Happy birthday to Logan! Can’t believe he’s 19! Have a great day – love you!

Logan and Clairese

Chickens!

May the Force be With you!

Raising pigs…

Peyton, Logan, Chase. Logan’s the studious one in the middle!

Did laundry first thing, then a few other things around the house after breakfast. Kathy stopped over to bring me some leftover pizza for the freezer – emergency pizza rations. Yum! We talked for a long while which is always fun. About an hour after she left I realized I didn’t give her the Mrs. Roosevelt book I had for her. I’ll drop it off Sunday (if I think about it!). A writer friend of mine from Seton Hill wrote this. It’s based on a true event that happened in her family.

My next chore was to get out all the lawn decorations – sort them out and find places for them. I threw a lot away that were broken or faded. It took longer to do that than I realized. I also felt it was warm enough that I could finally spray my garden clothes with the tick protection Gen gave me. Now I can get into weeding the hill. I sprayed them good and hung them over the fence to dry then tucked them on hooks in the garage.

Angel bench with birds.

Cow crossing.

Play in the dirt; Burke Bed and Breakfast; Purple stars.

Fairies in the Garden!

Weed picking.

Bunnies.

After a quick lunch I drove down to Pinnacle and logged into my Penndot training program. There were still a few questions I had, so I called CVR. They were very patient and explained a lot of the processes. I was thankful to have the information. I sat and talked to Ken for a while (he was manning the store alone). Once I got all the information and knew I could log in to my training account, I stopped at Giant Eagle and got my prescription. Got gas in the Ford, then splurged on a Frozen Coke. I did come home and log in and did another session. 3 done; 15 to go!

I had already done a little research and made up my mind that I was going to treat the yard with my Scott’s Weed and Feed. It took about an hour to spread it in every square inch of the yard. Then I got the blower and cleared off the walks and stones and driveway where the little pellets landed off the grass. I hosed out the yard cart and the spreader and got everything put away. I feel like it was a good day!

Lawn equipment.

You can see the little white pellets.

Butter cups. They take over everything.

QUOTE of the DAY:

PEANUTS?

TOMORROW April 25th is:

Astronomy Day; Global Youth Service Day; Independent Bookstore Day; International Sculpture Day; International World Healing Day; License Plate Day; National Audubon Day; National DNA Day; National East Meets West Day; National First Ladies Day; National Hairstylist Appreciation Day; National Plumber’s Day; National Lingerie Day; National Mani-Pedi Day; National Pool Opening Day; National Rebuilding Day; National Sense of Smell Day; National Telephone Day; National Zucchini Bread Day; World Malaria Day; World Penguin Day; World Veterinary Day.

Bookstore! Yes! Oh, and I love license plates; I’m obsessed. Kathy will like ‘First Ladies’ day. I don’t have a pool to open but 10 to 1 my neighbor won’t open his yet. Too early. What would we do without our phones? God bless…

MOVIE from 2022:

Very well done – I liked that it’s a true story.

On this date in History: 1969 Paul McCartney says there is no truth to rumors he is dead (I would hope so!)

Work was light – but we got our login instructions for training for the new PENNDOT CVR system. They didn’t work. An hour and a half later I got through a five minute introduction. I logged out and logged back in – or tried to. Didn’t work! So I’ll probably go back down tomorrow and try again. Ken was having issues too!

I stopped to help Mike P with a deal, then got a few things at Walmart. I wasn’t in a hurry for most of it, but I was out of makeup and bread! My cousin Mark stopped over to check my bathroom fan – it was dropping foam insulation. It might be more than we both thought so he’s coming back mid-May to check it.

I had lunch, put groceries away, then called for a prescription refill. Then it was time to cut the grass. It was warmer than I thought once I got started – but I weed whacked, mowed, swept up, and hosed out the recycle can. I think that’s about it for the day, except of supper later.

Side yard and blooming mint.

Front yard mowed.

Some flower pictures, and the CLOUDS! Look at the clouds!

