Number One Cherry Blossom Lane

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If you happen to be walking past Number One, Cherry Blossom Lane in Somewhere Special, USA you just might see her, for occasionally she sits in the shade on the wide veranda of her immaculate Victorian home.


Something about her will capture your imagination. She isn't beautiful, as some may count beauty, and yet - - - and yet - - - there is something, some je ne sais quoi. Perhaps it is the way she holds her head, or her air of grace, or even the pearls she wears with her lace. Whatever it is, you will not soon forget this rather eccentric little lady with a heart of pure gold.


Her name is Lady Catherine Rose Sitzalone, but she was known to her friends simply as Miss Kitty Rose. I say "was known to her friends" because you see, she is the last of her ilk, having survived all her friends. A lone rose drooping on the vine.


Folks who know Miss Kitty Rose say she is a proper Southern Belle, in an age when far too few of those remain. She gets her hair done each Saturday, goes to church every Sunday, dresses to the nines in her lace and pearls - - - even for lunch, uses a tall umbrella instead of a cane, and wouldn't be seen - - - even on her veranda - - - without her rose-red lipstick and orchid-pink cheek rouge. There are those who say her long lost twin was once the Prime Minister of England - - - but that is a mystery to be solved in another tale.

When she was just a girl, her parents gave her everything money could buy which might spoil some, but not Miss Kitty Rose. She gave teas in her lovely flower garden for those less fortunate than herself, worked tirelessly volunteering at the Children's Hospital and organized ladies' luncheons at her church. She spoke with authority, but in such a gentle tone that not a soul thought her unkind.

Her money is all gone now. A scoundrel investor made off with her fortune and left her barely able to care for her day to day needs. But somehow, chin held high, she carries on.

With her friends all dead and gone, she has plenty of time to sit alone on her veranda. She invites the neighborhood children to join her there and serves them a proper English tea. They are delighted with Miss Rose and never does she let them suspect that she misses the days gone by when she was needed, useful, and surrounded by her friends.

She remembers all that was, and hopes for more to come.

And sometimes, just sometimes, she allows herself to take her most treasured memory out of its safe place in her heart and look back on it with tears in her eyes. She remembers the one and only love of her life, her dear sweet Arthur who used to take her dancing on Saturday nights.

Everyone said they made the handsomest pair on the ballroom floor. Arthur would twirl her in a gentle spin and dip her until her long golden curls nearly dragged the floor. Folks would come from miles around just to watch them waltz. Miss Kitty was a graceful dancer, beautiful to behold. She floated across the floor on long slender legs that seemed to go on forever.

Arthur asked for her hand, and she smiled a shy "yes." Her father said he would give her "half the kingdom" for her wedding, but she said all she wanted was a simple ceremony in the flower garden beside their lovely Victorian home. So arches were built, and chairs were arranged, and folks were invited from all over Somewhere Special.

But fate was not kind to Catherine, for on their wedding eve, poor Arthur was thrown from his horse surviving just long enough to whisper one last time, "I love you my own dear Rose." So instead of a wedding, Miss Kitty sat very alone under the marriage arch and bid her sweet Arthur adieu.

Though the people of Somewhere Special have long since forgotten, or have never heard the tale of Miss Kitty's lost love, they will tell you that - - -

If you should pass by Number One, Cherry Blossom Lane on a dark, quiet, Saturday night you just might hear the faint notes of a waltz floating on the air. And if you look up through the veranda, and if you are very fortunate indeed, you just might see on the drawn window shades, the graceful silhoutte of a lovely lady gliding across the floor on long slender legs that seem to go on forever - - -

The End

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Credits:

"Catherine" - submitted by LaVoice

"Kitty" - submitted by Leigh
and chosen by me in memory of my beloved Aunt Kitty

"Rose" - Dictated by her lovely red lips

"Sitzalone" - well, she does, doesn't she?

Story Line: Amy, Rita, Patti, Brenda, Angie, and Groovy

A big huge THANK YOU to all contributors, you made Lady Catherine Rose Sitzalone come alive.

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Winner, WinnerS, Chicken DinnerS!!!!

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In the case of "Name the Grand Old Dame" - - -

(photo from econ.ucsb.edu)

The verdict is in!!!

And we have winners!!!

That's right - - - I said winnerS.

