Happy Birthday Ria - You Are Such A Special Girl

Here is the earliest picture

of Ria I have scanned into my computer.

Look at those eyes!

This one is

 is not great-

not sure what camera it was taken with.

Look at those curly little piggy tails.

She was SUCH a sweet little girl.

.

That is SweetCheeks to the right as a baby

crawling around..

she looked up to her

big sissy-even then

.

You will notice that SweetCheeks is 

getting INTO the cabinet~

When she was three

she and her sister

were in a wedding that

was photographed for a

national bride magazine.

This is one of the pictures

that appeared in the spread.

Our little thumb-sucker...

Look at those eyes...

She has always been a little princess~

She loves everything and everyone!

I love her serious look.

She is growing up fast.

We are thrilled to have this 

sweet little girl in our lives.

She is one of 

Three Sisters Cookie Company

And all Three Sisters are as sweet as can be.

Summer or Winter

Yep-She is growing up fast!

She is our ballerina.

Beyond good for her age 

and dancing with girls

that are two and three years older

and doing solos.

She is just a slip of a girl-

teeny-tiny-a good wind would

blow her away-

(but we hope it won't!)

Don't grow up too fast, Ria!

We are missing our 

"little girl" 

already.

~HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY, MARIA~

Love you to the moon and back...

Nana

Pick Your Favorite Table RESULTS AND MY Health Update AND Prayer Request Update

First of all

thank you so much for all the prayers

and good wishes you sent up yesterday

for Carol & Dr. Allen Ball.

His MRI showed that the tumor has not grown.
They are headed back to the Carolinas.
He will continue on the treatment he has been on for the time being.
Please keep them in your prayers these next few weeks.

Meanwhile-

Here are the results of the 

PICK YOUR FAVORITE TABLE:

First Place:

FLOWER BOXES ON A PLANK TABLE

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2nd Place with about half the votes of #1

#6

ROSE LANTERNS

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Third Place 

HYDRANGEAS-A WEDDING AT HOME

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Thanks to all of you for playing along.

I love doing this and seeing 

what tables you pick 

and who you are going to sit with.

I am moving from table to table 

so I can sit with all of you.

I DO get to sit next to Ron @ The Uptown Acorn

at the HYDRANGEA TABLE.

That's because THAT MAN likes a cocktail.

I don't drink so he can have mine.

Then I can threaten to tell all of his secrets

when he gets all stuck on stupid.

Health Update:

I am back on antibiotics and inhalers.

I still have a bacterial infection that is hanging on

and on and on and on and on.....

I am laying low for this whole week doing

just what the doctor ordered.

My main source of entertainment is my laptop,

stupid TV programs and watching the 

birds dive bomb the squirrels outside the window

Life is good.

Very, very good.

This is how SweetCheeks feels when 

Nana is not around to play with her.

Notice the sucked in lip.

She pushes the lip OUT when she is pouting..

See the difference?

Do you suppose she is going to really

GET ME BACK 

someday?

She has already told me that I can't come to her

wedding when she gets married because I might

"act up".

Imagine that!

Me? HAH!

Well-wait till she sees what I am 

NOT giving her as a wedding present...

and that's all I'm gonna say about that!

A Very Hard Post For Me To Write- ASKING FOR PRAYER- Once Again---and A Judy Health Update

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post

about our friend, Dr. Allen Ball here

One of the reasons my daughter and I 

did a road trip home was specifically to see him

and his wife, Carol.

We met boating in the mid 90's and have

been fast friends ever since.

Dr. Ball was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer

 last summer.

The optimistic outlook at that time was 

eighteen months.

Two weeks ago,

when we saw him in the Carolinas,

he was just coming home 

from the hospital and

doing quite well.

He talked with us and he

remembered some times we had shared

His wife, Carol, 

contacted me yesterday.

Allen is failing fast.

They were on their way to Baltimore
 to see the neurosurgeon

that did his initial surgery.

It looks like they will be stopping chemo

and starting hospice care when they get home.

Carol is NOT READY for this.

Are any of us ever really ready for this moment?

No-we're not-no matter what-we're not.

Please pray for Allen & Carol
and/or send best wishes/thoughts their way.

Pray that they are able to turn things over.

I know they are Christian people 

and they are assured of their

Heavenly Home

but I also know that they love their 

Earthly Home, too.

My heart is aching for this wonderful man.

