Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind

Happy Summer Solstice to all! It's been a nice week with hubby home for a visit between jobs. He got to play with his radios and even got one fixed. It sounded great! We were listening to a station in Romania. He cleaned it up and took it with him on the road so he'll have something to play with.No big projects like in Father's Day's past. Yes, for the last 4 years we have had some sort of demolition/beautification project.

2005
200620072008This year the weather didn't cooperate with us making it difficult for us to work. We were hoping to get the floor laid in the attic but we would have to move everything out of the garage and with the rain that is a no go. We did get a head start a few weeks ago by taking everything down from the attic and organizing it. It's organized in the crates but not so much in the garage.
Once the floor is down and secure we will put everything back up in the attic and hubby will have his garage back to work/play in.

Mom and I went to Philly on Saturday to Bleed for Prest0n & Steve. They are the Philly morning show guys I listen to. I got mom to start listening to them too! For the last 4 years Prest0n & Steve have hosted a blood donation day for the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Red Cross. After finding out that my blood pressure meds won't effect me donating I signed up and mom decided to join me. We went to the Philadelphia Navy yard. They had close to 2000 people sign up to donate. It was very well organized. I was able to donate but mom couldn't because she had gotten a vaccine shot. She had to wait 21 days before she could donate. Next time she should be good to go. It was a really nice, well spent morning. We got to meet the entire morning show crew and even got them to sign their new comic book. I plan on donating again next year. They said that with the start of summer the supply gets really low and each donation can help up to three people. You just never know when you might need to be one of those people and wish someone had donated to help you. It didn't take that long and there was plenty of people to talk to who all listen to the show. They even were giving away free samples of ice cream and they were small desserts rather than samples. The guys were super nice. Mom told Steve she was a new listener and he asked her how he was doing so far. And they thanked us for helping out and donating.

I've got the sweatshop still working on sports but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I see little football holders and cactus on the horizon.

I'd like to teach the world to sing, In perfect harmony, I'd like to by the world a Coke...

I came home the other night to ATTACK OF THE DIET COKE!!! What a mess! I had 4 cans explode and split up the side and another explode from the top. The force was so strong it blew the fridge door open.

Here is some of the carnage.....

*Sorry about the crappy cell phone photos but I just snapped a quick few before I cleaned up the Diet Coke before it leaked into my rug* No, I don't have poke-a-dot sheets and pillows....when the soda exploded and opened the door, it must have sprayed out all over the bed.

So now the question is, did they all explode at once like a suicide pack or was it a one can suicide and the others were just casualties of war?

"There's pride in every Americans heart and it's time we stand and say...

I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free, And I won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me, And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today, 'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God Bless the U.S.A." - Lee Greenwood

What a great and powerful song. One in a long list of American pride songs. After 9/11 this song was put back into heavy rotation on a number of radio stations.

I feel myself to be patriotic. I have a strong love of history and a great respect for things in this country taken for granted like our Flag, our Veterans, our men and women serving in our Armed Forces and our National Anthem.

The US Code states:

TITLE 36–PATRIOTIC AND NATIONAL OBSERVANCES, CEREMONIES, AND ORGANIZATIONS
SUBTITLE I–PATRIOTIC AND NATIONAL OBSERVANCES AND CEREMONIES
PART A–OBSERVANCES AND CEREMONIES
CHAPTER 3–NATIONAL ANTHEM, MOTTO, FLORAL EMBLEM, AND MARCH
Section 301–National Anthem
Sec. 301. National anthem
(a) Designation.–The composition consisting of the words and music known as the Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem.
(b) Conduct During Playing.–During a rendition of the national anthem–
(1) when the flag is displayed–(A) all present except those in uniform should stand attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart;(B) men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold the headdress at the left shoulder,the hand being over the heart; and(C) individuals in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note; and
(2) when the flag is not displayed, all present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag

When I see a flag in a parade I stand. When I see a Veteran I say "Thank you for your service" and when I hear the National Anthem, I stop in place and stand until the last note. This is where this soap box rant is going.

Mom and I have been walking at night, getting some much needed exercise. We walk on the high school track because the track is easier on the joints and easier to keep count of how far you've gone. The last two nights the high school baseball team has had a game and at the beginning of the game they play the National Anthem. The first night mom and I were on the track, which sits next to the baseball field. We were pretty close to the dug out areas when we heard the announcer say, "Please rise for our National Anthem" Mom and I didn't even think twice and we stopped where we were and stood there until it was over. (Mom even had her hand over her heart) I was disgusted by others on the track who were running, jogging and walking also who kept on going. I know that may sound harsh to some, disgusted is a strong word and emotion but that is how I felt. Last, night we stood in the parking lot because you could hear it when you got out of the car and only when it was over did we walk over to the track.

What is wrong with people? I know the economy is in the toilet, we are still fighting wars for foreign lands and life is hard but come on, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I may not always agree with our government and I may not always understand why they do some of the things they do or the bills they pass and I may dislike some that are in office but our government is unique in that "we the people" decide who makes up the body of government we live by. However, I do support and have pride in our country. We do live in the best country in the world. I believe that so many other countries around the world dislike us because we are the best, the most free.

*stepping off my soap box* I just needed to vent, thank you for listening.

What are you doin, are you, Busy with your world, Well I wish you were busy with mine

Day trips, strawberry fields, birthday cakes & yummy cakes, exercise, more football helmets, tinting windows, hillbilly golf and more. Yes, I've been busy, very busy. I know, I know, no excuse. I promise to try and blog better.

