Mother Nature at her best!

I sat here and watched the clouds move all the way across the sky until dark began to envelope me in its arms....   Reverence is what I felt.

 

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky." 

                               ~~Ranindranath Tagore, Stray Birds~~

 

Could it be???

                         THAT SPRING IS ON IT'S WAY??? 
 I spotted this in the garden this afternoon on my walk back from a lil shindig down the road!!  And it was what happened at that lil shindig that really tells us here in the deep south, that spring is indeed here!!

Yep!  Every southerner knows that when that first batch of crawfish is thrown out on the table...GOOD TIMES are sure to follow!!

 

A little extra lagniappe for you??  Have any of you been following the eagle nest recording that has been running since January with baby eagles in it?  http://www.ustream.tv/SouthwestFloridaEagleCam

Well.....cap'n went to visit it this afternoon!!  Of course, he saw it from the ground but I just think it was cool that he took the time to go to the spot where the nest is!!

 

A Saturday in February...

Ms. sweetcheeks spent the night with me last night and we have been busy since her feet touched the ground!  We've swept sweet gum balls from the driveway, watched the fishermen, drawn one million pictures, played with every toy here, read storybooks and pushed that little babydoll around in her stroller all over the place!  Including down the street at about 7am this morning.......

but ya know what?  Everytime I'm up and out early at the lakehouse, I'm always glad I am because I get to see beautiful vistas like this one this morning across the street from our house!

Happy Saturday!!

 

Things that make a girl from the South go WOOP WOOP!!

There are just some things that, we in the south, don't get to see often.  No doubt, it's no big deal to most but I am enchanted by this sight.  Backstory:  last yr, in february, 2 canadian geese chose our pond to hang out on for a week or so.  They would even walk all the way up into my yard! I watched them every day in awe.  I think they are just the most graceful birds ever... But soon, they continued on their migration and left the south looking for greener pastures.....heheh.....or colder temps!

So.....how surprised I was to come down my driveway yesterday and find this lil piece of beauty swimming in the pond..... 9!!  NINE! canadian geese in all their beauty!  I was SO excited that I ran to get my camera and quietly...shhhhh....walked down to try to get a shot.  They saw me....honked and honked...and then took flight...only got one slightly bad shot. 

Later, yesterday, I went back down there to see if they'd come back.......sniff, sniff.  Nope.

So, this morning in the rain, I took off again and found only two geese swimming around and eating the corn that my son had left down there for them.....but alas, they too flew away again.  But hmmmmmm......I wonder if those two might not be the same ones that came last yr and had such a nice lil time in my yard??!!

I know all of this sounds crazy to most of you but when things happen that we don't usually get to see, in nature, around here......I never let it go by without celebration.  Just makes me happy!

 

Don't be BLUE .... Blew Bayou!

You'll be back in the water soon!  Yep...she's been hauled out of her home and put into a sling......did she break an arm????  Nah.....just getting her "bottom" buffed and poofed and made purty.  You know? Like all us gals do!!
Cap'n picked her up in Guatamala where she's been hibernating during hurricane season. He sailed her all the way to Ft. Meyers, Florida where he is now getting a few repairs done and of course, the "bottom" work.  I just love saying that!

weird seeing her on dry ground...

see the man underneath doing work on bottom...

It's ok Cap'n...ya'll will be back in the water soon!! With smooth bottoms!!!  heh...!

 

Girlfriends are the Best!

My daughter in law has a circle of friends that have been together since the college years.  Even tho they all live far apart from one another, they try to get together once a yr....but not every yr can all of them make their schedules work together.  But this yr, when talk started about the get together, I mentioned that they would be welcome to have their weekend at my house since I'm pretty central to where most of them are.  Well...........it happened this past weekend!  Now, since I feel like all of them are kinda my kids too.........I've been listening to their stories and laughing in bathtubs with them for many many yrs...it was so neat to see them all together again.  WITH KIDS IN TOW!!  7 grown girls (still like youngsters to me) with 8...EIGHT....babies under the age of 4 under one roof!  What a hoot it was......chasing babies and still laughing while I was in awe that these girls have grown into such wonderful women.......

 

can't remember what all the B's stood for.....something about babies and bitches and booze and boobs!!!

What really made me laugh was when I saw this

and this

and wondered how it would all mix!!!!

They sure don't stay up as late or sleep in as late in the mornings anymore!!!!

I'm so happy they got to be together and once again, realize, just how good it is to maintain your girl friendships, no matter the circumstances....

 

 

 

May I introduce you to.......

Ms. Kathleen Jane.....or Katie jane, as ms. Lilli tells me over and over!!
Granted, she's still cooking and it will be a couple more months before the actual arrival but we all gathered round for the 4-D ultrasound this weekend.

As old as I am and as many ultrasounds as I've seen, I still cannot distinquish what is what!! Heheh... But in these 4-Ds, you can see her lil face, sweet rosebud lips and her hand.  She actually looks alot like her big sister looked at this stage of pregnancy.  BUT.....the real show was watching ms. lilli and her great grandmother watch the show. Nana had never seen an ultrasound and she was amazed at being able to see her soon to be born great granddaughter!

But the funniest thing was this.....Ms. Priss just had to get on that table and pretend like it was her who was being scanned.  She's even holding her daddy's hand!! But she told the ultrasound tech....NO NO NO don't DO me!!!!  I laughed and laughed!!

