Words in flowers........

I went out front today and took this picture of my violas;) Many of my annuals are so confused by the unusual weather that they are not blooming as well as in the past;( My DH decided they needed a boost so he chose to fertilize and give them B 12 at the same time........let me tell ya, this is NOT something you ever want to do. There CAN be TOO much of a good thing. Many of my plants are now in "flower heaven"........ahhhh, but do you think he listened to me when I advised him NOT to do this? Do you think he adhered to my sweet advice? Do ya think the man has EARS???
Argggggggggg, I tell ya, good thing I think he is cute and when he smiles he has these 2 dimples or I would be writing this blog from the state penitentiary for "Accidental Homicide" caused by a garden hoe;)
Happy Sunday
Embrace Flowers, Marylou ^-^

Oh My Gosh;-)

Here we go again;-) Thru our recent sadness comes great joy...my son Tony and his lovely wife Genevieve have made a blessed announcement. They are having a baby;-) WOW...I am so happy and excited for them. Their child will have a cousin (who was just born on Sept. 25th) to share childhood memories with. My daughter-in-law is due in April so there will only be a few months difference in age. God needed one of our family members, it was his time to go, his purpose was above what can be accomplished here on earth and I am certain he is helping out in heaven with his many talents;) Now, God being so good chose to send 2 new lives to our family to help ease the pain of loss. I am so grateful for the goodness our family has received at a time that caused us such grief. Thank you God, these new lives will enrich our family and we will be sure to hopefully raise them to be faithful to your will.
Embrace Life
Marylou

A New Life;)

We welcome this little fella to our family;) With our recent loss he is a blessing and we see much of his departed grandfather in him;)
Weighing 7lbs 15oz and measuring 20 inches long he arrived on Thursday, Sept. 25th. Mom and son are doing well and this Nona (Italian for Grandma) is overjoyed! Yes, there is that fine line of loss but as the circle of life continues we must rejoice in the "good" God gives us and understand that those who have left us are in a "better place"......Grandpa Frank, he has your smile;)
Hug Life, Marylou

An Unbearable Sorrow;(

I met him at his workplace, a restaurant named Francesco's...It was
December, 1971. We chatted awhile and he asked for my phone number. I gave it to
him and thought nothing more about it. The next day at my place of work a
delivery man came into the office with a beautiful bouquet of roses. All the
girls ran to the counter, all hoping the flowers were for them. I didn't
bother as I was certain they were not for me. My boss said Mary, these are
addressed to you. I stuttered and said, "really?".....I placed them on
my desk and opened the card which simply read "From
Frank"..........and the story began!

We dated for a little over a year, wonderful dates, some which included having
dinner at The Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco and visits to Las Vegas to see a
shows by well known entertainers. One of my favorites was a trip to Disneyland
which showed how he could behave like a child but was definitely a man;) We were
married on Feb. 10, 1973 choosing a Catholic Parish. After the ceremony we
followed up with a sit down dinner and reception at the restaurant, yes, you
guessed correctly, Francesco's..;) We danced to our favorite Italian band
till all hours and left for our honeymoon the next day. We arrived in London and
visited Germany, and then spent the majority of our 2 week time in Italy. We met
up with family and attended parties and banquets in our honor. It was wonderful,
being a new bride was like walking on clouds and this man I had married was
funny, caring and full of passion for a love of LIFE!

