Aviation adventure...

Instead of Where’s Waldo, you are perhaps wondering after yesterday’s tease–where's Dick? He is at the Oshkosh fly-in today, the world’s greatest annual aviation celebration! Friend Jim (of the Jim/Janet friends–remember our St. Maarten trips?) called and said he has passes to get in today and would Dick like to join him? Does Dick love all things aviation? He was on the computer checking airline schedules/prices before you could even spell Oshkosh!

Obviously there will be thousands of aircraft to see, but also forums, exhibits, people, food...and the main event - the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Unique aircraft, from early air racers to historical airplanes, participate, along with the world’s finest performers, all headliners on their own, but at Oshkosh, are part of an all-star lineup in a daily three-hour spectacular.

My, oh my. Do ya think Dick is gonna love this? Right on! I know he’ll bring home lots of photos, and I also know I’ll snag and share a few here on the blog. It’s the least I can do.

Have fun, honey. You’ve earned it!

I hope all the rest of you have some fun this Friday...and a great weekend. Life is...all about attitude! How's yours???

Girls studying Monet

Haley and I were disappointed that there were only 5 Monet paintings at the High. We certainly expected to see more. Oh well...Paris and Giverny spoiled us, as they should. We are blessed by all our travels. May these grandkids appreciate all life has to offer!

Enjoy your Thursday. Dropping Dick off at MARTA for an adventure without me. Stay tuned...
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Wordless Wednesday...the Entertainer

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Blog candy from Paper Trey...

If you'd like some free stuff, click on this link http://apassionforpapertrey.blogspot.com/ and check it out!

Enough of that culture stuff...

It is time to shop till we drop! Hello, Filene and a stroller with a DVD player strapped to it!!! Life is good, y'all. Enjoy your Tuesday...the gals sure will!
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Fernbank, here we are!

let the fun begin!!!
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Sunday - time for a road trip...

I am heading to ATL today with our two gals and the 4 grandkids for a few days of fun. We have a free place to stay at Brian's empty house (he and Jason flew to Key West yesterday to fish and dive this week with friends), so we are taking full advantage of that.

Today, we are visiting the Atlanta High Museum of Art to see the Monet exhibit that is on display. We also plan to go to Fernbank to see some dinasaurs. Doodlebug is VERY excited about that, and that will compensate for taking him to the High! Shopping is also on the agenda. And eating. And maybe doing *nothing*. We'll have fun, that is for sure.......and we'll have pictures to prove it! Do you think this will be a scrapbook opportunity? You can count on it!

Oh yes, big news! While Scooter was here on Thursday, Dick got some quick videos of him doing his crab crawl, since we knew his crawling days were numbered....bingo...he took his first MAJOR steps Friday for Aunt Haley, about 10 of them before he realized what he was doing and dropped to the floor. He had taken just a few steps for his mommie already, so this was quite an accomplishment in distance. There will be no stopping him now! Now we'll have TWO boys to chase.

BTW, thank you to all my online friends for leaving comments for Mark yesterday. You can still do it if you missed out. He won't mind at all.

Whatever you do today, put a smile on someone's face.

Le Tour and Saturday stuff...

Woohoo...3rd place on the podium tomorrow for Lance! Not bad 'for an old fart,' he said. No, not bad at all at his age (almost 38...hey, that's OLD in cycling circles), and after his stint at retirement. Welcome back, Lance. Long live the long ride!

Dick and I were the 'team car' for Brian and a friend back for the '03 Tour. We dropped off our riders on the Tour course and then picked them up at the end of their run, doing this for a few days that hot week back in '03. That was quite an experience for our two cyclists, being able to ride the same course that the pros were about to race on. And Dick and I enjoyed the watching the pre-race car parade, and vying for the *stuff* thrown from all the advertisers. We got a lot of loot!

Mont Ventoux was a real butt kicker for our kids, just as it was today for the current riders. It has been nice, remembering the good times from that trip. Dad and I are ready to provide team support again, Brian. We'll meet you for a beer at the end of the course!

Tonight, we head to church for a 'low country boil' supper for the whole parish...with enough desserts to feed all of Mayberry, so the rumor goes. Count me in!

Enjoy your Saturday! Life is good!!! Cheers...

Welcome home, Mark! A true patriot...

Remember that I blogged about a son of a BSP sister of mine up in Illinois? Well, Mark is now HOME, and his town gave him a grand welcome...
From Mark's mama: It was awesome. The VFW and Legion did a bang up job welcoming him home. He got to ride on top of the fire truck with police escort and sirens all the way to our house. It was truly a hero’s welcome.

