Big news (for me)….I broke one of my nails, so cut all of them.  I can’t tell you how nice it is to be able to type and do things I almost had to give up with those nails.  I’m not sure why women go to the time and expense of having nail tips or acrylics put on, as that would drive me crazy….for a number of reasons.

1.  I’m too impatient to wait while they do them, or while they “fill” them after they’ve grown out.
2.  The one time I had my thumbnail fixed, it was so thick and the smell was terrible…I can’t imagine the women that work there don’t get sick from it.
3.  I don’t know if they’ve changed things, but when you pull off those nails, it almost destroys the nail underneath.
4.  My girlfriend says she’s having the powder nail polish put on and it’s about $60 a visit, and it takes forever to get the nail polish off.  (See item #1)..  With the above as my reasons, I’d never consider having long nails if they didn’t happen naturally, and of course, the only reason I have long nails (most of the time), is because I don’t do anything seriously physical to break them…I talked to a woman in the Dollar Tree who said her mother-in-law has gel added to her nails and her nails are each over an inch long (from the tip)….Seriously, I wouldn’t be able to do one single thing with nails like that.  I’d have to lay around and point at things….That’s the extent of my skill set if I ever had really long nails.  Heck, I couldn’t even turn a door knob if I had nails like that.  And this will seem strange, but how does she wash her hair? These are the things I think about when I don’t have much to do.

Today, Rich went to kill some skeet…He’s been shooting for the past couple of years and really enjoys it…If you’ve never seen skeet, they are round ceramic type pucks…here’s a video if you’d like to learn more.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RNgyPIYqTI

I decided since Rich was going to be gone, I’d catch up on sending cards, writing notes for videos that need uploaded, and hang with the dogs.  After all, it’s over 90 degrees, so who wants to be outside?

I am easily distracted, as some of you know….I started writing notes on a video, then realized the last short clip, I was partially out of frame, so decided to redo that portion of the video.  I went to my craft room, did the small clip, then started thinking about blending tools, and how people love those Life Changing Brushes that most of us buy on Aliexpress.  I wondered if cardstock made a difference in results, or if ink made a difference, and ended up making a video comparing five different blending tools, and three different card stock and four or five different techniques, so the viewer would be able to see which tools work best with Oxide inks, which work best with stencils, etc.  By the time I was finished (there’s no air conditioning in my craft room), I was sweating profusely and decided I should have stuck to the initial game plan of just hanging around….So I’m back in the sunroom, hanging with the dogs, and have pretty much done none of the things I’d originally planned….I am some kind of planner, aren’t I?

I spent the morning in almost 90 degree heat, going to garage sales.  I don’t consider myself to be a die-hard garage-saler (if that’s a real term), but I try not to quit before my girlfriend…It was a rough morning to carry on…but, I did find some things I’ve been looking for, and that’s always a treat.  I’ve been wanting (and this is completely random) American flag designed thin cotton ribbon.  I saw Lindsay make a card with some around the 4th of July, and I loved it…..At the same sale, they were selling a multi-pocketed box of scrapbooking ephemera.  The box had brads with alphabet letters on them, and circles with a monogram letter and individual letters made from metal.  Since I’m making my nephew and his fiance a family cookbook for their wedding, I thought it might be fun to monogram it, and now I have the monograms to do it.  I spent $1.25 on both items and was happy as a clam…Where in the world did that phrase originate and what could it possibly have meant when it originated.  I went to Phrases.org.uk and here’s what they said.

What’s the origin of the phrase ‘As happy as a clam’?

Why would clams be happy? It has been suggested that open clams give the appearance of smiling. The derivation is more likely to come from the fuller version of the phrase, now rarely heard – ‘as happy as a clam at high water’. Hide tide is when clams are free from the attentions of predators; surely the happiest of times in the bivalve mollusc world. The phrase originated in the north-eastern states of the USA in the early 19th century. The earliest citation that I can find is from a frontier memoir The Harpe’s Head – A Legend of Kentucky, 1833:

“It never occurred to him to be discontented… He was as happy as a clam.”

