So, You Wanna Know What We Did...

Well, Thursday evening I picked up my Biinaboo from the airport at about 6:30. I cried when I saw her with her swollen belly. Okay, I didn't get all blubbery... but I got teary-eyed, for sure!

What a beautiful sight to behold; my child, with child. It grabbed my heart.

We went directly to Turkey Creek Shopping Center in Knoxville where they have an Old Navy store with a maternity department on site. She found an adorable dress, a pair of jeans and a couple of tops. That was fun!

Then off to find a bite to eat. We ended up at Brixx for pizza. We split a small pie (half margarita for me and half pepperoni for her) and had tiramisu for dessert. Mmmmm, good. We discovered they serve Harpoon beer... brewed at Harpoon Brewery right there where Kristiina and Nic live in Windsor, Vermont. I've been there a couple of times for lunch (at the brewery). So, I had to have their Summer Brew for the sake of nostalgia. Kristiina was surprised to see they ship it so far south.

Friday, our first full day, it was supposed to rain on and off. So, we decided we should be someplace where we can duck in out of the rain, and opted for Blue Ridge, Georgia. We might have gone to downtown Murphy, but downtown Blue Ridge has a couple of art galleries we wanted to see. One of them was the Blue Ridge Arts Center, and the other was High Country Art & Antique. We stood and talked to the owner of High Country for quite some time. They're from Fort Myers, Florida (our old stomping grounds), and he has an interest in photography, so there was much to talk about.

We meandered up and down the quiet sidewalks poking in the shops, and stopped for lunch at a quaint little restaurant. (Mountain Man Bob would correct me and say we stopped for dinner. He doesn't use the word lunch in his vocabulary... the noon meal is dinner and the evening meal is supper. Just thought I'd share that...)

Anyway, it never did rain - but we enjoyed the day in Blue Ridge.





Surprisingly, we only took our cameras out once! It was when we spotted a man working on the train (that's the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway - it runs from Blue Ridge to McCayesville).












Not sure where the blue sky went... I don't remember it being so overcast. Maybe it's camera-user error. I need to work on lighting... my photos look awfully flat. But then, it's hard to photoshop them on one computer, and blog them from a another one. They look so different.

But, enough of that.



We were having fun...


Just wait till you see how adventurous Day 2 was!

What? Already?!

I'm talking about the leaves turning! What? I'm not kidding... they are!



I know, I know. You were expecting a picture story book of my weekend with my precious girl. It's coming, but you have to be patient with me, because...


We did a whole bunch of this...


That translates to: walking/hiking - sightseeing (always with camera equipment) - and belly rubbing (her and me!)



And a WHOLE BUNCH of this...



I'll bet we each took more than 500 pictures over the course of our three full days together.

We have the same interests... especially photography (she's way ahead of me in her knowledge and skill, so I learned a lot!), and since this weekend was just her and I... we completely indulged in doing our thing!

So, you see... I have have much sorting and editing to do before I can get something from the weekend posted. And then I'll have to do it in segments; cuz I know you won't want to miss a thing! (slightly facetious)

But as for those leaves, here is something from this weekend...



I'm dumbfounded. It's August! Still summertime!




I drive down the street and, as I view patches of color like this, I'm mesmerized... just like I was in Spring.




See? Amazing... I really didn't think it would start so soon.


This weekend I was making my camera do all kinds of things neither it, nor I, knew it could do. It's settings were all over the place. Unfortunately, that resulted in many photos being too blurry, hazy, dark, bright... Eh, but that's the way we learn - right? Next time they'll be better.

But therefore, the leaf pictures are poopy - and I'm showing them to you anyway... just cuz I want you to see for yourself that it's already happening!


I'm realizing I lived without changing seasons for far too long!

Downtown Murphy and a Bump Update

First, our charming little downtown...

A week ago Saturday, I decided to grab my camera and head downtown. Every Saturday from 10 am till 2 pm, they have a Farmer's Market set up, and I wanted to check it out.

Here's an adorable, old, country church. Episcopalian, I think. Love the red doors.

It has a belltower. :-) Cool! I wonder if they still ring the bells?

