My store, Prince Frederick Graphics, also known as PFG.

All of these came out since Tuesday!

This was right up the street from my house, at Mattipany Road and Route 5, across from Bauer Road.

My Bleeding Heart Bushes-- These fascinate me!!!

Blair's Visit to Maryland

Picture from my brother's visit to Maryland last week. Although I would have preferred one of both of us, it didn't happen.

Ok, this is Danny(Pat's brother) with Cheri (Pat's sister) and Billy (Pat's youngest brother) in the back, Molly's boyfriend (Dave?), Kevin (Cheri's husband) , Molly (Pat's cousin from Rhode Island) Nick (in back) and Sam (in front). Right after we moved into the house!

This is the clan, right after we moved into our first house. Danny and Billy, Pat's little brothers are behind me. I am leaning on Pat. Molly (Pat's cousin) and her boyfriend, are standong next to Kevin, Cheri's husband. Sam is next to Pat and Nick is in Molly's arms. Cheri took the photo.

Blair and Me, when he visited for dinner, April of 06.

Some of my youth group kids, playing in the leaves with their siblings at the Chapel, during the Thanksgiving Dinner, Fall of 06.

My CCD class this year. Kindergarten.

Me, Nathan, Caroline holding Alyson, Andrew, Maria Isable, and Lexie!

Kathie and Tommy's kids, Dani Heather, Colton, and Kara Noelle

Mom and Dad, Rena, Riley, and Rachel, at Blair's house in Georgia.

My house in the snow. Fall of 2005, right after we moved it!

Trinity

Aurora, Herman, Willow, and Boxcar.

Ok, this is the whole family, taken December 26th, in Georgia at Blair's house. Me, Mom and Dad, Blair and Leigh, Rachel (in Blair's arms) Riley (with Leigh) and Rena with Leigh's dog, Max.

This was something Mom kept saying she wanted, a picture of all of us together. Now she has it.

Slow Mondays

Ok, I really hate slow Mondays. Fridays are usually pretty busy here, but this past Friday was slow, so there was no layover work for Monday. Erin is tired because she didn't get back from Phily until 1am. I am tired because I went to bed at 11 pm, and woke up at 3am on the dot. And Ed, well, he already has his toes in the sand on St. Croix.

At least if it were sunny, it wouldn't be so bad. But it is dreary, half raining, and cool. Not cold, just annoyingly cool.

So many things going on this week and the last couple of weeks.

1. Kathie's twins are getting ready to graduate from high school. Well, Kara is already done, but Dani is graduating. I wish I could go out there for it. I had promised, but I was there at Thanksgiving the last two years, and have a wedding here the same weekend. I would prefer graduation in New Mexico, but Kathie's family is coming out, and they have never been there. She needs some time with them. I am sad though, because I won't get to see them this summer. It seems only yesterday, Kathie was telling me she was having twins, and my mom and I were laughing so hard.
   
2. My friends, Lisa and Dave, are finally going to get to bring their son home from Children's Hospital. He is finally of weight and off all medicines, and doing great. The girls are so excited. They were bouncing off the walls in class yesterday. Way to go, JP. Amen and thanks to God!
   
3. It's finally Spring! Wow! Finally-well maybe. It's still a little cold. But the flowers are blooming. Jenny Hollingsworth and I are already planning on heading to the Free Plant Swap at Sotterley Plantation.
   

More later

Okay, I just got a myspace blog post from my brother in law in California. He is engaged. In the post, he says he had already told everyone, and that they are excited. He didn't tell me. I wish he had called.

I am excited for him. I guess it's the sadness that Pat isn't here to see Billy get married. And Billy is in another place across the country. And except for emails sometimes, I am pretty cut off from them. Yes, I don't want to have much to do with some people, but they are cool. I dearly love Cheri and Brian. They have helped me through a lot. Billy and Danny- well they didn't even call Pat in the hospital, and never came until the night he died, and I think that hurts them a lot. It hurts even more, because we helped them out a lot. We hired Danny and paid him a lot of money to help out. Billy did a lot of work for Pat too. Also, I was the one running down to Brome Howard late at night to take him to work, and pick him up, along with Danny. I just really feel cut off, like because I didn't let some people get away with things, I lost everyone.

