We’re in one of those weeks that Cop Car shudders to think about. Half of our exercise class will be coming for a potluck brunch on Friday. If they walked in the door now, I wouldn’t be ready for them, but I should be ready by Friday morning.
I’ve been trying to put in two to three hours a day on the gardens. They won’t be perfect, but they’ll be reasonably acceptable by Friday. My friends will understand they are a work in progress.
I have a body count of 22. The question is…..do I trust that count? Nah…I really don’t, and I don’t want to get caught at the last minute without enough chairs and place settings. I’d like to add a small table for four, just in case someone brings a guest, or perhaps a class member didn’t get to sign up. Beyond that, I’ll have to punt.
I’m making a double recipe of Baked Ziti, and maybe a Caesar Salad with chicken. We’ll also provide beverages, bread and butter. (Nice alliteration, huh?? *G*) I’d like to set the tables Thursday night, but since we have a cat, I think I’ll wait until early Friday morning, just to be safe, so everything else has to be done by Thursday night.
I need to put away the two current quilting projects, and straighten the area where I sew. I’ll deadhead the flowers and sweep the sidewalk, and not worry about anything else that needs to be done. My friends will understand that there is only one of me, I’m sure, and we’ll have a wonderful time together.
I had to laugh. Of the 22 who have signed up, at least NINE are bringing dessert! *G* You can bet I’ll have to blog about that!

I cribbed this from Bogie, who had some very strange results. My profile is a little closer to being right, but I don’t know where the 5% Dixie came from. I’ve lived within an hour of Lake Michigan for most of my life, and all of my formative years. It’s about 20 questions or so, a quick test.
***Your Linguistic Profile::***
70% General American English
10% Upper Midwestern
10% Yankee
5% Dixie
0% Midwestern
What Kind of American English Do You Speak?
http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofamericanenglishdoyouspeakquiz

The other day, a friend sent me a word game in an e-mail. The idea was to change just one letter of the last word on the list and send it on to a friend. I sent it on to my sister over at “Just My Opinion.” I think my word was “rude,” hers was “dude.”
I love word games. I love knowing definitions, and using interesting words. I like crossword puzzles, and I prefer an author who writes well rather than using trite phrases or clich

We’re all yet living at the Buffy Bed and Breakfast, and doing fairly well. My week has been filled with accounting, household chores, errands, quilting and gardening. Actually, HUGE amounts of gardening and quilting. I had to make up some office time this afternoon because I was so busy with other aspects of my life.
Each year I hope to get started with my gardens in March, and each year I find myself at the end of March wondering where the heck the month went. So…things I had planned to do in March get heaped onto April, and some of April’s chores get pushed back into May. When we FINALLY got rain this May I had to work around the showers.
We live where the soil is this wondrous black clay that turns to cement when it dries out. The rain we received over the last ten days was a gift from heaven in several ways. By March we were thirteen inches behind on precipitation, so the gentle rain was desperately needed, but the real gift was that it makes weeding a breeze. The roots slip right out of the ground, and you don’t have to use a trowel or a hoe to ease them out.
While it was raining, I worked on the quilt I was making for my granddaughter’s second birthday. I plan to blog more about that in the next few days. Unfortunately, I was just about halfway finished when it was time to give it, but it was well received despite the fact that they had to give it back to me to finish.
Last Saturday, Dear Husband motored the Arr!! up the lake to its summer mooring in Chicago. Today was the first day he went to the lakefront to sail, so it’s official: I’m a boat widow. I assume that he will spend two nights and three days on the boat this coming weekend. I’m going to continue working on the quilt and the gardens and see at least one movie, possibly two. And, I think this weekend I may make my first trip to the farmer’s market.
It’s not too early to be thinking about our Memorial Day meal. We usually have an indoor picnic, with hamburgers and hot dogs or brats, and potato salad. I need to be looking for alternatives to the high carb potato salad, or make that for Elegante Mother while DH is away. When we hit tomato season, I’ll be eating lots of tomato, cucumber, green onion or broccoli salad, but I’m holding out for the homegrown tomatoes!
The exercise class will be coming for brunch the second of June, a week later than we usually see them. Unfortunately, the iris may be past their prime by then. We have clouds of blooms on the iris on the garage side of the sidewalk. (I’ll try for pictures tomorrow.) The iris on the outer edge of the sidewalk are just opening, but it will be a stretch for them to hold on for ten days if we get any heat. The peonies are loaded with buds, so maybe they will be in bloom just in time.
I’ve planted a climbing rose that EM ordered, on the west side of the arbor at the end of the herb garden. I planted another rose that is larger than a miniature, but smaller than most roses, in the herb garden. I felt it needed a little color, and I can always move the rose if I need the space.
I’m halfway through cleaning out the walkway and beds of the herb garden, and I have about 90% of the east driveway garden done now. There’s still a lot to do at the front of the house and in the garden at the lower end of the drive, but I’m slowly getting there. I’ve started planting some of the things we bought this week. If there’s time tomorrow, the herbs and tomatoes will go in.
I plan to plant good sized groupings of fewer plants in two of the areas, to get a mass of color. I’m also trying to choose plants that will be able to deal with sparse watering. While I may have help on Fridays this summer, the plants at the end of the drive may only get watered when I have that help, so they need to be hardy little suckers.
So…you can see that I am preoccupied with getting the gardens in shape for the summer, and preparing for three weekends of partying. Everything is normal here. How about at your place??