You, my bloggy friends came through with name suggestions that made my job of choosing "just the right one" oh so difficult. BUT - - - in the end - - - there was only ONE choice I could make, and I made it.

I had planned to take your ideas to my 6th grade class and let them vote in the winner - - - but for personal reasons which I shall explain later - - - I just HAD to make the decision myself because I was afraid my class would NOT choose "wisely."

I KNEW you would come through for me. I KNEW you would give me the PERFECT name for the "Grand Old Dame" in my header.

But what I did not, COULD not know was - - -

(icon from elfuniversity.ning.com)

You would also give me STORIES.

Beautiful stories.

Bittersweet poignant stories.

I just didn't anticipate this, and with each new story you sent, my heart was moved and touched in oh so many ways.

So, I have ENLARGED the contest, and thereby added more chicken dinners (aka winners.)

I am in the process of sifting through all the stories to compile THE story of my "Grand Old Dame." I think when I am finished - - - you will be in LOVE, as I am, with the dream that is our "Grand Old Dame."

Now - - - you COULD cheat, go to my contest post, and read the comments to see if you could "compile" the story for yourself. It's O K - - - I give you cheating permission. But keep in mind that the REAL story, the TRUE (albeit fictitious) story will be the one I submit for your reading pleasure.

I will not post the winners until I have had time to write the story. It is my plan to give you story and winners in my very next post.

Until then - - - keep up the good work of posting, commenting, and building our blogging community into a thriving cyber-opolis.

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Sunday Reruns - Once I STOLE Something

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Before we get down to business today, let me just ask you one important question:

DID YOU REMEMBER TO "SPRING AHEAD"?????

It's Sunday again, and you know what THAT means!?! It's time for Sunday reruns!!! Thanks so much to Chari over at Happy to Design for hosting this meme, "Sunday Favorites".

"Felony Grand Theft Photo"

(First posted on 12/10/07

I stopped by my daughter's blog today, and there I found some photos that were so heartwarming, so priceless, so "to die for" that I just HAD TO HAVE THEM on my blog. So, I sneaked into her blog under the cover of darkness and STOLE them.

Here they are:

Our younger daughter, Korie with her niece Kaeleigh and nephew Mackinley. How do you spell family photo op???


Korie - - - all American smile
Kaeleigh - - - "What's up?"
Macky - - - "I'm squirming down now!!!"


Then this one!!! Have you EVER seen anything like it?!? Two little "fresh from the bath" towel people, side by side, engrossed in their TV show.

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Still More Eclectic Bits (EB's)

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Here is more of what this blog is known for - - - - eclecticity!!!

E

EB 1

(photo from kenyonreview.org)

It's THAT time again.

Tonight.

You must remember to set your clock AHEAD one hour.

I know some of you out there in bloggy land are THRILLED for this day to come - - - - you want to plant your bulbs and play your golf and I don't want to rain on your little parade, so if you WONDER or even CARE what I think about this mess, you'll just have to click here.

EB 2

In about three weeks now, I will be traveling with the LCS Class of 2010 to Costa Rica for their senior missions trip.

We don't know exactly what we will be doing, but we have volunteered to do some painting, feeding of hungry people, visiting orphanages, and handing out of literature.

We decided to make some sock puppets to use with Spanish music.

Originally, I thought I would get all the supplies to make puppets from actual socks.


But when I got to the craft department, there were sock puppet KITS. They were full of brightly colored socks and accoutrements.


So, the other day we spent some time making our puppets.


They turned out really cute.


Check out the nose on that blue one. I LOVE IT!


And here they are - - - all lined up and ready to go.

We plan to LEAVE them in Costa Rica with someone who will use them.

EB 3

Last Saturday, my little Great-Niece was dedicated. Soon she will be moving with her mommy and daddy to Alaska where her daddy will be stationed with the Coast Guard. (You may remember that her daddy flies a rescue helicopter, if not you can read about it here and here.)

They are not moving to a CITY in Alaska - - - but to the island of Sitka where the longest road is only 15 miles long!


Neither Miss Carson Mae, nor her mommy Misti, look too worried about their upcoming adventure. I think its because they are still YOUNG. If it were me, I'd be worried, they're going to be a 4 hour ferry ride away from Juneau.

