Susan's Visit

 Susan left this morning.....

So sad to see her go but we had a fabulous visit, so relaxed, filled with laughter, talk, painting, good food and such a loving, sweet time. 

On Tuesday Shirley came down. Susan said she'd like to go to Cracker Barrel. It had been years since she was in one so that's what we did. That was a fun outing. 

Shirley joined us once again for lunch on Wednesday. (We ate out a lot!!)  We hit First Watch and enjoyed that a bunch. We always have a great time when the three of us get together. 

Susan and I spent some quality time just talking.... about everything. She has recently taken up watercolor painting. She had brought her supplies down (just like Mama didn't have any!) and she sat in the middle of my living room floor and painted and painted. 

We went through the scrapbook that I'd made of her, her dad and my trip to Europe back in 1991. What memories that dredged up. I gave her the scrapbook to take home but not before I made a snapshot of each and every page of that thing. I may want to look at them again sometime. Here's one of the pages I took a picture of. 

I just hated to see the visit end... 

P.S. come back again soon. There's an interesting story I have to tell you of something had happened during her visit. You'll love it. 

A Visitor and Lilies

 What a lazy Sunday... the air was cooler, the sunshine bright but not unpleasant and the world just looked gorgeous out my balcony doors. Then the telephone rang... it was my daughter Susan. She's the one who lives in New York. I saw her at her son's wedding in Georgia back the first part of May and now, she tells me she will be at my apartment tomorrow for a few days visit. What a wonderful surprise. I love surprises like that! I can't wait to see her. 

I got another surprise a few days ago.. daughter Shirley brought me a bouquet of white ginger lilies and some little reddish blossom she called a bat's face. The small flower does look like a bat's face so go figure! Those lilies are so aromatic. I just sat there in my recliner taking all that wonderful fragrance. The plants came from my aunts garden back in Alabama when she was still alive. And, she's been dead since 1981, so that cutting has been thriving, blooming and multiplying for 45 years in my daughter's yard. Amazing!!

So, I'll go for now, make sure everything is ready for my visitor tomorrow. Good times ahead!! 

Oh, by the way, I got this picture of that bat-faced cuphea flower off of the internet just to show you what it looks like.  Weird, isn't it!! 

A Bit of This, A Tad of That

 The start of a new month. 

Boy, they are flying by now. Just wish time would slow down so I could catch up!! 

I've not been doing a blooming thing interesting lately. Oh, I did go to Sam's Club today and shopped. I haven't been in a grocery store in ages so I just had myself a blast wandering around. I bought a cantaloupe, some plums and a bag of lemons and a package of already cooked chicken legs and thighs. Had one of those legs for supper tonight. 

I freeze my lemons so when I get a chance to buy a batch of them, I do. I freeze the juice or I slice them and freeze the slices. It's just amazing what all you can freeze! 

While I was writing one day I had a chapter where my main characters attend a football game. I've watched a lot of football over the years (Roll Tide) but there are still plays and terms that I don't understand. 

Anyway, my grandson, Griffin, played on the Rutgers football team during his college years so I called him for some help. He gave me some valuable pointers and promised he'd fill me in on what really happens during halftime in the locker room. That ought to be interesting. But, I did warn him that my book was based in the late '40s so really bad language wouldn't have been used back then. 

My basil is looking mighty peaked. Leaves turning yellow and dropping off. Does basil die off after a productive season or am I just not taking good care of it? 

I'll go for now and crawl in bed and read 'til I fall asleep. Tomorrow is another day! 

Friendship

 I just want to take a moment and express to you how much your friendship means to me and has meant over the years. 

You've been there for me time after time and I appreciate your love and care more than you know. 

I wish I could just invite you all to my apartment and we'd all just sit around and drink (whatever it is you like to drink) and talk and talk 'til the night falls and then the sun comes up. But, I don't think you all would fit in my apartment and that's a bummer. 

Having that many friends is such a blessing! 

Life is so short...

Live it filled with gladness and graditude.. I am glad that I have you and I am grateful for each of you.

Oh.... and then there's this...

He he!! 

What a week!

 That book is eating me alive. No, not really but it surely does eat up a lot of my time and thought. I'll be so glad when it's finished and published but I am just now getting to the good part. So, it's type, edit, type, erase, put new stuff in, take stuff out, type some more. I tell you, it's a job. 

The workers finally finished putting down the new sidewalk so that awful racket stopped. It really looks nice. So, it was worth it. 

I got in the dumps last week, didn't want to do a thing, was more unsteady on my feet and believe you me, that's not good. I am scared to death of falling but I didn't thank goodness. I had night leg cramps and then diarrhea. Gee, guess that was too much info. But, I then remembered that I had not been taking in much fluid so I most likely was dehydrated. My sweet granddaughter shipped me some electrolite powder to make sure I am well taken care of. It's better than gatorade. 

My youngest grandson, Tighe, is starting his freshman year at Indianna University this week. The family helped him settle in. Mama's sure gonna miss him. They are so close and he's such a great kid. 

I did take some time out one day to do a line and wash watercolor. I just don't have the time I'd like to be able to paint. I don't ordinarily do line and wash but I do enjoy it when the notion strikes me. 

Too Many Willies

 Have you ever said 'I got the willies over that.'  Willies being something that causes goosebumps, is eerie or disturbing. 

Imagine have the name Willie. My full name is Willie Latane Barton. 

Yep, and to top it all off when I was younger than a grasshopper I started dating a handsome young dude. His name was Willie Elbert Barton. 

Two Willies should have been enough but WAIT.... there's more.

I was named for my father who was killed by lightning when Mom was 5 months pregnant with me. Everyone called him Willie. So, I was named for him, William Albert Alexander . 

And, my husband (that good looking dude I found early in life) ... his Dad was named Willie Armstrong Barton. 

So, now we are up to four Willies. 

One more to go... Elbert's grandmother's name was Willie Dee O'Rear. 

Guess what we named our children: Linda Marie, Steven Elbert, Shirley Ann, Michael Alan and Susan Renee. 

             There will be no more Willies in this family!!