Happy Birthday, Nelson Eddy!

Today would be Nelson Eddy's 108th birthday! So, "happy birthday" to one of my two favorite singers. Click here to see our Nelson Eddy & Jeanette MacDonald tribute (on our website): http://www.seproductions.org/maceddy/

I've got some pages specifically about Nelson Eddy, but they still need to be proof-read, so I'll post when they are up. Here's my favorite pic:

Tomorrow I'll try to put up pictures and post about this past weekend. Lots happening around here . . .

"Beyond Curricula" Goes to CHEO

This week we went to a local nursery, Wade & Gatton. They are famous for their hosta plants (one of the largest, if not the largest, in the country). It's a great place to walk around and get ideas for gardening "tips and tricks". There are gardens all over the property where you can see most of their hosta varieties, bushes, trees etc. Below are pictures that we took while there, just click on them to enlarge the thumbnails.

Dad has been working very hard laying mulch in the perennial garden and some other key areas throughout the yard. There is a pic or two of that as well.

Today, we installed the AC units! We've got little window units for the two bedrooms, and a slightly larger one for the TV room upstairs. We were hoping to "hold off" on them until July, but we gave in . . . it's definitely Summer!

Tomorrow is CHEO, the state homeschool convention. Mom is giving her talk, Beyond Curricula, twice. Once on Friday (tomorrow) and once on Saturday. I'll let you all know how things go. I think we're just about ready. We've been going over the PowerPoint presentation and getting things packed up and ready. Off we go . . .

Roses, Poppies & Lilies

Here are some pictures of our climbing rose bush, asiatic lilies and our neighbors' poppies. These are the in full bloom right now, and they're absolutely gorgeous!

Last year, the rose bush was actually burnt by the sun (it was so hot last Summer). We thought that it had died, but it's better than ever this year. Just click on the pics to enlarge them.

The poppies belong to our next-door neighbors. They have tons of them that just pop up anywhere and everywhere. We've tried to grow them, but are pretty resigned to just admiring the theirs! :)

The lilies are just beautiful this year. We've been picking one or two of these plants up at Lowes every year (at the end of the season when they're on clearance). We've been sticking them in as "filler" plants, and have only seen a couple flowers. Well, this year seems to be the year! Take a look at the pink one, especially. :)

We were visited by a policeman!

This is something a bit out of the ordinary! Earlier this week we discovered that some thieves had rifled through our cars and actually stole the ash tray with coins in it. We weren't as upset about losing the change as we are about having a gaping hole in the front panel of the car (where the ash tray had been). We called the police and they made a report. I'm ready to move to Montana, buy 1,000 acres of trees, build a house in the center and live life where it's "safe"! Not really, I like it here. :)

Well, I mowed the lawn today. It was nice and sunny (a bit too hot, too!), and it only takes an hour and a half to do the entire thing. I actually got it finished in the time that it took Mom and Elizabeth to make Lunch. Not bad!

I'm hoping to post some more flower pictures here soon. The climbing rose bush is in bloom and gorgeous! More later . . .

Hands-on Family History & Cheese Quesadillas

This weekend we decided to take a one-day trip to Cleveland for a "hands-on" Family History adventure! Mom was born and raised in Cleveland (Parma, Lakewood and Brooklyn) and her family has been there since the 1830s, so we drove to a bunch of cemeteries and the old houses. We even managed to find Mom's grandparents' (paternal) house that she hadn't seen in almost forty years!! (See pic below.)

Below are two pictures from some of the cemeteries. The first is our great-great-great-great grandfather, grandmother and aunt. These grandparents came with this aunt (as a very little girl) and a baby son to Cleveland in 1832. He was a famous Methodist pastor in Ohio for many years. The next grave stone is our great-great-great grandfather, grandmother and uncle (their second son). This grandfather is the baby son that was brought from England in 1832 (at this point his name is not on the large grave stone). He was in the Civil War (a yankee) and lived in Berea until he died in 1911.

We've got some plans to plant some bushes around the stones, and we're hoping to get some more names engraved on the large stones. At both locations there are other family members buried around the stones, but not listed. All in all, we had a great day. It was nice and sunny, and we took all kinds of pictures! It's really cool to see places that Mom lived, played, etc. when she was little. It's also cool to see areas where our family has lived for almost two hundred years.

Last but not least, here is a picture of the cheese quesadilla lunch that I made a few days ago. Just thought I'd toss that in here . . . yummy looking, isn't it?!

Samwise: The Cutest Cat!

This is a photo slideshow of my cat, Samwise. He's the cutest thing in the whole world. All fluffy and smells like honey. :) Elizabeth thinks I exaggerate, but this is the pure truth. Just look at these photos, and see if you don't think that he's the cutest cat ever!

Every morning he's waiting at our bedroom door to be let in for his "lovin's", and he's always the last one out at night. The pictures are pretty much in chronological order, so you'll see him grow up! Take a look at the last picture. Isn't he just so beautiful?!
My little sweetheart . . .

D-Day Anniversary & June Flowers!

This marks the 65th anniversary of D-Day! Wow! Elizabeth and I spend so much time reading about WWII and studying the era that it hardly seems possible that it is already 70 years ago! I found this picture online and thought it was really cool!



Back again with some more pictures of the yard and working around outside. We've had several thunder/lightning storms over the past week and a half --- definitely a blessing from God, since we spent a super-dry Summer last year, but it did wipe out the flowers from a lot of the earlier-blooming plants. One iris has re-bloomed, but I think that the rest are done for the year.

The Betony is blooming though and the Valerian is gorgeous! (Pics one and two below --- Valerian has the white flowers.) Dad spent Saturday morning pulling the gigantic (and wonderfully healthy) thistles from the area where we usually have our vegetable garden. Once that was accomplished he mowed the area with the push mower. We're hoping that grass will take over. We'll see how it goes.



We've planted a few pepper and tomato plants around the yard, in various garden areas. Next year we are figuring to move the vegetable garden area to another location in the yard. Also pictured below is a close-up of a Clematis flower. Isn't that gorgeous!? It looked like it had fried last Summer, but came back this year at double the size!

The peonies were huge this year! A lot of the flowers were beat up by the storms, but these had not opened yet, so we still had plenty to enjoy. Aren't they gorgeous? Then there are Mom and Elizabeth. They were taking a walk around the yard. The morning dew was so thick that it actually ruined Elizabeth's socks through her shoes!

Last but not least, Mom and Elizabeth planted some dahlias (and other stuff) in some outdoor flower pots. That's me in the last picture --- they put me to work! These are the only annuals we got this year. Last year all the annuals died because of the heat, so it looks like not many people around here are bothering with them this Summer. Dahlias are so pretty though . . .

My favorite singers . . .

As many of you know, my favorite singers are Bing Crosby and Nelson Eddy. Over the last few weeks Elizabeth, being the wonderful sister that she is, has been working on making a special little video tribute to . . . Bing and Nelson!! Here it is. I thought you all might like to see it. Make sure to watch all the way 'til the end! :)




We've been really busy around here lately. The garden is looking really nice, though most of the flowers that are in the pictures below are gone now. We've taken some video of the yard and around here, so Elizabeth is going to get that uploaded and I'll post it here. Enjoy the video above!