My church (First Baptist Church of McCayesville) still rings their bells. I hear them on Sunday, but I also hear them if I happen to be down there (it's in downtown McCayesvill, GA, which is actually a whole lot closer to us than downtown Murphy) during the week. A couple of times I have been dashing to the bank before they close at 5, and I hear the bells ringing. Something about that is so quaint and reminiscent of yesteryear. Don't you think?

Across the street from that old church is the old courthouse building. I mean... it's still the courthouse... it's just an old building.

Let's cross the street and take a closer look...

Isn't it pretty? I think it looks regal.

I love the clock tower... I wonder if you can step outside onto that balcony.

And I think the intricate detail is awesome.

And I love the pretty crepe myrtle growing next to it. Of the many, many, many flowering plants, shrubs, and trees in my yard, crepe myrtle is not among them. Too bad... I really like it.

A glimpse down the sidewalk - let's meander down there...

There are lots of little shops to wander in and out of; and I'm glad they decorate their sidewalks with benches, tables and flowers.

The first weekend we were in town, we had lunch here at ShoeBooties Cafe. It was good, and not too fancy-shmancy, but much more than a "cafe."

Ah, wandering further brings us to the Farmer's Market. Where, you ask? See those two green tents? That's it! Not really. {grin} There were about 4 green tents set up on the corner behind where I'm standing... and that was it!

I'm not sure why it's dubbed a farmer's market... there was only one farmer/gardener there selling his goods. The rest was artsy stuff... photography, paintings, jewelry, pottery, etc. I didn't mind... but it was a misnomer.

Upon turning that corner... you see this beautiful church at the end of the street. It's the United Methodist church. Another pretty one, isn't it?

There were more bookstores, antique stores, clothing and home goods stores to explore, but it was lunchtime and I was getting hungry.

So I ended up at The Daily Grind, where their motto is "Life is too short for bad coffee or cheap wine."

I'm seated at my table waiting for my turkey club wrap, just peering out the window watching the passersby...

Hey! There go Rick and Annette...(they're property owners at Wilderness Creek Falls and the first ones to break ground on their dream mountain home)! I didn't get to say hello... I thought it would have been tacky to jump up and rap on the window, glaring and waving! But I thought it was cool that I've now lived here long enough to run into (sorta) people I know.

Still waiting for my sandwich...

Upon entering the establishment from the sidewalk, you find yourself in the hub of a few little shops. The Daily Grind's entry is on the left behind that cart. There are tables in there, or you can sit at the bar, but I chose to sit in this outer area by the windows. I always like to sit by the windows, or outdoors.

Across the hall is a little bookstore, and down from them is a stamping craft supply store. Then at the end of the hall, you can go down a flight of stairs to the basement where there is a consignment store. Pretty neat.

Well... a half hour had passed, so I inquired about the status of my sandwich. It turned out my order got lost in the shuffle. Someone thought it was completed when it hadn't been. They apologized profusely... numerous times... numerous people! The manager provided me with a complimentary glass of pinot. That was nice... and tasty. And the sandwich turned out to be worth the wait. Quite yummy.

Ah... a Saturday well spent.

And for the bump update...




A lot can happen in a week... My, how we've grown! ;-) Biinaboo's bump at 19 weeks.

Today I get to drive to Knoxville to pick up my precious girl from the airport. Then we're going to go shopping for maternity clothes. She's been wanting to try Old Navy's brand of maternity clothes, but has been having a hard time finding a store that has a maternity department on site... it's all been online only. Well, I found one in Knoxville... so we're gonna check it out!

Then we'll spend the next few days together having a blast exploring, taking pictures, and of course, talking Baby!!

Mama's happy!!

Grandchildren are God's compensation for gray hair and wrinkles. ~Unknown

Bee-yoo-tee-ful!

The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hand. Psalm 19:1

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful;

for beauty is God's handwriting.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Odds and Ends

Tomatoes from my little tomato garden. I have two varities...looks here like I have three, but not really. I have 4 Roma plants (the top three) and 4 Juliet Hybrid plants, which are like little grape tomatoes, but slightly bigger. As seen on the right, they're usually shaped like the Roma, but smaller. Though I've discovered they can also appear very plump and round like the ones on the left.



