Hello friends, I hope everyone is well and having at least a few days of nice weather now and then. Here in western Washington, we've had a couple dry days once again so I've managed to get both the front and back yard mowed. Sunday afternoon found me in the back yard, with the mower & the edger. On one side there are landscaping timbers separating my yard from the neighbors. They never do a single thing in their yard and the grass & weeds were hanging over into mine. So I took the edger and at least cleaned up my side. On the other side is a chain link fence and the man that moved in there last fall has been working on getting that yard cleaned up. In fact he wants my grass clippings for his compost pile so I'm letting him use my yard waste bin to dispose of the branches, black berry vines and other stuff he is removing, so it can be carted away.
My daffodils have bloomed & I trimmed off the dying blooms yesterday. The tulips are in full bloom (remember last year I lost all my tulips when the neighbor girl pulled them up to sell door to door around here?) My diligence in replacing them right away (thankfully Lowes, Home Depot and other garden centers had blooming tulips in pots so I could put them in the holes she left behind) paid off this year, as they are truly beautiful. Both of my lilac bushes are blooming and today when I was mowing in the back yard, the sweet fragrance of lilacs was definitely in the air.
I saw on the news this evening that cruise season kicks off this next week in Seattle. Here in the northwest it runs from the end of April thru the middle of September. We have a wonderful cruise ship terminal in Seattle now and the cruise business adds about 312 million dollars a year to the economy of this area. Another Alaskan cruise sounds like a mighty fine idea.
The photographers that came from Phoenix, AZ to photograph my son & daughter in law's wedding have a Blog. This last week they posted a few pictures that they took on that happy occasion. If you'd like to see them, you can check them out at; http://michaelneugentphotography.blogspot.com/2010/04/jeralyn-and-jim.html I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures they took. Mine were ok, but I was taking pictures around the professionals and without a flash, so I wouldn't disturb them. Plus it was hard to take pictures and see all that was going on a the same time.
Again, I apologize for not commenting everyday but I am doing better about getting around to Blogs. Now with yard work and the continuing typing for my class reunion, I don't always leave a comment. Take care~Until next time, Linda
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Sunday Evening
Our weather has been going from winter to spring to summer and back to winter for several weeks now. Thursday I decided to mow the lawn. We'd had cool temps but sun and a very strong wind. I went out & checked ~the lawn was dry. So I changed into old clothes, got out the lawnmower and started on the back yard. I wasn't out there for 20 minutes when all of a sudden the sky turned black and it began to hail. Since I was using an electric lawn mower I decided it was best to stop mowing and get the thing unplugged, put away and get back into the house. So I came back in, changed out of my old "yard work clothes" and settled in on another task. About an hour later I noticed that the sun was once again shining, the black sky was now blue ~ so out I went again and finished the back yard. Friday afternoon, since the weather had been cold & windy all day but no hail ~ I was able to get the front yard mowed. I'm itching to plant my hanging baskets, etc but we are still having some night time temps in the low 40's so I think I'll wait another few weeks.
I continue typing and submitting bio's from my high school classmates to the printer who is going to be creating our 50th class reunion memory book. It's so interesting to see what some have accomplished. We all went to the same rural high school, but so many went on to higher education to get their degree's (even Master's Degrees) and hold important positions during their employment years. Most are retired now but some are still working, simply because the love what they are doing. I've been asked to give the "welcome" speech at the reunion (August 7th) and one of the things I'm tracking are children, step children, foster kids, grandkids and great grandkids. It will be interesting to see the final count. So far I've determined that the Franklin Pierce High School class of 1960 certainly "went forth & multiplied."
I guess that's about all that's new for now. Nothing else new to report. But I do want to leave you with a cute little story that I received in email form from a friend.
White Lie
Have you ever told a white lie? You are going to love this, especially all of the ladies who bake for church events:
Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church Ladies' Group in Tuscaloosa , but forgot to do it until the last minute. She remembered it the morning of the bake sale and after rummaging through cabinets, found and angel food cake mix & quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, and helping her son pack for scout camp.
