The Busy and Merry Month of May

 As promised from the last post...pictures of the new roof. They are not the final product, but all I have at this time. It has been a wild time getting it done. Taking the tile off and then roofing took 4 long days. I was so overstimulated with the noise and having Miles and Gus. I needed a completely quiet existence to get over it. I haven't had it, so I am not sure I have come down from my elevated state. Coupled with the crazy storms that have come through and more to come, I feel a bit off.

Our Internet went down for 2 full days and then spotty coverage for an additional day meant Jeff didn't have TV. Taking a TV from a man is whole other level of something. Not sure what, but something. Therefore, no pretty pictures yet.

I will share what I have and then move on with a promise of better ones down the road. 

I love the new look. It is so different from the old and in a good way. Now, the key is does it hold up through hurricanes and last 40 years? It won't the latter, but I do hope it holds up to the winds and let's just hope it doesn't get tested!!!

Even the boathouse got a matching new roof.

 The next picture is the back before they were done, but you get the idea. 

It is a noticeable change and we are very happy. They still have to come change out the 2 skylights since they weren't a standard size and had to be special ordered. What a surprise! (and yes, I am being sarcastic, since most things in this house are not standard sizes- $$$)

Jeff got into the neurosurgeon this week and that was a good thing. We had a connection who has helped make all this happen. Jeff has suffered so much since January. He has a high tolerance for pain so I know it has been bad because I have felt the stress.

The neurosurgeon called us into his office and shared the MRI images and explained things so well and thoroughly. He didn't push surgery but all was so clear to me. Jeff slept on it and called back the next morning to get put on the surgery list. I am sure there was a cancellation because it has been scheduled for next Friday, the 24th. The area around that nerve is so clearly clogged and a loose piece is probably causing the in and out of severe pain. That is probably a bone spur that has broken off. 

The date all hinges on getting his EKG done in time. Remember if you are past a certain age, you have to have one before a surgery. Praying it all flows smoothly and we can get this behind us.

All of the above meant changing care over to the neurosurgeon from the orthopedic doctor who was going the very slow cautious method which we normally would want, but after seeing the MRI and knowing the stenosis is severe I think Jeff (and me too) felt it better to get it done now rather than later. 

Time has been so limited because I am just caring for so many so I need it all to work or I am going to be down.

I have started a new stitch which I will share next time and read another Karen Kingsbury book called Madly, Truly, Deeply. I just needed some inspiration for reading. I have 3 books that look promising sitting waiting on me for the day of surgery and summer reading. I am currently reading Imagine Heaven by John Burke. I am enjoying it. It is a compilation of research on near death experiences (NDEs). I have found it very interesting.

A few pictures of the boys....

Palmer is such a boat baby. He has the relaxing down.

Tucker is an official VPK graduate. It was a fantastic year for him.

And a little game of peekaboo with Miles.

I will probably be quiet for a couple of weeks while I try to get this surgery done.

Daylilies, Pillows, and a Roof in May

Hello May! The month of daylilies. 

I love May. For all her beauty in my neck of the woods, it is sometimes rushed over amidst the busyness of the season. When I was teaching May was one of the busiest months of the year. I really try and soak May up these days. 

I will go ahead and say I have visited few blogs in the past 2 weeks or even more. Life is still a little too crazy around here for my taste, but I know I am not alone in that. When things are coming so fast that I can't recover I know I have to pull back and that is what I have done the past couple of weeks. 

I have little to share for stitching or reading. I have been busy with my flowers getting the summer blooms ready and taking in the spring blooms.

The Stellas always arrive first in my front flower beds. These little ones always arrive in April, but the others all wait until May. The pink ones above arrived first in May. 

I knew that if I mentioned my troubles with what to do with the shells stitch, my blog friends would come up with some wonderful ideas. You didn't disappoint. I haven't moved on with a plan for it or hung up the Florida sampler yet, but I have lots of ideas stirring around in the old noggin. Thanks for all your ideas.

I am holding off until school is out and I have some free days to go shopping or do some more Internet surfing, but I think I have some ideas to work with now. 

I also have some ideas for where to hang the sampler. 

I find the older I get and the more crazy life is that home is where I want to be. Quiet and cozy. I love sitting out on the deck, strolling down my neighborhood street watching the birds and looking for little things in nature. 

