June

It's 2:40 am. Guess who woke me up? That's right, Sandy. I'm sitting in the LR with the Solid Gold Oldies station on. Taking a trip down Memory Lane instead of sleeping. I have a doctor appointment at 8:30 am this morning. I hope that I'm not going to be sleeping through my appointment. Coco is playing with a ball. She's rolling it across the wooden floor. Sandy is sleeping across the room on a chair. He wakes me up and goes back to sleep. Heard the Lettermen on this station a little while ago. They were singing "The Way You Look Tonight". That brought back memories. I remember when they appeared at our college and sang those great songs. They were the kind of songs that tug at your heart. I may have a CD of their songs. Maybe I'll dig it out tomorrow and listen to it. Not that I need my heart tugged at at this point. Maybe if I change the channel to the Easy Listening station, it'll put me to sleep. Beautiful music, but it always does the trick!

Last Day of May

Today is the last day of May. What a beauty it was! I could be happy with weather like this all year long. Went to help Mom get ready for her house guests today. Just got home about a half hour ago. I took the back roads which adds a half hour to the trip, but it's a relief from traffic. This coming week is a busy one. There's a doctor appointment tomorrow, food shopping and maybe a car washing. On Tuesday we play MJ and the Italian class meets. Wednesday is a free day for me. Thursday is a Red Hat outing, Friday is the Quilt Guild Meeting and Saturday is a play in the city. On Sunday I'm reading at one of the masses, and there is a communion breakfast. I'm not sure if I'll have house guests before our Saturday adventure, but I sure wish they'd let me know a couple of days before so I can get things ready. Some people like to do things at the last minute. That's not very convenient if you are the hostess. Oh, Well, you know what they say. "You can choose your friends, but not your relatives."

Guitar Practice

This evening I practiced the guitar again while watching the instructional DVD. I'm making progress with the chromatic scale going up. I need more practice going down. I feel like I'm all thumbs. The classical guitar that I have which has nylon strings is easier to learn on. I also have an Acoustical guitar which is larger, but that seems to be harder to learn on. I've watched the DVD about 4x so far. I watched it all the way through the first time, but now I watch just the part I need work on which is the playing the Chromatic scale. When I have that down pat I'll proceed to the chord section on the DVD. After that comes the playing of some easy songs. I figure that I'll be on Vol. 1 for about 6 months to a year at the rate I'm going. If each vol. takes as long to learn, I could be at this for 10 years. Hopefully, I'll get to a point where I have muscle memory and things will start to get easier to learn to play. It's fun, but frustrating. I hope that it doesn't take 10 years, I still have the Harp to learn!

Sunny Saturday

Today was an excellent weather day! E. and I went to Rice's Market this morning. We were finished shopping by 9:00am. We were happy to get an early start. When I got home I finished a quilt that I had been working on. I also knitted for a couple of hours. I've had the Light Classical station on for most of the day. The two doors were opened, the ceiling fan was on and I could really appreciate this delicious day. I actually fell asleep in my chair for awhile while the music was playing. It was very quiet outside and the soothing music put me to sleep. Sandy and Coco were doing the same, sleeping. There is just a little more daylight time left in this day. When it gets dark I'll close the doors and the curtains until tomorrow. More days like today would be terrific! Please hold off on the humidity for another month. I don't want to put the AC on yet. It's too expensive!!!!

Things To Do

This morning I had a doctor appointment which went well. When I arrived home I started to clean; Something which has to be done just about every day. All I have left to do as far as that is concerned is to dust the furniture in the LR/DR. I've decided that I've done enough work for one day so I'm saving the dusting for tomorrow. Instead, I'll either sew or knit tonight while I watch a DVD I got from the library about traveling in Italy. There's not enough time in the day to do everything you'd like to do. I'd also like to watch the Vol. 1 DVD of playing the guitar. I know how to tune the guitar, now I have to learn how to play it. Not so easy at my age. However, I'm bound and determined that I will do this without spending money on lessons every week. Sometime this weekend I have to prepare for the Italian language class which meets next Tuesday. E. and I are going to a flea market in Pa. tomorrow to buy hanging baskets of flowers for our homes. I'll hang 2 on the patio and 3 others on the shepherd hooks I have by the front door. I'm making a commitment to water them when they need watering. On Sunday I'll head to the shore to help Mom get ready for house guests later in the week. When I return Sunday in the late afternoon, I know that I've got plenty to do here to keep me busy. The work of cleaning will be over, so I'll be engaged in something more fulfilling. I hope that the weather is beautiful this weekend. We've had enough rain for awhile. I'm still hoping that I won't have to turn on the AC yet. Another thing I'll do tomorrow is to get the patio ready for sitting comfortably and enjoying the nice weather. I have a small round table and two chairs out there. There is also a recliner for when I'd like to put my feet up. A birdbath is in the corner of the patio. I watch the birds flit from the birhouse which hangs from above sometimes stopping for a drink or a quick bath. The chickadees are my favorite. If the humidity stays away, the patio is a delightful place to sit for a few hours. It's in the shade in the afternoon. Sitting in the recliner and knitting is a possibility for out there. If the pleasant air doesn't cause me to take a nap out there, that is. That's what happened the last time I tried to work out there.

