August 1, 2011 Rabbits Run in the Family

Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit to you all! Today is the first of the month which, as many of you already know, means that if the first thing you say that day is Rabbit Rabbit (or as some say 3 Rabbits, or as the British say, White Rabbit), well then you shall have good luck all month.

You could say rabbits run in the family because I've been trying to remember to do this on the first of every month since my eldest son Doug was in the fourth grade and his teacher, Mr. Myers, told him about the practice. Although I had Mr Myers as a fourth grader myself, he never told ME about rabbits and I feel as though I may have missed out on many an opportunity for good fortune throughout those years. However, having Mr. Myers as a teacher was an experience, one deserving of a blog all his own.

Bob Myers was a legend even before I had him as a teacher. My friend Betsy had two older brothers, who were good friends of my next door neighbor Brian and the Copp boys down the street. All of them had Mr. Myers in 4th grade and the tales they told Betsy were legendary. Not only was he famous for being a teacher, but he would go trick or treating as a grown up in their neighborhood, which is where he lived as a boarder in Mrs. Copp's rooming house for as many years as I could remember. Mrs. Copp was the choir director at our church so I always thought I had a certain connection with Mr. Myers that some may not have had. A brush with fame, as it were. The tales we heard from Betsy's brothers and Brian and the Copp boys in whose home he lived, put us third graders both in a state of fear and at the same time hopefulness with the possibility of ending up in his class in 4th grade. Of course that did happen to me and of all the teachers I had, he was probably the most memorable for his unique methods of teaching.

In the late 50s and early 60s, my hometown of Sudbury was experiencing a population explosion that well outpaced the construction of new schools. They were forced to hold double sessions in some schools and even rented space for others. In 3rd and 4th grade, I attended school in what we called The Edison Building. This was a flat, one story tar paper roofed building, located close to the road on busy Route 20 near the outskirts of town. It contained 3 classrooms and a girls' bathroom and a boys' bathroom. The playground was a gravel parking lot behind the building that abutted a swamp. The only "equipment" in the playground was a very long, telephone pole that lay on it's side, partially embedded in the gravel, dividing the lot in two and providing a berm for cars to nose up against when parking. The building's original purpose had been temporary office space for The Boston Edison Company. Having been designated as our playground, cars no longer parked in the lot and  the three teachers would park in the semi-circular gravel drive in front of the building instead.

The very long pole was the only thing in the "playground" and served as any number of things. It was where we all dashed as soon as we were free from the class room, jockeying for the best position, as if there was one, in a never ending game of "king of the pole" that spontaneously occurred whenever two or more people were standing on it, which was pretty much the entire recess period. As we'd balance our feet on the black wooden pole, the sweet, familiar smell of creosote would greet our noses as the sun warmed it, making it sticky in some places which we would avoid. The pole was long enough to accommodate every child in the Edison Building all at once with room to spare, yet we had our spots picked out and it was a competition to get to them before someone else did. Beginning our recess adventures from atop this rounded balance beam it would soon become first base for kick ball, a ballet platform, goals for tag and the spot where "Mother" would stand in a game of "Mother May I" which may have to be explained to some of my younger readers. Games of Red Rover and Duck Duck Goose would sometimes be arranged during gym class, which was the only time that we weren't anchored to activities around this pole; that is except for one day in the fall of 1960.

That one day, Patty Ide and I thought it would be fun to peak around the front of the building where Mr. Myers headed each recess. And so, we innocently did so, discovering Mr. Myers pacing back and forth on the semicircular front driveway, smoking a cigarette. I thought nothing of that activity. In the 60s, most adults were smokers, at least the ones I knew. He was probably trying to catch a break from the 9 year olds driving him crazy. Of course he saw us and we were immediately called on it. "Miss Hall, Miss Ide, stay right where you are!" We were in big trouble, we could tell from his tone. "Follow me, please." and so we did, right into the classroom, passing the rest of the kids standing on the pole. He told us to take our seats and handed us each two sheets of lined paper. He turned his back to us and wrote on the chalkboard "I should not spy on people because-". He told us to write as many reasons as we could as to why we shouldn't spy on people and not to stop until the paper was filled. Then left us alone in the classroom.

