Today was the day – Kathy and I headed to Smicksburg at 9am, loaded down with flowers, garden tools, and determination! We went straight to St. John’s church cemetery in Sagamore, where Grama and Grandad Crooks and their family are buried. We planted several flowers on the graves and gave them a good douse of water.

From there we went up (or down!) Sinktown Road, where Kathy & I and all the Skunk Hollow cousins lived or hung out. So much has changed! That road led us to Old Mahoning Baptist Church. Our cousin Colleen’s son Jason and his son were spreading gravel chips in the parking lot so we got to chat with them a few minutes. Then we planted flowers on Susan’s grave, her parents Jim and Dolly (our uncle and aunt), and her nephew Andrew. We even planted two flowers at Aunt Joan and Uncle Clifford’s pre-ordered grave stone, even though there are still very much alive and delightful.

We stopped at Smicksburg Country Store (Donna’s store) and browsed – then bought chocolate covered peanuts (the best!). I also bought cheese. The hills and the clouds were delightful!

From there — to Smicksburg Cemetery, where Uncle Gene and Aunt Hazel, one of their infant great granddaughters, two of their sons, and a son in law are buried. We planted appropriate flowers there. If a cemetery could have beautiful views, this one did.

We popped into the Bulk Food store, and I bought a 5 pound slab of chocolate and a small piece of white chocolate. That means work for me down the road!

We tried to call Aunt Joan but had no cell service, so we drove back up to the top of the hill at the cemetery. As we drove back down, who was tending to the plots of their family but Beth and Harold! So excited to see them and get hugs! We stood and chatted for the longest time! I should have taken a picture — but I was so excited to see them it totally slipped my mind! Loved seeing them!

Last, we went to visit Aunt Joan and Uncle Clifford. We filled up our water cups from the spring with fresh clear water. We spent over an hour there, chatting and visiting. There were cattle right out the kitchen window, and a nest of tiny baby birds on the front deck. What a lovely day, filled to overflowing with memories and blessings!

After a quick stop at the Blairsville Walmart we headed home. Kathy had another event this evening. At least when I got home I didn’t have to water the new grass – it has rained several times since we got back.

The whole DAY was a blessing! (Including spending the day with Kathy!)

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW May 26th is:

General Prayer Day; Indianapolis 500; National Blueberry Cheesecake Day; National Cherry Dessert day; National Paper Airplane Day; National Sorry Day; World Dracula Day; National Wind Sock Day; World Lindy Hop Day; World Red Head Day; National Family Fun Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Bulletin Board Recognition Day. Tomorrow we shall celebrate World Red Head Day — Love you Beth! Have fun with your family and God bless…

Wow it’s been a busy day, all day! I was still in my PJ’s – before my shower or breakfast – and had come downstairs to check emails and pay a bill. My doorbell rang (early for me!) and my neighbor asked if she could park in my extra spot. She was having a pest control company come, and her grass cut, and 2 stair lifts installed and didn’t want to be stuck in her garage with multiple vehicles blocking her in. I felt a little rumpled in appearance, but I was happy to have her park there! After all, I just did a super clean-up out there yesterday.

After breakfast I went to Dollar Tree – again – I needed a new sprig of flowers to put in the duck. The old ones were totally falling apart and faded. I then popped into Walmart for a few items. Since we are going out Home to plant flowers tomorrow I picked up a few packs of flowers, then got everything organized that we need to take. I left there and got gas in the Mazda and in the mower gas can.

Once I got home, I spread the new grass seed and watered the plot. I had to come in and turn the water value to open for the front outside spigot first. Then I washed a load of clothes which still needs ironed. I made a salad for lunch with garlic toast, then melted white chocolate to do pretzels to take tomorrow to AJ/UC. When that was done I mixed up muffins for breakfast next week.

I watered Bunny and Ozzie and the new grass again about 6:30 when they were in the shade. I had to run back out to the store but it only took me a few minutes. The butterfly bush is getting different colored blooms – white and maybe pink and lilac in addition to the deep purple. The Rose Campion are finally blooming, too.

