these days of mine

“Amanda”….No, Make That “Marshall”

Dianna — Thu, 31 May 2012 10:43:10 +0000

Today, I’m participating in Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop, and this is the prompt I chose:

2.) I almost named my child______, but chose _______ instead because…

And here’s my answer(s):

I almost named my child Amanda Ross, but chose Marshall Glenn instead because: we didn’t think our son would appreciate being named Amanda.

That’s the short version. Here are more details:

When Marshall was born, ultrasounds weren’t as technologically advanced as they are these days, so pre-natal information about the baby’s gender wasn’t so readily available. Perhaps, if the parents REALLY wanted to know, the doctor or technician could make an “educated guess”, but that didn’t happen in our case.

I just always had the feeling that we would have a daughter. I could picture myself playing Barbie dolls and having tea parties with our little girl. I’d always liked the name Amanda, but was having difficulty choosing a middle name. One of my great-grandmothers, long deceased before I was born, was named Ross Anna. I’m named after her, sort of. I thought Ross would be a pretty middle name to go with Amanda.

As my pregnancy progressed, I decided that it might be a good idea to come up with a boy’s name – just in case. I bought one of those little baby name books and started browsing. When I came to “Marshall”, I thought that could very well be a possibility. Marshall’s dad agreed, and since “Glenn” is his middle name, we chose that to go with “Marshall”.

At my baby shower. Marshall was born about five hours later

Because of some complications, I had a Caesarean, which was fine with me. Having a healthy baby was all that mattered to us. As I was in recovery, still groggy while waking from the anesthesia, I asked Marshall’s dad if our baby was a boy or girl.

The answer, of course: “a little boy”.

That meant “Marshall Glenn” instead of “Amanda Ross”. And Super Heroes and Matchbox cars instead of Barbie dolls and tea parties.

And you know what? There hasn’t been a single moment that I would have had it any other way.

Linking up to Mama Kat’s.

Wordless Wednesday: Are You My Mommy?

Dianna — Wed, 30 May 2012 10:29:43 +0000

(Just to clarify: these are goslings. And the real parents were just out of camera range.)

Linking up (for the first time) to Wordless Wednesday Again.

Barn Charm – Sycamore Cross

Dianna — Tue, 29 May 2012 10:05:39 +0000

For today’s Barn Charm, I had to dig deep into the barn photo stash. And I give you: two weathered old barns for the price of one.

This picture was taken last November (I told you I dug deep), and is in an area of our county known as Sycamore Cross. No, you won’t find it on a map.

Judging by the equipment in the background, I’m guessing these barns are still in use.

Linking up to Barn Charm.

In Observance

Dianna — Mon, 28 May 2012 10:47:56 +0000

And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died
who gave that right to me.

~Lee Greenwood

Sunset Sunday

Dianna — Sun, 27 May 2012 10:23:06 +0000

As much as I love sharing my sunrise and sunset photos, I must say that writing the captions or descriptions of them is getting a little difficult.

For those of you who are regular commenters, you may be wondering what else you (or I) could possibly say about a sunrise or sunset…. right?

This was the evening of May 15. With Bride and Groom Swans there, I once again took WAY more pictures than necessary.

Motor Man just says he’s glad we don’t have to pay to have film developed.

Marshall says to take all the pictures I want, and that he’ll keep helping me with my photo archives.

The swans say: “take all the pictures you want. We don’t mind, as long as you bring bread”.

I hear you, Groom Swan. I hear you.

Okay, maybe writing captions isn’t so difficult after all.

But you’re still on your own as far as comments go. Happy Sunday!

Sunrise Saturday

Dianna — Sat, 26 May 2012 10:33:31 +0000

In spite of my still-faulty internal alarm and quite a few cloudy/rainy/foggy mornings, I’ve been able to catch a sunrise here or there. This one is from May 17.

It was such a calm, beautiful morning, I’m glad I didn’t oversleep. (Sundae may have had a part in that.)

