Dear Reader:

Since it was pretty cool yesterday morning…(like Lucy the cat) I found myself basking in the beautiful sunshine…actually sitting on the deck in “Lucy’s lounge chair” as she looked at me disdainfully for taking her “throne.” (Hey, I paid for it…it is brand new…thank you!)

As I was drowsily drifting off I started remembering games we used to play as kids…especially road games when traveling.

“I See” was always a popular one. (besides counting cows and then losing them to the cemetery on the right or left of where you were positioned in the car…sadly there are few cows or church cemeteries left  (even on the back, back roads) any more for this game)

One version of “I See”  that we played was the alphabet game. Whoever spotted an “A” word first got  1 pt and so on…so I decided to take my Iphone camera and play the game…both in the house and outside. No pressure in this version to find it first…just find it and document it with a photo.

So on this cool spring afternoon….here goes. I will do the first half of the alphabet today and the second half tomorrow.

A – Azalea– What would our beloved  Flowertown in the Pines (and Festival) be without our famous azaleas? (even if the larger Formosas are late coming in this year… which is rather ironic…since we have had years they have come and gone by the festival.)

B- Barbour – Even after all this time I can’t bring myself to take down mother’s door knocker that she received as a retirement gift before moving to Summerville to live with us.

After her passing…none of the subsequent renters ever questioned it remaining intact on the door…and it still makes me happy to see mother’s door knocker symbolizing daddy’s Scottish heritage every day.

C – Cat.…as in Lucy. Her owner thought she was on her last stretch a few years ago…but with some food and a little loving she is still here. We share a lot in common as two older gals just enjoying the sunshine of life. (You noticed that she “skunked” my lounge chair back when I moved on.)

D – Dogwood.  In Fayetteville, NC (where I grew up) we had more dogwood trees than you could “shake a stick at.” Not as many azaleas, like Summerville, but big beautiful beautiful dogwood trees.

In my childhood neighborhood…I can’t remember a single house on my block that didn’t have at least one dogwood in it. It truly looked like a faerieland in the spring! (Picture of my across the street neighbor’s dogwood)

E – Eating. The Charleston area is certainly famous for its cuisine (which is part of the popularity problem for the ever-growing population)

As for me…I have simple tastes…for example I took this picture of my favorite Girl Scout cookie (mint) to use for the letter “G”…after which I took a bite for the letter “E-ating.…two birds with one stone! (or that’s how the cookie crumbles)

F – Faeries (old English spelling that I love)

I love this art decorated window frame that I bought from Kay at Baker’s ( Pond) Nursery …it now hangs on my side fence and makes me smile in imaginative anticipation at the sight of faeries playing in the garden…playing peek or boo with us.

G – Gerber Daisies.  Since I just finished filling my front porch planters with Gerber daisies (to sit on the front steps below the morning glory and moon flower seed planters) I choose them for the letter “G“…they make me happy with their bright colors and cheery disposition…even if they are thirsty little creatures. (and of course the original Girl Scout cookie photo…before the food attack.)

H- “Happy Room”– My den changes in decor….along with my personal changes in life…but, still, it always remains cloaked in sunshine and bright primary colors. I never tire of walking into my home and brightening up at the sight of it. It never fails to put a smile on my face!

I- I Love You! …for all of your support and encouragement throughout the years since the blog (Chapel of Hope Stories) started in August 2010. You have been there for me through highs and lows and kept me writing…helping mecontribute my part to the “lake.”

Jean Rhys famous quote:…”All that matters is feeding the lake. I don’t matter. The lake matters. You must keep feeding the lake‘”…keep writing!

J-akie. Eva Cate, Rutledge, and Lachlan….My “Thank You Note” to God…my breath of life.

K – Key.  A change in the “Happy Room“…with a large decorative “key” that lies on the wall behind the mantle to remind me that I must keep turning the key to every possibility that arises in life. Locked doors just produce dusty by-gones.

L- LOVE.  These days my heart overflows with love…it happens every time I get a glimpse of the future with the addition of another member to our family.

The latest being an “L” of course (Lachlan). Walsh said when he was good ….he would be the “Lach” (luck) of the Irish and when he was bad…he would be the “Lach” (loch) Ness Monster. Either way Boo Boo will love him forever…as she does all her precious treasures… called grandchildren.

M-My “Magic” Moon Gate.  Like my “Happy Room” I never tire of walking out on the deck and seeing my moon gate smiling back at me…the entrance to a dream turned reality with the help of Anne, Doodle, Harriett, my Ya’s…and so many of you readers who have contributed a flower, decoration, bench, solar light, or plant to it. (And John Lee for building the moon gate for me!)

The “MY” in my garden only means “My My” how blessed I am to have friends who take time to reach out and push another fellow traveler… higher to the stars….higher to her dreams!

……………..

We are half-way through the alphabet so I will end here for today but as Scarlet so aptly expressed: “Tomorrow is another day” and more pictures to come.

So until tomorrow…remember to pause and capture memories on photo before the memories fade from our minds.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* We heard from the prayer line that my (our) friend, Linda Carson, had to return to Trident to make some repairs from her earlier surgery last Monday.

Please keep Linda, her husband Rick, and her caring family in your prayers also. I don’t know what I would have done without Linda by my side explaining everything to me during the chemo sessions I underwent. God ran out of sugar after making Linda…sweetest girl, friend, and nurse around!

*Linda with Eva Cate in one chemo session a little over a couple of years ago. They grow up too fast!

* Anne emailed to reassure us she had reached Hawaii and gotten hooked up with her sister and brother-in-law….she said they were chasing rainbows and soon would leave for their snorkeling adventures. (Let’s hope a certain kind of fish isn’t chasing Anne)