Love is.../Blue Monday

We live in such troubled times and although we all deserve some private time to collect ourselves , today so many have their "me" time and reject their marriage time. I am not trying to anger anyone or make light of singles but those that are married need to make a stronger commitment. Marriage is so much more than a fancy wedding, all the gifts, the honeymoon. It is a lifetime of trying to maintain a balance. Like making a budget or making sure you have enough money in the bank to cover your expenses we all need to take more time to keep our marriages as the center of our lives. Today I watched my husband with his brother and I thought I am so blessed. He does so much for everyone without complaining. His me time is spent figuring the budget, cooking for the week, doing all sorts of home maintenance. He is a good solid husband and father. This Love is...makes me smile and I hope you visit Marydon and share your favorite Love is...today.

The fourth of July is coming this week! It is a good time to reflect on our country and what it was founded on. I love this vintage image and the blue sky setting the background for the stars and stripes with a red, white and blue theme!

This beautiful blue painting is from zephyrstudioaustin.com and I found it on google images. The blue zinnia makes a pretty conversation piece for your morning cuppa.

I hope you will visit Sally and all the blues! Have a blue ti  ful Monday!

"F" is for Feline

After losing my favorite, friendly feline Boots, I did not think I would love again. But his untimely passing fifteen months ago made me wish I could have a sweet kitten. My friend and co worker Jessica has a cousin who had a beautiful cat ,who gave birth to precious kittens, two of them! They are gorgeous and she thinks, as far as she can tell, they are girls! So I am going to begin my journey in owning a new kitten! A frisky, bundle of pure feline joy! I am going to cherish this kitten like a first time parent! It will be fun gathering new things to share with this fun little bundle of new kitten love!

Will I forget about Rose? Absolutely not! Will I ignore Smokey, Stella, Bandit and Roxanne! Forget it! Never! Those silly pups and the matriarch feline will always hold a special place in my heart! Here is the new kitten, who, by the way, is a boy! Laughing Out Loud! We were tossing out names and we liked "Peaches" and "Tigerlily"! Well, the vet flipped this boy over and said. he is a male! HaHaHa! Since we decided on Tigerlily we shorted it to "Tiger" so he would be a male kitty with a matching name!

Felines are fiercely independent creatures. They feign dramatic behavior in order to show you who is the boss!

Funny how pets can steal our hearts. They move in without much of a thought and begin a lifetime journey of keeping us from being faint of heart. The will not fail in their quest to maintain us as their captive! Their new hideout! A cool hammock with dual scratching posts! Rose is still unsure if she likes it!

They become our faithful friends.   They will never flee from our presence because once they hook you, you fall for them hook, line and sinker so they become fresh faces in our lives and take the words funny, frisky and  fast to new levels! Rose is finicky about people! She wanted to read a magazine!

The one difference I enjoy about felines  is the fact that they are so independent. Dogs are quite faithful and demand much attention. Cats prefer faking their fabulous fraudulent lifestyle, pretending not to have a care in the world but secretly hoping you will treasure  them until the end of time. Spoiled rotten felines! Rose acts as if this tunnel is no fun at all although we have caught her taking a peek inside! Little Tiger runs like mad through it and makes it sound like a crinkle noise! Drives poor Rose batty!

They will never be false friends with you and although a feline can be quite flippant, they adore you and forever love you. They may demand the finer things in life from you but your freedom will be theirs. Their fancy attitude melts your heart and you will not see any flaws and faults in their behavior. Felines are often fussy. They dine on specific foods and you will never worry about having your own ego fed! Jeremy nearly bought this fancy purple kitty hideaway! Good thing, Tiger would probably prefer blue or red! He is not much of an Elton John fan like Roxanne, who loves to dance to the song "Tiny Dancer"!

Perhaps I used too many "F" words here! Hopefully I made you smile and you learned a little bit about funny, fabulous felines! Master Tiger is not a fan of the kennel. Jessica said he cried all the way from Fort Lupton, about thirty minutes from here! When I took him to the vet he bite the bars and climbing like a maniac kitten yelping as if we were chopping his head off! He and Roxanne are very dramatic pals!

