Dot`sThoughts

boy and little girl standing in front of the bride and groom are 2 of my great grandchildren.

I thought I would be posting my grandsons Wedding pictures before now. I couldn`t use my computer kodak camera with the easy share because the battery wasn`t holding the charge. So, I used my canon which has the different settings knowing I would be able to get all the Wedding party together in one picture. Pictures came out ok, but now my scanner is acting up. I bought the scanner about 5 years ago and it is listed for working with xp. Well, it has worked ok with xp for about three years now and suddenly my comp tells me it is not compatable with xp. Must be from some of the newer updates that have been added to my computer. It tells me something is missing, so I re-downloaded the CD for the scanner. Then I even went on line to get the sp26273 that it said was needed. Still haven`t corrected whats wrong. Funny thing is I was using the scanner a couple weeks ago with no problems. Online it also said updating IE to #7 can cause problems and there was a patch to correct that, so I tried to download that patch, but it didn`t download-- said there was an error, so I will try some more in a few days. Think I need to stop working on it for a couple days as it is starting to get to me. I remember there used to be a way to reset the scanner to use for 98 or ME and that helped once a long time ago. But, first i need to remember how I reset it before.

So, till I can figure out the problem, I can`t post any pictures from the Wedding.

I have finally finished the garden work. This morning I cut up and cooked about 4 quarts of carrots and a couple pints of beets. Not enough to make it worth the work of canning, so I ended up putting them into my freezer. Now that I know I can grow carrots in my old small wooden planter, I am planning on making a larger planter to grow them in next year. The small planters are only about a foot wide, so not enough room to grow very much in them. But, I actually didn`t think they would grow big enough this way. Now that I know they will, next year I should grow a lot more. Beets didn`t do so well, but I did get enough for a couple meals. Even the few smaller carrots are a good size to use in stews.

I am still fighting the bees- killed 4 more so far today-- making a total of 118 killed bees in my kitchen in the past 8 days. The Raid Wasp and hornet spray doesn`t work very well on these yellow bees with the black circles on them. Think I will check on line to see if they know anything that will work faster. Must have them gone before Halloween so the little kids will be safe coming to my side door.

Well, wish me luck in figuring out my scanner.

Grandson`s Wedding

First let me say that His first name is Walter (my grandson)-- named after his Dad Walter ( my son) --who was also named after his Dad Walter ( my Husband). But all their middle names are different.


The wedding went off beautifully. It was a large wedding with bridesmaids, ring bearer , flower girl and all. There were three Limo`s to take the Wedding party and the parents of the bride and groom, plus the two grandmothers-brides grandmother and Grooms grandmother.

The wedding started at 5pm on the cruise boat. The Bride wore a beautiful gown with the train and the bridesmaids dresses were very pretty. Two of the bridesmaids were my granddaughters, as was the flower girl and ring bearer- my great grandchildren. The little ones looked so cute walking in -with her dropping rose petals as she walked. He looked so proud carrying the ring pillow. After the wedding they let him keep the pillow to take home.

One thing I forgot to do was take a picture of the boat before we boarded. Of course I would have needed to take the picture way back on shore inorder to get the whole boat in the picture. We had a long dock to walk out on, plus the long drop down aisle with the railing to walk up to get upon the boat. After the wedding ceremony was the reception. About a month ago they sent out papers telling of the meal choices for us to pick what we would like to eat. Since they had us sitting at a table on one side of the bride and grooms table, we were one of the very first to be served. Having the list of what everyone wanted for their meal, they were able to have the food ready faster, so we never had to sit around for long. we had lots to munch on before the meal, then a three course meal, ending with deserts- wedding cake came later. One of my twins is the father of the groom and he sat at our table while the mother sat on the table on the other side of the center table. ( They got divorced when the three children were young). The brides parents and grandmother sat at the table across the room from the center table. I thought it strange that they had us and the grooms mother at the tables on either side of them while her parents sat across the open dance floor. Must have been the way my grandson and his new wife planned it. But I also know his parents paid for a lot of it along with the kids themself. So, maybe her parents didn`t participate in the planning or payments. I had never met her family before. I soon learned that her dad was a big flirt and her mom wasn`t very friendly. But her grandmother , what little I got to speak with her during the rehearsal supper the night before, I truly felt she was a sweetheart. I took to her immediately. I had met the bride a few times over the past year when my grandson drove up to visit his dad. We have stayed in contact over the net and she has called me Gram from the first time my grandson introduced her to me.

