In between the raindrops...Mickey Mouse

Got up this morning with fog again but at least it wasn't raining. I was able to get some things done outside before thunder started rumbling, although the worst of the storm seemed to be south of us, it has been raining again.

I realized as I puttered around the yard that my home and garden has many Mickeys. Yep...I do love Mickey Mouse. (Sorry Minnie) I took some photos of several of my outside Mickeys.

Who's the leader of the club
That's made for you and me
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
You're as welcome as can be
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Lucy's Eye Surgery Today

We dropped our darlin' Lucy at Dr. Cujdik's clinic this morning at 7:30 am for surgery on her right eye. She happily jumped in the truck with us...thinking she was "going for a ride". We took one of Lou's worn tee shirts to put in the cage with her so she would have a smell of the one she loves best with her. A little after nine I received a call that all had gone well...she was in recovery...and we can pick up her up at noon. Also had Dr. Tim take a look at a bump under her right front leg where I pulled a dead tick off of her last week...the Frontline did kill it but it was still hanging on. When I took the tick off, the head stayed embedded in her skin. He removed that also. Just a reminder to all dog parents...remember to give your pup heartworm preventative and use a flea and tick control product. Dr. Cujdik told me last week that he's already had one case of heartworm and several cases of lyme disease. It is so worth the cost to vaccinate against lyme disease. Looks like it's going to be quite a year for these pests that can make our babies so ill.

So we will be going to pick up our darling girl in a bit and I am so very relieved to know the surgery went well.

Below are several of my doggie signs...
all in Lucy's honor...especially the Doggie Dance sign.

The Catoctin Furnace

Many times Lou and I have passed the sign on Rt. 15 for the Catoctin Furnace while on our way to set up for Colorfest in Thurmont. Meagan has been looking for a unique place for to have some photos taken the day of the wedding and discovered a bridge at the Catoctin Furnace, which is located in Cunningham Falls State Park while searching online. For information on the Iron Furnace you may want to check out this link.
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/cunninghamhistory.html

We found the remains of the furnace and the owners home with no problem...but where was the bridge? Zoeanne, Meg's soon to be Mother-in-law, decided to stay in the car while Meagan and I searched for the bridge. After following a path, probably a 1/2 of a mile into the woods, we came to the Bowstring Arch Bridge. It was a wonderful walk through the woods, with ferns and wildflowers, and the bridge would have been a beautiful place for pictures...but I don't think a wedding gown is exactly the perfect choice for hiking clothes. I think maybe we could have group photographs taken at the furnace itself...or maybe the Bride will find some other special spot. Maybe the President will let us use Camp David...

Not enough hours...in the year

Is it just me or does everyone feel like there aren't enough hours in the year? This is such a big year for hubbie and me. Our eldest daughter and her husband are expecting our first grandchild in July and the wedding of our baby and her intended is in September. With those two wonderful events come so many other things to do. Our house will be the location for two separate showers, each daughter giving the other a shower for her upcoming special occasion. Getting the house ready for the showers is more work than I thought it would be. Besides just the basic "spring cleaning" I am noticing more and more that needs to be done. The weather here hasn't been co-operating either. Four weeks ago we shoveled 2 yards of top soil onto bare spots in the yard and planted grass seed. We had three weeks of rain and the straw spread on top to keep the moisture in became mashed into the soil by the downpours. The seed either rotted or sprouts couldn't poke through the straw which was like a layer of concrete. We picked all the straw off the areas and replanted. Needless to say, we still have no grass and with 3 inches of rain overnight, it looks like the seed we planted last week may fair no better.

On Saturday, I accompanied the Bride to be and her future Mother in law to Thurmont, MD
( just a stones throw to camp David) to measure areas of the "Party Barn" to determine how much of what we need to decorate for the wedding. We were pleasantly surprised to find most of the white lights we had put up at the barn for Holly's wedding 3 years ago still worked. There was a graduation party being held there in the afternoon so we arrived around 10 in the morning. We also needed to find "THE" place on the property where the actual ceremony will be held. Meagan and Erik decided to be married at the barn rather than in a church. Hoping for good weather, I think the Bride has decided on a spot under a tree just outside the barn for the ceremony, to make it easier on the older guests. The other option was in a field with Catoctin Mountains as a backdrop. Which do you think...tree or field? We also went in search of a florist. After calls last week to several local floral shops in town, we were told they weren't open on weekends or were just too tired and decided to take a few days off. Small town living I guess. We ended up in Frederick and found a wonderful flower shop on Market Street, to create the bouquets.





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A Visit to Basket Accessories

My friend, Diane, owner of Basket Accessories, ordered some patriotic/Americana signs and blocks for her shop in Intercourse, PA. She is planning to fill this shop with American made, Americana items. Lou and I always try to make the trip to deliver her orders so we get a chance to visit with Diane and her husband since we don't see them very often anymore. While doing the Basket Accessories Roadshow, we were together usually every other weekend. It was a quick decision to take the ride to Akron on Friday, which is where the original Basket Accessories shop is located. We had a great time catching up and ended up having dinner at The Green Dragon. If you are in Lancaster County on a Friday you may want to visit the Green Dragon which is an Amish Farmer's Market with fresh meats, vegetables, flowers for the garden and bakery goods. There are also vendors with all types of items for sale. Tupperware, used books and toys, furniture, wrought iron, Aunt Annie's Pretzels, and flea market vendors.