I’m listening to LOVE STRIKES TWICE on the Hallmark Channel – it’s cute and funny and has a lot of unexpected twists and clever lines. When I’m done here I think I’ll iron then grab supper.

My blessing for today was the beauty of the day, and accomplishing the chores on my list!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW May 25th is:

National Bath Bomb Day; National Brown Bag it Day; National Italian Beef Day; National Sing Out Day; National Tap Dance day; National Wig Out Day; National Wine Day; Towel Day; National Children’s Gardening Day; National Bulletin Board Recognition Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Ivy Day. Tomorrow we are brown-bagging it to Smicksburg – I doubt we’ll sing or dance. There may be a towel involved in our planting and gardening although I doubt the children will be joining us. And tomorrow is 7 months until Christmas Day. Celebrate, and God Bless…

I was tucked into bed last night and noticed the moon out my window. I went out on the deck and snapped a picture. My phone doesn’t take the best photos of night skies.

First thing this morning I got a txt from Karen V (a Skunk Hollow cousin). She read on the Word Garden yesterday that today was World Turtle Day — and look what she saw on her walk this morning! Cool!

And Jen posted a picture of Piggy playing in his play pool – bobbing for broccoli! He’s a funny pig!

After work (which again, thanks to PENNDOT, was a little crazy!), I had lunch, changed clothes, and went outside. I’m really tired of trying to predict the weather forecast’s accuracy. I thought it was supposed to rain? Anyway I cut the grass, cleaned up the driveway (those pesky little maple helicopters made an awful mess), sprayed for weeds under the deck, changed the outside flags for the weekend, put up the window stickees, and touched up a chipped spot on the clothes hamper in the bathroom.

The horses were out this afternoon, too!

I got the greeting cards that my step sister-in-law sent me (she made them!), and I love them all! I took a picture of PART of one – they are her work and I didn’t ask permission to fully share them, although she had posted them on her facebook page. I’m excited to have an occasion to use them.

Here are some yard photos.

My blessing today was receiving the beautiful greeting cards from SJ.

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW May 24th is:

Carb Day; National Don’t Fry Day; National Asparagus Day; National Brother’s Day; National Ivy Day; National Cooler Day; National Escargot Day; National Road Trip Day; National Title Track Day; Tiara day; National Scavenger Hunt Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Seeds Day. We are going on a road trip on Saturday and we may take a cooler! I don’t have a brother. Scavenger hunts are fun. Do something fun and God bless… P.S. – please pray – unspoken request. Thank you! !!

I got up extra early this morning while the grass was still damp. I was watching the weather predictions which were so confusing and UNpredictable that I decided to risk it. Didn’t take long, and I was motivated to get into my day.

Before I started cleaning, I changed the doll’s spring clothes to R/W/B, and changed the blankets downstairs. There were a few other little projects I handled before I cleaned, like putting the WELCOME board out. It should get a little protection under the deck where it is.

I did get the cleaning done (in between reading chapters of IN THIS MOUNTAIN, the next book in the Mitford series, and washed a load of towels. I had yogurt for lunch and trust me – it’s totally worn off by now. I just grabbed a few M&M’s (R/W/B, of course) and will be ready to grab supper when I’m done with this.

Here are a few pictures of what I put out.

All this excitement about graduation and proms – my niece Hannah’s youngest daughter Rosie had her 8th grade formal — this is her last year at the middle school. Next year – L&N STEM high school!

My blessing for today was enjoying the early morning sunshine and cool breezes before breakfast.

PEANUTS thought for the day:

TOMORROW May 23rd is:

National Lucky Penny Day; Medical Coder Day; National Drinking With the Chickens Day (???); National Taffy Day; National Seeds Day; World Turtle Day.

