MUCH better day today....

I love working out in the country - especially on a sunny day. You just never know what you will run across. Here are some of the things we saw this morning....

YARD ART!!!! I always love looking at other people's yard art - it makes me feel better about my own. I now have Living Room art too - yep - the old dusty TV is still sitting in the floor and for some reason, Princess Miya is not happy about it at all!

And then you have nature's art mixed with whimsical metal art. This was a delicious little cottage behind two other houses. We think this cottage and a brick house up near the road are newer but the little house beside the country store were probably the original buildings before the family grew.

The little store has been closed for years but I noticed it still has its ornate tin roof over the main building. I do love sleeping under a tin roof on a rainy night. It was horrible sleeping late under a tin roof in the summer time however because it would get so hot.

This is a better picture of the tin roof and a closer look at the sweet mail box.

We were actually impressed with how well the building looked. You can tell the people who lived there loved their houses, store and memories.

At one point I put the windows down and said - "listen" and the kids said "what?". Rie and I laughed because we wanted them to "listen" to the silence of living in the country.

Eileen and I were both blown away by how pretty these little lovelies were in their big, white crock pot. I imagined the man of the house leaving the store to walk down the little pathway to maybe get a bite to eat. Maybe his wife would "mind the store" while he had a meal. Or maybe the wife would send one of the kids to the store with a bite to eat for her husband. I remember visiting my Aunt one summer and my Uncle had a store. One day she and I had our lunch and then walked to the store so he could walk home and have his lunch. Guess that is why the imagination made me think of that scenario.

Bambi took this afternoon off from work to go with me to my study.  We all enjoyed it very much and it was nice listening to them share their feelings about things. Brings back wonderful memories of when I was where they are now - on the threshold of a wonderful new life.

So all in all it was a lovely day full of sunshine, delightful children giggling in the back seat, old and new friends and beautiful scenery. Ahhhh

Disappointment party...

I think I've seen everything now. This is how I have felt most of the day - like someone had invited me to a Disappointment Party. Woke up with a blazing  headache and sick as a dawg so I had to go back to bed instead of having a full day in service as planned. The weather didn't help and it sure doesn't feel like spring today. Dark, rainy and very cold. BigD wore his long handles to do a job and said he sure was glad he had. The big news is our TV is dead, dead, dead. To be honest, it was a little scary. He said he woke up to hearing it crackle and noticed smoke was coming out of it. That's kind of scary isn't it? I didn't smell the smoke but he said every time he tried to turn it on, it made noise and smoked. My goodness - I don't want to think of him not waking up and noticing it. He kept wondering if that was what caused my headache. Anyway - we talked about whether to get a new TV or not but we are really not in a position for that yet. We need to pay off the new W/D and refrigerator plus get some payments on the car under our belt. When we get a new TV, it will involve more than just a TV; we have to make some major changes which will cost more than we can swing right now. Since BigD had two TVs his friend gave him on the screened in porch - oh yeah - that is another story - we just brought one of those in and hooked it up. It works fine! Are you wondering where the old one is? Yep - sitting in the middle of my living room floor. Anyway - I worked on our taxes - BigD made a big pot of spaghetti (yum) and I'm getting ready to hit the sack after taking some drugs.  Looking forward to a much better day tomorrow.  Had to share this great picture I "snagged" from Leah's FB. This is Miya's brother and he is so tolerant of Page who adores him. I can just see Princess Miya putting up with this.  She is sweet too as she lays on the back of the chair putting her nose in my hair. I do so love me some cats......

Good night everyone - hope we all have a much better day tomorrow.....

Great food with old friends.....

I wish these pictures had turned out better - but alas - they didn't. It has to be the camera - can't be the subjects! I had a nice surprise yesterday. DebC asked if I wanted to go out to eat after the meeting and I said - SURE! So we all crawled into the car and met Jnks at O'Charley's. It was so much fun! Everyone got something different and the two of us split a Bloody Mary - long time since I've had one of those. I got one of their new salads which was excellent. DebC ordered an appetizer to share with everyone (so nice of her)and it was so good catching up with Jnks. She remembers things I had forgotten so we started talking about old times. She looks great - always has. She and the sister next to her in age were the ones who "baby-sat" me when I was on bed rest during my pregnancy with Page. What a loving thing for those two young women to do - sit all day with me to keep me company. Thankfully - that didn't last too long. As I recall - it seems like the sister who lived next door would bring us fresh blackberry pies and cobblers during that time. Wow - that was a long time ago. Speaking of Page - I got a call from Bentley when we were leaving the restaurant and after dropping Gail off at the theater where she was meeting her family telling me she was on the plane and would call me when she got there. She finally called much later than I anticipated and said the plane was delayed but she was in the rental car with her GPS on trying to get out of the airport and on the road to the hotel. Hope this ultra-busy week will not tire her out too much. So this day ends with all being well - Kurt is feeling better, Leah still likes her job, Page is safe after her flight, and BigD is snoring away on the sofa. Big day in service tomorrow - yea.....

