A Visit to the Cape

This past weekend, we returned to south Florida to visit friends in the coastal town of Cape Coral, where we lived for a couple of years.
This photo was taken at the Cape Harbor Marina as we were eating dinner on the porch of a neat restaurant called "The Joint".
The picture does not begin to do justice to the beautiful view of the harbor from this neat place!
We had a great time!

Remembering my Dad

As I turned my desk calendar over this morning and saw "September 10th" , I remembered that it was my dad's birthday. Not that it requires seeing a certain date to remind me of him. I am reminded of him every time I take a walk and remember the thousands of walks we took holding hands and tapping the sidewalk with my hand-carved little walking stick Dad made for me.

Every time I sing a tune, I remember the hundreds of times we sat in the front porch swing on warm summer nights singing "My Blue Heaven". Every time I play a card game, I remember the countless times Dad played "Old Maids" or "Rook" with me - often losing on purpose so I could win. Every time I read the comic section of the paper, I remember sitting with Dad and reading the funny papers from cover to cover every single night. We read them all but we always had a few favorites.

The blogsphere is not large enough to hold all the ways I remember Dad but I just wanted to say a special thanks to him today on his birthday. 105 years ago today the world was made a better place!

Uncle Sam $407 Billion in Debt

Last year the federal government had a deficit of $161 billion. This year we will have a deficit of $407 billion which by most calculations is $246 billion more in one year!

The federal agency cites a substantial increase in spending and substantial decrease in revenue growth as the reason for this - Really?? I would have never figured that out!

By the way, that figure does not take into account the takeover this week of the two mega-mortgage folks - Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. That should add a few bucks to the debt. Sheesh!!!

I don't think the feds use the same bank I do. My bank has a tendency to get nasty if I'm $3.00 overdrawn.

Good Health is a Blessing

As my readers know, I have spent the better part of three months visiting family members in hospitals! It is pretty awful! I personally have enjoyed a lifetime of good health - having retired from one company an entire year early because of accumulated sick leave! I have come to realize that having good health and not having to deal with doctors, medications, hopitals, and all the stuff that goes with it is a true blessing!

I have lost several friends to cancer and now have another dear friend who had surgery for a brain tumor and is now facing a battle with liver cancer. Depressing as all that seems, it should give us all a wake-up call to be more appreciative of our blessings - in my case, one of my many blessings is the blessing of good health! Thank you, God.

Let the Conventions Begin!

Back to back television programing such as two weeks of the Olympics and another two weeks of political conventions would cause most folk to want to jump off a bridge! I on the other hand - sick and twisted as it may sound - am in hog heaven!

I watched the Olympics every minute I could. (I even know the Chinese water polo players by their first names. ) And I am equally looking forward to tonight when our political candidates pull out all the stops to convince us they are the brightest, most capable, most experienced, most knowledgeable and most qualified people on the planet!

I love it!

Best of Show

At the Pebble Beach Concours, this 1938 Alfa Romeo 8c 2900 B Touring Berlinetta won the Best of Show!

It is very rare - being one of only 6 like it in the United States!

No - I'm not really a car nut - I just saw this picture and was highly impressed! Just goes to show - some things never lose their class!

Life in a Hospital

Due to family illnesses, I have spent the better part of the last month in and out of hospitals in Birmingham. My son was in UAB and Spain Rehab Hospital for more than 3 weeks and two days after he was released, my husband had major surgery and was in Trinity Hospital in Birmingham. I have had to reach far into the recesses of my being to find the patience and stamina to deal with hospital living. Here are a few observations about those experiences:

1. Chairs do not make good beds.
2. All hospital food looks and smells alike.
3. Hospital gowns do not cover basic body parts.
4. Private parts are no longer private in a hospital.
5. Blood is a common sighting in a hospital.
6. There is a unique smell in hospital hallways.
7. Hospital personnel always come in the rooms frequently in the middle of the night.
8. After a month, reading and working crossword puzzles even gets to be a drag.
9. There is a lot of sickness going on in a hospital.
10.They use a lot of rubber gloves in a hospital.
11. "Small Stick" means "This is going to hurt like hell"
12. All doctors use words you don't understand.
13. White uniforms and starched nurses caps have been replaced with pajama-type attire with
cartoon characters on them.
14. An intensive care unit is depressing.
15. You can meet nice people in waiting rooms.
16. And finally, having a good family is a real blessing! They are always there for you.

I have lots of family members who work in hospitals - helping people through some of the most difficult times of their lives. My hat is off to you! You have to be a very special person !

Key Lime Pie at Amsterdam's in Auburn

There is nothing I do not like about Auburn! I like Auburn University, Auburn football, Auburn band, Auburn campus, the Auburn eagles, and now Auburn golf!

Some of my favorite memories of Auburn involve eating! Eating breakfast at Country's, eating at Niffers, eating at Toomers Drug Store, eating at tail gate parties - well, you get the idea! I had never eaten at Amsterdam's until this week and we made a trip there for dinner. It was AUsome! I had crab encrusted tilapia, vegetables and a fabulous caesar salad. Then one person in our party ordered this key lime pie and we all shared a bite of it. It was so pretty, we really hated to mess it up by eating it.

So, once again, Auburn has come through with another thing I like about it!

4th of July

I spent my 4th of July at a Rehabilitation Hospital in Birmingham and it was spectacular! We arrived there early in the afternoon as patients were in therapy. We were allowed in the therapy rooms and were amazed once again by the human spirit! There were people with burns, people with strokes, people with head injuries and people with spinal cord injuries working hard to regain some of the functions they once had. Their bodies were damaged and broken but their spirit was standing tall!

The social workers had put together a patriotic program with flags, songs, ice cream and watermelon and we all got "misty eyed" when we pledged allegiance and only the visitors were able to stand and salute the flag but the patients were singing the loudest and holding their heads the highest!

The night was complete with an almost front-row seat from the terrace of the hospital of the Vulcan Park fireworks display on top of the mountain. It was truly spectacular!

This 4th of July will definitely go down as one of my most memorable!

ALABAMA IN BRONZE

Our small little hometown is known for several things but probably best known for its contribution to country music because we are the hometown of the group Alabama.


Recently our town honored the "boys in the band" with beautiful larger-than-life bronze statues placed in the middle of town at the city park. They are truly beautiful!

Our Next President Will Be A Leftie!

Both the Democratic and Republican nominees for President are left-handed so no matter who wins we will have another leftie in the White House.

