A Tribute To Amy

Today I had an omious feeling of sadness and gloom, a sense of foreboding. I suffer from depression so this is not a new feeling, today I put it off to the sunless sky, the constant rain and thunder. It just looked like a good day to cry. I told my husband that this was just a sad sad day. As the rain poured I had a recollection of something a commentator said when Ted Kennedy died, that there were tears from heaven. Odd that these thoughts popped into my head today. Sometimes our inner self senses a truth before we are told it.

Today my aunt died.

Amy May Bond. Born 1919 in Northern Ireland. A land of beauty. And she was beautiful, a deep inner beauty not marred by negative thoughts or actions. She kept true to who she was all of her life, a kind and beautiful person.

She was the happiest of people, with the most beautiful smile and presence. She was kind to all. I have only met one person in my life who was ALWAYS kind and sweet. A lady who could find good in everyone. Just being near her you wanted to better yourself, to be more like her. What a smile she had. It could brighten even the gloomiest of moods. Just being near her was like breathing in sunshine. And now on the day she passes, here at least on the other side of the world the skies are overcast and rainy. No sunshine for us today, perhaps tomorrow.

George and Esther Bond raised 3 children (Edna and Edmund from a previous marriage) and Amy May. These 3 although separated by an ocean and thousands of miles would continue to write and stay close through the years. Letters and cards were very important.

My aunt wrote beautiful uplifting letters, she had a lovely penmanship, even into her old age her hand was steady as she wrote. My mother loved getting letters from her sister, it would cheer Mom up and she would read and re-read each letter. Each Christmas they would send each other calendars, a welcome package along with the news from each.

Amy came to visit a few years ago when Mom was so ill. She sat by my mother's bed and talked to her for hours about all the fun times they had when they were children. Then she would sit and talk to my Dad, he loved her visit because he missed her as well.

As I reflect upon her qualities I am brought to the thought that she was always grateful. And that gratitude was expressed. Once in an airport she couldn't find her passport and had others helping her to find it. Once found she would not just rush off to her gate, no she turned and walked back to those who had helped to thank them for their help and for their patience.

She loved to walk. She told me that she would walk with her friends for 10 miles, and this was in her 80's! She said that some in the group (the young ones in their 60's) wanted to walk further to loose weight. She told me that she did it once, but that was enough, she'd just go back to walking 10 miles! Oh what an inspiration she was!

I wish I could have been more like her. I am not. I see the gloomy side of things and at times have a short temper. Tomorrow when the sunshines again, I'll be reminded of her brightness, her beauty, her smile, her willingness to do for others, of the joy that she brought to others as they crossed her path. So many lives she touched, so many lives for the better because they crossed her path.

One door closes and another opens. I miss her already. She was the last rose of summer and has now gone on to join those who passed before.

Toffee

Well my Toffee arrived. It was waiting by the front door when we arrived home. I couldn't wait to open it. Gosh it smelled so good and taste... well I was delighted. this is really great toffee. Mr B loves it too! I wonder if we'll have any left by New Years Eve? What do you think?

Yum

Christmas Past

I've been thinking a lot about Christmases past. Memories are sometimes all we have left. I am glad that my Christmas memories are happy ones.

Our Christmases were modest ones. Just a couple of gifts, and sometimes I did not get what I wanted. And just the same as in Glenn Beck's 'A Christmas Sweater' I just didn't realize what Christmas was all about and the wonderful things that I did have all those years.

Since both of my parents are now gone I have been cherishing those memories more and more. Mama loved the Christmas Carols and Hymns. Her favorite she told me was 'Silent Night'. If I'd have had to guess I would have chosen 'O Holy Night'. She loved to sing that song, and it was beautiful.



THIS IS MY DAD ON CHRISTMAS MORNING. SEE THE TINY FAKE FIREPLACE? WELL THAT'S OUR CHRISTMAS TREE ON THE MANTLE!




THIS IS ME ON SANTA'S KNEE. THIS WAS PROBABLY TAKEN AT MAISON BLANCHE. WE'D GO THERE EVERY YEAR TO SEE MR. BINGLE AND SANTA. I WAS ASKING SANTA TO REMEMBER TO BRING ME A DOLL. I THINK I WOUND UP WITH 50 DOLLS OVER THE YEARS AND THEY ALL WERE PLACED ON MY BED.


MAMA, ME AND THE TURKEY. I WAS THE BASTER AND THE TASTER. MAMA MADE THE BEST TURKEY'S AND A MEAT BASED DRESSING. YUM YUM




I'M THE CUTE KID ON THE LEFT.


THIS IS ME AND FATHER CHRISTMAS IN DUBLIN IRELAND. I REMEMBER HOW GREAT IT WAS TO HAVE JUST SEEN SANTA CLAUS IN NEW YORK THE DAY BEFORE!


THIS WAS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE CHISTMAS GIFTS. I LOVED THAT PIANO.

Toffee Doesn't It Just Sound Delicious?

Some words are just enough to make your mouth water. Toffee. Oh yum. My friend Andrea has a blog post about this delicious Toffee over on her blog SwampSuburbia, which is a great blog. She's been raving about how great this candy tastes and personally I can't wait to try it myself. There's a contest going on so go check out her blog. You can check out her blog over at SwampSuburbia and get all the info on how to get your own toffee.

Natchitoches Festival

We drove on up to Natchitoches last weekend to see the Christmas lights. There were several private parties along the river. No chance getting into them.... they were heavily guarded by bouncer's wearing Security T-shirts. At least we got to listen to the cajun bands. We parked quite a bit away and walked to the river. We did a little bit of shopping. They have some great little stores. I LOVE anything fleur-di-lis and saw plenty of stuff. There were great electric switch plates, key chains, pillows, and paintings. I tried but could NOT resist the Craw-di-lis print. It looks mighty nice in my guest room. Since we got there so late in the day it wasn't too long before the fireworks display.

Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow

Whew! Long night waiting up all night to see the snow begin to fall. I kept checking, the weatherman said it was due to fall at 4am. At 3:40 I gave up and decided to get a little nap. Hubby woke me up a few minutes later and we went outside and F R O Z E but did see a few flakes. Then I checked again a little later and the house across the street had a white roof.

I'm just so excited to see it!!!

Oh the weather outside is frightful

And the fire is so delightful

And since I've no place to go......


L E T I T S N O W L E T I T S N O W L E T I T S N O W

I'm really in the mood to make pralines now, if only for the excuse of hovering over a hot pot to keep warm. But that will have to wait, I'm off to check out the weather again once more.

Now this is just plain crazy.....

See Ya Later Alligator.... Afta' While Crocodile.

