HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY !

“When your mother asks, "Do you want a piece of advice?" it's a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway.”
― Erma Bombeck

This is me, looking surprised on Mother’s Day today. My daughters always manage to blow me away on this day. Isn’t that nice? Yes, it is. It was Kelly’s idea to have my blog (this blog, Hunky Dory) printed into a book.

Hunky Dory in book form from my first blog post in 2014 until the end of April of this year ~ it is over 350 pages of all the pictures I’ve posted and all the words I’ve written about those pictures. I’ve never been more surprised and pleased. What a keepsake! It makes a wonderful journal of life in this family. Thank you so much, Kelly and Holly!! You blow me away with your creativity and thoughtfulness. I’ll treasure this always and enjoy looking through it again and again.

We had a great time looking back through a lot of memories, big and small, including celebrations and everyday life.

My sweet peeps ~ daughter Kelly, grandson Elijah, daughter Holly, moi, grandson Knox and granddaughter Shelby

Granny and her Grandpeeps ~ Shelby, Elijah, Knox

Kimbrough peeps ~ Kelly and Knox

Myers peeps ~ Shelby, Holly, Elijah

Love my girls! Sometimes I don’t think they fully realize what wonderful mothers they are and the awesome job they’re doing, day by day, rearing their kids.




We’ve laughed a lot today. I love that.

Elijah did his part in the picture taking, and now, back to our regularly scheduled program ….

Ditto, Shelby …. All things considered, my peeps are pretty patient with Granny and her picture taking

We ended up at Starbucks at three this afternoon when they were offering half price Frappuccinos ~ the drive thru line was out into the street so we went inside where there were plenty of seats and free WiFi. 

Wouldn’t be a mom without this guy. Thanks for our beautiful family, honey!

Flavored coffee drinks make us happy ~ especially when they’re half price. Thanks for the treat, Kelly!

Somebody needs a nap! Knox did, too. My girls sure did make my Mother’s Day special again this year. Thank you, dear daughters! So glad you are mine!

“You count the hours you could have spent with your mother, it's a lifetime in itself.”
― Mitch Albom, For One More Day

My mother, Hamp Mabry, Mother’s Day 5/8/2011, the last one we got to spend with her. She passed away exactly two weeks before Mother’s Day, 2012. She loved her five kids. I miss being able to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day.
Happy Mother’s Day, everyone! Hope you got to spend time with your mom today.

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. ~Margaret Atwood

Hubby Neil is the gardener at our house. I don’t think he intended this to be funny when he placed his gloves on the handles of the wheelbarrow during a break today. I, on the other hand, thought it was hilarious and, being the resident photographer, had to take a picture.

Most of the plants in our yard are shade-loving. Trouble is, we don’t have much shade anymore. We’ve had about six trees removed this past year which has left us with a very bright and sunny yard. Neil has been busy digging up and replanting all these shade-loving plants like our Hostas, and it’s been a challenge finding new, shady homes for them around the yard.

Last week we bought a flowering crabapple tree to replace the mulberry tree that we had removed last March. They even ground the stump away, but when Neil started digging to plant the new tree, he ran into the rest of the stump and its network of roots hiding under the surface. Surprise!

It looks like a giant crab trying to wrestle its way out of the dirt. Time to bring the stump grinder folks back in. Who knew a mulberry tree could be so stubborn?

Bloom where you are planted. ~Author Unknown
Happy Saturday, everyone!

MAY I?

Sweet May hath come to love us, Flowers, trees, their blossoms don; And through the blue heavens above us The very clouds move on.   ~Heinrich Heine Quotes , Source: Book of Songs--New Spring (no. 5)

First day of May ~ looks like Fall, feels like Fall, except for the beautiful green everywhere ~ it can stay this way forever, as far as I’m concerned. Happy May, everyone!

EVER LOVIN' SATURDAY ~ Plants and Treats and Sweet Peeps

It's planting time in our yard. Neil and I spent some time at Chuck Johnson's Nursery today. So much to choose from! We brought home a pink flowering crab apple tree, some gorgeous azaleas, and my must-have geranium.

The weather just does not get any better than this. We were scheduled for some fierce storms today, but instead we were blessed with perfection~the best day ever to be outside. [As I write this, the wind and rain has finally arrived at 9:30 tonight]

Daughter Kelly and grandson Knox dropped by this afternoon to share these cute lady bug cupcakes with us. Knox picked them out at Wal-Mart. They were almost too cute to eat.

But we dug into these chocolate bugs anyway~who cares if they're cute. They were totally delicious. [The lady bugs look like they're staring up at Knox, probably thinking, You're really going to eat us? But we're so cute!]

