Just a Quick Update

Comment count for April and May stand at 317, which has paid for the famous goat---- with enough right now for a couple flocks of ducks, geese, or chicks. Thanks to all of you for helping out

You can check on all the good these gifts will do by checking for yourself at Heifer International.

To celebrate my blogging anniversary in mid June I'll have a give-away. I have been quoting author Gretchen Rubin's book, The Happiness Project, so often that I'd like to share the fun with someone else. Comment between June 1 and June 16th and have a chance to own your own copy, complete with Gretchen's signature.

The next charity we'll take on will be Doctors Without Borders, I think.

And last but not least, take my advice and don't leave your digital camera out in the rain.

And the picture is the progress report of our lilacs. (Unless you are allergic, and don't want to sneeze.)

Memorial Day

Memorial Day---parades, solemn tributes to the fallen soldiers, band uniforms, flowers and plants taken to the cemetery.

Are those your memories of Memorial Day weekend? When I was a little kid I was pretty sure that they had all these special events in honor of my grandfather. Only my grandfather.

Now even my mother had scarcely any memory of him since he died of tuberculosis when she was but a toddler. He lived to be only thirty years old, and through the years, with the time spent decorating his grave, his dear wife probably spent more time doing that than she ever spent married to him.

When he left her a widow with three small children, it was before the days of any social safety nets to help her financially but she knew how to work. And work she did. Back when she had to heat her wash water on the wood stove in the kitchen, and heat her iron the same way, she did the white shirts of a great many of the professional men in our little town.

Mom and her younger brother were responsible for delivering these starched white shirts after they came home from school. They used sleds in the winter, and a wagon in the summer, and woe unto them if anything got dirty!

So in addition to honoring our servicemen and women who have sacrificed so that we can live in such a society, I'll give a nod to my own tough forebears and the legacy they left for us. Hail Lisa Anderson, Feisty Immigrant of the First Order! Thanks for being who you were!

You Get What You Pay For

I suppose I should be thankful that Google provides this free platform upon which we can shout out to one another. I shouldn't mind that somehow my friends can't leave comments, and sometimes my Followers gadget disappears.

I suppose I also read yesterday that somebody was so disgruntled with Word press that they were going to find another way to post their entries----another aggravation, if you want to transfer your history somewhere else. It gives me a headache to even think about that.

If I keep this up, I'll talk myself out of this funk and be happy that I have gotten to "meet"so many of you and enjoy keeping up with your lives.

Do you feel like Lucy VanPelt, sitting in her psychiatrist booth, charging 5 cents for listening? Leave a comment---send me your address----and I'll send you nickel. (Thanks! I feel much better now.)

Friday Fragments

End of May fragments that will hook up with Mrs 4444 at Halfpastkissintime, at her usual dumping ground of trivia and bits we find floating about at the end of the week. You may check this out for yourself my clicking her link, above.

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I surrender. I can not regain healthy eating habits on my own. I am once again a Weight Watchers member. I will try (hand held up, as in the Girl Scout pledge) not to let this fight take over my life. I hate obsessing over food.

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One of the kids in our family packed up his chain saw and headed for Joplin MO, to help in whatever way he could. He rounded up a couple more to help with him. Good job, Tom!

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Another is heading for the Big Apple to meet her BFF from Colorado. The weather map looks like heavy weather on the east coast. Happy landings, kids.

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Our lilacs are on the verge of blossoming. The temperature when I got up was 27 degrees F. I wonder how that's going to work out. Needless to say, the tomato plants will be languishing in the kitchen for another few days.

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When I got home from a meeting at church last night, I discovered that I'd left my purse there. I hate when I do that! (I hate carrying a purse in the first place, and when I leave it behind, I'm really annoyed.) For a few minutes, anyway.

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I've had a box of dishes sitting in the living room all week, waiting to be cushioned with something to protect from breakage and be put in a box small enough to get through the door without releasing the Fuzzies into the yard. Today's the day. I'm sick of looking at the box.

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Exit, stage left.

Have a great holiday weekend and remember that freedom isn't free.

PS---I goofed up on my linking so UP North had a typo and wouldn't connect. Something's not working quite right. Hands or head, take your pick. Sorry about that, Mrs. 4444.

First things First

Well, I skipped my day with my quilter friends today to get some seeds put into my garden space. Thanks to my Granny Wagon, I can stay out there longer and accomplish more. Thanks to the internet, I now have the attention span of a gnat, but if I can't stick to planting I trundle somewhere else to grub out some crabgrass or weeds.

