Our Grandson Turns 7

Our one and only grandson Jeremy turned 7 today.It has been a busy few days with celebrations.This is a picture of Jeremy blowing out the candle on his birthday cake.Our daughter and son in law thought they had birthday candles but could find only one.I had bought a number 7 candle when my grandson with me at the grocery store.We forgot to take it to their house.Our grandson said that the one candle would be fine so that is all he blew out and did it in one take.We can tell he is growing up since he wasn't upset over having just one candle on his cake.

Friday I went with our daughter to Jeremy's school to have a little party with his class.Our daughter provided treat bags,cake,potato chips,dip and punch.It was a big hit with all of the children.They sang two different birthday songs to Jeremy.

Yesterday after Jeremy's 9 AM soccer we drove to Chuck E Cheeses for some birthday fun.That place was packed and crowded but Jeremy enjoyed it.That is what matters.

Today Jeremy had another soccer game then his party this evening.

Hard to believe that 7 years ago when he was born in our local hospital he came into the world weighing only 3 pounds 3 ounces.He was transferred to the NICU at a hospital 100 miles east of us and stayed there for 2 weeks.He was then transferred back to our local hospital where he stayed a week and came home on his daddy's birthday May 18th weighing all of 4 pounds.

My Evening Walk

I just came in from taking my evening walk.I try to walk at least 1/2 hour every evening as long as the weather cooperates.I've been walking in my back yard and use it sort of like a track.I go round and round and round.Sometimes I vary my walk and walk around to the front of our house and then on around to the back yard.Since gas is so high I haven't wanted to drive to the park to take my walks like I was doing last year.I really miss walking in the park.Maybe I should do that once or twice a week just to change things up.

While walking I listen to songs that I have downloaded on my I-Pod.I have a mixture of country,oldies and Gospel music.This evening one of the songs that came on was Long Black Train by Josh Turner.I really like that song.I wanted to read the lyrics so I did a Google search and found them.Thought I would share them here:

There's a long black train, Comin' down the line, Feedin' off the souls that are lost and cryin', Rails of sin, only evil remains Watch out brother for that Long Black Train Look to the heavens You can look to the skies You can find redemption Staring back into your eyes There is protection and there's Peace the same, burnin' your ticket for that Long Black Train 'Cause there's vict'ry in the Lord I say, Vict'ry in the lord, Cling to the Father and His holy name, And don't go ridin' on that Long Black Train There's an engineer on that Long Black Train, Makin' you wonder if the ride is worth the pain, He's just a waiting on your heart to say Let me ride on that Long Black Train, But you know there's vict'ry in the Lord I say, Vict'ry in the Lord, Cling to the Father and His holy name, And dont go ridin' on that Long Black Train Well, I can hear the whistle from a mile away, It sounds so good But I must stay away That train is a beauty, makin' everybody stare But its only destination is the middle of nowhere, But you know theres vict'ry in the Lord I say, Vict'ry in the Lord, Cling to the Father and His holy name, And don't go ridin' on that Long Black Train I said cling to the Father and His holy name And dont go ridin' on that long black train Yeah, watch out brother for that long black train The Devil's a drivin' that long black train.[Thanks to Jim Seiberling, Keith Madison for corrections]

How To Make Fudge

My almost 7 year old grandson Jeremy told me yesterday that he wanted to make fudge.The request surprised me since he has never mentioned wanting to make any type of food.

He had seen fudge being made on a childrens' show that he had watched.I asked him how he would make fudge.The following is his recipe:

chocolate
1 bowl
1 spoon
1 pan
a hard spatula for getting the fudge out of the pan

You mix the chocolate with the spoon.Then you pour it in the pan and place it in the refrigerator.When it is hard you get it out of the pan with the hard spatula.

Sorry to say but I didn't have all of the ingredients to make fudge the correct way so we ended up making brownies instead.He enjoyed watching how the different ingredients when added change the color of the batter.

The Lovely Outdoors

I have been spending lots of time outside.Still pulling weeds and working on cleaning up my yuccas.

I've been enjoying a lot of time outside these last few weeks as long as the weather cooperates.At least we haven't had the snowy days like we experienced last year in April.

Today it is going up into the upper 80's.I have already been outside walking and pulling weeds.Don't know if the yuccas will ever look good again or not.

Speaking of the yuccas,they were here when we moved to this house 10 years ago.I know that they are something that I would never plant.They looked really nice when we first moved in but as the years have gone by they aren't looking as nice.

