Being Naughty at Work

Your Score: Carole Lombard

You scored 11% grit, 14% wit, 42% flair, and 38% class!

You're a little bit of a fruitcake, but you always act out in style. You have a good sense of humor, are game for almost anything, but you like to have nice things about you and are attracted to the high life. You're stylish and modern, but you've got a few rough edges that keep you from attaining true sophistication. Your leading men include William Powell, Fredric March, and Clark Gable. Watch out for small planes.

Find out what kind of classic leading man you'd make by taking the Classic Leading Man Test.

Link: The Classic Dames Test written by gidgetgoes on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Seen at Chicken Scratch.

I Missed My Day!

Yesterday was Old Maid's Day!

Check out other fun days at Cassie-B's.

I'm Back!

I was upNorth over the weekend, on our 4th Annual Girls Weekend. Had a superb time, but came back to stormy weather and couldn't get on-line last night. (I did peek at a few blogs at work. Shhh. Don't tell.)

There were four of us on the weekend. DT is a published writer, DM is trying to break into the screenplay business, and C and I are readers. We stay at DM's cabin, then run around the upper Lower Peninsula, shopping, visiting art galleries, and just generall having a good old time. This year we spent a lot of time in Elk Rapids. They were having their semi-annual Art Beat, they were serving free mimosas and appetizers, what can I say? If you're ever in the area, the Twisted Fish Gallery is a must. We also made it up to the Mackinac Bridge to say hi. We had some rain, so my pictures are kind of scattered.


These deer hang out in front of Twisted Fish.

The rain REALLY played a part on Sunday. The Cabin LEAKED. Badly. DM, C and I spread tarps over the roof, while DT wiped windows and mopped. Ah, well, we always like an adventure.

And how was your weekend? It made me laugh to read the party in the comments!

Hands Intrigue Me

You Are a Ring Finger

You are romantic, expressive, and hopeful. You see the best in everything. You are very artistic, and you see the world as your canvas. You are also drawn to the written word. Inventive and unique, you are often away in your own inner world. You get along well with: The Pinky Stay away from: The Index Finger

What Finger Are You?

Observed at Kathryn's "middle-finger" blog.

A Gift

My niece Tulip is quite crafty. She made these pots and . . . gave them to me, for plants out here at the farm. I was very touched. (You must know Tulip to catch the immensity of this *grin*)

Next Life

Diane lays down the question:

I am tagging each one of you who read...
to say "what would you do in your next life?"

That's easy:
I'd be a FARMER!!! I'd live in the country!!!
I'd have chldren. I'd have a piano in the front room.

Happy Memorial Day!

For those of us in the States, this is a holiday. I'm hosting the family picnic in about five hours, so . . . see ya! Have a great day?!!!

Waitress

I saw the movie Waitress last night. It's a bit of a riff on Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, minus the terrific Kris Kristofferson character but with a main character who has lines like this:

Jenna: Dear Baby, I hope someday somebody wants to hold you for 20 minutes straight. All they do is wrap you up in their arms without an ounce of selfishness to it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jenna: I don't want you to save me. I don't need to be saved.

A sad note on the film: The writer/director was murdered during the post-production of the film. Adrienne Shelley's death was first assumed to be a suicide, but the perpetrator confessed. Shelley also has a role as one of the three waitresses.

Andy Griffith plays Joe, the elderly owner of the pie restaurant, to perfection.

Unconscious Mutterings

Fell asleep early last night, so my Unconscious Mutterings are a little more conscious.

I say, and you think:

Dancer :: My nieces, especially Hannah
Intellectual :: Being an intellectual is fine, as long as you retain your heart. (Can you tell I have issues with this one?)
Direct :: Deposit
Tolerate :: Some things are hard to accept, but I've learned to tolerate them
Post :: Blog!
Instinctive :: Reaction
Brink :: of despair, the edge
Regain :: Control
Repulsed :: Turned off
Distressed :: Wood

Toxic Co-Worker Defined

What characteristics does the toxic or manipulative individual possess, and how do you recognize the species? Manipulators, or those who tend to make our lives miserable, in this case in the work milieu, tend to possess certain personal features that make them act as they do.1 These individuals have an overwhelming need to improve their own positions or purposes and to further their own personal gain at any price to others.2 they have stalwart needs to obtain power and dominance in relationships with others,3 and these individuals have the unavoidable need or wish to feel in control.4 These are people who want others either around or under their “command” to have the same feelings and judgments that they have in a certain contained milieu. The recipients of these “command” emotions or thoughts generally feel minimized because they do not adopt (at least outwardly) the party line, and tension in the group grows. Unfortunately manipulators may or may not even realize or be conscious of their tendencies to fall into one or more of these categories.

