a flower in the grass

I like lirope... border grass to some.

It helps to maintain order in and gives

shape to flower beds.

It gives a finished edge to sidewalks 

and driveways.

It adds interest to your yard

and it's pretty...

especially when it...

BLOOMS!!

The little flowers are such a pretty shade

 of lavender.

And there are so many of them!!

It makes a walk around the yard happier!

Hope you are having a happy week!

walking into a cast

I haven't shared this before because I didn't

 have any pictures, but about 3 weeks ago 

our Little L who had only been walking 

for a few days....

fell and broke her leg!

It was a small fracture beneath her left kneecap.

They put a splint on at the ER, but her pediatrician

said it needed a cast.

So, a pediatric orthopaedist fixed her up

with a pink cast!

She was a real trooper during the x-rays and

both procedures.

The cast only had to be on for two weeks...

but her mom and dad said it was a

L-O-N-G two weeks!

She learned to crawl dragging it along,

but sleeping was difficult.

Friday, the cast came off!

She is standing on her leg, but hasn't quite figured 

out that she can bend it again, so she is

 still crawling funny!

We were so sorry it happened, but were so grateful

that it was not worse!

Something tells me she will be running around 

before we know it!

guess what?

A while back I shared that our daughter was expecting
 and that Little E was going to be a
 big sister in December.

Well, she went for a sonogram today

and Little E has something to tell you...

She is excited and so are we!! :-)

when north meets south...

I went to a baby shower yesterday with these two
sweet grands and my daughter .

It was for a young woman that I have known since the

day she was born...and her baby girl, Katelyn

who will be here in a few weeks!

The cake was cute...

the food was lovely and tasty...

the chocolates...creative...and...

the gifts were thoughtful and generous!

But the story to me is about this young mother's parents. Her mother was from Maine.

She joined the Air Force and was sent to the base here. Her father was born and raised here and grew

up in the church that we attended for so many years. At the time, there was a large single's group

at the church and many airmen/women came to be a part of that group. I don't imagine she ever thought she would meet the love of her life there...but she did! A couple of years later, they were married. Twenty eight years, seven children and 2 (almost 3) grandchildren later, they are still faithfully serving God....and as I noticed this morning (we are both in the same church again)... they are still holding hands! :-)

Some would say it was fate or chance or luck that brought this very northern girl and this very southern boy together for a lifetime. I say it was His divine plan!

heirlooms

Our Tenn grandgirls arrived Wed night to stay with us until Sunday. It is an impromptu visit that we are very grateful for! Little E came yesterday and kept us all entertained with her chatter and squeals of delight and the grandboy is coming today to spend the weekend. The "old homeplace" will be lively for a few days!

Psalms 127:3 says. "Children are an heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is His reward."
I looked up heritage...it means "Something that comes to one or belongs to one because of birth; an inheritance". Strong's Concordance translates it as "heirloom".

We consider heirlooms to be valuable... treasures. We care for them, protect them, keep them in a safe place. That's our responsibility as parents and grandparents. The Message bible translates heritage as "legacy". I like that. Our children and their children are...our gifts to this world. They are the part of us that lives on when we are gone.

How important it is for us to train them well, teach them what is important, love them unconditionally.....care for them as the treasures they are. The world will be a better place for it!

hello birdie

Have you seen the Pier 1 Imports commercials? In each one, an item in their store "speaks" to a female (of course) customer. The voices are cute and what they say is funny. Then, the voiceover says.."Find what speaks to you at Pier 1." I had a spot that "needed" something. I had not spent much time searching, but it was on my mind when I was out and about. A few days ago on one of the commercials, the item that spoke to the customer spoke to me! So, I made my way to our local Pier 1 and bought this pretty little lady...

When I went to pay for her, the employee asked, 

"Did you find something?"

I said, "Yes...she spoke to me!"

She laughed!

Here she is with her new friend on my coffee table.

They makes me smile!

'round here

It's peach season here in Georgia and we have an abundance

 of them this year due to all the rain we have had.

There are many orchards here in the mid-state...

not as many as there were when we moved here in 1976...

but it is still a big industry.

Hubby bought 1/2 bushel Friday.

We gave some away, have eaten a few, and I am putting

some in the freezer... a few at a time as they ripen.

They make delicious homemade ice cream and cobbler!

Yummy!

Our biggest hydrangea...the one in the front yard

 is looking full and healthy.

But it only had a few blooms this year...

that was disappointing because I love their big

blossoms!

The impatiens are happy...loving the rain and the mild

temps we have been having. We have yet to reach 100 degrees!

That is unheard of here.

I love the New Guinea Impatiens...the colors of their blooms

are so vibrant and their foliage is a rich green on top

and purple underneath.

The flowers are faded now, but our Encore azaleas bloomed

again! They cost more than regular azaleas,

 but if they keep this up, they will be worth the investment.

I bought these three books in the last week...  one at a yard sale

and two at our local used book store.

