Horses and a Holiday

We live in a beautiful town that is literally surrounded with hundreds of horse farms, large and small. While neither of us are riders, we do have a small collection of four horses. 

Keeping these horses free of dust and watching the Kentucky Derby on TV is about as far as we went to participate in this last weekend's equine festivities. 

I'm participating in Joyce's Hodgepodge meme today. To join in the fun at her blog, click here: Hodgepodge Volume 601

1. Let's compare this May to last May. What's changed? What remains very much the same? 

I went to the "Blog Archive" listed in the column to the right of this post to see what we did last May. What stood out the most was our anniversary trip to Jekyll Island off the Georgia coast.

Anniversary Celebration on Jekyll Island

In the month of May, we have birthdays to commemorate, Memorial Day, a couple of graduations, Mother's Day, and our anniversary -- lots of blessings to celebrate!

2. What's something you may do this month? 

We had some very nice plans for Mother's Day, but the tour company called to say not enough people signed up. That's been cancelled, so we've made reservations for Plan B. As my husband likes to say, "That may happen, or it may not!"

red Knock Out Rose Bud,
a recent addition to our front sidewalk

3. Mother's Day is approaching (in the US of A)...in what way(s) are you like your mother? 

This will be the first Mother's Day since my mother died (last October). That same weekend will also be her 100th birthday, which will be incredible in Heaven with Jesus, Daddy, and so many others who have gone before her. 

How am I like my mother? Brown hair, brown eyes, similar height and body shape and a shared appreciation for dolls. 

This snapshot (below) was taken years ago when many of my blog posts centered around the antics of my imaginary Bed and Breakfast in a mountain town. I had a staff who kept things running while I huddled in my study to write the Great American Novel.

Mama and friends
during a visit to her home

To acquaint you with the main characters: 

Lily on the far left in the pink American Girl sweatshirt hoodie was my research assistant.

The 2 brown teddy bears are Grandad and Grammy Bear (me). Grandad Bear took care of maintenance of the property.

In front of the bears is Rent-a-Nurse, who came in to help Grandad Bear when he had knee replacement surgery.

The short lime-green guy is Rowdy, the ever-showing up neighbor kid.

The really small doll wearing a newspaper Yankee Doodle hat is the local society news reporter, Eaves Dropping. (She is an original design I made by myself.)

The Mr. Potato Head doll is Spud, the handyman who helped Grandad Bear with his projects.

The tall doll wearing the rose-colored glasses started out as Amanda Suzanna, who my sister liked to call Mandy Sue, and so that's who she was. She was the trouble-maker and pretty much the star of the stories. 

My mother is holding Mrs. Berniece Mertz, the chef at my Bed and Breakfast. The embroidered stitches on her apron: Kiss the Cook.

I sewed the wardrobe for all the dolls most of the time, with a few items purchased at the mall's American Girl store. 

Here is a close-up photo of the staff:

My mother was very supportive of my whimsy with these characters, so a couple of times when we drove our car to visit her (from Colorado to Illinois), I would bring some or all of them to visit her. As you can see, she played along very well.

Wow. Those days (and that blog) are all in the past. None of them are with me now. They had to go when other major changes became necessary. Although I do laugh every day in my current season of life, the whimsy of dolls is not with me any more.

4. Did you have a favorite book as a child? What was it and why was it a favorite?

photo source

I enjoyed Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. My mother gave me this copy when I was 10-12 years old. This was the first book that made me cry because ..... well, I won't say in case you've never read it. Those who are familiar with the story will know immediately why it made me cry. 

As a young girl, I guess this may have been the first novel-type book that I read and that kept my attention.

5. Are you more of a tortoise or a hare? Explain. 

Yellow Bellied Slider

This turtle was included in a recent post. To answer the question,  I'm probably more of a rabbit. When Gary and I began dating, I lived in a two-story house. He has often said how amazed he was at the speed with which I navigated the stairs. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Our yard updates are done. The bark mulch was scraped up, a landscaping fabric laid down, and then mid-sized rock (river rock) spread throughout. In spite of pulling and spraying weeds, the enemy was winning the battle in that bark mulch. Nobody in this house is getting any younger or more spry to bend over to pull them. Upkeep will always be a necessity, but this change will make it easier. 

I close today's post with this graphic from Marcus Stanley. He posts on Facebook some real good stuff.

Until next time, grace and peace.