Many who manipulate or pressure those around them feel that those they cannot manipulate or control are not “team players,” and thus the group tension can escalate and/or those “not on the train” may find their career path derailed. It also is important to note that these individuals may not act this way 100 percent of the time, making it even more difficult for the rest of the group to “read” when and if their guard should be up and how to respond to interactions with such people. Additionally the manipulator also is an individual who may have been or is a “mark” for other manipulators, thus causing a truly unhappy person who may threaten or try to hurt others in inappropriate ways.

http://www.asahq.org/Newsletters/2003/12-03/whatsNew12_03.html

I Guess I was Supposed to be Country

This is the house I was brought home to upon being born.

Down the Path

On fine spring days, it is great to take one's lunch hour over at the Nature Center.

Clouds of Words

Word Cloud for New Era:



Get yours here.

Year of Living Gorgeously

The lovely Paola and Helen have the delightful Year of Living Gorgeously. It's a wonderful design blog, chockful of interesting tidbits. Each month they also sponsor a photo contest on flickr. I was lucky to win the March contest, and received some fantastic french-milled soap that smells dreamy! (Thanks,Paola and Helen!) Anyway, I know that most of you are photographers, so I think you should go sign up for their May contest here.

Monthly Flickr Favorites

Once a month I like to share photographs from photographers around the world that I've favorited on flickr. As always, click through to get the links.

And I thought MICHIGAN weather was bad.

Bryn had a May snowstorm. Wow. DID she!!!!
Gas prices are rising. We're up to $3.65. Just in time for tourism season. Yikes!

Things Could Get Ugly Around Here!

Just saw a skunk cut across the backyard. I hope that's not what plays under the back porch. Ewwww! Stay tuned!

Reminder to self: Google page on skunk remedies is here.

Peas, peas, eating all those peas

We've had a lot of laughs at work about my "pea patch". It's a very tiny patch. Last year it looked as if maybe a couple of moles had dug it. This year it has expanded, and looks as if a family of moles has been working on it.

One of the joke gifts I got from the office was a pea pitcher, with a recipe for pea salad on it. Today I had the office out for supper, and dadgum if that recipe wasn't mighty good.

10 oz bag frozen peas, thawed or 2 cups fresh shelled peas, cooked for about 4 minutes
1 c. cubed cheddar cheese
2 hard cooked eggs, chopped
1/4 c. celery, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
2 T. pimento, chopped

1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp saltI
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 teaspoon bottled hot pepper sauce

2 med tomatoes, chopped
1/4 lb bacon, chopped and crumbled.

Combine first six items in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine the next five ingredients. Add to the large bowl and toss to cover. Chill several hours or overnight.

Before serving, sprinkle bacon and tomatoes over top.

It turned out ask for more good!

You've Heard of Mini-Me?

Let me introduce Many-Me!

When I Was a Little Girl

I lived in a house that had a "horse tree" in the side yard. It was really more bush than tree, and little kids could get into it and play. There was a doorway, with a little cubby above it where you could hide berries and leaves. There was an arm that you could sit on and ride, hence the "horse" tree. There was a branch going straight up in the middle, like a fireman's pole.

Now I am an old girl, and at the south end of the corn crib is a huge trumpet vine that is tree-like. It has branches and swirls, and a perfect place to tuck a pot of geraniums. As I secured the pot I was drawn to remembrances of that earlier tree. What we see and feel as little ones has such an impact.

It's Amazing!

What an updated computer can do! It even connects faster to the internet, even though I am still on dumb old dial-up. Everything works. I should have done this a year ago!!!!

Catching up!

Even though I had planned a busy vacation, I had saved some time for internetting. Alas, 'twas not to be. Friday morning my computer died. So, Friday afternoon I purchased a laptop, something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Today I picked it up . . . no wait, that would be yesterday, as we are already on Sunday. I'm breaking it in now. (Or maybe it is me that is breaking . . . bear with the typos, please!)

I've been working with my flower beds. There is the wall garden bed, the tractor tire bed, the glad bed, the pea patch, and the lilac bed. This doesn't include the beds Great-Grandma Alty started oh so many years ago. It was Alty and Oscar who built this farm back in '08.

