Family Weekend

We had a wonderful family weekend February 27 - March 1. Almost everyone was here for the weekend and all were here for Eli's blessing on Sunday. We had such a good time together. It was great to just take a few days to be together. We laughed a lot. (See some of the crazy pictures below.)

Everyone got a chance to hold the baby. He was a popular little guy with everyone, but especially all his aunts. Noah and Caitlin enjoyed the time together, too.

Usually we only get everyone together at Christmas, so this was a treat. Thanks to Bryan and Lisa for coming here for the blessing.

More Cute Baby Pictures

Bryan with Noah holding Eli













Noah was so cute with Eli. He wanted to hold him and was working hard to be a good big brother.













Brand new Baby Eli












Lisa and Eli

A Little More Love

Last week I got to welcome a new grandson into the family. Elijah Richard Love (Eli) was born to Bryan and Lisa on Tuesday, January 6. He was 7 lbs. 6 oz and 20 inches long. He is a cutie and looks a lot like his brother Noah who is now age 4 1/2. Eli is on the left and Noah above at about the same age. (Isn't is funny both hospitals have the same receiving blankets?)

I enjoyed being there helping with Noah and getting to know Eli. He is a sweet baby, and big brother Noah was so good for me. He will be a good big brother.

NO MORE FOUNTAIN SALES!

I know now for certain that I will not be going to any more craft shows or trade shows to sell fountains. It is just getting too hard physically for me to do it. But I am feeling satisfied that I am going out on a good note. This past weekend I went to an Itex trade show and sold about 11 or 12 fountains - I lost count we were so busy. Bryan and Ben went to help and I could not have done it without them. Thanks guys. I have finished paying for my power chair (which was the reason for going) and after the trip I may really be needing the power chair sooner than later. :)

I also networked into someone who may be able to help me sell the rest of the fountain inventory. She is a lady from Franklin who sells collectibles in an EBay store. I am working towards taking the remaining fountains to her to be sold in her store, as well as several nice pieces of amethyst and rose quartz. The percentage she takes is well worth it.

So, now I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. All I have to do is clear out all the fountains stacked in my den, decorate for Christmas and do all the shopping. Easy.....

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all who may read this.

Family Vacation

I'm just back from a wonderful week in Florida with my family. We were in Panama City Beach. The view was fabulous and the beach was so clean and beautiful.



Although the whole family couldn't be there, most of us were together for part of the time. The grandchildren loved the sand and the ocean. They had a great time.


We were all a little burned out, so we spent most of the time just relaxing together. With a few little problems, the condo was great. I think it was a good way to spend the last of Rick's trade account. It would have only been better if the hot water heater had not died toward the end of our stay and the sofa bed had been usable. (OK, I am trying to be positive. Hot water and a decent bed are big negatives when they are missing, but everyone tried to be a good sport about it.) The view from the 25th floor was unbelievable. What luck to be on the top floor.

Below is Andrew relaxing. He can't relax without his computer.


This shot was at sunset from the balcony of our condo.


The weather was perfect! The only rain we saw was as we were going back to the condo on the last night we were there. It was warm enough to be in the water all week. It turned cool the morning we left to come home.

Here are a few shots of the family playing in the water and on the beach.





I'll close with one of my favorite pictures from the week.

What can be better than a happy grandchild?

Healthy---- Who Me?

Snowball and I both went for yearly physicals this week. The doctors say both of us a doing well. Snowball is up to 7 1/2 pounds which I am hoping is as big as he is going to get. He is a spoiled puppy and I have been trying to teach him he can't always have his way. Yeah, we will see how that goes. :) But he is a good little companion and lets me know if anything is going on outside. Unfortunately I have so many neighbors that there is a lot going on outside, and he can't tell the difference between a neighbor having a visitor and us having a visitor. He also tries to answer any bark in a two block radius. I guess that is just normal for a dog.

As for my physical, the doctor called this morning and said all my lab tests came back and the levels were good. No worries on cholesterol or diabetes or any of the other stuff they test for. He would like for me to do a few preventive things I have been putting off and also do a few things to lower my blood pressure. It isn't too bad but is creeping up a little over borderline. He said I may be able to bring it down with a few lifestyle changes and avoid being diagnosed with hypertension, so I will try to do that.

I hope I will lose some weight as a side benefit of trying to get healthier. Wouldn't that be great! It is only about 30 years past me needing to do it, but living alone now should make it easier.

I Love New York

To quote a t-shirt, I love New York. Shannon and I went there last weekend to see a Broadway show, sightsee and shop. I don't know which we enjoyed the most, but it was all fun. We saw "Wicked" and loved it. We rode open top buses all over town, taking lots of pictures like tourists. We stopped several places to shop. The best bargain was the Dolce and Gabbana bags we bought for $20 in Chinatown. (Okay, they were knock-offs, i.e. fakes, but they really look good. Real Dolce's can go for $2000.) (See picture above)

We ate hot dogs and pretzels from a street vendor and had terrific pizza at John's Pizzeria in Greenwich Village.

We got to go to the top of the Empire State Building. They took one look at me walking with a cane and let us bypass all the lines. We still had to go through security, but they took us to the head of the line, and did the same with the lines for the elevators. I was really impressed with how handicap-friendly they all were. We got great pictures from the observation deck. (See the movie on Shannon's blog)

Poor little Snowball had his first experience with being boarded while I was gone. He seems to have survived it just fine, so maybe I can leave him again if I need to. It was a little tough on him this time because he had an ear infection and an eye infection while I was gone. It is a good thing I boarded him with his vet. They started him on medicine and he is all well now.

I am so glad we were able to make this trip. I love musicals and have always wanted to see one in New York. Wicked was just great! We wanted to see a second show, but couldn't get tickets. Instead we took more bus tours and got to see a lot of the city. We were very impressed with how clean and crime free the city appeared and how tourist-friendly. I think Nashville needs to take some lessons.