I have also been busy planning our vacation to Disney World in August.We decided on adding the dining plan which means lots of research and advance reservations for where we want to eat.I have a guide book plus have been doing lots of research online.You can make reservations for the restaurants 180 days ahead but I didn't do that since I needed to do the research.We wanted to go to Chef Mickey's which is a Character meal with Mickey Mouse,Minnie Mouse and others making an appearance.It is something that our two grandchildren would love.I was able to get the reservation there.The second priority was the Fantasmic Dining Experience.If you make a reservation at a choice of 3 different restaurants in Disney Hollywood Studios Park you will be guaranteed seats in a reserved area for the Fantasmic Show.I was able to get reservations at the Hollywood & Vine Restaurant so we are now guaranteed seats for the Fantasmic Show.I am so thrilled that I was able to get reservations for both Chef Mickey's and the Fantasmic Dining Experience since they go quickly.

Our grandson's soccer season started last weekend.It was a cold windy weekend which wasn't much fun.There is rain in the forecast for this weekend.Hope it holds off till have the game on both Saturday and Sunday.

4/16

Today is the one year anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech.Virginia Tech is located about 60 miles East of us.Lots of young people from our area continue their higher education at Virginia Tech.

Today I am thinking about and praying for all of those that were affected by the shootings last year.Our area was deeply affected that day since we consider Virginia Tech to be one of our own.

The Return of Winter Like Weather

I took this picture a year ago on April 15th.I thought for sure that we would wake up to a scene such as this but we didn't.It was snowing big flakes of snow when I went to bed last night.Our back deck was covered so it was a great surprise when I got this morning and there wasn't any snow to be seen any where.They had been predicting 1-3 inches of snow.

It is cold today.The temperature is only 40 as I write this.We had to turn the heat back on in our house.We got to turn it off last week for the first time since it had warmed up nicely.Last Friday we set a record high of 82.By the end of this week we are suppose to have days in the 70's.

This weekend was the first weekend of soccer season.Our grandson has a game on both Saturdays and Sundays for the next month.It was a cool windy morning for the 9 AM game on Saturday.The children were able to wear their uniforms but come Sunday they needed to dress warmly.Our grandson wore sweatpants and a sweatshirt under his soccer shirt.We were quite cold on the sidelines.I even had winter gloves on.I wanted to be prepared since the wind is rather cold coming off of the mountains when the temperature is in the 30's and 40's.It was only in the 30's Sunday with a brisk wind.Thankfully the rain and snow held off till after the game was finished.

Early Spring

This is what early Spring looks like in our area of southern West Virginia.Just took this picture.I wanted to document in pictures how long it will take for the leaves to come back on the trees.You can see a hint of the leaves coming but it is still rather bare in the woods behind our house.

Tulips are now in bloom around our area.I have really enjoyed seeing all of the Spring flowers on our car trips around the area.

In the forefront of the picture is one of my yuccas.This one is really full and doesn't have the brown stems like most of the others have.I am steadily working on them.I cut two way back to see if that will help them any.Took pictures of them so I can tell if they come back fully or not.

For Valentine's Day I posted a picture of a tree that was decorated with hearts located here in our town. It was so sad to hear this week of the passing of this lady who took time out to have her tree decorated for every special holiday.She was a philanthropist and donated to many worthy causes in our area.She is sadly missed by her family and our community.I noticed yesterday that a black cloth is draped around the tree with her initials on the cloth and flowers placed at the base of the tree.

Working In The Yard

I've been busy working in my yard.The above picture is what a yucca plant should look like.Wish mine did.I've been working hard on mine getting the dead growth out.

I need to do some online research on the proper care of yucca plants.There are at least 15 yucca plants on our back hillside.We have lived here 10 years now and they have grown and grown and grown.They are looking rather shabby right now so my project is to get them looking better for the summer weather ahead.

I should take some "before" pictures of my yucca plants then hopefully the "after" pictures will look much better this summer.

Our Other Cat Casey

Since I posted pictures of our other two cats Twinkie and Sneaky I thought I should post a picture of our third and last cat Casey.

Casey is Twinkie's mother and they look nothing alike.Casey was a stray.We adopted her when she was expecting.After she had the litter of kittens we had her spayed.We were able to find homes for all of the kittens.Don't even remember how many kittens there were.We kept the brother and sister tabby kittens.Twinkie's brother Boomer died a few years ago.I don't think of Casey being Twinkie's mother since they don't look or act alike.

