zebra---i know, i used it last year, but read on, you will see

last year i wrote about my son's wonderful drawing of the zebra--the painting explored - how the zebra got his stripes, and my son said (as the painting depicted) that he indeed got his stripes from the mud, that was in the picture with him----i went on to vow, how although we had displayed the award winning picture, i had never framed it--and i was to add that to my to do list---sadly to say and with no excuse, i have still not framed it---

so today i end with the word zebra as in the symbol of unfinished projects in my life and do not want you to miss the irony of this post being the culmination of this blog challenge----

the list would be long and boring if i were to include all of the zebra projects since last year's challenge---so i will share only a sampling


1. i still haven't finished cleaning out my closet
2. still haven't written notes and cards to many of my loved ones
3. still haven't firmed up my body enough haha, like that's gonna happen in my lifetime
4. still haven't started that project that is gonna change my life
5. still haven't gotten the big lottery win--
6. still haven't had a cookie decorating day with the grand-kids
7.hmmmm there are so many more zebra moments

so as we leave this challenge, i would challenge us all to do as many zebra things as we can do and to not beat ourselves up when we miss a few here and there--after all that little zebra still looks pretty sweet in it's original matted cardboard frame-----

youth

the young don't know nor care to see the depth of life before them
they cling to fun and paths of freedom and still they know it's coming

they can't define the road of youth, it's all been done before
they chase and hide and say they won't but who can tell them the truth

their youth of today is holding them down and it really is better than vision
for all of our warnings will go unheeded and rightly they should

x marks the spot

x marks the spot----wow---that makes me think of my childhood----for all the dresses i wore and the prissy girl i was known to be---i spent a lot of time outdoors

right next to my house were woods---i had a fort and everything----and i was always pretending to hunt for treasure----thus the x marks the spot choice today---

i would draw maps and insist to my willing friends, that there was a real live treasure hidden somewhere in my domain and if they could find it--they could have it--

oh it might have been an old necklace or a broken vase, but to us, it was all very exciting--

it was exciting like when i was very little, how one of my Sunday school teacher would host an Easter egg hunt at her house----somehow, i was her favorite---and she---unbeknownst to the other mothers and their kids---would lead me to x marks the spot, every time---i would not only get the most eggs but always the big prize egg---i remember how i sorta had a guilty little feeling about that special egg i retrieved

other places in our lives are marked with an x, if only in our memories----the place you had your first kiss---the place your were when the president was assassinated---the place your were when you first told your husband you were expecting ---the place the police officer pulled you over, when you were going a little fast-----and on and on

yes x doesn't do a lot, in our language, at least in our everyday usage, but x can mark some pretty important things

white bird

i remember so many songs that intrigued me and spoke to me, none more than this beautiful song of yesterday

"white bird"----it was by a group called "it's a beautiful day"---

i hesitated to look into the meaning of the song, for fear it could mean something, that i had not read into it all those years ago---i might look it up after i finish this---

but whatever the intent of the song---for me, it spoke of passions for living and it spoke to my soul and touched me in a extreme way

it stirred my emotions and made me dream of possibilities and the power inside myself--to soar, like this great white bird

when i bought their album for this song, i discovered another wonderful cut----"hot summer day"---which proved to touch me in much the same way

it is one of those albums that can transport me back----sitting by the river with my friends---staring at the sky and daring to let my mind wander at the future while realizing the depth of connection that music would always hold to those days

vanity

what is vanity--is it when we wash our faces and check our laugh lines-
is it when we curl our hair and take the mirror to check the back--to see if we look as good coming as going

we can't escape it, it seems----we are bombarded with everything everywhere making us vulnerable to vanity---are our teeth white enough, does our breath have that minty fresh taste---is there any unwanted hair in sight---are our butts tight enough

does our lawn look as green as our neighbors, do our flowers reach their optimum bloom size

does our kid make the grade and do they go to a good college---if they don't, you probably won't see the stickers on the car windows

of course we know the bible says all is vanity and it is----we are but a vapor----

but still we do it, we buy the newest bent of metal, that makes us now look at our last year's model and recognize it's not as pretty anymore

we look at our butcher block counters and exclaim---i have got to get the marble counter tops, i just have to

we throw out last year's so out-of-date fashions---because someone tells us to

it will not end---we can only rebel and resist in small doses----we can only be released when we are in a place of pain or age, where we can no longer compete anyway-----and then we can marvel at the best spot we purchased in the cemetery---why it is much prettier than------

