Every Wednesday night is Family Dinner Night.
My niece and her kids come and my mom
and whoever else is around is always invited.
One week I make a kids meal with fun food for the little ones,
the next week their mom gets to pick
this week she picked Chicken Tortilla soup

Recipe HERE

A confession...
When I am bored I take pix of myself with my phone
and try to make them look professional.


If I take the pic looking in the bathroom mirror
I have to edit out blobs of toothpaste or shaving cream on the mirror.
There are two in my hair and a few others that I missed.
 

The Geranium House is in full bloom,

HERE is what it looked like a few weeks ago

My nephew comes after school once a week to kick my ass in Wii Boxing,
sometimes I make him work before we play.
  I transplanted the Impatiens and he tagged them.

We have fun in the greenhouse.I love my job
and the folks I am blessed to work with

Brag corner...
I love to see Three Amigas all in a row on Top Blog
 

I lost 10 lbs in the last few weeks

working out on Wii, at the Y and
THIS boxing video that I use.

That is "What Up" here in Hooterville.
How are you?

I was watching Heart of Dixie last night on Hulu
and I saw Scott McCreery sing a song.
Scotty McCreery makes acting debut on 'Hart of Dixie'- See video

I liked him, he's adorable but I had no clue who he was,
(I've never watched American Idol)
  all I could think of was that if he was missing a tooth
he could be on the cover of MAD Magazine.

Does anyone else think Scott McCreery looks like Alfred E. Neuman?

P.S.
Out of curiousity I just googled
"Scott McCreery looks like Alfred E. Neuman"
and found  this video and a few websites,

Scotty McCreery or Alfred E Neuman

Scotty McCreery And 7 Other Musicians Who Look Like Cartoons

and it was on  Totallylookslike too,
it seems to be a common observation!

This is a repost ,
I was just talking to Gabby on Facebook
and she mentioned the glitter in the attic,
I love this poem and story.
I love you too Gabby!

We kept my best friends children for 2 years
while she was in long term rehab.
My mom kept Henry who was 7,
his sister Gabby, who was 9, lived with us.
My mom lives in an apartment that was built on the side
of our old farmhouse for my husbands grandmother years ago.
 so they were able to remain close enough to be together .
HERE is a beautiful  story of my mom and Henry.
I read this poem and it reminded me of a story about Gabby.

  Light in April

She tucks a feather behind her ear.
It's a magic feather, she assures me,
does two pirouettes and a perfect
arabesque just to prove her point.
And now for a bit of fairy dust!
She reaches into her purse and pulls 
out a handful. The excess scatters
in the breeze, the sidewalk glitters.
That's alot of fairy dust, I observe.
We have a long way to go, she tells me,
and takes my hand, and holds it tight.
Okay: think pleasant thoughts. Ready?

Poem by@SandraErickson


One evening towards dusk,Gabby was in the attic,
I went up the steps to see what she was doing
She was over by my craft supplies,
  the beautiful golden light at the end of the day
was filtering through the windows.
 I couldn't see everything she was doing
but by the way she cupped her hands
I knew she had a handful of something.
I was curious so I just watched her from the top of the stairs,
She looked up and threw a handful of glitter high in the air.


She watched it dance and shimmer it's way down
in a swirl of sparkles all around her, to the floor.
She did that again and again, I was mesmerized
as I watched her , I believe I knew what she was doing...
I think she  was in Neverland and her troubles were far away.
She used my fine, expensive glitter and
I still find glitter on the floor and in books and boxes to this day
but for those moments when she was flying free,
away from all the hard truths that burdened her...
those moments were priceless.

There are different things around here
that make me feel like I am being watched...

Someone hung this old clothespin bag up here,
out of the corner of your eye it looks like someone standing there.
I walk through this room in the dark a lot
and always feel like someone is there.

Someone in the greenhouse had fun putting the cowboys
we made for the Poinsettia show around at different places,
sometimes they startle people.

And this pic is in the greenhouse

This one is at the Goodwill in the dressing room at eye level,

and every single time I go into the dressing room
  and I see that poster I think someone else is already there,
it's like she is watching you undress.

I sat outside to watch the show one day after I was done shopping
 waiting for my mom.
People open the door and then close it right away saying "I'm sorry!"
then they realize it was not what they thought
and peek inside to double check.

Mildoo* watches her little Great Grand daughter
and she has been a busy little bee!

She was decked out for Easter the whole week of Easter
 
She plays with little cousins

they couldn't wait to get their shoes off, they are just like me!

She made me a snack, she informed me that it was her own recipe,
I believe her!

She picked Buttercups for Mildoo

We played with play-doh

I made her a puppy she made the puppy a bone.

Her best friend is a little cousin who lives across the road
they play together everyday.

I busted out my little erasers for them yesterday, they loved these!

Yep, she's been busy!!

This is her last year before school, I love to see her play so carefree.
I remember before I went to school when I was 4,
coloring and playing,
watching Romper Room (I was a Do Bee )on TV.
What do you remember from the years before kindergarten?

*The kiddies all call my Mom Mildoo,
her first grand child added doo to the end of every name for a while,
my sister Sally was Sal-doo etc,
my mom Mildred became Mildoo and she liked it so she kept the name.