Learning The Guitar

This evening I practiced the basics of the guitar for an hour and a half. I have a lot to learn!!!! I have a DVD which gives lessons. It teaches songs as you go along, but I'm not ready for playing songs yet. I have to learn how to move my fingers from chord to chord smoothly. I need to play the chords and strum with the right hand. It's very awkward holding the guitar in the first place if you're not use to holding it. I'm beginning to think that learning to play the piano was easier than this is although I'm about 50 years older now. If I were 9 or 10 I may not find learning the guitar to be so difficult. I have to practice playing the chromatic scale and some fingering with the right hand. When that's accomplished I'll begin to practice playing a chord and changing to another chord until that is smooth. This could take forever! Then I'll be ready to play some of the songs which are presented on the vol. 1 DVD. There are 10 or 12 vol. to the set of lessons. This could be a lifetime project getting to the last lesson. Time will tell whether I ever learn to play the guitar. For my next instrument, I'd like to learn the Harp. I may be an angel by the time I get around to that.

Wednesday Flew By

Wednesday went flying by. I took Mom to the doctor appointment this morning. Returned books to the library, shopped for supper, cooked and served supper. I will clean the kitchen up in a few minutes. I did manage to get some knitting time in and will get back to that after the kitchen is done. It rained this morning so I didn't get a walk in today. I'm hoping that I can do that tomorrow again. I also have to go to the pharmacy tomorrow to pick up Mom's meds, then I will take her home and return back home.

Tuesday Activities

This morning I got a 2 mile walk in. It was invigorating. There was a cool breeze blowing at 8:00am when I walked. A bit later in the morning I went to a friend's home to play Mah Jongg. I won the second game we played. Since my Italian language course started at 1:30pm, I had to leave after the third game. The language class is an hour and a half. It is so interesting that the time flies by. I'm really enjoying this class. It's a lot of hard work, but I enjoy learning other languages so it's also a lot of fun. We're watching the news now and will do so for about another hour. I'm hoping that the rain gives us a break tomorrow for an hour or so. I'll be able to get my walk in if it does.

A Yoga DVD

Today I viewed a yoga dvd. There are 2 parts to the dvd. The first part is a 10 minute energizer that you can do in the morning. The second part is for the evening before you go to bed. It is also a 10 minute exercise. I got the DVD from the library. It is made by Mariel Hemingway and Rodney Yee. The exercises are not difficult which is good because I will be able to start doing them right away. Tomorrow will be day 1 for that, hopefully. Quite a full day tomorrow. Good thing I get up early.

Tuesday's Plans

This morning I went for a walk around our complex. I walked around twice which is almost 2 miles. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow morning because I'd like to do the same before I start the other activities of the day. We are getting together for MJ tomorrow morning and I have my Italian class at 1:30pm. When that class is over at 3:00pm, it's back home to the knitting projects waiting to be done. E. brought over an Italian language movie for us to watch. Perhaps we can do that tomorrow evening. It has English subtitles. It will familiarize me with the sound of the language and make it easier when learning how to pronounce the words in that language.

Summer's Coming!

