Vacation

I'm keeping very busy here. Every morning, I review all the sand castles and select my favorite.

Of course, I have to check the temp of this lovely salt water pool.

And I've learned that I really like tangerine juice!

Practicing to be a Snow-Bird

On Feb 24, we finally got a (somewhat) substantial amount of snow here, which is unheard of in Michigan. What a strange winter this has been . . .
It’s perfect timing for me, though. I’m leaving for Treasure Island, Florida tomorrow. Sunshine, here I come!

Mardi Gras

Fat Tuesday reminds me of my granny. I don’t know how it started, but way back when I was just out of high school, she and I started going to fish fry dinners during Lent. Mind you, we’re not Catholic; we just liked getting out and seeing the different places. We continued this tradition until her death a few years ago.
At first, most of the family went and we just went to the dinners at one church in a neighboring town. The food was consistently good and we saw lots of people we knew. As those dinners gained in popularity, we had to wait in line. Besides that, their prices went up, which was a problem for my grandma. So, we branched out to other fish fry venues. That’s when we lost most of the other family members.
It became a “thing” for us to go to a different place every Friday. I’d arrive at her house after work, and she’d be ready to go (you could tell because she was wearing lipstick), pouring over the “Fish Fries” notices in the newspaper. “Here’s one in Monroe,” she start. “That’s a long way for fish, I s’pose . . .” she’d trail off, trying to get a feel for my willingness to travel. Me? I have no boundaries! She quickly learned that nowhere was too far for me. Yet, she never picked the place before I arrived. We always discussed our options and came to a mutual decision.
In six weeks a year, after a few years, we stormed through our Michigan county, Toledo and its suburbs, Monroe, and everywhere in between. We expanded to include veterans’ posts. In doing so, we traded dessert at the churches for beer at the posts – quite a decision. Every time we went to a new church, she needed to sneak a peek into the auditorium. Often, we’d have a drop-in guest – my sister, my mom, a cousin – since everyone knew that, come Friday, we would be going to a fish fry. Usually, though, it was just the two of us.
The fish fries were just the beginning of our church dinners. Soon, we attended them anywhere, although not with the regularity of the Lenten fish fries. Yet, in the last few years, the Fat Tuesday pancake supper at my grandma’s own church became a tradition.
I don’t go to fish fries anymore. I’d be willing to, if somebody else wanted to, but not every week during Lent. It’s funny, I really enjoyed them and I could easily keep attending them, but I think our dates were more about spending time with each other than eating dinner.
I’m blessed with such great memories.

Surprise!

I went to Etsy today and purchased this cute stained glass carrot to go with an adorable green onion one I got a few weeks ago.
Apparently, I haven't accessed my Pay Pal account in some time. There was a balance of $100; a deposit had been returned on a vacation home I rented nearly 3 years ago.
I love surprises!

March 10th

Well, I did it! I scheduled my first class which won't be run through a school, but through my business, Dash Solutions. I've got a room reserved, the web site is ready to take registration payments, it's registered with the Real Estate Division and, as you can see, the invites are ready for mailing. (I need to apply for a bulk mailing permit . . .)
This is the culmination of years of dreaming, a lot of planning, and a 2-year apprentice period teaching for Adult Ed programs in schools. I can't believe I'm finally doing this on my own!
And, to cut off my own route of escape in case the first class doesn't go well, I have another one scheduled in April. It's good to know your weaknesses.
Wish me luck!

A Place for Everything?

I’m trying ever-so-hard to organize my house a little more. I really have a lot of space at my place, so you’d think it would be easy, but not so.
I’ve always wanted to try to see how little space I could comfortably occupy. I’ve heard of city dwellers in some Asian countries with 300 square feet; the street food is healthful, good and cheap, so people don’t even bother having a kitchen. I just wonder if I could do that . . .
For now, though, I have 1,100 sq ft in the house, about the same amount of garage space as well as a barn. They’re not full, but they’re not organized, either. My stuff is just all over the place! Plus, when I like things (such as coats, blankets, scarves, etc), I keep getting more of them.
My friend (who has a 3-bedroom house to herself) was telling me how important it is to have “a place to put your things away. “ So, I’m starting by tackling the things that are always lying around the house: jewelry, shoes and clothes. My solutions are a giant jewelry box, some shoe chests and a rack for the laundry room.
Now, to find a place for 6 cats . . .