MIA For Too Long!

Wow! Has it really been that long since my last posting? Time sure does fly when you're having fun, huh?

So, what has been going on in the lives of Penny & John Swindell? Let's see, we last talked about my parent's 50th wedding anniversary.

June 4th John went in for some Day Surgery. He had the Green Light Laser Treatment for prostate enlargement. He tried Flomax for awhile, but really didn't like the pesky side effects, so he got brave and signed up for surgery. I was worried about him going in for surgery. But, he came through like a champ. I think the worst part was coming home with the catheter still in place! But, we went to the doctor's office the following morning, and the catheter came out, he peed on his own, and we were back home in no time. He still has some burning when he goes tee tee, but that is improving. His next visit with the mean ole doctor is June 29th. Hopefully he gets the full release to resume all activities on the 29th! :-D

June 12th we celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary! It does not feel like it's been 5 years already! We couldn't do anything exciting, since John had just had surgery the week before. We did have an incredible dinner at Vic's On The River down on Bay Street, overlooking Savannah River. The food was good, but a bit too fancy for our taste. We prefer the places where you can wear flip flops, and wipe your mouth on your shirt, huh babe?! LOL! After dinner we came home and spent a relaxing evening.

Before John's surgery, we finally got the king size bed that we desperately needed! Our dilemma was what to do with the headboard of our old bed. John had one of these big wall unit beds, and we really love the storage that it has, plus the added benefits of all the lighting in it. Our neighbor across the street was going to cut the bridge part in half, and stretch it out to make it a king size, but he never seemed to have the time to get it done for us. So, John dismantled the bridge, and came up with an awesome new headboard. I LOVE it! We still have our storage, we still have our lights, and best of all, we have a comfy king size bed! But why must the kitty still sleep on my legs at night?!

Last week my new play toy arrived! I bought myself a new laptop, and can you guess what color it is? You got it, it's PINK! And, so far I LOVE it! It's a Dell, and I have my fingers crossed that she will be good to me! We haven't had the best of luck with HP products lately, so I found this Dell for a great buy, and went ahead and took the plunge. It's faster than my "old" one, and a whole lot cheaper. Now, if one of my other two finally kick the bucket, I have a backup. The graphics on it are incredible! I think I made a wise purchase. {got my fingers crossed!}

Saturday we are having a big ole garage sale! Did a lot of cleaning out, and we're going to try to sell a bunch of stuff that we don't use. The money we get will go into our next vacation fund. So, I guess our next vacation destination depends on how much crap we sell, huh? I'm dreaming of Aruba, Jamaica, ew I wanna take ya to, Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mamma....sorry, Attention Deficit! LOL! If you're in our neighborhood, and you want to support our vacation fund, bring your wallet loaded up with lots of cash, and do some shopping! We have some cool crap to sell ya! Lots of Queen size bedding, hey, we even have the old bed if you need it! Lots of knick knacks, picture frames, Beanie Babies, an XL Glider, a bike, vacuum cleaner, cameras, you name it, we probably have it! It's going to be 100+ degrees tomorrow, and we're having a garage sale! Well....I should say Judy and John are having a garage sale, I have to work in the cool A/C at the hospital! How did I get out of working the sale?! {wink}!

And, Tuesday is John's birthday! Happy Birthday babe! I got him some cool gifts, I got him....wait,....I can't tell you what I got him, he'll read this, and find out! He must wait until Tuesday! :-)

So, that's what's going on in our part of the world, what's going on in YOUR part of the world?

Pictures From This Weekend

Home again, home again....jiggity jig.....
This weekend was mom and dad's 50th wedding anniversary. And, to celebrate, they stood up before a small gathering of family and friends after church service and renewed their vows! It was quite sweet! Mom was a social butterfly Sunday! Chatting it up with everyone who came! My brother and his wife made the trip up from South Carolina, John and I drove from Savannah, and aunts and an uncle made it up from Florida. I saw aunts and uncles and cousins that I had not seen since I was a kid! It was a great party!
Here are some shots of the ceremony and the party that followed. Don't forget, click onto the pictures to view them larger!

Greetings From The Ohio Valley!

Mom and Dad's anniversary is tomorrow! The room is ready, the food is prepared. The clock says it's time to go to bed, so we're not late in the morning. But, I think I can spare a few more minutes.

Today, John and I went over to Wheeling, and I FINALLY got my DiCarlo's pizza! This stuff is so yummy! We would get it all the time when I was growing up. You order it by the slice, and they cook it in a gas, brick pizza oven. They cook the crust with just sauce, then they sprinkle the cheese and pepperoni when it's hot. And the crust is crunchy, and it's ever so yummy! No body makes pizza like DiCarlo's! I think we need to buy a franchise, and open a restaurant in Savannah! But, if I could have it whenever I wanted, I would either be 1) the size of a house, or B) sick to death of it!
So, here are some pictures of my yummy trip to DiCarlo's pizza! LOL!
Makes me want another piece RIGHT NOW! :-)

Here we are, about to walk into DiCarlo's on Market Street, Wheeling West Virginia. The canopy looks really sad! I hope the pizza is as good as I remember!