Since Gerald Ford, 70% of the Presidents have been left-handed and only 10% of the population is left-handed so I think there is a story there. Not necessarily that lefties are smarter but maybe we process information in a different way. I know the researchers have studied it ad nauseum and they have some story about left-handed people thinking in an arc and right-handed people thinking in small pieces (whatever the heck that means). It makes sense when you know that our present President is right-handed - I'm pretty sure he thinks in small pieces!

Houston --- We Have A Problem !

A back page news story today stated that the Space Station's ONLY toilet is out of order ! I don't know about you, but I think that is front page news! Especially if you are one of the astronauts who spends weeks at a time in that small space.

So, what do you do? I think Bud's Plumbing and Heating would charge a fortune for an in-orbit service call. And then, what if they got out there and had to order a part? That would likely entail another expensive in-orbit service call. And I don't know about Bud's but I would think most local plumbing contractors wouldn't know exactly how to repair a space station toilet.

I don't have a good visual of the whole situation. I have seen how things just float around in those space ships and there are some things you just don't want floating around you on a regular basis.

My advice to the crew - don't eat anything and don't drink beer!

10 Things You Won't Hear in my Home Town

1. Duct tape won't fix that.
2. I don't have a favorite college football team.
3. Little Debbies have too many fat grams.
4. We are vegetarians.
5. Would you like your salmon poached or broiled?
6. I couldn't find anything at Wal-Mart today.
7. Who's Dale Earnhardt?
8. We don't need another big dog.
9. The tires on that truck are entirely too big.
10. I think you cooked those green beans too long.

Where Do I Begin. . . . .?

The lyrics to a famous song start with, "Where do I begin to tell the story of how great a love can be . . . ?"

This week my grandson Will turns 18 and he graduates from high school. He begins a new chapter and in a few weeks will be leaving home to begin his life as a college student. There are so many things I could say about Will - I don't think there is enough space in the blogsphere to hold all the thoughts I have about him so I just want to acknowledge him in a very small way.

From the time he was born, he has brought happiness to all who know him. It is a common occurrence for people to stop me at the grocery store or at church or at the post office - just to tell me what a great kid Will is! He excels in everything he has ever done. He is an honor student, has compassion for others, has always set his goals high, and has treated everyone in his path with utmost respect.

In a selfish way, I will be sad to see him leave home because I love having him one block down the street where I can see him anytime I want but I am also excited about seeing him continue his journey as an adult and watching as he begins to accomplish those things he aspires to do with his life.

Congratulations, Will. I could not be more proud!

I love you so much !

Idol Update

Benji and Kristen earned 200 points this week because they had Syesha in the 3rd or 4th spot. Five people have the remaining two contestants as 1st or 2nd.

As the administrator of the pool, I predict that DAVID will be the next American Idol!

Idol Pool Update

Amy, Terry H., and Claire all earned 200 points last night because they had Jason in the 3rd or 4th slot. Everyone else stayed the same.

Since I picked Jason #1 , that did me in, but he was a disappointment to me later in the show. I thought he was better at the beginning and went downhill. Since many people picked David Cook to win, the scoring will be interesting if he does. Still very much up in the air.

Idol Pool Update

These are the score so far:

Sara - 200 points
John - 200 points
Kirk - 200 points
April - 300 points
Kristen - 300 points
Terry H. - 200 points
Susan T. - 50 points
Benji - 200 points
Terry W. - 200 points
Amy - 100 points
Claire - 50 points
Chuck - 200 points
Susan C. - 100 points

The last four candidates carry a much higher point value so it is still anyone's game to win.
Good luck on the final four!

Fasting - - - For World Hunger

I saw an unusual thing today. Painted all over a mini-van were the words,"I am fasting for 30 days for World Hunger". This statement was printed on every window and all the way across the back of the van. This in itself wasn't so strange - it was the fact that I saw this vehicle in Bruce's Foodland Parking lot with the owner unloading an entire buggy of groceries into it!

Mega-Mergers

I just can't let it happen! First, it was the BellSouth/A.T.&T. Merger, then it was the Delta/Northwest Merger - okay, really and truly, I don't give a flying flip about those but NOW I have to take a stand! Arby's is merging with Wendy's!

Wendy's is the ONLY place on earth that does NOT make their burgers up a week in advance and let them sit under the heat lamp for days. It is the ONLY place where the meat and cheese is hot and the lettuce, tomato and pickles are cold and crisp! Now that is a real hamburger!

Arby's doesn't even know how to make a hamburger - much less a square one! And don't even get me started on how Arby's could screw up a Frosty by putting Horsey sauce on it!

At various times during our country's history, there have been uprisings against injustice - I think it's time for another one! We can't sit idly by and watch the demise of the only decent fast-food hamburger joint on the planet!!!

Gotta go, now. I'm making signs and headed for a protest march!

Idol Pool Update

Five Idol pool participants have added points to their score:

April now has 200 points
Kristen now has 200 points
Terry H. now has 200 points
Terry W. now has 200 points
Chuck now has 200 points

Everyone else remains the same as the last post.

I am bummed about Carly being voted off last night. I have been ready for Brooke to go for some time - really don't understand her appeal but obviously somebody does. I think Carly is a much better singer than Brooke. I'm pulling for Jason to stay because I have a chance of winning the pool if he is # 1 but truthfully, I don't think he has been very good lately. I think he just about murdered "Memory" the other night. (And he didn't even know it was sung by a Cat!- Sheesh!) Where have all these kids been! Oh yeah, I guess they weren't born when lots of these songs were written.

Stay tuned for future updates on scores.

Forwarding E-Mails

I know you have all gotten them - you know the e-mails that end with," Send this e-mail to at least 144 friends in the next 60 minutes and you will receive a huge monetary reward. If you do not do this, a large bird with intestinal flu will land on your head and you will be very sorry you broke the chain. I know this to be true because it actually happened to a friend of my sister-in-law's next door neighbor's mother."

If any of my readers ever contemplate sending me one of those, I can assure you the chain will be broken. First of all, I don't have 144 friends; secondly, I will not have read far enough in the long e-mail to know I am supposed to forward it; and finally, if a large bird lands on my head, I will freak out and die long before I know whether or not I have been crapped upon!

In other words, you can save yourself the trouble of sending me e-mails which must be forwarded in order to avoid some sort of disaster - just send them to people who have lots more time on their hands than I do. After all, in my spare time, I have to post profound topics on my blog!

German Parking Garage

This is an actual parking garage in Munich. They save lots of space by just sliding the cars into a slot on the little motorized lift.

I think you would be SOL if you forgot something in your car and had to go back after it.

My Yard in the Spring

And By Remote Satellite - Idol Results so Far !

Our FOX Network has been off the air for the past two nights so in order to post an updated Idol poll result, I had to rely on text-messaged results from Columbus, Ga., so assuming my source is correct about Michael Johns being voted off tonight, these are the current standings:

Sara - 100 points
John - 100 points
Kirk- 100 points
April - 100 points
Kristen - 100 points
Terry H. - 100 points
Susan T. - 50 points
Benji - 100 points
Terry W. - 100 points
Amy - 100 points
Claire - 50 points
Chuck - 100 points
Susan C. - 100 points

Bad news for Kirk and John. Kirk had Michael Johns # 1 and John had him # 2. They took quite a hit tonight.

Stay tuned for additional updates.

FINALLY - A Left-Handed Burger !!!

For those of you who know me and read my blog, you know I am left-handed. I even blogged about celebrating Left-Handers Day on August 13, 2007. I have a Left-Handers daily calendar on my desk which reminds of the famous people who have lived in a right-handed world and have accomplished great things! Well ----- left-handers around the world ---- we are finally being recognized by the one of the world's largest burger chains!!!! McDonalds is introducing a left-handed burger !!! YIPPEE !!!!!!!

First, it is wrapped differently. It is wrapped by folding the left side of the paper first then folding the remaining paper over it. That way, when you hold it in your left hand, it makes it easier to unwrap. Then the condiments are placed on it with lefties in mind. That way, the mayonaise is on the cheese side and the ketchup is on the meat side. And finally, the lettuce, tomato, and pickles are rotated 180 degrees so they will be more conducive to being held in the left hand without falling out.

Thank you, McDonalds, for recognizing the 32 million of us lefties who struggle in a right-handed world. We will definitely buy your burgers !!!

The Official Entries

The Official Entries for the American Idol Pool are listed below: The pot totals $260.00

Sara Quinn:

1. Jason
2. Carly
3. David Cook
4. Michael
5. David Archuleta
6. Brooke
7. Syesha
8. Kristy Lee
9. Chikezie
10. Ramiele

John Quinn:

1. David Cook
2. Michael
3. Carly
4. David Archuleta
5. Brooke
6. Jason
7. Syesha
8. Kristy Lee
9. Chikezie
10. Ramiele

Kirk Tcherneshoff:

1. Michael
2. David Cook
3. David Archuleta
4. Carly
5. Syesha
6. Brooke
7. Jason
8. Chikezie
9. Kristy Lee
10. Ramiele

April Tcherneshoff:

1. David Cook
2. Carly
3. David Archuleta
4. Michael
5. Brooke
6. Syesha
7. Kristy Lee
8. Jason
9. Chikezie
10. Ramiele

Kristen Tcherneshoff:

1. David Archuleta
2. David Cook
3. Carly
4. Syesha
5. Brooke
6. Michael
7. Kristy Lee
8. Jason
9. Chikezie
10. Ramiele

Terry Hawkins:

1. David Cook
2. David Archuleta
3. Brooke
4. Jason
5. Carly
6. Syesha
7. Michael
8. Chikezie
9. Kristy Lee
10. Ramiele

Susan T. Hawkins:

1. Syesha
2. Jason
3. David Archuleta
4. Kristy Lee
5. David Cook
6. Michael
7. Chikezie
8. Brooke
9. Carly
10. Ramiele

Benji Willmon:

1. David Cook
2. David Archuleta
2. Syesha
4. Carly
5. Brooke
6. Michael
7. Jason
8. Kristy Lee
9. Ramiele
10. Chikezie

Terry Willmon:

1. David Cook
2. Brooke
3. David Archuleta
4. Michael
5. Carly
6. Syesha
7. Jason
8. Kristy Lee
9. Ramiele
10. Chikezie

Amy Shipp:

1. David Cook
2. Carly
3. Jason
4. Brooke
5. David Archuleta
6. Syesha
7. Michael
8. Kristy Lee
9. Chikezie
10. Ramiele

Claire Davidson:

1. David Cook
2. David Archuleta
3. Brooke
4. Jason
5. Michael
6. Chikezie
7. Syesha
8. Carly
9. Kristy Lee
10. Ramiele

Chuck Hawkins:

1. David Cook
2. Brooke White
3. Michael
4. David Archuleta
5. Syesha
6. Chikezie
7. Carly
8. Jason
9. Ramiele
10. Kristy Lee

Susan C. Hawkins:

1. David Archuleta
2. David Cook
3. Brooke
4. Carly
5. Michael
6. Syesha
7. Jason
8. Chikezie
9. Kristy Lee
10. Ramiele

American Idol Pool Rules

The business systems administrator, Terry Hawkins, has provided me with the official rules for the American Idol Pool. Entries are due by 5:00 p.m. today and will be posted tomorrow, March 27, 2008. No entries will be accepted after 5:00 p.m. March 26, 2008.

Entry Fee: $20.00 - to be paid to Sara Quinn, General Manager of the Pool

Point System:

1. Winner of American Idol 400 points
2. Second Place Winner 300 points

3. Finishing 3rd or 4th
4. in any order 200 points each

5. Finishing 5th, 6th, or 100 points each
6. 7th in any order
7.

8. Finishing 8th, 9th, 50 points each
9. or 10th in any order
10.

There's a Criminal on the Loose - and it's Me!

Today, I was minding my own business while driving down the main street of my small hometown. A quick peek in my rear view mirror revealed the flashing blue lights of a police car. Assuming he was on his way to thwart a major crime, I pulled over to give him plenty of room to pass and he pulled up right behind me.

I ran through my possible list of traffic infractions quickly - did I run a stop sign ? run a red light? fail to yield? was I speeding?

The office got out of the car carrying a large contraption which he placed on my car. Was it a breathalizer? did he think I was drunk at 10:00 a.m.?

He asked for my license and proof of insurance and called in to headquarters to verify my identity --- still no clue what I had done wrong -- but then came the moment of revelation!

"The reason I pulled you over, ma'am, is that I think your windows exceed the tint limit."

WHAT ?????

I explained that I had not had my windows tinted but that they were that way from the Volvo factory - same windows that were in the car when I purchased it new three years ago.