We settled in our first apartment as husband and wife, he working at the
restaurant and I at my secretarial job. A few years later our daughter was born,
Francesca Geraldine arrived on March 23, 1975. He was so excited to see this
tiny little girl that had her father's smile;) He showered her with love and
spoiled her with toys or was that what I did, no, I recall we BOTH did. Time
passed and 5 years later our son, Anthony Dewey, was born, Dec. 11, 1979 and
when he learned he had a son he wept..... we were so happy and feeling blessed
that God chose to give us one of each, a boy and a girl and life was good. He
worked and I stayed home and took care of our home and children. Holidays held
the most wonderful memories, a time when grandparents were abundant as were
sisters and cousins. A time for growing and learning and how quickly the time
went by. Both children did well in school and followed thru to college. They now
are married, settled and expecting children of their own;)

Darker Days........he was diagnosed a few years ago with a difficult illness
but continued to keep a positive outlook on life. The doctors were amazed at his
ability to fight the demons inside that were trying to harm him. He retired,
traveled, fished, bought those infamous toys that grown men buy;) Life was good
and he talked to the children at least once a day by phone. He always kept the
communication open! Being retired he had more time to give to his children who
he loved with all his heart.... He was looking forward to the births of his
first grandchildren, and then.........life took a harsh turn. He was diagnosed
with a terminal illness and there were no cures, antidotes....only hope and that
is what he kept in his heart!

After many doctor visits, tests and a breakdown of his body and soul he spent
days with his daughter and then days with his son. His wishes were to pass from
this world at home, with his family.......and, on Friday, Sept. 19, 2008 he,
surrounded by his family took his last breath. He reached for my hand in those
last moments and I held on tight, as if by holding tightly he would not slip
away but that is not how the story ends. He left our world and he is now in the
loving arms of our God.

He will be remembered as caring, loving, accommodating, helpful, kind, generous
and funny. His legacy shall continue thru his children and their children and
the circle of life will flourish. He made his mark in many ways, he was a
successful restaurateur, a loving father, husband and friend.
He was Frank Joseph Bargiacchi, a man of his word and a man whose honor is to
be admired and hopefully taught to his grandchildren, and their children and on
and on.................

I shall miss this man, Frank, more than I ever imagined I could miss anyone. He
was the one I loved and will continue to love till the end of my time. I know he
is in a better place, I know he is surrounded by God's generous and
unconditional love and I know he is at peace.............

Frank J Bargiacchi
Feb. 24, 1948 Sept. 19, 2008

IT HAS STARTED;)

Oh my gosh, it has started. I am shopping again;) Yep, call the press, it has been a long time since I truly have WANTED to shop but since I received the GRAND news, pun intended, about my grandson I am going CRAZY!
Okay, first of all the little fella will enter our world on Sept. 25th so I have LOTS of time to do LOTS of damage;) Now, for those of you who do not know DH and I have a sailboat and we LOVE pirate movies, especially the oldies with Errol Flynn;)
I sometimes tease DH and call him a pirate and of course I am his first mate, even if we are dock sailing, which we often do since I do not like the BIG water, meaning the Pacific Ocean;) I digress, but wanted to preface this latest acquisition. Look at this adorable outfit!!!! Oh, I think I am in Grandmom heaven;) My grandson's middle name has been chosen, compliments of yours truly and it will be Quinn. Mom and Dad are still working on his first name...I keep hearing Beckham, Adain, does not matter to me AS I SHALL ADDRESS HIM AS QUINN. It is such a staunch sailor's name and what does a sailor need but an adorable outfit like THIS...WOOT.....AND, it is from Baby Gap, Quinn's moms fave store!!! I shall score major points on this one, haha. It feels so good to feel happy again. Yes, there is still sadness around me but I cannot control that, it is all in God's hands. So, I like to think that God sent this little fella to us at this time to try to give us all some joy.....and JOY it has been. I can't imagine how I shall behave when he is born, most likely I will be one of those babbling grandmothers;) Okay, I won't dare show you all the other goodies I have purchased, it is terrible but SO MUCH FUN;)
Hug Life, Marylou ^-^

It's A Boy;)

Lately it has been difficult for me to blog as there have been sad events happening in my life.......but.....today I have some good news and would like to share it with YOU;) My daughter, Francesca, is pregnant and she saw her gynecologist yesterday and had some tests done. The baby is well and so is mom. All is going in nature's direction as expected. THE DOCTOR INFORMED MY DAUGHTER AND HER HUSBAND THAT THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE A BOY;) Wow, I am so very grateful;) A new life is coming and I am to be a grandmother for the first time!! It is very exciting. My daughter needs to have a cesarean so they have chosen the date which is September 25th. I am counting the days;) Now, off I go to do some shopping, what do little boys like??? I am sure I shall remember the moment I walk into the mall;)
Embrace Life, Marylou

Intuitive perception.........

