Photo Hunt - Part of Me

ME

and the most important part of me...

my posterity.

Aloha Friday

I suppose our home is large since there are only two of us. Even though there is a lot of cupboards and closets for storage, I accumulate a lot of clutter. I'm not a pack rat as I was many years ago however, stuff still seems to pile up.

Our home is on a street where we get early morning elementary school traffic. I have found that if I put things on the sidewalk with a "FREE" sign, it all disappears within minutes. This is good for us and good for whoever takes it.

We did quite a bit of rearranging of the upstairs bedrooms this week and every morning we lined the sidewalk like in the above photo.

It was quite refreshing and did wonders for the clutter!

How do you stay on top of the clutter in your home?

Kailani at An Island Life is the host of the delightful "Aloha Friday" meme. In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day everyone takes it easy and looks forward to the weekend. Let's take it easy on posting Fridays too. Simple questions. Nothing heavy or too thought-provoking. It's fun, it's easy and it's a good way to get to know each other. For more Aloha Fridays go here.

The Root Canal

Yesterday I had the work on my root canal finished.

I even have a photo!

We call it the Jelly Fish!!

My endodontist who I mentioned here is excellent! He and his assistant put me at ease and I even fell asleep during the work. He's happy with the work and I "get" to go back in 6 months so he can check on it. I was told some 40 years ago that I didn't have any wisdom teeth however there's a possibility this molar might be a wisdom tooth. This could be one of the factors in the complexity of the tooth.

It's done, I'm happy and my endodontist is excited about the five canals.

Wordless Wednesday - Ouch!

To see more WW participants, stop by 5 Minutes for Mom or the official WW Hub.

Photo Hunt - Shoes

Britt's Pointe

Shoes

I have Britt's pointe shoes hanging on the wall in the 'attic' where I sew. As you can see, she wore them out. She did have a new pair that she had only worn a few times however, after her accident I gave them to one of her friends that danced also. These shoes are the ones she learned to dance in. These shoes can tell her story. These shoes are part of her.

Aloha Friday - The Toothache

Kailani at An Island Life is the host of the delightful "Aloha Friday" meme. In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day everyone takes it easy and looks forward to the weekend. Let's take it easy on posting Fridays too. Simple questions. Nothing heavy or too thought-provoking. It's fun, it's easy and it's a good way to get to know each other. For more Aloha Fridays stop by

First thing this past Monday morning, after suffering with a toothache for two weeks, I finally went in to see my dentist. After a few x-rays and applying a tiny bit of ice to my tooth he diagnosed the need for a root canal.

Bummer.

"I won't do it", my dentist said, "I know my limitations".

So home I went with prescriptions for both penicillin and vicodin and a referral to an endodontist.

The next morning NY phoned the referred endodontist and "Oh Boy!" they could see me that very afternoon. Two and a half hours after sitting down under the microscope, I left with a record breaking "five canal" root canal on my bottom right molar and feeling like the Ultimate Fighting Championship had taken place in my mouth.

Have you ever had a root canal?

Too Many Apricots?

Two years ago we had a total of ten fruit trees in our back yard. While we were living in Florida and our son and his family were living in our house, he thought ten fruit trees in a compact yard were a bit much. And I suppose, as the trees got larger, it truly was. He eliminated a few over-productive plum trees and now we have...well...a few less fruit trees.

That's perfectly okay though because as you can see, we do not have a shortage of fruit. These are photos of just one of the two apricot trees.

The apricots are not ripe yet and they're still a bit too firm for even the birds' liking. I'm figuring the fruit will ripen sometime next week which should work out well. NY's sister and her family will be visiting from Texas. NY's nephew will be completing a two year mission for our church in an area not very far from us, and he's being released. We will be hosting an open house for family and friends to visit with them before they return to Texas.

What all can I make with apricots to serve at the open house?

PLEASE...

...share your ideas and recipes with me.

THANKS!

Baby Gifts and a Handbag

A baby blanket for a friend.

A baby blanket for a great nephew. A new handbag available at Kennedy Grace.

Wordless Wednesday - Stick Em Up!!

Stick Em Up...

...and give me your gun!!

To see more WW participants, stop by 5 Minutes for Mom or the official WW Hub.

Photo Hunt - Candy

Hershey, Pennsylvania

- The Sweetest Place on Earth -

One of the many places we stopped to visit on our 2007 road trip from Florida to California was Hershey Pennsylvania.

