Keep those we love in your prayers

I haven't been here in a couple of months it seems, but I'm still writing in a journal on my cell phone.  I love blogging but I need a new laptop because mine has gotten outdated and no longer loads up any new pictures, and I love using pictures when I blog.

A wonderful thing that has happened since I've been here is that my grandson Brandon and his little family of three have stopped by to visit twice.  It is so, so nice seeing them and I really miss not seeing Ody.  The next time that I see Ody he will probably be one year old.  Four visits in one year is unacceptable, but it's my fault because I don't get out much.

I've become a couch potato.  I go out to my front porch twice a day to feed my kitty cat Squeak and that's it.  I haven't been anywhere to speak of in nine years and since my total hip replacement a year after Brian died, I have hardly been out of the house.  I did go fishing a few times, but walking on uneven banks is pretty risky for me.  I tend to lose my balance very easily and being out on a lake bank hurt, all alone,  does not sound good and especially when there is no cell phone service there.  I'd have to wait until some fisherman stumbled up on me.

We've had some really pretty Spring days lately.  It rained last night and everything looks green.  Rick mowed my backyard a few days ago, but this rain has shot it up again and it looks like it needs mowing again.

My sweet little granddaughter Megan is in need of prayer today, God knows the reason.  Delores Powell is also in need of prayer.  I'm also going to keep Brandon H. and Kathy Agee in my prayers.  We are all still mourning the recent loss of Harold Grant and Callie Hayes, and the rest of our sweet angels in heaven. 

Rick has been taking really good care of me.  He insists on doing all the cooking, so I get a nice hot breakfast/brunch and supper.  He keeps himself busy with projects and when he has free time he goes to visit his brothers, Tommy at McDonald's and Bubby (Robert) at his home.  Bubby is doing very well with his Stage IV cancer.  The chemo has shrunk the cancer and maybe some surgery may be scheduled after Cat & Pet Scans are completed.  Bubby is doing great and keeps himself busy with many projects around his home.  He's even gained a little weight back.  Rick told me that Bubby was keeping busy by making fishing lures out of wood, and is looking forward to going fishing soon.  Keep Bubby in your prayers, that he continues to do well.   They seem to have come a long way with chemo since Jimmy.  Even tho I have moved on with Rick, I still miss Jimmy.  He was one of a kind.

Rick has finished working on his project for today and just left to go to McDonald's to visit with Tommy and whoever else might be there.  Men like to loaf there and talk about whatever men talk about.  I'm getting ready to watch The Resident on Netflix before I take my shower.  This evening, instead of cooking, Rick is bringing home supper for us.  Don't know what it will be yet.

Everyone have a nice enjoyable day, pray for those who need prayer, and stay safe.  Don't forget to hug your pets too. 

UPDATE:  Please add Ray Powell to your prayers     

My Birthday Surprises

 I had the Best Birthday ever from Rick this year.  It wasn't the money spent, but the quality of time spent with me and the places he took me to.  It started with Saturday night at the river listening to a live band play for about 4 hours.  They were good and the name of the band was Vanguard, and they were from Lexington, Ky.

Before going out to hear the band play we went to Wendy's for Chili and a hamburger and fries.  That was so we wouldn't get hungry while listening to the band.  The band was appearing at Proud Mary's, a local restaurant at Clays Ferry, which also sold alcohol, so many people were drinking, eating and dancing while their kids played in a huge sandbox.

After we left Proud Mary's Rick was hungry so we stopped at a McDonald's, bought burgers and took them home to eat.  The next day, which was really my actual birth date, Rick took me for a motorcycle ride and we ended up at Madison County Regional Airport.  There was a big jet there, so we unlocked the gate and went inside the tarmac to get a closer view of the jet.  We don't see too many small jets land here, but they do land here at times.  We waited there and soon it boarded and took off, so we came on home.