It is typical for farm gardens to have gladiola. I knew I had to have them when I found two varieties, one named MY LOVE and one named OSCAR. Seemed perfect for the founding parents of the farm. (Also, they are red/white and red, Alty's favorite color.)

The tractor tire bed is made out of an old tractor tire with dirt and a flag pole in the middle of it. (Those of you of a certain age and heritage will know what I'm talking about.) That bed is the Cana bed.

The Wall garden has been a toughie. Carol and Mom and my sister have all contributed to it. Some of the plants were a little shocked on their transplant. I'm anxious to see how that works out.

The lilac bed is under the old lilac in the back yard, and includes tulips, iris, and some bulbs I just planted that my sister calls peacock orchids. We'll see.

The pea patch is . . . peas! Looks like the bunnies have found it, so I put up the chicken wire this week.

Like the ditz I am, I invited 8 people from work and their spouses, friends, enemies or whatever for sancwiches and shuffleboard Monday night. No rest for the wicked, I guess.

And how is your weekend going?

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

Coastguard :: Great Lakes
Buddies :: Pals
Nap :: Lovely! I missed mine today
Groan :: Moan
Sitcom :: Lucille Ball
Reader :: Writer
Heroes :: are made, not born
Amazing :: Race, Grace
Woman :: May
Don’t! :: Stop

Question?

Does anyone say davenport anymore?

Vacation!

I'm off work until next Tuesday!! Yay!

Only, this is a working vacation. Lots of chores to do around here to get ready for the summer season. But that's cool, 'cause living out here on the farm seems like a vacation every day!

Mind Games

Saw this at Julie's. You can snag it here. I'd be interested to read how yours came out.

Shirl, your hemispheric dominance is equally divided between left and right brain, while you show a moderate preference for auditory versus visual learning, signs of a balanced and flexible person.

Your balance gives you the enviable capacity to be verbal and literate while retaining a certain "flair" and individuality. You are logical and compliant but only to a degree. You are organized without being compulsive, goal-directed without being driven, and a "thinking" individual without being excessively so.

The one problem you might have is that your learning might not be as efficient as you would like. At times you will work from the specific to the general, while at other times you'll work from the general to the specific. Sometimes you will be logical in your approach while at other times random. Since you cannot always control the choice, you may experience frustrations not normally felt by persons with a more defined and directed learning style.

You may also minimally experience conflicts associated with auditory processing. You will be systematic and sequential in your processing of information, you will most often focus on a single dimension of the problem or material, and you will be more reflective, i.e., "taking the data in" as opposed to "devouring" it.

Overall, you should feel content with your life and yourself. You are, perhaps, a little too critical of yourself - and of others - while maintaining an "openness" which is redeeming. Indecisiveness is a problem and your creativity is not in keeping with your potential. Being a pragmatist, you downplay this aspect of yourself and focus on the more immediate, the more obvious and the more functional.

The Last of the Crabapples

Early spring is so fleeting. The tree blossoms are gone now, the lilacs fading fast behind them. I'm glad we've had some sunny warm days to appreciate the beauty. Here is the last crabapple shot.

Transplanted Wildflowers

Happy Mothers Day

Let's Give a Hand!

There was a Flickr Day in the Life Project on May 5th. You are supposed to submit your best photograph of the day. I kind of got sidetracked, thinking I'd take pictures of hands for the day. It was a fun exercise.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Film :: Movie, Camera
2. Dragon :: Lady
3. Hunger :: Thirst
4. Plucked :: Chicken
5. Dissolving :: Melting
6. Executive :: Order
7. Ridiculous :: Silly
8. Mist :: Fog
9. Minority :: Majority
10. Map :: Atlas

and I MAY be first?

One Year

From my old Blog, Other Side, the post for a year ago:

Signing off now from the East side of Lansing. Catch up with you sometime next week, on the other side of town! Love ya!

What a year it has been!

Sunshine and Rain

Diane is coping with hard times. Her indomitable spirit is amazing. I swiped this quiz from her.

I took the "The Nine Muses" quiz on gURL.com
		My muse is... Calliope Calliope is the patron goddess of epic poetry. She is often depicted holding a writing tablet and wearing a golden crown, for she is the oldest of the muses and their leader. Her name means "The Fair Voiced," but Calliope inspires eloquence in writing. Read more... Who is your muse?

