Spring~It's Here, Can Summer Be Far Behind?

For some of us it's here...but for others it's not.  Of course the weather in the Pacific Northwest is always so unpredictable that we could still have a blizzard at any given moment.   Today however, the sun is shining brightly and they say it's going to reach the middle 60's. 

I mowed the front yard yesterday afternoon and will probably mow the back yard later today.  I just went out there to check and it's still pretty damp from last night's dew.

I love the flowers in the Spring.  My daffodils are blooming and the tulips are almst ready to open up.   The huge Japanese Quince against the back fence is covered in red flowers and the Wysteria looks lovely with it's delicate yellow flowers.  All of the Japanese Cherry trees are covered in pink blossoms and all the folks with hay fever are sneezing.  My heart goes out to them and I'm thankful I don't have allergies.

Bob just got a couple more days of skiing in but he thinks that's the last of it until next winter. He said the snow was not that great.

I've planted some sweet peas and am really anxious for it to warm up so I can get my bedding plants for my hanging baskets, etc.  However, we're talking about heading down to southern California the first part of April, so that will have to wait until I get back.

The bride and groom left from Seattle-Tacoma Int'l airport last night for their honeymoon destination~the Dominican Republic.  They flew straight to JFK in New York and from there straight to the D.R.   It was fun to watch their progress on the Delta Airlines web site.  They return April 2nd and we'll be picking them up at Sea-Tac a little after midnight.   I see that it's raining there right now but in the high 80's so I guess they can still enjoy the pools, snorkling, etc. 

Well, I need to run to the Post Office before they close so I guess I'll get out of here and get going.  Hope you're all enjoying the sunshine if it's shining on you today and for those of you in the snow~stay warm & drink cocoa!   Until next time..........Linda

It's Time To Spring Ahead!

                                              Don't forget to set your clocks ahead by one hour.

The Wedding of Jim and Jeralyn March 12, 2010

 

It was so beautiful !  And I’m proud of myself~ I just used a few tissues to wipe away the happy tears. Both her mother and myself are elated to see our children happy and in love.  I’ll share a few pictures with you and then I’m going to head to bed.

We sat at round tables, each place had a gold charger…waiting for the plates of food at the reception.  The white roses were a gift to me from J & J.  Actually I carried them down the aisle when Jim brought me in to my seat.

The cake was gorgeous & yummy.

Here they were taking communion.

The two moms are happy too! We both adore the choice our kids have made.

So many have you have sent well wishes and I want to thank you.  Until next time……………Linda

Somebody is having a birthday!

Today, March 12th is the birthday of someone very special................

He lives on the east coast....................................

He's a retired actor..................................

Yes folks~today is the _______ birthday of our friend DB of Vagabond Journeys.

Won't you take a moment and stop by and wish him a wonderful day~

Wedding Rehearsal & Dinner

Wednesday night was the rehearsal and dinner prepared by me…the mother of the groom.  I was so grateful for the help I received from Bob, my brother & sister in law and my two gal friends, Susan & Barbara.   I did as much of the prep work as I could at home.  Had all 60 of the spuds wrapped in foil, made the sauce for the meatballs, etc.  I couldn’t use the churches plates, silverware or cups because they were set aside for the wedding reception. So we really had the car loaded with the food and all the stuff needed to put this dinner on.  I also received a delivery of 125 roses earlier in the day and those we delivered to the lady that’s doing the flowers.  All of this was done in Olympia, WA so we had about a 35 mile drive in order to  deliver the roses and get to the church by 5pm.   We did get a slightly late start because the water was shut off in the park (without notice) at  about 2:30pm for about an hour.  Of course I hadn’t showered when this happened so I was in a tizzy for awhile.

I thought we were going to have round tables so I had purchased round table clothes.  Low and behold we had small square tables but it worked out ok. 

We used the area where this church has their Latte bar.  There was a nice long counter to set out our buffet dinner.  Wish I could have had an Italian Soda, but I don’t know how to make one and furthermore I didn’t have time for such things.

This is my sister-in law, my middle niece and my little brother.

Susan, Bob and Barbara finally getting some dinner too.

The bride and groom trying to eat but still having to go over the wedding details.

I wanted to get pictures of the sanctuary, it is so beautiful ~ but the lights were very low in there and really…..I didn’t have time to get in there to take pictures.  They have removed all the congregation chairs and set it up with the big round tables. Eight people to a table…all decorated beautifully.  I’m hoping when we arrive there at 4pm on Friday, there’s enough light in there so I can take a picture of at least one table.  I had to do one “walk thru” at the rehearsal…my son is going to walk me down the isle and seat me.  Ahhhhh !  And I know I’m probably going to cry, so will be stuffing my purse with Kleenex.  The wedding starts at 6:30pm Pacific Standard Time, Friday so think of us….send all your good thoughts to Capital Christian Center in Olympia, Washington. 