Patty and I looked at each other, wide eyed with disbelief that this was the only punishment we were getting and went to work on what seemed to be an easy task. It wasn't long before the class came back in after recess was over. Mr. Myers called us up to his desk. Patty handed him her paper, but I held onto mine. I had only written the same thing on every line: "We should not spy on people because-" "Miss Hall?" he inquired. I said "I am really sorry but I couldn't think of any reasons at all! I don't know why I shouldn't spy on people." I went on to say that it was a good way to find things out and I didn't know what the problem was. I don't remember him saying anything, and he didn't punish me any further. He just told us to go back to our seats and that was that. Do you think he might have agreed with me? Perhaps he was going to write it down in his little book of stupid things his students said. All I know is that I was amazed that he didn't give me any other punishment and always have wondered why. I also wondered how Patty Ide could have thought of so many reasons it wasn't a good thing to do.

I reminded him about this incident years later at a back to school night for Doug's class. He had no recollection of it but found it to be an amusing little anecdote. So much for pivotal moments in our lives.

Mr. Myers had particularly interesting methods for keeping his classroom in order. He was my first male teacher and so he had a certain air about him just from wearing a tie in the classroom that demanded respect. Balding but dark haired, his voice was loud and he spoke distinctly, calling us by the title of Miss or Mr., never using our first names, ever. His lessons were taught in ways we'd never forget, and I don't mean lessons in arithmetic or spelling or social studies. If someone dropped a piece of paper on the floor and failed to pick it up, he'd stop everything right there and then on the spot, announce we were going to play 'Hansel and Gretal' and "request" that the child who dropped the paper retrieve it and bring it to him. We all knew what was coming next. Mr. Myers would take the page and tear it up into many tiny pieces. He'd then proceed to drop them along a path, all around the classroom, around desks, behind easels, out toward the door and back in the room again, finally ending up at the brown metal waste basket beside his desk. The game was that the pitiful Gretal or Hansel, depending on who had perpetrated the crime, was to pick up each tiny piece of paper following the trail along the path he had laid out and depositing the lot in the waste basket at the end of the trail. He would then resume the lesson he had been teaching without any further reference to the game.

Then there were desk inspections. Although it was usually done on Fridays, there were times when if a messy desk was noticed on other days of the week, exceptions would be made. But I remember the one day it was my desk that gained Mr. Myers' attention. I remember it as if it was yesterday. He wore rubber soled shoes, so he was quiet when moving among the rows. Our desks were antiques even then. They had a place to lay a pencil, carved into the wood on the desktop, and to the right of that was a hole with a metal structure in it, sort of like a cup holder, but instead of holding a cup, it was to hold a bottle of ink in days long gone, by the time we got the desks. Old crude drawings and people's names from earlier days, indelibly recording the kids that sat there before made each desk unique. Some of the names were familiar as older siblings to my friends or kids I knew from church. The desk itself had a metal base which attached to the bottom of the wooden swivel seat and connected that to the base of the desk, making a sort of sled-shaped object. The desktop was hinged so that it flipped open, like a laptop computer. The whole thing was very heavy and I wouldn't be able to lift it myself.  

But Mr. Myers could easily lift these desks. He passed through the rows of desks, silently and he would randomly flip open this one or that. I had been lucky over the past few weeks and had been effective at being invisible as he passed by me, until this one ill-fated day. He quietly, came up beside my desk. "Miss Hall?" he said. "Would you kindly open your desk for me?" I had no choice. With that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach, I slowly lifted the desk top revealing the secret it held. It was a mess. Papers stuffed in there, a few books, pencils, erasers, wax paper from lunches, filled so full it almost prevented me from closing it at all. He stared at the contents of my desk. "Miss Hall, kindly step away from your desk." Gulp. I stood up and stepped away as he tipped the heavy thing on it's side, its contents spilled out onto the floor: papers, rulers, pencils and one lone apple, stashed in there God only knew when, came bouncing out, rolling under the feet of Larry Horton, the love of my 4th grade life.

