Family and baseball, could it get any better than that?

Well, I'm back from my weekend in New York City with my cousins. We had such a great time visiting with each other and going to the Yankee game. And what a game!!!! We had incredible seats, the game was wild and the Yankees won! Between the Royals and the Yankees, there were 31 hits. And no errors.

Johnny Damon went 6 for 6, which is crazy unheard of. It was so fun when in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and Damon came up, nobody would dream he would go 6 for 6, but he did and the place went absolutely nuts. I hadn't had that much fun in I don't know how long. It was just so unbelievably cool!!!

Right before he hit the winning single...

There was this guy sitting in front of us who was yelling at the players and taunting them but he was so funny! When we were behind in the game he was yelling in his slow New York drawl, "I can't buh-leeeve we're losing to the Kansas City Royyyyy-als."  And, "Hey, this guy is batting one fifty fourrrrrr." Loved it!!!

Check this out. We had takeout from this Jewish deli which was to die for. We all had beef brisket sandwiches with gravy and cole slaw. Delish! What a yummy way to have lunch - sitting in Yankee Stadium with my cousins eating a sammich from a NY deli. Man.My cousin Joe in his Yankee Babe Ruth shirt

Joe, his brothers, my other cousins and I all grew up together, pretty much within yards of each other. We don't see enough of each other so this was such a tremendous treat. So thanks Joe and Joanne for the hospitality and the game. I had a blast!

My romantic husband

So Larry leaves to get a blood test this morning in preparation for his physical next week. He comes home with these gorgeous flowers that knocked my socks off. What a guy. I just love this man. He drives me absolutely out of my mind, but then he comes up with something like this and I love him all over again. After over 27 years together, he is even sweeter than he was in the beginning. On our first date, (a blind date) he showed up at my door with three roses clipped from his garden, plopped in an empty BBQ sauce jar. Is it any wonder that I knew right away we would get married? I knew within minutes. Less than a year later we were married. 

Ah, to dream

I just finished reading this book by Elizabeth Berg called "The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted." It's a collection of short stories that are funny, tender, sad, heartwarming, maddening and thought-provoking all at the same time. All about women. ANYway, I thought it would be entertaining to list all the things I would eat for one day, without regard for fat, fiber
cholesterol, triglycerides, calories, none of that.

Here is my list:

For breakfast I would start out with bacon and two biscuits smothered with sausage gravy. And a huge glass of orange juice. Then I would go get croissants, a french cruller and donuts stuffed with lemon cream and custard. 

For lunch I would have a bacon cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate malted. Then a hot fudge sundae with chocolate ice cream. I would also go buy a box of Turtles.

Dinner would be easy. Pizza and wings! With lots of blue cheese dressing. For dessert? A banana split.

I find this interesting because I'm not a big fan of ice cream. Nevertheless, that's how I  would end my day, because it sounds so good to me. Oh I forgot. Popcorn with lots of butter for the evening snack.

Then I would be sick for about two days!

What would you eat?

 

Flower trivia

We planted these a couple of years ago and of course, cannot remember what they are. Does anyone know? They are just the prettiest little light blue flower, kind of a bushy plant. 

Love this book

I am a sucker for charming. And Fannie Flagg. And Aunt Elner. I want to be like her. When I found out that God's name is Raymond, I was hooked.

Now Twilight was another story. I wanted to like it. I really did. But it left me under impressed. Anyone want to tell me what I missed????

Girls gone wild in Buffalo

Sorry Christy, just had to use it!

Hear are some good doula friends at our advanced training in Buffalo today.

This is Christy and Adriana

Our trainer Pat (in pink)

Christy being adorable with the rebozo. Gorgeous purple, isn't it?

And Adriana with her pretty curly hair

Then there is me - I had just woken up from a hypnobirthing nap. AND you get to see the braces!
We learned all sorts of new things like about the hormones that play such an important part in birth and how interventions interrupt the hormonal interplay of normal birth. We learned why men fight, while women tend and protect. Fascinating subject that all makes sense. 

For instance, when you first heard about the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, what did you do? Most women wanted their families around them. Larry was at work that morning and when he called me I said, "PLEASE COME HOME."  But he was fine at work and stayed, but I had that reaction to tend to my family and be together. It's the female hormones. 

