Kelly's Engaged!

WOW !!!

     Kelly met Chad during her Georgetown days.  They were friends and didn't begin dating until later...after they lived 3000 miles apart.!!! Kelly in Seattle and Chad in DC!  Their Bi Costal relationship has had them meeting all over the country, indeed the planet for long weekends, New Orleans, Ixtapa, Mexico, NYC, St Louis, Ontario for the Olympics, etc....

     Their friends call them Biscuits and Gravy, hence the T shirts.  (nice touch Chad!)

     Chad is a wonderful man and will be a welcome addition to the family.

They tell me Chad designed this engagement ring himself. 

       While they will always be  my little girls, both my lovely daughters have found wonderful men to bring into the family! 

Balcony Gardening etc

     A few years ago, when I started coming to Monaco more regularly I noticed that the plants and flowers on the balcony were very unhappy! Dad was on an extended cruise on The Crystal Serenity at the time .  I took Ann to Italy and we began to buy plants.  We also had a fountain that long ago ceased to be a fountain and became a statue.  Well, no secret I get a bit carried away when it comes to plants and my "personal environment."

     I repaired the fountain and began planting. Since then, I have found a nursery I LOVE on the road to Carros (where the fameous French strawberries come from) and Dinge, France.

    Well, given my proclivity to maybe get a bit carried away, we now have vegetables and greenery on our balconies with a working fountain.  (I wanted to either fill the fountain with wine, (after making it a closed system) or wine colored water.  Another of my great (ya right) IDEAS SHOT DOWN!

The Fountain....

    For over three years, I have been trying everything to create the sound of a brook with the fountain.  I have been able to duplicate the sound of;  filling a  kitchen sink, water overflowing from a commode onto a tile floor, a broken fire hydrant, etc....never quite what I was looking for.  I have finally created the correct audio...  The means, how ever are not the aesthetics I was hoping for...

Tupperware and broken clay pots!  THE MEANS JUSTIFY THE END?  Perhaps.... in this case. Stay tuned, I have an idea that may "save" the aura of CORNICOPIA!

When I bought this plant in Ventimiglia, it fir in the back seat!

NOW WE SIT ON THE BALCONY AND WATCH SIGHTS LIKE THIS....

TO BE CONTINUED....