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Mr. and Ms. "X" - - - COMMUNicate Please

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(1980's indy-comics icon created by Dean Motter)

The other day I ran into Mr. "X"

I hadn't seen nor spoken with Mr. "X" for months, but Mr. "X" began talking to me about rather current things in my "world", and suddenly I realized, Mr. "X" had been stalking on my blog.

Oh, and it isn't ONLY Mr. "X" - - - I believe there are some Ms. "X" blog stalkers too.

I just don't get it. The fun of blogging, as far as I'm concerned, is making community, and community begins with COMMUNication.

It seems to me that all you Mr. and Ms. "X's" must be pretty lonely at your computer screens with no feedback.

Go ahead.

Take the plunge.

I double dog DARE you - - -

LEAVE A COMMENT and let the communication begin!!!

Don't know HOW to leave a comment? Simply click on the word "comments" below and fill in the form.

You'll be SOOOOOO glad you did.

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Who in the World Am I???

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Hello, Honey Child. I thought I'd stop by Miss Keetha's blog and introduce myself, but then there is a problem with that - - - - I'll get to that in a bit.

Some of you noticed that I am now gracing Miss Keetha' header. But what you can't see there is this:


I'm somewhat of a "street sitter," which is, of course, not to be confused with a street walker.

Miss Keetha befriended me while she was on vacation in the northwoods. She just walked right up to me, shook my hand, and asked my name. She's pretty outgoing like that, you know.

Anyway - - - that's where the problem started.

You see, I don't HAVE a name.

So, that's where you come in. Miss Keetha and I would love it if you would give me a name.

Please, kiddos, dream up a really great name for me and leave it in a comment for Miss Keetha to find. She will choose a winner-winner-chicken-dinner.

There might even be a little prize - - - MAYBE - - - if I can motivate Miss Keetha to send one out.

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Suday Reruns - My Hobbies

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It's Sunday again, and you know what THAT means!?! It's time for Sunday reruns!!! Thanks so much to Chari over at Happy to Design for hosting this meme, "Sunday Favorites".

My repost this week shows how I USED to blog at a big ole PC BEFORE the days of lappy - - - but everything else about it is still spot on!

Hobby Rankings
(First posted on 12/08/07)

It is no secret and no surprise to anyone who knows me that I enjoy three hobbies every day of my life; eating, blogging, and watching/talking about football. The question then is not WHAT are my hobbies, but rather what do I love MOST?


I can honestly tell you that it came as QUITE a surprise to self, since I've been having a love affair with food all my life, to discover quite by accident yesterday afternoon that I MUST love blogging MORE.

(This is IT - - - my blogging universe)


On my way home from school yesterday I picked up my favorite Mexican carry-out. As I was bringing the bag with all the goodies in the house, it HIT me that I love blogging MORE than food because you see, I placed said bag of goodies on the kitchen island and RUSHED up to the computer to check my blogs BEFORE eating. I didn't even care if the food got cold - - - I HAD to blog first. This was a bit unnerving to me as I've glibly said for YEARS, "Eating is my favorite hobby."

(You should have seen me trying to get this picture, BY MYSELF, to illustrate this very important Blogging discovery.)


Suddenly realizing that I loved blogging more than food made me wonder where football ranked.

I'm having massive difficulty putting this one into the lineup in its proper place. You see, I eat WHILE I watch football. I've been known to PAUSE the football game (thanks to the wonders of an HDVR) and run up to my blogging universe to blog about football RIGHT DURING THE GAME!! So, exactly where does football rank? Do I love it MORE than blogging AND food, or should it go between the other two, or is in a close third right behind eating?


This was all entirely too mind-bending for me to deal with, so I did the only sensible thing. I PLANNED this blog in my head and went back downstairs to eat my scrumptious food in front of the TV while watching sports shows ABOUT football.

(Of COURSE I ate all that - - - and some chips and salsa too.)

:-)

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"Little Blogs" to Love

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There are BIG blogs and then there are the rest of us.

I like to think of "the rest of us" as little bloggy girls (and guys). I'm not giving my exact criteria of what qualifies as a "little blog", but let's just say the BIG blogs have WAY WAY WAY more followers than I do.

I'm handing out bloggy love to some little bloggy girls and boys who post with some regularity. You might enjoy checking some of these out.

If you are reading this post, and LIKE this idea, then you may take my icon, and pass along bloggy love to some "little bloggy" girls and boys of your choosing - - - only DON'T make up any rules and DON'T attach any strings.

