TGIF

TGIF y'all! Gosh I can't seem to get caught up and I'm so tired. It's been a busy, busy week.

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Thanks Susan at The Little Yellow House and Toni for identifying my "what-cha-ma-call-its" - they are agapanthas.

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Have you ever had one of those "Duh" moments? I have...lots and lots. And the older I get, the more I have. LOL

Anyhoo...I've had a few people leave comments on my blog that are written in another language and when I visit their blog I can't understand it or leave a comment.

Did you know there's a website that will translate a word or phrase or an entire blog for you? Really you knew and didn't tell me? Not nice. But for those of you who didn't know...give it a try. translate.google.com

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I'm so glad we played tennis this morning at 7:30, because it's been raining off and on since about 10:00 this morning. I love it. Everything is looking so green!

Have a wonderful weekend!

A BUSY THURSDAY

We met the nicest couple this year when we went out in March to our timeshare in Palm Desert, California. They have seats in the same box where we do for the Pacific Life Tennis Tournament at Indian Wells. Bernie and Brita live 6 months of the year in Chicago and 6 months in Palm Desert. What a fun couple! When they mentioned that they were coming for their grandson's high school graduation in Palm Beach, Florida, we suggested they stop for a visit with us. And they did!


They arrived late yesterday afternoon and were too tired to do anything, so we agreed to wait and see each other today. Thank you Lord! We were too tired from our major clean up to do anything also. LOL


But...this morning the four of us played tennis. The courts were packed where we normally play at our club, but we're also members at another club, so we were able to get a court there. We had a ball. The girls played the guys for three sets. Do I really have to admit who won? 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

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After my tennis yesterday morning and my afternoon of cleaning the entire lanai and then tennis again this morning, I was still exhausted, so here's what I did this afternoon:Yep, a 2 hour nap! There's just nothing like a good nap! And we got some rain, so taking a nap and listening to the rain was a wonderful idea!

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Tonight we had a wonderful meal in the village at Bistro Bijoux !

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It was a wonderful day, but I'm off to bed. I've got tennis again at 7:30 in the morning. Ugg!

WEDNESDAY AND I'M EXHAUSTED

First - Something Pretty:

My ferns, knock-out roses and impatients are doing so well out by the pool.

And my "what-cha-ma-call-its" are starting to bloom!
What are these called? I forget. My post yesterday was the truth!

We've got alot of these both in the front yard and the back. They're really starting to pop.

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Something Silly:

This morning at tennis, I looked over at the bench while we were playing and this is what I saw. I just had to laugh. And take a picture, of course. It looks like we were doing a commercial for Weed tennis racquets! LOL Three out of the four of us uses Weed racquets. Hmmmm....wonder if I sent in this photo to Weed if they would send me a new updated one?

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Something that made George and I exhausted:

We're actually beyond exhausted tonight. I plan to be in the bed no later than 9:30. And that will probably be a first since I'm usually a night owl. LOL

His and Hers buckets

George and I took everything from our screened-in lanai outside...and I mean everything - furniture, rug, lamps, accessories. We hosed everything off and wiped it down. And while the sun dried it, we swept and then vacuumed and then mopped the tiled lanai floor again... and again... and yet again. Oh.My.Word! The dirt and especially the pollen. It's kinda hard to tell from these photos, but our lanai is pretty big so this was a H-U-G-E job. My back was just starting to feel better and now.... Oh well, it looks good, smells good and it's good to know it's clean and ready to enjoy.

We had "stuff" everywhere!

It's always nice afterwards to sit back and enjoy your hardwork. Maybe tomorrow night!

All back to normal. We love to sit out here at night. There's a TV in the cabinet over the fireplace so it's a great place to unwind.


There's a pool table under the ping pong top. We had someone make us a cover to protect it from the weather. There's a table so we can eat outside and a small kitchen area and grill.

Summer is here and we're ready. Yeah!

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Okay, it's 9:28! Time to brush my teeth and hit the hay! Night night!

IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT GETTING OLD

Dang! I forgot what I was gonna tell ya!

A SWEET SURPRISE

I got the sweetest surprise tonight when I learned that Judy at Gracious Southern Living passed on this amazing award to me. This is a special one because it is awarded to bloggers for their creativity, design, interesting material and contribution to the blogging community. Wow! Thank you so much Judy. I am truly touched.

Okay now for the hard part....I am to choose five bloggers that I feel are deserving of this award. Just five?! That's hard. Really, really hard. I feel that each and every one of you are deserving, but as I can select only five (and since Judy already selected two good ones from my blogroll - congrats Rhoda and Pat!), below are my choices.

Please check out these wonderful ladies' blogs if you haven't already - you won't be disappointed! These ladies are funny...and sweet...and creative...and interesting...and special. Go and check them out for yourself. You'll see.

Kellan at On The Upside

DeeDee at It Coulda' Been Worse

SusieQ at Rabbit Run Cottage

Kari at Just Livin' Large

Heather at Running From The Little People

Now the rules of the award are:
1. Pick 5 blogs that you feel are deserving of the award.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name of the link to the blog that gave it to him/her.
4. The award winner and the one who has given the prize has to show the link of 'Arte y Pico' so that everyone knows the origin of this award.
5. Show these rules on the award page.

HAPPY MONDAY YA'LL

Yippee!...oh look...my hydrangeas are starting to bloom...see that sweet bloom hiding there at the bottom behind the leaves. I'm so excited. I love to cut hydrangea blooms and bring them inside. It doesn't take much to thrill me. LOL

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Our daughter just e-mailed me this cute photo of our two oldest grandchildren, Zac and Kristin, at a concert in Atlanta this weekend. I love that they enjoy doing things together and make time to see each other. Zac's in college and Kristin graduates from high school this month.

Gosh, I always wanted a big brother. Sigh

(I have a step brother who is just a little bit older than me, but I was married and out of the house before our parents married. I love him as if he was my "real" brother, but gosh I would have loved to have a big brother as I was growing up!)

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THANKS YOU ALL FOR BEING MY FRIEND!

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

Love the people who treat you right.

Forget about the ones who don't.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy.

They just promised it would be worth it.

Friends are like balloons.

Once you let them go, you can't get them back.

So I'm gonna tie YOU to my heart so I never lose you.

"Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference. "

OH HOW BLESSED I AM!

My family - all 19 of us! I am blessed.

I love being a woman
I love being a friend
I love being a daughter
I love being a sister
I love being a niece
I love being an aunt
I love being a mother-in-law
I love being a wife
But.... nothing compares to being a
MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER!


HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY EVERYONE

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

My Mother Kept A Garden

My Mother kept a garden,

a garden of the heart,

She planted all the good things

that gave my life it's start.

She turned me to the sunshine

and encouraged me to dream,

Fostering and nurturing

the seeds of self-esteem...

And when the winds and rain came,

she protected me enough-

But not too much because she knew

I'd need to stand up strong and tough.

Her constant good example

always taught me right from wrong-

Markers for my pathway

that will last a lifetime long.

I am my Mother's garden.

I am her legacy-

And I hope today she feels the love

reflected back from me

~Author Unknown

Happy Mother's Day Mom! I love you very much!

HAVE A GREAT DAY

Awwww....Friendship, cooperation and love defined in a single photo

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

(I'm still having a devil of a time with my aching back!)

CAN'T WE STOP?!

It's my second post today, but I had to share this. Take a couple of minutes and watch this video...great song and great message.

OH MY ACHING BACK!

Dang! It's a pain getting older. Pardon the pun.

Seriously, it seems everytime I turn around, something hurts!



It could be from all the things I did with the kids that I mentioned in my last post...like hopscotch, freeze tag, swinging with them on my lap, picking them up...or from the drive there or back...or it could be from giving Miss Daisy a bath yesterday and lifting her in and out...who knows? What I do know is that aches and pains visit me more often. You'd think with all the exercise I do, I would be able to do almost anything. In my mind, I think I can, but my body keeps reminding me I'm not as young as I once was.

