Very Special First Day of Spring...

One the first day of Spring, 2010, our family grew by one person and 4 legs. A new little cairn terrier came to live with us! She is a little girl, five years old and a retired show dog (American Champion) and retired mommy.



Here's a couple photos taken when she was being shown by her breeder and first daddy, Joe Vernuccio.





As you can see, she is much darker now. This is not unusual.

She is the dearest, sweetest, gentlest little cairn I have even known. She was immediately at home in our home and she made it her own.

Her favorite toy is anything that squeeks...especially Mr. Green Dog.

Mr. Green Dog has FIVE squeekers in it and it's great for playing tug-of-war with Daddy.

Finally, we have a fur friend who is partial to me. She follows me everywhere. I'm so happy to finally have found "my" doggy pal. Here we are going for a walk.

(That's me with the very short blonde hair.)

She takes us for 2-3 walks everyday which is great for all of us.

Welcome home, little Chrissie. We love you already.

Just So You Know....

that I haven't complete forgotten my blog, here's a
photo from last summer.



Snow is all gone from my yard except one small patch in the back where it is always in shadow from the neighbor's garage.

After my first inspection I found the following are all showing a presence: tulips, daffodils, pulmonaria, daisies, sedums, lobelia, lily.

These never died out completely: thyme, some grasses, heuchera, bubblegum plant, and pansies!

Still to show: roses, gaura, and some others.

I've kept a few piles of leaves to toss back onto the garden if it gets really cold again.

I'm so happy to have dirt under my nails again...

I Remember Mema...

Mema was my maternal grandmother. I named her that sometime way long ago before I can remember... She's always been Mema.

My first memories of Mema were when she kept a rooming house for Ohio State students in Columbus, OH. I must have been about 4 years old. We, Mother, Daddy and I, had recently moved back to Ohio from North Carolina.

Mema was great for cuddles and for telling stories. She would always start her stories, "Once upon a time when I was a little boy..." I would squeal and tell her, "You were never a little boy". We'd laugh and she'd go on with her story.

Another thing she used to do for me was to allow me to pop out her lower denture. I'd press on her chin and she'd pop out the denture. More squealing and laughter.

She had a tree right next to an upper story window where a squirrel would come and beg for treats...which she had plenty ready. That was a thrill for me.

She used a real ice box, and I can remember the ice man coming with deliveries of huge blocks of ice to put in the top of it.

She spent her later years living 6 months a year with us and 6 months with her other daughter, my aunt, in Pensylvania.

Remember back when I was writing about painting the bedroom in our house? Well, it's been completed for a while but I finally got some art hung. It's all photos that I took while living on Whidbey Island. They and others actually hung in a couple shows there.

So the bedroom has my photography, but better than that it has a lot of Mema's things in it too.



Mema made the quilt for me about 1962. Her plan had been to make one for each of use 4 grandkids, but I was the only one who got one. After that, it was beyond her. It's a Double Wedding Ring pattern. I chose the pattern, and the blue and purple centers but she cut out each of the tiny little pieces and sewed them together all by hand. Mother then took the "top" to a local church where the ladies quilted it also all by hand. I just started using it in this room. Why keep a thing of beauty "saved" and hidden?

The little rocking chair was Mema's as was the pillow on it which she also made. I have many memories of Mema in her later years sitting on that chair (it was white then) beside a square table which I also have, sewing, sewing, sewing. She sewed my quilt top while sitting on that chair.

The three pillows on the bed were embroidered by Mother. That was the only "fancy work" Mother liked to do, Crewel embroidery.

Hope you enjoy my memory room...