Mother's Day 2013

A beautiful surprise from my girl!

Only 2 months behind now on my blogging, being off for the summer really has it's advantages  :)

Mother's Day morning, my daughter Dani surprised me with this crazy wonderful sculpture that she made for me from cereal boxes and silk flowers.  She alerted Jim that she was downstairs and when I walked down all sleepy eyed, she jumped up from her hiding place behind the dining room table (scared me to death  LOL) and yelled out "Happy Mother's Day".  Then my poor baby had to trudge off to work, so my son Zach showed up to whisk me off to one of my favorite south land places, Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach.

Thank you Dani girl for that beautiful piece of art, I will treasure it and bring it out every Mother's Day.  You couldn't have given me a more special gift.  I love you!  

Newport was a sunny 74 degrees, perfect weather for visiting this amazing place full of plants and garden design.  We walked in to the most lovely and delicate bouquets of flowers, just dying to go home with us  :)

And then there were the Hydrangeas, the blues and purples my favorites.

And we couldn't pass up a visit to their greenhouses full of blooming orchids of every variety.  The one below really caught my eye.

And the anthuriums from Hawaii were in full bloom as well.

Once outside again we found the blossoms on this tree to be highly unique as well as it's fruit.

What I especially love at Roger's are the creative and artful displays like this very cool water feature, and the paper mache' and wire birds with paper collage.  Zach bought me one of these.  I had really missed doing paper mache' this year with my Beginning 3-D students, so I'm thinking we might try some birds next year and these are such great examples. 

These paper collaged 3- d cut-outs were really unusual, I wish I would have picked up one as well.   

Zach treated me to a bite of lunch beach side, then back home to check out the nasturtiums in my lush May garden.

What a fantastic day you two planned for me.

I love you both so very much...all the way around the world!

Happy Mother's Day to My Mom

My sweet mommy in 1966 at age 50, and then again in 1998 at age 82.  She left us 5 years ago, but I can feel her with me every single day.  She would have been 97 years old this Mother's Day.  

We miss you so much mom.  When I lost you, I lost my best friend.  And everything you ever told me was right,  like when you said to me, "Just wait till you have your own children, Debra Ann", and  "Don't be so honest all the time, no one wants to hear the truth!"  Boy, oh boy, were you ever right! LOL 

Rose Patricia Geraci Barnes Price Foote

1916-2008

One of my favorite memories was when we lived in our La Mirada home with the swimming pool and you would have all the neighborhood kids over to swim every single day in the summertime, and the sign on the fence read "We don't swim in your toilet, so please don't pee in our pool"  LOL  I also loved when you got  in the pool with us to cool down (this was before we had air conditioning),  then go right back into the kitchen to cook dinner in your wet bathing suit.  You cooked us a delicious, full course meal every single night except Sundays when we'd send out for broasted chicken.  You were such an amazing mother, loving and generous to all, the favorite auntie, a hard worker who never complained, ever, and an incredible cook!  You took in many a stray animal, and you loved to sing and dance, and your smile would light up a room.  I used to love watching you dance with all the men at weddings.  Boy could you move! You were a sexy mama  LOL  And you had the most beautiful garden in all of La Mirada. I remember that Monday was laundry day, Tuesday you ironed all day long, the house got cleaned on Wednesday, we'd grocery shop on Thursday and if I was really lucky you'd buy me paper dolls.  I remember you putting on Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and the sound tracks from West Side Story and the Unsinkable Molly Brown, and all the other great music from the time on our hifi, and I would sing and dance around your ironing board, and think I was the luckiest girl in the world.  You taught me to share (almost  LOL), to try and be social (Jim is still working on that one  :), to square dance, to bowl, to swim, to do all the needle arts and sew my own clothes, and to keep and treasure a lovely home.  You took me across country twice in a car with all my Barbies so I could meet my relatives back east.  You taught me to have respect for my elders, and to always try to do my best.  But the greatest gift you gave me was your unconditional love.  You taught me to be a good person, a fair and consistent teacher and a loving mother and wife by the examples you set for me everyday.  

Thank you mama.