We were waiting at home killing time for about an hour and then Rick was going to take me out for a birthday dinner at Derby City Truck Stop in Mt.Vernon, Ky. because I like to eat there and then we were going to go to Lake Linville and watch the sunset, but we didn't get to do any of this because a friend called Rick and asked him what we were doing, so Rick told them that it was my birthday and that I wanted to go out to dinner.  They quickly told us to be ready in ten to fifteen minutes and they would pick us up and treat us to a birthday dinner.  In about seven minutes they pulled up in a brand new Mercedes Benz and we were off for a great adventure in the country.  We drove on roads we have never been on before and saw some of the most beautiful countryside that I had never been to or seen before.  After about an hours drive we ended up somewhere near Nicholasville at a Malone's Restaurant.  There I was treated like the Princes that I am, (haha) and we ate some of the most delicious food that I have tasted in a while.  Nothing was spared, they even insisted that I have a goblet of wine with my meal.  They all made me feel so special.  They even sang Happy Birthday to me as loud as they could.  We all had so much fun.  On the long way home they turned on music that we could all relate to and we sang out loud all the way home.  

It was a birthday that I won't forget.  It's not often that I spend time with friends like that, and they said that they would like to do this more if it was alright with us.  I'm looking forward to more fun times spent with friends, but next time I won't be drinking anymore wine.  That was something that was just out of the ordinary for me and for Rick.

Rick wants to go back to Proud Mary's again next weekend, and I'm looking forward to it.  Rick doesn't dance, and I do just fine wiggling around in my chair to the beat of the music.  I'm quite content with that.

My two wonderful and loving daughters gave me an Adidas jacket that I love for my birthday, and I will be wearing it tonight when I go to watch Carson play ball.  All in all, I had a wonderful birthday.  My children have always made sure that my birthdays were great, but this year for the first time in nine years, Rick remembered my birthday and showed me that I was someone special to him and he made my birthday last for the whole entire weekend.

Thank you all for making me feel so special.  I love all of you.

Oh, and I can't forget to mention the birthday videos that I received from Sharon & Bo, and from Megan & Myles.  They were so cute.  

Early Mother's Day Celebration

 I had a wonderful time today with my two daughters, two grandchildren and one great-grandchild.  They all came together and took me to Olive Garden for an early Mother's Day lunch.  I enjoyed every single minute of it, because I just don't get to see my family as much as I would like to because of circumstances beyond my control.

I can't wait to get to spend more time with them in the near future, and with the rest of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren who were not present just because they didn't know about it.  It was kind of a spontaneous gathering, and most times those are the best kind.  

Here we are in front of Olive Garden in Richmond, Kentucky, where we ate.  They asked me to choose where I wanted to eat and this is where I chose.  They were all surprised because I usually choose Red Lobster, but in this economy I thought this was the best choice.  

And pictured from left to right: (front row) Zac, Me, Carson, (back row) Megan, Sharon, Suzanne

I love all of you more than you could ever know, and I miss you...all of you, even those in my family who were not there.  

I'd also like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to Megan, Sharon, Suzanne, Tori, Jennifer, Victoria and Krystal who is expecting her first baby sometime later in 2022.  And also to Laurel, Allison, Callie and Kathy.  

Sunshiny Days

 It's another beautiful Spring day here in Kentucky full of sunshine, and the kids are getting out enjoying this beautiful weather.  Carson, Suzanne and Matthew went kayaking last weekend and Suzanne sent me these pictures of Carson that I'd like to share.  

I'm not really sure where they went, but I think this kind of looks like Owsley Fork Lake.  I guess I should have asked her, but I didn't.  It looks pretty and peaceful wherever they went kayaking tho.

Megan sent a couple of pictures of Myles, Lyv and herself eating and it appears that they are enjoying their meal out on the deck.  

Megan made a Mexican Pizza and it looks like Myles may have helped her put on some of the toppings.  

It looks good and right after I saw those pictures I had to go fix myself something to eat.  My food wasn't as good as theirs, but it did fill me up.

