This will just be a hodge podge of most anything that I find interesting enough to post here.  If I get too much confusion going, I will add an index to help out!  <smile>

I am going to start out by showing you what my daughter, Kathy, did for me while she was here this past Spring and Summer of 2001.  We have a 70 foot retaining wall along side of the upper part of our driveway.  It has just been sitting there, blank, for over 5 years and I have wanted a flower garden painted on it. This is how it ended up, thanks to my Kathy!

Of course, knowing me and my dreams and millions of "I wants", my list is long on this part of the yard.  Someday we would really like to have an old fashioned garden out in this area with the wall.  Also we have a lot of the blocks to make an outdoor fireplace/bbq as an entertainment area.  We are enjoying the beginnings of the rose garden that a Mexican man did for us last year and we sit in the wooden swing many days and enjoy it on the front half of the area.

I call these birds, her Blue Birds of Happiness!  Each one
of them has its own personality!

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When I say it is my fantasy garden, it's really that as
we even made up some of the flowers she painted. I
just wish I had a better camera, as she has put
Lady bugs here and there.  They each have personalities
too!

Where they had drilled, so called holes, for drainage and doing
a bunch of damage to the wall, she tried to cover that up by
painting clouds over them.  They look much better in person than
what the picture shows.

Isn't this something!  You should see it in the snow....it is sooooo pretty popping up through all that white stuff.  While I am on the subject of Kathy, here is what else she does wonderfully! She really isn't standing there naked....hehee, just look for the straps of her top! 

Can you believe that she won't use a quilting frame but sits in a chair with her knees up....then she wraps the quilt around them and quilts that way!  You would never know by the beautiful work that she puts out.  If you would like for her to make one for you, just e-mail me and I will get you in touch with her.  Her prices are unbelievably low! 

Here is one that she made for me one Mother's Day.  I built the whole bedroom around it.

Just for the heck of it, here is what that picture looks like.  The photographer is
Marcus Stone and one is dated 1902 and the other 1903. There is a picture
on either side of the ficus tree in the corner.

This has to be one of my very favorite photo's of any of the grandkids!  When Wendy, Ken and the two girls were staying with us for a while in 1992, Melanie was just a baby.  She used to love to go behind the couch,  at that time was in front of the bay window, and read her books. You can really see the green frieze on the couch too.   Here she is.......

This is a fish that Melanie drew when she was about 7.

I just HAD to put this picture in!  <smile>  I won
a contest that the local county paper had a few years ago
on "how you met your husband".  I told them the story of
Raymond and I and I won second place!  My prize was a sitting. 
at the studio that takes pictures of you looking like a
movie star. HAHAHA, When I saw the proofs, I told
them that I looked like Miss Piggy.  They weren't too pleased
with that, but make up your own mind!  hehee

    
This is of my granddaughter, Megan.  What a sweetie she is! An accomplished violin player and she will be going with the Utah Jr. Symphony Orchestra to Carnegie Hall Spring of 2003!  What a tremendous opportunity at the age of 16 when so many adults have dreamed of being able to play in that famous Hall. She worked the entire summer of 2002 and many times long days, to earn her money for the expenses of getting back there.  She is a terrific cook, and has a wonderful relationship with her younger sister Melanie, and has lots of neat friends.

Her Aunt Kathy made her the most beautiful hand quilted quilt that was auctioned off for her to have some spending money while back in NY.  She has to also pay for all of her food and spending money so Kathy loved her enough to spend those many, many hours doing the quilt for her. The drawing was on Feb. 14 and a lady in my son's office won it.

More coming as I think of them!  <smile>