Yesterdays day was National Download Day. Tomorrow — lucky pennies are good, and I have nothing against turtles. Celebrate! God bless…

The sun is shining; blue skies; puffy clouds; temps in the 80’s. So today was an outside day for me, at least this afternoon.

Lots of crazy things going on at work – You just can’t trust PENNDOT to stick to anything. Traffic was a mess on Route 30 – they had 3 lanes and a turn lane squeezed into one lane from AHS (hospital) to Target. Ugh. It was backed up from Lowry Avenue all the way to Lakeview.

After work I made several stops – one at Dollar Tree for some items for the Sunday School bulletin board, one at the bank, and then at Lowe’s. I bought four bags of Pond Stone and a big bag of Scott’s Weed and Feed. I need to find the right time to spread it on the lawn. The grass should be damp but then it can’t rain for at least 24 hours! That will take some doing.

I was able to get the stones where they needed to be – under the deck and two places on the hill. The water runs down the driveway and is wearing away the soil where the hill starts. Hoping the stones will help divert the water flow.

Since we planted Ozzie I needed to move the yard flag. It would be fine now, but as Ozzie grows it wouldn’t be. So I moved it over. Matt had given me two huge bags of garden soil, so I hauled it up to the front yard with my new (Christmas) little garden hauler and spread it in a big bare spot.

I watched a little bunny hopping around the yard and it crawled under the wheelbarrow in the flower bed. He must nap there – probably cool and safe!

Gen called from New York at about 4pm and we got caught up. They just came back from Disney and sounds like they had a nice time. And I just got off the phone with my step-sister-in-law SJ – I sent her a book – Letters to Mary – and she called to say she put hand-painted note cards (she’s an artist) in the mail to me. So two fun phone visits in one afternoon!

THOSE were my blessings for today!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW, May 22nd, is:

Bitcoin Pizza Day; Buy a Musical Instrument Day; National Maritime Day; National Solitaire Day; National Vanilla Pudding Day; Sherlock Holmes Day; National Safe Boating Week; National Download Day.

Yesterday’s day was Toothbrush day. I don’t know what a bitcoin pizza is and I haven’t gone boating in years. So — just have fun. God bless…

Beautiful day – but very warm! Because there was a nice breeze (and I had a nice sun hat) I could get the grass cut. I also trimmed the lilac branches that keep growing through the other side of the fence. It makes it harder to mow and it also looks messy when they are poking through.

But before that, work went fine. Both Sir Rege and Joe were talkative and helpful. Joe just came back from Philly and was excited to show me some photos, especially Elfreth Alley. And I was sharing in his excitement. I made a quick stop at Gabe’s to see if they had any worthy cutting boards to contribute to the Tea supplies, but nothing there.

I walked around the yard and took more pictures – I know you are probably tired of getting yard pictures!

When I got the mail there was a graduation photo of my friend Carolyn’s daughter Anna. We don’t see each other very often but I was so happy to get the photos. I didn’t realize Anna and Christina were the same age!

Nate came over after his supper and planted Ozzie. I gave him and Bunny a good soaking and I think the yard (as far as plants are concerned) is in good shape.

Autmn popped in to get a shower – they were swimming at Noah’s mom’s pool. She shared some photos of Cameron in the pool, and one in his playpen, and one of them playing giant UNO the other night with Chrissy.

My blessing today was feeling the assurance that God’s got my back! I don’t have answers, but He does, and I’m praying to be included in the solutions! If you have faith the size of a mustard seed…. (confusing things CAN make sense!)

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW May 21st is:

International Tea Day; National Memo Day; National Toothbrush Day; National Strawberries and Cream Day; National Waitstaff Day.

Yesterday’s day was Windsock Day – and I discovered that I am NOT a millionaire. Bummer. Tomorrow let’s have tea and strawberries! God bless…

TODAY is Aunt Joan’s birthday. Happy birthday, sweet aunt! We need to have a visit soon! Love you.

