One Flipper Turtle

My hopepage for internet use is MSNBC. Late yesterday an article on a sea turtle with one flipper was featured. The poor guy had probably been 'almost lunch' for a shark, and had only one complete flipper left.

He was taken to a rescue group on South Padre Island where, in most cases, he would have been put down, but one of the group asked to be allowed to attempt to save him. He has healed up nicely, but unfortunately can only swim in a clockwise circle thus basically keeping him captive the rest of his life in shallow water.

Since sea turtles live to be over a hundred years old, basically someone would have to keep and care for him a loooong time.

But then a group of doctors heard about his plight, and have intervened. One, a dr from Houston, who does reconstructive facial surgery. They are going to give this turtle a prosthetic flipper. The reason they are excited about the dr who is going to be working with them is that she does work on small joints.

I grew up on a farm and was basically taught that animals are for our use, meaning if it couldn't give milk or lay an egg, it was food. Oh, we nurtured a few kittens and puppies, and several baby piglets, but never, of course, to this extent...we were poor farmers!

I do favor the humane treatment of animals, but I also wear leather shoes. When I first read this story, I'm thinking hmmm, Turtle Soup!!!, but the more I thought about the turtle, I was really glad they are doing what they can to help it. Why, you ask? If these doctors can do anything that helps the rest of us humans , it will be a good thing. If one adult or child have better quality of life as a result of what is being done here, then this turtle will have served a purpose. And let's face it folks, sometimes I wonder if I've served any purpose.

My only concern at this point is, will it ever be able to return to the sea, and will it be able to out swim the shark next time, and will it ever be able to have a full filling life, or will the other sea turtles shun it and make fun of it? Remember little Nemo's under-developed fin and how the other clown fish laughed at him?

I worry about these things, do you? And do you feel like you are serving a purpose?

My Auburn Haired Granddaughter

I'm working on granddaughter #3's Easter dress. Her mom, my wonderful DIL, bought the fabric and I'm smocking it and will do the sewing. The fabric is lavendar and white, so I'm doing the work in lavendar, purple and green. She bought a green shirt for The Blonde grandson, so I'm working more green in the design than I probably would have otherwise but I really like the green in it.

My DIL is really good about having pictures done around holidays. I made the dress for her Christmas pictures also. My DIL is really great about allowing me to make special things for her. Granddaughter #3 is a happy little 9 month old who has huge blue eyes and auburn hair. Her eyelashes are about a foot long. I know I'm partial, but she is beautiful.

Here is a picture of the work I'm doing on the front skirt. The little dress will be simple. Both daughter #2 who has two daughters 4 and 5, and my DIL wanted sleeveless dresses with yokes and smocking below the yoke. I'll post another when it's finished. I'll do the sewing on the other two dresses, but daughter#2 will do the smocking on theirs.

Daughter #2 is really good with her camera so I'm hoping to get some good pictures of the three girls. And if the boys are good, we may let them be in some of the pictures as well.

My grandchildren range in ages from 23 years old down to 9 months. There are three boys, 23, 10 and 4. There are three girls 5, 4 and 9 months.

My son and his family who live about 5 hours west of me will be home tonight for the weekend. His wife is coming in for a job interview. They are working on moving closer to home. They are also looking for property while they are here. He is a contractor and can work most anywhere. She is an accountant. They've lived away all their married life, but now with two small children, they want to be closer to family. Needless to say, I'm quite excited.

Baby Steps

You remember that I told you the other day I am cleaning my sad sad sewing room. It will be quite cheerful when I get it all neat again. My walls and ceiling are a nice shade of yellow and I have red tropical curtains that I made myself(go figure), it would be totally rediculous to buy curtains for a sewing room. But it is basically a cheerful room--when it's not so cluttered that you take a look and then turn around and go the other way.

Anyway, I'm making small strides in getting things clean. My cutting board is looking better already, and I've moved on to another area. And I'm doing this in 15 minute increments. They work wonders. I think I need to write a self-help/do it yourself book on the wonders of doing things in 15 minute increments. I'm sure absolutely everyone would go crazy for my words of wisdom on this subject.

