Happy Saturday!

[Dove]

Hi everyone!

I'm thinking about flowers today. What I want to plant this year, how nice it will be to look outside & see splashes of color again. And green -- I miss green leaves & green grass! It still dips below freezing here most nights, so not yet, but soon .

I'm down to half a bag of wild bird seed so have already stopped feeding every day, & am putting less out. I'm seeing fewer birds each day because of that which makes me a little wistful. I've enjoyed watching them for months but know that they need to forage for themselves again now that winter is over.

I'm getting caught up on this & that around the house today. I also have some birthday presents to wrap, & some need to be packaged up to mail. There is a small stack of mail, magazines & catalogs to go through next. And with April fast approaching, I need to do some planning & goal setting for the next couple of months. Normally Sunday is my planning day, but dh is out this afternoon so I have lots of quiet time to work on that today.

Hope you are all doing well, & enjoying your day. Waving ~~~~~to everyone!

[scattered]

Happy Passover, Happy Easter, Happy Spring... hope I covered all the celebrations this weekend.

Well, DS20 wimped out, but I had fun. After getting almost 4 inches cut off my hair and my eyebrows mowed (they were really bad), I went to Targe` for Easter/Spring celebration presents for the boys. Then I went to the grocery store.

At the grocery store I was reminded why I love living in the south. First, I had the willy's scared out of me when I turned around from the meat shelf to see a huge White Bunny with a candy basket right behind me (he/she didn't make a sound). Then, the butcher saw me pick up a huge leg of lamb (>7 pounds @ $3.99/pd) and asked me if I wanted him to de-bone it for me, I said no but would love if he could portion it into 3 equal portions. He had it portioned and wrapped in under 5 minutes with a smile on his face. Then when I asked a dairy man where the Vinegar was not only did he tell me where it was but walked me all the way across the store to exactly where it was. As if that weren't enough at the check-out counter the cashier and I were discussing gas prices and the fact that I only shop where they have fuel perks. When she totaled up my groceries and saw that I had spent over $100 she told me to run out front and grab a flyer so I could get an extra 30 cents off gas... when I came back with the wrong flyer she walked out front and found me the right one. Now that is customer service!!!

When I got home and DS14 met me outside to unload the car I told him he couldn't look in any of the Targe` bags or I would cancel Easter and take everything back. He and DS20 are now getting ready to go out and find me Easter presents... do I have great kids or what?

Whew, time for a nap and then I need to cut DS20's hair and get on my homework.

BBL

[helia]

Gotta love great customer service, scattered! Your Easter bunny story reminds me of some photos I saw on FB of creepy Easter bunnies posing with kids, about half of which were crying. . . . Just to expel any myths, friendly people and great customer are not yet extinct in the north. LOL! Just yesterday, I saw a store clerk chase down a customer who had left a bag at the check out counter, and a young man unpacking veggies at WF today was almost overly helpful when I asked where the fresh herbs were. He wouldn't stop explaining when I could see them clearly across the room. I was afraid he was going to go over there with me, but I think I convinced him I too could see them. One thing I do like where we live is that drivers, as aggressive as they can sometimes be, are for the most part very calm, slow, and extremely polite to other drivers when the roads are covered in snow.

I forgot dd14 had synchro practice today. Private club now. I took her and dh is picking her up.

Ds is coming home tonight! He is going to a concert tonight, which he wants dh to attend with him , and will come home afterward.

My two grocery store trips have been accomplished. I may not get the girls' errands done today. *sigh* Dh and I have a date to go jogging at 4 pm. then cook at 5 and eat at 6 so dh can go to the concert with ds.

The house is tidy, it just needs to be cleaned. This is random, but I'm now off -- to brush my teeth. I just realized I forgot to do this this morning. Then, I'll start working on the house.

[helia]

What will you be planting Dove? I need to brush up on my gardening skills.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Right. I need groceries. Specifically potatoes. I'll run over to the nearest grocery store and get them even though the 'today only' price doesn't look like a sale to me.

I've gone over the service for tomorrow and am ready to print the bulletin. I'm duplicating one hymn completely and doing Jesus Christ is Risen Today, vs. Christ the Lord is Risen Today (same tune, different words) but have decided that I don't want to change my service any.

Got two loads of laundry on the line, plus a few things to air out. Will start another load of laundry before I run over to the store but that will go into the dryer.

Dh just brought in 3 quarts of sap. We didn't expect that much because it is quite warm today (I'm able to put things on the line without bothering with a jacket.) It was well below freezing last night so that must have stimulated the sap run. He'll do a boil today but we only expect to get a cup of sap. I have two 8 oz jars so we'll put it into one of those and seal it.

The weather is supposed to continue +/- freezing (day/night) for the next while so the sap might keep running.

[helia]

Laughing at my typo. . "great customer service . . . not yet extinct."

Cleaning commenced. Thorough dusting/wiping down surfaces is taking a long time. I need to do this more often. I found an Easter egg - hidden last year. That means I haven't dusted inside that decorative bowl for a full year. Dh has done our vacuuming chore.

I am getting hungry so I want to go jog. I can't jog food in my tummy - and I want to eat something.

