Today started out like most of my days......coffee, Today Show, email, coffee, news, coffee, blogs, coffee..........you get the idea. I decided to do the cleaning I needed to do then take a bath so I went ahead and got dressed. I would have just kept on my sexy flannel pj's but since the golf course opened, there are golfers everywhere and some of the work I had to do was outside. I cleaned off the back porches and the front side porch. I pulled some weeds and picked up a couple of golf balls. Then I went inside to do what I have been putting off since the ground thawed.........well, maybe not that long, but for a while. I cleaned the downstairs bath (No, I had not been putting that off...it gets done a couple of times a week), vacuumed the hardwood floors and moved furniture to get it all (Ugh), vacuumed the carpets, cleaned the inside of the window seals since the windows have been open, clean baseboards (ugh), mopped all the floors downstairs, washed 4 loads of clothes PLUS throw rugs, dusted, and cleaned the kitchen. I finally got in the shower at 4. We had grilled hamburgers (beef and turkey, separate, not together) and salad for dinner. And no one even had an idea what I did today! Tomorrow I will do everything I did today but do it upstairs. Maybe.....

Dick took his truck in today to get it repaired from when it got hit while I was in Raleigh many moons ago. I know he will be happy to have it returned in perfect condition. Then I am taking it with me to Raleigh, then on to Pawleys Island and back to Raleigh to move into the condo. I know Chris will be excited to not have party central living underneath him. I think it has just about gotten on his last nerve.

Jamie is in Jacksonville working for a couple of days this week. I can't wait to hear about his visit with Annie and Bailey! He was going by to see his "peeps" at his previous employment. And Aunt Vickie and Gran Gran were going down to see him too. I hope he remembers why he is down there!

Julianne seems to be enjoying her summer job. She was tired when she came home today and went to bed early early! It has been nice having her here with us.

I can't believe that the wedding is just around the corner! I am getting a little bit nervous thinking that there must be more that I should be doing. I was hoping that we could find a cheap flight so we could fly to the wedding, but it doesn't look like that will be possible. So road trip here we come!

I think I need to go on to bed.....I am starting to see double.

I will talk to you later....Tootles!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY ANN!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Mary Ann!!!!!! I hope you have a wonderful "blessed" day of birth!

For those of you who do not know who Mary Ann is, and I can't think of very many, she is the oldest daughter of my friend's Elaine and John. She and Jamie went to school and graduated together. She is also going to be a bridesmaid in Jamie and Lesley's wedding. She actually started her teaching career by doing parent teacher reports with me when she and Jamie were in the third grade together. Every afternoon when school got out, she would run out to my car (I picked her up) and jump in the front seat beside me and start reporting (see...Parent Teacher Report????) everything Jamie had done and gotten in trouble for during the day. And she was glad to do it for me...... I got much more information from her than I ever did from Mrs. Maring! Of course Jamie hated her for it, but obviously he got over it since she is in his wedding! Happy Birthday Mary!

Greetings! I made it through the heat wave. Temps are supposed to be getting back to normal tomorrow. Dick flies back in tomorrow afternoon and I am sure he will say he doesn't know what I have been complaining about! I have not turned the air conditioner on in my room yet. I slept with the windows open the past two nights and it felt great to feel the wind blowing through the room. Now don't get me wrong.....I do love me some air conditioning and would take central air any day over an open window!

Today there was a golf tournament. Around 8:30 there was a mad rush down the cart paths. They definitely had a good turn out. The tournament was a fund raiser for a scholarship. All the golfers seemed to be having a good time. I could hear lots of laughing.....along with balls bouncing off trees and leaves falling to the ground! I did not find any balls in our fence which was a little unusual. I usually collect at least 4 balls each afternoon.

Julianne has driven to Farmington tonight. She met some other "kids" that are college students working at the mill this summer and they are having a small party. Yeah....it makes me very nervous, but she said she will be home around 12. And I have directions to the party. And I have a phone number. And I have her phone number. And.......

That's about all my news. I will talk to you later! Tootles!

I know you probably get tired of me telling you about my fondness of Maine. You will be happy to know that I have a grip about it too. Today our temperature is supposed to reach 94. I know, I know......most of my readers (family and friends) experience these temperatures all the time. Well, there is one big difference. You have air conditioning and I DO NOT! Houses here do not have central air conditioning. And most of the time there is no need for it. We have 3 window units that we put in during the summer and take out in the fall. Dick put a unit in our bedroom and a unit in Julianne's bedroom. When he gets back, we will put the larger unit in the den. But in the meantime........

I think I will take off and plan to spend some time in the air conditioned stores. Julianne wants to go see a movie tonight. The air conditioning will be the best part of the evening.