unless

unless--oh yes that wonderful little word we can pull out when in doubt

unless it rains, i will definitely be there

unless my dog gets sick, i can come to dinner---unless my hair gets unusually dirty, i can take you to the doctor

it is a great word--it is more sure than until and more vague than maybe---

i know i use it whenever i am caught off guard or can't make up my mind, if i want to say yes or no or just can't think of a good excuse----

unless, makes the other person know---that unless that thing happens or the unexpected emergency occurs, they can surely count on you---they can know, that unless this unforeseen unlikely disaster happens, you will be there for them with bells on

if they ---only knew, that your unless, means the same thing their unless means

tuna

i first feel i have to apologize--for not being too creative with some of my a-z blogs---truth be told, i am kinda struggling to finish this challenge----but the food thing interests me right now, so i hope you will forgive another food post--especially since it wasn't even on my radar to do a food blog---

tuna----i have always loved it and i tell you, i haven't met anyone that loves it more than robyn---whenever we split a sub, i know what kind i will be getting---tuna---tuna---tuna

it is good and in moderation, pretty good for ya---although i am not so sure about all the mayo and pickle--

the way i really enjoy it on a sandwich--is with of course the mayo---onion, celery and lemon----i rarely have that on hand so, it's usually the sweet relish with the mayo-----i prefer it not toasted--and i now only use the tuna packs----oh and i hate those tuna packs that are sandwich ready---to me they have a strange artificial taste-

i used to make this great dish---it was kinda like a chinese style tuna and you would serve it over rice---i think i can remember all the ingredients, and there were quite a few----to the two cans of white tuna you added, a big can of chinese vegetables, chicken bouillon, celery, onions, mushrooms and an extra can of water chestnuts ---i think that was all----it was very good, but ended up tasting like chicken

i like the more traditional tuna casseroles as well---even the tuna helper----but frank used to make the best one ever---he doesn't recall what he put into it but i think it had cream of mushroom soup and i know it had rice----loved it----he would make it quite often when i was pregnant and not feeling too well---it was one of those comforting foods we all like--

 if i have ever been tempted to order a tuna steak in a restaurant, i will resist---btw--little piece of advice, i follow---they say--never order any seafood on a monday---chances are it won't be fresh--just left-over from the weekend----

soup

i love soup----especially the broth-----you probably all have heard the story "stone soup" or a variation of it---as a child and even as an adult, i have loved this story----

it always leaves me wanting a steaming bowl of soup--

this love of soup takes me back to my early days of school----we would have a half day schedule and that would mean we only had a snack at school---if i was on the morning rotation week---i would return home to soup and sandwiches on the coffee table, along with my sister-

i remember my mother's vegetable soup and my grandmother's soup----it was my dad's mom---who i remember making the vegetable soup----mom's was really good, but grandmal's  was very sweet, i think it was the extra corn she put in it---

i even liked the soups the school cafeteria served-----and mmmm their chili was wonderful, although i don't count that as a real soup--more like a stew---hey another s word---wasn't even trying ---

i recall how i would watch one of my nephews every friday when i was a teenager---as i was making his lunch, i could count on his asking for soup---never failed--

soup makes you feel warm and cozy and full---it's great if you are trying to lose a little weight--if i wait a while after eating a bowl of soup, i usually find, i don't want too much else

this past fall, i got adventurous--making pumpkin soup---it is one i plan to make again, in season

you know--i think next time i am watching my younger grand-kids--i will read to them the charming tale of "stone soup"----no slurping----omgosh--did ya see that

reading between the lines

sometimes people mean what they say and say what they mean---others

have you ever had someone tell you something or say something off handed and laughed--only to say to yourself, when you got home---oooohhhh, that's what they were saying hmmmm

i fancy myself, a person with discernment---seriously, i think, i have that God given gift----my mother had it too---i remember as a child, thinking she was cold and judgmental---i came to realize, that her assessments of most people were very accurate, if not pretty

now i know, as women, sorry, we tend to read into things, and listen a little more eagerly---but i believe people rarely say exactly what they mean and when they do have an agenda, i believe they try to disguise it as nicely as they think they can--and still let you feel the jab---

even the ones that seem to "tell it like it is"---they too are holding back---they don't tell you what has led them to this unpleasant out-burst

so maybe the next time, someone says something and then laughs a "i'm just kidding"---you might just wanna try and think what they may be holding on to---

or if you are a man reading this----just go along your business, cause we know, you don't "read between the lines" and if ya got it, chances are, ya wouldn't give a darn-----sorry, men, just trying to keep it interesting on the a-z challenge----hmmm do ya think that's what i really mean

quiz

i thought it might be fun if i give everyone a little t.v. quiz today--and no looking up the answers---



