Bigger Kitchen



Notice Annabelle sitting on her little stool by the window

One day, it came to me that I might like the kitchen area rug that was under the island, under the table and chairs.  I had thought about it before but didn't think it would fit.  Well, I decided to try it.  After all, I'm always saying, if ya don't like it, just put it back.  Well, I LOVE IT!  With the rug being under the island you couldn't ever see much of it and this way, you can see how pretty the whole rug is.  It opened up the cooking area of the kitchen and made the eating area more like a dining room.  What took me so long to change the rug?!!!

Treasures from the garden



My pretty tomatoes!



another bowl



This years garden is doing wonderful!  I think it's the best one so far out of the three that we have had.  I have so many tomatoes that I need to start thinking of what I want to do with them.  I'm going to try sun drying some of them, only will do it in the oven.  I can't even count all of the melons that are getting ready to be picked.  I have counted at least 20 of them.  There are cantaloupe, honey dew and watermelon.  There are also a lot of spaghetti squash.   I have had a lot of work keeping it all watered though.  We haven't had rain in almost a month and it's dry, dry, dry!  The red clay is like cement.  I don't know how anything ever grows in it when it gets this way.  I have to go down to the garden and water every day...but it's worth it. 

1940's Baseball Game



Army band from Huntsville



Nurse Kellet, Housewife Melanie and pretty Lillie



Pretty Lulu drinking from her glass baby bottle



Nurse Kellet and baby Lulu



Gov. Bently stops to say "hello"



Raising the Flag

My last day of "vacation" was at the Rickwood Baseball Field. It was "1940"s day.  Lady Melanie had it all planned out for us to "dress the period".  Kellet was a nurse with every detail covered...from the shoes to the hat.  Lady Melanie was a true "housewife" and she had me dressed as " Rosie the Riveter".  I had on a plaid shirt, overalls and my hair wrapped in a bandanna.  People knew who exactly I was.  The two babies were dressed in pretty light blue dresses with their bonnets.  Even Lulu drank from a glass baby bottle, while she laid in an old fashion baby buggie.  Lots of people stopped to take pictures of us.  Even the Governor stopped to say " hello".  We sat next to a whole row of very nice Army men who ended up being the band.  It was hot, hot, hot that day but we all had the good ole fans on a stick to keep us cooler.  What a fun way to end my great week of vacation.  Chuck came to Melanie's to pick me up, that late afternoon.  I was finally on my way home.  

Not home yet!



Famous Orange Rolls (on Pinterest)



Piano man, play me a song.



Ice sculpture



Outside fountain at The Club



Down town Birmingham

My last two days in Florida, I spent at my dear friend, Vickie's ( and Karl).  Remember, she was the one that came up and we trapes off to Kentucky to the Quilt Show with?  I spent my last night with her and we ended up going out to dinner at one of my favorite places in St. Pete.  Afterwards, we stayed up half the night sitting in her sewing studio, just talking. Where does the time go?   The next morning, Vickie had to go to work for a few hours so I had her drop me off at JoAnn Fabrics/ Home Goods.  I can kill three hours between those two stores, easy.  Elaine, happen to be coming to St. Pete for a High School reunion luncheon and came by to give me some things...like a piece of early birthday  coconut cake from Wrights in Tampa!!!  Thank you very much SIL ( not my friend) because I ate five BIG bites of it and you know what happened to my blood sugar...lol but dang, it sure was good!!!You are always so sweet to me.  I sent the rest home with Shell when she met me for lunch at Panera's.  Afterwards, she dropped me off at Vickie's and we said our "good byes".  No tears this time because Shell is coming up in July.  Vickie came home ten minutes later and off to the airport we went.  Thank you! Thank you! Vickie!!! 
   Did I happen to tell ya how my plane was late leaving Birmingham coming down because of a power outage in the tower in Jacksonville?  I mean...like two hours late!!!  They had to close the air space in Northern Florida so all planes coming and going were at least that late, all day and night.  Well, going home, my flight was late leaving because of a storm off the coast of Jacksonville.  As Shell said, Jacksonville was a pain in my butt this trip...ha.  Lady Melanie was picking me up at the Birmingham airport and we were to go to a family dinner at " THE Club" at 6:30 pm.   I finally got there and then had to wait on my luggage FOREVER!  Melanie zoomed into the pick-up area and off we went to her house to hurry and change our clothes and to freshen up.   With Paw in the backseat, we made it on time.  THE Club...a beautiful club on the top of the mountain, overlooking all of down town Birmingham!  The food is wonderful! The service is wonderful! The view is spectacular!  The Johnson Family is the best anyone could ever want to be part of.  What a way to end the best trip to Florida...spending the night at Lady Melanie's.  Oh wait, my trip isn't over yet.

Beach Day

yes, the legs of an old lady



Shouldn't every little girl be dressed like this at the beach!



yum, a mouth full of sand!







