Where has this past year gone?  They say time goes by faster the older you get and it seems to be true.  Many things have happened here on Mesquite Valley.

Lucy is now a big girl.  She is almost 20 months old and brings so much joy and laughter to my life.  She rarely leaves my side.  She is spoiled rotten but that’s okay.  That’s why I got her…to spoil her and have a happy, fun-loving companion in my world.

We just got back from our 2009 vacation trip.  With the gasoline prices so high last year, we didn’t go on a vacation.  So this year we were ready to go.  Lucy is a great traveler and loves to go anywhere in the car, so she was ready also.  We left here June 5 and our first stop was in Minor Hill, Tennessee.  This is where Michael, Lana, Jordan, and the love of my life, Leah live.  Leah played softball and we were just in time to see her play in her last game of the season.  Of course, Leah did great and her team won the game.

Our next stop was Copley, Ohio where my brother Ronnie and his wife Francine live.  Leah was with us on this next leg of the journey and we were looking forward to having an adventure.  On the way to Copley, we stopped in Columbus (actually Dublin, Ohio) to visit with my niece Katie and her beautiful family.  Troy, her husband, and 2-year-old son, Kyle, met us as we got out of the car.  Katie had a wonderful buffet lunch set up for us but the best part was meeting Kyle.  He is just adorable and loved having all of us visit.  He especially loved Lucy.  He said her name over and over.  He will be getting a baby sister in August and so was moving out of his crib into a “big boy” bed.  This was quite a big deal to him.  Hope all is going well with this endeavor.

Now on to Ronnie and Francine’s house about 100 miles north of Dublin.  It was so nice to see them.  It’s been about four years – way too long to be away from your family.  We talked and reminisced for hours.  It was great being with them.  Their other daughter, Julie, lives in Cleveland.  She came to her Dad’s house and spent a couple of days with us there.  Of course, Kent and Ronnie played golf at Ronnie’s country club and we joined them for lunch at the swimming pool there.  It was sort of a cool day so Leah didn’t go swimming.  Nevertheless, lunch was fun.  Francine was having a lot of back pain and didn’t join us that day.

On day two of our visit to Copley, we took a little side trip to Berlin, Ohio – Amish country.  It was a rainy, drizzly day but we walked around and looked in all the shops in this quaint little town.  There were many, many quilts in each shop but nothing that I couldn’t make myself.  Leah and I did go on an Amish buggy ride through the little town.  It was great fun and Leah got to help drive the horse.  Kent bought a purple martin house.  Overall, it was a fun day and Lucy got to go shopping in all the stores with us.  It’s a very dog friendly town.

After four days in Ohio, we left for the next part of our trip, West Boylston, Massachusetts.  This is the home of my brother Donnie, his wife Kathy and their daughters Ashley and Chelsea.  Our actual destination was to the home of Kent’s brother Richard and his wife Jane.  They have a little “mother-in-law” apartment built on to their house and that’s where we stayed.

We were only going to be able to stay in Massachusetts for four days since we were running on a tight schedule.  Our plan was to be back in Dallas on June 19 since we had tickets to see the Wizard of Oz at the State Fair Music hall on June 20.

One day, we drove around Worcester, the city where I grew up.  We had to visit all the old neighborhoods and see all the old places where we ventured in our young lives.  Of course, we had to stop at George’s bakery for meat and spinach pies, feta cheese bread, tabooly, baklava and Syrian bread.  We bought a bunch of stuff for lunch and went to Green Hill Park for a picnic.  That evening we went to Barber’s Crossing for fried clams.  They were so good.  We had our fill of comfort food that day topping the evening off with an ice cream cone from Pinecroft Dairy.