1. on the "laverne and shirley" show---who was shirley's kinda boyfriend through-out most of the show--and he danced

2. on the "happy days" show---how many kids did the cunningham family have

3. name two spin-off shows from "all in the family"

4. name two spin-offs from the "mary tyler moore show"

5. name the daughter in the "adam's family"

6. name the niece in the "munsters"

7. how many siblings were in "the big valley"

8. what famous disaster movie was the first "fallon" from "dynasty" in

9. what was the real first name of the actor that played pam's brother on "dallas"

10. what were the characters names of andy and barney's girl-friends on "the andy griffin show"


please leave your answers and a question--hope i didn't make these too easy

picnics

i have been thinking about taking my dad, soon, to visit some of our loved ones graves----they are about and hour or so away----i was also thinking it might be nice to pack a picnic lunch-

i love the thought of picnic food but rarely make one---

a few stand out----years ago, we took the kids down to the park in our neighborhood, where there is a pavillion and a pond----we had a great day---the two oldest boys fished and we had lots of special picnic foods, including fudge brownies-

another picnic that i recall--started with a lovely picnic array of foods, but we got so hungry, that, unable to find a spot to eat, we ended up eating in a convience store lot----but we particularly enjoyed the hard-boiled eggs--

occasionally we will stop and get chicken with the fixings and head out to a lovely park in our town--

but when i think of a real picnic--i think of preparing my own foods-

i guess the last really good picnic our family had, was one in the mountains---i remember bringing so much food--i couldn't stop myself----

we had all kinds of sandwich stuff---pickles-chips-cookies-fresh fruit-potato salad ---well it seemed like more---

so i might just do, it---shoot, i might just go crazy and make my grandmother's famous fried chicken---

what goodies do you pack on your picnics?

once upon a time

once upon a time---awwww wasn't that how some of our favorite stories started----

once upon a time this beautiful princess--once upon a time there was a sparkly kingdom-----

so many wonderful writers have begun their masterpieces with these four little words

as most of you can tell, i don't really follow your conventional ways of writing nor do i pretend to have knowledge of the many books about how to write, etc.

now i am not knocking those books, it's just i haven't gone this path----but there is one thing i learned long ago in my senior year of high school that has stuck with me all the years-

we were given movie cameras and told to go make a movie-----we learned sorta like a crash course in movie making---

the most important thing that we were to remember, was not to start our movie with some monumental or tragic beginning

we were told that if you did something too disturbing in the first few minutes of your movie, that you would lose you audience---they would be too preoccupied with the horror or terror they had seen and then not be engaged in the further action or story of the film-

like i said, that one thing, i took away from that course---has intriqed me ever since

i am guessing this would hold true for books as well

so as we try to grab the reader from the get go---we must not overwhelm them-----

i don't know if i am any good at the beginnings of stories, but i have to say, that is probably my most favorite part of the process-----

what do you say--

not until

not until the wars have all been fought---not until we see ourselves in every other person

not until we listen with our hearts and speak with a mother's compassion

not until we let the emptiness be filled with something other than our vain desires

not until we stand on the grassy mound of our child or loved ones final resting place---or face the fears of our soulless shadows--

but one day that not until day will come and we won't be able to contain our joy

mother as in "sylvia's mother"---i know i am kinda cheating

yesterday on the way back from visiting with "big tommy"----frank and i were enjoying the warm weather and singing to the radio, an "oldies" station----

on comes a song, i haven't heard or thought about in forever---i don't even think i liked it when it was out---

it is a song about a poor boy---i say he is a poor boy, because i guess i sympathize with him--maybe because his story is the one we are hearing---we aren't privy to the other side---the reason why "sylvia's mother" will not get her daughter to the phone---

okay this guy has done something to hurt sylvia in the past for sure---but i am assuming he still loves her--that is why he is calling---

poor guy, and he's got that darn operator, calling for 40cents more every time he thinks he might have a chance of sylvia's mom letting sylvia have the phone call-

