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Sweet 16

My baby is sixteen years old today!

Elvis has been with me since he was three months old.

It was December 12, 2009 and my plan was to give my oldest daughter Stephanie a kitten for Christmas.  LB and I went to the Humane Society and looked at all the adorable kitties that were living there.  Some of them were in crates; some of them were playing together in the Kitty Cabana.  As we walked into the Kitty Cabana I noticed one little black fur ball scurry behind a kitty play set. Of course I went after him.  Given the fact that he was so skittish, I was surprised that he let me pick him up.  Not only did he let me pick him up, he let me hold him close and snuggle.  I had found a winner.
We took him home.


My plan was to keep him for the next several days before Christmas and then take him to Stephanie on Christmas morning.

It was only a few days that he was with us and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to part with him.


The decision was made that I would keep Elvis and go back to the Humane Society for another rescue.

 

Exactly one week later, we went back and adopted Aymie.  She and Stephanie are inseparable.  Aymie is obviously a good sport.

~

If you have a kitty in your life, you know just how special he can be.

Elvis used to go everywhere with me.  Now he is a homebody.  He tolerates no visitors and hides under the bed as soon as he is aware that company has arrived.  To most people, he seems very unsociable.
However, when he detects that his mama has arrived home, he comes running.  He then leads me to the living room for some hello-let’s-have-a-brush time.

Elvis sleeps on my bed at my feet. He is anxious for me to get up in the morning and has been known to sit by my head and pat my nose. His favorite time is when I’m sitting in my living room chair letting him sleep on my lap. 

He is sleeping on the recliner next to me as I type this post.

He is just a precious little fur ball, and I’m so happy to have him in my life.

Happy Birthday Elvis!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

It’s Friday and I’m at home!

This past week was an exciting week and I have a few favorites that I’ve selected to share…

Last Friday LB and I headed to Captiva Island Inn for a vacation to celebrate my birthday

Favorite #ONE

Captiva Island

We made it in time to have dinner at our favorite local Mexican restaurant before catching the sunset!

Another restaurant on Captiva Island is the Mucky Duck which has been closed since the devastation that came to the island during the 2022 – 2024 hurricanes.

Many places are still in desperate need of repair.

~

Favorite #TWO

Mudbugs

Mudbugs is an adorably decorated Cajun restaurant that we happened upon while touring nearby Sanibel Island.  We didn’t sample the crawfish, but LB was able to have his fill of oysters while I enjoyed blackened fish.  Also while exploring Sanibel, LB and I found several cute shops.

Favorite #THREE

Beach Daisy

a lovely little shop where I found a lovely little summer sweater and pendant.

Someday I will post an OOTD pic wearing this!  In the photo above, I’m sitting in bed surrounded by all of the birthday gifts LB presented to me on June 1st!  Speaking of birthday gifts…

Favorite #FOUR

Birthday Gifts

This is what I was awakened to.

When I got home, I laid everything out for a more impressive photo…

I’m spoiled forever!

~

As we do nearly every year, LB and I attended one of our favorite concerts on Thursday

Favorite #FIVE

Happy Together

This year’s performance included the Cowsills, the Vogues, Gary Puckett, Little Anthony, Jay & the Americans, and, of course, music by the Turtles.

Just for fun I created a YouTube playlist that I’ve included below

I hope you enjoy!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog!

Dear Daddy

 

Today would have been your 79th birthday.  Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you.

A lot has happened in the 24 years you’ve been gone.

Sydney was born shortly after you left.  You didn’t get to meet her, but I know you would love her.  She looks so much like Gina.

Now you have seven grandchildren.

They have all graduated from high-school.  Some have gone on to graduate from college…with the highest distinction.

You would be very proud.

~

Recently Kyle added some wedding excitement to the family when he married Christella.

This photo shows how loving and protective Kyle has been.

All your grandsons have been very protective of Mama.

Clay has been true to his word.  He takes good care of his Mema.  He has a manner about him that is remarkably familiar.  I always think of you when I see him.

Clay married Chynna; now they have a little boy and three little girls.

Richard had a hard time after you left; we spent many nights consoling him.  He had just turned 11.

