Snort. Hahahahaha. I doubt that I'll ever not laugh when I look at this photo. Two years ago, the Husband and I were doing a self-guided greenhouse tour. I'd barely parked the car and turned off the engine when the Husband jumped out, saying, "Take a photo of me." "Be sure to get the sign," he said.  Hahahahahahaha.   The Husband let me enter the photo in the humor photo category at our county fair that year.  My caption was: "Deranged— U pon arriving at yet another tour, the husband became deranged."  Yup. I won a blue ribbon for it. My first ever.  I love the Husband! Time to hook up with  ABC Wednesday . Today is all about the letter D. Click here to join in and/or to read what other bloggers from around the world are posting today. 

Today's topics are 1) Starts with E   2) Week's Favorite  3) Bounce I like coming up with a photo that covers all three topics, because, I admit it, I'm lazy. This afternoon I didn't think I could come up with something even for the letter E. Maybe I'd simply flake out this week.  While getting a photo ready for my other blog, I thought how much I liked the way it turned out, so maybe I'd also use it as my week's favorite for Friday's Hunt. Boom. Pow. Light bulb. Oh, yeah. The photo was of eucalyptus trees. Ha! I bounced back. The photo covers all three topics. Okay, I may have stretched the bounce part. But, I'm sticking with it.  Okey-dokey.  Now, head on over to Teresa's blog, Eden Hills , to check out what other participants have posted for today's Friday's Hunt .

The Mama used to tell me a story about the time that the Daddy carried me on his back while they picked tomatoes one summer day. I was maybe two years old. "You cried and cried," the Mama said. "You kept saying, 'Go home, Daddy. Go home.'" The poor Daddy! And, all those other poor workers around us who were forced to listen to a tiny, fat crybaby of a girl piggy-backing on her poor Daddy's back. The poor Daddy! How did the Parents ever get me to stop crying? Did the Daddy take the Mama and me home and go back to work? Did I eventually calm down, get off the Daddy's back, and find a way to entertain myself so the Parents could work in peace? I don't know. The Mama never told me what happened. She simply laughed after telling me. Why am I telling you the story? I don't know. I find myself tearful all of a sudden lately. C is for crybaby me. Not pitiful me though. C is the letter for this week's ABC Wednesday , a weekly meme that is keep

For the past 12 summers, a summer isn't summer without sunflowers growing somewhere in the front, back, or side of the house. I sowed the first sunflower seeds, and until this year, the Mama sowed seeds from the previous year's harvest. I tossed the seeds about the backyard too late, meaning after the last of the rain. And, me watering sporadically and forgetting where I had tossed the seeds, not a sunflower was to be seen. Then. Last week, I saw that spindly sunflower smiling at me as I was watering flowers. I'll do better next year. I'm linking up with Seasons , a weekly meme hosted by jesh stg. Click here to join in and/or to check out other blogs.

This week's topics for Friday's Hunt , hosted by Teresa of Eden Hills are: 1.  Starts with D  2. Week's Favorite  3. Summer or Winter My favorite photo captures the other two topics, too. It shows the dense fog coming over the ridge, which happens on many late summer afternoons. It's a good thing. Otherwise, we'd be burning up. I can't stand hot temperatures. The photo also shows the denseness of commute traffic in my neck of the woods. Yes, yes. it's not really thick compared to what goes on in cities. Believe me, in my rural area, people go crazy when the line of traffic is this long at the signal light for which we're stopping. Please click here to check out the other participants in Friday's Hunt. The meme is open until Sunday evening, if you'd like to join in.

Molly the Cat is missing. She scrambled out the front door this morning in front of two guys hauling out a TV console. I saw her slip out and run into the bushes. I didn't think much of it because she knows to stay in the front yard, so I vacuumed where the console once was. When I was done vacuuming, I heard a lot of ugly noise going on outside. The two guys were  hauling junk from the backyard and throwing stuff into a truck. Oh-oh. Molly had to be freaking out, so I went outside to bring her in. She was no where to be found. Front yard. Back yard. Inside. I've gone around the block several times for the last three hours calling her name. I've managed to not blubber until now. I hope Molly comes home on her own. UPDATE:  Bellissima! Molly the Cat has been found! I decided to look under the Mama's bed one more time. Yup! There Molly was, lying tucked snugly beneath it.  The Husband had looked under there a few hours earlier and found nothing.   So, som

I love it when I can share a photo that captures all three items in Friday's Hunt , hosted by Teresa of Eden Hills . This week the items are 1) starts with C, 2) week's favorite, and 3) unique perspective. The best part about this photo is that it came together all of a sudden this morning when I decided to de-pit a bunch of tart cherries with my nifty cherry de-pitter tool. No doubt there is a proper name for the tool, but I don't feel like doing a Google search for it. I don't know what I'll do with the de-pitted cherries. Any suggestions? To participate in the photo hunt and/or to see other participants' finds, please click here .

