The Girls in the Gazebo

The Falls Again

I Come To The Garden Alone

My Amazed Girls In the Old Tree

Tranquility Garden

The Beautiful Old Tree

The Beautiful Falls

My Angel

Cypress Gardens

The End of the School year

Mary will finish the fourth grade on June 6. This year has just flown by. Last Friday we took a field trip to Cypress Gardens. I was dissappointed. The last time I was there (1965) it was so beautiful. The flowers and gardens were so beautiful. There were southern belles everywhere and the water skiing show was unbelievable. This time, the gardens were not one fourth of what they used to be. No southern belles walking around. The water show that was once 40 people is now 6. Only a few people seemed to appreciate the true beauty of the flowers and wildlife. Most people were there for the amusement park. It seems so sad that everything today has to have "rides" or it is left to ruin. I am truly thankful that someone cared enough to try to save the old gardens but the buildings are old, outdated and in sad condition. No one seemed to have ever gone there in any recent times so I was the only one to make comparisons. We did ride all the rides and have a great time. We still have a ton of things to do. We have a soft ball game field trip on Thursday. A field trip to see "Grease" next week. A trip to "Arabian Nights". A school fair. Her grade awards on the 28th. Every week there are two or three things we have planned. Busy Busy. Steve has been very busy at Epcot. The annual "Flower Show". He is lucky if he gets a day off. I'm busy in my yard. I made an awning and I'm still trying to finish it to my specs. I cut down all the ancient foilage and I'm making plans for gardens. Hopefully I will get a privacy fence up but for now I'll settle for privacy hedges of some sort. I'm still working on my sewing room. The water was leaking into Steve's room and ruining the floor so that project took priority. That side of the house is now painted. I need to move around the corner and tackle the front of the house. Bye for now.

Pirate Princess Party 4

The girls went on ride after ride and just laughed and laughed! Here are some photos of them and the castle.

Pirate Princess Party 3

I cannot tell you what a great time we had. All of the pirates and princesses that worked there treated us like we were royalty. It was so special. There were special treasures all over the park. The map shows where to find them. A beautiful parade started at 9 with fireworks to follow.

The fire works were breathtaking!! At the peak of the show, Tinkerbell flies down from the top of the castle. During the pirate music and fireworks, there is a large pink flag on the castle with a cross and bones skull. We had never seen fireworks shot out of the castle. It was amazing!! Just a truly awesome fireworks show. Such beautiful fireworks!!

Pirate Princess Party 2

Amy and Mary were so excited. They went back into a private room with Jack Sparrow and he laughed and joked with them. They watched a Pirate Tutorial and Mary was asked to join his crew.

The Pirate Princess Party

We had such a wonderful time at Disneyworld on March 1st. Steve gave Mary, Me and Amy tickets there for Mary's birthday. We started the evening with a trip on the monorail. As we arrived , there was an eerie fog billowing from the entrance. Pirates let us through the gates and our adventure began. We took a Pirate Treasure Map and headed off in search of supper. Frontierland has a great burger cafe. Chefs cook skillets of onions, peppers, and mushrooms. There are also large bowls of salsa, tomatoes, lettuce and chopped onions. When our meal is ready, we head over to the "toppings" area and add all the sauteed and fresh toppings you wish. The food there is fantastic! We finished our supper and headed to New Tortuga and the Pirates Ride.

Outlander Jamie and Claire Fraser

I am an avid reader. I work at Borders Books.
I have "book lust". A dangerous thing to have while
working at a bookstore.
I have read many many books.
My absolute favorite is the "Outlander" series by
Diana Gabaldon. The series is loved by thousands.
We have repeatedly asked for a Miniseries.
People on YouTube have made hundreds of mini
movies. The links below are some of my favorites.
They are photos of Scotland and the Standing Stones
along with the people we wish would be the actors in
the Miniseries. Most of us agree Gerard Butler is
Jamie. Most libraries carry the series. It is on cd
by Recorded Books and Read by Davina Porter with
her perfect scottish accent. The stories come to life
when she reads them. I actually feel I "know" Jamie
and Claire. I have read and listened to them over and
over. Please take a look at the videos.

Mid Life

Here it is 3 am. Again I can't sleep.

It is strange to reach a point in life,

when I need more sleep and I cannot sleep at all.

I just don't understand how I can be so tired and not sleep.

It is almost as though my body senses I'm beyond the midpoint

in my life and every minute becomes more precious.

I get up and fix a cup of decaf coffee.

I switched to decaf awhile ago and I never cared for colas.

I drink two cups in the morning, max, and still can't sleep. Oh well,

more time to express my creativity, right?

On to another day.

It seems that no matter how I plan things

there is never enough time in the day to do everything.

I used to be able to charge into projects and finish in no time.

Now it takes days to find the energy and time.

I always assumed(and you know what that word means) that as I got older

things would get easier and I would have more time for me and the things

I wanted to do and create. I don't know what ever gave me that idea?

I am quickly approaching retirement age and yet,

I see no end to the everyday

demands of work, children, home and health.

Little things constantly pop up and delay whatever thing I might be trying

to work on or finish.

No one seems to notice that I am having trouble keeping

up with everything. It is such a struggle. I keep going, day after day.

I wonder, will I have some time to myself before the struggle ends?

Will I get to travel to the places I dream about?

Life is short. Will I see any of my dreams come true?

Is it selfish to have dreams?

I am beginning to think TV is a bad thing.

I don't get to watch much and when I do,

it is usually factual or do it yourself learning.

I watch the decorating channels.

The big, fancy homes with lots of room and plenty of space.

I wish I had more space.

I wish I had some new appliances.

I wish I had the money and help to fix up my home.

I see all the new cars. I am just happy if my car runs and

does not break down or cost more money. I'll never have a new car.

I try to remind myself that all those things are just material.

Truthfully, I would live in a nice little two room wood shed

in my older daughter's back yard if that was a possibility.

I would like to enjoy her companionship every day.

We would walk outside in our night gowns to her picnic table

and have our morning Coffee together

and chat about all our everyday problems and plans.

Watch the sun slowly rise.

Listen to the birds and watch the deer. Just enjoy the Quiet.

I would get to see my three grandchildren every day.

I miss them.

So very much.

Tennessee seems a million miles from Orlando.

I guess I better go lay down and get some rest if I can.

My youngest daughter will be up and bouncing around at 7.

She always keeps me very busy.

Today is her Grandma's birthday so I guess we'll go party with her.

Get Well Dad. Bless you.

Get Well Dale. Bless you.

Get Well wishes to my dear daughter, Michelle. Bless you.

Bless and Love you all.