There is some weed growing in there that puts the taproot on a dandelion to shame. That puppy is LONG, and of course there are plenty of dandelions and other weeds that protect bare ground from erosion----under other conditions. Last spring we dumped a whole load of manure on our garden and some of those weed seeds that survive bovine digestion, and a season of snow are sprouting out there too.

This part, the grubbing around in the dirt, spading and pulling weeds is my favorite part of a garden. The sprouting seeds are pretty cool, too. This year we are resolved to leave plenty of space for rows and plants, since our yard became a disorganized jumble last year. Live and learn. GoodGuy is a novice gardener, but he's in charge of the salsa plants. As Dad used to say, "He isn't going to learn any younger."

And neither am I. It is so hard for me to picture what that tiny seed can become with the addition of sun and rain

Let's walk in the Woods

It takes sharp eyes to spot the earliest wildflowers, even in my photographs. There are only a few varieties in the woods where we walked. Yellow violets, hepatica, and a few trilliums grow there. In the woods behind my parents' house there were more varieties; in fact, it was hard to take a step without crushing some.

Our walk was really pleasant because the access road to the fields beyond the woods is free of long grass and wood ticks. They are more of a concern when dogs go walking with you in the woods in the spring, but I'm no big fan of getting them on me either. And once you find one------you're pretty sure you can feel them everywhere.

I planted blue violets under my lilacs hoping they would spread. There aren't many under the lilacs, but they are growing between all the cracks in the cement to the west of them. Pretty, but not quite my plan. LOL It amazes me how plants can "move around". I have a bleeding heart that has spread in the most unexpected ways. I need to find another and plant it in a shadier spot where it can thrive properly.

Have a great Tuesday. Plant something and watch it grow. It'll do your heart good----even you Ms. BlackThumb.

The Spirit of Adventure

Oh, yeah, that's me. My Indian name would translate to "Sits on the Couch". But we do have in our midst The Rearranger.

We have three cats, for those of you who don't know this already, and two are just normally curious. The black and white domestic longhair, Bella, is full of prunes. She tears paper, and knocks stuff on the floor and into the waste baskets. She requires a keeper.

Yesterday we opened a window in our bedroom which is on the second story of our little house. And during the afternoon we took a little drive to check on the trillium crop in the woods. When we returned, GoodGuy saw a streak of black head for the back porch.

We assumed she had sneaked out when we left, even though we always watch. She's really fast and sneaky.

Later, we were watching the golf competition on TV and when I glanced up I saw a cat on the roof of the porch! What in the world? Bella exited by way of the open upstairs window. When we went up to close the window she gratefully came back indoors. I think she gets herself into some situations that she can't handle.

This morning she sat on this computer and got things so messed up that it wouldn't recognize my password. I had to take the battery out and have a short prayer vigil before I could boot back up.

Never a dull moment!

Simple Happiness

I'm pretty sure my photography can't begin to convey my glee at seeing apple blossoms and lilacs budding. Trust me. We are ecstatic!

Taking Stock

Retired folks don't always have busy weeks. At least these two retired folks don't. But this week GoodGuy went golfing three times, even though two of those days threatened to be what the Irish refer to as "a fine soft day". Freely translated to north Midwestern, that means cool and drizzly.

In keeping with my discoveries while reading the Happiness Project, I made the effort to dress up and get out. So I spent some time with knitters on Monday, quilters on Wednesday, and old friends on Thursday. While at home I worked on a sock in lovely warm wool for my son, the dog walker.

One of Gretchen Rubin's wise sayings advises that what you do each day to enhance your happiness will count more that what you do occasionally. I have been pondering that and have discovered that there are some surprising things that I could easily do daily that would substantially make a difference. Everybody's list is different, and sometimes doing what will enhance happiness isn't fun. (For example: strength training, physical therapy, stretching)

In closing, check out the comment count. Right now there's enough "post-goat" commenting to donate a flock of poultry, which is pretty good. A few more will get us to a hive of honeybees and a lot more will get us to "a trio of bunnies". Now there's a picture!

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. More planting is in store here. Now while it's cool.

Friday Fragments

Business first. Link up with Mrs. 4444 at Halfpastkissintime and share your tidbits of information with blogland. It's a fine place to deposit flotsam and jetsam that can't make a whole post.

Such as, why do we say, "We'll have to get together for lunch," and not set a specific date and time?

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These are my absolutely favorite days of the year, while the leaves are just furling. I don't love to take pictures, but while the trees are leafing I want to snap pics all over the place.