And my 15 minutes have just been spent typing this post. Guess I better get back at it.

What did you have for breakfast this morning?

Have you ever had a Boleo--pronouced 'Bow-lee-oh'? They are Mexican rolls that you can only buy at a Mexican store or bakery. They are large and have a wonderful texture.

My BFF CP got me hooked on them on one of my trips to South Texas to visit with her and her husband. They are a simple white bread that has a wonderful texture(I said that already didn't I?) and taste.

She found a bakery in Tulsa that makes them just about as good as any she's ever had. Of course the folks who have the bakery, are from Mexico, and could speak little English.

I like to slice mine in half lengthwise and toast them in my little toaster oven, then put butter, yes the real stuff, and some all fruit(gotta cut calories somewhere). Yum, with coffee and The Beverly Hillbillies about 5:30a.m. each morning. I don't eat one every morning. They are sorta my special treat.

We buy them by the bag full. I put them in sandwich bags and freeze them. They don't keep very long left out, but they freeze really well. I ate my last one this morning for breakfast. I was in deep grief the entire time I was enjoying this last one. It will be a while before I can get more--but you know what? We have quite a large Spanish population in the rather large city west of me where I go to work everyday. I think I'm going to do some investigating and see if I may have access to them here. Wouldn't that be absolutely wonderful.!!!

That's my new quest. I'm going to find out where I can pick up some Boleos. What kind of quest are you on today? A good quest gives us a reason to get out of bed.

My Sad Sad Sad Sewing Room

I've been sewing all my life, well almost. My mother taught me to hem floursack dishrags when I was about 9 or 10, and have been making things ever since.

I've only had the luxury of having a sewing room for the past 3 or 4 years. It's a 10 X 12 bedroom in my small three bedroom house. I also have my computer set up in this room where I occasionally get to work from home. And it attaches to my pc, which helps when I download embroidery designs.

But, alas, I have completely spoiled my little corner of heaven. I have piled and stacked and generally made a huge mess of my room and almost rendered it unusable. I think I need those people from Mission Organization to come in and tidy it up again.

Here are a couple of pics of just how bad it is. And the worst part is I'm supposed to be working on Easter dresses for the three granddaughters. The smallest of which should be finished this coming weekend so my wonderful DIL can get the kid's pictures made for Easter.

And so you ask, what are you doing sitting at the computer? I know, I know, I should be cleaning the clutter so I can get to work. Fortunately, if you've read my posts, you already know I work these days in 15 minute increments, and this is my resting 15. And I've got to do the smocking on the front skirt before I can do any sewing.

You may be able to tell that I've attempted to organize, but I think I'm just too overwhelmed. At any rate, I've got to get this mess cleaned up.

Wanna come help?

Who wrote Festus' lines on Gunsmoke?

I woke up this morning, but wasn't ready to get out of bed so I turned on the tv. Gunsmoke was on and almost at the end. As the program was finishing, Festus Hagan waxed philosophical. Remember Matt's mule riding sidekick who alwasy called him Matthew? A man had almost shot Marshall Matt, only to find out it wasn't Matt who had shot his father in the back, it was his grandfather.

As usual there were the last couple of minutes where you get an idea of how things turned out. It seems that the grandsons ended up helping the grandfather with the farm and invited Matt and Festus for supper.

Festus began saying to Matt how it was 'soulsome' to see them together and how things had turned out 'roundy'. If I could interpret, I'd say that he was saying that good alwasy prevails, and that things come full circle. And of course he said all these things with his back woods, nasaly twang.

I was movie deprived in my youth as were most of the kids of my generation who lived in the country. We didn't go to the movies much, and by the time I was able to enjoy going on a Saturday afternoon, the small movie houses had closed and it was necessary to drive about 30 minutes to the nearest one. In other words the Saturday matinee pretty much skipped my generation unless you lived in a 'big city'.