After the reception meal, there was the special dances ( Father & Bride, Groom with his mother, the bridal Bouquet toss and the garter episode, etc,) and then the Dances for everyone. My grandson had taken dancing lessons a few years ago - so is a very good dancer and his wife teaches dancing, so they were great to watch.

Yes Walker, I sure did a lot of dances. Slow dances, Fast dances, plus others. I even pulled my son out onto the floor for a slow dance and when that dance ended and a fast one started, I was able to keep him there for about half of the song. I noticed later on that one of his sisters also pulled him onto the floor for a fast dance. I know he hasn`t danced in years. Did both fast and slow dances with my grandson. Danced lots of dances, but the one that surprised me the most was when my ex-daughter-in-law`s new husband started dancing with me. He kept me on the floor thru two dances. Now how many men would ask his wife`s ex husband`s mother to dance? I had never met him before, but I have stayed in close touch with the ex-daughter-in-law even though she lived down in Texas- a very long ways from me here in upstate New york. I hadn`t seen her in person in at least 7 or 8 years, but we are in constant contact over the net. When she introduced me to her new Husband, she told him, "this is Mom , my ex`s Mother." Then she told him I was a sweet lady. Isn`t that a nice thing to hear an ex-in-law say? She got remarried a few years ago- up here in Lake George, NY. I never did understand why they came all the way from Texas to get married in our area. I told her husband that every time she receives an e-mail signed "love Mom" it was just me. You see, her Mom died years back and I became her fill-in Mom. Even two of her sisters still call me Mom. Her and my son had three children, this grandson was the oldest. When they broke up, the children were small and stayed living with their Dad ( my son). He raised them alone and they all graduated from High School. The grandson spent years in the Marines, just got out a couple years ago. The oldest daughter is a school teacher in Virginia and the youngest has a job and is also attending college at the present time. So, he did well raising them alone. He was a great Dad. My grandson told me they were trying to talk their Dad into moving closer to them in Virginia, but he really doesn`t want to give up his home with all the mountain property. He also has two dogs that he would never want to part with. When he was married they lived 4 hours drive from home in New Jersey -as that is where his ex-wife was from. He is happier living up this way, so he doesn`t realy want to move south again.

We got lots of exercise walking around Old Alexandria. We arrived there early Saturday afternoon and walked around downtown seeing all the old buildings. Then I left for the rehearsal supper Saturday evening while the rest went on a walk- - lit with a lantern and hearing ghost stories. Sunday morning my two daughters and the newest son-in-law and I went walking again. This time we walked behind the buildings along the waters edge.
The sidewalks there are still made with red bricks like in the older days and many of the older houses were also made with bricks. My girls enjoyed all those old building and then I told them we had lots of brick buildings around areas at home when I was younger. i also told them about the brick road out near where one of my Aunts lived. So, even though many of the houses were built long before my time, they were still around while I was growing up. So they didn`t amaze me like they did the kids. To my kids, they were real old and wonderful to see.
There was one paddle boat with the water wheel on the back that i especially liked. The fancy railings on both the top and lower dack were white and so fancy. I loved them. This large cruise boat was white with a yellow stripe under each of the fancy cutout railings on each deck. So very pretty. I took a picture and hope it comes out ok.

While on the boat, after the dancing, there was a cruise and they pointed out many places of interest. We could even see the Capital Building`s Dome, both looking across from the Virginia shore earlier and lots better from the boat along with the White House and the Washington Monument- all of course located in Washington DC. ., we started cruising off the coast of old Alexandria, Virginia . I took some pictures, but not sure if they will come out good since they were so far away in the distance.
We also went up on top and I took a few pictures while up there. Of course, whenever the boat went under the overhead bridges, they insisted that everyone come down from the upper top deck for safety reasons.

