Get Ready for Summer Garden Pictures Coming Your Way Soon!

    My next investment is going to be in a camera with good zoom lens.  Then I'll have to take a photography class to learn to use it.  And then I'll need an eye exam and glasses......Oh well, back to my original subject, the camera...    From what I have been reading film cameras are the best for 'real' photography; clarity of subject and negatives, for safe keeping.  But,  I'll not be able to manipulate and fine tune the photo negatives  as I've no dark room.  Digital gives instant satisfaction as you can view, edit and post as soon as pictures are taken.  I'd never get the film  to be processed either....So...that decision is made.  Thank goodness.  Digital it is.  Now, I'll go job hunting so I can buy the thing....wait!  First that eye exam....
    There are so many opportunities in Margaret's Garden  for exceptional pictures that I really would like to take advantage of it.  This year there are many more birds than last year.  I am sure there will be a lot of pictures I want to capture.  I have already seen more blue birds (Eastern Mountain), Gold finch and Robbins than I have before.  I am very glad of it too, as last year there were so few birds and butterflies that Margaret and I were very  much afraid for them.  Had they died due to illness, poisons, or been driven away in search of better feeding and nesting areas? 
    Last year the person living behind us had sold all of their hard wood and the beautiful trees were cut,  leaving a barren hill from which the wonderful layers of rotted leaves and top soil washed away as soon a the first summer rains came.  It is so sad.  The hill looks just as it must feel.  This surely will hurt the little creatures and drive them to other, safer areas.
    Now we await the butterflies and bees to see how they may have fared the ravages of man and nature. 

    If the sound of frog song, coming from a pond near the house,  is any indication of their number, we shall have an abundance of the croakers.  A virtual plague.     I have seen a few rather robust specimens in the yard already.  Frog, er, toad legs anyone? 

Would you kiss this prince?

Foo Kitty watches as I move into my 'new' upstairs room. He is not having any problems with coming upstairs to live. 

 I am sick and have been in bed all of today and

yesterday.   I probably will be down tomorrow too.  I will not be moving or cleaning for a few days.  The piles of clothes and boxes of craft materials will have to wait to be put away. 

                                           Foo Kitty closes his eyes to the camera's flash.

I spent last week with Trey....

  Of course, the best place for a Grandmom to be is with her grandchildren, so,  I have no complaints in that department.  Anna went to KS for the week and Trey and I hung out at 'his' place.  I was able to take him to school each day and pick him up after.  I actually enjoyed the morning ride with him.  We just watched TV or played video games while I knit a scarf for Sophia.  I also watched Sophia and Cohen for two days during the week.  To say I might have overdone it is an understatement.  Now all I have to do is put away everything that I own, and some more, as I moved out of my basement home and am back upstairs now.  Vincent and his family have moved into the basement apartment for the time being.  This will make it easier for all of us.  Sophia's pre-school is not two miles up the road from here.  She attends from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM each week day.  She still enjoys it....so far so good.

Margaret's yard is coming to life so I have some pictures of the daffodils and forsythia to show off .

                                 

Can you guess what Anna and I did Saturday?

Boy!  Did everything go high!  Anna bought me a wonderful cake/serving plate.  I am to take her a pound cake on it.  Well worth it, I say!

AND.. THE WINNER IS!!!!.........

Sophia Goes To Pre-School

 

Sophia is all ready for her first day of pre-school.  She has packed her Dora the Explorer back pack and is wearing a shirt she picked especially for this exciting day.  The bright rose colored tee displays a beautiful shinny multi-colored fish swimming over it’s surface.  She looks rather anxious in these pictures but, really isn’t.  She had just gotten out of bed and dressed, she wasn’t up to snuff yet.  After breakfast she was rarin’ to go.    I’m  anxious to hear about her day.

A visit with Daddy at the fire house…

They could not be a prouder of their daddy.  

Spring is on the way......

