Life in the Bristolwood

Michelle has finished up this quarter of the school year.  Rochester Institute of Technology does things its own little way. Instead of the typical semesters, the school does quarters.  Each quarter is made up of a ten week (intense) session.  This will be changing, but only after Michelle has already graduated next year! The following year, they will begin doing semesters.

Michelle is now awaiting her final grades, which will certainly be good ones.  She has studied and worked hard and it has paid off.  So, I wanted to do something a little different and fun today as a bit of a celebration.  I asked and Michelle thought taking a ride to Bath would be fun.  We planned to do a bit of shopping, pick up some Chinese, and visit with Eunice, my Amish friend, on the way home.

We did the shopping and then the Chinese, then headed off to Eunice’s house.  Upon arriving there, they had just gotten home from attending a wedding.  It was so much fun to see little Chris (3) dressed in his white shirt, black pants with suspenders, and a little black coat.  He is such a cutie and Michelle was so impressed by how much he knows!  I bought him a book that has pictures that you place stickers on and as he looked at the pictures, he called out the name of the animals!  Amish kids typically speak Pennsylvania Dutch (a corrupt German) at home and the kids don’t learn English until they begin school at age five. Eunice began getting High Five Magazine  (a publication of the same company that produces  Highlights Magazine)  and Chris is learning so much! Michelle said he also called out the names of letters as he pointed to them. Very impressive for a three year old!

Little Susanna is now about fifteen months old.  She has grown so much and is about the size of a baby her age. She sits on the floor on a blanket and watches everything going on around her. She was wearing a pale blue dress with a pretty white apron and white kappe. She also had on black stockings and little knitted black booties.  She was so adorable to watch….she is happy as a lark and kicks her little feet in excitement.

Eunice was baking up “just seven dozen”  cookies.  She has a woman in Bath that sells them for her.  I was so surprised to see her using a recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies that I had given her!  She baked as we chatted away. She wasn’t using a timer for her cookies…she would just pull them out from the wood cookstove and then rotate the tray and place them back in the oven until they were golden brown.  Eunice moved here two years ago and before that, she had a bakery in Michigan. She said she baked tremendous amounts of cookies, pies, and bread back then!

As always, I so enjoyed our visit.  As always, it ended too soon!  It was beginning to get late and the sky was getting dark. Michelle and I said our good-byes and went outside.  As we left the house, it was pouring down snow.  I quickly opened the door and called for Chris to “come!”  As soon as he saw the snow, he threw his curly little blonf head back and let out a tremendous burst of laughter! Then he went over to a piece of equipment sitting outside the door and “tasted” the snow.  He was so funny.

The family buggy was still sitting outside the barn, so I asked Michelle to snap a photo of it.

Between the dusk setting in and the snow falling, this photo looks out of focus, but  you can see the trails of snow against the black buggy.

I drove home and was glad I did!  As we headed north, the snow got progressively heavier as we traveled. I could keep the high beams on the Explorer on for awhile, but had to dim them most of the way home.  This was scary, as this is the time of the year when deer are a bit giddy and have a tendency to run out onto the road. 

By the time we finally reached Naples, the center lines and white outside lines on the road were totally covered in snow.  There had to have been at least three inches of snow on the roads and there wasn’t a plow anywhere in sight!  I drove so slowly and opposing traffic all came toward me with their flashers on.

We reached our hill and I stopped at the bottom to place the Explorer in High 4 x4.  I am so grateful for the tires on that vehicle…they are wonderful, even on snow-covered steep hills! Here is what we came home to…

The snow has stopped now and the wind is picking up. Thus, the fickle weather continues with Saturday being warmer once again.  We just never seem to know what is next!

I will leave you, Dear Reader, with this.

When my dad gave me the planter filled with Begonias for my birthday back in August, he made a comment that the flowers ought to last at least “one more month”.  How about *three* months!  Although the flowers on the front side of the planter were killed by frost, the ones facing the house are still continuing to bloom!

Tonight, I am thankful for friends! It is always so wonderful to get out and visit with Eunice and Noah.  I miss so many other friends…it seems like my friends are mostly located long distances from my home!

Today was Michelle’s birthday and we had a rather busy day of it!  Michelle has lost her voice after the little sick spell…that cannot be much fun, but she still had a good day!

