Friday vs Monday

Reflection

I like to think of "passing it on" is like the ripples of a small rock thrown into a pond. The rings of kindness just keep spreading out until they reach the shore of the pond.

I nominated some lovely people for an "E" blog award the other day. I enjoy their blogs, they are super people, and I feel like I have known them forever. I didn't expect anything in return. I just wanted them to know that I think they do an excellent job. I am so flattered and honored that quite a few of them awarded it right back to me. I can't begin to tell you how much that means to me.

Like me, those that I nominated had a hard time picking just 10. It is very hard. There are so many great bloggers out there. Whether they be home restorers, story tellers, family sharers... they bring you away from your corner of the world into theirs for a short time. You can leave a comment to let them know that you enjoyed their post, or sometimes be in a position to offer a bit of home improvement advice because you are looking at it from a distance rather than right up close to the project. There are one or two that I read that I can't remember how I found, but they like only a small readership. I didn't nominate those out of respect for that.

There is also one I didn't nominate for the award, but he is very deserving. He is in NY and works very hard for the little Brooklyn Parrots. I'm not sure he reads others' blogs, so I didn't nominate. His spot is here, if you would care to check him out: http://www.brooklynparrots.com/

I'm not sure if I'm making much sense, but I wanted everyone that reads my little spot and all of those that I read every day to know how much they mean to me regardless of an award. You are ALL excellent!

Killer Biscuits

KILLER BISCUITS WANTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER (the actual AP headline)

Linda Burnett, 23, a resident of San Diego, was visiting her in-laws, and while there went to a nearby supermarket to pick up some groceries.

Several people noticed her sitting in her car with the windows rolled up and with her eyes closed, with both hands behind the back of her head. One customer who had been at the store for a while became concerned and walked over to the car. He noticed that Linda's eyes were now open, and she looked very strange. He asked her if she was okay, and Linda replied that she'd been shot in the back of the head, and had been holding her brains in for over an hour.

The man called the paramedics, who broke into the car because the doors were locked and Linda refused to remove her hands from her head. When they finally got in, they found that Linda had a wad of bread dough on the back of her head. A Pillsbury biscuit canister had exploded from the heat, making a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot, and the wad of dough hit her in the back of her head. When she reached back to find out what it was, she felt the dough and thought it was her brains. She initially passed out, but quickly recovered and tried to hold her brains in for over an hour until someone noticed and came to her aid.

An Award For You

Daryl E. over at Out & About in New York (http://onthem104.blogspot.com/) bestowed an lovely award on me. I am so very honored! By accepting this Excellent Blog Award, you agree to award it to 10 more people whose blogs you find Excellent Award worthy. You can give it to as many people as you want but please award at least 10. You deserve this! Feel free to recognize blogs that have already received this award. So, here are my 10 (there are so many more that I visit every day, but it would take me DAYS to list them all):

1. Carol at http://charliandme.blogspot.com/ she has such a lovely, graceful blog filled with wonderful words, lovely pictures and Fletcher.

2. Rhee at http://thepioneerwoman.com/ she has spectacular photos, an absolutely captivating way of telling a story, and the BEST novel ever!

3. Jayne over at http://daintydigs.blogspot.com/ even though I don't know her personally, I feel like I do -- she works for some of Missouri's finest!

4. Dynochick (Jan) over at http://gearacres.blogspot.com/ she is one hard-working lady!

5. Larry & SWMBO over at http://simpsonsfolly.blogspot.com/ they have an awesome blog - he restores/renovates with a wonderful sense of humor and she keeps him going!

6. "We Are In" over at http://americanfoursquare.blogspot.com/ -- she has some GREAT decorating style!

7. David over at http://david-mcmahon.blogspot.com/ because he has just absolutely the coolest stuff and he has something called "Post of the Day"!

8. Kate over at http://www.sowsearhouse.blogspot.com/ - she is one of the funniest home restorers. She has a way of telling about a project that will keep you in stitches as well as teaching you something while she's making you laugh. She is absolutely delightful!

9. Daryl E over at http://onthem104.blogspot.com/ who I've come to feel like I've known for absolutely forever! She is a master at that Excellent blog - great pictures, fun things to do and a laugh or two!

10. And Jenni, who is not last by any means, over at http://1311vernon.blogspot.com/ -- she takes me on a walk through her neighborhood every Sunday and I love it. She has a great eye for detail and takes lovely pictures.

Knock, Knock

OK. The robins are knocking on my windows.... "Hello.... I AM in Michigan, aren't I? I haven't veered off course and am actually in Alaska, am I?"

I just stare past them at the snow that is falling.... falling hard and fast....

One robin pulls out his little blackberry (or whatever it is called).

"Look. Right here. See. I CHECKED my schedule. I made sure it said spring had officially arrived in Michigan. I am sure of it. It's right on the calendar here."

I don't know what to say. I am going to have to close the blinds and hide.

A Little Bit of Heaven...

Butchart Gardens, Victoria B.C.

My friend Carol sent me an email with this picture in it. Such beauty! You can click on the picture to make it bigger.

