The Book Thief and some silliness

I know have been extremely boring lately....sorry. I haven't done nor made anything.

Today I spent the morning shopping: picked up 2 good bath towels, baseball cap for one of thte grandsons, and the book The Shack by William P Young at the thrift store. I picked up some rhubarb at a friend's then went to purchase a bird feeder and birdseed (grandson J & I have been watching & reading about birds). It was 84 while I was visiting in Connie's backyard.....and 59 when I got home (20 minutes away).

I borrowed the ebook The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and wanted to finish it before it disappeared like Water for Elephants did. It was kinda nice so I was sitting on the deck listening to the severe storm warnings that were predicted. When It started to get windy and rain I came in but 15 minutes later I had to go out for something and then it hit me......it was hot outside...the wind must have switched...it was 82. The few drops of rain we had was over so I grabbed my Nook and finished reading.

It is, yet, another book about the Jews. Nothing against that subject, it just seems like I have read so many recently. I did like it, the ending seemed a bit unbelievable to me though. I think I'll take a break from reading until I find out what our book club is reading next.

Speaking of reading........I signed up 2 of my grandsons for the reading program at Barnes & Noble. They have to read 8 books and then they get a free book. When grandson J was here Saturday night he picked out his 8 books and wanted me to read them all so we could go on Sunday to get his book. Well.........we should wait until (and if) his brother reads 8 books. The nearest Barnes & Noble book store is about 50 miles away. J picked out all of the Mr Men books by Roger Hargreaves that he has here so we did get them read on Saturday and Sunday. I read most of the books but he is learning to read some of the words so we worked on that.

Since I 'wasted' the whole day today I have to spend my evening cleaning up the kitchen. For a change I made supper for hubby, baked rhubarb muffins, and the rhubarb swirl (recipe that I posted earlier). Since I couldn't find the extra muffin pan that I thought I had I dug another out of the drawer....but ...when I took the muffins out of the oven, there it was....I had 2 pans stuck together. Whew! I thought my mind was gone when I couldn't find that pan. They do look good!

Saturday accomplishments

Day one of our long (my really long) weekend is over. It was not a nice day in spite of what the weather man promised. They kept saying the sun would be out during the afternoon, it wasn't, it was cool & windy.

Saturday morning I helped set up for communion at church and also packed up the stuff I had in the display case there.........it is still waiting for me to return it to it's place in my dining room. When I arrived home I noticed a package in my mailbox...always nice. It was my stamping kit (plastic pencil box with scissors, tape, etc, inside) that I had left at the stamping convention at Sayner. The Lionesses returned it to me.......and probably paid more to mail it back than it is worth. They do such a good job with the used stamp sale and ticket sales!

In the afternoon I ventured outside to pull weeds, and got it all done. It was chilly! I need to get more wood chips. There is a lot more work to be done on the bed in front, but I need hubby's help...so we don't know when/if that will happen.

A friend of hubby's stopped over but he was golfing so we just visited for a bit. I will have to remember, if we have any cookouts this summer, to invite our friends who have recently lost spouses. I like to invite people over, but it is usually a spur of the moment event....and hubby's children are already busy or working, my kids are too far, so we usually have the same 4 people over, and I say 'the more, the merrier'!

This morning hubby is attending an auction. Grandson J and I had breakfast outside and watched/listened to birds. He thought we had a chickadee in the yard so we looked it up, and he was right. Then we read though the bird book and named all of the birds. If it doesn't rain we want to go the the Alpaca farm today...but the weather is threatening rain.

Not too exciting, but that's MY life.

Back to Normal

Yup, it's back to normal for me...health wise, NOT weather wise. Tuesday, Wednesday, and most of Thursday I could not eat, I was nauseous and had no energy. After work I curled up in bed and watched TV. It feels good to be able to eat and have a desire to do something!

Our weather has been terrible......Wednesday when I got home from work it was 44,windy & rainy; so I turned on the furnace and pulled the covers up to my chin. Yesterday the sun came out but it was very windy. Today it was 37 when I got up....at least the sun is shining and the wind has died down. NO, I should not be complaining...........we have not been devastated by a tornado, drought, or flood, etc.

