Almost that time.

It's a gorgeous day. Warm. Sunny. Good weekend afterglow. All going on. Anticipation of sister, Mimi's, visit. It all adds up. 

The morning has been filled with small accomplishments. Coffee pot cleaned out right after breakfast. Check. Guest room bedspread in the washer. Check. Work out at the gym. Check. Picked up a dozen fresh eggs from my friend. Check. 

With a measure of elbow grease and the invocation of some of the lesser curse words in my vocabulary, the kitchen window over my sink is now clean. Maybe it was the amount of dirt buildup. Or just maybe it was the fweeking design. But the screens did not come off without a fight. And. I won. Gosh. It felt  good to win. If feels equally good to see out the window with no spots.

***

A few flowers found homes in new pots this morning. I even hung some on the fence.

***

Sister, Paulette, starred in a local theatrical production last week. Final performance was Sunday afternoon and was attended by me. It was entertaining. With a few laughs thrown in. The cast seemed to have really enjoyed working together. After the final bow there was much, "Oh, thank you for coming!" If only the playwright had thought to add some 'after the play' lines for the cast. Now that could have been really funny. The play was about older men and women in a small southern town. Which was exactly the audience make up. 

*****

It is almost time.

 

Do you know what this means?  This is the first blossom. Can birthdays be far away? I mark birthday season with the blooming of the hydrangeas. Last year they had to compete with the construction for their very survival. And survive they did. Once again they herald our birthday season. 

Tomorrow we will bid April adieu. Neither happy nor sad to see it go, I  look forward to May with its promise of warm porch sitting nights and happy sister visits! 

Be sweet. 

Today dawned cloudy and before I had left the gym the rain had started. It was steady most of the morning. My tree cutting man, Kevin, called and was able to get by before lunch. Probably because of the rain, his scheduled changed. He gave me a good estimate. As did my fence man, Jamie, on Monday. The tree business is good right now so Kevin only promised to have the trees down by the end of May. That is fine, says me. No rush. So. Check. And check. Now I need to contact my concrete man, Jed, and line that up. Repair for our neighbor's driveway that got slightly damaged last year during our construction. And probably a little more concrete for Mr. Macho's barbecue pad.

***

One small afghan project got finished today. Two more await finishing. And a small rug. 

I got floors vacuumed and a little dusting done this afternoon. Yesterday I took down my spring/summer clothes and culled a large amount of them. Things that don't fit. I will take them to the thrift shop tomorrow. I have another box full that I need to go through tonight. 

It just feels good to get small things accomplished. 

Monday I revamped my file cabinet. That felt terrific. Why oh why do I keep all these papers? I sat and shred for hours. I ran across an old letter from Dad. I haven't thrown it away. Yet. I just can't right now. I stare at his handwriting. I might burn it in the back yard fire pit. That feels more reverent than just throwing it in the garbage. I know. It is weird that I think like this.

Tomorrow promises to be busy. I will have things to go do. Florescent bulbs to buy for the kitchen. Groceries to shop for. Bible study. Maybe Friday I will get to clean the bathrooms. Yes. Maybe Friday.
***
Yesterday I enjoyed the company of three fairly new friends. One of the friends was treated for a terrible cancer last year and the year before. She has had good reports this year. I think she goes back in June or July for a check. She is a lovely person. The other two friends that dined with us were equally nice to be with. It was a good, long, wine kind of lunch. Ahh. Friends. I am so enjoying developing these new friendships at this particular time in my life. It makes me feel all mellow and good inside to say that I have these friends. It makes my life richer.
***
I am keeping my fingers crossed. Sistah in Texas has purchased the lottery tickets. Again. This may just be the day. Here's hoping...be sweet. 

The Divine Miss M.

Merritt, The Super Carrot, spent Wednesday and Thursday night at our house. Her dad had knee surgery Thursday morning. He is doing well. 

She got busy right away, upon arrival at our house. She looves the purses. She slips it onto her arm and off she goes. She is also a budding 

multi-tasker. How many things can she picked up and hold at one time? 

Merritt is a good house guest. Easy to feed. She lets you know by the shake of her head if she will or will not eat something. We don't have to guess. Goes to bed at night and for nap easily. No wailing or gnashing of teeth from this girl.

