Melinda

Hi, and welcome to my photo page!

This is a page of photos about me,
my family, my pets, my home.
Kinda boring, except to my relatives (for whom this page is designed!).

Anyhow, thanks for visiting, and come back sometime soon!

(there are a lot of pictures here and it takes a bit of time to load. Just go make some hot cocoa, and it'll be ready when you get back!)

--- Melinda at home ---
Lousy webcam shot 10/03!	Me and da Christmas tree! (2002)
Me and my sweet Bailey	Me and Hazel on a good-hair-day!
9-13-03 Look quick! This may be the only time you ever see me in my glasses! (I'm so vain!)	9-13-03 Cindy trimmed my hair -- I like! (yeah yeah yeah, I know it's ANOTHER funnzy webcam pic!)
When I'm not doing the TOP Hearts Tourneys on the Hardwood game site at night (http://www.silvercrk.com) , I can usually be found hanging around as a volunteer guide in one of Hardwood's game lobbies, or lying on my bed reading a murder mystery, with at least 2 cats lying on top of me! I have five cats and an old Victoriam house that keep me busy, along with care for my sweet Mom, Eloise (below). In my "spare" time, I work as a medical writer and medical marketing consultant. I love going to the movies and going out to dinner with friends, or having friends come here for dinner and games. I LOVE playing board games and cards!

--- My Sweet Mom ---
Mom and Nuisance (2001)	Mom and Pattycake take a nap (2003)
Nuisance loves to sit on Mom's head! (2001)	This "busy box" is Mom's constant companion, day and night. She has busy fingers restlessly roaming over every inch of her toy. (2001)
This is my sweet Mom, Eloise, age 83 this October (2004). I moved back to West Virginia from Florida nine years ago to help take care of her after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. She no longer knows who I am (or anyone else) and has no memories of any part of her life, but she is giggly, funny, happy, comfortable, and a blessing to be around. My cats LOVE her, though she pays them hardly any attention beyond a thump on their head now and then! At least 2 of them sleep on her every night. Most of Mom's day is spent endlessly fingering the items on her "busy box" (pictured above), a toy my sister Becky got her a couple years ago, and which is Mom's most treasured possession (we even tuck it in bed with her at night,!). We call Mom the queen of the one-liners, because she still comes up with great ones! One day our caregiver's husband leaned over her bed to say good-bye, and he said, "Why Eloise, I think you're a pretty woman." She looked him right in the face and said, "Well, I think you're an ugly man." (Maybe you had to be there!) She cracks us up, tho! She is a sweetie. This is the only picture we have found of all 7 of the McNemar children with their parents. Standing, from left, Jean, Mom (Eloise), Marjorie, Hazel, Allegra (who had begun showing the symptoms of the acromegaly disease that changed how she looked). Seated, from left, Wendall, Pop-Pop, Mom-Mom, Denzil. Only Mom, Jean, and Hazel are still living. Family gathering at Cousin Maryann's in Burnsville. (still trying to identify all the people! (back row, from left, Charlie & wife/Nancy, Kathy, Mom, ?, ?, George, ?, 2nd row from left, Kathy's Heather & Holly, Aunt Hazel, ?, Bobbi & mom/Aunt Jean, Aunt Marjorie hugging Uncle Bill; front row: ?, ?, Aunt Jean, ?, Harry/Sonny, MaryAnn, (sorry, don't know who the kids are!))

--- Sister Cindy & Her Family ---
Cindy & Butch	Butch's new car for the 2003 racing season!
Buddy & wife Traci	Buddy & Traci show off their carving prowess!
Buddy, Cindy & Ben, January 2003	I've always liked this pic of Mom and Cindy during Mom's last hospitalization.
Buddy & Samson, 2002	Sweet silly Samson sneaking up the back steps!
Buddy and Sheba	Sheeba hiding at the foot of the Christmas Tree, 2002
Beau (a student at Pittsburgh Aeronautical Institute) with his new paint gun, Christmas 2002	Butch enjoying the fireplace, Christmas 2002
Cin's Christmas tree 2002	Cin's tree - with no flash!
Cindy only lives a couple of miles away, and is my best friend and best support. I don't know how I'd make it without her. Her husband Butch drives stock cars all summer, and it's the family hobby for he, Cin, and their 3 boys. (He wins a lot, too!) Their 3 wonderful boys are Buddy, who is married to his one and only girlfriend (Traci), who's been his girl since 7th grade. Beau is a aircraft mechanic and he and his brother Ben live at home. The rest of their family is their lap-sitting sweet rottweiler Samson (seen here trying to sneak up the back stairs!) and their stuckup cat, Sheba, who decides when, where, and how long she wants to be petted!