Had I been able to go to the movies, I might have known what a handsome man Festus(Ken Curtis) had been in his younger days. I might have known how refined and polished he was. I might have known that he was one of the 'Sons of the Pioneers' who sang all those cowboy songs in 3 and 4 part harmony. I might have known that he was in some of John Wayne's movies. In The Alamo he was a dashing young officer who played father to John Wayne's real life daughter. In She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, he was one of the troops who sang 'I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen' to Maureen O'Hara's character.

Which brings me to wonder, just who wrote those hick lines he delivered? Did he have some input, or did the writers have a backwoods hillbilly hick on staff that wrote such eloquent lines for him to deliver?

In my opinion, he often stole the show, and brought a fresh element to the sometimes ordinary western. I think he may have helped Gunsmoke one of the longest running shows on TV. We never missed an episode.

Whichever it was, Festus will always have a special place in my heart.

What's your opinion on this weighty matter? Inquiring minds want to know. And it's time for me to get in the shower and get ready for church. Hope you are planning to attend worship services this morning.

My Best Friend Forever CP is 60

Today is my BFF's birthday. She is 60. And I'm not getting to celebrate with her. I live in Arkansas, and she lives in South Texas. She and her sister-in-law are going to Houston today. They will board a ship tomorrow and sail off into the sunset. They are going on a seven day cruise down to the Caymans and all other ports tropical.

But I sent her the best gift a friend could. I sent her 'the rock'. We've been passing this rock back and forth for eleven years. And it's not just any rock. It's actually a ballast stone. What is a ballast stone, you ask? In the early days of this country, when we were producing all the products that the King wanted, and we still belonged to England and were lovingly called 'the colonies', ships were sent to gather the cotton, tobacco, and any other products we produced. They didn't want to bring anything, just take. So they wanted to send over empty ships to plunder the sweat of our brow, but you can't send an empty ship out, because it would have nothing to hold it in the water.

England gathered stones to load into the cargo holds for ballast--thus the name. I think they have no short supply and to this day, probably don't miss any of them. When they got to the ports they dumped those stones into the harbor. They did this all along the eastern coast. There began to be huge, enormous piles of the stones and just as our ancestors did with everything else, they found a use for them.

We were in Savannah in the summer of 97 for a few days to see the azaleas bloom, and I had heard about the stones. There had been a feature story on tv about some reclaiming of old buildings down on the river that had been turned into living quarters and the program showed an old cotton warehouse that some folks had turned into a lovely home.

This is why I decided that I wanted a ballast stone to bring home as a souvenir of my trip. We had discussed trying to find one, but being the cautious person my BFF is, she kept saying we'd get in trouble if we 'stole' one of their precious stones. Here's what we found out about these stones. They built streets out of them and all along the harbour, there were ballast stone streets. They built ballast stone buildings out of them. In other words, they were everywhere, and none of them were huge. I guess they had to be mostly the size that men could easily hand along to fill the ships.

On our second day, we had ridden the trolleys all over the city had shopped many of the shops, taken a few tours, and as most older women would be, we were tired. We were staying at the Radison down on the river where our rooms had balconies that opened onto a huge atrium that had a wall of glass that allowed you to see the river walk and stay comfortable. Down in the atrium late that afternoon, we heard music and my BFF went down to investigate. She soon called the room and told me to come on down.

When I got down, there were people visiting and she had met a young man who was there to recruit high school athletes for his jr college team. We have laughed about whether we picked him up, or if he picked us up. I think he was away from home and it was better to hang out with a couple of old gals rather than to be faced with other temptations, if you know what I mean.