Hand washing is one of her favorite indoor sports. She will put her hand out flat and ask for soap, only it sounds more like "pope". She also likes to get "shin" or what the rest of us call 'lotion'. 

Azaleas blooming in the side yard. 

Our new spring friend. After the hair cut. Thanks, Daughter. 

Miss Drooly. Her shirt stays wet. All. The. Time. I am still cleaning drool spots on my floors and furniture. 

***

On with the week's beginning. Have lots of calls to make this week. Fence man. Tree man. Concrete man. Hope to get some things accomplished. Got to run get started. 

Be sweet. 

Harden not your heart.

Boston. Need I say more? My heart hurts. I am not angry. I do not want revenge. I want hearts to change. That is what I want. I want people to stop hurting one another. I want some magic that will turn the heart of every terrorist into cotton candy. Soft and sweet. I want them to be filled with compassion. I want them to be knocked off their donkey like Saul in the Bible. I want a blinding love to fell them. 

Really. Let there be peace on earth. Let it begin with me. I want love to win. 

***

Our long time friend, A.O., is 84. He has cancer. At first he thought about no treatment. Yesterday the doctor inserted a port into his chest. He will get some chemicals to fight the cancer. 

A.O. is an information man. He enjoys learning. Still and always. Not long ago he asked me about a photography class that I had taken. He had a new camera and wanted to sign up for a class so he could learn to use it. 

He grows some pretty castor plants. They have a delicate fuzzy flower and big dark leaves. The seeds look like speckled beans. He gave me some a few summers ago. I planted the seeds the next spring. I actually got two of the plants to grow. They never flowered, though. 

A.O. carves walking sticks. Out of all sorts of wood. And vines. Friends of his bring him pieces they find out in the woods. Some of the walking sticks look gnarly. He gives them away. I am the proud owner of two A.O. walking sticks. They are treasures. As is he. 

***

Dirty clothes and more news coverage await me. I really should turn off that teevee. 

Be sweet. 

Friday night Mr. Macho and I were hunkered down watching a movie when our doorbell rang. We seldom  have visitors after sundown. It was the neighbor's dog sitter, who happens to be an old classmate of Daughter's. One of the neighbor's dogs had escaped. Had we seen a spotted dog? Why, yes. I did see him/her this afternoon in my fenced back yard. I promptly opened my gate and let him/her out. I did the same thing last week when I found said dog doing his rather unpleasant smelly duty in the flower bed IN my fenced in back yard. Ug. Apparently the dog sitter had called the out of town neighbors and they told her to knock on our door and check our back yard because they were very aware that their dog climbs the fence to get into our back yard. Hmm. No telling how many time their dog has been there without our knowledge. This week I am checking into some new fencing. Nuff said.

Saturday we enjoyed a private dance lesson and caught Mr. Macho up on our tango and merengue steps that he missed last Monday. After that we enjoyed two good little sandwiches at a new eatery. Three Monkey's Pizza. I would not go so far and say they were wonderful or super delicious. But the two girls that were working in there were very peasant. And the sandwiches were good. I would eat there a second time. And try the pizza.

Saturday afternoon Mr. Macho and Son-in-Town assembled a swing set for Sweet Pea. I hung out. Watching and playing with the Pea.

During construction.

Helping while the carpenters were on break. See the screws she is cleaning out? I had to retrieve them quickly lest they get lost in the yard. She was really fast cleaning them out.

We played in this "boat" during the construction phase. We sang "Row, row, row your boat...". Only her words weren't exact. 'Gently' came out skewed and so did 'merrily'. I am a suckered for the 2 year old messed up song/prayer words. Love them. Sing on Sweet Pea!!

Inaugural slide. 

The reward at the end of 6 long hours of "corn-struction" (thank you Uncle Dick!) was Sweet Pea's declaration, "I love this swing!" 

***

And on the seventh day we rested.

***

Monday has had an excellent beginning. A good workout.  Have made a lunch date with my dancing girlfriends for tomorrow. Which means I must cook the two corned beef briskets today. I will take that and some other things I have cooked over to Daughter when I pick up the Super Carrot on Wednesday. 

Got to keep on movin'.

Be sweet.

Weird dreams.

