Seahorsies!

Amazing creatures!
By the way, have I mentioned lately how much I love my camera??

Beat the Heat

It has been hot hot hot. Sunday was a record 100 degrees (with out factoring in the humidity). So, we roadtripped to the Chattanooga aquarium.

Buddy loved it!


Buddy was SO excited to find Nemo!


Yes, that is me in the middle (shortie)...Buddy (left)6'5" and Tdawg (right)6'+

Cast Off

Yes, after only two weeks, Tdawg gets his cast off. He is in a splint and able to shower and swim. He is a HAPPY boy. Hopefully, he will be cautious and all will be well.

Rocking Chair, I think NOT

My retirement (albeit years away) is not going to be sitting in a rocking chair. My list of must do's...still in process...is somewhat of a bucket list:
Parasail at the beach
Snorkle in the Florida Keys
Visit Nova Scotia
Skydive (with Miss Gassy & Mrs Goofy, with Am I Getting Old taking photos)
Hike in the Grand Canyon
Visit the Smithsonian
Cruise the Inside Passage from Vancouver, Canada to Seward, Alaska
See the Mayan ruins
Hang out in Cancun with Sissy
Snowboard in the Rockies
Eat Italian food (in Italy, of course)
...hmmm, and that is just a start.

Tribute

The funeral home set up a website for Dad. It is really a cool idea! Anyone can check it out at www.mem.com and type in Willard Freeman. Dad’s eye-witness account of Pearl Harbor is posted along with a lot of pictures. The family has access to add more pictures.

Father's day was really tough: realizing that I no longer have him to share the special day with. I'm sure it is the first of a lot of holidays that are going to be challenging.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to Cletus! (pictured here with Tdawg and Buddy) Sadly none of them enjoy having their picture made.

Bump, my nephew

I got to play with Bump today. Not sure how they came up with this nickname.

He loves the water.

He plays hard and he snoozes hard. Love his tush stuck up in the air!

I hope he keeps the blue eyes!

He sure is a cutie pie!

Last game of the season

Really appreciate Johnny Franklin and all he does for Miracle League. We had another great year of baseball. Buddy just loves going!!

Livin' in the Country

Wow was it ever hot. It was at least 97 without the heat index! Buddy and I went to the local public pool and then to the Dollar General. Oh dear. I am by no means perfect but there needs to be some serious edu-macation for these people. (1) mullets are no longer in style and never looked good on anyone. (2) if you have a beer gut, do not wear a bikini in public. (3) bathing regularly is always a good idea...soap is mandatory! Some people really do give the South a bad name!!

Fabulous! Simply Fabulous!!

I went to a party last night at Going Goofy's house. We all just had the best time laughing and telling stories with friends. One of the best things was Lovedaysday's brother cooked for us. He has no choice but to blog his food ideas. He just doesn't understand just how cuisine challenged we are. So, I got a great idea for his blog name: "On the Way Gourmet". But then I decided that I liked "Gourmet on the Way" better. There ya go J. Now all you have to do is type in your magical recipes.

Sticks part two

Do not get the idea that our evening at the driving range went smoothly. We looked like the Three Stooges! I was feeling confident as I got Cletus’ clubs out of the back of the car. I swung the bag over my shoulder. The bag was so heavy that I almost went over backwards! I wasn’t feeling so confident after I wildly waved my arms in the parking lot to regain my balance.

R looked a little bit more confident than I. She had borrowed her man’s clubs and was carrying them draped over her forearm like a purse!

We got our bucket of balls, thankfully this time without incident. Apparently, last time G had the bucket under the wrong side and her 50 golf balls spewed out and went rolling everywhere!

I waited for G to hit first. Since, G was the only one of the three of us that had ever golfed before, so I thought she could give us some pointers. Hmmm, umm…maybe not.
G artfully swung her club back and managed to knock over her golf bag in the process. The golf bag (irons, in particular) makes a really loud clanging noise as they bounce on the concrete. I’m pretty sure that everyone there knew at that time that we were beginners.