It's a delightful town to visit. The story behind Hershey is quite amazing. Milton S. Hershey was born on a farm in 1857. Because of frequent family moves he only completed the fourth grade.

He worked as an apprentice in a candy factory and went out on his own creating the Lancaster Caramel Co. He became fascinated with the German chocolate-making machinery he saw on exhibit at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. He bought the equipment for his Lancaster plant and began producing chocolate. He then sold the Lancaster Caramel Co. for $1 million in 1900 (that's equivalent to what today?) in order to concentrate exclusively on his chocolate business.

What impressed me the most about Milton Hershey (besides his candy!) is that he was a man who cared. He cared about his employees and his community. With his success he felt a great sense of moral responsibility and benevolence. He wanted to give back so he built a model town for his employees that included comfortable homes, an inexpensive public transportation system, a quality public school system and extensive recreational and cultural opportunities.

Milton Hershey's business success allowed him to practice an extensive philanthropy. In 1909, unable to have children of their own, he and his wife Catherine established a school for orphan boys that today is known as the Milton S. Hershey School. After Catherine's premature death in 1918, Milton Hershey endowed the school with his entire fortune of Hershey Chocolate Company stock. Milton Hershey School nurtures more than 1,100 financially needy boys and girls in grades K-12. The above photo is one of the main streets with the famous Hershey Kiss street lights.

The town of Hershey PA is indeed a step into the past with it's tree lined streets and well built brick houses. We had such a wonderful time in Hershey we stayed a few extra days.

Breakfast with Grandpa

Remember the story Bill Cosby told about giving his kid's chocolate cake for breakfast?

Who needs Bill Cosby when you have this grandpa. The Princess is eating marshmallow cream right out of the jar and Bear is "drinking" the jelly straight from the bottle.

What was I doing? (Besides taking a photo)

I was making everyone a hearty healthy breakfast!!

Aloha Friday

I loathe the heat.

NY likes it, I loathe it. When we lived in Florida the heat and humidity were so bad, my glasses would steam up the second I stepped outdoors. We would get a delightful afternoon breeze off the lake in our backyard but the lifesaver for me was our spa. I would get in it several times a day and just bob around. I liked it best cold and sometimes with the jets. NY liked it hot. When the kids and babies would visit they would tell me to go sit in the spa because they were turning the heat on. I'd have to sit in it while it got hot like a frog in a pot. I just wasn't able to get in it when it was already hot without getting dizzy and faint. Go figure!

I miss our spa. I miss it oh so much. I'm not sure what I'm going to do this summer to beat the heat. How about you?

What are you going to do this summer to beat the heat?

Kailani at An Island Life is the host of the delightful "Aloha Friday" meme. In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day everyone takes it easy and looks forward to the weekend. Let's take it easy on posting Fridays too. Simple questions. Nothing heavy or too thought-provoking. It's fun, it's easy and it's a good way to get to know each other. For more Aloha Fridays stop by An Island Life.

New at Kennedy Grace

We just added these items to

Kennedy Grace

Pink Chocolate Tutu - Monogrammed Napkins

Doll Clothes for 18 inch dolls such as American Girl

Crayon Aprons for girls

Crayon Aprons for boys!

Wordless Wednesday - The Princess and the Box

(With cake on her face!)

Weekend Projects

Our Front Doors

were blue.

Not navy blue or light blue but bright blue.

In November I had splashed a bit of red paint on the doors to see if I was going to like them red. I did like them red, however at the time I wasn't able to find my electric sander. A few weeks ago I gave in and bought a new set of sanders knowing that was all it would take for my old sander to show up. Sure enough, a few days later, I came across the elusive sander, stuffed in a Wal-Mart bag sitting on the gardening shelf in the garage. NY said I should keep the new sanders because they both came equipped with little exhaust bags. Yippee! So...last weekend, after 6 months of the front doors looking like something out of the book of Exodus in the Bible, I finally painted the doors.

I bought this paint over a year ago when I was going to paint the front doors of our Florida house. (For the third time) The color is Heritage Red by Benjamin Moore. I decided I didn't like this red. It's too orange and from the street it looked a bit like we had redwood doors. Thinking the color would improve, I gave the doors two more coats before I decided to try another color red. How hard could it be? Red is red isn't it?!? After looking at red paint samples for almost an hour...I came home with English Red by Valspar. I wasn't familiar with Valspar but I decided I do like the color and I love the finished product. While I was painting, NY was diligently distributing wood chips throughout our garden and planters. He has been working at tending our yard and it's really paid off. The lawn is beautiful and lush (Which makes the gardener happy) and the wood chips are keeping the weeds at bay. It was a good weekend that was truly productive and will have lasting results.

