Hi ! Hoppy Easter 2018!

Hi! Hoppy Easter!

I know that I've used this picture before, but it's just too perfect.

We're having a Happy Easter dinner this evening as some will be traveling on Easter day.  We'll have sour cream chicken enchiladas, Mexican rice, salad, and queso and chips... with a flan type creme brulle'  cheesecake for dessert. I also made a custard pie for an extra treat that sometimes serves as breakfast when family is around.

Most are too old for Easter baskets anymore, but since DH still buys tons of candy, we will dole it out in Easter Bags... with an Easter basket for youngest grand daughter.

Easter bags and basket

I also didn't think about an Easter table centerpiece, so I went scrounging through what Easter decor I had that might work. I came up with this... not fresh flowers, but acceptable enough.

quickly made Easter centerpiece

And before I forget, a pic of my de-cluttered computer room:

Well, that's it for now. Family should be arriving soon, so I'd better get back to getting things ready. 

Have a wonderful safe Happy Easter!

past weekend activities...

grand daughter and her horse practicing for cross country

My daughter sent this pic of my grand daughter practicing this past weekend. She and her horse had an 'incident' a few weeks ago where Tootsie (her horse) got herself straddled on one of the jumps at a show. It was the first time this has happened and un-nerved both my grand daughter and the horse. Now they are working at getting over it... and from this pic, it looks like they have.

And it's finally looking like Spring around here... although we've been told that rain is coming Tuesday and Wednesday. But if we can trust the weathermen, it should be a nice weekend for Easter. 

Our neighborhood had an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids this past Sunday. My youngest grand daughter participated. Here is a picture of her after the initial egg hunt waiting for the balloon lady to make her a balloon creature.

first in line for a balloon creation

She is five and getting ready to start Kindergarten this Fall. We are anxious to see how that goes. Academically she should do fine and emotionally I think she could be far beyond that... but physically, she is extremely active and we wonder if she will sit still long enough to handle a class room situation. I guess we shall see.

Oh, and I have to boost a bit about my clean (and almost clutter-free computer room/office). We have been using this room as the 'dump anything we didn't know what to do with' room for a while. It was getting out of hand. Since my daughter and 16 year old grand daughter are coming in this weekend for Easter, I finally got motivated to tackle it. It's not completely un-cluttered, but it's definitely better.

Also our  Home Owner's Association is promoting a neighborhood lawn sale in April and asked everyone to participate. We don't generally do garage sales, but this was another good reason to get rid of stuff that has been accumulating. It's unbelievable how many books and old DVD's we boxed up... not to mention old toys and computer cr....p - excuse my french!). 

Anyway, if I don't get back to the computer in the next few days, I wish you all a very Happy Easter and hopefully some wonderful spring weather!

Spring is 'springing'...

Sign on our door... (pink sign on red door)

Found this Easter sign today at Joann's... and thought it might be a good replacement for our Merry Christmas sign.  

Red bud showing through the trees in the back

And finally... a Red bud tree blooming in the back of the house! This is our first sign of spring around here. But I have seen a few daffodils and hyacinths popping up around the neighborhood.

I have a question for anyone out there. Do any of you find it difficult to swallow large pills? And I don't necessarily mean overly large...  It's not a terribly big problem since I don't take any pills at all except for a Tylenol x-strength caplet when necessary (and I take this with buttermilk to help it slide down). But I also don't take any vitamin supplements... not even calcium. 

My family physician isn't too disturbed about this. However, he did request that I take Vitamin D3 since my blood tests show me quite low. And recently my Eye Doctor recommended I take a multiple vitamin for eye health. Most are too large, don't like the chewable (too much sugar and I'm sensitive to any sugar substitutes), and am generally leery about supplements. 

I eat well enough... no canned foods, mostly fresh, and don't have a weight problem. But I just found that One a Day for women makes a One a Day petite for people who have trouble swallowing pills. Apparently it's not in the stores and has to be ordered online through Walgreen's or a Vitamin store. I ordered it through Walgreen's and it will be delivered to the store for pickup in a few days. 

Just wondered if any of you have any comment on this. I'm ordering it blind since I know of no one who uses it and don't know how 'petite' it is. You are supposed to take 2 a day, not one... but that's fine with me. 'One a Day' is a brand name that's been around for a while.  