That was just the start of it, for after the dumping came the singing. The whole class joined in with Mr. Myers and his booming basso profundo in a round of S-L-O-B. It was a song with a catchy little tune, taught to us the first week of school and it was the only time I ever remember Mr. Myers using my first name. The song went:

S- L- O- B,
S- L- O- B,
Suzanne is
an S- L- O- B.

Humiliating, yes. But, it also gave me a little celebrity for the day, as most of the members of this chorus had been in the same spot as I was at some time or other in Mr. Myer's classroom and they were more sympathetic than anything else.

He was a unique fellow, to be sure. He would tear the "fruit loops" off of the new oxford shirts we'd wear which were in fashion that year. You know, those useless loops of fabric at the top of the pleat on the back of the shirt? For some reason, he like pulling them off and usually they'd come off clean without damaging the rest of the shirt, so it wasn't as bad as it might seem to those who'd never witnessed it. He had a whole collection of these in light blue, pink, white and a few other pastels.

When our new school was built and ready for us, just after Christmas break, we moved there and when spring came, we found ourselves in a proper playground with swings and see saws and even grass and a paved area for kickball. Mr. Myers liked to play marbles, though and had his own can of them in his desk. He'd come out to the playground and invite us to shoot marbles with him, giving us a few if we didn't have any of our own. Soon everyone was bringing marbles in to school. But, Mr. Myers didn't coddle us and if he won them, he'd keep them. We thought it was outrageous that he played for "keeps" with children and learned never to use our prized marbles in a game with him. But, at the same time we were very flattered when he played with us at all. Collecting and playing marbles became all the rage, a game that really belonged to a generation before ours.

Mr. Myers was in love with Jane Morgan, a singer none of us knew, whose theme song was Love Makes the World Go Round. He'd sing that all the time, so enamored by her was he. He'd walk around the classroom and sing it when he handed out papers or when he was collecting them. He'd sing it when we were trying to do a paper, or even a test. I think it was designed to help us learn to concentrate.

He segued from talking about Jane Morgan and how he was her number one fan into finding out what celebrities we liked. He got addresses of many of them from fan magazines and we all wrote to our particular celebrities, telling about ourselves and asking for autographed pictures. When people began to receive pictures and responses in the mail it was so exciting! We would check every day for mail and some of us asked Mr. Myers for more addresses and we wrote more letters on our own, even after the assignment was completed. Whenever someone received a reply and a picture, they presented it to the class and then proudly pinned it up on the bulletin board set aside for this project. I received my first signed photo from Jay North who played Dennis the Menace. Then, I got one from the cast of Lassie from the Timmy days, and the cast of Fury, including a separate one from Roger Mobley who played Pee Wee.

Timmy and Lassie

William Fawcett, Peter Graves and Bobby Diamond
The Cast of Fury

Roger Mobley played Pee Wee on Fury and went on
To play Gallagher in the Disney movies of that name.
I thought Ed looked like him when they were both teenagers.

Jay North, aka Dennis the Menace
The first photo I received from my letters.

Mr. Myers' autographed photo of Jane Morgan was in the middle of the whole display.

Moving to our new school afforded us lots of great things, like new desks and that sort of thing. But, it also made for great Friday afternoons. Whenever there was time, Mr. Myers would wheel the brand new spinnett that came with the new school into the room and he'd sit down on the bench and begin to play as we moved our chairs to encircle him. (Our chairs were wonderfully free to be moved and no longer attached to our desks.) He'd play and we'd sing songs he'd taught us like Little Tommy Tinker, There's a Hole in the Bucket Dear Liza or There's a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea, or I know an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly and all sorts of Christmas carols, too. Years later, I taught our granddaughters some of these songs and amazingly I remember those lyrics still. Not to mention the S-l-o-b song. But he was never more fun, smiling and animated than when he was playing piano for us on Friday afternoons. It was a great way to end our week.

