There Are No Words...

Do not stand at my grave and weep,



I am not there, I do not sleep.


I am in a thousand winds that blow,


I am the softly falling snow.


I am the gentle showers of rain,


I am the fields of ripening grain.


I am in the morning hush,


I am in the graceful rush


Of beautiful birds in circling flight,


I am the starshine of the night.


I am in the flowers that bloom,


I am in a quiet room.


I am in the birds that sing,


I am in each lovely thing.


Do not stand at my grave and cry,


I am not there. I do not die.

~ Mary Elizabeth Frye.

Just Like Peter Pan...

If you are a dreamer, come in. If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, a hoper, a prayer, a magic bean buyer. If you are a pretender, come sit by my fire, for we have some flax golden tales to spin, Come in! Come in!"

~Shel Silvertein

Uh huh...I am just a big kid at heart. I believe in fairies, Santa Claus, the magic of four leaf clovers, shooting stars and looking for pots of gold at the end of a rainbow.

I talk to puppets, believe that Sesame Street really exists, Mickey Mouse lives in a cottage smack dab in the middle of Disney World and that tea parties with teddy bears are oh so chic.

I believe that laying in the grass, watching clouds drift by, is a perfectly valid

 way to send an afternoon. I believe that dogs and cats talk to one another when we are not around, that thunder is the sound of God bowling

and I believe in the basic inate goodness of all people.

I won't grow up,

I don't want to wear a tie.

And a serious expression

In the middle of July.

And if it means I must prepare

To shoulder burdens with a worried air,

I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up

Not me,

Not I,

Not me!

So there!

Morning

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.

~Marcus Aurelius

 

 

Wishing all of you a sweet morning and a lovely late Spring day!

I am linking to Sally's Blue Monday!

 

 

 

Islands In The Stream...Er...

...kitchen...have always been something I envied. Now, remember

I don't have a big kitchen. And after watching far too much of HGTV's House Hunters, I have

come to realize that I possess a kitchen "too small for any living human being" (Does this mean UNLiving folks will fit?), that has

 "old fashioned Granny cabinets", and, for the pièce de résistance, is "positively grotesque"! All comments I heard last week alone about kitchens resembling my own. But I digress.

Suffice to say I do not have an HGTV dream kitchen. But I now do have an island...well...of sorts. But I like it. I really like it!

Recently, the vivacious and always glamorous Sue from Sullivan and Murphy,

and I spent a morning and afternoon sale-ing around garages and yards. *smile*

We came home *mostly* empty handed. But I had seen the cutest old sewing table bottom and wow. I wanted it. Sue knew I did but she and I were in total agreement that I NOT buy it!

Why? The lady of the house would not dicker at all. We tried for a measly 3 dollars off her asking price. She just turned and went inside. Not even a response! Obviously we offended her sensibilities.

We are pretty rude sorts you know. But this was a GARAGE sale. We were not in a high end department store. I may be a virgin yard sale-er but I have come to learn that dickering is expected and yes. Even desired! And we only asked for 3 dollars off! So we left. Uh huh.

So here is what Sue has yet to find out. (This is a little surprise for her by the way!)

The next week I was out with Bill and I asked him to drive by the house. We know the area as we had once looked at the house next door to purchase. I wanted him to see this house...and gadzooks!

They were having another garage sale. We pulled up and what did my little eye spy?

You betcha.

And had she come down 3 dollars? More like 15! Yippee!

So Sue? You were right!

Oh, and this is the first time I have shown off our new tile floor! What do you think? It only took us 8 years to do...next up? New counters. Let's hope they will go in in less time! *smile*

Bill And I Had An A'Fair!

Yup, a World A'Fair!

Each year in May we attend the World A'Fair at the Convention Center in

downtown Dayton. It is always such a treat!

Dancing, music, delicious food, drink, costumes, crafts and people from all over the world!

We always have fun and we never fail to learn something! Not a bad combination right?

This sweet lady from the Netherlands taught the girls how to be a  "Monkey Grinder"!

You could buy some yummy Appleflappen!

Get your name written in Korean...

You could get a henna tattoo on your hand...

...or on your back!

How about dancing a lively polka?

Or would you rather share a bottle of wine?