And here is the happy family reunited (after TWO tours of duty--Iraq and Afghanistan):

And ever the military mom that Leet is, here is another comment from her to our BSP online group of sisters:

I would be remiss if I did not thank you once again for your support through all this. There are thousands of soldiers serving in Afghanistan right now, so please do remember them and their families in your prayers. Also remember all who are giving up their freedom in other parts of the world and in the USA to serve us.

Freedom is never free. Thanks to ALL our troops everywhere. God bless y'all real good. And come home safely real soon.

Oklahoma, Mayberry style!

Last night, several of us went to see the dress rehearsal of "Oklahoma" at a nearby playhouse. It was 'girlie' night--no guys wanted to attend. Imagine that. Joy, Debora, and Hannah went with Haley, me and the wee girls, and what an evening it was!

The cast did a very nice version of the play, although early on Miss M asked if "these people could go for 20 minutes without singing?!" I can see her eight-year old point of view. That girl wanted more playing, she later stated on the way home. An hour of music is plenty long enough, in her humble opinion.

And after several minutes of 'woe-is-me' by one of the guys, saying how worthless, misunderstood, yada, yada he is, and that the world would be better off without him, Miss A piped up and said, "He sure has some ISSUES." That cracked us all up, even the folks in the row in front of us! And she was spot on in her analysis.

So that was just a little bit of culture, Mayberry style. I hope y'all have fun. We are going to the resort for lunch today to celebrate Logan's birthday, so we'll definitely have fun...and lots of pasta! Life is very good! Happy Birthday, Logan!!!

Wonderful Wednesday…

Weather is cool here in Mayberry, sitting on the deck, next to the calm lake……and watching the last few kilometers of today’s stage of the Tour.

What’s not to love about that?

Happy Wednesday, y’all!  Life is GOOD…go Astana!!!

Tuesday stuff...

Enjoy a little more 'yard art'...and no, I didn't buy the airplane, but it sure is cute!
Paul Newman founded the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for children stricken with cancer, AIDS and blood diseases. One afternoon he and his wife, Joanne Woodward, stopped by to have lunch with the kids.
A counselor at a nearby table, suspecting the young patients wouldn't know that Newman was a famous movie star, explained, 'That's the man who made this camp possible. Maybe you've seen his picture on his salad dressing bottle?' Blank stares. 'Well, you've probably seen his face on his lemonade carton.'
An eight-year-old girl perked up. 'How long was he missing?'

So today is a busy one. I will also be 'missing' this morning, as I have two meetings to head up and errands to run. Just another day in paradise. Y'all enjoy your Tuesday!!! Make it a good one.

A lesson...

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism works and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. Everyone would be the same.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on a socialism plan."
All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less, and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that.

Hat tip: Judy C.

Class is dismissed. Enjoy your Monday...but study hard! Life is (still) good...

Sunday stuff and stampin' fun...

