I wanted to write this Blog on Easter. Wow, a month ago. I was under the weather. The first time in 50 years that Al and I did not spend Easter together. Now it is Spring and Mother's Day. Thanks to our two adopted sons, I am a Mother. Mother's Day always brings some sadness to me. I guess because I no longer have my wonderful Mom, also a Mother-in-law, who was like a Mom to me, is gone and a Sister, who I desperately miss, is no longer with us. On the other hand, I have some wonderful memories of my Mother, Mother-in-law, Sister an Aunt who was like a second Mother to me and a Granny who I spent many hours with. If there would be one thought that I could leave my children, it would be. Enjoy every day as their Mother has. I have been very lucky to have found the right husband for me. We share every day together, happily. So lucky to have our health. We can walk and talk, that's why we are still able to travel. When we leave our children in Sept. and do not return for almost a year, it's a long year. So we must make our quality time count when we are North for a month. And, we try to. Also, we have two great grandsons. They are now young men. I regret not being able to have seen them grow. I am very lucky to have such wonderful nieces and nephews. Who all keep in touch. Especially one nephew, who is like a third son. Very fortunate to have a daughter-in-law and an almost daughter -in-law who are both terrific gals. They are truly like daughters to us. Looking back on my Motherhood, I do have some regrets. You always wish you could do it again and make it perfect. Nothing is ever perfect. But, being a Mother to our boys made Motherhood perfect to me. To all my relatives and friends, I will close by saying, Happy Mother's Day and Enjoy your day.

Wow, it's really been a long, long time since I wrote a Blog. Just having to much fun to do it. All is well in SW Fla. It has been cool for us Southerners. I know, you Northerners say, what is it,60. Well yea, it is, and for us that is cool. It doesn't last to long most of the time. When the Snowbirds are here it always seems to get cold. We had a great day yesterday, went golfing. Perfect golfing weather, 80 and no wind. Even had four pars, very good, but, the score didn't show it. We went out with our golf group and even took our Brother-in-law along. Then we went to their condo and had hoagies. What an experience it is to order a hoagie down here. They make very good ones, but not like Philly. You have to tell them, no mayo, no vinegar, no black olives, no green pepper . By the time you get done telling them how to make them, they are pretty good. Our Sister -in-law has been sick since she arrived on Jan 28. She hasn't been out of the condo except to see the Dr. They are renting our old unit at 4500 in Cape Coral. So, for us, it's like going back home. It is still a beautiful view, sitting on the corner of two canals. If Sister is well enough tomorrow to stick a roast in the oven she will have her Brother for his yearly Birthday Dinner. Today, my Brother and his wife were here for BLT's, for lunch. I made an Intrigue Cake, stuck a candle in it and we sang Happy Birthday to Al. A lucky boy, he had three nieces a nephew and friends that called to wish him a happy day. He called his Brother. They always kid each other about Al being the oldest, by 8 min. Frank always says, he kicked him out. Monday we leave on our yearly cruise. We are looking forward to just sitting on the Balcony and watching the ocean go by. I think Al will be glad as he has been trying to secure a loan for the Condo Assoc. he is Manager of. It has been alot of headaches for him. One bank turned him down twice. Now he is working with another Bank. This has been going on for three months. They are trying to get a loan to have a new roof installed. The banks here right now don't need the business as people are trying to get loans for their Ins. and Taxes. Everything has gone so high in price here in Fla. because of the hurricanes. I guess this will catch you all up on our comings and going. We hope our family and friends are all well where ever you may be. Stay warm, hope their isn't much snow to shovel. If it is, have a kid do it for $10.00. Am I dating myself with that price? Love, Barb

