It Was A Dark And Stormy Night

Well-it was actually a day
but, like Snoopy,
I always wanted to
start a story with that line.

I was raised in the

mountains but

ALWAYS

had a longing to

be BY the water.

I am one of those

very strange people..

I LOVE to be

CLOSE TO

the water

but

I don't like to

be

OFFSHORE ON

the water.

AND

I love a good

STORM-

Now I am not talking

hurricane or tornado

type storms..

nope-just a

plain good old storm.

We had a boat that

we used as a live-aboard

during summers.

We rarely took it off

the dock

which was fine for me.

Because?

Have you been paying attention?

Because....

I was ON the water

but not

OUT IN

the water.

Anyway~

Our first little house was

by the water...

and then we moved

various places over

the years.

and finally..

finally...

came back to the water.

Today

when I look out my

window I can see

the Bay of Green Bay.

One of my favorite things

to see is a storm

moving in from the West.

The waves kick up.

You can see the rain coming

across the water..

Moving closer...

The trees bending

in the wind.

The playhouse flag

blown off the flagpole

and landing in the bushes..

Ahh..yes a storm that

passes and leaves

the early night sky

looking like this.

Another storm

weathered.

Amen

A Little Giveaway-From Little Ol' Me~

Wow!

First I had one follower-

Jettie- my friend-

my supporter-

my adopted "sister".

Then my kids found my blog

and became followers

and gave me encouragement

to continue blogging.

And then another friend found me..

And, sometime in the last

week or so- I looked up

one day to discover

I had over 200 followers.

Now- I know that doesn't seem

like many when you look at

all the mega-bloggers out there..

and you gals know who you are..

but I am so happy to have

200 followers and to

"know" most of them...

to visit their blogs-

to know their families

and their likes and dislikes.

I am blessed.

I applaud all you ladies that

have huge followings.

If some of you smaller

bloggers are jealous

forget it!

The big bloggers work

very hard at growing their blog.

They take a lot of time

and put a lot of energy

into each post.

I admire all of you

industrious, wonderful,

blogging women..
big blog, little blog-
doesn't matter..
I have a soft spot
in my heart for all of you.

As for me-

Well, I just keep plodding along.

And when I have time to

stop plodding I visit

Barnes &; Noble.



What is so wonderful about

Barnes & Noble?

You mean besides the fact

that they have a

STARBUCKS

inside the store?

Well~ they sell great

magazines-

Like this one..

which shows a bit of this-

And this one-

which features someone

I know and love

and featured here.

And this one-

which is full of ideas

for Fall

YES.I.SAID.FALL.

See? Told you~

Are you liking this so far?

Yeah?

Well, if you would like to receive

these magazines to pour over-

to hold in your own hot little hands..

AND A

$25.00 Barnes & Noble gift card

all you need to do is

be a follower and

sign up here.

No need to tweet,

Facebook me, feature me

on your blog...

or twitter

or

titter -doesn't that SOUND like

 a naughty word:>0-just saying'...

You just sign up and

make sure you're a follower.

And HOW will I pick

the winning name?

Hmmmm..

I think we will go back

to this tried and true method.

She folds-

And-fully dressed for the

occasion-

She picks!

How's that work for ya?

Sign up below

and we'll have a winner

a week from today,

Friday -August 5th.

Good Luck and

may the Force be with you~

ps...It might not hurt the odds
to whisper sweet little nothings
about SweetCheeks-
you know how SHE is!

The Farmers Market

Well, I sure hope

you didn't stop by to see

pictures of fresh fruits

or vegetables-

or even flowers,

for that matter.

I sure hope not

cuz you won't see them here.

I like to see other things

at the

Farmers Market

Like things that lean..

And things that jump...

And things that sell cold things..

And things that eat cold things...

But the funniest thing I see

is a guy with a 45 pound monkey

on his back.

Okay-quit your whining..

Here is ONE picture to

whet your appetite...

I could say something like-

Isn't this picture just

radishing?

But I won't...cuz

then you will want to

squash me.

Okay-I quit~

Remembering Anna Bella

(Angel of Wonder by NA Noel)
It has been a whole year
since I did a post about this..
Another year...
Another year...
Hard to believe..

Today our little angel,
 Anna Bella,

would have been 6 years old.

I often wonder
 what she would be like today

and picture her much like the angel above.

When she was born
 she looked a lot like her older sister.

This little angel appears to be
a combination
 of all 3 sisters.

What a beauty she would have been.

It is always hard to lose a child.

Some of you know this first hand,

some of you
could not begin to imagine it

happening to your family.

There is a whole different level of loss

when you lose a grandchild,

the child of your child.

Your heart aches

for your loss and

for your child's

loss.

When you lose a child,

your life is forever altered.

There is always a little piece of you that is missing..

a piece that somehow slipped away

and leaves an aching void.

I can't imagine how someone with no faith

carries on with life when they lose a child.

I can't imagine thinking that I would

never see that little one again.

As for me, my hope is in the Lord.

I know that someday we will all be

reunited again

and our family

will be whole.

Rest in peace our little Anna Bella.

We love you so.

Nana

The Stoner Is Still Rocking

Remember the other day when

I told you my son was a

STONER?

Not the kind that uses

THIS~

If you missed that you can

read about it here

He was away for several days

but got home last night and

started again.

Here is one side...all done

except for tweaking..

And the front by the

end of the walk-

Notice the ones he

buried around the tree..

The other side of the front

which is partially done...

