Category Archives: Mom

Jul13

Treasure ATC

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Treasure ATC, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

I’m going to be seeing my niece on Tuesday, so I made her this ATC for her collection. It’s me and my brother Don, about 3 and 2 years old. We were living in Florida at the time. I love this photo as the pool is so tiny. We basically just sat there and stared at each other. There’s a good size boat under the plant that we obviously had to share.
We had a quiet day here today. Mom left about 12:30, but stopped off at a few stores (that we were just in yesterday). Shopping is her thing which drives my brothers batty.
I made a pot roast like last Sunday. Sean even asked if we had just had it not long ago. You toss the meat in an oven bag with the potatoes and things and it’s ready to eat in a few hours. Can’t beat that.

Jul1

I saw a camel today…

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I really did see a camel! I was coming home from CVS and turned on the east end of my road. This lovely farm always has a few donkeys, horses and even alpacas grazing in their fenced area, but I never, ever thought I’d see a two humped camel amongst them! There was no one behind me, so I did a slow cruise to check him out. Someday I’ll take my camera and get some shots if he’s still around. I’m not too crazy about being by myself on our road and getting out of the car since it’s a bit in the sticks.
I had felt rather silly just about 20 minutes before when I parked the wrong way in 15 minute parking in the next town. The meter guy was standing there, just a young fellow and was looking at me with a bit of a smirk on his face. I had parked ‘that way’ every time I parked there since the wintertime. Here I had to turn around and ‘face the flow’, it’s a small side street, but you have to follow the rules.
My van was making a loud chirping noise off and on when I was out and it appeared to be coming from the right side-like it’s done in the past. Brian sprayed the belt that seems to be troublesome and he took it for a spin tonight and said he didn’t hear anything. We want to take it to Penn State in August, so I hope we can finally get it ‘squeakless’. : )
I decided to order Sean’s favorite pizza from the new place-the taco one. It’s really good! It actually tastes more like an appetizer than a pizza.
My brothers wanted to talk to mom tonight and she was up at #3’s house for 3 hours. They want to continue to clean out her house and fix it up. That’s what it was all about. Interesting. And thanks for including me and our older brother. I’m my mom’s main shoulder and I try to make her happy.
I’m not that crazy about July and August. My gardens tend to start to bug me in more than one way-the real bugs and the weeds. We’ve been getting ‘yelled at’ by a catbird (and it’s mate) for the last 4 or so days. They must have babies nearby. It’s really annoying and makes going out very unpleasant, even for Cosmo the cat. I’ve been staying holed up more in the house and making some paper crafts, that I will share here.

Jun29

We ♥ Commerce Bank

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Sean and I went out for a few hours this afternoon. We had to exchange some trousers I had bought as a gift for him. We also had two huge bags of coins that we have saved for many months. Commerce is open on Sundays and they have a free coin counting machine. So we guessed we had $124.00 (they ask if you want to guess) and after all was said and done-we had $197.00! Yes! We split it up and I saved Bri $50 (Sean got $100 since he will be driving the most for his internship) and then we went to Macy’s. Sean got an extra pair of trousers and a few shirts in another store-from the coin money! We then went to a shopping center where Old Navy and Michaels is-I went to Michaels and Sean to O.N. I picked out some things there and went down the clearance aisle and I started to chat with a nice lady there. She asked if I had ‘a coupon’ which I didn’t. It was for after 4pm and for 25% off your total purchase. She had an extra and gave me one. I thanked her and headed to check out and saved $10!

We ate in Friendly’s and shopped a bit in Trader Joe’s then headed home. I called my mom and she had talked with brother #2 and they may be seeing eye to eye again. I seriously hope so. He tends to get mean about things that he doesn’t agree with. I still am not crazy about being chummy with him as I feel like I don’t know him anymore and he talked about me behind my back that night he horned in on our ‘girl’s night out’. I wish mom hadn’t told me he thought I looked fat. He had said that to my face when we went down to visit him in Florida in 2002. Nice isn’t he? I’m not having high hopes about this, but at least, and I’m praying, he’ll treat her nice and with respect.

Anyway, here are some yard shots for your enjoyment. They sure make me smile. : )


This is what I call my herb bed. The Roma tomatoes are taking it over. There’s basil in the front along with fennel and cilantro.

My favorite lilies are blooming too! I missed the first blooms a few days ago.

