Blooming

All in my yard. I am ruminating (?) on the idea of Jesus as a Gardener. If you throw in Sarah's thought about God making snowflakes just for fun and for our pleasure, it is an interesting idea to think of Him planting and growing things.

These all survived the winter and are blooming today no thanks to me.

Still to come: Azaleas, daylilies, clematis, iris, astilbes, and hopefully coral bells.

Capital Offense

This is one reason I will never have a Capital One card in my wallet. These people annoy the life out of me and I don't even have an account with them. This is a picture of the mail that they sent me yesterday. 4 envelopes and 4 credit card offers in one day. I got one. Dave got one. Amanda got 2. This has been going on for at least a year. Do the people who have Capital One cards in their wallets know that their interest rates are so high because of all the money the company spends on paper and postage? Is there a 'do not write' list? If they really want to be of service to me they should just save up what they're spending on postage and mail it to me at the end of the year. I'd put that in my wallet.

Happy Poly II

(This one has a nose.) Some days are just this good. Some days you need a microscope to find a smile. This is what your blood looks like if you've got the joy, joy, joy down in your heart.

This is National Medical Laboratory Week. Just in case you wanted to rush out and have your blood drawn to celebrate.

Sneaking Out

We decided to leave NYC with a different approach. In the middle of the day instead of the middle of the night. We decided to drive the pick-up truck through the tunnels instead of over the bridges. Lincoln vs. Washington. Lincoln was the weekend winner--hands down.

No taxis for us. We just drove the pick-up through downtown Manhattan.
I took a few drive by shots (of the photograhic variety) including this one of the Empire State Building. I think the bug splattered windshield adds authenticity. I left my heart and my battery charger in New York.

Why We Came

Load Up The Pick-up

We rented a pick-up truck to haul a few pieces of furniture to New York. It was a vehicle roughly the size of our house. (see photo) No problems until we reached the George Washington Bridge. This is evidently an engineering wonder to control access to the city. This first ploy is to use signage to confuse drivers. Next is a series of long cues and lane changes and closures and EZPass and cash only tricks to slow traffic to a crawl. Then when frustration has passed and resignation sets in (this has something to do with breathing exhaust fumes), the two lanes divide into 12 just before the toll booths. On the other side of the tool booths is a large parking lot littered with a few diasabled vehicles. On the other side of the parking lot looms the bridge. And all twelve lanes are feeding into ONE LANE to cross the bridge. The beauty of this plan is that cars arrive in the city one at a time. A very personal welcome to New York. Its good to be here. Signs suggested using mass transit to see the Pope this weekend. Right now he is in Yonkers. I think you have to cross a bridge to get there. We are not going to see the Pope.

Happy Poly

What your blood cells look like if you eat too many smiley cookies from Eat 'n Park.

Can I Mail That For You?

Remember when I mailed my nametag? Well this week I threw the mail in the garbage. Not the junk mail sent to me. No, the outgoing mail. The envelope containing the checks from Alex's paper route. Not in the kitchen garbage at home. No, the garbage can in the dining hall at work. Now whenever I look at the garbage cans I envision little puppets sticking their heads out singing "I Had a Bad Day". Could this have been Whimsical Wednesday? Just wondering...

In My Dreams

We are listening to the audio book 'Black' by Ted Dekker. The main character goes back and forth in his dreams between two worlds and what he learns in one world, he can apply in the other.
Today for lunch I made a very good taco salad using some left over roast beef. The guys complimented it and I told them the idea just came to me. Like in a dream. So maybe in my dream world I am a creative chef. Maybe I have my own cooking show. And I've written a cookbook or two. Maybe people just refer to my recipes using my first name. "I'm making Ms. Brenda's taco salad." Maybe I have done guest appearances on the Today show and Oprah.
Maybe I should do the dishes...

Butler Eagle Covers Everything

Mars, PA--Temperatures soared here this afternoon, making working outside nearly unbearable. The intense heat caused local newspaper carriers to shed first their shirts and eventually their pants. When asked if he was concerned patrons would not want their papers delivered by a nake'd (rhymes with snaked) boy, one carrier replied that he thought the loss of such customers would be offset by those who had never subscribed before because the paper had never offered nake'd delivery.
In other news, the pool is not set to open for another 6 weeks.
By then Alex will have grown so tall that all his jeans will be shorts and he will be set for summer.
Alex's sisters are busy calling and texting each other to celebrate that they grew up before their mother had a digital camera and a blog.
And this just in--Those families whose clocks automatically adjusted ahead for daily savings time on the first Sunday in April are still looking for that missing hour.

The Dresser

This is the dresser we salvaged in Alabama when I was pregnant with Stasi. We refinished it before she was born and put all her baby clothes in it. It traveled with us for 25 years and ended up in the upstairs bathroom-holding steam curlers and body lotions and nail polishes. Too ugly for words. But now I have painted it and it is ready for the next generation of princesses. Complete with polka dots and jewels.

Yeah for salvage and redemption.


Yeah for paint.

I salvaged the bench as well. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Painting Things

I am painting things. Like dressers and benches. And my hair. I found that white satin indoor/outdoor paint covers all my gray. And obviously lasts through multiple shampooings. Is it real or is it Glidden? Only my hairdresser knows for sure.
I will take pictures of the dresser as soon as the drawer pulls arrive . We got them on ebay. (It's better if you win it.) Ebay could easily be an obsession. Good thing I can't remember my password.
The bench is taking longer because it needed glued and tightened and sanded. Tomorrow it will be ready to be sealed. And then painted. White and purple. Because I had to pry the lid off of the purple paint in such a way that I can't get the lid back on the can. So I just have to use up the entire quart of purple paint. After the bench is painted it needs it's seat covers replaced. This is the ultimate project--involving paint and a trip to the fabric store.
Any purple paint left over after the bench I am just going to streak into my hair. Just call me Aunt Vi. (Was her real name Violet?)

The Truth

Tell me the truth. Sometimes a story is just so unbelievable that a mother knows it can't be true. Go ahead and call to verify, 'cause it's the truth. So I call and of course it has some truth woven in, but it is not the truth. Give me the whole truth. You make me feel so guilty. Maybe you feel guilty because you are guilty. Do I have to say it? Yes, and you have to make it right. Do you have to go with me? Yes, because once you lie, trust is destroyed.

It is always easier not to make a mess than it is to clean up a mess.

Do you feel better? Yes.

If only they always learned the lesson in a teachable moment...

Spring

In my side flower bed...

Big White Flag

I give up. It's not easy. I hate to lose, especially this one. I hate even more that I was right. But today I will wave the big white flag. Declare a truce. Holler "All-ee, All-ee in free!"
Somedays I just get tired of playing the game.

On a brighter note, I am playing a little April Fools Day trick today. (Sometimes I am so clever that it's not even funny.)

But I think this is a good one. hehehe