"You don't get smarter as you get older. There is just less stupid stuff you haven't done.~ Well it was fun to celebrate another birthday by the Caribbean yesterday, July 4th. There was a lot of activity yesterday with people coming and going. Al's parents arrived a few hours after Mom, Lara & Alex left. So sad to see them go on my birthday. Oh well, these teens are responsible and have to get back to their summer jobs. It was so nice to see Ray and Pat again, and for them to enjoy some family time with their grand-kids. (And us for that matter!) What a lovely birthday I had. Other than seeing some of my family off (not the good part), I was greeted with the offer of a margarita on the house at ... read more

"One thing they never tell you about child raising is that for the rest of your life, at the drop of a hat, you are expected to know your child's name and how old he or she is" ~ Erma Bombeck Hello family & friends! Happy summer to you all! I love a good quote with a sense of humor. I've brought up Erma Bombeck in my blogs before. An American humorist way ahead of her time. And before I start, it's that time of year again for your annual check up. I am here to perform a memory test. Praying that most of you have forgotten the stuff I've written in the past so I can borrow from it. (Insert winking eye here.) I love the above quote because being one of 5 kids I ... read more

"Life is short. Smile while you still have teeth."~ Buenos dias, (Spanish) good morning (English), bonjour, (French) guten morgen (German), zǎoān (Chinese), Kaliméra (Greek), Buongiorno (Italian). Dzień dobry (Polish). See if you hang around with me you will learn things such as how to say good morning in other languages! (PS I apologize if you got this twice. Apparently some of you tried to read it and page was missing so I had to re-publish. :( Thanks for telling me Linda! SABATO (SATURDAY) JAN. 27TH I'm sitting in bed typing with the sliding doors to the balcony open listening to the waves say good morning to me. Good morning little waves. It was a humid night, but windy, and then it started to rain heavy around 5 am, with the rain tap-dancing across the windows. I ... read more

"I'm not afraid of flying. I'm afraid of NOT flying". ~ For those of you that were sick of hearing about our tropical getaway & that we were enjoying the good life too much ;>, this blog's for you. (Sorry if you received this more than once.) So we gave United Airlines another chance after the mishaps last month with our flights home to say my final good-bye to my Dad who fell ill. They did their best to help us, and upgraded us, so it was worth a chance. (Dear lord...) Flying back to Cancun we got upgraded again & everything went fine except for the head stewardess aka 'Nurse Ratched' (the infamous cold-hearted tyrant nurse from the movie, The One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) who was something else. When I say she ... read more

"One father is worth more than a hundred schoolmasters". The above quote pretty well sums up my Dad to a T. He was worth more than a hundred schoolmasters to his family and friends. Unfortunately Dad died three days after we rushed home from Mexico. He was surrounded by love those few days he was in the hospital. When my time comes, I'd be honored to be surrounded by my family - the perfect ending of a book. 'The End'. And I hope I leave this world before my kids too. I love the The Winnie the Pooh quote. "If you live to be 100, I want to live to be 100 minus one day, so I never have to live without you." Dad was given a beautiful send-off - folks were lined out the door ... read more