Two of my most favorite parts of summer are fresh-out-of-the-garden tomatoes and blueberries.  There is nothing better in the world than a "mater" samich. And you can only get a good one in the summer time.  The other day, right before lunch, one of our patients brought us a bunch of tomatoes to the office and I told him " You gonna make me go get a loaf of light bread".  Well, that's what I did and I sure enjoyed not one but two mater samiches.  Oh, so good.  The tomatoes in the grocery store just don't come close to being as good.
  I had been invited by Mr. Jack Doles to come to his house and pick blueberries (my other favorite part of summer).  Jessi and I went today and picked us some.  We picked over 2 gallons of them and ate almost as much.  We had a wonderful time.  I can't wait until I can take Butterbean to pick blueberries and strawberries.  I am already envisioning the fun we are going to have.
  I haven't decided what to do with my blueberries, but I'm sure something good will come to mind.  That is if we don't eat them all first.
  Oh, he also gave me some tomatoes and I think we will have BLT's tomorrow for lunch (or maybe just the T).

  I have a nice little drive to and from work, from Montezuma to Fort Valley.  On my way home this evening,  I got to thinking about fortunate I am that I live in South Georgia.  We have grass fields, corn fields, cotton fields, pecan orchards, peach orchards and woods.  I mean the woods, not forests because this is the south and we have woods not forests.  I just can not imagine living in a place that doesn't have grass and trees.  I like living in the "country".  A little over a year ago, we moved to "town" but it's still the country.  We live in quiet neighborhood and we have good neighbors.  Montezuma is a nice place to live for me. Life is just different here, a little slower pace than living in a big city.  Yeah, we have to drive 30 miles to get to decent grocery store or a good restuarant,  but that's ok.  I love it here. I have lived in  Macon County longer than I have lived anywhere else, since I was 15.  I haven't always loved it though.
  When I was 15, my dad became the pastor to Faith Baptist Church in Oglethorpe.  For a while, we drove down every Sunday and Wednesday for services.  I was ok with this arrangement.  But my dad had other plans.  He decided to move us here, against my will of course.  You see,  all my life I had live within walking distance of my grandmother and now he was taking me away from her.  I fought him hard, and begged him to let me live my Granny but he won and I had to come here.  I thought I was coming to the end of the world.  I was leaving my Granny and all my friends and going to a place where I only knew a handful of people.   I hated it.  But before long I started making some friends.  I met my future husband ( he and I really didn't care other when we first met but that's a story for another day).  Needless to say we fell in love and got married and started our family and my parents moved back to Byron.  The one that fought the hardest to not move here stayed behind.  It's been 29 years so I consider myself a true Macon County resident. 
  I wouldn't trade life in a small town for nothing in the world.  Everybody knows everybody,  knows me or Ricky.  I can't tell you how many times I have been called Mrs. Rick.   People have a hard time remembering my name but they know I belong to him..  I used to tell my kids that they needed to be careful who they messed up in front of because they would be surprised at who I know and who knows me.  I told them that their mama knew people they would never believe she knew. 
  I feel very fortunate that God has placed me here.  I am a firm believer that God puts us where he wants us and this is my place,  my little corner of the world.
  Well, that's enough of my rambling for now.
  HUGS and KISSES

   Tomorrow is Father's Day.  It's is so hard to believe that June is half over already.  It seems like last month was just Christmas.  It will be Christmas in just a minute.
  I was thinking of the "Dads" in my life: Ricky, Mr. Rick and my dad.  Mr. Rick is an awesome dad.  He is one of the most clever people I know.  He loves his children, grandchildren and children in-law.  I think he is a very wise man and he is a good example to his son on how to be a great dad.

 Ricky is a great dad also.Our kids still think that the sun rises and sets on him and that he can fix anything that is wrong all they have to do is say "Daddy......................." He is the problem fixer.  They just don't know that I am the one telling him how to to do the fixing ;)  I couldn't have asked GOD for a better father for my children. 

  My dad is another story.  Our relationship has been very strained but it is slowly getting better.  I am working on my issues with my dad and I am trying to have a better relationship with him.  I love my dad and I think that deep down he loves me and my sisters.