As a kid I always loved

"See you later alligator"

to which my mother would say...

"After While crocodile"

Back in 1956 when we spend nearly a year in Northern Ireland I learned another line:

"Not tonight it's gellic night"

Not much use for that line when I returned back to Louisiana!!! Thank goodness!!!



But back to the gators.... For years we'd love to see the Alligators in Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. As a kid it was free to enter the zoo and we'd go almost every afternoon after we got home from school; we only lived a few blocks away. This past Tuesday all the schools were closed due to the schools being used as voting polls.  Originally we had BIG plans to do some home canning at Erin's house but.... (there's always a but) since the kiddie's were out of school we put off those plans and loaded up the kids and headed to the Jennings Oil and Gas Park to see the Alligators. Much more fun!  And personally I think it's an insane idea to try and can with ALL of the kids underfoot.  Anyway the decision was made to make a lovely day of it at the Alligator house.  It took about 20 minutes to find everyone's shoes and get them ON the kids and then get the kids IN the van.  That's the one great thing about being a Gramma, you don't have to hunt down shoes and struggle to get them on kids all of the time.  Bless the mama's out there, nothing is quick and easy.  All outings are filled with hurry up and wait, where's your shoes, come back, here, who needs to go to the toilet, hurry.  By the time you have most of the kids loaded there's always one who has left the scene and needs to be shephered back.  

Son in law said to take the little man with us  because he wasn't sleepy AT ALL,  and he didn't need a nap. Yeah right!!! Doesn't look awake to me.




Once inside the Alligator House we were told not to scream or make any loud noises as it would disturb the baby alligator and someone might get bit. My big fear was that little man might wake up.... he didn't and none of us got bit either.  It really was fun seeing the kids hold the little gator.  

It was a fun day. Got lots of brochures and plan on going back that way soon. Next time I'll bring hubby along. Then I'll suggest we stop at Fezzo's for lunch. Now they have some good food over there! The smells will just about make you think you've died and gone to heaven.   You know I hope they have some good cajun food in heaven!!!  When we eat at Fezzo's I never make it to dessert. I'm always stuffed from the main course.  Oh man, I'm making myself hungry just thinking about their fried catfish and their crawfish bisque.

Yakity Yakity Yak

We headed out of town this afternoon for a few days. We took a 4 year old grandson with us and he talked the whole way. I tried just putting in the earphones and listening to music but he would just yell louder until I'd answer him. I know I must have responded to at least 500 questions on the trip!

First he didn't want to stop to eat because he wasn't hungry, but when he found out we were stopping at Cracker Barrel which has a great store inside he was thrilled. He came out with a flashlight that has candy in it... one for him and one for the cousin we are going to visit.

Next it was a scream to go potty. Then it was a stop to potty again. Then it was jumping up and down in the seat needing to go again, but this time we were caught in a Texas sized traffic jam on the 610 loop around Houston, so we just pulled over and he did his business at the side of the freeway.

There we helicopters flying circles above us. I doubt they were after us for the breach in potty etiquette! Most likely due to the accident of an 18 wheeler that had lost his load of 2x4's on the roadway. But little man was so excited and he kept using his 'outside' voice yelling for me to look again!

We tried to convince him to play the quiet game but he wasn't buying it. In fact every 10 or 20 seconds he would just remind me that I was winning. I would have preferred to have won in silence! All the while he was chewing as much of his HubbaBubba Bubble gum that he could possibly fit into his mouth.

I am so glad we've arrived! He is playing with his cousin and having a great time!

I am so blessed to have him with me, but I feel so sorry for his mama. She must be so lonely, surely her day was boring without him asking her all those questions! I bet she just had a miserable day reading a book in a quiet corner or something.

Och and a Knee-0

I have now become an orphan.

Late last night the Girl From Belfast City passed away. She was 96 years old and went peacefully thanks to Hospice care which she had been receiving over the past few months. As much as it is the natural way of things for parents to die before the children, the pain of it is still there. All I can think about tonight is that at the age of 57 I have now become an orphan and I feel quite alone. Oddly I feel the pain of my father's death renewed. I thought I had dealt with that already but now find myself acutely missing him as well. All my childhood memories are tied to them, they are the ones who watched me grow. They knew all of my memories. Mom had a memory that was unbelievably strong up to the end. She could recall so many details of things throughout her life. I feel as though my details have now been lost; she was the historian.

Mom enjoyed life. She loved to sing, to tell stories, to hold a baby, to chat with friends. Over the last years of her life she lost most of her vision, nearly all of her hearing, her ability to do the things she wanted. What she did not loose was her determination to endure to the end. She never lost her faith, she never lost her gratitude.

I cannot say enough good things for Mom's nurse Pam and her CNA Deborah. Both cared for Mom so lovingly. Pam stayed with her til the end, refusing to go home and get some well needed and deserved rest. I am so grateful they were with us.

My family rallied round, some taking the day off of work, others coming when they could. Little children filling our home with the sweet sounds of children and helping us to not dwell too much on the empending loss. Life does go on and that is what those sweet little ones were showing me. Our little Spencer still kept coming to Maw Maw's bedside to check the nightstand drawer for Starburst candies. You see she had taught him that she would keep putting candies there for him as a special treat, in return he would give her a sweet hello and a kiss. He would crawl underneath her wheelchair to get to the drawer. 11 grandchildren were here yesterday, 5 of my 6 children were able to be hear along with most of the in-laws.

Some had to syphon gas out of other vehicles to be able to make the trip. They were coming from Houston where you can sit in a line for gasoline for 3 or 4 hours. With a dying grandmother there just wasn't time for that.

These past few months caring for my mother in my home has brought me many gifts. I am sure over the next weeks and months I'll be able to reflect on just what those gifts are. I miss her already. Dad died just over a year ago. No living parents so I guess I really am an orphan.

While I am trying to sort out where I am in my grief I prefer to think back on the happy memories. I have been thinking about my Dad too. Here my mother just died and yet I have wept for my Dad. I thought I was through that, but here comes another tidal wave of grief. I was looking at some pictures of him and mom and have come to the realization that my heart has a picture of him. That picture has him the age he was when I was about 5-10 years old. That's the face that my memories are drawn to. As I look at Mom's pictures I get different emotions depending on how old she and I were in the pictures. A tremendous sense of loss envelopes me when I look at much younger pictures and then a sense of helplessness arrives in the older pictures. I could not take away her ageing, I could not solve her hearing and sight problems.

Mom knew it was her time and she accepted it willingly even with great anticipation. She missed my dad and said she was quite anxious to meet up with him on the other side. She said she was excited to be with him and then the two of them would just wait for my brother and I when it becomes our turn to cross the veil. She mentioned the other day that one of the great things about living to such an old age as 96 is that she won't have long to wait on the other side for the rest of us to arrive.