The first definitive record that I can find of the ‘high water’ version is from the US newspaper The Bangor Daily Whig And Courier, December 1841:

“Your correspondent has given an interesting, and, undoubtedly correct explanation of the expression: ‘As happy as a clam at high water.'”

However, several biographies of General Robert E. Lee state that he used the expression ‘as happy as a clam at high water’ on more than one occasion. One such states that he included it in a letter that he wrote in 1833, which would pre-date the above by a few years. I can’t find a record of the letter in question so the account is second-hand, but it is entirely plausible that Lee would have used the expression at that time.

The expression was well-enough known in the USA by the late 1840s for it to have been included in John Russell Bartlett’s Dictionary Of Americanisms – A Glossary of Words And Phrases Usually Regarded As Peculiar To The United States, 1848:

“As happy as a clam at high water,” is a very common expression in those parts of the coast of New England where clams are found.

Also in 1848, the Southern Literary Messenger from Richmond, Virginia expressed the opinion that the phrase “is familiar to everyone”.

Huh…You learn something new every day.

Next, I like to buy perennial flowers whenever I see ones I don’t have, as I like my garden to be as colorful and unique as possible.  I found some red bee balm that’s really tall, because it was growing in the man’s woods.  Whenever his wife thinks there are too many bee balm in their flower beds, he throws them (literally) into the woods beside their house, and they take root.  Considering this is my second attempt to grow them, I’m saying maybe he does something beside just tossing them there.  Any way, this is what they look like.   If they don’t have to compete for sun, they don’t get really tall, but the ones he sold me were at least 4-5 feet tall…..I paid a dollar for five plants and really hope they grow, as I’ve already planted them, yes, in 90 degree heat…It definitely wasn’t pretty.

Lately, I’ve been buying snow shovels, as it seems like you never have a good one when you need it.  It’s either cracked from heavy lifting, or doesn’t have enough scoop to carry the snow away or is just plain worn out.  In the last two weeks, I’ve bought two snow shovels.  Maybe I’m like the fruit trees that produce a lot of fruit preceding a hard winter, and in my case, it’s not fruit, but shovels.  I’m hoping I’m wrong, and when I saw Rich’s look of exasperation with today’s new shovel, I simply told him to go through his shovels, pick out the good ones, and we’ll donate the rest.  Since I paid $2 total for two shovels, I don’t think it’s going to break the bank..

I also found a hair straightening tool for $2 to use with foamiran.  If you haven’t seen me use the one I bought from Japan to straighten ribbon many years ago (that I personally consider a death trap), I felt it was time for an upgrade..Since I don’t do well with the irons I have, I thought maybe a hair straightener like this, might help me to mold the foam.  I hope this works, and it was worth it to try for $2.  I bought a canister of brand new tennis balls for the dogs, and my day of garage sales was done.  I’m not sure if I’ll be going out again tomorrow because the heat index is supposed to be around 100 degrees, and let’s face it, I’m more of a 70 degree kind of girl.

I have had a list of errands that we’ve needed to run for weeks now, and I keep postponing doing them, as they are mainly returning items and picking up others.  I had ordered a shadow box frame from Michaels that was supposed to be in their wedding section and measured 12×12″….I ordered it online so it would be ready when I got to the store….note to self…never fall for that “time saver” going forward. I ordered the frame and some heavyweight white cardstock and thought I’d go to the cashier with another small purchase to collect the items I’d pre-ordered. You don’t pick them up at the cash register, are you crazy?  No, you pick them up in the back near the custom frames (where no one is working.)  I finally found a couple of employees talking, and asked if they could help….They already had my frame in one of their bags, so I didn’t take the time (right then) to open it and look at it…Luckily, when I got in the car I decided I should see what it looked like…Online it looked like a weathered white shadow box frame.  In person, it was an unfinished wood frame with no glass.  I’d never heard of a shadow box frame without glass, but there you go…You learn something new every day…at least I do..So back to Michaels to return the shadow box frame….back to square one.