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I bought and planted a raspberry bush in the past couple days. If I had started when we moved here in 1998, I'd have the raspberry patch of my dreams, and could do without a lawn mower. (My neighbors would really love that!)

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My dear photographer son posted a picture of himself that consists of his camera, his hand and his chrome dome. I asked if he had trouble with his model, and he said the guy couldn't get his hair to behave. chuckle.

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At this time of the year, I have the illusion that summer will be long and lazy and the dates won't fill up with trivial junk like the rest of the year does. Summer flies by just as quickly as everything else or even faster! Be sure to fit in the stuff you really want to do!

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And in the meantime have a great weekend. Plant your direct sow vegetables. Burpee said today that it's time.

Here's a Curious Reaction

Do you watch NCIS---the original with Mark Harmon? The one where he smacks DiNozzo on the back of the head?

Well, that's what I feel I need administered to me. I just left my Shopko pharmacy after having a prescription refilled. I read my receipt just for the sheer joy of reading, to discover that I had five more prescriptions to fill in order to receive my $10 coupon.

Oh, nuts! (I only get two prescriptions at three month intervals. I think that works out to only eight per year.)

I think I save more than $10 by having to take so few medicines, don't you? I'll be happy if I don't need antibiotics or some other unscheduled pills to get my number up to the coupon requirement.

Oddly enough, I need to take antibiotics when I have dental work done now since I have a knee replacement. Apparently (I'm making this part up) oral bacteria can't wait to invade my blood stream and camp out in Titanium World. Fascinating!

Wake up, I'm done with my little rant. I'm grateful to be so healthy and to have resources that help cover the costs of my paltry need for medicine. I hope that's true for you too.

Inspiring Gratitude

I consider myself a pretty grateful person who counts her blessings on a regular basis. And this week I read a fine book which was well-written and compelling, yet horrifying.

The setting for the book was in a port city in England during a cholera plague. I'm cheering you right up, huh? That's just the beginning of the horrors recounted.

People working long hours, child labor, superstition, class distrust, prostitution, lack of parenting skills, schizophrenia, lost hope, grave robbing, and the list goes on. Plus no employer ever took any pity on an employee (slave) who was injured.

I haven't thought as much about what a blessing it is to be living in this era as I should have. No matter what we think of our government, our sanitation laws, child welfare, and a host of other issues----we have made progress.

I had an instructor in nurses' training who always said, "Where have we been, and where are we going?" Well, I'm not predicting the future, but I'm happy I wasn't in the living conditions that existed then. It's a wonder that society survived long enough for us to get to this stage!

My friend passed this book along to me with a note that said she was eager to know what I thought of it. Fair warning. By the way, if you're up for it, the book is The Dress Lodger

by Sherri Holman. Do not consider this a recommendation-----it is not a relaxing beach book.

If you want to laugh at the beach read Janet Evanovich-----anything.

Happy Tuesday!

The Spice of Life

That's variety, right? Well, speaking as a retired person who has always thrived on daily routines, my own personal, day to day experience isn't fraught with variety.

Instead that is something the internet has introduced into my life. Plus it is available on a daily basis. When I first began reading blogs, I started with a fine lady whose hobby is art. She makes her living as an attorney, but her love is writing and painting. That was pretty interesting and led me to other artists and creativity sites for a time.

As a knitter, I first found the Yarn Harlot where I still mostly lurk. Any blogger who gets hundreds of responses probably won't hear anything new from me. I felt that way about many of the fine writers and photographers whose blogs I read.

When I signed up for a follow-along at Jamie Ridler's website with the extremely funny liberating book, Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith, I found Kristin at The Goat.

Kristin is a very real person, and I wasn't intimidated by commenting at her blog at all, and through her comments, I found many of you. Like Keetha, and Mrs. 4444s, for instance. I so enjoy the exposure to your lives, and I thank you so much.

Some of you are mothers of infants, some home school their families, some search for treasure at thrift stores, some decorate their homes so beautifully, some garden, cook, design, do wonderful photography, find the most interesting websites, and have Etsy sales.

Some of you are hilariously funny, (thanks), some of you have faith that would move mountains, some are wise and philosophical, and almost all of you have skills I admire---a lot. Some of you challenge me with your good ideas, the things you learn, the books you read, and the calm way you accept life as it comes.

I thank the people who needled me into beginning to do this---you know who you are. I feel that I have gained much by both reading and writing. So I want to thank you all for the interesting variety you have brought to my life. Keep it up!

Forewarned is Forearmed

I am so besotted with the possibility that Spring is actually here that this may be the only thing on my mind today. (now that Blogger is back up and running---probably.)