So after our training was over and we got back to Rochester, I went outside to plant flowers and herbs. It was a good day. Thanks Christy, for driving! 

Memorial Day and baby geese

Chester the Lame Gosling is better. (I named him Chester in honor of the guy on Gunsmoke who had a hitch in his giddy-up.) Yesterday he was keeping up pretty well with the rest of his family. He wasn't last in line anymore and can almost run! It will be interesting to watch him get older and see if the limp goes away. It made my day to see him doing so much better.

Memorial Day was just perfect - weather and activities both! Our ward picnic was fun with good food and good people. I love our ward. Afterwards we went to our friend's home who happen to be our next door neighbors, for a birthday party/picnic. Again, good food and good company.

This is Shawn 

This is Brother Locke playing grandpa - Larry could barely reach him, yet the kiddo was hollering to go higher!!!!

Just one of those all around nice days!

More geese

Here are some more shots of the Canada geese families we have living behind our houses. The top one shows the family with the little lame gosling. He is WAAAY over to the left. Just his head is visible. Yesterday Larry and I went down to the pond to see if the  gosling was still there, or dead or forgotten, because we didn't see him up by the house. (See my "photo a day blog")  Thankfully, he was hunkered down in the reeds while his parents and siblings were munching on the grass. Today we saw him hobbling along with his family again and seems to be a bit better. Either he really is recovering from whatever is ailing him or he's just getting used to the disability. 

The joys....

This is kind of a tag (from Kristine)

Joys in my life:

1. Larry the husband and eternal companion. He is a good man. Everybody loves Larry! He loves me and supports me in all my crazy endeavors. He actually likes to shop, too.

2. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I would be lost in space without the gospel.

3. My extended family. Chuck and Kathy, Joe and Joanne, Rick and Susan, Gene and Ann, Dolores and Bill, Mary and Paul, Judi, Kathy, Chuck and Kerry. Even the cat.

4. Pam. More than a friend. Closest to family without the DNA. She loves me and supports me in all my crazy endeavors, too. We have been friends for 32 years.

4. Sonnia, my sisters in the gospel, my girlfriends; they all know who they are. I do not know where or what I would be without all of them.

5. Music. More of that will come later.

6. Family history (genealogy.) I think that without any descendants, my mind naturally and easily looks back to the ancestors and wants to be connected to them.

8. My doula babies and their parents. Helping a new soul come into the world is one of the choicest blessings in my life. Except for getting up in the middle of the night.

9. Books. I do not know what I would do if I could not read, or listen anyway to books on tape.

10. My volunteer work at the Red Cross. I truly love helping out. Also, human nature is fascinating. I like meeting different people and seeing the dynamics of different families.

I have a new calling

Gospel Doctrine teacher! Holy guacamole. 

I really do love to teach and have taught adults, teenagers, children and toddlers but Gospel Doctrine? These are the big kids.

Pray for me... wish on a star... rub a lucky penny... something! Our ward is in for a rousing good time with me and my braces.

A funeral for a dear friend

Today our friend Gary Witt was buried. It was awful. When someone dies so unexpectedly it is just such a shock. Larry spoke at the service today, along with Gary and Linda's two daughters and a member of the bishopric. It was beautiful, and oh so sad at the same time.  

Brrrrr

It was 63 degrees in the house this morning. I bit the bullet and turned the heat on again. It is May 16 and I turned the heat on. This is ridiculous! But 63 was just a tad too chilly.

Have any of you heard of Anuschka bags and wallets? Look at these bags, they are gorgeous. And expensive. But maybe I could afford a wallet on sale someday.

Closeups

Larry took some really great pictures in our backyard today, with our new camera. The lilacs are in full, gorgeous bloom!! The backyard is beginning to look pretty again!

Our friend Gary.....

This morning at 7AM my friend Linda called with the news that her husband Gary had died suddenly at work last night. He had been fine, so this was a total shock, and so hard to believe. It hit me hard. He was my age and we have been friends with them for almost 25 years. We'll know what happened after the autopsy. Again, it is truly a blessing to know about and have faith in the plan of salvation. They have been sealed and can be an eternal family.

