Wow!!!

 As I write I am aware of the quiet in my house but the memories of a wonderful weekend which, in all honestly, ended a wonderful month! I have had many adventures and family related activities that have kept me busier than usual and finding it hard to re-enter this morning. Today was to be the start of my 4th decorating but I forgot that I have two appointments tomorrow which would have upset the mojo of my "full steam ahead" decorating so I am using today to reflect and try to slowly get back into routine.

Grandson #2 graduated from high school on Friday evening. I won't lie-we had a day of "fingers crossed" as we looked up into very "iffy" clouds and concerning predictions but, there was nothing we could do about it so we forged ahead and, by the time the ceremony started, the evening was quite nice and everything went off without a hitch.

The entire family with the exception of granddaughter #2-who lives in Charleston and couldn't get off of work early enough to get here-made it for the festivities.

By the time the ceremony was over and we were able to get some pictures, it was getting late and we were getting hungry so everyone headed back to my house. Since Hud had already had his "formal" graduation party earlier, I kept things at a minimum as far as decorations and "fanciness". In all honesty, the minute everyone got home, most of the crowd changed into sweats and pjs-lol-and I was too tired to even think about pictures but we had a wonderful time celebrating Hud and catching up with everyone.

Saturday and Sunday were pretty much "girl time". Four of my five granddaughters and two of my three daughters were able to stay and we played games, chitchatted, ate leftovers, watched a bit of "The Traitors"-where two "newbies" became "hooked"-and just had a lovely time doing not much of anything-which, honestly, is just what I needed.

And now everyone has safely returned home and I am trying to get myself back into routine-which is nowhere near as fun as having my house full of people and my grand dog and new kitten! So I am off to do just that but before leaving I have to record two things that came through on grandson #1-who is here in town for another week before heading back to first campus and then off to his summer assignment in Virginia.

This kid continues to make me so proud-as do all of the others but this one just happens to be the one getting the accolades on FB at the moment.

So, enough proud Nana moments...on to the to-do list-ugh! Dentist and hair appointments tomorrow and then I will hit the ground running on Wednesday so I hope to be back as soon as I can with all of the red, white and blue. Until then, stay safe and stay tuned.

Just a Quick Pop-In

 Just popping in for a quick visit to catch you up on me. We are now officially one step closer to graduation with baccalaureate under our belts. We went to a beautiful mass last night at Blessed Trinity where my grandson did a wonderful job in delivering "The Prayer of the Faithful". As always, just another reason to be so proud!

 

Since you HAVE to get there early if you want a seat, we had a bit of time to goof around while waiting for things to begin.

While trying to get this...

I first got this...lol

So now we are down to the final countdown. I am using today to do a bit of cleaning but, as I am sure I have shared before, I don't get fanatic about that when I know more of my grand pets will be arriving with everyone else-this time a Golden and a new kitten. If I'm going to clean, I'll wait until after they've been here-or...just let it go until I can use that excuse again. LOL

Tomorrow will be for shopping and then setting up the table. Since I truly still don't know for sure when or how many will be here at any given time, I am going pretty laid-back. The night hour of graduation kind of throws a kink in things but the temperature of the evening sure beats the BRUTAL heat of a morning graduation-not to mention that the sun is shining directly into everyone's eyes at that tine of day, so there will be no complaints from me-I will go with the flow!

Signing off for now and by the time I am back I will have lots to share from graduation and then my weekend with two of my granddaughters! Going to be so much fun!! Stay safe and stay tuned.

"Pop In"

 Just a quick little pop-in to get another of our award banquets in the "book" for posterity. While daughter #3 and grandson #2 were still up at UF's orientation, my granddaughter, son-in-law and I made our way out to the high school for the last get-together of the year-Presley's lacrosse banquet. With all of my seven grandchildren and all of their academic and sports recognitions, I have been to many a banquet over the years and yet it somehow never gets old. Presley received another bar for her varsity letter and the "Offensive Player of the Year". Always a proud moment for me to see them recognized by others for their hard work and achievements.

That is all that I have for today. We are now going full on "graduation" mode until the big day next Friday. My house will be home base for everyone coming into town so there are probably some things I should be thinking about...like food, drinks, beds, etc. but, we have all fit in this house before so I know we can do it again! Stay safe and stay tuned.