He was an absolute hoot. He walked up and down the river walk with us, entertained us and most importantly, he managed to find me a rock. The only problem was, then we had to carry it. It didn't weigh much, but you couldn't just walk around carrying a rock. First of all you would look ridiculous, and second, if it was against the law to take them, we were in violation of the law. My BFF kept saying she wasn't putting that rock in her suitcase, she wasn't getting caught with it, but we kept carrying it along with us. This young man whose name I can't even recall, not only carried the rock, but he played along with us. He bought a paper in which to wrap it, and managed to find a bag we could put it into. Then we talked to people as we walked(it's like one big party on the river walk at night there). He would hand it to someone and ask them to hold it for a second, then we would die laughing at the look on their faces when it was much heavier than they expected it to be(well, you had to be there, ok).

Well, I brought the rock home, and sometime after, I mailed it to my BFF. We have since passed the rock back and forth, and get a big laugh out of it every time it goes back and forth. So I sent it to her, and she now has to take care of it and explain why she has a rock sitting around.

Everyone should not only have a BFF, but one with whom they share funny times that have made funny stories. We took lots of pictures, but hardly ever get them out, but we have vivid memories of the trip when we talk about and touch the rock. It's kinda like we've been there all over again.

I guess now, we need to be talking about who gets to be buried with it.

TGIF

Thank Goodness it's Friday. Haven't we all used that phrase a kzillion times. I know I have, and every time I've used it, I meant it with all my heart.

It's been a crazy week weatherwise here in good old NE Arkansas. Very cold, and chances of freezing rain yesterday and today. It rained most of the night last night, but temps stayed just high enough that it was very very cold rain, and not the freezing stuff.

The Brunette granddaughter spent the night with me last night. She's such an interesting little character. She just turned four this month, and you'd think it was 24. She has sucked her thumb for the majority of her young life. Her mother-daughter #2-had told her that she would be a big girl when she turned four, and that big girls don't suck their thumbs. She even reminded her of it a couple of times. And she wasn't allowed to suck it at the school where she goes.

She had her 4th birthday, and became crabby, irritable and generally cranky and downright disagreeable. She cried, she whined, she clung and was impossible to make any kind of deals with.

Daughter #2 called the other night and mentioned that she hadn't noticed her sucking her thumb and that she had finally figured out that her bad disposition was a result of coming down off her thumb induced high. We hoped it would be over soon, and you know what, it seems to be much better. Last night she was easy to get along with, and we had a good time. We didn't have any trouble getting bathed, hair washed and ready and in bed. And she didn't even suck her thumb in her sleep. What a great kid!

I know how hard it was to get off caffine and processed sugar, and I'm 59 years old. She broke herself of this habit on her on. I've very proud of her.

Playing with my blog and learning at the same time.

This is a test. I want to see if I can add a picture.

It worked. This is a picture of my mother when she was about 20. It was in pretty bad shape, but my wonderful daughter #2, photoshopped it and made it really great.

Thank you wonderful daughter #2, I love you for all you do for me.

Update on my Debit Card

Nope, I haven't found it, but I called the place I last used it to see if someone had indeed turned it in. They hadn't. So I decided(with my daughter's insistence) to call the bank and cancel it.

Now I have to go about a week to ten days without my card. That will be tough. I've just about forgotten how to write a check for anything other than the few bills I have to write out. Good thing I have plenty.

And I have to keep a close eye on my account on line to see if any 'fraudulent charges' show up. If so, I will have to make a claim and get my money back.

But you know what, now that I've cancelled it, I'll find it, and it will be right where I've looked a kzillion times already.

At least now I can quit worrying about it--but then I don't worry much about things anyway. I am reminded of those famous words of Alfred E Newman, 'What! Me worry?'

Keep praying for me.

I've lost my Debit Card

If any of you happen to find a green debit card from Regions bank, it's mine. Now I know that's not going to happen, but I can't imagine where it could be and I'm grasping at straws.

I really don't want to call the bank and cancel it because I keep expecting to run across it. I've gone through my wallet about a zillion times thinking I'm overlooking it. I've dumped my handbag upside down and shaken it. I went out late last night with a honkin big flashlight thinking it was down in my car seats or the floor of my vehicle. But alas! I'm not finding it.

