Lisa and Brad are married.

We have just had the most magical weekend. It is going to take me a while to sort out all the photos. I took none but thank you Celia for being our family photographer on this joyous occasion. Celia took this lovely photo of Lisa and Brad. I will be back in later and will share more.

TODAY'S FLOWERS

TODAY’S FLOWER’S is a great meme created by our good friend Luiz Santilli Jr. You can find beautiful and unusual flowers from all over the world by clicking here.

This should be my last pre-dated post for a while. Our son's wedding will have taken place yesterday, he will be on his way to Italy for his honeymoon and most of our family and friends will have left for home. We are going to get together tonight with several friends, two of whom came up from Georgia and Atlanta and we wanted to take them out to dinner before they leave in the morning. It should be a fun evening, especially as niece Hanna and Jochen will be joining us.

Thank you again for all your good wishes to our son and and our brand new-daughter-in-law. When I started my blog I only thought of it as a place to secure photos in case my computer crashed again, and a few memories for our son to read as the years went by. I didn't realize that people would actually be dropping by or that there would be an interest in any of the things I had to share, and didn't realize I would be meeting so many wonderful friends from all over the world who have the most fantastic blogs for me to enjoy. This blogging world is truly phenomenal.

My photos were taken at various places, various times.

Camera Critters

Only one more pre-dating posts after this one. Our son is getting married today (the 27th). I will be back to visiting blogs again in about a week.

I haven't been to the National Zoo in Washington DC for years and we are way overdue for a return visit. The last time I was there I took these photos of the Lowland Gorillas. It is an awesome experience to be able to see these beautiful animals. I had always hoped back in my youth to see them in their natural habitat one day, but I doubt that is ever going to happen now. My little echo - hubby Gregg - would say never say never but I am being realistic. So, when I saw these magnificent primates at the zoo it was an amazing feeling and another good memory that I think of as I look at these photos. At the time there was a new baby seen with its mother here.

At their enclosure we met a nice couple who had traveled all the way from Saint Louis especially to see them and to attend a related zoo function. They were very much involved in this gorilla family as they knew all their individual names and their history. If memory serves me correctly and it's getting a bit fuzzy because it has been a long time, they had contributed to the family's care for several years.

Camera Critters was created by Misty Dawn and hosted by Misty and Tammy. You can find other critter photos by clicking here.

SkyWatch Friday

Repeat message on all meme's and for those who don't know: I'm pre-dating posts for a while as we're getting ready for our son's wedding on Saturday. I will be back to visiting blogs hopefully by the end of next week. Thank you for all the good wishes I have received. I appreciate them more than I can put into words.

Thank you Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy and Louise for hosting SkyWatch Friday. If you want to join in you can click here.

Let The Festivities Commence....

Gregg and I were over at Washington-Dulles International Airport to pick up niece Hanna and friend Jochen. We got there an hour early. The flight was delayed about half an hour but we didn't mind. Airports are always fun to people watch and if you ever want to feel good, just go to the international arrivals area and see all the happy faces. We saw family by family greet loved ones, children, grandchildren. You could feel the excitement around us and we watched the joy on their faces as family members walked out of the customs area.

We looked at this board off and on and as we overheard one of the officials tell others that yes the flight had arrived but they would probably take an hour to get through customs, it wasn't long after that they were there. Yeahhhhh.......Hanna and Jochen have arrived!

Flying mid week is the right way to go if you can do it because the airport was a lot quieter and we got a parking spot not too far away from the exit. Just a short walk and we were back at the car and on our way. We chatted all the way and half an hour later we arrived home.

That evening Brad and Lisa came over and we all went to The Outback Steakhouse for dinner. I forgot to ask the waiter to take a photo of all of us and only just remembered before we went our separate ways. Lisa and Brad came in their own car and there were still lots of wedding preparations for them to do so they left right after this photo.

I have a quiet moment as I dropped Hanna and Jochen off at our local shopping mall. We went there together as I had to buy shoes and a purse to go with my outfit for Saturday. I found my shoes but not a purse. I'm not one for shopping and I had already had enough of that, but knew Hanna had a ways to go so I offered to let them continue and said I would be happy to pick them up in a few hours.

Just wanted to drop in and say a quick hello and share these photos. Thanks for all the lovely comments everyone. I have enjoyed catching up a little but now I have to get off here and sort a few things out. See you later!

Watery Wednesday

Repeat message on all meme's: I'm pre-dating posts for a while as we're getting ready for our son's wedding in four days' time. I will be back to visiting blogs again around two weeks from now.

I didn't have time for any water shots this past week so I have again gone into my archive folders. I found these two from a trip we took up to the northwest when on the ferries. They were pre-digital and scans of photos - not too sharp. Top photo we are making our way from Canada to the US. In the distance is Port Angeles. Below we are traveling through the San Juan Islands.

Thank you 2sweetnsaxy of Eyes Mind Heart for creating and hosting Watery Wednesday. You can visit by clicking on the button above to either share your own photos or just enjoy looking at others from around the world.

TODAY'S FLOWERS

Repeat message on all meme's I normally participate in: For those who don't know, I'm pre-dating posts for a while as we're getting ready for our son's wedding on June 27th. Things will be back to normal and I will be visiting blogs again between two and three weeks from now.

