GOLD, SILVER, BRONZE....

Where has the month of February gone???  First the Super Bowl, which was a total letdown, and then the Daytona 500 which proved to be a good race, and now we are in the final stretch of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada.
I am a huge fan of the Snow Cross, Half Pipe, Ski Cross, Aerials, Moguls, Hockey, Speed Skating and all the down hill skiing events,
My favorite Olympians are: Louie Vito, Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn, Julia Mancuso, Apolo Ohno, and Bode Miller. Just to name a few. :)
I'm grateful for these Olympic games as they have made the month fly by...just one more month of "winter" and we'll be marching into spring!
I cannot wait to get in the garden this year! I've got plans to make it even bigger and better than last year, which is hard to believe considering what we've achieved so far.  I'm anxious to see which of my perennials return, and hopefully this year, we don't have a killing frost in June, which completely desomated my peonies last year.
I'll be adding a special "Annual Bed" this year, which will contain bulbs that need to be extracted every fall and then replanted in spring.  Those varieties include: Gladiolas and Cana.  And as always, I will have my special "seeded flowers" area, where zinnias, cornflower, annual poppies and Bells of Ireland can flourish all summer long.
We'll be expanding our potato section this year as well.  Two varieties of sweet potato: Bearegard and Georgia Jet and two varieties of regular potatoes: Russet and Baby Reds.
I've also learned about onions and the importance between, Day Neutral, Long Day and Short Day.  Which explains why our onions turned soft as quickly as they did after harvesting last year.
This year, will be the second year the strawberries have been in the garden.  After planting them last spring, they spread quickly and were throwing runners everywhere! So this year, we should have our first good harvest.  I cannot wait for that!
With Pat going back to work this past Monday, the scheduling will be a little different, as he won't be home until 2pm every day.  So there will be a lot of hot afternoons in the garden in my future. :o)  But I can think of much worse things...like, winter extending into June....err...no, forget I ever even said that.
Gram remains in the nursing home, much to her dislike.  I haven't been to see her in awhile so I'm thinking that if dad doesn't bring her home this weekend, I'll have to drop by.  It's still really difficult seeing her there. I know she hates it, being packed in a tiny room with a complete stranger that she can't even hold a conversation with.  It's saddening to see her that way.
February 18 marked the 5 year anniversary of my choleycystectomy (an uber fancy word for the "ripping out of one's gall bladder), and also the 9 year anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's untimely death at the Daytona 500.  Both are dates I'd rather not recall.
My seizures seem to be settling down a bit, "knock on wood", although I haven't felt good for the greater portion of the month.  But if there is a "good" month to not feel well, I'd have to say February is the one since it's plagued with the coldest weather of the year and snow storms galore.  What better time to be laid up?? Right??
Well, I'm looking forward to spending some time with my besties in the near future and for the arrival of spring.  Soon I'll be making my famous bunny cake for Easter...it seems like just yesterday when I flubbed one up, hard core at that.  This year my first try will work, no doubt! Never make the same mistakes twice!
PS Good luck to the US Men's Hockey team...GO FOR THE GOLD!! WOOHOO!