ya know, it's funny as i remember this song, i had always wondered, why "sylvia's mother" says at one point, "thank you for calling, and sir won't you call back again"---i now know it was because she is in the room---i don't know why i never caught that part---i always thought, those lyrics didn't make sense-

but anyway on this mundane mucky, moist, milkless morose (not really morose, just liked the way it sounded) monday, i leave you with this song-

lasting

what is lasting, can it be the wind---does it not go still at times, who's to say it will return

what is lasting, is love lasting---it may be although it's faces and shapes continually change forms, it appears to last

does joy last---not each individual joy but there is an essence remaining a trace of it's existence

and we say that childhood does not last--but i swear i've heard those little voices laughing in the shadows, still at play in the recesses of my memory

do troubles last, no for if they did, we couldn't stand or sleep or even have the heart to try

so the things that last are fleeting, that's the irony of life itself, the beauty hidden in it's mystery

karaoke

at our church we occasionally have a karaoke  night-----everyone always enjoys it and sometimes it's hard to get them to stop singing and let us pack up the machine and go home haha

but this one time, our little karaoke night proved to be very controversial---

we decided to have it as a kinda coffee house, karaoke night blend

it went off very well---until the Sunday afterwards--

at the start of the morning worship service---this rather large, loud african american self-proclaimed pastor, came barging in, demanding to take over the pulpit and speak----it was quite a scene and no one knew what to do----

to let you know a little about our church, we are an old church that is in the inner city----yes we are predominately white but our church members include and welcome all races-----most of our church is older people, but they are very loving and would never intentionally hurt someone

back to the man----he was obviously a little mentally unbalanced but intent that he must speak to the evil devil racist church we were----in fact a church that he knew had just held a klu klux klan meeting---

well i can tell you we were all astonished and someone went to call the police-----

before the police arrived, several men were able to get the man outside to talk-----as they did, the man proclaimed, that he had proof that we had indeed held the kkk meeting at our church---he reached in his pocket, as the men started to lunge----he pulled out a piece of paper,----

my husband being one of the men outside with him---took the piece of paper and was speechless----it was one of our flyers, advertizing the coffee night to the community---

as frank took a look at the what we thought was a clever way to put it, he saw the misunderstanding---

please come to our KARAOKE KOFFEE HOUSE-------  the man said the "h" in house was only used to disguise the true meeting's agenda----we now advertize our youth coffee house, only with a "c"

jaime

(this is a repost from 2009---not feeling too well this morning---sorry this is a little longer than usual--)
                                                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
i don't know why i have decided to share this story with you, but i kept feeling like i am suppose to today. i usually try to write about something in my day or something in my day that ties in with a story in the past--but here goes

years ago when my husband and i had our two oldest sons and our first daughter, who was also our first handicapped child--we decided we probably wouldn't have anymore children, but would adopt a older "hard to place" child--we went to all the classes - where we were warned of all the problems one could encounter with some of these "damaged " children --it didn't scare us --for after all if we were doing okay with a severely handicapped child- how hard could it be--the only thing i was sure i couldn't handle was another handicapped child--they had them- in fact they had a book just full of kids with special needs. the-caseworker also said that parents were needed for children that were now in institutions--they would continue to stay there but you could visit them and make medical decisions for them. i knew that was definitely not for me - i could never go to an institution let alone leave them there!

well after the adoption classes were over, the case worker had a child in mind for us- an older girl--it didn't work out, as she very much wanted to stay in the foster home she had been in for 5 years--she was hoping they would adopt her - i don't know if they ever did.

time went by and i found out i was pregnant again . we were very happy about it , but scared that this child might be handicapped too- one day we were out picking up meds for our daughter from the county medical center--where we had taken our adoption classes ( our daughter had been dropped from our insurance)--- my husband goes into get the meds and returns with a large book -- the book of hard to place children-- seems he had run into the case worker we had before-- i was so mad at him--how could he have brought this book out - me being pregnant and all--he said we could keep the book for a week-- i vowed i would not even open it!