Summer is on it's way. Hip, hip, hooray! Today reminds me of a cooler summer day. I'm looking out the door watching the trees blow in the wind. A storm is near. There is thunder in the distance. Tomorrow I'll clean off the small round table which sits on the patio. It's too dusty to be used until I do. If we have more days like yesterday and today it would be nice to have morning coffee out there. I've been using the ceiling fan in the dining room with both doors opened. There has been no need to turn on the AC yet. I know when we get the hazy, hot and humid days in the 90's, I'll be resorting to the AC to stay cool and comfortable. Until then I'm enjoying the outside air coming into the house aided by the circulation of the ceiling fan. Tomorrow will be another beautiful weather day from what I've heard. I love beautiful weather!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

Picked up D. and had a visit from E. It threatens to rain today, but hasn't done so yet. It is overcast. There is a gentle breeze which is welcome because it is a bit humid today and warmer than yesterday.
I went to church this morning. At the end of mass there was a tribute to all who have died serving our country in the military over the years. It was very moving. There were several "watery" eyes in the crowd. The rest of today has been very relaxing. I intend to get back to my knitting after supper.
I hear thunder in the distance, but no rain still. Maybe the storm will pass us by.

A Fantastic Day

Today was definetly the best weather day of the week. I sat outside on the patio in a recliner for 2 hours today. I knitted a bit and napped a bit. What a fantastic day! I'd be happy if they were all like this day. What was also nice was that it was very peaceful and quiet outside. I saw and heard the birds flitting from here and there. Coco sat at the door and very softly meowed. She wanted to come outside, too. Of Course, being an "inside" cat, I didn't bring her out. Sandy was content to just look out the door. I knitted some more when I returned inside at about 2:45pm. It's a slow process. I have to do the pattern 3 more times and then end the afghan. Each time I do the pattern, it adds 3 inches to the afghan. Then it's time to do the ending rows and bind off. Then voila! It's done! It'll be time to start the next one.

Quilting

Our small quilt group met this evening. I was able to tack down 2 sides of the binding on a small quilt. I only have the 2 other sides to do.
I am working tomorrow from 8:00am until 3:00pm. When I return home I hope to work on one of my projects. I WILL finish 2 of them this weekend! After they are done I'll get back to E.'s quilt . I have about one month to finish the blocks and to square them off. Then I can put them together by pinning them. Deciding which block to put together with which other block will be the hardest part. You see, 4 small blocks form one of the larger blocks of the quilt. They should end up looking or giving the impression of suns. The quilt is called " Radiant Suns". I hope that I'm pleased with the finished product. I also hope that E. likes it as well. I've never made what I consider to be a "bad" quilt, but I think you could be disappointed in the way one turns out. Here's to no quilting disappointments. May every quilt be a masterpiece, at least to someone, if not you.

"Too Beautiful To Last"

In about an hour or so I'm going to turn in for the night so that I can get up early and get ready for work. I'm listening to the "Easy Listening" music channel. It's so soothing to the "savage beast". They're playing "Too Beautiful To Last".
There's a saying I've heard that nothing good lasts forever. This music must be based on that type of thinking. Did you ever experience anything that was "too beautiful to last"? I guess that we all have at one point or another in our lives. I think of the beautiful spring season with the flowering trees and the seasonal flowers, the occasional "perfect" weather day in spring. A beautiful rose will soon die. What about having a beautiful relationship that ends? Sometimes it may be a "beautiful" person in your life who goes away or is taken away. Something beautiful needs to be cherished because it doesn't last. I am thankful that I've had beautiful moments and beautiful people in my life. I hope that beautiful moments and beautiful people continue to come into my life. I cherish the beautiful people who are in my life now. May we all have beautiful moments or better yet, beautiful years left in our lives.

Tomorrow's Plans

It's another beautiful day today. I picked Mom up. We've had a relaxing afternoon. I just got a call asking me to work for half a day tomorrow. I will go because I haven't gotten anything in quite a long time. Tomorrow night our small quilt group meets at another friends home. We've invited 2 more women to join our group. We had dwindled down to only 3 of us lately. It's time to expand the group. One day in June we're going to devote an entire day to quilting. Those are the days when you do truly accomplish alot. I hope to finish the blocks for E.'s quilt. If I can get them squared off I can lay them out on the floor and the gals can help me with the placement of the blocks. I'm not able to do that in my own home because there is no large floor space to lay them out on. Besides, the two cats would be walking all over them. That would be annoying. Friday is a free day for me. I'm wondering if I'll be called for work that day, too. I can use the day's pay. Oh, well, we'll see.

