Grumbleeze

...flew away so I could take this picture.

We watched as the little finches built a nest in the beautiful geraniums OttO & her family gave me for Mother's Day. I was torn between interrupting them and letting them go... as you can see, the birds won. I zoomed in with my camera, then held it over the plant, hoped for the best, and shot. I'm glad we didn't interfere. Soon there will be six little red finches in place of the eggs... we might be lucky enough to watch the flying lessons... then they will be gone. The flowers will flourish too!

.. beginning with monday madness
The following all begin with 'In your lifetime, have you....'
1. ...ridden on a rollercoaster?
Yes... it was a totally wooden one way back in the early 1950's... before Cedar Point and even before Disney World & Disney Land. I used to love it!

2. ...performed (in any area of the arts) onstage?
Yes, when I was in grade school - 2nd or 3rd grade - I wrote the play and got to play the lead, a little boy named Johnny who wanted a pony.

3. ...planted a garden?
Yes, veggies and flowers both. Mostly lately just flowers though.

4. ...ever had to reformat your hard drive due to a virus/spyware?
No, but the husband did! I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

5. ...written a book? A poem? A song?
Doesn't blogging count? Well, yes... I have tried to write poems at one time.

6. ...sang karaoke?
Never had the opportunity, can you believe? Not that it makes me feel cheated or anything.

7. ...been interviewed by a local tv station/newspaper?
Yes, sometimes lately and once when our kids were small and I was a student at the local community college.

8. ...witnessed a tornado/earthquake/hurricane first-hand?
No... well actually we had a slight earth tremor in mid-Michigan one time... I believe i was in early 1970's or late 1960's. It only happened once and was so slight it caused no damage.

9. ...participated in a photo scavenger hunt?
Yes... every one offered by Tracy at sh1ft.com... I have versions of the latest in two websites, a gallery I created with Picasa and one at http://sherleprojects.blogspot.com.

10. ...traveled to another country?
Yes... our whole family went to Expo 67 in Montreal Canada when our baby Jan was only 4 years old & Windy the oldest was eleven. We had Carol the favorite babysitter with us too! It rained a lot and we camped in a tent at night... no fancy hotels for us, kids!

Today was another trip to our state's capital in Lansing. Will write more about it later... on TRVoice.. but for now I can say it was a very pleasant experience. It's still new to me seeing how our elected officials work for us. State Representative John Moolenaar is my hero. He has show more than once he cares about all of the people who voted for him... not just the rich ones. I dislike that we have term limits in Michigan. He is a keeper!

The other good thing was seeing one of Sharba's former high school classmates at work. She does a good job for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Even though I disagree with the top management and their interactions with taxpayers, Lynnelle is a sharp lady and a fine product of the Freeland School systems, just as much as my own daughters are.

I almost missed my chance to tell the committee why I support the new 'homeowners' fairness' legislation... but don't worry I got my 2 cents worth in... maybe even a bit more.

(on Thursday, imagine that!)
My daughter OttO asks:
'How much do you think is the most you would pay for...'

First of all ya gotta know... I'm a bit of a tightwad about some stuff so, here goes!

1. ...a loaf of bread? - $1.50 (I usually buy it on sale & sometimes I just like to bake a loaf in my bread machine.

2. ...a gallon of gas? - whatever it takes I guess. Ya gotta go places, dont'cha know?

3. ...a pair of jeans? - I like Walmart's $9.99 Faded Glory jeans so I guess I'm not much of a fashion plate, eh?

4. ...a computer? - Don't really worry about this one 'cause the husband likes to build computers, so he can build a pretty nice one for much less than it would cost to buy one already built.

5. ...a camera? I'm a cheapy here too but hubby bought me one for way too much money. His saving grace? Lotsa rebates!

6. ...a pair of shoes? I think my walking shoes were on sale for something in the mid-$20 range - Dr. Scholl's wide ones work best for my big feet & I can find them at our discount department stores. I've paid as little as $10 for a pair that actually fits and is comfortable.

7. ...a television? I leave this to the husband but he bought our last one at Walmart & it's a nice big one. I was surprised it was so inexpensive; need I say more?

8. ...a recliner chair? - only on sale, $200-$300.

9. ...a month of 'lightening speed' internet service? - If we could get it, SpeedNet wireless at $29.95 would be my choice. As it is we pay for top of the line Charter Cable.

