Fun Saturday

Did you know that Jim and I have a retirement plan that includes buying a big RV and traveling the US of A and seeing some sights? We do and we will.

Every so often we take a drive out to our local RV dealer and see all of the newest and fancy campers. And then we talk about our big plan and dream a little. We did just that two weekends ago. Kate came along for fun.

Trailers are amazing these days. All of the comforts of home on wheels.





So many to see. We start with the smallest ones and move up to the ones that cost as much as a house.

We look at the "drivey" ones too (motorhomes). Here is Jim checking out a big "rig".

We really liked this model. Passport Ultra-light. It is definately towable and affordable. This was it's back bedroom. 3 bunks and a couch that converted into a bed.

Master bedroom

That is a flat screen TV that flipped around so you could watch it in the bedroom if you chose to. Amazing!

How about a bit of mush. Remember this past L O N G winter. It was not the greatest time in my life for a few reasons. After Jim's heart attack, I pretty much lived each day with the huge weight of fear hovering over me. Don't get me wrong, I was so grateful for each new day that passed that included Jim. Oh my goodness, so very grateful. But I was still afraid. I could not even imagine a life that did not include Jim. I just wanted to wrap him him in bubble wrap and put him up on a shelf and keep him safe. Seriously, I imagined that scenario. I was a bit of a mess. Thankfully, with God's help and alot of prayer, I have worked through most of that.
Anyway, on cold, snowy days as I would pull up to our house after work...I would imagine that it was summer...and there was Jim on the tractor...mowing the lawn. I made that image part of my prayers. If we could only get passed the winter and all of the medical bad news and I could see Jim on his red tractor...zipping back and forth across the yard...all would be right in my little part of the world. Simple and yet it seemed so very far away.
Well, as you may have guessed, my prayer was answered. I pulled up one Friday after work and there he was zipping back and forth. It made me so emotional that I could not see to drive and so I just pulled over and watched him for a few minutes. And then I thanked God.
Now, whenever I hear him start up the mower, I stop whatever I am doing and go to the window to watch. The sight of him mowing the lawn brings me to tears every single time and I think how wonderful it is to be in this moment with my husband. No candlelight and roses, but a noisy red tractor and the bright summer sun. Perfect.
This is a love story...Jimmy's and Patti's. I am so thankful for every single second.

Fourth of July

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. ~Erma Bombeck

My flag is flying today (we fly it everyday) and I am feeling patriotic. I may just break out in song...My Country Tis of Thee and It's a Grand Old Flag come to mind. When I was a kid we said the pledge everyday and then sang a patriotic song. I know them all, but my kids probably don't (note to self...teach my kids all of "the red white and blue songs" soon before I get too old to remember them) and that is a darn shame. Do they even pledge the flag in school anymore? My guess is probably not and that is just not right. Do kids even feel patriotic these days? I still get choked up at the National Anthem and I heavily subscribe to "One Nation Under God". I am happy that I am an "old school" American. I wish our country a big Happy Birthday today!
We celebrated up at John and Cassie's on Saturday and that was FUN! I am always happy when I get to freely hug my kids throughout any given day. It makes my heart happy to spend a day with John Kyte. He is all grown up now and our time together is much too sparse. Boo hoo! I was sure happy on Saturday tho... cause I got to spend some fun time with a bunch of my people. The ones that I love the bestest!
Zach and Tina came up from Ct with us.

Dan and Tara live just a stones throw away from J&C and so they came too!

John and Cassie picked up a squirt gun for Alex and some water balloons for fun and well we all felt the damp effects from those throughout the day.

An outside water spigot and these 4 spells TROUBLE!

The kids had some fun with a bean bag game...

Pretty ladies!

My boys

Time to grill.

It was so weird and kinda nice to have the kids do the grilling. Good job!

Time to eat!

Can you see Alex's t-shirt? He is going to be a big brother for the first time around Christmas.

Time for dessert. I made brownies and Cassie made some delicious white chocolate dipped strawberries and got some locally made fresh strawberry ice cream. So good!

My favorite shot of the day. So sweet. Snugged in his daddy's arms and a mouth full of chocolate. Can life get any better than a moment like this?