You could share a tasty snack from Puerto Rico...

...or Greece.

These lovely Lebanese ladies had such fun dancing...

...and got Grace and her buddy, Miss K, into the act!

There were many lovely people from Rwanda...

...and the ales of Ireland were in rich supply!

This beautiful young woman created the most interesting Turkish

art using an oil, paint and water technique.

So pretty and fascinating!

Trinkets from Peru were on display and ready to buy!

Wonderful music of many lands...this gentleman was from the Philipines.

All is all it was a sweet way to spend a Sunday!

I hope your weekend was a good one and that you will find

 plenty to smile about this week!

Love to you all!

Make That A 70's Date!

Oh wow. That super cute boy from Biology class, asked me out on a date!

He sent me some new kind of letter on my Daddy's new computer thingee!

He started off by asking,
"How's it hanging?" Isn't he like outta sight?

Isn't this cool? There will never be anything neater than THIS! Never ever!

Bummer! I was feeling crummy for sure so my Mom gave me two of these. Ssh. Don't tell anyone 'K?

Then I went out in the back yard to get really tan! I want to look my best you know!

When I came in I washed my face twice...

...and got out my makeup bag.

I didn't have time to wash my hair (I stayed out in the sun too long!)

and I almost freaked out! So I am sooo glad I have this nifty stuff!

Gee, I wonder if he will really like me. *sigh* I hope I don't act like a dingbat!

I am so totally stoked!

I decided to wear my new matching blue sweater & skirt.

And these far out new boots. Aren't they cool? It take me like 10 minutes to lace them up!

I better take my poncho in case it gets chilly. I just got it! It is soooo groovy!

We are going to hang out with some really funky friends...

...then go disco skating! Awesome! I hope I don't fall down! If I do, I will absolutely croak!

When I get home, I will get out my David Cassidy notebook...(or maybe my Bobby Sherman one)

...and my neato Pop Art pen and write all about tonight.

*sigh*

Keep your fingers crossed that he likes me...

Where Did That Week Go?

                                                                     Our ball player!

                           I wish I knew where the days went and how they go by so, so fast! Whew! It has been a week since I last posted and I have, as usual, been an awful visitor. I am always truly grateful that so many of yo stop by and say hello even when I seem lax at making my blog rounds! Bless yor hearts, I love you all!

       So, where did that last week go? It flew by in a cloud of softball games, a concert, a funbdraiser,   2 celebrations, every day errands and housework and, well, life! I know you all understand how that goes!

 

One evening our family took a little drive to enjoy the sunshine and sweet Spring temperatures. We ended up near Cincinnati and the Brazenhead Pub so we stopped in for dinner. I love this place...so much like a *real* English or Irish pub. Well, at least it is similar to some of the ones I was in!

                                                And yes, my brother does make silly faces...a lot!

This was so good! Grilled chicken and ratatouille! Yes! Ratatouille! A delicious French peasant dish, also a movie...an animated Pixar movie featuring the voice of one Brian Dennehy as Django the rat...but I digress. Ahem...

And we celebrated Bill's birthday! Uh huh,my handsome husband turned 54!

His party request? All the family over for chili, cornbread, salad and cake!

He got lots of gifts...

...and lots of cake

Yes, Kipper IS thinking, "Drop it...drop it...drop it pleeeeaaase!"

Oh, and uh huh. Kip IS sporting a banana sticker on his head. As soon as I come in from the grocery with a new bunch we KNOW Danny will be putting the stickers on Kip! It is THEIR little game...: )

On Mother's Day morning our knock out roses began blooming! What a pretty sight!

We enjoyed church and a nice drive then headed downtown to the Oregon District in Dayton.

                                               We enjoyed a fantastic seafood brunch at Jay's.

Parmesan encrusted Haddock...can you say Mmmmmm?

The 2 reasons I am such a proud mom, Dan and Grace.

They are posing here with their Grandma, my lovely mom, Miriam.

The kids and the moms...that's me on the right. The chubby blonde with the wild hair!

And then...well, I don't want to bore you more than I already have so I will stop for now!

I will work at hoppin' 'round to see all of you during the next few days.

Enjoy the rest of your week...

Love to you all!