Kath-Big Sis-Brat

I have this wonderful friend named Kathie. She and I have been friends for many years now, more than twenty years. We have shared lots of laughter, beer, wine, awesome food, jokes, songs, and yes, lots of tears. We both love romance novels, cross stitching, cooking, hot tubs, and scuppernong wine.

Kathie lives in New Mexico now, and I miss her. I have been out there twice to see her, and loved the house, the area, and just hanging out with her.

We listen to each other when noone else will listen to us. Whenever something is going on in our lives, we tell the other one pretty quickly. And, most of the time when I am thinking I am going to call her, she ends up calling me, or I call her just as she is getting ready to call me.

I really hope she realizes how lucky I am to call her friend. She really knows the true meaning of being a wonderful friend and sister

Rain Rain Go away or become snow!

Ok, it has been raining for two days. Lots of rain. And yesterday we had ice mixed in too. I would love for it to either snow like crazy, so everything is shut down, or just stop and let the sun come out.

My tulips and irises and daffodils are popping up. I can't wait until Spring! But I would love some snow!

I was able to get some primroses at WalMart the other day. They are so bright and cheery.

My yard in Spring is a mass of daffodils and tulips then irises. It is incredible.

This is a picture from 4H of Pat and I on one of our first dates. He purchased and donated back Jill Ferrante's goat at the auction. I love this photo!

I love my animals. Trinity is the greatest dog. She is so smart, and her devotion to me borders on obsession.

Herman, my largest cat, is such a trip. He is King, and acts like it. He is the one who instigates trouble, and sits back to watch. He loves his puppy and thinks he is a dog.


Aurora, our gray female, is moody, but sweet when she wants to be. She is always the one to greet me first thing when I get home. She would be happiest being only cat. She was Pat's baby, and loved him totally. She was also a bottle baby.

Boxcar is my bubba cat. Too funny. He loves being outside, chasing bugs, etc, and then comes inside for the litter box and food. Then sleep and electric blanket. He usually curls up by myhead or as close as possible.



Willow, my Willow, is so sweet and kind. She loost her eye courtesy of Aurora as a little kitten, and has never looked back. She loves Trin and Herman, and is my companion cat. Aurora still chases her some, but Willow has learned to stick with Trinity and Herman. She loves to play, especially in water, and can turn on ANY faucet! She is also my most talkative cat. She is Herman's daughter, and looks so much like him.

My favorite teacher ever!

My high School math teacher, Mr. Warrick Hill, would always put a quote on the black board every morning. I actually found someone on the web who had him as a teacher in Montgomery County, who copied down all of his quotes, and posted them on the web. Many of these, I still remember 19 years later!