Another line of questioning ensued --- where did I purchase the car? how long ago? blah de blah de blah ???

The aforementioned contraption was then placed on my windows - "Ah ha" the culprit is caught!!!! The allowable amount of blackage in Alabama is 32 and I have 28!

So, my choices are: (1) trade cars, (2) have all the windows replaced, (3) spend a go-zillion dollars having the tinting removed or (4) drive only at night and hope another cop doesn't notice me! This cop said he would let me go but the next cop probably wouldn't be as lenient!

Let's see --- this month in my hometown there was an armed bank robbery, a murder, two rapes, a kidnapping, three meth labs busted, and a cock-fighting ring broken up --- oh yes, and a woman stopped for having her windows tinted!!!

Boy, our cops are on their toes!

Man's Best Friend

They say a dog is man's best friend! If you don't believe it, try this experiment.

Lock your dog and your wife in the trunk of your car for an hour and see which one is glad to see you when you let them out!

Ugly Shoes

Here are my entries in the "Ugly Shoe Contest".

John's New Car

This is John's car just obtained today! It is a GMC Acadia - black, of course and big enough to carry family AND golf clubs!

Ads From the 30's

Times have changed! Here are a couple of ads from the 30's:

#1 Ad claims that you can eat all you want and remain thin by just purchasing a can of tape worms and taking a couple a day.

# 2 Ad claims that most doctors smoke Camel cigarettes.

And my personal favorite ----

# 3 Ad claims that you can stay happy by eating LARD! My kind of diet!

All Except One . . .

9 of my top 10 made it through the first round of eliminations. Joanne was voted off. I think she was better than people realized but they are all nervous in the first few rounds and none of them do their best until they get a little more experience.

When they get down to 12, we will have our family pool which in the past has resulted in my two daughters winning the pot - Amy won in 2006 and Susan won in 2007! Maybe I will win this year!

American Idol

After hearing some more renditions from our Idol contestants, my top 10 at this point (in no particular order) are as follows:

Syesha
David A.
Ramiele
Carly
Michael
Asia'H
Jason (with the long hair)
Joanne
Aliana
Alexandrea

I reserve the right to change my mind on this but I was not too impressed with most of them for the past two nights. I thought the song choices were awful!

American Idol Musings

Yes, I admit it - I'm an American Idol junky! It is much too soon for predictions but I have a few observations.

I can't place many names with faces yet but the little Josiah guy had a pretty good voice but I got tired of his blubbering! He cried all the time - I didn't like it.

The little guy named Kyle who said he is running for Governor one day sounded terrible until he sang "You Raise Me Up" made famous by Josh Groban. That song stands on its own and makes anyone sound good so I don't think that was any indication of his ability.

I liked a girl name Carly, a guy named David, and a girl named Asia'H or something like that! After tonight's elimination and they are narrowed to 24, maybe it will be easier to decide which ones I like .

WHAT ??????

Gov. Mitt Romney withdrew from the Republican race for President today and was quoted as making the following statement to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington:

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."

So is he saying that Sens. Clinton and Obama are terrorists ??

P.S.

Well, the pictures in the post about my trip to Orbix were no good and the link to the site didn't work but other than that, it was a good post! :) In case anyone is interested in the Orbix site, you can see it at www.orbixhotglass.com .

A Trip to Orbix

Saturday, I along with some other family members, visited Orbix , the art studio of Cal Breed, which is located at Little River Canyon. Cal is a glass artist who has become well known for his beautiful work. He has been recognized in "O" magazine, Travel & Leisure Magazine, Gourmet magazine and many other publications. His glass is displayed in art studios throughout the United States.

We were impressed with his friendly personality and his work is absolutely gorgeous! They offer opportunities for the public to go to the studio and blow glass ornaments and other simple glass items. I think I will do that sometime.

The pictures are of the two items I purchased plus a small waterfall in the canyon which was right in front of the studio.

Saturday was a good day!

Albino Peacock

I'm told this is a rare occurance in nature. It is really beautiful!

My New Watch

I have one watch which is silver but sometimes I like to wear gold so I asked for a gold watch for my birthday and this is the new watch my husband ordered for me.

It has Rolex on the face of it but it is of the $100-$150 variety of Rolex (fake) instead of the $2500-$10,000 (real) variety but it is pretty. My other gold watch was of the $10 variety purchased on our first family cruise 6 years ago and I could not coax it to run anymore - not with new batteries or anything.

It doesn't take a lot to excite a woman of my age and getting a new watch makes a day special!

The Good News ----And The Bad News

THE GOOD NEWS:

Last week, my son Kirk, finally got rid of his loathsome Treo and got a fabulous new cell phone!

THE BAD NEWS:

This week, he lost it.

THE GOOD NEWS:

He knows where he lost it.

THE BAD NEWS:

He lost it somewhere between Atlanta, Georgia and Tuscan, Arizona.

Hillary Was Number 1 for Me !

Someone sent me a test which I took in order to see which candidate best suited my political views. I already knew which candidate(s) I support but it was nice to see that my views coincided with all the candidates I like. Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama were my top two (well, actually somebody named Dennis Kucinich ranked above them but of the viable candidates, Hillary and Barak were number 1 and 2) and all the Democrats scored higher than any Republicans with my last one being Fred Thompson. There was only one catagory that I agreed with his position on and at the moment I can't think of what that one thing was.

If you want to take this little test, here is the link: http://www.wqad.com/Global/link.asp?L=259460.

Try it - it's fun!

The Golden Globe BUST !

I am usually a pretty big fan of awards shows - you know, the Oscars, the Emmys, the CMA Awards, etc. so when I tuned in to watch the Golden Globes show the other night I was expecting to be entertained ----- WRONG !!! It should never have been aired ! I watched about - hum, let's see, 1 minute and 45 seconds of it and was already bored out of my gourd, so I proceeded to watch some other inane TV show and that lasted about 2 minutes and 45 seconds before I was bored.

I am so ready for the writer's strike to be over. If it is not settled soon, I will probably just toss my TV out the window and spend all my spare time working crossword puzzles!

Movie Review

This past weekend I went to see The Great Debaters starring Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker. It is based on a true story about a small college in Marshall, Texas, called Wiley College that had an unbelievably talented and knowledgeable teacher who inspired his students to achieve more than anyone ever dreamed they could. The story was riveting, the acting superb and the message was one we should all never forget.

