The Joys of Living in Maine

Hey Yall! I get email weather bulletins and looky what I got today......



Issued at: 3:08 AM EDT 5/25/09, expires at: 3:15 PM EDT 5/25/09

frost advisory in effect from 1 am to 7 am edt Tuesday
The NWS in gray has issued a frost advisory, which is in effect from 1 am to 7 am edt Tuesday.
An unseasonably cold air mass will move over northern new england tonight, combined with a mainly clear and calm night. This will allow widespread frost to form in interior locations later tonight, as temperatures fall into the upper 20s to mid 30s. Even though some of the normally colder spots will fall below freezing, a hard freeze is not expected.
A frost advisory means that frost is possible. Sensitive outdoor plants may be killed if left uncovered.

Just some of the joys of living in Maine.....

Giggle Girl Update

Hey Yall! Giggle Girl is going great! She is still sore and taking Advil every now and then. Every day is better and better for her. She gets her drains out tomorrow and should be back to normal for starting her summer internship!

The picture above is a $5 bunch of Gerber Daisies I got at the grocery store. I got them when we stopped there for ice cream right after her surgery. I tied them up with a pretty ribbon and put them in a white pitcher and put them so Sister could see them. They still look pretty!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy Mother's Day!

Photo Credit - Molly Chicken


Hey Yall! Happy Mother's Day! Hope yours has been good....mine has been GREAT! I talked with Jamie and Chris by phone and wished they could have been here. Dick let me sleep in this morning and it felt wonderful. Julianne made a wonderful WW desert for me.......mmmmmmmm......yum! Later this afternoon, I wrapped up in two throws AND and electric throw on the red couch and watched "Under the Tuscan Sun" while I occasionally rested by eyes. (That was for you Daddy!) All together....A Glorious Day! Can I get an Amen?

Here's a big Happy Mother's Day wish to my Mom and Dick's mom! Can you feel the hug? It's a big one!

Giggle Girl Update

Hey Yall! Giggle Girl, aka Julianne, giggled until right after I took the picture of her yesterday. And then it ended. She was very hungry and was satisfied with ice cream and sorbet and yogurt for a while. Then she didn't want any more sugar. So I made her some soup. That didn't really hit the spot. She had some tears and also some laughs. The laughs came from reading the blog post about her because didn't remember anything about what happened. She took some of the Tylenol with codeine prescript but she didn't feel really good after taking it. I am pretty sure it was the medicine. So we have gone back to the Advil.

Today has been a good day so far. She feels good and is just a little bit sore. I have told her to take it easy. Easier said than done!

The weather is crazy here. Cool, cloudy, partly cloudy, raining, repeat! And it is killing my sinuses! We are finally getting green, so pollen might be a part of it. I have been taking Zyrtec at night and Flonase during the day. Until this crazy weather, it had been doing great for me.

I will talk to you later....

Wisdom Lost

Hey Yall! Sister had her wisdom teeth removed this morning! Do you see that drug induced look on her face? I stayed in the room while they put her to sleep then went to the waiting room. I found a couple of magazines that I wanted to read from cover to cover and find out who's doing what to who when and where. You know the kind. Cause inquiring minds want to know. I sent Dick a text message to tell him that she was asleep and I would let him know when they were through. I had just started the first magazine and not even found out the first bit of gossip and a nurse came and got me. She said Julianne did great and was being so funny. Hmmmmmm.......funny? When I got back there, she looked like she was 12 or 13 and was giggling and telling them thank you and she wanted to do it again and giggling some more! She was cracking those ladies back there up! They gave her a prescription for Tylenol with codeine, but wanted us to try 3 or 4 Advil first to see if that would take care of the pain. Julianne said she wanted the prescription filled. I told her I thought she was enjoying herself just a little bit too much laying there in googly land to start on the prescription. They gradually raised her chair till she was sitting straight up and I held on to her arm and led her, giggling the whole time, down the hall and out to the car. She was too funny.

It is kinda cool here in Maine today. We have the heat on AND she is laying under an electric throw on the couch snoozing away. She is probably exhausted from the finals that she just finished up yesterday. A lazy day will do her good.

Don't you just love her ice packs? The nurse came in with it and told her she was going to make her into a bunny. Julianne just giggled then got serious and said, with a mouthful of gauze, "We love bunnies!" Then she giggled some more.

I will keep you updated on the giggle girl.....

Happy Birthday Virginia!!!!

Hey Yall! Today is Virginia's Birthday! Virgie, I hope you have a wonderful birthday and I can't wait to see you!

Planting the Crops

Hey Yall! As you can see, Frannycakes finally started planting the crops. I haven't finished yet. I ran out of potting soil and plants. And you kind of need both of those when you are, well, planting the crops! I have been instructed by Mr. Frannycakes NOT to plant any vegetables because he WILL NOT water them while I am visiting at the beach this summer. Since he did not water them last summer or the summer before that, I tend to believe him. Soooooooooo, no vegetables. Blah. I love growing tomatoes and peppers.