Now visit Ms. Jenny and find more fun and fulfillment with all the wonderful F's showcased there! I don't always get to visit and comment but your visits here mean the world to me. Extra prayer for my sister Mary as she is waiting to heal so she can have her surgery. It has been a long, hard road for her. I have had my mind on her and have not written here much or visited a lot. I love all of you very much! Thanks for sticking by me, friends!

Blue Monday? Love is....

I like this blue quote. It is a perfect fit for Sally and the Blue Crew!

This one is funny and would be good for the worker who prefers absolutely solitude! Plus it is blue too!

When we got married in 1984 bank and savings and loan companies often gave you gifts for opening a new account. My mom got a brand new iron and gave it to me for a wedding gift! I drafted a clause into my wedding vows, no ironing for me ever! LOL!
Please visit Marydon and show us your favorite Love is...

"E" is for An Extra Special Someone

When we celebrated the letter "E" a few rounds ago  I used "E" for Edward my wonderful father. Someone commented that they almost didn't stop by because they thought I wrote about Edward from the Twilight Series! LOL! He was so proud to see my sis Mary get married, 1969.

My dad loved his name. He always said when he passed away the priest would call him "Edward" otherwise everyone would call him the assortment of nicknames he picked up throughout his life. One of his nicknames was "Spike" which he was called at his job as a head roller in the rail mill. He worked at the C F and I Steel Corporation for 47 years! My late father-in-law worked there too  as a guard. His nickname was "Robi". I keep telling my hubby we need to buy two little dogs and name them Spike and Robi. I thought it would be a really sweet tribute to our dads.

 

My daddy loved his navy blue polka dot shirt. It was a favorite except for his Colorado Native t shirt that he wore proudly! When he had his first heart attack they cut his Colorado native shirt off of him and it really broke my heart.

 I love this phamily pic. My ma and pa and me. I was just a little tyke and my folks had me like I had Nick. A "change of life" baby. Oh boy, that was the truth! I was the same age as my mom when Nick was born. I was the youngest of five and so is Nick!

I had to revisit "E" for Edward! My oldest son and my grandson have his name as their middle name. My dad was a wonderful guy. He had a kind heart and was humble and loved his phamily. When I finally settled down I found a similar man in my own husband.  Good honest and hard working men are not plentiful these days. I am happy I had "Edward" J Kocman Sr. as my father and I am happily married to my honey George Avery Robinson!

Visit Ms. Jenny and share your favorite "E"!

Flag Day, Father's Day and SONday!

This is my sweet pa! I believe he is holding my (late) sister Pat! He was such a kind, handsome and wonderful man. All I know that is good in life he and my mom taught me!

I love my flag and I like to fly it daily. We had it up and proud of it this June 14th, to celebrate Flag Day!

Happy Father's Day to the man I love! He is a wonderful husband and a very good dad to our five kids! Oh these younger days! Sigh!

My son-in-law Roger and three of his four grandkids! Hee Hee!

My grandson Andrew and his precious son.

Lil Blue Eyes!  How did he grow so quickly?

Happy Father's Day to my nephew Aaron with his dad Carl, Aaron's son Ryan and Carl's dad "Grandpa Bernie". Four generations of  men. Proud to be part of this phamily too.

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
― C.S. Lewis

This reminds me of my favorite marriage made in heaven" Mine! Hee Hee! Come visit Marydon and share your favorite Love is....with us today, then visit Sally. Tell her you counted the blues over here! I am sure I counted four including those big blue eyes that belong to my grand baby with his blonde curls!

...Or five with these gorgeous blue hydrangreas! Wish these were in my yard!

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
Marcel Proust

"D" is for Daily Living

Oh the "D" things I can dream up! I did not wish to engage in conversation about the fire disasters here in Colorado. But because they are part of my life and causing much discomfort in this darn hot weather we are experiencing.

Prayer is important in this day and age. So lots of prayer for Colorado and those directly involved with the loss of their homes, some loss of lives and loss of the dependability that comes with our daily living.

My mom would ask me this question whenever I felt the need to complain. Prayer is the first and last thing I do  each day.

With Father's Day this Sunday our oldest daughter would say this to her dad. I once read about a woman who was dying. She wrote a letter to each one of her children and told them they could not read it until her death. She detailed each quality she loved about each child and in each letter she said "you were always my favorite". She swore them to secrecy and each one smiled thinking they had always been moms favorite! A sweet story to share with you today.