Crab Apple

                                  

Forsythia

                                

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Daffodils



                                                             

Sad News of Oscar and Opal

Oscar

Oscar with Charlotte and Bethanne (rear, on pillow)

Oscar and Zachery

Margaret and I have shed a lot of tears  today.   We lost a true gentleman and companion this afternoon, one whom will be missed by many.   He captured the heart of everyone that met him and was asked after more than anyone else in the pack.  It didn't seem to matter whether people were dog people or not.  Everyone loved Oscar.  He just plain had charisma and a certain style that drew  men, women and children to him.  He was one of those guys everyone clamored to love.  And he basked in it, yet, all the while he remained humble.  Always a quiet, laid back fellow, he did not intrude, but shined bright. We will miss Ozzie.
 Please remember Margaret in your thoughts and prayers as her little ones are her family and she has cared for them for many years now.  I am afraid she faces more loss as her babies are all becoming very old now.

OMG!  Margaret just came down to tell me Opal, her parakeet has died!  She has had Opal for several years.  I bought him for her in Raleigh at the Raleigh Bird Show.  She placed him in with Oscar.  Sweet dreams to Opal.  We will miss her morning and evening song, and, I know, her chatter with Margaret will not be able to be replaced.  Poor sister has lost another of her beloved pets!  I am afraid my pictures of Opal are on my other computer so I will have to post it later.   

OH, NO !!!!

I missed my daughter-in-law's birthday yesterday!  Wendy, I apologize!  I surely hope you had a good day and that everyone else remembered to send you gifts and greetings on this most important of days.

Sophia and her gardening buddy....

Sophia plants seeds in the beds Murphy has dug in her garden. 

It didn't take long for all of the beautiful red seeds to be plucked from their bag and dropped into their bed of powdery red Carolina  Clay.

 Now all to do is wait.

                                          Sophia walks back to the stoop to sit with me and watch her plants grow.  As if by magic the seeds spring from the earth and reach into the heavens.  Sophia is very pleased.  We clap our hands and I praise her master gardener skills. 

Guess what!

The camera thief brought my cameras back!  She put them underneath the yarn in my knitting bag!  Can you believe that?  I know it happened last night because I had already looked under the scans of yarn and the knitting in the bag several times just to be sure I hadn't put them there myself! So, you see?  I hadn't hid them myself, I don't think so anyway.....
Let's see what is on the memory cards, not mine, the cameras'.  I have an idea my memory card is a bit shy of full so we'll go to the cameras cards and take a peek.  This should be a suprise for all of us! 
Well, I can't get the pictures on....they will have to be shown later!

Alas, my cameras have gone missing......

Yes, my cameras are gone,  lost, kaput, AWOL, STOLEN from my car!  Unless I hid them from myself, which is possible, as every time I put something somewhere that I can find it when I need it,  it seems to disappear. ( But, I am sure they were stolen and are gone for good. )  So, I will post a few old pictures just to let you know I have not gone missing!  I will include a few pictures from years gone by.

I was just reading about Camellias and found this picture which I thought lovely enough to copy.

Toad from garden.

July 2007

I took this picture when my brother took me to my first time ever trip to an aquarium in Tulsa, OK, of all places!  What fun it was!

Prim Rose

Lambs Ear, Russian Sage, peonies....among other things in the herb garden.

Wild flowers: Violets, I don't know what the yellow flower is.  What I've called Butter Cups are different than these....

Zinnias 

All in Margaret's garden.....

A new blog for introducing our animal crafting buddies

Here Foo (aka Kitty Foo-Foo), lets me know it is bed time and I must stop scrapbooking.

If you want to enjoy the company of  some crafters of the furry or feathered kind hop on over to http://craftingpets.blogspot.com/.  It looks as if it is the start to a great blog. 

Here Cyrus watches me using my laptop to post on my blog.

Vintage...and excuses, excuses....

I hope everyone realizes my vintage post was done tongue in cheek....since I had no comments I am afraid too many of you took it seriously.  I LOVE vintage and love reading the blogs on the retro and '40's modern homes and interior design.  So, if you know of  any blogs that are dedicated to the atomic/retro styles list  them in comments so we can share the pleasure of reading them.
I will be posting again soon.  I have had a fibro. flare and it has kept me in bed for several days and, it hurts to hold my arms up to type.  It will pass and I will be back to my ol' mean self soon.

Happy Birthday Son !

Today is my oldest son's birthday. 

IT IS WINTER EVERYWHERE

Sophia has a double!

This is LadyBug , Halloween 2010



This is MiMi, a Penny Black stamp.