He was a bright light in the field of medicine 

and I can't tell you how many babies in NY state

are named after him.

One day I will tell you 

some wickedly funny stories he shared...

but today---

I am having a hard time 

finding humor in this moment.

On a brighter note,

Judy-Gracious Southern Living

is home, groggy, but doing okay.

She thanks all of you for your prayers

and will fill us in more at a later date.

For now- she is starting the healing process.

Thank you - All of you!

Thank you for taking your precious time 

to offer up a prayer for friends that need them.

Bless you-as you bless those that need it!

I'll have a little lighter post tomorrow!

A PRAYER REQUEST FROM JUDY@ GRACIOUS SOUTHERN LIVING

I had another post all set to go for today

BUT

sometimes really important things 

come along and plans get changed.

My friend, Judy,

is asking for prayer.

Her blog is:

Judy is 

 having some very serious surgery

this morning and is in for a long recovery.

Please take just a moment and say a prayer for her.

She will not be able to blog for a while

but it will do her heart good to know that

we are praying and/or 

sending healing wishes her way.

She said that she would let us know how she is

as soon as she possibly can.

God bless you, Judy-

We've got your back, sistah!

A Sunday Morning Puzzle For You-Adjust Your Glasses

I want to you stare at the picture below.

It may take you a few minutes.

Can you see it?

Can you?

Can YOU spot the REAL baby?

Here's a hint-

It is not the one with the trunk!

Now THAT'S a

BASKET OF BABIES

I wouldn't mind picking up!

Happy Sunday.

I've got something fun for you tomorrow.

FEAR - Giveaway & Happy Birthday to My Brother & My Best Friend Sandy

Last week there was an opportunity to sign up

for a book by 

JETTIE  PARRISH

called 

FEAR.

If you signed up here or

 on Facebook

your name went into two drawings.

The winner here is...

drum roll please...

Kay G

Kay has a blog called

Georgia Girl With An English Heart.

Kay-please email me 
your full name and  address and I will

pass it along to Jettie

If any of you would like to purchase the book

you can do so on Amazon HERE.

You can download it to read on your computer

or you can purchase a hard copy.

Thanks to everyone that entered the contest.

AND----
 Happy Birthday to my dear brother,
Charlie, gone two years this month.
He lives with the angels now and 
celebrates a heavenly birthday instead
of an earthly one.
Miss ya, bro!

You were one of the kindest
men I have ever known.
The angels are lucky to have you
but I wish I could have had you just
a little while longer.

AND-
Happy Birthday to my dear friend
SANDY
She has seen me at my worst and
at my best-whatever THAT is-
This was at my daughter's wedding.
Love ya, Sandy!

So-
Have a great Saturday
and

I'll be back tomorrow.

Yes-I-will!

Finish It Up Friday- Random Five

While I was gone from blogland

I tried to get a lot of things

sorted out -including pictures.

Here are some I want to share 

and then I can then file them.

MyHero had Valentine's Roses waiting for me

when I got home from my roadtrip.

His generosity in floral offerings 

was only exceeded by his generous offering of

clothes waiting to be washed.

image

I might have lied exaggerated just a bit there.

Once again, like everyone else in this house,

the Christmas Cactus is confused.

Umm...it is February-

You are either really LATE blooming

or really early!

-but you sure are purty-

I swear that if there is a camera out in the city

my grandgirls rush it.

Here you see Ria and SweetCheeks 

on the 

FRONT COVER 

of the local downtown promotional magazine.

They are standing there

with the mayor, Jim Schmitt.

The mayor looks like he wishes he could be

somewhere else.

Go figure!

Here's one of my favorite pictures of SweetCheeks.

Ignore the pink shoes above.

Now-look at the shoes below.

This is Lulu, Ria, SweetCheeks and Naomi

on vacation.

Anyone care to guess who is wearing the

WHITE SHOES?

Anyone?  Anyone?

Anyone?

MyHero looked at the picture and said~
Oh!  Look at Julia (SweetCheeks)  making a LETTER J
with her shoes.
I said~ It looks to me like she is stepping on someone's toes!  duh

Here's to a great Friday 

and I hope that 

NO ONE STEPS ON YOUR TOES

today!

Guess what?

I am working at the VA hospital again today.

I was only supposed to work two days a week

but they were short of help today.

Guess they know a sucker when they see one.

I'm thinking of having it tattooed on my head

like this so EVERYONE knows!

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Have a great day!