Another thing I will always remember about Mr. Myers, something I had heard from Betsy's brothers that turned out to be absolutely true: Mr. Myers sent graduation cards with a personal note included to every one of his 4th graders when they graduated from high school. It was something I looked forward to for all of those 8 years, and sure enough, like the rest of my classmates, I did receive such a card.

Mr. Myers died in 1992 at the age of 64. He retired after 37 years of teaching. We thought he was quite old when I had him as a teacher in 1960 and that he'd been teaching forever. But, according to the article I found online, he would  have been in his 30s, just 8 years of teaching experience behind him. Funny how one's perspective changes. I wish I had a photo of him. If any of my readers do, please send it along so I can add it to this post.

So, not only do I remember my rabbits every first day of the month, but I also remember Mr. Myers who taught me all kinds of things, and through my son, he taught me about the rabbits on the first of the month, just a fun little something my son handed up to me.

And by the way, by the time my son had him in 4th grade, 25 years after me, Mr. Myers was no longer singing Jane Morgan's "Love Makes the World Go Round".

He was singing Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It?"

Have a great day everyone!
Love,
Suz

Feel Good Friday July 22, 2011

You know, there really is something to this Feel Good Friday idea. There are certain things in this world, simple things, little laws of nature that I find helpful from time to time. For example, I have heard that it's impossible to feel two different pains at the same time. I think that's true. It's not possible to feel a sore knuckle if you've got a splinter in your finger. So, we should be grateful for either the sore knuckle or the splinter, I guess. But that's not quite what I meant.

A better example is that I know for certain that it's impossible to be angry if you have a purring cat on your lap. And it's impossible to keep from smiling when a baby smiles at you first.

Gratitude is exactly like that. If I concentrate on things for which I am grateful, if only for that second, I am not thinking of those things that I wish might never have happened.

About 15 years ago I picked up a book called Simple Abundance by Sara Ban Breathnach. It was a day book of quotes and simple little tasks to do that made me appreciate what I had and led me to discover things in the world that I was never aware of. Some things were silly and some were really fascinating. Her quotes were inspiring. My favorite quote came from her book and anybody who knows me really well knows it is this: "All shall be well. And all shall be well. And all manner of things shall be well." Dame Julian of Norwich wrote that in the 14th century. I use it as sort of my own serenity prayer, and if I say it enough, it works for me.

The reason I bring up this book is because it taught me a practice that, although forgotten about from time to time, whenever I do go back to it I am reminded how effective it is. Every night before you retire, Ban Breathnach instructs that we must write down five things for which we are grateful in our Gratitude Journal. It can be anything at all, even if it's being grateful that the day is finally over. It really does work. Try it. She suggests a whole ritual of selecting just the right journal before you start, but any old scrap of paper will do in a pinch. Keep this gratitude journal, making your entries every night and see if things don't change for you along the way. I am here to tell you, it's impossible to end the day on a bad note if the last things you think about before you go to sleep are that for which you are grateful.

And so, this week when buying and selling a home hit the height of frustration, panic and disappointment for me, I am here to tell you I do have something to write about on Feel Good Friday and as an act that is sort of like "In your face, blankety-blank real estate deal!", I am posting this blog today. And I know All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well!

This week my sister Becky and gal pal Melinda sponsored a tea, put on at my friend Alexandra's home, a home I hadn't been in since I was 3 when we lived there. That was a fascinating experience in itself. (you can read more about it in a more serious vein at my other blog (http://www.thehuntforhenrietta.blogspot.com/)

And so I went to a British tea, purchased by Becky and Melinda at the church service auction. Alexandra would put on the spread for 6-8 people, tea sandwiches and teacakes and tea, for all. So they invited some other gal pals from church and we decided in addition to the tea, it would be fun to make our own Fascinators, Ala Kate Middleton.

We all arrived and had a tour of the house and Alexandra opened the champagne, although it ended up on the floor. I don't think she has a lot of experience opening champagne.

