We Remember

MEMORIAL DAY IS HERE--

Thank you to all our service men and women.  

God bless them all!

I love the way Parma Heights Baptist Church honors those who served. The choir sings a medley of the theme songs for each service and has those stand who served or who have family members serving when their theme song is played. I am always moved to tears by it.

Read about a real hero, Captain Ed Freeman, here: Who's A Hero To You?

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Celtics on To The Finals! (by Gerard)

I go so tired of hearing on ESPN how no team has ever come back from being 0-3, how the Celtics are old and tired, blah, blah, blah!

Well, the Celts put an end to that last night with an awesom game! The crowd was into it from the get-go! Robertson came off the bench and hit some big 3 pointers after Rondo went down. It was a team victory all the way! Now, it's on to the finals! Go Celts!!

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6 Things I Learned This Week-#73

A Book With No "e"

Kathy from the Junk Drawer shared about a novel, "Gadsby," written by Ernest Vincent Wright without using the letter "e." I find that amazing since "e" is the most used letter in the English alphabet! Here is the link to the post about it at The Writing Pages: "An Entire Novel Without The Letter 'e'."

Blogger Linking

By accident I discovered that in Blogger if you put a link in the box under your post title when writing your post, the Link Within posts are the ones on the other place that you linked to. When I found the inspiration for posting about my piano experience, I copied the link to a draft post until I was ready to write it and forgot to take it out. When it posted, the link within posts at the bottom were all from the blog I had linked to. When would you ever want to link your post title to something else?

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Spring Fever--I'm Not In The Mood

I have a bad case of spring fever here. I love these 80 degree sunny days we are currently having in Cleveland, Ohio, and it just draws me outside and away from the computer. I don't feel like blogging lately (partly because it seems I am running out of material after 167 posts). Also, I just don't feel like being at the computer at all, sitting there sweating. Consequently, I have not been visiting near the number of blogs I used to in a day.

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Who Are You To Yourself?

I took this quiz and think it interesting that the results are pretty true for me.

You Are Strong For Yourself

You see yourself as a natural leader. You believe in yourself no matter what. This statement I don't really think is true. I see myself more as a supporter than a leader. You think other people see you as kind, gentle, and cooperative. You try to be helpful. I hope people see me this way. I certainly try to be like this. You want to see yourself as ingenious and clever. You'd like to be a quicker thinker. This is true. I would like to be smarter and more clever. My thinking has definitely slowed down from what it used to be. You identify as a compassionate and accepting person. You pride yourself on being forgiving. True again! I am very compassionate and pretty accepting. I don't really have trouble with forgiving others but then I haven't really been hurt a whole lot in my life either.

Click here to take quiz: Who Are You to Yourself?

Share your results in the comments and if you agree or not.

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God Comes Through Again!

Call unto me and I will answer thee, and show the great and mighty things which thou knowest not.--Jeremiah 33:3

Back at the beginning of March, I was reassigned at work to a different floor and went from the world of corporate law to litigation. I am a secretary at a law firm who has been very good to me over the 23 years I have been there.

Switching areas was challenging because there are some secretarial functions related to litigation that corporate secretaries never had to deal with. I was leery and a bit shaken up because being on one floor for so long, I had friends on that floor. The first three days were very rough. I went from working for one corporate attorney who was not very busy to three litigators, one of which was extremely busy and who had some strange quirks, was very picky, and basically hard to please. I came home all frazzled and thinking about work. I do not like to think about work when I am at home.

I prayed God would help me adjust and learn quickly. He did. I reminded myself that God is in control and I just need to trust Him. I chose to rejoice in the Lord each day and trust that God was directing my path according to Proverbs 3:5 & 6. After the first week, I felt better about my new assignment and by the end of the second week felt it would work out okay. I like being busier and am not afraid to learn new things. Just yesterday I learned another new thing about how to view pleadings on the court site that were filed electronically.

But God really came through for me. That attorney who I was basically on pins and needles with left the firm to work elsewhere and in his place I got a new guy that just joined our firm so isn't as busy. Things are no longer so crazy. When life throws us a curve, it's nice to know that God is watching over us and does not allow anything to come into our lives that he will not help us through if we put our faith in Him.

