Robins in the Spring, Pecans in the Fall

North Florida Pops with Spring Color and Activity

2013-05-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a busy Spring we've had. I've shown the house at least once a week, had an offer and the promise of two more but we're still here. Hopefully this will be the summer I get the family back to Jacksonville and settled before school starts.

After the pressure cleaning, painting and upstairs bathroom remodel the house looks amazing and in the Spring, with the wild flowers going crazy all over, it's difficult to think about leaving this area. Driving Robert to and from school in Live Oak everyday gives me the opportunity to witness these gorgeous views:

Robert's soccer season is over for awhile but practices and Summer tournaments will continue. I haven't had a lot of time for writing lately with all of the work on the house and showings but I keep thinking about my two works in progress and hope to do some work on them this summer.

My Etsy shop has been doing well. I'm clearing out some of the better antiques, dishware and jewelry I've been saving aside as it was too valuable to just give away. If you like antiques or vintage items like Fisher Price toys, depression glass, jewelry or just knick-knacks you should check out my shop.

If you live near Lake City, Fl I'm also selling larger items through Craigs List. I have such things as an antique school desk ca 1900, vintage picnic baskets and furniture. I also have some of Clare's wedding items still for sale, so if you're interested in anything you see in the Wedding pix, ask if I still have them. Here's just a small taste of what I have:

Speaking of Clare and Jason. They're getting ready to move to Tallahassee so Jason can start his Law School years. Clare is looking for a job to support them. They're both quite excited about entering this next stage in their lives.

Lastly, here's some cute pix of our twins who are one year old this month:

Garfunkle adopted my shoes for a few days.

Simon likes to pretend he's a living doorstop.

College Graduation But Wait! There's More...

2013-05-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

It's understood and expected that you cry at weddings.

And I did not disappoint.

But crying at a college graduation?

Yep, did that too.

Yesterday was significant in the histories of the Russell and Harrison families. We attended our first college graduation for each family. Jason and Clare each earned degrees at University of Florida. Jason’s is a BA in Criminal Science and Clare’s is a BS in Psychology. We are all so proud of these two young adults we’d pop vest buttons if we wore any.

It was hard work for them. They each put in thousands of hours studying, reading, writing papers and taking tests. But both agree it was worth every minute and they’re glad they chose to attend UF and proud of their achievements.

While many of the grads will be looking for jobs now, these two intrepid youngsters are headed to Tallahassee so Jason can attend Law School at Florida State University. Clare will most likely find a position in state government to cover the high cost of Law School. We support and admire their ambition and will do whatever they need to help them succeed.

So why the tears? Sitting in the upper tier of the O'Connel Center where graduation is held I felt a sudden surge of love, gratitude, appreciation for the drive and ambition these kids have shown throughout school in order to get here. And I wished with all my heart Clare's grandparents, Daddy an alumni of UF himself, could have been there to see their granddaughter who is so much like her Mema we can't believe it make us all so proud.

In the meantime Brian has decided it’s time to move on to university-level learning and has applied at a few Florida schools. He had started dual-enrollment at FGC in Lake City while in high school and has been continuing there. But rather than wait another year to complete the four courses he needs he's decided to transfer to a university. We’re waiting to hear back but he’ll be going away in the Fall. I’m torn about that as my chickees keep leaving the nest. Obviously it’s inevitable and what we’ve prepared them for since birth, but I kinda got used to having them underfoot and with each separation it feels like an amputation until my heart adjusts to their absence.

So yesterday was a special one in our family with double college graduations and a birthday (Brian turned 19 today). We celebrated at a quaint local diner called Mike's and had a wonderful time.

Concussed Soccer

2013-04-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

Robert's soccer season is in full swing right now. We aren't traveling nearly as much as last season, thank goodness. Coach Eddie enrolled our team in a Premiere league so we're playing much more talented opponents and all are from the Jacksonville area.

The weather has been wonderful, as well. None of the summer humidity has settled in and only a few times have we had any drizzle to speak of. And we have an awesomely talented group of young men who are a pleasure to watch as they charge up and down the field. I've been delighted with the progress I've seen in many of the players, especially Robert. He's learned a lot from the coaches and other players who have played all of their lives. This is Robert's third season to play at all!

