ABC's

The ABC's of ME!

A - Age: 38

B - Bed size: Queen

C - Chore you hate: weeding the garden

D - Dogs or cats: Dog, Reeses (Dinosaur, Megs dog should be mine too...I have him more then she does!) Cat, Ben Ben....and all the strays!

E - Essential start your day item: Protein shake & Coffee

F - Favorite color(s): Purple and black

G - Gold or Silver: Silver

H - Height: 5'6"

I - Instruments you played: violin

J - Job title: Do it all Betty haha School Bus Driver/Social Skills Coach

K - Kid(s): Meg, 21 & Tori, 19

L - Loud or quiet: Loud

M - Mom's name: Barbara

N - Nicknames: Boop, Momma Bear (by Meg) Momma Bird (by Tori) Betty Betty (by John)

O - Overnight hospital stay: 2x childbirth, Thymectomy, kidney infection.

P - Pet Peeve: Condescending people!!!

Q - Quote from a movie: Hey, if I saw myself in clothes like that, I'd have to kick my own ass. -Happy Gilmore

R - Right or left handed: right

S - Siblings: 4 brothers & 4 sisters....Mark, Herbie, Kim, Chad, Kelly, Kristy, Timothy & Barbara Jean

T - Time you wake up: Summer time....usually around 6 or 6:30....during the school year, 4:30

U- Underwear: Lowrise hipsters from Victoria's Secret

V - Vegetable you dislike: Collard Greens

W - Ways you run late: When I'm waiting on John

X - X-rays you've had: Too many to list!!

Y - Yummy food you make: Spaghetti & Turkey meatballs, Cauliflower casserole, Chicken pot pie, Pea soup, Chili, Fried Corn ,Black Bean Hummus!

Z - Zoo favorite: Orangutans

Momma Cat & Crew

Meet Momma Cat!

I saw Momma Cat first a couple of weeks ago. She came out of the woods behind my house and meowed at me as if she were hungry. She looked real scrawny & weak. So, me being the sucker for any stray animal, I gave her a scoop full of food.

The day before we left for vacation we noticed momma cat had brought two friends with her. We could only see their legs and couldn't tell how big they were because they were half up inside under John's car.(does that make sense?) I told John I thought they were very young. Sure enough they ran out and they are just babies. Approximately 3-4 months old.

So we knew they would go through the kitty door and get in the garage and eat on Ben's food while we were gone. We have had several strays do that.....some even sleep in there all winter long.

We arrived home from Georgia and low and behold there weren't 2 babies but 4 on my back porch!!! Meg & Tori were all about them....they started filling up bowls of water & bowls of food. The cats started chowing down like there was no tomorrow.


They have grown on John & I.

We have now named them. Meet the babies...

Oddball

Splotch (on left) & Phantom....Phantom is John's favotite

Double Stuff.....Double Stuff always runs off. He/she is the only one that runs & hides when we walk out the door. This photo was taken through the window. And there is Oddball nursing.

Oh yea, Momma Cat still nurses all 4 of them!!! They are almost as big as her! Know wonder why she was so skinny, all her nutrition was going to the babies.

Oddball is always nursing! I see he/she nurse at least 5 times a day.

So, I have wondered if Oddball is actually Momma Cats baby?....None of them look like Momma Cat...except they all have her green eyes. There is a stray all black male that has adopted the family 2 acres down....I wonder if he is the daddy?! Two little boys from that family told me that they saw the babies and Momma Cat down the street (about 4 acres down) over a month ago. They told me she had 5 then and one was brown and black. That baby obviously didn't make it. Makes me sad.

I don't think Momma Cat is a wild cat. She was too comfortable when she came up to me the first time. She lets me get pretty close and soon I think she will let me pet her. I think someone dropped her and the kittens off when they were first born. Who knows....I just know that I had to feed them....I can't stand to see starving animals.

They have made themselves quite comfortable on our back porch. It is their domain now!

Cats know how to obtain food without labor, shelter without confinement, and love without penalties.
- W. L. George

The Ring

All of you that follow my blog know how John & I love us some Copeland's restaurant!! We were super excited to see that the town his parents live in have one. So we decided to treat his parents to a meal out.

