I Wish I Were

The following poem was written by my brother Tom, when he was 8 years-old. Tom was a prolific writer, even in the 3rd grade! Tom was a gentle soul and our Mom shared how this little poem beautifully captures his loving and caring nature, even when a young boy.

I Wish I Were

I wish I were a stallion

A great big wise old horse,

I would lead a giant herd

And never change my course.

I would take care of my big herd

And help all the ones in need.

I would help all the mares,

Their little ones to feed.

Thomas Fleming

1964

snooze in-a-basket!

Please.

I just want to smooshie kisses all over their sweet little faces!

These are my new babies. Well, that's not entirely true. They're not my babies, they're our babies.

As in, my niece's babies. Which technically means, they're the family's babies.

My-oh-my, I'd give anything to hold these darlings right now.

Babies...proof that God is still in control.

And that we are loved.

good-grooming DOES make a good impression!

Does it make me a "bad" mother for loving her even more, now that her fur is cut?

That's what I thought...

I can't help it, she's just so darn cute now!

Down On The Boardwalk



Being Saturday and the day before Easter,

Jason and I opted to go grab a bite to eat.

But we didn't want to go just anywhere....

we wanted to have a dining experience!



The restaurant itself isn't elegant, the food is good and satisfying, but not particularly incredible. But the view...the view is spectacular! Look at the gentleman to the right, he was eating lobster...I love how I have a shot of him in mid-bite, so enjoying his food!

Just outside the restaurant is a small boardwalk, overlooking the ocean. We left just as dusk was settling in and the ocean was at high-tide. Thank goodness for iPhones, as I didn't bring my camera (as usual) and the phone has a decent-enough camera. I saw our shadows and thought it would make for an interesting photo.

The beauty of the ocean is breathtaking! Especially on the eve of Easter...

God's perfect beauty...

An unsuspecting cactus hidden in the dunes...

Houses on the beach...can you imagine?

The restaurant.

Palm trees...so elegant and perfect on the coast.

We sat and watched the breaking of the waves. The skies are blue, the wind whipping about...

A random beach-estate on the ride home.

But are they happy??!!

Ha, ha...I'll bet they are!

But do they have a cozy little home with a sweet little dog to greet them when they walk through the door?

I wouldn't trade a thing in my life...God's plan is perfectly perfect for me!

Boating the St. John's River

Cruise Ship...I Think I'll Pass

Chillin'

J

Condos on the River

Jacksonville Landing

Pirate Ship

Curls....

 What a beautiful day!

I grew up on an island, but I never really thought twice about all the water. Boating wasn't such a big deal to the inlander Islanders...a boat was never on my radar.

Apparently, it's been on my husband's for many years and we're really enjoying our boat...

Though I no longer live on an island, we do live by lots and lots of water! Our home isn't far from the St. John's River, so we're able to enjoy the water, especially now that the weather is turning very warm.

 I love being out on the boat, especially with my two guys... my husband and our son. Today, we cruised along a part of the river we've never been before.

The water was calm and the sky was a beautiful blue, with gigantic puffy clouds. Basking under the warm sun was lovely and I must say, my farmer's tan is coming along quite nicely...don't be jealous!

We're looking forward to our next outing...

Why don't you join us?

handpainted Christmas.

Over the years, I've collected many Christmas decorations. Some are expensive, some, not so much. This little fishbowl is the one I treasure most...it was made for me with lots of love. Third-grade was the year I had taken Jonathan to see How the Grinch Stole Christmas, with Jim Carrey and Jonathan could recite almost every line spoken by the Grinch. He was very good at mimicking voices and perfected the voice of the Grinch. Needless to say, we all had a lot of laughs when he'd recite a scene with a dead-on impersonation. Jonathan was in Mrs. Fowler's third grade class and her students would decorate a glass fishbowl for their mothers' Christmas gifts. Now  when I look at the bowl,  I smile and remember the fun Jonathan and I shared when he was little. Some of Jonathan's little classmates drew little religious figures on their bowls, some drew snowmen and Santas...I have an original. My boy chose to draw something he and I had shared, laughing together. Memories on glass... I wouldn't trade this bowl for all the Who pudding or rare Who roast beast!

profile of a doper.

