The Royal Wedding Watching and More!

When I walked out of the house at 5AM, clad in my baby blue polka dot pajamas with matching slippers, the air was suffocating with both heat and humidity. Although the lights were already on, I knocked gingerly, given the hour. After being greeted warmly by Matt and I joined Angela already in front of the television where we remained captivated for the next 3 hours!

The pageantry! The trees in Westminster Abbey contrasting with the stone and RED carpet! The cars! The eyebrows! Yes, you read that right. Could you believe the church official's eyebrows? They stuck out and up about 5 inches from his face! The dress! Prince William! Pippa! The Queen in yellow from top to toe! And then there were the hats. Seriously, I was in love with those hats, aside from Prince Andrew's daughters. Did they look like tarts or what? The civility! The boy's choir! Really, there was not one thing that you couldn't just love. I don't know what station you watched it on but on BBC America, the filming was fantastic. Whoever coordinated that deserves an Oscar. Can you imagine the planning that went into where all the cameras would be located? According to Matt, who watched it in the comfort of his flat, the only time he ventured out was when they did the fly over which went directly over his head, the television was on a few moments delay.

I couldn't get enough of the coverage if I'm honest with you. I kept looking at pictures online after the happy event. With what seems like a world meltdown, it was so refreshing to see such beauty rather than carnage. I realized that I probably didn't watch Charles and Diana marry because I had 2 year old twins and a 5 year old at the time. Here's hoping this marriage is a keeper.

Speaking of children, today is our Jon boy's 28th birthday. Seems like only yesterday that he was my beautiful little baby. Jonathan was nearly born in our car. Have I ever told you that? After our friends picked up our three boys Bruce and I drove to the hospital which was about 4 miles from our home. I'd been in labor through church that morning, actually leaving the service to sit in the car until it was over. I was pretty uncomfortable then, which if you've ever had a baby, you know only gets worse! Anyway, as we were driving on Michigan I begged Bruce to pull over. I couldn't take the pain I said. Naturally, he declined. Once at the hospital entrance, they wheeled me upstairs and I began answering the nurse's questions. Finally I said, I can't talk anymore, she checked me and said, "You're having a baby!" My response--"I know that but have I dilated?" Oh yes, she said, you are at 9 centimeters. No wonder I was dying! About 30 minutes later, our Jonathan dramatically made his way into the world and I dare say, much of his life has been drama as well, mostly in a good way. Happy Birthday dear son!

The other day, thinking about our trip and what I'll take to wear, I decided to clean out my drawers and closet.

The largest pile on the left is the give aways. The pile grew to twice this size and then some after this:

Nancy has generously offered to clean out my closets while she's here house sitting; although I've just done it, my idea and her idea of a neat closet are quite a bit different. She works magic!

Matt and I had what is probably the longest Face Time conversation on record yesterday, planning the trip. I'd done hours upon hours of research last Saturday, however, I needed his input on train schedules and likes and dislikes. We are making very good progress. More details as the 60 days until take off pass.

Well, off to the market my dear readers--wish me luck!

Sound of Silence

Wednesday evening, Michael, Angela's 15 year old son came over to the house to use my computer for his homework, staying about three hours in total. Ordinarily, I don't even notice the silence of our home, mostly because my brain is usually filled with so much noise, the silence around me seems normal. Somehow when there are two people in the house, the silence seems magnified. Because Bruce has been traveling so darn much when in Orlando, he's been working from home, most of the time with his little 13" television, mounted above his work station, going from morning to night. Rarely does he watch it, he just likes the noise. I, on the other hand, don't like the noise. I'm constantly telling him it's a distraction which is so girl-like. Always trying to tell the men what to do! Note to self: deal with it!

I told you that Bruce has big plans for our landscaping, what they are just yet, I'm not sure about, however, he's begun making a bed, bordering it with bricks.

Yesterday the guys who planted the tree were putting in a big palm one street over so while Baxter and I were on our morning walk, I asked him to come by and make sure the tree was thriving. He did and it is. The good news is that I can cut back to watering once a day which pleases me greatly, particularly after getting the water bill this week!

Have you, like me, been hearing news reports about the declining bee population? I'm not sure where they get the statistics to back up their claims but I know for sure it's not in my yard! Although I'm showing you a monarch hanging from the Chinese Tallow tree, I had to dodge hundreds of bees to get this shot:

Adjacent to my clothes line, last Friday I was sure that I'd be a victim of a bee sting being a bug magnet and all. I was once again awoken by a pesky mosquito last night; the constant threat of another bite kept me awake for far too long! The rain I wrote about yesterday never materialized so I got lots of yard work done, enough so that I was worn out by 9 last night.

Every now and again I check the statistics on my blog, seeing what people are reading and where they come from. I guess it shouldn't surprise me that people from all over the world stumble onto me, no doubt by mistake. In any case, I saw a post from near this time last year which I re-read. It was then that it hit me to see what was happening this time last year. The zebra chair is what was happening. I'm still madly in love with that chair. As well, I was being interviewed by the Lakeland Ledger for the upcoming Mayfaire.   "Dear God, please don't let it be as hot this year. "

Did I ever have fun this morning playing bridge. One of the ladies mentioned that one of her New Year's resolutions was to meet new people. Although that was not one of mine, mostly because I never make them, I'm delighted to be a part of this group. Each and every one of the ladies are special in their own way. I was driving Allison crazy this morning because I insisted that some of the things we learned were guidelines, she insists they are rules. Every week our play time gets longer and longer.

Bruce just returned finally! I've got the television tuned to BBC America until the Magic game tonight. I know absolutely nothing about Prince William and Kate Middleton; I need to get up to speed for my 5AM wake up call tomorrow. Angela is fixing a proper English breakfast, albeit without crumpets because Publix had the nerve to be out of them. Undoubtedly, tea will flow like water. Wish me luck getting up that early to watch the festivities!