You would be so proud of him today.

He is a preacher.  Richard married Emily… and now they have two little girls and a little boy.

Lydia is Richard’s oldest; she looks a lot like her mama.

And this one looks like her Glammy.

Can you believe I’m a Glammy???

Richard Ezekiel is namesake #2.  We call him Zeke.

Zeke and Glammy

 

You might find it hard to believe, but all your grandchildren remember you vividly;  And your great-grandchildren know you from the many photos they’ve seen.  They know you as “Granddaddy Richard”

You have 7 Great Grand-babies!

I know you would enjoy seeing photos of them too:

Lydia, Levi & Thea

Lydia & Rory

Adrian, Thea & Levi

Rory
Levi

They Are So Sweet

Mama is crazy about them…

you would be too!

Rory, Eden, Lydia, Thea, Adrian Levi
Levi & Zeke
Eden, Rory, Adrian, Zeke, Thea, Lydia & Levi
Eden, Thea, Lydia, Levi, Adrian & Rory

~

 

Although our family has continued to grow, many loved ones have left us since you’ve been gone.

Just this week we were heartbroken to learn that your cousin, Robbie has passed away.  The news made me think of the stories you told about when you were kids; you and Robbie were both so adventurous.

I came across this 1970’s photo of the two of you. Robbie told me many times how much he loved and missed you.

My simple mind likes to imagine that you were standing nearby to welcome him when he came your way.  Maybe that isn’t exactly how things work, but since no one really knows specific details, I’ll think what I want.

I hope you’ll be waiting to welcome me someday.

~

You would be HAPPY to know that Mama is doing well. 

And we are all fine.

You are missed more than you know.

We know that we will see you again Daddy, and thank you for showing us The Way.

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

 

Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites have been Few and Far between (don’t you just love alliteration?).  With that, I’m here to share a few recent faves…

Favorite # ONE

CAKES

I’ve been busy making cakes in 2025.

Mama’s Birthday Cake,

Mississippi Mud Cake requested by my girls,

German Chocolate cake for LB’s birthday,

Rory’s Chocolate Stitch cake.

Speaking of Rory…

Favorite # TWO

Rory!

Happy Birthday to my favorite little 7 year old!

You’ve come a long way baby!

~

Favorite # THREE

SHOES

Monday was a delightful day off work, so LB and I went shopping for a pair of shoes I had been eyeing.  Sadly, they were not available at my local Target, but happily, I found these and liked them even more

~

Favorite # FOUR

EGGS

When you can’t find organic eggs, they quickly become a favorite!  This carton from Vital Farms was purchased from a store that we never visit… Publix in Avondale.  $11.  SMH.

~

Favorite # FIVE

Only 20 more workdays until shutdown!

Along with a photo of my team celebrating Christmas, I mentioned in this post that “it may be the last one”.  I didn’t elaborate, but I wasn’t talking about Christmas and I wasn’t talking about “this post” being the last one.  I’ll now share that we were called into a MS TEAMS meeting on December 13th to hear the announcement that our company has chosen to close our office.  We have all been impacted by a surplus.  Once the date of separation takes place, I’m sure I’ll have plenty to share about what we as a group have endured 😇

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

It has been so long that I don’t know if I remember how to do this.

Hopefully its easier than riding a bike.

~

We celebrated my middle child’s birthday on Monday evening.

Favorite # ONE

AMANDA

I’ve published several posts featuring Amanda.  Some of my favorites are here and here.

All three of my children were born in the fall, so while the rest of the world is anticipating Thanksgiving, for my family, starting November 1st the celebrating begins.  November 1st is Stephanie’s birthday.  While she didn’t specifically request it, her birthday dinner was a fish fry.

It was EPIC.

Richard’s birthday is November 9th.  Amanda thought it would be a good idea to have a low country boil for Richard’s birthday dinner.  Since he didn’t object, that is what we did.

It was also EPIC.

Amanda asked for an appetizer/Hors d’oeuvres “dinner”, which isn’t really a dinner, but very fun and filling.