· "Success is the ability to get along with some people, and get ahead of others." - E.C. McKenzie
· "The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer." - Ted Roosevelt
· "Wisdom thorougly learned will never be forgotten." - Pythagoras
· "An aim in life is the only fortune worth finding." - Robt. L. Stevenson
· "Any man can stand up to his opponents. Give me the man who can stand up to his friends." - William Gladstone
· "Humor is the good-natured side of truth." - Mark Twain
· "The days that make us happy make us wise." - John Masefield
· "Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length." - Robt. Frost
· "If a man could have half his wishes he would double his trouble." - Ben Franklin
· "The function of friends is to be the sounding board for grief." - Joshua Lath Liebman
· "A truth worth uttering is worth remembering." - Anonymous
· "A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds." - Anonymous
· "Some are of the opinion that success is automatic; it comes only with diligence and perseverance." - Anonymous
· "She who studies diligently has a tendency to achieve favorably." - Anonymous
· "Genius is infinite patience." - Paul S. McElroy
· "It is much easier to form good habits than to reform bad ones." - E.C. McKenzie
· "One of the most frustrating things in the world is when the key to success does not always fit one's ignition." - Anonymous
· "It might be beneficial for us to look for humor in the serious, joy in the sad, strength in the weak and the best in the bad." - Anonymous
· "Of all the valuable things that cannot be bought, the most valuable is a man who canot be bought." - E.C. McKenzie
· "It is more prudent to choose what one says than to say what one chooses." - Anonymous
· "One who does his best today will be a hard person to defeat tomorrow." - Anonymous
· "Happiness consists not in having many things, but in needing few." - Paul S. McElroy
· "Laughter is the shock absorber that erases the blows of life." - E.C. McKenzie
· "Appreciation makes people feel more important than most anything you can give them." - E.C. McKenzie
· "For everything you have missed you have gained something else." - Ralph W. Emerson
· "Well done is better than well said." - Ben Franklin (ed. note: Well put, Ben)
· "College bred is a four-year loaf made out of the old man's dough." - Anonymous
· "The road to success is always rough because those who pass over it never drag their feet." - Anonymous
· "What I value more than all things is good humor." - Thomas Jefferson
· "In education we are striving not to teach youth how to make a living, but to make a life." - William Allen White
· "Study without reflection is a waste of time; reflection without study is dangerous." - Confucious
· "The reward of a thing well done is to have done it." - Ralph W. Emerson
· "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." - Thomas Faller
· "He climbs the highest that helps another up." - Anonymous
· "The man who makes every minute count is the man of the hour." - Anonymous
· "Success is not final; Failure is not fatal." - Anonymous
· "A task worth doing and friends worth having makes life worth living." - Anonymous
· "Those who complain about the way the ball bounces are often the ones who dropped it." - Anonymous
· "He who fails to prepare, prepares to fail." - Anonymous
· "Great opportunities come to those who make the most of small ones." - Anonymous
· "Remember the turtle; he never makes any progress till he sticks out his neck." - Anonymous
· "Take time to play; it is the secret to perpetual youth." - Anonymous
· "Take time to read; it is the foundation of wisdom." - Anonymous
· "Take time to dream; it is like hitching your wagon to a star." - Anonymous
· "What is bitter to endure may be sweet to remember." - Anonymous
· "Our senses do not deceive us, our judgement does." - Johann W. Goethe
· "Thinking is the essence of wisdom." - Anonymous
· "He who desires success without effort would not know what to do with it if he did obtain it." - Anonymous
· "In taking revenge a man is but equal to his enemy; but in passing it over he is superior." - Francis Bacon
· "Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles." - George Eliot
· "If the going is getting easy, you're not climbing." - Anonymous
· "A successful man is one who holds onto the old practices as long as they are good and changes to the new ones as soon as they are better." - Anonymous
· "Are you frustrated? If so, just remember that the great oak is a little nut that held its ground." - E.C. McKenzie
· "Drive with care; life has no spare." - E.C. McKenzie
· "Close your eyes to the faults of others and see the doors of friendship swing wide open." - E.C. McKenzie
· "Wit without discretion is a sword in the hand of a fool." - Anonymous
· "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confuscious
· "Give every man thine ear but few thy voice." - William Shakespeare
· "Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten but they may start a winning game." - Goethe
· "Great minds discuss ideas; normal minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." - Anonymous
· "A ladder is of no value unless you climb it." - Anonymous
· "Ideals may be beyond our reach but never beyond our fondest hopes." - E.C. McKenzie
· "Experience is what tells you to watch your step and is what you get if you do not." - E.C. McKenzie
· "The individual who believes that he is exerting himself beyond the call of duty might be inclined to be a poor judge of distance." - Anonymous
· "Don't stretch the truth; it might snap." - Paul E. Holdcraft
· "The birds that soar the highest are not as easily snared as those that frequent the lowlands." - Earl Riney
· "What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity." - Joe Addison
· "Though honey is sweet, do not lick it from the briar." - Anonymous
· "Instead of crying because your pleasant dreams don't come true, rejoice that neither do your nightmares." - Anonymous
· "The only commodity on earth which does not deteriorate with use is knowledge." - Anonymous
· "Those who follow the crowd are quickly lost in it." - Anonymous
· "To err is human, but this does not give us the right to wear out an eraser." - Anonymous
· "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt." - Abe Lincoln
· "I'm going to bounce this chalk off your head." - Warrick Hill
· "You're cruisin' for a brusin'" - Warrick Hill
· "Thank you, Mr. Hill." - Tom Way

