Lunch

My MIL took me to lunch today at The Tower Restaurant in Bel Air. The food was YUMMY! I had the soup and sandwich special with a BLT and cream of crab soup. Really good. Carolyn had a shrimp wrap, which was HUGE and looked delicious. She also commented that her cole slaw had pineapple in it. She didn't elaborate as to how that tasted, though...anyway, I enjoyed both the lunch and the company. Afterward, we shopped at Joanne's, TJ Maxx and Pier 1 for something Carolyn has in mind for her living room. No luck so far, but she was on her way to Kirkland's when she left here.

Thanks for lunch, Carolyn. I had a good time!

How cute is this?

At different times throughout the day today, Ryan would come up to me, lift my shirt and kiss my tummy. When I finally asked him what he was doing, he looked up at me with those big blue eyes and said "I'm kissing your surgery all better."

A Beehive of Activity

Take a little trip over to Jen's blog by clicking here and see all the fun that goes with having three children and the construction of a new addition. Ryan even turned down the chance to go to the grocery store with me! In my car! That may be a first...truly, my feelings are not hurt because I could tell just how much fun he was having watching the machines and the workmen.

He even chatted up the workmen while they were waiting for a truck with supplies to arrive, asking things like "Did you see the Curious George Movie?" The men were really sweet and talked with him, but I imagine small talk with a three-almost-four-year-old that you are not related to gets old pretty quick.

Ladew Gardens

Our visit to Ladew Gardens took place on Tuesday in 95 degrees of heat. I know to some members of the family that may not seem hot, but it was. The gardens are still beautiful and I am glad we went. Here are some photos of the day:

Here are Jen, Ryan and Lily enjoying the cool droplets of water from the fountain. On the return trip, Lily was very excited to see the fountain again!

Here is Ryan enjoying the frog pond. It was really called the Water Lily pond, but the frogs were much more interesting to Ryan.Here is the trio in front of the swan topiaries. This hedge seemed as long as a football field and had swans the entire length! Lily and Jen under a rose arbor. See how much fun Lily is having? The Rose Garden is gorgeous! I was picturing weddings all over the gardens, and I can see a small ceremony taking place here. Just lovely.Lily being her sweet little self in her stroller.The Hunt Scene. Way ahead of the dogs is a fox--he looks so cute with his tail in the air!Stone table and chairs. The details aren't too clear here, but I thought they were so sweet. I could picture little squirrels and raccoons having snacks and tea ...
An example of some of the flora and fauna in the gardens.

Water Lily.

Two frogs in the Lily Pond.

Happy Fifth Anniversary, Jenny and Jay!

Just five years ago today, our family was gathered at the Castle at Maryvale for the wedding of our only daughter. Tom and I had to fly in from Belgium, T.J. flew in from New Mexico and other family members came from far and wide. It was a lovely wedding.

Now, five years later Jenny and Jay are parents to three beautiful children--Zach, age 8; Ryan, age 3; and Lily, aged 15 months. They make a lovely family.

Congratulations on your first five years! And best wishes for many, many years of wedded bliss.

Happy Birthday Bobby!

Happy Birthday Paul!

In our family, we believe in shared birthdays, and cousins Bobby and Paul are a couple of the lucky ones. Flag Day is also their birthday! Bobby, eldest son of Rob and Lisa, is working at a new job for the EZ Pass people. He works a lot but seems to enjoy the job. I have no idea what else he does...oh, that is just sad. I will have to rectify that situation as soon as I see Bobby, hopefully on Sunday.

Paul, youngest son of Cathy and Jim, just returned from a music festival in Tennessee. He has completed his first year of university and is returning in the fall. In the meantime I think he plans to take full advantage of Mom and Dad's new Beach House.

Happy Birthday, guys. I hope its a great one.

Might have found the source...

...of the algae in the pool! One of my friends mentioned that her hubby always removes their ladder at the end of the swim season, and cleans it 'real good' at the start of the next season. That got me thinking...so this afternoon, I removed our ladder and had a look at the 'hidden' parts of the ladder. Oh, yeah! Algae galore! (Sounds like a Bond Girl name.) I was planning to start the cleaning, but the distant thunder I heard when I started thie project became a constant rumble, then great big raindrops were falling from the sky...I decided holding metal tools and working near a small body of water might not be in my best interests at the moment! But it looks like I have a project for tomorrow!

This is the 'front' of the ladder--the part easily accessible even while in the pool. See the bits of green under those edges? ALGAE!

This is the extension at the bottom of the ladder--where it adjusts to fit the depth needed...yeah, gotta clean that.

Here we have the 'back' of the ladder, the part closest to the pool wall. When you think about it, all those nooks and crannies make this a really bad design for a swimming pool ladder!

