America The Beautiful

 I love the song, America the Beautiful.  From sea to shining sea reminds me of the trips we took with my Mom back in the day.  First to Alaska and then to New York City where we were able to go to Ellis Island and see where Mom's parents came into America and started a new life here.  How brave they were to come to a country, not speak the language, raise 5 kids...although my Grandmother passed away when my Mom was 10yrs, old.  Her Dad came with only $26 in his pockets and the rest filled with dreams.  He raised his children alone, worked, owned businesses, and became a citizen.  Yes, we saw the country from one sea to another that year and Mom sat on a bench at Ellis and cried thinking of her own family who may have sat at the same spot.  My uncles served in WWII and so did Dad.

My brothers served in Vietnam.  Thankfully all came home from those wars and lived good lives.  I'm so grateful for all our service men and women who have served, who serve today, and those that gave their lives for our freedoms.  I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day that included time out to reflect on this holiday we have to honor them.  I've been reading a lot of books about the women who played a big part in WWI and WWII in helping win those wars.  This will be the final post of this month as June is just around the corner.  Jack and I have been working outside to get the grounds weeded, planted, painted, cleaned, etc!  Lots of work but nice to have good weather to do it.  It's been a wetter and chillier Spring than last year.  Jack won't complain about the cooler temps as he does not enjoy the heat. I think next week will bring some more seasonal temps and I know those that have pools will be happy!  I did get to Chicago as my past post said.  Midge and I got lots done to get ready for the family reunion at the end of June.  Only a month away actually!  It was fun to be with her and also be a help.  There's lots planned for that weekend and then I might have some better blog posts!  Here's just a few pics from the Pines to end this.  Have a good rest of the week everyone!

See the owl by the heat pump? There were two originally but one broke...so what happened to it? Can you see it?

One day I'll toss it but for now he's found a home! Ha!

I put some bunting on the fence.  I'm glad Midge and I put that fence up last year! Gives me more places to decorate!  I planted some flowers there today but will show those later after it's all mulched up.

This area across the driveway also needs mulch but slow but sure it will get done. I call this area my garden of weedin.

Hostas coming up nicely by the deck.

I love the wild flocks in the Creepy woods.  Always a nice walk up there.

The Peonies knew it was Memorial Day weekend and opened up to celebrate!

Jack enjoying a quiet evening.  I took these pics with my new phone.  I hate getting a new phone.  My Facebook account was messed up on it but hopefully finally have it under control. Just takes time to adjust to a new one.  But the camera seems to be working just fine!  Speaking of photos...

This pic was taken about 22yrs ago here at the Pines.  That's our backyard and that tiny tree between the kid without his shirt on and my daughter-in-law is an oak tree.  Flash forward to today:

Here's that same tree and the same backyard.  Time flies fast and kids and trees grow up fast too.  Have a good week and I'll see you in June, I guess!  (Unless some fabulous news or event happens before then!)

Mothe's Day And Happenings

 I hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day yesterday.  3 of my boys came over and spent the day with Jack and I and we had some good laughs and good food!  I was very thankful for the thoughtful gifts and cards from them, and we had a nice phone call from our son in Oregon.  He sent me a gift card to one of the restaurants in town that Jack and I both enjoy.  The weather was so beautiful and we were able to spend most of the day outside on the deck.  Today I took off early and headed to Chicago to be with my sister to help with planning of our family reunion we're having this summer.  We took some time to go her Granddaughter's horseback riding lesson.  Ella loves horses and this is truly a passion for her and I was happy to see her doing so well and loving those horses! I'm sure I'll have more to blog about after this trip as we're also planning a girls trip to Maine in July.  Here's just a few pics of the last few days:

Jack and I went out to our favorite Amish place for eggs, but they also have a beautiful greenhouse and this fusia was calling my name!

I cleaned the deck and got out all my furniture but I was most proud of this crazy fern that I managed not to kill from last summer!  I nursed it all winter and it magically made it to see the deck for another summer.  Annabelle took the time to snooze in the shade.

Finally, Miss Ella doing her thing!  She's braver than me on top of that big horse!  It was a lovely night to go and watch her but the rest of the week will be work to get all the details and things done for this reunion at the end of June.  It's going to be a 2 day affair and lots of happenings and maybe even a few good blog posts.  Heading to bed all! Have a good week!

The Colors Of May

 May has arrived and I hope Spring has arrived in everyone's neck of the woods.  I know in northern areas snow can appear even now but here at the Pines the colors of May abound.  There's Pinks, whites, reds, orange, and of course green.

I want to sing: Green, green, the grass is green...but I'll spare you that!  I've mowed 5 times already and I'm grateful for the growth and rain that keeps it going, growing and greening.

My photography isn't too great but there's the pinks of the crabapple, the white of the snowball bush, the red of the Japanese maple.

The dogwood trees are blooming white.  Soon those petals will cover my deck, and I'll groan about it! But for now, I'll enjoy the beauty of them.

As I was mowing the other day, I noticed some of the pine trees were sporting a pink of their own.  Pink pinecones! Very festive!