Martin Luther King once said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." The movie embodied that truth and I left the theatre thinking that I had just seen one of the best movies of all time. I highly recommend it!!

Key West, Florida

A co-worker of mine spent part of her holidays in Key West, Florida, and in addition to sporting a new tattoo when she came back to work, she also brought some beautiful photographs she made while there.

This is a picture made by my co-worker of a typical Key West sunset. It is claimed that the most beautiful sunsets in the world are there and I can attest to that! I have been to Key West four times, three times by boat and one time by car. When I lived in South Florida, it was just a nice little day trip by boat and a nice long weekend trip by car and every time I went there I had a wonderful time!

Some of the things I enjoyed most were the trip to the Ernest Hemingway house, walking up and down Duval Street, riding motor scooters all around town, the Key Lime Inn where we stayed and one of my personal favorite memories was the day our whole family sat at a little
garden cafe and drank beer out of tiny bottles in little ice buckets! Wow! What memories this little family of mine has amassed over the years!

I think it is about time we all took another trip to beautiful Key West !

The Amazing World of Techies

I purchased some new software today. I needed to upgrade my Quickbooks at work to a newer and more advanced version. The old version did not have the capability I needed to do some "stuff" my boss wanted. Well, I could have told her to go jump in the lake since my boss is my daughter but I decided to try to accomodate her wishes and install the upgrades myself. OMG ! That was a disaster!

I followed the simple instructions to the letter only to jam my computer into complete uselessness!! It would not move! Even control alt delete just sat there and stared back at me!!! There is a computer wizard in our office who used to be the business manager for a major company and as a last resort I solicited her support! Good thing she didn't have any appointments this afternoon because it took her three hours on the phone to India to get the thing installed! The first two techies who tried to help - she had to ask for different ones because she was repeating every word approximately 17 times to get them to understand Alabamian - and you can imagine what it was like to understand whatever language they were speaking.

Finally, my co-worker requested another techie and after asking for the same information over again as she had given to the previous two, she was ready to start over with the "head honcho"!

He confirmed that the software was installed properly but it would not transfer my information from the other version I had on my computer so the bookkeeping records for the last three years were somewhere in cyberspace and could not be found!

I want to make it clear that I love techies - my son-in-law is the best one in the world but he was at work and I couldn't talk to him and besides he had told me that Quickbooks is not his forte so we spent literally all afternoon in utter frustration!!! Knowing that middle of the month checks have to be written tomorrow I was pretty much freaking out when the fellow in India said if we would give him permission to go into our system, he could transfer all the data to the new program. At that point, I would have given him permission to get into my personal bank account, my health records, my school records, my credit card numbers , and would have given him my date of birth and social security number just to get some relief from the mess I was in.

Three hours and ungodly frustrating trials later, I got it all working properly. Now I just have to figure out to work the new system!

I know one thing - techies don't get paid enough!!!! In fact, a couple of them in India probably turned in their resignations after today.

Matt Lauer Calls Foy Union

For those of you who are Auburn fans, check this out! For those of you who aren't - oh yeah, you probably aren't reading my blog anyway. www.thecornernews.com/index.php/news/comment/today-show-calls-foy/

My Pet Peeve

I work in a 10-person office. One of my jobs is to answer the phone and frequently someone will call and say, "Someone just called me from this number!"

I go through my list of questions: "Are you working with someone at a real estate company?"
"Do you know who might have called you?" "Do you want me to name the people who work here to see if you recognize any names?" The more questions I ask, the more peeved I get! What if it were someone from Wal-Mart who called? They have 1.8 million employees - could have been any one of them. Do you want them to see if they can figure out who called you ?

I want to say, "If someone called you and it was important, they would have left you a message, you numbskull! Is that all some people have to do - look at their phones for missed calls and try to track them down?

Okay - I'm glad I got that off my chest!

Some Days Are Special

I have an extended family member who lives in an assisted living facility and since I visit her a couple of times a week I have grown to know most of the other residents who live there. I talk with all of them and most have something to say in return but one lady in particular rarely speaks. I have actually wondered if she had the ability to speak but I continued to greet her each time I visited.

Today, I went to pick up my family member and as I was signing the registration book, I felt a tap on my shoulder and the quiet lady asked me if I wanted to come look at something in her room? She showed me a quilt that she had made by hand. It was squares of each of the 50 states. Each square had a state embroidered on it with the name of the the state, the number of the state and the date it became a state, all stitched by hand. Included in each square was the state bird and state flower all embroidered by hand. Each square was sewn to strips of cloth and they were perfectly lined and perfectly square. There were literally millions of hand stitches all done to perfection.

In my estimation, it would have taken her years and years to complete such a project and it is unbelieveably beautiful! She told me her husband was sick and bedridden for many years before his death and she occupied her time working on the quilt.

Today, I left there with a lighter step, a song in my heart, and a promise to bring my camera next time I come so I can take pictures of her quilt. She thanked me and smiled.

Some days are just special!

My Beautiful Granddaughter

Kristen participated in the Fort Payne High School Calendar Girl contest Saturday night. She was absolutely gorgeous and she placed in the top 10 in her class. Of course, to all of her family she has always been beautiful in more ways than one!

In addition to being beautiful, she is also smart, talented, and sweet. We are so proud of you, Kristen, and we are blessed to have you as our granddaughter. Congratulations!

As Time Goes By . . . .

In the school year 1991-1992, Mikko Hollo from Finland lived with our family as an exchange student. Grandson Will was 1 and 2 years old during that year and we took a picture of Will, Susan, Mikko and Amy.

Last week, Mikko came back for a visit and we took the same picture. Of course, it was a little harder for Will to sit in Susan's lap but we had a blast trying to recreate the picture.

Now THIS is a CAKE !

Someone spent a lot of hours on this but it is actually a cake! (Click on picture for a closer look at detail. ) I'm dressed in orange and blue as I write this and am heading to the plains for a weekend of tailgating and watching the Tigers with my family.

Life is good! WAR EAGLE!

Worth Remembering

The really lucky people are not necessarily the ones that have the best of everything -
They are the ones who make the most of whatever life throws at them.

Fun Times in Athens !

This weekend I went to Athens, Georgia, to watch Hunter and Will play in an SJGT golf tournament. It was held at the University of Georgia golf course and I have never seen so much red and black in my life! Even the bathroom at the course was red and black! I have to admit that even though I am definitely NOT a Georgia football fan, the little UGA bulldogs on each tee box were absolutely adorable!

