Flowers, Flowers, and More Flowers

I love flowers, Always have--always will. I grew up with flowers. We lived on a farm and had a HUGE garden. My mother would always plant about 1/3 of it in flowers. My dad could never understand that. He always said, "You can't eat flowers!!" But my mother passed her love of flowers on to me. When I taught, I always had a fresh bouquet of flowers on my desk. Yeah, I bought them myself, but who cares. I still enjoyed them! So, when we bought our trailer and I had 8 months of summer during the winter months, the first thing I would do was head to Lowes or Home Depot and buy plants for my deck. But, of course, I always had to leave them unattended when we went back north. Some survived--some didn't. The orchids managed pretty well. Now, I don't have to leave them and can enjoy them all year around. I've never been down here at this time of the year before so missed out on all the flowering trees such as the Royal Poincianas and the Jacarandas. Wow, amazingly beautiful. Yesterday, I grabbed my camera and took pictures of all my flowers--then I headed down to the mailroom taking pictures along the way. I thought I would share them with you all. Enjoy!

Flowers around my house.

Flowers from around Periwinkle Park.

The Royal Poinciana tree near my house.

Beach Pictures

It's been awhile since I blogged. I've been busy with critters and genealogy. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!! Anyway, we took a walk on the beach this morning and I had my trusty, dusty camera with me so took some pictures. Mr. Snowbird couldn't quite understand why I was taking so many pictures but I knew what I was taking them for--for my blog--so here they are!

The first view of the beach always reminds me of how lucky I am.

Lots of creativity on the beach. Great to look at but not so great for sea turtles attempting to nest.

Lots of sea critters out there today.

I guess these people were staking their claim on their section of the beach. Not that it was all that crowded!We enjoyed the 2 mile walk but were kind of happy to get back to our boardwalk. It was HOT out there this morning!
So, there you have it. My trip to the beach. I saw lots of gorgeous flowers on the drive to and from the beach so plan to get out and take pictures of some of those soon!

Oil Spill Update letter from the City of Sanibel

The city of Sanibel keeps us well informed of any emergencies including the oil spill. Here is the latest letter to be issued. Thought you all would be interested.

"Currently, the beaches and shorelines of Sanibel remain in pristine condition with no impact or eminent threat from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. At this time, there is no smell of oil or burning. City staff continues to closely monitor the situation and coordinate our planning efforts with our local, State and Federal partners.

In response to the many calls received from concerned citizens wishing to volunteer, today the Lee County Emergency Management Center issued directions for those who are interested in registering now in the event volunteers are needed for a local deployment. Click here for additional volunteer registration information. (pdf 646.55 kB)

For the latest updates released by the Federal and State governments, please monitor the following websites:

www.incidentnews.gov/incident/8220

www.Deepwaterhorizonresponse.com

www.roffs.com/deepwaterhorizon.html

My Granddaughter the Teenager

Good grief. It seems like it was just a day or two ago that I posted this on her 12th birthday. And now she is 13-a teenager! No way!! Last year she kind of liked seeing some pictures of her that she had never seen before. So Erin, here ya go--more embarrassing pictures. :)

This was her Birth Day. Here she is with Grandpa and brother Sam. She was now officially Erin Elizabeth. Up until that time, her brother had called her Kudos. Here she is 5 days later with her brother and both Grandmas at her Aunt Carol's wedding.Her first Christmas with her Daddy. Boy, Daddy looks a lot younger here. LOL.Mommy and Erin at her first Tailgate party. This was when Bowling Green played at Ohio State. I always loved this hat! So cute. She inherited her Aunt Karen's "Sarah Heartburn" expression.She was an Cleveland Indians fan from the beginning. I think this dress was a present from her "Uncle" John who works for the Indians. Moving day May 23, 1998. Here she is with her Daddy and Grandpa and Grandma Lawrence taking some of her first steps.

Moving on a couple of years. Still and Indians fan but now she has sprouted bunny ears. Love the expressions here. Make up your own caption.

All of her grandparents attended her Kindergarten Parents/Grandparents Day program. Grandpa Jim and Grandma Barbara. No good pictures with Grandpa Chuck though.

Both Grandmas.

Erin with her cousin, Noah, playing a duet.8 years old and discovering her love of sports.

A combination of a little sunburn and a very hot day at her softball All Star game. Age 9. Serious musician.

You ain't nothin' but a hound dog.

Cooking up a storm.

S'Mores. Yum!

My beautiful, delightful, funny, sweet, athletic, silly, loving, fun loving, amazing granddaughter. I love you, Erin. Happy 13th birthday. Hope I haven't embarrassed you too much with all these pictures.