This is the beginning of the first, long, summer holiday weekend. We don't have plans, never do. Saturday I'll hep set up for communion at church. Sunday I'd like to take my grandsons to the New Zoo, but I don't think it's going to be very nice outside. Monday I think I'll watch them walk in the parade. What I really want to do it pull weeds.............yup, that is what I actually want to do. It will warm up enough to plant flowers.......eventually.

I hope you have a happy and safe holiday weekend!!!!

Reading the Fine Print

I recently purchased an item from HSN and as a special addition to my purchase I was to receive a gift subscription to Conde Nast Traveler magazine.

In the HSN package, along with my receipt, was a postcard stating: "If you do not wish to receive the subscription and instead prefer to receive a $12 refund, please fill out the bottom of this card and mail within 30 days of purchase to (the Conde Nast magazine)" Interesting, eh? A few months ago I got a magazine subscription to another magazine with a purchase....I don't remember seeing that option the, but you can be sure if that happens again I will carefully check the information contained in my package.

BTW, after I photo copy the card I am mailing it in for my refund.

Rhubarb Swirl

This isn't the exact photo of the desert, but it's the best I could find since hubby ate what we had. My sister in law dropped off a couple of pieces on Tuesday night. I only had a small taste. I have been unable to eat since Tuesday (so unlike me), I tried to eat yesterday and it was not a good idea :-( My stomach hurts and headaches come and go. Hubby doesn't eat rhubarb, but he liked this. I don't have a recipe for a graham cracker crust but that should be easy to find.

RHUBARB SWIRL

3 cups rhubarb
1 cup sugar
1 small box strawberry jello
1-1/2 cups milk
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 - 80z container Cool Whip

Cook rhubarb & sugar until soft, add strawberry jello. Cool. Mix milk & pudding, add vanilla & Cool Whip. When rhubarb mixture is cool add the Cool whip/pudding mixture. Pour into a 9 X 13 pan with graham cracker crust.

The above photo shows cool whip on top and a fruit slice, mine was just plain. Hope you have a rhubarb plant in your back yard or a good friend who does, like I do.

I Wasn't Going To......

But I stopped at the thrift store anyway. I had a much needed massage this morning, always a great way to start the day! There were a few stops I had to make and then...............I tried to drive past St Vinnie's (as we call it) but I just had to stop.
For $7.00 I got: this adorable tea pot, creamer, cups & saucers. Yes, I am getting rid of the items that use to live on these shelves.

I'm not sure, nor do I really care what this value is, but here is the marking on the underside. OK, if they are REALLY valuable I do want to know. :-)

There are 4 more saucers w/o cups. The tea pot has a chip on the spout but it's not noticeable where I have it.

I also got 2 t-shirts for grandsons.

A brand new bracelet and earrings (tiny), I will pair the bracelet with some gold bangles that I have.

And I picked up this rug for in front of the patio door, so when hubby is grilling he doesn't track all of the dirt inside.

What a deal for a bunch of stuff that I really didn't need, huh???? I know, it's a disease, an addiction.

a True Story

We're sitting at the table eating and my son in law says: "I can see that "Mary" (made up name) is rather domineering and that you (meaning me) don't like to be controlled". Hubby and I both started to laugh and agreed that he is 110% percent right.

Just a little tid-bit you may or may not want to know about me.

The Lucky One

I just finished reading The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks for book club, finished it in 2 days. The weather was a contributing factor..........it was finally warm and I had to sit outside and try our my 'new' chaise lounge chair. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen so I'd read before I went to sleep....which is really hard for me b/c sometimes, at night, my eyes will just not focus.I don't think I've read any of his other books, I liked it and will read more of his books.

Happy Days

Yesterday was a typical day in my life...never going as planned and that's OK. It started out as usual: blogging, email, errands. Before I left to run errands I had arranged for a date on Saturday night (at a nice restaurant) with a much younger man..... my step son E. We might have to take the kids along....would be better if just the 2 of us could just talk.

