More Magic Moments

Mother's Day was a lovely day with memorable moments. I won't go into all the details, but here are a few pictures about the day.

Roses were given out at church to mothers.

Sweet gift from Tallulah and Lauren

Love her footprint butterfly!

Tallulah exploring the backyard

My girls

Flowers and card from Gunner, Nick, and Lucas 

Their handwritten notes inside were special.

These last two photos were from Ryan. He sent a text message and did an Instagram tribute with his words and five surprise pictures, causing happy tears. 

Highlights

 I thought I'd share a few May highlights. Mother's Day was certainly special. I got to spend it with my daughter and granddaughter.

Of course, most days here at home are quiet and ordinary. But that's nice, too.

Late one night I decided to move the family photo albums to a new location. For several years they have taken up space on the tall bookcase in the entry. Luckily they all fit in the bottom cabinet of the hutch with the years visible. I no longer print a lot of photos since everyone keeps pictures on their phones.

Gunner, Nick, and Lucas came by the other day, and I told them of the new arrangement. While sitting on the floor, they pulled out a few albums and had fun looking back at their young selves.

Time spent outside has been very rewarding. May is a perfect time to appreciate the  beauty of  flowers and to relax in the swing.

Browsing the aisles of this store, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and Tuesday Morning made for an enjoyable May outing.

Lovely hand dipped candles were displayed so well I had to stop and admire.

This book arrived in the mail. It was an online order from Barnes and Noble, thanks to a gift card. 

I made a recent purchase with Christmas on my mind. I saw this set of books with a low price tag and thought the red color might be good for Christmas decorating.

 

Mother's Day Thoughts

 Tomorrow is a special day for mothers. It brings happiness as well as sadness. For those of us whose moms are no longer with us, it stirs up many emotions. I miss my mother more with each passing year. We didn't always agree, but I know her love for me was deep and lasting. One Mother's Day I made a Memory Jar for her. I hope she liked it, but I don't remember her making any special comments about it. When she passed away the jar came back to me. This afternoon I decided to take the slips of paper out of the jar, spread them out on the bed, and reread them. Yes, I miss all the lovely ways we were bonded as mother and daughter.

The idea came from a magazine article.

 This morning we took roses(those knockout roses Jo once planted on Mother's Day in 2016 have really grown) to the cemetery for Corkey's mother. She loved Corkey dearly, and he felt the same about her.

My parents' graves are in Oak Grove, Louisiana. Would love to make a return trip to Louisiana and visit a few places with special memories.

Tomorrow we are having lunch with Lauren, Justin, his mom Jan, and Tallulah. Hope you have pleasant plans for tomorrow's special day. Love, Sandy

Memories, Motherhood, and Mother's Day

Mother's Day...an emotional day for me, and I suspect it is for many others, too.

Becoming a mother is a momentous event, and I experienced it twice. I'm so thankful for the wonder and joy of motherhood, the blessings of a son and daughter.

But for me Mother's Day is about my own mom. And thoughts of her are many on that special day and other days. I was glancing through a simple journaling notebook and came across this picture page. Yes, the bond between mothers and daughters is definitely strong. 

Even though I had wonderful phone calls, text messages, sweet cards with handwritten messages, and lovely flowers there was still an emptiness and sadness about the day. I'm sure a lot had to do with missing my own mom. Also

this year there's the coronavirus and the necessity of social distancing. Plus some of the kids and grandkids live very far away. So you take the happy with the sad and move on. 

Catch Up Post

Hi! True to my blog's name, today is going to be bits and pieces.

Painting continues to relax me and take my mind off problems.
I see art by other artists and am inspired to try out their ideas.

Mother's Day flowers, sweet notes, gift bag with pajamas, phone calls,
visits, and PIZZA made my day extra special.

        Olga and me on Mother's Day 

  Container plants and battered old croquet set are on the patio.

Aging causes my energy level to be lower while wrinkles and sags have 
increased. I am thankful for my present health but do regret how I didn't appreciate my youthful  looks when I had them. Life is weird that way. We worry about the wrong things. 

This is one product I am going to recommend.

We live in an older house, and I've had to deal with stains, especially built up
deposits. This works!  

Have a great week!

May Days

Gosh, May will be gone before I can make a few posts. My plan was to post before or on Mother's Day, but time gets away. Mother's Day has become a bittersweet celebration. I miss my own mother so much. Sometimes emotion hits me out of nowhere on ordinary days, and I feel such a great loss.  There's no going back to sweeter days when she was alive and with me. So forward it is...until we meet again.

Dear cards, messages, phone calls, flowers, and gifts helped the day pass with thanksgiving. I'm so glad to be Mom and Grams.

Garden blooms and baby kittens have made some days extra special. 

Oreo had four kittens this time. Nicolas and Lucas picked out their favorite to take home.
 

 

 Jo(father of Nicolas and Lucas)gave

me two Knockout Roses on Mother's Day.  That very day he was happy to dig and get them in the ground.

Happiness is

family

a new kitten

and

LOVE

Good Morning

What a lovely Wednesday! Perfect spring day. Spotted this greeting outside the doctor's office.

My office visit was short due to lab work only. Because of fasting I headed straight to MacDonald's for coffee and an egg and sausage biscuit. 

Next I decided to check out a small indoor flea market on the highway. Came away with two finds that were less than my breakfast food. The problem is I   like what I find so much it's hard to put them in my booth to sell. The geranium print is nicely framed, and the other scene has parts painted onto glass.

This was my first Mother's Day without my mom. On my Facebook page I wrote the following: Although I can no longer physically touch or hug my mother this Mother's Day, she is with me always. This photo of our hands is a favorite of mine.

I was glad on Mother's Day that I heard from all six(Chance, Jo and Olga, Jason, Ryan, Les and Pennee, and Lauren) in different ways. I believe Ryan surprised me the most by posting a picture on Instagram. I didn't even know he had this photo of us from years ago.

Oh, one more thing...I'm reading a book that Les and Pennee sent me. It's by Katrina Kenison - the gift of an ordinary day 

                                           A Mother's Memoir

I find myself underlining in pencil some touching passages.

Well, that's it for now. Take care until our next visit.