  I was trying to figure out what I was going to get my father for Father's Day and couldn't really come up with anything.  So last night I decided to go pick him up from the Oaks and bring him to my house for a little while.  I called the nursing home and told the nurse to tell him that I would be picking him at 11:30 and he needed to be ready.  I didn't talk directly to him because I didn't want to give him the chance to come up with an excuse for not coming with me.  When I got there, I was cocked and loaded for an argument.  But when I entered his room the first words to me were "Are you ready".  I told him I was and he got in his wheelchair and we came to the house.  We stopped at McDonald's and got lunch and came home and ate.  We had a very good visit.  This was the first time that he had been to my new house.  He seemed to really enjoy his visit.  Jessi came over and she rode with us back to the Oaks.  Of course we had to stop at Brown's for peach ice cream.  I told Daddy that this was his Father's day present and he seemed really happy with it.
  So I hope all my dads have a great Fathers Day
   HUGS AND KISSES
 

  Well, Monkey is back to talking to me now.  He jumped up  in my  lap purring and layed down.  You see, ever since I got the new kittens, he hasn't spoken much to me.  I would try to love on him and pet him but he was not having any of that.  I guess being true to  his gender ( you know the one with the Y chromosome) it had to be his idea.  The men in my life are like that,  hard headed and stubborn.  But you know, I wouldn't have them any other way.  Me, Maggie and Scoot are really the ones in charge,  we just let the boys think that they are.  It's more fun that way.

  Smokey and Rocky have adjusted well.  They run around like they own the place.  Smokey is doing great despite his issues with his tail.  When ever he see's me sitting in my chair at the computer he thinks he is supposed to be in my lap.  Rocky just loves having fun.

We had a good weekend.  Ricky and I watched the cutest movie today "Mr. Popper's Penquins".  When I asked him to watch it with me, he reluctantly said ok - he thought it was an animated movie.  He was relieved that it was a live action movie.  He says that I am the only adult that likes cartoon movies.  This movie was about a man who had lost himself and he inherited some penquins that helped him to find himself.   A real feel good movie.  Jim Carey starred in it and you know it was funny.

Well, I hope everyone has a good week.
HUGS AND KISSES

  Mr. Rick and Ms. Alice celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary today.  I think that is awesome.  I called to tell them Happy Anniversary and had a good talk with Ms. Alice and yes I talked to Mr. Rick too.  I have good in-laws and I hope that they feel like they have a good daughter in-law.  We haven't always seen eye to eye but they have always been good to me, sometimes better to me than my own parents were.  They have always made me feel that I was one of their own and I have been in it so long I must be!
  Ricky and I have had a pretty rotten last couple of years.  Mr. Rick and Ms. Alice was right there by our sides helping out however we needed them to and however they could.  That really means alot to me.  I remember telling Ricky one time that he was very fortunate in the fact that outside of me  he had his family to care about him.  You see I felt I had no one other than him and my sister Lea that cared about me.  And he looked me in the eye and said you do too,  you have my family and they care and love you very much. I have felt that love more in the last couple of years not because they have helped us but because they really, genuinely care.  That's just them, that's how they roll.  And even though things are on the way up for us,  they still call and check on us just to see if we are alright.  She even calls on a land line during the middle of a lightening storm to make sure we are alright.
  Mr. Rick and Ms. Alice I love you both.  You are very dear to me.  Thank you for giving me Ricky -  you made him just for me.. Thank you for giving me your love.
  HUGS and KISSES

  I had a day off Friday and I got to spend some time with my son Chris.  I don't get a chance to spend alot of time with him and I think we had a great time.  At least I did.   When I got up, he was still asleep.  I left and went to the grocery store and Harvey's didn't have any sourdough bread.  When I got back home,  I woke him and asked if he wanted to go to Perry to Kroger with me and of course he did.  We drove all the way to Perry for Sourdough bread.  We talked and laughed to whole way there and back.. Something we don't do enough of!  When we got home and I had began cooking, the thought hit me that we could have just went to the Mennonite Restuarant to get the bread.  I mentioned this Chris and he sd that we could have but we wouldn't have had as much fun as we did going to Perry.
  I have a good boy and I am very proud of him.  He's funny, witty, and very smart.  He's 6'4" and weighs about 250.  Sometimes I introduce him as my body guard.  He is what I call a gentle giant.  He likes to talk big but he has the heart of a teddy bear.  He stands up for what he believes in and what he thinks is right.

  When I look at him,  I see a mirror image of his daddy.  They are so much alike in looks, temperment and personality.  Neither one of them have the patience God gave a gnat.  They are so much alike that sometimes they just can't be in the same room together but 99% of the time they are best buds.
  Chris does not like to see his mama cry.  I am not ashamed to admit that I have exploited this over the years
especially when he was younger and I wanted him to do something or he was being bad and I wanted him to mind.  That trick really doesn't work anymore,  sometimes he just lets me think that it does.
  Now, don't get me wrong!  He is by no means perfect.  He is after all, a 17 year old boy.  He does have his moments.
  He told me one time that he when he settled down and started his own family, his wife would have to be a good cook.  He sd not being able to cook would be a deal breaker and that he knew his mama would always feed him and feed him well.