June 27, 2017

Day 178 of 365, Tuesday. It is an absolutely beautiful day here in NC. We barely made it to 80, and it feels less humid. Donald and I decided to have dinner outdoors tonight. It was glorious.

June 26, 2017

Day 177 of 365, Monday. If you keep your eyes open, you will start to notice beauty or something cool in the strangest places. Today I had to make a trip to WalMart and decided to go in through the garden area. There are lots of plants on clearance, so of course I had to walk through. This is a hummingbird moth, checking out the blossoms. It is unusual to see these, I've only seen a few in my entire life. 

June 25, 2017

Day 176 of 365, Sunday. This cabinet holds a lot of intrigue for all things small, either children or cats. Patrick and Ellie love to hide in it, and today Jolly Mon tried to open the door on his own. I guess it is the perfect spot to hide.

June 24, 2017

Day 175 of 365, Saturday. This morning we met Dottie and her crew for bagels and a walk along the Neuse River Greenway. We ran into a man just staring straight up, and when we asked he pointed out the osprey nest on top of the utility poles. It was an incredibly cool experience to see the juvenile on the side of the nest, and while we watched, both parents flew in. This is my favorite of the photos I took. You can see the little one watching the mama bird. I can only imagine it is thinking about food.

June 23, 2017

Day 174 of 365, Friday. Boy, am I behind. I guess being on summer vacation has put me on island time. I will be writing this post (and the next few) as though it were really that day, so excuse the present tense even though I'm writing from the past. If that makes any sense.

Today, Donald and I had to attend a funeral in Clayton. It was a little tiny church, but it was beautiful on the inside. 

June 22, 2017

Day 173 of 365, Thursday. Each day I have been trying to get out and walk in the mornings. It is so easy to do that while I am on summer break, and it makes me feel good. Today, however, I wasn't feeling quite as peppy as I have the last few days. I decided to still take a walk, but to make it a little less strenuous. A little know fact about me is that I enjoy walking through the cemetery. Most people find it creepy, but I find peace there. It is so interesting to me to read the names of people and wonder about their lives. I especially like it when they include a quote or saying on the headstone. Oakwood Cemetery is very close to my house, so I headed that way. As an added bonus, both my grandparents and my great-grandparents are buried here. I always like to stop and visit, and wish they were still around. 

June 21, 2017

Day 172 of 365, Wednesday. This is a tale about WalMart and personal mistakes. Most of you know that I help my aunt at her farm. Part of that includes making sure the cats and dog have plenty of food. It isn't always convenient to go to WalMart, so I have been ordering the food online and having it shipped to her house. When I talked with her on the way home from Asheville last week she mentioned that she needed more food. So, when I got home I pulled out my trusty app and ordered. When I was checking out, I noticed I could pick up in store. Since I drive past the store on the way to her house, I thought that might be easiest, so that was the option I chose. Friday morning, I go to pick up my order, and I unfortunately selected the wrong store. The store I wanted was in Kannapolis, but I chose Concord. I knew Donald and I were going out of town over the weekend, so there was nothing I could do except move on. Fast forward to Monday afternoon. As soon as we got back in town, I headed to WalMart for the pick up. Would you believe that was the wrong store too? Good grief. As it turns out, I picked the store all the way out at Concord Mills! There was no way I was going out there at 5:00 in the afternoon, so I decided to wait until the next morning. Tuesday morning, I head to the third WalMart, and finally had the right one! But, not all items in my order had shipped. The girl at the desk looked, and the rest of my items were on the truck to be delivered that afternoon. My only choice was to pick up what was there and come back later. Finally, Wednesday morning, I headed back to WalMart AGAIN. Believe me, the next time I order food, it will be shipped directly to her house. 

June 20, 2017

Day 171 of 365, Tuesday. Each year, I look forward to planting a garden. Over the last few years, I haven't had much time to tend to a garden, so I decided not to plant this year. But, I did put some tomato plants in a pot just to see what happens. I have three little tomatoes growing, and I hope they make it to maturity. 

June 19, 2017

Day 170 of 365, Monday. We are home from Raleigh and I had some errands to run once we got here. Sitting at the stoplight, I glanced over at the laundry mat and saw this. I would like to know how they trained that cat to hang out on a leash. 

June 18, 2017

Day 169 of 365, Sunday. Happy Father's Day! Donald and I had no idea what our day was going to be like today, but Dottie wound up coming over with her entire crew. We had fun playing inside, then we all walked to the pool for a swim. Add pizza for supper and the day was great! Jackson is really starting to notice things around him, and he absolutely lights up when he sees Granddaddy. He has never paid any attention to me, and honestly, he diverts his eyes whenever I talk to him. But, today was different. We had a real conversation! I talked, and he was all smiles and cooed and cooed! Be still my heart!