Those of you who came in recently may not know that I am a retired grade school band director. It’s been ages since I taught, but once a band director, always a band director.
There’s a fascinating post over at “Talk With Desiree” that I’d like you to go read. One of her children has been introduced to band instruments at school, and has been given the option of joining band. The band director has given the parents a page of reasons why a student should join band. I second all he has to say.
If you’re contemplating letting your child join band, I’m here to tell you to go for it! Now, go read what Desiree had to say.

Today was a Red Hat Lady day. We meet once a month, frequently to share a meal. It was gray and cold, with threatening clouds scudding low across the sky. Elegante Mother and I found the new restaurant, and made our way to seats, while we waited for the others to gather.
I had the opportunity to visit with one of the first women I met when we joined this group last year. Library Lady was in good form. We swapped a few stories, including the one where she beaned her husband with a guitar (she was crazed with fever……the flu, you know), and chatted about the situation in the USA in general.
It turns out that we have the same religious background. I was raised in the Congregational Church, and when I was a kid we sang the Doxology at each service. Perhaps some of you are familiar with it. It goes:
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
The lyrics are by Thomas Ken, and they are sung to the Old 100th.
For several years, I sang in the choir at the Methodist church, where they sang the Trinitarian Doxology: Glory [be] to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Library Lady and I wonder why these doxologies have fallen out of favor at church. We both miss hymns that we grew up with, now that church music has become so secular. Does anyone have an explanation for us?
Our conversation wandered on to the government’s attempt to remove God from our schools and the government. My understanding is that fourteen per cent or less of our population is atheist, and they have succeeded in telling the rest of us that we can’t mention God anywhere but in church. The silent majority needs to stop being so silent. Our country was founded by people seeking religious freedom. Their religious background was a part of the government they created.
At this point in the conversation, the President in Charge of Vice jumped in, and said that she felt the government needs to put this issue aside and focus on things that really matter. We have Americans overseas in a war that is no longer popular. We have homeless who need help, people in the US who are starving, citizens who have no health insurance, and those who are still reeling from the effects of last year’s hurricane season. We could be focusing on finding other forms of fuel, and we could improve the quality of education.
See why I go to these meetings? I know the Red Hat Society is assumed to be focused on quirky apparel and frivolous pursuits, but with conversation like this, you can tell that we are not just a gathering of air heads. Join us. There are Red Hat Society chapters springing up everywhere. If there isn’t one near you, start one!
Library Lady…..thanks for the kind words about my blog. I appreciate the support.

You know….it’s really shocking to pull up your own blog and see that it’s been so long since you posted that there’s no message box on the screen!
Edward Scissorhands (our cat) is helping me with this entry. Or maybe he’s saying that I had better get off my duff and FEED HIM! It’s tough to tell. This time of the evening he generally comes around looking for attention, but he behaves the same way when he wants to be fed.
Okay…stinky cat food set out, dishes rinsed, dishwasher started….(see what keeps me from blogging???)
I think I have finally come to the time when I will have to admit that I might have to cut back on my beloved drink of choice (hot or iced tea), after dinner. I have not been sleeping well this past year. There are a number of issues involved here, but I’m pretty sure that by switching to decaf tea, or water, I might be able to improve the issue of getting to sleep. Time will tell.
I’m also trying to take good advice offered to alternate tea with water. We ALL need more water in our diets. Most of us don’t recognize dehydration when we experience it because we are frequently borderline dehydrated to start. I used to think that because I drank so much tea, I couldn’t have a problem, but I was wrong. You need to drink WATER….not just liquids!
I’ve been pondering weighty issues this week. Earlier, I posted a link to a political quiz. The past few days I’ve been thinking about pro-choice and anti-abortion issues. It’s a sign that while my hands have been busy with chores, gardening and piecing quilt tops, my brain has been wandering. I’ll let it wander a bit more and then share a couple of those thoughts with you.
Did I tell you that we had planned to rent a RED convertible for the coming weekend? About six weeks ago, I tried to pin one down, without a great deal of success. Hertz finally told me that they had convertibles coming in, but they couldn’t guarantee there would be any red ones. The agent suggested that I call this week to see if they could accommodate me. Well, this time I got an agent who didn’t give a rip about my needs. She said they couldn’t guarantee what color or type of car I would get. The color was so important, that I canceled my order for a convertible. I had planned to drive Elegante Mother around for the weekend in a jazzy little red car, but we’ll do it another time when I can find a RED ONE!
Why is it, when you are not near the keyboard there are dozens of things you’d like to write about. And, when you are AT the keyboard….you can’t remember any of them?
I’ll come back when I can remember some of them.