Michelle’s friend, Jacob, came over and we went out this afternoon, stopping first at a Chinese buffet in Geneva.  My, oh my, I ate too much!  I usually don’t overeat at buffets, but I kind of ate a bit too much today!  I sat across the table from Michelle, so I kept annoying her by taking pictures.  I was hoping to get just one good one.  She got tired of me and the camera, though….

Ummm…the photo above was taken before we left, obviously! I got the pretty Argyle sweater she’s wearing for her for her birthday.

After we ate, we headed on over to the outlet mall in Waterloo.  We walked and walked and walked some more!  Michelle had said she wanted a pair of fashion boots to wear under slacks, so we looked for those.  As we passed by the Clarks/Bostonian store, I told her she might try looking there.  She was reluctant, thinking it looked too “upscale”. 

Lo and behold, the store had boots just like she wanted.  The problem was,  they didn’t have her size.  She was a little disappointed, but one of the girls there told her they can order them directly and they will be shipped to the house. How cool is that?  No extra charge for shipping, either. Michelle was pretty happy.  I also found a really cute little purse there for a great price.

We looked around a little more,  then decided to start for home.  Mark wanted to see the Sabres/Ottawa Senators game, so we wanted to get home before too late.  We stopped at Wegman’s along the way and I picked up a Friendly’s Reeses Peanut Butter Cake for Michelle’s birthday.  WOW!  What a cake that is!

We got home a bit late, but watched the game as the kids watched a movie in the basement.  All in all, Michelle had a good day, but we can tell she isn’t 100%, as she looked pretty worn out by the time she went to bed. 

So, on this day, I am so thankful for our Michelle.  She has accomplished a great deal in her nineteen years and we a proud of her!  She is a blessing in so many, many ways. 

I am also thankful for the Sabres win over Ottawa!  This game was a real nail biter. The game ended in a 2:2 tie,  so we went itno overtime.  No one scored in overtime, so it was time for a shootout.  The first two Senators got the puck in, as did the first two Sabres.  Then there were three Senators who failed to drive the puck in….same with the Sabres.  Another Senator. Then, the Sabres’ Derek Roy……INTO the NET!!!  Sabres win 3:2!

I am so much more excited about tomorrow than about today!  Today was a rather humdrum day with little going on.

I did wander down to the Dollar General Store in Naples this afternoon.  I was feeling a bit on the restless side because the sun was shining, although it was quite chilly! 

This is just a quick post because I am tired and I am anxious to take a look at the Victoria Classic Holiday Bliss magazine I picked up today.  My oh my….this magazine is full of the prettiest holiday photos I have ever seen! I love Victoria Magazine, but this issue is so beautiful…..with photos ranging from simple little touches to luxuriously elegant ideas!  Eye candy, indeed!

Today, I am thankful for the birds that sing so happily outside our house.  I know that is a little unusual, but they are so chipper!  Just hearing their songs and little chirps can make a less than stellar day so much better! I really am thankful for the birds and that I can feed them.  God gave us those little birds to remind us of His great love! The Bible says that not even a little sparrow falls from a tree but that God is aware….How much greater His love for us?

Today, Michelle got up earlier than I  and fed Murphy AND took him outside!  Wow…that was such a treat.  All this to say, Michelle is feeling much better!  She has a little bit of a cough, but she is okay. She spent most of yesterday sleeping and taking it easy, hoping to feel better today. She had classes today, but stayed home until her last two classes of the day.  We were so happy she was able to make it to at least some of her classes.  Last night, she was feeling pretty poorly!

Mark and I both went to Rochester with Michelle and we did a few errands.  Michelle’s bithday is Saturday, so we went looking to see if we could find her something she would like.  She is so easy to please, but I don’t like getting her something she might not really, really like.  We talked to her on the way home and decided we would just take her on a “shopping spree” so she can pick out what she truly wants. 

While Mark and I sat outside the McDonald’s in Henrietta, we noticed a seagull watching *us* from atop a camera on the store!

That silly bird kept watch over all that was happening at Micky D’s!

Still don’t have my camera back with the Murphy photos from yesterday. Harrumph!

Today,  I am so thankful for a place to call home.  God didn’t need to give us a house.  He didn’t need to surround our house with some pretty awesome scenery!  He didn’t need to do all this for us.  But, He did.  And for all this, I am so very grateful. And thankful!

