Craft Camp With Heather

Our friend Heather arrived last night to spend a few days with us. I have been looking forward to this with great excitement. You'd think this was a vacation or something. Oh wait, I am treating this like a vacation

We decided prior to her arrival that this would be a crafting visit. We invited our friend, Sandi, to join us to craft the day away.

Sandi made cards inviting her grandchildren to "Grandma Camp" later this month.

I spent most of the day working on invitations for Emily and Kwame's shower.

Heather, the master crafter, brought all kinds of goodies to share with us. I am particularly taken with her Big Shot and the dies that go with it. I made lots of things to have on hand for future stamping project

At noon, our friend, Linda picked us up and we went off to one of Heather's favorite restaurants for lunch.In the afternoon Sandi spent her time knitting on sweaters for her new granddaughter. I am so sorry I didn't take a picture of those sweet little things. I kept working on my invitations which, by the way, are nearly finished.

Heather made lots more things for her Etsy shop.

Jim grilled chicken for our dinner and then went off with the other husbands for dinner while we girls, including Linda, had a wonderful meal here. We had Jim's chicken, pasta salad, tossed salad and fruit salad. Heather said it looked like summer on a plate.

Coffee on the porch and a little more crafting ended our evening.

I am anxious to get to bed and sleep so I can wake up and start all over again.

~Hippo Hugs~

Terrific Weekend

Although I don't have one picture to show for it, we had an outstanding weekend. It started Friday morning....

• Friday. I picked Linda V. up at 8:30 and off we went to our first Zumba Gold class. Zumba Gold is a slower paced, easier Zumba class for women over 50. Linda loved it and looked like she was keeping up and doing well. I, on the other hand, didn't do so well. I felt all the time like I had two left feet. I'm not sure Zumba is for me, but I am determined to try it again this coming Friday. More later...
• After class, we took a quick trip to the strawberry patch where we bought (not picked)some strawberries to make pies. The original plan was to go to Muddy Waters, a favorite restaurant for coffee and tea, but the wraps and salads look luscious and, after all, it was almost noon, so we had a lovely lunch. Then it was home to bake a strawberry pie for our dinner. My cousin and her husband joined us for a yummy dinner and delightful evening on our screen porch. They are just kids, Abby actually being my cousin's daughter, but we do so enjoy their company. Good food,good friends and lots of laughs.

• Saturday: Started out with window washing. It was hotter the than the hubs, with 110% humidity. The perspiration was dripping off both of us by the time we finished the upstairs windows, but we were euphoric to have that horrible job done.
• Four in the afternoon found us at a 5oth Wedding Anniversary party for a couple from our church. What a great time we all had.

• Sunday: Church is always spirited when the Praise Band plays. This was bittersweet because it is the last time this group will be together as the singers are all off to college in the fall.
• After church, Jim and I met our friends, Bruce and Shelly for brunch. This was the first time we have been out to a restaurant with Bruce since his accident. He came in his wheelchair, but is excited to be working on walking up the five steps to their summer home in the Adirondacks. His physical therapist says they can do it in the next six weeks. We are looking forward to helping them get settled.

• Monday: Today started with coffee and muffins at Wegman's with Jim. Then I was off to Curves while he stayed at Weg's and read. After groceries, we came on home and I...
• Walked with Linda. Of course, after all that exercise, we had to have a little lunch. Yummy
• At one o'clock, I was off to Joy's to stamp my Christmas Calendars. Talk about a crazy day.
• Home again, I made a macaroni salad for dinner and after dinner I am...
• Off to church to practice our VBS skit. Am I a little crazy or what?

In the midst of all this fun, we have some concerns on our hearts. My Aunt who is 81 years old and has been suffering from dementia for several years is being transferred, today, to a nursing home for Alzheimer patients. My uncle has done a fabulous job of caring for her these past years, but it has become just a little too much for him. We are asking for prayers for both of them, but especially for my uncle who is feeling bereft.

Also, a gentlemen who we know slightly is suffering from deep despair and depression. He so needs the hand of God right now. We would appreciate prayers for him too.

I hope this Monday finds all of my friends in blogland doing well. I think of you all often and hope you are enjoying your summer.