A nice lunch, outside on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, with Pops, Nana, the happy family and myself was lovely!

 

 

 

 

Today may be Valentine's Day to you...

....but to me.....it's my youngest son's birthday!!   27 yrs ago today that sweet boy came into our lives and we've been blessed ever since!  He is an independent, smart and loving son who (even tho he may have watched R rated movies before his brothers did!!)  has always made us proud to be his parents.  He's tough when he has to be but man, oh man......he has the biggest heart in the world.

That may look like a Valentine heart on him but actually it's just my way to  show just how sweet his heart is............which will only grow bigger in just a few months when he becomes a father for the first time to his son!!

That smile has been on his face since the day he found out!!!

We had a fun lil dinner last night!

 

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!!!

Oh Dell....

...how I love you!  That would be my new laptop.....sigh....!!!

A week before I left for my Italy trip, I dropped my laptop while unloading it from car.  It immediately went dead.  After some finaggling, the lil computer guy found a hard drive from a similiar machine and put it into mine, for there wasn't enough time to do all the necessary moving around to make sure all my photographing capabilities were intact before I left.  And it worked fine while I was gone!!!!  But not long ago, it started to go berserk.....like lighting up so brightly and neon-like that it was burning my eyes to look at screeen.  Plus the keyboard went all wonky and would type crazylike....no it wasn't just me!  So, today I spent some quality time with the computer um....guy/weirdo.....heh!  Hey, he admits it!!
It's small...lightweight and perfect for traveling....

YAY for new toys!!!

Saturday Chores

Forever, I've been wanting to haul away the old computer armoire that has been in my living room. The desktop that it housed was very outdated and as slow as Jeruselem...plus, it was a place to store junk and all the 10 something yr old stuff that had collected there.  It took me much longer to clean it out than to re-decorate the space.  I had decided I was a hoarder....:(!!  So thanks to my babyboy, it got taken away on Friday and I've spent today getting all back in order.  Decided that since I only really needed a place for my printer....only use laptop these days.....that I just wanted a simple writing desk to hold the printer and the few things I kept from desktop supplies.  Very pleased with how it turned out and, of course, it holds things that are sentimental to me from my trips!

found the wire basket piece on top that holds cds and software perfectly at World Market

the small painting and the runner are from Italy!

tiny mackenzie-childs vase was a gift from one of my pilate buddies

have already found the chair I want from Pier One and will get it next week.

And since Mardi Gras parades are rampant around here this weekend and because I have a love for freaky, funky lil people....I put my lil man on top too!

It's been fun playing and getting a tad bit organized today.....also completely emptied out my laundry

room and re-decorated it!

It's been a rainy weekend here........plan to edit pics tomorrow and get my Italy blog finished.

Work...Work....Work!!!

 

 

Hey Cap'n.....It's YO Birthday!!

Even tho we know you're prolly doing stuff like this......

while sailing aways the days on your baby......

but there is a special babygirl around here who really misses her daddy...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAP'N.....we love ya!!!!

 

 

 

Topseller for 2012 around here!

Heheh.....Time to publish!  Yep.....this time of the year, the ol' blob gets made into a book for each family to keep as a memory of what we did last year!  It's always fun to be able to look back and remember fun times and babies growing....

and this is the dedication page for this yr's book.....pretty appropriate, I'd say!!

 

 

 

What a perfect day to SAIL!!!!

Nah....not talking abour our cap'n, who is swabbing the decks on Blew Bayou, but our very own Austin, the Birthday Boy!!  The theme for his party on Saturday was sailing and he, himself, turned into a precious sailor this day......with an adorable party!  Take a look at all the precious decorations that his sweet mom came up with!  Let's walk into the front door....

sailboats and blooms

inside the front door was his invitation and treats for the little ones to take home..

as well as adorable party favors stuffed with loads of goodies!

precious "ONE" sailor shirt that he wore with skinny black jeans!

individually wrapped sailboat cookies

his smash cake!

huge sign made with pics from his first yr to make the "1"!

there were goldfish and whale crackers and swedish fish candies everywhere!

a trunk full of props for the photo booth.....that was super cute!

lil crafts table set up for those who wanted to color

I had to do a double take when I saw Austin's grandfather with this t-shirt on!!! (It's an Austin,TX t-shirt!! hahahaha)

Then....it was time....

Little did he know what was to come.  Ya see?  Until this moment, he had not ever, in his lifetime, had anything sweet.  He's a pretty agressive eater.....um, in other words, he loves his food and eats ALOT.  You know how usually you have to show a young one how to dig into their smash cakes?  Well, not this one.  The minute she put it in front of him,.....he picked a little piece off and looked at it...

He could not get enough fast enough!

 

Now, both hands in!

Can you see how fast his hands are digging in?  So Hilarious!

I know Lilli was so grossed out because she cannot stand to have her hands dirty...hahaha!!

He ate almost 1/2 of it before his mom took it away from him and there were hardly any scraps of it on the floor.  He literally smashed it, ate it all and wanted more!!!!! And that night, his face and hands were still stained red!!  SO MUCH FUN!

Aunts and Uncles gathered round outside on a gorgeous day!

and crazy friends!!

What a beautiful day we had with family and friends!!

"SAIL" ON LITTLE MAN INTO YOUR SECOND YR OF LIFE.....I CAN TELL IT'S GOING TO BE A BLAST!!