Dutch girl and boy between purple azalea and Flowering quince

Pink Azalea and purple Columbine

Don’t you love violets?

Clouds — it was sprinkling, for about 20 seconds.

I have LOVE TAKES FLIGHT (Hallmark movie) on in the background.

QUOTE of the DAY:

PEANTUS?

TOMORROW April 24th is:

Fashion Revolution Day; Firefly Day; Help Animals Day; National Arbor Day; National Bucket List Day; National Neck Care Day; National Pet Care for All Day; National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day; National Skipping Day; World Day for Laboratory Animals; World Women’s Wellness Day.

I haven’t had Pigs-in-a-blanket in a long time. I do have a small bucket list. I’ve been blessed to check off a lot of items on that list! I can’t wait to catch fireflies this summer! God bless…

Movie from 2021:

Lots of humor in this time travel

Christopher Lloyd was great in this!

On this day in History: 1789 President-elect George Washington moves into Franklin House, New York, the first official residence of a US President.

I love it when the house is clean. It’s looks comfortable and sparkling, smells fresh, and makes me happy! I again took my time getting everything done. Started a new book – having trouble getting started with it – the main character sure had more than her fair share of trouble to start out! I like more ‘take me away, Calgon’ type books. But so far I’m sticking with it.

So – now to recap yesterday! Cameron was fun and exceptionally co-operative. He’s moving in the right direction. I’ve seen some changes in him even since his last visit. I think he knows how to push his Dad’s buttons, though. As usual, the first two things he went for were 1) his cows. 2) his farm! He likes giving the pig a ride in the tractor.

Since I picked him up at noon, we ate right away. He had Vienna sausages, crackers and cheese. His favorite is cheese. I think he’d eat that all day! That, and M&M’s (but we waited for those). He loves to hide, so he sat on the little bench behind the couch for a while.

Eating lunch with his cow (which he’s holding…)

Eating cheese behind the couch.

Next he decided to take care of his baby. He loves to feed it and wrap it in a blanket and carry it around. He was being exceptionally tender and I told him he was a very good Dad!

Watching TV together.

Holding his baby.

Kelly txt me about making her pillowcases, so Cameron and I went upstairs to measure mine. She needed to know how much material to buy. I measured and wrote it down – but then Cameron needed to measure too! He was measuring everything in the house and writing it down. For ‘Aunt Kelly’! He insisted on putting the note card on her bed in her room! So I guess she’ll need an interpreter!

Measuring his bench.

These are Cameron’s measurements….

We played some games and read some books, then got out the plastic Match Box mat. The cars kept getting stuck in the creek (yes, he said creek!) and he’d rescue them with the milk can ladle!

He’s holding the ladle….

I have a set of old fashioned keys that he plays with and we couldn’t find them. I got him a flashlight and we started hunting. He looked everywhere – inside of things and under things and behind things – it was very cute! He actually loved looking for them. I found them after he went home – they were in the ‘music box’ of Charlie Brown and the gang on the bookcase. So he’ll have them for next time. As I mentioned yesterday, we had a good day – but I was still tired at the end of the day! But it was a good tired.

Today after I cleaned I took an hour and went outside in the gardens. I dug out a few weeds beside the deck and at the top of the hill. Made sure the side flower bed was cleaned up. One little bit at a time!

Side garden.

By the deck.

Top right corner

Top left.

So that’s it for the day. Oh, and I did see the horses again about noon. They are so beautiful standing up in the field in the sunshine! And my friend Tom sent me a Christmas video – with a note: 253 days until Christmas! (Just a note – there are only 247 days — I think this was someone’s miscalculation!)

QUOTE of the DAY:

Well, closer to a joke…..

PEANUTS:

Tom sent me this one, too.