It looks like another pot of creamy tomato basil soup is my near future! Candy gave me that tomato on the top left, from their garden. It was in a thoughtfully put together care package.

She wanted me to try some of her homemade vegetable soup, a couple of tomatoes from their garden, and a jar of her blueberry jam (made from blueberries that I gave her). So, rather than just share those three things, she provided a whole ensemble of things that would go with them to make a meal... the soup is a meal in itself, but with the tomatoes she provided bacon and lettuce for BLTs, and with the jam, she provided a little jar of peanut butter... and of course for both, a loaf of bread. I thought that was sweet of her.




My pretty Zeila! Love that girl.




Eeek. A giant green bug (grasshopperish, but bigger than I've ever seen) hanging out by my front door.



And these bees (at least they look like bees) have been hanging out in my thyme pot. Usually there's a dozen of them crawling all over the pot, inside and out. They don't seem to be eating it, though, and they don't care whether I'm around, or not. And... they only like the thyme. They leave the basil and parsley alone. Peculiar.




Tahra and Tom hanging out together (there's a lot of hanging out taking place in this post). Unfortunately, they chose to hang out near the ugly burn pile... and that's our ugly burn barrel (tipped over so it doesn't collect rain and rust worse... could it possibly rust worse?!) Yes, so they're so very ugly, but all mountain people have them. (And that's what we are now, you know.) ;-)

And you know what else? (This reminds me...) We don't have garbage service... none whatsoever. No "regular" garbage pickup. No recycling pickup. No horitculture pickup. Nothing. We have to put our stinky garbage in the car and drive it 11 miles to the industrial park... And we have to collect our yard and garden clippings in an ugly burn pile, as seen above. Geesh.



Frozen vanilla yogurt topped with fresh blueberries and homemade chocolate sauce, anyone?


It's Monday... new week - hope it's great!

Coffee and Toast

So, this morning I had coffee and toast for breakfast.

Guess what kind of jam on had on my toast?

Did you guess blueberry?! Then you are correct! Doesn't look like blueberry, does it? It looks like raspberry. Oh well... it's definitely blueberry!

Enough of that... look at that adorable little french press. It's a french press for one! (Thank you, again, Gary and Diane!)

Joe is out of town, so the last couple of days the big press has stayed in the cupboard and I've used this little one. It's perfect. Makes 1 cup of coffee. All I need to get the day started.

Speaking of coffee, one of my blog friends, The Farmer's Wife over at Cohagen Chronicles (go check out her blog... she's funny and smart and talented and the mother of two beautiful little children... and of course, she's the farmer's wife!) anyway... she wrote this hilarious post titled the 10 Commandments of Coffee. If you're a coffee drinker... you'll enjoy it:


The 10 Commandments of Coffee (according to The Farmer's Wife)

1. Thou shalt have no beverage before coffee. In the morning, that is.

2. Thou shall NOT REHEAT old coffee left in the carafe, defiling the sacred cup. (And you know who you are....) There's always time to make one little fresh serving. Or to swing by a coffee shop, if thou art in a civilized geographical location.

3. Thou shall buy fresh beans, not grounds.

4. Thou shall not hoard thy fresh beans. Buy in smaller packages, and if they are in danger of going stale, have a coffee klatch to use them up.

5. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's espresso machine. Make the best coffee thy can within thy means, and be grateful for thy French press.

6. Thou shall NOT consume or serve decaffienated coffee between the hours of 4 a.m. and 2 p.m.

7. Thou shall NOT BREW WEAK COFFEE. It is better to not brew coffee at all, than to dishonor the sacred bean in this manner.

8. Thou art prohibited from referring to instant granules and tiny tea-bags o'java granules as coffee. They also defile the sacred cup.

9. Thou shall consume coffee in conservative amounts on six days of the week, but on the seventh day, thou may pour an extra cup on the day of rest. (There are some, again, you know who you are, who abstain everyday except Wednesdays and Saturdays. Thou art twisted, sad individuals, and I am praying for you.)

