"Hello, Everybody!" says Agathe the Aardvark, one amazing wedding planner. "We, the ABC Creatures of the Honalee Bay Aquarium & Gardens, are here again this week to distract you of this and that, and all else from which you need and/or want momentary respite. Enjoy!" That's very kind of the ABC Creatures, who showed up on this blog in 2018 for the then upcoming wedding of Winnie the Wallaby and Thomas the Tree Kangaroo.  I love these guys and gals.  The A to M friends dropped by last week. If you missed them, click here . Nehemia the Narwhal, Noah the Nyala, and Nalia the Napoleon Mastiff are Nfinity x 3 Security who made sure everything was safe and secure at the wedding. Ofelia the Octopus was the officiant who married Winnie & Thomas. Pauly the Pademelon — where oh where had he gone? Quinn the Quokka and Quaid the Quoll hoped they could sing their way to America and the wedding. Cheers to our dear beloved Rhonda the Raccoon

Really? It was only two years ago when the ABC Creatures took over my imagination every Wednesday for 26 or so weeks. The gals and guys, most of whom live at the Honalee Bay Aquarium & Gardens, were all involved in one way or the other with the planning of and/or participation in the wedding of Winnie the Wallaby and Thomas the Tree Kangaroo. It didn't become apparent until week 8 that the ABC story was about the upcoming nuptials. The ABC Creatures don't like that I'm moping about election results. To distract me (and anyone else who wants to be distracted), they decided to take over Thursday this week and next. I don't mind. I love the ABC Creatures.  Agathe the Aardvark is quite an amazing wedding planner. Twins Bingo and Bubba Byrd work hard and party hard, too. Charlie the Camel loves to participate in the cable car ringing contest in San Francisco. The Daffodils—Davey and brothers Dicky and Davey —always take time to smell the flowers.

Sometimes I just got to shake my head and roar with silliness. I like retirement. My smiling thanks to these meme hosts: Jesh at All Seasons , Angie at Mosaic Monday , and Jeanna at Say Cheese!   P.S. The photo of me was taken by the Husband.

1. Been working in the yard, I have, I have. It's so much fun, especially when the Husband and Molly the (wild) Cat are hanging out there with me, doing whatever they do. (By the way, the Husband took my photo.) 2. "How did you get out there?" asked the Husband when he saw Molly sitting on the front steps through the screen door.  "Did you climb the fence?" 3. Oh, oh. I forgot that Molly came out the front door with me earlier today.  I get easily distracted, which means I need to come up with a system to remind me that Molly is still wandering around the front yard. 4. Thankfully, Missy Girl forgave me. So I think. She laid on my lap for a while. 5. Good medical news #1 that I got on Monday: Doctor Eye has me down in mid-May to remove the cataract in my other eye. Whoooo-hoooo! 6. Good medical news #2 that I got this afternoon: The result of my routine mammogram is normal. Yippieeee! 7. The Husband and I voted yesterday by mail-in ballots.  Yaa

1. Pop! went the left lens of my eyeglasses. So much lighter with just one lens. And, when I perch the frame on my nose just so, and hold my head just so, everything straight ahead is clear and in focus. 2. It was one week ago that steady-handed Dr. Eye made that slit in my eyeball, extracted the cataract, and implanted a brand new artificial lens. Hmmmm. What if the science fiction stories about implanting chips into unknowing people were true?  Shudder. 3.  Purrrrrrrrrr. "It's only your imagination," says Molly the (wild) Cat. 4. Yesterday, the Husband drove me to the library. I don't want to drive until I have full vision in both eyes again. That may be May. Was that a sigh I heard? 5. "I'll take that." The Husband carried my bag of books from the house to the car, then from the car to the library counter, and vice-versa.  I'm not supposed to handle anything over 10 pounds for a while. Jiggity-jig. 6. I'm not allowed to bend,

Colors, Oh my! Vibrant and deep. Shades of color, So many Subtleties.  3D! My gosh,  Everything has depth.  -- Su-sieee! Mac This, I tell you, is what I've been experiencing since Friday afternoon when the eye patch was removed from my left eye. Oh my gosh! What will it be like when the cataract is removed from my other eye and a corrected lens inserted. Oh me, oh my!  And, now I can add my pirate photo to that of the Husband's and our dads. Daddy's cataract was removed in the late 1960s, way before the procedure of inserting an intraocular lens was a thing. No doubt, he would've loved having his sight fully back in his left eye.  Arrrrr, mateys!  Come check out one, two, or all three of these memes with me:  All Seasons , Mosaic Monday , and Say Cheese . Many thanks to the hosts, Jesh,  Angie, and Jenna.

Besides important documents, the only thing Mama kept that she brought from the Philippines in 1949 was her gold Maria Clara gown. (So called because of the fancy bell-shaped sleeves.) For as long as I can remember, she hung it in the back of her closet.  Before I was born someone borrowed Mama's gown to wear in a parade. The borrower returned the gown soiled and torn. Mama always shook her head when she told the story, which she did every time she looked at her dress.  When I was a teenager Mama had me take photos of her posed in her gown around the house. I hope those weren't the only times she wore it. I never thought to ask her: What was the story behind the dress? Did Daddy buy it for her? Did she own it before they were married? Did she think she'd go to a lot of fancy dances in America? Back in December I went into a panic thinking I donated the red suitcase in which I stored the gown. Lucky me. I found the suitcase just where I put it behind t