Happy Ramblings

Most of you visit this blog to see and hear about art.  To you, I beg patience.  I just want to tell you that today I'm filled with love and laughter and I wanted to share that with you.

My mother celebrated her 77th birthday on Friday.  She arrived at my house on Thursday and settled for burgers on the grill, baked beans and oven-fries, followed by nutty buddies & refresho popsicles which could be held with one hand while playing dominoes with the other.

On Friday when we were caught in a downpour at the antique festival and she realized she'd left her raincoat in my car, she whipped out a Food Lion brown plastic bag and put it right on her head, holding the handles under her chin as it filled with air and tried to blow away, all while eating homemade vanilla ice cream with a spoon in her other hand.  I so wanted a photo of that, but didn't take one.  And when I gave her my raincoat, opting to get drenched in order to salvage her hair, teased to within an inch of its life and sprayed with what surely must have been 3 cans of spray, she smiled and gave my step-father her bag to wear on his head.  He actually received a compliment on it as we raced to the car.  (Another photo op missed, but to be remembered fondly.)

Friday night I cooked a feast, served a beautiful birthday cake, and got back to the business at hand...more dominoes.  While we took a break so Mini Cooper and Mercedes Benz could go out for a walk, I pulled out my IPad and pulled up Talking Tom 2.  As that cat held his paw cupped to his ear, Mother said loudly "this is one stinky hand", referring to her dominoes and trust me, she did not use the word stinky.  When that cat repeated the phrase in his high-pitched voice, the three of us burst into laughter, which he also repeated.  And so it began, with Mother and Tommy laughing and talking, and Tom repeating everything they said, which led to more laughter and tears from us all.  Our tummies ached from the uproarious laughter, which just made it all the funnier.  Everyone should download that free app on their iphones and ipads.  Seriously.

When she called on Saturday from my brother's house in the mountains, the next stop on her birthday journey, you could hear the dominoes clacking in the background and knew she was having a large time indeed.

Late yesterday she called from her room in the Casino to say she'd lost my step-father somewhere between the $60 seafood buffet she'd purchased with part of my birthday money, and the slot machine that had stolen another $100+.  And she was laughing and beaming, just gushing with the news that she was having the time of her life.  And once again, I smiled with her.

Today they're on their way back home, anxious to plan their next adventure. 

I went to see baby Jackson on Saturday evening.  As usual he wants nothing to do with me but adores PaPa.  It's just not fair.  To whom may I direct my complaints?  He's talking non-stop though you can't understand a single word he says.   I tried taking photos but he wouldn't be still so I have lots of blurs...baby in motion.  Did I tell you he now has my strawberry blonde hair?  And he has a long curl hanging down the back of his neck though it's fairly short everywhere else.  Can a grandmother request the first lock of hair, do you think?  I'd pay cash.

Fall has arrived with cooler temperatures and the new Fall lineup on TV.  I'm overcome with happiness at the return of both.  Truly overjoyed. 

My new pergola didn't get painted this weekend due to the rain and the birthday celebration, but that's okay.  I still haven't finished filling my new planters, and that's okay too. 

I'm happy today and hope you are as well.