The wedding was Sunday, and we arrived back home late Monday evening. Took us almost 11 hours driving home. My son drove three hours longer due to one of his daughters giving the other daughter her car keys to hold for her. That younger daughter forgot she still had her sisters car keys when she left for home with their Dad, so her dad had to drive three hours back to meet his son who also drove three hours to meet him. The daughter who owned the car keys lived in Virginia., and the keys were on there way to New York state. Once we all arrived at my place, my son still had another two hours more driving to do. He had to drop off his grandchildren at their home and still drive another hour to his home.

Tuesday I mostly rested from the long ride home, but did manage to catch up the washings.

Today, Wednesday, I went to the Hannaford Grocery store to pick up some meds and intended on dropping off three rolls of films. From the store I went to the wellness Clinic at the Hospital for exercise sessions. After I came back home and had put my car in the garage, changed my clothes and started checking some e-mails, that`s when I remembered that the films were still in my pocketbook. I had forgotten to drop them off. It had started to sprinkle and all I was thinking about was reaching the exercise place before it started raining harder. Thats why I forgot all about the films. If it doesn`t rain tomorrow, I might run back down with them. I will post some pictures when I get them developed. I like the pictures from my other camera better than my Computer kodack one. They both take great pictures, but my Canon has the three settings and I can get the whole wedding party in one picture with it.

Update:
Here it is tomorrow- Thursday and I did drop off the three films ( two from this wedding and one from my daughter`s wedding that wasn`t finished before). I should be able to pick them up in a couple days.

Hi everyone,
Just a quick note to let everyone know I will be leaving in the morning for Virginia to attend a grandson`s wedding. This wedding will be held on a large boat and will be cruising out for a few hours after the wedding and reception ( or during, I `m realy not sure which).

I am all packed and we will be leaving home early in the morning (Sat.). It is about an 8 hour driving trip. My new son-in-law and his wife ( my daughter) will be doing all the driving. My oldest daughter will be riding in the back seat with me. My son, the father of the groom is driving down today with his youngest daughter and his 2 grandkids. My youngest daughter and her husband will be driving down later tomorrow. So, most of my family will be there for the wedding. I hope I don`t doze off on the ride down as I have sleep apnea and my machine will be packed in the trunk. In the past I used to snore bad before I found out the snoring was caused by the sleep apnea and I was put on the cpap (CFlex) machine. If I should doze off, I sure hope I don`t snore. That would be bad. Living alone, I have no way of knowing if I do still snore without the machine. Just know that Walt used to tell me I suddenly started snoring. Back then we didn`t know it was a medical problem that needed taking care of. I was too worried about Walt to think of myself at the time. I did know that I often stopped breathing at night, because Walt said he would shake me, I would let out a gasp and start breathing ok again. At the time my heart used to be very irregular, but not as bad since using the machine. So, it not only is keeping me breathing while asleep, but has also helped my heart. If only we had known years ago, Walt wouldn`t have been so worried about me. It would have made his life a little easier.

Well, I will miss you all and try to catch up with what everyone has been doing when I get back. Have a wonderful week-end everyone.

