I didn’t get to spend the day with my own mom, but I promised her Sean and I would come down on Tuesday to plant a few annuals in the garden I fixed up for her last year.

I have terrible dry (and a bit itchy) allergy eyes. I thought it was from handling dusty Space Bags of my summer clothes, but I’m now thinking something is pollening that is bothering me. I am using both tears and allergy formula and it helps a bit, but looking at this screen is not easy. I’ll call the eye doctor if they aren’t better in a few days. I just have some circles under my eyes (what else is new).

I got two lovely cards today and one from my friend Terri in Alabama the other day-hers was a total surprise and so sweet. Sean’s was oversized and pink and flowery with sweet reflections of motherhood. Bri gave me a musical card that played ‘How Sweet it is’ by Marvin Gaye. (James Taylor also recorded it later on).

I asked Sean to drive to a garden center at a store in Delaware, but they didn’t have one this year. We ended up at Loew’s and their stuff was just ok. I got some tomatoes and a few flowers and bags of red mulch.

We grabbed a burger at Friendly’s and headed home.

I just watched the 3-hour long ‘Survivor’ finale and reunion while trying to finish up a redwork cross stitched piece. I was cheering for a 54-yr old man to win named Yau-man, but he got back stabbed as the remaining players knew he’d win if he was left in the ‘final three’. I miss talking about ‘Survivor’ with my estranged brother who enjoys it too.

So to end this nice weekend, here are some things I admire about my mom-her beautiful, trained soprano voice, her ability to pick up a pen, pencil or marker and sketch a portrait that resembles the person she is trying to capture (and from memory sometimes) and her love of giving, though that gets her in trouble sometimes. I told her once that Penelope Cruz could be her daughter more than me as she looks like mom a little. The next thing you know someone asks if we are mother and daughter and they say ‘I can tell’. What a nice compliment.

Mom on her 75th birthday-9-23-05

and-Mom as a young mom with my grandmom and older brother Dave. (See how she looks like Penelope Cruz here? It’s clickable)

I tried the edger tool that Brian just gave me (so long electric edger) and it works pretty good, but I can see me only using it after a rainstorm like we had last night.