As we have moved past the vernal equinox and Spring is official, it occurs to me that I have quite a few Winter projects that I never came close to starting.  Maybe my to do list is a bit ambitious.  I think that I feel more comfortable in having lots of ideas for projects to tackle than no list at all.  So I decided to get a bit of a jump on my garden clean up.  A lot of it should have been done last Fall but whatever.  I now have clean garden beds that are waiting for mulch and barely waking up.  The ground here stays cold through March and then suddenly in late April and May, everything is in bloom and needs weeding already.  In as much as I need to be patient with my garden, I can still find plenty to do indoors.  I found these Holga shots that I did a while back in various gardens that inspired me.

My incredible Mom, (aka “Mimsey”) turns 82 years young today.  We got together this weekend and she presented us with a DVD of pictures from her past.  One of our relatives has been diligently putting this all together.  There are scans from her childhood of various family members, some which even she cannot make out.  I am fascinated by the obvious pictures of my Mom, Grandparents and Great Grandmother.  Beyond that, I am intrigued with how different life was back then.   Formal yet simple post depression life.  Even if I do not recognize some of these people as being my blood relatives, I am nostalgic for the time that they lived in.  I think that it looks far more romantic than it actually was.  I am ultimately drawn to the pictures of my Grandma and my Mom together when my Mom was a little girl.  We had a laugh showing our own kids pictures of ourselves when we were babies.  I guess that you have to put your time in before you realize just how fast life moves.  Happy Birthday to the Greatest Mom on the Planet (that is besides me).

Grandma Weihe and my Mom as a young girl

My Great Grandmother

My Mom as a teenager

Unknown relatives in front of their store

Another unknown relative who must have been alright because she obviously loved dogs

Me and my sisters way back when

I am making a book for my Mom of our family.  Having photos is so important!

My poor little guy was abnormally quiet and cuddled up with the cat on Friday.  I thought that it was just my good fortune that he would let me take his picture.  He normally hates it.  We went on to have a full weekend including soccer team try outs and dinner with friends and family.  I knew Sunday that he was sick and that I would have to get to the doctor on Monday morning,  but I never expected the outcome to be pneumonia.  We were given a Z-pack and an inhaler to use four times a day.  I feel so bad for him, but grateful that we got treatment and that we normally don’t have health issues to deal with.

His real name is Robert Burck, but to anyone who has passes him by in Times Square, he is simply recognized best as the ‘Naked Cowboy’. I found this Associated Press shot on the web today and had to laugh. I believe it was just this past Fall when I was in the city with my son one day when we found ourselves in Times Square on our way to Toys r Us. I was surprised that the ‘Naked Cowboy’ wasn’t preforming and was told by a street cop that he was probably in court that day. It seems that the makers of M&Ms, (Mars Inc.) has made an advertisement using the likeness of Robert, briefs and all. The cop went on to tell me that the ‘Naked Cowboy’ makes a really decent living preforming in Times square. Frankly, I’m not surprised since I’ve seen him there for many years. If he wins his lawsuit against Mars Inc. he’ll definitely be able to afford some new duds.