I rarely change things in my home and do my best to not be lured in to spending money because of things I see. I hadn't bought anything new for the home in ages, but when I saw these pillows....

I knew they would be a perfect addition to my living room couch. 

Now, that they are in there I realized I was pushing the navy too hard. I totally love navy. It is my absolute favorite color and love it paired with Kelly green, bright pinks and of course, burnt orange (War Eagle).

The new pillows add to a soothing look.

Below is the real daily look in case Gus decides to sit on the couch.

Along with all the other stuff going that is not all that blog worthy, we are getting a new roof.

Oh the fun!

We have had red concrete tiles for the 40 years of our home's existence. Red tiles would never have been my choice - honestly Indiana sandstone wouldn't have been my choice for the exterior either. I love Indiana sandstone, but it just doesn't seem coastal. Red tiles probably go well with something other than the stone too.

None of it much matters when you get to look out at the water each day...

The Before...

The tiles look a little less red when they are dirty:)

I do not ever really say, "What were my in-laws thinking?" However, Jeff says, "What were Mom and Dad thinking?"  It is more appropriate for him to say it than me. It was their dream home and it is beautiful...just not my choices. Lindsay always says that time period was crazy in dress and any thing style wise and she is a bit right. The home was built in 1984 and is 40 years old. 

The concrete tiles were billed as a lifetime tile. That is a bit misleading. Let me share a bit of thoughts on that. The roof was not going to get blown away --- it would have taken a lot to blow them away. In watching them remove them this week, it has been quite an ordeal. It appears there was a layer of concrete and then the tiles themselves but they are truly concrete. The ones most put on today are a composite mixture tile. 

That said, the house is a fortress to have held up that much weight all these 40 years, but the studs are on 12 inch centers rather than the usual 14 or 24 of most buildings. Jeff's dad was trying to make it as sturdy as possible. 

The tiles would last forever as long as nothing ever fell on them, but I truly believe if a tree had fallen on them at any point in the 40 years it would have been hard to repair without doing the whole thing over. One strike in my book.

The wood around the edges and around the skylights and started to rot. I have been complaining about the skylights for some time, but Jeff just wasn't hearing me. Over the 5 years we have had 2 roofers over here looking at them and trying to keep them from leaking. Then about 2 weeks ago, it rained really hard and one of them was no longer leaking but pouring. Then almost at the same time, the termites flew in and were swarming. That is common in May here in Florida. You will see them around the lights at night outside. One night they were going crazy by our 2 back doors and one of the doors had a big enough crack they were coming in. All of that got him moving and the roofer was out the next day to let us know if it was time.

We decided it was time. We are not going with the same roof because as I have said they are not really life time tiles and the cost is crazy. Insurance will want them changed again anyway or cancel you.

So.... regular, but highest quality asphalt tiles in a much more muted color is the new roof choice. The house should look totally different. 

It is also not a quick job because of removal of the concrete tiles. Fortunately they have worked in small spaces around the home because we had a line of storms come through today that could have been disastrous. It was not for us. 

Lots of tornadoes in the north end of the county and schools closed up there. I had all 3 grandsons today at different times trying to work around all the mixed up schedules and the roofers though they tried didn't get to work today.

I will share the new look soon. It is going to be really dramatically different. 

Of course all of this will lead to other things... cleaning gutters, repairing the area around the skylights inside where they have leaked for some time. Home ownership seems to always have little tasks to spend money on.

I am grateful to get it done and behind us. We will have a new roof and no leaks. I am also grateful we had no leaks when the line of storms moved in today. It got bad over by Mom's place and several tornadoes in the surrounding areas. 

Hope to catch up soon with all my blogs,

Sandy

Ole Florida Sampler and More

 The Ole Florida Sampler is back from the framer and it is gorgeous...the only problem is that I am a horrible photographer. With that said, if I wait until I have time to photograph it better you might never see it.

I am completely in love with it.

The pictures do nothing for the colors of the matting either. Trust me- in person they are perfect. Even the lady at the store was going on about it. 

Where is it going to hang?

