Mom would have liked this ~ ~ ~

My Mom was probably the original recycler, the original thrift queen. It took me many years, decades actually, to understand why. She was brought up during the depression by a widowed mother from the "old country", with three children to support. Mom says they never went hungry but they ate soup every night. It was all they could afford. She doesn't know how my Grandma did it, but she did.

Nothing pleased Mom more than starting a plant from a seed or a snip off a plant. My brother had hung a bird feeder near Mom's front picture window so she could look out and enjoy the birds. I truly believe this volunteer sunflower grew in her honor. It faced the house as if to say "Aggie look. Here I am." The funny thing is that it was facing north, rather than south.
Here is the mimosa tree Mom started from a seed 7 or 8 years ago. She planted it in a pot and nurtured it all winter in her kitchen. Come spring, I planted it in the yard in the exact spot she wanted. This year, it is probably 8 to 9 feet tall.

Mimosas have the airiest of leaves, almost frond-like.

This year her tree bloomed for the very first time. It brought tears to my eyes when I saw them.

A close-up. Oh, Mom would have been so proud of the tree, but I'm sure she knows they are there and is smiling down on us all.

Isn't this just the sweetest picture? How can you not love those faces? That's Eema on the left and Loocie on the right.

Last evening I spoke with a possible forever home for Eema. I love her to pieces and will cry when she is adopted, but the reason I foster is for the pug to find a forever home. It is very bittersweet but so very rewarding. Anyway, once again, Eema is stuck with me. The lady lives in an apartment and because Eema sometimes howls when I am gone (though I don't know how long she carries on), the lady was afraid she would disturb her neighbors. Poor Eema is just the sweetest thing, but now she's been rejected because she weighed too much, because she can be bad in the car, and now because of this. I mean, I understand, but the longer she is with me (and it's been a LONG TIME), the harder it will be for her (and for me, too). Say a little prayer that the perfect home comes along soon, or she may be stuck with me as her forever mom :-)

As always, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy lives to read my blog. I really do appreciate each and every one of you.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren