Sister update

Update on my Sister

I wanted to say Thank You to all who sent prayers and good thoughts on my sisters by-pass surgery.
I'm happy to say "she is doing wonderful" and will be going home tomorrow after only 3 days in the hospital. She will need to take it easy for a few weeks but they told her to not go to bed.. amazing!
I've been getting reports from her children and should be talking to her myself on FaceTime in about an hour...
She may be sore but they all say her spirit is high and she is making her usual jokes about everything....

 It's a good day in the neighborhood!

 Thank you again and have a wonderful weekend!

For My Sister

 

We all have so many people that come and go in our lives.  Some are here forever.

My sister Dolly has been with me since birth.  We were so close through our early and teen years.  You know the one who you told your secrets to. The one who took your boyfriends and then gave you hers... Then when we both were in our late teens we were seperated by countries.  8000 miles did no harm to our love and respect for each other. We continued to see each other once or twice a year. Shared the birth of our children. Cried over the phone when we were sad.  She has remained the one person I could always count on.

Dolly has been my Best Friend through out my life.

Today Dolly went in the hospital to prep for double by-pass surgery on Friday.  My heart is in  limbo until the surgery is over, and my mind will be blurry until  her kids call me to say, "It's over and she is doing great".... How I wish I could be there with her but my health will not allow me to travel such a distance.

Of all the photos I have of me and my sister this one represents how nutty we are when we get together.  We both had very small children, staying in a hotel (some where?).  I remember she was all excited because Johnny Cash was staying in the room next to ours.  Dolly wanted to take something from the breakfast tray outside his door.. how we laughed in that quiet hall way!   We have many fun stories and I so want them to continue when she gets here this Christmas for our annual visit and romp!   I spoke to her on Face Time today, several times.   She paned around her hospital room for me to see all the electrical equipment her kids set up for her  to watch tv shows.... lap top etc.   Introduced her nurse to me.  Her nurse looked startled when she was told I was in America.   This is Dolly's  first hospital stay and she was so not understanding the 'open back in the gowns?'  haha... (she gave birth to  4 kids at home)  I told her to put on another gown with the opening in front.. "duhhh" she said!   

That's my sister!

A sister’s love is special
in oh so many ways
Now miles stretch between us
and minutes turn to days.

We’ve shared so much as children
the tears, the joys, the pain
A lifetime spent together
those memories remain.

In times gone by we’ve pondered
the paths our lives have taken
Knowing that in spite of this
our sister love unshaken.

A sister’s love is special
in ways that are unspoken
Still that binding force exists
our sister love unbroken. 

I want to send out,  into the Heavens and ask the Lord to take very special care of my Sister Dolly.

I love you more than words can say. 

x0x0x

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Sheer moment of Terror

The FRIED TV

Last night I had a moment of sheer Terror!

While we  were in the middle of our usual daily, rainy season thunder storm,
I was sitting on my bed, working on my laptop, minding my own business when I looked up and saw a bolt of lightening hit the tree about 5' from my upstairs balcony sliding doors.  It was so fast and so loud... then the fireworks started... the lightening hit the tree with the force of a bomb!
Sparks started coming out of the ground  into the sky, as tall as my two story house.... 

The tree only lost some bark but I'm not complaining.

 I Ran into the bathroom!

At first I was stunned not knowing what to do because the lights went out and the breaker switches all were blown... but then the electricity came on, one room at a time?
The cable was out along with the internet and my house phone...  So I called the local cable company.  "We will be out in the morning" was all they could tell me.


Well morning turned into noon.  As the cable guy went from room to room he saw that all the boxes connected to our tv's were blown as well... dead... their insides FRIED!   So he went to work trying to restore our service, especially the modem that is needed for my heart monitor. 
While he worked he told me of a home that was also hit in our town last night.  The house had a direct hit and every single piece of electrical was blown.. her 5 tv's, xbox, three pc's and all wiring both inside and outside the house.... even the box from the cable company that is installed on the side of her house melted down the wall.  A full days work, he told me, to fix her mess.. this woman had not one serge protector plugged into anything.. bet she gets some now!

We had our electric company install surge protectors quite a while ago. We learned our lesson a few years ago when we lost two pc's one night due to lightening.  

Florida has some serious lightening storms.

  Until the cable/electrical workers can get to our house in a few days they have us connected to a neighbors house with a really long extension cord.

I went out to assess the damage this morning.. nothing burned just one tree missing it's bark.  As long as it did not fall onto my house!  It was really interesting to actually see a bolt of lightening hit and how the sparks come out of the ground.  The noise was more of a clap, or crackle.  It's hard to describe just how loud this clap was!
You all know how street excitement go's when something happens like this.. when I told the neighbors that the lightening hit my tree no one would believe me, so I walked them to the back of my yard and their eyes were wide with wonder.  Wow, that sure was loud, was all most could mumble.

They just said on the weather report, "Thunder Storms this afternoon"

Oh Boy!

Family visit comes to an end....

 Dad and Sons huddle before being let loose in the book store.

Much to my dismay my grandsons will be leaving after a weeks visit.  
I took the kids along with their mom and dad, to the book store so they could pick out a book for the long flights they were facing.  
Imagine three 7-8 hr flights in the belly of a MAC (Military Air Cargo) flight... yes the planes that hold the tanks and supplies for the Air Force, seats along the walls of this cavernous airplane. The kids pull out their sleeping bags and sleep on what I call the 'train tracks' in the center... it's so loud that they use earplugs,  but so very safe.  The best part, free flying for the military families.

About 24 families were on this flight to vacation destinations around the world.

This was my daughters first time on such a flight and told me "When I first boarded this  plane I was truly worried"  But like all that take these flights they found the service and the way they were taken care of does not compare to domestic flights.  

The boys are homeschooled and just love to read.  Book stores like we have in the states are non existent in Guam.  The boys eyes were wide with wonder in Barns & Noble.
Ok boys, go pick out a book, any book, I told them as we headed for the children's section.

Looking through the enormous selection was not an easy task and it took quite a while to review all they saw.

Each new book was better than the last.  This was not going to be easy!

So they sat for a while reading a bit of each new selection.

I know, lets ask dad, he can help us choose!

Then the stacks of books started to get a bit confusing so mom came to help!

Finally their choices were made and everyone was happy!

Especially Grandma, I had my Cappuccino.

To the register we all went, books in hand.

Was a good afternoon in the book store!

Tomorrow my Daughter and her family will be leaving for the tiny island of Guam for another year of duty.... Although I'm sad I'm also overjoyed to have had this time with them all... This has been a wonderful two weeks of family... I just don't want it to end!

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Speical Visitors

"It's Summer"  

What do you do when 10 family members (two families) all come for a visit? 

You turn the living room into a bedroom for the nights.

The door of the fridge opens every 5 minutes as a kid looks for something new to appear!

When the line forms at the stove by the ever starving child, paper plate in hand.

Find a place, then sit before someone else gets the chair!

When the best made outdoor plans are scrubbed by three days of rain,,, 

never ending rain!  

The crafts come out!

Then the cookie making begins. 

That took up about three hours of time....

You know their getting bored when the baby starts playing with a spider!

 And 5 laptops, 4 iPads,  5 iPhones and numerous games are all fighting for space on the wifi!  Yes, I had to call the cable company to get it up and running,  again!

Lord let the sun come out!

I live on the beach for Gods Sake!

Then the family photographer said,,, "Time for a family picture".

Getting 14 people in place was a job in it's self and took about two hours of our time.

Then the kids and adults made cow costumes and headed out to "Chick-fil-a" for the free food day.... they made paper cut-outs,  but once there found out all their work was only for an appetizer and not a full meal... Only t he full cow costumes got the meal... but it was fun!

I had the pleasure of my daughter from Guam and her husband and three boys. Also my Niece and her family from Ohio and Saudi for a weeks visit.  That was an extra 10 bodies in my little townhouse and the one family that showed up first got the guest room with the queen bed and the other, the living room!

Of course the sun came out today and the family from Saudi had to leave but I do have the family from Guam for a few more days. Their young son asked as the car left the driveway, "The other family is gone, can we have the bed now?"

This has been a great week"

G'ma is happy!