That might be the million dollar question. I have no idea and really no room for anything else. I am going to have to take old things down to put more up. I have a print above my couch that I could easily part with but due to the sun in that room I would never want to put my stitching there. I will give myself time to think about it. You know -one of the things I miss in my life with all the business of helping out with grandchildren and taking care of Mama is just thinking time. I would like to just have time to think and not be rushed. I really wouldn't change things but I wish I could find thinking time:)

With my life at this moment, I have rediscovered being a monogamous stitcher. Now, years ago I didn't know there was such thing as any other kind of stitcher. Then I retired and the Internet showed me a whole different world. There are people with so many WIPs (works in progress) that it makes my head hurt to think of that kind of stitching. I will admit I have dabbled in it the last decade and have had a few going at one time, but with the craziness of my life I decided this past January that I would just work on one at a time with maybe a small project to go to if I made a mistake and needed a little break. Often an hour or even a day away can show you your mistake and back to work you can go.

With that said, when I finished the sampler I pulled out one that I had started a while back and I was determined to finish it. It is done -and---I have no clue what I will do with it. Before I get to that, I told Lindsay the other night I was just going to start stitching and put all of it in a drawer in her old bedroom. I love stitching. It gives me great joy, but I have no where to put things. I should probably gift some.

So I have a finish that has completely befuddled me and it is definitely going to the drawer for now. I will show you and then tell you my thoughts on it.

Here is the pattern.

You may notice that there are 6 shells in the pattern and only 5 in my stitch. I could tell after finishing 4 of them that 6 was going to be unpleasing to the eye. That odd number rule at play, so I chose the nautilus shell to finish it off because of the height. I only had to move one stitch on the green to fit just right. Dear friend, you know who you are ---sent me the green floss. It was the perfect color to add some variegation to the stitch.

I stitched this on 20 count Aida. I actually didn't know that even existed until I saw it on Instagram. I liked it. It made this small, but even with the small count it is just an odd stitch. What to do with it, I have no idea? It seems incomplete. I think maybe I will be on the hunt for something at a thrift store or Hobby Lobby to add it to. It just has me stumped now that it is done. I kinda could see that coming while stitching, but decided to complete it and get it out of my project bags. It is 12.5 inches wide and 2.25 inches tall so I will keep that in mind for a search of something to do with it. It seems like it might be a good stitch for a "Priscilla" finish.

For now, I am going to read a book and get to the Advent calendar for Miles.

*****

I did make it to the Armament Museum with Palmer. He woke up that day so excited and we had so much fun. We made it to Whataburger as well.

This was a rare good day for Jeff. He was able to go with us though he had to walk slowly.

I actually don't think I shared what the MRI showed. Remember he had sciatic nerve pain for 9 weeks before the MRI. IT showed severe spinal stenosis. The word severe didn't make things a lot happier around here. He has had PT, and an epidural is scheduled but still 2 months out for that. Surgery is an option but it is a pretty extensive surgery so I don't think he wants that until other things have been tried. Not sure where he will land with it all yet. It did magically clear up for 2 weeks but during PT two days ago it started hurting again, so now he is hobbling again.

Spring is doing its thing despite the coolness of this year's spring. I think I remember 2007 being a cool spring. I know that is odd that I would remember that but it is attached to a memory. The magnolias, day lilies, roses, and live oak renewal have happened even with the cool spring. I suppose I should enjoy the cooler spring because it will be hot soon enough. Even the trees in Auburn were so pretty last weekend. The trees are one of the greatest things about spring.

I haven't particularly had a great start to the new year, but heard a quote the other day that I think is true.

"There is no faith if I know the outcome." 

I have great faith in my Lord and Savior.

Until next time,

sandy

The Strawberry Patch and the Wind

 There is not a whole lot of anything different to talk about except grand boys and the aches and pains of aging. I feel extremely blessed to be able to write about those boys and their escapades.

I spent yesterday taking Tucker on his field trip to the strawberry patch. Tyler had to attend the funeral of his last remaining grandparent who passed away at age 97. Lindsay had something she needed to be at for work plus she is taking off next week for Tucker's field day, so I happily agreed to tag along to the strawberry patch.

The strawberries were amazing and I had so much fun with my oldest grandson. 

They got to fill their plastic container as part of their field trip money and eat a cup of strawberry yogurt. Then he and Mimi filled another bucket to bring home. They were super tasty and the patch had so many to pick. As we were leaving for lunch at a nearby park, people were lining the roads coming. There are 2 farms that do this and they are about a quarter of a mile apart. Both were packed. His school got there early and we had the place to ourselves.