The Jacks are out in the Woods

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

boring boring

We're doing the after-inventory adjustments at work, so there are long hours and not much going on. Plus, I'm still recuperating from having the nieces for the weekend. Where DO teenagers get all that energy! I'm kind of boring this week. Say, anyone want to help with the lawn?

Spring Zooms

Oh, and I should have been saying: The last three photos are from my mother's garden.

And a Flowering Quince

Sounds about right

Your Taste in Music:

80's Rock: High Influence Country: Medium Influence 80's Pop: Low Influence 90's Hip Hop: Low Influence 90's Pop: Low Influence

How's Your Taste in Music?

Found via Julie.

Flowering Almond

Oh man, it's impossible to choose. Flowering Almond, violets, lilacs, lily-of-the-valley, yikes! What is your favorite spring flower?

Unconscious Mutterings

I have the nieces again for the weekend, but two of them are still sleeping, and one is wrapping birthday presents, so I'll mutter!

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Tumor :: Growth
2. Bunch :: of grapes
3. Gratitude :: Thankfulness
4. Feel alive :: Once I hit west of M-100
5. Connect :: Join
6. Temptation :: Resist
7. Brighten :: Lighten, whiten
8. Jewelry :: Ring
9. Tough :: Rough
10. Harmless :: Tame

Miracle

You remember my aunt N, who was close to death back in March? Her stomach had become strangulated, part of it caught up in her chest cavity. She wasn't getting enough blood flow, and the original prognosis was that surgery to correct it would kill her. So all her nephews and nieces (she has no children) made their way to the hospital to say what we thought were our good-byes. She was at peace with the decision, and gave everyone little happy tidbits to remember.

Well, another surgeon was called in. He thought he could do a simpler surgery. Aunt N. had the surgery done two weeks before Easter. On Good Friday, her brother, Uncle H., checked her out. She wasn't through rehabilitation yet, but he thought his rehab plan would work better.

Yesterday I was out in the yard, burning branches, and a car beeped and pulled into the driveway. Out one door popped Uncle H. Another door opened, and it was his wife, AuntM. And a third door opened, and there was Aunt N, walking under her own power. Wow!

Lilacs

The lilacs are early this year.

The Farm - 1941

From the May 2004 archives

Take the What Fruit Are You? test by Ellen!

Looking at Old Archives From Other Side

Finding this from May 2005. It had been created using instructions from Mandarin Design. meg passed on in June of 2006. Time remembered.

REMEMBERThem

And time
remembered is
grief forgotten.

It Wouldn't Be Spring

. . . without me posting this. Thanks for putting up with me!

For winter's rains and ruins are over
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins
- Algernon Charles Swinburne.

Close Cousin?

Here's the honeysuckle, which looks a lot like the pear blossom, I think. However, the scent of honeysuckle is out of this world! (Unless you're allergic.)

Pear Blossoms

Happy May! This is the grandest appearing month in Michigan . . . as long as we get some sunshine! *grin*

Full Moon Coming

Once again, Bryn (thank you so much!) gives us the full moon information.

Full Flower Moon - May In most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time. Thus, the name of this Moon. Other names include the Full Corn Planting Moon, or the Milk Moon.

What do they call the full moon in your part of the world?

Mother knows best

The little colt (is that what they are called?) was standing away from its mom when I pulled up. He wasted no time moving closer to his protection, then gave me the look.

Good-bye Grandma D.

Family birthday parties have found us meeting a lot of the other-sides of the families. We go to my baby brother Boo's childrens' parties, and meet his wife Ruby's sisters and mother and grandmother. Grandma D. was a hoot. We saw her most recently on April 14th. Boo always escorted her to her class reunions, and she had it all planned out. She had a new purple outfit, and one of her daughters had helped her find just the right jewelry to go with it. She had talked to her good friend who also went to the reunions, and had told her to save her a place. The reason for having to save places: Grandma D planned to be fashionably late, so she could make an entrance. She regaled us with how she would rule the festivities.

The next Monday was a dance recital that two of Boo's girls were in. Grandma D had been expected, but was a no-show. That was unusual. One of Ruby's sisters also didn't show, and we found out later why. She had gone to Grandma D's to pick her up. There was no answer to her knock, and she couldn't gain entrance to the building. She called her husband and he broke down the door. Grandma D was there, but she had had a massive stroke. She lingered for awhile, but last Wednesday she passed on.

Today we went to the visitation. Hard to keep a dry eye when she was laid out in, yes, the purple outfit.