14th Friday, 3rd Month of 2011...

Was determined that I would not state the obvious but can't help myself so will just let the picture do it for me. It has been a busy week with some minor surprises and adjustments along the way but overall - an okay week. Eileen is still at the coast getting things taken care of at the cottage to make it more of a year-round - live in all the time piece of paradise. Yeah - I'm jealous but at least I get to steal brief moments at I.T. and Mae's place every year. Kurt seems to be very slowly recovering from whatever his body has reacted so violently to. It appears he inherited that gene of ours that has to tell you loud and clear what it doesn't like - only problem this time being, the doctors can't say exactly what it is. Leah is still liking her job and learning new things. She sent me this picture of Page in the cute outfit her other GMa bought her. There is another shirt that goes with it for the meetings. I can't believe it will be almost another month before I'll see them again - hmmm - feeling a "need" to drive North soon. Not sure I can wait. Page1 has been in training all week and will be out of town all next week for more of the same only this time, she will be part of the training team. She will also be heading to where there is still winter so hopefully the weather will not be too bad. The highest they are calling for next week is 50 and that is the day she is leaving to go back home. We just had a nice long "getting caught up" chat. I had to take my car back to the dealership again - the back window wasn't working right. I could put it up and down from the front but it wouldn't work from the back. Thank goodness it was only the switch that had to be replaced.This is the "loaner" car Cyn got me to use while they had mine. It is a 2010 Chevrolet Impala with only a little over 16,000 miles on it. It is a very nice car but man - like day and night between this one and my older (2007) Cadillac. Look at that beautiful sky - it was a gorgeous day Thursday which made the trip up and back so pleasant.Cyn is always trying to make things easy for me when it comes to my car. I have no problems referring anyone to make that trip up there and let her help them find a car. The customer service is really good and everything they do for you is backed by GMC and their famous surveys. BigD has always been a racing fan and for as long as I've known him a die hard Chevy fan. That is why I was so surprised when he said he had looked at a brand new Impala for me but decided it just wasn't for me. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed having this car as a loaner but it just isn't the same quality as my old Avalon or my "new" Caddie. While I was talking to Page, I got her "vacation" and work travel schedule for the next few months and boy is she going to be busy. I realized I have several things coming up that I need to track better.So I've pulled out my new little "Avian Friends Pocket Planner" that was a gift from Page to me, Leah and several other friends. I had already seen it on Genine's Blog (http://blogdelanine.blogspot.com/). Please visit her and see how she and several other artists I follow are putting together their work to benefit the children in Japan. OR you can just go to http://craftingforcourage.blogspot.com/ to see what wonderful things you can purchase that will help the victims in Japan. Both Page and I were a little surprised by the size of this cute little calendar, journal, sketchbook but we still love it. I wish I had Page's pretty handwriting but I'm trying to just relax and enjoy it for myself and not worry about it. She has more of her lovely artwork scattered throughout the book which bring a smile to your face with every little surprise. I have been giving Rose a hard time because she hasn't even started doing their taxes yet but I have also been putting off the last part of ours. That is what I've been putting off all day because I woke up determined it will be ready for our accountant after today. So I'll just look at this lovely picture, take a deep breath and DIVE IN! AAHHHHH - yeah - right!

Nature's Art......

