray.  I questioned it too and even asked for another film. Nope they said, no need. I went to the Ortho doc on Thursday and showed him my arm...

Pretty black and blue for not having a break. He looked at the x-ray and said: Well, it's broke too...right here (where Jack originally questioned) by my elbow. Thankfully it's small enough to not need anything done.  

My head is fine too except for the abrasion that's now a lovely shade of green, blue, and yellow! I hope whoever read the CT scan didn't screw that diagnosis!  Anyway, I just want to get this fixed and let the healing begin. Puts a damper on Easter again this year. But Greek Easter is May 2nd so we're going to celebrate then.  To end this post here's something that makes me smile ;

Those that have followed my blog know I collect Lori Mitchell figurines and know I have some for all the holidays.  I found this guy in Chicago a few weeks ago.  I love him because he can be in the kitchen all year.  His curl and his cute outfit and cake just makes me happy.  Some folks like dead animals on their walls...I like skinny legged figurines!  Go figure!

Finally, temps here have been mild off and on and these favorite Spring blooms have arrived. It will be colder this week and even a few snow flakes could appear. But I'll enjoy this touch of sunshine while I can.  And that's a happy shot in the arm!

What A Week..And It's Only Tuesday

 Because my life has taken a few dips in the last year, I thought I would put the cherry on the sundae. Yesterday I did a dumb stunt and fell in my garage and broke my left wrist. I thought my right arm was broke too but thankfully it's just bruised and super sore. I have a nice lump and abrasion on my forehead that necessitated a CT scan.  I was in serious doubt that they would find anything in there! But my head was fine so I'll see the orthopod on Thursday. I'm sure surgery will be involved. Time will tell. So for now I'm plucking away with one hand and I'll spare pics for now!  Sheese...what a week!

First Day Of Spring

 I'm a bit behind in posting. It's been a week of busy things and decision things.  I was hesitant to write this but I have to say we had a hard decision to make regarding Lucy.  We decided to re-home our little sweet girl.  She's a wonderful dog and was even housebroke...well, at least 98%!  Very smart. The reason is more geared to me than her.  I have some health issues that I need to tackle. I've put them off thinking it would go away..not even sure we know what "it" is yet.  It's nothing life threatening!  Probably more geared to arthritis and fatigue.  I finally called my Doctor and I'll be getting some tests started next week.  Anyway, I was pushing through getting Lucy lots of exercise and training.  Arnold was the other problem.  Not getting along with her at all.  He's old and not into puppy play.  It was a battle daily to keep her from getting bit and him from being stomped on by her playfulness. My son works with a nurse who was excited to get Lucy if we decided to go that route.  After hearing about her family we said OK, lets do it. Lucy will be living in a big, beautiful home on 10 acres of land with this sweet family.  They have a 9 month old Labradoodle puppy and 2 kids, ages 11 & 14.  Her hubby is a firefighter/medic. They came by yesterday to pick Lucy up and the kids are wonderful and they have posted pics on Facebook that show her settled in and the other dog so happy to have a playmate! We feel really good about this and I know Lucy will be a much loved addition to their family.  Plus they only live about a half hour from us and I'll see pics on Facebook and can visit if we want.  So on this first day of Spring I'm hoping to get on with taking care of me and getting ready for Easter.  Here's a few pics of the past week. 

First evidence that Spring has sprung....crocus have risen!

I call these baby daffodils...the regular big ones are up but not bloomed yet.

Not sure this is a sign of Spring but Jack cut down the crabapple tree in front. It always bloomed beautifully in Spring but it has had issues and was dying. Last year hardly any blooms and molting leaves so we are replacing it with a flowering pear tree...not the fruit kind, just ornamental.  Bye bye once pretty tree.  It will now warm us in the winter for it's final showing.  

On a funny note, our little town decided to turn the town creek green on St. Patrick's Day!  It was something they wanted to do last year but because of Covid they couldn't. It was really green as you can see by the newspaper...sorry for the wrinkles but it was raining a lot on Wednesday!  So that's the news at the Pines for now.  We get our 2nd vaccine next week and warm weather is promised.  I just got a text from Lucy's owners saying she is playing outside on this beautiful day with her new playmate.  His name is Homer! I love his name but they want to keep her name Lucy and thankfully not change it to Marge like the Simpsons!  It's a good first day of Spring.

What's In A Name?