a few days later, the book seemed to be calling to me--i looked through it--there were so many --it was just too sad- i started to close the book, when i saw this little girl in a wheelchair- her head was deformed--it read about her--no one had visited her in her 11 years-- i cried -

when my husband came home from work that evening i was holding the book --i told him i had seen the child we had to adopt--he said wait- let me show you first the one i have picked-- he opened the book and handed it to me - it was the same little girl--we couldn't believe it--

we made a call the next day to our case worker in our county--we waited and waited--they never did anything to help us get in contact with the institution where the little girl lived--we couldn't get this child out of our minds and hearts--one day a friend of mine suggested we contact another non profit agency she had dealt with, as she had adopted children----
the next day i called - i told the woman about the book - which all the agencies had --she looked up the little girl--i almost dropped the phone when she said--oh yes, jaime- i'm visiting her--in my heart i said thank you Lord--for truth be told, yes i felt so sorry for her , but if God had someone else that was willing to take her ,than i was off the hook--she told me no, no that she was only visiting as a social worker--we decided to meet--

as i was due with my baby in a couple of weeks , we decided to wait until after the baby-so we wouldn't have to stop the visits for a time--i had my baby--another girl--she spent the first month in the nicu--it looked like she had the same handicap as my older daughter--we were crushed--but she came home - we loved her to death--and life went on-

in july that year we made our first visit to jaime--she was so sweet--but i was very worried about taking care of 3 handicapped children --i knew i didn't want to be a parent to her and leave her there--of course for her , but also because it was so sad to come every week to this institution--i had never seen so many helpless pitiful people--i felt sick every time we went--eventually we became more and more used to it--the visits and the plans to adopt her and bring her home continued-

it seems the case worker (not the one that brought us to her ) from her county of birth was the birth mother's best friend--when we met with her she told me how the family had never come to see jaime and how she had tried her best to convince them to visit--she was sure they never would--during that time i had strongly felt the Lord telling me to go ahead with the plan to adopt her, but that her birth family was going to come to see her--i asked jaime's case worker to try one more time with the birth family--before we got any deeper into the adoption process-- she assured me that she knew them and it was no use-they did not ever want to see her-

then one day as i was fixing dinner the case worker that had introduced us to jaime, called--she said jaime's caseworker had called and she said "are you sitting down-- her birth family is begging you not to adopt her--they want to meet with you"--i was not surprised-i knew i had heard right

we were very torn--jaime had many many medical problems and many services they would not provide in our home--she would have to be transported a lot--i knew in my heart that if my children had her problems i would still keep them at home--but i also knew if we brought her home her birth parents would most certainly not be in her life- and i really felt jaime would want them in her life

after we met with them - we felt somewhat different about them-- i still could not see how they could have never come to see her--but i also understood that stupid doctors had told them to put her away and forget about her--that they weren't capable of taking care of her--and really that was and is part of the system's problem --they made too much money to get any help with her at home but not enough for some of her needs--it's so messed up

after several visits with jaime and her birth parents - we decided that we would not adopt jaime- but there were two conditions- they had to agree to visit her every week and we would still be able to visit weekly-- they agreed --and until jaime's death at 17, that's what we did -- her birth family came every saturday and us every sunday

i think of jaime so often and wonder if we made the right decision --but mostly i believe we were just asked to be willing to adopt her-- God always knew the healing jaime needed from her birth family and the healing her birth family so needed-- i can still see her smiling face and hear her infectious laugh-- she made a huge difference in our lives and will forever live in our hearts.

isn't it funny

1. isn't it funny how appealing that parking space is that's only maybe 10 feet closer to the store entrance and isn't it funny, how long you will sit and wait for that person to pull out, while they casually finish their phone convo and apply their lipstick---and isn't it funny how successful you feel as you exit your car and catch up to the driver that had to park further out--

2. isn't it funny how your kids remember with startling accuracy all the bad stuff in their childhood, but shake their head in non-recognition at the story you share about their great 6th birthday party, you gave them

3. isn't it funny how excited one can get as you wait on the beach, watching for everyone's safety, constantly counting the kids and grand-kids---you finally have a bright spot, you have discovered some driftwood, only to find out as they all come running to see, that it is just dried dog poop

4. isn't it funny how your spouse can put the scales up 10lbs over and over and how you never fail to fall for it--i know i love it

5. isn't it funny how you think you look pretty good sometimes until you look at the candid picture, some idiot has shot of you and you realize once again, you have a bad side and a worse side

6. isn't it funny how the things the next door neighbor, the delivery guy, the milkman, or a stranger, can say the same thing to your husband that you've been telling him for decades and he listens to them, like they are his personal guru

