This is just too funny not to share. Tessa had it on her blog and it's hilarious!!
 

Such goings on

 

Do you see those ten men at the foot of our driveway? A few days ago small flags appeared to mark the gas lines and sewer lines and today men in yellow coats showed up. We had taken my car out to be detailed and when we arrived back there they were with all their five trucks. A man in charge explained to Don that they were going to reinforce the telephone pole at the bottom of the driveway.

In this picture you can also see the daffodils on the other side of the fence which are starting to bloom and the other spring flowers shooting up. Soon the area will be covered with blooms. It is wonderful when the colors come out again. Also you may notice something new...a concrete column. When we were in Roanoke we went to an estate sale and I came home with that. This year I'm afraid we may have to cut down the weeping chery tree. Last year it was dying. I thought it might make it but it was hopeless. I'm going to wait until after Spring to see if any leaves come out on the branches..at least giving it a chance.

Today it is rainy and warmer but the forecast warns of colder weather for the weekend. Don has been sick with a cold this week and has a bad cough. Since he has COPD he has to be careful about that. I"m reading the Maeve Binchy book of short stories now curling up under an afghan. A good thing for a rainy day. I did print out a checklist of Spring chores. There is something fulfilling about crossing things off a list. Looking out the windows on a sunny day makes you ready for window washing. (DId I say that?)

Wherever you are and whatever you do today I hope that you are doing something you love. Each day is precious.

 

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sara

Tulips

 

Use tulips to kiss winter goodbye

 

 

 

 

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Pussy Willows

Nothing says Spring like a bunch of pussy willows. Yesterday it was 72 degrees and today it’s snowing like a blizzard out there. I was fooled by the nice weather yesterday and Don and I took the tarp off the outdoor things we stored. A little too early I’d say. I even put my little table and chairs out on the breezeway. What was I thinking?
  In the above picture you may notice my small collection of flow blue plates. Blue has always been a favorite color of mine but as the years progressed I changed colors in most of the house but left the living room blue. The little picture is of me and my best friend Yrsa when we were both in elementary school. She gave that to me to remind me how deep our friendship went.

I found these pink hydrangeas at Hobby Lobby. They reminded me of the peonies in the picture.

Our Easter Table

Season to season and so it changes. Spring is on its way and today it is sixty three degrees and sunny. With the nice weather and sunshine also comes the spring chores. The backyard is full of dead fallen branches that need to be cleaned up. And those pesky oak leaves always the last to fall are gathered in places pushed there by the winds. But all in good time. Today is Easter Sunday and I am preparing our holiday meal to be shared with my good friend Linda.

The centerpiece is a low basket filled with violets, lilies of the valley and a cabbage.

Those two little chicks stand guard.

You remember the silver egg craft. My bunny mold arrangement is sitting on the table in front of the window.

This lovely piece I found at my favorite resale shop in Knoxville.

I love this vase that my sister bought for me.

In my kitchen a rabbit poses by an old Peter Rabbit book.

I hope you enjoyed my little Easter tour. Have a wonderful holiday.

Happy Easter

 

I hope you all are enjoying a happy Easter. Yesterday the weather was sunny and warmer. When Sadie and I went for a walk we could see tiny leaves popping out on some bushes and pussy willows. My daffodils and tulips are growing taller. These first signs of spring are so welcomed. Don and I went out to dinner at the Runway at the small local airport. As always the food was delicious. We came home and watched the Steve Jobs movie. I was surprised that it was not just another repeat of his story...starting Apple in his garage..but began at the launch of Macintosh. It also showed a different and not flattering side of him concerning his denial that Lisa was his daughter. He was a brilliant but abrasive personality but to whom we owe so much.

 

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After The Crash

Yesterday I finished reading After the Crash by Michael Bussi. It's been a while since I've read such a page turner. It was suspensful right up until the last pages and I couldn't put it down. Here is a review from Amazon.

Just after midnight on December 23, 1980, a night flight bound for Paris plummets toward the Swiss Alps, crashing into a snowy mountainside. Within seconds flames engulf the plane, which is filled with holiday travelers. Of the 169 passengers, all but one perish.

The sole survivor is a three-month-old girl--thrown from the airliner before fire consumes the cabin. But two infants were on board. Is "the Miracle Child of Mont Terri" Lyse-Rose or Emilie? The families of both girls step forward to claim the child. Dogged by bad luck, the Vitrals live a simple life, selling snacks from a van on the beaches of northern France. In contrast, the de Carvilles, who amassed a fortune in the oil business, are powerful-and dangerous.

Eighteen years later, a private detective tasked with solving the mystery of the girl known as "Lylie" is on the verge of giving up. As he contemplates taking his own life, Crédule Grand-Duc suddenly discovers a secret hidden in plain view. Will he live to tell it?

Meanwhile, Lylie, now a beautiful university student, entrusts a secret notebook into the hands of Marc, the brooding young man who loves her, and then vanishes. After Marc reads the notebook's contents, he embarks on a frantic search for Lylie.

But he is not the only one looking for her.

 

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Ellicotville

 

Can you see the ski slopes in the distance? Ellicotville, NY is about 40 mintues from our house and is a ski town. Of course now the ski season is over but during the winter this town is booming. It is filled with cute shops and places to eat. We pass through here on our way to Buffalo. And it was always a neat spot for a girl day trip.