The next day, Leah and I went to Al Bashir restaurant for lunch.  I met six of my girlfriends.  It was a great reunion.  Of course, none of us has aged a day.  It’s been forty-five years since I worked and “played” with these ladies but it seemed just like yesterday.  We had so much to talk about – our families, our retirements, and the old days.  The afternoon just flew by.  My very best and old friend Lillian was there.  We have been friends just about since we were born.  We lived next door to each other until I left Worcester when I got married in 1964.  I loved being with these ladies….wish I could see them more often.  Wouldn’t it be great if all six of them came to Dallas?  Maybe I can arrange it this fall.

Saturday evening we were invited to Donnie’s house for dinner.  Aunt Catherine and her daughter Kathy and Kathy’s husband Tim were there also.  Donnie made his famous lasagna with salad, meatballs, and bread on the side.  It was delicious!  Then came the surprise…a celebration of my 70^th birthday (March 28) and Kent and my 45^th anniversary (April 15).  Presents, cards and fantastic cake came out of nowhere.  Everyone sang to me and took many pictures of Kent and me cutting the cake.  It was a fun evening for everyone.  Lucy had a great time running from window to window chasing the chipmunks and squirrels.  Too bad she couldn’t go out and get them.  However, they live on the edge of the woods and I was afraid I would never see her again.  In fact, a bear had been spotted in the area and had knocked down Donnie’s bird feeder a few nights before.  So Lucy had to just bark at them through the window.

Sunday morning Donnie, Kathy, and Ashley picked up Leah and me for church.  It’s been several years since I had attended Mass at St. George’s Orthodox Cathedral and I was looking forward to being there.  Entering the church, we saw so many people who recognized me and came over to give me a hug.  How nice it was to be back there even just for a couple of hours.  Mass was beautiful and very moving.  I was able to receive Holy Communion.  How wonderful the morning was and I didn’t even cry once.  After church, there was a coffee hour in the church hall.  There were many of my cousins and friends from years past.  Everyone came over to give me a hug.  I took many pictures.  You will see some of them below.  It was a very moving morning and was so glad we got to go.  Leah was a little befuddled by this Mass and didn’t care for the smell of the incense.  She did like the church bread and ate her piece all up.  Leah and I went to Donnie’s for lunch.  It was so nice to spend the afternoon with my brother and his family.

Late Sunday afternoon, many of Richard and Jane’s children and their families came over to Richard’s house.  Jane made a wonderful dinner of baked chicken with stuffing, baked potatoes, green beans (frozen from last year’s garden), spinach, and salad, with cupcakes and strawberry pie for dessert.  It was pretty hectic with all the people but so much fun and not like anything we’re used to.  All had a great time.

James, Richard and Jane’s youngest son, just graduated from medical school and was leaving for University of Virginia in Charlottesville to begin his seven years of internship and residency.  He is a very nice young man and will make an excellent doctor.  Congratulations, James!

Monday morning we were on the road again to Texas via Ohio and Tennessee.  Our trip to Ohio was uneventful – just boring.  How many 18-wheelers, mountains and trees can you see in a day?  Nevertheless, the next day, Kent played golf again with Ronnie and all was well in his world.  We went by the shop to pick up the beautiful platter Leah had made at the ceramic shop for her Momma and Daddy for their 10^th anniversary.  She did a great job painting it.  I know they will love it.  Julie came by and had dinner with us – delicious spaghetti and meatballs from the Olive garden.  Wednesday morning we left for Tennessee.

We arrived in Tennessee late Wednesday evening.  We stopped by to pick up Lizzie, Leah’s schnauzer, who was in the kennel since Lana was out of town visiting Michael in San Antonio.  Yes, Michael is now working in San Antonio for the next couple of years.  This is so much better and closer than Seattle is where he was these last 3 years.  Lana was coming home on Thursday to spend the day with Leah before we left for Texas.  On Friday morning, Leah decided that she wasn’t going to come to Texas with us after all.  So reluctantly, Kent, Lucy, and I left for home without her.  It was a very sad ending to two weeks of being together and having a great time.  We had many fun things planned for her in Texas.  Maybe next time?

