Tiny Garden Therapy

 

Busy is my choice of medicine for my lonely heart.  Gardening in a very small scale is so much fun.  I've been collecting things for a tiny garden for a while.  I put them all together with some creeping thyme and a few dusty millers to make this sweet "baby" (Penny) garden.  Did you really think I was off topic?  Come on...I'm a first time grandma for gosh sakes! ;-)


 

The gazing ball is from my tiny greenhouse, and as I write this I just remembered I bought a tiny cloche.
I need to learn when to stop!


 

Gotta love the tiny tools and wheelbarrow.


 

Behind the gate.


 

My dear friend Jean brought by this too cute tin planter, to congratulate us on our beautiful grand daughter...Oh, you didn't know we were grandparents?  Sorry... we are just so in love! 

An inside day today.  The rain is helping all the flowers I planted get settled, and the pumpkins, the zucchini and the cherry tomatoes.  Now to deal with the weeds I've still to tackle, and the beds that still need attention... when it stops raining!  Have a great day my friends.

Our Trip to NY

I took these roses as a sign that everything would be alright...any Little Flower  faithful?

When Doug called at 4am to say that Kris was ready to go to the hospital, we were pretty calm.  We had had a few false alarms since Saturday...and that's the reason we were in Brooklyn in the first place.  We had planned to leave when Kristen was in labor, hoping to arrive just after the baby was born.  We were there for three days while Penny took her time, and poor Mom had contractions on and off for 4 days!  The gift was that we were there for Kris and Doug...We took them shopping, to the midwife, to their offices and finally, when the time came, to get Mom and Dad to the hospital in Manhattan, and then to get little Penny home to Brooklyn.

The view from Kris' 11th floor hospital room.

A gated garden, tranquil inside, the chaos that is Manhattan outside.



Grandpa in the hospital lobby waiting...



These two little sparrows kept us amused while we waited.

 

Painted on the wall of the hospital.

This is the way sweet baby Penny came home...Mom on one side, Dad on the other, each holding a little hand...and Mom's pinky, a binky!

 Thank you so very much for the sweet comments and best wishes for the little family, and for good ol' grandpa and grandma.  I'm going to be keeping busy, hoping to use some of my baby ache to fuel some creativity.  Now to catch up with all of my friends in blogland!  Enjoy this beautiful day my friends.

How can I leave this face?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Meet Our Grand Daughter

Welcome to the world, Penny Jennifer... our hearts overflow.





Mom is doing great after 4 days of contractions, and a few false alarms. She is the best Mom already and Dad could't be prouder or happier. We are blessed beyond measure. Take care my friends!

Grandma Penny





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Hangin' in the Hood

 

Hello Rabbit!


 

The closest I've even been.  I talked to him as he ate his clover flowers, then off he hopped.


 

I've had to stalk the neighbor's garden to groove on some beautiful peonies.

 

The beauty of this time of year is breath taking...

 

and every breath a miracle!

Enjoy this beautiful day my friends!

 

The World is Coming to Chicago

 

This weekend the world is coming to my home town.  The NATO Summit is being held here, so people from all over the world will be here for the summit and for protests and demonstrations all around our town.  It's a wonderful opportunity for Chicago, to be on the world stage, but also a scary prospect...there are those that wish to disrupt, destroy, make trouble, make a statement.  Yesterday morning I heard a fighter jet quickly cross the airspace over our little suburb, and it made me think of the possibility of trouble.  Our son  works security in the loop, and has had special training for this weeks events.  I pray he doesn't need to use it.  My hope is for a peaceful summit, peaceful demonstrations and a PEACEFUL WORLD.  I proudly welcome the world to my home, Chicago!

Have a great weekend my friends.

The Friendly Things

 

Oh, it's just the little homely things,
The unobtrusive, friendly things,
The "won't-you-let-me-help-you" things
That make our pathway light.

 

The "Laugh-with-me-it's-funny" things
And it's the jolly, joking things,
The "never-mind-the-trouble" things,
That make the world seem bright.

 

For all the countless famous things
The wondrous record-breaking things,
These "never -can-be-equaled" things
That all the papers cite.

Are not the little human things,
The "everyday encountered" things,
The "just-because-I-like-you" things
That make us happy quite.

