Have any of you ever climbed Moro Rock in Sequoia Natl. Park in Calif?  I climbed it at least 3 times when I was much, much younger.  I don't know if I could climb it now, and I don't know if I would if I could. Probably not.

My dad took us to Sequoia several times.  We rode in the back of his pick up truck.  No seat belts, and he was not what you would call a cautious driver.  So much fun!

At the top.  I'm the one with the dark hair, and my brother is beside me.  The other girl is my friend and her brother.

This is my dad. He was good looking, wasn't he?

I had a crush on the older boy in the back. He later became an artist, moved to New York, and died of a drug  overdose. Very sad, although I had moved on to other boys by then. Not that I had many boyfriends. I was Way too shy for that. I really only had 2 before I met my husband. Both of them were after I graduated from high school. I don't know what happened to one of them. The other one married a friend of mine and became a seminary professor.

I'm so glad my dad did this for us. I'll never forget Moro Rock, Crystal Cave, the huge redwoods, Crescent Meadow, Kings" Canyon.  A beautiful part of the world.

I tried to comment on some of your posts last night, but Xanga wouldn't let me.  I couldn't even do a post of my own.  It's being much more co-operative today.

Youngest son is home for the weekend.  It's good to have him here.  He's asleep on the couch right now.  It's a 9 hour drive between Rochester and here.

Hubby bought 3 doz. ears of corn this morning.  He says he will help me shuck them later.  Oh now he's back.  I'd better go help.  Before I go, here is a picture of 2 ladies from my church.  Both of them have knee problems, and a few weeks ago, they both showed up at church wearing black and white outfits, and using black and white canes.  Funny thing, I've known both of them for many years, but I feel like I know some of you on Xanga better than I know them.   OK need to go put water on for the corn.  Most of it will go in the freezer.

Sorry the pic is blurry.

I am not a gardener.   I grew up in the city with a teeny tiny yard.  We had a garden in Africa, but we also had a gardener to take care of it.  My friend, Faye , is a gardener extraordinaire.  Here are some of her flowers.

She also has a large vegetable garden, well not as large as it used to be. Her children now are grown and have their own families, and she travels a lot with her husband. She grows or has grown potatoes, lettuce, green beans, tomatoes, okra, zucchini, yellow squash, onions, corn, cucmbers, etc. She also shares her produce with family and friends. If you want a zucchini she's the one to ask. She'll probably give you 3 or more. If you ask she'll even give you a loaf or 2 of froaen zucchini bread. Garrison Keillor once wrote that zucchini is so plentiful in the Midwest that people sneak around at night and leave it on their neighbors' porches.  She also makes a delicious zucchini chocolate cake.  Speaking of cake, I used a cake mix and baked a cake tonight.  I frosted it with old fashioned powdered sugar frosting.  I just ate 2 small pieces.

Which reminds me, I got my partial today.  It has 3 teeth on it, but it stretches almost all the way across my mouth.  So far it doesn't hurt and I haven't bitten myself so that's good.  I need to go take it out now, and brush it and my teeth.  I'm sure chocolate cake crumbs can't be good for it.  Ah, the joys of becoming........shall we say........more mature?

You are going to think we do nothing but celebrate birthdays in my family.  Sometimes it seems like that to me too.

Exploring the decorations. She is just beginning to walk but is still at the stage where crawling is easier and faster. I was just as glad because I had visions of her falling on the cement floor and cracking her head. Grandmas worry about things like that.

Opening presents with big sister "helping."

More pictures of big sister.

Posing.

She started out the day with 2 braids pinned up on her head, and the little pony tail in the middle. You can see that the braids came down. It still looked cute.
She will be 3 in Jan. the same day that I will be 77, and her aunt (my daughter) will be ? Wait a minute while I get a pencil and paper. OK, she will be 42. I can remember what years all my children were born, but I don't remember how old they are. I remember the birth days of the older grandchildren, and the birth months of the younger ones. I'm lost when it comes to the great-grands. Oh well. I do have them written down somewhere. My mother knows them all, but she has one of those amazing memories.

