Easter '06!

Once again, Easter at Melissa's house was just awesome. All the family together enjoying good conversation and laughter in the setting of her newly (beautifully!) remodeled house. The kids all running around and playing and giggling, high on sugar. And of course there was the food:

Macaroni and cheese, fried cabbage (you know, the really exquisite kind with bacon and sugar? Heck yeh!), deviled eggs, pea salad, green salad, ham bicuits, asparagus with bernaise sauce, green beans-n-taters, glazed carrots...


Is that a pretty salad, or what!!


The Desserts required a whole 'nother buffet table unto themselves!


Let the feasting begin!!


Let the games begin! Easter Egg Hunt 2006!

This picture cracks me up!!!


The Big Kids did all the hiding and tallying of the eggs, this year...


Egg hunting works up quite an appetite--Jack and Q go back for seconds on the mac-n-cheese!


W had a blast with that toy gun! I SO dig that little "I'm gonna get you" smile!


A little tip: when penniless on Easter and in need of gifts for your niece and nephews, a little scrap material wrapped around a few pieces of candy and garnished with fresh flowers will work in a pinch! Ask me how I know this, LOL!


It was a great holiday spent with family and friends!! Thanks again, Melissa and family!!!

The Big Catch-up Post

A power surge during a thunder storm fried my internal modem and it's taken me over TWO WEEKS to locate and install a new external modem.On top of that, I forgot my password to Blogger (DUH!). Hence, the shameful lack 'o blogging!

Mac is a WONDERFUL computer system--until something goes wrong. Then you had better have signed up for their maintenance/repair warranty-service thingy or your up a creek--which I was. But, all is well again and my portal to the rest of the world (internet) is once again open. *happy sigh* I feel that I could write a whole other post expounding upon the joys of the internet...but not today. I've got too much catching up to do.

The last few weeks in a nutshell:

* Race is home!!!!!!!!!! :0D

*Two weddings completed successfully

*Had a great time babysitting Melissa's's kids

----hiking in the National Forest where Jack found many uber cool rocks to add to his collection, Savannah enjoyed watching Elvis/Hilda's antics in the creek and Austin got bruised and battered by a huge stone while climbing up a rocky cliff (I know that last bit sounds bad--and it WAS scary--but Austin is fine and now has this awesome story to tell his friends!!)
----We all went to see the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the dollar theatre. I cried through practically the whole thing--- excellent and inspirational movie!!
----Had the opportunity to watch Jack doing his thing at baseball practice.The kid is GOOD!!! Got some awesome pics.
--The kids took me down to their creek where we hiked and waded and picked flowers and caught crawdads,etc.
----Thoroughly enjoyed the privilege of seeing the kids welcoming Race back home.


*Attended a lecture by the author of one of my FAVORITE books. Orson Scott Card, author of Ender's Game came to speak at a local college. Very interesting. I stayed afterwards and got my book autographed and had the great joy of telling the author just how much I enjoyed his work. That was cool.

*Attended the bi-annual Mass Meeting of my local political party and listened to our delegate give an update on the year's happening in the state legislature.Very informative. I also decided to be a delegate for the district's upcoming convention.

* A couple of fishing expeditions undertaken with success. A friend invited me to join their family fishing at a private lake and sent the booty home with me (bass,bluegill and crappy--YUM!!). Another friend invited me over to fish with he and his brother at their pond. They caught nothing while I hauled in two 3lb bass and several bluegill.
I tried not to rub it in, heh-heh. I cleaned them and fried them up for us all, so as to aid in the healing of any possible bruised male egos. :0D

*Lots of new flowers and herbs were planted in my flower beds and containers about the front of my house. These join my returning perennials to lend a very pleasing aspect to the front of my house This is my first real flower garden, so please pardon me if I'm bragging just a teeny bit ( *blush*).

* One of the biggest things that has been going on with me, has been the remodeling of my house. All the carpet has been ripped up in the living room and hallway. I rented a vibrating sander, but had NO luck getting the nasty old carpet glue off of the wood. So, with much fear and trembling, I went back to Aztec and rented the Big Sander. I had been cautioned by no less than four people that the Big Sander is a floor eating monster. But, I took the risk and MAN you should see my floors, now!!!! Even unfinished, they're BEAUTIFUL!! The Big Sander did the trick. It WAS big and heavy and I am now possessed of the forearms of Popeye (and quite possibly a small hernia from lifting it in and out of the car), but my floors look GREAT!! I can't wait to get the stain/poly down on them!

*Small bridal show, a couple of consultations and portrait sessions that all went very well.

* Easter at Melissa's house. A great time with the family and great food and the little ones running all over having a blast. I'll do a separate post with pictures and a detailed description of the food. Hang on, Dy, it's coming!!:0D

A Four Dog Night

I had a couple of incredibly cute visitors mysteriously appear on my back deck one night last week. Is there perhaps a sign in my yard that indicates that cute, unwanted animals should be dropped here, because the chick that lives here is a big, giant succer and will take them in and care for them?
I can't find it, but the sign MUST be here somewhere! This is how I ended up with little Hilda, remember.








They were all cold and wet and shivering and terrified when I found them, so I brought them inside and made a bed for them in the bathroom. After partaking quite voraciously of the offered food, they settled in and went to sleep. It was a LONG night of whimpering and whining and restlesness from the puppies AND my dogs who are NOT used to canine visitors in their home. The next day, I let the little critters roam freely about the house and yard and interact with Elvis and Hilda (which was hilarious!!--Hilda's never encountered a dog smaller than herself before), while I finished the day's printing assignment. Later in the afternoon,
I packed them up and headed over to the local SPCA, where I was assured that they would be adopted very quickly. It was hard to let them go, but I just CAN'T have any more pets.
They were sweethearts, but one 4 Dog Night is all my tiny little household can handle. It was fun to have them visit for the day, though! :0)