I believe I mentioned orange in the color pallet here at the Pines.  The setting sun was hitting the trees behind the house and made them light up to look like a Fall pic.  You all know I love Fall but I'm not ready for that just yet.  As I end this post on color, I want to ask for a few prayers for some friends of mine.  Every month I gather with 4 of my old coworkers from the hospital and we have lunch, laughter, good stories, catch up about our families and my tellings of the hospital happenings, just to make them glad they are completely retired!  One of the gals, Kris, lost her sweet daughter Beth last week to a very rare virus.  Beth had battled childhood cancer all through her teen years but survived, worked as a pharmacy tech, got married and although she couldn't have children due to chemo and radiation, she was a wonderful aunt to her nieces and nephews. I was in on her surgery when she was 9 that found her cancer.  Beth is the reason Jack, and I got involved with Relay for Life years ago until Beth had a remission and moved on with her life.  After all her battles, to be taken away by a virus is heartbreaking.   A few of you know my BFF, Donna, who also is in our lunch bunch group.  Donna's husband has been battling his health issues for some time and Donna has had her issues too but has been taking care of Larry through it all.  Yesterday, after a week in the hospital, Larry passed away.  I know prayers can't bring back Beth and Larry, but I sure believe in prayer as a help through difficult, sad times.  So in your prayers if you could send up a little one for these folks you really don't even know, I know it will reach the heavens and give some comfort down here.  

We had a lovely sunset the other day that added to the colors of May. We never know what's ahead for us each day we are privileged to enjoy, so hug your loved ones and have forgiveness and kindness as your colors of the season.  

Let's Get Hoppin!

 Good morning! (well, for at least the next few minutes!)  I've been struggling with getting posts out. Not because of anything tech going wrong. I guess I'm not sure why? I'm not sure if it has to do with nothing really to post about or I'm just being blog lazy.  Whatever the reason I'm here today to post about Easter happenings we had over the weekend.  We were suppose to have kind of nasty weather.  We did have some pretty good rainfall on Saturday that had me and Jack running for the car with a cart full of groceries.  When we finally had it all safe and sound in the car we sat and looked at each other and just had to laugh.  We were soaked!  Jack had water running down his face and I looked like a drowned rat.  But I still needed some stuff at the dollar store so wet or not, we headed there.  We were expecting family on Sunday around 1:00 for Easter feasting and we weren't disappointed.  We ended up with 22 plus 5 dogs!  The weather on Sunday turned out fabulous!  Sunny and 70de made it possible to be outdoors for the egg hunt and on the deck for those who wanted to eat out there.  

Gathering around the island to load up those plates!

I believe that is dog Theo blocking Jordan from his trip to the food.  We had Theo, Briny (Driana and Jonathan's dogs), Kip (Jack and Evelyn's), Happy (Summer's dog), and of course, Annabelle to round out the canine group.  Even with 22 humans we were one short. Cameron ended up having to work. I thought it was cute when he texted his Dad to make sure to bring home some food! 

Some of the dining room group...Evelyn, Anthony, Anthony's girlfriend Becca, Summer and Jackie.

Jack, Driana, Jonathan, and little Hazel, (our step-great grandkiddo), decided to sit outdoors. I felt bad we didn't have the deck all put together but the weather kept us from hauling out the furniture.  That's a project for this week once I get the deck scrubbed up.  After dinner we gathered up the only littles that were here and had an egg hunt.  We only had Hazel and her little sister, Tatem but they had a blast hunting!

Tatem was ready to go.

Hazel made sure she had on her egg hunting boots!

Just a few at first.

Whoa! A real haul at last!

She did share with her little sis.  

This made me laugh.  We had one lonely tulip show up in the yard.  When we put the fence in last summer I guess this little bulb got away and decided to bloom for Easter.  Theo just couldn't resist a sniff! After the littles had their egg hunt, my friend, Bryn, had an egg game for the older set.  Everyone loved it because it was easy, surprising, and tons of prizes too!  A few even won some cash with lottery ticket prizes.  

It turned out to be a fun day.   I was so glad we could go to Church in the morning for a lovely Easter service and then join with family and friends for a gathering to celebrate such a wonderful holiday.  Everyone headed out around 6 and after finishing cleaning up I was ready for a good sit down!  I always make extra food and today was a good reason why I do since we had a few extra show up and that was just fine with us.  As the gangs headed out I made sure leftovers were given out and all the prizes and candy was also taken!

The dining room all quiet and empty and just this little guy...half eaten. I forgot to get a pic when he was in better shape!

  I hope everybody had a nice Easter no matter how you celebrate and now we can continue to enjoy this Spring time with better and warmer temps and sunshine.   

  

April SNOWers Bring Mad Faces!

Monday morning front yard

Monday morning back yard.  Yes, that is snow.  We woke up to a little dusting but thankfully the weather warmed up to 50de and it all melted by noon.  So those mad faces went away.  It's pretty cold today and a few flakes are in the air but no accumulation.  The weather has been super wet these past weeks with all the rain that many are dealing with this month.