I was having some very strange dreams in the wee hours of the morning. It was all messed up with siege and war and doing the right thing. Not sure where all that came from. The aggressors were in boats. There were children and cold hearted killers all in the same dream. Not good. Not good at all.

The week is ending on a nice weather note. After the bad rains and wind ripped through the state yesterday. I am thankful that the wet stuff held off until I got home from my runnings around in the morning. Good deed Thursday was not lacking adventure. Long story short = my car battery died. Blessings on the nice gentleman that had jumper cables in his truck. Blessings on Drew, my Honda man, who expedited the changing of the battery. Alls well that ends well.

Son-in-law is having the knee scope surgery next week. I am trying to prepare some meals that Daughter can just pop in the oven and warm. AND! The Super Carrot is coming to spend the night. Woot woot. I am really looking forward to that.

Errands will keep me busy again this morning. Mr. Macho and I have signed on for a private dance lesson tomorrow morning. He will catch up on what he missed Monday night. He was out of the town. On "bid-ness".

And so. Go outside. Spring green is everywhere. It is pretty fabulous.
Be sweet.

Randomness.

I am full of endorphins. At the moment. A good work out at the gym was followed by a good birthday dance for Sister, Mimi. It's her birthday. So I Skyped her, YouTubed "Its Your Birthday", and I did a birthday dance for her. I don't think she will get a better present. All. Day. Long. It probably made her day. It made mine. She and I have decided to start having "un-birthdays" and go backwards in age. Starting today.

Birthday is in the air. We celebrated the Father-in-Law's 84th birthday. And the Sister-in-Law's #??birthday. On Saturday. With lots of family here. We enjoyed good foods - appetizers, yummy baked beans, tater salad, and burgers. The weather was custom ordered so that we could spill outside. And we did. Despite the pollen count. We enjoyed the company and the opening of the funny birthday cards. It is family tradition. There must be birthday cards with bathroom references. It is how we roll.
Lest I forget - our dear family friend, Kathryn, brought dessert. Not one. Four. One caramel cake. One coconut pie. Two chocolate merengue pies. She is a gem.
Twas nice having all our offspring here in one space for the birthday gala.

***
Book review:
Daughter returned some of the books I leant her. She brought me one of hers to read. And. I am loving it. "Carry On, Warrior" by Glennon Doyle Melton. I feel very connected to this author. I like her way of looking at life situations. She is a blogger. Like Kelle Hampton, her book is an offshoot of her blogg. She brings some very simple clarity to the table. I feel a parallel to her on some political non-issues, or non-polical issues. I love that she quoted Mother Teresa, "When we judge people we have no time to love them."
I love and agree with her concept that we are all broken. I love her three little prayers, "Please!", "Thank you!" and "WTF???" She doesn't give advice. I like that she says - Be humble. Be kinder than necessary. Be simple.
Read this book. It is so worth your time. I think I will read it a second time and commit much of it to memory. No I won't. But I want to.
***
On Friday. I was preparing the house for birthday party guests. Wiping. Dusting. At some point I stopped 'cause I knew there would be children and many grown ups and the house would get a degree of dirty all over again. So I found a happy spot that felt clean enough.
A pair of pictures was missing. They were old framed photos that used to sit on my book shelves before last year's construction. I had put them away and forgot where. I went in circles for a good 30-40 minutes. I went from room to room. Opening the same drawers over and over. I looked in my photo cabinet. I came across a photo of Mom and Dad. It stopped my forward progress. It hit my heart. Not a big hit. But a hit. I stopped and acknowledged that it is different looking at Dad's picture now that he is dead. I gave myself a moment. I let my grief make me sad. It is okay to do that. I think I will lovingly grieve Dad for all my life. Not big sobs or anything. There is also a measure of comfort while I have these grief moments. It is easier than last year when he was so sick.
Yes. I eventually found the photos I had been looking for. I had already opened this particular drawer at least 5 times - but on that sixth time I moved some paper and there they were! A photo of Mr. Macho's Dad. And a photo of Mr. Macho's Mother.
Mr. Macho was a senior in high school when his Mother died. It was about one month before his graduation. It was April 1971. I did not know him then. I will not write about what I do not know on this subject. I do know that every once in a while, usually on or around the anniversary, he will reminisce about his Mother and the events surrounding her death. It is still a wound. I can see that it helps him to talk about her. I think we all grieve our parents for the rest of our life. Even though we grieve differently, he and I both have cycles of grieving.  Only, he has been doing it much longer than I have.

