What a whirlwind month April proved to be. It seems like it has barely begun and yet, today, we reach the final day of this beautiful month. The spring flowers have been the prettiest I can ever remember. We've had just enough rain to keep the pollen sort of at bay and yet we are all stuffed up and waiting on the taste buds to get back to normal. Over the weekend I had relatives from Houston come by and we had such a good time. I had never met them before and they only had a short while to stay but still, it was a wonderful visit. I missed my niece and nephew's piano recital due to the visit but my daughter went and reported back that they did a wonderful job! I am so proud of them for sticking with the lessons. After the company left I scurried off to Clinton to meet a friend for lunch/dinner because it was their birthday and then ran home and dressed for the art show in Vicksburg. I wish I had just a fraction of some of the talent I saw there. I'll admit that not every painting or work of art that received a ribbon did I understand. In my layman's eye there were other works there that were much, much better but still...all of it portrayed a talent I sadly do not possess. My son-in-law had mono photographs there and two friends had their art work there. All a pleasant evening but after a full day I'll admit I was just tired and did not tarry long. Sunday dawned with a celebration of our church's 180th anniversary. The morning service was very nice and us Baptist always know how to cook up some of the best food. My daughter and the two grandsons joined me which was a special treat. Then...my oldest gs had a program he was in at 6:00. There is just nothing cuter than small children singing. They are so serious about it and their little hearts are so into it. Monday I went to Starkville to see my son. Three days later and I am beginning to catch up from all that extra going and doing which followed 3 very intense days of yardwork. Funny how much longer it takes now that the clock has swung past 50. I'm thinking on to summer and wondering if I want to take a vacation...a small one maybe. Maybe not at all. Some of the best vacations I've ever had happened in my recliner, my lap filled with brochures of distant and far away places. We'll see how the next few weeks unfold as schools near closure and those warm days catch up with us and take their toll. For now the grandsons want to play one of their favorite pretend games. The one where we visit the cabbage patch and pick out two brothers and two sisters...always with red hair. Love you all...have a great rest of the day.

Well, the pups are back from the doggy doc and we've had our first weekend together. My daughter went with me to "fetch" them and has named her pup...Aries. (I hope I spelled that right!) Her first thought was actually Goliath as Aries was the bigger of the two pups but we've had dogs before whose paws were big and everyone said, oh he'll grow into a BIG dog...only to have them stay kinda small. They got their big at birth and everything else just kinda grew around it. So, she decided not to go with her first instinct. Aries went on the Walk for Breast Cancer Saturday and he also shopped at Pet Smart. I've named my little pup Jazz. Don't ask me why. Anyway, Jazz has acquired some supplies, including a sporty collar, from Pet Smart but he didn't get to go on the trip and pick out his own. His brother came over to play yesterday and I must say, two days apart had not endeared the pair to each other. They fought like kittens and puppies. Anyway, I've gotten three almost sleepless nights behind me and good weather is on the way, the boys are smiling...one wondering how you go about building a pond....and if it has to have a dam...anyway, all is right with our little world...or so it seems. Have a great week...hugs