Intention

Tomorrow I will go down to pick up Mom and bring her back here. Originally, I was just going to drop off her meds, but she got a call from her doctor that he wanted to see her. Since this coming weekend is the Memorial Day weekend, I decided to pick her up on Wednesday instead of trying to drive in shore traffic this weekend. It's the first weekend of the beach season. The roads will be heavily traveled down to the shore if the weather is good. The roads will also be heavily traveled on Monday night when everyone returns north on the parkway. So, we'll be roomies again for another week. I'll bring her back to her home next Thursday. I have a few events to attend during the week, but she'll be fine with Sandy and Coco and the TV, a newspaper or a book or two.

Italian

Went to the Italian language class today. When it was my turn I responded to 2 questions. The teacher didn't correct my pronunciation which surprised me. One of the ladies sitting near me said that my pronunciation was fine. That's what I was most worried about. I even gave the correct answer. That's because I did my homework. It's fun to learn a new language. If I keep studying, I could be fluent in the language by the time I get around to going to Italy. I don't see it in the near future.

Need To Sleep

Today was a productive day despite the fact that I didn't get any sleep last night. I finished getting out my warm weather clothing and put away the winter clothes. I also was able to get the knitting done that I had planned on. All that's left to do with the summer things is ironing. I'll set aside a day to do most of that. That works out better than "iron as you go" would.
I just got up from a 3 hour nap. I couldn't stay awake any longer. I will turn in again around 10:30pm or 11:00pm. I didn't think it would be possible to sleep straight through for 12 hours. I'm hoping that I wake up refreshed tomorrow after a good night's sleep.

Congratulations!

The cats are sleeping. They do alot of that! I spent a few more hours knitting. Just got news that the twins were born yesterday. I'll have the second afghan done tomorrow. One baby is a boy, the other is a girl. Congratulations to the proud Mom and Dad as well as the proud grandmother and grandfather.

Sunday's Almost Gone

Today went quickly as do most days. I studied Italian for 2 hours and have been knitting for a couple of hours. Most of the morning I slept because I didn't feel well. I managed to do 3 of the activities from the homework from Italian class. I also read the introduction to the book and the first chapter. I have a "Sing and Learn" CD which I played and studied also. It's for ages 4 and up. I qualify! I have a dictionary of Italian/English which I got from the library. I can keep it for 4 weeks and hopefully, renew it if I still haven't bought my own. I'm still waiting for another CD to study the Italian language. It will be for adults. I qualify for that, too!
Well, now I have to get back to my knitting before it gets too late and I fall asleep.
Ciao!

Another Beautiful Day

Today was a beautiful weather day! It was nice to finally see the sun shining again. I visited Mom and did her grocery shopping for the week. We left there at about 6:30pm and since I took the back way home to avoid traffic, I got home at 8:00pm. Coco met me at the door like she usually does. I have to be so careful that she doesn't get out. Sandy was sitting in his usual spot on the wing chair with his chin on the arm of the chair. He was just waiting to be petted. I opened both doors to get a breeze in here. We had a neighborhood cat stop by and Sandy howled until it went away. What a sound he makes! It scared me. I thought that I may have put the recliner back too far and accidently hit him, but that was not the case. It was the interloper on the patio that got him all excited. Things have returned to a peaceful state. Both cats are napping and I'm listening to light classical music. I can hear conversation outside. It's coming from someone's balcony across the lawn. That's one of the sounds of summer when you live in a development like mine. Hearing the AC for the neighbor upstairs is another sound of summer when the back door is opened. The conversation doesn't bother me, but since the AC is right outside the door, it's too loud and disturbs the silence of the evening. When the hot, humid weather arrives I'll have my AC on and the doors will be closed. Hearing the AC won't be a problem. I do love to smell the fresh spring air and hear the sounds of spring and summer outside. I can now hear thunder in the distance. I hope that the storm passes us by.

A New Position For Me

Went to the Quilt Guild meeting today. They nominated me to be the secretary for next year. I sat next to our present secretary during the meeting so I could see what exactly she writes down in her notes. I received many thanks for letting them nominate and elect me to my new position. I guess I'll be more active next year not by choice but by necessity. Will sit for a spell at the Warren Co. Fair this summer and also the Hunterdon Co. Fair. I haven't made anything to sell at the fairs so the least I can do is sit at the booth, quilt on my own project, and sell things. I hope it's not too hot the 2 days I'll be spending at the Fair. May need to bring a huge broad rimmed hat to wear in case the sun is strong. I'm not going to hang any of my quilts on display either. They have been given away and are in far away places; Too far away to go to retrieve. There are so many activities involved in being in a quilt guild. Never a dull moment. I need to make a charity quilt this summer so I can present it to the guild in the fall. I also need to finish Elaine's Radiant Suns quilt this summer so I can give it to her either for her birthday in September or for Christmas. I'll be happy if I manage to accomplish those two things this summer.
In my spare time, ha! ha!. I'll go to the driving range to hit balls. It's probably going to be too hot soon and I'm not going to want to play on a sunny golf course. I'll wait for September for that. Hope I get to walk the course a few times. I'd like to use my golf cart. Well, I guess that's enough chatter for now. I have knitting to do.