Simple, Part the Second

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Order :: Chaos
2. Mortician :: Funeral Home
3. Determine :: Find Out
4. Ignore :: Snub
5. Guy :: Gal
6. Train :: Montana
7. Garlic :: Ward off a cold
8. Wacky :: Goofy
9. Parent :: Mom and Dad
10. Burning :: Fire

Global Warming

Diane has proof of global warming here.

Sick

One of the bad things about living alone is that when you get sick, you are really alone. No one to hold your head or your hand, no one to yell at you, no one to tuck you back into bed. Alone. *sigh*

Woke up in the middle of the night with a bad case of the stomach upsets. Don't know if it was something I ate, overeating, or a bug, but man, I was sick! The cats seemed to sense something was wrong. Snuzzles likes to bite my nose to wake me up, but he would come close, I'd say "i'm sick" and he'd leave me alone. Whew.

Feeling better this morning, but everything is kind of achy, and the only food that sounds good is stale crackers. I have a load of dirt coming this morning for the flower gardens, but I bet I won't be doing too much shoveling today. (I know, I know, it's weird to bring in dirt when you live on a farm, but this is screened top-soil to go in the flower beds. I have three other flower beds besides the new one where the wall is.)

And, the sun is finally shining again, and when I opened my front window there were three deer grazing out in the field across the road. So life is good. It would be better shared, I think, but we do the best we can with what we've got.

Michigan's State Bird

Some say our state bird should be the Kirkland Warbler, but the robin is our traditional state bird.

Development???

Susan has a good post about preservation in her town, and the problems that build up as property gets into developers hands. I so hear this discussion. I've followed the provenance of a couple of farms in this county pretty closely. I live in a house that has only family historic value, but it is approaching a hundred-years-old, and is situated on 160 acres that is still used for agricultural purposes. It is the house my Grandma Bea grew up in, and as she was an only, and my Mom is an only, it has stayed intact through the years. However, the bulldozers are working overtime four miles down the road, as the road is widened and given turn lanes. Mom's half-mile stretches of just farm are rare: most frontages have been transformed into homes. I'm just grateful for the time I do have here. The uncertainty of the future makes now sweeter.

Now Grandma Bea's husband, Chris, also grew up on a farm, over in the next township (closer to Lansing). He was the youngest of six. His father bought him eighteen acres when he married Grandma. The farm he grew up on passed to his oldest brother, who helped take care of the parents. Uncle Wills and Aunt Tommee had a dairy farm. Development hit their township a lot earlier. Uncle Wills passed in the early 60's, and in the early 70's Aunt Tommee sold the land to mall developers, with the proviso that part of the acreage would be a township park. There is nothing left of the original farm.

Development. Progress. Or is it?

Great-Grandma's Jonquils

The jonquils are outside the north kitchen window. I can see them there in the morning as I make my breakfast, and in the evening as I putter in the kitchen. I like to think of Great-Grandma looking out at them, and then looking down the road to the next farm, where my Grandma (her daughter) lived. I like to think of her peeking to see if she can see little Barbry (my mother) playing in the yard, or walking down the lane to meet the team coming back from the fields.

I'm glad the jonquils bloom. But I forgot to smell them!!!!

Happy Birthday to You

Julie has a birthday. She's a young thang!

Nerdy Me

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd   Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works. It's okay. I understand.
Drama Nerd
Musician
Science/Math Nerd
Artistic Nerd
Social Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Anime Nerd
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

Simple

Building a Wall

Mom and I were sitting on the back porch last spring. The view is the yards, the barns, and a gray wall on the barn bridge. Mom said, "That gray wall needs dressing up somehow."

"Yep," I replied. So I thought. And I put a couple of planter boxes atop the wall with sunflower seeds. Looked kind of dorky, but it was something to do, and added some greenery to the wall. Well, it added greenery until some thing (deer or woodchuck or maybe both) ate the sunflowers.



As I thought some more, I thought it would be cool to have a flower bed by that old gray wall. I wanted it to be a defined bed, though, because we have a lawnmower guy and I didn't want it to be hard to mow around. I was telling my friend Carol this one day, and she said, "Oh, I know how to make the retaining walls, I'll help you!"

Wow. I have such good friends, both on the internet and off. This weekend Carol met me with her 1/2-ton pick-up to pick up the blocks for the retaining wall. She drove them out to the farm, and then patiently showed me how to set the first row of blocks so that the wall would be level in all directions. (She actually set most of the bricks.) What a friend.




