Happy Birthday Jonathan!

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

Seems like it was not that long ago you were the size of these guys.

I love you bunches.

Leapin' Lizards

What is there?

Leapin' Lizards!

We have had these wonderful tree lizards since we moved into the house  three decades ago.

They know we are not going to bother them and we can get fairly close to them  if we move very slowly.

We never try to touch them and because we have earned their trust they just hang out

on the side of the house and the fences.

I just love them.

Storm Clouds

This has been an unbelievable May for weather all over the US.

These are a few pictures I quickly snapped yesterday evening.

I wished they were more clear but I shot them with my cell phone.

There was wind, rain, thunder, lightning and pea-size hail.

The thunder was so loud. I grew up in south-east Illinois so I know about storms.

The only thing I can compare this thunder to in loudness would be the

Army tanks we heard firing demonstrations at my brother-in-law's retirement.

Seriously loud.

We were lucky there was no damage in our subdivision but the people in the

northern part of the city were not. They had baseball size hail.

I do have to say watching the Texas Rangers try to decide

how to get their patrons to safety from the stadium would have been amusing

if it were not such a serious situation.

Hopefully we are on the downhill side of the spring weather.

Oh, dear, hurricane season begins soon.

Hats

I am knitting furiously on hats for the Knit-A-Cap collection. The shipment does not go out until September but there have been years that because of "baby" knitting I have not sent as many hats. I decided this year to try to use up all the little bits and pieces of skeins that have a tendency to get down in the bottom of the tub. Now my organized sister never has this problem. She is disciplined and uses up the four or five skeins she is using in various stripes before she starts another color. That is not me. Well until this year. I am in a cleaning out mode. Actually it started a couple of years ago. So I decided this year I would use up all the little balls of various colors and be more organized. So far it has worked pretty good. I have only had to buy four or five skeins of yarn. Since the hats go to a lot of students in the same school I try not to have ones that are exactly alike. I am excited. I have 125 hats so far and I have only a few little balls left. This hat is one that I am finishing up today. It has five different yarns. I think it looks pretty cool.

Memories

When I was a little girl I loved going through my Grandma's bookshelf. Of course they were all too advanced for me but I liked to look at them. One that was interesting was Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles Cowman. The words were small and there were no pictures but the reason I liked it was the cover. The picture was of a desert scene with sand dunes and palm trees and a camel. I have always enjoyed the memory of that book even though I had not read it.

This is a picture of my Grandma in 1973. She taught me to crochet when she was here that Christmas. I had been looking for a "Streams", the older version not the new updated one, just because it is part of my past with my Grandma. I never could find one. This weekend my church had a booksale with the money going to a mission trip in the summer. I went not thinking I would find anything in particular. Then there is was, an old version of "Streams." I picked it up and looked at it. It did not have the paper cover but it was the same green book. The original price penciled in the book was $1.50. The published date was 1940. I could not believe what I held in my hands.

I am sure that someone was cleaning out their bookshelves and had no idea the joy someone else would have in finding this book. Today many books are updated, given more modern versions for "easy reading/understanding". There is something to be said for the older versions not just for the beauty of poetic writing but also for the memories they bring.

Hydrangea

I love Hydrangeas. Last year on Mother's Day Allison gave me a hydrangea plant.

My love for them goes all the way back to early childhood. My grandma had the most beautiful

Hydrangea bush beside her house. I am so excited because the plant survived our crazily

cold weather this last winter and now is starting to bloom.

Sisters

Happy 3rd Birthday Jaxson and Ryan!!

                                                Three years ago today
                             two of the sweetest boys in the world were born.

Jaxson

and

Ryan.

After their Mommie sitting patiently in the hospital they demanded to be born

almost 2 months early. I think they chose Cinco de Mayo so everyone would

always remember their birthday. They were both so tiny. I knit the hat Ryan has on

and it fit perfectly on a small apple.

We went up to see them on the 4th of July. Not quite 2 months old even though

it was summer I made them patriotic hats to wear.

Not a very good picture since I had to take a picture of a picture. But oh they were sweet.

They grew.

Here is at their 1st birthday party.

Too cute!

Then they grew some more....

And more...

Ryan

Jaxson

Most precious boys.

This is one of my most favorite pictures of them.

Happy Birthday Jaxson and Ryan.

Grandma loves you bunches!!