Busy as a Bee!....

Winter Slaw is the best!

and the easiest, when you have one of these..

YUM!

Then there is that expensive "chillin" box that we bought for 

the kitchen re-model

"cabinet depth, stainless steel, side by side"

PAIN IN THE NECK!

We have had it "fixed" twice...

and still, the little door that allows ice to be dispensed

doesn't close well enough to keep the ice from becoming a solid mass...

So....we struggle to get the ice handler out to defrost it...

chop the ice off the inside mechanism...

run cool water over the ice handler/boxie thingy

make sure that the button works again..

put a piece of plastic down to cover the floor...

and together we work on fixing the ice maker....

DO NOT BUY THIS KITCHENAID!

Ah....on to better things...

a gift of hen eggs from a farmer friend...

a completed apron for a friend of mine...

who has taken up cake decorating 

(maybe she will make me one!)

An opportunity to give a sweet young couple a family portrait...

My first Apple Tart...

Yes, it is not my recipe, but "her's"

A rose from my sweetie

A lovely couch that I found at a used stuff store...

clean it up...and I know right where to put it...

In my office!

hangin out with Not Yo Momma...

Just below the flower posters I bought years ago from 

Martha...

Inspired me to clean the ol' place up...

find a place for everything...

and everything in it's place...

dust it off..

organize...

under the watchful eye of my sweetie...

And Wha-Laa! 

I feel like a new person...

amazing how good being busy feels...

smiles

It was a very good day....

there was cake....

there were balloons.....

there were flowers.....

and

there were gifts.....

but most importantly,

there was family....

Family 

related by 

blood

and 

not.....

So much

 of my life is 

spent with

 adopted family

 these days.

Yes....

people who I consider

to be family...

but we share today...

nothing of yesterday.

I am blessed with

wonderful ladies

who consider me

to be their 

friend.

So 

there was fun,

and laughter,

and giggling

and sighs,

and 

smiles.

Home is where....

anywhere I find those....

whom I love...

who love me...

who desire my presence..

who enjoy the event as much as I do...

who will eat my food...

who will stay to watch bowl games...

who realize the value of family...

who are willing to share...

who understand that we all have weaknesses....

who desire a better world...

who are willing to work for it...

those who see the glass nearly full...

the many who accept me as I am...

who find that life really is

a bowl of cherries...

and that we are all a barrel of monkeys...

who will laugh at my jokes..

and not make me the butt of one...

Family can come in so many disguises....

it can be the lonely neighbor..

the couple that has no children and

actually enjoy the chaos that accompanies

young adults...

the single guy who has family very far away...

the single girl who has lost her dad this year...

the couple with a toddler, who need a break...

the also, young couple with two beautiful girls that light up the room...

the middle aged man who is beginning to learn to care for himself...

the new grandmother who is learning to set boundaries..

the couple who is so relived that he has a new job...

the man and wife who have lost everything this year and still smile....

the retiree that longs for the company of her children..

the independent woman, who has put everything into her work and her dogs...

All of these people

are my family..

and yet,

I am actually related by blood

to none of them...

I am so grateful to see the miracles that are happening all around me.

My wish is that everyone sees a miracle before year's end...

Go out and look for it...

It is there, I promise...

Really...

smiles.

My Uncle Burt......

This is Burt and Judy....

young and in love...

Maybe 1965..

I thought they were the most beautiful couple in

WORLD...

I was eight...

I am now 52,

and I still think they were the most

glamorous couple in the world....

I idolized them...

Burt died on Sat...

my birthday...

I will never have another birthday that

I don't think of this.....

I am sad,

and yet....

glad that he has been released from

the disease that killed him....

It was wicked..

Burt Batty, 67, civic-minded retired administrator, sailing buff Portland Press Herald

Planning a trip...

We are....

leaving for Cape Cod, family reunion on Thursday....

2 days up.....

2 back...
I haven't seen the ocean all summer...

very stressful, to say the least....

If I could live anywhere, it would be within sight of the waves a-crashin'...

The reunion will be fun...

hectic.....

sad....

fast....

However,

the return trip is to be one of adventure...

I haven't been to the Delmarva peninsula in 20 years.

Not sure where we will stay.

only that we will be near the ocean,

maybe even in it.....

Can't Wait!

So fortunate....

Well, thank goodness for family....

I know that not everyone feels the same...

I know how lucky I really am..

The Stud in my life is blessed the 2 really wonderful sons.

I am blessed with my own, but he doesn't allow photographs....

These 2 are now taller than dad...

He can still out-arm wrestle them though...

He can probably out run them too...

He can also out "BS" them...

which is a very good thing.

I am realizing that this stage of my life is filled with

changes, some very good and some not so much..

Hot Flashes=Bad

Older Children=Good

My parents are still independent,

quick witted, spiritually strong,

and my heroes....

Yep, I would say that today is a day to appreciate

Blessings....

West Virginia....yep almost heaven.

We went to WV for the holiday weekend.

Family Reunion......

It was beautiful....

Family....

Food.....

Friends.....

Finding out about common traits...

Faring fairly well on the winding roads....

Photographic opportunities abundant.

Big smiles.

Father....

I am so grateful for my father....

His guidance....

his honesty...

his trust...

his love...

I now realize how lucky I truly am...

Today I am having him over for dinner...

along with assorted family from both sides,

but it is he that I am the most grateful for.

Happy Father's Day!

Tell me what you think, or have experienced.....

This is my mother's family, at a wedding in the mid 80's.....

We are a diverse lot.

Grandad died, at 92 yrs old, in 1992.

Grandma died last November.

We are getting together, in July, on Cape Cod,

where they lived after Grandad retired.

I haven't been to a family reunion in decades.

What has been your experience?

Any helpful hints?

I love all of these people.

But my husband has not been a whole weekend with them all.
Any ideas?

Thank you in advance...

Smiles

OK, I admit it.....

My family is made up of CLOWNS!!!! The young adults (and I use that term loosely) in our family do not like to have holiday photos taken of them, so.......
We improvise.
They will clown for the camera.
They will not pose.
Basically, I provide the costumes, and they will agree to "be there".
Please notice how well-behaved the parents are....
and my husband.
Little do these kids know that some day they will have children of their own.
Did I mention that one child didn't even show up!
Someday they will be listening to my stories for the one hundredth time,
and wiping the drool off my chin, and other "necessary chores".
Their time will come.