Spring Has Finally Sprung............

Bring on the blooming tress and daffodils. 

 I am totally ready for spring.  Yes, being snowed in was nice.  Lots accomplished and very peaceful but it is time to throw open the windows and let some fresh air in!!!

I am by nature of birth an outdoor person.  Being in the garden with a flat of begonias just makes me happy.  

 And my grandchildren...yep, they are outdoor kids too and they are ready to swim.  The pool water is a frigid 75 degrees but any day with sunshine calls for swimwear and splashing their feet in the water.

So while mommy was away enjoying some much earned vacation time, we just lived by our own rules....Gramma type rules!!!

 Not sure what was happening here but it was something that sisters share...and watching them enjoy each other makes me smile!

What is more fun than a batch of onions and a big mound of dirt?

Ask Finley...she will tell you...not much!

Messy hair and dirty faces means you have had a great day.....

 And finally a trip to the park to feed the ducks...and Finley.

 While Brooklynn took care of the ducks, Finley took care of herself.  

What a fun couple of days!

No rules, no bedtime, and plenty of Oreos.

That is the way life should be at Gramma's house.

Just Nostalgic!........

I hurried home on Wednesday night just in time to catch Diane Sawyer's 50th Anniversary tribute to the "Sound of Music".

Whomever does not just love this movie and has not watched it at least 50 times in 50 years is simply just not American! The best thing.....I have watched it, my children and I have watched it, and now I am sharing that same joy with my grandchildren.  Oh how they love it.  Brooklynn is sure that Gretel is the role she is born to play in a remake of the move!

Every bit of the "Sound of Music" is a moment to remember.  In watching Diane Sawyer's tribute we forget that 50 years ago our movie making skills were not what they are today.  Filming in the mountains was an arduous task.  Helicopters with men hanging out the windows were what was required to film the beautiful mountain scenes.  Crew and actors were transported up the hills by mule drawn carts.  Somehow knowing all of this just make the scenes even more spectacular.  

And the lessons that were so cleverly thrown in to leave us all looking at life in a more optimistic way cannot be missed each time I sit through it again.

Yes, when God closes a door somewhere, He does open a window if we are just looking for it.

My FAVORITE song of the whole movie...Edelweiss.  

Something about the voice of Christopher Plummer as he opens up to song for the first time since the death of his wife brings me to tears over and over again.  

And Maria, can you even imagine Doris Day filling this role.  Yes, I am a Doris fan (in the proper place) but ONLY Julie andrews could give to this move the moments that have captured us for a half a century.

I was 16 when I first saw this movie.  I was drawn in every bit as much then as I am now.  I could sing every song on the sound track.  While my friends were belting out Beach Boy tunes, I was secretly singing "Climb Every Mountain" in the confines of my room....and I sounded nothing like Julie Andrews.

Now the sound track is on my iPhone...because where else do we store all our treasured songs and pictures....and in my car I can sing Do Re Mi as well as Julie Andrews in my own mind.

Happy 50th

Sound of Music!!!

A Number Of Things.....

Well, the snow seems to be a thing of the past....thank heavens but we are still being besieged by abundant rain requiring us to remain inside and search for new and creative ways to fill the time.  For me that is not hard...coffee, a good book, my sewing machine and I can disappear for hours.  My mom did a great job of teaching me how to entertain myself.  It has served me well since retirement.

Thank you mom!!!!

With two little girls housebound on a very rainy day we have had to get creative...with "a number of things'....a title stolen from a good friends shop!

The girls are crafters....no problem with that as long as I remember to keep all the essential elements on hand!  You would be surprised how many miles you can get out of a bag of $2.99 pompoms.  I love them.  Today it was a clown face.  What I have found is that Brooklynn carefully follows the directions.  Finley is a free spirit.  She always has her own interpretation of the instructions  and her unique perspective makes hers a form of more modern art.  

Had a little break time with homemade blueberry pancakes and scones just to rest the busy fingers and Gramma's brain!

When the pom pom fun was over and all cleaned up we were on to a challenging game of 

WAR!!!!!  

 It took Brooklynn about five minutes to figure out what card was the highest in each pile and she had her cards scooped to her side in an instant. 

An intense session of creating Mr. McGregors garden with acrylic paints keep us busy for an hour.  Finley is the most amazing little three year old.  She has concentration far beyond mine!

Finished product and on to play dough....

To create a strawberry sundae......which was really hard not to eat.

A play day with this many activities calls for high levels of sugar for this Gramma....

or at least a reprieve outside in the sun!

And AGAIN!!!.............

Second verse...same as the first.  Well, actually a whole lot prettier this time around.  

I do not know why we are being blessed by this abundant deep freeze with spring only days away but actually it has been nice to stay inside and avoid buying groceries and filing up my car with gas.  I am a home body by choice and this suits me well.

 This snowfall was the good kind...the "Do you want to build a snowman" kind.

That is exactly what was happening in my neighborhood when I finally got myself out of bed this morning.  I have a legitimate excuse.  I was up late last night watching it snow.  It was so pretty coming down and covering the roofs of all the houses.  Undisturbed and fluffy.  Sounds a bit strange but being able to sit and look out of the window until well past midnight is the beauty of retirement.

It was peaceful and pretty and it reminded me of the days stuck in the house in Illinois.  

Age must be making me nostalgic so I seriously better move on.......

Sara was once again off work so she and Harley headed out to run in the snow.  There is something about a dog and snow.  Animals were everywhere...most up to their undercarriage in white powder.  Fun times over and all that came in was a mess.  I have wet footprints, leaves, and mud everywhere.  Most of that is from my husband who has no idea you should remove your shoes at the door.

I am actually hoping this is the end and when we spring forward this weekend, we spring forward into the kind of days where you can open your windows and let the musty winter out.

I am ready for some sunshine.