Mark was thinking about getting a shed and thought he would do a little comparative calculating to evaluate whether it would be worth it to buy premade or to build.  One of the componants needed would be trusses.  Mark was at a bit of a loss where to find some locally made trusses.

I thought about this for awhile, then told him he ought to contact the Mennonite company that builds and sells lots of sheds in our area. He agreed this might be a good lead, so he called.  The nice girl on the line answered a couple of questions, then said she needed to talk to one of the guys that works there when Mark asked about trusses.  She came back with a business name and telephone number for Mark of the guy who builds their trusses.

Mark dialed the number and I sat in the room with him.  As the man spoke, Mark said he sounded like….but I couldn’t hear who he thought the guy sounded like.  As I listened, I thought he sounded like the guy who we hired to add the large addition to our garage in 2005.   The funny thing is, it was him!  Apparently, he is no longer doing building, but is now building trusses!

When the fellow asked for Mark’s name and telephone number, he said he did some work for him several years ago….Yup! It really was him.

I took a few photos of Murphy today with my little camera.  He went for a walk with Ben and I up in the woods and was so cute!  He must have picked up a zillion leaves in his “skirt”!  He also had them dangling off his nose.  We had taken along some treats for the wee one and he posed so nicely for the camera!  Problem is, the camera isn’t here at the moment, so perhaps I will post the photos tomorrow.

Today I am thankful for the beauty that surrounds us! God has given us such an incredible world, filled with so many blessings.  Today was a fantastic day full of sunshine and warm temperatures. It is hard to actually believe it is November!

I simply am having a hard time believing that November is already here!  Where has the time gone?

We spent the day today running around..a lot!  We had to drop Michelle off at school.  Oh, but *before* dropping her off,  we had to rush to WalMart so the kids could buy a bunch of the special Halloween candy on sale for half price.  This was important. To them, anyway!

After Michelle was off to school, it was time to rush over to Mark’s mom’s house.  She had a doctor’s appointment.  After getting her squared away at the doctor’s,  we went on over to Home Depot.  We were checking out some pricing on lumber and when I saw all the pretty Christmas baubles,  I was like a piece of metal to magnet.  I will never understand the draw for me,  but I just love all the colors of Christmas.  Oh, not *just* the reds and greens, but all the others as well.  And speaking of red and green,  I cannot even begin to believe all the variations of these two colors.  Just awesome!

After picking my mother-in-law up when she was done, we took a leisurely drive on over to Sam’s Club.  We were there for quite awhile.  I really like their big packages of chicken and roasts.  The prices are so great and with all the Crockpot meals I have been making, it is so nice to be able to pull out pre-packaged chicken breasts and thighs.  (I place one breast or thigh into a small baggie, then place the small baggies into a large marked bag…so simple!)  Mark’s mom even bought a large package of meat to make up several meals.

When we got done shopping, we were off to Mark’s mom’s house.  She is such a stitch!  She bought a wireless doorbell at WalMart she wanted to show me.  It was pretty cool. The button goes outside, as is typical, and there is a wireless receiver you plug into an electrical outlet.  It makes a very nice “ding-dong”. 

After seeing the cool wireless setup, she went and got out another box.  This was way way cool!  She loves watching QVC and sometimes buys things from them.  Well, she bought an awesome wireless doorbell that plays different songs.  It has Christmas selections as well as titles for other holidays.  The most impressive had to have been the Hallelujah Chorus.

Although today was fairly warm compared to the past several days,  I got chilled.  We were working outside at Mark’s mom’s and it was shady and cool.  I went and sat down in the car with Murphy.  Mark opened the tailgate and Ben put one of the seats down so Murphy could see what was happening.  The little bugger sat in the back of the car and watched every little thing!  He was so cute sitting there, tilting his head back and forth! 

One notable difference with Murphy being the single pup is he is no longer such a wild man when it comes to food.  When Angus was around,  if you offered Murphy a treat, you would have to place it in your palm and hold it up to him.  If you tried to have him take it from your fingers….OUCH….Murphy would clamp down on your fingers like a ravenous wild animal! Today, my mother-in-law (bravely) placed a treat in her lips and told Murphy to take it.  We used to do this with Angus and he would ever-so-gently remove it.  Not Murphy….he was out to do some lip-piercing!  Today, however, Murphy gently eased the treat from her lips!