Another Busy Day

Today I just observed the chair yoga class. It was very relaxing even for me. I almost fell asleep listening to the music and the teacher's soothing voice. The people in the class are all older than I am. The teacher said that they are in the 70's and 80's.
When I got home, I spent the afternoon knitting. I had an early supper and went out to a meeting at church tonight. It is a nice group of women to be associated with.
Tomorrow is our Quilt Guild meeting. I'm being nominated for secretary for the 2009-2010 calendar year. That's one way to get me to every meeting. After the meeting I have to stop at the library to pick up a few things. I'm going to prepare sauce in the crock pot before I leave for the meeting. That way, getting supper ready will be easier. Spaghetti is on the menu for tomorrow. I hope that the sauce turns out well. I seem to make it better each time I do it. That is a Good thing. If it didn't get better I'd stop making it all together. I may be trying it out on a friend tomorrow if she can stop by for a visit. I'm really brave, because she's Italian and is most likely an expert at making sauce. I hope she likes it! The recipe was given to me by another Italian/American friend. My favorite cuisine is Italian. I love all kinds of pasta.

Back Again

I arrived home from Mom's at 7:45pm tonight. While I was down there I did a lot of knitting. I have the yarn for the next two afghans. I went out to buy Mom some yarn to make a sweater. She is going to make it for me. The yarn I picked out is a varigated yarn called "waterfall". It's a blue/green, but more on the blue side. I almost bought a pink yarn, but I've worn a lot of pink over the years and I wanted something different. I can't wait to see the sweater finished.
Tomorrow is Chair Yoga at the senior center. Tomorrow night I have a meeting at church. It's going to be a busy day. In between the activities I'll knit or study Italian.

Another Busy Week

Tomorrow I'll be taking Mom back home. I'll do my walking when I get down to her place. Must remember my sneakers. I'll do one of my projects while I spend the day with her there. I'll head back home in the late afternoon. Thursday morning is my first chair yoga class. Thursday evening the Daughters of Mary meet at the church. Friday is the Quilt Guild meeting. I intend to sit next to our guild secretary at that meeting so I can watch how she manages to get all the notes recorded from the meeting. Next year, that task falls to me. I've never been a secretary for any organization I've belonged to. I've been President or Vice President of different organizations, however. So, the rest of the week is busy for me. I look forward to all the activities.

Great Class

The Italian Language class was interesting today. I have no background in Italian. The class is on Chapter 26 already in the book. I have a lot of catch up to do. There is homework for next week which I will do as best as I can. What I really need to do is also start reading the lessons from Chapter one. I'll have to set aside time every day when I study Italian. I've ordered sound recordings from the library and an Italian/English dictionary which will be a big help. I plan to listen to the sound recording when I'm driving the car. I was able to follow along with the class as they read their lesson from last week. I don't quite have the pronunciation down pat yet. There is a section in the beginning of the book which will be helpful with pronunciation. I'm excited about learning a new language. I hope I catch on quickly. I have many Italian friends. Some of them know the language from their childhood. I'm going to practice my Italian when I'm with them. If they can understand me I'll know I'm on my way.

A Morning Walk

This morning I went for a walk around our complex. It was very invigorating. The temperature was cool so I wore a sweater. I was ready to take it off by the time I arrived home. I'm reading Mariel Hemingway's book entitled "Healthy Living from the Inside out". My plan is to walk each morning if it doesn't rain. To start on this routine I plan to walk around one time. When that becomes easier I'll walk around twice and finally work up to three times around. That would be equivalent to a three mile walk. On Monday and Thursday I'll do Chair Yoga. That should be an adequate workout routine for awhile. If Chair Yoga becomes too easy I'll switch to yoga on the mat. Right now I'm sure I'm not ready for that!! Now I just need to get motivated every day to get out there and DO IT. Once I start the walk I feel good and am glad I'm walking. Getting out there to walk is not as easy when you're sitting comfortably in a recliner knitting or listening to music. I know I can do it. Just get me out the door, please!