Walt`s Birthday I am writing this the day before his birthday and will be posting it tomorrow on his Birthday. Here I sit thinking of tomorrow and what it means to me. It would have been Walt's 81st Birthday, but he has been gone since three months before his 76th birthday. In September I celebrated my 76th Birthday and all daylong I kept thinking that he never had his 76th Birthday. I remember how I used to think the same way on my 72nd birthday, that I was older than my father as he was two months short of his 72nd birthday. Always leaves me wishing I could go back and give them more Birthdays. Guess we always wish we could keep our loved ones around forever. Does it ever get easier, or does the emptiness feeling last forever? Will I end up like my mother who spent 20 years alone without her husband, she was almost 91 years old,lacking just 4 days. My father (Jan.31st,1903) was 1 year 3+ months older than my mother (May 4, 1904). At times like this you sometimes think that if your marriage had been an unhappy one you might be glad it was over, but when it was a good marriage,it is harder to accept. You remember that there were times when things weren`t as good as you would have wished, but your next thought is how much you miss all those wonderful years together and wish you could have a lot more years together. Honey, I love you, Honey I care, Wherever I am I still want you near. I wish you a Birthday With your Family up there, I know how much you missed them When you were down here. I remember those dreams Before out first child was born, When every night your mother came To help me handle those hours alone. She begged me to stay with you, Told me things would get better, If only I was willing to hang on And trust our life together. Well Darling, she was right, I`m so glad I believed in your mother`s love. Together in love was our future`s plan, Thank you , Mother, for teaching me about love. Happy Birthday, My Darling, I love you so, Stay close to your mom `s love above, It is now her time to care for you till God calls me home to share our love. Before our first daughter was born was the time when Walt used to join his bro in a bar and come home real late. I was thinking of leaving , I was feeling so unloved. He would tell me he wouldn`t have married me if he hadn`t loved me. But every Friday night when he would leave to pick up his bro at the bar, he would end up staying there with him and I would start wondering again about his love. When I had finally made up my mind I was going to go find a job , move out and plan on raising my baby alone, that was when the night time dreams started. There was this woman who I had never met and she told me she was Walt`s mother. She begged me to give him more time, that things would work out if I would just be patient. These dreams continued for the rest of my months - right up to the day of delivery. Once the baby was born I never had the dreams again. Walt`s mother had died when Walt was only about 14 years old and he didn`t even have a picture of her. I never told anyone about those dreams at the time. But her image stayed with me after seeing her so much. One time when we were visiting his only sister I asked her if she had any pictures of their mother. She had this one picture taken on a wagon shortly after her first set of twins was born. His sister had lived way up North and came down to show her mother her new grandchildren. I bet my face showed what I was going thru because that picture was identical to the woman in my dreams. That was when I decided to tell her about her mother showing up for months every night in my dreams. I am still puzzled on how I was able to see a woman (his mother) in my dreams so clear when I had never even seen a picture to know what she looked like. Also, how was she able to keep me from leaving? Why was her visits so strong I didn`t have the power to go against her wishes. Yes, I probably wanted to believe her, that things would turn out ok if I just waited a while longer. I remember trying to convince her that I already had waited long enough- we had been married a year by then, so hadn`t I waited long enough. I always awoke feeling I should go ahead and leave, but her strength over me was too strong to win over. After our daughter was born and the dreams had stopped I again started thinking of taking our baby and leaving. But I got thinking of how hi smother kept saying things would get better. So, I decided , before just walking out, I would give him the choice of meeting his bro in the bar and losing his wife and daughter, or staying home with us. I even went so far as to get some boxes from a neighbor and packing the baby`s clothes and my own before Walt got home from work that Friday night. When he came home there were the boxes sitting by the front door. When Walt asked me what was in the boxes, I told him and said that - if you go out tonight we won`t be here when you get home. We will be finished. - The boxes must have convinced him because he stayed home and our marriage became happy again.I have to admit that his mother was right, if I was just patient a little longer, everything would turn out ok. I am so thankful to her and hope she knows I have her to thank for over 50 years with the man of my dreams. It still leaves me wondering how dreams like this can happen. I know that our thoughts can produce dreams, but there is no way our minds can make up a picture perfectly of a person we have never met and never even seen a picture of. That is one puzzle I still will never figure out.Sometimes I wonder if his mother stayed watching over her youngest son till she felt he was with someone who would watch over him for her. Walt was the only one still living at home and came home from school to find his mother on the kitchen floor. He never forgot that she was making apple pies at the time and had a heart attack. He told me that his mother lost a pair of twins so small they fit into one of those boxes the wooden matches used to be sold in. he must have seen the twins as he told me they were so tiny and still looked like babies. Apparently the heart attack had brought on the miscarriage. Walt`s father had died over a year before his mother. He was a drinker and not a good husband or good father from what Walt`s brothers and sister told me over the years. Walt had a step father for a short time.All the family seemed to like him, except the sister never actually knew him since she lived a long drive from home. I remember her once asking Walt if he was nice and Walt told her he was always nice to him and Mom. Happy Birthday Walt- October 3rd, 1926- July 19th, 2002. I do believe in love at first sight I fell for you the first time I saw you sitting eating supper in the Hospital cafeteria. It was August 28th, 1950, my first day working as a Nurse`s Aide while you were working there as an Orderly. I learned that you had only worked there a couple months before I started.What a coincidence that we had started working at the same place just a couple months apart. It was a few months that I just looked and finally we did start dating, and after dating for about a year we got married on December 23rd, 1951. Happy Birthday Darling. I still love you and miss you more and more everyday.