And he returns to the CRIME SCENE ...

You know we have NO trees on our lot with the exception of two very, very sad Mesquite trees.  Well our midnight prowler has returned, not in the dark of the night, but well before sunset, and after a fresh rain to nibble on some vegetation ... this is now getting serious ...

Okay, so he spots me as I sneak around the outside of the house ...

Yikes, gotta run, and quick, am not certain what that woman is holding in her hand ...

        Whew, got away, around the bird feeder and through the opening in Chuck's fence .... but I'll be back, when they least expect it and finish my dinner! 

        It's so much fun living in the country, and just after our "criminal" disappeared, the neighborhood skunk appeared in the backyard.  We're thinking the bands of rain showers from Hurricane Alex have affected our favorite country creatures!  Until next time ....

Told you so ....

the mystery's been solved, but I was pretty certain I knew what was happening, Don wasn't convinced until last night!  Our birdbath in the backyard, during the night the water was disappearing and I suggested one of our friendly neighborhood residents were taking advantage, it could have been any of the many cats that love our backyard as we have many morning doves, cardinals, blue jays, woodpeckers, tufted titmouse, and chickadees entertaining us daily, or maybe the fox that passes through on a regular basis, or maybe the skunk that sometimes is confused that he's a nocturnal animal and appears after sunrise when I'm watering or weeding, but not the case!  Pictured below is the criminal, caught in the act ...

This picture was taken at 10:30pm last night, we'd just gone to bed and our motion detector light came on, it happens frequently, and we usually ignore but decided to check out the cause of the motion.  Picture was taken at our kitchen window, through the crack in our blinds, our sweet friend didn't move, even after the first shot when I forgot to turn off the flash.  She stayed until I reset the camera!  No more mystery, it's so much fun living in the country!  Have a great day my friends, until next time ....

Before and after ...

Started working in my poor flowerbeds last weekend, and have vowed NEVER to let them go this long again, but am making some progress, so here's to sharing a before and after shot ...

Before

Now this is a work in progress so I'm not finished, and I'm using mostly native Texas plants, those draught resistant are the best.  And one day I'd like to replace our deck with something a bit fancier, it was built when we moved in as our foundation is about 3 feet deep and the builder didn't provide steps, imagine that.  Okay, here's the after ...

My Red Yucca nearest the step is not blooming yet, the red yucca in the center of the yard has been, the shrub under Mother's bedroom window, a Mexican Honeysuckle,  will bloom later.  Also on our "to do" list is a redo of the driveway, but it all takes time.  There's a piece of granite behind my yard chicken, it's part of the lakehouse fireplace mantel.  There are two bigger slabs in the backyard where our birdbath sits, more pictures later.  So someone had better encourage me to continue with my projects, and then remind me Spring 2011 to start weeding, planting and mulching in April ... and to think I even know better ... sigh!  Until next time ...

My Newest Friend ...

he about scared me Sunday evening when I opened the back door, and actually he did.  It was dark and all I saw was something on the door frame.  And y'all know we live in the country, so my immediate thought was a spider or scorpion, not the case.  My new friend seems to like the back of our house, and here he is ...

"Mr. Walking Stick", he watched me this evening as I watered plants, and took note of the hummingbirds as they came in for a before bedtime snack.

That's about it, my blog for today, a slow news day, but now you've met my new friend :)  Enjoy your evening, and until next time ....

IS IT 1,468 MILES OR 1,185 MILES ?

it doesn't really matter, but Mapquest says 1,468 miles and Gertrude, our GPS, says 1,185 miles to Melisa and John's front door.  It's a long trip, and we've driven it so many times simply because we're always taking something to Melisa and John.  But this time we were anticipating our first visit with Henry Donald.

     So we packed, loaded the truck and hit the road ... Don does all of the driving, simply because I tend to fall asleep on long trips, so it's gruesome for him but he is able to finally unwind, and we do stop often so that helps some!  But the real victims of these road trips are ...

My poor, poor swollen feet and toes, and I even wear anti-embolism stockings on the advice of my doctor.  Guess I should issue a WARNING that these pictures may be offensive to some; however, the good news is that after almost a week, the feet and toes begin to look ...

more like normal feet and toes, okay, I still need a pedicure, and I've managed to have a blister on the left foot and bites on my right toes, but the feet are 98% back to normal!  YIPEE!!  Until next time ...

Henry Donald's arrival ....

guess it was close to midnight when the phone finally rang, Melisa had been induced earlier in the day.  John had done a great job of keeping us advised of any progress and we even talked with Melisa a few times, but at 10:30pm my eyes and body were fading fast so off to bed in eager anticipation of the call.

     The phone rang, Melisa asked immediately for me to put the phone on "speaker" and the announcement of Henry DONALD's arrival at 11:51pm on May 19th, yipee, not only for his arrival, but now we have, in our family, three birthdays on the 19th of January (Dylan), May (Henry) and October (Carin), so it will be an easy date to remember.  And, of course, the special middle name of Donald in honor of Dad, he is so proud!
     Melisa gave us further stats, but then announced Henry was under oxygen due to meconium aspiration ... a mild form of panic set in, what's that?!  Not totally understanding the condition made it somewhat scarey and all we wanted to do is be there with them.  However, after much conversation over the course of Henry's first days in the hospital, we decided to depart on Sunday for Michigan.  We arrived on Monday, later than we wanted, but you now how it is when you really want to be somewhere, it seems like you'll never arrive!!
     Even though late, I held Henry for the first time, what a thrill to have this little guy as a part of our family now.  And even more special, I was the second person to hold him, other than John or Melisa. Tuesday morning arrived and the fun of taking care of Henry Donald, helping Melisa with everyday household stuff, grocery shopping, laundry, and taking care of Misty Buttons and Waldo, John and Melisa's 4-legged and first children began.  Misty and Waldo were curious, as seen in the following, and sometimes shut out of the bedroom ....

Tuesday was Henry's first check-up with the Doctor, as they call it now, Weight and Color Check.  Great news, Henry's color is good and he's regained his birth weight, come back in one week for a second visit.  The following days flew by and with each day we knew it would be several months before we'd get to hold Henry once again.  So with all the daily events of feedings, Henry's first bath, first time on the patio for some sun, first trip to Target, there was also lots of picture taking.  One of the must have pictures is a four generation picture of me (age 62), Great-Grammie Holmes (age 94), Melisa (age 30), and Henry, the star of the show ...

     So much happened over those 9 special days with Henry,  and most of you reading this blog have followed our activities on Facebook.  Don and I have truly been blessed this year with two very special little boys entering our lives, maybe this post should be titled "From Zero to Two in Nine Months", and to think we once wondered if we'd ever be Grandparents. 

                                                   

     What fun these next years will be, watching Henry as he grows into the young man that God  intended him to be, we are so proud to be called Grammie and Papa.  We love you so very much, so until next time ....

Why is it that ....

you leave on a trip your house is clean, laundry done, everything in it's place and when you walk through the door on return and within minutes your nice clean house looks like you've been through a hurricane .... mail piled 10 inches deep, laundry separated on the floor, washer and dryer going, groceries to be put away and the list goes on!  Oh well, a woman's work is never done!  So I'll blog about the trip later, until then ....