24 HOURS OF FUN AND LOVE

TUESDAY AFTERNOON

Since my Mom lives in the same town, she came over to spend some time with me and the kids while Eric and Angela went out on a "date". (That's a whole sorry in itself...go here to see what I mean.)

Here we are with Sydney Anne aka "baby raccoon".

I drew a long hopscotch pattern on the back driveway in front of their storage unit and Landon tries it out while the girls look on.

Landon adds numbers before we all begin playing.

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Yep, I played too. And we also played freeze tag, but not for long. It's MUCH harder than I remembered. LOL All that running! After we had all worked up an appetite, Mom and I took the kids out for pizza and salad.

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We came back home and the 5 of us snuggled up on the couch and watched The Incredibles before bedtime. I've seen it quite a few times (wink), but this was the first time for Mom. Sydney Anne wanted me to sleep with her, so I did, of course.

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WEDNESDAY

The kids and I had a lazy morning snuggled up on the couch letting Mommy sleep a little later than normal. After breakfast and getting dressed we all decided to walk down to the park which is just a few blocks away.

The kids love to play down by the creek.

Landon crawled through under the bridge. I asked him if he was sure he wanted to do that. He said "Aww MeMe, I do it all the time. I hope I haven't grown too much though." LOL

There's always something fun to explore.

Did you notice the Super Hero t-shirts Landon and Kaley Grace are wearing? Angela buys them plain white t-shirts and let's them "design" their own shirts. She's such a good Mommy. (And a great daughter-in-love too!)

The park is large and so nice. If I ran, which I don't, it sure would be nice to have such a nice running track. And off in the distance to the left is their tennis courts. So many gorgeous trees too.

Lots of great play areas.

Kaley Grace and Macy take a break in the shade.

Kaley Grace can make it all the way. Those tiny arms are strong.

Sydney Anne wanted to show me what she can do.





I did lots of this! Wonder if this is why my back is hurting today? Hmmm..... (It might have helped if my big ole butt B.O.B. was on the swing seat and not behind it. LOL)

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As we walked back to their house, I just had to snap a few photos of the lovely homes we passed. Eric and Angela love older homes and their neighborhood is full of charm.

This was one of my favorites...love the red door and black shutters.

I love their house. Isn't it sweet?!

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After a late lunch, it was time for me to head home. I wasn't ready to leave and the kids didn't want me to go either. :-( Note to self: 24 hours just isn't enough.

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Do you know how you can make an "L" with your pointy finger and your thumb? Eric sometimes will call one of the children's name and when they look up at him, he will hold up the "L" sign and will say out loud "I love you". Well, yesterday after we all hugged and kissed goodbye and I climbed into my car and started it up, I looked up and Angela and all three kids were holding up an "L" for me. With a lump in my throat, I backed out of the drive and when I started down the street and looked back in my rearview mirror, I saw the kids running down the sidewalk waving.

Oh the love!

ME AND A BABY RACCOON

On some days our baby raccoon likes to be a "rainbow raccoon"...

and on other days she wants to look like this....

Isn't she beautiful?

(The 3 photos above were taken by my very talented daughter-in-love, Angela)

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When she plays "baby raccoon" she loves to cuddle, she crawls around on all fours, she likes to have her "fur" stroked, she needs food and water, she makes squeaky sounds and she melts your heart.