TOMORROW April 23rd is:

English Language Day; German Beer Day; International Creator Day; International Girls in ICT Day; Love Your Thighs Day; Movie Theatre Day; National Cherry Cheesecake Day; National Email Day; National English Muffin Day; National Lost Dog Awareness Day; National Picnic Day; National Take a Chance Day; National talk Like Shakespeare Day; National Teach Children to Save Day; Support Teen Literature Day; Pet Tech CPR Day; Slay a Dragon Day; Spanish Language Day; World Book Day; World Book Night; World Laboratory Day; World Table Tennis Day.

Wow – that’s a lot to celebrate! Cameron would probably celebrate Dragons – we listened to ‘Going on a Dragon hunt’ yesterday several times! I will celebrate books and English. God bless!

MOVIE from 2020:

Kimberly and Paul back together!

I read the book before I saw the movie – and was excited when I recognized it!

On this day in History: 1864 US mints 2-cent coin, first appearance of “In God We Trust”

Today went very well! Cameron spent most of the day – he was very good (on a Cameron scale of 1-10 I’d give him a 9+!) That doesn’t mean he didn’t exhaust me. But he’s so funny and super smart and creative and is becoming very sensitive and sympathetic. And helpful (when he feels like it!).

Even the horses had a quiet start!

Autmn’s sisters Summer and Penny kept Cameron until noon – and I had him until Noah picked him up at 7:30pm. It was a long afternoon and he wasn’t a fan of eating anything except cheese (which isn’t the best choice!) but we stayed busy all day. We did not spend any time outside (several reasons) but I think he had a good time. I’ll recap the day tomorrow – right now I need to eat supper.

Oh, and Beth: While Cameron was waiting on Noah he stood at the bottom door and licked the glass… Hmmmm…..

QUOTE of the DAY:

PEANUTS?

TOMORROW April 22nd is:

National Girl Scout Leader’s Day; National Jelly Bean Day; Earth day; School Bus Drivers Appreciation Day; Administrative Professionals Day; April Showers Day; Global Selfie Earth day; In God We Trust Day; National Bookmobile Day.

I spent most of my Smail career as an administrative professional. Hoping no showers tomorrow. Yes, trust God! God bless…

MOVIE from 2019:

A cute story about 2 authors on a book tour together. I like this one!

On this day in History: 1789 John Adams sworn in as 1st US Vice President (9 days before Washington) (Beth – Here’s your guy!!!)

I started the morning by ordering book 6 of my series — and then found there is a book 7! When did that happen? But I’m glad to be moving forward with the series.

Because I felt my bridge being loose yesterday (front teeth) I called the dentist this morning to have it checked. They took me first thing; it slipped right out with no effort. They cleaned and dried it and re-cemented it so it should be good. They kindly gave me a small amount of temporary cement to take on vacation in case it gets loose again. I’m looking at probably 6 or 7 more weeks of temporary before they can make the impressions, create, and ‘install’ the permanent bridge. Long process.

No! Not this kind of bridge!

I went straight to work from there, although not much going on. Made two small stops on the way home – the bank and birthday cards. I had leftovers from Saturday for lunch, then did laundry.

Beth and Harold had AI make photos of what my hill could look like with certain plantings. Oh, if only I could achieve that! Both versions are so beautiful! Which is your favorite?

Image #1

Image #2

Since then I have spent the afternoon trying to organize our trip to Gettysburg! I did get some valuable information but also some sites that have limited hours. We will have a great time regardless!

I answered some emails and have some cards to write out after I finish this. If it was a tad warmer I’d be outside!

QUOTE of the DAY:

PEANUTS?

TOMORROW April 21st is:

National Yellow Bat Day; National Kindergarten Day; National Rendering Day; National Chocolate Covered Cashews Day; National Library Workers Day; Big Word Day; International Hemp Day; Keep off the Grass Day; National Chickpea Day; National Tea Day; International Loch Ness Monster Day.

Let’s have a spot of tea together, shall we? No monsters for me! I like almost anything chocolate covered, but I am restricted from most nuts right now. God bless!

MOVIE from 2018:

Again – Paul Campbell is a favorite, as is Kimberly! I love this movie.