A pretty hanging basket with pinkish daisy like flowers and portulaca

Look how big the butterfly bush is! You can see the rain gutter there. Not a ton of blooms, but we cut it back a lot last year.

Sean got a B- in his English class he just finished. My boy’s not a writer, so he was happy.

Jun17

PS..I ♥ You…pass the tissues

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Sean was nice enough to rent me a movie (he got it free anyway!), so I watched it last night. He had seen it with his gal pal when she visited PSU earlier this year. Hilary Swank is such a good actress (she has 2 Oscars), and every time she started to cry, I needed a tissue! That was meat for the two men here. They couldn’t believe I was getting choked up. I was already kind of down from Father’s Day since I never celebrated it my entire life, and knowing it was really never going to happen again (because my father passed away in Feb, well that didn’t help). And it didn’t help that Gerard Butler, the lead actor ,looked like my late father a little.

Hilary wore lots of hats, and if you didn’t know it, I am a ‘hat person’ as I have a big head. I don’t wear them as much as I should.

I almost missed the third episode of ‘The Mole’ as the movie ended after 10. I’m interested in it as there are (were) three guys from a 35 mile radius from where we live, the closest is from West Grove, a few towns away. Bobby, from Philly, just got ‘eliminated’ last night.

I’m trying to finish up some craft projects that are laying around. I finished an Altered tin swap for a lady in Iowa. I wrote her a note and she said she wasn’t affected by the flooding, but her neighbor was. Then I stained a cigar box that I bought to glue my Amish children and apple tree cross stitched design on. I think I’ll make it into a scissor box because Vonna from ‘The Twister Stitcher’ inspired me! I didn’t do much cleaning, but doing the above motivates me to do more!

My poor mom wasn’t well yesterday-in pain and laid up in bed. She forgot she had hung out clothes a few days before as her dryer is on the fritz. She was using muscles she hadn’t used for a while. I hope she can get that repaired. She’s a constant worry to me. Her car is fixed, but the transmission is going, as are the shocks. Looks like my brother is trying to locate another used vehicle for her.

Jun5

Anniversary wishes

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Family06.jpg, originally uploaded by DianthusMoon.

Happy 26th to my brother Dave and MaryAnne, pictured on the right with their two tall sons. Brian and I met at their wedding as Bri is M’s 1st cousin!
And belated happy 15th anniversary to Ken and Colleen which was on May 22nd. She is next to me and Ken is above our mom.
Ours was the 24th in April.
So far the married ones are doing pretty good staying together! : ) My parents were divorced. Colleen’s mom and dad were married over 30 yrs until his passing. Bri’s parents were married 46 yrs. M lost her dad when she was about 11. It’s interesting to see where we all got our trust and patience-guess it was learned! ; ) I couldn’t find photos of the separate couples, but the above is my almost my entire family, minus my Uncle Don who turns 85 on June 12th (planning a little picnic for him-hope it pans out).

I have my mom here for a few days and she’ll go to my uncle’s in the afternoon. I’ve been getting her to eat regularly which is something she doesn’t do at home. Made an excellent pasta dish with sauteed veggies like eggplant and zucchini and topped with hb eggs, parmesan and feta. It was enjoyed by all.

Jun3

Cousins

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My sister-in-law the hair stylist, gave my noggin a makeover today, so Sean and I got to see my niece and nephew too! Sean hasn’t seen the kids since the end of December. As you can see, my nephew really has grown.

And this little cutie that is somewhat my ‘mini me’ because her dad and I resemble each other.

She was eating some crackers here.

Mom came back with us and will be here a few days for a change of scenery. Her car needs a new starter, so she is hoping my brother will fix it for her soon.

May30

6 months ago

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I got our ‘reunion guy’ as a pal on Facebook (which reminds me, if anyone who reads this wants to be a pal on Facebook, let me know!) and he shared the link to our 30 reunion photos. It was a little over 6 months ago and you know I had that biopsy looming. We had the little disposal cameras on each table. I was really happy to see this one:

and this too:

I really like the first one! I am holding up the reunion book in this shot, no one else did. : ) I guess Brian took that one.

Seems there were at least 3 or more other get-togethers, one being a Bon Fire feast where the host Bill had venison stew and lots of vittles. Still a lot ‘earthy’ folks in my class.