Well, that is the end of your weather forecast for Maine...........back to your part of the world..........

Tootles!

Farmer Frannycakes

Yesterday was very busy and productive. Just the kind of day that Dick likes me to have......hehehehehehe. After having my pot of coffee and reading the news of the day, I dressed and headed out to Auburn to get some plants and potting soil and assorted other things I needed to complete the "farm". Got some of the stuff at Wally World and the other stuff at Lowes. I could have purchased much much more, but I would have needed the heavy duty plows the farm down the road has to cultivate the yard. I guess I will stick with the beds I already have. I decided to plant peonies to see if I could actually grow them. We will see.......the people we bought the house from had them in the bed by the back porch and loved them so much they dug them up and took them with them. Of course they had asked me if they could and like the nice person I am I said yes. And they in turn told us we could move in before closing so I thought that was a pretty good deal. When you are nice to people, they tend to me nice to you. And when people are not nice to you, you tend to not be nice to them. Just ask the people who bought our house in Roanoke Rapids. They were an absolute nightmare to deal with and we didn't cut them any slack when we closed on Friday afternoon at 4. Had they been "nice" and not "nightmares", we would have let them move in before the deed was recorded Monday morning. However, hell would have frozen over before that happened. They were not given the keys to the house until the recording took place at around 10 on Monday morning. But enough of those fun recollections.......

My main purpose in buying plants was to buy vegetable plants. Yes, I am a farmer. Hopefully, I will keep them alive and be able to feed my family this summer. I have most of them in pots. The bell peppers and sweet banana peppers are in the ground. I have regular tomatos and cherry tomatos. Regular updates and photos will follow! I also bought some herbs and surely I will be able to keep them alive. Right? Anyway......please send me all your suggestions in growing the crops.

Today I am paying the price for being outside all day yesterday. The pollen has just started up here. My head is killing me. My throat is sore. My ears hurt. My teeth hurt. Plus, my middle finger who hints to me every day that it has arthiritis aches. And a couple more have started hinting. I know, I know......

Dick is going to Lexington to visit Jamie and Lesley today and I am jealous. I really really want to be there.

I guess that is all I have to report to you now.....I will talk to you later....Tootles!

Happy Birthday John & Elaine!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to two of my favorite people! Hope you both have a wonderful birthday! Have an extra piece of birthday cake for me! I love yall!

A Sunny Maine Morning

Good Morning! It is beautiful up here in Maine today. The sun is shining and there are no clouds in the sky. As soon as it warms up just a little bit, I am opening some windows. The birds are chirping out at the bird feeder and the squirrels are eyeing the feeders too. Our fountain on the back porch is full of bird seed and little feathers. I guess I will go out and clean that up today. I have some other plants to put out so I think this afternoon will be "farm day".

Dick flew to Cincinnati yesterday and will be there all week. Then he is driving to Lexington to spend the weekend with Jamie. He is so excited. I wish I could have gone but you know how those last minute tickets can be sky high. I definitely have enough here to keep me busy.

Julianne started her job on Monday. She seemed to have a good day so I guess that is a good sign. She has been getting up at 5 and working out before getting ready. I got up at 5 this morning to make sure she got up then went back to bed. Then I woke up about the time she was leaving and then got back in the bed. It was about 6:30. I had just about dozed off when I heard some talking and laughing outside. There were golfers out at 6:30! I have got to get some sleep at some point.

Chris started his summer session at State yesterday. As a full time North Carolina State University student. Just thought I would throw that in. Love ya Chris!

I guess that is all I have to report right now. I have some pictures from my trip to SC that I will post later.

I will talk to you later! Tootles!

Home Again!

Home Again! Finally! Julianne and I pulled into the driveway at 7 last night. After 2 very long days of driving, we were ready to get out of that car. We left Pawleys Island at 7:30 on Friday morning. We stopped for an hour and ate lunch in Roanoke Rapids with Nathan and his mom Peggy. Hey Peggy! Then we hit the road so we could make it to Washington just in time for rush hour(s). I wouldn't want to miss out on that experience! After stop and go and stop and go and stop and go, it took us about 3 hours to get through the nation's capital. Then we headed to Baltimore where we spent the night. But first things first......