Now I just have to figure out what to plant that the deer and woodchucks won't eat.

Interview Meme

Saw this at Julie's, and thought it was a good idea. (However, I did warn her I might lie.) So here goes....


1. Why did you move to the country?
*smile* Because I wanted to live in Paradise!
I had lived in apartments for the last thirty-some years. My mom owns a house in the country that was vacant. I thought, why don't I rent that? It's one of my favorite places on earch. I've been here for eleven months now. It just keeps getting better and better.

2. What is the best and worst thing about country life? There are two best things: the wonderful sounds and sights of nature all around, and the fact that a lot of people love the country, so I get a lot of company. The worst thing about country life? The cellar!!!!

3. Share a vivid memory from your childhood - whether it's good, bad, funny, sad, etc is up to you. Visiting Yellowstone National Park, and watching the Tetons in the rearview mirror for 100 miles.

4. If you could go back in time, what's one thing you would change and why? You can't change things when you go back in time, or

you'll make even worse problems!

5. Who is your favourite entertainer and why?
Well, after all these years it would still be Kevin Costner. His early work fascinated me, and Field of Dreams is my favorite movie. Now his work is more spotty, but there's something comforting about his screen presence. Only, I wish he wouldn't keep dying in his movies!!!!

DIRECTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW MEME
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Unconscious Mutterings

Here we are at 4:44 in the morning, so let's mutter!

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Found :: Lost
2. Male :: Female
3. Spoken :: Oral
4. Life :: is a bowl of cherries
5. Tonight :: From the Musical West Side Story
6. Fingernail :: Mine are all broken. I've been doing hard manual labor
7. True :: False
8. Give up :: Quit
9. Shining :: Moment
10. Everywhere :: nowhere

She's Got Deer!

Wow! I am jealous. Diane puts out corn for deer in her backyard, and look at them come. Wow!

Once Again, My Flickr Favorites

There are just so many styles and colours and fun things happening on flickr. Here is a sampling of what I have seen in the last month. Click through for the links to the individual photographers.

Look Both Ways

The deer are getting closer!! This is out the kitchen window, so it had a lot of screen and dusk to get through, but it's proof that the deer are getting closer. And isn't it nice, she checks both ways before crossing the street?

Virginia Tech

Our hearts are saddened and our minds horrified by the events at Virginia Tech. I have checked flickr, keyword Virginia Tech and recent, to find non-news words of the situation.

Gone

I've been watching this old abandoned house about six miles west of me as it deteriorated. Finally someone decided enough was enough. A controlled burn reduced the house and outbuildings to scrap and ashes.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Freeze :: 32 degrees F. We're below it an awful lot these days.
2. Naturally :: Alone again,
3. Painting :: Mona Lisa, Vermeer
4. Merits :: Earns
5. Ironic :: rhymes with Iconic.
6. Survival :: of the fittest
7. Cow :: Cash, Moo, Milk
8. Anchor :: Boat
9. Sisters :: are the best!
10. 70 :: Will I live to be?

Julie's Vacation

We get to go on vacation with our good friend Julie, who lives in Australia! Wonderful pictures of oceans and lighthouses and and and . . . dolphins! And it is autumn (see I can use that as well as fall, Julie) in Oz.

Wild Life

One of the benefits of living in the country is all the wildlife. A few nights ago, I looked south out of the kitchen window and saw a stream of deer heading up to the road. There were ten in all. They gathered at the road, then crossed it single-file. I wondered if one of them was the safety, saying cross now, kiddos. (Let's see, that's anthropomorphism, isn't it?)

This morning I looked out the same window, and darned if there wasn't a flock of turkeys coming single file down the same area. Twenty of them. A couple of them were puffed up, showing their tail feathers. I grabbed some jeans (I was in PJs) and hurriedly got dressed, raced out the door with my camera, and . . . they were gone! Sheesh. Not a peep out of them. How do 20 turkeys move so fast???

Oh. I bet you thought the title was about my wild life, right? **chuckle**

Ruins

We have ruins in Lansing. This historic warehouse burned a few months ago. The fire department is still trying to determine how the fire started, so it stands as is near downtown. A small set of pictures of the building is here.

Blog Trail

You know how it is. You visit someone on your bloglist. You click on someone in their bloglist. A whole world opens up.