We have a very interesting banker. He’s been our banker for a number of years, but it was just this year that I learned he is the age of the son we lost on New Year’s Eve. I’d never given any thought to how “young” Joe is. He’s good at what he does, and brings a wealth of experience to the table.
Today, he guided me through the steps to accomplish something that our business required, and then we drifted into more general conversation. It lead to the fact that we are both dissatisfied with the options we have in the voting booth. I started to say that I felt the welfare system needs to be overhauled, but he felt that it needed to be closed down! We frequently see things alike, but it turns out that he is a Libertarian, while I am a Centrist.
I know this because he sent me to take The World’s Smallest Political Test. This is a Libertarian site, but the test is interesting, and will give you an idea where you stand in relationship to the Libertarians. If you have a couple of minutes, go take the test. You’ll see it in a turquoise box on the right side of the site.
CENTRISTS espouse a “middle ground” regarding government
control of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on
the issue, they sometimes favor government intervention
and sometimes support individual freedom of choice.
Centrists pride themselves on keeping an open mind,
tend to oppose “political extremes,” and emphasize what
they describe as “practical” solutions to problems.

I’m having an odd morning. The house is strangely quiet, and it almost seems as though I’m in the wrong house. Elegante Mother has gone to visit with another of her daughters for four or five days. Her rooms don’t have the usual inviting halo of light, and there’s no jazz playing in the background. Normally, I’d hear EM conversing with the cat about whether he should go back outside or not. It seems very strange.
We have a wedding coming up in our family this weekend. True to form, I’ve put off shopping for an outfit until the last moment, so this morning I will have to take myself off to the mall. Just one mall, if I’m lucky. If not, then to several. The wedding is at 5:00 and it seems that the general attitude is that dress should be semi-formal. I clean up reasonably well, but I’d really rather be in my gardening clothes.
Ed (Edward Scissorhands, the cat), had a doctor’s visit on Saturday. We’ve been watching over him since his radiation treatment for hyperthyroidism. A month ago the vet ran some tests and determined that he needed to go to a low protein diet. We have been gradually changing him over to the new food, which he really doesn’t care for. Last week, in desperation, he tried to take down a bunny his own size. I’m happy to tell you that bunnies are very good at playing dead and sneaking away. We’re waiting for the results of the blood tests, but the one ray of good news was that Ed had gained an eighth of a pound over the last month! YEA!!
I was browsing through Prevention Magazine while I was waiting in the vet’s office. Did you know that people who have at least 20 drinks in one month are 66% less likely to develop insulin resistance? I have intended for some time to start serving wine with dinner. I keep forgetting that it’s sitting there in the wine rack. Besides, this would be a nice tip of the hat to our late son, who was our personal wine expert.
I was gardening in the rain on Saturday, and I moved a stepping stone and uncovered an ant abode. In way of thanks, they sent visitors to my wrists to BITE ME!! Those itty bitty darned little red ants HURT…..and my wrists STILL itch. I’m going to have to look for some topical antihistamine, and wear long sleeves today.
So….there are my thoughts for this morning. You can see that my brain is on hold, not quite ready to jump into the day, but more awake than it was an hour ago. I hope you’re all facing the day with verve and aplomb!
Have a great one!

As I type this, it’s still Saturday night. I have just this entry to make before I plan to crash for the night. When I post, this will be listed as a Sunday post, so my use of “tonight/tomorrow” may be a little confusing.
My second sister is the Director of Christian Education for her church. Sunday is Women’s Sunday, and she has been asked to give the sermon. It should be interesting to hear her preach. I’ve never heard her speak publicly.
Elegante Mother is planning on staying with my sister for a few days this week. She’s packed and ready for the trip. Several family members will join us for church, and then for lunch at a local restaurant.
It will be odd without Elegante Mother filling the house this coming week, but there’s a lot scheduled, and she’ll be home in just a few days. Ed, our cat, is likely to miss her the most, because she caters to his coming and going, and sees to it that he has fresh food throughout the day.
Well…..it’s bed time. I hope you all have a good night’s sleep!