Before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. Thanks John and Cassie for having all of us. It sure was a fun day!

I am off now to prepare our meal to celebrate the day. I am sure that we are having the same meal as many other families today. Barbecue chicken, corn on the cob, watermelon, and something chocolaty for dessert. Happy July 4th everyone!

Too much rain and not enough sun is starting to show it effects on my little gardens. The flowers are fading and the tomatoes look stunted. I did however plant some pots for the deck that are doing quite nicely. I needed to plant basil somewhere where little animals could not nibble...so I bought some big pots and threw in some other stuff that looked pretty to me at the nursery and voila. I think they look pretty good and I have more basil than I can use.

Friday

Did I mention that Jim Kyte has been far away this week. Nope, probably not, cause I am afraid to let the internet know when he is away. Silly. I am uneasy when he is gone. He was away for Zach's surgery and I did not like that at all. Jim brings a calm stability to everything. Big strong Jimbo makes me feel safe! Anyway...he is home again....yip!!! I had my first good night sleep since the weekend and I feel GOOD!
Summer has officially arrived and we are gearing up for this weekend. Family barbecue at John and Cassies on Saturday. I am in the kitchen this morning and expect to be there most of this evening too. No worries cause I love to do my part when it come to cooking.
3 summer days off is stretched out before me. Perfect.
Hope you all are having some simple summer fun too!

Tough Day

Many years ago Zachary was diagnosed with an aggressive type of cyst that grows in the jawbone. It has been removed twice over the past five years. His doctor was semi-optimistic that it would not reoccur, but unfortunately this May it came back with a vengeance. The options for removal and treatment were limited and quite scary. At the suggestion of his oral surgeon, we sought a second opinion at the UConn Medical Center. They gave us 3 options...one was very aggressive and involved removing a section of his jawbone and all of the teeth in that area and then putting a bone graft in, the next option was less aggressive and included root canaling the healthy teeth in that area so they could scrape at the bone and roots during surgery and removing two or three teeth, and the least invasive was just to remove the tumor again and hope for the best. We went with a modified version of the second plan and chose a surgeon that Zachary felt the most comfortable with. He had his root canals two weeks ago and this morning had the surgery in the hospital to remove the tumor and hopefully enough of the jawbone to prevent recurrence. The doctor removed only one tooth.
All went well and the doctor feels hopeful. So now Zach will recuperate and over the next six months the bone will regenerate. Then we watch the area very carefully. It is something that will have to be watched for the rest of his life.
I am relieved that everything went so well. He is home and snugged into his own bed. His throat is sore from the anesthesia and he is loaded up with pain meds and ice packs. I am right here if he needs anything. Whew, I am glad this day is over

Back in recovery. Happy to have the surgery behind him.

Zachy doodle still smiling

Friends

Chris and Mike D. were visiting Ct for a few days and so Karen had us all over for dinner on Monday night...the kids too. It was such a fun night.
Rather than talk about Monday, I thought that I would just share what these friends mean to me.
A long time ago by way of a miracle, I got connected to a group of ladies who wanted to learn more about and grow closer to God. It was a pretty big group. Some of the ladies were Catholic, some were Protestant, some were in-between churches and some were just searching. It was a very large group and we met for bible studies at their houses. Somewhere along the way someone organized monthly get togethers that were themed parties and we all took a turn hosting.
Time passed and as is the way of the passing of time...things changed. People drifted away from the group, one of the ladies husbands started a new church and those ladies started their own group. And so our group evolved into a small group which now included husbands. We met on a weekly basis and grew even closer to God and each other. I am condensing a big passage of time here...during all this time there was a Sunday night group and a Marriage group on Saturday nights. It was all pretty awesome and my head is spinning trying to remember it all.
Anyway, through all of the changes and time passing, these friends have remained. Which is after all what God intended all along. Chris, Karen, me and Nancy. Chris has moved far away and Nancy is well on her way in that direction and so things have continued to change. I don't see them as much now and unfortunately there is no organized group meetings or bible studies on the agenda for awhile. But thank God these people are now so much more than just friends, they are family. They know the nitty gritty of my life and still they remain. They have stood beside me in scary times and rejoiced with me in prayers that were answered. I have literally been on my knees beside them. I could call them in the dead of night (and I have) and they would be by my side physically and in prayer (and they have been). I love and pray for their children as I know they have done for mine. It is pretty amazing to have people like this in your corner. The true example of a blessing from God.

