such a wonderful sight to see on a beautiful spring day
I walked around the gardens and they are in need of so much work but among the dead leaves, pinecones and spent plants from last summer I see the emergence of lots of green. I am going to do a lot of moving and relocating this spring and I hope that this is the year that we finally put in the water garden we have been dreaming about.
The Lambs Ear in the front garden is already thriving. Last year it was a bit space hungry and reseeded itself in a few new spots so this Spring some of our Lambs Ear friends are facing some redistricting.
I have 4 peony bushes and 3 are coming up nicely....not too sure what happened to PB#4.
I am not growing any plants by seed this year except for some Zinnia. I heard these were so easy to cultivate so I am going to give it a go. Last year the Coneflower I planted from seed did well so I am hoping for more good luck.
Today is another beautiful day. A bit cooler than yesterday's low 80's but 75 is just perfect in my book. Steve is out doing some neighborhood community service; working on beautifying our nature trails and I am working on orders. Lots of fun new projects that I am working on for Tickle Bellies. New projects equals new excitement and creativity for me. Need to keep it fun - that is for sure!
Two funny things to share from last night. The girls and I are headed out to do some dinner and shopping so on the way we call my mom to check in on how her day was. We put her on speaker phone because I was driving. She tells us about her day as well as her 'friend' Bill who lives next door. She was telling me about a baseball game they were going to today and about the Sketchers that she bought (Ellie thought it was funny that grandma was wearing Sketchers and asked if they lit up when she walked haha) so to inject a little humor into the conversation as she was talking about Bill I interupted her and said "Don't forget you are on speaker phone and the girls are with me - make sure to keep your story PG13" which if you know my mother -everything is kept at a G level so it was just funny for me to say that - so she is thrown off by my comment and says "Of course I am keeping it 3D!" The three of us burst out laughing.
On the drive home from our outing Emma is sitting in the front with me and Ellie is in the backseat watching a movie. I pull into the bank to do some late night deposit drop offs. While I am working the ATM Ellie bursts into tears. My heart stops and Emma and I both whip our heads around to see what is wrong. Through streaming tears Ellie sobs out "This movie is soooo sad!" I nearly had a heart attack. She was watching Charlotte's Web and Charlotte was dying. This kid is surely trying to put me into an early grave.
leaving you with our beautiful blooming pear tree in the front yard. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
So our visit consisted of interviews, video shoots and public speaking instead of our usual round of needle sticks, MRIs and anxiety. What a nice change! It was a fabulous week and we got to explore downtown Memphis because we were staying right off of Beale Street so that was fun too. We just love to go to the Peabody Hotel and see those cute ducks! We also visited with our favorite people which is always the best part of our trips to Memphis. We don't have to return to St. Jude until the end of May for scans and a check-up. Our next commitment/event with the Sterling team will be in September when they take all of us to Disney World to rally the sales troops. In the fall they start selling a plush animal until January and all the proceeds go to St. Jude. Ellie and Roman's artwork will be on the stuffed animals tag. So this fall go and buy a bear or two... We are going to make it a vacation and stay in Florida for a bit after our meeting with Sterling. So cannot wait for that!
Emma has started field hockey. She had practice last night and scored 2 goals. She will be going out for field hockey in high school next year so I am hoping she excels this Spring and finds her passion with the game. Ellie is taking tennis lessons from a neighborhood girl who is on the high school tennis team. I am hoping to get her on a team this summer.
Steve and I are looking forward to going away this spring. Maybe up to Cape May NJ. They are known for great birding. Finally, the pear trees are blooming or just about to. The daffodils are up as well and there is lots of pretty green popping up all over. I so love spring and all the newness. It will be warm this weekend too! (high 70's) Woo Hoo!
No St. Jude visit is complete without a visit with our favorite doctor.
Ellie stands in front of her image at the Memphis International Airport. Cannot believe it has been almost 3 years.
Spent an evening with the Dooners...our Memphis family.
During Ellie's taped interview for Sterling Jewelers
My new favorite photo :)
Here's one of Emmy.... love my girls
Steven and Ellie twirling the night away.
me and Ellie before the dance. Her dress was so pretty.
Ellie the star poses with her daddy
Aren't these two precious... found them in the bird food one morning.
Phoebe is so chubby that she bird watches lying down.
Ellie's Valentine's for her class
Phoebe and Dodge share a snuggle in the sunspot.
my wonderful girlfriends - we have been friends for so long.
getting ready to go to the bell in hand pub in downtown boston.
lots of spirits were enjoyed over the weekend...
...as well as lots of good food. mindi and linda are fabulous cooks!
downtown concord mass on a warm winter day (it was in the 50s)
sampling of the store - nesting.
this the nest and eggs I bought. heart this!
leaving the snow of mass and heading to the green grass of virginia
flying over the delmarva penisula - heading home
So Ellie created her flat Stanley and decided to send him to Connecticut to one of her favorite people, my girlfriend Laurel. Laurel is so creative and fun that I knew she would jump at the chance to do exciting things with Stanley and share that adventure with Ellie. And she definitely did. She mailed a great set of photos with Stanley having all wonderful New England adventures. Ellie was very thrilled to bring the report back to school.
My first warning should have been when we had a fire in the fire pit his first night here. What a pyro!! He kept taunting us, getting really close to the fire and threatening to put his hand in it. I could not even imagine trying to explain to poor Ellie that he had burned himself up...intentionally!!
The next day, when I brought Flat Stanley to work, I had to really keep and eye on him. At one point he disappeared and after looking ALL OVER for him, I found him in the back alley with the smokers, just puffing away. He had already gone through a whole pack of cigarettes - he just kept bumming them off of people. Man, did he reek of smoke for the rest of the day. I had to hose him down with Glade when we got home. Even after that he would sneak up on the cats and make them sneeze with the strong odor of Glade that followed him around.
The last straw was when he stole the neighbor's car one night and went joy riding. Unfortunately the cops caught up with him and threw him in the slammer. We let him stay the night in jail with hope it would teach him a lesson. When we went to bail him out the next day, he was in the jail yard yelling sarcastically at us from behind the bars, mad as hell that we left him there as long as we did.
I was all too happy to send him on his merry way. I just wanted you to know the real Flat Stanley so you could monitor him around Ellie. She is so sweet and I would hate for him to be a bad influence on her. Just be careful.
By the way, he also eats out of the litter box....
wow...that Stanley sure is bad news! He is going to need to kick this dirty habit!
Good thing he didn't find Laurel's stash of pills too.
Tough love is what this Flat Stanley needs!