First the rain drains down from my neighbors.

The township put this drain here but as you can see, it's a waste and doesn't do much to alleviate the run off to our driveway,

It's eroded the end of the drive and washed out our stones.  It then travels down the road and leaves a mess.  Hopefully we can get some input from the township as how to fix this. For the beginning of April it's been pretty quiet here at the Pines.  The hospital hasn't been super busy so I've only been working 1 to 2 days a week lately.  That's OK with me as Jack and I can always find things to do around here or take a quick adventure drive someplace!  So that's all I have for now! I hope everyone has a good rest of the week and I'm hoping for no more SNOWers!
 

Marching On

 Well, this month certainly flew by. It's just a couple of days before April is here and with it I hope Spring temps and some sunny days along with those April showers.  Easter is also in April but late in the month.  That's OK since it will give me time to get the yard cleared of winter dead things and probably lawn mowing too.  I just wanted to finish the final Chicago trip pics and adventures.  My sister's party was  on Wednesday night and I think I mentioned the bad weather with tornados and storms that day.  Then there was the 3 inches of snow on Thursday that was a bit of surprise.  Thankfully we had warm clothes with us! But it melted very quickly with rising temps and we had some nice shopping time.  I posted about Annabelle's stroller we got for just this kind of occasion.  We plopped her in there and not one person mentioned a thing about it.  But I'm sure many thought there goes a crazy dog person!  Well, when we had to bring her it really did work out well.  Plus she doesn't even bark so she sat quietly and we let her out to walk whenever we could.  In the outdoor mall by Midge's they have an area for dogs and kiddos to play.

It was a nice big area and the day turned out very sunny but just a bit chilly.  Lots of kids around and a few dogs.  

Jack giving Annabelle a few snacks for being such a trooper!  After the mall we went to an event that my niece, Katie, was in charge of .  A polar plunge that was a fund raiser for special Olympics. It was really well attended with 500 crazy people willing to jump in an ice cold pond for charity! They raised over $100,000!

This is Katie's group. Every team had a theme and they chose ninja turtles..hence the green! That's Katie in yellow getting everyone lined up and ready.

Splash! Brrrr! There were volunteer firemen in wet suits just in case there was a problem in the water. Plus only 10 people were allowed to jump at a time so it was pretty safe.

My great niece, Ella coming out all wet ready to hug her Grandma!

The police station's dog, Bandit, made his appearance also.  Such a pretty and well behaved pup!  We managed to get a stop at a resale shop we always enjoy and I found a few things I couldn't pass up. After spending a few more hours with Midge we took off on Sunday for home.  I know we'll be seeing each other in June for a family reunion, but saying goodbye always brings a few tears.  So good bye March.  I think you'll be going out like you came in...like an angry lamb!  Cold after the warm days we've enjoyed and perhaps rainy but that's OK.  Spring has sprung and soon I'm sure we'll be complaining about the heat.  I hope it's been a good weekend for everyone.  See you in April!

She's not tip toeing through tulips but sitting by the many daffodils that have bloomed.

70 Is Heavenly!

 I saw the meme that said it was more fun being 20 in the 70's than 70 in the 20's.  That's a true statement! But we still try and have some fun even if we're 70 in this day and age.  My sister, Midge, just turned 70 last week so Jack and I took a quick trip to Chicago to surprise her.  Her kids concocted a surprise party for her.  She isn't fond of surprises.  Especially surprises that put her in the spotlight.  But we did it anyway!  Hey, she threw a few surprises on me so she owes me one for her!  We  hadn't seen each other since last October when she was here for the annual Halloween gathering.  Usually we get together in December for a family Christmas but it was cancelled.  So seeing each other this past week was great even if it made her cry when we showed up at the shindig!   Her daughter told her that she and her family were taking her out to a Greek restaurant for her birthday and when they arrived at the Greek Isles she was greeted by 25 people that included friends and family that shouted a large: SURPRISE!  Then Jack and I appeared with a giant poster/card that I made and we hid behind when we walked in.  We lowered the card and had our own SURPISE for her.  Yes, she cried and it was put on Facebook.  We stayed the rest of the week until yesterday.  It was a nice visit and fun to see my nieces, nephew, their families and just hang out with Midge.  So here's a few pics of the party:

The cake wasn't just pretty it was delicious too! 

Here's the poster card I made.  Full of candy, lottery tickets, and love!

Midge's sweet kiddos...Bill, Amy, and Katie.  They really out did themselves with this bash.  The food was amazing and everyone had a really nice time celebrating my sister who's been through so much with her health. We didn't even know if getting to 70 was in the cards for her.  But she surprised everyone with her determination to live a full and, hopefully, long life as much as possible.

The Greek food just kept coming! Greek salad, spanikopita, potatoes, lamb, dolmatas, bread, pastisio, rice with spicy sauce on it, flaming cheese, lots of pastries...oh my, it was crazy good!

These folks are friends but just look at the table of food...like I said, there was tons of it! Ha!

Sisters....She's the best!  Happy birthday Midge!  Can't wait to get together again, but no surprises, I promise!