On this date in history: 1918 Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims marking his final victories before his death the following day.

I’ll start the post with today. Sunday School we started a new series with Max Lucado. As Max is a terrific story teller he makes Jesus come alive through the scriptures. During church time I was helper in Junior Church. That went well – and actually I just have to be there – no teaching involved!

I stopped on the way home at Shop and Save – and this time I did find the Coke that was on sale. I got Diet for myself and regular for Jen and Autmn. I did the chores on my list and am caught up right now.

Yesterday’s Skunk Hollow Spring Event went very well. We missed having Connie and Karen V with us – they were both committed to family functions. We’ll look forward to the next event! Autmn and Cameron stopped really quick just before everyone was to arrive. They were leaving as Colleen, Gwen, Kathy, and Gail came. They were all excited to have a quick visit.

Holly and Gwen

Gail, Colleen, Kathy

Getting everyone’s attention (not always easy!)

Me reading the story

Gwen – is she meditating??? 🙂

Karen (comes the farthest) and Gail (our ‘senior’ cousin!)

Colleen (lives on a farm with COWS!) and Kathy – lives the closest

Holly deep in thought! – Works at IUP

A few minutes later Beth, Holly and Karen O arrived. Everyone always brings the best food! We had egg salad, chicken salad, and chipped ham for sandwiches, with lettuce and tomatoes. Also cheeses, pepperoni, and crackers. Colleen brought macaroni salad, Kathy brought veggie pizza. Beth brought the Hawaiian rolls and the mini rolls.

Main food.

Gail brought a beautiful cake – with purple icing flowers! Karen (coming from Mt. Joy, PA) always brings the chips and snacks. We sure had plenty of that! Holly made her delicious brownies. We snacked all afternoon!

beautiful (and yummy) cake

Snacks – but we had a fruit tray too.

Drinks and plates, etc.

I made the girls coasters and they seemed interested in my little craft project. It’s no secret that crafting is not my strong point. So I was glad they were a success. I also received a few ‘thanks for hosting’ gifts – 4 Snoopy tea towels, a purple checkbook cover with a beautiful scripture verse, and a coaster! Who would guess that I like coasters! 🙂 Thanks to the girls for their thoughtfulness.

Beth, Gwen, Me, Gail, Karen V, Holly, Karen O, Colleen, Connie, Kathy.

There is never a lack of conversation and we cover whatever topics pop into our heads. I always have a story or essay that I have written, usually very applicable to our family or our ‘stage of life’ issues. We took a short break and played an USA trivia card game I found at Hanna’s Town’s gift shop. It was a lot of fun – You’d be surprised how much we don’t know – or at least forgot that we DID know! Lots of laughing and lots of fun.

Do you know what our national flower is???

One group had to leave at 3pm, as Colleen’s grandson and his wife were having a gender reveal party – it’s a boy! Congrats to Ethan and Courtney! Beth, Holly and Karen stayed later, and it was a quieter time to just chat and share stories. We always hate to see the end of the day. The girls helped me clean up and we made short work of getting things back to order!

The group… back row – Kath, Beth, Colleen, Gwen, Me; front row: Holly and Gail

Same – but I’m taking photo and Kathy is on the end (back row)

Thanks to everyone who came for sharing in the day – making it fun, and making memories.

QUOTE for the DAY:

PEANUTS?

TOMORROW April 20th is:

Boston Marathon Day; National Cheddar Fries Day; National Lima Bean Respect Day; National Look-Alike Day; National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day; National Volunteer Recognition Day; Patriot’s Day; Pizza Delivery Driver Appreciation Day; World Orphans Day.

Tomorrow is also the day that book 6 of the Music Shop book comes out. I’m excited to finish the series! I love Boston but wouldn’t run the marathon – I’d walk around and enjoy the history! Cheddar fries are fun – I’ve never really had much respect for Lima Beans (sorry). Volunteers SHOULD be recognized! They are the backbone of so many worthy organizations! I DO appreciate pizza delivery drivers! God bless…

MOVIE from 2017:

This is a totally cute movie – I really like Merritt Patterson!

