It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

(I was just singing this!   I loved Mr. Rogers!)

The sun came out,  Friday, after so many rainy days!  Tommy just  couldn't wait to get outside for a stroll around the neighborhood!

We saw lots of pretty flowers!  Some are just at their peak, others are finished and going to seed, but summer's not over yet!  I want to savor every last sweet minute of it!
"Look, Tommy, see how pretty the flowers are?"



Did you ever see variegated morning glories?

" Listen, Tommy, there are some birdies!  what do the birdies say?  "Tweet, Tweet, Tweet"
Oh my, that sounds like a big doggie barking!  What does  the doggie say?,  'woof,woof'

Uh, oh!  Somebody dropped their trash here. Grandma will pick it up and put it in our recycle can. Isn't is a shame that some people litter?  I want your neighborhood to be safe, clean, and pretty, so we will clean up."

Sadly, we found all this litter within a half hour .

  Wow, Tommy, those are grapes growing there!  That's what they make jelly with. Grandma will cook jams and jellies with you when you get bigger, just like my mother did, and I did with your mama.

Concord grapes, grow wild in South Jersey

     Oh, there is another flag!  It's so good to see our American flag, isn't it pretty?

 Counted 23 flags in this little neighborhood!   "O'r the Land of the free, and the home of the brave!"

"Let's walk down to the pond and see if the ducks are there.  Look, Tommy, they come right up to you, because you are so nice to them!  What do they say?  'quack,quack,quack'  "

 "That's a mimosa tree.  I love the little feathery flowers! They are soft and smell pretty, don't they?"  I swish one across his cheek, then hand it to him.  He sticks it in his mouth, of course. "When Grandma was a little girl, she used to sit up on a big, low-swooping branch of a Mimosa tree with her girlfriends, and sing Beatles songs, and watch for lightning bugs."

Mimosa

 Oh, it feels so good, walking, and talking with Tommy. It is indeed, one of my life's "Simple Pleasures".   I want to teach him all I know, and show him everything.  I know he's taking it all in, and he's looking all around and smiling!  Soon, his baby-babble will become words, and giggles, and little songs, and then he will become a little question box, and  then  he'll be going off to school___way too soon!.  But I just want his  sweet, simple baby-days to last forever, even though I know they won't, and they are going by way too fast!  "If they could just stay little 'til their Carter's wear out!"  Remember that jingle?............................  Nah, you're too young!



Visit http://alittleofthisandthat2.blogspot.com9p)simplepleasures.html/ and see other blogging friends simple pleaures!

Thomas, at 13 months


Maybe when I was younger, I was eager to see my kids grow, but now I wish I could slow time down!
These are the best days of my life!  And I truly think that becoming a Grandmother is the best thing that ever happened to me!   One of my most important roles, and most rewarding and meaningful jobs.  What joy!   


 "Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing old"  ----Mary H. Waldrip 
                                                                                                  

  Love, Grandma Linda
                     

Travels with Ted

   Traveling recently in the south, seeing the bucolic countryside, city skylines,  and other fascinating places as we rode from New Jersey to Florida, was just the thing I needed, after a difficult move this summer.  New faces, new places, "a change of scenery"! 
  As soon as we got over the bridge, Ted would begin pulling into Waffle Houses all along the way, every time we needed a coffee break!
 


Ted can't resist the friendly, fast service  at Waffle House whenever we stop to refuel !

    

Sign looks vintage!   The American icon, Waffle House, Inc.  began  50 years ago, in 1955,
 with kitchens out front in full view, preparing good, inexpensive food, cooked to order. 

 

Picture of founders Tom Forkner, and Joe Rogers, then and now, continuing traditions
started 50 years ago. Joe said, "We're not in the food business, we're in the people business."

Ted gets his kicks out of stopping at all the Waffle Houses.  I am content to read, soak up the scenery,  and explore antique shops and book stores.
  We indulge in good meals each evening, and  I enjoy swimming  in the motel pools along the way.  The journey soothed my tired   soul! 
Isn't it refreshing to get away for a little while, and combine a little pleasure with a business trip?  

 pretty sweetpea  pattern, Calcough, made in England



A lovely assortment of Roseville Pottery

Good Heavens!  I sure am glad I don't have to use one of these!

Crown Trent, made in England, converted into a hanging planter

some verdant Depression Glass



 verdant Virginia landscape

I met the sweetest ladies, coming from a Red-Hatter's luncheon, and we chatted awhile and admired antiques in one of the many charming antique shoppes in Selma, North Carolina.

Southern Belles

 The  beautiful  Tallahassee Capital Building has red and white- striped awnings
Spanish  moss drapes the huge old Oaks at curbside

 French Poodles, knick-knacks of the fifties.   Poodles are the world's most misunderstood dog.
 They are "Master of all trades, and one of the finest companions any human could ever hope for."

    In Tallahassee, more antiques, and work for several days.  I got to swim each day after work, and finally got some blissful rest in a gorgeous suite!
    Then a pleasant two-day ride home,with beautiful sunny skies.   Hard to believe, that not too far away there was a raging storm taking lives and destroying property.   Traveling an alternative route home, to avoid Hurricane Irene, we were anxious to get home and make sure everyone was okay!  We passed convoys of tree-specialist trucks and disaster-remediation vehicles heading north on the highway to help.  Some motels were full with evacuquees.
   Thankfully, we didn't have much damage!  I pray for many who still endure the aftermath of the storm.

    Now, why is it after a nice trip like that,..... I am ready for a vacation?