 

I did a fitness test at the Y yesterday,
I laughed when he said I was going to do pushups and a plank ,
I did not know what a plank was.
Thank God he did not ask me to do a pull up, I can't do a single pull up.
I had to do as many situps as I could do in a minute, I did 60.
I only did 15 pushups in the minute
and held the plank for 30 seconds out of the minute...
that doesn't seem like a long time but I was holding a lot of weight there.
I hope to improve all these as I go.
I learned how to use each piece of equipment in the gym.
I walked on the treadmill at 3.5 with a slight incline and that seemed to be good.
If you workout, what do you do?
If you go to the gym what equipment do you prefer to use?

I found this photo on my phone, I was sitting at a table.
I had just taken a pic of something and set the phone down.
This pic is one perspective of my face that I have never seen before.
I did not know it was me at first.
I said "Who's this?"

 
Every exit is an entrance somewhere else. ~ Tom Stoppard

If you see the world in black and white,
you’re missing important gray matter. ~ Jack Fyock

A penny will hide the biggest star in the Universe
if you hold it close enough to your eye. ~ Samuel Grafton

How many of you remember 8-Tracks?

photo source

The Eight Track tape recording system was popular from 1965 to the late 1970s. While today it has become an icon of obsolescence, it was a great commercial success and paved the way for all sorts of innovations in portable listening. The eight track tape consisted of an endless loop of standard 1/4-inch magnetic tape, housed in a plastic cartridge. On the tape were eight parallel soundtracks, corresponding to four stereo programs. For many people old enough to have owned an eight track system, it is a technology associated with the automobile and in-car listening. Ironically, however, it was first developed not by the auto industry, but by a leading aircraft manufacturer: the Learjet Corporation.
Info Source HERE from the Recording History Website

8-Tracks would continue to repeat until you took it out,
after a few plays they would slur. Our neighbor went away for the weekend
with Conway Twitty playing in his stereo,it played til he came home,
the neighbors were ready to break into his home to turn it off!
My Favorite 8-tracks were The Eagles,Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browns
and Janis Joplin

HERE is a post with a demonstration of an 8-Track playing.
see all bizarre April Holidays HERE
the next few are
April 12 is Look Up At The Sky Day
April 13 is Blame Somebody Else Day
April 14 is National Pecan Day
April 15 is Rubber Eraser Day
April 16 is National Stress Awareness Day
and National Eggs Benedict Day
April 17 is National Cheeseball Day

A few yrs ago I got a wii to workout and I like it,
it is a good workout, I love the boxing!
I box with my nephew and he kicks my arse, he is 7!
He comes every Thursday night after school to kick my butt,it makes his week!
I walk and bike and live on the second floor of an old farmhouse,
I do physical work in the greenhouse too,
so I get plenty of exercise.
We eat right and I drink lotsa water
I am strong, I am not "fit"
but I can hike up steep hills and walk/bike for miles
A few yrs ago I lost 70 lbs, gained a few and lost it again
I get to 250/size18 and there is where I hover,
my goal is a size 12 and maybe 170 lbs.
I will never be a size 4, I am not built like that,
I was a women's size 10 in 6th grade before I was even fat.
I have always had Fred Flintstone feet and wide hands.
People have kindly call them "man hands" for lack of a more delicate term.
Once I made a teeny sailboat less than 1/4 of an inch high
and the lady I gave it too said in great surprise
"How did you make this tiny boat with those big fingers?"
Ha
Because I have phenomenal dexterity!

I saw that the local Y  has a Boxinglates class along with
water aerobics and a number of other classes.
So I decided to join.
So me and my man hands are going to be working out at the local "Y".

There is a website for everything under the sun...
and a few other places too.
Last night while searching the net I came across this one

fresh, clean, and happy every day.
howtowipeyourbutt.com

What's the oddest website you have come across?

Because Christ is Risen
I know ,that I know, that I know
that no matter whatever happens here in this life
I will be risen with Christ too
That is my hope and the one thing that I hold on to
that hope has gotten me through all the storms of life.
it gives me strength to press on
it calms my fears
it lights the darkness
it eases my burdens
and lets me rest

When I was little and hiding because I was afraid
of my father's rage I thought about this hope
the hope I have because Christ conquered death
and a calm peace came over me
I thought this life is what it is
but nothing can take from me from the hope that I have in Jesus
on that day Jesus became more real to me than all the pain and sorrow I knew
because I understood that it could not touch my spirit
nothing that this world could do to me could change that
it may be the simple thoughts of a child, simple faith
but that faith has remained
and it is still what I know that I know

Photo source HERE

My friend Sandra (@SandraErickson) wrote a poem for me and posted it.
I can't even begin to express the feelings I had as I read it,
it was love poured over me and it touched my soul.

written for @seedsower by Edgar Crane
and inspired by her encounter with those dumb-ass boys at Walmart.

NPM #5

For Beth, Suffering Fools, Lightly

My darling disregards all Philistines,
a Goddess of generous heart and mind;
what cares she if some are thoughtless and mean
spirited; they are truly fools and blind

to the perfection of her curves, her smile -
those luscious lips, the sparkle in her eyes.
She's all woman each step of every mile:
strong and beautiful, sweet and kind and wise.