We had really noisy thunderstorms several times earlier in the week, and then a warm day which kick-started our flowers, leafing process, and weed production into high gear. On Wednesday when I joined my quilting peeps for a morning of work and laughter, I could see the difference in leafing in the few hours I was there. Honest!

By this time next week we will have lilacs and fruit tree blossoms, and the sound of the bumblebee will be heard in the land. Today, was my first hummingbird sighting. I didn't see him near the feeders at first, but he was darting in and out of the cedar tree in the front yard. Later, while I was telling GoodGuy about that he told me to come and look. There was the hummer, at the back yard feeder. Now he's sitting on the clothesline guarding the feeder from interlopers.

I would say happy spring to you all, but many of you are done with spring already and suffering through summer. You have my sympathy, because I am not a lover of hot weather, but I am surely enjoying these signs of spring. Oh pooh, happy spring, anyway!!

One of my happy memories is of a Mother's Day afternoon spent with my mom finding wildflowers in the woods behind their home. It was mid March and everything was flowering. It was just magical!

So whatever is happening with you I hope it's something you can enjoy and that you aren't getting flooded, or snowed upon, or blown to bits from a tornado. (Can you detect my disaster fatigue?) I hope all is well with you.

Acts of Kindness

Thanks are in order today to all of you who have commented during April and May. We have achieved our first goal (which at first I though was a pie in the sky idea) of donating enough to send a goat to a hungry family through Heifer International.

I am so pleased that I'm sending the "goat money" off today and will follow that with a second amount at the end of the month. (Before all the graduation celebrations begin.)

In other news, I've finished another "magic hat" and started yet another. Of course, nothing is planted in my garden yet, and now it's a mass of mud after this morning's noisy thunderstorms. Lest you think that I've been working like a whirlwind-----it just ain't so.

I know some retired people are much busier in retirement than they were while they were working, but we are not like those people. Today I have a morning planned with my quilting friends, and this afternoon will be spent with my reading friends. For me that's as busy as it gets.

Actually, I was pretty busy yesterday getting ready for today. But since it didn't entail leaving the house it didn't seem so bad. LOL.

Thanks for your help, all you blogging friends, and thanks to my family---those I browbeat into reading and commenting. We did it!

An Open Love Letter

Dear Mom, Doris, and Margaret,

[Editorial note: Mom is my own mother, and Doris and Margaret were my mothers-in-law.]

It is the evening of Mothers Day, and all I have to do now for Mothers Day is hear from my own kids and step-kids. I don't get to visit with any of you or send your cards or flowers on time. But on this day I'm reminded of is how I miss you and how much you all taught me. Thanks to your good example, I learned how to relate to my kids' spouses and not to butt into their business. I even try to not give advice.

I get to remember the laughter, the family stories, and the way you loved our kids in that way that only grandmas can.

Margaret, I remember the way you taught my kids math by playing Twenty-one with them. And how we'd laugh when we'd hear little voices yelling, "Hit me, Grandma, hit me," when they needed another card. What a character!

Doris, you were the cook and baker, extraordinaire. Your rib recipe with the falling off the bones deliciousness that we can't quite duplicate is a wonderful memory. I'll always remember your kindness and goodness to me, and how we loved getting married at your house with family all around. It was a wonderful day for us.

Mom, you would not believe how often I can still hear your voice. Sometimes it comes out of my own mouth, like when I'd quote momisms to my kids in the olden days. Amazingly, I can sometimes spot you peeking around in the mirror, too. You know how often I was accused of looking just like you? Well, enough said.

The older I get, the more I am thankful for all of you and the blessing you were to my life. I am thankful to be healthy and have every expectation of being able to remember your bumptious selves for many years to come.

Thanks for everything. I hope you'd all be proud of us.

Love,

Annie

The Mothers' Day Sigh

Mom's day is getting a reputation as a Hallmark opportunity, and I have some kids who are Hallmark resistant because they try not to be manipulated.

They always come through for me---if not on Mother's day, at other times.

Yesterday I got a Priority Mail package marked Fragile. And then it was so encased in tape and other security measures I thought I might have to burn the packaging to find out what was inside. After much tugging and muttering I discovered 1. a most sweet, sentimental card, and the Cat Nut "sculpture".

Later in the day a box of beautiful fresh flowers arrived from No. 1 Daughter which made two lovely, fragrant bouquets. These five people who constitute my own kids, have given me worlds of pleasure, even without Mothers' Day. But I'm thankful for Mothers' Day, anyway. Thanks kids.