One of the things I had to do was drop some stuff off at our church for the rummage sale. While I was there I found a brand new Creative Memories rolling cart. I don't need one but I called my daughter. Next I stopped at the thrift store where I found a chaise for our deck. :-) I have one that I use but it's just a cheap one that I have to put away every night. This one matches our deck furniture (plastic) and came with a nice pad that is not even dirty! I think I am gonna love it!!!

When I got home I started some housework and then noticed that the sun was shining, so can you guess what I did???? I HAD to take advantage of that and grabbed my ereader to read for a bit. I borrowed WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen. It was actually warm here, I was in heaven! I stopped reading for a while and when I went back to the book.........it was gone :-( I knew my lending period was almost up, that is why I knew I had to read. Marlena had just left August and now I don't know what happened...... What am I going to do? No one in my book club owns it, I am on the waiting list at the library, and at Overdive (lending library for ebooks) I am #225 of a waiting list of 225 people.

My hubby called (his allowed 10 minute phone call from the ship).....the crew boat was leaving in 3 about hours for the 8 hour ride to land. He should be some Saturday night. It made me feel good that the first thing he said to me was to ask how things were going with the person that I had a disagreement with last weekend. Hubby may not be Mr Romantic, but he cares :-)

While I was outside a friend stopped over and we went to a couple of rummages sales. When I got home I saw that my daughter had emailed me and told me to pick up the scrapbooking tote for her.........so I hopped in my car and drove the 4 blocks to church to get it.

Finally I figured I needed to get the laundry done, clean the bathrooms, and make supper.....so I had to come inside. I did make progress in the housework area!

Here is my strange little garden. Grandson J and I started some seeds inside and they are getting leggy, so I 'stole' some empty soda bottles from work (ours went out with the recycling), cut off the bottoms and set some of the plants outside. I hope to plant flowers next weekend...now that it really is spring.

Today I had breakfast with my Friday group, stopped at Walmart and a few garage sales. After I got home I knew I had to try out the chaise I bought yesterday. Yup, yessiree, it works! I love it!

As always, everyday housework is calling me...............toodle ooh

Simple Things/Silly Things

Many times it's the simple, little things that make me happiest: someone showing a kindness to my mother, getting up early when you don't have to, colorful little flowers poking up out of the ground, a hug from one of my grandchildren, reading for hours and not thinking about housework, filling the gas tank in your car the day the price drops, a telephone message from one of my grandchildren, watching the birds and squirrels from my window as I sip a cup of tea, having 'coffee' with just one friend, hearing hubby say "I missed you", shopping a block long rummage sale and being able to take my time to browse, feeling the sunshine on me.......get the picture???

Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to see that the price of gas had dropped .05 when I stopped to fill up. Now it's 'only' $3.94/gal, last year it was $2.79............quite a difference, huh? I woke up really early today and couldn't fall back to sleep so I decided to get up and spend some time on here before I start the gazillion things I have to do today.

I almost always bring a sandwich for lunch when I am working and use to stop at McDonald's for an ice tea to drink, but now I just bring my own so I can bypass McD's. On Tuesdays I go the the credit union to deposit my check, as I was on my way I pulled into McD's, 2 seconds later I realized I was suppose to pass McD's and go straight to the credit union. So I drove in and around and out again..... is my 'blondness' showing again????

After I turned off my light, closed my book, and rolled over to go to sleep last night I realized that I hadn't set my alarm , so I turned it on and tried to fall asleep again. As I was laying there I remembered that I hadn't laid out my clothes for today (I do that for days that I work-less thinking for me to do when I get up) so I was thinking about what I should wear when another thought popped into my head (no wonder I can't sleep). It finally dawned on me that I didn't have to get up for work in the morning - YAY!!!!! ........my schedule doesn't vary much, Thursdays are my day off. The first thought that comes into my mind in the morning is "what day is it?"

Do you ever do stuff like that?

Wordless Wednesday/Sunset

I just stepped out my back door for this beautiful sight.

Help!

I collect old, cheap, ugly (or different) things. I like to be different and am beginning to celebrate that again (in my old age). Here are 2 rings you may have never seen before, the one on the right is just a funky homemade ring, you can see the soldering on the underside. It's unique that is why I bought it at a thrift store.

I don't need help to stop collecting old, cheap, ugly things (unless you ask my hubby) but I do need help identifying the ring on the left. I believe it is stainless steel...but what is the 'stone'???



I vaguely remember my mom having a 'stone' like this that she got from someone who was in some war....the Korean war? I think she said it came from a fish???? She doesn't remember and neither do I. I found this ring at a garage sale and had to have it b/c I remember seeing the 'stone' before. If anyone has ANY information Please, please leave a comment or email me.

And, no, I don't expect any calls from a hand modeling agency. *wink*

Monday's News/Meet Me On Monday

Almost a week since hubby left for Africa and I've been 'single'.....one would think maybe I've accomplished some serious cleaning or redecorating (several years ago I painted the bedroom when he was away)...no, I have barely kept up the laundry and dishes. This week I do have intentions of vacuuming, dusting, hunting for donations to our church rummage sale, cooking liver & onions for supper, and other fun cleaning/organizing things. *wink* This is my 'short' week at work and that always gives me more energy :-)


**********And Now Time for Java's Meet Me On Monday questions**********




Questions:

1. Crunchy or smooth peanut butter?
I am not much of a peanut butter eater, but I prefer crunchy.

2. What is your favorite color Rose?
I like to be different, so I'll choose yellow.....or maybe the peachy ones with a yellowish center.

3. Do you remove your shoes when you walk into your home?
Yes, I hate shoes and socks.When everyone else is wearing boots in the winter I wear tennis type shoes or clogs, just so the toe is closed.

4. What is your favorite season?
Summer, definitely summer. Easy dressing, sit on the deck and read, go to the beach, flea markets & garage sales, cook outs....just some of my favorite things.

5. Approximately how many hours a day do you spend blogging?
Too many, although I am sure it will lessen IF summer every arrives in this part of WI. hmmm....an hour to 2 hours if I write a post.

Shoe Organization

How you do organize your shoes? me???? Well, it depends..........the ones I wear every day, day in, day out are just thrown in the front closet (I do straighten it up from time to time). Sometimes I, sadly, refer to it as the 'shoe mountain'. Why does someone who wears jeans 90% of the time have so many different sandals and flats? No boots....and about 2 pairs of tennis type shoes. It beats me.... Hubby just throws his in too. This afternoon I put away some of my winter clothes and decided to put away the shoes that are laying in my closet. I didn't realize I had so many cute flats......guess that's b/c I buy them off season and on clearance. Those are in clear, plastic shoe boxes with photos taped on the ends so I can tell what is inside. I didn't think of that myself but I do want to pass it on.........it works great. Please ignore the lousy photos of my shoes.........as long as I can see what shoe it is, it works for me. And believe me, I have found shoes that I forgot that I owned.

Now if it would just warm up so I could wear those cute sandals and peep toes!!!

On the Seirous Side of Life

Today's headline for our small Sunday paper is OUT OF THE DARKNESS, focusing on survivors of suicide. That's a subject I seldom hear people discuss, it's a dark secret that we are ashamed of....at least it was in my case.

I grew up with a step father that I really didn't have a relationship with....I am not blaming anyone, that is just the way it was. I am very introverted, independent, and use to hide my real feelings deep inside myself (b/c if people know you they can hurt you). When I was about 18 months old my father took his life and during my childhood I was told he died from an accident. ...and that was it....I am sure my mother was trying to protect me. I know it was an excruciatingly hard time in her life (for more reasons than just that). I think I was in high school or older when I finally found out the truth. I was ashamed and it was very difficult to tell people the truth at first.

Many years later, after my divorce, my ex took his life. It still makes me cry to this day to think that 2 men whom I loved and trusted took their lives.....there is always this tiny nagging feeling (from the devil) that I am not worthy of love, that I do something to make this happen.