We caught up a little on what was happening with each other. Some of these gals I hadn't seen in quite a while.

Oohing and Aahing over our Dollar Store purchases of flowers, ribbon, etc., we went to work. Some of us are more craftitudinally challenged than others, but it was really fun. Although I must say that more than once I thought of my Grandmother and her gatherings with her church ladies to make some craft or another. But we really don't look like our grandmothers did. Well, we don't feel like it anyway.

Maggie the Milliner, as she should be called, found it hard to get hers completed because we were all looking to her for advice on the proper use of the feathers, tulle and various silk flowers that were available. Especially Sue P.

Sue P took her project way to seriously for me. She was very particular and kind of monopolized design star Maggie's time, making it difficult for the rest of us to get much help.

Melinda, affectionately known as Melonhead, didn't really need any help. She had a sort of proper ladies-at-tea thing going...

...until  you looked closely and saw that the purple cur lie-q chenille stems (pipe cleaners), bumble bee and bird of paradise she had stuck up in there among the flowers revealed the real kooky Melonhead I know and love.

 Alexandra, our hostess with the mostess, declared she was totally out of her element with these creative crafty projects. But, I think she did a smashing job in shades of gold and yellow, sticking a bumble bee here and a yellow orchid there, all atop a zebra striped base, not to mention the "monarch" butterfly. How appropriately royal!

I decided Hydrangeas were my thing, spending these weeks on the Cape where they grow in abundance. Besides, Becky had brought me a gorgeous magenta one, that she knew I'd love.And it matched my glasses. A piece of ribbon, a bird and a poofy green thing Maggie fashioned from fabric all wired to a headband and I was done. Keep it simple is my motto.

But, Sue P wouldn't keep it simple and stitched and sewed and kept Maggie busy helping so that neither of them were finished with their Fascinators before the tea and they had to return to the workshop after refreshments.

So we adjourned to the dining room for tea, where Alexandra poured tea, pink lemonade and a little more champagne without spilling a drop this time.

We had little open faced sandwiches. And I even ate a cucumber sandwich, which is some sort of accomplishment for me. But they were itty bitty cucumbers. Turkish or something and quite good, actually. The dessert cart was lovely and I wish I had a picture of it. Lots of yummy things.

After we ate, some of us went for a tour of the gardens and Sue P and Maggie the Milliner went back to work on their Fascinators. Sue P was very particular and very slow. But when she was done, she had a rather Scottish Lass look about her, don't you think?

Maggie the Milliner, on the other hand,  had a sort of Dr. Seuss thing going. Sort of a Cindy Lou Who idea. I think it's brilliant!

Becky's was inspired with a tea cup perched just so and long leaves that looked like green onions poking up in the air with the finishing touch a purple bird, it was perfect. All sitting at the appropriate jaunty angle, for what I think was the best of them all.

I think we did a fabulous job and by far our Fascinators were much prettier than some of those we saw at Kate and Will's wedding. 

Now that's what I call some weird Chenille stems.

Melonhead and Becky purchased the tea for us. Thanks Gals!

But, clearly, it was a perfect way to forget all my cares and woes, in the company of such good friends and Fascinating Women!

And, THAT, ladies and gentlemen is one of the reasons why I am Feeling Good this Friday! Hope you have something to feel good about. Have a great week!

Love,

Suz

Pinkies Up!





Rabbits on the Move

Here is your rabbit reminder for July 1. It is a short one because I am taking just a quick break from all the chaos here right now. I can't really concentrate on the blog, but I didn't want to run the risk of so many of you not remembering your rabbits!

I am distracted because as many of  you know, I am in the process of packing up our home in Tennessee as we prepare to  move to Naples, FL.

Ed and I plan to be living in two different states for a few months since he hasn't yet retired and we aren't sure exactly when he will retire. He will be making his home with his son and our grandkids here in TN and I will be going to Florida to set up housekeeping. Just like the old days when Ed lived in TN and I lived in MA. We did that for 6 long  years. I think we can put up with it for a few months. We  had to strike while the fire was hot and the house sold, thank goodness, and we are on the move. But, I will be happy when Ed retires and he can take it easy.