It sure would be nice if we all lived in the same town so that we could see each other in person more.  I miss all of my family more than they know.  I also wish that Brandon & Krystal lived closer too, but kids grow-up and they move away.  It sure would be nice to have those old time family gatherings like we used to have, but things are so expensive now.  Once Jimmy died all those family gatherings went by the wayside.  Grief played a big part in that because we all missed him so much and family gatherings just didn't feel right without him, but some of us still miss us getting all together with the whole family all at the same time.  Maybe some day we'll get back to all of us getting together at least once a year.......maybe we can call it a Family Reunion and meet at some park or something.  

Megan

I am just so proud of my granddaughter for all she has accomplished in her young life.  But now it seems that she has been made The Face of the Valvoline Oil Corporation where she is employed.  

Four Generations

Headline News

One of the girls dropped out, so
there were only four girls involved in
the project.

The picture above is of the Maroon girl's TV interview.  My granddaughter Megan is of course the one with the dark hair :)  Below is a copy of what was written in the newspapers about The Power of Maroon Day.  I'm a little late with this article, but as I always say, better late than never :)

POWER OF MAROON DAY MARCH 21 TO UNITE CAMPUS, COMMUNITY

                RICHMOND, Ky. – It might be flu season, but a group of five Eastern Kentucky University communication studies majors are working to spread a different kind of fever.

                The students are organizing The Power of Maroon Day for Wednesday, March 21, a time set aside to show pride in the university and celebrate the ties that bind campus and community.

                From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Powell Corner in the center of campus, the campus community can enjoy refreshments, games, music, special speakers, and drawings for door prizes, particularly EKU clothing items. Students, faculty and staff are asked to wear maroon or some sort of EKU accessory that day. Throughout the community, merchants are being asked to show their Eastern pride by asking employees to wear maroon attire, donate items to be given away at the campus and/or display appropriate signage.

                The Power of Maroon Day celebration stems from a student project in a communication studies class taught by Dr. John Strada. Students Audrey Smith, Emily Whitt, Megan Malear, Jannell Sargent and Rebecca Gnadinger began planning for the day in October 2011. The event has received the endorsement of EKU President Doug Whitlock and the university, the Richmond Chamber of Commerce and Richmond Mayor Jim Barnes.

                For Smith, a senior communication studies major from Manchester, the mission is personal.

                “For me, this is the second time around,” Smith said. “I came here several years ago, quit and came back. I am so glad to have this opportunity at EKU and if everybody felt the way I did about EKU, we’d have a much bigger campus. We wanted to share our feelings and make it contagious.

                “So far,” she added, “the response has been positive, so I have a good feeling we’ll have a lot of participation. We want to paint the town maroon.”

                Whitt, a senior communication studies major from Richmond, said: “I feel like Eastern is such a great school, and people need to be excited about where they’re going to school. This event is a great opportunity for not only EKU but also Richmond to be involved in something exciting.”

                For more information about the event or to learn more about donating items, contact Smith at audrey_smith17@mymail.eku.edu, Whitt at emily_whitt4@mymail.eku.edu, or Malear at megan_malear@mymail.eku.edu.

Beautiful Things

I went out into the yard between rain showers because I spotted my Climatis in bloom.  The rain had pretty much beat the new blossoms up, but I wanted to get a picture before the hard rain beat the petals completely off. Yesterday it only had about 2 blooms on it.

This is my dog PJ's grave.  Every year I buy butterflies to put on it as a remembrance of how much she loved chasing butterflies.  One time while I was sitting down and PJ was standing on the ground with her two front paws stretched up to my knees, a big Monarch butterfly landed on her nose and stayed there for a couple of seconds.  PJ didn't move and I didn't move.  We just watched in amazement until the butterfly flew away.  Of course this was definitely a Kodac moment, and I didn't have it on me. 

I borrowed this picture from HERE.  It's my granddaughter Megan 22 weeks into her pregnancy, and the bigger she gets, the prettier she looks.  My great-grandson, Myles Parker Malear, isn't due to make his appearance into this world until sometime in August, and we're all waiting with great anticipation.