Cute little puppies, two small grandchildren, one soft-hearted grandmother

On the way home from taking their mommy some meds she had forgotten to take before she left for work...guess what walked across the road?...4 little puppies. I saw them first from a distance as they marched across the road single file and asked, "What is that in the road?" To which my oldest grandson said he thought it was probably wildcats. I told him whatever it was did not walk like a cat...wild or not. The youngest said he thought it was bears. I said I sure hoped NOT! By this time we had made it to the stop sign and there they were...4 of the cutest little puppies! I almost, almost drove away thinking about how cruel people can be to just dump such tiny, defenseless little beings beside a road but then the image of a coyote gobbling those cute little pups up for his lunch made be hesitate and that's all it took. Out of the truck we went and one of the little darlings came right up to me and started wimpering...soon his brother followed. Well now, I've been in the market for a dog. Granted I had something a little different in mind than these Heinz 57 varieties that stood in front of me. But the damage now was done...grammy just didn't have the heart to leave them there. The two little sweeties that came up to me went into the truck but I could not catch the other two. Well, maybe I could have but they had decided to duck into a heavily fortified with poison ivy area and I wasn't willing to chance that. My thought was to take these two to the vet and then come back for the other two and have my daughter take them to the shelter. Soooo...it was a plan and off we went to the "dog doctor" which I found a better terminology for 2 and 4 year olds than vet. On the way I suddenly realized that this was gonna cost money...times 2...although I was hoping my daughter would want one of the pups. So I text messaged my other half (at times my better half) and asked him if he minded me rescuing a puppy from the side of the road...and his quick response was, "no...LOL". I could have hugged him right there on the spot...from thousands of miles away those cute little puppies already had him wrapped around their little paws. When we reached the DD he told me what all he'd have to do...puppy care is a little more expensive than I remember it being...and he is gonna keep them a day or so making sure the shots don't make them sick, etc. Anyway, when we got ready to leave my littlest angel boy looks at me like I have lost my mind. I told him to come along and with his tiny little lips quivering he said, "Grammy, you've forgot the puppies." That sweet little boy...and those sweet little puppies...they nearly did me in today. I bent down and wiped away his little tear and assured him we would come back to get them but the doctor had to give them a check up. Well, he gave the doctor a look that said, "I am not impressed" but finally, sniffling, he took my hand. When we got all buckled into the car my oldest little angel boy asks, "You would never leave your little grandchildren anywhere for very long would you Grammy?'' That's when I climbed into the backseat between the two car seats and reassured two very precious little boys that Grammy would never in the whole wide world leave them anywhere and then promised we would get the puppies back. Sometimes it's the little things that remind us of the big things...like love and caring and innocence. Today was about more than puppies...they were there right when I needed them most reminding me that sometimes things don't turn out the way we had in mind. Two very small, precious boys reminded me of a promise that lately I sometimes have trouble remembering. We won't ever be left alone to face what ails us. Best wishes for a happy rest of the week....

Sunshine and blue skies. That's what I see when I look out the window. Green, green grass and flowers of all colors dotting the outdoors with beauty unsurpassed. It's a lovely day. Hope all of you had a wonderful Easter. The eggs have been stuffed with candy, dyed and found. Children filled to the brim with candies and cookies of all shapes and flavors. We're on the path to summer...where bare feet and gleeful giggles abound. Once again I count my blessings and try not to dwell on the things I have a hard time finding a blessing in. That we were never promised a journey free of storms is certain but each day I realize that every storm has a safe harbor if we but look beyond the typhoon to the rainbow and He who placed it there. That's a promise we can count on. "Sorrow looks back... Worry looks around... But, faith looks up." (Thanks Kathy!) Have a blessed day. Love you all...

Ghosts in time

I've spent the last, let me count them, 6 days involved in cemeteries. For two days straight I combed the Natchez City Cemetery and talked to countless people. If you haven't been to this particular cemetery, and you are into such things, you should go. It goes on forever...and every stone seems to tell a story. Some of the most, if not THE most, beautiful carvings are found on the stones. I learned that this is basically a lost art and now things are done more often by laser. To learn about the lives of these people...the tragedies as well as the triumphs...was amazing. To have complete strangers come up and start telling their stories...To talk to learned people, they were there putting out Confederate flags, about the history of this quiet place made me almost speechless. To think that I happened to be in the right place at the right time to interact with these folks! I've also spent time with my own ancestors. They are a bit more puzzling. Some do not have stones and I am trying to find out information that seems to be elusive. This one says that one is buried there and yet, no records seem to exist and no person lives that knows for sure. This person says no while this person says yes. I wonder if the old ones knew how they'd worry their so many generations into the future granddaughter? But puzzles make the mind work and in sorting through the mists of time it's interesting what images emerge. A house seen countless times becomes the home of a great aunt built with lumber cut from her own land, by her own hand and preserved by the present owners because they didn't have the heart to do away with what they knew was back breaking labor. There is more waiting and it will take more visiting and more calls and more help and more days and a lot of research. But in the end I know the results will be rewarding and I too will have stories to tell when I am older and someone might be glad they passed my way at just the right time. Stay safe from life's storms...ride the tide...look high above the waters...and remember that this moment in time belongs to you....love ya