It's been busy around here.
 
We had such a good time at the Clemens Center last Wednesday, the second and last night,  when we saw Dreamgirls!  Our seats were marvelous.  Dr. Beth, our dentist, who had the season tickets joined us.  The costuming, sets were beautiful.  I don't know how many times the performers had costume changes.  Some of costumes were under costumes they already had on.  Paul didn't remembered either  how many, and he said I don't have any idea.  A lot.  I would say - about 40.  Each more glamorous than the last.   It was more like:  Okay.  Hohum.  Here comes another spangly costume

 As far as the music went, I thought it was too loud.  (But remember, I'm ancient.) They had beautiful voices, the dancers were excellent.   Lots of color, lights.  The cast was very talented.  I could see Jennifer Hudson,  playing the part of Effie, before she lost weight with Weight Watchers.   Very glad we went. 

Saturday evening we took Gracie to her pet sitter, Carol, so we could go to Paul's granddaughter, Alaina's graduation Sunday from University of Rochester. Gracie was so excited.  I thought she might have forgotten them, but she didn't. 

We got to Alaina's house early, around 11:15. Dorothy and Jeff, her parents arrived shortly thereafter. The way the day went was: Big univerity graduation ceremony in the morning. Small diploma ceremonies for various schools throughout the afternoon. Hers was scheduled for 3:30. Alaina and her roommates had a picnic for everyone between the outdoor graduation ceremony and the diploma ceremonies. In spite of expecting 40 people there for the picnic, everything went quite smoothly because the afternoon ceremonies all took place at different times. So we weren't at the house at the same times. Her house is a next to the university.

 I can't say enough about Alaina.  Wow. 

 Her major was in Neuroscience.  There were 44 in her field.  She worked very hard all four years and you could tell. Listen to this:  She got five awards. 
GEBS Summer Scholar,
 Dean's Scholarship,
NYS Excellence Scholarship,
 Degree with Distinction in Research: "Characterization of Neuronal Lipid Droplets and Implications for Metabolic Signaling in th CNS", (say again?) 
 Phi Beta Kappa. 

She graduated Magna Cum Laude with an almost perfect 4.0.  The highest GPA in her class.  As you can imagine that all of Paul's family were so very very proud.  Her next step is the Peace Corp and then back to graduate school.

The weather is warming up today. I think it's up to 80, but I didn't check. Paul is out mowing. I think I'll take a walk with Gracie.  The lilac is out now.  And ours is finally grown big enough to have some decent blooms.    We had a dark purple, and a french lilac that has little dark purple blooms surrounded by white edges.  I've never seen any like that before. It is so pretty.  Paul brought some in the house.  I had forgotten how quickly they droop.  But they sure look lovely for a while.

I feel completely wasted today.  We went to Five Guys and had a hamburger - boy, it was delicious - but 52 carbs, cholesterol 75. . .don't know if it was worth it tonight when I write it down.  Yes.  I've been keeping track of my carbs and sodium (that was about 1150) for almost a year now, since I went to that nutritionist a year ago.  It's helping.   We also had the most delicious fries. . . a small helping which we shared, Paul reminded me.  Not good enough.  I'll go for that walk now.  But - boy, did that taste good.  I've been wanting some for a long time.  Maybe I'll feel less guilty after I walk. 

 


 

Some Days are Just Wonderful. . . .

You're getting a treat - two posts very close together.  I  read the other one, from Monday.  We were looking forward (?) to some snow flurries.  It happened.  But today couldn't be more gorgeous.

 I was just sitting on the deck, on my new anti-gravity chair, reading a Kindle book Nancy gave me for Mother's Day, and it got too hot.   Gracie was out there with me, panting so.  I wished she would finde a shadow to sit under, like the rocking chair.  Within a couple of minutes she discovered it.  But it was still too hot.  For me too.    So here I am.

 I am liking the book a lot.  The author is a single mom who writes a journal about her son's first year of life.  I can see why Nancy liked it, and how she related.  The author has a great sense of humor and a life full of friends and family who look after her and her adorable much loved little boy.   She's self-sufficient.  But also  a recovered drug addict and alcoholic.  She's doing so well.  And she feels so loved by everyone in her family, her church, her friends. 

