I’m sorry to have gone missing again. Everything is fine. We’re just in the midst of getting ready for a family dinner this Sunday. Two of my sisters and their families will be here, about 24 people, I think. I have to find a couple of table cloths in pastel colors. And I may have to reserve chairs at the local rental place.
I was pondering flowers, and I think I’m going to do something with bunches of tulips. They don’t last long once they are cut, but they carry out the pastel theme well.
I have two hams holding down a shelf in the new refrigerator. I have condiments. I’m going to make baked ziti, and a pesto-goat cheese spread, and Elegante Mother is contributing her famous brownies. We’re steaming harricot verts for a green veggie. My sisters and some of their children will bring the rest of the meal. I’ll post a list of the entire menu later this week if I get the time. My youngest sis, who blogs at “Just My Opinion” (see my blogroll for a link), has been missing in action in the blog world. I’ll have to nag her about it while we’re cooking on Sunday.
I made it to the new doctor today, and was told that the problem on my two middle fingers is fungal in nature, and that my beloved latex gloves may be the culprit. He’s also advised me to leave the computer once an hour and do stretching exercises to address a problem of muscles knotting over my shoulder blade.
I got to spend several hours outside on Sunday, and can tell you about muscles I haven’t felt since last year at this time. I managed to get most of the sidewalk gardens, and the herb garden cleaned up. I still need to get to the lower driveway garden. I’ve asked Dear Husband to bring the trailer around to hook up to the lawn mower. I can make just one run with the cuttings, rather than piling things into the wheel barrow and having to make four or five trips.
The maple DH planted in the front yard shortly after we moved here has died. I think it must have had some type of insect infestation. Part of the tree was blighted, and this winter the bark rolled off the trunk, and the top of the tree snapped off in the high winds. What a loss! It was truly beautiful, with a fiery orange-red tint to the leaves in the fall.
It’s late. I need to get to bed, but I wanted you all to know that I was thinking about you, even if I haven’t posted a great deal lately. I hope you’re having wonderful Spring weather!

This morning, when I was so eager to get outside and play in the dirt, I had to stop to pull together information for a meeting. Dear Husband and I wrote our wills in 1992. Since then, there have been changes in the estate laws, and we have been advised to consider revocable trusts. The lawyer sent a letter with a list of the information she needs to move forward.
I was plugging away, typing out names and addresses of executors, trustees and beneficiaries, when it came to the question of specific bequests. We have three generations living here. We’ve combined three households, and created a “Yours, Mine, and Ours” situation. I walked to the living room to take a brief visual inventory, and realized that this was the most difficult, most personal, part of the information request. While you’re talking about “assets” and “executors” it’s just business, but when you have to think about where you want treasures to go, it becomes very personal.
You can’t know if the person you leave the item to will love it as much as you did. It’s possible that they want something of yours as a memento, but not THAT. Or, maybe they don’t want anything at all. For instance, my quilting stash is becoming an amazing collection of fabric. I’m not sure that any one person in my family has room for it, or even wants it. Should my family decide they don’t have room for it, I hope my bee members will offer to take it.
It made me crazy for a bit, trying to think about just what should go into that list of bequests, and I think that I need more time to make decisions. I know that the trust can be amended easily, so I’m going to go for the broadest strokes, and provide more detail later.
If you’ve been a visitor here, then you know that we lost Dear Husband’s oldest son at the start of 2006. His passing, at 41, has made me more conscious of how fleeting life is, and the need to be prepared, so that our loved ones don’t have to suffer through the legalities of probate. It’s difficult, but I’ll rest easier knowing that there is less for my family to do. And, hopefully, I’ll get the bequests right.

Well, Bogie, I have more to “brag” about.
Actually, I’m not bragging, just sharing the pleasure of being outdoors on a lovely day. I worked for an hour or so at the front door planting the pansies I picked up yesterday at Home Depot. Elegante Mother wanted some color at the front door, so I filled two large ceramic pots and two plastic window boxes with plants. I have more than I need, and I’m contemplating planting what’s left on the west side of the garage. They won’t last into the heat of summer, but they’ll be a bit more color for early spring.
After lunch, I went out again and worked on cleaning out the iris along the front sidewalk, and the herb garden. By 3:00, I’d had enough kneeling, and called it a day. Tomorrow, or at the latest, on Tuesday, I’ll have to rake up all that has been trimmed back. I pruned the clematis, the chrysanthemum, the purple coneflower, sage, lemon balm, Scottish spearmint, and part of the oregano. I still need to do the garlic chives.
Chives and fever few, and one weed I can’t identify, are providing good green color in the gardens, but the only other thing in bloom at the moment are the “Ice Follies” daffodils at the front side walk. Each week I expect to see more blooms. The forsythia should be next to flower.
So….no bragging, just simple enjoyment. I can’t wait to see pictures of all the bulbs planted at Bogie’s last year. Crank up the camera, kiddo!