For all that know about my injured cat Warty, he's doing much better.  He's on his feet again, walking with a slight limp, but still takes a lot of breaks to lay down and rest.  We still don't know how he was injured, but we're very happy that he is on his way to a complete recovery.

A Rare and Precious Jewel

Megan and Suzanne

It's rarely that we have the opportunity to get Suzanne in a picture but Sharon did it.  We all try, but to no avail.  We manage to get pictures of the back of her head or the palm of her hand as she shields herself from the camera.  She's our little angel of mercy, the one we can always count on to be there with a helping hand, never asking or expecting anything in return for all she does.  She's a wonderful wife, mother, sister, daughter, granddaughter, aunt, niece, cousin, daughter-in-law, and friend...she's just a wonderful person to all that know and love her and I know that her brother and sister won't mind me bragging about her just a little, because I know they feel the same about their little sister Suzanne.

No it's not Suzanne's birthday today.  Sharon just finally got her to pose for a picture, and that's something we don't get everyday and worth posting here.  But I want everyone to keep this picture a secret from Suzanne because she won't like me displaying it here for all the world to see.  Let it be our little secret...Shhhhh

Update on Megan

Yesterday Megan went in for a needle biopsy and it was again rescheduled. She is to come back in 2 weeks. She was there at the breast clinic prepped and ready by 12:10 pm, was given some mild sedation and had 2 IV infusions of dye and was an hour & a half into the procedure when the MRI she was in suffered a computer malfunction. The staff tried to make the necessary corrections but they couldn't...To see pictures CLICK HERE. Too bad for Megan because now she has to worry & wait for another two weeks.
These are pictures of Megan taken on days when some of her testing was done...when she had to have repeated ultrasounds and mammograms. She's so young to be having these problems. My granddaughter is almost 20 yrs. old, but it is necessary to follow her up closely because of her mom's history of breast cancer at such a young age.
On this day, Megan, Zac & Beth rode their bikes to the clinic and these pictures were taken on our way to get something to eat after her tests. Being so young and not knowing what to expect Megan thought she could ride her bike in for her surgery, but we had to tell her that she wouldn't be able to ride it back home because of the sedative, so she had Beth's mother Lori drive her in for her surgery. Thank you Lori for being so kind...the kids and all of us love you.

Please continue praying for Megan that all turns out to be nothing at all, but just a big scare to her parents & grandmas.

MRI, Mammogram Day....

It was Megan's turn today and happily not mine nor Sharon's turn at having a mammogram and a breast MRI to be done. We all sat in the clinic waiting for Megan to be called back for her hour long MRI which would then be followed by the all time favorite procedure that all of us women love....the dreaded mammogram. I'd personally like to stick something private that belongs to the doctor who invented the mammogram into that machine. It must have been a man because I can't imagine that a woman would ever invent such a test....and they say water boarding is torture. The M.R.I. wasn't a picnic either and consisted of laying on your stomach, on a cold slab of a table which had two round holes in it so that you could put your body parts in it.
Of course we can't let such an event pass without pictures and videos. We all tried to be cheerful and silly about the tests because we knew that Megan wasn't looking forward to repeating these same tests that she had just had done recently. Because of some changes from Megan's previous tests, she had to repeat these tests again today.
After eating at Cheddar's, Sharon suggested that we visit one of the many motorcycle shops.
Megan picked out her bike. This is the one she wants, but the salesman said that she would have to pay for it first before she could take it home....boo hoo.
Zac met us at the clinic. It was a beautiful day in the 70's so he rode his bike. He and Jimmy were the only smart people and they both rode their bikes. Jimmy was smarter though and didn't ride to the clinic, but just took himself on a nice relaxing pleasure ride.



With these cell phones anymore you just never know when someone is shooting a video. I took all of the pictures above, but Megan sent this video to my email tonight. It's silly and it's the only picture taken of me today to show that I was also there.

This little trip to the clinic turned out to be an all day affair, but it was fun...after we left the clinic.