I imagine that as I was holding her and weeping into her hair, catching those last familiar scents, that her mother and father were waiting to greet her with wide open arms and joy that equals or perhaps even exceeds all of my pain. I am sure as I sit here tonight that her sweetheart of more than 60 years was there waiting for her. The same group that will await my 'homecoming' in the future when my time here has been fulfilled. I dreamed last night (and it was such a short and yet vivid dream that it awoke me) I dreamed I heard her voice calling my father's name. Just the one word "Bill", so short but yet so real. I wish I could hear it again now.

My grandmother would say "Och and a Knee-0, my sweet lover. He must have been bad (ill) or he would have been here. Och and a Knee--0"

I miss you mom, and while you are physically gone from me you are so much a part of who I am that you will always be here in some way. I will not forget you.

Louisiana History Lesson

I did not write the following and don't know who did or I'd give credit where credit is due. I grow tired of people knocking my state so read, enjoy, learn.



For those of you who think Louisiana is just about Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, bayous, swamps, crawfish, hotly seasoned food and Cajuns here are a few factoids for your edification and enlightenment. (Don't have time to check out all of these so will just log them down as facts.)

ct



In case you didn't know...


A Little Louisiana history lesson


If Hurricane Katrina causing the levees to break in New Orleans is the only thing you know about Louisiana, here are a few more interesting facts about the Bayou State :

*Louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the nation at 450 feet.

* The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans is the largest enclosed stadium in the world.

* The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest over-water bridge in the world at 23.87 miles.

* Louisiana's 6.5 million acres of wetlands are the greatest wetland area in America.

* The oldest city in the Louisiana Purchase Territory is Natchitoches, Louisiana founded in 1714.

* The first bottler of Coca-Cola, Joseph Biedenharn, lived in Monroe, Louisiana and was one of the founders of Delta Air Lines, initially called Delta Air Service.

* Delta Airlines got its start in Monroe, Louisiana when Parish Agent, C.E. Woolman, decided to try dusting the Boll Weevil that was destroying the cotton crops in the Mississippi River Delta from an airplane. It was the first crop dusting service in the world.

* Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the largest predominantly black university in America.

* Baton Rouge was the site of the only American Revolution battle outside the original 13 colonies.

* The formal transfer of the Louisiana Purchase was made at the Cabildo building in New Orleans on December 20, 1803.

* The staircase at Cretain Point, in Sunset, Louisiana was copied for Tara in "Gone with the Wind."

* Louisiana is the No. 1 producer of crawfish, alligators and shallots in America.

* Louisiana produces 24 percent of the nation's salt, the most in America.

* Much of the world's food, coffee and oil pass through the Port of New Orleans.

* Tabasco, a Louisiana product, holds the second oldest food trademark in the U.S. Patent Office.

* Steen's Syrup Mill in Abbeville, Louisiana is the world's largest syrup plant producing sugar cane syrup.

* America's oldest rice mill is in New Iberia, Louisiana at KONRIKO Co.

* The International Joke Telling Contest is held annually in Opelousas, Louisiana.

* LSU (The Ole War Skule) in Baton Rouge has the distinction of contributing the most officers to WW II after the U.S. Military academies.

* The Louisiana Hayride radio show helped Hank Williams, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash achieve stardom. It was broadcast from KWKH Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana from 1948 to 1960.

* Opelousas, Louisiana is the birth place of Jim Bowie, the inventor of the Bowie knife and one of the heroic defenders at the Alamo.

* The term Uncle Sam was coined on the wharfs of New Orleans before Louisiana was a U.S. Territory as goods labeled U.S. Were from "Uncle Sam."

* The game of craps was invented in New Orleans in 1813 as betting was a common activity on the wharves.

* When states had their own currency, the Louisiana Dix (French for ten) was a favored currency for trade. English speakers called them Dixies and coined the term Dixieland.

* New Orleans is the home of the oldest pharmacy in America at 514 Chartres Street in the French Quarter. These early medical mixtures became known as cocktails (guess they were good for what ails ya), coining yet another term.

* New Orleans is the birthplace of Jazz, the only true American art form.

Jazz gave birth to the Blues and Rock and Roll music.

Viva La Louisiane!!!

Now you know!

Louisiana Daytrip

Mr retiredUPSman and I headed out the door this morning with no real idea of what we were going to do or where we'd end up. As it turns out we had a nice ride down HWY 27 to Holly Beach and then through Cameron and back north again. We ended our day out by riding along the river. The weather was great, bright sun, no rain for us, hot but not unbearable and the humidity while high wasn't too much. There was a great breeze along the coast. We saw people fishing and many were out there crabbing.









We only spotted one gator and he was a small one. You can barely see him in this photo.










This is a picture of the waves rolling in at Holly Beach. The beach was almost empty except for a few ladies picking up bottles and cans.

















These were taken along a river on our way home. Go further down the river the other way and you'll find houseboats too. There were lots of kids fishing along the river this afternoon. Everyone who lives along this part of the river seems to have HUGE dogs. Almost all of the houses are raised pretty high. When the river rises you can't get in or out as the road floods. It sure was a pretty view.

Cher Bebe

Last night some of the grandbabies were over for a visit (their mama's and daddy's came along too). While the older ones played a DVD game of Clue, I sat on the back porch watching the fireworks with the little ones. It was a real pleasant night out there was a light breeze and the humidity wasn't too bad (of course our back porch is screened in and so no mosquitoes had us for dinner.)

When it was time to go home this little bebe's mama had to search around to find him. First place she looked was in my mama's room. Mama is almost 96 and she puts out little candies for any grandchild that comes in and says hi to her. Little SJ visits her the most, in fact he's been known to lock himself in the room with her so she can continue to hand out the sweets!

His mama found him gone 'do-do' in the guest bedroom. He had climbed up in the bed and put himself to sleep. He looked so content and sweet we let him sleepover.

la bella

Apple Escargot? No thanks, not for me.

I don't care for Escargot not even if it's from tasty sounding Apple Snails.

They've reported an invasion of these fist sized snails in Terrebonne parish. Although the name sounds inviting they can carry health concerns for humans.

Since they are mostly underwater the way they make their presence known is seeing their eggs. The eggs are laid in large clusters a few feet above the waterline. The clusters are pink in color, reportedly the color and size of a bubblegum wad. These snails can be found in ponds, bayous, swamps and rivers as well as being a popular aquarium pet.

