You're Painting Scarlet Johansson?

Mac was bored, he'd finished his last painting and didn't know what he wanted to paint so he was trolling around the internet looking for inspiration.  He found a site where someone had done a copy of Vermeer's The Girl With a  Pearl Earring and decided he could do a better job of it.  I think he did.
As to the Scarlet Johansson reference, that has two sources.  She starred in the movie The Girl With a Pearl Earring.  But funnier to us was the reference to Scarlet in the movie St.Trinian's (2007 edition), where when the girls decide to steal this painting to get money to save St.Trinian's, the Posh Totties take one look at it and exclaim, " You're going to steal Scarlet Johansson?"  Funny, funny movie.
He's now looking for something else to paint.

Five on Friday

I thought it might be fun to head down memory lane on this Five on Friday.  Below are some photos of me through the ages and I do mean ages.

The first was taken at Easter when we were living in Kansas City, Missouri, I would have been 3 or 4.

The next picture is also from when we were living in Kansas City.  I don't remember these times at all, but in this picture I would have been 5.  I'm on the right, that's my older sister J on the left.

The next picture is from when we we're living in Dell City, Oklahoma, that's just outside of Oklahoma City.  I would have been around 7.

The next picture was taken when we lived in Hayward, California, I would have been 11.

The next was taken when I was all dressed up for our graduation from Middle School (though it was called Junior High back then) Dance.

The last photo is me getting my diploma when I graduated from college.  I started in my 20's, but didn't finish until our daughter graduated.  She, Mac and I all graduated within a week of each other.

My college was Augusta College, part of the University of Georgia system.  We were living in Martinez, Georgia.

In nearly all of my photos I'm "smirking", I don't think I have ever learned how to relax when I'm having my picture taken.

Please join in with Amy at Love Made My Home and the others at Five on Friday

While We Were Gardening

We've been working out in the garden and when we came back inside this is what we found going on.  I don't want to say they were cheating, but I definitely saw aces up some "sleeves".  No one was holding aces and eights though and that's a good thing.
Out in the garden more new plants have gone in.

Marigolds by the pool which is almost ready for swimming

Dianthus, I have never seen tall round ones like this before, I want more

Variegated Pansies, Marigolds and Orange Zinnias

Canna Lily

Run Around Tuesday

Up at dawn, well not exactly dawn, but since retiring we don't do early any more.  I had an appointment with my retina specialist and his office is on the far side of Savannah.  So off we went.  Eyes were dilated, eyes had bright lights shone in them and pictures of eye interiors were taken.  All is well and stable, so a good check-up.
Next is was off to Home Depot to plant shop, slowed down only by the fact that my eyes were so dilated that seeing was a very interesting proposition.  But numerous flowers were purchased and will be planted tomorrow.
After that it was off to the commissary where loads of groceries were purchased and when we were putting them in the car Mac saw that some stupid idiot had left their dog in their car with a small bit of window rolled down.  It is up in the 90's again today.  Mac reported it to the store manager who said he was going to call the MP's.  A man was arrested here in Georgia for breaking a car window to save a hot animal, the owner showed up as the police got there and insisted he be charged, she was cited too, but probably nothing will be done to her.  Here in Georgia you can break a car window to save  a child, but not an animal, though they're working on getting that passed too. As we drove off we saw the people showed up.  What's wrong with people?  How can you leave an animal in a car on a day like this?  I'm so tired of animals being carried around like fashion accessories.
Home now, air conditioner running, groceries put up, our day is almost done.

Desperate Situations Call For Desperate Measures

We'd hoped to not use our air conditioning before June.  But yesterday was 90º and today is forecast to be 92º and by noon it was 87º here in the house.  Fans are good and we have ceiling fans in every room, even the master bathroom.  When it's this hot though all they can do is blow hot air.
We walk two miles in the morning before breakfast, I do aerobics and Mac does a couple more miles on a treadmill, so when we come in the house we need it to be reasonable.  Eighty-seven degrees is not reasonable, so the air conditioning is on.
Lunch will be a southern special:  fried chicken (no oil,  I cook it in fat-free chicken stock), corn on the cob and potato salad.  Kind of like a picnic.
It's supposed to cool down by the end of the week, I sure hope so.  The pool is almost ready to go, but not quite.

Happy Mother's Day

Though my Mother and my Mother-in-law are both gone they are still with us in our hearts and memories.
I found some early pictures of them as young mothers and thought I'd include them on this Mother's Day blog.

 

This is my Mom and Dad with my older sister, their first child.  My Mom would have been about 23.

