May 11-18, 2006

I hope all you mothers had as nice a Mother's Day as I had. It started off with calls and cards from the special people in my life. As the day progressed, it was multiplied. My son, Andy, and his lady, Laura Shute came by and presented me with a most beautiful potted yellow rose bush! There three huge blossoms, three that were just opening and three buds with promises of three more. It stands 42 inches high. How blessed I am.

Just after they left, my daughter, Wendy and her hubby, Ken, came in the driveway on Ken new Harley Davidson Motorcycle. I was sooo excited that now I cannot remember what it was except it was black with lots of chrome. They had the tour of Joe's place and Ken and Joe exchanged interest in guns. They gave me a beautiful card and a ticket to the Stanwix Veterans and Men's Club 4th Annual Scholarship Raffle this Saturday. It is held in Rome at the club and I went last year with Andy and Laura and had a great time. I am also invited to Natalie's Home coming party that same evening. Joe and I will have to split our time and attend both. . .Before I knew it; they were gone with promises to see us this weekend.

The FREE, cast iron bathtub that Joe and I loaded on his pickup last week is now on his front lawn! His buddy, Doug, came and helped him get it off the truck and safely on the ground without straining his shoulder. We sanded it and put a coat of primer on it and the next step is to paint it. In doing so, we noted the date- July 12, 1912 stamped on the bottom. What stories it could tell. . . We decided to paint it cream and then I will paint flowers on it. We will plant bulbs in it and then annuals on top. It should look really nice when we get it done.

Joe and I stopped to visit his son, Tony and his wife, Jessely, one evening last week. They have a beautiful son, Anthony, who is about 11/2 years old now and he keeps his Mother hopping. Jessely is expecting again and they are very excited. Her mother will be coming from Peru to help.

What a surprise I got when I purchased a Planters Peanut Bar at the CVS today. They have always been my favorite, but I hadn't seen them for some time. Would you believe that it was much smaller and 75 cents later with the tax? I guess I am dating myself, but I remember when I sold them at our Country Kitchen for 25 cents and John Hall bought them two at a time. . .

The lilacs are ready to open up. I can't wait. I like their scent. Rose bushes are sprouting leaves and tulips are beautiful. Joe's hollyhocks are really growing now. The flower gardens look great and soon, some of the vegetables will be planted.

Joe surprised me a Sheppard's Hook for the hanging basket of purple petunias that I bought for myself. I got that from my Mother, who said you should always buy yourself something that you want for your birthday. Andy and Laura gave me a very unusual hanging birdfeeder. It resembles a farm with a John Deere tractor and barn on a dish-like feeder. I am so blessed.

The Voice of GOD: "Know that I LOVE you. . ."

You won't believe what I did. I forgot to get my car inspected! I tried my best to get it done but no luck on such short notice. I made an appointment on a Friday at 4:15pm and then circumstances came up that I was unable to cancel as my cell phone died. I was in trouble. As it turned out I was able to get it done at Route 205 Auto. He had just enough time to do it while Joe and I tended to cutting my lawn and trimming up. I was very happy that it was done and I will try not to do that one again.

On the way down to Staten Island last week, I noticed what I thought were plastic bags in the trees, but turned out to be caterpillar tents. Caterpillars had invaded a number of trees. They can be recognized by a white tent, which clings to the intersections of the tree branches. When the caterpillars hatch they eat everything in sight thereby killing the tree. I can remember when I was growing up in Teaneck, NJ; there was a real problem with the caterpillars. Property owners were asked to burn the tents to stop the spread of further infestation.

I also noticed millions of dandelions seed parachutes floating in the breeze. There seems to be no way to stop them from reproducing. Weed killer takes care of some, but if adjoining property has them, the wind carries the seed somewhere else. When they touch the ground, they make more dandelions. It is a vicious cycle.

Natures Scene: Wildlife is abounding. One has to be alert while driving as bunnies, woodchucks, Porkys, possums and SHUNKS are on the move. Local turkey buzzards make short order of their remains when killed on the road. Wild turkeys are seen in fields when hunters are not looking for them. We saw a handsome tom with his tail spread out till tomorrow. He was all by himself. He must have seen another turkey near by to spread his handsome tail. .

Weather changed and the predicted rain passed us sparing the many sales scheduled for last Saturday. Joe and I share the same interest in such pleasures started early to go to the Laurens and Otego Community Yard sales. We started in Laurens and first off found a few treasures. We took the Ottawa Road to Otego and there found many sales. We also made notes of items that family and friends would be interest in. We had a ball. We came back with a variety of items, which we needed. If you haven't already done it, you must try it. It is great fun.

Thought for the Week: The key to a happy life is knowing there is more then one key. .