There are two ski slopes in town and in the winter there is a lot of activity. This small town has many festivals during the year. What Ellicottville lacks in size, it makes up for in effort: As many as a dozen restaurants line the two-block downtown, interspersed with shops, both chic and pragmatic (including one store that specializes exclusively in socks, and four that sell skis and bindings and snowboards).

For years, Holiday Valley – the busiest ski resort in New York – has earned raves in skier surveys for its après ski activities. This year, readers of Ski magazine ranked the resort third in that category in the Eastern United States – behind only Tremblant in Quebec, and Killington, Vermont (and ahead of much better-known ski destinations in Lake Placid, New York, and Stowe, Vermont).

Spend a day, a night – or, better yet, a weekend here -- and it's easy to see why.

And there are many other things to do there besides ski.

August 13th and 14th, 2016 it’s the Taste of Ellicottville where everyone can sample the best that Ellicottville’s fine restaurants have to offer as they set up “Cafe Style” on the streets. Tickets are $1 each and items are between $1-$4. You can purchase tickets at the main ticket booth centrally located in the village. The event will take place throughout the village from 12:00PM – 4:00PM both Saturday and Sunday. - See more at: http://www.ellicottvilleny.com/event-calendar/taste-of-ellicottville/#sthash.5PGENiWQ.dpuf

 

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Vet report

After the vet checkup we knew that he would say that Sadie needs to lose weight. The prednisone makes her very hungry and we give in to her begging for food. We fed her too much and she put on some pounds. So he encouraged us to try to get off five pounds and that would help her joints. We will continue the Meds and see if the lose of weight helps her feel better. She will miss all her treats and people food but we have to do what is best for our baby.

 

 

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We're off

 

We are off to Buffalo this morning to take Sadie to the vet for a checkup. While we were on vacation we noticed that her back leg was going out and she would fall. She is still on Prednisone but every time we try to lower the dose her joints swell. She still seems in pain when we walk a little distance. I would like to see my energetic dog back again.

 

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What's going to happen today?

 

Sara's little dog Zoe was the runt of her litter. She is almost two years old and still is the size of a puppy. She is so sweet and loves to be held. Whenever you sit down she jumps right in your lap. She is almost like a living stuffed animal.

 

Yesterday I had my art lesson for the week. I have really enjoyed taking this class and painting in oils. It hasn't been easy and I need to really concentrate on what I am doing but I'm so happy that I am doing it. I talked about it for years. There are some things that you do and it puts you in bliss. While you are doing it you don't think about anything else because you are in a different stae. What do you do that puts you in that blissful state?

I'm also working on my computer class in Photo Artistry. The course is huge and by that I mean that there are many videos to watch and tons of downloads. I am learning a lot. Luckily I have used Photoshop Elements for many years now and am familiar with it. That was a big learning curve. It took me a long time to learn that. Now the things I'm learning are expanding on what I know. The goal is to take photos and turn them into works of art that can be printed out.

I am also trying to squeeze in some reading time. Currently I'm reading After the Crash and waiting for me is Shonda Rhimes book The Year of Yes and Maeve Binchey's colection of short stories called A Few of the Girls.

In between all of that I'm organizing. Yesterday I purchased a large metal shelf unit. Don put it together and we carried it down to our basement extra room to add some additional storage. Today I hope to go down there and organize. Our basement has always been a place to put all that "stuff". But for years now I have been paring down and reorganizing. We find that there are things we just wouldn't be using now. My goal is to paint the basement floor.

When I retired my biggest worry was that I wouldn't have enough to do to keep me busy. Guess I shouldn't have worried about that!

 

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Daniel

Dan is my oldest grandson and will be celebrating his birthday this week. He is a mechanical engineer and lives in Pittsburgh. He and his fiance Gretchen just bought their first home and will be married on May 6 in Belize.

And this is Scott, his younger brother, who will also have a birthday this week…his 21st. Scott is in his third year of college pursuing a degree in graphic design.

 

Both boys are musical. Scott plays drums and guitar and is currently collecting vinyl rock albums. Dan plays guitar, piano, and trumpet. Both are also great at anything electronic and are my go to guys when I have a computer problem.

 

Happy Birthday, guys!

Star Wars at Knoxville Zoo

Sara and Sean went to the Knoxville Zoo yesterday for Star Wars Day. It looks like they had a great time.

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And so it’s Sunday

Are you enjoying your weekend? When I was working my weekends were so busy doing catch up work around the house and playing with the family. Now my weekends are a time for slowing down and relaxing. I try not to do too much on the weekend as I have all the time in the world during the week to get things done. I do all my errands during the week so I don’t have to go into the stores on Saturday. I use the weekend time to read or work on the computer. I am certain missing Downton Abbey on Sundays, are you? I’ve been watching a new show called The Family and it is interesting.

   This past week I have been putting out Spring decorations to welcome the new season. Snow was predicted for Saturday and I was very happy that it didn’t materialize even though the weather was cold. Don and I had date night and went to a movie (London has Fallen) and dinner (Applebee’s) last night.

  Dinner is in the crock pot. I am making stroganoff. I need to use the crock pot more because there is nothing I like better than having dinner all ready. Now all I have to do is add the sour cream and cook the noodles. Easy-peasy.