To Love and to Honor is an old book...

published in 1950. So, it's even older than me!

Not going to have much time to read this week or next,

but we are going on a trip after that...think a couple 

of them may make in into my suitcase!

Besides peaches, another thing we have lots of here

is Mexican restaurants! There are about 10 in our city 

and close surrounding area. We have tried most of them

over the years. A few weeks ago, we visited one

 that we had not been to in a while. 

It was exceptionally good, so we returned Friday night.

When we left, I thought,

"I think this will be our go-to place for Mexican."

I drove by it today on the way to the grocery store

and there was a sign out front...

"Property For Sale"!

Well, gee whiz... 

That's what's happening 'round here!
Hope your week is off to a sweet start! :-)

piecing it together

A kind and patient lady in our church offered to teach

a quilting class. I debated about whether to participate

or not but when a friend wanted to go,

 I decided to give it a try.

The pattern pictured above is the one we are using...

don't know what it is called.

Kathy at Empty Nest But Full Heart could

probably tell us...she is a quilter extradordinaire!

Below are my fabrics....I think they are going to
look nice in our new family room.
Oh, btw, it's a small quilt (48x48)...just to get us started!

Here's my friend getting her 1/4 inch seam allowance 

marked on her sewing machine....we used painter's tape!

That's our teacher in the background. She has won ribbons at the 

Georgia National Fair....so she knows what she is doing!

It's a good thing because most of us didn't ! :-)

This was my work station.

Here are some of the tools we used. Quilting is not for the faint of heart

or for the "shallow" pocket. It isn't cheap getting started!

Hopefully, I will love it and use these over and over!

After some instruction, we started to measure and cut...

and this is what my pile of pieces looked like.

By the time I sewed the strips together, it was time

to leave. I have homework to do and we will have

class again next Saturday.

Nothing (so far!) has been hard, you just have to be

precise. I've always heard that carpenter's say...

measure twice, cut once. Well, the same holds true for quilting!

It's going to be like putting a puzzle together...

Hope I have all the pieces!! :-)

today's gifts

Here are a few of the things I am grateful for today:

211. delicious vine ripe tomatoes from Hubby's garden.

212. all the rain we've been getting

213. the milder temperatures we've had as a result

214. the gift of fresh peaches brought to our office today by a patient

215. living in a safe neighborhood

216. our camper and the opportunities we have to use it

217. sugar-free Werther's Original candy... a tasty treat!

218. the quilting class I started this week

219. the new shelving unit we installed in the closet in one of our spare

        bedrooms....a great use of some wasted space

220. our fresh-cut lawn...and that there is grass to cut...the seeds and plugs

        Hubby planted grew!!

"Reflect upon your present blessings...of which every man has many...

not on your past misfortunes...

of which all men have some."

Charles Dickens

now the fun stuff!

Lake Tobesofkee is a county run recreational area

about 25 miles north of us. It is a pretty place with

two campgrounds, three beaches and picnic areas.

On Mother's Day in 2008, a tornado hit the park

and did extensive damage. It was closed for many months

as repairs were being done. 

These trees survived but you can see their permanent

bend...an ever-present reminder of that terrible storm.

Our home-away-from-home! 

 

Two guys and a boat!

There were races...I told them they better slow down.

I think they were breaking the speed limit!!

 

There were ducks and geese to feed...everywhere we looked .

This guy and some of his friends came to our site looking for a hand-out!

The boy is a lot like his dad...never meets a stranger!

It didn't take him long to make friends at the beach.

Playgrounds are always a  happy sight...

who doesn't like to climb and slide and swing?

Silly guys playing SkipBo.

I was glad we had games and books and DVDs

when the rain was falling outside!

Our daughter lives a few miles from the lake, so

Little E came to visit while her mom was at work.

She LOVES her cousin!

Every time she sees him, she squeals and he always

gets a hug and a kiss.

He loves her, too. Every time he says her name...

he smiles! 

That makes this Gran's heart glad!

He was glad that she came. They had great fun feeding 

the ducks and playing in the water together.

Little E liked the playground, too!

 

I bought these water guns for the beach, but

they worked at the lake, too!

Both guys caught some fish...bream...

 

and catfish!

 

The boy took this responsibility very seriously!

He was in charge of steering while Chief was fishing...

Gran helped a bit! :-)

We took several boat rides and admired the lovely homes

on the shore.

The landscaping was pretty, too, and with all

the rain we've been having, everything was lush!

 

Hubby liked teasing the geese with his boat.

He said it was so I could get a picture of them 

in flight. :-)

At the entrance to the campground was this

memorial to the responders  

of the 9/11 attacks.

 

Impressive and thoughtful... a nice thing to do.

We came home Sat and went to church on Sunday...

me and my boy just before going in for Sunday School.

His mom and other grandpa came by to pick the boy up after lunch.

We sure enjoyed spending the time with him and when I asked

him what he liked best...the list was long!

That makes this Gran's heart glad, too! :-)