June 17, 2017

Day 168 of 365, Saturday. Today we were invited to the Cole's for a 30th anniversary celebration. There were lots of kids there, and Patrick and Ellie had tons of fun playing with everyone. Ellie very politely asked for a cupcake, and I think she enjoyed it. What do you think? 

June 16, 2017

Day 167 of 365, Friday. I started the day with a walk around the neighborhood. For old times sake, I walked through the playground at Beverly Hills. Not only is this where I attended elementary school, but I taught there for 13 years. My class planted these big trees, and every day at recess that year, we brought water in gallon jugs. 

June 15, 2017

Day 166 of 365, Thursday. My participation in the NCDLCN cohort ended today. It has been a wonderful experience, and I feel I learned a great deal. As a surprise, the folks from the Friday Institute brought Howling Cow ice cream. This ice cream is made at NC State University, from NC State cows. You can only get it in Raleigh, and they packed it up in coolers with dry ice and brought it all the way to Asheville. What a treat!

June 14, 2017

Day 165 of 365, Wednesday. I am still in Asheville, and took the opportunity for a ride along the Blue Ridge Parkway after the meeting. I stopped at overlooks, and took lots of pictures of the mountains. But, I wouldn't be true to myself if I didn't share this one photo. When I first noticed it, I thought someone had littered, and it made me mad. But then, when I looked closer, I saw a beautiful tribute. I have no idea who Dakota is, nor do I know if he or she was human or animal. But someone must have really loved them to leave a tribute at a beautiful overlook. 

June 13, 2017

Day 164 of 365, Tuesday. I am in Asheville for the next two days for a meeting. I was able to catch up with my old friend Kelly for dinner and reminiscing. It was so, so good to see her! She even brought her daughter along, which was an added bonus! Here you see us at the Pisgah Inn, with the sunset in the background.

June 12, 2017

Day 163  of 365, Monday. Donald had to go in the apartment for something the other day and realized we had a tremendous leak somewhere from the roof. Today, he waited until I got home to climb the ladder and check it out. (For the record, he's not allowed to go on the roof unless someone is home.) Anyway, there were lots of limbs covering the roof, and tons of leaf debris. He made round one today of cleaning it off.

June 11, 2017

Day 162 of 365, Sunday. It has taken three years, but Jolly Mon decided to make friends with Patrick today.

June 10, 2017

Day 161 of 365, Saturday. We had so much fun hanging out with these guys today. Patrick and Ellie played and played, Jackson spent most of his time napping, Dottie enjoyed having extra hands to help wrangle busy children, Donald and I soaked it all in. 

June 9, 2017

Day 160 of 365, Friday. Today was the last day for students in Cabarrus County, and it was an early release day too. Donald and I had a goal of making it to Raleigh by supper time so we could get our favorite pizza. We made it, and there was even a little time to sit on the back deck. Here's the view, the only thing that would make it better is if we could see water. 

June 8, 2017

Day 159 of 365, Thursday. Today, Donald and I made a delivery of sweet feed for the horse. She doesn't always show her affection, but when she does it is such a good feeling. She was all over me, and I loved it.

June 7, 2017

Day 158 of 365, Wednesday. Peek-a-boo! The farm kittens are getting somewhat brave, but they still don't want me to come too close. 

June 6, 2017

Day 157 of 365, Tuesday. Three years ago, a tiny kitten was abandoned in our garage behind the house. I know that is how feral cats behave. The mother picks which one of the litter she thinks has the best chance for survival, and abandons the rest. I've seen this happen at the farm, but this kitten was different. He looked me square in the eye and meowed. So, I fed him. We don't know exactly when he was born, but on his first vet visit, they guessed it was June 6, so that's what we celebrate. Happy Birthday, Jolly Mon!

June 5, 2017

Day 156 of 365, Monday. These little guys were waiting on me in the barn this afternoon. They were born somewhere near the pasture, and the mama cat brought them here. (The mama was born last year in the horse trailer.) Anyway, they are cute, but I do question how healthy they are. 

June 4, 2017

Day 155 of 365, Sunday. It was the annual auction at church today, and I bid on a few things. I absolutely love this little bird feeder! Now to find the perfect place to put it.