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I got the sweetest e-mail from my 4 year old granddaughter baby raccoon the other day. She told her Mommy what she wanted to tell me so her Mommy could type me an e-mail and this is what it said:

Dear MeMe
I love you MeMe. I enjoy going on the golf cart with you and every time we get ice cream. I like the ice cream. I gonna make a picture for you cuz you let us go on the golf cart so I am gonna make a picture for you.
And one time at our house we bring Sophie in our house and we taked her a bath in the kitchen sink.
I love you and I want you to come and spend the night and we are going to make 10 pictures for you.
Um, I love you and I had a good time playing the baby raccoon game at MeMaw's house with you. You gave me water.
I love you so much and I just want you to spend the night.
Sydney Anne

(FYI from Kat - Sophie is their cat and MeMaw is my Mom)

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So...guess where I'm going today? Yep, I'm going to spend the night with a very special baby raccoon (and her sister and brother). It will be a 4 hour drive, but sooo worth it. It's not every day that you get such a special request.

FUN MONDAY FULL OF BLISS

Margarita anyone?

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I saw this idea on another blog and thought it was a fun idea.. I'm inviting you all to join in the fun.

This week's theme: Funny photos....

Here's mine....

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BLISS

The dictionary's definition of bliss:

Bliss –noun
1.supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment: wedded bliss.
2.Theology. the joy of heaven.
3.heaven; paradise: the road to eternal bliss.
4.Archaic. a cause of great joy or happiness.

My definition:

Finding these sweet babies in the clearance basket right by the door, so I couldn't miss them. Yep, 3 good size pieces of dark chocolate and a $1.00 off coupon inside each package all for ....are you ready for this?....a nickel. Yep, you read that right.

Click to enlarge to see for yourself. A nickel for 3 delicious pieces of the best dark chocolate E.V.E.R!

I bought a few packages just for the heck of it and when I got to the car, I just HAD to try one. Oh.My.Word! I got myself back out of the car quicker than you can say chocolate and bought 10 more packages. Another 50 cents. Yep, call me a big spender. A blissful big spender. LOL

Awwwww....Bliss! = letting one of these babies melt slowly in your mouth!

SUNDAY FUN

Need a chuckle? This gave me one.

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Here's a fun meme and since Jean thought I would do it, I guess I should, right? LOL

3 things:

3 places I go all the time: tennis courts, gym, and grocery store

3 people who email me: friends, family, devotionals

3 favorite places to eat: PF Chang's, home, wherever my Mom's cooking :-)

3 places I would rather be right now: Italy, New York, Palm Desert

3 TV shows I could watch over and over: Grey's Anatomy, House, 60 Minutes

3 people who will do this: you, and you, and you back there hiding (Let me know if you do this, so I can see your answers)

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Thanks Charlotte for passing on this special award! I'd like to pass it on to DebraK who is definitely sweet and kind. Have you seen her new grandbaby, Mia? She's adorable!

RAIN...LOVE IT, HATE IT

Oh.My.Word! Driving home today from Atlanta was a N.I.G.H.T.M.A.R.E!!! It rained the entire 7 hours. I'm not kidding. It's usually a 6 hour trip, but today it took 7 hours. And the rain was so heavy sometimes, it was hard to see. I got a stress headache and had to stop twice to take medicine. And to top it off, there's so much construction going on in downtown Atlanta. For miles and miles. I can only imagine how much worse it would have been if it had been a week day.

One of the reasons we went to Atlanta was to pick up George's new car, so he drove the new one home and I drove his old one and followed him. My car is much smaller, so anytime I drive his big SUV, I feel like I'm driving an 18 wheeler. LOL! It was not a fun time. But, thank you Lord, we made it home safe and sound.

Within an hour of being home, the sun came out. Wouldn't you know it! So after buying groceries and making us some yummy BLT's for dinner, I decided to take a bike ride. I'm so glad I did. I needed to unwind. It's amazing how stressed the rain made me this morning, yet how beautiful the rain made everything look once it stopped. So clean and fresh and green! Everything smelled so good. I rode over to the bay and just had to pull out my camera. We had a beautiful sunset as you can see.

If you click on this photo, you can see the bridge on the horizon.

I walked a little closer. It was so peaceful to stand right by the water's edge and watch the end of the day.

Thank you God for our safe trip home and for the gift of rain.