Now Kent, Lucy, and I are back in our usual routine.  Kent has been playing golf just about every day at his club and I have been working on my quilts, visiting with my friends, and playing with Lucy.  Jennifer and I did go to see Wizard of Oz on June 20.  It was good but not as good as some of the other musicals we’ve seen.

I hope to be posting regularly in the future.  There are lots of things going on here on Mesquite Valley.  Look for more chatter very soon.

Lucy turned five months old on Wednesday, April 23. Today she went to the “beauty shop”, actually the dog groomer, to get all prettied up. As you can see from the photos, she was ready for a make-over.

As soon as I opened the door to the vet’s office (this is where the groomer works), Lucy’s tail started wagging. She knew she had been there before and had some friends inside. But she didn’t know what she was in for. Actually, the groomer gets her shampooed and clipped in one hour so it’s not really too traumatic. She’s only away from her Momma for an hour.

When I did pick her up an hour later, she was very happy to see me and ready to get out of there. The groomer told me she was very good but who knows what really happened behind closed doors.

Lucy slept for a couple of hours after we got home but now she is her old self – ready to chase the ball – like always.

“Hole in one today, 8 iron, 135 yards, one hop into the jar!” As you can tell, Kent is a man of few words. I guess he has had to be having been married to me for 44 years today – April 15, 2008. This was a wonderful anniversary present for both of us.

Kent is really excited about this accomplishment. Most of you know that Kent “lives” at the golf course. He plays six days a week and would play seven but our country club closes on Monday. This is his first “hole-in-one” ever!

The long story goes like this. Kent had just finished walking the first nine holes. He told his two golfing partners that he was going to go and get a cart to finish out the last nine holes because the wind was really wearing him down. By the time he got the cart and returned to the 10^th tee, his 2 partners were already on the green waiting for him. He hit the ball, it hit the green, bounced a couple of times right into the hole. They were right there to see it go it. What a surprise for Kent.

Word got around the club quickly and everyone who saw him shook his hand and congratulated him. He finished out the day with an 80. Great day on the golf course!

Can you believe I forgot to put some pictures of Lucy in her “Who Am I” story? Well, here you go.

I learned about something new last week. Signature blocks, using block D13 from the Dear Jane quilt, called siggies for short, are made and exchanged by people all over the world. I joined my first exchange with a quilter in The Netherlands. She will be adding my name to a list of people who want to exchange siggies. She is sending me one of her siggies. I’m anxiously watching the mail. I have made six siggies of my own that are ready to be exchanged. As I receive them, I will post them here. This seems like it will be a fun, exciting project collecting these blocks from all over the world.

Lucy Belle Lindberg joined our family on January 27, 2008. Oh, what a time it has been! It’s been many years since we’ve had a baby around this house but we’ve got one now. You have to watch her 24/7. Luckily she is only four months old now so she still sleeps a lot. But she needs to be fed on schedule and cleaned up after, if you know what I mean, and played with and exercised every day. Several times a day, actually. But what joy and laughter she has brought to this house.

Lucy weighs twelve and one half pounds as of today. She has doubled her weight each month these first four months. She has most of her permanent teeth now and sure can bite hard. She loves to chew on your hand, your shoe, your newspaper, your shirt, your Crocs….whatever she can get her teeth into. You guessed it. Lucy isn’t a human baby…she is a puppy and the love of our life. Lucy is a Scottish Terrier and the cutest thing you ever saw.

Lucy has Daddy and Momma wrapped around her paw. Whatever she wants, she gets. She is so much fun and no one told me how much trouble and work a puppy is. She has learned how to jump up on our lap, on the couch or chair and nothing is safe on our end tables or coffee table. She is very curious and wants to be part of everything we do. She “shadows” her Momma all the time and has gotten stepped on a few times because of it. She’ll learn, I hope, or Momma will.

More about Lucy soon….