Jun 3, 2017

Day 154 of 365 ,Saturday. Super busy day today, starting with a trip to the Farmer's Market in Concord with my mother. I bought lots of fresh vegetables, and can't wait to eat them. Then, Donald and I had quite a few errands to run, one of which included getting a load of hay and delivering it out to the farm. We had to make a quick stop en route to check the straps on the trailer, and I noticed all of this bamboo growing wild on the side of the road. Donald is so patient, and he never second guesses my crazy actions, such as jumping out of the car to take this photo.

June 2, 2017

Day 153 of 365, Friday. It feels like this has been a very long week, even though it was a short one. I find this to be the case when we have a four day work week. Seems like it takes forever for Friday to get here. Today I worked at the Opportunity School for the last day of middle school testing. It was a make up day, so we didn't have that many kids who needed to take the test. After work I picked up Aunt Frankie and we ran some errands in Salisbury. We even took her car! 

June 1, 2017

Day 152 of 365, Thursday. Donald and I truly enjoy sitting outside each afternoon. This gives us time to talk about our day and wind down before dinner. We usually have a little snack, and today our snack was cashews. This little squirrel was poking around our front yard, clearly looking for something to eat. I thought it would be fun to toss a cashew out to see how long it took him to find it. He found it pretty quick, and it was fun to watch him enjoy it. 

May 31, 2017

Day 151 of 365, Wednesday. We are in the throes of testing here in Cabarrus County. These days are busy for everyone, but especially those of us who support technology. The building where I am working was built in the 1920s. While it is a beautiful building, there are three floors with no elevator. It's not such a big deal unless you have to transport equipment. Anyway, I make rounds all through the testing session, checking to make sure there are no problems. Today is the screen shot of my step-tracking app. I would say that's a good day's worth of walking!

May 30, 2017

Day 150 of 365, Tuesday. Today has been quite an eventful day, and I had quite a few pictures to choose from. But, since this is a photo a day, I had to narrow it down to one. However, I can still talk about all the events. First of all, when I was leaving for work this morning, three little kittens were hanging out in the basket on our front porch. Just what we don't need, more abandoned kittens. Luckily, the mother cat returned and still nursed them. By the end of the day they had disappeared.

Then, my aunt called early very upset that one of her cats had died, the one I call Sweetie Pie. After trying all morning to call her back and couldn't get her, I left work early to check on her. After talking it over, we determined that she had not been attacked by anything, but died of natural causes. It happens with farm cats. By the time I left, she had calmed down quite a bit. 

And lastly, but possibly most importantly, I have been remembering my grandmother today. When I was about 5 or 6, I distinctly remember asking her about her birthday. I can still hear her responding "The 30th of May." So today, in honor what would be her 104 birthday, I am celebrating with my version of a "cone of cream", a very small milkshake. Happy Birthday, Maw!

This photo is from the farm, near where Aunt Frankie buried Sweetie Pie. I think they are called Fire and Ice, and I just love them.

May 29, 2017

Day 149 of 365, Monday. We had the perfect end to a long weekend today. Instead of driving straight to Concord after leaving Wilmington, we took a detour through Raleigh. Here is a small snippet of the fun we all had. 

May 28, 2017

Day 148 of 365, Sunday. Yesterday I treated myself to a pedicure. Today, we got our feet (and the rest of ourselves) in the ocean today. The water was cold, but boy, was it refreshing! 

May 27, 2017

Day 147 of 365, Saturday. This has been a truly great day. It feels like every time we are in Wilmington, all our cares are washed away. Even Jolly Mon seems to feel it. 

May 26, 2017

Day 146 of 365, Friday. For as long as I can remember, I have disliked driving over this bridge. Since it is a steel bridge, I always feel like I am going to slip and slide into the next lane. Lately, however, this bridge symbolizes the start of relaxation. I love to look over and see the Cape Fear river with the boats docked in the port. I wish we could spend more time here. 

May 25, 2017

Day 145 of 365, Thursday. One of the things I like most about this photo a day challenge is looking for beauty in everyday life. This cactus is at Aunt Frankie's house and it is full of blossoms.

May 24, 2017

Day 144 of 365, Wednesday. We have had lots and lots of rain this afternoon, and they are calling for storms through tomorrow. I wanted to capture a photo that shows how much rain we are having, but that's hard to do. So instead you are getting our little house. 

May 23, 2017

Day 143 of 365, Tuesday. Sometimes I see the most interesting things around the farm. Today as I was feeding the kittens in the horse trailer, I noticed this snail. Honestly, it's not often around here that you see one with it's shell. Usually it is just a slug. 