One old, one new. The photo above is from a reunion of my husband's family in North Dakota in 2004. These pretty flowers were at the house of one of Gregg's aunts, at a gathering where I got to meet many of hubby's relatives I had not had the chance to meet before. We had a lovely time. I was quite taken with the cowboy boot planter as I had not seen anything like that before and thought it very clever.
These plants were in the office of an employee at the local government center. We had to sign a form for our future-daughter-in-law's church, giving our blessings on their marriage and saying we had no objection. The form had to be officially stamped by a notary. These plants were in the notary's office and I asked if she would mind if I took a photo of them. They are only three of the many that lined the shelves around the windows. I admired her obvious green thumb.

TODAY’S FLOWER’S is a wonderful meme created by our good friend Luiz Santilli Jr. You can find beautiful and unusual flowers from all over the world by clicking here.

Camera Critters

Repeat message on all meme's: For those who don't know, I'm pre-dating posts for a while as we're getting ready for son's wedding on June 27th. I will be back to visiting blogs again between two and three weeks from now. Thank you for all your good wishes to the bride and groom and to me. You make this happy time in our lives even happier and I appreciate your messages more than I will ever be able to put into mere words. You guys are the greatest!

Camera Critters was created by Misty Dawn and hosted by Misty and Tammy. You can find other critter photos by clicking here.

We are again on our walk near The Old Stone Bridge in Manassas. I spotted a very slight movement on a tree trunk as I walked by. It was a dragonfly.
It is a Common Whitetail or Long-tailed Skimmer. I've never had a chance to get up to one this close before and was surprised to see him as still as could be on the trunk of the tree. According to Wikipedia he is a mature adult male with a white abdomen.

My Mother's Birthday

Today is my Mother's birthday. Her name is Joan and she passed away 15 years ago. My memories of Mum when I was a little girl was of her playing snakes and ladders with my sister and me and making up lovely stories at bedtime. I used to love listening to them, never getting tired of hearing about handsome princes and beautiful princesses and far away places. Thanks for all the games Mum and for all those lovely stories, and for my Bunty and Judy annuals that I excitedly looked forward to each Christmas. She taught me that using an imagination was such great fun. Happy Birthday Mum, I love you!

SkyWatch Friday

Pre-dated post. I'm going to be away from blogging for a while. I'm sorry I won't be able to visit anyone and leave comments, but I didn't want to miss out and not participate entirely. The countdown is on to our son's wedding on the 27th. The days are flying by and there is so much to do. Lots of visitors expected and madly doing spring cleaning. In case you don't know, I would rather blog than do housework and now I am paying the piper.

I will be back in a couple of weeks.

Happy SkyWatch Friday to everyone!

Thank you Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy and Louise for hosting SkyWatch Friday. If you want to join in you can click here.

These were taken on a walk one evening while on one of the hiking trails at the Manassas Civil War Battlefield.

My Sister's Birthday.

Today is my sister's birthday. She passed away in January and I miss her terribly. We lived a long way from each other but we talked on the phone a couple of times a week. There are times when I still think she is just at the other end of the line and I can pick up the phone and there she will be, but even though she isn't I still talk to her. She will always be with me no matter how far the distance. Until we meet again, Happy Birthday Bev, I love you.

One of those quick pop-ins.

I took this photo at one of the overlooks along Skyline Drive weekend before last.

Just popping in to tell you how sorry I am that I won't be able to visit your blogs until after son's wedding. There is so much to do even for the bridegroom's mother. Not as much as the bride's mother of course but still a lot to do. I am madly spring cleaning the house before that weekend but then son just called and wants to take me out to lunch. How can I say no? Times like these are precious and the housecleaning will be there when I get back home right? You will be seeing me again in your comment box when things return to normal around here and I look forward to catching up.

Watery Wednesday

One of those pre-dated posts while preparing for our son's wedding on the 27th.

The Old Stone Bridge crosses Bull Run in the Manassas National Batlefield Park in Manassas, Virginia. This area is 15 minutes away from our home and whenever we feel like a good walk, we'll sometimes head for one of the hiking trails here. For anyone interested in Civil War history, the bridge was destroyed during the Battle of First Manassas on July 21st, 1861. This was the first major land battle of the American Civil War. Some years later a new bridge - apparently similar to the original design - was built on the site of the old bridge.

Immediately after we crossed we turned right and walked along the path at the side of the river (Bull Run).

There are many trees that have fallen into the river. It was a lovely walk that took us along its banks, then up a fairly steep hill through a wood that led into an open field of tall grass and wildflowers. The trail is a loop that eventually took us back to our car.

Thank you 2sweetnsaxy of Eyes Mind Heart for creating and hosting Watery Wednesday. You can visit by clicking right here.