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Little Jaunt to Alaska

Three days ago my Son and his family hit the road on a little Jaunt, to  their new duty station in Juneau, Alaska.  Although Tom has been stationed in Juneau on an earlier tour,   this will be the first time for his wife and new daughter.  Not wanting them to simply get on a plane and walk out the door into Alaska,  he wanted them to experience the trip by land.  They estimate the drive will take about 10 days to take it slow and enjoy it as a family vacation.



Their trip started in Michigan and after two days of driving they entered Montana in all it's glory. 



I've been getting photos every day from them and the quote with this photo went  like this,
"Most of the corners were quite daring to drive through, especially when someone comes towards you in a huge motor home pulling their Buick!"


Photo from top of the mountain, about 11,000 ft above sea level,  going along the road north.



I just can't imagine the size of the snow plows used on these roads..  the ones I remember in Illinois were simply the size of back-hoes. 

And this is the end of June!

Tom had to pull his car over to give us a visual how deep the snow is on the sides of the road.... His car is a good size SUV.

The Wyoming Rockies

Still so much snow on the first day of Summer!
I have only been to this part of the Country in late Summer and can't imagine the beauty of the snow covered mountains in real life?
I'm looking forward to the photos as they come in each day and to what my daughter-in-law and granddaughter have to say about their little Jaunt to Alaska.

Oh, America the Beautiful!

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I'll be linking this wonderful trip to 
Outdoor Wednesday

White Wednesday 

Alphabet Thursday

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Photo upload not working?

Help

my photo upload is not working this past week and I want to fix it but just can not seem to get it to work.... does anyone out there have the same problem?

Let me keep trying!

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Fathers Day

Fathers Day is here once again and I wanted to share my grandsons gift to their Dad.

Gina could not think of anything a guy like her  military husband would want or need so she

cut out some large letters and took the boys outside.. I think it turned out wonderful.

The photo will be framed, wrapped and given to their Dad and I know he will cherish it forever.

How fast our kids grow up!

To all the Dads and to all the Moms stepping in for the missing Dads.

"HAPPY FATHERS DAY"

(((huggss)

Sandy

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Two Quilts at the same time

"The Snow Flake Quilt"

"The Purple Quilt"

I've been working on two quilts at the same time this past week and enjoying every minute of each stitch.  Not sure my fingers are too happy about all the needle pricks because they sure are sore. I also so enjoy sitting in my chair, feet up doing the quilting design by hand.. sure it takes so much time but in the end it's going to be beautiful.

Why two?   I wanted to give my new daughter-in-law and her daughter something from me and what better than a quilt to wrap up in.
While I was visiting them last month I had my granddaughter pick out her own fabric when we found the sweetest quilt shop in Norway, Michigan.  The prices were also almost half of what I would pay here in my town. 

My granddaughter Eve chose such nice designs and colors, that complement her favorite color, purple. 

Since this past Christmas I've been collecting snow prints from many different stores  and also found few while up in Michigan.  Snow flakes are really hard to find here in Florida once the Christmas patterns are put away in the stores.
My plan is to have an overlay of Snow Flakes flowing down the front of the quilt. Both my son and daughter-in-law are snow freaks... yes, they love the snow and are those who actually count the inches that fall with great joy.  
For the next few weeks you can find me in my chair stitching while wiping the little bloody pricks from my finger tips as I go.. with a big smile on my face.

 I'll post the finished results soon.

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Life is Good....

This past three weeks I've been jet setting and after 6 flights I'm tired and glad to be home.  
First my daughter Cyndi and I  flew into The UP of Michigan to a very quaint little town, Sault Ste Marie, that sits on the border of Canada.
My Son, Tommy is a vessel inspector with the USCG/Homeland Security and lives with my new daughter-in-law and my new granddaughter... This is the first time for us all to meet and Tom did good with his choice for a bride....  We all got along from the start and we  talked and laughed from the moment we met.
Each day we did something special.  Michelle tried so hard to make Cyndi and I feel at home and I can't thank her enough for her loving ways. As for my new granddaughter, she is such a sweet, beautiful girl and I want so much to be grandma #3 and one she will remember with love.