Anyway, Will was tied for the lead the first day but didn't do quite as well the second day and ended up in 4th place! Will is now ranked #5 in point standings in Southeast Junior Golf stats. Hunter had a good day the first day but not so good the second day but Hunter never lets it get him down. He is always the same in attitude no matter what his score and that is such a good quality to have. (Will will be signing with Auburn University and Hunter will be signing with Troy State University the third week in November.)

The course has really suffered due to the drought in Athens but all in all, the weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful time! Traveling with two 17-year-old boys who are funny, have a great positive attitude and are polite and well-mannered is just a good thing to do. Thanks, kids, for giving a Grandmom a great weekend!

ANDRUW JONES LEAVING BRAVES

For those of us who have made our living in nursing, social work, teaching, etc. with our paltry salaries of $25,000 - $30,000 per year, it is really hard to have sympathy for a guy whose contract was not renewed when he asked for $20 million a year!

I don't care how many Gold Gloves you have - you are not worth it !!

Some "greats" are just "greater" than other "greats"!

It's always "GREAT TO BE AN AUBURN TIGER" but sometimes the feeling of pride looms larger than at other times. Such was the case yesterday when the unranked Tigers took on #4 Florida in Florida. No one believed Auburn could win - especially all the sports commentators. Most had Florida a three-touchdown favorite and some had it even more than that!

Florida Coach Urban Meyer had never lost a game in Florida and was pretty sure his team would have no trouble putting Auburn away in short order. Florida was also hoping for another shot at a national title this year. Supposedly, they have a #1 quarterback (Tebow) who is touted as one of the top best three in the nation.

Auburn's team has young players and a quarterback who had a rough start this year and by all calculations and all common sense, Auburn was supposed to lose and lose big! The only thing wrong is that apparently, nobody told the Auburn players that! And apparently Coach Tuberville gave his "Little Engine that Could" speech just at the right time and Auburn came on the field ready to win!

We had to beat Florida and also beat the referees - for instance, when a Florida player had the ball in his hand and got hit and then Auburn was penalized for hitting him because he didn't have time to call for a "fair catch"! That was preposterous!

Our freshman kicker had to end up kicking a field goal twice due to a little trickery on the part of Florida's desperate coach but all in all, we played hard and deserved to win! Our young defense just about shut down Florida in the first half and kept Tebow from showing off his stuff.

My hat is off to you, Tigers! You gave your fans a great game! Thanks and WAR EAGLE!

The VFW Fair Begins!

The DeKalb County VFW Fair has won 1st Place honors for Best County Fair in Alabama for years and last night I attended the opening night of this year's event.

There are the typical carnival rides, and judging of displays with ribbons being awarded for flower arranging, home-canned and home-baked foods, hand work and needle work of all varieties, agricultural products and much, much more!

Being a farmer's daughter and having participated in showing farm annimals at various events, I am always most attracted to that segment of the fair.

My favorite part of last night's visit to the fair was when a little 8-year-old boy (the son of one of my former customers) ran up to me, grabbed me by the arm and insisted that I go look at his prize-winning chicken !

Life is good at the Fair!

BOOM DAYS IN FORT PAYNE

Saturday my home town celebrated its heritage by celebrating the Boom Days in Fort Payne. These were the years from about 1880 to 1893 when the population swelled from 450 to thousands as northern investors came to Fort Payne to invest in the Fort Payne Coal and Iron Company. They built beautiful homes, a huge hotel, and the now famous opera house. As the iron ore fizzled, the investors went back up north but many of the things they left behind are still a large part of our community.

There were people dressed in period costumes, horse and buggys, a smelting display, broom makers, furniture makers, as well as area artisans of all kinds displaying their work.

Fort Payne was honored to host the Gees Bend Quilters. These are ladies whose quilts are world renowned and have such a rich heritage as children and grandchildren of the original quilters carry on the tradition of making gorgeous quilts. I would have bought one but they are pretty pricey but well worth the money. The workmanship on them is unbelievable.

Another interesting display was the folk art work of the late Howard Finster. Again, I would have loved to have purchased something but his work has gotten a little out of my price range. I have a couple of signed prints by him and thankfully, I bought them a long time ago while I could still afford it. Maybe my children and grandchildren can enjoy them for a long time to come.

Finally, Fort Payne celebrated our home town boys Alabama by dedicating a beautiful park in their honor. It is across from Union Park in downtown Fort Payne and has walking trails and will have a beautiful bronze sculpture of the guys when it is completed.

Thanks, Fort Payne, for such a great celebration!

Another Alabamian Sets a Record !

Jeremy Harper, a 31-year-old UAB graduate, computer programmer and valedictorian of his high school graduating class accomplished a goal Friday. He finished counting to 1 million out loud and recorded it all on camera on the internet.http://www.millioncount.com

It took him 89 days to complete the count - days in which he never left his home - just sat there and counted!

I don't quite understand the attraction for doing something such as that but then I don't understand soaking hot dog buns in water so you can swallow hundreds of them in order to win world hot dog eating contests. Maybe I'm just satisfied with mediocrity more than I am interested in setting world records.

There were at least two good things that came out of this: (1) Jeremy raised $10,500 for Push America, a charity for the disabled; and (2) he gave us somebody to read about in the paper besides Nick Saban!

Thanks, Jeremy!

Carrying Low Inventory Eliminates Problems

Several times I week, I pass the G & G Auto Sales car lot and their inventory always seems to be very low. Last week they had one car on the lot and my daughter Susan and I discussed taking a picture and putting it on her blog showing their selection of one! Too late! They have apparently sold the one car they had and now have none! I suppose there are advantages to carrying such a low inventory.

1. If you don't have anything to sell, you don't have to worry about disgruntled customers.

2. If you don't have any employees, you don't have to worry about not making payroll or paying unemployment.

3. If you don't sell anything, you don't have to worry about paying taxes.

4. You don't have to worry about taking trade-ins because you don't have anything to trade.

5. You don't have to worry about rearranging the placement of inventory on the lot so it doesn't look like you don't have anything new, because you don't ever have anything new.

Come to think of it, if I ever decide to have a car lot, I think I'll have one with no inventory - I think it would be a lot easier.

AND - Topping the List of Ridiculous Rules . . . .

I am a huge football fan and certainly not a football expert but for the life of me I can't find one single redeeming feature in the penalty for "too much endzone celebration."

Do they think that one man doing a little dance after running 80 yards is the last stop before he turns to drugs and child pornography?