I had a yearning to look in my night stands drawers.  I found things from The Year One.  I found Lesson Plans for teaching, old year books: things I should throw out, but that would take no time at all, so I didn't do it.  When it's necessary, I will.  Paul complains about clutter.  We both complain about clutter.  On top of bookcases, shelves, everywhere.  We've got to get rid of things.  Anyone want some things? 

Dorothy left a message last night that DJ had his knee operation and everything went well.  According to plan, I guess.  Now comes the recuperation period.  But it's done.  Everyone is breathing a sigh of relief.

DJ's sister, Alaina, is graduating this Sunday from University of Rochester.   There is a general graduation in the morning, and another more specific one to her degree in the afternoon.  We'll go to the afternoon one.   She's still planning on going into the Peace Corps. 

Cousin Alice has been to Columbia, GA, for her granddaughter, Kayla's marriage.  She's home now and we're all enjoying Facebook pictures put up there by the mother of the bride.  Laura loves to take pictures and there were 340 of them for people to see.  It's like being there.  Great.  What a lovely bride and such a happy occasion.  

Gracie will be having the time of her life these next few weeks:  She's going to stay at her Pet Sitter's home!  Three times. 1.  Alaina's graduation, 2. our trip to Chicago over Memorial Day Weekend, and 3. Paul's brother and wife's family reunion in the middle of June. 

Gracie loves this place she goes to - there's a male dog slightly bigger than she is (but what dog isn't?) and they get along great.  She can't wait to get inside. .  .  It's been a while since we last took her, but we're hoping for the same degree of excitement. 

Speaking of excitement. . . We've got tickets tonight to go to see Dream Girls at the Clemens Center!  Wow!   It happened so quickly.

 I had a dental appointment this morning to have a cavity filled, (plus another one I happened to mention to the dentist.  Wonderful.)  Anyway - my dentist said she had two tickets to see Dream Girls tonight and her husband and daughter couldn't go.  Would my husband and I like to go?  I was so excited.  I was all shaky.  Wonder if it was the novacaine? No.  I'm sure.    I called Paul and told him and so we're meeting her there tonight.  Looks like good seats.  Row H.  She said she has season tickets to all  the Broadway Shows.

She wouldn't take any money for them. BUT when she was working on my teeth, she  mentioned that she liked to go to Valerie's Greenhouse up on Middle Road, and that she had an herb garden, etc. so I stopped there on my way home this morning and got her a gift certificate.  We'll give it to her tonight.

Paul's cooking Salmon for supper.  We'll have to eat early.  He has two most delicious recipes.  We're out of gas for the grill, so that eliminates his cedar salmon, but the oven one is just as good or better. 

Sometimes life is just too good. 

So - how're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?

I'm getting into the habit of reading my last post so that I won't be repeating myself as much as I tend to do. . .although I think I still do it. 

May 4th was the last time I wrote.   Paul's been busy outside getting the gardens "up to snuff."  He does such a good job.  We pick out plants and  flowers together and then he does "his thing."  We have an enlarged herb garden this year.  I started using fresh herbs when we were in Florida. 

Herbs:  yesterday we had a Mother's Day Brunch at Veraison's Restaurant (I always pronounce it Verizons, which is wrong.  Not sure how it's said.) It's connected to one of the larger wineries on Seneca Lake.   They gave each mother a choice of several herb plants.  The view of Seneca Lake is lovely, and they had a keyboardist and a guitarist.

  Paul and I both admitted: The food was not fantastic.  Sorry to say.  The service wasn't either.  But I enjoyed being out with my favorite guy. He got me a rose plant and some hanging baskets.   And one of those anti-gravity chairs for the deck.  Now I can go in the hottub, come out and get some sun.

Both of my kids called. 

Nancy said that Evie (2 yrs. 8 mos.) went food shopping with Dan and she picked out some flowers for Mommy.  Dan said the only pink flowers were lilies.  (Evie's favorite favorite color) so that's what she picked got.

 Evie's been getting up early these days, so yesterday she, Nancy and Ivan (their husky) were going for a walk at 7 AM when Nancy saw a man jogging down middle of  the street by their house.  No one jogs in the middle of a street in Chicago.  For obvious reasons.  Their one-way street is fairly quiet though.  Anyway, Nancy saw a car coming up behind him and thought he was going to get run over, when she realized it was the mayor, Rahm Emanuel, and the car had his security people in it.
Nancy said it makes her neighborhood safer having him living there. 

