Totally Mixed Emotions for me

The time has come and I must spend tomorrow packing for my trip. Everyone who knows me knows that I hate leaving home in May. In fact, there are only a couple of times a year that I like to even think about traveling, but this is not one of them. Things are starting to bloom in the garden, delicate new annuals have been placed, and babied and I must now depend on others for 11 days to water them. In our climate, it doesn't take much to wipe out a plant for lack of water. I also do not make it easy for people to take over these chores, since I have things scattered all over the place. But I am putting my faith in trust in my DH and daughter who lives nearby to make sure things survive while I am gone. I will also miss my home, family, friends and my two most adorable kitties, Beau and Piglet.

Many of you know that this is the trip we have been planning for such a while and my sister (whom I haven't seen in ten years) will be accompanying me and a dear friend. We all have read (and loved) the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and our tour to Scotland will be based on the history behind the books. My sister who has been undergoing chemo for over 14 months now (every other week) will have a much needed change and we are all excited to be able to take this trip. That's, of course, the happy and excited part of me, the other side will miss May at home in the garden. Ah, but then there is June--we should be back on the 5th of June and I will be plowing through the hundreds of photos, and will then enjoy the lilies which are right now starting their bloom sequence. First my tall lemon yellows, then the Asiatic Lilies, then the Oriental lilies. I may miss the daylilies which are working toward their peak now and the Hydrangeas, and lots more. But this is the trip of a lifetime for my sister and I am happy we can do this. Next Monday night we will all be in our 18th Century costumes at Culloden House near Inverness. I have a few pictures posted here of my friend and I working on our costumes with a little help from Beau. If I had realized I would be posting these, I would have combed my hair and put on a little makeup, but the pictures of Beau helping me sew were not expected.
I will miss my other kitty, piglet and as I was experimenting with my camera, I took this closeup video clip of her.

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

As Mother's day is soon approaching, I have to admit I have spent some time looking at precious old pictures and a few newer ones, also, one of my favorite things is to listen to some audio tapes I made of my little girl at about 3 years old. For mothers and grandmothers with young children, I highly recommend making some audio tapes as candidly as possible for playback 30+ years later as in my case this week. Most of us have pictures, but the sound of their voice at that tender young age is something to enjoy over and over again as well.
Here is the slideshow (I haven't made one in a while and love doing them)

And for those who want to hear her too, here are two separate voice recordings that thankfully I have in digital form now.
Story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears (sort of)

and Kristina talking to a spider

Well that's my walk down memory lane, Kristina is now 35 years old and all this seems like just yesterday. Precious memories for sure.
I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day with your children and your own mothers if you are fortunate enough to be able to spend time with them. Take a few moments to cherish those memories.

I need a blowtorch!

Just what I need right? Another hobby! I sure would love to try this art/craft on for size, not that I could create anything as wonderful as these beauties, but I would love to be able to do metal work. I found these on Whipup (one of my daily blog checks---necessary for every crafter). But since I value beauty over function, I could easily see turning shovels and wheelbarrows into works of art like these:

This talented artist from Nova Scotia makes metal look like lace. Awesome I think.