She also asked for a slab pie in lieu of a birthday cake, and so…

Favorite # TWO

SLAB PIE

A slab pie is baked in a sheet pan and is designed to feed a crowd.  For Amanda’s pie I used my pâte brisée recipe and canned pie filling: apple, blueberry, cherry, and mixed berry.  The pie turned out pretty good.  Either that or no one was brave enough to tell me the truth.

With Amanda’s birthday past, on Wednesday LB began setting up the Christmas trees.  We have two and they are both special.

Favorite # THREE

THE PURPLE TREE

This was our first Christmas tree with baby Elvis, which makes it 15 years old.

These days he doesn’t have the impulse to climb the purple tree, but he still likes it.

Putting it up was a bit difficult this year because LB had to strip the lights and add new ones.

Now I get to decorate.

~

This year my team at work decided to have seafood for Christmas dinner

Favorite # FOUR

BONEFISH GRILL

and my Team

Most of us went out on Thursday night for our Christmas dinner together.  It may be the last one.

More on that later.

~

Favorite # FIVE

this little tree

that lives in my front yard.

This fall his leaves turned yellow.

Now I call him Arnold

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Bon Voyage Barbie

Birthday Barbie was my sister’s genius idea to surprise me for my birthday.  She and my daughters and brother-in-law brought her to me on the Sunday before Memorial Day.

I wish I had a video of them marching into my house to present their creation.

They were so excited and apparently had a lot of fun putting Barbie into the cake and covering her with sprinkles.

LB had made last minute plans to take me on a cruise to celebrate my old age aka birthday.

So… since I would be away on the actual day, someone decided that we would celebrate my birthday early.

We enjoyed the Barbie dress for dessert at the Memorial Day Pool party.

It was 3 layers: white, strawberry, and lemon.  Very tasty.

I can’t remember who had the great idea that Barbie should come along on the cruise to help document the event.

But Barbie was all in… she even helped me pack…

When we left Wednesday morning for Miami, she called “shot gun”, but I outranked her.

We made it safely to the port in Miami and found our living quarters.  Here’s Barbie enjoying a seat in the living area of the cruise cabin.  Birthday Barbie became Bon Voyage Barbie.

And on the balcony just before we sailed…

Barbie enjoying a chocolate chip muffin for breakfast on the balcony

[Yes, that is a choc chip muffin she’s holding].

~

Barbie in Key West

Our first stop was Key West where we WALKED for miles (it seemed) to reach the

SOUTHERNMOST POINT

OF THE CONTINENTAL U.S.A.

It was SO hot in Key West that Barbie broke a sweat.

Before we made it back to the ship, we stopped at Margaritaville and let Barbie indulge…

 

Stop #2 was in Bimini Bahamas.

Barbie on the beach

 

 

Did I feel like an idiot carrying a Barbie doll around?

You bet.

But it was still a great time!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

 

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Happy Birthday Gina!

My sister Gina is four years younger than me.  I was a surprise to my Mama and Daddy, but Gina was planned.  I consider her to be their gift to me.

Her name is Georgina Grace.  She is one of my favorite people.Given that, I dedicated this post to her a few years ago.

~

At the beginning of the month, my brother-in-law, Stuart posted this in our family group text:

“Today is August 1st and it’s the first day of the birth month of my beautiful Gina! I plan on celebrating her everyday this month! I love you Gina!”

Stuart shared some of his August celebration in honor of Gina with our whole family.

He started with this then and now photo:

~

On August 2nd Stuart shared this fun photo with the caption:

“Today’s memory of Gina!  I love her so!”

~

The following week Stuart shared this tidbit:

In Greek mythology, Georgina is associated with the goddess of agriculture and fertility, Demeter.  Georgina was on of Demeter’s many epithets, and it was used to refer to her as the goddess of the earth.  In this context, Georgina is often associated with growth, abundance, and prosperity.

~

Then he shared this interesting information about Gina’s birthstone…

 

Later he would share more about the peridot/chrysolite from Revelation 21:19-20:

19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.

~

Stuart also shared the “how do I love thee” [sonnet 43] written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning…

It is obvious that he loves her dearly.

I do too.

Happy Birthday Gina!

🎂

 

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

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