Tom if your reading this, Michelle is a keeper!

We put our feet into the icy waters of Lake Superior and toured the Coast Guard Lighthouse that was built in 1835 on  what is called Whitefish Point.  I also brought home some rocks that we picked up off the beach.  I've been to many beaches around the world but never one that was full of rocks of such beautiful colors.  Each tumbled in the currents over the years, that polished them in such lovely colors and textures. If I'd have driven my car  up I would for sure have filled a very large box of these rocks to bring home for my garden.
As we prepared to fly  home  the airport baggage handlers put an  extra tag  on my suitcase with the word "Heavy".

 Imagine the beach totally covered with these amazing rocks.

We then drove to my new in-laws home, 4 hours from Sault Ste Marie,  I came upon the most beautiful log cabin nestled in the woods away from civilization and the noise of city life. 

Being in this beautiful setting with my family was the highlight of our visit. The Cabin sits on 5 acres of land,  just about 200 yards from the border of Wisconsin in Norway, MI.  Funny how I never knew just how sedate my lifestyle has been until I stayed in their home.  Every moment was filled with laughter, cards, walks in the woods and in the evenings we sat around the bonfire and just talked and sipped wine.  I was introduced to such a joyful, loving family.

I had such fun!

During my life  I held a secret  inside,  the want to live and work on a farm.  But life took me in the direction of City Girl and the idea of owning a farm was never to be.  
Then on day three of our visit we went to the farm my in-laws have owned for two generations.  Although it is not a working farm they do have a large lot for cows and fresh veggies that the large family shares each season.  I did learn something about cows. They have some of the traits as domestic animals.. When one of the Uncles came home in his truck the cows recognized the engine noise and knew Uncle was home and started mooing just as a dog or cat would vocalized their joy at their masters homecoming.

 

On the third day I found the need for a nap. I was trying to keep up with all my new friends but just could not.  During this time the men folk (this city girl loves saying that, The Men Folk)  had their own chores out behind the log cabin.  New electrical wiring was being put in the ground.  The owner of the land and cabin (my new in-law)  did his own work (no he is not a farmer, he is a (R) Sheriff), and yes  he built the cabin  with his own two hands and not from a kit, about 18 years ago.  In the photo is my son,  his father-in-law and brother-in-law.

After 5 days my visit to this amazing place has come to an end and the morning we were to fly home I went out and took the morning after photo of the spot we all sat around in the evenings.... My heart was as sad as the empty chairs around the bonfire. 

The memories will live on!

This family visit turned out so much better than I could have imagined.  Although one daughter is missing in the photo (much too far from Guam to just hop on a plane to come visit with us) she was indeed with us in spirit.  I called her each day and sent videos and photos as we took them.

My kids
Michelle, Tom and Cyndi

I'd like to say I'll be going back but I don't think that will happen any time soon.  Sault Ste Marie was my sons duty station for the past 3 years and they will be leaving in June for Sector Juneau, Alaska. 

 I'll always remember this wonderful week with my family and want to thank them all for the wonderful hospitality they showed me.

Two days after returning I changed flying companions and jetted off to 
Sector Cape May with my daughter #3 and Mr. N for the USCG graduation of my grandson.
This was my forth graduation with the CG as we have many members of my family that are career Coasties. The video is when the new Coasties came marching past the grandstand filled with joyful loved ones, to receive their certificates. You can hear daughter #3 screaming for her Son, the new Coastie!
The group is singing, "No more sleepless nights, no more seaman duty, Hey Hey Hey Were goin home!

We stayed in Cape May for another night so I could drive around and visit the place where I spent my summers as a kid.. My Grandfather worked as a Warrant at this CG Base and my mom went to school in this lovely town.  We then drove north to Atlantic City for a night of gaming... and now I'm home and tired.  But it was a great whirlwind of a three weeks and I'm happy!
I received an invitation from  Michelle and Tom to come to Juneau once they settle into their new home.  That might have to wait till Spring once their winter is over.

After getting my ears unclogged and  my brain back to reality, it's home to crafting and my usual chores. I must say.....
Life is Good!

I'll be joining... 

End of Summer Celebration

Travels Near and Far

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