GOOD HUGS

We had a great time with Bob and Jennifer tonight. We went to their house for drinks and then went out for dinner. It was wonderful getting to see them. What great friends! We always enjoy spending time with them and catching up. And, as I've said many, many times, Jennifer gives the bestest hugs and you know I LOVE hugs. Bob's a good hugger too. I sure wish they still lived in Paradise with us.

(I had my camera with me, but never thought about getting a photo...bad me!)

I'm heading home tomorrow morning : - (

CELEBRATING A WIN TONIGHT! & OH DEER!

What a great day! Today was beautiful, so our drive to Atlanta was really nice and it was a perfect day to watch our 8 year old grandson, Carson, play baseball.Both grandsons are really getting tall.
Especially Dalton! Only 13 and taller than me.

Our son George is one of the coaches and does the pitching. Here he is pitching to Carson.

Here's George encouraging Carson.
Carson ready to bat.
He really played well.... he got 3 hits and made a great play at third, which turned into a double play! George said he was so excited we were coming that he couldn't sleep last night and was nervous, but it sure didn't show.


His team won! 15 to 14 in the last inning.
This is what Karrigan did while her brother played. She and friends had fun drawing with chalk and riding their scooters.

After the game, we all went out for pizza and then ice cream to celebrate.
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OH DEER!

I didn't get a chance to post about this last night since I had packing to do, etc., but yesterday when I was playing tennis on one of the courts near a small lake and closest to a main road in the neighborhood, I looked up and saw 3 small deer. No mama or daddy in sight.
I took this through the fence screen so it's kinda hazy. The poor babies didn't know what to do. There was lots of activity going on...cars were going by, people were jogging and walking by on the sidewalk, etc. and, of course, all of us tennis players were on the other side of them.
They usually stay by the golf course and the woods. While I took photos, one of my friends ran out and stopped traffic, both cars and pedestrians, and once the deer saw that the coast was clear, they ran across the street and across the golf course and back into the woods. I bet their sweet little hearts were pumping! I'm just glad they didn't get hit by a car. We see deer in the neighborhood all the time and George sees them on the golf course, but I've never seen them out by the main road.

AND WE'RE OFF...........

Yep, alot of you guessed it! We're planning some biking trips, hopefully with good friends, both here in the US this year and next summer in Europe. We'll be using Backroads. Our builder and his wife did this about 3 years ago and biked in France. They said it's an incredible experience. We're so pumped. Training is going well and is so much fun! More details later.
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I can't really blog much tonight. We've decided kinda spur-of-the-moment to make a quick trip to Atlanta tomorrow morning to see two of our grandsons' ballgames and we'll also get to see our friends, Bob and Jennifer. Can't wait. Miss Daisy is packed and ready to go too :-) You know how pets are...when they see suitcases, they start getting nervous. LOL

WELL, I NEVER....

Well, I never thought I'd do this....

it's kinda embarrassing....

but funny too! I just had to show you what I finally broke down and bought today. NO! These are not my hubby's underwear. Silly you! They're my new bike shorts. You know...the kind you wear under your regular shorts. The kind that has padding just where you need padding when you're riding for miles and miles. (wink, wink)

And the back view is even funnier! Okay...that's enough. You can stop laughing now! (Don't you worry...I WILL NOT post photos of me wearing these.)

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Tomorrow I'll tell you why we've been increasing our miles on the bikes. Isn't this exciting? Probably not for you, but it is for us. :-)

COME ALONG, PRETTY PLEASE

Believe it or not, we started tennis this morning at 7:30...and I'm not a morning person. But the good news is, I finished early and that gives me more time to do other things. I've done a few chores around the house and even have a turkey breast cooking in my slow cooker. So....let's go for a long bike ride and I'll show you around. But let's be good girls and boys first and go work out at the gym and then we can take our time and play. Don't worry, it's just 3.5 miles from my front door to the gym.

(photos are clickable)
See...wasn't that quick and look we get to park our bikes right here by the pool.

We have to climb a few stairs to get to the gym, but look at that view! The bay is just beyond the pool.