FRIDAY THIS AND THAT-51 YEARS AND COUNTING

 There was so much going on

that I forgot to

post about our

Anniversary~

August 17th.

Here we are-

FIFTY ONE YEARS AGO!

It was a hot August day

in 1975.
Yes...yes...she wore flowers in her hair....

We lost most of our pictures

when our basement flooded many years ago.

I have a few~

When did I get wrinkles

and when did he lose his hair?

-sigh-

When anyone asks how

long we have been married

we respond in unison

51 YEARS...
Well, I say it immediately..
The old boy can never remember
exactly how long we have
been married.

He says- Seems like yesterday.

I say- Seems like forever.

The straightman

and the

joker.

We make quite a pair.

It has not been an easy

51 years, despite what it

may look like from the outside.

We both came out of broken

relationships....

and probably should have gotten

to really know each other

BEFORE we got married.

We dated 30 days before

we said

I DO

under an old oak tree

in

Alva, Florida.

There were lots of ups and downs

over the years.

Some easy to accept,

others much harder to deal with.

BUT-

If WE can do this-

If WE can hang in there for the long haul,

then I believe that if

two people really

WANT TO

make a relationship work...

they can...

and will...

and maybe they should.

Take a look at your partner
today...a really hard look...
and think about your
life without them.
Marriage is not always easy,
but no one ever promised us
that it would be.

I only have one piece of
advice for you....
Keep your sense of humor.
Why?
Because you are going to
NEED IT!
......Trust me on this......

FRIDAY THIS & THAT- THE REST OF THE STORY.....

 

   

(Ria & Lulu)
After I posted last week about 

getting ready for 

Lulu's first communion, (here)

I had some people tell me

that wanted the 
"rest of the story" 

as

Paul Harvey (remember him?) used to say.

So-Lulu's 1st communion 

continues- here goes-

We head to church and I am in charge 

of SweetCheeks.

We arrive a bit after everyone else.

 I am keeping her busy for as long as I can.

Most of the family is up in the 

front 3 or 4 rows, 

I sidetrack hubby & son & wife

 and we sit in the LAST row

 with SweetCheeks. 

Remember her?

 The one that "hates chuch"?

 A Catholic church has lots of "rules". Sometimes you stand up, 

sometimes you sit down, 

sometimes you kneel. 

SweetCheeks decided that 

no matter WHAT rule was applicable 

at any particular time-

she didn't care. 

She wanted ME to draw 

on the program that we were given. 

"Nana, dwraw a cat"-

"Hey-dass a cat? 

"Dat dusn't look like a cat to me"...

Scribble...scribble...scribble...

"DAS a cat, Nana". 

Ummmhummm...I see that now. 

Dwraw sumthin else...

hmmm....how about a dog? 

"Das not a dawg" ...scribble...scribble...scribble...

"DAS a dawg".

Oh, yeah...NOW I can see it, plain as day..

Why did I think a dog needed 

ears and a nose anyway? 

"Whut's dat?" she asks pointing-

"That's your invisible friend, Bob," 

I tell her. 

"Pfffft-Das not BOB-

Bob's haair dusn't luuk like dat! 

"Nana-yuse crazy" she chortles.

 

I don't respond but I am thinking-

Hmmmm...

Bob is invisble and 

carrying on conversations 

with SweetCheeks

 and 

I am the crazy one?

Uh-oh...now the singing starts. 

SweetCheeks lifts her voice in OPRHA 

to sing along as if she were part 

of the Mitch Miller band. 

"I singin OPRHA", she informs me. 

"Really? Wow! That sounds good, SweetCheeks!"

 Head nods up and down..."I know, Nana".

Soon, the communion part 

of the ceremony begins.

SweetCheeks decides 

she has to go to the bathroom...

which...by quinkydink, 

happens to be just past 

the flowing baptismal. 

Silence envelopes us as 

I hurry her down the aisle. 

As we are making our way back to our pew 

SweetCheeks spies the baptismal 

(which she somehow missed on the way out)

"HEY! Deres watah in dere, Nana!" 

(hand reaches out and touches the font of baptismal water & sprays her a bit). 

"Now I wet-See? I telled you I hate chuch!" 

she says with a malevolent stare 

aimed at anyone 

that happens to be looking at her. 