Two of Mama's apple trees are producing quite a lot of fruit this year, unlike the past two or three years. Some of you already know about the story of her apple trees. So, please bear with me as I say again that the Mama's apple trees started from seeds of apples that the Mama ate about 28 years ago. The Mama was told: "They'll never grow into trees."   "They'll never bear fruit."   "You won't be around long enough for the trees to grow and bear fruit." Ha. Ha. And, Ha! The Mama tasted many years worth of apples from her trees. Today begins a new round of the alphabet at ABC Wednesday , a delightful weekly meme started by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and continuing under the administration of Roger Green and his ABCW team.  Click here to join in or to check out what bloggers are writing about the letter A .

This morning I plucked the orange cherry tomatoes in the photo from the limbs of Jo . Yes, those are tiny orange tomatoes. When the first ones ripened, I wondered why they weren't getting red. It's a good thing the short-term memory box of mine kicked in before the fruits dropped off their branches. Led Zeppelin and Valerie are producing fruit, too. Barely. They're bravely keeping their tiny fruit going. I haven't been very good about remembering to water the trio, especially during the hot days. When I do water them, I don't promise that I'll be better about the task. I hate breaking promises. The yellow fruit in the photo are Asian pears, which are from our small tree.  It has produced a big crop this year because of the winter rains. I'm picking the fruit as they ripen. I wish the Mama was here to enjoy them. I'm sharing today's post at Seasons , a fun weekly meme hosted by Jeanette of St Germain's Blog . Please click here to join in

This week Teresa's Friday Hunt includes 1) Starts with the Letter B. 2) Week's Favorite and 3) Patriotic. My photo covers all three items. Hurrah! My town holds a lot of parades every year. Seven, if I'm counting correctly. My favorite is the Fourth of July Kiddies Parade. It's the sweetest, cutest, shortest, and quickest of them all. I'm not kidding about quick. You blink your eyes too often and you've missed all the children, the parents, and grandparents marching by. The Husband and I like to join in at the tail end for half-a-block of so. What's the letter B, you ask? B is for bitty as in the darling itty bitty girl pulling her horse. I thought her rather strong. Ready to go check out other blogs taking part in this week's Friday Hunt? Click here then.

What a zool cinderella dress, don't you think? Sometimes I see a Cinderella dress in this dressmaker's shop in town that I wonder what a petite, zaftig "young" old fogey woman like myself would look like wearing it. Giggle. I'm hooking up with ABC Wednesday , the fun weekly meme began by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and now hosted by Roger Green and the ABCW team.  Check out the meme here .

I woke up this morning to Janis Joplin singing Me and Bobby Mcgee . . . . "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose. . ." I've soaked six of the Mama's bittermelon seeds and will put them into the ground on Tuesday. The Mama started seeds in late March to plant in early May. Maybe it's too late for the seeds to take. Maybe not. My To Do lists keep multiplying. Yesterday I got three boxes full of river rocks that a lovely woman in town was giving away. Her sister picked up the rocks from our local river bed. The boxes are still in the trunk. Have no idea yet what I shall do with them The Husband and I wandered around the motorcycle rally in town, listening to the bands and watching the crowds. Vrrroom-vrooom.