I Wonder How They Do That...

YOUR AGE BY EATING OUT

Don't tell me your age; you probably would tell a falsehood anyway-but your waiter may know!
"YOUR AGE BY DINER & RESTAURANT MATH"

This is pretty neat. DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST! It takes less than a minute. Work this out as you read . Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out! This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun.

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to go out to eat. (more than once but less than 10)
2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold).
3. Add 5.
4. Multiply it by 50.
5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1758... If you haven't, add 1757.
6. Now subtract the four-digit year that you were born. You should have a three digit number.

The first digit of this was your original number. (I.e., How many times you want to go out to restaurants in a week.) The next two numbers are YOUR AGE ! ------ (Oh YES it is!) THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2008) IT WILL EVER WORK, SO SPREAD IT AROUND WHILE IT LASTS.

Why I Forward Jokes

I got this from a friend of mine and thought I would post it here.

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.

He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. When he was close enough, he called out, 'Excuse me, where are we?'

'This is Heaven, sir,' the man answered.

'Wow! Would you happen to have some water?' the man asked.

'Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up.' The man gestured, and the gate began to open.

'Can my friend,' gesturing toward his dog, 'come in, too?' the traveler asked.

'I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets.'

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog. After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence.

As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.

'Excuse me!' he called to the man. 'Do you have any water?'

'Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in.'

'How about my friend here?' the traveler gestured to the dog.

'There should be a bowl by the pump.'

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.

'What do you call this place?' the traveler asked.

'This is Heaven,' he answered.

'Well, that's confusing,' the traveler said. 'The man down the road said that was Heaven, too.'

'Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell.'

'Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?'

'No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind.'

Soooo... Sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding jokes to us without writing a word. Maybe this will explain. When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch, guess what you do? You forward jokes. When you have nothing to say, but still want to keep contact, you forward jokes. When you have something to say, but don't know what, and don't know how, you forward jokes. Also to let you know that you are still remembered, you are still important, you are still loved, you are still cared for, guess what you get? A forwarded joke.

So, next time if you get a joke, don't think that you've been sent just another forwarded joke, but that you've been thought of today and your friend on the other end of your computer wanted to send you a smile.

You are all welcome @ my water bowl anytime.

Happy Easter!

Geese

Well, I must say, it is an absolutely beautiful day. The sun is shining brightly, I saw two geese coming back (surely they know something we don't), and it is 30º! Wahoo!!

Not only that, Sammy has finally updated his blog! What more could you ask for?! LOL

OK. I Give Up! Spring Ain't Coming!

Winter Storm Warning:
Issued at: 4:56 AM EDT 3/21/08, expires at: 1:00 PM EDT 3/21/08
Winter storm warning in effect from 6 pm this evening to 8 am edt Saturday, The NWS in detroit/pontiac has issued a winter storm warning, which is in effect from 6 pm this evening to 8 am edt Saturday. Snow will develop by early this evening and quickly become heavy at times. The snow will gradually taper off overnight and end toward sunrise Saturday. Total snowfall accumulations of 2 to 6 inches are expected, with the highest totals occurring over the southwest part of the county. A winter storm warning means significant amounts of snow, sleet, and ice are expected or occurring. Strong winds are also possible. This will make travel very hazardous or impossible.

The Puzzling Human Body

You really ought to know this. The human body is a machine that is full of wonder. This collection of human body facts will leave you wondering why in the heck we were designed the way we were.

1. Scientists say the higher your I.Q., the more you dream.
2. The largest cell in the human body is the female egg and the smallest is the male sperm.
3. You use 200 muscles to take one step.
4. The average woman is 5 inches shorter than the average man.
5. Your big toes have two bones each while the rest have three.
6. A pair of human feet contains 250,000 sweat glands.
7. A full bladder is roughly the size of a soft ball.
8. The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razor blades.
9. The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica.
10. It takes the food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.
11. The average human dream lasts 2-3 seconds.
12. Men without hair on their chests are more likely to get cirrhosis of the liver than men with hair.
13. At the moment of conception, you spent about half an hour as a single cell.
14. There is about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.
15. Your body gives off enough heat in 30 minutes to bring half a gallon of water to a boil.
16. The enamel in your teeth is the hardest substance in your body.
17. Your teeth start growing 6 months before you are born.
18. When you are looking at someone you love, your pupils dilate, and they do the same when you are looking at someone you hate.
19. Your thumb is the same length of your nose.

At this very moment I know full well you are putting this last fact to the test... now remove your thumb from your nose and pass this on to the friends you think might be interested in comparing their thumbs to their noses as well.

Tea Cups and Teapots

Alas, I have no pictures. My beautiful bone china tea cups have been gone a long time. They were lovely. Most were blue and white, some were rose, and one of them was yellow. They came from Germany (my mother's best friend was from Germany and had give me my first tea cup and saucer), Canada, Wales (my mother's best friend's husband was from Wales), Ohio and Tennessee.