We had a bit of a scare at the Ponte Vedra game a couple of weeks ago, however. Now, remember, Robert is our fourth family soccer player (Michael played in Ireland growing up and both girls played throughout high school). So injuries haven't been a problem past the skinned knee or occasional ankle twist.

But Robert has a very aggressive mode of play and LOVES to head the ball. You can probably see where this is going--especially if you watch or play soccer at all. The opponents in that game were very talented and aggressive. We were getting royally trounced even before the half. As the first half came to a close Robert and one of the players from the other team both tried to head the ball at the same moment.

But the other player headed the back of Robert's head, instead of the ball. Then to add salt to the wound, when Robert fell it was onto his back on the artificial turf of the field.

If you've never experienced artificial turf, it's really no fun to play on. Skidding across it causes much worse skin burns than real grass and it's harder than the actual ground. So when Robert hit the back of his head onto the hard turf he didn't spring right back up as usual.

He lay on his back, grasping his head and crying. Only his feet and legs moved occasionally, indicating the level of pain.

And he didn't move.

And he didn't move.

By now Coach Eddie was beside him, squatting directly over him and talking gently. But still Robert didn't move.

Michael went over to check out the situation. I didn't want to crowd the area in case it was serious and I know absolutely nothing about the medical field, so I stayed on the sideline and watched for several more moments. But when it was obvious Robert was not getting up I walked out as well.

I was followed by several soccer moms (Coach Eddie's wife and two from the other team) who are all either nurses or physician assistants. They knelt over Robert and began checking him for consciousness, trying to ascertain his level of injury.

Then the Field Marshall for the complex showed up on her cart and radioed for an ambulance. I guess because Robert had been down for so long--and especially because it was a head injury--he was to be taken to the ER.

Michael rode with him to Wolfson's Children's Hospital in downtown Jacksonville while I drove the car. It was a very long ride from north St. John's County where the soccer complex was to downtown and of course there were Art Festivals blocking off streets (San Marco) and tons of Saturday traffic.

Eventually I got to the hospital but the ER is located about two blocks from the parking garage and several of the corridors were blocked off with renovations so I had to detour and ask directions to find the ER.

By the time I finally located the room Robert had been taken to he was putting his shoes back on to leave! But at least the doctor had checked him out and didn't even order a scan because Robert never lost consciousness or had nausea so he was diagnosed with a minor concussion and released. We were given instructions about watching for nausea, headaches, losing consciousness and he had to have a follow-up doctor visit in a week to be cleared to play soccer or even run at school PE.

It was a difficult week for him since he felt fine (TG) but we made it.

One thing the ER doc pointed out that is a little scary, considering Robert is a young soccer player and loves to head the ball--second concussions are much more dangerous because of residual injury to the brain.

But telling Robert not to head the ball is like telling a fish not swim.

Google's Daft Logic is Anything but Daft

2013-03-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm

We were trying to figure out how much acreage two acres surrounding the cabin would be. But without survey equipment we were stumped. And it costs $600 to do a survey.

So I went onto Google and searched how to measure an acre.

You wouldn't believe what I found!

Google has a tool called Daft Logic which allows the user to locate any place in the world then measure it in multiple measurements by pinning parts of the area. You can move the pins around until you get exactly what you are looking for.

IT'S AWESOME!

Here's what I found out about keeping two acres with the cabin:
http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm?showarea=15831&verify=10c823c017a52df93031f6a33146d24f

And here's the 3.40+/- acres that will sell with the Victorian:
http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm?showarea=15836&verify=d580c32efc7344952e4976893da98471

This shows the entire property with both acreages delineated. This is so cool!
http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm?showarea=15832&verify=f0b7f256d3d32591ecdd832f69250d79

You can save the measurements to Facebook or Tweet them as well as sending yourself or someone else an email. You can even add notations.

Spider Phobia? How About Flying Spiders?

2013-02-11T09:08:00.002-08:00

I was sitting in tenth grade Spanish one day shortly after our new high school had been built on filled-in Everglades. Having grown up in Sunrise, which at the time was about as far west as Ft. Lauderdale went, I wasn't squeamish about the moccasin snakes or alligators swimming down the drainage canal behind my home and occasionally slithering up the bank to sun on our back yard or the thousands of spiders and other insects we lived with on a daily basis. I don't care how clean or upscale your house is in Florida--you're going to have spiders and bugs and sometimes snakes in the house at some time of each year.