 

So here's to all the little things,
The "done-and-then-forgotten" things,
Those "oh-it's-simply-nothing" things
That make life worth the fight.

author unknown
from Friendship, an Ideals publication

Enjoy this beautiful day my friends!

In a time of need...

 

There is a woman that I'd like to acknowledge, my friend Dianne.  She renewed a ministry at our Parish.  It is simply called, the funeral lunch.  This is not the usual topic for a happy blog post, but it is such a help to a grieving family.  A Parish family lost a son, a teenager in a tragic accident.  Last Friday, Dianne lead the team that hosted a lunch, after the funeral Mass, for over 250 people.  It is a combined effort of generous volunteers who cook and bake, workers who set up, and serve, but especially Dianne and her husband Peter who have made this a special priority in their lives. 

 

Dianne works tirelessly to comfort and serve those that grieve. 

 

Dianne is in the light green top.  A generous and caring soul, and someone I admire and love.  She is someone making a difference and I just wanted to say thank you to Dianne here today. 

Good Things

 

Here are some good things I found at Joy's Shop the Shed event.  This large pharmacy bottle.  I call it a pharmacy bottle because when I was young, there was an old pharmacy at the end of our block.  It had a soda fountain, and a phone booth!  You got your prescriptions from the back where the pharmacist (Mr. Urbanski) was behind a iron cage, like the banks used to have.  There was a display of bottles, just like this one, with old looking labels and strange sounding names.  We used to visit for violets, charm lolly pops and necco wafers.  It was the place my Dad walked all his grand kids.  This bottle, along with being very cool, stirred up some memories, and it had to come home with me.  I also got this little gate...I've been collecting some items for a tiny garden, and this was chippy and worn and right up my alley.

 

Baby Tears, so delicate and sweet.

 

This is the galvanized soap dish, a gift from Joy.  It belonged to our dear friend Annie.  Annie was a dear sweet soul that stole my heart at our first blogger's event.  Joy who was a dear friend to Annie is so generous to share her memories with me.  Annie and I didn't have the gift of time to get to know each other, but we knew each others hearts. I have a few things that remind me of her, and this little piece is the kind of thing she loved.  Annie's blog  Drawing a Blank still up .  I haven't visited in a while.  I used to visit everyday when she was ill.  Hoping she'd post, hoping she was better...  Oh Annie, I miss you pal....... Thank you so much Joy, for everything!


 

This is what I found at the lil flea market.  Some fruit baskets, and a little enameled chamber pot.

 

This is a reproduction of a pull toy I had when I was young.  It might have been one of my brother's toys, but I loved it.  Ours was all wood, this is plastic.  The handles for the mallets were springs with red balls at the ends, and it had a long red and white cord with a red ball at the end.  Now the handles are plastic and the cord is black plastic, about 8 inches long, child safe, but not as I remember it.  I hope our babygrand will enjoy it like I did.  The little tink tink tink of the xylophone keys is the same. I'm just a sentimental old fool! 

Enjoy this beautiful day my friends.

Weekend Update

 

I had a great Mother's Day...  a trip to the flea market with my dearest in the morning, a visit to the cemetery in the afternoon,  a dinner in the beautiful weather with my three favorite guys, they are the sweetest and make me feel so loved, face time with our dear daughter and the happy dad to be, the sweetest texts and card from Jon's sweetheart, and a visit from the sweetest grandma, little bird and baby bug!  What more could a girl want.  Except for missing my Mom all day, the best Mother's Day a girl could have.

 

The photos are from Saturday.  We visited Joy, of  Savvy City Farmer, and company at her Shop the Shed event.  Joy is a talented, creative and generous soul.  I met Joy a couple of years ago at a blogger event.  I try not to miss one of her sales.  She is a genius at beautiful staging, fabulous finds and creating beautiful items with her handy hubby Don at her side. 

 

I bought some cool stuff, that I still have to photograph. Dear Joy gave me the coolest galvanized soap dish, that had a special connection to someone I was blessed to know...it really touched my heart.

 

Pressed for time as usual lately, I missed so many great photo opportunities.

 

Though I did catch this dreamy guy, hanging around the potting shed...  More tomorrow... Counting down the days till our babygrand is due!  Enjoy this beautiful day my friends.