Day 152: May 31

The wedding countdown feels official now!  My sister and her daughter, Christie, arrived last night and today the five of us ( my daughters, Paula, Christie, and I) went out to eat. We paused for a photo op! Here's the bride with her maid of honor (Juli) and one bridesmaid (Christie).

Day 151: May 30

I'm up at the land one more time before the wedding.  This morning I picked blackberries.  Lots of blackberries. As you can see, there are many yet to ripen!

Day 150: May 29

View from our bathroom window - the purple is vitex and the pink is crape myrtle

Day 149: May 28

Karl and Stephanie plan on having a "photo booth" at the wedding. So we've been gathering accessories for that - to add a little fun!  You're looking at moustaches on sticks, a plastic shield that Juli used once for a prop in a Canterbury Tales parade, some hats we've gathered, some empty frames, and more.  This pile is on our dining room table waiting for next weekend! Hopefully, I'll be able to post some actual shots from the photo booth...

Day 148: May 27

Pre-wedding mess

Day 147: May 26

Bluebird houses Jerry made for me - all ready to be put up!

Day 146: May 25

Roxie loves being at our land (and so do I)!

Day 145: May 24

Early morning at our land. View from the porch

Day 144: May 23

Not the best photo, but the recital was wonderful. David, the pianist, is the son of close friends. He graduated the weekend before and then gave his senior recital at LSU.  His performance was outstanding. Not only is he a superb pianist, but he's a natural performer. I didn't want to disturb the music with camera sounds or a flash, which is why this is such an awkward shot.

Day 143: May 22

Bachelorette party

I think I somehow got photos out of order. I took this on Friday (May 21), but I'm fudging and using it for Saturday.  These girls (and a few others) came over to our house, then left to go out to eat, then came home and ate some more and giggled and did makeup and hair and giggled some more and watched a movie and talked and gave the bride some lingerie.  I caught them about to leave to go eat. They spent the night, so pretend it was taken Saturday morning!

Day 142: May 21

Hydrangea in our backyard

Day 141: May 20

I took my daughters to lunch today!  What fun!  This isn't the best photo - shot it with my phone, and it's dark and grainy, but I want to remember the time we had. 

Day 140: May 19

Paid a visit to Hemingbough today to finalize plans for Stephanie's wedding.  The water lilies are blooming and I paused to take a self-portrait of sorts in the "breakfast" room of the guest house.

Day 139: May 18

When I drove in the driveway today I noticed a blue jay standing on it.  It seemed pretty clueless and as I looked at it more closely, I realized it was a juvenile.  Then I noticed another one in the grass, and when I looked up, there was another one on the wire above me!  Mama bluejay had her wings full! She also loudly protested my interest in her babies.

Day 138: May 17

Gulp! Today Juli drove somewhere alone for the first time - to meet a friend and go to a movie.  She's a good driver, but it's a scary time for a mom! Not too scary to get a photo, though, as she pulled out of the driveway. 

Day 137: May 16

Day lily in backyard

Day 136: May 15

Blooms on a vitex tree in our backyard

Day 135: May 14

Leigh, Laura, and Colin

Colin, Stephanie, and Karl

We celebrated Colin's graduation today. He's the one in both photos. He and his sister and brother (Laura's in green above) grew up with our children.  I taught him lit/writing in homeschool co-op for twelve years and he's lived with us the last two years while attending LSU.  He's leaving for Canada this week. I'll miss him!

Day 134: May 13

Wedding dress arrived today!

Day 133: May 12

If you visit Day 130, you'll see how much the water has risen. The water has risen on the "E" to where Jerry and Juli were sitting on Monday. I can't do it from the same angle as we're not allowed down the levee further. See below.

This orange tube is to help raise the levee.  On Monday the water was on the sixth step down. Today it's almost to the fourth step. Each step is about a foot tall. There are also a few more folks visiting, as you can see!

Day 132: May 11

Last day of homeschool co-op for this year is tomorrow. This is what I'm discussing in lit class. This is my OLD copy of this novel, one of my favorites. I've had this since college and pages are falling out. But I have notes written all through it and so hate to give it up for a new edition.

Day 131: May 10

Poem - She follows me like a puppy!

Day 130: May 9

Jerry, Juli, and I went to the Mississippi River today to check it out. We live less than a mile away from it.  It's high, but it's hard to capture that in a photo.  In the top photo the steps going down the levy disappear into the river.  Those red forms they're sitting on spell "Baton Rouge" in capital letters. You can see that the E they're on is halfway covered with water. We're going to go back in a few days and see how much higher it is then. Hoping the levees hold! If not, our house will be under some water.

Day 129: May 8

Mother's Day gifts from daughters.  Notice the bird theme... love it!

Day 128: May 7

Last minute photo... orchids in our bathroom

Day 127: May 6

I don't know what these little puff balls are, but I encourage their growth in our yard!  I'm sure they're weeds, but I love them.  Their leaves fold up when they're touched.

Day 126: May 5

Big, red exercise machine pushed by me

Day 125: May 4

I've tried on many, many dresses to wear at our daughter's wedding.  Here's one I sent to my husband, to get his opinion.

Day 124: May 3

One of our Chinese friends, a violinist getting her PhD, got us tickets to this fantastic concert in the new theater at LSU. (Taken with my iphone)

Day 123: May 2

Spanish moss at Hemingbough

Day 122: May 1

I evidently forgot to take a photo today, so here's are the folks I spent most today with, but taken yesterday. The two on the left are Karl's sisters.