My New "JOB"-

Yes- It's true.

I am no longer housebound.

I have escaped into the real world.

However, I only escaped about a two mile distance.

I am the newest volunteer at the new VA center

in our area.
I get the early hours- I start at 6am.

It is a beautiful facility....even in winter.

As you can see-

It is a large facility and busy.
It will be even busier when

they open the cancer center here.

image

The main entrance is beautiful.

image

I help check people in and tell them where to go.

MyHero says I am very good at 
telling people where to go.

I have been practicing on him 
for several years now.

So far, I have been lucky to work 
with a bunch of great volunteers.
Most of the volunteers are connected to the service
in some way-either having served or having someone
in their family that has served
in the Army, Navy, Marines or Reserves.

The volunteers are a bunch of jokesters.
I should fit right in,
don't you think?

As I watched the men and women come in for
treatment I felt truly humbled to be able to 
serve them on some level.
Because of them I am free to do what I do.

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I hope to bring a bit of joy to those 
that need a smile.
If I can do that then I will know that
I have done my little part 
to support our veterans.

I am working on Tuesdays & Thursdays
so I might be a bit scarce on those days.
I feel blessed to be able to do this...
truly blessed.

It is terribly cold here today.
High of zero -not counting wind chill-
and the wind!!!!
Oh! The wind!
I'm not saying it is windy here but
I will tell you that when this 
squirrel came down the tree his
tail was sticking straight out behind him.

Hmmmm....almost makes you
wish you had a tail to cover yourself with,
doesn't it?
---almost being the definitive word there---

I'll be back with something 
FUN tomorrow!
Pinky promise!

Road Tripping With My Daughter-Florida, The Carolinas & Graceland!

After we dumped the rest of the family

off at the airport

My daughter and I started driving home.

Here she is at the onset.

She is the SELFIE QUEEN!

Remember how she looks here.

It is important later on in the blog.

Speaking of QUEENS....

We took a little U-Turn

from the Orlando airport.

and drove south about 3-1/2 hours to

Cape Coral, FL

image

 We went to see my good friend

Queen Margaret...Queen of  Crazy...

(which is why I love her)

She is starting a whole new life and is 

the happiest I have ever seen her.

Thanks for lunch, Your Royal Highness. 

From there we headed North.

We made a swing to the ocean and drove

A1A from Daytona to the top of Florida.

Then headed to the North Carolina shore.

We visited our dear friends,

Carol & Dr.Allen.

Allen had brain surgery a few weeks ago.

He has a cancerous brain tumor

and has had radiation and is on chemo

so please pray for him and his wife.

He is one of the most brilliant men 

I have even known.

We used to play a game called

STUMP DR ALLEN...

Let's just say whatever we mentioned

he knew something about it.

The man is a walking encyclopedia.

Love you guys!

After we left there we headed almost directly West.

My daughter said that 

EVERY AMERICAN

needs to see GRACELAND at least once.

Being as I am an American I figured I had to go.

My daughter told me I could not go 

looking the way I did.

She insisted I not straighten my hair.

My hair curls when I let it....

So...here ya go....

I'm thinking curls are a bit much on an old lady..

but there you have it.

Graceland-Home of Elvis Presley-

It was a chilly day but the people 

around us were warm and friendly-

all coming to pay tribute to a man they loved.

We saw a couple of  old fat shoe-polish black hair Elvis "clones"

and that was interesting.

It was much like you would expect inside.

Lots of glitz and glamour.

Smoked mirrors were all the rage in

the 60's & 70's.

We did not see the chapel.

 I would have liked to see that...

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Elvis would be 80 today.

I can't imagine an OLD ELVIS, can you?

I think we remember him at his best-

young and handsome.

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We had one little scare when we 

stopped at a hotel---

my daughter getting out of the car

wondered...

"Mom, Why is that man 

STARING AND STARING at me?"

Ummm...Could be because he is a

CARDBOARD CUTOUT..dopey...

I thought I would wet my pants laughing---

but I didn't-thanks for asking.

Leaving Graceland we beat

a path home.

We were missing the family.

Now I'm not saying I am a boring conversationalist

but I was talking and looked over at my daughter

to see this.....

So--if you are looking for a traveling companion

and want to sleep the whole way-

call me-

I'll talk and drive and you can

well.....whatever!

So-now that I have bored you silly

with all our mis-adventures I

will change it up tomorrow.

Pinky promise!