God's Problem Now...
His wife's grave side service just barely finished, when there was massive clap of thunder, followed by a tremendous bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more thunder rumbling in the distance.
The little old man looked at the pastor and calmly said, 'Well, she's there.

~~~Enjoy your Sunday. Our card class is this afternoon, so there will be stamping, cutting, pasting, oohing and aahing. Y'all know by now that Haley is the (excellent!) teacher...and this is what I made last time... focus on that word PLAY..............

I'm sure I'll bring home some more great ideas today, something about "Tropical Getaway" being the theme. Sounds good to me! Life is short...make FUN of it!!!

Summer festival fun...

Haley and I enjoyed our time together at the Butternut Creek Festival this morning. See that cute dragonfly she is holding? The wings are made from two table knives and two blue beads for its little head!
Yard art critters...and flowers.........

Amy would like this ele...I bought a small butterfly in memory of my mom...and a pretty hummingbird.

So that is our Saturday fun. Hope you enjoy your day and that you count your blessings!

Bell B & B...

Niece Beth (in the middle) and friend Annette spent last night with us. Dick took the whole bunch of kids out on the pontoon boat to show off our piece of paradise to Annette. She teaches math in Kuwait and is home (Wisconsin) on vacation right now, traveling with Beth as Beth is 'down south' visiting some of her friends and family. It was fun having the two of them here, even for a short while. Scooter liked both gals!
Beth's one request was to play a game or two of hearts (her Uncle Dick excels at that!), so we had one table of hearts players and one table of rummy players for the evening fun. I chose to play rummy with Ansley and Macey, and those little buggers are getting good at it! And duh...no one thought to take photos of this grand event last night, but I did get this one shot before the gals left this morning, heading to SC. Y'all come back now, ya hear?!

Tonight we'll finish up the leftover cheesecake. Yum...life is good!

Bastille Day...

There will be lots of celebrating in Paris and all over France today...
Bastille Day is the French national holiday, celebrated on 14 July each year. In France, it is called Fête Nationale ("National Celebration") in official parlance, or more commonly le quatorze juillet ("14 July"). It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution.

I am celebrating the day by watching the Tour, getting my hair cut, going to a BSP meeting...and then...........getting a massage! Now that will be a perfect ending to another great day in paradise. I hope whatever you are doing that you are celebrating LIFE!

And baby makes two!

Scooter looked comfortable, so Missy couldn't resist jumping in the porta-crib and snoozing with him. Now Missy thinks this is HER personal bed. I now have to either take it down or keep a kitty pad on it to collect kitty fur. What a life!

So yesterday I met Joy at Young Harris College for a very nice organ concert by a local guy, and it was very good.

Then I sat on the deck with Brian to watch yesterday's Tour de France. Y'all do know that is going on, right? Lance is the #3 contender. Just so ya know. Will he be on the podium in two weeks? It will be interesting, after his brief retirement, to see if he still has what it takes to pull this off.

I go from organ music to a bike race, all on the same day. And what is wrong with that? Not a dang thing. It is called diversity. Dull is not allowed around here.

Enjoy your Monday. It promises to be a fine, warm day here in the mountains. Life is good, especially since I get Scooter for awhile this afternoon. Move over, Missy!

Ek, eek, eeeek...

This sound greeted me inside the house yesterday afternoon. I looked and looked, and couldn't find the source, then never heard it again. Hmmm, am I hearing things? Don't answer that question.

Dick walked into his closet and saw Miss Missy kitty, who quickly ran out with something in her mouth. She was just playing with the baby bunny...honest, she didn't really mean to kill it. But she did.

Dick had to do the duty removal...but then the sound came again! From the closet. This time, he was able to save the bunny and we kept the mighty hunter inside so the bunny could adjust to freedom and make tracks away from here. And no, this is NOT a picture of the lucky hopper; it is just a stock photo. It sure was cute. I don't want to see him/her today.

So today is beautiful here in Mayberry. Don and Carolyn are coming here to spend the night, so I need to do a few chores and work on dinner: pork tenderloin on the grill, Vidalia onion casserole, mashed potatoes, green beans (Amy is bringing that), salad and French bread. And Joy is baking a cake! Bee, you and Sarge come join us...dang, y'all are too far away!!! Family and friends are always a good combination. And there is always room for a few more.

Enjoy your Saturday, y'all! Viva la Tour...oh yes, I'm watching that. Go Astana!

Friday at a funeral…

EJ died Tuesday at the ripe old age of 91. He was the older brother of Dick’s brother-in-law Don, and a sweet, old, country soul. We’ll go pay our respects and support Don and Carolyn in their time of grief. That is what families do, especially here in the south. It is tradition. We’ll go because we love Don and Carolyn. The funeral is this afternoon in a little Baptist Church just over the line in North Carolina. EJ, may you rest in peace. You were a kind soul and were loved by many folks…and will be missed. May we all be so blessed as to leave this kind of legacy.

Life is short—make each day special. And count your blessings, people! Have a great weekend.

Thursday things...

Take a look at a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of flowers, but don't miss the card sitting next to it...

My sweet BSP secret sister sent this bouquet to me in celebration of our anniversary, and I love it! It is huge and very 'springy' colorful...and not one of those fussy, symmetrical arrangements that are so frequently purchased. My SS must know me very well. Yep, she must, whoever she is. I won't find out until our Christmas party in December, but I will thank her at our meeting next week. This is a great group of ladies. Have I mentioned that before?

And that card is the one Haley made for us. She is one talented 'scrapper' and a great teacher. Have I mentioned that before?

So today is Thursday and I have stuff to do. Doodlebug is here helping me...so he won't *help* his mommie clean out their vehicle:-) You know how much help a 2 1/2 y/o can be! Am I lucky or what?!

Enjoy your day. Life is short...make fun of it!