Mary and I did a good job with the lesson for the kids this morning; it was a hard lesson but they got it! It was about prayer and God’s answer: Yes, No, Wait. They had dozens of examples of the ‘wait’ concept! And they had to wait on snack which emphasized how hard it really was to wait.

Todd’s message was INVITE BOLDLY. We think we should only invite and welcome wholesome people into the church – but Jesus runs TO messy people, not away from them. WE are all messy. No matter how many come, there is still room. People need to know we care before we share Christ or invite them. Invest in them, then invite. We have to be stretched like a bungie cord to be useful. Investing is not easy, but the harvest is rewarding.

Today was one of the two days that I volunteered to do guided tours at Hanna’s Town, so I left straight from church. Therefore, I had to wear my volunteer shirt.

It was such a beautiful day! The sky was amazing, the trees and grass were bright green, and the birds were happy. Kelton, our new education director, was on site, and he asked if he could shadow me. I’ve been doing tours since 2003, and he’s fairly new to the site. It make me very nervous! And then a new volunteer came in and also wanted to shadow. I had to really keep my wits about me…

The new guy (who had obviously studied his manual!) was able to contribute interesting bits of information to the tour (we had a family of three adults), and Kelton told me he learned new things and really appreciated tagging along. He complimented me to the family on doing a nice job, so I was relieved. Here are pictures of the site, which I’ve posted before but the buildings looked so fresh and ready.

My blessing for today were the little ones in my Sunday School class. They are a handful but such a blessing to heart and spirit.

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW May 20th is:

National Be a Millionaire Day; Eliza Doolittle Day; Flower day; International Red Sneakers Day; National Band Director’s Day; National Windsock Day; National High Heel Day; National Pick Strawberries Day; National Rescue Dog Day; National Streaming day; World Bee Day; National vegetarian Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was National Shoelaces Day. I’ll celebrate being a millionaire, flowers, strawberries, and streaming. Have a happy week and God bless…

Today was the day to switch out the spring and summer comforter on my bed and put the winter one away. It looks bright and happy in there now. A nice change.

After a shower – and toast for breakfast – I got the cookie dough out to start baking. That was fine, but it was too hard to work with. So I let it sit for a while, and printed out my Sunday School extra material, then got some mail ready. I kept watching the weather, which had said rain, but it was sunny and warm. So I got organized and washed all the windows and cleaned the tracks. The tracks are what takes so long and are much harder to clean than the actual windows. It was nice to open a few of the windows and let the warm, clean breeze flow through.

When I was outside I realized how pretty the yard was looking, with so much in bloom and the beds weeded and the grass cut. I even snipped a few rose buds for a vase. I’ll see if they open up.

Finally the dough was ready, and I baked the batch of cookies. I froze all but about five of them. I’m doing tours at Hanna’s Town tomorrow afternoon so I will take one or two of them with me to have with a quick lunch before they open at 12:30.

My blessing today was the beautiful weather, blue skies and puffy clouds! It’s like being wrapped in a happy blanket!

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW May 19th is:

Frog Jumping Jubilee Day; National Devils Food Cake Day; Pentecost; National Shoelaces Day; Plant Something Day; Step Mother’s Day; Take Your Parents to the Playground Day; World Baking Day; National May Ray Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was Light a Light Day. Tomorrow is also my Aunt Joan’s birthday! Her card will be late – I missed the mailman yesterday.

I was up early for a Friday morning – trying to get a schedule for my day. I had a long list for the weekend and was trying to arrange things mentally. After breakfast it wasn’t raining yet, so I walked the gardens and checked on the plants. A few new blooms.

I got the red/white/blue light strings out and took the purple ones (that I had up for Spring) all down and put them away. Then I strung the new ones on the back deck and put some in the two lanterns.

By then it had started to rain, so I came in and put things away. I was putting my hat on the shelf, and it knocked over the box of matches, which then knocked the sun catcher off the hook which bounced on the floor. I leaned down to get it and bumped my head. Ugh.