Grandchildren....

"Movin to da bangin beat in da car...yo."

It's a good thing that we're riding our motorcycles or I'd have to put up with these two in the car all the way into Tennessee or North Carolina or wherever it is that we're going!

A nice day turned stormy and ended with a surprise

It all started so innocently with Megan asking Jimmy and I to join her in Richmond for lunch today.
Today (our granddaughter) Megan was working at the Richmond Bank instead of here at the Berea branch.

Although it was a little cloudy, it was a warm pretty day with the sun peeking out every once in a while, so Jimmy & I decided to ride our bikes to meet her at McDonald's. Sharon stopped by the house after a heart healthy run and she hopped up on the back of my bike and off the three of us went to go meet Megan.

Sharon took some videos of our ride over to Richmond using her cell phone and I suppose if she ever gets them off her phone they will be posted on facebook. She tried to send the first video she took, sight unseen, straight to facebook but the sending failed and I was kind of glad of that because I really would like to see the video first before it's published for all the world to see. No telling what I might have been saying, or worse, what my hair might have looked like. Us girls always worry about our hair and that's why I had Sharon cut mine off so that I wouldn't have that worry anymore, but I never expected that the person sitting behind me would be blocking my vision with a cell phone in front of my face. All kidding aside, Sharon really is a lot of fun to be around. She's a lot like I was but a whole lot prettier.
After lunch Sharon had a couple errands to run. The second errand was to go find that bike she wants next. She has a new bike right now...it's a beautiful 1300 red bike...it's a Honda and don't ask me for anymore details because I don't know. I just know that it's beautiful.
<<--- She was looking for this bike, but the one in red.
We went to two shops and found one in Lexington, but it was the wrong color...it was a silver gray color, but it was still pretty. This gray bike is also a 1300 but it doesn't look as bulky as her present bike, and it had that big tire on the back and the front forks were raked out a little. Well you can see it for yourself, so I don't really know why I'm describing it to you. Just double click on the picture to get a better look at it. Sharon even had the salesman take the bike outside of the showroom and start it up so that she could listen to the pipes, which of course didn't pass the sound test and must be the first things changed.

While I was taking pictures of Sharon using my cell phone it started raining. We couldn't get her off that bike, so Jimmy & I just went and got our bikes and drove up to where she was and the salesman pulled her off the bike and lead her over to the back seat of my bike. We had one more stop to make in Lexington, but as we approached the red light Jimmy, who was behind me, turned on his right turn signal, which meant, "we better go this way." He was looking at the dark clouds and he knew that we should head for home, so I followed his lead. (How can you follow someone's lead when they are behind you?)

We left Lexington just in the nick of time. Any more time spent in Lexington and we would have been caught in the 70-80 mph winds that soon followed. It sprinkled on & off on our way home which was only about 45 miles away. I didn't take my usual scenic route but hurried to get us home and when we were home and safely inside we heard the tornado warning sirens go off. It wasn't long til the loud cracking of thunder started so I unplugged my computers and one of the TVs...I don't know why just one, but I think I just got side tracked. You know, one of those senior moments I guess :)

The wind blew hard and I didn't know that large trees could bend down and touch the ground so easily. For just a short time we had that lakeside property we had always dreamed about. We didn't have any hail at our house although my daughter Suzanne said that they got hailed on and then she told me that Matt's fire station was no longer standing. It got hit by a tornado and the only fatality was Matt's TV set which he had taken to work....and of course all of their fire & rescue trucks and equipment. Matt got off duty at 7 A.M. this morning so he wasn't at the fire station.

There were several tornados in Madison county this afternoon and quite a bit of property damage. The road I avoided taking on our way home was hit hard and the highway that I took had cars & trucks blown off the road by the strong winds right after we had exited from it. Although it's still raining hard we haven't gone outside to check for any damage to the house. The trees are all fine, nothing broken. I don't think we were in any real danger at our house other than from lightning which sounded awfully loud and very close.