On this day in History:

It was a busy day. Kathy and I were out the door by 8am to go to their church. We were helping set up for their rummage sale. They sure had a lot of items. I got a brand new 6 muffin baking tin, a purple handled paring knife, and a gravy shaker from Tupper. We spent a few hours bagging cookies and baked goods. Everything looked so good! It was hard to resist buying several but I refrained.

River Hill church

I came home and started into the day. I was having trouble with a few things relating to my new iPhone – so I went over to T-Mobile. I thought he straightened it all out but find I’m still dealing with them. It was hard to be patient and polite.

When I got back I made a big batch of Cream of Potato soup. That’s just for meals, not for tomorrow. Then I did egg salad, chicken salad, iced tea, and washed the grapes.

Food projects.

I cleaned up the kitchen, then got everything I needed out of the garage organized. I’ll bring them in the house in the morning along with some lawn chairs and the tables.

Trying to get organized.

I saw online that Dollar General was supposed to have kids’ garden tools (not plastic) so I went down there. I got Cameron a shovel, a hoe, and a rake, plus a little wagon. I’m scheduled to watch him on Tuesday so if the weather is ok we’ll dig in the dirt!

I still have some ironing to do so that’s it for today. Don’t be alarmed if I do not post tomorrow. I’ll catch up Sunday.

QUOTE of the DAY:

PEANUTS?

TOMORROW April 18th is:

Adult Autism Awareness Day; Healthy Kids day; Husband Appreciation Day; International Amateur Radio Day; International Jugglers Day; National Animal Crackers Day; National Exercise Day; National Pinata Day; Record Store Day; World Heritage day.

Tomorrow is also Skunk Hollow Women’s Fest day at my house. It will be a fabulous day! If you have a husband you should appreciation him. I haven’t been in a record store for years. God bless…

MOVIE from 2016:

On this day in History:

Thought to share from Diane:

Work was light – today was Rege’s birthday so I left a few cookies and a birthday card on his desk. He was at the Pirate game. Since I had time, I went to the Driver’s License Center and got my photo taken. It was pretty crowded but the process moved fast, so I had time to pop into the Dollar Tree next door.

After picking up some things from Diane, I grabbed a Frozen Coke, had a half a sandwich at home, and was just finishing when Jamie came. He put the last pot light above the bookcase. It really made that corner bright. It made a big difference to the whole room.

Once he finished that (which only took a few minutes) we went up to check the exhaust fan in the bathroom. He popped over and picked up a new one at Lowe’s. But getting the old one out made a complete mess – there was insulation clumps all over the bathroom! But the new one is installed and working so all is well. It did take a while to get the mess cleaned up.

Phase one mess!

Yuck…

New exhaust

All cleaned up.

My next chores were to weed whack the hill and bottom yard and cut the grass. I’m hoping it stays nice looking through Saturday. And that was my day!

Grass done.

Raindrops…

QUOTE of the DAY:

PEANUTS?

TOMORROW April 17th is:

2A Day; Ford Mustang Day; World Circus Day; Second Amendment Day; Herbalist Day; National Cheeseball Day; National Clean Out your Medicine Cabinet Day; National Crawfish Day; National Kickball Day; National Haiku Poetry Day; National Ellis Island Family History Day.

Circus! If you don’t know about Dan Rice and his circus look him up. It’s very interesting history! God bless….

MOVIE from 2015: (Two today)

Of course I have the DVD…

…. and this one, too.

On this day in history: In 1922 Annie Oakley sets the woman’s shooting record breaking 100 clay targets in a row. She was my idol when I was young!

Income Tax filing day! So glad mine is filed and I have my refund all tucked away. Today was – of course – cleaning day. I did a little extra in anticipation for the weekend. About 3pm I got a txt message from my friend (actually Nathan’s friend and electrician) Jamie – he’s coming tomorrow at 1pm to install the last pot light by the bookcase, and look at my bathroom exhaust fan, which doesn’t work.

