Time Alone

Wow! I forgot how much one can get done without distractions! Hubby and I have decided to keep our house and I will be living here during the week. He took the dogs back with him on Friday, so I have been alone for two days. Don't get me wrong, I miss them terribly, but I have enjoyed my free time. I have worked in my yard and been able to really enjoy my flowers. I visited with the newly weds... had dinner with them and watched the wedding video. (which was awesome, by the way) I shopped at Wal Mart late last night (late for me, anyway). I got up early this morning and enjoyed several yard sales. I treated myself to breakfast and had my nails done today. I came home and washed my car. I hope to start painting in my laundry room as soon as I cool off a little. (it is hot here today) Last night was my first night alone and I was a little nervous. I kept thinking I was hearing things and didn't get a lot of sleep. I could have sworn I heard the garage door opening at one point. Someone hit a deer in front of my house and I got up to look outside without turning on any lights. I walked into the door frame on my way back to bed. I have a tiny little black eye today. I don't like things that go bump in the night! So, to my hubby, if you are reading this... I have enjoyed my free "day light" time... but I sure do miss you guys at night!

Progress

Mama bird has been very busy, hasn't she? When we left to go back to our apartment last week, I forgot to put the sign up to warn people at the front door . My daughter in law told me that she and my son came over Tuesday night to pick up her wedding dress. They didn't know about the nest but quickly noticed mama bird flying around their heads while trying to open the front door. They decided to exit through the back door after they picked up their things. I now have a sign on my storm door, just under the wreath, which says: "Please use back door, Mama bird is on her nest. Thanks!" So far, the sign is working. Hopefully, the eggs will hatch soon and we'll get a good picture of her babies! Isn't nature amazing?

Happy Memorial Day

What did I do today? I was at our apartment, with not a whole lot to do today. So, I watched tv, read a little from a quilting book, did laundry, read blogs, and played with my dog babies all day. Husband had to work today and it was a very quiet day. We played ball over and over again. My dogs never get tired of chasing their balls. They are both very good retrievers and I usually get tired before they do. Sweet Pea got into a mess, as usual. She is my DESTRUCTIVE dog. She has torn up every toy we've ever bought for her, except for her Nylabone toys, which she really doesn't seem to enjoy that much. This toy was a little stuffed dog when I bought it. She enjoyed taking the stuffing out, piece by piece, which kept her entertained for a long time! Once she was exhausted from all her destruction work, we took naps. We got a really good nap today!
And little Butterbean, as usual, was sweet, sweet, sweet! He is such a loyal little boy, who really seems to love his "mommy". He is never far away from me when I'm home. And I mean "never". When I'm bathing, he lies beside the shower. When I' m putting away laundry, he follows me back and forth as we do our chore. When I go "potty", he is right beside me. If I'm working in the kitchen, he lies near the kitchen door, with his eyes watching every move I make. When I rest, he rests! I know why lonesome people love their dogs. They are great company! I hope you all had a nice day today too!

Now that I know....

I have a large patch of irises that were already planted when we bought our home. I have ignored and neglected them and they didn't do as well this year. However, do you see this pretty flower in the midst? Hubby and I never realized it was a flower before, and we would always pull these up and toss them aside before they had a chance to develop. We thought they were weeds. As we have been in the process of moving, we have neglected the flower bed even more this year, which allowed this baby to develop and bloom! I have several of these and had no idea what they were. My mom says they look like, what my Grandmother used to call, California Poppies. The flower is so pretty and has a very sweet smell. Now that I know they aren't weeds, I think we'll start keeping them. :o) Also, any advice for getting my irises to be pretty again next year?

Surprise!

Don't you just love surprises? I have a pretty wreath on my front door made with silk flowers. I noticed two birds flying around my porch for the past few days. I mentioned it to my husband and he told me they were probably building a nest in my wreath. Oh no! I thought.... we'll be attacked by birds. I went inside to inspect the wreath from inside the front door glass and look what I found.... A perfectly formed and beautiful bird's nest, buried within my arrangement, almost like I had put it there myself for decoration. The little bird had come so far, I dare not disturb her work and her future plans of hatching babies there. Today when I inspected her work, I found her first egg! My husband wants to rope off the front porch area to keep people from getting near the nest. I told him I will put a sign on the front door, hoping people will notice before they get attacked by the mama bird. Just a few weeks of inconvenience.... not being able to use the front door... will be worth the perfect view I have of God's creatures in all their glory!