I got changed and headed out for groceries. I stopped at Aldi’s first, then the Dollar Tree for a few cards, then to Walmart. Walmart is renovating and they’ve totally changed the checkout procedures. Almost no lanes with real checkout clerks – mostly self-checkout. And everything is rearranged. The checkout guy asked me how I was doing and I said I was fine until I came in there and got totally lost three times!

Nate and Dave were here when I got home, working on a few drippy and stuck faucets. They did everything they could with what they had, and then ate M&M’s which are always setting out. I had washed a load of clothes earlier and folded them from the dryer, then put the groceries away and made lunch – an English Muffin.

As I was meeting Aunt Kimmie, Greg, Chase and Ma (Ruth Ann) at 5:30, I started Potato Soup and mixed up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and stuck everything in the fridge. The soup is now done, but I’m waiting to bake the cookies tomorrow. It’s 8:30pm and I still have a few things to finish up.

I realized I hadn’t posted the latest pictures of celebrations so I better do that now. Last week was Hempfield’s prom, and Chrissy went with her friend Hope. They both looked lovely.

Tuesday night Logan and Clarise went to their spring formal – I’m not sure where it was, but the views were as lovely as the couple!

Then this is Hattie’s graduation weekend from high school. Hattie is Kathy’s granddaughter. Kathy and Paul went to TN for the weekend to be part of the celebration. Congratulations, Harriet Christine!

My blessing today was safety through the storms. There were numerous tornado sightings within a few miles of here, as well as flash flood warnings. The rain POURED down! So thankful to be home and safe.

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW May 18th is:

Armed Forces Day; I Love Reese’s Day; International Astronomy Day; International Museum Day; National Cheese Souffle Day; National Learn to Swim Day; National No Dirty Dishes Day; National Light a Light Day; Plant a Lemon Tree Day; World Fiddle Day; National Visit Your Relatives Day.

Yesterday’s day was Pinky Finger Day. Tomorrow I will celebrate Wednesday’s Chocolate Chip day and bake my cookies. God bless….

Today was a lovely weather day. Lots to do but everything went smoothly. I stopped on my way to Jeannette to pick up Kelly’s order at Gordon’s, then went through town to get gas for the Mazda. I finally got a chance to stop at Hanna’s Town while Lisa was there, and we got the linens labeled and tucked away.

From there I went to Greensburg Pinnacle and handled a few things for Joe. I had just enough time to pick up food from Diane and get to my chiropractor appointment on time, then home from there.

I got stuck behind a train in South Greensburg. I was the first car behind the gate. It was a fairly long train – I sat and watched the lights blink back and forth until the end came into sight. THEN — the train stopped. I sat there for a few minutes; all the cars behind me turned around the went another way. Eventually I did, as well.

I made bacon and toast for lunch before I went outside to cut the grass. There were only a few places that needed week whacked so I did them first. Since there was only the one section around the bigger tree that needed to be weeded and cleaned up, I was able to finish that in the afternoon. So now all the gardens have been completely weeded once. NOW — we start again!

Every time I find a Robin’s Egg abandoned in the yard, I put in on this little rock. These eggs are heavier than you think they would be.

Autmn stopped with Cameron to say hello on their way to Pittsburgh to pick up Noah. Cameron is so smart and cute! Mary stopped to get some of the food for her group, and she got to hold Cameron and play with him for a bit. He’s just so precious! I ask God to put a hedge of protection around him all the time. It’s a scary world out there these days!

My blessing today was seeing Autmn and Cameron, and getting baby hugs! And visiting with Mary for a little while.

PEANUTS Thought for the Day:

TOMORROW May 17th is:

Bike to School/Work Day; Pinky Finger Day; Endangered Species Day; NASCAR Day; National Cherry Cobbler Day; National Graduation Tassel Day; National Pizza Party Day; Pack Rat Day.

Yesterday’s fake day was Play Outside Day. But I love doing that, every day! Let’s do the pizza – and have a great Friday. God bless…