Grandma

Ben's Grandma Dorothy passed away yesterday.  I will always remember her as a kind person who loved to laugh.  She always remembered to send us Birthday cards.  My favorite recent memory of her was when she asked her daughter Joan how many grandchildren she had.  As we all counted up the number and told her, (around 20, including great grandchildren) she asked how many were named Dorothy?  Unfortunately, none were named Dorothy, or Eugene (her late husband.)  I considered naming Helen Margaret,  Dorothy, but I had to name her after my Mother and Ben's other Grandma.  Helen Margaret and Grandma Dorothy share the same Birthday.  We will always remember her,  and especially on Helen's Birthday.

The first picture was taken at a Thanksgiving meal in 2009.  Grandma Dorothy is smiling because she's looking up at her youngest daughter Joan, who had put in funny redneck teeth, a silly toboggan, and an over sized shirt.  The other picture is of her great grandchildren, taken at the nursing home where she lived.

Happy Birthday and Happy Mothers Day To Me

Sometimes my Birthday falls on Mother's Day,  and sometimes it falls on graduation day.  This year it fell on Mother's Day,  so we celebrated all weekend long.  In 1994 my Birthday fell on my graduation from college,  and my sweet husband proposed to me.  My friend Kathleen still remembers how I called her up to tell her that three big events in my life happened on the same day. 

Bendik reserved a room at a local pub to celebrate my Birthday.  We invited all my friends and family to join us.  Ben had a friend make a delicious Black Forest Cake for me and the guests chose Fish and Chips, Chicken Parm, or Veggie Pasta.  I drank 3 different dark beers,  two of which were locally made. My friends took turns playing with Miss Helen.  She loved my balloons, and my friend Sherry's smart phone.
Most of the people who said they would be there showed up.  My friend who was supposed to bring another cake didn't show up.  Not only that, she still hasn't called.  I don't know whether to be mad, worried, or concerned that she may not be my friend any more. 

On the bright side,  I think everyone who came had a great time.  My Dad and his girlfriend took Helen back to our house to put her to bed and they spent the night.  The next morning Ben prepared a wonderful Mother's Day feast for all of us.  I opened the rest of my presents and received some phone calls from some more family, and I got to talk to my Sister.

Friends and Family

My friends and family have been so supportive of my little family in recent years. I was given five baby showers for my beautiful daughter Miss Helen. I have been invited to many parties and gatherings over the years, and many of my friends have come out to the sticks of Mars Hill to visit me. I would like to show my appreciation for all they have done for me by giving them another reason to celebrate. I have invited many of my friends and family to come celebrate with us this year for my Birthday. I'm turning the Big 4 0. I can't quite believe it, but there it is, I've been on this beautiful earth for almost 40 years. I don't want to over think it, I just want to celebrate it. When I turned 30 it was such a big deal, and I almost couldn't handle it. I lost weight, I got very sensitive about my appearance, and I did a lot of thinking. This time, I just want my friends to join me in my Birthday celebration. If you are my friend, and would like to be invited or are already invited, please let me know if you plan to come to my party. I've only heard from half the people I invited, and it's coming up next month. So please give us a call, e-mail, or facebook us to let us know how many we can expect.
THANKS!!

Easter Fun with My Wonderful Family

My sister's family came during Holy week for their spring break. We had so much fun, and especially Miss Helen. She put her cousins in the dog kennel every chance she got. Once they were in the carrier and she had closed the door, she would often times do a little "Indian war dance". It was super cute, and the cousins didn't mind, they were having so much fun.

The first full day they were here we went to the North Carolina Arboretum. The tulips were in full bloom, and some of the bonsai trees were on display. The azalea bonsai tree was in full bloom. After the arboretum we had lunch at Apollo Flame, a Greek restaurant we all love.

On Thursday we drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway on our way to Cherokee, NC. We had a Native American lunch of fried corn, fried bread, lightly fried trout, fried pickles, and strawberry rhubarb pie, yummy! We walked around the Great Smoky Mountains Visitor Center and got our stamps for our passports. There was an old homestead next to a river where we took a nice walk. On Fri. we hung out at our house and went to Hot Springs, NC to relax for an hour in a hot springs hot tub next to the French Broad River. Miss Helen loved splashing around in the water.

Saturday we hiked up Mount Pisgah and had lunch at the Pisgah View Inn. Sun. we had an Easter Egg hunt and the kids got their Easter Baskets. They also made pretzels, a bunny cake, dyed eggs, and I made my famous deviled eggs. We went to the Farmer's Market on Sat. and Ben and Eric made some delicious meals.

I'm Back Again

I had a bit of a break from my blog recently because I was very upset about something that happened in my life last month. I have had a chance to cool down and I have decided to get on with my blog.
Thanks to the support of my family and friends that pulled me through, I still have hateful thoughts towards the person who is putting my husband and I through a tough time, but it's not so bad when we put things into perspective.

Spring Fever

Ben has spring fever pretty bad. He spent most of last weekend getting plants in the ground. He has planted many fruit trees, a few flowering trees, and a weeping willow. He got some lettuce started, asparagus, and strawberries, and keeps ordering more. I hope he doesn't go too crazy and wind up with too much gardening work that he can't keep up with.

Miss Helen received her passport today. We hope to go on another international vacation this year, hopefully France. She is a good little traveler, although she is into everything right now.

We recently acquired a brand new kitty. He was born Dec. 14, 2011. My friend Darla gave him to me. We started out calling him Gus, but then we remembered our next door neighbor has a dog named Gus. We decided to officially name him Augustus, and we now call him Augie. I suppose something will eventually stick. He had a bad cold in his eye when we first got him, which made him very lethargic most of the time. He is now feeling better and acting like a kitty should. We have scratches on our arms and legs to prove it. Helen has been a bit rough with him, but hopefully she will learn to be gentle.

Fat Tuesday

Miss Helen was a hit at the Fat Tuesday Dinner at church the other night. People can't help smiling at her, she is such a happy little girl. She loved all the beads and she was only slightly concerned about the masks and costumes people were wearing. Once she noticed that everyone was friendly and that her parents didn't seem to mind, she was OK with it. Helen was very attracted to the kitchen, the ice in the beer bucket, and the wires on the pulpit/stage.

Yesterday she spent the day with her Daddy. Ben took her to her one year doctors appointment. She received six shots, then went to Ash Wednesday service. She was such a trooper. Ben said she made cute happy sounds during the service, but nobody minded.

Ben and I have decided to give up eating meat for Lent. That includes chicken, turkey, pork (which is really the hardest for me, and I already had a little bit in the potato salad I had for lunch) and of course beef. Ben is also trying to stay clear of too many sweets. I find that very difficult because we just bought 5 boxes of Girl Scout cookies and we have a ton of chocolate that needs eating.

I am hoping to meet more people in the Mars Hill community this weekend. I will be attending the Women's Retreat the church is having. I am looking forward to making some friends in this area. Unfortunately many of the friends I have in the Asheville area aren't exactly knocking down my door to come visit me out in the boondocks of Madison County.

Remembering My Mother

These pictures were taken of my Mother, Helen Ann Fasick Van Sickle, when we lived in Springfield, Va. in the early '70's. She passed away nine years ago. She loved kids, and enjoyed raising us. She made every holiday and Birthday special for us. I love and miss her.

Keeping the Galaxy Safe