Earlier today as we were getting our bikes ready to ride the mail truck pulled into the driveway and handed me a package. I was expecting my movie today, but the movie didn't arrive. Instead I got a lovely surprise from Jerry. He had put together hundreds of songs and compiled a set of 8 music CD's. I love listening to music and when my other computer crashed I lost all of my itunes music, so this was a lovely surprise and since the music is already backed up with CD's I won't lose this music. Thank you very much Jerry, you're such a sweetheart!

Sharon just called. She said she posted the videos on facebook. I better go check them out and if figure out a way to link them here I will.

So what do you do, on a rainy day?

ANSWER: You go visit your dear sweet little old grandmother, who just sits at home crocheting, acting silly with Jimmy, and yearning for a visit from her kids and grandchildren.

Granddaughter Megan dressed in tangerine
with pigtails

Megan & Sharon got off work early today and stopped in to visit around noon. OOOPS! I didn't even offer you girls any lunch. Shame on me!!!! I was eating my bowl of cereal and for some reason I thought it was still early. When you're retired you don't pay any attention to time and half the time I don't even know what day of the week it is. I did enjoy their visit and Sharon said my hair is now long enough for a curly perm. hmmm...I've always wanted curls. I wonder if I'll really like them? One thing good about having short hair is that you can always cut them off if you don't like them.

My daughter Sharon

As you can see from their pictures, Megan takes after her mother...they love to act silly and take silly pictures. hehehe. I wonder where they get that from???

Aren't these ladies slippers colorful....

This hat and scarf set turned out perfect.

This is really soft, soft, soft and did I tell you how soft this long scarf is? Someone next winter will really be warm, but right now I just don't know who that will be. This yarn is a squiggly, zig zaggy sort of yarn that is fun to work with but knots up easily. It looks like a knotted up soft carpet when you're finished and I dare not try making a matching hat to go with it unless I can glue this stuff on a bowl or something that resembles a hat. Anyway....there's enough of this scarf to wrap around your neck and head too...so there's your matching hat.

Oh, how nice.....
Jimmy just came in with a bunch of bills from the mail. It must be getting close to the first of the month.

Happy 18th Birthday!

HaPpY bIrThDaY
Megan!!!

Hope your Birthday is Special and that you are able to get out from under all of your college homework to celebrate your 18th Birthday today.

We love you!!!

Sometimes you just have to stay home

Although we've gotten in our fair share of riding in this week, sometimes you just have to stay home in order to do the usual run of the mill chores at home.

Jimmy just traded one ride in for another.

Although we are in drought conditions, our grass has remained mostly green, and slow growing.

Jimmy picks up sticks & dead branches that have fallen from the trees before he starts mowing. Jybow, his trusty companion follows behind. Jybow is now officially an outside cat and spending the nights outside as well. Jimmy still checks on her periodically during the night to make sure she is okay and hoping that perhaps she might want in. So far she has declined his offer and is enjoying the coolness & freedom of the outdoors.

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Yesterday, while I was inside answering emails, Jimmy came in my room in a panic....he couldn't find Jybow anywhere and asked if maybe she wasn't in here with me. He searched the whole house, under beds, closets and every nook & cranny the cat could possibly squeeze into....NO CAT! He went back outside and resumed his calling and clapping...Jybow usually comes when she hears Jimmy clap his hands for her. He unlocked buildings thinking he might have locked her in one...Still no cat. He searched everywhere as I continued with my emails. I know what you're thinking...why didn't I help him search for Jybow. Because I knew that this was the cats usual naptime and that Jybow was under the building and if Jimmy was paying attention he would have noticed that none of the other cats were paying any attention to his calls either. Jimmy just wouldn't believe me that Jybow was safely sleeping under the large building and not in any danger.

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An hour or two passed and finally Jybow made her appearance out from under the building....It was time for celebration as Jimmy exclaimed, "Honey! Honey...Jybow came out from under the building! She's okay!" This is where I keep my mouth shut and don't say, I told you so! and just celebrate with him.