I think these words are so true. We are always a step behind where we should be. But each day we live brings a new challenge, a new idea and always a memory to treasure in the coming years.

I hope you don't mind all the google images I shared with you here.

Peter Pan. He knew a few things about life. He was smart, never wanting to grow up! I look around my life and sometime I wish  were just a kid again! Would I want to do it all over, no way! But having a "kid" moment is good for the soul.

Now settle down and visit Ms.Jenny She is our teacher and we need to thank her for these weekly letter challenges.

Blue Monday Love Is....

Come visit a wonderful Face Book friend www.rhondasrosecottagedesigns.com. This faux cake shows off the prettiest blue flowers. She is so creative! Thought everyone at Sally's would enjoy the cake without the calories today!

Oh these little Love is...cheered me when I was a young bride and today they still cheer me up! This one is so special to me. It is a reminder of the good times as well as the bad. Stop by and say hello to Marydon.

Linda is a sweet friend at this fun blog. She is planning a trip to Paris this September. You need to stop by and say hello and  let her know I put this up just for her.
Enjoy the blues and please come share your Love is...with us too.
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"C" is for Catcher

Oh thank God for my sister Mary! She shot this photo over to me, actually two photos, of our parents. My dad was a semi pro baseball player long before I was born! He was the catcher! "Only position worse than the catcher, bad knees, the pitcher, torn rotator cuff, life of pain. Don't pitch or catch OK?" I was born loving baseball, maybe not quite as much as I loved my dad! He was my hero, my number one man, the most kind hearted, modest and humble man I ever knew!  He always talked about baseball and he knew everything there was to know about it! He always said if we played the game, he did not want us to catch or pitch!

 "My father use to play catch with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say "You're tearing up the grass";  Dad would reply, "We're not raising grass, we're raising boys."

Baseball, it is all American! It is as good as

Apple pie!

There is nothing like the sights of a ball park in the summertime. This is a google image of Coors Field, in Denver. Home to our Colorado Rockies!
If you go to the ball park you can have some peanuts, popcorn and cracker jacks!

Baseball, apple pie and hot dogs! An all American treat!

Although my dad will always be my most favorite catcher, here are a few of my MLB catchers:

I often wonder what Thurman Munson could have accomplished had his life not been cut short, in 1979, when he was killed in a plane crash! A true Yankee hero. I still tear up thinking about him and how amazing he was behind the plate!

Johnny Bench, part of the amazing Cincinnati Reds! Along with Pete Rose, in my personal opinion, one of the greatest ball players to ever play the game, Johnny could make that catchers job look easy!

Yorvit Torre Alba! A Rockie classic, the man can catch and he can hit! Being a hometown favorite doesn't hurt either!

Now please visit Ms. Jenny and all the letter "C" participates! Who is your favorite catcher?

 

 

 

 

I WANT MYGARDEN TO GROW: BLUE MONDAY: LOVE IS...

A little blue flax for Blue Monday!  Make sure you visit Sally and see and share some blues! I am hoping some of these pretty little flowers spring up in my planters on my front porch! When I am not so tired, I will snap a few photos of the pretty dirt! LOL!

I like these Calendula flowers too. We have no garden budget but I have lots of seeds so I am trying my luck!

Zinnias! I am learning lot about flowers as I try to prepare a little garden for a colorful summer.

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Cosmos remind me of little daisies  Perhaps I will have some growing in my yard.

When I was a little girl my Auntie Ang loved these Black Eyed Susan's. So I am planting some and hope they take in her memory. She and my Uncle Louie were rose gardeners and "Oh My Goodness"  their garden was fantastic. They worked in it every single day and it was amazing!

Pretty blue Forget-Me-Nots! I have planted these in memory of Shannon, the little girl who passed away at age 4 from a rare brain cancer. She is the little girl we teamed up and sent a "Memory Quilt" to her family after her untimely deth. The family asked us to plant these in her memory. I will never forget Shannon. Suzanne and Sue were the ladies who put the quilt together and finished it for the family. I will never forget the quilt and all the wonderful people who made quilt squares. It was a beautiful project and I am so prouid that I was part of it!

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.
Marcus Tullius Cicero

Growing a garden, riding a bike, going green! A sweet simple share. Please visit Marydon