The injury happened Wednesday morning. She insisted on going outside at 5 AM.  The morning 5 AM. We were sound asleep. OK, I was soundly sleeping, it was Jason who got out of bed to let her out. My sleep wasn't disturbed; never is, never has been and never will be.

BB stayed outside for several hours until I let her back in, just prior to leaving for work. I opened the door, she came in and laid down in front of the sliding doors... it's important that she can keep an eye on what's happening in her backyard as she waits for the sun to rise, that her sunbathing may commence.

It's tiring getting up that early to chase squirrels, owls and marking territory...a girl's gotta get her beauty sleep!

Call me an unfit mother, but I simply didn't notice her limping and favoring her paw. How would I? I open the door, she comes in and then plops right down in front of it. But I did notice her limping when I arrived home later in the afternoon. She was licking her paw.And licking. And licking. Did I mention she was licking her paw? And not that this has anything to do with her injury, but why does she lick the floors? Does anybody know why a canine would do that?!

It just so happend that the next day, BB had an appointment with the vet.The vet took a look at the paw and diagnosed a probable nail problem or bruise...

Then sent us home with some kind of fabulous medicine, to help BB "relax" during her injury.

"Relax..." OK, Doc! If that's what you want to call it.

 Our doggie got stoned!

I mean, really STONED! She didn't move a muscle.

What a lovely profile, BB! The fang angle is outstanding.

This stuff made her stone-cold stoned. We call it...Doggie Dope.

Doper. Stoner. Dope-Head.

She didn't have a clue as to what was going on.

And really, wouldn't it be nice to once-in-awhile be able to just sack out like this on the floor and not have a clue or care in the world as to what's going on around you?

We'll never know what was going on in that little head of hers.

But I can tell you one thing...her paw wasn't hurting anymore!

happy doggie-day!

 Oh, my goodness. She was happy, she was ecstatic.

She wouldn't leave his side...she took up her old familiar place on the floor near the couch. Close enough to have her belly scratched when he felt like scratching it.

And then he got on the floor to play with her and as you can see, she couldn't take her eyes off of him.

That's love, right there.

Timeless, classic.

A boy young man and his dog.

All is right with the world.

blue skies, smiling at me!

Our day in photos.

Blue skies, smiling at me. Nothing but blue skies, do I see.

And our great son, who is now grown...but forever our "Bud."

God is good.

little girl, British.

Cheeky little girl!

This is my mother-in-law, Ivy.

Ivy was born in Devon, England. She has an identical twin sister, Irene.

My mother-in-law makes perfect tea, loves to garden and met Winston Churchill's mother.

During WWII, as a hired farm-hand, she found a Roman coin as she was digging in the farmer's garden.

She traded it to a "Yank," as all the girls were "mad" for American soldiers. She received a quarter for the Roman coin.

Ivy still kicks herself for being so gullible!

My mother-in-law walks several times a week and though I'm not allowed to state her age, she is over 85. Shhhh, don't tell her I gave you a hint!

Little Ivy is active, independent and yes, cheeky.

We wouldn't have her any other way!

signs of son.

I have to admit that Jason and I have a much happier weekend when the son shines on our home.

And the boats?

He parks them under the table and I love it!

happily ever-after.

You may or may not have noticed that things were pretty quiet on my blog for about a month.

There was good reason.

I was sitting in a room with my parents, watching this:



And these...

And him. My Dad. Can you believe that he could order his meals from a menu, at almost any time of the day? Room service in the hospital. Really? And the food actually looked good. Go figure!

 And we watched a lot of T.V. Fox News, Golf, golf, golf, golf...

Dad is feeling better now. He gave us quite a scare.

Thank you to our friends and family who embraced us in their prayers.

God is infinitely good.

they're just kids, with coats!

It might have been easier to have a few horses as pets.

Horses socialize together, have a strong sense of independence. If you need them to work, they'll pull a plow. They're also a great source of transportation. They're affectionate and not to mention, beautiful!

As opposed to this creature.

Who has been sick with a bowel problem and in need of "special" attention...

...assistance in cleaning her backside after executing certain "movements."

How far do the duties of motherhood extend?!

It could be worse...

I'd probably do the same for a sick horse.

And that's a whole lot of wet wipes!