10. ...a cell phone? Got the last one for free with a 1 year contract... and it was a $200 phone. I'd go cheaper if I could.

...Today is my second daughter's birthday! Stop by at sharba's blog and see what a cute one she was; then wish her a happy birthday. Okay, so I cheated. I put that photo on her website last year! Ya gotta know I love you Bones!

For a more current photo, visit my 26 things April 2005. Sharba is number 22 - All Grown Up.

..and we all survived Friday the 13th again. We've had lots of rain lately - a good thing for all of Mother Nature's fresh new growth. Finally this afternoon the sun is shining... perhaps to warm the freshly watered earth and further aid growth.

...and OttO's back - ottosite - so ya'll stop by an visit her, okay? She told us about a neat place to find out what our name is all about so, of course I had to check it. Here's mine...

Shirley
The bright meadow : English...
Sensitive, friendly and kind you look for peace and beauty in your environment and relationships. People like to be around you because of your charm and generosity and because you always generate a happy atmosphere. You have a fairly traditional approach to life and have a strong attachment to home, family and loved ones. With your creative imagination you have potential to be successful in the the arts.

Okay, I told you mine, now you share yours! ;-)

Happy Birthday Susan!!!
You are forty hoo? today! FYI people, it rhymes with hoo! ;-) 'Cause I almost didn't publish a family calendar this year!!! That's my reason for forgetting to get Susan's birthday on it. Have a great day, lady.

Natalie hasn't been blogging lately. It started because she got a great big giant invasion of her computer. Since she sometimes has the patience of her mother, she at first decided to take drastic measures. Upon reflection and discussing with her dad, she reformatted and took drastic measures to prevent a future happening. Yes, there are ways. Then her mother-in-law died. Perhaps after the funeral tomorrow she will be able to get back blogging. We miss you OttO!


I finished my 26 Things April 2005 Challenge! Although I created sherle's projects blog for these challenges, I didn't publish it there. Why? I have since downloaded the Picassa software - free from Google - and it is really the first program I've found for sorting out photos that seems to be worth keeping. It has lots of capabilities I haven't begun to explore but the first reason I like it is because it doesn't 'take over' your My Pictures folder! I also has a super simple way to put together a webpage or a slideshow and I've been told you can even do a slidshow with music! Anyway, if you're careful, patient, and read the instructions, it's a great tool, so I made my 26 Things webpage with it.

Here is my 26 Things April 2005 Challenge website.

Oh yeah! On occasion I publish a photo over at sherle's photos, too. Why don'tcha stop by and take a look-see.
Love to all & God Bless America!

...right here in my own house!
You don't realized how important this simple action is until you are deprived of it. I was. When we decided to replace our old bathtub/shower thing, we didn't realize the complications involved... wall studs in the wrong place, pipes beginning to leak, and just the act of tearing the old structure out! Anyhoo, I took a shower yesterday and it felt so good!

We went to Festival Park Friday just to have a look.


Usually we leave town for this event. The fisherman part wouldn't be so bad but the really BIG event appears to be a community rummage sale. It is less than a mile from our house to the corner where we turn to go anywhere! It is near impossible to get there in less than 15 minutes during the festival weekend. Fishing didn't start until midnight Friday but the rummage sale started EARLY. People park both sides of a two-lane road, leaving little room to get through the middle and then... just to be double obnoxious, they meander back & forth across the road from one house to another as if they were on the sidewalk!

This year was our first year staying home this weekend... and we had to get a bit of the ambience so we went to the nearest park... the one near the Freeland Road bridge. Well thanks to the environmental freaks the park is being 'improved' if you can call demolishing all the trees an improvement! Where nature prevailed we now have delimbed trees and I'm guessing many of them are destined for total demolition. That's usually what big red marks on a tree indicate, isn't it?

There were campers in the park.. we talked with some of them. They fear they won't be able to camp there after the improvements. I don't know. Nobody seems to care now. Nice camping area too... if you don't need total hookups. Anyway that's the most people I've ever seen at this particular park, and it's only a once a year event. I guess after the improvements... and when Michelle Heard-Rhetoric Redneck gets her wish and the big ugly yellow dioxin warning signs prevail, we will be the only ones to ever go there. But there won't be any trees!