Anyway, being the introvert I was and still am, I sat against the wall three seats back from the exit door in my classroom. About midway through the class I noticed a hand-sized wolf spider squeeze into the room through the bottom crack of the door but didn't think anything of it and got distracted by the lesson, thereby losing sight of the spider.

Until I felt the tickley hairy legs of this creature the size of my hand crawling up my bare leg INSIDE MY JEANS!

I have no idea whose head my Dr Scholl's wooden clog OR the spider landed on after my foot flew into the air to expel the thing from inside my jeans. In fact, I have no memory of the rest of that day except my mother arriving to take her trembling, sobbing mess of a daughter home.

What I DO remember, is not being able to even look at a spider for the ten or so years. Now, like I said...I lived in South Florida--spider heaven--so this became quite a challenge. And it irritated my nature-loving, fisherman, hunter father to no end. But I had no control over my reaction. I couldn't breathe and began to tremble uncontrollably when in the proximity of any size spider.

As I matured, I forced myself to watch them from a distance then closer and closer until I could at least be in the presence of a spider. But if one, even the size of a penny, threatens to touch me I'm jello.

So when we moved to the country in North Florida--into an old Victorian house with LOTS of nooks and crannies as well as gaps big enough for spiders to squeeze through, I had to again confront my fears. But it was the spiders all over the property that eventually garnered my attention. Especially after walking into humongous webs strung across the carport entrance, resided in by spiders the size of my head. Okay, I may have exaggerated a little, but they seemed that big with all the sticky web on my face and hair.

It turns out they are called banana spiders, probably because of their long bodies. And we have massive ones all over the place every summer. Since I know they're harmless I just avoid them. It helps they almost always build webs in the same spot every year. I have also discovered they make great photos. Thank Heaven for telephoto lenses.

Then we have the Black Widow--which I found in the cabin mailbox one day. Its body alone was about the size of a nickle and it had an egg sack! I had Michael very, very carefully destroy her and the eggs. Ewww! Then a few days later Erin came home talking about the Widow she watched at the gas station while pumping her gas. It was on the island between pumps!

Then there are the barn spiders. They're EVERYWHERE, not just inside the barns, either! And they get huge if allowed to find unused nooks, or empty boxes. And while I know they're also harmless, they're just so BIG and usually BLACK.

We've been fortunate to avoid any encounters with the Brown Recluse, which is as bad as the Black Widow. But my kids have known kids who got bitten and Oh, my God the pain and problems that caused. The venom eats the tissue and is very difficult to treat.

I couldn't post some of the pictures I found without barfing and didn't want to make any of y'all sick, but this is just the beginning stages of a recluse bite.

So when I came across this article recently, I decided I had to share it.

A spider colony falling from the sky is one eerie sight, especially if you are afraid of the eight-legged creatures. According to Digital Spy on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, Eric Reis filmed this footage of thousands of spiders, that are seemingly floating in mid-air, as he was leaving a friend’s engagement party in Brazil.

The spiders are the real deal in this video as Digital Spy got a local biologist’s opinion, who said that this is a natural occurrence in Brazil. The spiders are not “falling from the sky” and they are not floating in mid-air, they’ve made “sheet webs” using the power lines, which gives the appearance of free-falling spiders.

Video: Check out the video of the "spiders falling from the sky" here or at the bottom left of this article.

Reis, is a web designer from Santo Antonio da Platina, a southern town in Brazil. This video of the spider’s natural phenomenon is enough to creep most people out, even if you don’t have a spider phobia.

The spiders are called Anelosimus eximius and this species is “a social spider,” according to Digital Spy. They are known for the sheet webs they spin and their massive colonies.

Give you the heebie jeebies? I know my skin crawled. What horror stories do you have about spiders or other phobias?

Another Year Closer To ???

2013-01-16T01:00:00.000-08:00

I know I shouldn't worry about getting older every year. But as January rolls around I can't help thinking about how much more I want to accomplish and see and experience on this Earth. I'm really enjoying my life and don't want it to end any time soon.

