Beautiful end to a wonderful day.

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day. Warm, sunny and just a hint of a breeze. A day like this makes the spirit soar. The forecast calls for the weekend days to be in the 60’s with a chance of must needed rain Saturday morning. This sunset was a way to end a perfect spring day. We are spending Saturday and Sunday with family.

Wishing all of you and your families a blessed and Happy Easter. Enjoy.

Rose

Spring has sprung

I think spring has finally arrived in Iowa. Or at least it is trying harder. This is the view out my sunroom this morning. So beautiful. 

When I stepped out to try and capture that beauty, I was greeted by singing birds. They were enjoying the sunrise, too. I don’t get to see many sunrises from my sunroom. During the winter it is cloudy most days and in late spring till fall, the leaves on the trees block my view. But I am thankful for those leaves. They keep our house cool and most summers, we don’t have to us the A.C. a lot.

Take time to enjoy the beauty around you.

Rose

Fire at the Easter Vigil Mass

Hubby and I decided to go to the city this morning for a few groceries. We went early in time to be home to watch our favorite team play basketball. We, also, went early to beat the Sunday after church crowds. That got us talking about our Easter plans this year. I thought I was having Easter this year, but daughter no.1 decided to have it on Easter Sunday. She is more centrally located. That in itself is going to be different. We always have Easter on Holy Saturday so that everyone can go to their own church for Easter Sunday. So that left us two options. Go to the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday at 7 p.m. or the Easter  Sunday Mass at 8 a.m. Neither option sounded that appealing for us. Easter Vigil Mass is usually an hour and half, making it near 9 p.m. before we get home. But getting up and being to church by 7:30 a.m. didn’t sound so fun either. We decided since we are to be in Des Moines, a couple of hours away Easter around 11, we better go the Easter Vigil Mass.  Boy, I better get to where I was going with this post. Talking about what to do, got hubby and I talking about the Easter Vigil Mass in the past. As you know, we have four daughters all born within 5 years. All had long hair as little girls. And our church always passes out candles to all attending that are lit during the early part of the Mass. Our girls were fascinated with fire like most kids. I would spend that part of Mass watching and worrying about one of them going up in flames. The good Lord was with us and a million other little kids over the years, because I have never heard of a case of injury. I am sure I will have flash backs to those Masses of long ago this year when we attend the Easter Vigil on Saturday.

Enjoy the day,

Rose

Time in kitchen-not so bad.

The carpet cleaning yesterday took a little over three hours. The fellow was done around 1:00. Two things, actually three good things about the morning, the carpet looks great, I got some work done on items for my TPT store and we went out for lunch. We had the room back together by 6, in time to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes play in the NIT tournament. And they won. So, all and all a very good day. And the carpet looks so good. I think we can put off new carpet for a while longer. But for some reason, the day made me tired. I think part of it was sitting around so much and part of it was the work of putting the house back together. I always seem to work harder on days when the daycare kids aren’t here. NCAA tournament starts this morning at 11, and in case you haven’t noticed, I am big college basketball fan. I think I will spend the afternoon watching basketball.

Rose

Trapped in the kitchen

I will be spending my day off in the kitchen. No, I won’t be cooking. I will be stuck there because the carpets are being cleaned today. Hubby thought we should get new carpet but I didn't  want the hassle of cleaning out two rooms full of furniture. I figured it would be a bit easier to have them cleaned and then decide if we can get by or replace them come fall. Well, a bit easier is the key phrase. Emptying the living room of all but the heavy pieces was a bit more time consuming then I realized. I have a lot of stuff. Four side tables and one coffee table, none of them light as feathers. Plus a couple of big plants, three lamps and a stereo. Oh my. I am thinking some of that might not make it back in. Thank goodness we have a sunroom to put things in. We had planned on spending the day there, too. But Mother Nature didn’t get the memo. This morning we going to empty the toy room. We figured while we had the carpet guy here, we just as well have the toy room cleaned. That should be fun. Wonder what “missing” toys I will find when I start moving things. I have a couple of hours before he gets here. I should get busy but I decided to enjoy at least a part of this day in peace and quiet. We all know that having carpets cleaned isn’t quiet.

