Sweet Primroses...

...in my kitchen window, catching the last few rays of the warm, afternoon sun.

Have a sweet Friday and be good to yourself.

Love and Hugs, Susie Q

Winter Light

I dropped my nephew off at his baby sitter's home and decided to take a little drive and enjoy the Winter sunshine. We are lucky to have several city/township owned parks near us and all are quite lovely in any season. Winter does have it's own beauty and today the light was so bright, so welcoming. It happily bounced off the brilliant white snow and reflected a magical frosty world. The skies were a crystal blue, a welcome treat after a week of dingy gray. Take a little drive with me... I hope your Thursday is a good one. I am still making my journey around blog world and will see you soon! Take care, remember how special you really are and smile! You look gorgeous when you smile!

Love and Hugs, Susie Q

Words To Live By

Kat at Just a Beach Kat and Meggie at Meggie's Stuff both had a fun meme that was a new one for me. I knew it would take a bit of thought but it looked like fun! Here are the meme rules: 1. Write your own six word memoir 2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like 3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible, so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere 4. Tag five more blogs with links 5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

Here's my six word memoir: Photo: Irish Blogs I.E. "Life Is Short, Eat Dessert First!" Photo: NovaNews Now.com I do believe these are words to live by and I have tried my best to do so. These words have served me well over the years...hmm...served...serve...service...HEY! Can I get a little service over here? Chocolate! Get me chocolate! And hurry!

I tag

Andi , Janet , Sandi , Tammy and Valerie And heck. Anyone who would like to play along! I would love to see what you come up with! Love and hugs, Susie Q

Oh Rats!

Django from Disney/Pixar's "Ratatouille"

Rats! I am so sorry so many of you were unable to see the photos! I have pulled the old ones and reloaded them again. I do hope this helps! Thank you for all the feedback about the movies...I am really looking forward to seeing "Juno" this weekend and enjoyed hearing what some of you thought about it. Of course, I DID see "Ratatouille"! I am a huge Pixar fan anyway but this one had no less than one Brian Dennehy as the voice of Django, Remy's Dad. It is an adorable, very witty movie and the animation is amazing!

Brian with Patton Oswalt, the voice of Remy, Brad Lewis, producer and Brad Bird, director.

I will be back to post soon and will be stopping by to visit all my dear blog friends! I hope everyone is well. Happy Wednesday to you all~ Love and Hugs, Susie Q

A Little Bit Of This And A Whole Lot Of That

Gee, has it been 3 days since I was last here? It must be old age. I have no idea what happens to the days anymore! I hope you are all well and warm and happy. It is snowing here...again...but the accumulation amounts are going down, which is a GOOD thing. It does look so pretty though...just soft, fluffy bits of cotton floating down from Heaven. We had a busy weekend with volunteer activities and church, movies with friends and errands. We really enjoyed seeing "Michael Clayton" and didn't George Clooney look smashing at the Oscars? Almost Cary Grant-ish but then, No one does Cary Grant better than Cary himself! I miss that man. My buddy *T*, Mom and I had a girl's afternoon out which included seeing the movie, "Vantage Point". *T* is a huge Matthew Fox fan and my Mom has a wee bit of a crush on one Mr. Dennis Quaid. Let us just say that the 3 of us have been known to appreciate a nice looking gentleman and this movie had lots of nice looking men. Ahem... It was a thrill ride of a movie, loads of action and not at all *gory*. Ala The Jason Bourne films. Good triumphed over evil and the best men won... On this *gory* note, has anyone seen "Let There Be Blood" or "No Country For Old Men"? I realize that violence plays a part in many films, a vehicle with which to relate a story. But does violence need to be of the stomach churning, *gory* variety? Do I sound like a wimp? Probably, but even though I would like to see the characters portrayed by brilliant actors like Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones and Daniel Day Lewis, I have stayed away due to the graphic nature of the violence that many reviewers spoke about. Okay, I AM a wimp. That said, I read an interview with actress Reece Witherspoon today that I enjoyed. She was discussing the films she has had the best time working in and the ones she is now helping to create. She wants to provide movie goers more uplifting and joyful experiences. To paraphrase Ms. Witherspoon, what is wrong with offering the public films with a sweet message, one where the boy kisses the girl at the end and the conclusion has everyone living happily ever after? Two of her more recent films are now among my favorites, "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Just Like Heaven". Both are ever so dear romantic comedies, girl hugs boy and all ends charmingly. What's so wrong with that? The large numbers of patrons sitting in the theaters which feature such films must not think there is a single thing to object about in a lovely romantic comedy! And darn it, men like them too. Even when they don't like to admit it! Life is hard enough for many, do we really need to plunk down $9 to be reminded how awful it can be? Alright, alright, enough whining from me but heck. Is Hollywood listening? This year's Oscars did not do well in the ratings. Most folks I have spoken with did not see the *Best* Picture winner. I would love to hear from anyone who DID see it and give me their review. I love a finely crafted, well acted film and would love to be able to see this one. Can anyone fill me in or am I destined to be a sorry wimp forever? Like I said, I DO realize that violence in many films is warranted, no one goes to see a Western and expect the gun slingers to use bubble blowers but does it need to be shown as graphically as it was in many of the nominated films last year? Just my two pennies and we all know they are not worth a whole heck of a lot! Bill gave me a dozen yellow roses for Valentine's Day and they are just about at their end. I always take photos of my flowers so I can enjoy them awhile longer... Bill usually buys me yellow roses as he knows they are my favorites. Yellow roses and daisies....so pretty together. Gracie made her own Mardi Gras mask and wanted to show it off a bit! The next day, a very naughty Henry the cat decided it was a toy. Poor, pink feathers will never be the same... I never did post this picture of my mother and daughter on Chinese New Year. We went to dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant with Mom, our buddy *T*, and one of Grace's best friends, *Miss E* and her parents. We had a lovely time and I thought my special "ladies in red" looked beautiful! I wanted to show you this precious box and lovely tussie mussie made with the loving hands of our fellow blogger, Rosemary! Rosemary, at RosesPetiteMaison , is a blessing! Rosemary makes the sweetest boxes and tussie mussies! You must take a peek! She is a real talent and the dearest lady. I purchased these delights through dear Jennifer at The Old Painted Cottage. Both her blog and her extraordinary shop are a feast for your eyes. We spent a great deal of last week baby sitting our neighbor's precious Toy Fox Terriers. I got this shot of Grace with Elliot under the fur babies' Mama's coffee table!