Twinkie

This is our cat Twinkie.I am sure this time,lol.Should have done a preview the last time before I downloaded the wrong picture.

Both Twinkie and Sneaky are tabby cats.Twinkie is a tiny petite female tabby and Sneaky is a big male tabby.

Our Playful Cat

Oops,Wrong Cat! This is Sneaky and not Twinkie.I will download Twinkie's picture on another post.Took me forever to get this picture downloaded so I will keep it right here!

This is our playful cat Twinkie.She is 12 years old and still acts like a kitten.That picture was taken last fall when our grass was dry due to the lack of rain.Here lately we have been blessed with lots of rain.We have had Twinkie ever since she was a kitten.She is very gentle with our two grandchildren.

Twinkie is a sweet tabby cat.She is a talker and will let you know when her food dish is empty.She loves to follow you around the yard and climb trees to show off for us.

One day I heard a noise in the kitchen.I went to check what the commotion was.There was Twinkie unraveling the paper towels.She was having a grand ole time.I was able to save the paper towels by folding them.

I then put what was left on the roll back on the paper towel holder.A few minutes later I heard the same noise again.There was Twinkie taking the rest of the paper towels off of the roll.I couldn't believe my eyes that she would go back and finish off the roll.This is the first time she has ever done this.Now I am afraid to put another roll of paper towels on the holder.Cats are creatures of habit.Maybe if I wait another week or so she might forget her little antics and not bother the paper towels again.

Forty Years Ago

Hard to believe that it was 40 years ago today that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

I was 17 and a senior in high school.We lived in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC area.I remember vividly the news stories of the rioting and fires within the city limits of DC.A curfew was in effect and people were not allowed to travel into the city.I'll never forget how The National Guard was called in to keep people from going into the city.

Don't remember too much about it since we lived in the Maryland suburbs outside of the city limits.I do remember later on seeing all of the buildings that were burned down across the city.The devastation was so sad to see.

Special Time With Our Granddaughter

This is our granddaughter Mariah walking along the beach with one of her parents at Myrtle Beach SC a few weeks ago.

Mariah spent the night with us last night.She sleeps really well here.This is only the second time she has spent the night with us and away from her parents.She adapts so well that you would think that it is something she does quite often.

She is 3 and very active.Kept hubby and me very busy since she loves to get into everything.As soon as her feet hit the floor in the morning she is ready for a new day.We are use to her older brother that when his feet hit the floor in the morning it takes him awhile to get moving.

Wish our weather would have been nicer today.It was a cold rainy day that felt more like February.The wind was blowing hard and the temperature was only in the mid 30's.If it had been a degree or two colder we would have had snow.

The red bud and Bradford pear trees are starting to bloom.Can't really enjoy all of the pretty colors with all of the rain and wind we are experiencing.We are suppose to have rain both tomorrow and Saturday then clear off and be in the upper 50's on Sunday.

The book fair at our grandson's school was really nice the other evening.The school librarian wasn't surprised with our grandson's book selections since she knows his love of maps and how he can tell people directions to different places.

Book Fair Time

This is a picture of our grandson Jeremy.It was taken a few weeks ago on their hotel balcony in Myrtle Beach SC.

Today is the kick off day for his school's book fair.Our grandson is in first grade and doing great.His mommy(our daughter) asked him who he wants to take him to the kick off book fair celebration.He said Nana and Diddy(that is what he calls hubby Ken).

Tonight at the book fair will be a tour around the world.Each classroom has been assigned a country.Each child will receive a passport as they enter the school.Their passports are to be stamped as they visit each classroom.

Our grandson's classroom was assigned Australia.I was able to help some since I am blessed to have a few things from Australia.I believe it was back in 1999 I participated in a swap on a homemaking list that I was on.My swap partner was from Australia.I received some really nice things from Jennifer.I have an Australian boomerang that is still in the plastic wrap.There are instructions on the wrap as to how to use the boomerang and the history of the boomerang.I also had a refrigerator magnet from Perth Australia and some pictures to send in.I would have had more things but back in January I was cleaning out my closet and came across the box where I had the things from Australia stored.I went through the box and threw away a calendar and a grocery store ad and a newspaper from Australia.Would have been nice to send those in too.

We want to get our grandson the book by Dr Seuss There's A Map on My Lap at the book fair.Our grandson is fascinated with maps.He studies maps online and off.He loves to go to Google Maps online and study different cities and states.He should do really well in geography.

Will update tomorrow concerning our "travel" through the countries.