A Great Leap into Summer ~ and that Means Projects!

It is pretending to be summer ~ 84 degrees right now and that means I need to get the porch set up, plant, and what ever catches my fancy.

My fancy was caught by some stained glass that used to be in the window in the kitchen in the Davidsonville house.  I decided I would hang it in the windows above the blinds in Mom's room.

I cleaned them and got fishing line to hang them.  BUT, the hanger came off the piece that Mary Discher did for me.  So I TRIED Gorilla glue and fishing line, but it didn't work.  AND I didn't break it.

So I decided to hang what I had:

And while I was up on the ladder, it came to me that there is a Stained Glass shop on Guess Road.  So I looked them up ~ they were open, so I took Mary's piece to them and they are going to fix it!  And I will hang it in the open window to the right.

I am working on the porch, getting the plants out there.  The tomatoes are in the brown box to the right.  I am going to plant them this afternoon.  Looks pretty good.  

I am also going to make Amy's angel food cake with penuche icing tonight.  So today is kind of busy.  

The deck is going to be power washed, so I can't do any planting out there until it is done ~ but it is only April.

Much love to everyone!!!!!

Leslie

Uncle Bud ~ A Horse Story

And straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak:

The Horse Marines by Ken Weir

“MajGen Kenneth W. Weir and Mrs. Weir regret we will be unable to attend the SSgt Reckless Monument ceremony 26 Oct.  The attached photo is of Capt Weir and Sergeant Major Stepp lecturing 2nd Lts at The Basic School Quantico Virginia  in 1958 about the legend of Reckless and her valor in combat during the Korean War.” 

The RSVP above hid an interesting story about the Horse Marines as follows:

Since I was a jet fighter pilot I was exceptionally well qualified to teach the three hour course entitled The Tactical Employment of the Pack Animal.  Interestingly, SgtMaj Stepp took a very strong exception to my very existence.

One time before I gave the pack animal presentation out at Camp Upshur, I instructed SgtMaj Stepp to bring a horse out from the base stables that I could ride. When they arrived, I told him to tie the horse up to a tree behind the hill, put a saddle, and bridle on him. He said, "you did not tell me to bring a saddle and bridle". He tied the horse up to the tree with only a simple one-side halter. By this time I had added to my uniform for the lecture - a parachute, sword, and swagger stick that I used as a riding crop. When the 2nd Lt students arrived, the horse and I were hidden in defilade,

I had a Marine bugler sound Jockey's Call. At the same time one of SgtMaj Stepp's Marines gave me a foothold boost up onto the bareback horse and all hell broke loose. The horse (I later found out) had not been ridden for over a year, was very temperamental, and just bolted -taking off for the Quantico main side stables right across in front of the entire bleachers on the parade field filled with 2^nd Lts.  screaming their lungs out.  The tighter I tried to hang on- the faster the horse ran, across in front of the Basic School headquarters building right in front of the shocked XO LtCol. Reginald R. Myers who had been awarded the Medal of Honor for valor in Korea, then raced out the main gate to the sentry's and everybody else's complete bewilderment.

Crossing the small bridge outside Camp Upshur, I could not stop the horse and could no longer hang on.  The horse threw me off.   I hobbled back with this entire garb though the gate and over to the parade field only to find that SgtMaj Stepp had told everyone the show was over and they were dismissed.  They cheered getting out of the remaining 2 hours and 55 minutes of a three-hour class. Everyone, including SgtMaj Stepp and his cattle cars with the other horses and training aids, had long since gotten out of there down the road looking for their missing horse.

The next time I ran into SgtMaj Stepp he was retired and faithfully fostering the legacy of Reckless, and running the Camp Pendleton tables where Reckless was known by all as a true Marine warrior.

We all owe SgtMaj Stepp a big salute for preserving the history of Reckless and finally this fitting Monument.

Very respectfully,

Ken Weir

I Need A Drink!!!!!

OMG!!!!! I just took Mom her dinner and she announced that she had been on the computer and she now knows what is wrong with her.  Of course I had to ask.

"What is wrong with you, Mom?"


"I have Skin Pickers Disease".  

I told her that she is being seen by one of the top infectious diseases doctors and that is not what she has.  I reminded her that her arm is better, that she needs to put her heating pad on her arm more than she does and that maybe she should listen to her doctor and her daughter instead of trusting the computer with her perceived symptoms.

Oh, Mom did ask me not to put it on the blog.  Sorry.  I told her that I tell my sister's everything.    And I did smile.  And my head did not explode.

Love, Leslie

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Today is Mom's 85th birthday.  We met Lori, Jim and Maren at The Bleu Olive (Mom's favorite place) for a very nice dinner and as usual, lots of laughs.  Lori and Jim scored a primo parking place right in front of the restaurant and we sat at a table where Lori could keep an eye on Snoopy, who was in the car.

Snoopy was quite the item of interest to everyone who passed by which was fun to watch.

Mom is celebrating with lots of presents, flowers, mangos and peach ice cream.

Mom as the flower girl in a Tom Thumb wedding

And, from last night:

Love, Leslie

Crazytown: And Welcome To It

This morning I was reading the Sunday New York Times and waiting for Mom to get moving so I can fix her breakfast. 

The doorbell rings.  All the dogs are barking like fiends.  Mmmm.  Wonder who is here this early. 

The UPS delivery man.  And this package addressed to Mom:

So I open it to see what she purchased:

Yes, you are reading it correctly.  A smushed box of two packages of onion soup.

I am still laughing.  And I wondered about the amount of crap that was moved here 3 years ago ~ and I have decided that the only reason Mom and Dad were never featured on an episode of Hoarders is that they moved a bunch of times in their married life.  So stuff was disposed of.  

Mom is crazy. 

Love, 
Leslie