Mothers' Day

I'm never sure what my Mothers' Day will bring. Each year it is different and we have to see what everyones' calendars will allow. And so it was this year when I started to make some plans. I knew my husband and I would get up to celebrate with my mother and I hoped we could include my brother and sister-in-law as well. I also planned a Saturday luncheon with a good friend. And, that was all I thought would be happening.

Suffice it to say, I was pleasantly surprised when daughter #2 and her family came by on Friday and again on Sunday evening. They had a huge volleyball tournament in Orlando and I didn't think I would get to see them at all.

Then, daughter #3 (whom I thought would be at the beach with her family) called to ask if she could come along to visit her grandmother. The icing on the cake was when she showed up with my youngest grand daughter as well. What a fun day we had and my mom always loves to see the little ones. After sitting with my mom as she ate her lunch and then sharing her favorite dessert-apple pie-we did her gifts and visited with her a bit.


As we were heading home, we decided to make a stop in Micanopy. They have the friendliest little cafe and we always like to stop there for a bite if our timing is right. This town is the picture of "old Florida"-very quiet and laid back. We ordered our food and then decided to eat out on the porch. There are 2 restaurant cats that will come visit and on this day the owner was there so his beautiful dog paid us a visit as well. Our other friendly visitors were the love bugs. I don't know what parts of the country are privy to love bugs other than Central Florida but we would gladly send them on their way to anyone else who would like to share. These bugs do not bite or sting. They just fly in droves and smear up your windshield and front of your car so thickly that sometimes you truly need to stop mid-trip just to scrap them off. And, if you don"t wash them off of your car quickly, their remains will actually eat off the paint. This year they were particularly heavy in our area and sitting outside might not have been the smartest move of the day but we survived and enjoyed the ambiance and people watching.

When we returned, I got to have a nice long phone conversation with daughter #1, so everyone was present and accounted for. It turned out to be a wonderful weekend full of people and things that I love-what could be better?!

One of my gifts consisted of 5 new miniature gardenia bushes. I love gardenias but the miniature variety is new to me. It seems as if they bloom sooner and longer than the traditional variety but have the same fragrance. I just got them in the ground today. Will be posting some garden pictures soon. Stay tuned.