We ate lunch and the kids played for an hour on the park equipment. I found a bench to sit on and just watched. How can sitting and watching make one tired?! Age maybe? Anyway, he was exhausted too because on the 40 minute drive home, he fell asleep in the truck.

The day and night before we had a major thunderstorm line come through. The 2 counties to our west had tornadoes but thankfully they fizzled out before they reached us. However, it rained a lot and the wind blew all night and ALL day on Thursday. Like 25 mph all day with higher gusts. It was like a March day.

We then dropped Tucker off to Mama that afternoon and headed to Destin to drop off my Florida sampler stitch and go to his t-ball game. Y'all I can not wait to show my sampler framed. The choices made were just so good. I am glad I didn't rush out there right away. I pressed it and let it sit out on my sewing counter for the 2 weeks and just thought on it. It is going to be so pretty. The young girl getting it all set up for me kept telling me how pretty it was. She made me feel so good.

Then it was off to the still windy game. My goodness it was crazy all day. I have enjoyed getting out to see Tucker play. Next week is his last 2 games. 

Now, for a sad picture...

This is Palmer. It was taken last weekend when his mommy and daddy and brother all went putt putt at the Track. He had a blast until Tyler decided to let Tucker ride the go carts....

where you can see Tucker had fun. Palmer kept saying, "My turn, my turn." Lindsay walked him over to the sign that shows how tall you have to be which just made it worse. 

That same face came around again yesterday with me when he discovered Mimi was going with Tucker to the strawberry patch.

Oh I couldn't stand it so I promised him he could pick out somewhere to go next week with Mimi and she would keep him home from daycare and take him. He has decided on the airplanes (the Armament Museum) and Whataburger for lunch. Mimi will be taking he and Miles next week on the sunniest day to have fun too. I have not doubt he will not let me forget.

We had hoped to go to Auburn this week, but Jeff decided to pass. His back is giving him major fits. He will go to the first PT and get a brace next week, so we will try for our Auburn get away again based on all that.

I really need to share some gluten free baking I have been doing ---time here folks. Maybe soon. I will share some stitching too next week. 

Mom had another nerve ablation on Monday and I am just not sure they are doing all that much. It may be lowering the pain medication somewhat. Anyway, since I didn't show Miles this week I will share his picture one day this week when I took him over to see Grandma.

And of course, I did step out to see the eclipse since I totally love that kind of stuff. I kept my glasses from 2017 and used this ....

to let me know when to head outdoors. I am close to Pensacola. I thought it was cool and remembered like last time that the temperature drops a bit while the sun is covered. 

I have decided to be optimistic and hold on to my glasses for the next one since I will be in the path of totality 

Yea I will only be a month away from age 85.

That will do it for me today. Happy Spring.

Life Lately

 Spring is finally coming in to the Deep South. It has been hit or miss these days, but I have some glorious days soaking up any sun and warmth that comes my way. I had a busier than even normal week last week and even mentioned in my cross stitch post last Thursday. In today's post,  I think I am in going to go in reverse order. We will share some good stuff first.

My first roses of the spring '24 season.

Jeff and I went to the movie yesterday. I have ALWAYS been a huge Karen Kingsbury fan, so when I saw that she had a movie out that SHE was in total control of and making it herself I knew I would need to go as soon as possible. What I didn't know was that kids would be sick and mamas and daddies would actually be home with them and I would be able to go as soon as it was released. Everyone run to it. Even Jeff said it was a great original story. 

The Baxters are out on Amazon Prime video. I am enjoying that as well.  If you are a Kingsbury fan too, then you know who the Baxters are! The one thing I can say about Kingsbury is that all of her books are full of hope and inspiration and I have seen her speak several times and she is truly so uplifting. Much needed in this day and age. Go read yourself one of her books for a lift.

Easter was special as always. I might have been a wee bit tired by the end of the day and that week leading up to it really tried to steal my joy and get me undone, but thankfully I fought all that off. I might have had to lay on the couch after everyone left, but I love Easter and all it stands for. 

Here a few pics. I didn't take a bunch but enough to remember the family moments. 

The kids at church. Jeff and I attended the service on Saturday night and I worked the 2 on Sunday morning. Jeff's back was not his best so he stayed home Sunday morning and hobbled around getting all my instructions for dinner taken care of. 