As we were getting ready to leave today, my mother-in-law confided that Murphy reminds her a lot of Angus. That was awesome, as this woman absolutely adored little Angus!  When we used to go to her house, Angus would see her and his ears would lie flat on his head….his lips would curl back, exposing his teeth and his rearend seemed to come undone, as though totally disengaged from his body!  He would hop up and down until she came over to him and talked to him.  Oh, how we missed that today…..but Murphy was different….totally warming up to her.  It was so cute as he followed her into the garage to get a “cookie”.

We were a few minutes late picking Michelle up from school.  She and Ben were so excited, as a nationally known band was going to be doing an accoustic set at a local business in Rochester this evening.  It started at six, and the best part was, it was free!  Tomorrow, they are doing another venue, and it is expensive to get in. 

Michelle got into the car and asked us to crank the heat up.  She asked Mark to go to McDonald’s to get her a sandwich as she felt like she was starving.  After she ate, we went over to WalMart.  She stayed in the car with Murphy and when we came back out, she said she wanted to go home.  She then told us her throat was so sore, she just wanted to go home and go to bed.  Poor Michelle.  I feel so bad for her….

As soon as we got home, everyone acted pretty tired;  even Murphy flopped down and fell asleep!

Only one photo.  I took this one yesterday.  You see, we moved into this house just a little more than nineteen years ago. In all those years,  we have never, ever, had one child come trick or treating!!  The first few years we were here,  I always bought big bags of candy, expecting someone to stop by.   But, it never happened.

Sooo……there is always a first, right? 

There were four “kids” that came by just before dusk last night.  Aren’t they just dear?

The fourth little one was photo shy!

And so, this November first,  I am so thankful for all my friends and family! Where would be be without all the loved ones in our lives?

Wow, this month saw me riding in a police cruiser (at Allegany State Park) for the first time.  No, if you missed it, I was not arrested, but getting a ride back to our campground after Angus locked the powerlocks on the truck…the policeman got the doors opened for us! (the keys were inside the truck, of course!)

So…Mark and Ben arose early in the morning yesterday to try to muscle the old wheel bearing hub off the truck.  They worked at it for quite some time before Mark decided that they were not going to be able to do the job.  Sheer disappointment for both Mark and Ben.

Mark called the Chevy garage and inquired about whether they could do the job yesterday.  Yes!  Mark made an appointment for 1pm and the garage even agreed to use the hub Mark had already purchased.  Wow, that was great!  But in order to coordinate everything to work together, Mark had to call AAA at the right time to get the flatbed to haul the truck.

Mark had asked if the service manager thought it might be okay to drive the truck in for the appointment.  The fellow told Mark he had seen some vehicles start on fire or the wheel begins to wobble and destroys the brake and rotor on the tire.  Mark decided it would be better to have the truck towed!

Since Mark couldn’t very well travel to the garage in the tow truck,  he asked if I would go.  I said yes.  So, this was my first ride in a tow truck!  A flatbed, no less!  As we rode to Canandaigua, the driver told me he had seen a car loose its wheel due to a wheel bearing failure.  He said it was a mess…the wheel rolled off, causing the axle to fall onto the road, gouging it and making it impossible for the driver to steer.  He said no one was injured, but he had a terrible time getting the car loaded onto the truck.  I am so grateful we were able to drive as many miles as we had with no trouble!

I waited at the Chevy garage while the truck was being repaired.  Unfortunately, the splash guard behind the wheel had rusted so badly, it had a hole in it. Although a cheap part, the process of putting the truck back together would be delayed a bit because a new guard had to be delivered from Rochester.

I ended up waiting a total of only two hours for the truck to be fixed!  I watched as it was driven around to the front parking lot.  The service manager came with the bill and I paid…then off I went!  Interestingly, the last time I had driven the truck a few weeks ago, I thought the brakes felt a little “funny”.  As I drove the truck out of the parking lot, everything felt great!  I told Mark this and he said he thinks the wheel bearing failure happened over a length of time.  He said he wondered if the power steering needed more fluid, too! 

We are waiting to hear from the Ford garage about the Explorer. It has been three days since it was towed there and we were told it would probably be at least two days of working on it. 

I will be so glad once our vehicles are all set in working order once again!  The stress of not having a working vehicle yesterday was incredible.  It is a strange feeling to realize you have no means of transportation!

Yesterday was really Monday, but that wasn’t so far off.  Really.  Anyway,  on Monday afternoon,  I had to run an errand, so before coming back home,  I decided to see what was happening down in Woodville.