I think scoring a touchdown should be a cause for celebration. We ask those athletes to risk breaking their bones, splitting their heads open and suffering other serious injuries for the love of the sport but then say - "Don't have any fun with it or we will penalize you."

Yogi Berra entertained fans by jumping into Don Larson's arms after a World Series perfect game - good thing he wasn't playing football - that would not have been allowed.

The further absurdity of this penalty is the fact that it is up to the referee to decide what is excessive celebration and what is not. I saw some guys high-fiving and bumping into each other in the endzone - no penalty. I saw another guy jump up and down twice and hold the ball up high in the air - oops! Can't do that ! Penalty!

I think a lot of old men are making rules for young men who just want football to be a fun game that they can get excited about. In my opinion, making a touchdown is something to celebrate - not penalize!

Mixed Dog Breeds

Mixed dog breeds have come into a world of their own lately. They even have names for them. The Maltipoo, Peekapoo, and Labradoodle are quite popular but there are so many that the breeders have missed, I thought I would come up with some of my own. Here are my suggestions and I invite my readers to add their breeds to the list:

Purebred Canaan Dog + Chow Chow = Purina Dog Chow
Chocolate Lab + Maltese = Chocolate Malt
Cocker Spaniel + Bull Mastiff = Cock n'bull
Teacup poodle + Irish Setter = Tea Set
German Shepherd + Dalmation = Germination
Bloodhound + Kerry Blue Terrier = Blueblood
Whippet + Bull Dog = Bullwhip
Shih Tzu + Bird Dog = Shihtbird

The Three Purchase Categories

I have always said there are three categories of purchases:

#1. These are purchases you need and get excited about making and showing off to your friends; such as, new clothes, new shoes, new cars, new houses, etc.

#2. These are puchases you don't need but make anyway and get excited about making them and showing off to your friends; such as new golf clubs, new jewelry, new motorcycles, new boats, etc.

#3. These are the purchases you need but don't get excited about making and rarely ever show them off to your friends.

Today I had to purchase a new stove! Definitely a category # 3 ! The old stove would start out just fine - on broil or bake - then about halfway through the process, the oven would take on a life of its own, cut off, and the food would sit there sogging for the remaining part of the cooking cycle! I tried going the "repair route" but I think all those people probably get commission on every new item sold because they always tell you it will cost more to fix it than to buy a new one. The "sensor" I needed to repair my old stove was $500 and the new stove was $524. That sort of seemed like a no brainer so for all my friends and family out there who could care less about whether or not I have a new stove, I'm telling about it anyway and am enclosing a picture for your viewing enjoyment!

Today is My Day!

Today is National Left-Handers' Day. (If you don't believe it, look it up) Us lefties deserve a special day. After all, history has not been very kind to us. There is a strong association with things referred to on the left as being bad. The word "sinister" is from a Latin word that means "left", and a left-handed toast amounts to a curse, not a well-wish.

Just one generation ago, many left-handers were forced to change with the rod of the school marm hitting their left hand every time they tried to write with it. My uncle, who was born left-handed, was forced by his parents to switch to being right handed and it caused him to stutter so badly that he had to go to a speech therapist.

Growing up left handed in a right handed world is not easy. I spent most of my college years sitting sideways in a desk which had the arm and desk part of a chair on the right side. I can't really use a power saw, hedge clippers, or a can opener , vegetable peeler, knife sharpener or many other helpful tools and appliances without the threat of amputating my limbs. After ironing with the cord sticking in my stomach for years, I finally learned to iron right handed and the same thing with scissors - just finally gave in and started cutting stuff with my right hand.

Here's a leftie discrimination for you. You can play polo if you are right handed or left handed except polo rules state that you must hold your mallet in your right hand. DUH!

So, for all you lefties out there who struggle in our right-handed world, today is our day ! Enjoy it and go out and play a trumpet or trumbone or strum a guitar (oops, I forgot- you have to be right-handed to do that!)

US Junior Amateur in St. Louis

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the US Junior Amateur Golf Tournament in St. Louis. It was spectacular! The golf course was absolutely gorgeous and the weather was perfect.

Grandson Will advanced to the top 32 out of a field of over 3100 junior amateur golfers and is now ranked number 81 out of a field of thousands of junior golfers throughout the world. I don't know how we could be more proud of his accomplishments. (And he still hugs his grandmom in front of people which is the thing I like most about him. )

World's Longest Yard Sale

It starts today! The 630 mile-long yard sale which goes through several states passes through the area where I live and there is quite possibly more junk than you could ever imagine amassed in one place! There are people who bring huge trucks and trailers to travel the entire distance picking up trinkets they don't want so they can sell them to someone else who doesn't want it so they can sell it to someone else - well, you get the picture. It is some sort of cult, I think. They call it perpetual junking.

Anyway, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I do not have to go out much for the next four days because getting from point A to point B is virtually impossible.

Breaking the Summer Slump

It seems as though I and my fellow bloggers have hit somewhat of a slump this summer. I look every morning and see very little new on the blogsphere so I decided to write an update of things going on in my life.

My grandson Will has been setting the woods on fire with his golf tournaments this summer. He qualified for the US Junior Amateur (only 155 qualified out of over 3000 who attempted to qualify). We are going to St. Louis next week to watch him for a couple of days. Today he is leading by three strokes in a Southeastern Junior Golf Tournament being played in Auburn- having 7 birdies in yesterday's round and finishing with an amazing 67! Way to go, Will!

This past weekend, we gave a little party for our friends, Jeff and Anna, who are getting married in September. It was lots of fun and all the wedding plans seem awesome! My daughter, Amy, will be in the wedding since she and Jeff have been friends since high school.

We had a nice trip to the cabin on Weiss Lake on the 4th. Eric almost tore up something he might need later when he was slung off a float device which was being pulled behind a boat traveling at about 50 mph. Another participant broke two ribs trying the same stunt! I think we probably need to stick to swimming with noodles and forget the motorized water vehicles.

We are enjoying summer and all it brings but are also already talking about football season which is right around the corner.

How about some new posts from my fellow bloggers. Chuck's trip out west, Amy and Eric's fabulous new loft, Susan's golfing excursions, and Heidi's new job would be a good place to start!