But you never know.

And that's what drives those thoughts. My father died at age 76 after a couple of heart attacks and three years after Mama died at age 70 of a brain aneurism (see what I mean about never knowing--she was damn healthy and supposed to live to 92 like her mother). Then my only sister, only sibling, died at age 51 in 2011, leaving me alone in my line of Robert Fulton Ryals, Jr.

Of course, I'm not alone. I have an amazing family I've built over the course of my 37 (as of 2/14) wonderful years living with Michael, my husband.

But when I speak of being alone, I mean cousins, aunts & uncles, etc. I have no idea where any cousins might have ended up. My parents were never close with their siblings, so we all sort of drifted apart.

I guess that's why I focus so much on my own family. We've tried desperately over the years to keep our divergent children close, so they would have each other to depend upon as adults. But that doesn't seem to have panned out. They're all just too different--philosophies, interests, mannerisms.

Anyway, I'm rambling, I know. I started this post thinking about growing older. I'm turning 57 years old today. I know, intellectually, that's not old. It's barely middle-aged these days. But I feel 30 in my head. And I'm constantly aware of my family's health history, which is not good as you saw. So that worries me, too. Which is part of the health problem because worry causes stress which...

So I try not to think about when my end may come. That kind of thinking aged my father years ahead of his time. He was an 'old man' from the age of 50 and didn't need to be. I refuse to succumb to that aging process.

So I'll stop here and return to writing my newest Middle Grade series, which will take me at least 5 years to finish--maybe more if I'm lucky and play my cards right.

Kittens Inside the Christmas Tree

2013-01-05T14:52:00.000-08:00

I couldn't believe how quickly the Holidays sneaked up on me this year. Every year they seem to come faster...but the year between Christmas 2011 and Christmas 2012 lasted only a few months--I swear!

We couldn't put up a normal Christmas tree this year because we have three kittens who kept climbing up inside the tree. So I found some silver garland at the dollar store and red fabric bows at Lowes that clipped on and with some white LCD lights it looked acceptable.

Of course, every time the youngest kitten, Sidartha (named after Buddha by my son Brian who rescued the little stinker) climbed up the middle of the trembling tree and the other two, Simon and Garfunkle (black and white brothers named by Erin) who are about six months older and heavier chased her, we all jumped and ran before the tree could topple and knock over our television.

The Holidays passed uneventfully. Everyone got one big thing they've been wanting. We didn't even do stockings this year. It's odd how Christmas morphs as the children grow up into adulthood. It has become more about traditions, like the family going to Midnight Mass and Waffle House afterward and fixing/eating Christmas Dinner together as an extended family, now that Clare is married and Brian is in a long-term relationship.

We love his girlfriend and what she's done for him. Brian is maturing into the most wonderful man I've ever met. I was a little worried throughout high school, but he's thoughtful, considerate, self-sacrificing, inquisitive, philosophical, questioning and brilliant. What better could he be as a man? I told my husband Brian is the best of my father and himself.

Erin is such a hoot. I know why everyone enjoys her company and wants her around. We've been tussling with T-Mobile since mid-November to get her her own account with special conditions, since I've been a loyal customer for so many years. Well, she had to call them again yesterday to further straighten things out and this time I let her handle it completely on her own. She sat beside me, however, so I could give her proximity support, I guess.

When she finished successfully, after only speaking to three people and taking an hour (the first time took eight hours and about eight people), I praised her for how well she handled the problem.

Rising from her chair she grinned. "I learned from the best bitch around!"

LOL, I think.

Picking Up the Pace

2012-11-21T07:38:00.001-08:00

I guess the SEASON is upon us. It sort of sneaked up me. I've been so focused on Robert's soccer seasons (travel rolled into school) and writing my two books I'm currently working on plus the Nanowrimo that many of us writers commit to each November (to write at least 50,000 words of a single story--so far I'm at 35,582). My carpal tunnel in my right arm is killing me and I'm going to be forced into surgery soon because it's limiting how long I can work. Even now, early in the morning, my hand is numb and arm burning.