And here is a closer look at one of the 'nooks.' Yeah, those things are history. Where's the bleach?

As you can see, I definitely have a project ahead of me--I hope I remember to take photos before I put the silly thing back in the pool!

You'd think with all that green stuff growing there, the pool would be a mess. It is not--it looks great!

"Don't Dress for Dinner"

This photo doesn't do it justice, but the set for this show was absolutely stunning. I was so impressed with the work--the stones around the door are actually three-dimensional and made of foam! (I asked) The floors look like hardwoods,-- they even shine!--and the method used was much less time- consuming than the one I did for Hamlet. It all had the perfect effect for the play--which, by the way, was wonderful! The script is hilarious and the actors all did a really good job with their characters...and Mike does a really good job of playing drunk. Really good. He had people checking his breath after the show to make sure he was okay to drive home.





Here is a closer look at the stone and the 'stained glass window.' Aren't they fabulous?

I was greeted like royalty when I walked in, hugs and greetings all around. It was good to see everybody again, although I missed Marge. She is in Chicago, visiting family. She'll be back, though.

Next up is Music Man to be performed in Patriot Hall.

Little Theater

I've decided we're going to go to the show at the Little Theater tonight. One of the actors also works backstage a lot, and Tom and I know him from that. He worked with Tom on Oklahoma! and with both of us on I Hate Hamlet. He's playing the husband in the play. I'm looking forward to it!

Isn't this a cool-looking bird?

One of our guys overseas shared this with me--isn't he gorgeous?

Just got back

The Squadron Key Spouse organized a 'reintegration briefing' for spouses of military members who are returning soon. While I certainly don't fall into that category, I thought I might enjoy hearing what the speakers had to say and seeing some of my friends from the spouse's group. It was an interesting evening. The speaker from Mental Health (no longer 'Life Skills' thank goodness!) showed some videos which highlighted some possible behavior of the returnees. His point was that, for some folks, the transition from a combat zone to the 'real world' can pose some difficulties. We were given some ideas on what to do and when to encourage our spouse to seek help--and to seek help for them if they need it and don't realize it.

The next speaker was from the Airmen and Family Readiness Center. She spoke at the pre-deployment briefing and I was not impressed at all. She must have gotten that message, because tonight, she was good. She talked about some of the difficulties a couple can face upon reunion--like the returnee expecting to take over all financial decisions, or decisions about the kids, or just make all the decisions period, even though the spouse has been handling all that for months while s/he was away, and what to do to keep the lines of communication open, and who to see if they still have difficulty. Well-presented, interesting, and informative. Well done!

Finally, the Chaplain spoke. She seemed to ramble a bit and lose her focus at times, but she came off as caring and approachable, which is what you need from your Chaplain. She ended with a prayer, which was also really well done. I liked it.

So. Good information. Good people. Nice evening out--and not too taxing.

Happy Birthday, Lynn!

Lynn is the oldest grandchild on my side of the family. She was such a beautiful baby, and she's still gorgeous. And somehow she's managed to produce a son who is the image of her father, Rob, which I am certain pleases him right down to the bone. Lynn is doing a great job as a Mom, her current vocation. Lynn, Have a truly special birthday and may the coming year bring you joy and all that you deserve.

Happy Birthday, Joey!

Next in this month of many birthdays is Tom's nephew, Joey. Just about six weeks younger than our son, I can actually remember his age! (27) Joey is Tom's sister Renee's only child. Joey is a father himself, making Renee a very youthful-looking Grandmother. Joey is also a fabulous cook, a skill he showcased at Thanksgiving last year. Yum! Happy birthday, Joe--I hope this is a wonderful year for you.

Bored...

and trying SO hard not tobe whiny about it! Especially since I am the person famous for telling people 'if you are bored, it is your own fault.' Yikes. I'd better find myself something to do!

Happy Birthday, Lindsay!

Today is the first day of the June birthday extravaganza! We have a few family birthdays to celebrate this month, the first of which is Tom's niece, Lindsay. Lindsay is Tom's sister Laura's oldest child, beautiful, college educated and charming. Happy birthday, Linds! I hope this year brings you much happiness.

Possible Pool Problems

While Janet was here, she did a lovely job of looking after the pool for me and it stayed a gorgeous, crystal clear. I don't know what I am doing wrong, but every time I brush the bottom of the pool, it gets all cloudy and the stuff I brush up looks green--the dreaded algae! The chemicals are properly balanced, so today I added some algaecide then climbed in with a pole brush, a scrub brush and a toothbrush. I cleaned every surface I could reach! I have my concerns about the ladder, though. I am thinking I might need to remove it from the pool to clean it thoroughly--maybe even using bleach to kill any growing greenies. Oh, by the way, the water temperature was 83 degrees, so it was nicely refreshing but not shocking to be in.