I had a huge box of wedding reception “things” that I’ve been collecting for our nephew’s wedding. The wedding is in an aquarium, and they wanted white (Christmas lights) to wrap around the columns in the aquarium to give more lighting during the reception….I had found several strands at garage sales and threw them in a box…They also wanted sea shells to put on the tables…oddly enough, in N/W PA a lot of people have some pretty fabulous shells they want to part with, so there were several of those inside.  The bride wanted the ring bearer to carry a sea shell with the wedding rings into the wedding and again, in N/W PA, you wouldn’t think you’d easily find something to fit that bill, but a woman had a sterling silver box with a seashell lid…perfect for the wedding…I added a bunch of other things that I knew they’d need for the wedding, included a wedding photo framed of my parents, and the card I made them.  I’m not sure if anything in the box is something they’ll be excited about, but I sure was happy to get it out of my kitchen…it’s huge and weighed over 10 pounds.  And luckily, Staples took it off our hands and mailed it..YAY!!!

I don’t know if anyone cares about tradition any more, but I really wanted to make the bride and groom a family recipe album from the bride and our side of the family.  So far, I haven’t gotten any information from the bride’s side, but am hoping at some point they offer some recipes.  My sister and brother-in-law are going to handle his family and my mother’s recipes and I’ll handle mine and ones we use from Rich’s family.  I went to Hobby Lobby and got a great recipe book that had the cards included for $10….and hope that the bride and groom will use it.  I know the recipes I’ll include will be simple, as I’m a traditional meat and potato cook, and spent most of my married life working, and lived and died, by the Crock-pot.  I know a lot of people are using the Insta-Pot today, but you still have to wait 30-45 minutes for a meal….With a Crock-Pot, you throw everything in while it’s frozen and come home to a great dinner, ready to eat.  You can’t beat that.  When I would get home from work, sometimes I’d be surprised that that house smelled like supper, because I’d forget putting food in the Crock-Pot that morning…(I’m not a morning person, so you can connect the dots.)  I still think it’s one of the greatest inventions for the working woman.  And trust me, if I used an Insta-Pot after I got home from work, in the half hour it would take for supper to cook, I’d have already consumed half a bag of potato chips and a cookie or two before it was ready and then would be full by dinner….I’m also impatient…are you shocked?

I have a few recipes that are foolproof and always make me happy to eat…and are simple…That’s my idea of a great gift..helping a newly married couple find ways to make the most of their time together and eating great food while they do so…

Below are the links to the products I’ve purchased and received from my friend Barb…Thanks, Barb!!

Snowman ornament diamond art: Link: https://tinyurl.com/y26lk2nf

Papertrey Ink: Each set is $4

Sprinkles on Top: https://www.papertreyink.com/last-call/sprinkles-on-top-stamp-set/

Rainbows: https://www.papertreyink.com/last-call/background-basics-rainbows-stamp-set/

Venice: https://www.papertreyink.com/last-call/background-basics-venice-stamp-set/

Geometric Basics aka #2232 https://www.papertreyink.com/last-call/background-basics-geometrics-stamp-set/

Barb’s gifts:
Tulip die thinlit Sizzix: https://tinyurl.com/yxbebjv3
Purple flower die: Aliexpress #364 https://tinyurl.com/y472b9vp
Altenew Crown Bloom Set: https://altenew.com/products/crown-bloom-stamp-set
Whimsy Stamps Lily Dies: https://tinyurl.com/yylzdyle
Whimsy Stamps FoamIran https://whimsystamps.com/search?q=foamiran
My nephew’s wedding card was made with Spellbinders’ Shapeabilities Grand Cabinet Die: https://tinyurl.com/y4mf2sku and the Wedding insert: https://tinyurl.com/yyorncdl