SPRING is sneaking up on us! I got a decent night’s rest last night, ran errands this morning, and I’m going to work on quilts this afternoon, but tomorrow…..
(sigh)….Tomorrow I’m going to be working outside!
It’s sunny, but in the forties today, a bit on the chilly side for kneeling on the ground, trimming back plants. So, I’ve made the decision to wait until tomorrow to get out. It’s supposed to get to the lower sixties, so I’ll be more comfortable.
One of the errands I ran this morning was a stop at Home Depot. I bought trays of pansies and 8 hyacinth to plant in the front area planters. Mother was looking for color at the doorway for Easter. I purchased deep purple and yellow pansies, and johnny jump ups that are a tiny violet shaped flower that blends those two colors.
So….I’m off to play with fabric for the afternoon. I hope you’re all having a GREAT spring weekend!

Ronni is 65! How could that be? Surely it was only yesterday that we joined the workforce and claimed our positions as modern women of the world!
I want you to go read what she has to say about turning sixty-five. Personally, I’m going to book mark the page as a guideline on how to meet that momentous day and embrace the changes that may (will) come. I love her for what I see as a positive attitude and a love of live, no matter what comes.
Ronni, I hope this day is one of great joy for you! Happy Birthday!

Spring has officially arrived. Elegante Mother noticed that the squill which grows around the base of a tree in our grove is in full bloom. I’ll find sprigs of it here and there on the north lawn, courtesy of our chipmunk redecorators, but the largest patch has been extending away from a tree that is at the northwest corner of the house. Now that so many dead trees have been cut down, there’s more sunlight in that area. I wonder if next year we will see a bigger patch of squill?
My youngest sis, and her two daughters are coming for a visit this weekend. We hope to make a trip to Chicago. The youngest one has requested a visit to Chinatown. I hope our weather cooperates!
We’re about halfway done with our three-quilt project. I need to call the woman who is quilting the tops for Elegante Mother and see if she is ready for me to pick up the second and drop off the third. I have the last of the binding cut, and may get it assembled tomorrow.
The lawyer has sent me a laundry list of all the information she needs to be able to proceed with our revocable trusts. I have several fairly large projects in the works right now, and that’s one of them. I hope several of them will be off my desk before Spring is officially over. Don’t these people know I’m supposed to be in the garden!!!?
Ed has had his one month checkup at the vet. I don’t know if he tripped the Geiger counter or not, but I’ll know the results of the blood test by Saturday. He’s gained a quarter of a pound. They didn’t say if that was good or bad. Mr. Feisty swiped at me as I went to close the door of the cat carrier and got me good. It’s a good thing I’m still on antibiotics for that finger infection! The vet would have been more concerned for me if Ed had bitten me. She says mouth germs are more dangerous than claw scratches.
My niece has come through all her biopsies and surgery well, and has started chemo. We have high hopes that she is going to sail through her treatment, and come out strong.
I’m ready for summer meals. We’re doing spinach salad tomorrow night, and I think salad is going to be a major player in the menu now. I need to find a few new salads to throw into the mix. I’ll have to take my notebook with to write down appealing combinations when we go out to eat. *G*
I hope you are all safe from the dangerous weather this Spring is bringing. I’ll have to tell you tomorrow how we weathered this evening’s thunderstorms.
Stay safe!

My mother frequently talks about wanting a RED convertible. I’ve heard this story for years. Something small, bright red, and driven by a handsome man.
At exercise today the Dragon Lady asked if the weather didn’t make you want to go driving in a convertible, and a sizable portion of the class said “NO!” But, Elegante Mother said yes.
The youngest member of the class had a suggestion for me. She asked why we didn’t consider renting a red convertible to drive Mother to brunch on Mother’s Day. What a fabulous idea! I’m going to talk it over with Dear Husband tonight and see if I can reserve one right away.

I’ve talked about the fact that Elegante Mother and I go to an exercise class three days a week. I love the woman who leads us through the routines, even when I have a day when I’d rather stay in bed.
When our Dragon Lady first came to us, we were quiet and well behaved. That lasted a whole three months. She thought we hated her. Gradually the class began to talk with each other (during class), resuming the semi-rowdiness and friendship that had characterized the class before DL joined us.
The oddest thing happened today. We have a new member. The class is supposed to be limited to 40 people, but they have overbooked it by 5 at least, for this session. The new member took her place toward the back (the front positions are coveted, as are the ones all the way to the back). Class started and the noise level was unusually high, and during the warm up, we heard the new member’s voice boom out, “Talking is incredibly RUDE!!”

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