Knox helped his grandpa plant a little pink dogwood tree. He learned how to push the shovel into the dirt with his foot.

Neil just happened to have a Knox-sized shovel so he could help fill in the hole.

Knox had the best time working alongside his grandpa. What little boy doesn't love playing in the dirt? Knox said, "I don't have time to stop right now. I have work to do." Neil enjoyed playing in the dirt, too, until he ran into some stubborn roots. But they got the tree planted and also those azaleas. The crab apple will have to wait until tomorrow.

I got my hands dirty today, too. Planted my geranium in the clay pot my grandpeeps Shelby and Elijah made for me for mother's day a couple of years ago. I'm not positive what color the blooms will be. I'm hoping for a deep pink [at least that was the color of the others it was sitting next to on the shelf at the nursery] 

Supper at Fazoli's with Knox and Kelly. More sugar overload for Knox. The chocolate chip cookie was dessert, not dinner, by the way. He had a busy day today and didn't have his usual nap, so maybe he won't be bouncing off the walls by bedtime. Happy Saturday, everyone! Hope yours was awesome.

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME

We went to a TTU men's baseball game this afternoon. Attending a college baseball game is a first for us. Grandson Elijah, who plays coach's pitch baseball, has been practicing with one of the assistant baseball coaches at Tech and was interested in seeing the big boys play ball. It was the second game in a double header today with the Murray State Racers and didn't start until four. It was summertime hot today. We were grateful for those clouds that moved in over the sun. 

They had a great turnout, pretty crowded, and we ended up sitting on the Murray side. We found it amusing that 90% of the people there were female. Maybe the guys on the team have lots and lots of lady friends. Here's our bunch from left: grandson Knox, hubby Neil, grandson Elijah and his friend Anthony, who brought their gloves just in case a stray ball came flying their way, daughter Holly and granddaughter Shelby. (Photo by daughter Kelly. Thanks for sharing!)

We didn't make it into the group shot, so Kelly took this selfie of the two of us. (Thanks for sharing the pic, Kelly!)

The first inning was fun to watch. Tech got off to a great start. Their player #11 popped a beautiful home run over the right field wall. Murray rallied, hitting a couple of their own home runs which made it a game. But not being baseball junkies, we soon realized and remembered that, yes, baseball moves at a snail's pace, which is simply the nature of the game, and it might be more fun watching paint dry, so we left after the end of the 6th inning, two hours later. Tech was still ahead at that point, and they did win the game, 12-7. They won all three of their games this weekend. Yay, Eagles! (Thanks for this picture, Kelly!) Good times with family. Hope your ever lovin' Saturday was a home run, too!

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME ~ Let the games begin

“(Baseball) is a game with a lot of waiting in it; it is a game with increasingly heightened anticipation of increasingly limited action”
― John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany

It’s that time again. Spring in Tennessee means green grass, unpredictable weather, and coach’s pitch baseball. It was opening day for grandson Elijah and his team, the Cardinals.

Warming up before the game

Elijah is playing first base this season. He’s been practicing with one of the assistant coaches at TTU the past couple of weeks, learning a lot of technique in fielding and batting.

His practice really showed in the game this evening. He got some long, hard hits.

Run hard, run fast. His team got off to a slow start but rallied in the second half of the game. They all played well but lost 10-6.
Grandson Knox watching his cousin play ball ~ Knox had lots of questions about the game. I’d love to see him play someday.

It was a chilly soggy game. Daughter Kelly and son in law Kerry finally had to hunker under the umbrella in the last inning. That’s Elijah waiting his turn at bat. [Will those white pants ever come clean??]

Elijah’s other cheerleaders ~ sister Shelby [who’s thinking she’d much rather be home where it’s warm and dry], mom Holly and grandpa Neil

Elijah’s dad Jerry is one of the coaches this season ~ here on third base as Elijah takes off toward home with his eye on the ball.

Good game, red team, way to rally! Looking forward to the next game.

GONE FISHIN’

Give a man a fish and he has food for a day; teach him how to fish and you can get rid of him for the entire weekend.  ~Zenna Schaffer

Hubby Neil and son in law Jerry took Neil’s recently purchased, previously owned fishing boat out on City Lake for a spin today for the first time. The motor started right up. The boat did not sink. They enjoyed an afternoon of fishing. Jerry caught one and threw it back. And no one drowned. A good day out on the water. Happy Saturday, y’all!

Borrowed this picture from son in law Jerry off Facebook. Thanks for posting, Jerry!