Simon Says Stamp: Delicate Flowers stamps https://tinyurl.com/y4ltkph5

The rest of the products I purchased from Pat Catan’s at a huge discount.
Speedball Brayer
Artist Tape Studio 71
Faber Castell Glass Beads Glitter Gel
Bo Bunny Confetti Paste Silver
Quilling Circle Sizer
Balzer Designs Mini Swirly Garden stencil
Crafters Workshop designs by Jamie Mini Cell Theory stencil
Crafters Workshop Mini Wildflowers stencil
Ranger Tinsel embossing powder set
Faber Castell Gelato Tool Set
Starter Set Liquitex Mediums
Martha Stewart layered roses stencils
mini clothespins
Tribal background embossing folder
Diamond background embossing folder
Tribal Chevron embossing folder
Balloons embossing folder
Flower Pods embossing folder
Letter It Embossing set “How to Emboss”

I worked on, and finally finished the wedding card for my nephew…I think you’ll be impressed.  I used foamiran and made three different sized white plumeria, a flower I really wasn’t familiar with before.  Apparently, they are really popular in California, where the bride’s family lives.  Here’s a photo of what I tried to replicate on my card.

I was so lucky that she chose such a simple flower to make…YAY!!!!  Basically, all you do is cut a teardrop shape out of foamiran, and then use that as your template, lay it up against more foamiran, and cut out four more.  Then I used Distress Squeezed Lemonade on a brush to color the centers, and used my hot glue gun to put the flower together….What never occurred to me, was even though I thought a flower was small, it still wasn’t small enough to fit inside the card.  Another plus about this flower, all I had to do was trim the ends of the petals to make the flower smaller, and I just trimmed and trimmed until three flowers fit inside the card…

The other layers of card base, being white, were simple to de-gut.  Nothing like that glitter paper (that I’ll never die cut again)….The card takes a little bit of patience during the construction phase, but luckily turned out great.  I haven’t found a case that would hold it yet….so I haven’t been able to include it in the box of goodies I’m sending the bride and groom.

Today, Rich and I worked on the set of 60 watercolor paints that Arteza sent me in tubes.  I know absolutely nothing about how to use tubes, or what to squirt them into, so I emailed Lindsay, the frugal crafter, and she gave me all I needed to know to make it work.  She said I needed to add some glycerin or honey to each color and stir them together really well, or they will crack and fall out of the plastic box I transferred them into.  I bought one of those toothpaste squeezers that make sure the tubes are completely empty…here’s what they look like.     It worked well until you get down to the ridge before the opening, and I couldn’t figure out how to get the rest of the paint out, so stuck my paintbrush inside the opening and used that for my swatches.  You can call me MacGyver, I just didn’t want to waste that paint….and taking out a paintbrush full didn’t really make a difference, but somehow I felt like it did.

We only managed to finish the first thirty tubes as Honey was really agitated while we were doing it….so we’ll save the rest for another day.

We’re supposed to have thunderstorms throughout the day today, so I can’t get very involved in anything, as Honey can’t handle thunder, and we’ll need to go to the basement and watch television, making sure the door to the upstairs is shut, so Honey doesn’t hear thunder or see flashes.  It’s not easy being an anxious dog.

I’m working on the 3D bridal card for my nephew and his fiance.  I watched a video that helped a lot with how to put the die pieces together.  I couldn’t follow the paper directions (what else is new?), but knew if there was a video, I would know how to proceed.   Here’s the die I’m using.  I also wasn’t originally aware that I needed to buy the bridal section separately, so keep that in mind if you are interested in making this card.  It’s called Spellbinders Shapeabilities Crand Cabinet.

Here’s the bridal component that you purchase separately.

