Scallops with watermelon and fennel

Had our annual July birthdays dinner last night.

We celebrate five birthdays in July.

Daughter Rachel

Son John

Grand Jill

Grand Nikki

Grand Dylan

John does not celebrate at this particular dinner since we call it girl's night out and Dylan is over 1000 miles from us.

 Top from left Nikki, Jennifer, Julia, Cindy, Jill

Front Beth and QMM

Julia, Jennifer and Beth are our daughters.

the other three are grands, Jennifer's daughters.

Rachel could not make it.

Missed her so, since her birthday was the 14th.

A fine dining place called

60 West in the city.

I had my usual scallops

They were served on pickled watermelon and Mandarin oranges.

Absolutely delicious

Asparagus

Fennel

Fingerling potatoes.

2 Margatinis

(Margarita in a Martini glass.)

Just a little Cheese cake.!!!!!!!!

Go here and have some more Fun on Tuesday

Kathe with an E has a new blog look.

WooHoo

More flowers on Mosaic Monday

Mosaic Monday visits the whimsical in the garden.

We finally got a good rain.

Before that I was kept running around watering the flowers at least twice a day.

Crepe Myrtle

Toward the end of summer things begin to look plush just next to being overgrown.

Petunias

Sweet peas

Moss roses

Zinnias

I love the touch of blue on the patio.

Go here for more Mosaic Monday lovelies.

The blessings of art

Glory to God in the highest 

and

Peace to His people on earth.

Art stirs my soul these days and I thank God for the chance to pursue this passion.

Finished and on the wall

I know, you have seen this a hundred times but it is finished now, finally.

I love it.

go here to see our next project and my fellow classmate's work.

Basesball, America's game-Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday

Lets the Games begin.

Alan's photo prompt for July 28

Everyone loves the Olympics.

My favorite of the summer games is swimming and volleyball.

There will be no baseball in the Olympics so here is my tribute.

The Fredericktown League in 1947

Third from right is HH 's oldest brother.

Joseph Smith (Casey) Jones

he is a handsome guy.

Played shortstop. 
Sometimes he would pitch.

Although his name is misspelled the Bobby Reis in the front row is a brother to 

PeeWee Reese.
Pee Wee was born in Meade County Kentucky just over the knobs from us.

I remember Casey Jones when I was a young girl.
He played on our church team and we all loved the baseball games.
He owned a Standard Oil station which I passed every day near my home.
He was always so friendly and I though he was good looking.
He was 10 years older than me and I had no idea, of course, that he would one day be my
brother-in-law. 
Of course by the time he owned the station he was married with a couple of children.

At that time I did not even know his younger brother.

Casey today at 83 still working 2 days a week as a Tire specialist at Ken Towery Tires and partying every Saturday night with his wife and family.

At  Churchill Downs at night or day that he is not working, enjoying the races.

A hellavaman.

He never misses a party with the love of his life Sarah, wife of 59 years.

Dances every dance.



Go here for more Sepia 

Friday shoot my town

Friday Shoot Out
Theme
complimentary colors

A crochet project

From the garden

Take a second look

Hey look at me

Touch of blue on the deck

A button for trimming






I was pretty lost on this.
Just had to use what I found in my archives.


Go here for more FSO

Looking for" giant strides," You are going to love it Tuesday

I just love blogging.

A few weeks ago I was visiting some of my regular blogs when I came upon a giveaway recommended by one of my regulars. 

We all love giveaways and finding new sites to follow.

The giveaway was this darling quiltie.

made by Pallas at
Threads in Time

I was so excited.
Here is my story

At my elementary school there were the usual playground equipment.
Swings, seesaw, sliding board and my favorite
"giant strides."

I loved to ride those more than anything.

I had one beloved sister and I always considered myself her protector.


When my beloved sister started school, I was in the third grade.
Our playground area was covered in gravel not the easiest on the knees if one fell.

Soon after my sister started school she fell off of the giant strides and blooded up her knees.

Since we lived next door I carried her home, both of us crying all the way.
"Giant Strides,"
 have a special place in my childhood memories.

I lost my beloved sister, Betty, to breast cancer when she was 32 and I was 34.

My life was changed forever.
We were so close we were even married in a double wedding.

When she died we both had 5 children.

When I joined Sepia Saturday, a blog where participants show old photos and tell stories about the photos, I had hopes of one day running across a photo about "giant strides."
I never did.