Rose

Oh my, they are back.

Finally took the snowmen wreaths off the doors. One reason, spring is about here. Or so the calendar says. Still plenty of snow on the ground and it has turned cold again. Another reason, the robins are back. Last week’s snow didn’t scare them off. I know they are the harbinger of spring but for me they are the harbinger of other things. I find them a bit of a nuisance. Did you know that robins will make their nests just about anywhere? They particularly love the wreaths on my doors.  Last year I had to take down a nest a few times each day. Robins are very determined birds. And did you know they will dive at you as you are taking down those nests. I now hang wrought iron type wreaths. The one on the front door say’s WELCOME and the one on the back door has birds and bells. Nothing to attach a nest to.

But you know what the enterprising robins did last year after I took down their nest various times? Decided the top of the light fixture was a good place. Mud and sticks and long pieces of grass everywhere. So I wrapped mesh screening on the fixture and that worked. Let it up for this year. But now those robins have found the suet feeder and have decided that it is very tasty. So now, between the squirrels and robins on the suet feeder, the woodpeckers hardly get a change to eat. You would think with their long beaks they could take care of the problem themselves. 

Have a relaxing weekend.

Rose

Just one of those days.

Today has been one of those days. I had a mental list of things I wanted to get done on my day off. A blog post was one the first items on that list. That one I am attempting now. I got off to a fair start this morning. Paid some bills on line. Cleaned up the emails that I tend to let pile up. Answered the ones that needed answered, forwarded the few I thought funny and hit the delete button on most. But before I could start my blog post, hubby decided we should do something.  Like go out for coffee. I said, No Way. I can drink coffee here at home. He thought it would be fun to shock everyone with our appearance. The local café is very busy between 9 and 10:30 a.m. every day with all the local retired people meeting for morning coffee and local news. One time, when my girls were very little, I hired a sitter and a friend and I checked out the morning coffee hour at the local café. What an experience. Everyone and everything was fair game for the gossip part of morning coffee. We were so bored and wanted to leave but we knew if we left before the others, we would be the topic of the gossip. So there we sat. Waiting and waiting for most to leave so that we could. After that, I said “never again”. I prefer to drink my coffee here at home. I have TV, my computer and my morning paper for company. Oh and hubby. So back to my list and getting things done. I sat around most the morning, enjoying the time off. About the time I did feel a like attempting a post for my blog, white smoke came out of the Vatican chimney. So I sat and waited with the rest of the world to see who our new Pope would be.  After that, I chatted with daughter no. 4 via Facebook. Made a pot of chili for supper and now I am finally going to be able to cross off one item on that mental list. A blog post.

Have a relaxing evening. 

 God bless the Pope.

Rose

Wonder where the Robins went.

Some robins made their way back to Iowa last week. We all thought it was a sure sign of spring. The temperature on Saturday was in the 50’s. A bit rainy but warm. Spring was here. Wrong. Yesterday started out with more rain but the temps were in the 40’s. Forecasters were saying rain all day, maybe mixed with a few flurries. Nothing to worry about. Boy, were they wrong, AGAIN. This morning we have 8 inches + of flurries on the ground, drifts everywhere. The wind blew all night reaching gusts in the 40’s. Interstate 80 was closed, along with 1-29. Many multiple car/truck accidents. We are a very small town, 680 people, and one mile off 1-80. At our interchange, we have two small restaurants and a one 12 room motel. It was at our exit where they closed the interstate, making people get off the interstate. No room in the inn. Our community building opened up with cots, food bought in my members of the community, along with cards, games etc. We did luck out and never lost power. The community building does have a generator to use if needed. All schools are closed in the area. No morning paper. It comes via truck from the city. And I have a day off. My daycare family lives on a farm so on snow days, they get to spent it at home. Best place to be in this kind of weather. Wonder where the robins went.

                                                

Bunny enjoy my bush for breakfast.

View from my kitchen window.

Drift higher then the bird bath.