Egg hunting by Tucker and Palmer and Gus.

Palmer is cheesing it up and Miles didn't feel well and was totally uninterested by this time to get his picture made with his cousins.

Family shot...I wore my cute outfit Saturday night and my kids' shirt on Sunday morning as usual. 

I think Miles put three eggs in his basket and balked at the fun anymore. 

It was a crazy week last week with so many things going on and too many appointments, but it prompted me to realize I have to make some changes on that front and I have and am in the process of more. 

Miles will be home with Mama at the end of May and starts daycare in August when she goes back to school. I still may have to keep him one or two days a week, but that will be ironed out later. He is definitely ready for some children. Anytime the other boys are here he just loves it.

On Good Friday, I carried all three to the park for most of the morning. It was a huge success and made the day go by much faster.

Jeff was hobbling along and got to go get an MRI later that day. Tomorrow he gets the results. He has had terrible back issues for at least the last 6 weeks. He will have 2 good days followed by 2 horrible days. He is getting down about it all. I am not sure if Parkinson's is related to it, but it certainly isn't helping so I am hoping for an answer that he can live with tomorrow.

If all that wasn't enough with 2 days with all three boys, 5 appointments for Mother (doctors, test, and beauty related), Easter ---then throw in a family reunion on the Saturday before Easter up home in Alabama. Yep, I have no boundaries on time OR shall I say that is past tense:)

Mother and I drove up one way and came back another and got in the full countryside and let me say spring while it has been cooler put on a show for us on Saturday.

The azaleas at my Aunt Faye's house were so pretty.

It was a challenging week, but visiting with all my cousins that I don't see often reminded me I am not alone in the many problems. I think all 5 who were there had so many issues facing them too. I do not know how people get through without faith in God. 

I can tell you God has met me and is walking with me so closely and for that, I am grateful! 

This verse has been my promise for 2024... I have shared it before, but it worth repeating.

Hebrews 4:16

Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.

A Stitching Finish

 I completed the Ole Florida Sampler. True to being a sampler there are some imperfections, but I like it a lot. I will admit that the sampler pattern was one that I did not just get to sit down and just follow. I had to make color changes quite a bit and I also found the pattern hard to read. I think that had to do with the symbols or at least for me. Here it is all finished. 

I lightened the photos a bit so I think the coloring looks a wee bit off on the blog. The original pattern was a tribute to a Florida grandmother and therefore had her name, location and date. I still need to iron it good, but times is very limited so I am just going to run with it. 

Now for a few closeups and details about what I did. 

I changed the live oak a good bit and really liked how it turned out. 

The bears are probably my favorite piece of the sampler. 

I personalized it with the original name of our little town of Fort Walton Beach. It started out as a Civil War camp back in 1861 with no action. It didn't appear on any maps of Florida until 1911. In 1932, the name was changed to Fort Walton and in 1953, it became Fort Walton Beach.

I liked the little house. In fact, about 30 years ago, right outside the circle there was a similar house in the woods. The little area now has 3 homes on it, but for a very long time the little patch of woods with that house was a destination for all dogs on their neighborhood walks to do their business. It was not a happy day for the neighborhood pups when the lot was cleared and new homes built there.

The home also reminds me of a picture of my grandparents early home. I also added some curtains that weren't charted as a nod to my grandmother's curtains in the picture of their home.

I did changed the dirt to a more sandy color. It was charted as a red clay look which you need to go further north to see that.

When I first looked at the coloring of the cows I wasn't too sure about them, but upon a little more research I decided they were pretty spot on for the Florida Cracker cows. I looked a few pictures and stayed with the colors. One might not know that Florida is a big producer of cows.

The Florida Cracker or Florida Scrub is an American breed of cattle. It originated in Spanish Florida and later in the American state of Florida,^[5][6][7] and is named for the Florida cracker culture in which it was kept.

I put our individual bayou since both of my kids have lived all of their growing up years on Don's Bayou. You won't see that name on anything other than a local map of Choctawhatchee Bay. Bayous are names given to all the nooks and crannies along the bay.

I have stitched on this pretty much exclusively since New Year's Day. In this stage of life that I find myself in, I have to tell you I have loved that. I like having something else I can go to if I get frustrated or mess up and need a break, but staying with the one stitch has been very comforting to me. I never knew people had lots of stitches going at the same time until I got back into stitching upon retirement from teaching. I had taken a break when kids got to the teenage years as life was so very busy. I think I may continue this approach. 