Today's blogs that are gettin' some love:

Kim Sue over at "Between Now & Then." Kim Sue makes a sweet blog that chronicles the every day, and the special day, happenings in her little family of three. She makes the most ordinary of days special.

You'll want to spend some time at "Bloomfield Farm." Down on the farm you'll find lots of space, plenty of fresh air, good eats, and an animal or two thrown in for good bloggy measure.

I personally know Brandon of "Brandon and Jennifer Bruce." He was just a little tyke when first I met him, and now he has two tykes of his own! He and his wife Jennifer are pastoring in Lansing, and their blog is quite an eclectic mix of their lives and ministry. As you know, I'm quite partial to eclecticity!!! Also, unless I miss my guess, Brandon is the blogger in the family.

"Chickens in the Basement" HELLO!?! How could you NOT love a blog by that name, and would a blog by any other name still smell the same - - - - oh, wrong metaphor!! I'm pretty new to "Chickens," but I find it fun and funny - - - and YES, they really do keep chickens in the basement!!!

Betty Jo at "Digi Scribbles" makes one of the softest blogs I've ever seen. Don't know what I mean? Well then - - - - you'd better head right over there and SEE for yourself, hadn't you????

When you visit these folks, please leave a comment to let them know you were there. If you are a blogger yourself, you KNOW how we all love getting comments.

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I Was One of the Original Six Million - - -

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Were you?

As Paul Harvey used to say:

Now here's the REST of the story - - -




I just LOVE this.

Makes me wonder what I'll be doing at 85!!!

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Making My Paths Straight

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Since I posted last evening about the closing of our school, I have received empathy from so many of you. In fact, I've heard from folks I've never heard from before, folks I didn't even know followed my blog, folks I don't even know - live OR virtually.

Let me just say that I am greatly moved by your support. I "felt" your presence go with me as I walked the halls of our school today and as I talked to my students about what lies ahead.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

So many of you asked what I will do next.

(photo from coolrain44.wordpress.com)

THIS is all I know about THAT!

Right now the future beyond June is just a big question mark to me. I don't plan to try to teach anywhere else. I do plan to try to work somewhere at something. We're going to need health insurance. (Maybe you'll walk into a Wal-Mart near you soon to find ME greetin' in the doorway!)

Here's what I DO know:

1) I will be at LCS for the next 11 weeks.

2) I will focus on being the best teacher I can be right to the end.

3) I will keep loving and encouraging my students.

4) I will do my best to model before my students what it means to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and He will make your paths straight."

Right now the path before my feet, from my human vantage point, looks about as clear as the road signs above. But I BELIEVE what God said when He told us He'd make our paths straight. I believe He will show me the way - - - in HIS time. He's already shown me that my "straight path" right now is to finish strong at LCS.

I'm on it.

I'm working to finish strong.

And after that - - - He's got the whole world in His hands, and that makes my little portion of that world seem pretty insignificant.

Do you think someone will pay me a salary with benefits to blog all day long?????

:-)

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For Whom the Bell Tolls

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(photo from betterelfteacher.blogspot.com)

Ours isn't red,
But it is little.
Too little to support itself
So in June,
The doors will close
For the last time.

There will still be an elementary school,
But my school,
My classes,
My presence in the building,
Will be gone.

I knew this could happen.
I thought I was prepared.

I was wrong.

Today after we received the news,
Two junior boys
Came in my room and wept.
I wept.
We wept together.

That is what we will miss,
We will sorely miss being together
In this experience we call education.

Life will go on.
School bells will still ring somewhere.
But our little corner of the world
Will never again be the same.

The bell tolls for us.

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Macky and Cheese

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A week ago when we kept our grans for the weekend, I let Mackinley sleep on a blow-up mattress on the floor of our bedroom. Fisherhubby chose to stay downstairs on the couch so he'd get a full night of sleep. Smart man.


I had multiple reasons for putting Mackinley in our room - - - most of which are not pertinent to this story, so I shall skip them. The reason that IS pertinent is that I wanted him close to our bathroom when he needed it in the middle of the night.

Very early Sunday morning - - - too early for mere mortals to arise and shine - - - he called out, "Kamma, I need to go to the bathroom!"

"Go ahead," I told him, "and then get right back in your bed."

