Friday, March 3, 2023
AN AFTERNOON AT THE GARDENS
The weather has been so amazing here that I just want to wrap my arms around it and give it a great big hug.
The Atlanta Botanical Gardens are beautiful no matter what time of the year.
The girls are so sweet. They love each other so much.
We were lucky to experience Thomas Dambo's exhibition of enormous folklore-inspired troll sculptures built from reclaimed materials.
Dambo is considered the world's leading recycle artist.
The trolls are making their world premiere at the Garden.
I am so fascinated by all of the different orchids.
I wish I could grow them, but unfortunately, I didn't inherit my mother's talent who was a definite orchid whisperer.
I will definitely want to go back and see the exhibition again and of course, the Gardens are constantly changing so it is fun to go in every season.
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
LIFE'S PRECIOUS MOMENTS
First, I want to thank everyone for their sweet and heartfelt comments about the death of my beautiful daughter, Katy.
Needless to say, it has been a challenging time.
Although I usually would respond to each of your comments I hope that you understand I wasn't up to it.
I have spent a lot of time living in the moment these past few months.
A couple of weeks before Katy passed she told me I needed to take better care of myself because my family has a history of longevity and that I would probably live at least another 20 years.
Twenty years may not seem that long, but I realize that 20 years was half Katy's life.
Katy did a lot of living in those years and took advantage of each precious moment.
She gave me so many gifts, not the least of which was the gift of choosing me as her mother, and I hope that I have learned from that gift.
When I find myself feeling stressed or annoyed I stop and center myself in the moment.
I also am learning to enjoy the little moments more.
I have spent a lot of time thinking about my past, current, and future life.
What I realize is that although I would love to stop working it is not an option for me. However, I know that I am not going to stress out about it like I have in the past.
I haven't exactly figured out how it will look for me, but I will figure it out as I go along and I will strive to enjoy each precious moment.
On a side note one of the things I have been doing is jigsaw puzzles. They help me to focus on the moment.
Cary and family gave me a wonderful birthday and one of my gifts was this great puzzle board.
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I love that it has four sorting drawers, a foldable leg so that it can be tilted as an easel, and a heavy cover to keep the pieces in place if it needs to be moved.
It's great for my small space because when I tilt it I can reach the whole puzzle without having to move around the table.
Thank you for visiting today. I hope you enjoy your precious moments.
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Friday, April 15, 2022
EASTER MEMORIES
Simple Pleasures #35
I love all things Easter.
I have wonderful Easter memories from when I was a child and from when my daughters were small.
We would leave Canada early on Good Friday morning and arrive in Kentucky later that afternoon.
The family florist next to their house was always a hive of activity as corsages were necessary for every female from little girls to grandmothers.
When I was eleven my grandmother paid me 25 cents an hour to bag corsages in the basement of the florist.
It was my first job.
Sunday morning always arrived with a flurry of last-minute activity at the florist and after checking out our Easter baskets and eating a quick breakfast we donned our finest Easter outfits.
In those days we wore frilly dresses, patent leather shoes, gloves, and hats.
As you can see I carried on the tradition with my own two daughters.
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Simple Inspiration
Lovely Reads
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Gluten-Free Easter Dessert
I love the fact that it is an easy bake in one pan cake.
What I'm Reading
Shopping
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Catching Up
Monday, October 11, 2021
OCTOBER DAYS AND FAMILY
There is just something about the month of October that creates feelings of nostalgia.
Even after all of these years of being away I still feel a longing for those things.
Saturday night was a night that felt almost normal. Sidney was dancing in a show and as it was outdoors I felt comfortable attending.
That's my sweet Sid on the front right. Her hair was black last night. It changes color regularly, which keeps me on my toes when I have to pick her out in a crowd.
After the show we went to a pizza restaurant where we were able to eat outside and away from other diners. It was my first eating out experience since the beginning of the pandemic. It was wonderful.
It was a warm night. There was no apple picking, county fair, or cozy fire. Tessa and I huddled together and picked out stars, we ate pizza, and we laughed.
It felt like life might return to normal.
Just when you think life is never going to get tired of knocking you down, you find that the most important things have always been there.
So happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends. I hope your day is blessed with love and family.
I may always feel nostalgic for those long ago lost October days, but the memories will always be inside my heart and I will share those memories with my family.
Monday, May 31, 2021
MEMORIAL DAY
I hope everyone is enjoying their long Memorial Day weekend. I will be writing my normal home decor post on Wednesday this week.
Today I want to pay tribute to my late father who served our country in WWII and was a POW in a German prison camp.
Monday, May 10, 2021
WHAT I AM READING AND FAMILY TIME
Family Time
I took the weekend off to spend time with my family so instead of doing a home tour today I thought I would share some photos of the grandkids and also share what I am reading.
Saturday was Tessa's first 5k run. She had been training for 10 weeks with a program called Girls On The Run. GOTR is a program that inspires girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun, experience based curriculum, which creatively integrates running. You can read more about the Atlanta chapter here.
This is what our budding fashionista wore for her first training session.
Wednesday, May 5, 2021
STORMY WEATHER AND GOOD DAY SUNSHINE
The last couple of days I have been wondering what happened to the sun and what the heck is up with tornadoes.
I have lived through earthquakes in California and hurricanes along the North Carolina coast, but I think tornadoes scare me the most.
Friday, March 5, 2021
IT'S ALL ABOUT FAMILY
Family is the most important thing in my life. There are always ups and downs, but in the end, family is what matters most.
I feel so very fortunate that during this last year when so many people haven't been able to see their families because of covid, I live close enough to mine to have outdoor visits about once a week. It is the one thing that has kept me going.
I'm not sure how many eight-year-old children like to play with their grandmothers, but I am so fortunate that Tessa still likes to play with me.
I am under no illusion that this will last forever because like her older brother and sister, she will grow up and move away from this playtime. However, we have spent a lot of time bonding and hopefully, she will carry forward a lot of good memories and funny stories.
Jack Henry and Sidney are both teenagers now and at age eighteen, Jack Henry is a young man.
Fifty years ago I purchased a black corduroy Victorian-style coat. It was one of my first purchases as a young woman. I loved that coat and kept it for the last fifty years, but decided it was time to pass it on to someone I love.
I took it to Sidney and when she tried it on it fit perfectly. She loved it, especially the Victorian styling. It makes me very happy to know that it has found a new home.
One of the things I really cherish is the time that my two daughters and I spend together. It has been hard in the past for just the three of us to get together, but the pandemic has kept us in self-isolation, which has made us appreciate having time to talk.
Not seeing other adults is hard. Katy has been in quarantine for a year, only going to necessary medical appointments three times in the past year.
This morning I am taking her for a procedure at the hospital. It will be the first time she has been in the car with someone else for a year, (I have completely sanitized the backseat area) but as she has to have anesthesia she needs to be driven there and then picked back up. Because of covid, I can't be there with her.
I am so grateful that I got my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine three weeks ago. It makes me feel safer. I can't wait for everyone to have the opportunity to get vaccinated. For people like Katy who don't produce antibodies, they are working on monoclonal antibody treatments, and hopefully, they will be available soon so that she can emerge from her home at some point.
Whatever happens, life goes on. Spring is arriving and that means nicer weather and longer outside visits with family. Can't complain about that.
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