So once I realized he’d be here for a while in the afternoon, I finished cleaning and went over to do my grocery shopping. So that’s done. I’ll have to make some food on Friday evening so I’m ready for Saturday. Tomorrow early evening I hope to cut the grass. Depends on the weather.

I finally picked up an extra table – long over due! (Kelly we can use this at the Flax festival!)

Gen called just as I walked in from grocery shopping. It’s always a blessing to hear from her. It’s nice to catch up!

Gen – Archive photo

Once the groceries were put away, I did a flower walk around the yard to see what is trying to bloom. Below are pictures.

Still blooming.

Bleeding heart about twice the size it was.

Primrose #1

Primrose #2 – they crow in a circle.

Chocolate Mint – beautiful!

Azalea in the back

Quince

Bridal blooms up close

Purple Azalea by front deck

Pink Azalea by the walk

Red Azalea

The other Azalea is just in bud.

Light pink down by the shed.

QUOTE of the DAY:

For my gardening friends!

PEANUTS?

Maybe….

TOMORROW April 16th is:

Day of the Mushroom; International Pizza Cake Day; National Bean Counter Day; National Eggs Benedict Day; National High Five Day; National Librarian Day; National Orchid Day; National Pathway Day; National Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day; Save the Elephant Day; World Semicolon Day; World Voice Day; National Get to Know your Customers Day.

You’d probably get to know your customer if you wore your PJ’s to work! What is Pizza cake? God bless…

MOVIE from 2014:

This is a HUGE favorite of Hallmark fans. I like it but it’s not my favorite.

On this day in history:1955 Ray Kroc opens the first McDonald’s Inc. fast food restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois (and the world changed forever!)

The day went a little off track today from what I thought would happen but it was all good. I just didn’t take too many photos. The first thing is, though, that I mentioned changing the bedspread on the trundle bed in the Flag room and didn’t post a photo. So – here it is! It makes the room look brighter. This is the blanket Kelly made for me many years ago. I think it looks super nice!

Work was ok – except there were two issues that needed resolved before I could process. Got that handled and turned out fine. I left there and went to my dentist appointment. I am not a fan of dental appointments, but I recognize the importance. I am not exaggerating when I say the hygienist took about two dozen (or more) X-rays of my teeth!

This tooth looks happier than I was….

Just as I was leaving the dentist, Noah called to see if I could watch Cameron just for about an hour or so while he went Door Dashing. Autmn works on Tuesday. I said I could handle that much! So we dug in the dirt behind the shed, then came up on the deck and played in a bucket of water! But his favorite thing was blowing on the white Dandelion puffs. He laughed and laughed – so fun to watch his face light up!

My new bedskirt came yesterday, so after Cameron and Noah left I fluffed it in the dryer, pressed it off, and managed to get it on the bed (between the mattress and springs). It was tricky but I managed. I’ve always had a white one so this purple one is a big change.

SO now I am waiting on my cousin to pop in – he has title work he needs done. So I had a little bit of everything today and nothing over whelming!

QUOTE of the DAY:

PEANUTS?

Yes…..

TOMORROW April 15th is:

McDonald’s Day; National Anime Day; National Banana Day; National Glazed Spiral Ham Day; National Laundry Day; National Rubber Eraser Day; National Tax Day; National Titanic Remembrance Day; One Boston Day; Purple Up! Day; World Art Day; National Take a Wild Guess Day; National ASL Day.

My sister would celebrate ASL day – A LOT of people will probably be a McDonald’s tomorrow. I do laundry several days a week. My taxes are already done. Purple Up! day is for military children. Autmn’s sister Penny will celebrate Anime day – she’s a great artist and fan! God bless!

MOVIE from 2013:

This is absolutely a favorite! It was Paul Campbell’s first movie – made me a forever fan!

On this day in History:

On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was tragically assassinated at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., just days after the end of the Civil War.