This is all I want to drink on these hot summer days. It's called a "George" and Suzanne makes them. They're made with equal parts of Sprite, orange juice, and a dab of marachino cherry juice & topped with a cherry. They're delicious. This picture was sent to me by Sharon taking a lunch break at her sister Suzanne's house. Suzanne made her a "George." And yes, they're called "George" because a guy named George who worked in our local drugstore used to make these at the fountain for the customers years ago and the name just stuck. George really got around in this town because at other establishments we have "George Burgers."

This is what I mostly eat in the hot summer months. I mostly drink water and eat fresh fruit. I also love watermelon and figs, but figs are something that I NEVER get to see here in Kentucky. We grow concord grapes, red raspberries and some blackberries and have a fruit orchard that hasn't begin to really fruit yet...but there's hope. Jimmy on the other hand loves cantaloupe, but is a meat eater...I go more for fuits and veggies.

I finally gave up my old dinosaur of a cell phone and got this cute little picture phone. The phone is so slim that I got a flip-phone case to protect it from falls. I got it in red to match my bike, hehehe. I really love it and in the 3 days that I have had it, I have discharged it completely 3 times taking and sending so many pictures. I think I am finally over it's newness and I'm going back to my digital camera for picture taking although I will still accept picture messages on my new phone...I just won't be using it as my primary picture taking device, as I have in the last 3 days. It takes very nice clear 2 megapixel pictures and it also takes videos and has a teensy tiny little memory card slot for extra memory storage so that you can use it as an i*pod too with a wireless headset. I don't think I'll be using my phone to listen to music with, but I will buy an extra memory card to store pictures on.

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This week we have been babysitting pets...many pets. Brian, Reva & Brandon are at Boy Scout camp for a week and we have been going out daily to feed, water & play with their cats, kittens and Rusty their dog. Today is their last day at camp and Jimmy & I are joining them for supper and a special celebration for Brandon. We were planning on joining them for supper at the camp and then a few minutes ago Brian called from camp to tell us that Brandon was being honored at camp tonight and being inducted into an honor society called the, "Order of the Arrow." Brian was so excited about it, and so proud of Brandon and wanted to make sure that we would not miss it...And of course, we wouldn't think of not being there.

Our granddaughter Megan has this cushy babysitting job that everyone dreams of. She gets to travel with the family she sits for and at this moment is in sunny Santa Monica, California on a family vacation. Do you hear that Brian! I'm taking care of your pets and I'm still here at home...I need to be taken to Hawaii. Megan is probably still sleeping and later will be off to the beach to get a glimpse and to play in the Pacific Ocean. She'll make sand castles with the children and collect handfulls of sea shells and if she's lucky she'll get to see some seals or sea lions basking on the beach.

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I don't know whose zebra that is in the picture above, but I was told she was babysitting at the time the picture was taken and the zebra looks like it's in a horse farm. Perhaps it belongs to the people she babysits for...or perhaps she was just on another family outting at work. Megan has loved zebras and anything related to zebras for as long as I can remember. Her bedroom is all done in zebra stripes and every accessory you can possibly find in zebra stripes is in her bedroom.

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The title of my post was, "Sometimes you just have to stay home," but not Megan...She may just turn out to be our little World Traveler.

Megan's Graduation Day

On Friday, May 25th my beautiful and very sweet 17 year old granddaughter graduated from high school. It's hard to believe that this little sweet bundle of joy, has grown up to be such an adorable, smart & pretty young lady. It doesn't seem like that long ago when she was toddling around the house, chasing her big brother...My, but she did have a mind of her own and a strong will and she wasn't afraid to express it either. When she was not quite 2 years old, I remember stopping by to visit and bringing her brother Zac and also Megan a present. Zac was older, so I gave him an age appropiate toy and I gave Megan a teddy bear or a doll, my memory eludes me at the moment. When she opened the gift she quickly hurled it across the room and exclaimed that she didn't want it...She wanted what Zac got, so I went back to town and got her the exact same thing that her big brother got. I soon learned to buy them each the same thing...she wasn't going to settle for less!
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Megan is a good Christian girl and many of her activities involve her church. She graduated with a 3.8 gpa and will attend college on scholarships & grants.

