Monday, Monday

Happy Monday all! It is the start of another week and Grace is with her Daddy at the pool. I am here with a sleeping babe and 3 sleeping pets. All is quiet and calm...for now! I hope all of you have a sweet week filled with happy surprises and many smiles. Sue asked me about the new look of my page...well, I am about as techno challenged as anyone so need to do things that are easy! Blogger now has a space under customize that allows you to add a picture to your header. I added one of the collages I made at *Flickr Toys* After those were in place, I just played with the font/color button and voila! I actually had no idea what it would look like as I as doing it. I change the template using blogger and there it was. Any more difficult and I would never achieve anything! We had a nice Sunday evening at my Mother's. She fixed a great dinner for us, my brother, sister in law and nephew. Grace was able to swim in the condo's pool and Mom and I watched the Tony Awards. I did see this man called Brian Dennehy there....*grin* I love watching award shows, yes just another thing I am terribly geeky about! But I adore the Tony's. I so love the theater and enjoy seeing the bits and bobs of musical and dramatic performances that are presented. It is my all Mom's fault after all. I was raised with her singing show tunes and playing all of her Broadway records ALL the time. She also took me to see many theatrical productions and we were always going to the movies. I loved every bit of that....just today I was singing the score of "Annie Get Your Gun" to the baby. She was polite and did not heckle me but had a most quizzical look on her little face. Everyone is a critic!

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It is still hot and no rain in sight. The yards and gardens look so dry and, although we water every night or early morning, things just look tired already. I know it is this way over so much of the country. Thankfully the evenings have been cooler so we could take a walk or just sit on our deck.

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I have added a few new links to the left...please pay these wonderful ladies a visit! You will truly enjoy yourself!

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I giggled when our Jafabrit commented that she thinks she KNOWS which officer spoke with me! Uh huh...he was very young! And, as another dear friend mentioned, why did I not take his picture!? I thought of that after he had walked away. That would have been perfect! If only my mind would fully engage all the time!

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I do know he was teasing me a bit (and it was funny!) but here is a *not as funny* story I did not tell you all earlier. While at the festival Friday evening, I was enjoying taking some pictures of Grace, Bill and Grace's friend, as well as some of the rides and lights. During our last hour there, I was approached by a security guard who told me I would have to stop taking pictures immediately. I asked why and he said I could not take a photo of "Those little girls". When I informed him that "Those girls" were with ME, he sternly asked, "How do *I* know that?" I had to go over to Bill and the girls and *prove* it. He then got even more snippy and told me NO cameras were allowed there at the festival. (No, there are no sign posted) As I had seen many people with cameras all evening, I asked why. "Someone could take inappropriate photos." Okay, this is sad enough in itself I know. But, as I told him, couldn't someone just as easily, and more probably, take inappropriate pictures with a cell phone camera? Cell phones were everywhere and many were using them to snap pictures. He made no attempt to stop them. I want to assure you that I am a pretty respectful person. The only time I ever got disrespectful with a uniformed city individual was in 1989. It involved an animal control officer, a young police officer and 2 very sweet dogs that they were taking from my neighbor's yard. LONG story but I was dragged away, sobbing, by my husband after I attempted to intercede and threatened with arrest. In the end, I received an apology from the city, a thank you from the neighbors and many wet kisses from 2 dear dogs. I only say this so you will know I am not at usually uppity with uniformed people, or any people for that matter! Of course, it was then, after I asked what he deemed *Rude* questions that he got really ticked with me and informed me that if I continued to snap pictures I would have my camera confiscated and be escorted off the grounds. I will also tell you that while we stood there, I saw 3 families go by with cameras...all snapping away! I guess I just looked evil or twisted. The innocent, chubby, middle aged lady! Bill had no idea that this conversation had continued after *IDing* me for the guard so was rather upset to know about it. We left at that point and the whole thing really upset me. Of course I know that there are people out there that use cameras for *non innocent means*. I also know that we can never look at a person's appearance and tell whether their minds hold devious and crude intentions. I also know that, with as many people who were there that evening, a great number with cameras and cell phones, that this made no real sense to me. Why was *I* sought out as wrong? But I did as I was told...put the camera away and left the grounds. The girls were not told about it and had a wonderful time. My mother and friends have asked me to call the church's offices and inquire about this. I have not yet done so but may very well do this tomorrow. *sigh* I do try to always look at the sunny side of life (Thank you Eric Idle) but something like that does bring the darker, unseemly side into focus.

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So, now that is off my chest, so to speak, thank you for indulging me! I wanted to add this little bit as a fun way to close out today's post....

~What I Learned From Noah~

One: Don't miss the boat. Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat. Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark. Four: Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done. Six: Build your future on high ground. Seven: For safety's sake, travel in pairs. Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs. Nine: When you're stressed, float a while. Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Hugs, Susie Q