Here's how the loss went down--I went to Red Onion to get gas and buy a lottery ticket(you see, I'm addicted to lottery tickets, but that's for another post). I pulled up to the pump and used my debit card to buy gas. While my gas was pumping, I went into the store and purchased my $5 ticket for 4 draws. While I was in line, I watched my pump, which is less than 10 feet from where I was standing. Paid for my ticket, went back outside, put the pump nozzle back got my receipt, got into my vehicle and drove home.

That was Tuesday night. On Wednesday after work, I stopped at SuperD to pick up a prescription. This is when I realized that my card wasn't in my possession.

I'm not one to get all whacked out about something like this because I usually find whatever it is I'm looking for. And I hate to call the bank and tell them to cancel the card. There hasn't been any activity on the card but the fact that the gas I bought hasn't hit it either is making me a bit nervous.

I guess my next option is to call the store where I last used the card and see if some good Samaratin found it and turned it in.

I'll keep you posted. Oh, and say a little prayer for me. I need all the help I can get. The mind is a terrible thing to lose.

My dates are off.....

I started a post on the 18th and finished it this morning. But when I published it, the date showed up as the 18th rather than the 20th. Therefore, it looks like I put it out on the 18th. This was not what I intended, and I don't know how to change the date on the post so it will show up where I wanted it.

Oh well, if you are interested in reading that post, you'll have to scroll down to it. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
and be one traveler, long I stood
and looked down one as long as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth....

I learned this poem by force in the 11th grade..so many years ago.

But I love this poem. It is so full of meaning, but I, unfortunately, haven't been very good at using it as a guide for my life. To me, the writer has obviously spent time pondering which road to take in life. Not me..oh no, not me. I've always been a fly by the seat of my pants kind of gal. You know, like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woaman. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a hooker, I just don't spend much time considering which way to go. It doesn't take me forever to make a decision--not necessarily a good thing--and I'm not hard to please. If I were, maybe it would take longer to make a decision.

I'm really bad about jumping into things long before I've thought about the consequences, and there have been consequences.

How about you? How many times have you jumped into something without attempting to look down that road as far as you could? I can't count the times myself. And I can't seem to break the habit. I could make a list a mile long of the times I've leapt before I looked. But then, just maybe, my life wouldn't have been nearly as much fun. I think you have to experience a certain amount of happiness, heartache, and uncertainty before you can feel your life is complete. Mine is just about as complete as it can possibly be.

Have a great day, and jump into something new today.

15 Minute Increments cont'd

I told you yesterday that I'd let you know how the 15 minute increments worked for me. I did get my bathroom clean--took two separate 15's, but I'm pleased that it is done. I also got most of my bills written out and a package ready to mail to my BFF for her birthday--not that it mattered, the Post Office wasn't open yesterday, President's Day. My increments worked pretty well yesterday morning, but about 5:30 yesterday afternoon, I realized they had fallen by the wayside. Still, I did get a bit done. I think knowing I'm only going to work on something for 15 minutes gives me an incentive to at least do something.

I'm not usually off, but have had a bug for the last couple of days, so I stayed home yesterday, and looks like I'm staying home again today. I've been up a while, and definitely not feeling better. I hope that reading my blog won't pass my germs along. If you think it might, please use your hand sanitizer when you finish reading this.

15 Minute Increments

Have you ever given any thought to what you can do in as little as 15 minutes? I was reading another blog and the gal mentioned that she sets a timer for 15 minutes. She stays with whatever she's doing until that timer goes off. When it buzzes, she either re-sets it or moves on to something else.

I got to thinking about this. What can you do in 15 minutes? I started out with doing some straightening up--now this isn't deep cleaning, just picking up and putting things where they belong--a task at which I'm not too good.

I've started out this morning by working on my bedroom. All it needed was to get the bed made and dirty clothes picked up and the dresser cleared off. Well, I got that done and had a few minutes extra. Normally, I would have made the bed, but then gone off in some other direction. But this morning, I stayed 'on task', and now my room is done for the day.