Okay - how do I start? We were in service this morning and decided to make a call on a young man who lives in my sister-in-law's neighborhood. As we turned left, Mike, who was sitting in the back seat asked me to stop and back up - he wanted us to see what he had "spotted" in the woods.As we were backing up - he kept saying - I want you to see this tree - I think it looked like what I thought it looked like but I want ya'll to see it too. So we are like okay.... Well - we can definitely say it looked exactly what he thought it looked like. LOL. A tree with BOOBS!!!! Actually, I think it kind of looks like a pregnant tree with boobs but that's just me. The scary thing was I saw it as soon as we backed up so I got out of the car and walked as far as I could without getting wet to get a few pictures to share with the kids. Maybe we should get a bra or halter top for the tree? What do you think? Of course nature is responsible for so many beautiful things for us to see this time of year including this lonely yellow flower I saw on my way out of the woods. I also got a picture of a lovely piece of artwork made by Keith for his Mom when we dropped by their house for a minute. It hangs on their front porch and everytime I see it, I fall in love with it all over again. I would love to have one to hang outside my front doorso I could see it when we open the door - in blues and greens - two of my favorite colors. Or maybe a smaller frame to hang in my bedroom window but that might not work - Miya loves to sit in that window and would probably knock it down. Cyn called from the dealership and we set up a time for me to take my car up there to have the back window fixed. You can put it down and I can put it up from the front seat but the passenger can't get it back up. She is going to give me a loaner to drive until they get it fixed. I told her about a sound Rie and I heard (so did Mike) while we were out and about this morning but I can't hear it anymore. BigD drove it when he picked up dinner (another one of those delicious new salads from Wendy's) and he didn't hear anything. Must have been something in the tire?I can honestly say I love my hair. Washed it this morning and went out with it still a little wet. Later I ran my hands through it and it did great. This picture was taken after we had been riding all afternoon with the windows down but overall - I'm happy with this hair cut! Wish it always worked out that way - don't you?

SUNDAY!!!!!

What a lovely day! The only thing I can think of that would have made it better was a nice leisurely breakfast at the French Bakery with Page. YUM - I can almost smell the coffee and taste the flaky, buttery croissants now. I got to thinking about that bakery yesterday morning too for some reason. Let's just say this wonderful place could become habit forming. Needless to say, I also didn't get to enjoy my coffee in a nice cup sitting in my pj's with the crossword puzzle this morning. I drank my coffee in the car while I gobbled down a Fibre One energy bar! I know - so much for healthy eating. I do miss having my coffee while working the crossword puzzle and very seldom get to do that anymore. I try to work one puzzle a day but sometimes I have five of them saved up at the end of the week. This has been a pretty good week as far as puzzles go since I was home Monday through Thursday under the weather. Rie's sweet hubby gave the talk today and did a wonderful job. Such a sweet young man. Enjoyed stealing a few minutes in the back talking to Keith. Everyone seems to like my new car - still haven't named her yet. Not too sure about Sylvia - thinking something more along the line of Amelie or Tautou. It will come to me. After the meeting I drove out to Sondra's to have my hair cut OFF. Oh man - it felt so good to get it cut really short again. They seem to be doing well. Tried to entice Roseanne to "slip away" and meet me for lunch - I was starving. She decided to be mature and stay at home so I went to the Italian place I've mentioned on here before to get take-out. I got a great panini with salad on the side and a small dessert. It was more than enough both for me and BigD. So I'm sitting here in my PJ's happy that Duke won the game and now watching an old Clint Eastwood - Dirty Harry movie (kind of watching - BigD has the remote and that means we are watching that, a poker tournament and a recap of the races). (Scene) "You are asking yourself - did he fire six shots or only five. So - are you feeling lucky punk? Are you?" You have to laugh out loud when you watch it now. It is amazing how well Clint Eastwood has done in all facets of his career. I remember when he was on television series - Rawhide . He played Rowdy Yates. He is an interesting character - I can't say he is an interesting man since I don't really know him. All any of us really know about him is what we read - right? So I will end by letting dear Betty Boop send you my greetings t0 have a Happy Sunday My Friends...xo.

Supermoon!!!!