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Me and My Piano

I came across Sugar Tails post, "Let It Shine" about using your talents at which she specifically mentioned playing piano. It inspired me to write about my piano experience and to start playing again some each day, at least for myself. I kept the piano when I moved out because mom told me I should take it. I have kept it all these years for sentimental reasons and play only occasionally. I used to play for children’s church many years ago but haven’t played much at all since I’ve been married. My cats like to lay on top of it but neither of them like to play it.

WHY I LEARNED

Learning to play the piano was something my mom always wanted to do but growing up during the depression, her parents could not afford lessons. Playing the piano was one thing she wanted to give us the opportunity to learn. The church organist was our piano teacher and would come to the house for our lessons. Both my sisters seemed to like the idea. I was willing but didn’t feel I had any musical talent. We practiced each day just by playing through the assigned pieces for that week, going slowly at first to get the notes right.

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4Things I Learned This Week--#72

Kids Bowl Free All Summer

At 1 Prince and 3 Princesses I learned about a free summer bowling program for kids. Certain bowling centers across the USA and Canada are offering two free games of bowling every day to kids all summer long! Just go to www.kidsbowlfree.com to sign them up!

Rainforest Favorite

When I asked my 5th grade boys Sunday School class what their favorite Rainforest animal was, I was surprised they said it was the poisonous frogs.  My favorite ones to watch are the otters.  I also find the python fascinating when he's on the move.

Grease Stains

At Apartment Therapy I learned a cool tip on how to remove grease stains: simply rub chalk onto greasy stains and the chalk powder will absorb the grease, making the stain easily removable by the laundry soap in the wash.

No Sales

I went to order some more author copies of my book and learned that none sold since the beginning of the year. It looks like Mountain Woman and me are the only ones who buy it. It's a bit depressing.

Click here: More Friday Fragments

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Sewing Was My Worst Class

Because my mom was overweight, she sewed a lot of her own clothes and was good at it. I think she knew better than to try to teach me though. I was a Tomboy through and through and had no interest in learning to sew. She was thrilled that I was going to learn at school. I was expected to go to school every day and do my best. Personally, I felt I should have the option of taking woodworking instead. Back then, girls had to take Home Ec and only boys were allowed to take woodworking. It was so unfair!

I absolutely hated 7th grade because of sewing. I’d say it was the second worst year of my education. For the first time in my life, I was introduced to sewing. My sister and I were both in the same grade so we both had clothing at the same time. What you would think would be a very useful class was a joke for me.

Struggling Through

Our first project was to make a simple skirt. Mine was dark brown. I was best at threading the needle. I had steady hands and could easily slip that thread through the eye of the needle. The hardest part was making a knot in the end of the thread and knotting it again when I was done.

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The Planter Hunt

Saturday was sunny and in the 60s so we decided it would be a good day to plant some flowers. We took Abby along and Gerard walked around with her while I picked out flowers for our porch planters. I went with petunias and coleus. I did not choose yellow in the hopes we would get less bees.

We finally threw away our swan planters and while Gerard planted the flower box, I went to look for new animal planters. I was not picky, any animal would do but I did not find any. We checked at the nursery where we bought the flowers, at Target and WalMart. The good news is I was able to get two little plastic pots for just $5.00. I miss our swans. These pots look pathetic. We will be on the lookout for animal planters and hopefully by next spring, we will find some.

Our front circle keeps getting smaller and smaller every year. The grass is taking it over. Our back yard mostly has perennials now so we do not have to plant much back there.

Have you planted flowers yet?  Any suggestions where we can find some animal planters?

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Karen’s Day Off Was Very Unusual by Guest Blogger--Spunky Doodle

Strange things happened on Karen’s day off. First of all, I spent the night before inside the hallway linen closet. When she took out the blanket, Manny jumped in and she left the door open so he could get out. Naturally, I could also get in and did. Somehow though, the door got closed with me inside! I didn’t mind too much because it was nice and dark and I had lots of blankets to lay on, but I wasn’t able to join Karen on the bed. She was very surprised when she opened the door to put away the blanket in the morning and out I walked.