The one thing the video taught me, was that I needed four additional layers of the top design that took over an hour to de-gut….my term for taking all unnecessary leftover pieces out of the die cut.  I almost gave up, but then decided that perhaps my whole problem with the die cutting, was the glitter paper I had first used, so went to my standard white cardstock, and every single piece popped out like magic, just using the page protector under the cardstock, so all of those little pieces would stick to the page protector.  I have to tell you, those ladies at Clarity Stamps really know how to easily shortcut a problem like that.  Since I’ve seen every other idea, and tried them (to both save your cutting plates and get small pieces to easily drop out), this has been such an easy shortcut for me.  And, if you’re thinking it’s more expensive than drier sheets or wax paper, I’ve been using the same page protector for over a month and it’s still going strong.  If you saw it, you’d think about how it’s saved my base plate from a hundred new gouges…So if you’ve ever been on the fence about how to save your plates and make sure all of those tiny pieces come out of your die cut, fold an inexpensive page protector like this from the Dollar Tree, to fit on top of your cutting plate in your die cutting machine. Simply add the cardstock next, then the die facing down, then the top clear plate.  I couldn’t believe the difference it’s made in my die cutting, with the exception, clearly, of inexpensive glitter card stock from Joanns line of small paper pads in their discount area.  I think the name of these products begin with “Mrs.” but I can’t confirm this on their site or by the pad, as I used the top of the pad for a shim, and then threw it away…I hate it when that happens.

I really hope you give this a try, because I don’t know about you, but I love a good shortcut….The Dollar Tree page protectors come in a pack of sixteen, so that’s at least a year and a half of peace of mind.

I’m back to work on my card…..Oh, one other thing I learned today, some women when working with foamiran don’t use irons, they use a flat iron for hair…I bought a tiny one that’s seriously dangerous, just to straighten ribbon, and I’m going to give it a try on foam -iran.  If it melts one, then I won’t be showing that on video, but will definitely give you the heads up about my issue…Stay tuned for whether it works or not…

I’ve been working on making a card for my nephew who recently got engaged.  I bought a set of dies that makes a 3-d card, and ran it through the Vagabond a couple of days ago…Nothing would punch out of the small holes, as I was using glitter paper…I decided I wouldn’t let that die beat me, so added another piece of thin cardboard to the die cutting process to really squeeze it, but no luck…..Again, not giving up, so I added a layer of new dryer sheets so they would stick to the pieces of paper and pull them out…Again, NOTHING!  And all of this was after using a page protector in the cutting process that should have pulled out the bits and pieces…..Literally an hour later, I had finally pulled out the last piece…

It was probably the type of paper I used, as it seemed to have a thin plastic lining inside, but still, you’d have thought that after I tried so many things, those little pieces would just fall out..  I had to use my scissors to cut almost every small piece, none popped out on their own.  And after all of the pieces have been removed, I think I’m going to have to line the glitter card stock, as it’s really flimsy now….CRAP!!   I am crossing my fingers that a regular card stock will cut like butter, but if it doesn’t, I might not line the glitter paper, as the frustration so far has been beyond normal for me….And I’m the girl that used that entire roll of horrible foam tape that stuck to everything, especially me…

I just looked at a video using this die and I think I’ll have to cut a few more layers out to make it work…darn it..  And I’m making three foamiran plumeria, the bride’s favorite flower, to go inside…I may never get another video done….

To make background patterned paper, I started with watercolor paper cut down to a weird shape, 11″ by 7 7/8″..I’d recommend you use a normal size of paper if you can…It’s easier to work with.

I used Pegstamps.com, Blue Eden stamp set, link: https://tinyurl.com/yy2bdm35
I chose additional peg stamps to use:
Flower Six Happy: https://tinyurl.com/y4gz7372
Little Flower: https://tinyurl.com/y4v6kq7j                                                                          Solid Swirl peg stamp link: https://tinyurl.com/y3nv37ou

I used a variety of inks:
Distress Ink (Not Oxides)
Faded Jeans
Stormy Sky
Chipped Sapphire
Tumbled Glass
Pine Needles
Iced Spruce

Stampin’ Up ink: Always Artichoke

I trimmed the stamps so there wouldn’t be a halo from the rubber on the edges…If your stamps engulf the whole rubber space, you won’t need to do this, but if your image is smaller than the rubber area, trim the stamp with utility scissors, Tim Holtz scissors work best for me.  I prefer his smallest and middle size scissors.