I may be on to something here. I've never been very good at staying 'on task'. And I've read the joke that went around on the internet at one time where the woman says she is going to pay a few bills, and ends up doing a dozen different things and at the end of the day, she still hasn't managed to sit down and write out the bills. This woman seriously doesn't stay 'on task'.

I have the same problem, but I never seem to get anything finished. My house is always a wreck. My sewing room is a major disaster. But today, I'm going to try to stay with things for 15 minutes. Whether its cleaning, reading blogs, working or whatever.

I'll let you know how it goes later today.

Is Spring really right around the corner?

During this morning's worship service, our minister talked about seeing jonquils beginning to peek out of the ground and that soon there would be blooms and then beautiful yellow and white flowers.

That's quite hard to imagine right now since it's cloudy and overcast, and the wind is gusting to 37 mph, and it's cold outside.

I for one, will be glad when Spring arrives, but just as it does, Summer will follow close on it's heels. With summer comes cleaning up from all the winter weather, cutting the grass, and mosquitos. It also has its good things like outdoor sports and BBQ'ing.

But back to the spring flowers. The minister also talked about going into the country and finding places where Easter flowers(as we always called them) grow in a field. This is a sure sign that a house once stood on that spot. Probably a 'home place' where families lived, grew their children, had happy times and most likely sad times, but a 'home place' never the less.

We had one of those. We were share croppers so the place didn't belong to us, but mother treated it like it was ours. She planted rose bushes, peonies, jonquils and anything else that others shared with her. My dad loved flowers, but he would never be bothered with growing them. His mother had flowers everywhere. She had no yard, just flowers. Every old pot, pan and tub on the place was filled with some kind of flowers.

It's nice to remember those types of things. We often forget our roots, we're all so busy keeping our heads above water that we fail to think about the old times. But they were good times, weren't they? Or is it that we just remember them better than they actually were?

Time to start Smocking for Easter

I've been smocking for years. I started smocking for my daughter #2 when she was about 2ish. And I continued until she was about 7. I kept the dresses, loaned them out, didn't get them all back, and now #2's daughters are wearing them, and they are being passed on to the newest granddaughter.

I received a piece of fabric in the mail today. It's a lavender check that I will smock for the newest granddaughter. She will be 9 months old by the time Easter rolls around. I have to have it finished and mailed by the first of March since Easter pictures will be made around the 7th of March. Man!, I've got to get busy, that's less than 3 weeks away. By the time I finish it, maybe I'll know how to post pictures here and will show it off.

I've also got to learn how to link my posts so that when I make comments to other sites, anyone who reads it can link back to my blog.

Another day.

New Dip Recipe from Conasta Club

Taco Cheese Dip

1 lb ground beef browned and drained
1 pkg taco seasoning - your choice as to how hot.
1 lb Velveeta cheese
1 can Rotel Tomatoes

After draining the beef, add the taco and prepare according to pkg directions.
Add to melted cheese and rotel.

Eat with your choice of chips.

I've been playing conasta for about 25 years with a group of ladies. There are 12 of us who pretty much grew up together. Of the original 12, 7 of us are of the original bunch.

We've been through a lot together. Birthing our children, illness, divorce, children getting married, children birthing babies, children divorcing, losing parents and all of us growing older.

We used to discuss our pregnancies, now we discuss our aches and pains, and we all hope that they will set up tables our wheelchairs will fit under so we can play conasta in the nursing home.

Having the relationship that we've all had together has been a wonderful thing for me, and I think for everyone else. Many of us see each other only once a month when we play cards, but we have a great time catching up, commiserating and just being together. We laugh a lot, and cry some. It's like having 11 sisters.

Everyone should have these kinds of friends.

I'm going to The Brunette's party.

I'm going to The Brunette's party in a few minutes. Her class exchanged valentines yesterday, but are having the party today. I know a good time will be had by all.

I took her to school this morning. She was fine in the car, and going in, but after I signed her in, she went all clingy on me and was crying real tears when I left. I hate to leave them crying, but you have to go on to work, else you wouldn't need to leave them.