Brad & Nell had never been to Copeland's before.

Meg took this picture of Tori & I. Sometimes it's hard to believe she is my baby.

Speaking of hard to believe....I still can't believe I have a daughter old enough to drink with me! Meg & I shared a bottle of Pinot Noir....our favorite!

My love!

If you go to Copeland's you have to get the Artichoke & Spinach dip...it is served with fried bow tie pasta for dipping!

For dessert.....

My mother in law got the Brownie Deluxe. I'm not a chocolate fan so I didn't try it but they said it was good.


We (John & I and the girls) shared a Bananas Foster Cheesecake Napoleon! All I can say is this cheesecake is melt in your mouth good! Mmmm


So about the title of my post....The Ring

We are done eating and Brad said, "This is a good time to do the ceremonial passing of the ring."

No one knew what he was getting ready to do.

He slipped off a Ruby ring from his right hand and handed it to John across the table.


Brad explained to John that this ring belonged to his dad. On his parents first wedding anniversary Marie (John's grandma) gave it to John (John's Granddaddy).

When Brad turned 17 years old his Dad gave it to him.

Now, he passed it on to his son.

It was quite an emotional moment...one I'm sure will remain with John forever!

It was another enjoyable day in Georgia. This picture above cracks me up....the waitress offered to take our photo....she told Brad she couldn't see him so he leaned back instead of forward :)

On our last day there John went out on the boat with his dad. The fish were going crazy! That was the most fish Brad had caught on that lake in a single day. I think like 16 or something. John brought him good luck!

Any man can be a father.
It takes someone special to be a dad.

A Pear Tree

John's Aunt & Uncles house is the only thing that has remained the same from his childhood. Tommy & Charlotte built their log cabin over 40 years ago. When we visit Georgia this is the house that we all want to go to because of the memories. Not only for John but for me & my girls as well. Memories of me pushing them in the big tire swing that is no longer there....the familiar smell as you walk into their home....the girls memories of their great granny scaring the bejeezus out of them.....they thought she was a witch.....she always had an apron on and was usually in the kitchen making biscuits. Meg shot her first gun in that yard.....I still have the bullet.....Tori lost her second tooth in that home.....yes, I have the tooth. That is where I met all of John's family, was in that home!!! I could go on and on.....tons of memories!

The girls & I decided to explore Tommy & Charlotte's land. For Tori, a photographer, this was the perfect photo opportunity. All the "old stuff" that was all around makes for wonderful photographs.


We came across a huge pear tree. It was full of pears that won't be ready to pick till October.

Meg

Tori

Me

Sitting under the pear tree.

Tommy told us that Pap (John's grandfather) planted the pear tree 35 years ago. Tommy thought it was funny that the girls & I had so much fun under a pear tree....I'm sure he thinks we are weird being goofy & taking so many pictures! :)

Tommy

Funny thing is we took away a lot more then just that bit of history and photo memories from that time under the pear tree. We all got CHIGGERS!!! Meg was the lucky one and only had about 5 bites...Tori & I had over 50 on our arms, feet, and legs! Can you say huge red bumps that are ITCHY!!!

Later that day on our way to John's cousins house we made 3 stops.

1.

The house above belonged to Otis Redding....the street is even named after him. His wife still lives in the house.

2.
Remember the movie Fried Green Tomatoes? Well, it was filmed in Juliette, Georgia. They were closed the day we went. This is the inside of Ruth & Idgies restaurant, The Whistle Stop Cafe.. We ate there a few years back....yes, we had the fried green tomatoes! This is a movie we can all watch over & over & over again!

The stage where Idgie was performing the night Frank Bennett was killed.

Smokey Lonesomes tiny home.

Watch out when you eat the BBQ down there in Georgia....you never know what's really in it! We caught a glimpse of Idgie, we saw some honey sitting on the roadside. :)


3.
This house belonged to John's Great Uncle Doyle. John's mom & siblings spent some of their summers there. The stories we have heard about this house and the creek where they bathed behind it are hilarious.

Good times!