Tony and Shell at Sunset.



Sun screen, sun screen, sun screen!



Fla sea oats.

Saturday morning, after leaving Christina and George's, I went over to my friend Sandy's.  I was to stay there for the next two nights.  I have to say, Sandy has a WONDERFUL guest bed if anyone needs a good nights sleep. Also, a swimming pool and a computer that you can use to play catch up with the world.  Did I remember to take any pictures at Sandy's? Nope!  We did go junking at the Thrift store I loved when I lived down there and we stayed up half the night watching HGTV.  Since I live in the " sticks" as some people say and don't even have cable TV, it was a treat to watch all the shows I never get to see any more. 
  Sunday was the day that I was to spend  at the beach with Shell, Tony and Kendra and her family.  Shell has been spending Memorial Day weekend at the same Mom and Pop motel right on the beach for several years now with Kendra's family.  It has become a tradition.  As much as the beach isn't my favorite place, it was a really fun day.  The company and the food was the best! and it was nice having the pool to swim in after being in the salt water, plus the motel room to go shower and change clothes in.  I can only stand to have that sand on me for so long.  Mom used to tell me, even when I was a baby, I would scream my head off when they would take me to the beach and put me down in the sand.  It sticks to ya, your towel, your seat, and everything else!  Then, you have a car full of it when ya get home.  Any ways, I really did have a great time that day.  I even stayed longer than I had planned but hey, who doesn't want to see a pretty sunset!  I have to say, Florida does have some of the prettiest!

Not my Cup of Tea.

The neat plant wall



Dali himself...need I say more? lol



Salvador Dali Museum

I guess some people would say that St. Pete was lucky because they have the Salvador Dali Museum right there at Bayfront.  It was built a couple of years before we moved, I think.  I never had any interest to even go see the building.  I didn't even know where it was.  I have to say, it is in a pretty location and it does have one pretty wall on the outside of it.  It's covered in plants with a water pond at the bottom of it.  Christina and George thought I should see where it was.  Christina is like me though and has no interest in going inside.  I have to say, I like "pretty" things in my life, not weird, ugly pictures they so call "art".  Some of his paintings would scare the ba-gee-bees out of me in the middle of the night, if they were hanging on my walls.  I would probably have nightmares even if I saw them hanging in the museum, if I could even figure out what they were.  Any ways, I'm glad I got to see where they put the museum and for the people who think Mr. Dali was this wonderful painter, I am happy for them.  It's just not my cup of tea. 

The Pier



St Pete Skyline from the Pier



The last look at the Pier



Playing tourist at the Pier



Dinner on Beach Drive

I spent the next two days and nights with Christina and George.  I know I always have a bed there to sleep in. It's "home".   It's funny because it's the bed that I used to sleep in when I was a kid and would spend the night with Marina.  Well, it's probably not the "same bed" but it's in the same place.  It's really weird and sad for me though because Marina should be there with me and I should be having to be on the look out for Rainer sneaking in and hiding under the corner bed box to pull our hair and scare us.  It was just a few years ago that happened, right?  So many memories at the Blomberg's.   The first day that I was there, we spent the time talking and remembering so many things. At breakfast on their pretty deck, I even spilled the beans about some of the things that Marina and I did as kids and Christina never knew.  ha.  We weren't bad kids.  It was just those kinds of things that kids did to have fun back then.  Kids these days wouldn't even think of doing things outside like we did.  They're too busy in front of the TV or computer. 
   We watched the DVD of Marina's wedding.  I thought it was going to be sad to sit and watch Marina, my Mom and my kids so little, but it was actually funny.  Marina did have a funny wedding.  We all went to bed with a happy heart that night. The next day, we enjoyed some more memories and a cool swim in the pool before heading to down town St. Pete.  Christina wanted me to see "The Pier" for one last time.  They are going to tear it down soon.  It doesn't upset me because I really never liked the upside down pyramid they replaced the old Pier with any ways.  I've heard that they are going to put something even worse up in it's place though.  I was never for these modern looking buildings or pieces of so called art.  Any ways... George drove Christina and I down town and we played tourist.  We went inside the Pier and looked around at the shops.  Christina bought me a beautiful candle with sea shells on it for my birthday. ( this way she doesn't have to mail it)  Then, George insisted that we each put a penny in the machine to smush it with the Pier logo on it.  I told ya, we played tourist but it was fun and now I have a Pier penny for my scrap book.  We watched a sail boat race, that Rainer was in but we couldn't figure out what boat was his.  I had to take pictures of the pelicans.  They're still stinky from the fish everyone feeds them but it's neat being able to get so close to them.  Next we drove over to see the Salvidor Dali Museum. Not my cup of tea! I'll tell all about that next. Oh yeah!, we had a really nice dinner on Beach Drive that evening.  What a perfect way to end my time with Christina and George.