Lord, love us-

I start praying- 

we are going to need divine intercession 

to get through the rest of this service...

and God,being God,

provides that little miracle. 

Auntie Lynn swoops in and takes SweetCheeks 

to some blessedly quiet place for a while.

The ceremony continues and Lulu looks lovely as she is blessed. 

When all is said and done I 

asked her how it went....

She said, "I liked the wine!" 

And, so, finally & at last, 

I see my Irish heritage 

standing before me young and proud. 

"God bless you, Lulu," 

I tell her and give her a kiss on her sweet and innocent face. 

"How about some of the special cake your Mom made?"

I am thinking ahead to when SweetCheeks will make her first communion.

Suddenly a song starts plays in my head.

"I Can Only Imagine".

Thanks for staying for Part Two

and reading along.

Next week on to other things!

Bear with me as I navigate life here.

Hubby is not doing well (again)

at this point and so life

changes courses day by day.

Plans fall apart and 

I don't have the time

to always do all the things 

I want to do.  

Have a wonderful weekend and

I will try to get around to visit

some blogs today!

Love all you readers that

have followed me all these years..

and love the newer readers, too.

FRIDAY THIS & THAT- SOMEONE IS GETTING MARRIED! A SWEET CHEEKS TAKE ON CHURCH CEREMONIES

 I wrote this down a long time ago and want to post it here for the kids to read "someday".This is a long read from the time SweetCheeks was little and Lulu was about to make her first communion. It would take 2 hours to read the whole thing so I will keep it as short as I can here.  

This is the soon-to-be-bride, Lulu (our Alana Lauren)

Ready? Here we go-the story as I wrote it way back then (2010)

The first mistake of the day was getting SweetCheeks (Age 3) dressed early.

As soon as her dress was on she ran outside. 

Me: Where are you going? 

SC: I gonna descerate the fwront porch-dat's where! 

Me: Hmmm.. What?

SC: I gonna put sum plantds in da pots das out heah. 

Ummm...

Me: Maybe you shouldn't do that with your good church dress on.

SC: Noooo-dat's OK, Nanee, Mama dusn't care if I dooed it. I just gonna put dese here!

As she says this she is waving sticks and then shoving them down into the winter dirt pots on the front porch. Oh- and because she doesn't want to get into too much trouble she is recruiting Ria to do the actual "planting" (also in a matching church dress)

I finally coaxed the girls inside to watch Lulu get ready for her first communion.She had a beautiful simple white dress on and her veil. (Lord forgive me for the curse words as I sewed the lace on the veil for the THIRD time so it would lay right). 

Today it hangs nicely.

SC: Arhe you gettin murried today, Lulu?

Luly: NO! (All embarrassed because at this age liking boys is akin to saying you have cooties) 

Lulu: I'm making my first communion.

SC: Wahl- I haffing MY furst communion, too!

Lulu: NO! You are not! You aren't old enough and you don't even know what it's about.

SC: YESSS I do!!Iss putting a dwress on and going to church and then eating sumthin'. See! I telled you I knowed whut isss wus!

Lulu: (eyes rolling & starts giggling) 

SC: ISSS NOT funny eifther, Lulu, and I not goin now cuz I hates Church!

Mama: Admonishes Sweet Cheeks in 'that' tone.

SC: Pfffftttt (her favorite noise to show her disdain)  I ridin to church wiff you, Naneee, and we can gets a steamah or sumthin at Starbucks beforah we goes to church!

That sounds good to me I say under my breath.

As I am buckling her into her car seat she looks at me and very sweetly says in her nicest voice-

Naneee- I really do hates church!

I start praying not to commit Holy Murder 

before we get to church.

It was all good once we got there..but notice the expression on SC's face.

Those were certainly the days of laughter and tears and 

I treasured every moment with those girls.

Now they are grown and working and/or in college.

Lulu will soon be dressed in white once again and I can't wait to see that and hear

Sweet Cheeks opinion about that ceremony.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Love you guys and so many of you have followed along since SC was a little girl. 

I may have to follow up with the actual church experience. It is giggle worthy.

Thanks for riding along down 

Memory Lane~

FRIDAY THIS AND THAT- FOOD FROM THE 60s and 70s

I thought it might be fun to 

visit the 

FOODS SOME OF US  MIGHT REMEMBER.