"For God Himself works in our souls, in the deepest depths, taking increasing control as we are progressively willing to be prepared for His wonder."

I have been misguided by my intuitive perception or insight to the essential meaning of faith. You see, two very important people in my life are struggling with terminal health issues and this tragedy has taken me to a very dark arena. I love these two individuals so very much and they both have played an important role in my life, more than I could ever express in a blog.... They have also been in my life for such a long time I often find it hard to remember a time when they were not in my thoughts nor in my heart. With that said I have found a place to hide from the cruel facts of life, a place where I felt harbored from pain, a place where I thought I could escape..... and that place is called depression. I realize such a coping mechanism is NOT acceptable nor a way to get thru difficult times and overburdened thoughts in one's life. I have not done much about this but swim in my sea of doubt and I felt as though I was drowning.

This morning (here in CA it is 6:30 am) I happen to turn on my t.v. and something struck me as if I were hit by a "lightning" bolt. I walked away from the kitchen and gave my attention to the t.v. announcer as Pope Benedict was entering St. Patrick's Cathedral.... and as I watched the crowds, delirious with joy to simply be in the presence of God's most highly revered Shepherd I fell to my knees. Yes, I am not embellishing this for the sake of writing. I TRULY fell to my knees and started to pray. This Holy man brought me to my knees, where I should have been more often during this course of discernment and angst. I never left God but I never truly handed over my fears, doubts or concerns to him. This morning, April 19th, 2008, at 6:30am I rested my troubles in our Lord and passed him the sword. I cannot fight the fear and solicitude any longer BUT with HIS help I shall embrace it with all I have, and, with HIM by my side I will succeed. I will do this for not only myself, but for the loved ones who stand with me, my family and friends. I will do this for HIM.

It very often amazes me how one moment in one's life can be a critical turning point. I have noticed my moments have always been with HIM by my side. I am going to continue watching this most reverent servant of God, Pope Benedict and take pleasure in the Mass he shall deliver. May you all be blessed by his presence, may our country and other countries be blessed by his presence and may we all find our paths in life, difficult as they may be, blessed by his presence.
Embrace HIM, Marylou;)

And because there must be laughter in our lives I wish to share this quote by Pope Benedict himself when he became our new Pope, and he said.....“We were looking for a 'good shepherd,' and instead we got a German shepherd.”
Pope Benedict XVI quote
Gotta just love a Holy man who can make the world SMILE;)

~I am Here~

The music is playing but I cannot hear it.....the birds are singing but I cannot enjoy the rhythm of their chirps. The flowers are blooming but I am unaware of their beauty. Best get this darn body movin' and groovin'. I know I need to take time to appreciate all that surrounds me but times have been harsh lately, happens to everyone and it appears this is my season for disappointments. I will get thru this and I shall return to blogging and chattin' up a storm with all my dear friends, soon, not sure when but I will return and I promise myself I shall make the time to stop and smell the roses;)
I simply need to not only HUG LIFE, but to EMBRACE it!!
Marylou

~My World is Upside Down~

Ever feel like this???? I have and I do!!
I have been busy and I must confess that all I have been doing is "foolin' around"....:) But ya know what? I think that sometimes in life WE all need to simply have fun. Now, don't misconstrue my message here.... I have not had the pleasure of a Hawaiian vacation, or a trip to Italy so don't get all jazzed. I have just been "goofin' off".....I am not even sure I can explain it. Suffice it to say I have dust bunnies hiding, laundry piling and bills stacking as high as the redwoods.......BUT......in all this confusion I have been able to delude myself and rationalize to DH that everything is under control....LMAO;) Hey, life is short and sometimes ya just gotta stop and smell the roses;) As my friend Amy would say, YIPPY SKIPPY!!
Hug Life, Marylou