They are a risk to our rice fields. So how do we fight them? With brooms, and paddles and scrapers apparently! That's the weaponry of snail hunters in the bayou. Folks have been asked to report any findings of eggs to authorities. If you see apple snails or their eggs, you should report them to Salyers at 225-765-2641 or bsalyers@wlf.louisiana.gov.

On the lighter side suggestions I've read are:
"Someone please train the nutria to eat them"

"Heck train THEM to eat nutria!"

"Good, I have time to take a nap, do some laundry, and read war and peace before I have to evacuate."

"They don't stand a chance at survival in Louisiana. I'm getting the rice and gravy ready now"

Zippidy Zoo Days

Friday's travels took us to the Baton Rouge Zoo. First time zoo goers there! Pretty neat zoo, all this time of traveling through BR we never knew about the zoo. So happy we got the invite from our grandson.

It was the perfect day at the zoo, the temperature wasn't too hot. I remember a trip to the Audubon Zoo back in the 1981 when the temp was 105 degrees. Now that was some hot zoo trip. But yesterday was just lovely. Slightly overcast at times with a breeze. Once or twice we felt a rain drop but that's all, most of the time the sun was doing her thing.

The zoo was larger than I'd imagined, it takes the little train 20 minutes to circle the zoo. Our grandson told us that the zoo is 800 miles long!


As we began our walk along the path I caught the sent of summers past. I don't know exactly what it was, but it immediately brought me back to my childhood summers. I love it when that happens. Something small just has those happy memories flow.

We saw tigers, otters, bears, giraffes, a rhino, hippos, monkeys, ducks, turtles, flamingos, rose colored spoonbills, an elephant, snakes, alligators, and lots of fish.

Some days are just good. Yesterday was one of those days.

Wedding Bells

We had a wedding here last Saturday. Here Comes the Bride was loud enough to stop people on the street. I noticed a few walkers had stopped hoping to catch a glimpse of the bride. It was a delightful outdoor wedding. The weather was sunny and cool with just an occasional breeze. It had rained the day before but the ground had dried nicely.

Our yard really did look nice. Our lawn maintenance crew worked over the last couple weeks making sure the yard would be at it's best (they even came back the morning of the wedding to make sure everything was right). Quite a change for our backyard, when we purchased the house there was very little grass. Now it's all lovely and green with bushes and flowers at the rear. Hubby worked on the pool and had it crystal clear.

The best man was 5. The fella who gave away the bride is 7 and the delightful flower girl ... well it would be impolite to mention a little lady's age!

I do's have been said, well wishes received and now the happy couple have gone off for a few days. We had a great time and hope that all our guests did as well. We ended the evening after most of the guests had left by letting the little kids go swimming and then watching a movie on the patio while the adults enjoyed jamming with ROCK BAND.

Gone are the strawberries, the cake, leftover sandwiches, and about a gazillion mints (gazillion IS a real number so says one of my grandsons). The tent is gone, all the pretty white lawn chairs are picked up and gone, so is the beautiful silver punch fountain. The little children loved that fountain. They could help themselves to something to drink over and over and over again. Some children even wanted to know if that fountain could stay here! They hinted that someone should give it to me for a birthday gift. I can see that it would be welcomed by old and young. But I heard no volunteers offering to buy it, so next party we won't have it but we just might drag out the chocolate fountain!

What I miss most is the shade of that big beautiful white tent. I told hubby that we really are going to miss that. Because we have few trees it seems the sun just hovers over us while swimming. A nice place of shade would be welcomed.

I lost my digital camera before the wedding. Hubby and I looked everywhere and couldn't find it. As if we didn't have enough things to do before the wedding we were looking under sofa cushions, under beds, behind dressers, through drawers, in cabinets, in the trunk of the car. What we found was more dust bunnies than we care to even know exist. Hubby broke out the vacuum and vaporized a few of them. Finally I gave up and admitted that it was lost and bought another camera, an Olympus. The morning of the wedding as hubby was getting dressed he found that lost camera tucked away in his dress shoes. Immediately a suspect came to mind. We had babysat the previous week for 3 adorable boys and I figured it was one of the younger ones. Yesterday I checked out the old camera, a Sony CyberShot, and found out who hid the camera! The culprit took his own picture!

Here's a vid of the wedding. So happy for the new couple.

Utah Trip

We had a great trip out West. We flew into Salt Lake airport and rented a car. Now I don't ever worry much about what kind of car we have as long as the ride is nice, not too bumpy, and if I am driving then I like the steering to feel easy like cutting into soft butter. That's not too much to ask is it? Oh yes, at times it is very important that we rent a vehicle large enough for vacation purchases! But no need to worry on this trip as we were flying and I didn't have plans to bring anything LARGE back with us.

First night we stayed at the Marriott Downtown in Salt Lake. We got up to our room and opened the drapes. What a view! Temple Square all lit up.


Next day we headed over to the Joseph Smith building and met up with an old friend Rob Hildebrandt. We've known Rob since the mid 90's, but most of that friendship has been over emails as we both moved away. It was nice to catch up on old times with Rob. We had a delightful lunch at the Nauvoo Cafe, it was a delicious Turkey Pot Pie. Just the warm filling kind of lunch that you desire on a rainy and snowy day. We toured the Family History Library where Rob spends most of his days doing research and he introduced us to folks from Sweden, Germany and a variety of other countries all taking advantage of all the millions of microfilms available there.


View of Temple Square taken from the top floor of the Joseph Smith Building.



Ernie Me and Rob in the Family History Library (Rob is holding on to his can of Tony Chachere's!)

After bidding farewell to Rob we headed on over to Provo and checked into the Marriott there. Next morning we registered at the Computerized Family History Conference. I was so excited when I was viewing the various vendor booths and recognized John Vilburn. John wrote the program PafInsight which I use almost daily!


That's John and me. I was so excited to be at the conference!

After the last lecture of the day Ernie and I headed out to just sightsee a bit in Provo. It isn't too often a bayou girl gets to see mountains let alone mountains with snow on them.


We were coming up to a red light and there was a police car in the other lane. Ernie comments to me that the cop is driving a Dodge Charger, just the same as the car we are driving. He says that the police like that model.

Ernie slows down approaching the light. The cop slows even more. Ernie stops, the cop stops, rolls down his window and waves to us to come up along side of him. Now Ernie is thinking 'What did I do?' We pull up along side of the police vehicle and roll down my window. The policeman smiles and says "Nice car!" We smile back. Cop says, "What ya got in it? A V8 or a V6? Ernie says, "Don't know, we're renting it"
Cop says, "Renting? Ah, probably a V6" They chat a little more and the light changes and the cop takes off. Ernie jokingly comments, "Gee I thought he was going to ask me to race" .... that's the kind of race you are definately going to loose.
Must admit though it was a nice car.