 If your name is Robert are you called Bob? How about Andrew? Are you Andy? Thomas is Tom?  A few times I had folks ask me if my hubby's name of Jack is a nick name for John. Nope...Jack is the legal handle for my honey.  My name is Kathleen but I've been called Kathy all my life.  Well, that's not entirely true.  How about Kath...yep I've been that. Jack calls me Kate.  My niece's name is Katie and toward the end of Mom's life she would call me Katie too.  In high school I was called Greek. In a school of 4000 students if you yelled Kathy down the hall you'd get many heads to turn. Yell Greek and not much of reaction unless you were me!  In surgery I was Starko...(Or Starcasm lovingly called by some surgeons!) Let's not forget YaYa that my Grandkiddos call me. Yia Yia is Greek for Grandmother but I chose to spell it YaYa and it's my blog go to.  Do you like your name?  My Grandfather went by Al because he didn't like Elmer.  Jack's Grandfather offered us $50 if we would name one of our kids after him...Otis...nope, wasn't ever going to happen! Now a days the movie stars call their kiddos some weird stuff.  I guess we'll see if they grow up to like it.  I don't think I'd like my name to be Apple but that's just me.  So what's the real point here?  Well, I mentioned a few times we were thinking of getting a puppy.  I went over it a million times in my head and just couldn't decide.  Would this be a good decision for our lifestyle at this time of our life? How would Arnie handle a puppy at his advanced age of 11.  Do I have the time and stamina for puppy training?  My sister said she's never seen me so indecisive about something.  She was excited that we would both have pups who were sisters too.  So I took a deep breath and said OK, we'll do this.  On Tuesday last week we brought her home.  A little red Goldendoodle...AKA..Mutt.  Let's face it they are really just a mixed breed but now they are called "designer dogs".  Hoity Toity!  My friend is the breeder and this isn't a puppy mill situation.  My son Jordan was surprised we went with a breeder since we've always gotten our dogs from a shelter.  If I didn't know the breeder so well I wouldn't have gotten her.  Yes, it's a her and I mentioned her name in previous posts.  Her name was Autumn. My sister named her because of her red color and Autumn is my favorite season.  We've had her 6 days now.  6 long puppy training days. To say I'm tired is an understatement.  But I know it will get better and she's doing really well in a short time.  I'm glad I'm not working at the moment too.  Today we had my kids and some of the Grandkiddos come over for lunch and to meet her.  She's the one who's exhausted now!  So back to the name game.  We decided to change her name.  After being with her and getting to see her personality come out we decided Autumn was too millennial and didn't fit her.  I asked my sister if she would be upset if I told her something.  She immediately thought I was getting rid of the pup! That's because after the first day I was ready to do that! In fact, my son was willing to take her.  But that didn't happen! No, I told her. We were keeping her but changing her name to....LUCY!  Like Lucille Ball with that red hair! Plus her personality is spunky enough for it!  So here's LUCY:

She's a cuddler.

She like to rest on shoes.  Hasn't starting chewing them yet.  Hopefully we'll nip that in the bud if/when she does.

Yep, loves shoes.

Plus she's fairly chill.

She was whipped after the family left.  Arnie isn't very pleased about this.  He either ignores her, puts up with her, growls at her, lifts his little lips up at her and finally when he's had enough he nips at her.  She's learning that he's not fun to play with.  So wish us luck.  I'm still wondering what the heck I was thinking! Then she does something cute and all is forgotten!  Welcome home Lucy...(the puppy previously known as Autumn...hey, don't complain pupper..you could have been called Apple)

Let's Compare

 Last post I shared the icicles and snow.  So let's just compare what a few days will do.  I drove home from Chicago yesterday and the weather warmed up to almost flip flop weather!  My car thermometer read 62de at one point!  Yowsers! 

Front walk all clear! 

Just a few patches of white in the back yard.  This will be how Spring will go around these parts. Warm, rain, fog, then cold again and perhaps a snowfall again too.  But just seeing the green and feeling yesterday's warm air and sunshine says a happy farewell to February!  We will welcome in March like a lamb today.  Yes, much chillier than the weekend but nothing major so all's well that starts well.  I can't believe it's been a year since we've traveled this pandemic path.  It will be a year next week since my sister's illness changed the course of our lives as a family.  Yesterday was my birthday and it's the first one that I didn't hear my Mom's every year birthday talk.  She would always call and ask if I felt any older and then tell me that this day was just like the day I was born.  And then I would hear the story of her day and my delivery.  The outing with my Dad and my Uncle George and Aunt Gail. How they went out to dinner and she ate a delicious new salad dressing that had tons garlic!! And how she lost that garlic salad dressing in the delivery room and the reaction of the nurses! Ha! I can just imagine. Maybe that's why I do like garlic myself?  Anyway, I miss her and going to Chicago to be with my Sister was a nice way to spend time a little closer to Mom in some ways. However, I was happy to get home yesterday and be with Jack and Arnie!  Midge's surgery came out good! Now today she will meet with the kidney transplant team in Chicago and find out if she can be a candidate for a transplant and what has to happen next on this journey she's been on. Prayers for her that all will be a thumbs up and then tests for family to see if any of us can be a donor.  So although it wasn't how I usually spend my birthday I was glad to be there for her and also her new pup, Hope.  That little dog is doing great!  Almost house trained! She's really smart and a good companion to Midge.  Yes, I'm getting our new pup tomorrow.  Hopefully Autumn will be as good as Hope and my nephew's dog, Bella, have been.  

Saturday Midge and I spent the afternoon with my niece Katie and her daughter Brooke.  Midge's kids are the best and I had fun visiting with not only Kate but Amy and Billy too.  So now on to today and getting caught up with errands, and house stuff and preparing for the dog that I'll pick up tomorrow morning.  Hello March....let's be a better one this year than last year so we can compare on a good note!