The photo meme, Friday's Hunt , hosted by Teresa of Eden Hills , starts its second ABC round today.  It's a fun one. I made it to the letter L in the first round. Knock on wood, all goes well that I shall make it to the letter Z this time going.  As Jack Gleason used to say, "Away we go." Starts with A and Week's Favorite Our town is holding its annual motorcycle rally this weekend. It comes on or near Fourth of July to commemorate (I guess) the biker "riot" that took place in Hollister in 1947. The The Wild One starring Marlon Brando was loosely based on that incident.  So, for the next three days, we will be hearing and seeing thousands of bikers from all over, who have trekked to the Birthplace of the American Biker.  Many of them will park their bikes on our main street, where the 1947 incident took place.  Want to know more about the 1947 biker "riot"? Click here . This morning I headed down to the rally before it officially ope

I thought today is Friday. I'm a few chapters into The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert.  I'm enjoying it and it's so easy to read because the writing is seamless. The surgeon removed the week-old bandage covering the incision that marks the spot where the Husband's pacemaker was inserted last week. "You're good to go," said the surgeon. Hurrah! Why are some people okay about their neighbors being able to hear their music, conversation, and screaming grandkids clear as a bell from their backyard? I found three bags full of the brother's children's clothes in the Mama's closet. They've been there for at least 25 years, when the brother's wife put them in the bags to throw out. Somehow the Mama got her hands on them before she could. 

Old age realizes the dreams of youth: look at Dean Swift; in his youth he built an asylum for the insane, in his old age he was himself an inmate. ~ Soren Kierkegaard When I was a youth, I dreamt of hiking mountains, pedaling bicycles, paddling boats, crafting words for a living, seeing wondrous sights, traveling to distant lands, hanging out with great friends, and sharing life with an honest, respectful, kindly, compassionate, intelligent, and funny gentle man. I have realized, and continue to realize, my youthful dreams. How about you? Youth has no age. ~ Pablo Picasso It's the letter Y at ABC Wednesday . Click here to read other Y posts and/or to join in at the fun weekly meme. 

Last night, Molly the Cat plopped in front of me and stretched as far as she could. "You will do no more computer work," Molly said, thumping her tail on the keyboard whenever I reached for it. "None what so ever." The Husband and I were gone the whole day, playing with friends at the coast. It was a kayaking adventure, perfect for the hot summer day. Not to worry, the Husband and Gerry the Pacemaker stayed ashore. Once the Husband can handle it, I have plans for us to go kayaking. Molly the Cat simply has to get used to us going out, and I have to get used to her cutting me off from the computer on those going-out days. Today, I'm linking up at Seasons , a weekly meme hosted by Jeanette of St Germain's Blog. Click here to join in (which is open until Wednesday) or to read other posts.

"The surgeon will make an incision in my chest." "Do you think it will be an X?" I asked. The Husband laughed. I think he laughed. I'll say he laughed. I want him to have laughed. Tomorrow morning, a surgeon will make an incision in the Husband's chest and install a pacemaker. Yup. A pacemaker.  The results of the remote heart-monitor the Husband wore for two weeks showed that every now and then his heart flat-lines for several seconds. Not good at all. Thank goodness this problem was caught now rather than much later and that there is a ready solution. And, thank goodness we have a proactive doctor who cares for his patients and is willing to make insurance companies authorize things immediately. The Husband is ready as ready can be for this procedure. I cut his hair and trimmed his beard so the surgeon and his team wouldn't get annoyed at all that hair, especially his beard. How much hair? It filled the vacuum cleaner's canister

Last week, the Husband and I rediscovered the landscaping supply store outside of town. Our original intent was to merely check out  the ground covering alternatives for a future pull-out-the-front-lawn project. When I came across the pit full of tiny rocks, I had to have some. So, I got about 5 pounds for about two dollars. What a bargain! I went home and proceeded to quickly use them in cup planters that I was putting together. So, of course, the next day, we went back to the store and I bought 10 pounds. I went home, and, yup, within a couple of hours I was down to a small bowl full of stones. I wasn't close to potting and repotting all the Mama's plants. To make sure I did something else the rest of the week, I didn't go to the store. Good, girl, me. Yesterday morning, I broke down and the Husband and I drove to the store and went home with four bags full of stones for a total of 120 pounds. Ha! We'll see how long that lasts. By the way, that's only

This is what I've been doing with some of the Mama's various varieties of cups.  This is what I've been doing with some of the Mama's various varieties of plants that need to be put into pots or repotted. I'm having a lot of fun . It's the letter V at ABC Wednesday . Click here to check out the other participants or to link up with the weekly meme started by Denise Nesbitt and continued to day by the ABCW team headed by Roger Green.   .