Happy Monday Everyone

Every day I get a letter from Susan's Daily Dose. She shares the most wonderful feel-good photos and this is one of them. She also does Today in History moments which are always so fascinating. For instance did you know that on this day in 1752, Benjamin Franklin and his son conducted his famous experiment involving a kite and a key during a thunderstorm, confirming Franklin's theory that lightning is electrical? Also on this day in history in 1836 Arkansas became the 25th state to be admitted into the Union. There are other days in history from around the world and the snippets I read make me only want to learn more. Anyhow, just passing on a smile with this cute little dog. Isn't he adorable with that sweet expression on his face? Thank you Susan for starting my day off so well.

It's been a good weekend. On Saturday I went to my future daughter-in-law's bridal shower. It was a lot of fun and apart from enjoying everyone's company, my favorite moment was watching her happiness and excitement when she was opening her shower gifts. What do you think I bought her? Photograph albums, two of them. A really neat one with a little suitcase on the front and a traveling design, saying "Photos from Our Honeymoon". The other was a smaller one for a purse. It had "I do, I do, I do, I do!" written on it and the design matched the wedding invitations she had picked, exact colors, polka dot ribbon, perfect! I knew when I saw it that I was going to give it to her. I thought to buy her a couple of photo frames also but I couldn't find any that I thought she might like. Fortunately one of the other guests gave her a real pretty one.

To recap, our son Brad and Lisa are getting married on June 27th. We are very excited about welcoming Lisa into our family, and she really is already part of our family. She told everyone how she and Brad met, and she enjoyed me telling them all how I knew something was up even before Brad told us he had met the love of his life.

The first clue was when he came home sporting a really smart hair-cut. He doesn't remember me narrowing my eyes and thinking to myself, "What the heck is this all about?" but even then I knew that there was a very good reason and I had a pretty good idea what that reason was. Mother's know don't they? Also his 'mutton-chop' side-burns disappeared shortly afterwards. I had spent years trying to get this boy into the barbers before his hair and those mutton chops hit his shoes! Yes I am exaggerating just a tad but the struggles I had to persuade this son of ours to get his locks trimmed before a school photo is written in the annuls of our family history, or at least in mine. He has always hated getting his hair cut since day one, and to do this on his own volition? Well after I had picked myself up off the floor and shut my gaping mouth, I quietly smiled. Hmmmm ....... Mothers know!

The second clue was when he came home one day with a couple of nice shirts and ties and that was just the start. All of a sudden he started taking notice of his appearance, the 'T' shirts and jeans disappeared for a while and he started using after-shave - he smelled beautiful! Hmmmm........ Mother's know!

The third clue was that he told me he was going to get new glasses. He didn't like the shape of the ones he had and that 'a friend from work' was going with him to help him pick some out. Huh? Okay, now I know something is going on, since when had he started giving a hoot what shape his glasses were, and why is he bothering now? He was pretty vague when I asked him who the friend was. I said to Gregg "something's up" and Gregg said "Nahhhhh......" and as I rolled my eyes up into my head I said, "Uh-huh!" Yep.......Mothers know!

Early Sunday we had breakfast with him and all these memories were popping into my head. (Gregg and I have been looking at lots of his baby pictures lately and saying where on earth did all that time go?) It's becoming a weekly tradition to meet up on a Sunday morning, usually picking him up at his apartment. We generally go over to his favorite restaurant. It was fun and we had the nicest waiter we have ever had. He kept calling me Darling. "Certainly Darling", "Here you go Darling". I thought he was a Darling. Darling chap! Brad is a regular at this place and he was recognized immediately with a big friendly greeting and genuine smile. We all agreed that next time we go and if he's there, we're going to head for his table. I hasten to add that the other staff have been very nice to us and we have never had cause for complaint, but he was special. Maybe it was because he called me Darling? Yes I'm joking, he was just a complete love.

We stopped off at Brad's apartment for half an hour or so, and then Gregg and I headed to Lowe's over in Manassas. We needed another can of paint as Gregg is in the middle of painting the kitchen.

We also got our deck cleaned last week by a nice young man who when he comes home from college, does work in our neighborhood for the summer months. He did the best job ever and will be coming back soon to seal and stain the deck.

Slowly we're getting everything straight. It's a good time to do some major spring cleaning and I'm trying to get things organized before the wedding and with family and friends coming into town.

If I don't seem to be visiting your blogs and leaving as many comments lately I apologize but I've been a bit distracted and busy, and probably will be for the next couple of weeks or so. I'm going to pre-date some posts but I will try to pop in every now and again when time allows.

Days Gone By

These are the latest old photos we've come across, on the occasion of Gregg's graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1969. Hard to believe that it was 40 years ago this month. The first photo shows Gregg with his Mom, Dad and sister. I was 19 at the time, still living my life in England and totally oblivious what fate had in store for me a few years later.

Gregg with his Mom and Dad. His Mom passed away a few years ago, so these photos are very special.

In the photo above and below he is with an Aunt and Uncle who came out from Montana for his graduation and I see his Mom smiling behind them. They also passed away several years ago.

Gregg with his aunt. I am happy that I got to meet her on a trip to North Dakota at one of the family reunions, and we also corresponded for many years. I never met Gregg's uncle.
All the Midshipmen on the parade ground. Gregg is in there somewhere.

Gregg in his parade uniform afterwards.
This must have been taken not too long before they returned home. Gregg had a month off before he was sent to his first assignment.