I happened to catch a couple with a youngster heading out in a boat.  The young person was so excited! 

After the boat left,  I looked at the dock and realized there wasn’t much of it  above the water anymore! 

As one can see, there is some water creeping up out of the lake and covering places it isn’t supposed to be!

In fact, the water was teasing to come up onto the parking lot. We sure have had a huge amount of rain this April and in thinking back,  I don’t think I have ever seen the lake so high.  Although the water level of the lake is adjusted, (I think in Canandaigua)  it would be impossible to lower the lake significantly without flooding other areas!

After dinner,  I went upstairs to relax for a few minutes.  We had such a downpour!  But coming through the screen was sucha pretty pallette of color.

Who would ever believe the sky could produce such a lovely sunset after such weather?

Today,  I took another look at Woodville.  We keep getting  more and more rain.  At times,  it seems just a bit too much for comfort,  but it all works out in the end.

Waterfalls are beautiful, but right along the road, particularly in Woodville,  this could be a not-so-good thing.

Okay….Woodville is set down deeply near the lake.  It is almost like a little community carved into the walls of shale with just a small amount of space allocated for homes and cottages.  When the rains come down,  the lake rises and Woodville  looks like its very life is in danger!  Thankfully, many cottages have good walls between the lake and buildings so the lake doesn’t “move in”!

When I saw the lake today, however,  I was a tad shocked!

Ummm…..the parking lot appears a “bit” flooded!

Those trees and signs are not really supposed to be in the water!

That same dock  I saw the people leave on yesterday is now completely submerged!  It would be a trick to launch a boat in these conditions!

My curiosity was now piqued,  so I needed to see how the river south of the lake was faring.

Funny how just a few hundred feet from the boat launch,  life seems unscathed by the torrents of rain we have gotten this week!  This fellow was just sitting on a five gallon bucket and patiently waiting for “the big one”  to come along!

I have been spending some time in the kitchen,  making up goodies that I never knew I could make!  It is incredible how one can find tremendous recipes online quickly and easily.  I love it that many of the recipes have also been critiqued by others and even have comments left about how to improve upon the recipes.

Late this afternoon,  I decided to make Barbequed Pulled Chicken sandwiches for dinner.  Since I was making the chicken,  I decided to make some tasty rolls to mound the chicken upon.  After all,  homemade buns are always so much better than store-bought.  I made up a recipe of Zesty Italian Dressing for Mark…he loves broccoli lightly steamed, then drizzled with Italian dressing.  The dressing recipe must have contained twelve different ingredients! I finished my kitchen adventure with Zucchini Casserole for the kids.  I was pretty tired and hot after all this, so I stepped outside…..

and was blessed with another fabulous sunset!

We have been under a barrage of alerts, watches, and warnings regarding the weather.  Fortunately,  our ditches have proven to be reliable even for massive amounts of water,  so we have done okay.  We had to make a few minor adjustments when the first downpours arrived,  like raking leaves out that caused blockages and sent water spilling into places it was not supposed to be.

Tonight,  we remember those in areas that have indeed been hit hard by this unusual spring weather.  I heard several people died today where heavy rainfall and tornadoes wreaked havoc.

if you will!

Today was a relatively busy day.  I took Michelle down to work with Cindy this morning, then came home.  Mark was a little upset as he couldn’t find the key he was given to use on DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) lands.  He called the fellow in charge and found he could get a replacement by picking it up.  The office is located 40 miles away, but we decided to make the trip.

We needed to get some good cleaner for the Scottie ears as they have been itching some.  That required a trip over to Penn Yan. 

Mark, Ben, and I left this afternoon and headed to Bath for the key.  Shortly after we left home, I realized I had no camera with me.  I had the Panasonic in my hand, but when I went back in the house to get something,  I set it down and rushed back out without it.  Thus, this most beautiful day was photoless.  My heart was crushed….

We picked up the key, then stopped for a Chinese lunch.  We took a slight diversion up into some awesome hills to find an ATV trail system.  It wandered through the hills and around pastures and farmland.  It was a gorgeous trip with amazing sights.

We drove on over to  Penn Yan and I picked up the ear cleaner.  I cleaned each of the boy’s ears and am noticing they have not scratched at their ears since. Hurrah if this works.  The vet tech who spoke to us on the phone earlier wondered about a yeast infection, but there would be an odor associated with that and thankfully, that isn’t the case.