Unconnected is how I feel when I leave our driveway on Tilda-Hilda. The further away we get from neighborhoods and busy streets, well, you can guess, the more my soul smiles bigger. Unconnected has been the Husband's and my world the last few days. Our phone and DSL lines went dead. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Big fat zero. The first day I panicked. The second day I relaxed and watched 1960 caper movies with the Husband in the afternoon. The third day I was a bit more responsible and went to the library to use a computer to access my email. The last email was from the Husband who wrote that the lines were working again. I was relieved, at the same time bummed. Unconnected. It's nice every so often. It's the letter U at ABC Wednesday . Click here to check out other paticipants. This weekly meme was started by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and administered today by the ABCW team under the helm of Roger Green. Thank you, all!

"Those shoes were tough to tap dance in," said the resting Molly the Cat. "The lady won't know who took them."

Today I found a note I wrote to the Mama in 1968 or 1969 from the look of the psychedelic colored stationery. On the envelope, I wrote To Mama To Brighten your day with a bit of May On the neon green paper, I wrote Mama, You're the greatest, I say you are! So sorry I have nothing to give you but this. But, then maybe soon I'll give you some thing other than a jar And both you and me can be in true bliss. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. . . though you still have to do some work! Love Susie or Me, the Lazy One I wonder if the jar had anything in it. It's the letter T at ABC Wednesday . Click here to check out other T posts.     

Sunflowers from the grocery store. I sprinkled a jar full of seeds throughout the backyard a month ago. As the Mama said about things she planted, "If they grow, they grow." Tiny roses from the roses that the Mama planted in the box I built many years ago and which I demolished on Friday. I should've either reinforced the box or removed the plants and potted them elsewhere for the Mama. Something I thought every time I watered the box the last few years. Bougainvillea and jasmine from the out-of-control vines in the front yard. The Mama would've been pleased to see the jasmine in full bloom, but also would've sighed that the vines had taken over. And, now, it's up to me to figure what to do. "What are you writing?" asked the Husband, looking up from the newspaper. The remains of our lunch sprawled on the kitchen table. "Nothing." A few minutes later, I looked across the flowers on the table at the Husband and said, "I wa

The Mama had the best view of the outside world from her seat at the kitchen table. She could watch the cars drive by, as well as people walk by, from the north or the south. She could see the butterflies kiss across the pink roses. She could gaze at the tiny brown birds take turns eating at the four-perched bird feeder. And, she could spy on the goings on of the neighbors. "What is that man's name?" the Mama asked, waiting for lunch to be served. "What man?" I asked, frantically getting lunch together, late as usual. "The man in the grey house." (The house which is now blue.) "Steve." "He's cutting his lawn," she said. "That's good." "He's not wearing any shirt." I never knew whether the Mama thought that was a good thing or not.

The Mama and Two-month-old Me at Our Favorite Picnic Spot in Monterey The Mama was 94 years old when she slipped into eternity. So, of course she left lots and lots and LOTS of stuff behind. Lucky me. I get to go through it all and decide what to keep, throw away, reuse, recycle, give away, or possibly sell.  I was about to say that it's easy to figure out what to do with some things. It's not. The other day I found an envelope on which the Mama printed Susie One Year Old . Inside the envelope was a bunch of my one-year-old self's hair. What am I going to do with that? It's time for ABC Wednesday , hosted by Roger Green and the ABCW team, which was started by Mrs. Nesbitt nine years ago. To join in and/or check out other participants, please click here .

Riding Tilda-Hilda gives me the opportunity to think. Riding her also lets me not think, if that's what I need at the moment. Thank goodness that I have Tilda-Hilda. She has been with me for almost 13 years. By golly,  gee, she's the oldest bicycle I've ever owned. As some of you know, I signed up for the National Bike Challenge to keep me motivated to take Tilda-Hilda out of the garage. The challenge runs from May to September. Its goal is to sign up 100,000 riders who all together will pedal 75 million miles by the end of the challenge. As of the 15th day, 32,181 riders have signed up and we have pedaled 2,322,172 miles. Tilda-Hilda and I have gone out six of the 15 days thus far, pedaling 48.3 miles. Whooo-hooo! The past two weeks, the mornings have started in fog so Tilda-Hilda and I haven't gone out as much. The fog lifted by mid-morning today, so, weather may be changing. We shall see. I'm linking up with Seasons , a weekly meme hosted by Jeanette