It seems like so long ago...

I’m talking about warm, pleasant, spring-like weather. I had to go back and check the dates of some pictures that I took to see when the last time we had nice weather and it was on April 4th. On April 3rd & 4th we were basking in 80º F weather. Since then we have been in a deep freeze, so it seems, with snow and stormy weather. Although yesterday’s temps were at 70º F, it was raining cats & dogs and so windy that I thought another of our trees was going to blow down again. I tried to stay as far away from the trees as possible, just to be on the safe side.

Right now I would have been showing you beautiful pictures of my azalea bush in full bloom…and I kid you not, it would have been magnificently beautiful. I paid special attention to the care & feeding of my plants in late summer & fall, but the recent freeze showed me what it could do to them too. None of my plants are dead…they’re just visibly dried up and must start all over again. Some things won’t bloom or fruit again, but they will survive and there’s always next year to look forward to.

The pictures that I used to date myself were pictures taken of my grandson Zac on his last visit. He came to visit on his mom’s brand new motorcycle. He was in town, with truck & trailer, to pick up his bike to take it to the shop to be fixed when he decided to pay us a visit, on his mom’s new bike. What a sneaky way to get to ride his mom’s bike. I can hear him now talking to his mom…”Mom, can I ride your bike to grandma’s since mine is broke??? I won’t take too long…I’ll be right back and grandma will be so happy to see me.” And of course she couldn’t refuse him…after all, he was going to grandma's.
*( Just kidding Zac if you’re reading this cause I know your mom would let you ride her bike anytime.)
I was very happy to see Zac and he stayed for a couple of hours and we talked about upcoming trips that he’s planning to take this summer. Jimmy worked on repairing an old flatbed trailer while we all talked. That’s why that treated sheet of plywood is leaning on the swing beside Zac in the picture below.

Zac is 19 years old and the Owner and Producer of ICECAZ Studios. He makes music videos, films and is an excellent photographer. We’re very proud of him and his accomplishments. His office is located in Winchester, Kentucky and he lives on his own. He’s been on his own since he graduated and is self supporting. This is a BIG accomplishment in itself. So the trips that we were talking about were scheduled to be taken after each big shoot…when there’s money left over for fun after all the bills are paid.

Here’s a closer picture of Zac…isn’t he handsome? He looks just like his dad, when I first met his dad.

Zac was also nice enough to take time out of his busy day to make a very short advertising video clip for Papa Bear’s Wooden Bowls and I want to thank him for taking the time to put it together for his uncle. That was a very nice and thoughtful thing he did. Thank you Zac.

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Today we had a wonderful visit with our two great-grandchildren, Kyra and Dylan, and of course their grandmother Sandie. Kyra now weighs 10 pounds and is a real cutie...she looks just like her mother and when she smiles she reminds me of Sarah, her aunt and our granddaughter. Dylan is just as rambunctious as ever. The cats sure got a good workout and soon ran to the doors and wanted out. Dylan has never been able to catch any of them, but he gives it a good try. The mother cat, Callie, held her ground and wouldn't budge away from her babies, so we just shut her door so she could have a little peace and quiet. They stayed all afternoon until Dylan became fussy and needed a nap.

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After our visitors left it was time for supper, so we went to Red Lo*bster but on the way we stopped to see Sharon (aka Somershade) to give her some personalized photo postage stamps that I had made for her from PhotoStamps.com. and we also dropped off one of my prescriptions at the drug store...Oops! I just remembered we forgot to pick up the prescription...but I still have one more pill for tomorrow.

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About those photo postage stamps...Have any of you ever ordered any? They're bigger than a regular stamp and I used a picture with a pose from the shoulders up and it turned out really well. No, I didn't put a picture of myself on them, heaven forbid, the mail would have been thrown out as junk mail, hehehe. I used a picture of Sharon and I mailed her a card, using her stamp and she didn't even recognize herself on the stamp. Her fellow employee recognized her on the stamp and called it to her attention. She loved it once she saw it, so today I gave her the rest of the stamps. The stamps make a nice useful novelty gift for that person who has everything. They're useful only if you can part with them. I believe the post office has found a way to really make some money since snail mail has dropped off and we are using more email and making payments online.

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Well that's about it and I hope your day was a smashing one full of bright sunshine and warm weather and smiling faces all around.