Drifts on the roof of the house next door.

Haven't thought about parakeets in years.

A fellow blogger, http://itsasmalltownlife.blogspot.com/, talked about their new addition to the family, a parakeet. Haven't thought about parakeets in years.  Her blog reminded me of my Aunt Sadie and her parakeets. She loved those birds. I hated going to her house as a child. There was always  a parakeet flying around. My dad had loss all his hair early and it seemed like every time we were there, one of her parakeets would land on his head and peck. That didn't help my fear of those birds. My mother wasn't very fond of them either. She would tell my Aunt, that if she didn’t put those birds in their cage, we would leave. My mother was a very talented lady. She could sew any article of clothing without a pattern. Aunt Sadie was always trying to do what her big sister could do. But never did manage to sew anything without my mother fixing it. Well, one day, Aunt Sadie called, crying hysterically. She was attempting yet another sewing project when one of her parakeets flew into the path of the feeder foot of her sewing machine. My dad had to go over and take the bird, fabric and Aunt Sadie to the vet.  Bird and Aunt Sadie survived the experience but after that she would put the birds in their cage with she was going to tackle another sewing project.

One of the good things about blogging is that it brings back memories that were long forgotten. What fun. 

Rose

Have you ever got locked in someplace?

This morning my daycare mom asked if her little girl told me about their bathroom episode this past week. It seems they have been having trouble with the lock mechanism on the bathroom. She worried about one of the girls getting locked in. Well, it happened this weekend. But to her. She went into the bathroom and the door seemed to be working fine. But she had made the mistake of locking it. We all know, how that is. Sometimes that is the only privacy we get in a day. Anyway, she said when she turned the knob it came off and there she stood with it in her hand. She was stuck.  She yelled at the girls to get Daddy. She said he got her out by taking the door mechanism totally off.  Her youngest girl decided they didn’t need to buy a new one because she liked having a “pirate’s spy hole”

.

Got me thinking about the time I got locked in a bathroom as a child. My cousin and I were playing at our Auntie Ann’s house while our moms and Auntie Ann visited. I went to the bathroom and my dear sweet cousin locked me in. Era of skeleton keys. She ran home, 4 houses down the street, and on her way threw away the key. And, of course, no one had a key that would work. Finally, after a lot of “What should we do“by our moms and Auntie Ann, some fellow, don’t remember who, came and took the door off and I was freed. Let me tell you. I have never forgotten that day. Wonder if my cousin remembers that day like I do. Got stuck in an elevator once. That was pretty scary, too.  Have you ever got locked in some place? It is something you don’t forget.

How Asparagus Got it's Name

Received this in an emali. Out of the mouths of babes. I found it very funny. 

The Children's Bible in a Nutshell

A child was asked to write a book report on the entire Bible. Here is what he wrote:

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says,” The Lord thy God is one,” but I think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, “Give me a light!” and someone did.

Then God made the world.He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. . . . . Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars.

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel. Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.

One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.

After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birth mark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.

Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable.

God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include: don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's stuff.

Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother.

One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.

After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me.

After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore.

There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them.

After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of The New Testament. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, “Close the door! Were you born in a barn?” It would be nice to say, “As a matter of fact, I was.”)

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Republicans. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.

Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount.

But the Democrats and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead. Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

Have a blessed Sunday,
Rose

NEVER GIVE UP.

I have struggled with this all morning. Do I write this blog or not. You see, a young lady that was in my Daycare when she was little, passed on last night. She had been fighting cervical cancer for almost two years. Meighan was the most amazing person. She fought with all her heart and soul. Always, a smile on her face. Even the last little while when it became apparent she wasn’t going to win the fight, the smile never left. Meighan would have been 30 on May 31st. She was a Special Ed teacher in our local school district.  She leaves to mourn her husband, her 5 year old son, her parents, a sister and a brother and many, many other family and friends. My heart goes out to all of them. She was on this earth such a short time, but she taught all of us a very valuable lesson, NEVER GIVE UP. Please pray for all of her family. They are going to need God's grace to get through this most trying time in their lives.

Rose