I heard him take care of business, get back in bed, and then I heard the tossing and turning begin.


"Macky," I said, "Do you want to come up here beside Kamma?"

"Yes"

"OK - - - come on."

He climbed up on my bed, with his stuffed doggy, and began to squirm around trying to get comfortable.

I kept my back to him, hoping he'd think I was asleep and settle in quickly.

More squirming.

Doggy hit the floor.

Macky leaned over the edge to retrieve doggy.

Long pause, then a little voice said, "Kamma?"

"What Mackinley?"

"Why are you so old?"

Silence while I tried to think of the appropriate response - - -

"Don't worry," says he, "Mommy's old too."

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Saturday Night Fever

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But NOT of this kind - - - oh how I WISH it were of this kind.

I wasn't going to TALK about it on my blog - - - even though I have been sick for EIGHT long days, and even though Fisherhubby JOINED me with the Saturday Night Fever this weekend.

But - - - some of my students "ratted me out" with their kind inquiries about my health in my cBox over here

<-------------------------------

So - - - now I'm tellin' ya right out - - -

WE'RE SICK!!! Sick as laryngitical dogs!!!

Somehow I've managed to keep going to school (all but one day) though we did stay in and veg like this:

(photo from trainingfromabarkalounger.wordpress.com)

All weekend.

Hope we had enough church saved up in our escrow account to cover it.

I'll let you know how long it lasts - - - - eight days and counting - - - good thing I can still type - - - 'cause I can't talk - - -

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Crying a River

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This is me, throwing a fit

Because somebody UNFOLLOWED me!!!

(photo from cbullitt.wordpress.com)

That's right.

I don't know who they were,

But earlier today I had 111 followers

And now I only have 110.

I NOTICE my follower list

Every SINGLE time I come to my blog

And I REJOICE over every addition

And grieve over every deletion.

I'm just that shallow.

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No Christmas Tree Worries - - -

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After my Sunday Rerun post today, I'm afraid some of you think we are stuck with a sorry little Charlie Brown Christmas tree for the entire season.

Worry no more. Here's what our tree looks like after Fisherhubby finishes setting it up, installs the lights and I fluff and decorate:


And for those of you who referred to it as a "little" tree - - - that was also a false impression. It's a 9 footer!!!!

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Sunday Reruns - Lights Out!

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It's Sunday again, and you know what THAT means!?! It's time for Sunday reruns!!! Thanks so much to Chari over at Happy to Design for hosting this meme, Sunday Favorites.

I realize Christmas has come and gone - - - but it IS still snowing, and besides, this is, in my most humble opinion, a funny story, so it's my choice for today's rerun.

Enjoy!

The "Joys" of Christmas Lights
(First posted 12/03/07)

A few years ago, Fisherhubby and I decided to break our "forever" tradition of only getting real Christmas trees. Frankly, I was tired. Almost too tired to try to decorate for Christmas. We THOUGHT an artificial tree would be easier - - - you know, no needles and all that.

We used that first tree for several Christmases, but the grass just wasn't all that green on that side of the fence either. I mean, one had to fluff smashed branches and THEN decorate.

Then we had another brilliant brainstorm. Why not get a PRELIT tree. Surely that would be WONDERFUL.

The first year it was. (Though it didn't solve even one fluffing problem.)

The second year, one strand of lights was burned out and it took Fisherhubby HOURS to track down the problem and fix it.

The next year - - - more strands of no-light.

Finally last year, he gave up on making the built in lights in one section of the tree work and added a renegade strand to fill in the gap.

Behold gorgeous prelit tree this year - - -



NOT ONE LIGHT will glow.

True, it isn't all the way set up yet, and no branches are "fluffed," but it's pretty dismal, isn't it!?!

I'll keep you illuminated about our progress - - - - pun intended.

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Modern Kids With Vintage Cases

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Some well meaning somebody, I don't remember who just now, had a list on their blog a while back of how to make your blog interesting. On that list it said, don't talk about your children or your grandchildren - - - we've been there, done that, and are over it.

Well - - - - this ain't their blog.

This here's MY blog - - - and I'm IN the stage of grandchildren right now and I wanna talk about them. So - - - if you are gonna be bored with that, then you'll just have to click away to your follow list and find another blog talking about something REALLY interesting like dead dishes from the past.

But if you're game for a grand grans post - - - - keep readin'!