Let's Chat

 I don't really have a reason to be here today except to just chit chat a bit. Those of you who know me know that I am more than ready to take down my spring decor and put up my patriotic. And, with Memorial Day right around the corner, I could certainly do that without the neighbors raising too many eyebrows. Lol Not to mention that spring has been up a loonnnggg time...and it's not my favorite. But, although this week is looking pretty free with only a few obligations, there are enough of them that I really won't have the uninterrupted four days that I will need AND, I can't go into next week because all of the pre-graduation things start happening.

And so, I instead satisfy my decorating urge by looking at past years, planning this year and, if necessary, shopping for things to fill in. To be honest, I really don't need much but, since I have been doing the "art" in the kitchen for the last few months, I knew I would need something to fill these frames.

Of course, my first stop was Pinterest and Google. I wanted images that kind of "spoke" kitchen to me without being too cutesy. I found images that I liked but, no matter how hard I tried, with my programs and meager knowledge, I couldn't resize them correctly. I'm sure there is a way. The way I usually do it is simple but, for whatever reason, the proportions on these images were off and it just kept cutting off parts of the picture. And, being the "patient" person that I am, I couldn't wait for someone to have the time to come help and so I did the next best thing-I ordered some.

I think the two smaller ones will be perfect in the kitchen because they both have old tin cans-maybe coffee?-in them. I will probably leave the frames that are there and just add in these pictures in the same spots-we shall see. I also like that they both have a bit of "wood" to tie the wood in my kitchen.

In going back over last years photos, I remembered that I used some red, white and blue books as risers...

...and, since I like the look of the stacked books I ordered this one.

I seem to find myself drawn to the stacked book pictures and I usually order them in a larger size, mat it in a larger frame and hang it here.

And, I must admit, that was kind of my plan again but since I just bought this sign last year and there are the nods to fireworks and sparklers on the shelves...

...and I really couldn't think of anywhere else to use it, I went with a simple 8X10. I could also mat it and put it in a slightly larger frame as well but, I have a stack of these basic black frames left from Han's birthday party centerpieces so I think I will give this a try. I might end up jerry rigging a few more books to use in the shelf cubbies and then I will probably put this new image where the Statue of Liberty was last year in the above photo-then, to find a new place for that. Lol That's half the fun of decorating!

And, honestly, that's all I've got for today. I'm off to change some sheets on beds and pray that the VERY few dark clouds I am seeing in the sky bring a bit of rain before I have to go out and fill fountains and water everything! Stay safe and stay tuned.

More Springtime Fun!

 As I have posted, springtime in our family is always busy and full of fun things...especially when you throw a graduation into the mix. And, once again our "best laid plans" changed at the last minute and I unexpectedly ended up in Gainesville with daughter #2 and her family where we were so excited to attend the opening of a time capsule that she and her class had put behind a wall in the newly constructed cafeteria in the school where she taught and two of my granddaughters attended.

It was a bit of a bitter sweet occasion because this school that we all loved so much-me included as I did many, many hours of volunteer work there-was being shut down. The PTA decided that since they would not need the money left in their account after this school year that a final blow out was called for and they put on a wonderful FREE event-no tickets needed-including food, games, crafts, and all sorts of extra activities. As the crowd reached the peak, everyone was called over to unveil the contents of the time capsule and my daughter was as excited as everyone because she didn't remember what went in there from back in 2000. Of course, there were a number of things reminding us of the favorite TV shows, music, movies, prices, etc. of the year as well as a Beanie Baby, Pokémon cards and toy, a favorite book, a hair clip that was all the rage with the girls back then, a newspaper and letters from her students. It sure brought back so many memories as did roaming the halls of the school and revisiting classrooms, playgrounds, etc.

I got to spend the night and have a fun visit and catch-up with all. While I was on one side of town with part of the family, daughter #3 and granddaughter #5 were on the other side where they got to see Morgan Wallen for the second time-which is a VERY BIG thing for my granddaughter! And this time, she actually got a high five from him as he was leaving the arena...and she swears she is NEVER washing that hand again!! Lol

Saturday saw my grandson, his sweet girlfriend and my granddaughter heading to prom.

And then Sunday saw us at Hud's graduation party. It was for him and 6 of his buddies and I will say, a fun time was had by all! It was held at a place called "The Infinite Ale Works" and we had the entire venue at our disposal-which was a good thing because there were a lot of people.

The moms-and this Nana-set up a table for each of the boys in one room and then all of the food, drinks, videos, photo area, etc. were out in the main part of the venue. It really was a wonderful day and I think all of the boys-who really weren't sure they even wanted a party-had a wonderful time.

So that is it for today. I have a lacrosse banquet tomorrow and then I think things slow down until they REALLY kick up next week. Stay safe and stay tuned!