She really likes her school and talks about it alot. She has learned soooo much in the few months she's been going there. And she has a best friend. She talks about her a lot too. But even seeing BF, she didn't stop crying. She knows I'm a pushover, and thought I'd take her with me, but alas!, I couldn't. My employer is good, but I don't think bringing small children for the whole day would be allowed. If so, there's about 1100 employees here and if they all started bringing their children and grand's, not much would get done. We are an instutition of higher learning, and we have an obligation to the students that come here.

Maybe one day, I'll win the lottery and won't have to work, but of course by then, the grand's will all be in regular school, and I think there's a law against not sending them to school.

I'm back from the party and have brought The Blonde One with me back to work. She has been drawing pictures for me on old desk calendar sheets. The party was fun. The kids had made things to go on their heads with antenae that said Love Bug on them in glitter. They had snacks and went back to their rooms. These are all 3 and 4 year olds.

On a sad note, The Brunette One's BFF got sick and had to go home. She missed the party.

Yipeee It's Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day. Not a national holiday(what a pity), but one of the biggest events this side of Christmas. I can't imagine how many flowers have been cut, balloons have been filled, cherries have been dipped, or how many diamonds have been bought.

However, I won't be getting any. Not that I've been bad or anything, it's just not a big deal to me. I don't have a husband to send or buy me anything, and I'd rather my kids spend their money on their respective husbands, wives and children.

I do remember valentines from the past. I remember having parties and exchanging cards with my classmates. We always decorated boxes and had contests. I don't remember what the prizes were, but that may be because mine never won anything, but it was fun. I remember looking through those cards for months. It's a shame I didn't save any of them.

Daughter # 2 has two little princesses. They have been working ov valentines for over a week. The youngest had Hanna Montana valentines. I don't know what the oldest had, but they were also putting together bags of candy and goodies for their classmates. The Blonde One was having her party today, while The Brunette One is having hers tomorrow. They will have a good time.

This is a good day to reflect on the people you love and those to whom you should have sent cards. I should have sent one to my BFF CP, and one to my other BFF MLH. I did get an electronic one from CP, and I saw MLH at lunch. CP has a birthday next week, so I have some things to send to her and I did get her a birthday card. She'd probably faint if I sent two cards in the same month. Probably think I only had a short time to live or something. She knows me too well.

A bit of trivia - Valentines day is said to have begun in AD 72 when a christian priest was being held in prison and fell in love with the jailer's daughter. He gave her a love note signing it 'from your valentine'. His name must have been valentine, else where would that name have originated. Who knows!

I hope everyone has a great day, and gets whatever they want on this wintery day of love.

My Poor Sick Grandchild

Daughter #2 called this morning to tell me that her oldest child - The Blonde One - got up this morning up-chucking all the way to the bathroom. After giving her a bath and a dose of Phenagren, she put her on the couch so her daddy could take care of her while mommy went on to work. Daddy didn't have to be at work until noon today, so he's the designated parent this morning. Daughter #2 will work til noon and then go home to relieve daddy.

Its amazing what goes through a child's mind when they are sick. She wasn't concerned with the fact that she'd made a mess in the floor, or that mommy would have to come home from work early, or that we are involved in global warming and a race for president that has gone totally berserk. She was concerned with whether she would be able to go to her valentine party at school tomorrow.

Now I realize at the tender age of 5, she wouldn't normally worry about the things I mentioned above, but I think it shows that they do worry at that age. I don't remember worrying at the age of 5. Of course, at my age, I don't remember much about being 5.

What other types of worries would a 5 year old have? Maybe which friend to play with today? I do feel that Daughter #2 and her husband have done a great job of making sure The Blonde One and her sister don't have too much to have to worry about. For that I am thankful.

But I do feel sorry for her, hope she gets better and also hope that the youngest child - The Brunette One, and the rest of the family don't get it.

Oh, yes, and I hope for world peace and that we have a warming trend soon. 25 degree weather is just too cold for me.