Whatcha doo - in'???

..nuttin' Honey.

Yep, it was that kind of day around here. I think we need an "Activity Stimulus Package"..

Regular housekeeping stuff..then walking with the pups..Oh!Oh! I spotted these great green old fashioned screens from windows..with big squares of screen - like bigger than the wire mesh...hard to describe..a clothes pin would fit and work really really great to hold "stuff" in it..but they were ALMOST at the curb...not...quite..all the way..

The couple, whom I don't really know except I've been to their yard sales before ..this house is like 3 blocks from ours, so I don't want you to think we don't know our neighbors..just not the far neighbors....anyway, they are doing what appears to be some remodeling and have a pile of "stuff" in their side yard, facing the street.

There are 2 doors actually in the curb (we have a big "stuff" pick up from the city soon) but I don't want the doors...I want the window screens...

And I don't want to just tromp into their yard and...take them.. {the screens..not the neighbors..the one's I don't know too well} ..just the screens...

So I wrote a sticky-note and said "if you are NOT planning on using the screens, I'd like them for a craft project.." and put my name , address and phone number and stuck the sticky note on an exposed nail in one of the screens, hoping they would see this pink sticky note and call me..

They didn't.

So, maybe on tomorrow's walk, I knock on the door and ask..if I get up the nerve..I mean, what if they saw the note and thought "Nut"..

Hmmm...

OK, so about a year and a half ago a friend {thanks, Heather!} gave me a card making kit and I never really looked at it all that much. Tonight while we were watching a movie, I took it out and made a few. There are a lot more types and each type makes 4 to 8 cards depending on the supplies. I thought they looked kinda cute..more to come later.


The pups pooped out after we played a rousing game of "Big Brown Bear"..that's me when I wrestle with their squeaky toys.

And them. I don't just wrestle with the squeaky toys..the dogs too.

I always say "Here I come, I'm the Big Brown Bear..and I'm gunna getcha right-in-there!" They get all excited and bring me toys to play tug-of-war..sometimes they let me win.............. not all the time though..


Lulu is certainly a "Daddy's girl" which is OK 'cos Braxton is a real Mama's boy. Kinda like that song.. "Tea For Two".."a girl for me and a boy for you"..I think may have been talking about kids..


Silly, silly songwriters!


So it goes for another wild Saturday night on Main Street.

Hope your day was as wonderful :-)

-me

Remember Andy Rooney??

***** EDITED: I DIDN'T MEAN TO INFER ANDY ROONEY WAS..AH...GONE..PASSED..SORRY!!****

Yeah, the one with the eyebrows on steroids.. uh huh..that one.

My daughter April sent this email to me - probably not thinking about me having such a momentous birthday coming up (60? Seriously? SIXTY??) Yeeeah..that one..

Anyway, I loved this. Always have gotten a kick out of 'Ol Andy...I mean, he TotALly "gets" us..

60 Minutes Correspondent Andy Rooney (CBS)

"As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, 'What are you thinking?' She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually more interesting..




Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant.



Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 40.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.




Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk, if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well -coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress.



Ladies, I apologize.

For all those men who say, 'Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage.

Why?

Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage.."

I always liked Andy Rooney ...

"we're fools if we dance or not so we might as well dance"

That's a Japanese proverb. I like it.

My daughter Brandi and little Ella live it.



And that's just one of the things I love about them.

When I was out there for Ella's 5th birthday in January, their latest love was "Hairspray" - both the movie and the soundtrack.




They've watched it, oh, like a gazillion times and Ella knows the words to all the songs and Brandi can practically recite the entire dialog.

Seriously.

But the thing I enjoyed so much is these two sweeties of mine would sing...LoUDly..and, not so ..uh..on-key.

But that didn't matter. They sang loud and they laughed and they danced around their little condo and all was perfect with the entire world at that moment...


To watch this, I was reminded of what a gift this was. To be a witness to such a disregard of what "other" people think, without judgment of themselves - it was pure delight.