10. If thine office coffee offends thee, step up and provide good coffee for the work force when thy can. They shall fall down and call you blessed, and thine influence will extend far beyond those generous carafes.



Silly and fun!

Off to church... have a great Sunday!!

All the Hoopla

and celebration has my heart conflicted.

It's been a long time since my family has welcomed...well, anticipated, at his point... a baby into the family... we'll welcome our precious little one in January!

But never has my immediate family experienced such joy since the birth of his mother... Kristiina is an only child, and an only grandchild on my side. She's pretty spectacular...

...for more reasons than that...(!) but we'll stick with that for now ;-)

It makes me long for my dad. Mercy... in such a big way. His granddaughter was more than special to him, and he would have been beside himself with joy to welcome her son, his great grandson. If he were with us, he'd only be 65 now - very much able to share with that little one his joy, love, and knowledge. Oh, the knowledge... my dad was good at sharing life lessons! I remember them well, my husband remembers them well (from our dating years); of course, my brother remembers them well, and Kristiina remembers them well, I'll bet even Nic remembers them well. ...And we all remember them with loving admiration!



This is my dad, taken just a few months before he passed away, with Julian (and the ever faithful and loyal, Zoe). Julian is the grandson of one of my parents' dear friends from church. Little Julian knew my dad as Grandpa Jack. He was so sweet with him... Julian's eyes lit up a room when he saw Grandpa Jack.

How I wish those arms of my dad's could embrace my grandson, his great grandson.

{Sigh}, but that was not God's plan. So.... we carry on. And we hope that somehow, in that spiritual realm that we're confounded to understand, Grandpa Jack and our Baby DiOrio have made a connection and already established a loving relationship. It delights my heart to imagine it.

I heard this song today, Goodbye for Now, and it made me cry. It's been many months since I've cried over losing my dad, but today I did, again. Not so much because of loss, but because of hope. Praise God for hope.

I first heard the song when my cousin, Pekka, passed away several years ago; and it meant so much to me then.

Today, (though, not for the first time) I listened with ears turned toward my dad.

And I praise God that, through Jesus, we have the hope of an ultimate, eternal reunion. Pause the blog music, listen, and enjoy... and, of course... cry! - you won't be able to help it. Some of you knew him and will think of Grandpa Jack; and some of you will think of your own precious loved one who has gone on before you.... in either case, cling to the hope of forever.






Saying goodbye, again, but just for now.

A Healthy Baby Boy

and Psalm 139

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." v.13




"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." v.14




"My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body." v.15





"All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." v.16


Heavenly Father, it brings such peace and comfort to my heart to know that You see him, that You know him, and that he is the perfect work of Your tender hand. My heart's desire is that as You continue to form him, You'll give him good health and that the number of days You have ordained for him are many, that You'll make him strong in body, in mind, and in character, that You'll give him wisdom and discernment, and especially that You'll give him a heart that seeks after You, to Your praise and glory.


Oh, my joyful heart is overflowing!


Look again at that glimpse of his handsome face in 3D! I do believe he looks like his father. Kristiina thinks so, too. I love that face already and can't wait to kiss it!


I love these faces, too... See what you think... do we have a look-alike?


My precious Nic and Kristiina.

It's such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother -

that's why the world calls her grandmother. ~Unknown

The Big Reveal

Okay, so here's how it played out...

You remember yesterday, I told you I got this package in the mail.



I couldn't imagine what was in it. It felt like a VHS tape, but that just didn't make any sense whatsoever. So, I really had no idea.

Then finally, at about 6:00 pm the call came... while they had us on the phone, we got the go ahead to open the package...




and here's what was in there:





Package 1 and Package 2



Ahhh, now it's starting to make sense... I'll bet there's something blue in one of them and something pink in the other...

Brief pause (and much excitement)... I'm instructed to open package 2....




drum roll.......











Baby DiOrio is a BOY!!! We're going to have a grandson. Words can't describe how thrilled and excited we are, anticipating the adventures that lie ahead.






... It promises to be a future filled with baseballs and footballs; of golf balls and tonka toys! .... of trips to the park and to the zoo... of digging for worms and making homes from mayonnaise jars for bugs (especially lightening bugs!! wink, wink)! It's going to be spectacular and I can't wait to see it unfold.



