Happy Birthday, Ann!

On this day, March 12, 1959, my big brother Ken and I got a baby sister. She was cute and fun to play with--like having my own real live doll. She was almost an Easter baby, as you can see from the fancy hat she's wearing in the above picture. She's the middle kid, sandwiched in between an older brother and sister and a younger sister and brother. One of my favorite pictures is the one in the middle where she's eating jelly out of the jar. And as you can see from the top picture, she loves The Beatles (John Lennon being her fave), and she loves her family and she's always ready to play with the nieces and nephews. We've had a great time growing up together--although she'd be the first to admit we're not quite there yet and probably never intend to be. Happy Birthday, Little Sister! I love you always and forever and am proud to have you as my sister. Wishing you all the best of everything today and always. You rock! (and roll!)

Day Seventy One

Picture Postcards From T.G.I.F.

Day Seventy

Almost Spring

Grape Hyacinths are sprouting all over the front yard at my house. They are a definite harbinger of Spring, along with the Daffodils, Crocus, and Easter grass. Can't wait for the world to turn green again!

Day Sixty Nine

Game Face

Eddie has his game face on as he waits for Shelby after school this afternoon. He knows she'll be passing by soon. Could he be more ready to pounce? I think not.

Day Sixty Eight

Picture Postcards From A Beautiful Afternoon

Day Sixty Seven

Stylin'

Grand daughter Shelby was stylin' today in her purple scarf and purple tie dyed glittered peace symbol T shirt. Wish I'd had fun clothes like this when I was 8 years old.

Day Sixty Six

Lila Ruth's Roses

These are some of the most beautiful roses I've ever seen. We brought them home with us from my mother-in-law's funeral. I wish you could smell them--especially the pink ones....God's perfume. Neil's dad grew roses in their back yard, so I think she would have liked these.

Day Sixty Five

Sweet Goodbye

A hot dozen from Krispy Kreme in Huntsville, Alabama, was our decadent tradition every time we made the trip down there. So this was our final stop on our way out of town after saying our final goodbyes to Neil's mom this morning (She passed away Wednesday, March 3). I'm sure people driving by thought I was crazy for standing in the parking lot, taking a picture of the Krispy Kreme sign. The photo is totally washed out in the bright sunlight, but I kind of like it. Goodbye and so long, Huntsville. Thanks for the memories. And the doughnuts.

Day Sixty Four

Elvis Slept Here. Really.

My family is here in Huntsville, Alabama, today and tomorrow for my mother-in-law's funeral. We're staying at the Holiday Inn on Monroe Drive near the Von Braun Civic Center. When we checked in this afternoon, I said to my daughter Holly, "I wonder if this is where Elvis stayed when he did concerts at the civic center back in 1975."

It turns out he did stay here, and of course, this hotel is quite proud of that fact. There is framed memorabilia in the lobby where I took this picture. At the time, the hotel was the Huntsville Hilton.

One of the coolest items is this receipt for a breakfast signed by "The King" himself. He had yogurt, fruit, 2 eggs, 1 milk, 2 pots of coffee and OJ. Sounds like a healthy meal. The total came to $15.05. He left a $4.00 tip.

His entourage rented the entire third floor, which is where we're staying tonight. They say he would enter and exit through the kitchen to avoid the crowds waiting for him and that hourly employees would literally bump into him in the halls. Apparently he was very friendly and called everyone "Hoss".

He stayed in room 1331--their "presidential suite", which is just off the elevator. Even though it's been 35 years since he stayed here, it's cool to think some of his rock and roll DNA might still be floating about. (I mean, you know how clean hotel rooms can be. Not!) Getting to unexpectedly stay on the same floor Elvis Presley hung out on all those years ago and walk the same halls kind of made our sad visit to Huntsville a little lighter. It also brought back some great memories of seeing him in concert--a once in a lifetime opportunity I'll never forget.

Day Sixty Three

Simply Blue

Could the sky have been more blue today? I think not. I took this out the car window with my cell phone on the fly toward daughter Holly's house this afternoon to deliver her daughter Shelby home from school. Such a beautiful day. Wish I could have spent more of it swimming in that deep blue sky.