I’ll get as many pictures as I can….and will post them later.  Until then…….Linda, mother of the groom

No, I didn’t leave the country!

It’s been forever since I posted an entry.  Everyday I feel more guilty and everyday something new pops up and I get distracted.

I know many of you are still experiencing really horrendous wintery weather.  My buddy DB and I share temperatures and weather conditions several times a week….so I know what’s happening in PA.  Western Washington has had a very mild winter.  Some rain, some wind and lots of days in the middle 40’s to middle 50’s.  Not bad for winter.  The winter of 2008/2009 saw snow from November thru April.   We only had one little dusting so far and that was back the first of December.  I now have daffodils blooming and everything else is either sprouting or in bud. 

I have this huge cedar tree in my front yard & the branches have been inching towards my house for a couple years now.  Two falls in a row I’ve asked the park manger about having that tree trimmed.  Well, they finally came and trimmed it last month. 

They left behind the bigger branches which we dragged over under the carport and then Bob cut them up & they are now stacked & drying ~ a good start to next winter’s wood supply.

 

I think they got a little carried away with the branch trimming but they were the professionals.  At least I won’t have to worry about the limbs ripping the gutters off my house.  And the mail man can pull up to my mailbox and not have the lower limbs rubbing on the roof of his truck.

The big event we’re looking forward to is my son’s wedding on March 12th.   The afternoon/evening of Wednesday March 10th this groom’s mother will be cooking dinner for between 50 & 60 people who will be at the rehearsal.  There’s only two people in the wedding party~my brother will be the best man and her mother will be the matron of honor.  But she’s had so many people helping out and when you start adding spouses and significant other’s the number of people start rising.   This is their official engagement picture, taken at Point Defiance Park here in Tacoma, WA last September by my one and only grand daughter.  She did a beautiful job with their pictures…..this is just one of a couple hundred she took that day.

Besides Bob, two of my girlfriends and my sister in law will be helping me with the dinner preparations.  All this is taking place in Olympia which is about 25 miles south of here.  Then on Thursday I’ll be making the cake that they will be cutting at the reception. Jeralyn is gluten intolerant so we’ve been testing different gluten free recipes and I finally found a good one on “Bob’s Red Mill” web site.   Thankfully, I was able to find all the ingredients at my local favorite grocery store so have everything on hand to make their special cake.   They have ordered a regular cake for the wedding guests to enjoy.  Then Friday is the big day.  Their wedding starts at 6:30pm Friday evening and promises to be a blessed celebration! (Pictures to follow after I rest up from Wednesday, Thursday & Friday)

I found this really cute picture, taken in December 1971….the best man (my brother) holding the groom (my son) with my brother’s girlfriend (who became his wife a year later) sitting nearby.

We’ve all gotten a lot of chuckles out of this picture.

Besides his wedding, my son has also been blessed with a new job.  He’s been working at a large print shop for 17 years.  He’s done well there, but was looking for something new and something in Olympia where he’ll be living.  A couple weeks ago he got a call from the State of Washington offering him a job he’d applied for in the Department of Revenue.  So Friday March 5th was his last day of work at the print shop.  He’ll still need to commute to Tacoma a few days a month (thru June) while he finishes up the IT Tech course at Tacoma Community College.

In other news, the plans for my August 7th 50th class reunion are in place.  The venue has been selected, deposits paid and all the mailings have been sent.  The checks are coming in along with the completed bio questionnaires. I’m going to be creating the memory book and I’ve received the first batch of 9 completed bios.  (We mailed out 240, so it will be interesting to see how many come back).  I can see that this is going to be a tedious job. When I created the questionnaire, I put across the top in bold letters “Please write or print legibly”  Well, out of the first 9, I can read one clearly and part of another one. Can’t people read instructions?  I may end up having to call folks for an interpretation of the form they filled out.  Meanwhile, I’ve put those first 9 away until after the wedding.  I’m not going to worry about them now.  

Our winter weather has been more like spring, especially the last few months. I know many of you have been “dumped on” by old man winter, over & over again.  While here in the Pacific northwest, we’ve had sunny days with temps in the middle 40’s to high 50’s.  Yes, we’ve had some rainy days too but far less than we usually have.  I guess after the winter of 2008/2009 where it snowed off and on clear into April ~ the old man decided to give us a break this time.

This next week also marks the anniversary of my little Gabi’s trip over the Rainbow Bridge.  It was March 11, 2009.  I still miss her a lot but have decided that I will remain “pet free” for now.  A great little terrier moved in next to me and when we’re both outside at the same time, I get lots of loving from him.  And some neighbors have a cat that comes calling frequently and loves to sit on my lap if I’m sitting out on the porch.  And with this wedding, I’m acquiring two step grand cats~Eddie and Smudge.  The only problem is, they live in Olympia . 

Sorry this is so long but I feel so guilty that I haven’t posted in awhile.  I’ll be back with a regular entry in a week or so with some pictures from the wedding.   Until next time……..Linda