How cool is this? The tables look like the pizza box!



Waiting patiently for the pizza to be ready. I think I am anticipating it more than John is! Does he look bored?



Oh My God! It's here! I'm as excited as a little kid on Christmas morning! I know....I'm sad! I LOVE this stuff!



Oh boy! It looks so YUMMY! Ready to dig right in!



John sinking his teeth into it! Hey babe! Wait for me! I better put the camera down and get busy, or it's all gonna be gone!



Only one piece left! Anybody want it?...... No?......OK, it's all mine! LOL!



All gone! Good to the LAST bite!



John is stuffed! LOL!
And it was just as good as I remember! My belly is happy! We can go home now!

A Week And A Few Days Old

Follow-up on the Carolina Wren babies.
I've had people emailing me, asking how the babies are doing.
They are growing so fast! Momma bird is no longer sitting on them, which worries me, because we got cold down here yesterday! I went out to grab these pictures, and they were huddling together, their feathers blowing in the breeze! Poor babies! Hopefully my old shoe will keep them nice and warm. Momma has been busy flying in and out feeding them. They are so funny, as soon as they hear a noise, or feel a vibration, they open their mouths and start chirping!
They are really looking like little wrens now. They have actual feathers on their wings, and little curved beaks like momma.
John and I will be in Ohio this weekend. I sure hope they don't "fly the nest" while we are gone! I'll go thru my empty nest syndrome for sure!

4 Day Old Baby Pictures

The majority of our baby wrens were born on Saturday, so they are 4 days old today. It's incredible the change in just 4 days! From tiny, pink blobs with legs, to fuzzy little things with BIG beaks! LOL!
Mommy bird was off of the nest, so I snuck a couple of shots. They are actually starting to look like birds! It was cute, when the flash fired they started opening their mouths! I also think I could hear very, very tiny peeps coming from them! Can't wait till they start singing for their supper!
Here are some pictures to enjoy.
Don't forget to click on the picture to see it bigger.

We Have Babies!

Baby birds to be exact!
Saturday our eggs started to hatch. The mommy Carolina Wren became a mommy in time for Mother's Day! I was at work, tending to the sick and broken, when Judy called me to tell me the babies were hatching. They looked like wads of bubblegum when they hatched! Bubblegum with feet!



Click picture to see a bigger shot.
NOT a pretty sight! But now they are starting to get a covering of light feathers, and their beaks are definitely being exercised, begging mommy bird for food!
And I finally got a picture of mommy bird while not sitting on the nest! She's very elusive! Hard to catch her doing anything but sitting on the nest, or flying away! But, here she is:



My arbor is blooming now! I am so excited about it. Still can't believe how big the roses got over just one year! Some day the whole arbor will be covered with roses from top to bottom!

A Little Of This, And A Little Of That

Happy Friday everyone!
And Happy May! Good grief, another month has bit the dust! Did we not just have Christmas 3 weeks ago? It sure feels that way to me! The weeks are flying by me so fast, I barely get rested, and the week is starting all over again!
Anybody got any cool plans for the weekend?

I scored a 3 day weekend! Lucky me, huh? I have to enjoy it, it will be my last long weekend until Memorial Day weekend. And we'll be in Ohio for mom and dad's 50th wedding anniversary shing ding.

Today I did something I have not done in a very long time. I went out to the beach, just me, and sat in my chair enjoying the sun and surf. It was a picture perfect beach day! Windy, but warm. And I saw a school of about a dozen dolphins! When I see dolphins at the beach, that's like getting extra sprinkles on my ice cream.... a hidden prize! I enjoyed the afternoon, but I did get too much sun, and I am going to suffer tomorrow for it! Oh well.....

It's spring time, and we have silly birds who build a nest in the shoes on our back porch every spring! John usually relocates the nest before mommy has a chance to lay eggs. But this year, the bird was quicker than my husband. We have a Carolina Wren who has 5 little eggs inside of one of my sneakers! Here is a shot of the shoes on the rack. The nest is in the shoe on the right.



And here are the 5 little eggs.



And here is mommy Carolina Wren sitting on her nest.



I told Judy when those eggs hatch, and those little babies are going "tweet, tweet, tweet" all day long, she's going to go crazy! LOL!

I have some more garden shots to share.
This arbor we placed in the front yard 3 years ago. Last year I ordered some climbing roses to plant on the arbor. When they arrived, they were 2 little sticks about 6" long! I never thought they would grow. Look at them today!





The top is full of tiny buds. I can't wait to see it in full bloom! Here is a close-up of the one bloom on it right now.



My hydrangeas are looking good. I had my doubts. After winter they were nothing but sticks. But, they came back to life. Thank goodness!



I need some ideas of what else to plant in the planters? I hate annuals, but I guess I have to bite the bullet and choose annuals anyways. Last year I had purple wave petunias in there. I am thinking maybe some phlox. Something colorful, that will serve as ground cover. Then maybe some ornamental grass behind it, in front of the hydrangeas? Anybody got any better ideas?

And, I'll finish with some more shots of my rose garden. It looks beautiful right now! :-)











Hope everybody finds something fun to do this weekend!