Cool about the sap, Kathryn. Once we moved up here, we started to use only real maple syrup. I don't think I could go back to the other kind. Dgirls have made candy w/ it in the snow before. Today, dh and I observed sap dripping from one of our maple trees; the storm did damage it - a huge branch was cracked right down the middle.

I'm going to try to convince dh to go jog now. . . . .

[blessedw2]

struggled a bit to stay focused on this beautiful day. I noticed when I have a deadline I tend to back off (esp. if its at home )

so getting back to work... I took an hour off for watching 2 cooking shows - I love laura caulder and rachel khoo

waving at you.

so happy your d son is coming home tonight d helia,

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Back from the store. It is such a joy to go out without a jacket on (I did wear a shawl) and no boots! Of course, I knew I would be going from the garage to a paved parking lot. The river is still frozen over, but the fields have melted and are all flooded so the geese are there (normally, they are on the river.)

Before leaving for the store, I printed off all the bulletins and finished the service. It is ready for me in my preaching binder. Will go over the music with dh later.

[Lilac]

I am one of those that have been in a funk and it has lasted for days. Tomorrow is dgs18 birthday. Dd2 who had taken over Easter dinner decided that maybe dd1 would want to have Easter dinner for his bd. No because dgs18 and his sister, dgd16 both have to work tomorrow plus their dad is on call. So dd2 wanted to know what I wanted to do. I told her I only had energy to clean or do the food but not both. So she said we could have it at her house. Great! Then she had sick kids. Dgd3 on Thursday and dgd23mos yesterday. Well guess who got to babysit. Normally I wouldn't mind but not right before I have to fix a holiday dinner. Of course her house is upside down. Last night dd1, her dh, dgs18, dd2, her dh, the 2 little girls and I went bowling for dgs18 bd. I didn't bowl but enjoyed watching especially the 2 little girls. Afterwards we went to dd1 for a DQ ice cream cake. I had came to the conclusion that even if dd2 was able to get her house ready, I didn't want to fix all that food and haul it out there. I let her twirl in the wind and finally told her today that I would just have the dinner and fix all the food. She told me that it sure took pressure off of her. I commented that no sense both of us stressing. I just get so irritated. She has this big family and never contributes to the meal. There has been times she has offered to bring ? and shows up with nothing. Grrrrr!!!!! I did tell her what I was fixing and told her if the picky eater boys wouldn't eat it, that she could pick up H appy M eals on the way.

Yesterday after I was finally able to leave her house, I went to Penneys to buy the boys pjs for Easter. Then I went to WM and bought the little girls pjs and a ham. Last night after ice cream cake, dsil took the 2 little girls home and both dds and I went to WM so they could get their kids Easter stuff. I was able to find pjs for both dgds16 with their moms help. Dgs18 will just get money because we couldn't find anything he would like. This morning I had to go buy what I needed for the dinner at the grocery store. I will go Monday and buy groceries.

When dh came in last night, I asked him how he was. His answer, " fine until his dr called on the way home". He is prediabetic!!!!!!!! Just what we need!!!!! I went into a tailspin over that. He already needs to quit smoking and lose weight, then this. She put him on M etformin and it says no alcohol. He likes to drink beer. So now he needs to quit smoking, watch his diet, not drink and exercise. She wants to see him in three months and wants at least 10 lbs gone. He needs to lose at least 40 lbs. I told him that unless he wants to test his blood a minimum of 6 times a day and take 4 shots, then he better do what he needs to turn it around. I would love for that to work for me but I wasn't that fortunate. I am type 1, insulin dependent. I told him that Okays dh went thru the same thing and that he was able to lose weight and turn it around, so it can be done. That was encouraging to him. I am just blown away by this news..............

Well sorry to be such a ray of sunshine but I am having my personal pity party................. I hate feeling like this, so better find my big girl panties and deal with it.

[lucylee]

(((Lilac))) That is a LOT to deal with, all in one day! (((Mr. Lilac))), too. Hope he will be able to deal with this and get his diet/exercise/etc under control. I know that would be sooo hard for ME, so I really do sympathize with you both!
I also hate this, but I'm afraid my family thinks of me as the one who never contributes anything to the meals...
except my cookies... * sigh * and drinks and rolls. * more sighs * At least we do not have a big family to descend on everyone at holiday time.

Daunt (sorta casually) invited us to eat with them tomorrow and I never really responded. I guess I should call her and let her know -- when I got home, dh had already accepted dinner plans w/his dbro & dmil. Dsisil will be going to her dad's w/dniece, and everyone else is out of town. DH is kinda aggravated; he could have turned down my daunt, but not dmil, and he just HATES Sunday dinners! Plus, he's afraid we may have another one looming on the horizon if my dparents come home next week. He is "resigned" to whatever befalls us.

Rainy, dreary day here...
I've been pretty productive today, I guess...
finished reading a novel
wrote 3 checks
went to post office
went to bank
went to dparents' house
filed their mail
talked to both of them on the phone
washed 3 loads of clothes
stripped the bed
now have sheets in the washer
ordered pizza for dmil & us
AND * hooray * DH has gone to pick up pizza! * whew * I appreciate that sooo much!!!

I hope you ALL have a wonderful weekend... Happy Easter, Happy Passover...

Waving to Kathryn, Blessed, helia, Dove, scattered, and EVERYONE else!!!