Just look what arrived at our house Friday night. Aren't these just the CUTEST things ever? Oh hey - - - and they should make the vintage lovers happy too, 'cause vintage they are.


I don't know HOW they got a photo of Fisherhubby for the front of this suitcase - - - but just looky there!


They knew the world would never survive a photo of yours truly on this one, so they settled for the darlin' little gran and her teddy.

And, just look what came WITH these cases:

The two cutest little grans on the PLANET! No, I'm not one bit biased.

And of course, we HIT THE BIG TIME - - - Marsh Grocery store, what do YOU do on a Friday night with YOUR grans? This is cheap and easy entertainment, let me tell ya.


And just look at the grin on Piper's little face. Mackinley was busy figuring it all out - - -


But Pipes was content to hold onto the steering wheel for dear life, well until that ONE time when she stuck her little hand out the side and grabbed a candy bar as we passed by.

All in all it was a huge success - - - - until we tried to take them OUT of the car to head home, but that's the kind of story ANOTHER grandmother would tell, not THIS one.


At home, little Miss Piper found the tea set, hauled it to this chair, where it was HER CHOICE to climb up by that Badger Blankie and play. I just HAD to get this picture and SHOW it so her Wolverine daddy could see his little angel near some GOOD school colors.

Wink wink.

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Spreading a Little Bloggy Love

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The other day as I was cruisin' through my sitemeter stats, I noticed that my blog had received several hits from a blog I didn't recognize.

I tooled on over to that blog to see if I'd left a comment there or something - - - wondering excitedly why I was suddenly getting hits from that source.

Nada. I couldn't find a comment that I'd left (what was I thinkin' anyway - - - that my little comment would bring a bunch of traffic? HARDLY) So, I left a comment telling her I was puzzled by the sudden bloggy love that had come my way from her corner of cyber world.

She e-mailed back that she had decided to use her blog to highlight some blogs that weren't "mega-girl" blogs, and that she was doing it by putting them in her favorite blogs list, just to see what would happen.

What a GREAT idea!!! The "mega-girls" have great blogs, but they ALREADY have a ton of traffic and don't need MY shout-outs.

I don't keep a favorites list anymore, so this is what I'm going to do to spread some bloggy love around. From time to time, when you see this icon on my post, I will be shining my little spotlight - - - however faint it may be - - - on a few blogs. Check them out at your leisure.

We "little bloggy girls" gotta hang together in this big ole scary world! ;-)



65 Roses for Marcia is the blog of a brave girl who is facing a very big life challenge. Perhaps you already know about 65 Roses, if so then you know what Marcia is dealing with. But the unusual thing for Marcia is, she just found out as an adult that 65 Roses were hers.

A La Carte is the bloggy home of Linda. She fills her blog with the variety she finds in everyday life. She is really good at visiting her bloggy friends AND leaving comments as evidence of her journeys.

I double dog dare you to check out Ain't for City Gals. She's not kidding!!! You need guts and muscles to get down her country lane! Just wait until you see the rugged views right outside her front door.

When you swing over to Lori R's place, Altered Glass, you will find that she talks of many things like flowers, glass, and kitty cats!

Little Miss Honey Bea, over at Bea's Blabber, has her capable hands full with the redo of a gorgeous little house built in the 1890's. She and her hubby pulled up their previous roots and followed their dreams to North Carolina and a home they could mark as their own.

And there you have it - - - my first edition of "Givin' Just a Little Bloggy Love."

Enjoy.

(Disclaimer - - - this is not a meme, there are no rules, you don't need to pass anything on - - - this is just a little bloggy lovin' from me to you. If you want to pass it along to some "little bloggy girls" that you love, you may do so - - - just please don't add any "strings.")

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Sunday Reruns - "Stand Back Said the Elephant - - -"

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I get sooooo excited about our bloggy Sunday reruns!!! Thanks so much to Chari over at Happy to Design for hosting Sunday Favorites.

I Hate To Admit It - - -
(First posted on 12/01/07)

But when I was a girl I used to laugh at my father. I didn't even try to hide it, I just laughed right in his face. He used to have (wonder if he still does) early morning sneezing attacks. He would sneeze and sneeze and sneeze. I used to count how many sneezes and laugh at his discomfort.

I was too young then to realize the ramifications of the phrase, "you reap what you sow."