--- Kathy & Her Kids ---
Heather (left) and her sister Heidi, with their dad Dave on Heather's wedding day. At right, the whole wedding party (Kathy, Davey, Holly, Heather, Dave & Holly) (the first picture of Kathy & her ex Dave in at least 20 years!)
This is sister Kathy making whoopee with singer Ronnie McDowell, backstage at one of his concerts. (She has a girlfriend who has been to more than 200 of his concerts, and whose daughter ended up married to his son!). (the one at right is a Glamour Shot photo she had taken recently.)
Heather (Kathy's oldest daughter), with her funny goofy Mikala (center), and Brittany (Holly's sweet girl). Mikala STILL makes the funniest faces!
Heather's Mikala (center) as she looks now (she is a wonderfully funny child full of dramatic gestures!) and baby Marisa. On the either side is our sweet Jordan, future basketball star!
Kathy's kids (from left) Davey, Heidi, Heather, Holly, Christmas 2002	Holly with Brooks & Brittany, Christmas 2002
Holly's sweet Brittany (left) and her brother Brooks -- whatta pair of cuties!
Kathy's 2nd child, Heidi, with Seth (center), Gracie and Cole (Kathy's newest [and 7th] grandchild), 2002. What a good-looking family! (So far, Kathy is the only grandparent among us 7 kids!)
Heather & Marisa, with the tiara I got her for Christmas 2002.	Family Christmas at Heather's beautiful new house, 2002
Mikala in her new Chritmas finery, 2002	More to come!

--- Christmas at my house & family Christmas at Cindy's ---
Ah, I love my tree! The foyer is just off the living room, and it makes a great place for the tree.	This fireplace is across from the tree, in the foyer. (I think the foyer is my favorite "room" in the house.)
My living room fireplace (I like "stuff", if you haven't picked up on that!)	I set up my miniature "villages" in my entertainment center in the living room.
My wonderful stairwell in the foyer also is beautiful with the garlands,, lights and flowers.	Mom made the Christmas stockings for each of us over 15 years ago, and we will use them forever. Susanna (left, Nancy's daughter, Jordan (middle, Heather's son), and Brittany (Holly's daughter), pose in front of the gifts to give you some idea of our annual excess!
My house, in da snow	Ditto!
My hometown of West Union (our courthouse seen near the center is on the register of historic buildings, and has been in continuous service since 1869). Our town boasts 900 residents, and lots of beautiful old Victorian homes.
I am kinda a Christmas "nut" and love to decorate for the holidays (and at least till the end of February!). Old Victorian houses like mine are especially fun to decorate, I think!

--- Summer's plants and animals! --
Front of house in summer. Last summer I wasn't able to do much gardening, but I hope to be able to be back at it this year. I love flowers -- the more, the merrier!	CheeChee -- my Chow -- and my other dog Inky were "rovers - despite over $1500 of trying, I could not find a way to keep them in the yard, and last summer I had to reluctantly give them away. I miss the silly sweet things so much.
This dog (Puppy) was killed by a car when someone accidentally left the gate open last summer. Was the sweetest dog.	This past summer, I wasn't able to do as much gardening as I'd like, but I hope to be back to full flower this year!
Puppy looks longingly out the arbor at the front gate.	I love flowers. News flash, huh?
The morning glories on the front fence are spectacular -- but never photograh well!	I have flowerboxes in all the downstairs windows -- I love looking at them from inside as well.

--- Da Cats ---
Fat Hazel came to us from a family who could no longer keep her. She is my cuddle cat -- she would velcro herself to me if she could! In bed, my constant battle is to keep Hazel from crawling inside my nightgown to sleep!	Nuisance (left) and Bailey often share this chair which is close to my computer desk. I raised Nuicance from a kitten, and Bailey was given to me by a friend when he was about a year old (he's about 8 now).
This is my most annoying cat, Pattycake. She never leaves me when I'm at the computer -- and crawls inside my sweater to sleep all day long. Funny li'l irritating cat.	Nuisance holds court in the living room (still decorated for Christmas). He and Pattycake are nearly identical -- except Nuisance weighs at least 20 lbs. and Pattycake, no more than 5. He's a BIG boy! Loves to lie on top of Mom and let her thump him on the head!
Bingo is a sweet stray dog who my cousin MaryAnn has now adopted. Lucky puppy!	As for the rest of the family, my brother Steve died 3 years ago, and we miss him so much. My brother Tom is a registered nurse and lives in Florida, and we don't hear from him very often. We miss him and wish we saw him more frequently. Sister Nancy and her family aren't too keen about having their pictures on the Internet, sooooooooooo they are not pictured here! Nan is continuing her years-long fight against her many cancers, and is doing very well. She is very involved in church work and in doing cooking schools, and attending Christian concerts with her family. She is home-schooling her daughter, Susanna, who is tall and talented and beautiful. Her husband Charlie is a dear, kind, wonderful man (we call him St. Charles) who owns his own plumbing company. More to come later!
THE END... for now!