Julianne and I left Raleigh heading for St. Marys on Friday for Mother's Day. We got there around 6. We went out to eat with Mom and Dad. There is a home cooking all you can eat place there and we went to....well....eat all we could eat! Actually, I managed to fill up my plate with just the right amount of food to begin with so I didn't have the pleasure of going back. Then we went to see Gran Gran and deliver her Mother's Day present since she was heading to Debbie's house the next morning. We had a good visit then headed back to Mom and Dad's to go to bed. We were tired and slept great. Saturday, we went to Jacksonville to my cousin Becky's new house and had a cook out by her pool. Her house is beautiful! I think I could move right in! And I know I could put that pool to use! We had a great time sitting and snacking by the pool watching Thomas and Hannah and Tommy in the pool. Those kids are growing up so fast. Thomas has lost that little boy look and Hannah is just so grown up acting. Tommy grilled burgers and they were delish! Of course, Nancy and Dennis were there as was Doris. After such a nice time together I always wish we lived closer. Big Head Fred was even sited.

Sunday, Mom, Julianne and I went to Jacksonville to help Mom find some shoes for the wedding. That is really a hard job! But we were up to the challenge (barely) and found a pair. We were all exhausted by the end of the trip and some of us slept on the way home.....

Monday, Julianne and I headed out to Pawleys. We stopped at a strawberry patch between Charleston and Georgetown. Years ago, Julianne and I had stopped there on day to pick some strawberries. I was excited. Ju was not. All I heard was how humiliated she was to be doing that.....what if someone rode by and saw her.....like they could identify her behind all the way across the field! So Monday I purchased two buckets already picked so I would not scar her emotionally AGAIN. And because it was hot and I didn't want to sweat like a pig.

It was great to finally arrive at the beach house. Elaine was there and helped us unload. We did a little bit of grocery shopping. Elaine had to tutor at 6, so I cooked roast and warmed up some of her leftovers from Mother's Day. We called Virginia and were shocked to find out that she was coming that night! She pulled in late and completed the group! We were roomies and of course started laughing after we retired to our room. We thought we had kept it under wraps, but were informed the next morning that we had not. Chris and Linley came on Wednesday. I am glad they were able to enjoy a little bit of relaxation before their classes started back.

We did alot of laying out on the beach, then moving to between the dunes where it was warmer. I read Stuart Woods new book way to fast! I wanted it to last longer! It is good so read it if you have a chance. Our visit to the beach was very relaxing. The food was good too. Of course, it always is good. No dieting there!

Did anyone else watch Grey's Anatomy Thursday night? We all thought it was horrible. What are they thinking? And George better not be leaving. Burke can leave. But George better not and he needs to get his act together. And as for my personal physician, Derek, he better get his act together too. I would hate to have to change doctors.

We are home. It is a long way from SC to Maine. A long way. But it was worth it. Thank you to everyone that opened their abodes to us and visited with us and made us feel welcome and loved. And thank you Dick for letting me leave you here to tend to Weezie. I love you!

Aunt Vickie is visiting the states from Italy! I can't wait to see her!

I guess that is all my exciting news. We need to get in gear and get ready to go to the grocery store and Wally World to buy Julianne some steel toed boots! I am laughing because Julianne and steel toed boots just seem strange in the same sentence!

I will talk to you later! Tootles!

Moving Out!

I am reporting today from Raleigh, NC. It is overcast and dreary and my sinuses are giving me a fit. I can feel a trip to the CVS coming on. But enough about me. Chris and Julianne picked me up from the airport. My flight was actually a little bit early getting there. I had managed to get my luggage and was heading to the parking garage when the children met me in the hall. They were running just a little bit late because everyone is moving out of the dorms and traffic was horrendous on Hillsborough Street. Not that moving out day has to occur for the traffic to be horrendous, but we won't go into that today! Anyway, it was great to see them and we quickly exited the airport on our way back to Hillsborough Street.

Chris had to go to work, so Julianne and I got her car and headed to Target to get some boxes to store her "stuff" in. We made record time in the Target despite our inner longing to leisurely look at every item there. After checking out, we went to Panera Bread for lunch. Then we made our way back to her dorm after a quick detour at the Self Storage business. We rented a storage unit to house her "stuff" and bought a couple more cardboard boxes. Then we headed back to the dorm. Amazingly, we had everything packed up in about 2 hours. Nathan had his dad's truck and he was coming over to take Julianne out for dinner. So we enlisted him and Linley and their vehicles to help ferry all the boxes to the storage unit. And it went pretty smoothly. Thank you Nathan and Linley for your help!

We had hoped to have Chris meet us for dinner, but he was not able to get away. So we went out to dinner with Julianne and Nathan. Ju had to twist my arm to go cause I really didn't want to go to Bahama Breeze, but it was delish!!!!! And I think that Clay Aiken's twin brother was our waiter. I swear. Looked just like him.

I am washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing washing clothes. It will probably be about that many loads. Maybe even more. Chris has dirty clothes and I don't think Julianne has washed clothes since she has been at college. I am just a wash woman. Among other things.