Weather!

I want snow! I love snow! But I am not liking this flurries here and there. I want a lot of snow, where there is not a question of whether to go out or not. Where I have to use 4 wheel drive!

Patrick's Obituary for University of Maryland

I am really proud of this. I edited the original one, and now it is going to be in the University of Maryland Ag Institute Newsletter.

Patrick Michael Lloyd, 41, died Tuesday June 27, 2006 of heart failure, following a long battle with kidney disease. He was survived by his wife of 6 years, Marti Middleton Lloyd, his parents Paul and Sherry Lloyd, maternal grandmother Florence Gee, brother Brian Lloyd with his wife Mary Beth and children Kacey, Hanna, Haley, and Cameron, sister Cheri L. Williams with her husband Kevin and children Samuel and Nickolas, brothers Daniel and William Lloyd, and many cousins and close friends.

Patrick was interested in agriculture from his earliest childhood. He loved raising chickens and goats. He worked at Thompson's Orchard in Great Mills, MD and loved it. While at Great Mills High School in Great Mills, he was asked what he wanted to be and responded "Farmer". The teacher told him that he needed to go to college to learn about farming, so that became his goal. He won the Senatorial scholarship from Senator Bernie Fowler in 1982. He was a graduate of the University of Maryland, Institute of Applied Agriculture 1984 , as well as the College of Agriculture 1988. He was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho as well as the Agriculture Student Council. He was most proud of his work planning the annual Ag Day programs at College Park. During college, Patrick worked in research at the US Department of Agriculture in fly research and helped with Agriculture exhibits. He was very proud to say that he paid for his college education himself, often having three or more part time jobs to cover his expenses. After college, he operated his family's farm in St. Mary's County, raising hogs and vegetables, and specialized in market goats. Patrick was one of the first to have Boer stock in the county, having realized their value to the meat goat consumers. He operated a very successful produce stand in front of the family farm, specializing in sweet corn, tomatoes, and pumpkins. He also worked at the Cooperative Extension as a nutrient management consultant in Charles and Prince George's Counties, helping to usher in the era of the tobacco buyout and mandatory nutrient management. He worked with local
4-H clubs, helping at overnight camps, as well as with livestock projects, and judging vegetables. He remained active on the Alumni Board of Alpha Gamma Rho until 2000. He was past president of the Young Farmers in St. Mary's County, and was active in the St. Mary's Farm Bureau, as well as the State Farm Bureau. He was the founding president of the Southern Maryland Market Goat Association, and was very active in getting 4H involved in goat projects. He was always willing to answer questions about goats, speak in front of groups, or do anything to educate children about agriculture.

Patrick was a devout Roman Catholic. He attended Mass at St. Nicholas Chapel, at NAS Patuxent River, and taught Confirmation for 16 years, as well as other classes. He also worked extensively with the Middle School youth group. One of the last youth group events he was able to attend was a Farm Day at his parents' farm which he planned, combining religion with Agriculture education.

Even when he was in pain or tired, he was always more concerned about other people and how they were doing. He always had a smile on his face. He loved his Church, his family, his friends, and his animals. He was always willing to help friends, and took great pride in taking care of those who were important to him, often telling them he had broad shoulders. His legacy can be seen in the children and young adults whose lives he affected throughout his life. He was greatly loved, and is definitely missed.