After all I do not have the best relationships with my sons, hubby can be distant at times, and then there is person X (we have a horrible relationship).

A few months ago the wife of one of hubby's co-workers took her life...they have a 7 yr old daughter, she had older sons and even grandchildren....but for some reason she could not take this world any longer. I feel so bad for that little girl, I hope she is getting counseling.

After all these years I now know that someone who commits suicide is not thinking with their right mind, the devil takes over and takes away all reasoning and hope. It is not the fault of the loved ones left behind. It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, Christian or not; something just snaps and a tragedy happens.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Where did this week go? Hubby left on Tuesday and you'd think life would be quieter, eh? Well, I didn't have to cook....

Wednesday our Red Hat group had our birthday lunch at a really nice restaurant/gift store. The prices weren't too out of line (except for the $6.00 glass of sangria), the food was excellent though! We looked around at the shops for a little, I was home about 3PM. In the evening my nephew came over to fix what ever I did to my wireless router...for nearly 2 hours (*#@;?&;_& ) I have a Nookcolor and ever since they updated it I cannot connect to my home network....I have to borrow from a neighbor :-( Technical support told me to unplug my router and start over...........It didn't help and screwed up the connection to all of our computers. Looks like I'll be spending time on the phone to Barnes & Noble (sternly complaining to them) in the near future.

Thursday I worked and after work I picked up some flowers from Shopko with my coupon for $10 off of a $50 expenditure. I got some potting soil (waiting the the trunk for hubby to take it out) and some nice hanging baskets that are nestled close to the house b/c it's still a bit chilly here.

Friday afternoon hubby's boss called me at work to see if I could get a signed health form stating that hubby is in good physical health and can work offshore. He's 8 hours off the shore of Cameroon, AF. My husband does not see the Dr unless it is in the ER (for a kidney stone last fall). I called both of the health providers in the area (from work while my boss was around - I explained the situation and he was OK) and could not find a Dr that had seen him for a routine check up in the past 2 years. My Dr would not sign for him b/c she had never seen him. So, after several phone calls to K's boss, we decided that neither of us could do anything. ....pretty hard to do something like that late Friday afternoon.... He might just have to sit and twiddle his thumbs for a week...unless the ship's Dr can OK him to work??? The boat only travels to and from the oil drilling rig on Thursdays. I haven't received an update yet so I don't know what is happening.

When I got home from work I changed my clothes and went to Heart-O-Rama with some Red Hat friends. Our youngest member was performing in it. Seats are on a first come, first serviced basis so we waited outside and it was cold. Heart-O-Rama is put on by local talent who volunteer their time & talent to write & perform humorous skits in order to make money for heart disease. The 'best seat in the house' was auctioned off for $500, the previous night it went for $3000 and the money was matched by another entity. It's a decorated toilet seat and the person/business who wins it gets a front row seat, a recliner or comfy chair to sit in. It was nice to go out on a Friday night.

"Janice, our Red Hat star"


This morning I slept in...........and lost 1/2 of this post so I had to start over. *^%$# Later I have to help set up for communion at church and later this afternoon grandson J will probably come over to spend the night. I had to turn on the furnace this morning........that is so wrong! It's 46, windy, and rainy out. Wednesday when we left Green Bay it was sunny and 68, when I got home 40 minutes later it was cloudy and 55. That's the one thing I don't like about this area.

Next week's schedule doesn't appear to be much better.

More Convention Photos

Some of the neat things I saw at the stamping convention. It is a small convention help in northern WI. I go every year and love it b/c it is small enough so you can see every display. I love these little boxes, they remind me of band aid boxes.

Zippered pouch made with printed card stock, no sewing allowed.

Display from one of the vendors.

Card made with transparencies....the display is below.

Lots of goodies to buy! :-)

Cards from the Stampede

Note the stitching at the top.....fake stitching, that is. Sewing on cards is so 'in' right now. I purchased the little stitching tool. The glitter we used is very fine; once it's on you burnish it with your finger, it can also be colored with markers.

Lots of different layers.