Meet Kirtsy!!

One of my favorite websites is sk*rt. Now sk*rt has a new name...

The first time I went to Kirtsy I wasn't quite sure what it was all about. Now not only do I check it several times a day but NY does too.

We can find all the top web stories, great things to buy and just about everything else without having to search the web ourselves.

I can check the "most popular" page to see what everyone else has been looking at OR I can go to what ever category interests me at the moment. I never come away without new information or a new favorite website.

Click on over and check it out!

I promise you will be glad you did!!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

My mother, me and my sister Mary.

Sunday Blessings

A few days ago, NY was digging around in the yard when he suddenly was buzzed by a tiny hummingbird. He had been stooped over and when he stood up he was eye to eye with this itty biddy nest. Momma hummingbird wasn't too happy with him. This nest is so tiny that when the mother is sitting on it she is doing just that...sitting on it, not in it.

I believe that something so tiny and perfectly made is a true testament to our Heavenly Father's existence.

Can Pink Be Icky?

Pink is my very favorite color...

but not in my eyes.

I have pink eye. I never thought "pink" could be so ugly.

If you scroll down to "Oh What a weekend", you can read why "I" have pink eye.

Aloha Friday

What would you like for Mother's Day?

Let's be materialistic...

I would like a trip to the fabric store for some ribbon and trim, (and a few other goodies) an Antherium for the patio, a Luxe Link Purse Holder and a couple of Grilled Steak soft tacos from Taco Bell.

Oh, and a slice of Key Lime pie.

Kailani at An Island Life is the host of the delightful "Aloha Friday" meme. In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day everyone takes it easy and looks forward to the weekend. Let's take it easy on posting Fridays too. Simple questions. Nothing heavy or too thought-provoking. It's fun, it's easy and it's a good way to get to know each other. For more Aloha Fridays stop by An Island Life.

Oh!! What a Weekend!!

Three Kids and the Grandparents

Last weekend we had the grandchildren for.... Four....Whole....Days!

As soon as their parents picked up the grandbabies on Monday evening...

I went to bed and slept for 12 hours.

NY went to the bank and the market.

Hmmm...

The weekend was very fun and very busy!

We climbed trees...

(up high)

(by myself)

(let go of me)

We toured through model homes...

...and climbed in them too!

We went to the park where we climbed...

...dog piled in the slide...

We went to: and bought a swimming pool (that was too cold to get into), and

Wii Mariokart, which we played over and over...

We made cookies...

...and with a time mix up, we were too late to get Monkey Boy to his baseball game.

We played in the backyard on the jungle gym...

...and in the front yard with our dolly...

...and we even found a bug! (Grandma was horrified!) Bear woke Sunday morning claiming he couldn't see. NY thought he was playing a game until he looked at Bear and saw that both his eyes were stuck shut with conjunctivitis, aka pink eye!

So, we had to miss church.

But what an incredibly, fun, hilarious and exhausting weekend.

We'd do it again tomorrow (or maybe the next day)!!

Wordless Wednesday - Not On it...In It!

To see more WW participants, stop by 5 Minutes for Mom or the official WW Hub.

Photo Hunt - Time

Time's Square

Alcatraz Island

San Francisco, California

School Picture?!?

Believe it or not...

... this is Bear's official school picture from pre-school.

School pictures have come a LONG way since my kid's were in school!!

Aloha Friday

Kailani at An Island Life is the host of the delightful "Aloha Friday" meme. In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day everyone takes it easy and looks forward to the weekend. Let's take it easy on posting Fridays too. Simple questions. Nothing heavy or too thought-provoking. It's fun, it's easy and it's a good way to get to know each other.

When was the last time you were really sick?

Yesterday, I awoke around 2AM feeling truly icky. I progressively felt worse and spent the entire day in bed with a fever of 102. My body ached and I couldn't even drink any fluids. This morning my fever is below 100 but I still feel pretty lousy. This is a very inopportune time for me to be sick as we have all three grandchildren this weekend. We'll pick them up at 11AM this morning and their parents will be home on Monday. This is not the weekend for me to be sick.