Easter Pictures and More

 

Jaime and Aaron hosted Easter dinner. Ham, Mac n Cheese, Potato Salad, Hot Cross Buns,

Coconut and Chocolate Cakes. Ymmm

 

Irma, Jill, Mia, Aaron and Mark - Just a few of the Easter guests.

 

Irma, Jaime and Aaron taking it easy in the back yard. Jaime hid 100 eggs out there.

Aaron and Jonah

 

Jill in her pink Easter dress and shoes that we picked out for her and Mia.

 

Mia and her bunny

 

Roger's great granddaughter Briella's first Easter picture.

Just a shot of Cory and the girls getting a little exercise.

Jill, Mia and Cory

Just a few pictures from Easter past. We had a peaceful and happy day. Pictures I wish I had - Brody searching the yard for Easter eggs. He found one by mistake and they had to pin him up. After the egg hunt they let him find another one. He spent the rest of the day searching for more. :-) Also wish I had a picture of Jonah in his football uniform. I will make him pose for that one even though he HATES having his picture taken.

 

We were trying to figure out what country this flag on a restaurant menu represented. Mia said it was Argentina. The waiter checked and she was right??!!

A recent page of Mia's school work. Her own spelling and drawing. The words were TOSS, TOAD, TOES, TACOS, TALK and TURN.

Thanksgiving 2012

I roasted a 22 lb turkey

Roger loves Thanksgiving - Turkey and Football

Jaime put up her Christmas tree with a peacock theme for Thanksgiving visitors

Part of the table, Jill, Stephanie, Cory, Aaron, Irma, and Jonah

At the other end of the table were Jaime and Mia with Jill and Stephanie again. I didn't get pictures of me, Karin, Alan, Jay, Papa Jerry or Tyler. Mark and Elliot were in N. Carolina. We had a very happy day.

Cory was teaching Jill at the piano

There is something about a second generation in my little house. I have lived here since Jaime was 5 and Cory was 14. Now the celebrations are moving a few blocks away to Jaime's house. It is taking a while to adjust, but yesterday was wonderful. Everyone brought something so nobody had to do all the work. We were all relaxed and happy. It was truly a happy day.

Roger's Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren

Roger's grandkids Misty, Troy, Jade and Cory with Kyle and Elizabeth
and great-grandchildren, Briella and Liam.

Mia - warts and imaginary friends

Like all 3 year olds, Mia says a lot of funny things. For instance, I noticed some warts on her hand that looked kind of red. I said, "Oh, you have some warts on your hand." She said, "Yeah, I wanted to keep them, but mama says 'no'." I found out from Jaime that she has been treating the warts to get rid of them.

Yesterday Mia spent all day playing and arguing with imaginary friends. This is especially creepy because the kids have always insisted that there is a ghost in the kid bedroom. Mia says they won't be quiet and won't do what she tells them. Yesterday she said one was named Donald and he was with another little boy. She said they were "scaring themselves".

I have always discouraged the kids from talking about the little girl they say is in the closet. Jaime started it when she was little. She freaked Cory out so much that he would not sleep in that room. I have to say that I have never seen anything weird, though I do think about it a little on the nights I have slept in that room.

One night when Jonah was little, we were watching TV and the picture started rolling. He reached up and opened the blinds above the bed. I scolded him and asked what he was doing. He said, "There's a ghost out there." I closed the blinds quickly. Then he said, "He talks." Yuk! I did get some cold chills down my back.

I especially didn't want Jill to hear about this. She gets scared enough already. All the children do insist that the closet doors be closed at night and I tend to feel more comfortable myself when they are closed. One side doesn't fit very well and tends to come open a little bit. One day, Jonah came running in the kitchen and said, "Come see what is in the closet!" I was on the phone with Roger, who knew the stories. When I came back he asked, "What was it?" I said, "What do you think? NOTHING!"

These events have happened occasionally over twenty years. I even met the son of a previous owner one time and have talked to my neighbors. There is nothing I have found in the history of this house to give any credibility to these stories. But it does creep me out a little when Mia talks this way. If there are any children ghosts in this house they should be happy with what is generally a sunny happy little room.

Sweet Spot

After bouncing around like a frantic roulette ball for most of my life, I have landed. Life has become a cycle of small pleasures. I wonder about the meaning. Why these people? Why this place? It doesn't really matter. This is it. I don't feel the need to get somewhere. I am here. Now I want to maixmize on what is here: organize a corner, learn a new skill, find a way to volunteer. As for whatever is in store for me, I am not afraid. I do want to be healthy as long as possible so I can be around in 10 years - 20? to see how my grandchildren have grown up. Small pleasures, small ambitions perhaps, but my joy and gratitude are large.

Jill turns 7 - Better Pictures

Baked 60 cupcakes to take to the summer program at the park. Then we had a little family party for Jill with pizza and what was supposed to be a sand castle cake. It looked more like a Christmas snowfall cake, but it tasted good.

Fourth of July

I discovered I don't even have a tag for the 4th of July until now. Somehow this holiday seldom lives up to my expectations. I always picture a big picnic in a beautiful park and sitting on blanket under the sky watching a fireworkS display. Somehow that doesn't often happen. I remember some lonely holidays where the kids had their own plans and I was alone. I have gone a few times to the big fireworks displays in town which were fun but the crowds and the killer heat and humidity make that a hassle. I remember going to a small town display with my friend Carol years ago. Joyce had a nice party at her apartment on a lake a few years back. I have one special memory of being out with friends on a couple of boats and watching the sky light up above our heads. Anyway, the perfect celebration eludes me. Florida weather has a lot to do with it. Often it is so hot and dry that there is a fire hazard and all the displays are banned. This year we were drowned with rain. But we still had a happy day.

****

After many months of staying with us, Jaime has a new apartment. She and Aaron have just moved in and are having fun fixing up their new place. The kids love it. They made burgers on the George Foreman grill and invited both families for lunch. Since it was raining we all found a spot in their small apartment. After lunch, Karin and Alan and Stephanie and Cory took Jill to White Sands beach for a water ski show. Jonah elected not to go. The rain stopped just as it got dark and the kids shot off some fireworks at their own homes. (Jaime said they met their new neighbors!) Roger and I turned the lights down low and watched the fireworks show in NY City on TV while neighbors lit up the sky all around our house. Last year we trekked out to the middle of the golf course and got quite a show. All the trees block some of the view but we still see and hear a lot of excitement. I guess my dream 4th would be to rent a place at the beach and watch fireworks from a lawn chair on the sand. I am very happy and hopefull for the future. I wish I would have got pictures of the people and the food. Duh! Anyway, I hope that everyone in blogland had a happy day.

duck

Country decoy

Ruth over at synch-ro-ni-zing (see Blog List at the right of the screen) has written a moving tribute to her father. In her tribute she said that if an inanimate object could represent a person, her father would be represented by his beautiful barrister bookcases. That got me thinking. What would best represent me? My home? My photograph albums? This blog (if my family ever reads it)? I think to my children it might be this wooden decoy from North Carolina.

My brother got it for me one Christmas when I was strong into my country phase. He was shocked by the price at the cute little country store but he got it anyway. My family couldn't quite understand my decoy love. The distressed finish, the "worm holes", the worn ivory paint, the little beady eye, the shape and feel of it, the wood-burned logo on the bottom. It was shabby chic before there was such a term and was the source of much teasing. It came in two pieces. The strong heavy body and the delicate long curving neck and head. My daughter broke the curvy neck piece when she tried to use the decory and it's wooden tray to anchor the corner of a sheet tent she was making. The neck was glued back together. The crack is still visible.

The decoy and it's tray sat in the middle of my dining table for years. We always referred to it as the "duck". I'm not sure if it is really supposed to be a swan or a goose. Keys and messages were often left in the "duck tray". It was decorated with pine cones and green boughs at Christmas and various bows, hats and other embellishments throughout the year. My son delighted in annoying me by turning it's head backwards. Now it sits primly on top of a corner bookcase, seldom noticed or commented on. I would put it on my mantel if it would fit. A beloved object. Wonder what they will do with it when I am gone?

some happy moments - wedding dress shopping, road trip, macarena

Jill trys on a bridesmaid dress

Jaime (far right) and friends leaving for their trip to St. Augustine and the Suwannee River Music Festival.

Some sad times lately. One wedding postponed (canceled?) and another one scheduled. Jaime has been VERY sick. Cory has been having a lot of back problems but is slowly improving. Jonah and Jill continue to bicker constantly. I wish they could get along better so we could do things together.

Happy moments:

Jaime is still not well, but she and her friends took off for their road trip yesterday. Hopefully they will have a lot of fun and she will feel better.

I went shopping with Stephanie and her mom, Debbie, to buy a beautiful wedding dress. I just had to share the photo of Jill trying on a raspberry bridesmaid dress especially since I am pretty sure my son, Cory, never looks at this blog. Cory and Steph are planning to be married at her father's house in Virginia in September. I know it will be beautiful. The raspberry color is perfect with Jill's tan skin and dark hair. Don't know if she will wear this dress or just have a raspberry sash.

Jaime, Roger and I attended my friend's surprise birthday party last week. Saw a lot of people I don't see that often. It was fun. They had awesome white sangria and great food at Cafe Don Jose.

Cory and I went to the park yesterday to pick up Jonah and Jill and to let Mia run off some energy. Russell had the stereo out on a covered patio where he and a line of kids were dancing the Macarena (spelling?) and a lot of other line dances. Jill was right in the middle of it all. It was so cute. I am so grateful for the park program.

Happy moments to come:

Roger's sister Mary and I plan to have lunch and go the opening of Sex and the City 2 on the 27th. Got to figure out what to wear. That same day is the end of school party. Also, Roger, Jaime and I are attending my friend's wedding at the end of the month. This morning Roger and Cory and I are going to the driving range with Mia. Happy times.

Happy Birthday to Me

Not my best look, but the margueritas were great!

My brother, Rick

My brother's wife, Darlene, got in on the act.

Roger and his sister, Mary

A better shot of Rick and Darlene.

62! I spent my birthday with my daughter, Jaime. We had lunch and went shopping. Then I followed up with dinner at Vallarta's Mexican restaurant. I missed getting pictures of my friend, Peggy and of Alan. Karin is at the edge of Darlene's picture. Joyce, Sylvia and Linda weren't able to be there, but we all had a great time.

Style

Jonah ready for a day at school with his hair spiked

Jill spent the night and had nothing to wear so Jaime got out a dress of her own. Pretty clever, huh?

Mia in purple - boots, boa, sunglasses and all.

Can you tell that Jaime dressed both herself and her daughter?

Life here is an ongoing fashion show. Every day is a new adventure.