Wedding

It was a beautiful wedding! She was a beautiful bride and he was a very handsome groom! I hope to have more pictures to show you later. We are very proud of our children and delighted to have Ashley as our new daughter. Welcome to our family, Ashley!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all you moms! I've been away for a few days packing up more things from the house. We helped move my dear son into his new home on Friday and Saturday. He and A. will be getting married this Saturday!!! They have a beautiful new home and it is great to see the excitement in their faces as they start to settle into their new life together. Both of my wonderful children came to see me for Mother's Day. Unfortunately, my husband and I didn't see our moms for the special day. We will definitely see them this week and hope they know just how special they are to us. Life can get so complicated, can't it? I dream of a simple life again... where it's a "given" that we can always be in church on Sundays, where we can always make it to the holiday celebrations, family reunions, birthdays, and anything else that "normal" people do. Nursing is a great career, however, it does tend to interfere with one's social life. Oh well, what does that have to do with Mother's Day? ;o) We were three hours from our moms on Mother's Day, as that is how far away our home is from them. We should have everything moved out in the next couple of weeks and be ready to sell it. But guess what? We are now having second thoughts! We had visitors all weekend, encouraging us not to sell our house, and to wait a year to make a decision. (I'll explain later, Mom) So, now we are torn... do we sell.... or do we wait and see what happens? Life can be so complicated, can't it? Anyway, back to Mother's Day.... I LOVE being a mother and thank God for allowing me the opportunity to do so! Children are definitely a gift from God and a gift that we should treasure very deeply. I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Moving along...

Things are moving along for us here in our "real" home. We had our appraisal done last week and were very pleased with the results. Yesterday we received estimates from moving companies for the big moving day. Funny thing is: We are walking around with Mr. Mover and telling him what things are NOT going.... like the livingroom set, son's bedroom set, diningroom set, a chair here and there... the nicer things that we own. The guys look a little puzzled when we tell them what we ARE moving.... junk. You know, all those boxes of stuff that you've saved forever, and don't really know why, but it's stuff you can't part with. I have my children's toy furniture in the attic.... in need of repair... and Mr. Mover sticks his head down from the attic and says "Are you moving THIS?" Yes. Then he looks at some old dishes sitting off to the side that obviously have not been used in years. Are you taking THESE? Yes. Then two old pink rockers with peeling paint from a front porch many years ago? Do you want to keep THESE? Yes. I had to giggle about what he must have been thinking: She's nuts; she is keeping the junk and sending the good stuff away. But I have dreams... big dreams. Hubby and I plan to start fresh in our next home....with new stuff.... with all the old JUNK still packed away in the attic. Not junk.... many years of memories. One day I will restore those old pink rockers, which by the way, I have many pictures of my little children rocking in years ago on the front porch. I will restore those rockers and use them again. Those dishes.... maybe they are valuable by now???? The kids furniture... my grandchildren will use to have tea parties, rock their baby dolls, and I will restore the baby doll bunk beds for my granddaughters. My daddy made these bunkbeds for my daughter. I will make bed linens and quilts for their little dolls. So, while others may think my stuff is junk.... these things are very valuable to me and the movers had better take very good care of them. Well, off to packing boxes today... my dear son will be moving out this weekend into their new home... one week before their wedding. Yes, things are moving along here.

Stitching time away

Even though I don't have a paycheck coming in these days, I do LOVE being unemployed. (even if it is temporary) Yesterday I ran by Michael's and picked up some floss and a hoop to start this new embroidery project. This is a primitive piece that says: "When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. And that's my religion. Stiched by Emma 1862." I hope to make it into a miniature quilt to use somewhere. Notice the Mary Engelbreit (ME) sewing box on the left.... it was on clearance at Michael's for $3.00. Now, I love ME and thought this was a great bargain. The top is a pin cushion and the inside has elasticized pockets for thread, etc. So, yesterday was a good day.... new stichery project and a new sewing box. I love being at home!

No more laundry :o(

Yesterday hubby and I made a trip to our real home to mow grass and run a few errands. My son rode along with me while running errands and I enjoyed his company so much. The next time I see my son we'll be helping him move his things into his new home. As I walked out the door to leave, I grabbed his laundry and brought it home with me since we'll be seeing him again in a few days. Believe it or not, on my way home, I got a little emotional thinking that this will be the last time I "get" to do my son's laundry. How many times I have cursed having to do laundry??? And now, my baby is getting married and his new wife will have the pleasure of keeping up with his laundry. Really, it's okay, as I LOVE his wife to be... it's just an emotional thing about mama's little boy being all grown up now. So, I'm heading off to the laundry room now.... to lovingly do my son's laundry.... one last time.