February Redbud Sightings

Thursday, February 22, I saw my first Redbud tree blooming as I drove out to Flora.

I have posted before about how much I love these trees when they bloom.

Other things are blooming, too. This is a spirea shrub at mom's house.

And what would this time of year be without jonquils or daffodils?

Mom has so many and she loves to share.

I hope to have this many at my house one day.

I'm still reading Maisie detective books as I shared in my last post.

I bought the one that our library is missing. It was less than three dollars plus shipping.

I was surprised to learn it was a surplus library book from a military base. Just like new.

Wonder if my library would accept it to replace the one that's lost?

What blooming things are you seeing? 

What are you reading?

Reading Obsession

I am obsessed with the Maisie Dobbs series.

Mr. M bought this book to read and when he finished I read it.

Then I went to the public library and checked out the next in the series.

The book begins before World War I and continues into the 1920's.

The author has based it on some of her family stories and research into

the days after the war and how it affected people in England.

Maisie helps people get their lives sorted out. She doesn't close a case until

all the parties come to an agreement. It is very holistic in helping people heal mind and body.

The local library doesn't have one of the books - lost forever I guess. So, I had to buy it.

That is the obsession part. I am reading the books so quickly that I don't want to miss any.

I did buy it used, so that's okay.

What are you reading? Obsessing?

Red for January

I wanted to participate in the 2018 Color Challenge so I made these two red squares. Both are six inch squares. The block on the left is a simple windmill or plus. The block on the right was designed by Jen the challenge host.

I'm going to link up with the challenge. Can't wait to see all the entries.

Busy New Year

Did I stop reading? Break my hand? Move away from technology?

Nope. 

I have been busy reading but not writing.

I am reading more fiction and less work related journal articles.

Here are a few photos from around our place.

Bird visiting outside our dining room window.

A little snowy weather.

Outside cat staying warm.

Some hardy plants that made it through freezing weather.

Progress learning to knit.

Finished the latest mystery. It was a present to Mr. M. so I insisted that he read it first.

She is one of my favorite authors and I rarely buy her books. I usually check them out at the public library but since we both like her books I bought it for a Christmas present.

No new year's resolutions - just looking forward to reading more books.

Hope your New Year is off to a great start.

Thinking about NYC

We are doing this fun holiday activity at church. It's kind of like Flat Stanley but this flat guy is Wesley. The idea is to take photos of Flat Wesley and post them on social media with the hashtag FlatWesleyParkwayHills. So..... I sent one to NYC to visit David and Liam.

Here is David in front of the Met with Wesley. Wish I could get there in a letter. 

David is wearing the jacket I made him. 

Later Liam and Wesley had fun in a playground in Central Park. Liam is eating a chocolate donut. I don't think Wesley wanted any chocolate. Liam is getting so tall.

Here are the boys playing with their spaceship box in their apartment. Hope they always enjoy playing together. Can't wait for them to come visit at our house.

What am I reading? I finished a couple John Grisham books and now I am reading a Mrs. Pollifax spy thriller. Wish I could be her when I retire. She is the perfect spy because no one suspects a little old lady of being a spy.

Thankful for Family Time

This year we spent Thanksgiving with Joey, Jessie, and Ava. It was our first time to visit at their new house on the lake.

Joey enjoys fishing in his kayak. He started fishing as a boy at mom and dad's pond.

Now he has a home with a beautiful lake at the bottom of his back yard.

I love this photo of their little family. Ava is such a cutie!

It was a great Thanksgiving with no clean up because we ate out at a fabulous restaurant.

Look forward to fun times at their new home.

Family Stories

Mom and Liam watering the tomato plants earlier in the summer.

Do you hear family stories from family elders? It seems the same stories are told over and over. I have most of them memorized. I try to get mom to tell other stories. Don't know how much longer she will be around to tell them. I wish I had written down some of dad's stories.

This story is about my uncle Joe. I never met him because he died before I was born. I was exploring things on the internet and came across some writing about Joe on a website that catalogs graves. Someone had posted a newspaper article that ran in the local paper after Joe was reported MIA in the Philippines in WWII.

I asked mom for clarification because I thought some 'facts' in the article were incorrect. It stated Joe had graduated from high school and he had not. He finished 9th grade and was old enough to enlist so he did. It said his occupation on his enlistment papers was actor. In Jackson, MS? in 1940? Mom said he was a joker and prankster but also had a very good singing voice. He had solos in some local Christmas or church programs. I think possibly he wrote that hoping to be an entertainer in the army.
His army job was airplane mechanic.

I reminded mom that I had heard he was a boxer. She said he won the Golden Gloves for his category/weight one year but the next year he was knocked down and decided not to fight anymore.
She laughed as she said he said, "He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day."

After he was declared missing their mother Corona traveled to Washington, DC, to ask for answers to what happened to him. Her brother Wiley Smith worked at the Pentagon, so I guess he helped her as she looked for someone to answer her questions. Mom said she thought Wiley was a chemist for the War Department.

Some memories are sad but I'm glad to record them. It's part of our family history. Long before any of us were born.