We picked Michelle up at 6:00 this evening and by that time, I was so tired!  Not sure why I felt so run down, but it might have been the stress of camera withdrawal. I’m pretty sure that was it.

I went to bed at about 9:30 and was enjoying a peaceful sleep when Ben came into the room yelling about a power outage.  I laid in bed for a few minutes, wondering why I should care about a power outage.  After all, who cares when one is sleeping?

Mark called our service provider,  Rochester Gas and Electric. (RG&E)  Mark reported the outage, then asked if I would drive up the road to see if anyone else was without power.  I drove up the hill, then down, only to see that we were the sole powerless home. 

Mark made another call to RG&E and spoke with a woman there.  She told Mark that the crew was on their way and they said the transformer might be bad or a fuse at the transformer might have blown.

We waited around. I was thinking the men might come into the house, so I straightened up with my tiny LED flashlight in hand.  I had tried to turn on the main breaker in the basement earlier, but it was a no go.

Probably within half an hour of  Mark’s call, we heard what sounded like a very large truck coming up the hill.  Sure enough,  the truck made its way along, finally honing in on our pole. 

Suddenly, our dark and lightless-at-night road was lit up like a small city!  Needless to say, I ran upstairs….

Yes, even without a fast lens, there was enough light to capture the action! There were two men working down at the pole.  They, of course, talked loudly to communicate, making this whole “event” seem so surreal!

The above was an artistic capture that I really did take on purpose, moving slightly as the image was taken.  I love the result!

So, back to the task at hand.  As the men talked back and forth, there was a noticeable increase in noise.  With the yellow lights on top of the truck flashing,  bright spotlights shining in all directions, and the otherwise pitch black sky with zillions of stars above, this whole setting was like something from a Hollywood movie set!  Honestly, when the noise increased, it sounded like what Hollywood might conjure up for a UFO sound!  I discovered, however, it was something to do with the cherry-picker.  Shortly after the motor noise increased,  I saw the lights rising in the sky.

Our house sits back about 150 feet from the road.  As you can see, when the lights from the cherry-picker shone down from above,  the road was very well lighted! (Wonder what the neighbors across the road might have thought?)

Well, finally, the truck came up the driveway.  Notice the lack of lights!  And believe me,  the headlights on this truck were bright!

I lit my little flashlight and one of the men appeared and told me the fuse at the pole had “popped”.   I hurried downstairs to turn on the main breaker.  As soon as the lights came on, the big truck backed on down the driveway, leaving before I even made it back upstairs from the basement!

Mark laughed, thinking these fellows probably attend to such activities all night long.  We never got to ask what caused or why the fuse popped, but we wondered if the overabundant rain might have played a part in all this.

After all the excitement of the night,  I am finding myself no longer tired.  Oh well, I will try to rest. In the meantime,  I am so grateful for people who work the night shift, helping us to keep the power flowing!

Oh, and one more thing….the night sky was just absolutely stunning tonight!  As I stood looking up, I realized I would have missed seeing this had the power not gone out…just another one of those blessings in disguise!

I guess it is a bit of a tradition that we get together with my family for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.  Mark’s mom spent the day nursing her knee after hurting it the other day and she said we needn’t visit.  So, we made plans to go to the home of my parents for the day.  The only catch was that Michelle wanted to study for a few hours in the morning. Mark and I agreed to let her have some time,  then we left the house shortly after noon.

We arrived in my hometown shortly after 3 pm and met my parents and Randy at the Rod and Gun Club where we had dinner.  My, oh my! What a meal!  My parents, Mark, and I  all ordered a turkey dinner.  This came with turkey breast…there had to have been nearly a pound of meat mounded onto each plate.  I have never seen so much turkey served.  My mother and I chose baked potatoes, which were also huge.  The meal  included a generous amount of stuffing and a small cup of cranberry sauce, along with a big serving of peas and carrots.  The kids and Randy got chicken fingers.  I think every one of us took a box for the leftovers!  What a delicious meal this was!  And, the price of the entire meal for our family was probably about half of what it would have cost at a restaurant.

After dinner, we went to Mom and Dad’s and spent some time just enjoying the company and the day!  We left my parents’ home around 8:30 pm and got home at about 11:30. 

As usual, I do have photos, so I will explain a little….