And when we can be together again in the same state!

Although the movers are packing for us, I am hoping they'll just have to pack up the kitchen and maybe some of the stuff we have on shelves in the garage. I can leave clothes in the bureaus because they just shrink wrap the whole thing. It's very cool. But I have some personal things like jewelry, etc. that I want to pack for myself in the bedroom. As I write this, it's almost like I am making a to-do list, so please indulge me while I think out loud. Let's see...we have most of the guest rooms all done and there isn't much to do with the living room. I have to make sure my electronics are done right when we disconnect the TVs and computers, but that's the last thing we'll do when the movers arrive on Saturday. I have to have my computer until the last minute!

Today's plan is to finish getting the dining room hutches packed up and the bathroom vanities and bathroom closets finished, also.

Not THIS kind of hutch!

I have one and a half  bathroom done and one to go. I have half of the dining room packed. But the clock is ticking.

 

It is so strange because I usually think of myself as fairly organized. But, I am so unfocused for this move. I go from one room to the other, without really finishing the room before I leave it. So I have half boxes packed, in every room. I guess it's because I am almost 60 (Yikes!) and so often I just can't remember why I went into a room in the first place. But, also sometimes I don't trust myself to come back to any  particular thought when it comes into my mind, so I want to act on it as soon as I think of it. And so, I go tend to whatever it is right then when I think of it. Do you know what I mean?

For example, I started packing the guest room bathroom and that made me start thinking about the cleaning supplies I'd need to keep out and not pack. When I saw the toilet bowl cleaner in that first bathroom, instead of just making a mental note about it, I went off and checked for bowl cleaner in the other bathrooms and decided to clean all the toilets in the house, ending up in a different bathroom, packing up toiletries that I saw when I was in there cleaning the toilet.

I only packed up some of those toiletries before I went back to the bathroom I started on but saw that the shower curtain needed to be washed before I packed it. So, I went off and did some laundry.

It's all very complex neurological stuff, I think. Or, could we be witnessing the breakdown of a middle aged woman's brain? Put in the way that my 5 year old granddaughter replies to questions: 'Why, yes. Yes we could be witnessing the breakdown of a middle aged woman's brain.' But, I have a feeling it's just a temporary condition. At least I certainly hope so. 

Ed went to work yesterday for the first time since I had returned from the Cape on Saturday. Being alone in the house I can go at my own pace today, and hopefully just keep plowing through it all. While Ed was here at the house packing I kept finding myself taking naps. I think I was hoping I'd wake up and elves would come in to the house while I was sleeping and finish the job. That elf thing has been a recurring fantasy of mine ever since I was a little girl and had to clean my room. I think it was an idea I took from that fairy tale The Elves and the Shoemaker.

Ed has kind of been my hero in all of this, truly. A real Crusader Rabbit.

While Maggie and I were up on the Cape for the past few weeks, Ed managed to clean out the entire basement, boxing up almost all of it, cleared out one guest room, the den and a storage unit. He even found a home for our washer and dryer and his sailboat. He got us a PO Box and booked the movers. So, I guess in a way, Ed has fulfilled that lifelong fantasy of mine. How lucky I am to have my own personal Elf!

Well, back to work for me now. The movers will be here in less than 48 hours. Yikes! Just in case I don't remember, can I ask a few of you to remember to say MY rabbits for ME?

I'd be very grateful!

Happy Fourth of July everyone. Have a safe and fun holiday weekend!

Love,
Suz

Feel Good Friday June 17, 2011

I missed last week's Feel Good Friday so I thought I would combine the last two weeks in which so much happened that made me feel good!  









Yippee! The house sold!

We were so relieved that our home sold, since we have purchased one in Naples. We decided to stick to the plan of getting me to the Cape, in spite of having to pack up the house. We didn't have an exact closing date so instead of changing plans we stuck to them and drove up to Massachusetts. 