This is Olivia & Grace.

This is Grace with Elliot...Oh, and yes, their Mama is a HUGE fan of Law and Order SVU!

Little puppy dog paws in the snow... I hope your Tuesday is a sweet one. I am off to do a bit of cleaning and dog walking and laundry! Take care and remember to smile! Love and Hugs, Susie Q

Eye Candy

We had to run a few errands today and stopped in one of our favorite stores, Dorothy Lane Market. They have the most wonderful, delectable goodies and the sweetest bakery department in town. On Saturdays there are samples galore and Grace had a ball. The store employees were tickled that this young girl tried everything! She loved the veggies and fruit, the juices, the cheeses and the tiny samples of their specialty sandwiches. Oh so good. Of course there were samples of some wonderful baked goods. Oh the chocolate! Why, even the olives look like a work of art! Is there anything in nature more colorful than peppers? The lovely Spring flower arrangements were a breath of fresh air on a cold Winter's day. When we had finished our errands, we decided to have lunch at one of our favorite places, Christopher's. Grace, Mom and I each had their tomato and chicken salad plate and oh how good it was. Bill said the BBQ sandwich was Heaven on a bun! When we arrived home, 2 boxes were waiting on me. The first box contained my 3rd order from sweet Kathy at Hens N Daisies. Kathy even included one of her dear Easter tags. Isn't this one beautiful? I have two other hearts from Kathy and am awaiting another! I adore them! Kathy's things are a delight, as is she! The second box had the most precious painting from Donna at Donna's Art. Isn't this nest painting wonderful? Thank you Donna! I love it! I hope to purchase more of her lovely work in the future! I purchased these two Spode plates recently and have placed them at opposite ends of the mantel. (See Barbara? I spelled it correctly!!) They keep the Staffordshire dogs company there. I love playing with my mantel...changing it seasonally or on a whim. And this is a little thrift shop purchase. I fell in love with it and had to give it a proper home...well as proper as my home ever gets. Ahem. Just a sweet little pin dish and, for only $1, how could I go wrong! We are going to run by our favorite Chinese place for take out this evening, then head to my buddy *T*'s for dinner and a movie. Tonight we will be watching "Michael Clayton". I have not seen as many of the Oscar nod films this year so look forward to this one. I hope your weekend is sweet. The sun is shining here for the first time in a week...it just looks *happy* outside! Do something good for YOU and remember to smile as often as you can. You are all a blessing to me.

Love and Hugs, Susie Q