Larry the Chef

Here he is making scones.

The flour....



The mess....



The dough....



The finished product!  And they're good, too!

Don't kill me

No kids, no grandkids, no doula babies, no nieces or nephews - so you get Elbie the Cat. You have to admit she is pretty dang cute. Right? Right?

No babies, but a 5AM fire call

Okay so I was on call this morning from 4AM until 10AM. Not a big time for fires. So of course, this morning there is a two alarm for a vacant building. So we go to the scene to serve refreshments to the firefighters. Not hard, but very interesting to see them fight the fire in this dilapidated old building which will end up coming down anyway. Here are some pictures I took this morning with my new Canon camera! I thought this was a really smokey fire, so I came home smelling really bad. I am so grateful for showers!!!

Apple tech support

The scroll on my mouse stopped working. I was very sad. So I called tech support and guess what I had to do? He told me to take a drop of water and rub it on the scroll button, then take a cloth and kind of wipe it around, then turn the mouse upside down and tap it. Voila! It works now! It was fast, easy and the guy didn't make me feel like a knucklehead.

This is a tree in our backyard. It always looks so pretty in the spring. It's leaning. Larry says it's fine. I think it's going to fall over someday and squash my lavender.

Katrina, who is my new friend in Utah is having a shoe party tonight. Can you imagine how fun that would be??? If anyone knows of such a thing here in Rochester, I want to know about it. I love shoes. They are better than Tupperware.

We bought a new camera......

and I think I love it! It's a Canon. I was visiting with my cousin Judi today and she gave me these two pictures. The first one is me as a baby. Don't laugh. The second one is a painting done by my cousin Mary Ellen. I really like paintings of doors and windows. Lines in general give me a a sense of balance. This painting hung in my grandparent's home for over thirty years and now I have it!! Thanks cousins!

My camera died!!!

My poor Nikon camera. The lens won't close. New batteries don't help. It's deader than a doornail. NOTHING. I am very sad. How am I going to post a picture every day (on the other blog) if I can't TAKE any pictures???

I looked in Office Max at a Sony but if I don't like it I can't return it!!! What in the world. Does anyone have a great camera they would recommend? 

Maybe I will just get another Nikon Coolpix.....

New Neil Diamond CD coming out next week!!

Here is what's coming up next week -

Monday - errands 

Tuesday - new CD comes out so I will be with Pam, my best and eternal friend in all the world as we buy it and listen together

Wednesday - work at the Red Cross

Thursday - doctor appointments and Red Cross meeting

Friday - on call

No babies due,  (very sad face.) 

More braces

I have a full set of tinsel teeth. They put the lower ones on today and three brackets have popped off already! The first one popped off while I was still at the office and it happened again at home, with another one, too. They are the ones glued to the crowns and apparently it's hard to keep brackets glued to crowns. My lower lip is all cut up inside. This is NOT FUN.

Okay so I'm a little grumpy. But we have a lovely new floor! Check out my "photo each day" blog to see a picture of the guy spreading grout on the new kitchen floor. It's pretty.

Not a bad week

While LAST week was the week from outer darkness, THIS week has been pretty good. I gave my talk on Sunday, Monday we had a good FHE with friends, Tuesday I went to a Red Cross meeting, Wednesday I did my caseworker volunteer job at the Red Cross and today I can't get my lazy body moving. Tonight is a stake meeting. Last night was supposed to be our book club discussion but since so many people hadn't finished reading it or just couldn't come, it is postponed. The book was pretty good. It's a YA book about a family in Germany at the time Hitler is taking over.

The weather has been glorious - sunny and in the 70's all week, PLUS a bonus thunderstorm yesterday that was very fun and scary. The lightning was crashing all over the place. I was at work with our huge floor to ceiling windows that gave us a terrific view! If I am home during a thunderstorm you can usually find me hanging out the upstairs bathroom window watching it all. The window faces south so sometimes I have to run back and forth between that window and the north windows, depending on where the storm is. I always pray that our neighborhood will be safe. I know how dangerous storms can be but I still appreciate the beauty of them!