Let me defend and hold you in my arms.
Oh,let me be your champion, employ
my devotion, I'll keep you safe from harm
Forget them she whispers, they are but boys

and you and I have better things to do;
Oh, Beth, you are my darling and I love you.

When we were in Jamaica on a mission trip,
way up in the hills of St Elizabeth working at a school for deaf children
we learned a song at the church we went to
and I often sing it when I feel blessed.

I am blessed
I am blessed
Every day that of my life I am blessed
When I wake up in the morning til I lay my head to rest
I am blessed
I am blessed

My niece and I made a little audio clip of this song,
for Sandra as a thank you for the
most beautiful poem, I truly am blessed with extraordinary friends.
It's not the best quality recording and I am not a great singer
but it is from my heart.
Thank you Sandra, I love you too, you know I do to post this clip!
MUAH!

Late last night I went to Walmart, some older boys (maybe 19-25)
were walking behind me discussing which one would have to f--- me
if I was the last woman on earth,for the sake of humanity.

(as if I would want to procreate with any of them)
I said to them
"Thank God, I am through menopause"

I posted this on Facebook from my phone last night right after it happened
and I loved the reply from Krissy_Cole
(anyone remember her? I miss her here!)
"I would have definitely told them that the laws of both natural selection
an supply and demand would actually make it your decision,
then look directly at their crotches an declare:
looks like we are going to die."

There were a lot of other great suggestions too,
What, if anything, would you have said?

I babysat my little niece Luci last night,
we went out to make a few Easter Planters.
 
Luci blended right in with all the colors

She was funny the way she figured out what I was doing
she picked out a container and checked it out

and then she made her own arrangement

while I worked on mine.

There is no end to the work in a greenhouse in spring
Sowing seeds

transplanting

and now making Easter Planters

 I can never get my planting fingernail clean

and I always have dirt in the crease in my neck

but I am happy!
 

We were in Lancaster County yesterday,
These little boys were outside enjoying the nice day.

and them put him out on the roof naked and wet.

I have answered similar questions and posted a few different times
about what Xanga means to me
but when I saw this was the featured question
I wanted to answer it.

I posted before that I was walking in front of two women
and one said to the other
"I would rather have cancer than be that fat"
I turned around to look at her and she was smoking and I thought
I hope those words do not come back to bite you in the ass.

This is my conclusion as to why people are so hard on overweight people
No one truly wants to be fat
and in turn they do not like fat people because fat people represent that.
Even fat people do not like fat people.

Everyone is afraid to get fat and they take it out on fat people.
There are worse things to be than fat, just saying.

What do you think,
why do people dislike overweight people so much?

My nephew is in first grade it was his dream to have a little greenhouse
and call it "Blooms"
which had a double meaning since it is also his last name.
He wants to help raise food for his family
and maybe earn some money.

His dad and my husband built him his greenhouse
and he loves to sit in there with his plants.

I asked him what he likes to watch grow and he said
"the squashes", he's so cute!

We grow extra plants for a local produce auction,
the auction house is situated in the middle of fields in an
Old Order Mennonite Community

and the drive there is lovely!

We took plants there on Monday and here are the pix to prove it.

We find empty carts

My Husband Dave unloaded the plants

I tagged them

People walk around looking at the items up for bid

The auction starts

They have a food stand

Modes of transportation for the Old Order Mennonites in the area

Here is what I look like after a day of greenhouse work
which includes unloading flowers at the auction and transplanting seedlings.

It is a busy spring, with a lot more work to do!

I wrote about this produce auction before...
Local Produce Auction
She's Calling the FBI!
Mennonite Boys Being Bad on Thanksgiving 

  HERE is a blog someone else posted
about the Kutztown Produce Auction

I saw these men last week,

I love to similar images,
I've posted these before

Pansies

  My nephew Joe watering plants

Greenhouses

Dave and Cider transporting Pansies

Ranunculus

   

Primroses
 

Planters

  Impatien and Begonia plugs to be transplanted
 

Greenhouse full of seedling trays I have sown

I love to  find faces in things,
my husband found this one on the milkcap last night

 

Today my niece and two nephews and I are going to see the play
JONAH
at Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster,PA.

It is part of a day trip with their Christian school,
I am driving them there and back.
I do not especially enjoy plays but they will never forget
this phenomenal production!
Sight and Sound is an amazing experience and I am so pleased that
I can share this memory with them.

I posted a pic on Facebook from my phone that was to say
"Three day old Mastiff puppy"
it autocorrected it to
"3 day old stiff puppies"

Today I sent this photo to someone in a the text message
that was supposed to say
"Pansies in the greenhouse"
my not so smartphone autocorrected it to
"Panties in the greenhouse"
...only me.

 

Gotta love autocorrect.

She grew up a lot on Saturday.
She has been asking to have some freedoms and her dad let her cut her hair.
I was privileged to take her on this leg of her journey to womanhood.
She donated it to locks of love.

I took a walk with my mom yesterday
and noticed that the sky fell on the mill race!