Let's start with breakfast.

Any of you ever eat these?

OR

Notice how they proudly displayed the word

SUGAR?

LOL-That's a definite NO NO in today's cereal aisle.

After a nice bowl of cereal swimming in

WHOLE MILK

did you wash it down with

OR 

one of these?

Maybe mom was downing a quick cup of this-

You went off to school and came home.

Did you have this for an after school snack?

Or maybe this?

CHUCKLES!!!!

Did your mom make this for dinner?

SPAM THE ALMOST HAM

It might have been served with side of this:

Or maybe you were from a modern family

and ate these?

And what did you have for dessert?

After a nice dinner did you sit around and watch

Did you snack on these while watching 

the old black and white TV shows?

Or maybe you had a box of 

CRACKER JACK

back when they had 

REAL PRIZES!

Maybe you washed those down with this...

While mom, being ever weight conscious,

poured this over a glass of ice...

And..sometimes a little milk got heated up

and you drank a cup of this before

going off to bed in a sugar coma.

Feel free to share your own wonderful

food memories!

I will tell you one little 'story'

that I am NOT proud of----

When MAGIC CHARMS came out 

I WAS CHARMED!

I ate so many of them at one sitting

that I was sick for 2 days...

yes-indeedy---

To this day I cannot even think about

eating them

without feeling slightly nauseous.

I now call them 

YUCKY CHARMS!

So, if that is on your morning breakfast menu,

please take me off the guest list.

Because 

TRUST ME-

It will not be pretty if I show up!

image

Have a great day-

fill it with 

GOOD MEMORIES

not like the one I have of 

LUCKY CHARMS!

Leave your own memories 

in a comment and tell me

what I missed!

HAPPY HEAVENLY 21st BIRTHDAY ANNA BELLA

 

 Today our sweet 

ANNA BELLA

would be

21 years old.

WHERE have the years gone?

We held her for moments

in our arms but she is

forever in our heart.

Would she have a special "guy" 

in her life that would make her

shyly smile and say

"No, Nana!  I am NOT getting married! "....

Would she be bucking 

Mom and Dad

about knowing enough

to make her own decisions?

Sadly, we will never know.

We do believe that she is

in Heaven with other

angel babies sharing

sweet, happy moments.

That is what keeps us going. 

On earth

she would be nestled in between

three special girls

They would champion her causes

and fight over who would

get Nana's special gold bracelet

"someday"........ 

You are loved and missed,

ANNA BELLA!

Hold every child/grandchild

tightly because you never

know how long they will

be yours -they are just

in the world

on loan.

~Blessings~

Mama Tara has a special car

and guess what that car is called?

More about that in a future post.

FRIDAY THIS AND THAT---THE NEXT SURPRISE?

 This surprise

comes with 

just

one 

word!

DAISY

More to come

in a few days!

Pinky Promise!

Have a wonderful weekend~

I am on the island this weekend

with no internet.

Will catch up with you the first of the week.

FRIDAY-THIS & THAT- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE OLD BOY (FORMERLY MY HERO)

 

There are lots of birthdays

and lots of days to celebrate

in July for our family.

However----

Today is 

Hubby's  Birthday!

Yep!

I let him live another year!

TODAY he hits the 

BIG 76!!!

Dat be soooo old

This was taken a few years ago

before cancer exacted its toll.

Today he is still dealing with some health issues.

So far, they have ruled out

just about everything.

We have seen several specialists and

been at Mayo for a week's worth of tests.

No real answers.

ANYWAY-------

Happy Birthday, My Hero-

I love you

like 99% of the time-

the rest of the time?

Well, we just won't talk about that

now, will we?

Wait till he sees the 

SURPRISE I have in

store for the Old Boy!

-yeah-baby-

It's COOL-

That's a hint....

It may or may not be this....

We are in a place this weekend

where we have very

LIMITED PHONE SERVICE

and 

NO INTERNET

so bear with me 

as I try to answer any comments

or make visits.

Have a wonderful weekend 

AND

Be Good.

If

YOU ARE GOOD

that kind of allows me to 

BE BAD.

Another little surprise coming up

as soon as I am allowed to

post it.

You will die  smile!