Boomer Chronicles to
Amish America to
Martyrs Mirror and Bill Coleman's Amish Photography (other-worldly and wow)

Spring

Isn't quite here yet. We had a week of 25 degree F weather. We had two inches of snow, followed by rain, yesterday. Mush. The daffodils and tulips and jonquils were all knocked down by the cold weather, but are struggling back to their feet.

Cleaning windows: I'm usually a windex kind of person, but I know folks have recipes they swear by for sparkling windows. Anyone care to share?

WD-40. Don't stay home without it. 2000 uses here.

Gail has returned from vacation. One of the great things of blogging is that you get to see vacation pictures from places near and far. These are awesome, Gail!

Now back to Monday Monday

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We shirley did. There were 24 of us at my mother's house. Now, her house is rather tiny, but somehow it can hold an awesome number of people.

The star of the show was the newest member of the clan. It has been thirteen years since the tribe has had a new little one to dote on. Caleb is a sunny happy interactive baby, and he made caused many smiles.

Next Easter there will be two little ones. Caleb's Mom's sister is expecting now. Isn't that the way things go?

The Star of Easter Dinner

Caleb is three months old now!

It's so cool to have a little one at family events now. He's a good boy, let us pass him around and hug and coo over him to our hearts' content.

Happy Easter!!!!

This is my favorite holy day. Death, burial, and . . . Resurrection!

If I come up missing

You have a 33% chance of being abducted You have a fairly good chance of being abducted. You may be somewhat skeptical about the existence of aliens, but you know that they could exist… somewhere. Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

This just in, as I visited Alice's.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Freak :: of Nature
2. Open :: the door
3. Important :: Lesson
4. Magnetism :: Animal
5. Lap :: Top
6. Anything :: Goes
7. Match :: Light
8. Father :: Mother
9. Idea :: Thought
10. Mirror :: Mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Hope the snow won't slow the Easter Bunny down too much.

A little night music

My sleeping patterns have been out-of-whack since the nieces were here last weekend. So here I am, at 3:52 a.m., quite awake. Oops. Let's do some quizzes.

This first one I spotted over at Cindy's, and we are blog twins again!

You Are Incredibly Logical

Move over Spock - you're the new master of logic You think rationally, clearly, and quickly. A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer!

How Logical Are You?

Well, this isn't a quiz, but:



Put The Big Red Button on your site

The Princess says hello

Princess Sierra Pinknose

My favorite relaxation: sitting on either of my porches, reading, letting the cats bask in the sun. There is something pretty cool about porch light.

So Happy It's Thursday!*

or S.H.I.T.*, as Susan says.

I work for a heating and air conditioning company. On Thursdays I work with our service technicians to realign their trucks to a stand inventory. It's quite a long process as we check products off on a master sheet. We have nine techs, and we're down to the last three. I normally work with the installers, so this has been a unique opportunity to work with the techs and understand their philosophies of keeping our customers happy.

Bad thing: it's cold again today. It will take awhile to warm the warehouse up to a comfortable temperature!

More fun with flickr and dumpr

With flickr and dumpr, you can make cool things like these spring eggs. Click through for the dumpr link.

Oh My! I Won!

This morning I checked my flickr mail, and had a wonderful surprise email from Paola at The Year of Living Gorgeously. My goosey picture had won their March contest which they sponsored through flickr groups. Judging was by the talented Abigail Percy. What a great way to start the week!

Big big congratulations!!!!

Kathryn, at A Mindful Life, has shared her life with us for many years now. And this weekend she has the grandest announcement: she and her husband are expecting their first child. They have passed the danger zone, and all systems are go for their little girl. What a blessing!

I bonsai'd my daffodills??!!!!

I bonsai'd my Daffodils! I didn't mean to, but I planted them Very close together. They are about 4-6 inches tall. That's a clothespin standing amongst them!

State Capitol

Capitol Dome on the way home, Wednesday, March 28th.

Unconsciously Muttering

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Trembling :: shaking
2. Shut up :: utoh. When we were kids, "shut up" was a high no-no. You would lose your allowance for the day for uttering it. It just wasn't considered respectful. It didn't matter if you said it to a parent or a sibling . . . zip went the allowance.
3. Heights :: Mountains
4. Monica :: Lewinski
5. Delicious :: Tasty
6. Joint :: Pain
7. Ferry :: Boat, road (my brother lived on Ferry Road for 12 years)
8. Bliss :: Sublime
9. Rejection :: Hurts
10. Satisfying :: Needs are met