Hi everyone.  Today starts with another bright and sunny morning.  However, the forecast is for cloudy this afternoon but getting up to around 84 degrees.  Later this morning I plan on going to the Masonic Lodge as this is their annual BBQ Dinner to raise money for their charity work.  My friend who told me about the event said one dinner should be enough for Pat and I to share.  So I will get one meal and we will have it for our evening meal. Nothing else on my schedule for today. 

Yesterday was basically another lost day as I spent most of it just laying down resting and listening to music.  I took a diuretic pill this morning as my exhaustion could relate to the Congestive Heart Failure and fluid may be accumulating around my heart.  I hope this helps as want to feel up to attending Church tomorrow.   Our choir did their Easter music last evening as a part of the Good Friday service but I just wasn't up to attending. 

Gloria, it has been years since we have had an margarine in our home as Pat once put some in a skillet and it turned into what looked like a sheet of plastic and that was it.  I think we pay around $2.49 a pound for it now. 

Hal, I didn't have a bad experience but just felt the food was so-so and for the price would rather eat at Ruby Tuesdays or Texas Roadhouse or somewhere else.  Pat also commented about the food being too rich that she had eaten. Glad you got your car back.

June, I did a study course on Revelations years ago and also attended a series of Wednesday morning meetings with our Pastor as we studied Revelations.  It certainly isn't an easy book to understand with all the symbolism. Glad you are got some special time with Gary and Dori.

Mary Ann, like you I just don't seem to know how to be short in my writing.  I want to be understood and try not to make assumptions that others are going to know something when I can add a few words of explanation just in case. 

Callie, good to know that you can say no without offending.  One thing I have learned in later life is that I can say no without the need for explanation or justification. 

I was sure I posted yesterday but didn't see a purple one from me.... Never had a busier week in years & planned to ease through Easter going to church but skipping the family party.  Strange year, but guess I will show up after all so nobody gets feelings hurt or worries because I just wanted a day off.  At any rate, I'm cooking a ham today, going to dye a few eggs after I boil them, and try to find something to wear to church Easter morning that is not my usual slacks/jeans (not REAL dressy).  I going to rush home to bake a couple batches of cinnamon biscuits to take for the brunch.  The clan really does love them but they are such a mess to make.

Sprinkler guy came again yesterday about 3:30 pm.... discovered a bad (old) valve causing the problem.  Cost another arm & leg, and was told "this is an OLD system so......."  I ended up with over my 10,000 steps, 9 floors (the control panel is in the basement so I did the running)....

I managed to stop by church for a few private prayers on Good Friday.  I've always felt Good Friday the saddest day of the year, but as a parent it hit me yesterday when kneeling with only a few others around the church (I couldn't be there for the services), I was overwhelmed with what agony God must have felt knowing the pain his Son was going through... and he could have stopped it.  Can you imagine being in that situation of watching your child being tortured and not step in to protect....  for the benefit of the world you couldn't smash the people harming your baby?

Better get busy, got up a little before 4:00 am because Tiger was banging on the folding wood door I close so cats can't have the run of the house.  She doesn't think it means her.  I let her come in & we lay on the end of the bed that is most comfy to have TV on (it puts me back to sleep).  It was a little after 8:00 & I'm dressed, Tiger is still snoozing on the bed so I was anxious to say "Hello" to all of you before starting my jobs.

Can't believe this is still Easter Week.... I loaded the RV last Sunday after church (enough food & clothes for a week or more    ), drove to central MO on Monday, put flowers on my parents grave & went on down to the Lake of the Ozarks.  Came on back to Wichita the next morning, the wild dogwood wasn't blooming but I did get the spring flowers on the graves & the RV didn't give me any trouble, mission accomplished.  Wednesday I thought I'd better try the sprinklers to make sure they worked... BAD NEWS.... my son came over to see what the problem was & discovered one pipe had been broken by a tree root.  Big job & was well after dark before he quit, convinced it was a "ground wire" keeping one zone on when it got tried to finish the rest of the rounds.  Thursday was lawn mowing crew but I put out signs they couldn't miss "Don't Mow!".... Had the back yard dug up & sprinkler man couldn't get back until Friday late.... but had a front yard soggy from another buried head along the driveway... anyway, more trouble & I think brown is pretty so don't plan to mess with sprinklers again.  I know I will, we put in a well, even put in a new pump last year because city water is so expensive to water lawns.  I'm thinking it might be cheaper than sprinkler systems now.

I did get some pretty photos of the dogwood tree planted by the entrance of the campground but found updates while I was gone messed up the old computer that has Paint Shop Pro on and won't let it open.  I've tried everything but will have to uninstall & re-install.  Several of the ladies helped me set up all those years ago and I don't have a clue how to make it work.  Joan was one, Gloria, Bubble and Bunnie.... I do have some old notes but will have to have more time to read & understand than I have this week.  I've enjoyed making cards for the holidays from my photos so am unhappy.... no time to think about it long, so....

Happy Easter to Every Friend and may God Bless. 

Love you all.  Shirley 

Good morning everyone, had another of those nights I could not get to sleep. Too many of them lately. Finally fell asleep around 4AM.
Another beautiful sunny day here with showers due late today.

HAL  only one of the back orthopedic doctors wanted to do surgery on my back and that was before he even saw an Xray. That was 6 years ago.

CALLIE  yesterday send my CNA to the market and then made the Jello salad for tomorrow.  It looks good enough to eat. I did keep a little out to try and we both thought it was very good. Thanks for sharing. I used cherry Jello.

MARY ANN  I have days where I will just listen/read and say nothing and others you cannot shut me up.

