* Nostalgic Sunday *

Two Saturdays ago, my oldest son, Scott turned 40. (Yes, I was a child bride!)

I made him a card/book to celebrate the occasion, using eight pages (sixteen sides) of 12x12 construction paper, 3-hole punched, and laminated with a Lifetime Guarantee, from me! 

The below page is the first one in the card/book. I've always loved this photo of him. He was so cute and sweet, and his pose looks like Jack Benny's!

I dug through boxes of loose photos, and searched through photo albums, looking for the ones that were Just Right. Then I used stickers and did a little of my own printing. I used binder rings to keep it all together, and he really loved it, which made me very happy.


The below page explains what pictures are on it; Germany 1973. Scott was only three months old when he and I flew by ourselves from St. Louis to Frankfurt, Germany. 

Scott sent the below photo of himself standing in front of Stonehenge in June 2010. I think it was the very next day he was rushed to a hospital in London for emergency removal of his burst appendix. It was a very scary time, as you can imagine. If you'd like to read my posts from then, just click on appendix in the Labels below. 

Happy Birthday, again, Scott. I love you!

"Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that suppose to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing." ~ Toni Morrison, Beloved, 1987 

** Tidbits on a Tuesday Night **

Hey Everyone! I'm a happy mama tonight, because Scott is coming home tomorrow night!!  I heard about it from my daughter-in-law earlier today, and then he called me this evening. We talked for 19 whole minutes this time! Woo-hoo!
His plane is scheduled to arrive here at 6:15pm. I wanted to go to the airport, but will stay with Scotty instead. After he walks into his house, and I can hug him, I think I'll be able to breathe again......heavy sigh...

Have you noticed the "She Writes" button thingy on the right side of my blog? I haven't really gotten into it that much, being busy with all this blogging, you know, but they do have a lot of things going on that look well worth looking into. All you have to do is "join", but there is No Fee. It is nationwide. In fact, I was invited to a local get together this evening, celebrating the First Anniversary of She Writes. (I wasn't able to attend, but I hope to meet up with the local ladies sometime soon.) So, you can see it's a new organization, geared toward women writers. I'm particularly mentioning this tonight because they have a fantastic contest, beginning today and ending sometime in August. You do have to be a member, so jump on over there and sign up.The contest is called the Passion Project.  (*disclaimer: I'm not getting paid or anything for this. I just think it looks like a good place and great contest for us writer-gals!)

My last tidbit of the evening: One of my friends' husband was the lucky recipient of a colonoscopy yesterday. When I replied to her e-mail, stating that "everything went great".....my response was, "So glad the invasion of his private parts went well!! :)
Hey, I like to do all I can to spread cheer and laughter around the world. Maybe someone would like to use that as a title to their book or screenplay....You have my permission. Although, you could mention my name, too.

Labels: appendix, emergency, England, Scott, Stonehenge, Summer Solstic
"My feet are completely flat, but for most of my life they were still shaped like feet. Now, thanks to bunions, they're shaped more like states, wide boring ones that nobody wants to drive through." — David Sedaris (When You Are Engulfed in Flames)

** Another Day In The Life....**

I was able to talk with Scott this morning… for over 12 minutes!! He sounded sooo much better than when we spoke last week. He sounded like the Scott I know and love! He said he's feeling much better, too! I don't remember when he said he might be released, but some of his stats still had to improve...and his flight is this Thursday.


He said his company has been wonderful through all this. They've had guys from Global Rescue visiting him and seeing how everything is going. They also upgraded his flight home to first class, and a Global Rescue team member will accompany him!

We had such a nice talk and I can't wait to see him in person!!

Thanks again to all of you who have e-mailed me and/or left comments concerning Scott. I truly, truly appreciate it.


Labels: appendix, emergency, England, Scott, Stonehenge, Summer Solstic

"A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work". -- John Lubbock

* Several Thoughts On a Very Early Saturday AM *

Still no "new" news about Scott. I hope I'll be able to talk with or text with him sometime today.

Had lunch with Tammy and Teri Friday at a favorite "Girly" Tea Room, Miss Aimee B's. Besides the yummy food, being with them was so therapuetic. We talked about our writing, we laughed, we giggled....I might have snorted once or twice. It was wonderful! For those two hours, I didn't dwell on any worries. And I was pumped up and ready to work on my book, so that's exactly what I did when I got home. I got some good stuff written today!

Speaking of writing, I'm looking forward to attending the Saturday Writers monthly meeting today! Many times the day consists of an after-meeting lunch, where....you guessed it!....More great food and talk about writing!

I had a really fun afternoon with Scott's youngest son, Scotty, on Thursday. A week or so ago, I also gave him a "journal" that I put together for him. Believe me, it is nothing fancy! More about that another time.

I've been meaning to point out the new photo I posted at the top right corner....the stack of books, a pair of glasses, a tiny vase of flowers and a beautiful tea cup! After blog buddy and follower, Carmelina, commented on how much she loved a similar picture I posted a while back, I wanted to post one of my own belongings, not one I found on the internet.