After all the conference lectures were over we met up with friends Joyce and Tom. Tom is quite a character and always has new jokes to tell. Joyce and I have been friends for years. Close friends, almost sisters. Don't even get me started on how we met and became friends. It's too complicated and I think it's Top Secret.

Over the next few days we ate so much good food, but the oddest thing for me was going out to an Italian place for ST. PATRICK'S DAY. Joyce and I love all things Italian so I guess that's why. Shhhh! Don't tell my Irish mother.
But by far the best edibles were had at the Caffe Cocoa, we had a prosciutto and Havariti Panini and Italian Hot Chocolate. Small little cups of thick and I do mean thick, hot chocolate with tons of cream on top. It was like drinking warm pudding. So rich and delicious. It was a treat I will remember for quite a long time.



We took a trip up thru the mountains, thinking we could get to Midway. We didn't get that far but did enjoy our time anyway. I guess because we're from the south we didn't realize that they close roads in the winter. Snow thick and everywhere! Eye candy to this southern girl.

Some meals are just meant to be remembered, whether it's the company you are with, the service, the meal, the scenery or all of the above.
Well this meal was great because I was with a great guy, the waitstaff was friendly, the meal was so delicious and the scenery was outstanding. We sat at a window overlooking the deck and beyond it the snow covered mountains.

There was a cracking fire warming the room. Every table had lovely fresh flowers.


Across the room was another window, but the only thing you could see was snow. The snow was as high as the window. We ordered sauteed turkey tenders in gravy with mashed potatoes and a salad. That meal was quite a surprise. The turkey was great and tasty. The gravy had a depth to it. The mashed potatoes, well this Irish girl says YES to them. They were flavorful and had a wonderful consistency. The salad was not just the regular iceberg lettuce, there were other greens as well.



Sadly our trip was over and we had to say goodbye to Utah. But the memories will last and we will surely go back again!

Peter Cottontail is On His Way

Easter memories of when I was a child are a great delight to me. I loved all the Easter Songs about Peter Cottontail, the Easter Parade, and as I grew older the spiritual ones. I had an old 78 record player and my Easter record was played over and over again until the scratches just made it impossible to get thru the song. I tried putting several nickels on the needle arm to help weight it down but eventually the scratches just won.

Candy.... for me it was all about chocolate. I could never quite understand when other kids would talk about all the candy they had left over in their closet. One little friend said the remnants of her chocolate bunny had turned white, they were so old. I won't say I ate until I got sick, but I will say that the candy never lasted long. For me it was Gold Brick eggs, the small ones (which never have tasted quite as good since the company moved from New Orleans across the lake) and for my mother it was the LARGE hollowed egg with all the wrapped little gold bricks inside. Dad's favorite was always the Heavenly Hash eggs.

Here comes Peter Cottontail
Hoppin' down the bunny trail.
Hippity, hoppity, Easter's on its way!

Still brings a smile to me.

Once my eldest son told me that he didn't believe in the Easter Bunny because he had asked the Mall Bunny for jelly beans and there weren't any in his basket. Later on Easter we loaded him and his brothers into the car and headed for Maw Maw's house. On the way, at the side of the road was a 6 foot tall Easter Bunny waving at us. We pulled over. The boys hopped out. The Easter Bunny was handing out small packages of.... you guessed it. Jelly beans! Our son was a believer from that time forth. He confided in me that Santa might not be real, but the Easter Bunny was definately real!

I found the following and thought I'd share. Have a fun and Happy Easter and please don't forget the reason we have this holiday. Christ's atonement.

from the banks of the bayou,
la Bella

Reasons I Still Believe in the Easter Bunny

1. Hey, I watch television. Every year, he's there clucking in the Cadbury egg commercials.

2. Who do you think delivers all the baskets and stuff, the little chicks? Doubtful.

3. When I was six, I saw a bunny at the scene of the crime. He put his finger aside his nose, and up the chimney he rose.

4. It was a little cafe somewhere in France, I was young, and yes, I believed everything he told me.

5. Someone is posing for those chocolate rabbit molds, and I think you're thinking what I'm thinking.

6. Who else has time to color all those eggs? Not me, Jack.

7. Yeah, and Peter Rabbit didn't think Mr. McGregor was going to catch him in the cabbage patch either -- get with the times.

8. I had a pet rabbit in the 4th grade, and he told me it was all true.

9. Once, I put a tooth under my pillow, and in the morning I had a marshmallow Easter egg.

10. Someone has to believe in the Easter bunny.

Written by David A. Rinke II

Pat Paulsen for President (Campaign '68)

Found the above video on YouTube today. Since I can't have the other candidate of my choosing I'll just listen to Pat for a while.

I found the following quote on www.paulsen.com, a great place to see all things Paulsen! ”I don’t want to say too much about illegal immigration. I’m afraid my views will be reported on the Cinco O’Clock News”.

Decisions, Decisions

I feel a bit cheated that 'my' candidate didn't last until it was my turn to vote! Now I just don't have anyone I feel good about. Some of the candidates I am passionately against, others just slightly irritate me.

I mentioned this to a friend recently and have decided it would be nice if I could just write in my choice. I remember the days when people could write in a name that was not on the ballot. I liked it better when I was young and didn't feel quite as serious about the election as I do now.

Pat Paulson ran for President many times, he'd be running now but he's dead. His Presidential Campaign Slogan: "If elected, I will win." (there's a bit of truth to that, a politician can tell the truth but I think there must be some limit on how many they can tell without slipping in some clever half-truths). Mama told me a half-truth was a lie. I don't think most politicians believe that.

Things I consider important:

Immigration- I do not believe in an open border. Pat Paulson once commented "All the problems we face in the United States today can be traced to an unenlightened immigration policy on the part of the American Indian".

Yes, if they had placed restrictions back then I guess I'd be over in Ireland (that's where most of my lineage is from). So I guess I like a little bit of an open border. What I don't like is the drain on the system here, OR the idea that once here the newcomers want to make this country more like the one they just left. Now my mother immigrated over here after WWII, she was a war bride. She was homesick for the 'auld country' most of her life, things were different here and sometimes she just wanted what was familiar. I can understand that. My problem with immigrants (illegal ones) is that they are law breakers. Plain and simple.

Taxes Lower my taxes. One thing I don't quite understand is exactly who are the rich? We here all sorts of class warfare against those rich who are getting the tax breaks, but where is the line in the sand. I mean when do I stop being poor and hit middle class and when do I stop being middle class and hit the big time and get all of those tax breaks.