Anyway, I listed the Victorian on the MLS last month and have received several contacts from couples outside Florida. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Thanksgiving should prove hectic this year. My oldest, Erin, and my oldest son, Brian, both work at the Lake City Cracker Barrel. I haven't seen either of them for several days as they are staying until 1am preparing the pies, turkeys, chicken pot pies, you name it. Even on Thanksgiving they won't be home until late, so our Thanksgiving dinner will be eaten during the football game in the evening. My daughter, Clare, and her husband, Jason, are coming from Gainesville to spend the night and all day Friday. We're planning a bonfire and marshmallows Friday night now that the weather has cooled down. I love cold nights around our firepit with the family.

Then I guess it's on to Christmas preparations. I already handled Brian's Christmas present with a 40" flatscreen tv I got during a pre-Black Friday sale. He's ecstatic and I'm happy to cross him off the list. I even bought Erin part of her new Samsung Galaxy III phone for her Christmas present and SHE's ecstatic. Love getting things done early and easily.

I guess that's all for now. Pray for my arm to hold out through at least the Holidays then I'll see a doctor in January.

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving and Holiday Season everyone.

Soccer Season

2012-11-05T10:54:00.001-08:00

Robert's first soccer game with his new middle school is tomorrow night. He's so happy we moved him to the public middle school. He's made new friends and is playing on their soccer team which will play against some of his buds from the travel team he was on all summer.

Right now he's on both teams. The travel team's last tournament is the middle of November on Amelia Island. It should be a lot of fun. The Stingers are undefeated and play great together. I'm excited to watch his new team, although I don't expect them to play as cohesively as the travel team does. But Robert loves soccer and is amazingly fast and good at it.

My daughter, Erin, whom we watched play soccer all throughout school since age 4 (she's now 24), also played on travel teams and attended summer camps is Coach Erin at one of the local private schools. I'm so excited for her to get back on the field. She's really missed it. I just know she'll be great and can't wait to go to some of her games as well.

Being Busy vs Keeping Busy

2012-08-23T21:40:00.000-07:00

I was shocked when I realized how long it's been since I posted. A lot has happened in those many weeks. That's what made me think about the difference between 'being busy' which is what I've been, and 'keeping busy' which implies finding things to do.

All of the kids are back to school, some more reluctantly than others. Clare and Jason have two semesters to go at UF and we're all pumped and proud of them for that. Brian has three semesters to go at FGC in Lake City then he'll be choosing a university to finish up at. And Erin is heading for the Managerial Training Program where she works, putting in lots of hours and staying very busy. Robert was asked to join a travel soccer team populated by all older boys, so he's really pumped about that honor.

Michael is still traveling to Jacksonville daily still and hating it. And I've started writing a new Middle Grade book, probably series, which I'm really excited about. I'm working on a new website Tween Books Quest where I'll be posting illustrations, teasers and such about it. The series is called SageBorn Chronicles and the first book is Wyvern Uprising. It is set on a new world I created called Terramythos which is a world consisting of five island clusters each with different mythologies they are based on. This allows me to explore the worlds' mythologies via stories as my main character/heroine, Peyton Sensit and her best friend Zenith help the residents of each island group settle their issues. The first one is set in the Fomorian Islands with Celtic and Western European mythologies. It's been a lot of fun all summer planning and organizing the series. I just started writing this week and already have five chapters written.

The barn is still full of wedding leftovers which I'll be selling in the Fall, once it's cool enough to photograph and post it all. I've opened a shop on Etsy and will also use Ebay or maybe Yardseller. I'll let y'all know more about this endeavor when it starts.

Lastly, we drastically dropped the price of our Victorian home, reducing the acreage to 3.50 acres and keeping the cabin with 2 acres.

After the Wedding Glow...stix

2012-06-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

I feel as though I can finally breathe again.

I didn’t even realize until Saturday night as we were undressing the wedding hall, that I had been holding my breath for the past several months while pulling Clare’s wedding together.

I couldn’t have done half of the last minute decorating and such without the help of my soul-mate. He pitched in and the kids helped, including Brian’s sweet girlfriend who helped as though she was part of the family (I hope in a few years—I love her and them together.)

