Curse Still Alive, But Thwarted!

It has become a sad, repeating bad joke around our house that almost every Mothers Day has been a disaster!  Regardless of plans made, something has happened, last minute to screw it up!  Last year, the evening before (and morning of) a stomach virus ripped through the house infecting almost everyone.  Instead of enjoying her day, Angi played the part of nurse maid to me and most of the kids.  This year, I was hell bent on making sure she had a day she deserved!  It was met with challenges from the onset as Owen, having been born on Mothers day eleven years ago, would be once again sharing her day.  Last weekend I picked up a bevy of art supplies and had the kiddo's make handmade cards here at the shop after school and they did an excellent job.  The older boys, of course, being in the "selfish stage" (a period of thinking ONLY of themselves that will last, I believe, well into their thirties) opted to not do anything! 
Saturday, on the way home from work, I stopped off and got part of my gifts for her, amongst them a beautiful bouquet of yellow roses.  Yellow roses were the first flower I EVER bought Angi, and more often then not I am unable to find them.  And these were spectacular!  Excited with my find, I eagerly set off for home.  As I pulled into the driveway (in retrospect, in my exuberance, a little to fast!) I hit the drop off at the end of our driveway, and the jarring effect threw the bag holding the rose's into my front wheel, shredding them!  ARRGH!!!!!
I was, to say the least, downtrodden!  When I entered the house Angi could clearly see I was upset.  When I told her what happened, she was very consoling, and instead of being disappointed, went out and gathered up all the surviving pedals and a couple of intact bulbs, and made a very lovely. albeit makeshift, arrangement. 
We then went to Barnes and Noble and Wally World later that evening to get Owen his B-Day goodies, and also a few things for her.  She did however insist that we buy the Over sized Darth Vader Statuette that she had seen prior to Christmas, to display in the shop.  We looked through the flowers there for a suitable replacement, but quickly discovered that Walmart flowers SUCK!!  Most of them looked WAY past their prime, were wilting and the ONLY bouquet that had any fragrance smelled like urine!  I kid you NOT!!  YUCK!!
We settled on a potted plant, that may have a chance at life!
The morning of, we were awoke by the all to familiar raised voices in the room next to ours, as kiddos battled over TV rights.  Rising from bed, I went out to hush them and gleefully discovered that Owen and Rozlynd had taken the initiative to dress up the table and present cards they had made that morning on their own!  It was very sweet.  Angi didn't sleep in to much longer (even though we had both had less then four hours of sleep) Then it was a whirlwind of brunch, Mothers day presentations, Owens Birthday, Pool time, dinner for the kiddos, baths and showers, then I took Angi out for her gift from me, an evening of dinner and drinks.  Originally I had offered to take her to a posh restaurant in downtown Dunedin, but she wished to visit our favorite haunt, Flanagan's Pub.  We had a traditional evening out toast with a shot of Irish Mist, then our dinner.  Being Sunday, it was a wee bit quiet, with no live entertainment, so we opted to call it an early evening and take a walk.  As we went to pay the bill, the Mothers Day Curse reared it's ugly head.  Seems with all the unbridled spending we did Saturday we were a little shy in the account.  Now, we have overdraft protection and it's supposed to pull from savings to avoid this kind of embarrassment, but for some reason it wasn't!  Being unable to do anything there, they very kindly stated they understood and excepted our promise to come in and pay it today.  Angi, of course, was mortified and justifiably upset.  BUT she eventually calmed down.  Of course, not wanting to let us off TO easy, the curse had one more kick before Midnight gave reprieve, and the cab we called never showed, so after three phone calls (and over an hour later) the other cab company showed up. 
I have to give her credit though, with all that she STILL enjoyed her day!
Sure beats cleaning up after sick family!
ANYWHO!
Saturday, while not as busy as Friday, was fun none the less!  The new guy, Andrew, has a lot of gumption, and having experience with bike mechanics did a pretty good job fitting in.  Having the three boys in here, of course, had it's challenges regarding space to work, but we did OK.  Of course we thank all the folks for coming in, and the trust they extend with their repairs!  One in particular was a real ego boost!  Jeff, a gent recently acquiring a vintage Raleigh touring bike, has been reading the blog for some time, and visited us occasionally.  Wanting to restore the old gem, in his words, he couldn't  think of anyone else more suited to bring his ride back to life!  Thank you VERY much for the trust my good man!  We will proudly restore her vigor!
Today, we have a plethora of newbies to get ready (having torn the majority of them down Saturday) so I would be best served getting my butt in gear!
That is after I go to Flanagan's and pay our tab!
See ya soon! 





Elijah, Kaleb and the new guy Andrew.  Notice who is the only one working?
Welcome to my world!