Day One Hundred Eighty One 2010

Picture Postcards From The Halfway Mark ~ 2010

Day One Hundred Eighty 2010

Dahlias Rock

Dahlias were cultivated by the Aztecs, taken to Europe by the Spaniards, and soon spread throughout the world in widely different climates. They are the national flower of Mexico. There are 18 species and thousands of hybrid varieties. Bet you did not know these things about Dahlias. Neither did I. Neil planted them a long time ago in the back yard, and they bloom each Summer. One more thing about Dahlias--they love posing for pictures.

Day One Hundred Seventy Nine 2010

Happy Birthday, Ken!


Big Brother, Little Sister. I was always tagging after him as we grew up.

He was just the coolest guy ever. When we were teenagers, my girlfriends swooned over him. No kidding. He looked like Elvis and he was a disc jockey playing rock and roll on the radio. My hero. I was devastated when he had to go off and join the Air Force. We wrote letters to each other.

He's still my cool D.J. big brother, funny and smart and sweet, and I love him to pieces. Happy 61st Birthday, Big Ken Zombie (BKZ)! And remember--zombies hate that you are awesome. You are awesome! I'm so blessed to have you in my life. Wishing you peace, love and happiness today and always.

Day One Hundred Seventy Eight 2010

Summer Sunday Afternoon

Red, ripe, juicy, sweet, seedless. What more can I say. Watermelon at Bistro Ranft was to die for.

"Look," says Neil, "a 45 degree triangle." He then proceeds to explain to me how those differ from an isosceles triangle. He can be so romantic.

Summer sky.

Hydrangea is one of my favorite flowers.

We have several that never bloomed until this year. I hear it's because of the rainy Spring.

Buddy Cat stopped by to sprawl out and watch me take pictures of hydrangeas. He likes to be where the people are. He's my good buddy (when he's not bugging me for food). Another new week. Have a good one, y'all!

Day One Hundred Seventy Seven 2010

rANdOm SAtUrDaY

Saturday is always worth more than 12 points.

Neil started mulching today. Weeds be gone. We hope.

Speaking of weeds ...

Day One Hundred Seventy Six 2010

Lunch With Vampires And Werewolves

Neil and I had lunch at Burger King with Edward, Bella, and Jacob. There was more for us since vampires don't eat.

I claimed the Edward Cullen cup, of course. Neil was stuck with Jane who glared at him the whole time with her piercing red eyes.

I chose Team Edward to scratch off my game piece, but no cigar. If I'd chosen Team Jacob, I'd have won a milkshake. Neil chose Team Jacob and lost. Team Edward would have gotten him a free cheese burger. Oh well. Life is full of choices. Hope the rest of your TGIF sparkles with possibilities. Choose wisely.

Day One Hundred Seventy Five 2010

Relief

Finally, some much needed rain around lunch time today. It blew in and back out pretty quickly, but it dropped the temperature enough to feel a big difference from the oppressive almost 100 degree heat we've been enduring the past several days.

Another storm rolled across our area again late this afternoon, bringing storm clouds of Biblical proportions.

Turned out to be more bluster than substance, dropping the temperature even more. Hooray for that. This crazy heat makes me long for Autumn days. Wishing everyone a calm evening as we head into TGIF.

Day One Hundred Seventy Four 2010

Blast From The Past ...

Grand daughter Shelby was already a little mermaid around this same time three years ago.

Granny And The Grand Kids: Self-Portrait. It ain't easy taking a picture of yourself and two squirmy kiddos, but here we are, three years ago. I'm always amazed by how much they've grown in such a short time. But I guess kid-time is really a lifetime. Happy middle of the week, everyone!

Day One Hundred Seventy Three 2010

Splash!

Neil took a half day off after lunch today, and we took the grand kids swimming at Echo Valley Pool. It was a nice hot day to be in the pool, which was crazy crowded with screaming kids.

Elijah refused a flotation device and practiced submerging himself with his eyes open doing a dog paddle. He's used to swimming in a lake with a life jacket on. He was so proud that he could open his eyes under water.

These two are definitely water babies.

Shelby is a regular mermaid. She likes to jump off the diving board into the nine foot deep end. Elijah will get there, too, someday. We had a good time (especially after the crowd thinned out). As Shelby so bluntly put it: It's better than sitting at home watching TV. She's right, of course. I'm sure they'll want to do this again soon.

Day One Hundred Seventy Two 2010

Hello, Summer!

Day lily says hello to the official first day of Summer. Of course, here in middle Tennessee, it has felt like Summer for the past several weeks. Celebrate the Summer Solstice. Eat a bowl of ice cream or a juicy slice of watermelon. Happy Summer, y'all!

Day One Hundred Seventy One 2010

Happy Pappy Day!

Daughters Holly and Kelly treated their dad and Jerry to a homemade spaghetti lunch at Holly's house today. Holly made spaghetti sauce, using her Granddad Mabry's legendary recipe.

Grand daughter Shelby set the table for our yummy meal.

Spaghetti, salad and garlic cheese bread coming right up.

Son in law Jerry making a fresh salad.

My gift to hubby Neil was this shirt from Bill O'Reilly's website.

The dad's seemed pretty happy with their presents and cards.

Sweet Father's Day portrait. These guys rock!

Dad and daughters. (It took several shots to get this one--I won't even post the ones of them doing pig noses--although maybe I should....)

Elijah couldn't wait to sample the dessert Holly made.

This awesome cake with strawberries on the bottom and whipped cream topping was totally delicious. We all enjoyed the great meal and just being together on this special day for dads. Thanks for having us over, Holly! Remembering my dad today, too, who passed away eleven years ago. Love him and miss him so much! (Thanks for the spaghetti sauce, Pop!) Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.

Day One Hundred Seventy 2010

Peeps

A pre-Father's Day portrait. Nobody wanted to get near Neil because he was so dirty and he smelled so bad from working so hard in the heat on our front yard path. Good times. Nice day.

Day One Hundred Sixty Nine 2010

Greetings From Planet...Earth

Praying Mantis looks like a visitor from another planet. He was on a rocking chair on the back porch today, and he looked like he was dancing. I'll bet he was celebrating T.G.I.F. I'll bet you did, too. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Day One Hundred Sixty Eight 2010

Little Bit Of This, Little Bit Of That

Grand kids Shelby and Elijah were getting dressed just before lunch this morning. Elijah put his Scooby Doo underwear on his head and raced around the room. Kids in motion always make for blurry pictures, but it's hard to resist.

Elijah Man (and underwear) in motion. Makes me dizzy.

They made Father's Day cards for their dad this afternoon. I have lots of card stock (Shelby calls it "thick paper", which it is), and they like to use my stamps and stamp pads to create their art. Shelby's card is so sweet. Her daddy is going to love it.

Elijah stamped for a while, then realized it was much more fun making colorful fingerprints. His card is pretty cool.

Gala apple slices dipped in caramel make a yummy snack. For me.

Neil bought a sack of peaches from the Mennonite family's fruit and veggie stand on Willow Avenue at lunch. He and daughter Holly love peaches. Peaches smell like Summer to me. Holly sniffed one and said, "Smells like Grandpa. He always had peaches." I thought that was such a sweet remembrance.

The Dahlia takes a bow. Lots of them blooming in the backyard right now. Hope your Thursday was full of good stuff, too.