Talk to you later!

50th Birthday.....Part Two!!!!!!

Hey Yall! I am just a little late in posting pictures from my second (!) 50th birthday party. Tommy, my brother and the official photographer, finally sent me some of the pictures so I could post them on Frannycakes. And now I am finally posting them!

This was a true surprise party. I did not have a clue. It honestly took me till waaaaaaaaay after the party was over for it to sink in. I had been in South Carolina with my buds having a girls weekend. Dick had flown to St. Marys to see his momma and sisters. My brudder Tommy and his wife Doris were supposed to be bringing the kids up on Sunday, my birthday, and visiting with us and celebrating my birthday at my parents house. I got up very, very early in Charleston and showered and dressed. No make-up. Pulled hair back. Wearing clothes for the second day because I was planning on changing after I got there. I picked up Julianne and she didn't say a word about it. When we got there, Tommy's car and my parents car were parked in the driveway. I was excited that they were already there 'cause I don't get to see them near enough. We got out of the car and walked up to the house. I opened the door and "SURPRISE!!!!!!!" It took me a couple of minutes to understand what was going on. Then I saw what looked like my cousin JoRhee. I haven't seen here in several years. Could it really be her? I just looked around and then I saw my Aunt Jo. I have so many good memories of my Aunt Jo from my early childhood. I really couldn't believe it. It had been so long since I had seen her. Also celebrating was my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dennis, my cousin Becky, Gran Gran (Dick's Mama), Dick's sisters Debbie and Vickie and her husband Delma and their daughter Annie. It was truly a party!


Frannycakes and her Aunt Jo.....can you tell I'm excited?


Making the rounds through the house and trying to visit with everyone, I came upon this.......



.....which I like to refer to as the Frannycakes Shrine. Do you think my finger tasted good in the big picture? It must have been fattening too cause my thighs were thundering!



My Dad, Julianne, Tommy, Frannycakes, Aunt Jo and Mom


Frannycakes, Daddy, JoRhee and Jack


Frannycakes, JoRhee and Aunt Jo


Blowing out the Birthday Cupcakes!


Frannycakes the Birthday Girl


Frannycakes and her Daddy


Hannah and Aunt Fran opening presents


Hannah and Aunt Fran thrilled with Depends!

Mom and Dad have a wonderful large deck and it was decorated with round tables with black balloons. Have you noticed that everyone was supposed to wear Black? Tommy and my Dad grilled hamburgers and we had a great cookout. Everything was so nice and truly appreciated!





As you can tell, I had a fabulous birthday! Thank you everyone!

Things I Need To Do.....

Hey Yall! Doesn't that begonia look pitiful? And doesn't that planter look sad? They look that way 'cause I ran out of planting soil, all 6 bags. No teeny weeny bags....big boys. I have a sad spike plant and some verigated ivy to add also. And they are also very, very sad.... But I bet you already knew that.

Talk to you later!

New Vehicle

Hey Yall! Can you believe it? Two postings in two days? I must have the flu. Yeah that is it......I have the "Whine Flu", just ask Dick. This is now parked in our garage. Thank goodness it is parked on Dick's side. Not enough cup holders for me.....

Ben's Graduation

Hey Yall! Today was Ben's graduation from Maine Maritime Academy. He received a bachelors degree and already has a job waiting on him! Yeah Ben! In case you don't know Ben, he and Julianne have been dating for almost a year and is a very nice young man. Today was a beautiful day! We left home around 7 am and headed to Castine. I wrote about this little town recently here on this blog. We got there a little early and went ahead inside as soon as they opened the doors to the public. Maine is still a little cool folks! We sat down hoping Julianne would let us know where she was since the place was starting to fill up fast. Finally we see her. And guess who was sitting right in front of us? Ben's grandparents and aunts. His parents came in about the same time as Julianne. Now what are the chances of that happening? The ceremony was very nice. As the parent of one child who has graduated already, I can tell you that there were some very proud parents there. And I can't wait to have that opportunity again when Chris and Julianne graduate. Ben looked very handsome in his dress whites. He couldn't wait to change out of them! According to him, they were very uncomfortable. One thing I can say about the north.....they are much, much more respectful during graduation ceremonies than people are in the south. I love the south, but it is just ridiculous and embarrassing. And I know that anyone from the south reading this knows exactly what I mean.

Ben's parents invited Dick and me to the lunch they had planned honoring Ben. We ate at a wonderful restaurant on the waterfront. The food was wonderful and it was so nice sitting with a sweet family. His sister has a precious little girl and we got to eat across the table from her. She kept us entertained the whole time!

Here are a few pictures from our day. Hope you enjoy them! Tootles!