Also I was going through pictures for my youngest son who apparently needs a baby pic or two for some presentation he has to make. I found these pics of our 3 when they were young. 

kids on backyard swing set

Now they are all in their 40's... how time flies!  

Have a great rest of the week! And if you have any comments on vitamin supplements size and value, I'd certainly appreciate hearing them.

Saturday at our house...

Couldn't resist this kitten... (found this pic on Pinterest)

As for our own cats... I was determined to start working on more quilted pillows for our den sofa today... but got side-tracked. First I decided to do a quick catnip bunny for Tux. 

Well, this is what happened.

I made the pink bunny for Tux and when I gave it to him, he sniffed it and walked away. Well, Ghost saw it and immediately ran over and laid on it. 

"Mine!"

Tux saw her and walked right back and laid on top of her and the bunny. Ghost retreated. Tux grabbed his bunny and laid claim.

"No... mine!"

So...oo I told Ghost I'd make her one too. So I made a square bunny so they'd be different and besides square is faster than round when sewing.

Ghost and her square catnip bunny

and then of course , Julie (who was sleeping on the counter) woke up and was looking at Tux and Ghost with their new toys... and I had to say, OK Julie, we'll get you something too. 

Julie sniffing her new fish toy

"I guess it's OK...

So as you can see, I got very little done on my quilted pillows. These little catnip toys are very roughly made, but seem to make them happy.

Now... I've promised the boys (DH and grandson) that I'd make meatballs and spaghetti this evening, so I'd better get to it.  I guess that the quilted pillows can wait a little longer. 

Oh, I do have another quick cat story... this one referring to the feral cats outside. At around Easter time we usually put out some plastic Easter eggs in the front and back yards. The colors look pretty in the grass and the cats enjoy rolling them around. Well, this time I stuck a few cat treats inside the eggs so not only do they rattle, but the cats can smell the treats inside. We laughed watching 2 of the kittens playing with one and sniffing it... but they couldn't figure out how to get it open.  The next morning not only was one egg completely gone, but the other was opened and the treats missing. We figured that the raccoons probably figured out how to open them during the night ( they're pretty good with their hands). But the missing one was a mystery. Perhaps the raccoon took it home with her/him?

If so, we wish him/her a Happy Easter!

disquieting news...

I received a text from a family member recently telling me her son has been diagnosed with cancer. It was caught early and hopefully has not spread. They will know more when they do surgery next week. 

I hate this. Having had my father, sister, and brother die of cancer (and having/had it myself), I know what she (and he) are going through... all that fear and tears, surgeries, chemo, radiation, etc.  Not that long ago my son's father-in-law was diagnosed and passed away within a year.  My good friend's husband  and son both have Melanoma. Probably all of you know someone who has gone through this or perhaps even yourself.  The real issue faced (besides the cancer itself) is fear... and despite the fact that it is a legitimate fear, it has to be faced down and overcome. Fear will destroy you.

I thank God every day that my children and grandchildren are healthy... knowing that at any time this could change... especially as they too age. My children are all in their 40's. My sister was diagnosed when she was 49, died at 51. Brother was diagnosed at 59, died at 59. I was diagnosed at 55... and so far am a 'survivor'. Why? Don't know... guess it was found early enough to stop from spreading?? I still go for my annual check... and after feel that I'm 'good to go' for at least another year.

My mother used to say that children were not supposed to die before their parents. But she had to go through this with 2 of hers (my siblings)... and I wondered at her strength.  Mom never had cancer. But she did develop Alzheimer's in her later years. I have to say that I'm not sure which is worse. 

Anyway, I didn't intend this post to be maudlin. Just needed to get my feelings out.  One little text from a family member brought all these emotions to the surface. 

Please pray for this young man. He lost his father to a heart attack just about 2 years ago... and now this. He needs others' thoughts and prayers. I am a big believer that thoughts and prayers are powerful.

Thanks for reading. 

cats, possums, and cookies!

Poster I came across this the other day and thought... yep, that's true. 

Julie

Julie sleeping on her spot. She was upset with me because I moved her spot off the counter while I made cookies today. Just gave it back to her.