~WHAT A GAME~

Okay, you may have seen the game, maybe not, but for me the highlight, after the New York Giants BEAT New England, was this commercial. This was pure brillance, and in my father-in-law's home our small group voted for our own MVP, which was a tie of course:) Thunder and the Dalmation both won;)Click on and enjoy!!
Hug Life, Marylou

~MY BAD~

Hiya ladies in blogland:-) I have been lolling and fritting my time away, spending too much energy on non issues and before I knew it I missed the chance to celebrate my wonderful friends most special day:( I have no excuses other than my usual backup, my A.D.D. but I respect and adore this gal too much to even try that with her. I have been frolicking on You Tube way toooooo much!!! So, to my dear friend Ellen, a belated 39th Happy Birthday and may all your wishes come true!!!
ps..AND what a PRETTY friend she is:-)WOOT!!
Hug Life, Marylou

~AND IT RAINED, RAINED & RAINED~

This picture is my driveway, where the cone is placed, on Friday which had about 2 feet of water at that point, more came. The fire trucks and city services arrived just in time to pump the water out and we were lucky, no damage to our home. We all have our own pumps due to our property arrangements, our homes being lower than the street level. Across the street from us is a city maintained drain that never works when we have a big storm. Friday's storm was the biggest in our local history, almost 8" of rainfall. I called DH from work and he came home. My son came to help out as well. Again, we were fortunate not to have any severe water damage but some of our neighbors were not so lucky. I am NOT complaining as I have seen what happened in Nevada and how many people incurred devastating damages.

Most importantly I am writing this post because yesterday my DH went to Sausalito where our boat is docked to make sure she was okay. Well, the San Francisco bay had 100 mph winds and our sail boat cover was torn to shreds. Other boats had the same damages...I was upset as the cost to repair is not in our budget now and the boat has not only a monetary value but she is my DH's second love, MOI being his first:) As I was complaining about the cost to repair, oh what shall we do, yada..yada...my DH was quiet on the other end of the phone and I could not figure out why other than he was sad because of the boat's loss........duh....sometimes I am so selfish I could kick myself. Lucky for me my foot can't reach my rear end! I asked him, why so down and out. We will figure a way to fix this. He said he had just learned that our dock neighbor, a professional diver, went out the day of the storm to aid someone in need and did not have his wet suit on, was tossed in the water due to the high swells and, well...he did not survive his brave attempt:(

So, I have made myself a promise again, I make this promise every so often and I loose perspective, so AGAIN, my promise is to never take the loss of anything monetary that serious again!!! This young man lost his life in his endeavor to come to the aid of another, THAT IS WHAT I CALL LOSS! Too sad to say much more other than thank you all in blogland for giving me this format to vent. I am grateful for that more than you know.
Take care, don't fret about the small stuff and remember, HUG LIFE......Marylou:(

~FOR BELLA~AKA, MARY@ISABELLAS CLOSET~

Dear Mary,

Please remember what I told you about Spring, it will be here before we know it:-) You can see us here planting together. We do that you see, you and I. Oh, maybe not in person since we live so far apart geographically, but in our hearts. You send me an email filled with seeds that in turn are filled with love. I accept those seeds and plant them here in my heart ^-^ and a true friendship begins to take root and grow!! I have so many blossoms from you dear friend that my bouquet is full so I would like to return the favor and send you a few of those dear seeds!! May they grow in your heart as they have in mine and may they occupy every vessel in your home and in your spirit. Take care my dear friend and KNOW how many of us are praying for you! Mary, it shall soon be Spring and we shall reap the harvest of our difficult winter...take care.
Hug Life, Marylou