Where did I go right?

When did my Daughter catch up in age with me? I swear. I was just 34 last year. Ohmygosh. Wasn't she just wearing Underoos last month?

I was probably not the best role model for her. I was the stay at home mom. It was what I chose. I always wanted her to be able to choose what she wanted.

It is hard to choose the different path than what you are exposed to. My mom was a stay at home mom. I have six sisters.  We all went from being daughters to being wives. No interim. No in-between, find yourself, growing up time. Some of us made good choices. Sometimes I look back and think, "It was a crap shoot!" We were just darn lucky. I don't spend time thinking what I would have done different. That is so non-productive. I did have the chance and was employed for a dozen years. It was after Daughter graduated from high school. I worked during what I call "The College Years". From the time she started college until our third child had all the college he wanted. I decided fairly early in those twelve years that I was not "Super Woman" - nor did I want to be. Some things just get neglected when your hours in the day are spoken for. Fast food here, dusty cabinets there, an extra day before you change the towels and sheets... And life goes on.

Daughter has a very different path compared to mine. You can't compare. You just can't. She has challenges and obstacles that I never faced. She is a working mother. A HARD working mother. Of three. She is. She is a fine, good mother. She is my friend. She is my confidant. She is my counselor.
She is strong. She makes me laugh. Her sense of humor is dry and witty. Her moral compass is spot on. I always have doubted that women could have it all. But she is figuring out how to do just that.

Because of or in spite of her parents, she is succeeding at life.

She has yet to realize her greatness. One day. She will look back. And know. 

April fool.

No fooling. The weekend was pleasant. Saturday's weather was not so bad. Little rain fell. It did not deter Mr. Macho's project.

On Friday Son-in-Town had brought some concrete pavers that he no longer wanted. I had a plan to make a path from side door, to porch steps, to the work shop. Mr. Macho did not like my plan. At all. I was willing to negotiate. He worked most all day placing the pavers into the ground. He did not get finished. But he liked the path once they pavers were set. There will not be pavers leading to the work shop. For the time being, anyway.

***

Saturday I boiled two dozens eggs in anticipation of Sweet Pea coming over to dye them with me. She had a busy social schedule that day. We had planned a date ourownselves. So, the dyeing party did not materialize. Instead, Mr. Macho and I made quick work of coloring the eggs. 

***

Saturday night we were going to try the new steak house here in town. But. They said it was a 55 minute wait. That is crazy. We wanted to take in a movie, too, so we opted for Plan B. The Grill. The meal there was so-so. But. The movie was pretty exciting. We saw "Olympus Has Fallen" - and it was action packed. Too much killing, but think Bruce Willis "Die Hard" and you get an idea of the plot. What made it especially fun were the two ladies that arrived late and sat next to me. Their commentary was hilarious. They cheered and clapped at the good parts and when the movie was over. They warned the bad guys - "Don't do that. He gonna kill you!" And, "Uh-huh. You tell 'em Morgan!" They were an added bonus enjoyment for me. Thanks ladies. 

***

Sunday we traveled east and spent a most pleasant Easter day with Daughter and family. We attended Mass with them.

Daughter and family. My Lauren is getting so grown-upish. 

Mr. Macho and me. 

Daughter fixed a delicious meal. I ate too much. And enjoyed every bite. 

My plate was filled. I went back for some of the Asian slaw. I love it. 

Mr. Macho helped replace a light fixture in Daughter's kitchen. We visited and the kids enjoyed some new little toys we brought them for Easter. $2 toys from the Wal-Mart. We got our money's worth.

***

On a sad note, Out-of-Town Daughter-n-law's other grandmother died on Friday. We were saddened by the news. May she rest in peace. 

***

April. Here we are in the fourth month. Already. Amazing. The sun is peeping through today. The temps are supposed to reach the 70's. It feels like spring. It looks like spring. It smells like spring. Must be spring. 

We have a family-birthday-cookout planned at our house for next weekend. We are looking forward to that. Wonder what kind of adventures I can find in the mean time? Will let you know.