To stamp a whole background, you should start stamping in a corner, not the middle. I started with Faded Jeans for the big flower and Pine Needles for the greenery, but didn’t like that green and changed it out to Stampin’ Up’s Always Artichoke. I used the small flower with Stormy Sky. I used Iced Spruce for the small greenery. I changed to Chipped Sapphire for the big flower….and then decided I needed more filler stamps, so added Flower Six Happy Link: https://tinyurl.com/y4gz7372 and Little Flower Link: https://tinyurl.com/y4v6kq7j

I decided I needed to use Stabilo 68 pens link: https://tinyurl.com/y4s3k8l5 to fill in the big blue flowers with brighter shades, so they popped more..I don’t think my ink pads were as juicy as they should have been.

I dried the paper and used Brutus Monroe Embossing Ink after rubbing the entire surface with corn starch in an old knee high doubled over and knotted….
I used a solid swirl peg stamp link: https://tinyurl.com/y3nv37ou
with the embossing ink and put a light gold embossing powder over them and heat set them to create a more dimensional background.

I watched a Clarity stamps video where she used a pocket protector on her die cutting machine,  and I folded it to fit on my cutting plates with the paper and die on top, and once it goes through your die cutting machine, you’ll end up not having to pick out little pieces that the die holds, and it saves your cutting plates from getting damaged. I cut a few hellos and a thinking of you, and thanks.

To make my first card:
I cut a piece of white card stock to 5 1/2″ tall by 8 1/2″ wide, then scored it on the 8 1/2″ length at 2 1/8″ then flipped the paper to the other end of the 8 1/2″ length and scored that end at 2 1/8″ then used my bone folder to fold them into the center to create a gate fold card. I added a layer of green cardstock with Plus Corporation Glue Dots tape runner. The green paper is cut to 5 1/4″ tall by 1 7/8″ wide.. I cut the patterned paper to 5″ tall by 1 5/8″..I had some flowers on my patterned paper that I didn’t like, so made a belly band to hide it. The belly band is 3/4″ tall by 11″ long..I wrapped it around the center of the card and put tape runner on the end and laid the other end over it.
I used an adhesive remover to take off excess tape runner that was outside of where I wanted it.. Xyron adhesive remover link: https://tinyurl.com/y66sgroe I added gold ribbon over the green paper strip using tear tape link :https://tinyurl.com/y6mxh372
behind it then added the hello sentiment in the center with wet glue Essentials by Tonic.

Card 2: Used blue cardstock 8 1/2″ high (scored at 4 1/4″) by 5 1/2″ wide. Used Diamond Dies from Tonic Essentials. Used a length of white sheer ribbon and laid tear tape near the base of the front of the card and wrapped the ribbon around it, then added a blue zig-zag ribbon on top with tear tape under it as well.  I added green buttons to the zig-zag  ribbon to give it more interest.  I cut three pieces of my patterned card with diamond die (third largest) then cut three (next larger size die) gold foil paper and adhered the two together with glue and laid them on the card front above the ribbon..I put the side diamond pieces on first, making sure each was the same height and the same distance from the side of the card base, then laid the center one over the other two, as it makes it easier to center them if you do it this way….I used “thinking of you” die cut in green, and glued it to gold cardstock, then trimmed it out with scissors and glued this over the diamonds in the center.

Card 3: 8 1/2″ (scored at 4 1/4″) x 5 1/2″ wide white card base with rounded corners using the Kadomaro Pro (normally found on Amazon). I colored the edges with Distress Ink Scattered Straw and used a brush to add the color, link: https://tinyurl.com/y2nskv7a.  I have not liked these brushes because the handles are flimsy, but later use a metal handled brush like it, that I really do like, (and ordered more of).  I cut a piece of blue glitter paper to 5 1/4″ wide by 4″ tall and adhered it to the card base. I cut my designer paper to 5″ x 3 3/4″ wide and put foam tape link: https://tinyurl.com/y3l9kp47 on the back and adhered it to the front of the card. I added thanks to the center of the card with wet glue.