So, why don't more of us sing? Dance? I think I read that is more a fear of judgment than one of control.

Why do we judge ourselves so harshly? Take a day off from perfection and be an idiot, a clown, a "silly-why-don't-you-act-your-age" sort of person. Who knows, you may even make yourself totally happy.


Seriously..totally.

Here are a couple of quotes I found and love:

"To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak" - Hopi saying

"Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music" - Angela Monet

Friendsters Forever- :-)

-me

Blustery day...

Hum dum dum ditty dum
Hum dum dum

Oh the wind is lashing lustily

And the trees are thrashing thrustily

And the leaves are rustling gustily

So it's rather safe to say

That it seems that it may turn out to be

It feels that it will undoubtedly

It looks like a rather blustery day, today

It sounds that it may turn out to be

Feels that it will undoubtedly

Looks like a rather blustery day today..

Boy howdie. Nothing like hurricane or tornado, but for Salt Lake City, it was pretty windy. I think I even saw some small animals and children blowing by..

Told them they needed rocks in their pockets today..but would they listen..nooooo.

The wind make me kinda crazy..like the big old orange crane at the construction site next door..just a big old orange thing a blowin' in the wind..

Not that I'm comparing myself to a big old orange crane..but you get my drift...

Kinda like not knowing which way I am today...hungry? um..no...board..maybe a little..tired? Sort of..just back and forth, like the swaying crane...

Bad hair day..that's nothing...I had a bad eyebrow day. It was just a weird day. Windy and all..

The ONE redeeming thing about windy days is the sound of wind chimes..love that sound. And they were all in tune today.

The temperature actually went down - it was colder after work than when I went in...

See...weird.

So, off t bed I am, with visions of Old Pooh and Piglet...and the sound of wind chimes...

It's not so bad after all, huh? -me

Remember Crepe Paper??

Yeah - the kind you twisted into hanging streamers every birthday party- the school dance and baby showers?



When blue and pink were used 'cos they didn't KNOW what kind of baby they were having?

Doctor: "Oh look! It's a girl"

Me: "I always wanted a girl!"

Doctor: "Don't you already have one girl??"

Me: "Yes...and 2 boys in-between...like I said..I always wanted A girl."


Yeah that stuff. The crepe paper...please keep up...

Haven't seen the actual crepe paper around - no kids at home to decorate for and if I did it for Mr. B's birthday , I'd be the one to have to clean it up..boy, am I getting lazier or what??

How about Kleenex flowers? Those were great - especially to put on newlywed's cars...along with the crape paper..or wear to Catholic Mass on our heads to simulate a hat...do they even DO that anymore..have to cover their heads?? Wear hats?? oops..I mean, last time I went to Mass....heehee

bygones.

Anyway, last night I spotted crepe paper. Now, one would think that'd be a little joy to see it again...

But there was no joy on Main Street...nope, not even a little...the crepe paper I saw is on MY ARMS!

Yeeeah..the underside of my arms - when did this happen? WHY did this happen? How did the skin seem to shrink when I haven't lost that much weight?

I lotion up all year 'round. I use a good shower soap...

and what the heck IS crepe paper anyway???

Google. If I had stock in that search engine, I could retire my wrinkly arms.. I Googled "crepe paper" and this is what I found...


Noun 1. crepe paper - paper with a crinkled texture; usually colored and used for decorations..

DUH...no flies on you , Google...

..but... what IS crepe paper?

crepe paper - a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses

Paper that is creped is produced on a paper machine that have a single large steam heated drying cylinder (yankee) fitted with a hot air hood. The raw material is paper pulp. The yankee cylinder is sprayed with adhesives to make the paper stick. Creping is done by the yankee's doctor blade that is scraping the dry paper of the cylinder surface. The crinkle (creping) is controlled by the strength of the adhesive, geometry of the doctor blade, speed difference between the yankee and final section of the paper machine and paper pulp characteristics



nevermind. Geesh.