 Our weekend began with some very strange…for this time of the year…weather.  On Saturday, we had wind like I don’t remember since moving here almost 18 years ago.  The trees were swaying like crazy and beautiful green leaves were flying all about.  The winds didn’t come in gusts, but remained sustained the entire day.  I couldn’t believe that we didn’t lose any power or cable because it was just that wild!

If we had “winds” on Saturday,  I guess one would have to say Sunday, Mother’s Day,  was “breezy”.  The severe winds had diminished a great deal,  but there was definitely wind blowing on Sunday as well.  The temperature never really climbed a great deal from the freezing point, and we received a little “surprise”…

Yes, in the form of S-N-O-W!

By the time we left for our visit, much of the snow had melted a bit.  I don’t think it was so much through warmth as sublimation!!! 

I wanted to find a nice little gift for my mother.  She loves flowers…but, outside.  As long as I can remember, Mom always told me that flowers indoors remind her of a funeral home! Argh!  I love flowers in the house, but I can understand Mom’s point of view! Since we would pass through Naples, I knew that the vegetable, fruit, and flower market there would have just the right thing!

We stopped on our way and I looked and looked through the flowers.  They had hanging pots….mostly petunias and I just wasn’t so sure about those.  I found a few hanging pots with New Guinea Impatiens,  but the bushiest, best-looking ones were pink and I know Mom loves the deep reddish-orange ones the best.  I decided maybe I could buy some flats of Pansies,  but I didn’t really want to make work for Dad. 

I’m not sure if growing up on a farm was what formed my dad into quite the horticulturist, but he certainly has a way with flowers and plants!  Mom loves to pick out flowers every year to be planted in the flower beds, along with the perennials,  but it is my father who does the planting and tending.  Since he recently had the shoulder replacement surgery,  I didn’t want to buy anything that would require work on his behalf!  My father is a non-stop worker,  but he really does need to rest and take it easy for that shoulder to heal! And, by the way, he is doing fantastic with the shoulder! The only thing that is problematic for him is the sling he must wear.

So….I did find some pretty Pansy Pots.  We bought Mark’s mom a pot of Pansies last year and they grew so beautifully. When I saw these pots, I knew they were for Mom!  I knew she would like the deep reddish-brown pansies, interespersed with the other brightly-colored ones! Best of all, these Pansies can remain in their pots and Mom can enjoy them on the back deck if she wants.

As we sat talking at the table last evening,  Cardinals came by to visit. I couldn’t help but smile as a female Cardinal landed on the feeder behind the house, accompanied by a little Wren. 

The Cardinal and Wren were seen out back for a long time together.   They even fed on the ground next to one another! Male Cardinals appeared as well, but they were so flighty….it was nearly impossible to photograph them.

I went outside this morning and took a few photos of the “wild winds” aftermath.  All along the driveway, between the gravel and grass, there is like a gutter full of leaf debris!

The Explorer was parked on the west side of the driveway and after the snow had melted off,  it looked like someone sprayed tiny pieces of leaf all over it!

The lawn is full of small branches with brightly-colored green leaves that were ripped from the trees by the brutal winds.

The deck out back certainly needs a good sweeping!

Okay, so enough with crazed weather!

I love Mother’s Day, and I am so disappointed that I don’t get to spend time with my mother like I used to.  It is hard living three hours away, as to visit for a day means we must spend six hours of drive time.  But, I am so thankful that I am able to go and visit my mother!  I know many people my age have lost their moms and I am the fortunate one who still has a mom who I can call on the phone and chat with whenever I want!  That in itself is a blessing.

But did I ever mention that my mom is so thoughtful and considerate, as well as helpful?  She is!  Yesterday, I was so amazed at one of the sweet things she did. When I was a little girl, living in an apartment on Spring Street, there was an area beside our house where what seemed like millions of Lilies of the Valley grew.  Oh, how I loved those plants when the tiny little bell-shaped flowers appeared every spring.   I remember picking them and just sitting and sniffing their wonderful aroma! When we moved, my father planted Lilies of the Valley at our “new” house.  And, now that my parents live in a newer house,  rest assured that there is a rather large bed of Lilies of the Valley.

I did confide that my mom doesn’t really care to have flowers in the house, so when I asked about the glass container filled with Lilies of the Valley,  my mom said she remembered that I love them.  She explained she picked them so I could enjoy them….

Is there anyhing so sweet as a mother’s love?