Italian

Tomorrow will be my first Italian language class. I signed up with the senior center in my area. I've always said that my next BIG trip will be to Italy. Hopefully, by the time I get there, I will have learned to say a few phrases in the language.
I also have signed up for Chair Yoga which I start on Thursday morning. I'm looking forward to my two new activities.
There are many more activities at the center. Some of them sound interesting, but I'm starting with only two new activities. I don't want to take everything at once.
I'm excited about learning something new.

An Evening of Reflection

This evening I went to my church for "An Evening of Reflection". The deacon who will be ordained at the end of the month presided over the evening. I need more evenings like this, I felt that it was beneficial to my soul. The people who attended were the lectors and Eucharistic Ministers in our parish. We were presented with a cross which depicted our particular ministry. I hope that there are more evenings of prayer and reflection like this in our future.

Mother's Day

Today was a quiet day with family. Everyone liked the dinner I prepared. E. made a chocolate cream pie for dessert. I picked D. up and returned him home again. E. and D. left also. Mom's watching the tube. I'm going off to clean up the kitchen. After that I'll get back to my knitting.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day tomorrow dear friends. The weather promises to be lovely. I hope that you all enjoy your day with your families. I will enjoy the day with mine.

Saturday Plans

We played Pinochle last night. I didn't come home with the trophy.
Since I picked Mom up yesterday for the weekend, that's one less thing I have to do today. I need to go to the food store and the bank. Mom may want me to buy her some yarn for the sweater she wants to make. I'll be knitting for most of the day. In between, I'll be putting winter sweaters away for the warm months. What a chore. We're expecting more rain today. I hope that it isn't accompanied by thunderstorms. The days are going so quickly, probably because there's so much to do. I suppose that's better than days that drag on with boredom. Next week is pretty open for me. There are a couple of things on the calendar, but the rest of the week is a blank slate. We'll see what develops.

Inspiration Needed

G. and I went to the lecture this evening at the hospital. We enjoyed Mariel's talk. I've decided to get her books from the library instead of buying the most current one which was on sale. She was signing them as we left the auditorium. When I was there I saw one of the nurses who was comforting to me when I had my MRI core biopsy. I also saw the doctor who did the procedure. Tonight, light refreshments were provided before the speaker spoke. It consisted on a selection of finger sandwiches, veggie platters and some hot food. I had a diet soda and took a bottle of water for the trip home. Since we had eaten in the cafeteria before hand, I wasn't hungry. The entire evening was "free" including the parking. I'm glad that I went. I needed a boost of some sort to get me started again down the road of healthy eating and exercising. I will look into taking a yoga class and will do some of the things which were suggested tonight. I'm also looking forward to getting the books, the Yoga DVD, and the video from the library. It was a pleasant evening.

The Sun Is Shining

It's amazing! The sun is shining after having several days of rainy weather. There is still a threat of a thunderstorm later in the day, but the sun is SHINING!
Later this afternoon I'm going with a friend to a lecture given by Marial Hemingway. I think she'll discuss her new book, yoga, and living a healthy lifestyle. I'm looking forward to the discussion. I hope I'm inspired to eat healthier, exercise every day, do yoga and anything else which will add to my good health. Hopefully, the rain will hold off until we arrive at our destination. Then it can rain for awhile and clear up before our return home. Is that asking too much? I hope not.

Tomorrow's Adventure

Tomorrow's adventure will include a trip back to Morristown. We'll be going to the hospital for a lecture given by Mariel Hemingway on her new book. She's done yoga for the past 20 years and has lived a healthy life style. I'm interested in hearing how she feels yoga has benefited her life. My friend, G., and I are both interested in taking a yoga class. I'm hoping that her "talk" will be our inspiration to get started. If they offer the book at a discount I may consider buying it, if not, I'll pass up the opportunity.

Wouldn't You Know..?