Even the groom’s family chipped in. I was chagrined beyond belief when we opened the box of rented chair covers (the ONLY thing I rented) to realize the satin sashes were loose, untied sashes and none of us could tie them into a decent bow. Then Jason’s (groom) family showed up with some badly needed tables, since some were missing on which I had counted using (another minor emergency averted), and the beautifully decorated lattice to set behind the cake on the upper platform (see the pics).

Lynn Harrison, Mother of the Groom, ending her marathon of tying 84 satin bows for the chairs.

Lorielle, one of the Bridesmaids, helping tie bows.

The Bride, Clare, watching but unable to duplicate the bow, so she lent moral support.

Well, when Lynn (groom’s amazingly wonderful and creative mom) saw us struggling with the sashes she immediately went to work and after several hours of on-her-knees work, we had 84 of the most beautiful bows I’ve ever seen. Then Saturday night, Lynn and Donny (grooms’s parents) and Stacy, Jason’s sister, all stayed after the couple had left in order to help undecorate the hall for church doughnuts the next morning.

The entire event went off without a hiccup. Except for one minor moment during the ceremony which actually broke the tense drama with laughter and put everyone at ease (especially me—I was trying hard not to cry and run my make-up, but at times lost the battle. More about those moments later.) Clare dropped the groom’s ring. It had been blessed and Father Mike handed it to her then Jason was distracted while she fumbled to find his finger and through her own trembling, his ring bounced down the steps and rolled a bit stopping at Father’s feet. He was so flustered he even skipped the Ave Maria which was supposed to come next, but Marie (friend and amazing singer) slid it right into the service when the next break came and no one could have known the change. Everyone laughed, even Clare and Jason who were like a couple of cats on a hot tin roof, and the entire atmosphere in the church lightened and became the joyful moment a wedding should be.

Well, that’s all for today. When I have time I’ll tell you about the reception and dressing party in the choir room before the wedding, hints about suppliers and how to do a wedding on a shoestring, lessons learned by the Mother of the Bride who takes on a project of this size and more. Here's a long shot of the nearly finished Hall, just to whet your whistle. I'll have before and afters in the next posting.

Moon Dog and Playing Pool

2012-04-09T15:18:00.000-07:00

So this week we met Clare and Jason at the Gator Tales lounge in Gainesville. The band I had hired to play at the reception was going to be performing and I thought it smart they hear them first and approve. It was a lot of fun and very loud. But the band, Moon Dog, is awesome and the future bride and groom were delighted with them.

During the break the band members came over and introduced themselves. Clare asked about a few specific songs she wants, like Keith Urban's "Only You Can Love Me This Way". Although they are predominantly an acoustic classic rock/pop band they didn't seem to have a problem with it.

The restaurant was fun, too, with a pool table and good eats. I had a crapload of fried chicken gizzards and nachos. There's only one place I'm able to find gizzards at home so I jumped at the chance here. Some of our party had given up eating meat for Lent so they had to go with seafood dishes, again. I told them next year--no giving up meat. It's been nearly impossible to plan meals at home or eat out.

I took a few pictures of the evening for Clare to put into her Pre-Wedding portion of the Wedding Album.

I also finished making the paper lantern, or I should say enhancing them. I added jewels and ribbons and such. They're gorgeous. I also embellished a couple of white hats to wear. One is for the Rehearsal Dinner and the other for the Wedding. Then I burned out the six black pillars for the chandelier so I could slip the battery candle lights inside. They look great!

My next big project is painting the many metal floor vases, stenciling them then arranging the branches and embellishments. It'll take a few weekends but they should look awesome. I'll keep you posted.

Here's What I'm Talkin' About

2012-03-16T09:39:00.001-07:00

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A June Wedding

2012-03-02T18:51:00.000-08:00

When we moved into this house, we assumed it would be a brief stay to settle Daddy and then move back to Jacksonville where Michael still works. Little did we know 3 of our 4 children would graduate Lake City High School and Florida Gateway College/University of Florida. But the biggest news that was totally unexpected was the announcement by our second daughter that she wanted to get married in June.

Had we not moved to Wellborn, she would never have met the young man soon to become my son-in-law (Wow! That sounds so weird.) They met in high school and have dated since then for four years straight with only one bump at the beginning of the relationship. They are so adorable together.