I also don't quite understand the tax earned income. I mean lets just call it something else. Windfall for the poor or something. How can you get more back on your tax return than you put in? When I tried that at my bank years ago they wrote me a nasty letter explaining that I was not entitled to more out of my bank account than I had deposited. Made sense to me then, still makes sense to me, but apparently not to our government. I mean let's still give those who need a 'boost' the cash, but let's call it something other than a tax refund.

Energy I'd like to see some more choices in energy consumption. Wind (I really like the idea of wind energy) My backyard seems to have a lot of wind that blows through. I think I could really do well with solar power panels and a windmill. I can not convince my husband that it would be a good job. He says we are 'not there yet'. I think that is husband-speak for costs too much, might be too much work to install, and electricity works fine for me!


Mosquitoes Okay I have not seen a President campaign for mosquito control. Those nasty little biters can ruin a nice evening. Actually I think they can spoil early mornings too. When I was a kid I remember the mosquito control truck coming into our neighborhood, seems like it was once a week. We called him the Fog Man. It was really foggy and we would ride our bikes in the fog, breathing in all of that noxious fumes. I wonder what damage we've done to our bodies?

Actually when I was a kid there were 2 exciting trucks that came down our street, the fog man and the snowball man. Snowballs were 10 cents. For 5 cents you could get just the shaved ice. That man in a silver spray painted truck would come down our street every night at about dusk. I liked snowballs better than ice cream so I don't really count the ice cream man as exciting.

So there it is. I now have to find a candidate who has the same thoughts on Energy, Taxes, Immigration, and Mosquito Control. One who will not call me with a survey that is really nothing more than a slam against his or her opponent. I received one the other night from Huckabee's campaign and by the time I was off the phone he was definitely OFF my list.

Dancers Twirling Left or Right-Leave

Can you get these images to rotate clockwise and then counter clockwise? Are you right or left brained?

Early Morning Phone Call

I don't know about you but whenever I get a phone call late at night or relatively early in the morning I worry that it might be unwanted news. When our children were teenagers phone calls late at night were particularly unnerving. As they grew up and moved away late night or early phone calls usually meant the car was broke or someone was ill.

Well I got an uncharacteristically early call this morning. Steeling myself for what news might be on the other end of the phone connection I aswered somewhat hesitantly. It was our son Jeff who was very excited to tell us that he had made the front page of the Houston Chronicle! Evil Knevel had made the top along with an article about police officers. Jeff is at the bottom of the page BUT he IS on page one!

Jeff is a high school teacher (as is his wife). Team spirit in hand he wrote a rap early in the school year about the football team and it's this team spirit that had been the emphasis of the article in the paper.

Jeff's a cool guy and we're happy for his 15 minutes of fame!

So glad that today started out with that wonderful early morning phone call. I only wish all phone calls could be such happy news!

la bella

Irish Dancers Celtic Nations Festival down here in the Bayou

Oct 12, 2007

What a wonderful weekend we had! Friday We took the family to a delightful children's show at the Celtic Nations Festival. The little ones really enjoyed the puppet shows!! Later we all met for lunch. As usual the food at Classic Cafe was good. Matthew especially liked his desert which he seemed to be wiping all over his shirt (oh yes there was some on his nose as well). I asked him "Do you think you have to wear it?" to which he replied, "What my pants?" Once again done in by the cute remarks of a 3 year old!







Later we saw a performance of Irish Musicians. Very nice evening
indeed! I didn't know many of the songs they sang as many of them were not the ones Mom would sing to me as a child, but they were very lovely. There were jokes and storytelling as well. Here's a short clip of the evening.







Today we picked up Mom and brought her over to the Festival. She had a great time. Mom is 95 and has hearing and seeing problems. Since she can't see well, she touched lots of things, oh it did her good, bringing back memories and making her feel as though she was out shopping like she used to do. Being so elderly and in frail health she doesn't get out too much at all. We communicate with Mom using a white dry erase board. If it was Irish sayings, I'd begin it on the board and she'd repeat the remainder from memory. She wanted a Claddagh Ring for a friend who is very good to her and we did find that. She wanted 'turf' so we could burn it and she could then smell the old familiar smell of a warm peat fire from her youth. Sorry to say no one had a piece of the bog with them. Perhaps I can order it off of the internet. Did you know that you can order Irish Dirt on the internet? No joke. I ordered some and it came with Shamrock seeds.

Mom especially liked the kilts that were for sale. She'd put the material close to her eyes and try to remember what tartan it was. Lots of memories flooded back to her. Happy memories. She kept going back to the Stewart Tartan which looked like one she used to wear. She then started talking about all her family surnames in Northern Ireland. We stopped by the Coats and Arms booth and had some family crests printed up.


We saw Irish Dancers and of course her vision was poor but she could hear the heavy tapping as they danced. She commented that she once could do that too. How well I remember, especially when she thought at the age of 85 that she could still dance. (Broke more bones than we could count). But this time she resisted the urge to get out of the wheelchair and join them. Thank goodness!
The dancers were good. They are from the Metairie, Mandeville and Baton Rouge areas.

We saw a performer in the hallway and asked him to pose with mom for a picture. She asked where he was from ... Oban I wrote on her white board. Oban is on the West Coast of Scotland. She saw him opening his sporan to get out a business card for her with his photo on it. Her hand went towards the sporan and she asked if he was wearing a kilt. Thankfully she didn't pull the material over to inspect it as she'd done the others earlier! He was kind and generous with his time even though his time was limited and he was due to perform again shortly. He knelt beside her to pose with her for a picture and he began singing to her. I wrote on her board "He's singing Danny Boy" and she began to cry... tears of joy.

Outside I saw some pipers. Again I asked if they'd join her in a photo. The two of them decided before the photo op that they'd play for her. They began to play "Scotland the Brave" (which has always been one of her favorites) and another piper joined them. She was thrilled.

We took her home. She climbed right into bed with a big smile on her face, but claiming that she'd had a big day and was too tired to go eat dinner. So I tucked a scone and butter beside her incase she got hungry and kissed her 'good night and sweet dreams.'

September 30, 2007

Oh the pictures we missed! My friend says she neglected to take pictures of the snow in Utah where she lives. How I am jealous of that! Here we sit with high humidity but none of it turns to pretty flakes! She was nice enough, however, to give me the weather report and tell me what I was missing!

Also missed taking pictures of little pirates running all over my house having sword fights! The entertainment was delightful and I should have taken the pictures and captured the event!


Since it's not wise to take pictures while you are driving I wouldn't have gotten the pic of the green rubber frog flying over the back seat towards me, I also missed the little boy in the back seat who taught the froggie how.