Celebrating the 4th of July

Tomorrow I will go with my family to the lake to celebrate the 4th of July. It is probably one of my most memorable holidays. From the time I was very young, I remember celebrating the 4th with family. When I was 6 years old we celebrated by building a new swing in the back yard, cutting watermelon with my grandparents and saying the Pledge of Allegiance (and yes, I still remember that day as if it were yesterday.) Watching the fireworks display at the Hamilton Drive-In was another childhood favorite way to celebrate the 4th.

For many years, we celebrated the 4th at my brother's house where we cooked out, sang songs, wore red, white and blue and saluted the flag. The most memorable of those occasions was July 4th, 1990. Our beloved dad passed away on July 1st and was buried on July 3rd. There was some concern that it would not be appropriate to celebrate so soon after his funeral but as we discussed our options, we decided that was exactly what he would want us to do. He was a true patriot and would have wanted us to continue to remember our country's heritage and the freedoms we enjoy. So we proudly sang the National Anthem with tears streaming down our faces.

Tomorrow, I will proudly celebrate with my wonderful family. We have been blessed in a thousand ways and we are fortunate to live in a country where we can pause for a day and thank God for the opportunity to live in America!

Happy 4th of July!

Bottled Water Reaches $15 Billion Mark

Today, it was announced that we are now paying $15 billion annually for bottled water and yes, I buy my share of it too but I did a little research and found some interesting statistics.

The NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) tested more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands and found the following:

1/4 of bottled water is bottled tap water.

Much that claims it is "spring water" is brought to the surface by a pump in a well and is then treated with chemicals.

5 brands were sent to a microbiologist to be tested for bacteria and there was no difference in bacteria content in the bottled water and tap water.

Bottled water regulations are inadequate to assure consumers of purity or safety.

Everest water is not from Mt. Everest. It is from Corpus Christi, Texas. Glacier Clear water is not from a glacier in Alaska, it is tap water from Greenville, Tennessee.

Dasani and Aquafina are both reprocessed tap water.

On a final note, a taste test was conducted in NYC and testers were to rate water tastes as bad, average or great. K-Mart brand (which was also the cheapest) won. Aquafina (which is reprocessed tap water) ranked second, Iceland Spring and plain tap water tied for third and Evian (most expensive) ranked dead last.

So, if there is no evidence that bottled water is healthier and there is no evidence that it tastes better, I guess we are just spending $15 billion a year on hype!

But if buying bottled water makes us drink more of it, which we all know is good for us, I say, "carry on!"

Remembering Hazel

My sister-in-law's mother died last night shortly before her 96th birthday! The last seven years of her life were spent in the same nursing home and in the same room where my mother spent her last three years.

Being residents of the Alzheimer's unit was never without interesting moments. While it is sad to watch a loved one's world get smaller and smaller as the disease strips them of their ability to remember much to talk about, there are still many fond memories of their life as "roomies".

They had separate closets but it didn't really matter a whole lot because if they saw a dress or sweater they liked, they just put it on! They both wore dresses and hose every day because that was the daily attire of their generation.

The could entertain themselves for hours looking at a newspaper, reading the same story over and over. They frequently read to each other - the same story, of course.

They could also be in the same room with little conversation taking place but they somehow knew if one needed something and the other one was quick to report it.

Mother and Hazel were friends and they were bound together by a strong family relationship. They were fighters - both living much longer than most of us and they milked all they could out of life on this earth.

Thank you, Hazel, for a life well-lived. You will be loved and fondly-remembered by all who knew you.

A Great Idea !

For the past 30 years, my son has been in a wheelchair and I have watched scores of times as able-bodied people have parked in handicapped spaces, jumped out of their car, and run in a store, taking up the only space in the lot so they wouldn't have to be inconvenienced ! Other than trying to control my utter contempt for the perpetrator, there has been nothing else I could do ----- until now!

Check out this site: www.caughtya.org. You can now just take a picture with your cell phone of the license number of the person illegally parked, send it to this site anonymously, and they will do the rest ! Incidentally, they are always illegally parked unless their vehicle has a tag, or handicapped sticker clearly visible.

This is Really "Off the Chain"

You may have noticed that I like my new expression "off the chain" (stolen from my son-in-law) but there are some things that defy comprehension and this is one of them ----

According to MSN, Paris Hilton's orange-colored prison jumpsuit and underwear are on sale on Ebay - the togs she rejected because they didn't fit properly! I imagine it would be hard to find prison attire which would fit as properly as the designer clothes to which she is accustomed. Wish I could help the government get rid of its surplus clothing but I think I'll just save myself the humiliation of trying to fit into it.

Cruise Bound !!!!

For months, our family has been planning a cruise to the Caribbean and the time has finally arrived !!! We leave this weekend and will visit the Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten.

We plan to eat great food, laugh our heads off, do a lot of "vegging", and enjoy each other's company.

Bon Voyage !

And the Winner is . . . . Susan !

After weeks of anticipation, last night's winner of the American Idol family pool was Susan T. ! She was teased by some for having ZERO points leading up to last night's competition but because she was the only person who picked Jordin Sparks to win and she also had two more of the top four so her total points were 240 and she won $210.

Thanks to all who participated - it was lots of fun !

Need to Make a Payment ?

If you need to make a payment on anything, there is a Quick-Shop on Godfrey Ave. in Fort Payne that will take it.

Ready for the Cruise

My son, Kirk, rolled into my office today and said, "I'm ready for the cruise!". It may be a long week ! :)

Idol Update and Other Stuff

So I cannot be accused of being stale at my blogging, I wanted to update Idol watchers. When Melinda was voted off last week, it sort of blew the heck out of the pool but smiling in the background is Susan who is the only one in the bunch who picked Jordin to win. If she is chosen the American Idol, she stands to make millions of dollars in record sales and Susan stands to win $210.

If Blake wins, it throws the whole thing into a tail spin since no one picked him to win. I could probably figure out the winner but it would take an hour or more and that is absolutely an hour I don't have at this point.

To my fellow bloggers, I continue to check your blogs every morning and Chuck continues to tell me that it snowed on April 6th, Susan continues to show pictures of the prom which took place in March and Amy continues to tell about her hair compliment !

In that period of time, Susan's son Will has made a name for himself in the golfing world, Chuck has been to Ireland and has bought a gorgeous new house, and Amy has been diligently training at a gym, has had a wonderful trip to Kentucky where she attended a horse race, and is moving into a cool new place so how about some new stuff to read guys??

One week from tomorrow, our family is going on a cruise ! We are all so excited ! I'll post some pics and some fun stuff when we get back !