One more thing.....The ever famous striped tents have popped up in our area again. The ones that sell fireworks. Every year I dread seeing them for a couple of reason. First, I think they are unsightly. And, second, seeing them makes me a bit sad, because I know it means summer is practically half-over already!

"If I did not wear torn pants, orthopedic shoes, frantic disheveled hair, that is to say, if I did not tone down my beauty, people would go mad. Married men would run amok."-Brenda Ueland

Labels: appendix, emergency, England, Scott, Stonehenge, Summer Solstic

(Frantic Mommy blog recently posted the above quote, and I just had to borrow it! Hilarious!!)

** Friday Bunny Wabbits **

I don't have any news to share about Scott. I guess I'll stick with the old saying, "No news is good news". I still feel myself barely breathing from time to time, and can only seem to perform mindless tasks around the house. Thus, dishes are getting washed (by hand!) and laundry is getting washed (by machine!)

I have lots of different things I've jotted down over the past week or so that I wanted to post on my blog. I decided to begin with some adorable Bunny Wabbit pictures!


Labels: appendix, emergency, England, Scott, Stonehenge, Summer Solstic

This first picture is one of our back-yard bunnies, stretched out and enjoying himself in a little patch of dirt, among the grass. This part of the yard is right next to our deck.

This little bunny is standing on our front door mat, right next to the front door! The glass is part of our storm door and I took pictures while hiding behind the front door. I took the pictures sideways, looking through the crack where the hinges are. (Hope that makes sense.)

This picture is of the bunny biting at and trying to get pieces of the mat! I don't know if he was eating them, or wanted to take some "home". He was jumping and pouncing on the mat and really pulling at it with his teeth. It was hilarious! I also managed to get a short video of it, on the same camera, which I've been wanting to post, also. BUT, I took the pictures and video sideways, and for some reason, my photo program won't allow me to flip/turn a video, like it will a photo! Anyone have any ideas??

Animals never cease to amaze me and bring me such joy...even the squirrels who steal a lot of the bird seed we put out for our fine-feathered friends!

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~ Anatole France

** A Cautious Sigh of Relief **

Thanks to all of you that left heartfelt comments and/or sent e-mails of prayers and well wishes.

The family member who had emergency surgery is my oldest son, Scott, who I'd just wrote about on Monday, the 21st. He is in England for business and I posted the photo of him visiting Stonehenge.

(Scott and me the day before he flew to England)

I'm not exactly sure of the time of events, but sometime soon after that tour at Stonehenge, he was rushed to a hospital for emergency removal of his burst appendix, which also resulted in having some gangrene.

That was all I knew for many hours, which was the reason for my intense fear. And obviously, with him being a zillion miles from home, made it all the worse.

This afternoon, Scott called me from his cell phone and we were able to talk for quite a few minutes. His voice was weak, but oh how wonderful it was to hear it and to talk with him! He wasn't sure when he was going to be released from the hospital, but thought it would be at least a couple of days from now. After that, he said he'll stay at his hotel and rest up until his already scheduled flight home, which is on July 1st.

His British supervisor has been so wonderful through all this, keeping in touch with Cindy, Scott's wife, and notifying her whenever he knew anything.

I titled this post "A Cautious Sigh of Relief" because although it appears that Scott's surgery was successful and all the gangrene was removed, I won't be able to actually sigh with relief and/or breathe properly until he is safely back at home.

(*Note to Chatty Crone. Yes, I am indeed Scott's mom. I was a mere child when I was married the first time, so I was a very young mom!)

"Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that suppose to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing." ~ Toni Morrison, Beloved, 1987

** Please Keep Me in Your Thoughts **

We've all heard sayings about not taking life for granted, take time to smell the roses, and we don't know what tomorrow may bring.

The past 24 hours or so have been difficult for me. A very close family member had emergency surgery, and I don't know much else than that. It's something that can be quite serious, though, and I've been really worried and fearful.

I'm sorry if I seem secretive, but I don't want to divulge anything else at this time.

If you'd like, please send good thoughts and wishes my way.
I'll also accept prayers, good karma, peace....whatever you'd care to send....including virtual hugs....(thank you, Karrie!)

Hopefully, I'll have some good news to post sometime tomorrow.

"Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is the special occasion". ~Author Unknown

Happy Summer Solstice 2010!

This is my oldest son, Scott, who is in England on a business trip. He just sent this photo to us yesterday, and I was thrilled to see that he was able to visit one of the most extraordinary monuments in the world.

It's also one of those Twilight Zone moments I seem to experience more and more lately. While doing a little research online just now about Summer Solstice, I discovered that thousands of people flock to Stonehenge every year to witness this event. It looks like Scott was a day or so early, but all the better, otherwise he would've just been lost in a sea of Druids, hippies, pagans and other curious folk!

find out more about Stonehenge

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time." -- John Lubbock