Also missed my face when cutie pie grandson came over and commented on my cooking. I sat him at the cooking island while I was cooking and gave him chocolate milk and cookies as a treat. I was cooking spaghetti sauce and gosh it smelled good. I was starving (I had no cookies) and the smell of that red gravy just was wonderful. While stirring the pot I said, " Do you know what that smells like?" Matthew just looked at me and replied, "I dunno. What? Heartburn?"

Where did he even learn about heartburn? I mean he's only 3. I cannot and will not claim responsibility for his heartburn education. After all, he could be thinking of his daddy's cooking or his mama's or Grandpa's.... surely not mine? I've got a reputation that is now damaged! Forget the real food, next time he comes for a visit we will bake cookies!!! Let him claim heartburn then!

So as I begin another week I'm trying to think of all the photo opportunities that are coming my way.


Yes, I've really got to get in the habit of taking pictures. I'd love to snap up some alligators but I've heard that the deer flies are biting worse than the gators at the moment.

If you see me coming .... Smile ;)

la bella ....... still in the bayou but going into the big city for a week! Lots of photo ops there.

September 25, 2007

Wiki.... There are a couple new wiki's out there that have caught my eye.

http://www.familysearchwiki.org/ In it's beginning stages but there is a good amount of information.

http://www.mormonwiki.com/ Great video on Joseph Smith

Also there is http://www.slcwiki.org/ but relatively new and not much on the site at all at this time.

http://wikitravel.org/ is from Wikipedia but for travel, info on what shots are needed, places to travel, tips, safety precautions etc. The picture on the left is the travel destination of the month!!! Looks like a great place to go, British Columbia.

http://wiki.bhgscrapbooksetc.com/ Lots of info on scrapbooking.

Lots of interesting things to read! I love the internet for all of its information.

la bella

September 23, 2007

This past weekend was so much fun. I've never been to a scrapbooking convention so I don't know how to compare what we did this past weekend to one of those but several of us got together for 3 days and just scrapped until we dropped. Lots of chatting and laughing and lots of great ideas. I have not been scrapbooking much so this was definately a delight for me! Can't wait until I get a chance to do it again.

la bella

September 22, 2007

Three. Can you remember being 3? 3 year olds are really fun to watch, they say the funniest things. Erin just recently began babysitting a 5 month old baby. 6am that first morning little Matthew who is 3 (number 4 of 5 children) came stubbling into the livingroom still trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. Hunger wakes him so he generally just heads towards the kitchen, on his way there he saw his mama sitting in the livingroom with a baby in her lap. Still rubbing his sleepy eyes and scratching his head he looked at her with puzzlement and asked bewildered, "A'nor one?" "You found a'nor one?"

Yes, I love 3 year olds and the unique way they see the world.

September 21, 2007

It's not just 'odd' it's crazy, this week I read about...



A man was arrested for throwing an onion at his wife. what? this onion story just brought tears to my eyes....



Irish Defense kept dossier on UFO's for 47 years. The report said they ranged from being like fried eggs to a household iron with fins at the back. say what? must just be breakfast arriving



A politician in Germany wants marriage to last for 7 years and then be dissolved. What is this a marriage sabbatical?


A guy has filed a lawsuit against God because of weather related problems.. one lawyer's question "Who served the summons?" oops, better not stand outside in a thunderstorm!

Look Look She's Done It Again.

Yesterday a few of us went out to have ice cream at Cracker Barrel. It was to celebrate Christopher's birthday. Well that was the plan anyway-just ice cream. But the delicious smells of hot dinners wafting from their kitchen encouraged most of us to eat a yummy meal before we got down to dessert. My husband and I love Cracker Barrel.

Now I say a few of us went because it was only about half of what could have gone, but we did have 4 generations there. One great-grandparent, 2 grandparents, 4 parents and 7 children. Yep, that's about half ;)

We played musical chairs at the table the first first minutes confusing our server, Marcy. My mom who is 95 and mostly deaf and mostly blind communicates by the use of a dry erase board (she does have a couple hearing aides as well). But the lighting in the restaurant and the background noises made hearing and seeing almost impossible for her. So that Mom wouldn't be totally bored I moved her in between a 6 year old and a 18 month old. She adores children and so was thrilled by their touches and giggles.

Brian confiscated the dry erase board and began drawing. He has a huge fascination with tractor trailers and so began sketching them (Brian plans on being an Ice Road Trucker). Spencer was on the other side of 'Maw Maw'. He was all giggles and kept giving her his pacifier to hold. She really didn't know what to do with it and so just held it as she tried to eat. Every now and then he'd take it back and then return it to her.

I thought it funny and took a photo.

Matthew and I were sitting across the table a few seats down. Matthew is 3 and is always taking his younger brother's pacifier, sometimes hiding it behind or under things, sometimes pocketing it, but mostly just taking it for his own personal use. We are constantly chasing Matthew when this happens (which Matthew thinks is pretty funny).

Matthew sees that his 'Maw Maw' has Spencer's pacifier and starts yelling "She's got it, She's got it. She's doing it again!" "Take a picture"

Matthew has my camera and is trying to take a photo. Maw Maw never knew that she'd been tattled on by Matthew. All she knew was that she'd had a lovely afternoon out with the family and that her great grandchildren are getting taller by the day. Mostly she's good at guessing which child it is by their height but they are all growing fast at the moment.

We all had a lovely Saturday afternoon out together, the weather was beautiful, no rain and a lot less heat than we've had in a while. The sun was shining, but mostly it was great because we were all together. We sat on the front porch and just enjoyed the day as we rocked back and forth. There is something very relaxing about rocking in an old fashioned rocking chair watching a checkers game.

He Was a Naughty Naughty Boy

Little Chris was a naughty naughty boy. Oh dear, he'd been caught! And for that he got a cup of Koolaide and a candy bar!!!

What? Did I hear right? Naughty boys get rewarded? Hey where were these rules when I was growing up? I can still hear my mother yelling at me, I still hear her disappointment (which frankly was much worse than the yelling), and I can still remember having to go outside and pick my own switch when things REALLY got bad. Never do I remember getting a reward. Hum.... Let's back up a bit and find out more about this naughty naughty thing little Chris did.

When Mommy was busy cooking and Daddy was reading a book Chris snuck into Daddy's closet and found a bottle. He thought himself very smart because he figured out how to open it. He even tasted it, some got onto his hands. Ooops caught in the act. "Oh Hi Mommy" Chris said, "Where did you come from? Aren't you supposed to be in the kitchen or somewhere?"

Chris's Mommy wasn't buying that "I didn't do anything" act. Then Mommy got a frown on her face, Chris dosen't like it when Mommy frowns and tells him he's been naughty. Chris just figured he'd been a brilliant little boy! Why didn't Mommy see it that way too?