I am not sure what we have planned for today, but I know it will start with a trip to CVS. Maybe a nap or two also. Chris is working all day, so it will just be me, Ju and Linley. We have to rest up for the beach. Resting up to rest is very important.

I will talk to you later......Tootles!

Monday, Monday

It is Monday again. And again I am spending a Monday the way I always wanted to spend a Monday when I was working......being a slug! Not totally true, but I have been taking my time doing what I need to do and mostly what I want to do. Kind of sounds like me, doesn't it?

We had a very low key weekend. Dick has been stressed with some work related issues. He was so wired Friday when he got home that he went straight to the lawnmower and mowed the lawn. Saturday, we drove to Farmington. I met Dick at Le Fleurs Restaurant for lunch on Sunday. As always it was DELISH! Then I went to the grocery store there in Jay. That didn't take too long because all Dick requested to eat while I was gone was some lean cuisine meals. Okay.....I don't want anyone passing judgement on me about this. When I have gone somewhere in the past, I have left food and when I returned, it was sitting there in the refrigerator untouched. Therefore, I have left it up to him. I have him some breakfast things and plenty of beer (a major food group, right?) and some lean cuisines that he requested. Plus he has his ice cream bars....he will survive. Bob at Le Fleurs will take care of him if he will just call and order something before he leaves the mill. Anything he orders will be enough for two meals........I will not feel guilty!

I am headed to Portland to proof the rehearsal dinner invitations as soon as I get my rear in gear. I have to return something to Pottery Barn. I wish I could order some furniture and at least one of everything they have while I am there but........did I just doze off.......I must have been dreaming I won the lottery! Anyway, after that I will be heading back home to pack up my summer clothes for the south. I am not looking forward to the heat. I love the cooler temps here in Maine. But I am looking forward to seeing two of my babies and chillin with my buds.

We talked with Jamie over the weekend and he seems happy as can be! He and Lesley were painting their apartment. Lesley has been busy hanging curtains......feathering their little nest! It is just a little over 2 months till the big day! We can't wait!

I do believe that is about all the news I have. I will talk to you later......Tootles!

Happy Birthday Virginia!!!!

Virginia had a birthday yesterday and I called her to wish her a good one. I can't tell you her age because that would be heartless to do to the elderly, but I will tell you that she is much, much, much older than I am. Hurry on the beach Virgie! I have missed you!

It is Cold!

The temperature in these parts is in the low 50's. As long as you are in the sun and the wind isn't blowing it feels pretty good. But once you get in the shade.....well.......my warm laptop sitting on my lap feels pretty good right now. Dick as the doors opened up and I am slightly chilled.

Tuesday I am leaving on a jet plane again. Back to Raleigh to help Julianne get out of the dorm and go to the beach. Elaine has a week at their beach house and Virginia attending also. It is so nice to get there and just relax. I am looking through all my books to pick just the right one for the week. Maybe I can even catch up on some sleep. That will be nice.

Friday, Julianne and I will head back up to Maine. That will take us a couple of days. She starts to work on Monday so she will have Sunday to rest up.

Congratulations to Mary Ann on her Graduation today from the Citadel. Did you wear your uniform......hehehehehehehe......Actually she got her masters there AND she received an award during Graduation today. She teaches in the Charleston area and I know she is doing a wonderful job. We are proud of you Mary Ann!!!!

Jeb, Mary Ann's brother, will graduate next weekend from the University of South Carolina. Congratulations Jebbie! It is hard to believe that our babies are getting so grown.

I will talk to you later.....Tootles!

A Whirlwind Week!

I decided that I really needed to post on Frannycakes so I didn't lose my loyal followers (Hey Mom and Dad!!!!). The last week has been very busy. We have seen some beautiful places up here in Maine and when we beg and plead for our family and friends to come up and visit us, we feel the need to show them everything because we don't know if they will ever come visit us again. This has been the case wherever we have lived. But up here it seems even more important because most of our visitors have never been this far north. And trust me, everything here is different than it is down south. Trust me.

Gran Gran and Debbie flew in on Wednesday. I picked them up from the airport because Dick had decided that he would take off Friday and Monday so he could have a long weekend with them. We ate lunch and then headed north. Since they had gotten up very very early, they were tired from their trip and decided to rest for a while until Dick got home. As usual, I wowed them with my culinary skills! Hahahahaha! For dinner we had grilled salmon, roasted sweet potato wedges, and roasted asparagus. This is our very favorite meal and probably have it twice a week. They did like it and Debbie told me yesterday that she was serving the sweet potatoes and asparagus for dinner.

