Reflection

Well, first I must say that I love the comments about the furniture. All agree that it will be nice to sit on chairs that are secure once again.
Today has been a very busy day. Sister Kay Williams (92) passed away and so I had the opportunity to help dress her yesterday. Tahana was going to the beach last night and asked me to cook the ham, get the rolls, lettuce and tomatoes for the little ham sandwiches we were going to make. I just have to say that it has been interesting going to several funerals lately. The message is always the same. Make time for relationships, because there really isn't anything else that is of value in our lives. Our legacy is in the time that we spend with our family and friends doing service and loving one another.
Sister Williams' grandson got up and talked about the visits his grandmother would make and how he viewed her when he was young. She was kind of grouchy he said as they had five siblings in his family. He then talked about the time that he got to know his grandmother as he got older and how he appreciated her example to the family.
I just want you all to know that I appreciate the time that we take to spend with each of our little family units that are so much a part of our lives. ( that includes you too Tina) We love to be close to our family and truly this is where we find our greatest joy. We love you all!!!
Happy Birthday Analena!!!

What have we been doing for the past three weeks????

Since we have been back from Hawaii, we have been working in the yard. Our weeds did not take a vacation while we did. So after three weeks of work it is paying off. We have planted new tomato plants. Made a special misty place for my eight orchids and Spanish Moss that came from Hawaii. And planted 11 plumeria sticks (thanks to Ongo)!!! It is wonderful to see all of the work come to fruition!

Take a look at our beautiful yard!!

Tomato plants and volunteer zinnias. The addition of a soaker hose makes this work nicely for watering.

The orchid corner with Spanish Moss in the background. We have a mister which mists every two hours for 5 minutes. ( Shhh, they think they are still in Hawaii!! Tee hee!!!

Six Plumeria and night blooming cactus that I am starting from leaves. I have three of them that have begun to show growth. YEA!!!

IF you look closely you can see the new growth on the leaf in the white pot and on the one next to it. Just little tiny growth. This has taken months to get to this point. Thank goodness I am patient.

Roses beginning to bud and some are coming out now. They were a mess when we got home but they are weeded, fed, and pruned so look at the new growth. We will be rewarded soon!!

More volunteer zinnias!!

Our tomato plants have been in the ground for a week. This one already has a tomato!!! Waiting for that bumper crop to can this fall!!

My established plumeria. Unfortunately, I got a critter of some kind who ate off all of the flower buds. Hopefully I will get some new ones. I need to feed them. Tomorrow!!!

My Cybidium Orchids are putting out new spikes. I am very excited about this as I should actually get flowers this time around. Thank You Paul!!!
I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour.

My Handsome MAN!!

What's this??? Yes, Jeff has updated his look!! I really like his new blue glasses. His frames are blue, grey and brown in the inside. Isn't he cute!!

1928 Dining Room Set (Thank You Daddy)

Love the inlaid work and the colors. There was a lot of work involved in doing this project. It took them a month. Good Job Branco's!!!

My daddy is so sweet!! He has been asking me for about a year about my dining room set. It belonged to his parents. He remembers that they bought it in the year that his sister,Betty, was born which was 1928. So the set is 81 years old. The chairs were getting pretty rickety and so he wanted to get me a new set. We went out and looked around, but everything was way to big for my little dining room. So, then he asked me about getting the set refinished. So we priced that and decided that it was nicer to have an all wood set which also has family history attached. I must say that Branco's Refinishing did a wonderful job! So here are the pictures. I asked for a fabric that was appropiate to the time period. I looked on line for some of the original stuff, but I didn't find anything that I liked. The original chairs had black fabric with various colored flowers on the chairs. I actually asked the upholster to keep some of the fabic, but he must of forgot. That is OK!! I was very pleased with the final project. We found out that the table top is walnut and the chairs are alder wood. So enjoy!! Buy the way the chairs are very secure now. anyone can sit on them with out fear of falling on the floor. I hope that it last for another 80 years!!! Thanks again daddy for making this possible.

I love the legs of this set!! I always have and now their true beauty really shines!!

I love the colors. They go perfectly with all of the other things in the house.

Aerial Shot!!

Looks brand new!! Just like it looked in 1928!!

A Visit with Cousin Janet in Hemet!!

Cousin Janet has moved again. This time she ended up in Hemet. She actually has a nice home in a very nice neighborhood. She has been busy painting and hanging her pictures up all over her home. She invited us out for lunch a couple of weeks ago when Cousin Annabell was down for a visit from Oregon. She dug out some old picture albums and here is a picture of my Grandpa Cress with my Cousin George and I. The picture looks like it was taken in El Monte in front of their home. It certainly brought back great memories.

Here is Cousin Anabel, me, Cousin Janet and my dad.

Another picture of the cousins. We had a great time visiting that day.

Axton's Blessing

On March 1, 2009, Axton Karl Wiley received a name and blessing in our church. Starlyn's parents came in from Hawaii and we came in from down south. Axton was very excited to get his name. By the way, Karl is the name of his Great Grandpa Cresmer, who is my dad. Great Grandpa wasn't able to make the trip, but he will see little Axton at Easter time.

Surrounded by grandma's love. Axton's blessing outfit was a gift from Grandma Paulette and his blanket was crocheted by Grandma Carol (me). This blanket was quite a challenge. In fact, it really should have about four more rows of edging on it, but somehow the stitches were not coming out quite right. So after a conseltation with the parents we decided that one row of lace was really better for a little boy. It really did turn out beautiful. So with his satin outfit and his blanket he was really styling!!!! Grandma's love you!!

Axton relaxing after a very exciting and spiritual day!!!

A SAD DAY FOR PAPA!!!

Here is Papa crying, his Cadillac has died!!! May it rest in peace!

Momma says," Yea, we are finally getting rid of the money pit!"

What a Hybird?? Are you sure you want to try one of these new fangled cars???

Well, that was it! We couldn't believe the quiet ride, the power that a 4 cylinder has and the gas mileage that we would get. 40 around town and 38 on the road. Bye, bye gas pumps!!!

I can truly say, we love our Camary Hybird!!! Now we are a two Toyota family!!
Happy in Toyota Land!!!
These pictures are taken outisde of Jeff and Star's apartment in Monterey. This is the second trip that the Camary has made to Monterey.
A funny story. When we got rid of the Cadillac, I told Jeff that it would probably end up being a pimp car somewhere. Well guess what, about a two weeks ago, Jeff gets a citation in the mail on the Cadillac from the city of Compton!!! What did I tell you!! By the way, Carmax took care of the citation as the new owner registration had basically crossed in the mail. So Cadillac is bumping down in Compton!! Bump.. bump!!