Karen did something very unusual this morning. She dusted! (She NEVER dusts.) She dusted off the CPU unit and when she pulled it out to dust it, I went behind it where all the wires are attached and got to explore this new space. Of course she was telling me to come out of there the whole time, but I didn’t come out until I was good and ready. After all, I’m not a dog, I’m a CAT! She thought perhaps the cord to the speakers on the computer was lose or that perhaps the dust was affecting them. This video shows how she and Gerard have to bang the speaker to get it to work. Do you have to bang yours?

Karen went right on the computer after breakfast as usual, but stayed longer since she took the day off work. When she came to get a banana, she noticed Abby wasn’t in the living room like usual. Abby is very good about coming when called so Karen called, “Abby, come.” Then we hear her running up the basement stairs. Gerard must have not known she went down and closed the kitchen door so she couldn’t get in. Good thing Karen was off and took a break from the computer! Once Abby was out, she went to work on her Father’s Day project with Karen the rest of the day.

It was nice having her home with us all day, even though I didn’t adjust my nap time around her. Manny laid in the computer chair next to her all day! He’s such a brownie. I noticed that she went out for lunch and then took Abby out for a walk in the afternoon. The really strange thing she did though was play the piano! She hasn’t played it in a very long time and she kept playing the same song over and over and over while she was printing something out from the computer.

Once Gerard got home, things all went back to normal—just checked email, Facebook and TV watching. Tonight I stayed out of that linen closet and slept with Karen.

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Happy Gotcha Day, Manny! He's Now 5!

We have had Manny two years now and he is a great man cat. I love him so much! He is quite affectionate and follows me around like a puppy dog. He will lay in the chair next to me and let me pet him while I am on the computer. It wasn't always this way though.  Just as I predicted in this video, Manny has become my buddy and is "Mr. Nice Nice." Be sure to turn up the sound to hear Manny's "remarks."

When we first got him, he was very frightened and unhappy because we took him a a loving home quite abruptly. He was separated in one room away from Spunky Doodle for about two weeks. He used to hiss and growl at me every time I tried to pet him. Gerard didn't think it would ever work out, but I was determined and very patient. I sent a video to my friend who runs Kitten Krazy and she emailed me back with some good suggestions that I followed. Here's the link to the post "How To Make Friends With A New Cat."

Manny would love for you to visit his blog on his special Gotcha Day: Zemeks' Updates.

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4 Things I Learned This Week--#71 (Bears, Twitter, Feet, Maids)

Black Bears

Over at Red Pine Mountain Mountain Woman did some research on black bears after having one visit her on her deck right outside the big windows during the night. Among the things she shared is that they don't like the smell of citronella and ammonia. To read about her visit with Black bear, here is a link to her tale: Mountain Woman Learns She Is a Coward. She kept me on the edge of my seat!

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Gerard Proposed To Me!

May 13 is a special day for us. It's the anniversary of the day Gerard proposed to me and we always remember it every year. We have no plans today to do anything special, but we still both reflect back over the years and are both glad I said "yes." We've had some close calls along the way and one huge argument that almost caused me to call of the wedding, but I'm glad I didn't. Our 13th wedding anniversary comes up in August and we will be doing something special then. To read about our proposal day, here's the link to the post I wrote last year: Do You Celebrate Your Proposal Date.

Here's a fun little quiz you can take to see What Kind Of Love You Have:

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Who Says Men Can't Shop?

Gerard came home from shopping one Saturday all excited with a real bargain. He found this nice $26 purple polo shirt at Penney's. Guess what he paid for it. Leave your guess in the comments. Here's a clue: It was a door buster sale item plus he had a $10 coupon.  The price and winner will be announced tomorrow.

What's the prize?  There is no prize, it's just for fun and of course if you have a blog, you'll get some link love.  

By the way, he really appreciated all the nice comments he received on the post about his mother:  Best Mom Ever!