Happy Monday

It's 5:30 AM. I am awake for some crazy reason, but there is a bird outside singing the most lovely song. I've never heard it before but it makes the morning so pleasant! It's too dark to see what kind of bird it is, but since it is warm out and the windows are open, I can enjoy it anyway! I think that hearing the birds is one of the nicest parts of warmer weather.

One morning in Sicily, I was up early enough to see the fishermen go out. There was the most beautiful sunrise so I grabbed the camera. Here are the sunrise pictures - you can see the fishing boat in the second one.

Mt. Etna and me

This is one of my favorite pictures from Sicily. It's in the town of Taormina, on the eastern coast of Sicily. That's Mt. Etna in the background. I was SO HAPPY to be there that I cried. Well, I cried (or laughed) most of the trip!

The funeral and all the family stuff that went with it was really stressful today. I need to think of happy things and my trip to Italy was most definitely a happy thing!

Sad days

Friday morning - my cousin Judi calls with the news that her 91 year old mother was headed to emergency in an ambulance. It looked like a massive stroke. We waited in emergency all day for a room. She was admitted that night. While waiting in the ER which was VERY crowded, I saw a friend from church wheeled in on a stretcher. I ran over to him to see what was wrong and while we were talking, I heard a voice call my name. I turned around and there was another friend from church - she had been in a car accident. So within 10 yards of each other are my aunt, and two friends. Then....I saw my mother for the first time in 10 years. She ignored me. This was in the waiting room.

Saturday - I had to get Larry ready for another trip to Madison and then meet my cousin Judi at the hospital. I couldn't let her sit there all alone. Both her siblings were out of town. In fact her sister's fiance had died Thursday.

Sunday (today) - My aunt died this morning. Larry left for Madison. I was with my cousin again all day. We went to the funeral parlor to arrange things and pick out the casket. We talked and talked. I was hyper woman with an appetite to match. But I STILL haven't had any dessert, sweets, pop, candy, anything like that. I just ate bread and pasta all day long. What's worse????

My aunt is at peace. She's with her family again. She had been "seeing" them for weeks as they were probably preparing her for her journey home.

I love the plan of salvation.

Here are some pansies in her memory. She loved pansies.

Attention readers........

Especially you Carol and you Katrina, both of you who love These is My Words (can't figure out how to underline)

ANYway, run don't walk to your nearest library or bookstore and pick up Jodi Picoult's Change of Heart. Then cancel all your appointments, get a babysitter and hole up for three days. You won't put it down.

Well THAT'S over

Okay I'm better. No hot fudge sundae. No banana split. But maybe a facial this week.

General Conference was just so good this weekend. How could I NOT feel better? Actually, I am speaking on the 20th about one of the Sunday talks so I listened extra carefully. I think I know which one I will speak on, but how do you paraphrase an apostle?? Can I say it any better than him?

It was such a pretty day today. The sky was so blue and the sun shone all day long. The birds were having fun at the bird feeders out back and it all made me happy.

Here, for your viewing pleasure is me up in the air in Key West. I LOVED parasailing!

Grrrr....look out world

I am in a VERY bad mood. Just call me Crabby Appleton. This is what I want to do:

-Throw something

-Swear

-Take a few Excedrin for a killer headache but then I'll be wired

-Eat a hot fudge sundae with chocolate ice cream and really HOT hot fudge

-Then eat a banana split

-Sleep for two days and magically be 20 lbs thinner when I wake up

-Get a massage, a facial and then a pedicure

-Go to Key West and eat a key lime pie ALL BY MYSELF

-Go to a spa and be pampered

-Go to a warm, lovely beach somewhere FAR away and float in water that is 90 degrees

What I will really do is go to bed and feel better tomorrow. We can only hope.

Introducing.....

.........a new baby in the house!  We bought a MAC!  Oh my. This computer is sweeeet. And oh so pretty.  Ours is more grey than white. Thank you Carol and George for giving us the little extra "push" we needed to take the plunge!

A big thank you to my little friend Adam and his mom who came for a visit today. We had fun playing, finding the ball, reading and chasing the red bus! What a great little kiddo. WOW!