May 22, 2017

Day 142 of 365, Monday. We are in store for lots and lots of rain over the next few days. The thunder started while I was still at my aunt's house, and so I went down to the barn to put the horse up early. I am always amused at what you see in this picture. Every day when she finishes eating, she tries to open the gate. I will never get tired of this. 

May 21, 2017

Day 141 of 365, Sunday. Donald and I got to spend a little time visiting Dottie, Ellie and Jackson today. We missed Patrick, but are glad he had the opportunity to go to Baltimore with his dad for an Orioles game. Jackson is so incredibly cute, and check out that dimple in his chin! I just wonder what he is pondering here.

May 20, 2017

Day 140 of 365, Saturday. Today was a good day. Donald and I reconnected with an old friend, one that we met shortly after we got married. Tim recently called Donald to let us know he got married and was having a marriage celebration backyard bbq at his house. Of course we wanted to go! I didn't take any photos while I was there, but it was so great to see him and meet his new wife. We also got to catch up with his parents, which was an added bonus. Anyway, I continue to get the signs to get over myself and my embarrassment about my legs. They will get better. There was a lady at the party battling ovarian cancer. She had lost all her hair, and I talked to at length about her prognosis. Again, I get it. Chill out.

This photo makes no sense with today's post. But since I didn't take any pictures at the party, here is a cute picture of Jolly Mon. He looks like he wears eyeliner. 

May 19, 2017

Day 139 of 365, Friday. The vasculitis saga continues. As I mentioned in the previous post, I have been embarrassed about my legs, and I had a tiny pity party about it. I didn't want to show my legs to anyone, so after I left my aunt's house I went to the mall to look for some light weight long pants (it is summer after all, and it is already hot). I didn't find any pants, but I did buy a long, flowy skirt. Anyway, that is not the point. As I left the mall, for the first time in my life I noticed our church steeple visible from the parking lot. OK, I get it. Chill out and accept who you are, flaws and all. I'm still struggling, but am trying.

May 18, 2017

Day 138 of 365, Thursday. This post is hard, but I am trying to be a better person and accept who I am with all my flaws. To be honest, I actually took this picture on Friday but I am using it for Thursday. It may make sense later. 

On Sunday I noticed some red bumps on my legs and feet which I thought were flea bites but they didn't itch. By Tuesday, they were moving up my legs. By Thursday, they were up to my knees. As it turns out, I have vasculitis which came from either a cold I had two weeks ago or a cat scratch from one of the farm cats. Either way, I have been very embarrassed about how my legs look. I have never liked my legs anyway because of all the spider veins I have, and this has just made it worse. I am posting this picture and writing about it in an attempt to be less vain, and let it be what it is. This picture doesn't truly show how bad they look, but you will get the general idea. 

May 17, 2017

Day 137 of 365, Wednesday. Both Donald and I have had such a busy week. It has been hard to keep up this blog on a daily basis. I take pictures every day, but finding the time in the evenings is tough. Hopefully it will get better, and I will do a better job of maintaining. In the meantime, today is actually Sunday and I am just now catching up from the week. 

Wednesday's picture is your's truly. I help my aunt on her farm, and this horse is nothing but a big dog. She is so friendly and loves to get treats. No one rides her, she is just a pet. Every once in a while she shows me her love, and that was true here. This picture doesn't quite show it, but she was all over me, nuzzling my face and neck. On these days, I soak it up!

May 16, 2017

Day 136 of 365. These have been the most beautiful Gerber Daisies I've ever seen. This one even has a hitchhiker. 

May 15, 2017

Day 135 of 365. Sometimes I wonder what I am getting myself into. I attended a meeting about being a VEX Robotics coach tonight. 

May 14, 2017

Day 134 of 365. Happy Mother's Day! 

May 13, 2017

Day 133 of 365. And just like that, our students graduated. These kids were freshmen my first year at the Early College, and I feel that as they have grown up, I have also grown with them. 

May 12, 2017

Day 132 of 365. There are four little kittens in this horse trailer. Aunt Frankie is peeking in to see them.

May 11, 2017

Day 131 of 365. Tonight I got to celebrate with a great group of high school seniors. These kids never cease to amaze me. Many of them are not only graduating with their high school diploma, but also have earned an associates degree. 

May 10, 2017

Day 130 of 365. Every year I am amazed at what the month of May is like for educators. In short, it is our busiest time of year. Here is a glimpse of my office at the Early College. It's a good thing I'm not claustrophobic. 

May 9, 2017

Day 129 of 365. I enjoy having plants in my office at work, but it's usually a challenge to keep them alive. I was very pleased to see this violet blooming again!