In addition to writing and editing my MG and YA books, running the Vacation Rental business which is going gangbusters, getting a son ready to graduate high school and a daughter graduating from college, a son on the travel soccer team for the first time, you’d think I would have enough on my plate. And you’d be right.

But when your daughter comes to you with her long, long-time boyfriend/fiancée and asks you to plan and execute her June wedding, how do say no? You don’t. And so I have added the tasks of:

planning,
attending Bridal Shows with the Bride,
deciding on Reception venues,
designing the Reception Hall,
establishing a budget,
ordering supplies,
tracking orders against budget,
organizing ordered items and checking orders,
selecting a Wedding Dress,
order Wedding Stationery (Save the Date, Invitation, RSVP, Thank Yous)
addressing Save the Date cards,
picking out Bridesmaid dresses,
bridesmaid gifts,
helping with gift registrations,
discussing the menu with the caterer,
floral arrangements with the florist,
lining up a live band for the reception,
addressing Wedding Invitations,
tracking RSVP responses,
ironing 15 huge tablecloths and 84 seat covers,
making decorations,
assembling candle holders, tulle and lights lattice backgrounds,
buying black suits for my husband and two sons,
shopping/ordering Mother of the Bride’s outfits,
returning Mother of the Bride’s outfits,
purchasing more Mother of the Bride outfits,
deciding on a Mother of the Bride outfit (can’t outshine Bride but must make a statement),
calming Bridal nerves/fears/concerns,
assisting Maid of Honor (sister) in expected duties,
attending Bridal Showers,
participating in pre-Make-up session, pre-hair styling,
taking photographs of everything for Bride’s Wedding Album,
decorating the Reception Hall and Church,
assisting the Bridesmaid and Bride get ready,
checking the Reception Hall and Church décor,
and who knows what else because it hasn’t happened yet!

As I progress through this process, I’ll post updates with photographs. I’m even considering writing a book about how to do your own Princess Wedding on a shoestring.

Aching Backs and Self Esteem

2012-02-24T02:30:00.000-08:00

I had a knock on the door recently. For most people that’s pretty mundane. But living on five acres at the outskirts of a small town I rarely receive uninvited visitors. Because of the world’s state of affairs with home invasions, rapes and burglaries, I’m also apprehensive to answer the door when I see the visitor is a healthy male—alone. That’s not to say a female couldn’t be a criminal, there are many of those in the world as well…

Anyway, I looked through the front glass door and saw a young man. Nervously I opened the door. It turned out this man and his wife, sitting in the car, wanted to collect the pecans which had fallen and littered our property. They live around the corner and had been to all of the other properties with pecans in the area. They were both on disability and needed the money selling the pecans would bring in. Having been on the ground for months, many of the pecans had rotted, but those on the very top were still good.

So of course I said yes. The man and his wife proceeded to spend the next three or four hours crawling around my garden area collecting pecans in bags. When they tired, he asked if they could come back and do more the next day. I told him he was welcome to come until all of the pecans on the five acres were gone. The smile he gave me was worth it.

The next day he said they had taken the pecans to a dealer who gave them a discounted rate because of the condition of some of the pecans, but they were at least making a little money from selling them. That was about four days ago. And they’ve been back every day since. They spend a few hours crawling around gathering the nuts then go sell them.

My husband had collected a couple of large burlap bagsful in the Autumn, so we gave them those bags as well. And we even lent them the rollers so they wouldn’t have to stoop or crawl around, but it seems they prefer the feel of the earth beneath them. Whatever the reason, we’re happy to have the pecans out from underfoot (they’re obnoxious to step on as they pop) and the couple is making money to feed themselves.

It’s all good.

My Victorian House Built in 1909

2012-02-18T14:11:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my home.

Built in 1909 from lumber milled on the site my Victorian home is a work of art and history. As I take you through each room you will surely agree. The woodworking is magnificent and the style superb. Amazingly, we are only the fourth owners of this wonderful abode. But I'll tell that story in another posting. Today, I just want to introduce you to the 1909 McLeran House, as my mother dubbed it when she ran a Bed & Breakfast here about twenty years ago.

So join me as I post about the history of this beauty, our family and how we came to live in such a grand old lady of a house.