Monday, May 31, 2010

Happy Memorial Day


As you enjoy this holiday with friends and family, don't forget to stop and remember those brave men and women, living and dead who have fought for our freedom.
Happy Memorial Day!
~Hippo Hugs~

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

What's Happening?

I have such good intentions. I plan to post regularly....the way I used to. But things just get in the way. What kind of things, you say? Well....things like getting a dental crown. Two hours in the dentists chair, drilling, polishing, chipping away, things like that take up some of my time. Of course, there's my weekly breakfast meeting with the Loser Housewives. This is a picture of us taken last week. I feel so blessed to have these wonderful women as friends and sisters in Christ.




And then there were some other things like purchasing and planting flowers for my hanging baskets and other pots.
.
The mama bird in this little house doesn't like it much when I come around with my flowers.

These baskets hang on our flag holder.



This pot was painted for me by my niece, Kacy. I treasure it and love having it on my front stoop.



We purchased these Adirondack chairs and table to put under our Flowering Crab tree in the front yard. This tree is 37 years old, a gift on the birth of our first child. We call it the Paige Tree.
With Memorial Day weekend coming up, a lot of people will be visiting the cemetery and I want people who look at my mom's grave to know she was cherished. I would prefer living flowers, but living so far away, I can't take care of them. Hence the wreath. I looked at many wreaths and they are quite expensive. This little wreath didn't cost much and I have the satisfaction of making this myself. I think my mom would be proud of me.




Jim and I are off tomorrow to spend a couple of days visiting his brother and wife, as well as his mom. It's always fun to go to Pennsylvania and spend time with family.
Until next time,
~Hippo Hugs~






Thursday, May 20, 2010

Internet Chuckle

I received this email today and am still laughing. Just had to share it with my Bloggy friends.

I want to thank of my email friends for your educational emails over the past year. I am totally screwed up now and have little chance of recovery.

  • I no longer open a bathroom door without using a paper towel, or have the waitress put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.
  • I can't use the remote in a hotel room because I don't know what the last person was doing while flipping through the adult movie channels.
  • I can't sit down on the hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed.
  • I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking one's nose.
  • Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the years.
  • I can't touch any woman's purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public bathroom.
  • I MUST SEND SPECIAL THANKS to whoever sent me the one about rat poop in the glue on envelopes, because now I have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.
  • ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.
  • I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die for the 1,387,258th time.
  • I no longer have any money, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special email program.
  • I no longer worry about my soul because I have 262,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's Novena has granted my every wish.
  • I can't have a drink in a bar because I'll wake up in a bathtub full of ice with my kidneys gone.
  • I can't eat at KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.
  • I can't use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo.
  • THANKS TO YOU I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
  • BECAUSE OF YOUR CONCERN I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
  • I no longer buy gas without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer doesn't crawl in my back seat when I'm filling up.
  • I no longer drink Pepsi or FAnta since the people who make those products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.
  • I no longer use Cling Wrap in the microwave because it causes seven different types of cancer.
  • AND THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW that I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face disfiguring me for life.
  • I no longer go to movies because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS when I sit down.
  • I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.
  • I no longer accept packages from UPS or FED EX because they are actually Al Qaeda agents in disguise.
  • And I no longer answer the pone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore and Uzbekistan.
  • I no longer buy cookies from Neiman-Marcus since I now have their recipe.
  • THANKS TO YOU I can't use any one's toilet but mine because a big black snake could be lurking under the seat and cause me instant death when it bites my but.
  • AND THANKS TO YOUR GREAT ADVICE I can't ever pick up a $2.00 coin dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting to grab me as I bend over.
  • I no longer drive my car because buying gas from some companies supports Al Qaeda, and buying gas from all others supports South American dictators.
  • I can't do any gardening because I'm afraid I'll get bitten by the Violin Spider and my hand will fall off.
  • If you don't send this email to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5 PM tomorrow afternoon, and the fleas from 120 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law' second husband's cousin's best friend' s beautician...A

OH, BY THE WAY...

A German scientist from Argentia after a lengthy study has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity read their email with their hand on the mouse.

Don't bother taking it off now. It's too late.

P.S. I now keep my toothbrush in the living room, because I was told in an email that water splashes over 6 ft. out of the toilet.

PPS. I can no longer forward emails I must cut and past...lest they get our email addresses and give us a virus that will destroy our hard drives.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Bad, Bad Blogger

Okay, I admit it! I've been a bad blogger lately. I don't have an excuse. I don't know why. I have been pretty busy, but along with that I don't seem to have anything of real importance to say. I just haven't been able to dig down and come up with anything profound or even interesting to write about.

So, I guess I'll just play catch up.

The weather hasn't been especially nice, so I've been doing some inside things, like:




Cleaning the fridge and closets. Or:


Making cards on rainy days.

We had some not so bad days in which I:



Washed windows and worked on getting the porch ready for summer.

As I was taking pictures of finished projects, Jim said, "You're not going to blog a picture of your refrigerator, are you?" I can't lie to the guy, so I just didn't answer.

We've also managed to visit the Amish garden store and buy vegetable plants and some additions to my perennial garden. Yesterday was a great day and I managed to get some planting done and begin spreading mulch. If the rain stays away this afternoon, I hope to finish the mulching.