This card stock has great texture, I need to buy some. The pansy is a transparency with glitter on the back of us. Martha Stewart punch was used for the frame. These are just a few of the cards I made.

Home Alone

Hubby left this afternoon for Cameroon, Africa (for work). From what I have read about the city he'll be working out of it's a good thing he's working....not much to see there. He'll be on the oil drilling rig most of the time anyway. Being stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing do to would drive me nuts! I have so much going on this week that I'm sure time will go fast.

After a long weekend spent struggling with back pain and middle of the night back spasms I saw the chiropractor today. I do feel better!!!!

I have lots of emails to catch up with and computer updates to take care of....so I better get busy!

Bottle cap Necklace

Here is the bottle cap necklace we made at the round robin on Friday night. The directions are posted below....if you'd like more details please email me.

Sayner Stampede

relaxing with a glass of wine after a day of stamping and shopping

I and a friend went up north on our annual stamping convention trek. I am not sure how long I've been going, but it's over 7 years for sure. It's a great time :-) We leave on Friday and return Sunday afternoon. This year we were able to leave before noon. We enjoyed the Friday buffet at our favorite truck stop.

We checked into the hotel, rested for 1/2 hour and then were off to the round robin. There were 6 stamping stations set up. We had 30 minutes at each one to make a card/project. At the half way point we took a break for snacks (soda, water, veggies & dip, cheese & sausage, chips, bars) and door prizes. I won one!!! :-) Back at the hotel we exercised (yes, I said exercised) in the pool and then visited with other stampers while relaxing in the hot tub. We are getting to know the gals that are at the same hotel as us every year.

Saturday we had a nice, continental breakfast at the hotel (they now have 2 waffle makers). First we went the the convention site to do some make & takes before it got busy. Two hours later we went to the used stamp sale (photo above) and scooped up some bargains. After we collected our earnings from the used stamp sale we had an early supper at the Sayner Pub with some stamper friends then we went back to the convention site where my friend taught a class and I 'assisted'. We were beat that night so just cracked open the wine and stayed in...........later there came a knock on our door and some gals stopped over to show us the projects they made at a different class. Then the gals in the adjoining room knocked and we looked at more cards and talked stamping. Finally we 'hit the hay' but neither one of us slept good; I had back pain and my friend had tummy problems.

Sunday we slept in...kinda...had a nice breakfast and left for home...via 2 stamping stores. :-) Lastly we stopped at our favorite liquidators for more bargains, had supper, and arrived home sometime after 6PM.

Fun was had by all!!!

I will post cards later in the week...so check back.

On the Road Again

Hubby called my cell phone Friday night (he never calls my cell) to tell me that he might be gone to Angola, Africa by the time I get home on Sunday night. He was home last night when I got back. The company had to figure out who was paying for the expenses for the trip.....it is not cheap to fly first class on short notice to Africa. He called from work this morning to let me know he's going later today or tomorrow. They will make repairs to the flexible pipe his company makes for oil drilling. I think he likes the traveling. I'm a big girl and can get along by myself when he's gone. Although I don't do yard work....especially the way my back has been the past week. Owee!!!

I Couldn't Help Myself

It seems like when ever my car leaves my driveway it just stops at the thrift store....I really do drive by it 95% of the time I go somewhere. Today I got: a new Pokemon back pack for grandson J (who is obsessed with all things Pokemon),

the book The Help (which our book club is going to read in the future), stretchy Red Hat bracelet, Red Hat necklace (I will probably use the red hat as a charm for something), Red Hat ankle socks, 10 brand new Red Hat invitations (which I passed on to our resident Red Hat party giver), long purple beaded necklace, small snow globe pin (for one of my granddaughters), 2 wide mouth canning jars, brand new Bobbi Brown lip lining pencil, and that could be it.....all for....drum roll....under $7.

I'm almost ready for the Sayner Stampede (up north) this weekend. I and another friend are leaving tomorrow at noon. The stamping convention is 4 hours away so we leave the day before and come home on Sunday. I should have lots of news to report about this on Monday.