I have a lovely porcelain tea pot. It is shaped like a little log cabin and is a warm honey-brown with a snow-covered pine tree in front and the cabin has a lovely red door. I don't have a digital camera, my computer is old, and I am bad about taking film in to get developed. Sigh.

I drink my tea these days out of a mug with a handsome Black Labrador Retriever on it. A gift from one of my nephews one Christmas. I like orange pekoe, raspberry, cinnamon.... ummm can't you just smell those teas? It is a comfort to sit with a mug of tea and bird watch out the window or just sit and watch my girls (the cats) snooze in a patch of sunshine.

Thanks for stopping by and having a "spot" of tea with me!

Tea Cups

My friend Carol from Charli and Me sent me to this little spot. Here is a copy of her post and the link to this delightful little place.

"I strolled over to one of my favorite blogs a couple of days ago and found out there was a tea inspired blog-a-thon going on. How exciting is that! Each week we will be invited to share in a different theme about tea. This weeks theme is called Tea cup a story. We are supposed to share a picture of our favorite teacup, or tea cup collection, describe it, and share a little history about it. We can also make up a story if we choose to do so. This weeks theme runs from March16, through March 22, so it's not to late to get on board. All you have to do is go to www.gracioushospitality.blogspot.com/ to get the in dept details. It is going to be lovely to see all of the different types teacups and saucers and interesting to read the stories that go along with them."

It sounds like such a lovely thing to do. Maybe you would like to visit Gracious Hospital-i-Tea and join in the fun!

A Wee Bit of Irish Humor...

Flynn staggered home very late after another evening with his drinking buddy, Paddy. He took off his shoes to avoid waking his wife, Mary. He tiptoed as quietly as he could toward the stairs leading to their upstairs bedroom, but misjudged the bottom step. As he caught himself by grabbing the banister, his body swung around and he landed heavily on his rump. A whiskey bottle in each back pocket broke and made the landing especially painful. Managing not to yell, Flynn sprung up, pulled down his pants, and looked in the hall mirror to see that his butt cheeks were cut and bleeding. He managed to quietly find a full box of Band-Aids and began putting a Band-Aid as best he could on each place he saw blood. He then hid the now almost empty Band-Aid box and shuffled and stumbled his way to bed.

In the morning, Flynn woke up with searing pain in both his head and butt and Mary staring at him from across the room. She said, "You were drunk again last night weren't you?"

Flynn said, "Why you say such a mean thing?"

"Well," Mary said, "it could be the open front door, it could be the broken glass at the bottom of the stairs, it could be the drops of blood trailing through the house, it could be your bloodshot eyes, but mostly..... it's all those Band-Aids stuck on the hall mirror.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day...

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers-
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours-
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!

(from a card my friend Carol sent me)

authorblog: Weekend Wandering

David McMahon has posted this week's question. The link is below. My answer is below the link.

authorblog: Weekend Wandering

No, I don't have any relatives either near or far, past or present, that are embarrassing. Hopefully none of my relatives think I am embarrassing!

The Joys of a Furnace

My house is one-story -- built on a slab -- 900 sq. ft. The furnace is in the utility room that is roughly 7 1/2 ft. x 11 ft. The washer and dryer are in there. The furnace has now chosen to take this opportunity in time to crap out on me. The flame sensor does NOT like living in the furnace that lives with the washer and dryer. Stuff from the washer and dryer coats up the flame sensor and it doesn't know when it is supposed to ignite the furnace. It doesn't matter if you use liquid detergent and liquid non-chlorine bleach or powdered. The stuff still coats the stupid flame sensor. Sucks....

Hearing Test

My niece in Wyoming sent me this!

A man feared his wife wasn't hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need a hearing aid. Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family doctor to discuss the problem.

The doctor told him there is a simple informal test the husband could perform to give the doctor a better idea about her hearing loss. "Here's what you do," said the doctor, "stand about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response."

That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was in the den. He says to himself, "I'm about 40 feet away, let's see what happens." Then in a normal tone he asks, ' Honey, what's for dinner?

No response.

So the husband moves closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife and repeats, "Honey, what's for dinner?"

Still no response.

Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his wife and asks, "Honey, what's for dinner?"

Again he gets no response.

So, he walks up to the kitchen door, about 10 feet away. "Honey,what's for dinner?"

Again there is no response.

So he walks right up behind her. "Honey, what's for dinner?"

(I just love this)

"Ralph, for the FIFTH time, CHICKEN!"

Gentle thoughts for today

1. Birds of a feather flock together.....and crap on your car.
2. A penny saved.....is a government oversight.
3. The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
4. The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.
5. The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.
6. He who hesitates......is probably right.
7. Did you ever notice: The Roman Numerals for forty (40) are "XL."
8. If you think there is good in everybody, you haven't met everybody.
9. If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.
10. The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.
11. There's always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it. For example I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt.
12. Did you ever notice: When you put the 2 words "The" and "IRS" together it spells "Theirs?"

Aging:

1. Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.
2. The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.
3. Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know "why" I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved. (My personal favorite.)
4. When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.
5. You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.
6. One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.
7. Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

Quote

If you can't read the quote, then click on the picture and it will make it bigger.