Card 4:  I used 5 1/2″ wide by 4 1/4″ tall white card base, with a blue layer that was 5 3/8″ x 4 1/8″ tall. I used Salty Ocean Distress Ink on the edges of the white card base with the gold neck brush, that I like much better than the black handled ones. Link: https://tinyurl.com/y5cuoa35
I used teardrop shaped dies link: https://tinyurl.com/y67k2eog and cut four of my background paper with a middle size teardrop, and one size larger die to cut gold pieces..I added them in a zig zag pattern to the front of the card, then took a Thanks die cut and added it to the center. I used Studio G glitter glue in blue and added it to the word thanks. Glitter glue takes a really long time to dry..
I added the larger blue flowers from the peg stamp Blue Eden set around the tear drops then used the glitter glue on them.  I added some of the small greenery from the same set and stamped on either side of the blue flower using Stampin’ Up Always Artichoke ink.

Card 5:  Used a pre-made card base and added a layer of blue cardstock with foam tape under it, then a layer of my patterned paper on top (the rest that I had left)…sorry, I don’t have the sizes for you. I added blue Stickles to the flowers on the front of the card and then put the word Hello up on foam tape and added it near the bottom of the front of the card. I used a white gel pen to add dashes and dots to the hello and around the blue paper lining it.  Lastly, used Wink of Stella on the blue paper and on hello and on the flowers that didn’t have any Stickles on them to create a more glittery look.

I know I haven’t been putting up enough videos, but Rich is working on editing the longest video I’ve made in a while.  I have three more videos ready to go up, so I’m cracking the whip (I mentioned the video and he got right to it, my version of cracking the whip.)

Yesterday, my girlfriend and I took one of our bank co-workers out to lunch.  She’s in her mid-eighties, and loves to get together whenever we can.  Her sons are busy with their lives, so she spends too much time alone.  She had a stroke when she turned eighty, and lost the ability to drive.  It’s been the single hardest thing for her, losing her independence..I think we can all agree that would be a horrible thing.  She has lost the function (most of it anyway) on one side, so has to use a walker, and that bugs her too.  If you knew how spunky she is, you’d understand why these things frustrate her so much.

We went to Walmart today, and PennDot is changing a major intersection into a round-a-bout…They can’t decide how to keep the traffic moving, so closed one major road, and that’s making it almost impossible to get anywhere.  We had to wait for a line of traffic twenty cars long, just to leave a parking lot…and each car had to turn onto a very busy four-lane road, so you can imagine the frustration….Have I bored you to death?  I also had some carpets cleaned so Honey spent the entire morning barking at the cleaners.All in all, a great day.

 

We aren’t very active, and this weekend, had two parties in one afternoon, and boy am I tired (still.)  The first was a graduation party for the son of our next door neighbor growing up….Almost every adult there I’d met and spent time with in my youth, and it was like a family reunion for me.  Our family is really small..My mother was an only child and my dad had one sister…..A big family get-together for us, consisted of thirteen people.  Our neighbors, on the other hand, had a huge family with loads of kids, so their family get-togethers (that we always attended), were big…and since I’ve known the “kids” all my life, it’s always nice reconnecting with them.  They’re so kind, treating me like family, and since my sister is in North Carolina, it was great to spend time with “family.”

We went from there to our other “family,” our college friends.  One family was celebrating the birth of a new grandson, and the rest of us, celebrated with them.  There are five families that live within an hour of us..Rich played football with the men, and I was good friends with a couple of the men in the group.  It doesn’t matter that it’s been almost forty years since we’ve graduated, we laugh at the same stories and talk about different people that we’ve recently spoke with…

I know a lot of people remember their high school years with fondness, but I didn’t hit my stride until college, and those four years were the best of both Rich’s and my lives.  We both made life long friends and wouldn’t change those years for anything….And for Rich and me, the best part, was meeting each other there…