The school play

It was all about kindness and having concern for others.

friend Lauryn introduced the show

That's our tall boy on the end

That's our girl in green

Being friendly to new people was stressed and everyone sang about this.  One of the songs was about how beautiful everyone is, with dark or light skin, blue, brown or green eyes.  All these kids putting on the show were beautiful!

Spotlight Dancing School

Congratulations to our little girl who did a great job tonight at her recital!

She did ballet, Irish Step and Hip Hop numbers.   She was great in each number, but it was obvious that she was a leader in her Hip Hop group!  Good job, Sweetie.

John Deere, you're a dear!

We get so much enjoyment out of the tractor.  It's worth whatever Grampa paid for it, as it not only cuts the grass; it is an exciting mini hay ride for the kids.  Markie and Taylor both tried their hand at driving this year!  They took it slowly and did a great job.

Growing up!

Her are the grandkids who were visiting the grave of their great grandparents recently.  Look how big they are getting...and can you tell who is the spunky one?


Poor Markie cut his knee on a broken piece of glass this past week.  Here he is upon returning from the emergency room with 9 sutures in his knee.  Playing Wii helps to take away the pain.

Ten years have gone by?

Happy birthday to my first grandchild, who recently turned TEN.

He had a great luau birthday party, including school friends and relatives in his celebration!

My teddy bear

This is my dear Ty, whom I rescued.   I took him to the animal hospital where he was neutered, had bad teeth removed and he was dewormed, along with having an ingrown claw cut out of his foot pad.
Now, Ty says "Life is good" and he is a thankful, devoted little guy.
He has taken quite a liking to my computer table.

Areas of color here and there

Impatiens I just planted

I added some marigolds to my veggie garden.

I recycled last year's basket at my front door.

A pretty hanging plant, but I'm not sure of the name.

A hanging petunia plant at my front light post

Some of the flowers here and there around my yard.     

Well, it's that time of year again, people -- I'm   attempting to grow a great garden that will supply us with fresh  vegetables.
Last year I really loaded up around the plants with good doses of Miracle Gro, which I love.
I did have five-foot tomato plants with giant, hardy leaves and waited forever for them to bear fruit!
I'm taking it a little easier with fertilizer this time.
I solved two problems this year.  You know how you're always saying that you'll do such-and-such next time? One thing I wanted to do was prevent my yard-work sneakers from getting covered in dirt and mud every time that I tended to my garden.  I didn't have a place to step into the midst of the garden.  I also had quite a few leftover bricks hanging around, which I wanted to incorporate into something.  Being stacked next to the shed really wasn't too attractive.
So I decided to make a little stepping-stone path to stand on this year, so that I wouldn't be stepping in mud while tying up plants or pulling up some radishes and picking vegetables.
I laid out the whole bricks that I rounded up, and placed them where I thought they would serve me well.  Next, I took my trowel and outlined the area.  After lifting the bricks up and placing them to the side, I dug out the proposed home of the bricks, then kept placing them back, trying to gauge the correct depth for them, so that they would more or less end up at ground level.
It sounds easy enough, but while following these steps, I was bombarded by mosquitoes and little black flies while sweating!  I did use Off; but they were still annoying me, especially around my face.
Why do I pick the hottest days to do these chores?  I guess you have to get the garden in by a certain time, because the growing season in New England is short; so you take every clear day that you can to get your work done.
After putting the bricks in the best I could, I stepped on them to try to make them level out at approximately the same height.  They're not perfect, but it's the best I could do under the circumstances.
I placed my window-started plants in the soil and watered them.  They are now starting to perk up, after spreading out their roots in real soil.
At the time that this picture was taken, I had sprinkled those radish seeds 5 days earlier.  I was surprised at how quickly they popped up.
The garden looks skimpy now, but I know that it's only a matter of time before the plants will all be towering.
We are getting somewhat short on full sun now, as our trees have grown and are slowly shading so much of the yard.  Before planting the garden this year, my husband and I trimmed quite a few branches from a nearby maple tree to allow for more sunlight to our future veggies.
I will be taking more pics as the garden progresses!