You're not going to believe it, but today, of all scheduled days for the museum, was the day they decided to close!!! No, there was no notice on the website of the closure. If there had been we wouldn't have gone on the long ride to the museum. But, we made the best of the day and instead of touring the Montclair Museum, we stopped at the Morris Museum in Morristown on the way home. To our pleasant surprise, it was well worth the detour. We viewed a collection of student work on exhibit and some other less exciting art work. The exhibit which made the whole trip worthwhile was the exhibit of antique, automaton instruments. We call them music boxes today. At 2:00pm every day, there is a live presentation which we were in time for. Jere demonstrated several of the machines and explained how they work. We saw Hurly Burlies, animated dolls, and beautiful cabinets from which came lively music of all sorts. The exhibit was previously owned by a man named Guinness. ( Have a pint, anyone?) The Morris Museum acquired the collection and even built a "wing" in which to display the items. What genius! Who thought of designs such as these? Anyone who likes music and the history of musical instruments would love this display by the museum. I highly recommend taking a visit at 2pm one day. You won't be disappointed.

Museum Trip

The agenda for Wednesday includes a trip to the Montclair Museum in Montclair, NJ. There is a Wyeth exhibit on display there. I'll be happy if the rain stops for out trip up to and back from the museum. I've never visited that museum before, but I don't think it will be a very large place. We plan to spend a couple of hours and then return home. The friend I'm going with is meeting other friends for dinner in the early evening. I plan to get back to my knitting. I know I sound like a broken record about that, but there's a lot to do. So, here's to the arts and crafts! Happy creating!

One More For the Win Column

Today I won my first MJ game using the new card. Hopefully, I'll find it easier to do with each succeeding game. There were only 5 of us playing today. We played with 4 which means only one person had to sit out and then we rotated them in when the person who was "East" sat out. I enjoyed the game and the comraderie of the gals. Sandy and Coco left us alone for the most part today. Each of them came out briefly to greet my guests, but they spent most of the time sleeping on my bed and not annoying us by jumping on the table. Jumping on the table is something Sandy usually does when we're playing Pinochle here. The games ended at about 3:30pm when everyone headed for home.

A Work At Home Day

Today was a work day at home. I managed to finish cleaning the house and also made the cake for company tomorrow. The only room which needs straightening is my bedroom. I'll get to that later, before I retire for the evening. I'm not as pooped as I thought I'd be this evening. In the morning I'm going to go out to the grocery store. I wanted to buy either grapes or strawberries for tomorrow. I also need to get gas because on Wednesday morning I'm going with a friend to the Montclair museum to see the Wyeth exhibit. Since I'm driving, it'll be easier to get gas on Tuesday and not wait until Wednesday morning. On Thursday I'm attending a lecture by Mariel Hemingway. She's going to discuss her new book and her healthy way of living. Another friend and I are interested in starting yoga and meditation. We're hoping to be inspired. Friday night is our Pinochle game. It's a busy week.

A Sleepy Day

Today I attended the 10:30 am mass at my church. I returned home at about 12ish. I couldn't believe how tired I was today. My good intentions of cleaning didn't materialize in anything getting done. I fell asleep in the recliner all afternoon. So, I guess that tomorrow , I'll be very busy. Hopefully, I'll have more energy then I have had lately. The rainy weather doesn't help much. Today was the kind of day you'd like to curl up with a good book or take a nap. Tomorrow there will be no excuses because I'm having company on Tuesday and if I don't get it done tomorrow I'll be sorry on Tuesday. Tonight I have to get a good night's sleep.

Day is Done, Again.

Todays duties are done. Tomorrow after church, I'll resume my schedule. I hope to get a lot done. Hopefully, there will be no distractions from my plan. On Monday I'll make a cake for my company on Tuesday. I have all the ingredients already. I'd like to win at least one MJ game this week. I haven't won with the new card yet. On Wednesday I'm going to a museum with a friend and then on Thursday I'm going to a lecture which should be interesting. Friday night our Pinochle group meets. I have to remember to bring the trophy just in case someone else wins the first game. If that happens I'll have to give it up.

The Best Laid Plans...

Part of the scheduled plan was carried out today. I did go grocery shopping this morning, I did have my hair done, I did buy Mom a Mother's Day gift. I had planned to clean and take apart the kitchen today. So far, that hasn't gotten done. When I returned from the store after having my hair done, I sat in the recliner while light classical music was playing. I fell asleep for the rest of the afternoon. Luckily I had started spaghetti sauce in a crock pot this morning so when I woke up, part of supper was ready. I made spaghetti and have eaten some. Now, the kitchen really needs to be cleaned up. I'll attend to that in a little while. The only thing I won't accomplish tonight is washing the kitchen floor only because I don't have the energy. That I'll do tomorrow morning before I leave for the shore. I'll be back on my schedule again after that.