Not any more.

Thankfully, my sneezing attacks are also usually in the morning - - - I can't imagine what would happen in my classroom if I descended into a fit of sneezing right during class.

I'm too busy while I'm sneezing to count mine to see if I have topped my father's in QUANTITY - - - but I can tell you, at least from what I remember, I have FAR exceeded him in QUALITY. My sneezes are so loud and so forceful they would put the elephant of "Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze" (by Patricia Thomas) to shame!!!!

Greg is usually patient with the first sneeze or two - - - then he tells me to "stop it." Oh how I WISH I could.

New Addendum: Since writing this post back in December of '07, I HAVE started sneezing in front of my classes at school.

To date I have "blown away" over half of my students. ;-)

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I've Been AWOL

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I've been AWOL from blogging this week.

I didn't see it coming, or I'd have warned you.

I'm not even sure what happened - - - just a busy week I guess. All I know is, it appears I have not posted since Sunday. That's some kind of a record - - - me keeping my mouth shut for more than four days!

Let me give you a little of my famous eclecticity just to try to make up for my AWOLness.

EB 1
That's "Eclectic Bit 1" for those of you who forgot.

(photo from www.examiner.com)

I've been enjoying glimpses of the Olympics this week. I just wish I had ONE athletic gene, all I got were spectator genes.

I love that we've (notice how I include myself in this?) won so many medals.

I find myself RIVETED to the Curling. Yes, you read right, I said the CURLING!!! Who'd a thunk it?

EB 2

This was the sunrise one morning a little over a week ago. I stood on the deck to take this picture thinking the following little ditty in my head:

Red sky at morn,
Sailors forewarn.
Red sky at night,
Sailors' delight.

Being a snow lover, I HOPED this was a sign of white fluffy stuff to come - - - and it was.

If you are a snow hater, I'm sorry. First I'm sorry that you hate this particular miracle of God - - - time released water. Second, I'm sorry that I "hoped" all this snow on you - - - but did I ever enjoy it!!! In fact - - - I hope for more. Let's have winter until spring comes, which is of course in mid-March.

EB 3

On a Friday night during the snow storm, I was sitting here at lappy blogging when suddenly a loud banging on the front door (didn't he ever hear of a doorbell?) made me nearly jump out of my skin.

I went to the door, and there was a man, a total stranger, and a young (ten-ish) boy.

The strange man asked me if I would like a gift and handed me a can of air freshener. He then asked me if I'd give some honest answers to questions about products.

Thinking he was going to ask me a few survey type questions, and feeling sorry for the little boy standing out there in the swirling snow, I asked them to step in.

The strange man said, "just a minute, let me tell my boss in the car that you're letting us in." And with that, he promptly left ME in charge of his ten your old boy.

I brought the little guy into the hallway and began having a fun conversation with him. Really cute, really gentlemanly young man. Bless his heart.

In a minute or so, my front door opened and the strange man came back in with the very same box you see in the above photo - - - box holding "Brand X" vacuum cleaner. (Look on the box in the picture for a BIG CLUE as to which brand is "X")

I said, "Wait a minute - - - I don't want a Brand X vacuum cleaner, I thought you were going to ask me survey questions."

He said, "Do you know about Brand X vacuum cleaners?"

"Yes " said I, "My grandfather sold and repaired them, it is all I grew up with. I don't like them, I don't want to see a demonstration, and I'm not going to buy one."

"Well," said the strange man, "I only need to do one more demonstration tonight and we can go home. Can't I do it here?"

"Nope, I don't want a Brand X vacuum," I said as I began to herd him toward the door.

"Well" says he, reaching for the door knob, "Then may I have my gift back?"

INDIAN GIVER!!!

I was so flabbergasted that I gave it to him.

When Fisherhubby, who had been sitting on the couch out of view but listening to all this, heard the door close he called out, "you're a HARD SELL!"

EB 4

This is little Miss Piper who fell asleep one day sitting in her chair. Isn't she precious?


And here she is practicing up to keep her brother, Mackinley, in line.

Now dear bloggy friends - - - I am on my way to pick up this darlin' little girl AND her brother Macky to keep them for the weekend.

I might be AWOL from bloggyland again. I'm getting OLD and taking care of YOUNG grandbabies takes all my energy and fortitude.

Oh, but it sure is fun.

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