This is my Mom with all 3 of us.  She was about 28 and looks a bit tired, having 3 kids will do that to you.  That's me the curly-headed blonde.

This is my Mother-in-law and Father-in-law, probably from the 1930's, she would have been in her 20's.

This is her holding our daughter.    We were living in Germany and she had come to see her first grandchild.  We took her to Spain where her family was from and this picture was taken on the Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain.  Her family was from a small village in western Spain, Macatera.

I was very close to my Mother-in-law, she taught me so many things.  I loved my Mother, but we were never very close.  I married at 18 and we never lived around my family again.  My Mother-in-law always came to stay with us no matter where we lived, Germany, Texas, Colorado, Georgia.  I always said that I was lucky, she was the world's best Mother-in-law.

I miss them both very much.  People who still have their Mothers should treasure them, not just today, but everyday.

Who Knew

Who knew that stitches hurt more coming out than going in?  I should have, I knew they'd numbed me to put them in.  They certainly didn't to take them out. Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, one for each of the little buggers.  But they're gone and it all looks good.

Who knew that if you put a bright, white bedspread on your bed that the cat would hack up a hairball on it?  Should have known, she's been hacking them all over the house.  Here's hoping the stain comes out, I sprayed it, washed it on gentle and hung it on the clothes line as per the instructions on its tag.
Looking forward to Mother's Day tomorrow, get to Skype with our daughter and have lamb for lunch.   Only thing that could make it better would be to have her here..

Five on Friday

I was dusting this week, yes I know, how sad, and looking around for a Five on Friday post I decided to do on the Victorian and Vintage glass I collect.  Bought it all in England, mainly from a little shop in Bretforton.  Not a big place, quite tiny in fact, but she always has beautiful things at a reasonable price.  Plus it's across the street from the Fleece Inn, my favorite haunted pub, so I get pretty glassware and a good meal.

The first is a pretty little hand painted glass, I assume it was a child's glass.

The second is a pair of hand painted glass jugs.

The third is a small glass bowl and jug set, again hand painted.

The fourth is a collection of drinks glasses, some rummers, some small ales, some ladies drinks glasses  .  These have come from all over England.

The last is 2 vases that Mac bought me and another hand painted jug.  I'm sure the jug is from Bretforton and I believe the vases are from Stow in the Wold.

As I said these are all Victorian or vintage.  Not awfully expensive and beautiful to look at.  But what Mac and I have both wanted for a long, long time is a Georgian Barley Twist glass, they're quite expensive and we've never been able to talk ourselves into buying one.  But now we've decided that when we're in England this year that we will buy ourselves one as an anniversary present.

How many times do you get to celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary?

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Books, The Story of My Life

If I Were a Cat

I read, every day, some days most of the day.  I nearly always have 3 books at a time going, sometimes more.
Right now I'm doing a reread, I Know This Much to be True by Willie Lamb, such a great book, enjoying it more this time than the last time I read it.
Also reading The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family by Mary S. Lovell.  What a truly messed up family.
And This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald and I'm not enjoying it at all, probably won't finish it.
Prior to these I was reading The Last Samurai by Helen deWitt and it was incredible.  How to or not to,  raise a genius child.  He knows many things, but not who his father is/was and that's the mystery he has to solve.   This book uses Akira Kurosawa's The Seven  Samurai as a backdrop, but this is not a book about Japan, samurai or movies, at least not in a linear way.  Absolutely fascinating.

Tuesday at The Little House in The Swamp

We're having beautiful weather here and should continue to if the subtropical low forming down around the Bahamas doesn't get too close.
We went plant shopping  on Sunday, bought Carnations to plant, they never do well here, but they're my favorite plant, so hope springs eternal and I plant some each year.  Also put in some Petunias and more Vincas.  In the side garden where it's shady all day I put in a Caladium and some Coleus.  On the brick patio, that needs to have its weeds sprayed, I put a "jug" of Hen and Chicks.  This is really not the best climate for them, much too humid, but I'm hoping to baby them along.
Reading Rosemary's blog Where Five Valleys Meet I saw that she had posted pictures of Brockhampton a medieval manor house.  That's a place I absolutely love and we have visited it a number of times.  Mac painted a gorgeous painting  of it and I decided to use it as my new header.
My nose have reached the itchy stage and I'm having a hard time keeping my hands off of it.  Three more days till they take the stitches out.

A Million Bells

After I finished at the doctor's office on Friday Mac came to pick me up and this is what was sitting on the front seat waiting for me.  They're called a Million Bells.  He said that he thought my nose deserved a treat.  My nose agrees.  So now they're on the front porch, so pretty, such a thoughtful husband.