And aren't they just so clever and adorable for making the reveal so fun for us?!

Thanks, kids! Love you to pieces!!

It's Pink or Blue Day

What's that, you ask?

It's the day of the gender ultrasound... we find out if it's a girl or a boy! The appointment is at 4:00, and everyone is jittery-excited! Kristiina is such a planner - she's completely nervous that our little precious won't offer a glimpse of the goods and she won't be able to find out. (She reads The Bump faithfully and has read so many stories of babies being uncooperative at that very important appointment!)





I received this in the mail today. Diane, the other grandma, got one, too! We've been given very strict instructions not to open it until they have the news... We're being eaten alive with anticipation!

Kristiina has a post on her Facebook Wall where people are casting their votes for a boy or a girl. It's pretty much a toss-up right now, but it's fun to see people's responses.

I don't have a clue at this point. When I first learned she was pregnant, I thought for sure it's a girl, but that suspicion is not as strong now. I'll be delighted either way... but for the sake of adding to the poll, I'll stick with GIRL! Afterall, Kristiina, me and my mom are all firstborn girls... may as well keep it going.

Do you have a hunch? Wanna cast a vote?


Here's a wildflower for GIRL...



or a life-size Tonka Toy for BOY!

(and clicking on the pictures won't do anything but show you a larger version of them... I just added them for fun.) :-)


I was talking to Kristiina yesterday about today's appointment and she was telling me the real reason for it. It's not just "let's find out if it's a boy or girl, for fun" ultrasound. It's standard procedure at this stage of the pregnancy to check the development of the organs and all things contingent on delivering a healthy baby. The gender discovery is just a bonus.

So, of course, whether we have a grandson or granddaughter, we're praying for good health and leave it in God's hands. Psalm 139 is one of my favorite chapters of scripture because of the portrayal of God's intimacy with us, and workmanship of us.

Check out this beautiful dipiction of it (just verses 1-12) on E-water.net (thanks for sending that link, Mary Anne)...

Delightful Flash Animation about Psalm 139 - E-Water

Shared via AddThis



Check back tomorrow for the big announcement!

The Baby Bump!

Taaa - Daaa! That's my grandbaby in there!!!



This photo was obviously taken with her phone and isn't the best quality (photographer's disclaimer)-she's having computer issues and therefore couldn't take it with her mega-camera).



We found out the exciting news on Mother's Day (Aw, she suspected it for a while, but for sentimentality, waited until Mother's Day to take the test. :-D). We were sworn to secrecy, however, until she was safely in the second trimester. She's now a little over 18 weeks and due January 10, 2010! And she's beginning to feel the relished movement - mostly flutters, with the occasional unmistakable kick! Nic hasn't been able to feel it yet on the outside... but soon, I'm sure.


We find out tomorrow whether we're having a grandson or granddaughter, provided, of course, that our little pun'kin cooperates and provides the requisite - ahem- viewing. ...I'll let you know soon if we should be focusing on pink or blue.
{{cheesy grin}}



We're ecstatic!!

There's no place like home, except grandma's. ~unknown

It is as grandmothers that our mothers come into the fullness of their grace.

~Christopher Morley

Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do.

Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children. ~Alex Haley

I Want to Lick the Spoon!

It's a spatula, Dex...


And, yes, you can lick it... but stop biting it!



Crazy, cross-eyed alien gets busy.



Mmmnnnnum, mmmmnnnnuuuuummm-nnnyummy!

(Note scar on his chin - this is from where he recklessly jumped from our 5 foot stone wall and landed directly on his chin. Owwy.)




Ribbon-candy tongue has it pretty well licked clean!


Here's what was making him so happy:



I made this last night... the blueberry/chicken/pasta salad I mentioned the other day... and it had him at my feet, drooling for half an hour before I was ready to give up the utensils.

About 2 bites into it and I, too, was drooling and singing, "Mmmnnnnum, mmmmnnnnuuuuummm-nnnyummy!"

Holy moly... I had no idea that chicken and pasta combined with blueberries, feta cheese, and a hint of lime could be so deliriously delicious!