Happy anniversary to these two!

Haley and Logan celebrate #14 today! Congratulations to you both...
We wish much love and happiness to you and your terrific daughters. You all have enriched our lives. Forever and always.
Much love,
Mom and Dad

So now I am off shopping today with friend Joan, and I'll catch up with everyone later. Enjoy your Wednesday...and stay outta trouble!

Tuesday stuff...

Look what my sweet hubby brought me yesterday. I love simple arrangements, not those fussy ones from a florist. And a single red rose has special meaning to us. When we were seriously dating long distance between Atlanta (me) and Miami (Dick), Dick called a florist and asked them to send a single red rose to the bank where I worked. Because he missed me.

The guy said, "Buddy, it's gonna cost you just as much to send ONE rose as it would to send a whole dozen so why don't you do that?" Dick replied that no, he only wanted to send one because I would get the message. I did. It worked. We were married a few months later...and he is still The One.

And look at some of our most special blessings...

We did good, honey. And he did another 'good'--he set up a massage for me, so that is where I'm going right now.

Enjoy your Tuesday. Ahhh...life is good!

Happy #41!

Happy anniversary, honey! We've covered a lot of miles in 41 years...and it has all been quite an adventure and certainly never dull. Boy is that is an understatement! Amy says this now qualifies me for sainthood. I'll settle for many more years of togetherness, filled with love, laughter, good health, and endurance for the next great adventure! We are mighty blessed.

We are celebrating the occasion at the resort today with all the kids for a lazy lunch. How divine! Let #42 begin!!!

Sunday wrap up...

The cook out was fun yesterday at Amy and Jason's new house (our old one--next door!) There were even some Brits there, and they aren't holding a grudge that we became independent of them. Honest.

The guys were busy in the morning building a horseshow pit, as well as a fire pit. Someone brought a corn hole game. Now what is that you ask? Didn't you? It consists of two slanted wood boards that have a hole on the upper side of it, where four players take turns tossing bean bags across the space to hopefully land in the hole. It was played long ago, using corn (hence the name). Players shucked the corn, folding the husks back to create a 'handle'. The husks were held in their hands; the corn aimed at the hole. The colored bean bags are a nice change from all the mess those ears of corn undoubtedly made, but those old timey people sure knew how to use what they had and make fun of it.

Now why didn't I take any pictures? Shucks...I was too busy and didn't even think about taking photos. I need some of Bee's fish oil!

Some of us watched fireworks from our deck after dinner. Our neighbor down the cove puts on a great show every year, and we get the view without all the loud noise. And no traffic.

Some of our big kids and friends are out enjoying the boat, doing a little skiing and wake boarding. That used to be the two of us doing that, and here we are inside, Dick napping and me on the computer. Something is seriously wrong with that picture, folks. I think it is called old age and expensive knees!

That's OK...we are blessed. Life is (still) good!

Happy July 4th!

From sea to shining sea...let freedom ring all across the land! Happy Birthday, America!!! Please take a little time this day during all the fun, the food and fireworks to remember those who gave us our independence, and those who fought to give us our freedom. It is never free.

God bless our troops...and God Bless America! Give thanks, y'all! Life is good!!!

Happiness is...

Playing with cabinet doors and crawling inside...
Climbing up and sitting on the 'growth chair'...

Hiding under a table...

And finally...two napping boys! Oh wait...that means happiness for Grammie!

Happy Friday, y'all!

Thursday in Mayberry...

Missy is up to her high wire act again, sitting in the window, trying to figure out if she can get even higher...NO! She walked across that bookcase, then jumped down onto the loveseat to get back to the floor. Miss Fearless!

We are all having computer woes around here in one form or another. I guess Blogger is too, since my posts for the past two days never launched as scheduled. I had to go back and manually post them, which is why they showed up so late each day. Annoying.

Mayberry is doing fireworks in town tomorrow night, instead of Saturday night. The kids want to take our pontoon boat out on the lake to watch from the water (and avoid all the traffic in town!). I think Dick and I will just sit on our deck and keep Scooter (he is one...remember?). He doesn't like loud noises, so he wouldn't enjoy the evening one bit. Yep, that is a mighty fine idea. I don't like loud noises either. Saturday, Amy/Jason are doing a cookout next door, so we get to go over for that. I am making baked beans. Yummm...

So how are y'all celebrating the weekend? Whatever you do, be careful out there!

Marietta Diner for lunch...

Y'all know food is always on any shopping agenda, and yesterday was no exception in that department. Having lived in Marietta, Diane knew the perfect spot to rest our weary feet and make our tummies happy. Oh la la...their Mediterranean panini was divine, and the sweet potato fries were excellent. We could each only eat half our sandwiches, they were so filling. I'll go back there, except if Dick is with me, he always wants to go to Sonny's BBQ, which is just down the road! We'll face that battle when we have to...some day.

We saw a LOT of 'Hotlanta' yesterday. Since the Restaurant Depot didn't have a stainless pattern any of us wanted, off to Costo we went where we found the perfect pattern (not enough boxes in their supply). So then we trekked to a different store, all the way across town (20 boxes supposedly in inventory, but they only had 7 in our pattern...we were NOT happy campers!). We settled on the next best design available in proper quantity, and ten boxes of stainless weighed down my trunk as we headed back across the mountain to Mayberry.

So with all the running back and forth, the girlie shopping didn't happen, but we did bring home some awesome seafood from the Depot, and Diane's hubby treated the weary shoppers to wine on their deck, while we enjoyed the cool afternoon breezes with good company, and the lovely mountain views...the perfect ending to a fun day. How grand is that?

Life is good in the mountains, where we woke up this morning to the sound of gentle rain, cooler temps, followed by sunshine. Happy Wednesday, y'all. Give someone a hug today! Go ahead. Just do it!