Let's see, I haven't typed a Blog since Novemb er. Wow, where does the time go? We are still very busy with our lives. Golfing once a week with our group. Some of our Snowbirds are back from the North, so, that gives us more players. We are usually around 18. We have been entertaining , more than usual. Showing off Al's Train Display. We had 9 for lunch this past week. I usually can handle 8, but it worked out ok. It was a successful lunch. Everyone had a good time. The whiskey cake and minced pie went over very well. I guess many gals don't bake minced pie any longer, so the men usually enjoy having it and haven't had the minced since their Mother's or Grandmother's made it for them. I still love to entertain, we have done it our whole married life. Still love to cook and bake. Slower than I use to be, takes me longer to prepare food and set up a table. But, I still do it. Alot of the gals down here use paperplates and napkins. I see nothing wrong with that, I prefer to use my china and crystal, and linens. Most gals that have moved down here have gotten rid of their china and crystal. My china is almost 50 years old. It is still in beautiful condition, not a piece broken. A wedding gift from Albert from Germany. Soooo, to all of you who have sent e-mails with holiday cartoons, movies and jokes, thanks, we love hearing from all of you. Al tried today to see what the rate was for flying North for X-mas. Not bad going up, $59., but, coming home was a bundle. So, I guess we will ditch that for another year. We would have liked nothing better than to see our family over the holiday. It would have been fun just to pop in on our oldest son and family on Christmas Eve. Well I am making a turkey for X-mas dinner. We will be at friends from the club. They have dinner for, what they call, the orphans. Anyone who has no where to go or not having guests for X-mas. There are usually 26 of us. It is always fun. They have been doing it for the past 9 years that the club has been together. As for New Years Eve, we will be spending it with friends . The friends that we have spent many a hurricane with and golf with frequently. So, to all our family and friends, have a Merry and a Happy. Health in the New Year to all. Love, from the Sunny South, Barb and Al

What a day. We started out by car to the shopping center. Caught a trolley to the Ft. Myer's Beach. We had to stand all the way. I haven't had to do that since I was a kid in Collingswood, NJ going to Philly or coming from Philly home. The trolley left us off at the hotel on the beach where the 20th Sandsculpting took place. Wow, some people are really talented. Just beautiful. We started at the amateur sculpting. Then we walked about a mile up the beach to see the professionals at work. Caught a trolley to Center Square. We had lunch on the beach at a restaurant, outside. Buy one, one free. Works for us. It was delish. I always wish my children could be with me when we are there. It is so beautiful. The restaurant overlooks the Gulf. So much activity, boats, windsurfers, people just walking and in the water and parasailing. When the waitress brought our food, Al had gotten french fried potatoes, soooo, I took one. Took one bite and the other half was swooped up and taken away by a Gull. Funny!! Everyone around laughed. There are even fishing lines that crisscross over the restaurant. We noticed, when the waitresses serve the food, another waitress goes with her with a menu over the food. Caught the trolley back to our car and then home. Perfect day. Something I forgot to tell everyone, the Boy Scouts were patrolling the Sculpting last night for vandals. The Sculpting was from Wed. to Sun. The judging was Sunday. They had no rain, thankfully, those days. Our High for the Nation today was Miami, 82, and yesterday, 84 Ft. Myers. That's why we moved here. Loving this weather. Hope you all had a great weekend. Love to you all, Barb

Well stupid me, was trimming bushes at the condos on Mon. and got into a plant called Ixora. It is a beautiful flowering plant. I know it is poisonous. Well, if I knew it, why am I peppered with poison. Funny thing is, I only have it under one arm. No long sleeves on, that's why. On a happy note, I think my oldest son and family should move to Florida. We now have a McDonalds here that have a pet enclosure. When you go thru the Drive-in window, they give your doggie a treat. Then you can park and take your animal to the pet enclosure where they have water and sniffing grass. Sounds neat. Max would love it. My Sister-in-law, Grace, had a knee replacement this past Tues. She is doing ok. Now in Bryn Mawr Rehab. Might be there until, at least, next Saturday. The Train Platform is coming along. Al is now working on the Waterfall. Today is putting up some snow. A slow process, but all of a sudden it really starts to shape up. I like it when we can put the people and houses down, then I know we are close to finishing. Then, it will stay up till end of March. Alot of people pass by between Nov. and March. We are all done our yearly tests. Hoping there will not be any surprises for us when we go to hear the results. It is a drag going for tests. But, always good to know, you are healthy when they are all over. I feel so sorry for people that have Dr. appointments every day because they are ill. Very cool here this am. Golfing tomorrow, hope it stays cool, but not to cool. 85 without the humidity would be good. We don't ask for much!! Just no rain, however, we do need rain. Only at night though. Love to you all, Barb