~Hippo Hugs~

Celebrating Kwame's Arrival

Some of my blogland buddies may remember my post about our friend, Emily, going to Africa to marry her beloved, Kwame. In December, 2009, Em went to Africa all alone and was married to Kwame.


They were married in a civil ceremony in Ghana and had a marriage blessing in Kwame's church. Shortly after their marriage, Emily came back to the U.S. to resume her teaching job and begin the process of getting a visa for Kwame.

Getting a visa is a arduous process. There was miles and miles of red tape, numerous meetings with officials both here and in Ghana. Poor Kwame spent hours and hours with officials in Ghana only to be sent away and told to "Come back in six weeks", all the while to be separated from his wife.

After much prayer and patience, Kwame was finally granted a visa last month and arrived her in the U.S. on Friday. What a wonderful time of rejoicing for Emily and Kwame, as well as their family and friends.

All the family together, finally. This family has been so supportive and loving to Emily and Kwame.

The Happy Couple.

Notice the flag plates and napkins? Emily's brother Carol (who was adopted from Romania) told Laurie she should buy these because, "You only come to America for the first time once." BTW, this cake was delicious.

This picture of me has no particular significance other than that I like it, and after all, this is my blog. LOL

I love this picture of Laurie's dad (Emily's grandfather) welcoming his new grandson-in-law.

Emily and Kwame came to church on Sunday morning. It was such a blessing to have Bob introduce his son-in-law. I can't remember when our congregation applauded any louder or longer. What a wonderful welcome.

Emily and Kwame will renew their wedding vows later this summer so that all of Em's friends and family can celebrate their marriage with them. But for now, this was a wonderful way for Kwame to start his life here in America.

Sad News

I had a really witty and interesting post prepared about some of the unusual things that happened to us on our trip to Pennsylvania last week. Maybe I'll end up posting it sometime but for now I'm too sad about the death of my cousin last night.

Sandy is the cousin next above me in age. She was 67 years old on March 13. I just found out last week that she had finally decided to retire from her job as a Methodist pastor. She had given her notice and was to retire one month from now on July 1.

Her husband, Bud, asked her what it would take to get her to retire and she told him, a house. So, Bud went out and found a house that she liked and bought it. They moved in over the weekend. My Aunt Betts said that she slept in her house one night and the second night she went to bed and died. Isn't that sad?

Sandy and I weren't born cousins. I became a part of the family at the age of 9 when my mom married my dad (he was NEVER my step-dad). We lived on the same street. Sandy was raised by her single mother, who I loved dearly.

I'm not sure, in spite of all the time we spent together, that we were ever friends. We were close because we were cousins, but we were so very different. We did have some fun times together though. One thing we shared in common was the dislike of having to sit in the kitchen with the younger kids when we had family dinners. There were so many in our extended family that no house could seat everyone in the dining room. So Sandy and I , quite a bit older than the others, were sent to the kitchen with the little kids. I don't remember exactly when we graduated to the dining room, but I do remember we went together.

Sandy taught me to play canasta and took great pleasure in beating me. Of course, I think I might have taken even greater pleasure when I beat her. She and my future sister-in-law, Bonnie and another neighborhood girl played canasta almost every day during school vacations.

Sandy was an accomplished pianist. Every month she received the music to the current hit parade tunes and she would play the tunes and the rest of us would gather around the piano and sing our hearts out.

There was no library in our town. That was a disaster for us because we both loved to read. We each got $1 per week for allowance. On payday weeks, we would go to the nearby town where our parents banked and shopped. We would each buy two books, then we would share them with one another. The adventures of Trixie Belden, Ginny Gordon, Nancy Drew, et al, got us through many a rainy day.

I was maid of honor in Sandy's wedding when she married Bud all those many years ago. When I got married, Sandy played the organ. As the years have gone by, we have seen less and less of each other. The last three or four times I've seen her were at funerals. We would say the usual things and ask after each other's children, but that was all.

And now I have to go to her little Methodist church in Pennsylvania and say good-bye. Even though we haven't stayed in touch all these years, I'll miss having her in this world.

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~

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.

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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~

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.