Day Sixty Two

Lila Ruth Fussell Ranft
January 22, 1917 ~ March 3, 2010

My honey/hubby Neil's mother passed away tonight. She was 93 years old. Although her body failed her in recent years, her mind was still sharp. She never complained during the hospital stays (and not at all that I can recall). She always seemed to accept whatever condition she found herself physically. She put up a good fight.

She was an Army wife, loving and devoted to her husband and son.

Probably early twenties here--she had her own style and that never changed through the years.

Around ten years old here.

We're not sure of her age in this picture. As with a lot of folks, she didn't label her photographs. Although we tried in recent years to have her identify as many as we could, we waited too late to ask her about a lot of her pictures.

She must be about one year old here with her sister Erline, who she adored and who was a huge influence in Ruth's life. They were born in New Brockton, Alabama. And no matter where her Army life led her, from Texas to Greece, Alabama was always home. She will be missed. Rest in peace, Lila Ruth. You deserve it.

Day Sixty One

Goodnight, Sun

The day started out with snowflakes and ended with an awesome sunset. Winter: the season that keeps on giving. But it makes us appreciate Spring even more so. Won't be long now.

Day Sixty

I Smell (Virtual) Fish

Elijah and his Aunt Kelly played Fishville on Facebook this morning. He got a big kick out of buying the new fish and plopping them into one of Kelly's many (many) fish tanks and then feeding them. I don't usually get to hang out with these two on a Monday. I'll be confused about what day of the week it is from now until Friday. That's okay. We had fun.

Day Fifty Nine

Happy 59Th Birthday, Neil!


My honey/hubby Neil turned 59 years old today. We partied this evening with yummy cake, ice cream, and punch. Here's the birthday boy after blowing out his candles. Grand daughter Shelby helped out by serving the punch. Glad you were born, dear husband! Wishing you all the best of everything today and always and many more birthday celebrations to come! I Love You!!!

Day Fifty Eight

Kitty Love. Or Not.

Kelly tried to get Eddie to snuggle with her, but he wasn't having it.

Apparently, Eddie is picky about his cuddle buddies. Go figure.

Day Fifty Seven

Elijah and I played a rousing and loud game of Bed Bugs this morning. He gets a kick watching them jump out of the bed. We don't play by the rules. We just scoop them up with our big tweezers until all the bugs are gone.

Yard darts are more fun, too, if you spin them like tops. No rules. Just more fun than human beings should be allowed to have on a Friday. Wishing everyone a fun weekend!

Day Fifty Six

Squirrel-1
Cat-0

Eddie chased a squirrel up a tree yesterday, but the squirrel leaped off the tree onto the roof of the wood shed and made his way back to the bird feeder where he pigged out on sunflower seeds while Eddie watched, stuck in the tree. It took several minutes, but Eddie finally figured out how to get down out of the tree without killing himself, but by then the squirrel was long gone. Sometimes you get the squirrel and sometimes the squirrel gets you.

Day Fifty Five

Flurry Day

The snow flurries were pretty today as they suddenly appeared and just as suddenly disappeared. Biting windy cold made for a good day to stay inside and think about Spring.

Day Fifty Four

Valentines Are Divine

Grand son Elijah enjoyed his snow-day-delayed Valentine party today at pre-school. He was excited about his bags of goodies and promptly dumped them all out to take inventory. He's saying, "Happy Valentine's Day."

He showed off his goodies to sister Shelby when she came in from school and shared his candy treats with her.

He liked these heart shaped shades and let me take his picture, but he was disappointed that they were a bit too small for him to wear comfortably. He said, "They're for babies!" So I guess this was a one time shot. Thanks, Elijah! I heart you and Shelby, too!!

Day Fifty Three

Cruising For A Bruising

These two get into it several times a day. Eddie Kitty is always the instigator. Buddy Cat waits patiently for Eddie to pounce and then gets in his own licks. Eddie wants to play. Buddy just wants to be left alone. Eddie floats like a butterfly, but Buddy stings like a bee. A match made in...well, not heaven.