Better late than never?

 Been home two whole months and still have only made one post on the trip to France.

Between the four of us there are almost 1200 photos.

I will try to keep it to a minimum over a few posts.

After our rather interesting ride from the airport this was our 'home' for the next few days.

It's uphill, inside that door is a set of steps - I didn't count them but once we got inside the actual front door to the apartment, there were 40 steps. Narrow, winding, steep steps. Yep - I counted them.

It was mid-afternoon and we had so we took a minute to rest up and size up the place before walking down to the little store to get a few necessities. It was downhill on the way to the store - which meant it was uphill all the way back. Wasn't sure my fat self was going to make it.

Our nightly view - once it finally got dark. It stayed daylight until 10:00ish.

The next day (our first full day) we took a bus to Paris, navigated the metro and walked. 

We really didn't have a plan but headed towards the Eifel Tower.

The open market was interesting. 

Finally stopped for a bite to eat. We dined outside on the sidewalk.

Good place for people watching.

Getting closer! 

Don't know why daddy was trying to hide in the back.

It's pretty big!

Actually went all the way to the top!

The views were beautiful!

Already getting ready for the Olympics.

We stopped at the restaurant on the way down for a snack.

Did a little more walking around then

took the bus back to our little home away from home.

Decided to try pizza from this truck that we parked close to the little market. The pizza wasn't that great but the show we saw while waiting was entertaining.

There was an older gentleman on our side of the road that was having a rather loud conversation (in French) with a mail carrier on the other side of the street. They had quite a lengthy 'discussion'. While it was all in French, the universal gestures were enough to know it wasn't friendly!

Okay, I'm out of time for today. 

More soon!

Happy 4th!

 

Miss Abigail says Happy Independence Day!

Busy, busy

There was a time that I posted here almost every day. I guess the older I get, the less organized I get.

I'm still waiting on my brother to share pics from France so I can do a couple of posts on that trip (we were gone 13 days - too much for one post!)

There has been a lot going on since we got back. There has been some bad weather in the past few weeks and both my brother and sister have been without power as has daddy. Not necessarily at the same time but sometimes overlapping. My brother also had a tree fall which had to be taken care of. I won't bore you with all the this and that but one good thing was we had a visit from Miss Abigail and her momma. Timothy and Tyler were away on a church trip so they came to stay a few days with us. Loved every minute of it and home they come again soon! 

She is just such a happy soul! (unless she is hungry or sleepy - she takes after her Ma and gets cranky then!)

Having an important conversation with Pa!

Dining outside

First frozen custard! Pretty good stuff!

Cousins getting to know each other.

Papa and the two youngest great-grands.

We had pictures of the two of them made - just got those back last night so I will share those later too.

I have done a little stitching and actually finished a couple of things but they need to be pressed before I take pics.

Got a wild hair and decided to clean out my craft closet - which means I just have a big ole mess in my room. I'm always chasing squirrels! LOL

Happy Stitching!

Where did I go?

 First, I have to say a huge thank you to my sister.

She planned a great trip for us.

It was a long way!

I've had a passport for 20 years and this is the first time I've used it.

A little worse for the wear but we made it!

A little mis-communication as to exactly what size car we needed. 

To be fair, my sister repeatedly expressed there were 4 adults with luggage. I guess that didn't translate well to French. Thankfully it wasn't that far to our first stop!

I really should have posted this yesterday but well, life.

This was not our first stop but it was the ultimate destination.

I'll back up and show more in another post.

Omaha Beach, Normandy, France.

It's really hard to comprehend what happened here 80 years ago.

It is so beautiful and peaceful.

Words and photos just cannot express the emotions when you see this.

There are over 5,000 graves here and the average age - 22.

We visited all 5 beaches and more photos to follow, but this sight is one I will never forget.

Happy June!

Happy June! 

I took a little trip with my dad, sister and brother last month - I will tell you about that in my next post. I took some pictures but we gave my brother the role of  'official vacation photographer' and I haven't got the photos from him yet. 

While I was gone Miss Priss learned how to sit up on her own! 

Oh how I missed her while I was gone!

I can't believe she is already six months old!

How can you not smile when you see that face?

I love her so much!

 We had lots of rain in May and my hydrangeas are loving it! 

They went a bit wild while I was gone! 

They got a bit beaten up with the past couple of storms but they are still looking good.

It's dark and thundering again now - should start raining soon!

More soon!

Happy Mother's Day!

I have flowers this year!

Last year there was only one bloom on these bushes.

(there are three here)

Look at it this year!

I was beginning to think I wasn't going to get any gardenia blooms this year. 

Look - I actually finished something!

Well, the stitching part anyway. LOL 

I didn't stitch the line around the outside because I haven't decided exactly how I am going to finish it. 

Bee's Delight by Samplers Not Forgotten

This was a retreat piece. I didn't finish it until after I got home but it's done! I had the whole word believe stitched and took it out. It called for the light gray color and I didn't think it showed up well so I changed it to the dark teal color.

I can't tell you how happy this picture makes me.

 

I didn't think we would ever have grands and then Tyler came along. Love him dearly but we missed all those early years. He will be in high school next year!

It's hard work being this cute!

Sure wish my mother was here to see these babies.

I know she is watching over them and smiling.

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Busy April!

 We had a busy month! 

Hubby had a convention in Nashville last week and I tagged along.

We had a couple of evenings and one afternoon to take in a few sights.

We went to the Country Music Hall of Fame

The car from Smokey and the Bandit

Elvis Presley's famous 'gold' Caddy

Only a small part of the gold and platinum records on display

(that is a staircase in the middle)

Ate dinner one night at Kid Rock's Honky Tonk

We ate on the roof - it was getting dark by the time we finished.

Might not look like much yet, but this is where JBJ's Nashville is supposed to be. 

We will have to go back when it opens!

The convention was at the Gaylord Opryland resort.

A few photos of the inside of the hotel.

We didn't even see all the areas of the hotel! I did good to figure out how to get from our room to the coffee shop and back! They give you a map when you check in - but I'm not good at  reading maps either. LOL

It's huge! There is an indoor waterpark, it's in the hotel but is priced separately. 

We did see where it was but we didn't partake.

While hubby was doing convention stuff, I did some stitching. 

The seating/lighting situation wasn't ideal. I did take a light with me but the only place I had to sit it (where I could actually use it) was in my lap.

We spent a few days with the kiddos after we flew back to Texas.

Can't believe this sweetheart is already 5 months old!

Pa and Abigail sitting in daddy's work chair while we waited for him to get things put away after church. Pa doesn't know anymore about what all those buttons and knobs do than Abigail does.

Boy gets taller every time we see him! Next time he will be taller than pa!

We had a lot of rain while we were gone and my hydrangeas loved it. 

Last year I had one lonely bloom.

Looks like they are going to be pink again (they were blue when I planted them and I've added bags of that stuff to make them turn back to blue) but at least there are blooms!

Little River man was at daddy's one day while we were gone and my brother (River's paw paw) took this picture. 

Best buddies!

Hope y'all have a great May!