Nancy's going back to work today.  Day Care had a spot for Walter, so she's going back part-time.  If she didn't, Walter would have lost his spot and then they'd have to look for another place for him and then Evie would have had to move also.  It's not easy working and having childcare. 

Bill and Epril are doing well in Punta Gorda.  He's changed transcriptionist companies and has a lot more work to do.  He has days off - Friday and Saturday - and works noon to 8 PM.   Epril  is very busy with her work too.  She's still on a rotating schedule.  They called Uncle Bob to see if he'd like to go to a fish fry on Friday night, but he was going to visit his daughter, Christine, for Mother's Day.  Next Friday they'll get together. 

Thursday evening, Sharon, Ida, Lue and I went to the Mother, Daughter, Relative, Friend banquet at my church put on by the men.  It was lovely- including a fashion show from the store Sharon loves to go to!  How about that for coincidence!  The men  cooked and served us chicken pot pies.  I thought it was delicious, so I made some Saturday night for Paul.  We had some leftover chicken from a roast I had cooked a couple of days before.   I think it turned out pretty good!  We have some leftovers.

I think winter is back.  We're due for snow flurries some time today.  Great.  Life sometimes can get unpleasant for Snowbirds.  Don't like that word....snow.  So. . . . I'm going to go to Curves instead of walking and my wash is done.  Which means I have to stop writing now. 

Hope you're all doing fine.  Thank you Dorothy for your Mother's Day Card. 

So. . . what's happenin' in your neck o' the woods?

Fussy Cut, Drunkard's Path, Stacked Posies. . . .

Home - one week.  Color is just bursting out around here. 

Lue and I had fun this morning.

 When I went to Bible Study Thursday morning,  the church parking lot was very full.  Uh oh.  Perhaps there wasn't any Bible Study. The lobby was packed:  People were setting up for a Quilt Show in the Fellowship Hall to be held Friday- Sunday.

  Knowing how much Lue loves quilting, I invited her to go.  (I wish Edna, Paul's sister, could've been there because she's a wonderful quilter.  She would have loved it. She's shown me some quilts she's done when we've visited.  But she lives too far away. )

 At 10 AM Lue picked me up and off we went.   Lue has a wealth of knowledge about quilting!  Remember.  I know nothing about quilting.    She showed me so much about it that I borrowed a pen from her and tried to take  notes to remember all she had to say about the many quilts that we saw. I got such a kick out of the words used to describe what she saw:

Drunkard's Path, Flying Geese, Fussy Cut, Log Cabin, Stacked posies.  I'm sure Edna knows what I'm talking about!

It really opened my eyes!

This afternoon, Paul and I went to our favorite nursery, Valerie's Gardens, and got some orange million bells, and purple bicopa. He put them in a hanging basket on our back deck. Looks beautiful. We had cocktails out there before dinner because the temperature was ideal. He got the big standing offset umbrella up so the sun wasn't in our eyes.
We had steak cooked out on the grill.

Sharon's kids came to visit Wed. - Friday. This time was so much easier. Last year the boys went to Notre Dame High school in Elmira - a half-hour/forty-five minute trip. Ida was going to Odessa school. I took her and Paul took the boys. They had sports practice after school so they were late getting home (with Paul.)

Now: They all go to Odessa.   Lee's a senior, has his own car, and drives Charles and Ida (10) to school. We stood on the porch and waved good-by to them on Friday morning, and they waved and called back to us - thanks for having us! They're good kids.

 I didn't realize how very popular those little boxes of sugar-flavored cereal were, until on Friday morning I asked - who would like French Toast? Which I thought was a perfectly marvelous breakfast that showed a lot of care on my part.   Charles was the only one who said yes. And even he had a box of Fruit Loops, while I made his French Toast.   Guess they can always have French Toast, but sugary, unhealthy cereal they don't have every day!  Come to think of it. . . all the grandkids who come here look for it.  One time, I didn't get it, and I had to rush out asap to get some.  Lots of unhappy disappointed faces. 

A note:  Ida was cold when I tucked her into bed Thursday night, so I got her a quilt from the dresser.  I told her it was her great grandmother who made it, and it was very special.  I had thought it was from her grandmother, on Donna's side of the family, (Lue's side) but Lue informed me that it was Paul's mother who did all the quilting.  Her mother did a lot of other sewing, but never quilted.  Lue learned quilting from Paul's mother. 

So - how're things goin' in your neck o' the woods?