Random Monday

Want to see something that makes me smile at work. Everyday I open the mail and there is a smattering of envelopes that look like this.
Senior citizens like to decorate their envelopes and they are patriotic. Love that!

I think that I have done a few Father's day tribute's to my Dad and Jim here on my blog. So I thought that I would just write a bit on how we spent the weekend.
Not many people know that Jim calls Kate and I "his girls". I am pretty happy to be included in that small group and my heart still does a little flutter every time he says it. Anyway, he spent the better part of yesterday with his girls. Jim wanted to go to this old fashioned church bazaar in Woodbury and so it was decided that we three would get up early and have a hot breakfast out and then go to the fair. I was up around 6 and much to my surprise Jim joined me in the kitchen around 6:15. When I asked him why he was up so early...he told me that he couldn't sleep because he was so excited about spending the day with his girls. Sweet.
We were at Dotties bright and early and beat the Saturday morning crowd. After breakfast we made our way up into the heart of Woodbury and had to park a bit of a ways from the fair. It was fun to walk down Main Street and look at all of the historic homes and businesses up close. Unfortunately, we didn't find any treasures at the fair, but we had a bunch of fun just being together. Jim drove us to Starbucks and Kate and I got our favorite coffee's and did a little shopping in Southbury.
Jim worked out in the yard all afternoon and Kate and I went for pedicures. I tried out some new recipes and made this and this for dinner. I tweaked the pasta salad a bit to make it something that Jim could have (low fat mayo, cheese and milk, whole wheat pasta). It was a mini-miracle that both recipes were liked by everyone because that rarely happens.
It was sure a great day!
Today, I am cooking one of Jim's favorite meals and even made some dark chocolate brownies to go along with some vanilla bean frozen yogurt for a special Father's Day treat.
Kate is off to the beach and Zach is playing basketball with some friends in town. Jim and I are sitting in our chairs in the family room. The TV is blessedly OFF, a cool breeze is coming in the windows and I hear the neighborhood kids out in the street playing kickball. A perfect ending to the perfect Father's Day weekend!

Rainy Saturday, boo hoo. Oh well...no work today and that makes everything ok.
I finally got all of the gardens set and containers planted last weekend and I have not had to water anything since then. Hot, sunny, steamy days followed by stormy evenings. Ok with me, because if you are a gardener you know that no amount of hose water can do for your plants what rainwater does. It is the perfect drink for anything green.
The yard is pretty much Jimmy's domain, but years ago he gave me a little patch out by the deck to put in tomatoes and herbs. I have seriously outgrown that space. I would like a "real" garden. The kind that you rototil every year with a white picket fence surrounding it. When I was a kid, all of our neighbors had huge vegetable gardens. Everyone. And if the family was Italian...the whole backyard was a garden. Of course everyone planted more than their family could eat...and so we shared the bounty with each other. (Mom...remember Joe's big garden?) I have one neighbor now that has a vegetable garden. Sad. No one seems to have the time anymore.
Anyway,I was feeling pretty good about all that I accomplished last weekend until Jimmy told me that John's tomato plants up in Massachusetts are 3 feet tall. Sigh. Mine are barely a foot. We will be waiting until September for home grown tomatoes.
I just love that John has such an interest in growing things. It makes my heart happy. When he has his own place, I know that he will have the garden that I dream about. Meanwhile, I have been working on Jim for a bigger spot next year.


No pictures of the veggies yet. They are just too small and pathetic right now. These are the flower beds. I just weed and mulch and it looks like this every year.

Seriously, Thank God it's Friday!

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Good Morning

Right now, right this second as I type this, I am sitting in my favorite summer spot. Front porch, old wicker sofa. Yip.
We scrubbed and rinsed down the porch this past weekend and yesterday Zach and Jim brought out all of the furniture.
The birds are singing and I hear the hum of our neighbors air conditioner, and a crow across the street that sounds pretty angry and whoops a morning dove has just chimmed in. A cool breeze is blowing. This is how every day should begin. :0)