60

OK, this is what 60 looks like:
this is what I wore to A's dance recital, I wanted to dress up a little.....actually anything other than jeans is dressing up for me.

Notice the cute shoes :-), even my daughter loved them. They make my giant feet look stylish. Sweater, tank, pants, and shoes (clearance) courtesy of Kohl's. Today I was near Younkers (the only major clothing store in the area) and I found a dress I like and look good in.....I want a 'do over' for Easter. It's floral, sleeveless with a black 'jacket', perfect for spring or summer. Yes, it has black in it, but only small accents, it's primarily blue, turquoise, green, & fuchsia. Now, I need an event to attend. *wink*

the Faces I Love

I haven't meant to neglect my blog, it's just been busy here, but not with anything interesting to blog about. I turned 60 (&%#?&@; I hate saying that number) on Saturday. It was quite uneventful (as I expected) but I survived. On Sunday I went to my daughters to watch A's dance recital. It's held in the auditorium of a large insurance company located in a college town. That's one of the reasons my daughter is able to take the kids to so many inexpensive/free educational events. I only get there a couple of times a year. I brought their Easter 'baskets' along and the 'dancer's' BD gift.
Grandson C (first born grandchild) trying on the ring that grandson J put in the bag....I am sure C gave the ring to one of his sisters.

She loves popcorn and is a future dancer. She'll be 3 later in the month.

The dancer and her mom. A (8) dances b/c she loves the costumes, she also loves fashion and is an artist. She didn't get those talents from her grandma. She performed ballet and a tap dance. she's a very conscientious young lady.

One of the silly faces the future dancer makes. The baby of the family.

The dancer, she has a long, lean body....she didn't get that from me either. After her performance she always gets flowers (another reason to dance) and gets to choose a place to celebrate. Sunday we went to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream. I happened to mention to my daughter that I had received an email coupon for free ice cream, but didn't print it b/c I wasn't planning on going there. Daughter was going to pay for mine but the guy behind the counter said 'free ice cream on your birthday' so....the prices was right. I told the grands to remember that on their birthdays...only the future dancer's birthday is yet to come.

My son's 2 children. They live in a different direction from my daughter. :-( I don't see them much either. I dropped off their Easter baskets when I picked up my Girl Scout cookies. They are into sports. I am glad each of the grand kids have varied interests in wholesome activities they can participate in.

My birthday is not a big deal to me....but it's nice IF hubby acknowledges it (he didn't this year). Grandson J made grandpa sing Happy Birthday to me. My friends sent cards and I got nice gifts. SIL took me out to lunch, except I paid for it with a gift certificate. We went to a nice place and the food was excellent :-) I even got a free desert that we shared.

the Strange Human Race

Just a few observations that caught my attention this weekend:
While listening to a call in (home improvement) radio talk show: A woman called in wanting to know how to clean the inside of her toilet tank, YES-the inside! The show hosts were perplexed and neither had ever heard of a request like that. The inside of the tank is not meant to be cleaned.

At the Barnes & Noble store (at 7PM and 47 degrees); A couple was leaving the store with 2 children. Mom and dad had jeans and sweatshirts on, the toddler was wearing s sundress, the baby had bare legs with no socks on. What is wrong with this picture???

My 8 year old granddaughter takes dance just for the costumes :-) She is, and always has been a fashionista. I saw some of her fashion drawings and she's quite good!!! More about her dance recital that I attended later.

And now for Java's Meet Me Monday
http://nevergrowingold.blogspot.com/2011/05/meet-me-on-monday.html






Questions:

1. What is your favorite kind of muffin?
I like bran muffins, BIG bran muffins.

2. What was the first car you ever owned?
First my parents owned the cars I drove, then my husband, the car I bought (at 30 something)
was a Ford Tempo. I liked that little car.

3. Which TV Show were you sad to see end?
I guess I have never been that addicted to any, so none comes to mind.

4. What is your lucky number?
Don't have one.

5. Pretzels or Potato Chips?
I seldom either, but I'd choose pretzels.