Tux

And Tux was playful today... lying around on his back playing with his toys.

possum

And THIS is what we saw the other night sleeping in the feral cats' bed on the front porch... a fat ol' possum just making himself at home.  Today we went out and swept off the porch, took away some of the extra box bedding, and will spray and wash the cushions.

Sunday...

Well, I started this yesterday and was interrupted, so continuing today. The possum from above came back again last night.  He doesn't stay all night... seems to nap a few hours and then takes off again.

possum back!

As you can see, Saturday we cleared off all the other beds and wind breakers we had on the porch for when it was really cold. Now we just left the little bed... and apparently it is appreciated.


Here is a picture of the cookies I made. My grand daughter's favorite color is pink... thus, the pink rabbits, carrots, and stars. 

tea cakes and caramel cookies

The pink ones were just iced almond tea cakes, the others were stuffed with home-made caramel sauce. Grand daughter (5) told me that I made the best sugar cookies... that I should make one as big as a house. I asked her why... who would eat a cookie that big? A giant? She said, "no, silly... me!"

And grandson (19) who is visiting with us right now said that those cookies were very nostalgic for him. He remembers the taste from when he was little. (Side bar actually shows a picture of him helping me make those years ago when he was about 4).

OK... just went off to meet a friend for coffee and found that the Starbucks we were meeting at was 'out of power'.  Apparently the whole section of stores on that strip were out... due to the thunderstorm we had during the night or perhaps the high winds??
So we talked for a little standing outside our cars and decided to try again in a week or two. It's pretty chilly and overcast today - and we like to sit outside, so hopefully in a week or two the spring weather will have arrived... (we hope).

Wishing you all a happy Sunday! Thanks for stopping by and praying you all get beautiful spring weather soon! 

cat planter in progress and Easter commith...

First underglaze

I did the first underglaze on my cat planter this morning. Have decided to make him a tuxedo cat - black and white  (surprise! surprise!). But I'm just about out of underglaze so the black won't be added til I can get to the ceramic store (which is way across town) so probably not until next semester starts in May. I also wrote that 'plan' with my stylus on the computer picture. That's a new accessory that came with this computer (well, not came - I did have to pay extra for it). 

Thinking it may be time to put out some Easter decorations (I finally took down our "Merry Christmas" sign off the front door). 
Perhaps I should make some Easter Cheeky Chickens... you know in pastels... pink, blue, and lavender colors? Hmm..mm, since I can't fire anything these days, I'd better put that idea on the back burner.

Did you watch the Oscars? We don't exactly watch them, but do switch back to them during commercials just to see what's going on. The clothes and hairstyles are interesting. It's strange, but DH and I feel that most of the actresses and actors look better when in their normal attire. It would seem that the simpler the dress or tux, the better it looks. Outlandish doesn't work - but that may just be us.

Well, Spring may be on it's way. It's cool and windy today, but the weatherman says it may be 80 on Saturday! 

Happy Tuesday to all! (NCIS New Orleans comes on tonight!)

You might think I like cats...

Pretty Boy (outside feral) in the bushes

Well, March has finally arrived... and the sun with it! We have had 2 days so far that have been really nice.  Tux is sunning himself in the window at the moment. The front and back yards are a bit soggy with all the rain we've had -  so perhaps the sunshine will help dry that up.

I have kept busy this past week working on a *cat planter*. I have almost finished the sculpting of it. Now it needs to dry a bit so I can cut out the back area for inserting a plant. Haven't decided what color I will glaze it... perhaps black and white like our Tux. We'll see.

cat planter

And I'm thinking about quilting one of these 2 next quilts that I found on Pinterest. I really love that pastel log cabin quilt... and although I like the book quilt too, I'm thinking the log cabin one may take precedence. (There's a cat quilt that I thought was interesting too...)

pastel log cabin quilt

book quilt

I'm a slow quilter, so either may take me a very long time. 

This morning I was vacuuming and sucking up cat hair... as well as cat toys from beneath furniture. Here is a picture of Julie with some of the extra toys found here and there.

Julie with all the extra cat toys

Ghost and her own toys


and

Tux in my quilted bag

(This last pic is an old one you may have seen before... but couldn't leave Tux out)


Happy Friday!!