When she took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat and the cake was horribly disfigured and she exclaimed, "Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake!" This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new church, and in her new community of friends.
So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of The cake. She found it in the bathroom - a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in and then covered it with icing. Not only did the
finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect. And, before she left the house to drop the cake by the church and head for work, Alice woke her daughter and gave her some money and specific instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30 and to buy the cake and bring it home.
When the daughter arrived at the sale, she found the attractive, perfect cake had already been sold. Amanda grabbed her cell phone and called her mom.
Alice was horrified-she was beside herself! Everyone would know! What would they think? She would be ostracized, talked about, ridiculed!
All night, Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her and talking about her behind her back.
The next day, Alice promised herself she would try not to think about the cake and would attend the fancy luncheon/bridal shower at the home of a fellow church member and try to have a good time. She did not really want to attend because the hostess was a snob who more than once had looked down her nose at the fact that Alice was a single parent and not from the founding families of Tuscaloosa , but having already RSVP'd , she couldn't think of a believable excuse to stay home.
The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust old south and to Alice 's horror, the cake in question was presented for desert!
Alice felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake! She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, the Mayor's wife said, "what a beautiful cake!" Alice , still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent church member) say, "Thank you, I baked it myself."
Alice smiled and thought to herself, "God is good."
I continue typing and submitting bio's from my high school classmates to the printer who is going to be creating our 50th class reunion memory book. It's so interesting to see what some have accomplished. We all went to the same rural high school, but so many went on to higher education to get their degree's (even Master's Degrees) and hold important positions during their employment years. Most are retired now but some are still working, simply because the love what they are doing. I've been asked to give the "welcome" speech at the reunion (August 7th) and one of the things I'm tracking are children, step children, foster kids, grandkids and great grandkids. It will be interesting to see the final count. So far I've determined that the Franklin Pierce High School class of 1960 certainly "went forth & multiplied."
I guess that's about all that's new for now. Nothing else new to report. But I do want to leave you with a cute little story that I received in email form from a friend.
White Lie
Have you ever told a white lie? You are going to love this, especially all of the ladies who bake for church events:
Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church Ladies' Group in Tuscaloosa , but forgot to do it until the last minute. She remembered it the morning of the bake sale and after rummaging through cabinets, found and angel food cake mix & quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, and helping her son pack for scout camp.
When she took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat and the cake was horribly disfigured and she exclaimed, "Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake!" This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new church, and in her new community of friends.
So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of The cake. She found it in the bathroom - a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in and then covered it with icing. Not only did the
finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect. And, before she left the house to drop the cake by the church and head for work, Alice woke her daughter and gave her some money and specific instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30 and to buy the cake and bring it home.
When the daughter arrived at the sale, she found the attractive, perfect cake had already been sold. Amanda grabbed her cell phone and called her mom.
Alice was horrified-she was beside herself! Everyone would know! What would they think? She would be ostracized, talked about, ridiculed!
All night, Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her and talking about her behind her back.
The next day, Alice promised herself she would try not to think about the cake and would attend the fancy luncheon/bridal shower at the home of a fellow church member and try to have a good time. She did not really want to attend because the hostess was a snob who more than once had looked down her nose at the fact that Alice was a single parent and not from the founding families of Tuscaloosa , but having already RSVP'd , she couldn't think of a believable excuse to stay home.
The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust old south and to Alice 's horror, the cake in question was presented for desert!
Alice felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake! She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, the Mayor's wife said, "what a beautiful cake!" Alice , still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent church member) say, "Thank you, I baked it myself."
Alice smiled and thought to herself, "God is good."
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Have a Blessed Easter Sunday
"Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior,
Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!
Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Savior;
Vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!
Death cannot keep it's prey, Jesus my Savior;
He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!
Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o'er His foes, He arose a victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever, with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
I remember singing this Easter hymn every year since I was a little girl. These precious words, written by Robert Lowry in 1874
still thrill my soul today.
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