Thursday, the girls met Dick for lunch in Jay at Le Fleurs. We always enjoy eating there and I think they enjoyed it too. Then we headed to Freeport for a little LL Bean fix. I didn't buy anything but had a good time. We walked to a few of the outlets there but didn't stay long because it was cold! For dinner, we had lobster rolls from Youly's. This too is one of our favorites.

Friday, we drove up to the Rangeley lakes area. There was still alot of snow there and the lakes still had ice. This is always as pretty ride.

Saturday, we got up early and started out for Bar Harbor. We drove through Rockland and Camden and lots of other beautiful coastal towns. In Ellsworth, we stopped at one of Maine's famous close out stores, Marden's. Over in the fabric department, I found a decorator fabric that I have been looking at for a long time. It was $5.66 a yard. Plus, I got 20% off for getting the whole roll. I got 16 yards for $80. I am not sure exactly what I am going to do with it, but I am prepared when I do!

Bar Harbor was as beautiful as ever! We had reservations at the Bar Harbor Inn but it was too early to check in, so we decided to go to Cadillac Mountain and Acadia National Park. The weather was supposed to be rainy, but it was clear and beautiful so we were smart to do this on Saturday because it did turn rainy Sunday. The view was beautiful from Cadillac Mountain. After checking in, we all went for a rest. Then Debbie and I went down town to do a little shopping. Next was dinner and then we all turned in early.

Sunday, we drove around the Bar Harbor area and the surrounding towns. It was raining, but still it was pretty. I had told Dick that I wanted to ride down some streets in Bar Harbor to look and see if I could find the Bed and Breakfast that Gu Gu (my grandmother) and I had stayed at when we visited way back when I was 11 or 12. I just happened to look out the window when we were riding back into town and there it was. Dick said he would ride back by to make sure after we did a little bit more shopping downtown. The shopping did not take long....it was cold and windy and just not fun walking in the rain. So back we went to the Bed and Breakfast. I told them to look for a small pool to the right.....I had remembered swimming while I was there. Sure enough, when we pulled into the parking lot, there sat the swimming pool. Next trip, we will stop by and see if I can look at the room. Nice memories!

Weezie had stayed at home. We had a friend come by and let her out twice on Saturday and once on Sunday. She was glad to see us.....mostly to see Debbie because she would give Weezie a treat everytime Weezie looked at her. You can imagine how many treats Weezie got because Weezie caught onto this fact very fast! She goes to treat rehab tomorrow......thanks to Aunt Debbie!

Monday, we got back in the car again and headed for the presidential mountains. Mt. Washington is one of them.....you know, my personal favorite.....NOT! Actually, it is beautiful. We can see it from our neighborhood. It is covered with snow and beautiful to look at......but not to ride to the top. I think I actually had a panic attack on the way up. Thankfully, the park is still closed so I didn't even have to worry about that ride again. Unfortunately, the weather was bad for this trip and the clouds were laying low. We were not able to see many (any) mountains at all. We drove to North Conway, NH and visited the outlets there. Debbie and Gran Gran found some "souvenirs" there. You know....the kind you wear! We bought a flag for out house and that was about the extent of our shopping. Then we headed back to our little part of Maine. Gran Gran treated us to her pancakes for dinner and it was DELISH!

Tuesday, Dick went back to work and the girls got up leisurely and decided to go to Auburn to do a little leisurely shopping. We had lunch there and headed back home for some R & R. We had chicken and dumplings for dinner. Then the visitors packed and decided to retire for the night.

Wednesday morning, we left for the airport around 7. The visitors are just pro's at flying now. They had the flight attendant sharing her sandwich and desert with them cause "they were hungry". I am going to try that my next flight!

Thursday was crazy. I had some things I needed to Fed Ex and fax. So I got it all together and headed to Auburn. On the way home, Julianne called and said I needed to fax a copy of our new insurance card to the doctors office. Since I was almost home, I decided to go back to Auburn later in the afternoon. When I walked in the door, I immediately saw something that should have been in the box that I Fed Ex'd. So.....two trips to Auburn in one day. Duh.

That brings me to today. The sun is shining and we wind is blowing like crazy. The golfers are out and obviously from the 8 golf balls I picked up in the back yard yesterday, they are a little rusty. I am about to head for the shower. I have a tube of self tanning moisturizer that I am planning on applying heavily. I will be at the beach in a week and don't want to blind anyone.

Whew! Now wasn't that exciting! Hopefully, I will be back to regular blogging now. I have missed you.

I will talk to you later......Tootles!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAGGIE!!!!

We hope you have a wonderful Birthday!!!!!