If you visit Lancaster, PA, you should stop by the Basket Accessories shop in Akron or in Intercourse. For Longaberger collectors you will find painted and unpainted lids, plastic protectors and liners. At the Intercourse shop you will find Americana items, hand crafted furniture, and many wonderful craft items. At both shops there are beautiful Amish made baskets and wrought iron. Also you can shop online at www.basketaccessories.com

Strawberry Time

Just wanted to show the wonderful job my darling daughter Meagan did on her chocolate covered strawberries. The presentation was beautiful and they were delicious. Everything she does, she does with such flair. She is an amazing artist and this shows in every area of her life. Can you tell I'm just the tiniest bit proud of her?

My Sweet Lucy Girl

Now let me start by saying that my darlin' poochy Lucy is a high maintenance cocker spaniel.
I swore that I would never have another dog after we lost our two cocker spaniels in a period of two years. They both lived long and happy lives and we just loved them so much that after they passed away, I couldn't face the heartache again. After a year and a half, I had a weak moment and said maybe we should think about adopting another four leg member to the family and my husband and daughter were out the door like a shot. They brought home a five pound ball of fluff and my love affair with the dog we named Lucille Esmerelda McGillicuddy began.

Meagan and Lou found her at a pet shop inTowson. We never had gotten a puppy at a pet store before and she came with a year warranty...and we had to go to their vet for her to be covered if anything went wrong. At about 6 months she had the lower lid gland on her right eye swell and pop out in what they call cherry eye and although any breed of dog can have this condition, it affects some breeds more than others. The gland then went back to normal. This vet told me that he needed to operate on both eyes and she had the eye surgery on the same day she was spayed. I did not like this man because he didn't seem to like animals...it was just a business to him and before the year was out I decided to not take her there anymore. We found a wonderful, caring vet who now takes care of Lucy. I found out later, when the cherry eye showed up again, that the surgery can't be done successfully unless the gland is actually swollen because when it is the normal size, it is the size of the point of a pin, and can't be seen to be stitched into place. So this "warranty" vet did eye surgery on both of Lucy's eyes when the gland on the affected eye couldn't be seen and on the other eye which never had the problem. She has had reoccurances of the cherry eye several times over the last 4 years and a problem eye infections, but with antibiotic drops we've kept it under control.


Now we come to Sunday morning. I let Lucy out when we got up and she went running through the yard, the same route she takes every morning, and in an area where there were clumps of taller grass, a black and white cat was hiding. I guess he thought if he didn't move, Lucy wouldn't see him and she didn't. She ran right over top of him. He screamed and scrambled...Lucy looked surprised. She doesn't have a nasty bone in her body and didn't even run after the cat. Lucy thinks cats and other dogs should want to play with her. When we came back inside, her right eye had the swollen gland again and I wasn't sure if the cat had clawed her in the eye or if it was cherry eye again. Needed to take her to the vet to be checked out and thank goodness, after having dye put into the eye, there were no stratches to the eye itself. So it will be two weeks of antibiotic drops in the eye and keeping her inside most of the time. She can't come up to the shop with me because of dust from sanding. She looks so sad when I leave her and makes me feel so guilty. I am hoping that this clears up so she won't have to have surgery on that eye again.

Star Trek Fans Forever

On December 7, 1979 my husband and I did something we had never done before and haven't done since. We went to the movie theater at Harford Mall and waited in line for hours to see the first showing of Star Trek The Movie.

This morning we went with our younger daughter and her fiance, his parents, and Lou's best friend David and his wife Ann to see the new Star Trek movie that opened yesterday. We saw this new version at an IMAX and that was a great experience. The theater was filled with people of all ages. One lady I spoke with had her teenage son take her to see the movie for Mother's Day. Now...I know Star Trek is not everyone's cup of tea but Lou and I were fans of the original series and have seen all the movies and all the tv series. That really does date us doesn't it.

The movie was fantastic and leaves it open for more sequels and you don't need to be a fan to see the movie and like it.
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/startrek/

A Bright Spot in a Week of Dreary

It seems it may be time to build an ark...It's been rainy and gray for days now, with no sunshine in sight. However, I had an amazing moment yesterday afternoon. As "the grandparents", Lou and I were invited to go to my dear daughter's appointment, to hear the heartbeat of our first grandbaby, Dylan, who will be coming into this world in the middle of July. What a wonderful sound that was...and it took me back to hearing the heartbeat of my first baby who is now having her first baby. Things were a bit different 28 years ago. The first time I heard Holly's heartbeat was through the doctor's stethoscope. We are all eagerly awaiting the arrival of this miracle...the Grandparents, Great Grandmothers, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. A child can never have too many people who love him.

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After dinner with the soon to be parents, we made a delivery to a shop in Marley Station Mall in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Jennifer Crafts has been in business at various locations for over 22 years and Jennifer now has a permanent shop in the mall and has shows set up at other Maryland and Virginia malls on different weekends throughout the year. For info you can call 410-526-7487.

Let's Dance Around The Maypole

Good Morning and Happy May Day...Celebrate Spring with baskets and flowers and dancing around the Maypole. Many, many May Days ago, at the elementary school I attended, we did have a Maypole. We would make paper baskets and flowers to take home to our Mothers on May 1st. The first Saturday of May there was also a May Festival at the school with rides and plant stands, and cotton candy.

Today and tomorrow in downtown Baltimore, the Flowermart will be celebrating it's 92nd year.
Set up in Mount Vernon Square, there will be multitudes of flowers, dancing around the maypole, and of course lemons with peppermint sticks. Let's hope the sun does make an appearance.

http://www.flowermart.org/around_pix.html