No - I haven't lost my mind. I wish I was better at taking pictures at night and especially of beautiful moons but this is as good as I could get. 'Supermoon': Biggest Full Moon in 18 Years Occurs Saturday Night, March 19th.Thanks to a fluke of orbital mechanics that brings the moon closer to Earth than it has been in more than 18 years, the biggest full moon of 2011 will occur on Saturday, leading some observers to dub it a "supermoon."I called the kids to tell them to go outside and look at it. Kurt still feels pretty rough. Leah finally told him to get our friend's phone number from Urgent Care. I hope he will call her.Bentley and Page went outside to look and Page was trying to get a picture of CoCo to send me but it didn't turn out good at all so Bentley sent me a picture he had taken of CoCo laying on the sofa.Needless to say, I had to "edit" the picture. Bad CoCo! Isn't he pretty? Ending on a really good note, my friend from Urgent Care just let me know she had a long conversation with Kurt and he is supposed to call them Monday if he isn't better. She wants to get some blood tests run to rule out some things that could be causing this. Hope it made him feel better - it made me feel better. :) So sweet of her - she is so good at her job and one reason is she loves it!

I'm back.......

I feel like I'm back. No - not just back from my trip to Atlanta but really back. Those who know me will pretty much understand I think. I had a talk on the front school Thursday night that went well. Of course I have to give a lot of credit to my sweet Lin - she is the "consumate" householder. Even though I still had a little of the headache I had all week, I was determined I was going to the meeting. I also was thrilled to be out in service all day yesterday with Gail. I realized I have missed her these past weeks almost as much as I still miss Gerl. We made a run to Costco after service and loaded up on treats. It was a gorgeous day yesterday and today has been even nicer. I met with my group this morning which was a real treat since I don't usually get out in service on Saturdays. It was so nice, we had Shen's study outside on her breezeway. I can tell she still loves the little house they are in now. I was disappointed to hear from Leah yesterday that they were not going to be coming down this weekend but certainly understood the reason why. I hope Kurt starts showing some improvement real soon. The good news is Leah enjoyed her first week on her new job. I decided to go ahead and send her a picture of the dress Page sent her. These types of dresses look so good on her and I hope she will enjoy it. Page called to say it was beautiful there too. We are already looking forward to our time together when Page2 has Spring Break! I think I'll get out of this house and go for a ride in the country - too pretty to be inside!

Bugs and other things.....

Yep - I definitely have a bug or virus. Stomach, headache, yuck. I'm so hoping it will be much better by tomorrow. Slept better last night but still have the headache I've had for several days now. It doesn't help that it has been a gloomy looking day so far and BigD said it is quite nippy out there. Spring one day, winter the next - I just want a few weeks of Spring before we are full force into Summer. In the meantime, I've been plugging along with BigD's books. I know, I know - I've waited until the last minute "again"! You aren't any more frustrated by me than I am. I promised my accountant I would have everything ready so I'm going to stay in until it is ready for her.Everyone who knows me knows that I am definitelyBeing a Type A personality has been good for certain jobs because we do work well under pressure. My last three jobs required quite a bit of multi-tasking which I used to be real good at. I'm not that good at it anymore and do not like the pressure I put on myself so why do I do it? Every single year I promise myself I will work on BigD's books on a monthly basis and it just never happens. I think my cluttered house has caused me to have a cluttered mind. Hmmm - I wonder if that is possible?A picture of three men who all played a positive role in my "upbringing" after I was married. Two of them are gone which makes Ebbert even more special. You gotta love I.T. - a self-confident man I would say - right?And I had to "snatch" this picture of four of Jeri's five sons from FB today. I know they think of and miss their Mama every day.This picture will not mean anything to my younger friends or even my children but it brought back good memories to me.Looking at so many of the pictures Jeri's children found has made me remember a lot of people who made an impact on my life. She had a reputation for being fearless in the ministry and a strong personality. She also had a serious heart condition that could be taken care of so easily today but this is now and that was then. She died way too early and has been missed by many. I called Ruth's Mom (on the left) this afternoon to see how she is doing now that she is back home. She said with a lot of help, she is doing well. She is frustrated about the neighbor's tree falling on her fence in her back yard and them not wanting to do anything about it. One of Z's life-long friend lives across the road and has been very helpful. As a matter of fact, she said she had just gone to the grocery store for her. I couldn't stop thinking about how happy Leah sounded on the phone yesterday when she called on her way home from her first day at work. So - after calling Kurt and asking BigD and Page1 - we decided it would be nice for her co-workers to see how much we love her so we went her flowers for her new desk! Gerber Daisies are one of her favorites so I called her company to get the number of a florist they like and they gave me a name and number and I was very impressed with "Curtis". She sent us this picture with a text saying they were beautiful. I know it made her smile even bigger. Kurt is still having some reactions but we are hoping the meds will kick in and take care of it soon.