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For Those Who Don't Cook: Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I read a lot of blogs that give recipes so I know many of you like to cook. However, I am not one of them and I know I can't be the only one who doesn't cook so thought I'd share one of my quick, easy recipes with you. One of my favorite quickies that I'll even take for lunch and make at the office is a grilled cheese sandwich--technically it's a toasted cheese sandwich but it tastes the same to me.


 

Here is how I do it in case you can't view the video:

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The Hardest Puzzle We Ever Did--The Castle

My mom loved puzzles and I remember working on several with her. Not that I was much help although she was very patient and I did get better at doing them. I remember several very hard ones: the huge swan puzzle with mostly green pieces, a farmland puzzle with mostly blue and brown pieces and a very pretty bird puzzle that I bought for her. It had several colorful parrots and a cockatoo in it. The hardest one though was the 3-D castle.

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6 Things I Learned This Week-#70

Binky Fairy

Every parent needs to know about the Binky Fairy when it comes to to take away the binky. I learned about this at Ma, What's For Dinner's post about it. You tie the binkies to helium balloons and let them go. The Binky Fairy then plants the binkies and they grow into trees producing more binkies for others to enjoy. Then the Binky Fairy returns with a gift for the brave child who surrendered their binkies. I bet you didn't know this!

Networking Site For Authors & Readers

At A Book Inside I discovered that because ning is now going to charge, The Author & Book Event Center site has moved to http://bookeventcenter.spruz.com/. This is a place where authors and readers can get to know one another and people can get their questions answered about book publishing, editing, marketing as well as discuss books.

Woodrow For Governor

Woodrow, a dog, is campaigning to be the next Governor of Texas! See for yourself at The Next Governor Of Texas Could Be A Dog. He is running as an independent and hopes to get some write-in votes.  I found this piece of news when playing my Freekibble trivia.

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Best Mom Ever! by Gerard

This post is part of Mama Kat's Writer's workshop in response to the "Memories of Mom" prompt. Since I wrote about my mom the last years, this year it's Gerard's turn to share about his mom:



We used to play Rummy and Bunco a lot.

We used to watch The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, My 3 Sons, Polka Varieties and movies together every night.

She took me to Indians games often and the wrestling matches at the Cleveland Arena.

I remember there always seemed to be big snow storms on her birthday (Jan. 25).

We went to Red Barn for chicken every Sunday.

We planted flowers together and she taught me how to clean the house.

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I HATE YOU!

I must have the dumbest computer monitor ever.  Two weeks ago, I'm sitting at my computer trying to see the screen because the picture is so light and the afternoon sun was glaring on it.  Fortunately, Gerard was out walking the dog.  I am literally screaming at my AOC computer monitor.

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What's Your Old West Cowboy Name?

Russell Red & Sadie Banner (our cowboy names)
This picture was taken the last time we went to Geauga Lake Amusement Park. It was fun to do and provides us with a good memory whenever we see it. I recommend you doing something like this even though it's a bit costly, it's a fun memory. Click below to find out your wild west name. (If you don't like it, try it again and you'll probably get a different name. The first time I did it I got Sadie Banner but the next time I did it, I got Mary Beth.)

What's Your Cowboy or Cowgirl Name?

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Somebody Is Sleeping In Our Bed

This is the first Manny went in under the covers. The bed was made and he just crawled in for his afternoon nap.

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From A Bird's Perspective

Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? –Matthew 6:26

God Cares For You

As a creature of the Lord’s
God shows He loves me too.
And I am just a bird—
Much more he cares for you!

The Bible says God guides us,
He tells us where to feed.
Now if God cares for animals,
He’ll surely meet your need!

So don’t get scared and worry
About things of this earth.
God says He will protect you;
To Him, you have great worth.

And when a worry tempts you,
Quick, lay it at God’s feet.
Allow the Lord to show you
That trusting Him is sweet.

But you must take that first step;
Refuse to fret and fear.
Fill up your mind with Scripture,
And let Christ draw you near.

Reprinted here from A Closer Look At the Evidence by Richard & Tina Kleiss.


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