The Girls of Summer..

Ella graduated from Kindergarten today..

I remember kindergarten graduation caps made from construction paper and string..

Her Daddy brought her roses...{guess she is too young for a car..}

All the pretty girls in their best dresses..Ella explained to me that they didn't have to wear their uniforms under their graduation gowns..

Boys in black..

Girls in white...

All adorable ..

Emily is going into the 5ht grade..and, a member in great standing on the Honor Roll..

She loves camping and soccer, and ice skating and all her friends..

..and totally smitten with her Sophie..

I'm so excited to have Emily coming to visit for a week in July! I've got lots of plans and am counting the days until she's here.."Let the bonding begin!"

..and of course, our beautiful Alyssa...

2nd year of college in the fall..living off campus in a house with several other girls..finding her way..making her mark..and already smarter, stronger and more confidant than I am now...

I love ALL my girls and I am forever proud, grateful and blessed to have them in my life..

Good women - may we know them, be them, raise them ..

“My granddaughter's birth has made me want to create things she will love.”

- Billy Crystal 

-me

Monday..the day afTeR Sunday..right??

Gotta remember that one...and gotta remember the DVR.

Yep..and gotta remember when you DVR the Sunday Morning show on CBS..

..then watch it the next day....Monday..it's no longer Sunday..

..and you really do need to go to work..because it's.....MONDAY.

Hmmm.. I know I got up & made Mr. B's lunch...then he left for work..then all I remembered was I was watching Sunday Morning on CBS..

...And I know I don't work on Sunday...soooooo...

Yeppers...almost late..thank goodness for Lulu, my furry little alarm clock..

I swear she knows...

Yes..she does....

-me

{no, we don't currently have a cat..so can't blame this one...}

Inside all of us....

..is a beautiful ballerina waiting to emerge....


OK, this is totally me in Zumba..my instructor is beautiful thin and talneted and I am....enjoying my performance as well..

Now, no excuses..we ALL can enjoy our inner-dancer ...

-me

My girls and I have been blessed..

..by the wonderful Dads we have for our children...

Chris..the first of the "Next Generation" of Dads..was a great Dad from the very first moment..

He never thought about NOT changing diapers, spending time with his son, sharing the work load a first child would bring (and subsequently, second then third child)

He read stories, played ball, went shopping, taught them to fish.all the things a great Dad would do..

But mostly he loved them. A lot. And he told them. A lot. And he's there. All. The. Time for them..

And he loves their Mother.

So Chris, thank you. And we love you.

Our own son, Andy was next.  Married a beautiful redhead and became an instant Dad to a little girl, then to his son.  Again, he became a force in the lives of his children, loving and cherishing them. Even when he and the beautiful redhead said good-bye, he remained a steadfast force in the life of these children.

Johnny was a hit in our family from the moment Brandi told us about him.  With the patience of a saint, he loved Brandi and her crazy ways.  Crazy Las Vegas wedding (married by..uh.."Elvis"..) surrounded by a huge loving family who danced to Viva Las Vegas in the wedding chapel, he became a Dad 10 months later and gave us all the gift of Ella..and gave us all the gift of devoted husband to Brandi and loving father to Ella..Johnny is a powerful combination of Peurto Rican honor, passion and strength, loving his wife and child with all of his heart.

For my own children, the very role model who taught my sons and daughters what a good husband and father looks like, is of course, Mr. B..who "choose" this crazy, full time and handful of an instant family and continues to support, mentor, love and honor each of them....and more importantly..(and at times, more difficultly..) loves and honors me.

It was an easy promotion to GRANDfather, a role he simply cherishes.  Still guiding, teaching, mentoring and loving, we all know, from the youngest Ella to the oldest child April, how wonderful this man is.

He set the bar high for our sons and daughters and all have made the cut.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads and future Dads in my life.

I love  and cherish you all..

And Happy Father's Day, Daddy. I miss you every day of my life..

-me

Roberta Gilliam - All I Want Is My Baby

Roberta Gilliam's All I Want Is My Baby is a massive slow burner from 1985. A deep, classy joint written and produced by the one and only Keith Sweat. For a while the 12" used to be a bit pricey but I guess it isn't as rare as people thought since I've seen clean copies trade regularly under ten bucks.

I was looking for some info on Roberta Gilliam but just as before I wasn't able to find anything beyond tracklists featuring All I Want Is My Baby so I guess she was a one hit wonder. What I found though was Proto One, a solid mix of 80's soul and boogie cuts mixed by Niles & Baggy. Definitely worth a listen.

Roberta Gilliam - All I Want Is My Baby [320 kbps, DivShare]

Iced Tea, Puppy Meat and Hummingbird Juice...

..noooo..that's not my shopping list...like, eeeeww..

It's my week.

OK, let me explain..

Iced Tea - at work we seldom go out to lunch, choosing rather to stay in, eat at our desks and leave work a half hour prior to heavy going-home traffic.

So we seldom see when the day is sun shinny & warm, or cold & rainy..or whatever..so when we decided to go out this week, we were sooo pleased to find sun...and shinny..and warm..and..

..2 little boys in the parking lot of the bowling alley next door to our office with a lemonade stand selling....iced tea...

Well, I was told never to pass a lemonade stand run by entrepreneurial children without making a purchase.

These two were little 9 year old charmers..they seemed surprised by our purchases and when asked how business was going, said we were the first customers.

While one was pouring the first drink for Cayce, my co-worker, the other told his partner that he needed to fill another cup "for the other young lady"...ME..hahahha! Yes, he earned a tip..and I'm certain he'll be a future Fortune 500 company CEO..or a used car salesman..

When I make my grocery list out for Mr. B, I look at it and think if he ever dropped it in the parking lot, someone would certainly shake their head when they see:
puppy meat

No. no..nononoooo ..for treats we give them that thin, wrinkly meat sold for sandwiches..10 calories ..pure joy.

Puppy Meat.

Humming bird juice..

..you may remember our summer of Humming bird nests, and Sweetie-Bird Mama..two teeny eggs, then finally Gracie & Georgie..

Well, we've seen 2 Humming birds come back this year and we think hope know that it's them..

So we feed.

 Hummingbird juice - hand made my Evelyn, my Mother-in-Law because she doesn't think it's good to feed them  artificially colored processed  hummingbird food..

Such is life on Main Street.  Am I lucky or what...

-me

Color!

Who says there's no free lunch?

Well, they probably are right..but there are some great deals on lunch..

But my post tonight is not about lunch at all..but it is about something free :-)

{free is my favorite price}

While Mr. B was at the hardware store..do you remember "hardware stores"? Like they used to be??

Daddy was a carpenter/handyman and I sometimes tagged along with him on those trips to the hardware store..

People knew his name and there were some of the funnest things to be found..pots & pans, rope, clothespins, jars, chicken feeders, rabbit pellets..baby rabbits sometimes!

OK, that's not what I was posting about either..

..Mr. B & the hardware big-box-impersonal-not rabbit-filled hardware store..

Found the pretties color inspiration samples..things I'm certain I can incorporate in my art work..

While he was pondering bolt sizes and putty v/s caulk..I went to the paint department to browse..

Just look at these great collages..

And..yes they were free..unless you count the fact that they are probably considered " promotional materials"..in which we all end up paying for in higher costs of the original product..

There were ..

...and...

..and

...all so pretty..

Anyway, next time you're accompanying the busy-little-worker-bee to the hardware..look around.  You may just be surprised at the inspiration you will find:

-me