Seriously, I will now be the "Decorated Version" of my pre-sixty self. Oh yay. Oi vey.

Just one more thing to be excited about...sha boom.

Here's Julie Andrew's tribute to getting older - sung to the tune of "My Favorite Things"

Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,

Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,

Bundles of magazines tied up in string,

These are a few of my favorite things.


Cadillac's and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses,

Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,

Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,

These are a few of my favorite things


When the pipes leak,

When the bones creak,

When the knees go bad,

I simply remember my favorite things,

And then I don't feel so bad.


Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,

No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,

Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,

These are a few of my favorite things.


Back pains, confused brains, and no need for sinnin',

Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',

And we won't mention our short, shrunken frames,

When we remember our favorite things.


When the joints ache,

When the hips break,

When the eyes grow dim,

I will remember the great life I've had,

And then I don't feel so bad.

She received a 4-minute ovation...and, I do believe she wore a long-sleeved dress.

Yeeeah.

-me

Kathy at Shocking Pink Thread said that Vee at A Haven for Vee could play and Vee invited everyone I thought it would be fun….

1. REAL NAME:

Colleen



2. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's and father's middle names):

Mary Lawrence




3. NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother's dad, father's dad):

Richard Michael



4. STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name):

Blaco




5. DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal):

Teal Dog



6. SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, town where you were born):

Marie Chicago




7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning):

The Red Coffee




8. FLY NAME: (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name):

Coke ( I really didn't choose this one..!)

OK - so I'm old (er) - I thought I knew the definition of this-

FLY:
adjective

1. very good, excellent; COOL.

but couldn't figure out how to visualize it...Hmm...


9. STREET NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie):

Caramel Milano




10. ROCK STAR NAME (pet's name and street where you live)

Lulu Main


11. EXOTIC NAME: (1st pet, street you grew up on):

Taffy Stone




12. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of real name plus-izzle):

Colizzle




13. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets):

Black Braxton



Would you like to play, too? If so, consider yourself tagged!

Have a little fun - it's almost Friday!!

-me

What once was lost....

...now is found.

My sister Kathy, who just a couple of weeks ago rescued a little doggie Owen, was heart-sick when, while looking for Kathy as she left the room, became disoriented and somehow left the yard. (probably an attempt to find Kathy again)



Kathy was in a panic - formed a real "search party" - 4-wheel drive vehicles, golf carts, women who she walks with, delivery persons, letter carriers, vet's, groomers, you name it.

She had reason to be concerned - Owen was not used to cars, new neighborhoods, being without Kathy and...coyotes...



Yep - Kathy is the one who lives in Lake Havasu and Owen was adopted from a place about 90 minutes away.

Hours passed, tears flowed, calls were made, hopes were raised...then dashed.

But one thing remained - no little body was reported to Animal Control. No vet helped a little white dog with black ears...there still was hope.

Hours turned to days...Sadness turned into despair. Hope was almost lost...but, as the post title says...

"What once was lost..is now found."

Through a series of totally unusual events - many of them unfortunate - Kathy got a lead...one that turned out the be the second best day of her short acquaintance with ..Owen J. ..

He was found. Some 4 days and a few miles away - Owen peeked around the corner and Kathy's prayers had been answered. (her families, her friends' and every one's prayers were answered)



Now, if he could only tell us where he was, how he survived, what he ate, where he slept...but that won't happen.

For now, just knowing he's safe on Kathy's lap is all we need ....

Hope. It's a beautiful word. Goes with Love you know....

Artwork by:

Tamandra Michaels of the Heart Dog Studios

g'nite Owen J. Rest well...you're home.

-me

PS - the first best day way, of course, when Owne joined her as her companion doggie... :-)



(post happily edited this morning when Betty from Joy in Our Lives sent me these photos from Saturday - Thanks Betty! (she lives in Lake Havasu and is one of Kathy's great friends :-) )