Next, R swung the club back and hit the brick post. She examined the driver. Do you think this scratch was there before? Do you think my man will notice? We turned around to look at the driver and it glistened! Wow that is a clean club! R informed us that her man had cleaned up his golf clubs for her. He cleaned them with pledge!! Oh dear! I count it fortunate that the club did not go sailing out of her hands!

We had good shots and bad shots. Once I shanked it. Sadly, G was standing in front of me. Not sure how I managed that one…but G sure can dive out of the way fast if she has to!

Well, there is always next week…

I think this is me too...

Well, I am just now coming out of my shell! :-) Wow, that is really a scary thought!!

Beating on the Ground with Sticks

Beating on the ground with sticks...commonly known as golf. Some girls at work need a fourth person...so they asked me. I suggested that I practice a little first. So we went out to hit at the driving range. I had a really good time! I'm not very good...but not bad for a first time. Cletus' clubs are WAAY to long. I did much better when I borrowed G's club. I can see how this could become addictive. All it takes is one or two really good shots and you just want to do it again. It took me twenty more shots to get another good one. I found that I did a lot better when I kept my eye on the ball and didn't think too much. It is a pretty good stress reliever. I think I will get a set of clubs and try playing now and then.

This is so me...

Cyberchondria describes the behavior of hypochondriacs who use the Internet to gather information on health or healthcare. Hypochondria is a distressing condition where uncontrollable anxiety about the seriousness of physiological symptoms leads to the persistent seeking of reassurance and medical investigation.

I think I may have this…but I’d better check WebMD…just to make sure. Maybe I should pursue that on-line medical degree?

Reminiscing

Every year the family on my Mom's side would gather together on July 4 to celebrate Independence Day and my grandmother's birthday (which fell on the sixth). It would be at Grandma S' house. So, when I was back in Denver with the cousins from that side of the family...we reminisced. Grandma S was not know for her ability to cook. But everyone remembered the salad that she made every year. It is so awful that I could not believe that I actually found the recipe on Cooks.com. DISCLAIMER" Please do not try this at home. It is artfully called Carrot Pineapple Salad and is prepared as follows:

1 package Jello (orange, lime or lemon)
1 cup hot water
1 cup cold water
1 cup coarsely grated raw carrots (yum?)
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained.
Follow directions on Jello box. Wait until almost set and stir in carrots and pineapple. Let set.

I'm sure at the time, Jello was a new craze...cooks everywhere tried to come up with new inexpensive ways to make their children eat fruits and vegetables. But this may be the worst yet!

For the sake of accuracy, Grandma used lime jello. Her pineapple was chunks not crushed. And for that extra something...she also added marshmallow. (gulp). I was just thinking about how people are remembered. For my husbands grandmother, she is remembered for her fabulous butter rolls. His aunt has the recipe...but she has not been able to duplicate Grandmother's efforts. I'm just wondering what my kids will remember about me...

Zip-ity Do Dah

Last Sunday, we had a Friend's in Christ dinner. The church basically divides up and goes to one of twelve or so host homes. Mr & Mrs. W. were gracious enough to open up their home to us and a lot of others. We each brought a dish and Mr. W grilled chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs. It was a lot of fun. They have a huge backyard. And it turns out that Mr. W is a big kid!

Mr. W on the zip line:

Mr. W on the four wheeler with little bud. Little bud doesn't like the sound of the vacuum...much less the four wheeler, so it was a short ride!

Mr. W helps Buddy get situated:

Buddy goes for a ride:

Milestone

I suppose with sports and teenage boys, it is almost inevitable. Yesterday at football practice, Tdawg slipped while doing back pedaling drills. He fell on his right arm and heard a noise. That is never a good sign. True to the tough kid that he is, he is proud of the fact that he finished the drill. Then he told the coach. The coach told him to leave...but Tdawg did two more drills. Then he told the coach that he couldn't continue. Then he called Mom. So, the radius (big bone on the thumb side in the lower forearm) is broken. Thankfully, it is a clean break and no displacement. So doc said two to three weeks in a cast. So, it isn't that devastating...unless you live for sports and summertime. Needless to say, less than twenty-four hours in the cast and he is already tired of it.