While I have 8 or 9 project bags containing things I very much desire to stitch I am thinking I will pull out the shells I had started and complete them next.

I hope to get the sampler all pressed and to the framer's next week.

*****

This week has been way busier than even my normally busy weeks. Yesterday, I was feeling all the tension of it and not feeling like my mindset was where it needed to be for Holy Week, so I decided to stay away from all social media for the remainder of the week and keep all the time suckers in their place. I felt better yesterday when I decided on that.  

Tomorrow I will have all 3 boys because when you send little ones to wonderful church daycares and preschools they are off for Good Friday as they should be! I have a family reunion on Saturday and wasn't all that thrilled with the date, but I am going and will enjoy seeing family. Then Sunday serving so little ones can see the glory of Jesus and spending time with family.

Thankful for the Savior who leads my life,

Sandy

10 Years

 March 22, 2024 AD

Today is an anniversary. I hit the publish button on this little blog 10 years ago. Time has flown by and I don't think the past 10 years have turned out at all like I planned when I hit that publish button 10 years ago, but God knows better than me what life is supposed to be like and that statement comes with ---a thank goodness He is control.

Before I address the anniversary and the fact that I am posting twice in one week, I will share my other little excursion for this spring break. The administrators from the school district chipped in and gave Jeff a gift certificate to The Grand Hotel in Fairhope, Alabama. 

I have had a much needed break with the last few days. I have rested and let my mind relax. I really really did and feel like I am ready to get back to all the tasks coming my way. 

I knew about The Grand, but honestly have never driven by it even though Lindsay and I have gone for many years at Christmas or Easter to shop in Fairhope. I am familiar with the area but just never checked it out. Wow, it was so nice and I really would love to go back when it is warm and utilize all the amenities. It is a beautiful resort on the Mobile Bay. The absolute best thing about it for me is that it is truly a place that looks like it is supposed to. Let me explain. Growing up just across the Alabama line from where I live in Florida now I know what this area is supposed to look like. The native plants and the look that is indigenous to the area. From Mobile to at least Panama City should look one way and unfortunately developers these days are trying to make northwest Florida look like south Florida. I love ALL of Florida but they most definitely have different looks from north to south. The Grand captured and has maintained the beauty of the area. 

Azaleas, live oaks, etc. Not palms.

The place is covered with the live oaks and the grounds of the place are immaculate.

Now Jeff is still dealing with his back and it was cold for our visit. I mean winter is holding on hard this year. I put my big boy pants on and bundled up and decided I would enjoy my trip over there despite Jeff not being able to walk with me or having to bundle up to stand the cold.

I took walks around the bay evening and morning and let nature soothe me.

The resort is on a point so the walk along the bay was long and enjoyable. 

We dined well. Our room was perfect. I fretted over the decision on whether to stay in the original older part or a bay front room. I ultimately chose the bay with a balcony and am glad I did since Jeff wasn't able to go on all the walks with me. We watched the sun fully set on the balcony and then watched the lights of Mobile appear across the bay.

Next up are views from the balcony.

We actually had a corner room on the far end so we could see out both the window on the back and side, so I chose well.

The beginning of the sunset.

As I said, we ate well and all of that was paid for too. Can't beat that.

This was a crab meat, spinach and artichoke dip that was amazing.

On our way home, we stopped in at the Southwood Kitchen in Daphne which was featured recently on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Let me just say if you ever over in south Alabama anywhere near Mobile or Baldwin counties run to this restaurant. Both of our meals were a 10. Sorry no photos to show you how tasty it was.

Mother turned 89 yesterday so I cooked her some fried catfish for lunch and made her brownies. The kids had already celebrated with her. 

Now, it is back to real life and lots of appointments. She has yet another procedure on her back this Monday and Jeff is waiting for an MRI appointment. He met with a spine doctor today. 

I enjoyed my trip to Auburn and Fairhope and in between both I have spent some good times strolling the neighborhood where I would venture to say we are having a spectacular azalea season. I think we may be past the chilly days now.

Now, what does one say when you have a blog anniversary?

I don't really have any words of wisdom today per se.

I often have so many words in my head and I honestly thought I would share way more than I have, but life has kept me very busy.