Pretty cool, huh?

He has never done any rock

work before and is doing it right

by digging the rocks in and

securing them.

You know what else is cool?

This thingamabob

(yes-I'm pretty sure that is

the REAL name of this piece)

Anyway-this thingamabob

that sits on the top of

their garage.

He is going to get up

there and clean it up

and paint it..

AND hopes to make

a matching one for

the top of their house.

The round painted ball

part is really copper..

He will be taking a cutting

from my

AnnaBelle hydrangea when

they are ready.

They lost their plant

during their move.

Each family member got

one in memory of our

little granddaughter,

AnnaBella.

And to end the day

another beautiful

pink sunset to stain

the sky.

Hope your day is

wonderful and blessed.

It's A Big Job~But Somebody's Got To Do It!

My son-in-law is in

the construction business..

and he can do just about anything.

This is a big job he was working on

recently...

I ususally see him supervising..

but this time caught him

working...

And, his best helper

that loves to tag along

has a job too.

What is it?

Why~ To look

CUTE,

you know?

I think she is

very, very, very

good at her job,

don't you?

You Won't See ME Today- I'll Be Here

I need a break.

A serious break.

It has been go-go-go

for the past few weeks.
There have been some
family "issues".
Stressful issues.

This is just a one-day break

but it IS a break.

We will be  here..

One of my favorite places

to un-wind..

to just BE.

I'll BE here-

where the shore looks like

this...

And the hotel looks like this...

And the view from the room looks like this..

And during the drive along

 Lake Superior I see a spot

that looks like this..

And, like Pavlov's  dog,

I go to this....

A perfect day away!

Happy Monday!

The Family Zoo

Quick-Quick...

Hurry- Hurry-

The animals are caged!

Let's escape while we can....

Drat!

Too late!

What do you mean where am I going?

Nowhere-

Why do you ask?

Oh! Who wanted a

quiet Sunday anyway?

The Rainbow Dot Family-SCheeks Video

If you read the blog the
other day
this is the conversation that followed

the

"Guess Nana's Age"

contest.

SweetCheeks has long had invisible
friends..Bob..Deed..
and her most special
(and recurring one)
RAINBOW

SweetCheeks informs us

WHO Rainbow actually is...

WHERE she lives..

HOW she lives there..

and most importantly..

WHY I can't see

Rainbow.

The video is a bit dark to start

but lightens up as you go along-
then gets dark again..
sorry...never said I was a
cinematographer.
It's a bit longer than my usual
20 second ones..but I just
couldn't shut the camera off~

If you aren't smiling at the end
of this

you need to see if  you can
buy yourself a sense of humor....

Seriously...

SweetCheeks Has A Boy Friend~

Remember I told you

I would post a bit more

about Ria's recital?

I said it would be

something about

SweetCheeks at the recital.

Well, I am good as my word.

SweetCheeks was sitting

patiently, in a warm room,

a bit bored but happy,

waiting for her sister to

start dancing.

All of a sudden she started to

smile...

A BIG SMILE.

Why are you smiling?

Thass mhy bouyfrend!

It is?

Yep!  Dohn't tell him though.

Don't worry-

WE WON'T.

She listened raptly to

his every word.

And gazed at him adoringly...

Remember when you were

YOUNG and IN LOVE?

Yep!

His words fell on her ears like

pearls..

Which made it all the more

disappointing when we

told her he

COULD NOT

be her

BOYFRIEND!

Why noht? She asked

ever so sadly.

Well, because you are

TOO LITTLE

to have a boyfriend..

but MOST OF ALL

because he is your

FIRST COUSIN!

Yeah..Yeah,..

I know there are some states that

might allow that...

Ain't never gonna happen here!

Amen!

A Surprise For Me!

Someone asked me

for my address.

Someone wanted to know

where I lived.

Hmmmm..

Someone's blog says they

have ESP..

Then how come they don't know

my address?

After all-

Remember my post about Miss Cleo?

Yeah-She had ESP..

or so she said!

I responded by asking

this ESP person

if it was to send me something

that exploded.

She responded that it was not.

Hmmmm...

Here's the address..

What?

For Me?

OMGOSH!

WHAT THE...

Here's the outer package~

Look!

Can you believe that

SOMEONE sent me

this?

Here's the inner package..

Not too SHABBY~ huh?

Here's the card that accompanied it..

It looks like a gift itself, doesn't it?

Here's a tag..

Is this a cute tag?

Don't you just LOVE it?

But THAT is not the

real gift..

No. It's. Not.

Look here!

Outer cover

Inside front cover

Inside back cover

And blank pages to fill

with pictures of my choice.

I think this would be a good book

for blackmail pictures, don't you?

No one would ever expect it!

Caught with a whole donut in your mouth?

You're in the book.

Caught with toilet paper stuck to the

bottom of your shoe?

You're in the book.

Caught with holey underpants when

you had an accident?

never mind..no pictures of that~

OMGOSH...I don't even know

how to say a proper

Thank You!

Will this do?

Thank you from the bottom of

my heart!

I have had a tough week..

A l-o-n-g week..

and God put this

perfect person in my life

just on a day I needed it most.

Who?

You want to know

WHO?

Here's who!

Suzann!!

http://shabbyesp.blogspot.com/

She says this is her profile picture

I think she looks more like a

ROSE than a SUZANN

but that's just MY take on it.

 

You will love her blog.

She is very talented

as you can see.

Now-Get going~

Pop over and say Hello~

You'll be glad you did!