JUNE  glad you had Gary and Dori there for the singing yesterday.  Today I might just be lazy and do nothing at all.

LLOYD  it is 58° here now and up to the high 70's for Easter.

AMY  thank you so much. I got a box from my daughter yesterday, filled with homemade Ginger Snaps. She had told me a few days earlier that she was doing some baking for a change. First thing I did was pour a glass of milk and had a couple of the cookies with it, Oh so good.

SANDY  mornings like this I would love to get out for a nice long walk. Unfortunately The only place I can walk now is around the parking lot. I like the walking but the scenery leaves much to be desired. Still better than walking back and forth in the hallways and seeing closed doors, some have beautiful things hanging on their doors. One always gives me a chuckle, she has a wreath on the door and a sign that says “Beware guard cat on duty” She has a cat that will run and hide when someone goes into her apartment.

LARRY  I think at one time most of us used margarine because it was much cheaper than butter. I used it for some things but I still prefer real butter. I do the same as you at times. Too many words used to get what I am talking about out.

SHIRLEY  you not cooking for your family and staying home from a family gathering would not be you at all. They would worry about you and all show up at your house to check. When my sons married and moved out  they would stop by anytime and I would start something for a meal or snack for them.  If my daughter was closer it would have been the same with her. Now I just cannot do it. I have thought like you about God and the agony of Jesus on that horrible Friday. I often think the name Good Friday is wrong, what was good about that torture? I had to install my PSP several times on this PC. Now I have trouble getting the plugins installed.  I have not done much the last few months.

   *Things I've Learned From My Children*
01.  A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq.  foot house 4 inches deep.

02.  If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

03.  A 3-year-olds voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

04.  If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a superman cape.  It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20 by 20 foot room.

05.  You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on.  When using the ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit.  A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

06.  The glass in windows (even double pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

07.  When you hear the toilet flush and the words "Uh-oh," it's already too late.

08.  Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

09.  A six-year-old can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year-old man says they can only do it in the movies.

10.  Certain Legos will pass through the digestive tract of a four-year-old.

11.  Play Dough and Microwave should never be used in the same sentence.

12.  Super glue is forever.

13.  No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on
water.

14.  Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15.  VCR's do not eject PB&J sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

16.  Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17.  Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18.  You probably do not want to know what that odor is.

19.  Always look in the oven before you turn it on.  Plastic toys do not like ovens.

20.  The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.

21.  The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

22.  It will however make cats dizzy.

23.  Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

24.  The mind of a six-year-old is wonderful.

Can't believe no one has posted in the past 4 hours.

Of course, if you've been as busy as I've been, you have a good excuse.

I've spent that time making a rum cake, a corn soufflé and a hash-brown potato casserole - plus  snapping almost 2 pounds of green beans,  frying bacon, chopping onions and putting all of those together in the crock pot.

Now I'm going to enjoy a Stouffer's Chicken Panini Sandwich, some fruit salad and my usual lunchtime Diet Coke.....and spend the rest of the afternoon, and probably the evening, being a Recliner Radish. 

Wishing Everyfriend Everywhere an Enjoyable Day.

Good afternoon to all,

And a very Happy Birthday to Gloria.  Hope you have a great one and many more to follow.

Callie, you need someone to sample those dishes?  Sounds good.

I will talk to you all later.

Is it your Birthday Gloria ? I didn't know that till just now. I hope it has been a wondrfully Happy Birthday for you.  I know the feeling of not being able to fall asleep at night.....miserable, for sure.

I am taking my 'day off' very seriously. I have changed into a long dress that is of a t-shirt quality..very comfortable...and I am not going down for a meal, or a meeting, or anything more than a disaster..God willing we have none of those. I am just laying around reading, dozing, a little t.v., and will have to eat soon..That means opening a big can of soup, heating it in a big bowl, and that will take care of two meals today..lunch and supper.Breakfast was coffee with a huge roll, filled with a lemon pudding type of thing.

My brain is in a very relaxed mode, so I have no special news of any kind. Time to eat some soup.....

CALLIE, I made "Helen's Green Stuff" only I left out the pineapple and the green jello and put in raspberry jello and fresh red raspberries.  Since Helen never made it any way but green, I'm calling this "The other Helen's Pink Stuff".  I'm the other "Helen".  It's my real first name in front of Jane.

Then I spent the afternoon driving about 40 miles out of my way to get to the Lycoming Mall which is about 18 miles away.  Of course, I didn't put any miles on my car and it's amazing that I didn't hit anything because my eyes were closed the whole time.  And a number of fireplace logs appeared in my living room!  I wonder what I should do with them?

Someone is picking me up at 6 to go to the Easter Great Vigil Service so I better start getting ready soon.  I need a shower and the dogs will want fed and some things have to be put away and....whatever!

  Happy Birthday, Gloria!!!     

Happy Birthday Gloria!  Many more to come!

Samples of veggies and cake are in the Hidey Hole.  Help yourselves!

Gloria, Happy Birthday and many more. 

We've had a lovely day and my computer says it is 80 degrees now at 6:25.  Amazing.

Tom and I went to a nearby produce place that just reopened after having had a fire last fall.  The reopening was in the paper and I think much of the north end turned out to shop there.  We got some produce and I am sure we'll go back again. 

Dot and I will go to church in the morning, then OTB.  In the afternoon, Tom and I will go to have Easter dinner with Annie and her boyfriend.  His business is open seven days a week so they will work tomorrow, probably not as late as usual.  Annie is learning to cook so our meal will be interesting.  We are furnishing a green bean casserole, so rolls and pies.  Annie is furnishing whatever else we have.

Mary Ann

Let's start a new week with the celebration of Easter HERE