I've read a couple of fun books and taken a lot of naps. Oh yes, we saw Iron Man 2 and I was really disappointed. The first one was much better.

See what I mean? Not much very exciting going on in our neck of the woods.

Today is the annual school budget vote. There is a hotly contested battle for two school board seats. It is really interesting since, in most years, they can barely find someone willing to serve on the school board. It's been a really volatile year between the present board, administration and some townspeople. The result of this election could really change things. I know who I'm voting for!!

Once again, see what I mean???

Well, my garden is calling me and I feel I must answer. Hope all is well with my friends in Blogland. Keep on keeping on.

~hippo hugs~

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day and I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the wonderful women in my life who have helped to make me the person I am today.

First of all, of course, there is my own dear mother. My mom has been gone fourteen years now and that just doesn't seem possible.






This is my mom about the time I was born. A single mom, she always put me first in her life. She worked hard to provide for me. I have such wonderful memories of her from those days. When I was nine, she married my step-dad (who was my father in every sense of the word) and raised his two children too. My mom always made us feel equal and was looked up to by all who knew her.

Being a single mother in the 1940's couldn't have been easy, but she was blessed with a wonderful mother of her own, my Grandma, and two devoted sisters, my Aunt Letty and Aunt Jessie. I was so loved and cared for by this quartet of women. They have a special place in my heart forever. Along with these sisters, stood the sisters-in-law, my Aunt Myrle and Aunt Jane who took me into their families and loved me.

My dad's sisters became instant aunts to me; Aunt Elsie, Mary, Dorothy and Betty (my dear Aunt Bets). I loved them all. Only my Aunt Bets and Aunt Mary survive today and I treasure them and the little time I spend with them.

No tribute to the women in my life would be complete without mentioning those who taught me not only academics, but lessons of life: Mrs. Stampe, Mrs. Miller, Miss Chapel, Miss Ruvo, Mrs. Streeter, Mrs. Fickinger and Miss Collins, all dedicated to molding our young lives. My hat is off to all of you.

If you are a reader of my blog at all, you know that I adore my dear Mother-in-law. Not only is she a beautiful, Christian woman, she is a wonderful mother and mother-in-law. She welcomed all three of her daughters-in-law and treats us as if we were her own daughters. At 95, mom is still in the center of our family, praying for her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren every day. We love her so.

Over the years God has blessed me with women who have befriended, cajoled, praised and supported me. I am so grateful to all of you, especially The Loser Housewives who make my days brighter and my burdens lighter.

And you, my blogland friends, whose joys and burdens, questions and insights I get to share each day as I read your posts; Anne, Lynilu, Winifred, Fay, Dagmar, Laura, Patti, Michelle, Tracy, Cheryl, Chrissy, Dana, Louise, one of my heart's desires is to someday meet you. We are friends without having ever met. Thank you for your part in my life.

Of course, I wouldn't be a mom without these two beautiful young women:



I am so proud of you both and I thank you for all the joys you've given me. It is such a privilege to be your mother.

Happy Mother's Day

~Hippo Hugs~

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Random Ramblings

I can hardly believe it's been over a week since I've posted here. I have written some on my other blog From the Hippo's Pen, but have totally ignored this, my favorite blog. Lots has happened, nothing which is of any great importance.

I had lunch with the Lindas on Tuesday. I planned the whole day...only to have the weather and other circumstances totally sink it. First of all, I wanted to go to the Art Museum. I, personally, haven't been there since I was taking classes there over ten years ago. I thought it would be such fun to spend a couple of hours there, have lunch at their new garden cafe and then go to the Sugar Mountain Bakery for dessert.

Well, first of all, the museum isn't open on Tuesdays. Then the weather stepped in and poured rain, squelching my idea of eating at an outdoor cafe. We decided, as the rain and hail poured down upon us, to go the mall and eat at Biaggi's. Of course, by the time we arrived at the mall, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was a beautiful, cloudless blue. Never mind, the lunch was really good and we spent three hours eating and talking. One thing you can be sure of, we never run out of things to talk about.

We ended our day by having cupcakes at another new cupcake bakery. YUM!!

Let's see, what else? Oh yes, we were finally able to get our friend Claudia to come for coffee. She brought me these:



I have some growing in one of my gardens, but never think to pick them. They look wonderful and smell delicious. It was great to see Claudia and catch up with her.

I've been weeding, weeding, weeding in my flower gardens. I also did some thinning of the more prolific plants. I am going to add a few things this year and if the weather cooperates tomorrow I plan to visit my favorite nursery. I think, by next week, I may be ready to spread the mulch that Jim and I picked up this week.

Speaking of picking up, if you read my post on April 20, you know I was yearning for the Lazy Boy outdoor recliner. Well, today, I did, in fact, buy said recliner. The only one left in the store was the floor model and I got it at a discount. That, plus my coupon, made it a little more palatable for me. It is all that I had hoped for.


I spend hours and hours on the porch in the summer and will totally enjoy this new purchase.

Hey, did I tell you we also bought a new car? Meet Esmerelda whom I call Esme.



I'm sure lots more has happened in this time span, but I really think this is enough for now. I love my life and hope you are all loving yours.

~Hippo Hugs~