I missed it/Bill's getting a big head/Oh what a beautiful morning!

I'm not sure where to start...so let's just start at the end, go to the beginning and end in the middle..got it?

First and foremost, I missed posting on my own blogoversary! It's hard to believe that it's been two years...and all the things that have happened in those two years! Thanks to all those who stopped by to wish me a happy day and to those who have been here through thick and thin, since day one! Here's to another year!

Now...Bill....where do I start? It was a combination of things. First, I was reading the website of a friend I never met, a former radio personality in Pittsburgh. I spent so many nights with him (he was the overnight talk show host) that he became family. A few weeks ago, wrote about one of his dogs leaving home and having to retrieve him at the police station.

I wrote to him about Bill going to church. He wrote back to me that he liked the story so much he posted my letter, complete with links to this blog, on his web site!

Boom! All of a sudden, we had people from all over dropping in, including several from my home town (population 4,377). I even got two email, one from an old friend and one from a person who knew my father's family. I was thrilled. I gave Bill and extra helping of Frosty Paws, a special ice cream treat for dogs:

A few days later, I checked in and there were people from all over checking in. There were so many new people, I thought for a minute they must be arranging bus tours...

I quickly made a note to myself not to go out on the patio in my jammies for morning coffee!

Then I realized they were coming from RAVELRY! In my confused state (remember, I'm at 'that age' and I do have four children...I wondered if Ravelry might be closing it's doors and ending everyone here...

Then I realized it was Michelle from Always Casting On said in THIS Ravelry thread that she enjoyed reading this blog! I guess she's the voice of authority, because a million

(or at least a few hundred) people came running over here to see what we were about!

Funny thing about that is I always read Michelle's blog (I remember your wedding, Michelle), but lost my list in a huge computer crash and never found her again.

So...Michelle, Bill and I want to thank you for leading all these people here. He thinks they are all coming to see him and his head is swelling at an alarming rate!

Look! His head doesn't even fit in the picture anymore!

Okay Michelle, you can go to bed now. We will not talk about you. I promise!

Nighty night!

(Okay, now that Michelle isn't here, let's talk about her. Things over at chez Always Casting On hasn't been all that much fun. Her good news would make some of us weep. Let's all run over there in the middle of the night and TP her house to cheer her up!

Not sure how to TP (toilet paper) a house? There are great instructions HERE. But for heaven's sake...if you get caught, you're on your own. I don't know you!

All that being said, I had a fairly quiet weekend Mark and Tony went golfing on Sunday. Several hours later, Mark calls. He was going to surprise me by buying me (hold on to your hats..he's such a romantic devil)...a light bulb! I was sure he was going to buy me one because he knew I was tired of being the only bright thing in the house, but he said no, he was just looking for a practical gift. BUT...they walked into Home DeePot or another store like it, just when they were marking evergreens down 75%. How many did I want.

How can I tell such a sweetie that I'd rather have a light bulb (they are easier to install)? I said I'd take them all.

He was sooo excited, he never cared for a minute that they had to get out the tractor and pull out things that were already there so they could make room for the trees that weren't there. They didn't even care that our little lawn tractor couldn't pull things out without adding weight to the back...

Men!

Andy (pictured above) cuts grass and does yard maintence in his spare time and on weekends. One of the places he cuts is an empty field. People are planning construction on a wonderful house in the fall and need him to keep the property looking tidy until then.

Last week he mentioned that he had to leave a large patch uncut because a bird was sitting on a nest in the middle of the field. Yesterday when we drove by, there she was, sitting on her nest.

Of course, I didn't have my camera, but when I got up extra early this morning, I decided to take my camera and try to get a photo of her. She was not on her next, but standing nearby:

Anyone know what kind of bird she is?

A little farther down the road, I caught up with two fawns:

Don't they just take your breath away?

After all that excitement, I had to come home and put my jammies on and take a nap. Wendy, Tony's cat, and Linda joined me, Wendy on my lap, Linda on the sofa (that dogs are not allowed to sit on) beside me...




Oh wow! Mark just shouted down the stairs that it's waaaay past my bedtime and I'll be crabby if I don't get my rest. Little does he know...I'm always crabby. Rest has nothing to do with it!


Sweet dreams!

In the Garden (or 'careful how you water your dogs...they might grow)...

When we found this house, I was so excited. It was the first place, since I left my parents' house (a long time ago) that I would have space for gardening. We moved into the house a week after a horrendous snow storm, in February.

We had no idea what it would look like in the spring. We were pleasantly surprised when tulips came up...

When the rhododendrons bloomed...we were tickled to find that we had three different colors!

Hubby couldn't wait to cut the grass (we bought the tractor before we moved in...he was so excited). He did a beautiful job (if you don't consider the battle with the moles or the time he set the front hill on fire trying to get rid of the yellow jackets)...(those are great stories for another time)

The little pond thawed and we cleaned out tons of rotten leaves...yuck!

We found all kinds of things growing...we planted some things...some lived...more did not...






This will be our fifth summer in the house on the hill. I still feel like a princess when I come down the stairs each morning...

and like a zoo keeper when I let the dogs out after that.

Last summer, after the pavers finished our drive, we planted a perennial bed and made an herb garden. This year the perennials really took off!

Complete with a place for Princess, our head mouser, to hide!

And of course, Andy cleaned out the pond...

First Linda, then Bill, learned how to drink out of that fancy, raised dog bowl in the perennial bed...

And then they learned to share!

And then Bill learned about the portable water bowl and preferred it, especially when Dad offered it!

Today, while Daddy was at work, Bill tried to get a drink out of the portable drinking bowl...

He tried real hard, but nothing would come out!

Then Dad came home and showed him how to put more water in it...

You didn't even have to tip it over now...and you could invite your friends to drink at the same time!

How cool is that???

Thank you for attending our first annual garden tour for a cure! Please help raise money for free mammograms for those who can't afford them by clicking here:

Every day! It doesn't cost you a thing...the sponsors on this site pay for the mammograms!

How cool is THAT?