Georgia

This trip was probably the last family trip for awhile with Meg graduating college in December and moving off to Spain. So instead of our usual beach vacation we decided to go to Georgia to visit John's family. We thought it had been almost 12 years since we were there but realized it had only been 6....still, way too long in between visits!

The first full day in Georgia, John's mom & dad had planned a bbq/pool party on our behalf. They rented out the clubhouse in there subdivision. The family came up and we all had a great time.

The girls snacking on chips & salsa poolside.

Helping my mother-in-law, Nell, in the kitchen.

Meg & her daddy.

Tori & her daddy.

Back for seconds....the bbq was delicious! Nell made enough cole slaw to feed an army and still insisted it wasn't enough....there was plenty! It was really good...reminded me of my mom's slaw. Must be a Georgia thing (my mom is from Georgia as well)



The adults conversed while the young ones went swimming. The water was cold. The high that day was 83, I believe. Beautiful weather for the middle of July!

John (aka Ashley to all the Georgia folk) and his cousins, Keith & Scott.

Nell & Brad

This was very sweet of John's parents to go through all the trouble and throw this party. I think they were so excited that all 4 of us were coming they just had to do something! It meant a lot to us and we will always remember it.

____________________________________________________________________

The next day we were up bright and early to make the 2 hour drive to John's Aunt & Uncles house then to this cousins for a Fish Fry!!!

My girls, all grown up, sitting on the porch at Richelle & Scott's house. It was weird this time being there with adult children....everyone else had little ones and we got to watch them chase after kids.

Richelle telling us all about the many different chickens they raise (I think she said they have over 45 chickens and I can't remember how many kinds) This one was pretty.

John fixing the fryer.

Scott & Ann making the hush puppies.

Everyone was getting hungry....all that fried food by the way was as far from our healthy diet as we had been in a long time!! But, mmm was it good!

That night after it got dark, John's Aunt Charlotte showed old home movies....I'm talking about the one's with no sound that are on the reel!! It was a lot of fun to see John walk around as a little boy and make the same facial expression he does now & to see the wedding of Nell & Brad was really cool! We got to see John's mom on the beach with huge rollers in her hair and the women walking around in bikinis.....Aunt C's baby shower.....Granny with dark hair. It was very enjoyable!

It was another fun filled day in Georgia....we made the 2 hour drive back to Atlanta and got in around 2 am. Whew...vacation can wear one out!

Travel

Time with our daughters
Time with each other
Time with family
No matter what happens,
travel gives you a story to tell.
-- Jewish Proverb

I'll be back next week.

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Little bunny foo-foo,

hopping through the forest
Scooping up the field mice,
and bopping them on the head.

We have 3 bunny rabbits that come out from the woods behind us to visit everyday. Usually first thing in the morning and after dark. We throw out the scraps from the veggies...like the ends of celery, carrots, the peeling of cucumbers and they sit in the yard and munch on it.

John & I have named them.....Foo Foo, Fee Fee and Peter. Yeah, we are dorks like that.

This little guy in the photo above was brave and ventured closer to the house than usual. So I grabbed my camera so I could get a few pictures.

Foo Foo decided he didn't like the camera so he hopped away back into the forest.


I was talking to Kevin, my next door neighbor, 2 weeks ago. He asked if we had any rabbit nest in our yard?! I told him I didn't know but we do have 3 rabbits that always come out. He took me to his front lawn and showed me a nest with 2 baby bunnies in it. He had another one with 3 babies and those were so tiny their eyes weren't open yet and they didn't have much fur.

I did not know that the mother rabbit digs a shallow hole and pulls fur from her body to cover her babies and keep them warm. She does not sit on the nest constantly because that would signal birds and animals as to were the babies were living. She nurses them 2-3 times a day by sitting on top of the nest and the babies push through the hair and twigs to reach her nipples. Usually before dawn and after dark.

Here is one of the babies from Kevin's yard. He got it out to show the girls and they took pictures of this sweet baby. It is almost big enough to leave the nest.

John and I walked our yard to see if we could find any nest. We didn't find any. I'm thankful for that because so many baby bunnies get killed because of the lawn mower.

So we will continue to feed our furry friends and enjoy watching them hop in and out of their forest! If only we could train them to kill the moles that tear up the yard!