Megan will only have a short summer break until her fall semester begins at school. Soon she will be moving into her own apartment near campus which she will be sharing with her big brother Zac....Thank you Lord!!! I just couldn't imagine my innocent little granddaughter being sent out on her own to live in a college dorm...unsupervised. I know you all are laughing, BUT this university is known as a party school...And Zac if you are reading this you'd better take good care of your little sister!!! Watch out for her and keep those big bad wolves away from her!

Megan putting on her cap.

Big brother Zac, little sister Thalia, Step-dad Scott

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Here we are anxiously waiting for the graduation procession to begin. Sharon was sitting next to me and there were many of Megan's family members in attendance, Andrea, Garry and her other grandparents, but we all weren't sitting together in the stands.

Here comes the procession of graduates and teachers. I didn't know it until I got there and noticed that some of Jimmy's family was also in the stands, so I asked them who was graduating and they told me that Emily was graduating too. The reason I was surprised to see any other relatives was because this was an out-of-town graduation and we thought Megan was the only one graduating this year. Jimmy & I had no idea that his brother's granddaughter was also graduating from this very same H.S...we didn't even know that she attended this high school with Megan.

Here's Megan with her mother Sharon. Sharon of course you know is my daughter and she doesn't look much older than the graduates herself. I was so nervous taking the pictures that most of my pictures turned out a bit fuzzy and unusable, so I'm hoping that Scott was less shakey and took some good pictures to share with me.

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I rode to the graduation ceremony with my daughter Sharon and she was so excited and I've never seen her so happy as she was that night...she was glowing and so proud. As we were leaving and approaching Megan's car, Megan gave her mom a bouquet of beautiful cut flowers and a card. Sharon was beaming and I could see tears in her eyes. On the way home she read the card to me and it was one of the sweetest sentiments to a mother from a daughter that I have ever heard.

Prom night

Hamming it up!

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Last Friday was Junior/Senior Prom night and don't my granddaughters look lovely. Thalia is 15 and Megan in white is 17 and a graduating senior. Megan's graduation is scheduled for Friday May 25th.

Here is Megan with her best friend, and her brother's girlfriend Ali.

Another great picture of my granddaughters. All three pictures above I think were taken by Ali, but I may be mistaken.

Never make promises

"Mommy, can I keep this little duck

in my bedroom?

Remember you said,

I could have a pet in my room

if I wanted."

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This is a picture from the past of Megan, Zac's little sister. Isn't she adorable with her big duck? Megan must have been around 2 years old in this picture. I don't know if you can see our dog Rocky standing in front of her, in the picture, but she's there. Megan didn't really say those words, I quoted above, they just seemed fitting for the picture. Sharon sent me some pictures of Megan with her various pets to use in my Catzilla and Friends blog, but I wanted to show this one here because I thought she looked so cute with that great big duck. I'm sure it had a name...all her pets had names but I can't remember what it was.

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Well today was Friday the 13th and I told Jimmy that Friday the 13th has always been a lucky day for me. Nothing bad or out of the ordinary happened, even though I had two black cats cross my path, in front of me, behind me and they even climbed on me with a little help, hehehe. They were Callie's 4 week old black kittens. The day's not over yet...I still have 2 hours and 10 minutes to go. How did your day go? I hope that you didn't break any mirrors or step on any cracks and break your grandmother's back, OUCH...that would sure be bad luck!

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I'd better stop while I'm ahead and say, goodnight, because I'm starting to ramble on & on. I think I got up too early this morning. Thank you Sharon for my haircut, but isn't hair supposed to make you wise? The more you have, the wiser you are? I think you cut off too much...I'm not feeling very wise at the moment. I think I'll go to bed. Just one more hour and 53 minutes to go....I should be asleep by then.