7. isn't it funny how easy the "i" letter seems until you go to write it and isn't it funny how i thought this would be funny

hot dogs and hamburgers

since today has the promise of 85 degrees and it is "h" day---i can't help but think of cook-outs and summertime---so naturally, hot dogs and hamburgers are on the menu in my head--

we actually don't cook out that much---usually memorial day weekend, which is when we celebrate colin and kelli's birthdays and 4th of july----sometimes labor day----but just in everyday life, we are known to have a hot dog here and there------

as a matter of fact, one of robyn's favorite meals, is my famous "hot dog hash"----now wait, it's better than it sounds----it's cut up hot dogs, potatoes and onions--fried with lots of oil---my mom used to make it quite often---

but today i would like to talk about, the usual way we eat them both, on buns with lots of toppings---

my favorite ways to eat a hot dog on a bun would be between three choices---just mustard and sweet pickle relish---sauerkraut and spicy mustard or cheese and chili-----

when i do entertain with hot dogs and hamburgers, i really get into having these things on my condiment tray----onions, diced and sliced, cheese slices, of course catsup, maybe three kinds of mustards--relish--pickle spears, bread and butter slices--oh and tomatoes-----and mayo for dustin-----lettuce sometimes--

frank would love hot peppers, but we usually don't have them---

so just having a little fun today, thinking of food and family----

tell me, which do you prefer, a hot dog or a hamburger and what do you top them with!

gardenia

i love gardens and flowers, although i am not a gardener---but they beckon to me like a dream lost in mid way--

i especially am fond of the lovely gardenia, and enjoy the fact that it is in the coffee family, tree so to speak--

of course it's amorous fragrance smells nothing like coffee, albeit the intoxication is the same for me-

when we moved to the house we live in now, over 25 yrs ago, we planted a gardenia bush, in our back yard---it never did much of anything, probably because they need lots of humidity and light----

some years later, frank made me a small garden in my front yard, with a beautiful fountain, that is no longer working----there he also planted a gardenia bush--it's location, has proved to be much better----with last year's bush, having the most blooms it has ever adorned---

it is something about the first scents of spring, that always bring me back to the gardenia and i will certainly be drawn to any lotion or perfume, that has just a hint of it's luxury----

in closing my "g" word post, i would love to share one of my favorite songs, at least in my top 20----and btw, if you don't know the movie, this song is from, you might want to look it up---sounds intriguing

familiarity

you know the saying "familiarity breeds contempt"---well this thought has been coming back to me the last couple of days--

you remember in the bible how it said "a prophet is of no honor in his own country"-----and how Jesus was not respected in his own circles----

of course we can say that the people who might be closest to us or that know us more intimately, would have reasons to think differently about us-----well, how did that relate to Jesus---as most anyone would suppose, to know Him was to only see more goodness--

and i am sure that part of the theory has to do with the fact that we would not accept contempt from hardly anyone that was not important in our lives----we for the most part would not care nor be affected-

but in cases, say a movie star or celebrity, this theory would include many nameless faces, as their whole life depends on people, that know little of the real them---accepting them and adoring them

maybe some of the theory could be the fact that as we let someone close enough to see the real us---we hate the reflection of that knowledge in our lives at times

whatever the true meaning of the basic theory, it holds true for most of us, as Jesus told us to be not a "respecter of persons"---we are anything but that----

Easter egg hunt

i have already shared much of my Easter traditions already, but seeing as this is "e" day, i thought you might like to hear a little about our actual Easter egg hunts-

first, you will take note, i said hunts----

the kids hunt first--followed by the kids hiding them for the "big kids"--then everyone hides them for frank---also known as dad or pop pop----

this year we had another kid, defect from the kids group to the "big kids" group----he is my youngest grandson, he will be 11 in june----so he felt he was way too old for the kids group----i wasn't about to disagree!

each year, they become more creative with their hiding skills-----trees, gas tanks--which is no longer allowed---light fixtures---neighbors yards--

i can't tell you how many eggs i have found days and weeks after the egg hunts----

this year's egg hunt being indoors, made for some interesting places as well-----what i can't believe is the fact that so far, i haven't discovered anything broken---although two of the kids crashed into my grandmother's china cabinet----i still haven't investigated too well into that--

this year unlike other years, we had prizes for the different groups---

problem was, it was a big egg, that if you found it, you were the winner

so the egg hunt winner, was not declared by the number of eggs----this was very upsetting to a couple of kids in the "big kids" group---my son colin---who almost always wins and my daughter robyn---

colin had eagerly declared his retrieval of the winning egg and thus stopped hunting-----when robyn made the declaration that she had many more eggs than colin and was still not the winner----well it was a big deal---we finally calmed her down when we told her, that her nephew would have beaten her anyway--

my brother, was part of frank's egg hunt this year----colin tried to give him a couple of eggs to start with, since he was kinda new to this----frank would have none of this and quickly took away bland's starter eggs---frank won-------

i still wish i had done what i was thinking for frank's hunt----but if i don't let him read this, i can do it next year---have him hunt-- non-existent eggs-

don't

today i would like to share some don'ts i have learned along life's journey---their order does not reflect on their importance:


1. don't always wait until asked
2. don't drink pickle juice
3. don't ask children, if this dress makes me look fat
4. don't go in a dressing room with a big straw hat with lovely flowers, until you are sure it is not a wall decoration
5. don't worry about keeping your enemies close--some of your friends will take care of this
6. don't worry too much about much of anything--most of it never happens and the bad stuff that does, is much worse than anything you had ever worried about anyway
7. don't use pyrex
8. don't make deviled eggs--especially when you are tired
9. don't threaten to walk out as, let's say a director of a play--unless you are closest to the door
10. don't take yourself too seriously, no one else does

cranberry salad

after reading my today's post on letter c, you may think i do have a theme---i assure you i did not plan it this way--as a matter of fact, i kinda feel like i am cheating today---but oh well--you guys know how i love to talk about menus-

this Easter, i hosted as usual the dinner and egg hunts----for those of you who read regularly, you know, i am a little chooky about my menu planning---this time it was no different, maybe no worse though

but one dish, i pretty much didn't waver on, was the "cranberry salad"---and let me tell you, it was the hit of the day, second only to my "dil's" green bean casserole---with my banana dream cake, coming in a close third---

the salad consisted of bagged italian blend greens, mandarin oranges, almonds and of course the dried cranberries----i dressed it with strawberry vinaigrette----i will certainly add this to my repertoire

my main item was country ham biscuits---along with scalloped potatoes----i added those fried onion rings to the potatoes this time and i really liked them this way--not sure they were well received though

there was my candied sweet potatoes, cabbage---and a kinda strange corn dish, that i made up---sounded way better in my head----fried corn with pineapple and green pepper----not terrible--just not much flavor, even after loads of butter and seasonings-

as i don't want to make these a-z blogs too long, i will let ya go---

oh did i tell you, it was pouring raining--hence the hunt was inside

biscuits

for years of my life, almost every other weekend, my family would go to the country, to where my father's mother, lived-"queenie"--

these pleasant visits for me, included a massive lunch meal, and sometimes if we stayed just a little longer, dinner---these dinners, were where i first learned to make biscuits--

now at my house, for some reason-probably the mess--my mother didn't let me do much cooking or helping-so when i was given this rare opportunity to cook, i was in heaven-

my sister martha and i would adorn our red checked very own aprons and precede to roll the wondrous dough---it would go right on this little cold enamel kitchen table-

there would be lots of flour and ice tea glasses, that were used to cut the biscuits shapes just right-

those biscuits tasted like no others and especially with a huge spoon of my grandmother's homemade pear preserves-

i have made those biscuits many times since those days, and when i do, if i look with my heart, i can see my grandmother smiling-

april love, accuracy and articokes

as the new a-z challenge begins, i have found the first letter to be more of a challenge than last years----if you are a follower of my blog, you may have noticed, i am all over the place--

so as i understand many of you have your month already written and some of you even have your theme---i simply must applaud each of you diciplined writers and thank you for the opportunity to join in on the fun--

and so it begins---

april love-accuracy and articokes---that's what kept coming back to me last night-

april love, well it is april today --but i fear, my concept of the dilema i was expereincing in my head last night, will be lost in translation---

it went something like---why is april so special and what if we treated our children the way we did our years months---you know, preferring one over the other---something i have written about before, but not with the children analogy----i told you i was going to have trouble with this one

accuracy----may be highly over-rated or extremely relative ---is one man's accuracy one man's question----okay, so all this has been said before----but it made perfect sense last night in my sleepy brain--

and now to those lovely always beckoning articokes----i cannot tell you how much they appealed to me as a child---i would see them on a tv show or in an advertisement and relish the thought of those meaty petals, dripping in melted warm butter--entering into my waiting mouth and how elegant i would be, as i partook of them--

and to my dismay, i had to realize, i have never had an artichoke this way ---maybe some april loves and most assuredly little accuracy-