When I visited 
Threads in Time and saw this darling quiltie I felt that it was meant to be mine.
I signed up and sure enough I won it.
Pallas is an amazing fabric artist.

Go over and visit and tell her QMM sent you.
You will find her here. 

Now go visit our hostess Kathe with an E for other things to love about this Tuesday.
here

You are gonna love it.

Kathe lives in Colorado and those folks truly need our prayers.

Also sharing this with Meri and all the other JOY stories since this was a joy to find this photo and I know my sister is in a JOYFUL place even though I miss her so much.


Go here to share your joy.

Pool party with family

 Mosaic Monday

Pool party with family

Beloved dog Blossom showing off her tricks.

Games in the pool

Daughter hostess makes a mean Sangria


Ping Pong for the energetic

Candle light as the sun sets


Towels drying on the fence


The lower deck


Deck decor



A peaceful sight from the deck.

Thank goodness there is good ventilation




And cheers

Crepe Myrtle border the pool area

 Sun sets on a perfect day.




Go here for Mosaic Monday with Mary

Happy Birthday
son
John

Grandson
Dylan

Some kind of queen. Sepia Saturday

Alan's prompt shows the Dental Hygiene Fairy with a group of children in 1920 educating them in the importance of dental hygiene.

Using the theme of girl in the center
I found this photo of the 1953 Mardi Gras Queen at my high school.

I was a sophomore at that time and the queen always came from the senior class.
I cannot remember what her name was but I remember the guy. 
He is one of my cousins.

The Mardi Gras was the parochial school  version of the prom.
It was held the week-end before the beginning of Lent as being Catholic we did not hold dances or any kinds of hoopla during Lent.

No marriages were allowed in the church during Lent etc.


I just love his argyle socks and found many examples of them in the rest of the photos in this group.
This honor was bestowed by the vote of the sister teachers of our school.

Most other honors were awarded by virtue of GPA or student vote.
The sisters felt the honor of being the Mardi Gras Queen represented them so they would always pick someone they considered a virtuous and spiritual girl.


No sour grapes here, well maybe a little,  but by virtue of GPA I would have been Mardi Gras Queen in 1956 but I had a boy friend, a freshman in the college there, so the sisters did not vote me as their queen.

I was on the court of course.
The girl who was selected as queen in 1956 had never had a date before.
She was very kind and a great friend.
She was one of my best friends.

By popular vote in the senior book I was voted Most Popular.

A big bad senior I guess.

By way of bragging, sorry Lord,  I was also awarded the highest esteemed scholarship to Sienna College in Tennessee. Now that was earned.
But because my mother was a single mom raising three children I had to go to work.
My father had abandoned us.

A girl from a broken family had a stigma to carry.
Sorry to say but it was the truth back in the 40s and 50s.

My heart was broken.



I had attended this high school on a scholarship awarded to me from my elementary school owned by the same group of sisters.

They had to put up with me for 12 years.
I was not a bad girl I was just lively and very visible,  all 99 pounds of me.


But life has taken me on the path that has brought me to serenity and happiness in life. 
I have no regrets.


Forever I will be the Wife of the Year (52 times) and Mother of the Year (of 6 for 51 times,) as my most cherished honor.

My Fairy Name


Go here for more Sepia Saturday
 

Friday Shoot my town- Public art.

July 20th 2012

Theme

Public Art.

Fabric Tapestry
by
Penny Sisto

All sewn by hand. 
She has done hundreds of these.

I have posted almost all of the public art in our town at one time or another.
Some of these photos were in my archives.

This piece is one I have known about for a long time but it took some time to find it.
I knew where it was but had been just too lazy to walk to see it.
My loss.
If it took me so long to find it, you may ask, how can I call it public.
Well because Penny was helped by the sisters on her life journey this was constructed specifically for them but it is on the official visitor's map at Nazareth.


 I found it hanging in the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Center.
Penny was once Artist in Residence.
The day I found it the center was in renovation and due to all the boxes stacked around and furniture displaced this is the best shot I could get.

I have a piece by this artist and cherish it dearly.
Her story is worth reading.

Stephen Foster and his flute looking towards
My Old Kentucky Home.

The hospital memorial garden.

The eagle was the mascot of St. Joseph Preparatory School once housed in this building.
A severe thunderstorm blew many of the trees down and an artist sculpted the eagle in the trunk of the downed tree.

In the Metal Garden of  RoseMark B&B.

I should have done a single post dedicated to Penny's work as I am in such admiration of her work and I knew her.




Go here for Friday Shoot My Town.