I really do want to get back to writing and sharing my thoughts more. Maybe that will happen, but I will let the Lord lead there too. I know my plate is full and I am in a season of life that has kept me busy. I am very blessed despite the troubles. It is important to focus on blessings rather than the interruptions. They will always be there. It can be just a mindset of looking for the good like birds singing and azaleas showing out. 

How much longer will I blog? No clue...that is up to the Lord. I do know that many have touched my life through blogging. I read for many years a blog called Clover Lane. The woman was such an inspiration on home keeping when I retired. I was sad to hear of her passing. I have learned so much from others and am grateful that they have shared their lives with us. 

Grateful and blessed for the many friends I have made in this little part of the world.

Sandy

Spring Break

 My weekly post is late this week. I was trying for Thursdays, but schedules don't seem to work as well anymore for this schedule loving girl. There were some sick kids and spring break daycare closures that threw my schedule up into the air. I am grateful to help out the kids though.

March is being temperamental as always, but the cloudy rainy weather is still hanging on unfortunately.  I am hoping April Showers is really March Showers and May Flowers will really be April Flowers. 

In the meantime, we will enjoy the show of azaleas that are in full bloom all along the roads of the Deep South. 

I will type and share some of the ones I have captured in my own yard and down the street.

Jeff and I have been old people hobbling along this past week. I pulled a muscle most likely from lifting boys and Jeff has a pinched nerve that has been relentless. He will think it is about to let up and then he just stands up wrong and it starts all over. Mine is much better but he is still struggling. We have both been hunched over and slow walking all last week. It is a sight to behold. 

Palmer got a little sick and couldn't go to daycare for 2 days last week. He and Miles had a blast together. They really do seem to be fun for each other. Palmer felt bad but not really bad enough to play. He would be tired by the end of day. 

On one of the days while Miles was napping, Jeff took him to get Chik Fila and to a park to eat it. He asked a lot of questions and they drove around trying to let me rest while Miles was napping. That afternoon when Lindsay loaded Tucker and Palmer and headed for home, he told Tucker in a bragging manner that PaPa had taken him to Chik Fila for lunch. Lindsay said they hadn't really even gotten off my street. Little ones. OF course, Tucker was jealous.

Tucker got his chance though. Palmer made it back to daycare and Tucker's preschool was closed on Friday so we had him that day. I almost told Lindsay to let me have both of them. Miles was not with us that day as spring break started early for Katie on that Friday. We decided Tucker should have his own special day with Mimi and PaPa. He soaked it all up and got Chik Fila as well.

Jeff and I went to Auburn for the weekend. We did very little as both of us were hobbling, but peace and quiet were in order. I finished a very good book. I read a lot but don't mention the books unless they are worth the read by someone else. 

May years ago, I read The Three Miss Margarets by Louise Schaffer. I loved it and didn't know there was another book written about the trio. I found it at the library this month. It wasn't as good as the first but a fun read. It was called The Ladies of Garrison Gardens. Both are old books from almost 20 years ago.

The book that I loved was The Women by Kristin Hannah. The author has written many lately that have been coming up in feeds but I just hadn't read one. This one caught my eye because many were discussing it but mostly because it was about the nurses of The Vietnam War.  I really liked the book. I thought she captured the times well and after I read it I looked her up and she is 11 days younger than me. I thought to myself -well that is why she captured it well for ME anyway. 

I am still stitching away on my Ole Florida Sampler. I think I have about 1-2 weeks of stitching left. It is close. I have really enjoyed stitching it and I have enjoyed not switching up things too. I restarted this one in midNovember of '23 but didn't start exclusively stitching on it until the 1st of January.

The railing was built last week too. It looks amazing.

It will age in color pretty quickly. I told Jeff 9 years is a long time to make a decision. He didn't believe it had been 9 years, so I had to show him. He got quiet on that one. 

I will say no one has come along in our talks that could do it to this precision on the stone and tile, so the wait was worth it.

Jeff and I are headed out on one more excursion this week. I will share it next week. Praying he can enjoy it since it is too late to cancel it. We may just be sitting and staring at the bay that we are headed to or if we are lucky we can do a few visits to good eating places and a few antique stores. 

Plugging along in life, but I make a point each day to focus on the positive and the good things. It has truly helped my outlook!!!