Well, it must be that time of year again. Al is working on the train display. It is alot of work, but he really enjoys it. It is different every year, so is always a surprise to me when I see it finished. Living in a condo there isn't a whole lot of room to store things. Well, now, you have to take into consideration all the wood and supplies one needs for a display as big as Al's. All the buildings, people, trees and other things are kept in the den in a closet. The wood is stored in a very small storage area which we have in the building. Amazes me how he does it. But, he does. You will all see the end results in a X-mas Card. We are having beautiful weather at the moment. The humidity has gone and we are having beautiful warm, breezy days. Good golf weather, which we will do on Sun. I just read my oldest sons Blog. Found out that our oldest Grandson has landed a job. Good for him. That's what it's all about. Can't do a whole lot unless you have the moola to do it with. Thanks to my darling Daughter-in-law, I am ab le to bake another whiskey cake today. I have my recipe box coming down by car and it has not arrived as yet. Had to call Michele to get the recipe. This whiskey cake is for a friend we cruise with all the time. His wife just came out of ICU. He asked me to bake him a cake in Sept. or Oct. so he could take it to his card group. The other whiskey cake I made we are taking tomorrow to our friends who we will be golfing with. There will be 8 of us. Always fun. Tried to get hold of our nephew this am. He was in Florida. We didn't hook up this time, maybe next. He should be heading home on Sunday. A long ride by yourself. Guess that catches you all up on what we are doing. Hope all is well with everyone. Keep the E-mails coming. Love to you all, Barb

Well, it was a terrific vacation this year. Came home with loads of memories, alll good. We had a wonderful stay with Al's Sister and Brother-in-law. We were in Grace's hot tub and enjoyed it so much. WE went to Baltimore to visit with a 89 year old cousin of Al's. We try to see her every year, also at lunch were three of her daughters. Then we left them after having a great lunch at the Elmwood. It's a local yokel bar/restaurant, very good food and good service. It's Margaret's manhattan haunt. Good for her, she will be 90 in November. When we left them from lunch, we headed to Inner Harbor. Wow, another one of our favorite places. We had a terrific dinner at the top of the Hyatt. Another good day, we went to David's for a barbecue. A great time. Always good to see Michele's family and our nephew, Mark, was also there with his friend. We took a walk with the kids up the street in the old neighborhood. What a lot of memories it brought back. All good. We had wonderful neighbors and I am hoping our Son finds the same kind of neighborhood that we had. I think he is pretty happy to be back on Plymouth Rd. The house is darling and Michele has it fixed perfectly. I can see Al and I in them, when we were their ages. Looking ahead, how they can make the house bigger and better. We did that in a BIG way. The best house we ever had. As we walked up the street that Sunday of the barbecue, we saw old neighbors. We were all thrilled to see each other. We couldn't talk fast enough, trying to tell each other what has happened to all of us in the past 15 years. Funny thing, when they are old friends, you seem to continue where you left off. We also had a visit from other neighbors, Sandy Cox and Ann and Ed O'neill. Just not long enough. WE also visited with our #2 son and his girl. Went to a restaurant near them, very good, and we really caught up. We are very lucky, we have great kids, and the girlfriend and wife of our children are terrrific girls. As for our Grandchildren. They are growing like weeds. Naturally, they tower over me, well, who doesn't? James is now 16, has a permit to drive. I am sure he will not have any trouble getting his license. He is looking for work again, and I'm sure he will land something. Nicholas seems to be happy at school. He had a wonderful year last year and I'm sure he will this year also. It will be interesting to see what each of the boys turn out to be in the future. Something great, I'm sure. Now, we are home again. Until we go on our yearly cruise. That will be over Valentine's day. Already, I am itching to go. Now, Al will start is train display. That will take a couple of months. In the meantime, our Snowbirds from our Club will return. So we will be busy entertaining, golfing, riding bikes, walking and just having fun. We are very lucky. As you can see, we live a very wonderful life. To all our family and freinds, thanks for making our stay in the North so great this year. Hopefully, we will still be able to walk and talk next year and be able to do it all over again. Next years Blog will include a trip to Interlaken Switz. Till then. Love to you all, Barb