How many of you wake up with a song going through your head?  I often do.  This morning it was "Put another nickel in, in the nickolodeon."  A few days ago it was "In the cross of Christ I glory."  Sometimes it's "Knick-kncak, paddywhack, give the dog a bone."   Or "Sweet and low, sweet and low, wind of the western sea, blow, blow, beathe and blow, wind of the western sea."  I can't remember the name of that one, but I used to sing it to my babies.  Another one I sang or hummed was "Desert silver blue beaneath the pale moon skies, coyotes yappin' lazy on the hill."  I changed  one line to time for little babies to be still.  I think the real word was doggies (pronounced dohggies).  I also sang Jesus Loves Me" of course, because I wanted them to learn that young.   "You are my sunshine" was a favorite, and now my grandchildren sing it to their babies.  I loved nursing my babies and then rocking them to sleep.  Did you sing lullabies to your babies?  What ones?  And if you wake up with songs in your heads, what are they?         I'm going to miss Xanga.  This is not a FB type post.  I wish they would improve Xanga, then I would pay to stay.

One of our great grand-daughters had her first birthday party yesterday afternoon.  I gave up my traditional Sunday afternoon nap to go.  Her mom made and decorated the cakes. Here is the baby cake. And here is the baby with her apron on, ready to dig in.

Yumm!

My 5 year old grand-daughter just loves the teenage mutant ninja turtles.  She got a small one for her birthday and carries it with her wherever she goes.  Not very girly I know, but hey.  I don't know which turtle it is.  I never did learn all their names.

These are teenage ducks with their mother. I'm not sure which one is her. They're swimming up Cherry Creek, which flows into the lake, which flows into the Tippy River, which eventually flows into the Mississippi and then the Gulf. The same stream flows by our house, but here it is called Wyland Ditch. I think Cherry Creek is a much nicer name. Maybe there were cherry trees near it a long time ago. There sure aren't any now.

I think I see the mom in this picture. I love to watch little baby ducks follow their mothers. Wouldn't it be nice if human children followed their moms that closely? I had one girl who loved to hide from me in a store. That can be scary! These days it could be downright dangerous. When my oldest was little I used a harness. It worked good. I tried to use it on my 2nd child, a boy. I ended up dragging him all over and finally gave up. I don't know why I didn't fasten the harness in front instead of in back. Just never thought of it, I guess.  I still would have had to drag him, but at least he would have been facing forward.  He wasn't being naughty.  He was just slow and deliberate, and wanted to look at everything.  He didn't touch.......just looked.

When my youngest girl was about 20 months old my mother paid the way for the 3 of us to go to Spain to visit my brother. Mother lived in Fla. at the time, so we met in New York at the airport, and flew together from there. I put a harness on my daughter so I wouldn't lose her in the airport in N.Y.
As I was walking her around, a man barked at her. I ignored him. At least I didn't lose her. It was not a fun trip, but we had a good time once we got there.

"Heaven is declaring God's glory.  The sky is showing his handiwork."  Psalm 19

I have heard that a weed is only a plant that's growing in the wrong place, and I think I believe that.

Matthew 6:38-30 Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not neither do they spin. Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?"
I usually read the New Living Translation of the Bible, but some familiar verses sound better to me in the old King James. I prefer the KJV for the Christmas story from Luke, the 23rd Psalm, John 3:16, the Lord's Prayer, these two verses and a few others. They are all verses I learned as a child, and they just don't "feel" right to me in modern-day English.

I always enjoy having  my TX daughter and her family visit.    She and her daughter took Judy on a few much-needed walks.  Judy is my mother's dog, and Mother gives her Way too many treats.  Judy is quite round, to say the least.  My husband calls her a pot-bellied pig, but he says it in a nice tone of voice so Judy doesn't mind.


My 2 little grand-daughters wanted pedicures, so Aunt M. obliged.



Sorry I don't have an after picture, just during pictures. They were beautiful naturally. Of course, I might be just a wee bit prejudiced. Smile.