Mommy called someone on the phone and next thing he knew he was taking a bath and drinking Koolaide - 'cool' Chris thought 'real cool'!

Mommy questioned little Chris about the bottle, but he refused to talk about it other than to say that it was Daddy's bottle (so I guess Daddy must be the one to get into trouble!) It made perfect sense to Chris, why didn't Mommy understand that? It WAS Daddy's bottle afterall. If she wanted to know something about that bottle shouldn't she ask Daddy? That's what little Chris thought.

Mommy then called Gramma to tell her Chris had been naughty and that the bottle contained rubbing alcohol and that Mommy had to watch to see if he looked drunk. Chris didn't know what drunk was, he was too busy playing in the tub and drinking his Koolaide and feeling like a brilliant boy! Gramma wanted to know why he needed sugar. Chris's Mommy said that the lady from Poison Control explained that because of the boot sealer his blood sugar might go down and that Mommy should give him some sugar to correct that.

So Gramma told Mommy that she had better give that boy a candy bar!!! Chris always felt he loved Gramma but now he knows it for sure!!! What a family.

Gramma must get her wisdom from 'her' Mama. She's the old lady that likes to give out M&M's at breakfast and tells worried Mama's not to fret because it's not like ANYONE else would do it!!!

And so that's why Chris's naughty adventure landed him in the tub with Koolaide and a candy bar.

Oh yes, Chris has promised to stay away from Boot Sealer and Daddy promises to put his things up higher out of Chris's reach and Mommy promises to reward Chris when he does something good like eat his vegetables. She also promises to smile more often. Great Gramma said that she isn't going to make any promises that she doesn't intend on keeping, she also said that she's running low on M&M's.

Gramma says : The moral of this story is that at any moment a bad situation can turn sweet!!!

The Difficult Things of Life

This week I had to face up to one of the difficult things of life. My husband and I went to the cemetary and ordered my father's grave marker. Actually the VA had sent a marker so I just had a few decisions to make but it was still hard. There I sat with a very compassionate lady and my husband and I felt as though my mind just wouldn't function properly. It's been 3 1/2 months since my dad's death and yet I still get this paralyzing thing that happens when I need to make decisions. Mostly my husband has been handling things and helping with decisions, frankly I don't know how I would have managed without him. We've decided on a joint marker to be shared with my mother. Mom is still here, in fact, she's just had her 95th birthday party. Communication with her is difficult because of hearing and sight loss. But we finally made the decisions and got her approval on the markers for both her and dad.

There's the little girl inside of me that just doesn't want to handle these things. But as a loving daughter I know it's a duty that must be performed. My father died just before his 90th birthday. He was active right up until the month before his death. He lived a long and blessed life. He did whatever he could to prepare paperwork etc for us, but there is so much to do. I think it's those phone calls that have to be made explaining that he's passed on that can be most difficult. Perhaps it's because I must actually say it out loud that he's gone.

My birthday is in 2 weeks. He prepared a card for me, knowing that he wasn't 'long for this earth' as he called it. The sad thing is that I've put that card somewhere and can't locate it. It seems that in the last 3 1/2 months I've misplaced a lot of things. I find them, then I misplace them again. So I feel that eventually I will find that card that he got ready for my birthday. In the end he was just trying to wrap things up here on earth before he moved on. It's the comfort that I have knowing that he's with his mama, papa and loving sister now that helps when the grief tries to overwhelm me.

His mother died when he was a teenager, his father when he was in his thirties and his sister 30 years ago. Dad spent a good portion of his life longing for the companionship of his family. In his last days when he could still speak and be understood he had visions of his sister and then one where he was just talking to his mother. This gives me comfort.

As I've lived thru the events of the past few months I know it's going to be repeated in the not too distant future when it's my mother's turn to return home.

Yes there are things that we must face up in life that we'd prefer to postpone. I'll feel better when I visit Dad's grave and see things looking proper. Today I'm just glad that the hard decisions have been made and that there don't seem to be anymore decisions to make in the near future.

Two Little Feet

Today I am grateful for two little feet.

I received the happy news that my husband's neice and her husband are now proud parents of a baby girl. Lucy weighed in at 8 pounds and 4 ounces and measured 21 inches. That's pretty good size baby for a tiny mama. Dale sent pictures and that wee baby is so cute.

This couple has been trying to have a baby for years and I so happy that everything went well and mama and baby are doing fine. I know that this baby is going to be a lucky child to have such devoted parents. Both Angie and Dale are over the moon with joy.

I never had any difficulty in getting pregnant, so I never quite understood what couples when thru when infertility was an issue. There are many things in my life that I just took for granted and being able to get pregnant was one of them. Seeing what this neice and nephew have gone thru on their long road to parenthood has me realize just how blessed I have been in the past.

Welcome Baby Girl.

Always Room For One More

Years ago there was a children's book that I loved to read to my children titled, There's Always Room for One More. Written by Sorche Nic Leodhas.



There was a wee house in the heather-

Twas a bit o a but and a ben

And in it there lived all together

Lachie Mac Lachlan

and his wife and barins to the number of ten


So he hailed every traveler that passed by his door.

Said Lachie MacLachlan, "There's room galore.

Och, come awa' in! There's room for one more,

Always room for one more!"



Sometimes I think I am living that book. We're leaving on vacation in a few days and it seems that the list of who is going on the trip rises and falls like a wave. I got a call tonight and looks like it's on the rise again. Emily is going to try to make the trip with her little family too. Just as well I'm married to a sweet man that doesn't mind changing reservations at a moments notice.



I grew up with just one brother, I remember thinking that it would be lovely to be in a big family. That wish came true with marriage and the six little ones that followed. We now have 10 grandchildren as well. Sometimes a simple family dinner can look like a company picnic.


Several years ago it was coming up to Thanksgiving and we really didn't know how many would show for dinner. I have a wee bit of my mother in me and I really want to know the exact number of expected guests so I can plan and worry and worry and plan. I knew to expect at least 23 and I was coming down with a respiratory 'thing'. I visited the doctor and told him that he really HAD to help me get well. I explained about the upcoming dinner and guests, he wanted to know how many that I had coming. I said at present 23 but I'm afraid that the list is growing by the hour. He gave me a shot and said if I didn't feel any better to tell my husband to just serve hot dogs! As crazy as that sounds it made me laugh and feel better. The good news is that I did feel better and we had a great time all 40 of us. At 9pm the count was still 35. Whew! Oh yes, none of us ate hot dogs that day.

So as we are about to pack up and head out to vacationland and plans continue to change and the size of the travel group swells....

"Oh, come awa'in! There's room for one more, Always room for one more.