We drove from Tennessee right to Bill and Kim's in Westford, MA before going on to the Cape. After all, we had to see our Lily, and her parents and Uncle Doug, of course.
There, Lily met Grampa Ed for the first time.

Ed says animals and babies love him. I am inclined to believe that.
Lily lounges with Grampa Ed while he chats on the phone.

Lily and Maggie met for the first time. Neither one of them seemed too interested in the other. After all, Lily can't wiggle a string for Maggie to chase, and Lily hasn't quite figured out how to put Maggie's tail in her mouth.  So they sort of ignored each other for the most part.

Lily got to meet Maggie while she sits on Uncle Dooger's lap.



We made it safely to the Cape, my favorite place.
The weather wasn't like this at all. Just rainy and chilly. But maybe today
it will be just like this once again.

After only spending one day at the beach, poor Ed had to head home to Tennessee and back to work. He left the car, the cat and me behind at the Cape. I will see him in a week or so. Meanwhile, I think he may be getting some golf in back there. 




Kim and Bill posted a video on Facebook of Lily rolling over, her new trick. She is so talented!



Rodney and Ruth

 In June the Mass Municipal Auditors and Accountants hold their annual meeting here on the Cape. I got to see many of my old accountant buddies, including Ruth and Rodney. Ruth spent a few days here and she and Maggie became fast friends. Both Ruth and I caught Rodney's cold. He swore it was just allergies.

Ruth and the MaggnifiCat



Our Lily turned 4 months old on Wednesday. She is getting so cute. Starting to look like me, don't you think?

 They are almost finished with our home in Naples. The realtor sent us this photo on Wednesday. Tile is laid, cabinets are in. Plants and rough landscaping is done. We are getting excited. It should be done in a few weeks. We probably won't be  moving our furniture in until the end of the summer. Poor Ed has to keep working for a while longer. We aren't sure where he'll be living yet. But he is so laid back about things like that. I'd be frantic! But, he's planning on visiting both here later in the summer and in Naples over the next several months. And I'll have to go back to see him and my grandkids and friends from time to time. It will be like old times when we had a long distance relationship for six years. I think we can do it for six months or however long it ends up being.

Our Naples Home under construction but almost completed.


Thursday was my brother in law's birthday. Happy Birthday Steve! Love ya!



Steve met Lily a few months ago.

I am heading to Sudbury to see friends tomorrow evening and attend a cabaret at my church. It should be fun. Sister Becky and pal Melinda are both in it. 

Becky and me

Pal Melinda (affectionately known as Melonhead)

I had lunch with Dianne on Wednesday. Diane is an old high school chum who lives in CA and I hadn't seen her since last summer. She comes to the Cape once a year and fortunately we were both here at the same time. We had a LONG lunch and caught up on everything. It was really great to see her again.

I went to a Pampered Chef party given by nieces Erin and Joanna. Joanna hosts FeelGoodFridays on her blog. At the party and in  Joanna's blog Feel Good Friday  posting she talked about a dream I had where her father's name was Primrose Jim. For some reason it struck her so funny she's still laughing. I guess maybe if you knew her father, whose name is really George, well...

Primrose Jim

The Pampered Chef party was fun. Ruth went with me. And, I even bought something.

On Sunday, I had a great brunch with sister-in-law Kathie and a group of people who gather at one special deli every Sunday morning. I hadn't seen them since last year. (One of them gave me a very warm compliment on my Henrietta blog, making me feel bad that I never got around to posting last week. But I did this week! http://www.thehuntforhenrietta.blogspot/ if you are interested.)

Ruth left on Wednesday and I went to the Laundromat and did all my laundry from the last week or so, except sheets, which Melinda said I could do at her house this weekend. So that feels REALLY good.

So, it's been a really busy 2 weeks. Next week I get to see our Lily again and babysit for a day. Then, Doug's going to cat sit while I go home and pack up the house with the movers. But I will be back on the Cape before you can say Primrose Jim.

Have a great week!

Love,
Suz