We can add “wake-up call” to her many talents.

She’s doing her part to keep Sunrise Saturday going.

Friday’s Fences

Dianna — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:35:20 +0000

For Friday’s Fences this week, I’m sharing pictures of a few fences around our little town of Smithfield.

This isn’t one of the older homes in Smithfield, but it’s beautiful nonetheless.

Pink roses on a white picket fence: old-fashioned, southern charm.

And I learned a lesson a few seconds after taking THIS picture: when a homeowner sees you (from three driveways down the street) taking a photo of his fence, he just might get a little testy.

I explained that I just loved the old fence, showed him the picture on my camera, proving that it was of the fence and not his house, and he was fine. (However, I did fail to mention that I planned to post it on the worldwide web.)

Linking up to Friday’s Fences.

Capturing Our Spring

Dianna — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:21:31 +0000

This is the prompt I chose today for Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop:

4.) Share a picture that you think captures Spring for your family this year.

And here’s my picture:

This photo shows the results of just one trip to the nursery/greenhouse this spring. (There have been many.)

Within these boxes are:

3 Coleus plants
2 Lantana
4 Muhly grasses
1 Dahlia
1 Mussaenda
4 Angelonia
3 Phlox
and 2 little shrubs with blue flowers that don’t have a name. Well, I’m sure they have a name, but I don’t know what it is.

You’re probably thinking that this picture certainly shows what Spring is like for ME, but what about the other members of my family?

Well, Marshall has accompanied me on many of my greenhouse trips. He has helped me carry the ~~loot~~ merchandise to the car. He and Motor Man both have been patient as I searched high and low at several locations for Black-Eyed Susan vines. I finally found those, but they aren’t shown in this picture.

As for Motor Man, he helps me plant the items that are in the bigger containers. Post-hole diggers aren’t very girl friendly, so he helps out with that job.

And I’m proud to report that everything in these boxes has been planted either in a flowerpot or in the ground.

But what’s still waiting to be planted shall remain my little secret. My friend, Pam, says I’m a plant addict. And I think she may be right.

I’m seeking therapy. But in the meantime, where’s the nearest greenhouse?

Linking up to Mama Kat’s.

Sundae Says…I’m Noteworthy

Dianna — Wed, 23 May 2012 10:13:49 +0000

Happy Wednesday! It’s Sundae-girl with a post about friendship.

You’re probably wondering what that has to do with the title of today’s post. Well, here’s the story.

Do you remember Motor Mommy writing about her friend, Pam? Miss Pam’s handsome ginger cat, Sam, writes the blog One Spoiled Cat. (He’s also my boykittyfriend.) Miss Pam and Motor Mommy have become really good friends. They e-mail each other everyday. A few weeks ago, Motor Mommy and Motor Man met Miss Pam and her husband, Dave, to go antiquing and have lunch. Remember, that’s the “trip that keeps on giving” ?

Yesterday, Motor Mommy received a package in the mail from Miss Pam. Inside was a pre-birthday present for Mom. It was a set of note cards – six of them. And I wanted to share them with you.

Miss Pam made note cards using pictures from some of my previous blog posts.

And she included clever little captions on each one.

Miss Pam is so very talented. She’s an artist and an author too.

But most of all,

She’s a great friend.

And THAT, as we all know, is especially noteworthy.

Mom says thanks, Miss Pam!

Barn Charm

Dianna — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:03:34 +0000

My photos for Barn Charm this week were taken somewhere between Smithfield and Strasburg, Virginia.

Yes, I’m still finding photos to share from that trip we took almost two months ago. It’s the “trip that keeps on giving”.

I thought this was such a cute little barn. Motor Man hit the brakes as soon as we saw it.

This is the side that faces the house. I apologize for the poor quality; I don’t recall, but judging by the reflection, I must have taken this picture through the car window.

We were both impressed by the beautiful landscaping in this yard. It’s so nice to see a homeowner taking pride in his property.

Linking up to Barn Charm.