Late Thursday afternoon was spent pulling out honeysuckle vines growing up near my mom’s one side of her house. I think ‘phase one’ is finished. I now have to dig deeper to find those blasted roots! I had the entire area cleaned out a few years ago. I came close to poison ivy-a bit afraid I’ll wake up with it tomorrow. My back is complaining right now. At least mom’s gardens are starting to look better!

May29

A first

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A first rose in my rose bed. Last year deer had eaten every bud!

And the last of the irises to bloom: Night Owl

Aren’t they gorgeous? I collected all the tags in the garden as I had a feeling I didn’t see one called ‘Sailor Blue’ or something like that bloom. Will have to write to where I bought them. I do plan on separating these in the fall as they are getting crowded. I will save some for anybody who would like some. I’d like to trade too! Easy peasy to grow!

Although my allergies are the pits-started in the movies last night, (I used Flonase for the first time since I had my eye pressure retested-it works well!) I guess I’ll go to my mom’s. It’s to beautiful a day not to. And I can’t stand weeding in the heat with all the mosquitoes. Who can?

Got the twine, clips and bamboo poles in the mail today (fast), so guess what I’ll be doing tomorrow? Yep, see the photo in a few posts below. I hope I can figure out how Martha and her pals did that with her tomatoes!

The LOST season finale is on tonight!

May23

Mom

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My mom went to the doctor this morning and ‘found out’ (but we knew it) she had hearing loss in both ears, the worst being the right ear. She’ll be going to a hearing specialist soon. Her doctor also said her right hip is probably what is hurting her more than sciatica. He gave her a shot there. He also gave her the ok to get her cataract surgery. Hopefully she’ll be all fixed up and feel better! Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

The sun is shining nicely and it’s warmer with a breeze. I finished most of my plants in pots. I need more soil! I usually put my coleus in larger pots so they get really bushy. All the coolest and rain hurt some of my seeds, so I added a few rows to where I have the zinnias, etc. Also stuck more nasturtiums and a few moon flowers here and there. We need to get the tomatoes, green peppers, bean and zucchini planted this weekend. Almost finished!

Almost forgot! Went on my first stroll around the yard and stopped at the pond. There was a garter snake stretched around the rocks sunning itself right next to the pond! I stared at it and it me! I came in to get the camera, but he was gone when I went back outside. Gee, have a lot to do in that area and don’t want to see him again. I think I’ll tap on the rocks before I start digging or anything!

May12

Nor’easter blew out power for 5 hours

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We just got technology back at 4 pm-it was gone from us since a little before 11! What a pain! It’s too rainy and chilly to do anything outside, and a bit dark to do anything inside! I did go through some bags in my bedroom and condensed them. I had been in my bedroom all day Saturday doing the winter to summer clothes switch-a-roo. So proud to be on my 3rd bag for Goodwill donations. Sean did add stuff though.  I never have enough room for my clothes in the armoire. I take pretty good care of them (line dry many things) so I have them for years!

We did take mom out to a Chinese dinner which is usually a ‘no-no’ for me, but I got out voted 3 to 1! The restaurant smelled funny, like they had had a water leak-wet rugs. I think we should have left and gone to the Jewish deli place across the shopping center, but mom reminded me we didn’t like what we had there one time. Mom goes to this restaurant a bunch, so we stayed and shared ‘Seven Stars around the Moon’ for two. It was nicely presented (Sean has a photo on his camera phone) and was pretty good, not too much of an MSG taste. They had the shrimp butterflied and cooked with bacon-quite yummy. We also stopped briefly in a Dollar Tree and AC Moore and I got a magazine and few little gift items and things. Mom wasn’t feeling well, so we dropped her off and came home, but hit a new Target where Sean and I looked around for a bit and shopped. Oh, the entire day my left knee was so sore! When I came home (after Baskin Robbins) I used the heating pad and it went away! Amazing.

Today I did a few ATCs by the light of a little lantern. I wound up some music boxes! It was too quiet! When Sean came home from a Longwood Gardens job interview (which he says sounds good), we played Trivial Pursuit, but just answered questions without using the board part. I called my mom as she had gone to the hearing dept at the hospital and she had water in her ears’ tubes which may be causing her hearing loss to be moderate to low. She needs to go to a specialist now.

We are waiting on Bri for dinner (McDs). He brought us pizza home for lunch as I wouldn’t dare open the frig. I only ate one slice as I was feeling the affects from out dinner last night.

Here’s hoping for a gorgeous day tomorrow!