FriFrags

Shameless stealing from other people this week or Things I Have Seen while Online I Should Have Been Doing Something More Productive.

Mrs. 4444 hosts this clambake every Friday at Halfpastkissintime. You can link your fragment up too if you wish----or if you haven't already done so.

My daughter was quoted as an expert in this article online here. (She teaches at Virginia Tech and is working on her PhD. ( It's an article on the corn syrup/sugar controversy.)

(I have lost parts of this post twice already, and if it weren't for the goal of getting a goat for someone who needs it in the third world, I'd give up and sew instead.)

Enough whining.

I subscribe to a newsletter and blog of a person who is "doing more with less stuff" and she had some links posted this week which I enjoyed. I'm passing them on to you.

Here's some minimalist photography I enjoyed very much. View here.

I'm not a follower of fashion, unless a flannel shirt is a fashion statement, but here's a truly fun idea if you have to appear well dressed almost every day. Project 333 pares down the wardrobe and makes it super versatile.

Have a great weekend and I hope we are done seeing any more s___. Enough is enough.

Please comment. I'm begging.

Love Those Crazy Daffodils

I have only one daffodil, and I'm surprised to see even that one, but I'm happy to have it.

The year GoodGuy and I got married in mid April, I wanted daffodils for flowers at the wedding, but it was a cold spring that year (too), and we had no luck. We had to find tulips from the greenhouse for decorations.

We have only buds on the lilacs, too. I checked it out. We'll have lilacs by July 4th.

However we had a lovely, sunny day today and some of us golfed. (Hint: it wasn't me.) I did buy seeds yesterday and I'm looking forward to doing some grubbing around in the dirt very shortly. I love to see stuff growing!

The Magic Hat

Behold, the warmest hat I've ever made and just in time for warmer weather.

I joined a Knit-along on Ravelry which is designed to use up orphan yarn. Which would be leftovers from other projects or weird stuff that people have given to you.

This puppy is knit in a long tube like a Hebrew National salami, and the ribbing part that you can see, which would go around your ears, is knit in the middle of this long sausage.

Are you still with me? At the end the left end of the tube is tucked into the right end, leaving a double thick ribbing in the middle. When you fold this over, yet again, you have four layers of warm over your ears. Is this not clever? Of course, it takes doubly long to knit, too, but that's OK. It gives me pleasure to think that even though the yarn isn't a preferred one, that it will keep somebody really warm next winter.

In the meantime, let's hear it for spring. Tomorrow I'll post a portrait of my ONE daffodil. The peonies are up, and the lilacs are showing signs of life----I think. Have a great Wednesday!

Good Reading Online

I haven't had much opportunity to write as I've been busy reading the excellent feedback from mature, thoughtful people regarding the death of Osama bin Laden.

One thoughtful response leads to yet another, and there are a great many people who are embarrassed about the jubilant responses that we have seen at the news that he's gone.

Personally, the news gives me no joy or confidence that our terrorist worries have diminished at all. There are a great many people who have been taught to hate us, and they don't have trouble recruiting new people to fill the ranks.

Hate begets more hate, and it takes a supernatural hand to change our human response. Heaven knows we don't get much encouragement to show understanding or forgiveness from the world or the media.

I am thankful to the people who presented this calm and measured point of view. It was much needed and I appreciate it.

The Wages of Megalomania

In spite of the fact that I am "mostly" determined not to embark on any controversial subjects, I just had to laugh at the videos that were all over Facebook today.

Saturday night was the Washington Press Corps dinner, which was attended by the members of the press corps, of course, and many network bigwigs, anchormen, financial powers that be, and politicians. Better be there, there might be a photo op.

I watched parts of the 20 minute comedy routine which was sometimes funny and sometimes a little bit mean----depending upon whether I agreed with him or not. What I was watching for was Donald Trump's reaction to jokes at his expense. What I saw was that career politicians know how to laugh, even if the joke's on them. Not Donald.

It's hard to tell if he's humorless, or taking the kingly, "We are not amused" stance. In any case, he didn't change expression very much. He's probably was thinking lofty thoughts.

I should have set an alarm this afternoon when I shut my eyes for a wee nap. I slept through the streaming video of my grandson's first piano recital. At least I slept through his part of it. I saw him at the end and saw his uncle taking pictures. Will that count? I think not. I feel bad, but I'll enjoy his piano playing in person, I hope. (Sorry, Sam.)

Hope you enjoyed the first day of May. We didn't get out of the 40's today, and the wind was pretty brisk all afternoon. Sort of like April, now that I think of it.