Got to Lancaster! WhooHoo! We were there the weekend of the Rhubarb Festival. Yick. I don't like Rhubarb and the Strawberry Festival was weeks away. I went for the food but Rhubarb wasn't it. On the plus side I found this cute little yarn shop. It was a fiber overload. Just when I thought I had seen it all I turned the corner and there was yet another room full. Betty was super nice and very helpful. I have to thank Mom, Kim, and Kimmy's mom for being so patient was inside drooling.

We also hit the outlets for a second or two and the market up on the hill. That isn't it's name but that is what we have always called it. They have a great fruit vendor and mom gets Ralphie's garlic bologna there.

Then the food came. I have one word for you Yummy. Ok I have another word for you, Rolls. At lastly two more words, Pot Roast. MMMMM!!! The food is so good here at Dienner's. It is always fresh and it's home made. The wait to get a table it worth it any time. I can be bribed to Lancaster with the promise of Pot Roast and Rolls. Kimmy's Mom got her peach pie which as you see in this picture she is guarding with her life. We came back with an extra passenger too. We stopped at a couple antique shops (I was wearing my good wife hat) to look for antique radios and found this little gem for a steal. I'm not sure what it is an whether or not it will even work but I bought it for hubby. If nothing else he can use it for parts. I was very proud of myself until we discovered that it was a bit to big for the trunk. It sat as the third passenger in the back seat forcing mom to ride the hump all the way home. And it did generate a lot of laughs. We had a really nice day.

If you didn't already know, for me, the kitchen just came with the house. If I had a choice, I wouldn't signed on for one. I don't like to cook. I like to bake but I hate the clean up so I don't do it very often and when I do, I try to convince mom to help because she just loves a clean kitchen. CEOreo knows when I'm in the kitchen it's going to be good.

When mom was in the hospital I got her a Paula Dean Magazine that had a fabulous Raspberry Lime Cake on the front cover. I made some changes and turned it into a Strawberry Lemon cake. It was so good! Too damn good! You can't go wrong with Paula and her 3 cups of butter. The recipe made enough filling and icing to make two cakes. I ended up freezing the extra icing in hopes to make another cake some day. Hope it keeps. But that was only one of two cakes I made that weekend. Just call me Betty Crocker. It was Sharon's Birthday and it was time for birthday cake. I had it in my mind to do something yarn/knitting/spinning related. And we needed to top last years ball of yarn cake.

Sheep. Fluffy, fuzzy, bug eyed sheep. Perfect. I also branched out and made a second cake from scratch, this time chocolate. I got the recipe from Hershey's website. It's call Black Magic Cake. It had a cup of black coffee in it (which I couldn't taste, I think it helped keep it moist). It tasted like good old fashioned chocolate cake. Decorating was pretty simple, what's the best way to make a cake fluffy looking, mini marshmallows. So the sheep cake was born. Sharon liked it but was a bit apprehensive when it came to cutting it. Poor little sheep. I said BAAA when she cut it with the knife to freak her out. Cartman and Annie liked it too! They love marshmallows.

I had a epiphany regarding bugs and curtains and decided it was time to take the curtains down and out of my bedroom. The problem is the curtains helped the bedroom to be cave like, which is the best way to sleep. So I went to the auto store and got window tint and painfully tinted the windows. I used the darkest tint they have 2.5% and it still wasn't dark enough. So I decided to go ghetto and spray paint the suckers with black paint. Aaahhh, much better now.

I've started walking again for my health. It is my favorite form of exercise. I dislike gyms because I feel like a hamster on a wheel when on a tread mill and I wouldn't run even if I were being chase by a pack of wild dogs (They would catch me anyway since I'm a slow runner) So walking it is. I'm also trying to watch what I eat, so chocolate cover donuts are out. I'm doing well for the most part but I do have my weak moments when the coco bean calls out. Mom ask me if I wanted anything from the drug store the other night (she was picking up some script). I told her chocolate. She scowled at me. Our favorite Pharmacist was working and she must have asked mom how we were doing with the walking and mom said good but I was craving chocolate. So she sent mom home with a very special prescription.
It made me feel good. So good I didn't' even need to eat it and I have it up on my shelf as a reminder that there are people out there that care about me and support me when I need the extra push.

Speaking of extra push......it still amazes me that toddlers have no consideration for adults, lol. I mean I pushed this child for over 30 minutes on the swing, I thought my arm was going to fall off. I'm speaking about the little man of course. Mom and I babysat Alex and his baby sister Maggie a few weeks ago. Mom and Dad needed a night out, bad. So while mom was on baby duty, I was on Alex duty. Which was fine by me, Maggie is still in the blob faze and not as much fun yet.
Alex and his mom, Kathy also went with us to pick strawberries. My mother, for reasons unknown to me, loves to pick strawberries. She doesn't even keep them!!! She mostly gives them away! I eat a few in the field while picking and I hit my strawberry quota for the year. Alex loves strawberries as you can see by the strawberry goatee he is sporting here.

Good for us we can't read! I couldn't resist this photo opportunity......ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.....

Lil' bro has introduced us to a new, addicting game. Hillbilly golf. Its common name is Ladder Golf. But it is called by a few other names as well, Hillbilly golf, Hillbilly horseshoes, redneck golf and my favorite Testicle Toss. What ever you call it, it is a lot of fun. I got my butt kicked but mom cleaned up. Lil' bro said it was because she is a hillbilly (she was West Virginia born and raised) and it is in her blood to be good at hillbilly games.

AC Moore had a sale on plastic canvas again! I was there when the store opened. I got a few dozen sheets to stock up.
When it was all said and done I think I ended up adding 160 or so sheets to my stock. Which is good cause I was running low. I got another football helmet order for a team that I needed to design a pattern for. I think by the time I get tired of doing football helmets I will have a pattern for all the teams. This time New England Patriots.
I think it turned out really nice. The customer was very happy with it and that is what matters most. I have also assembled three more Cowboys helmets and a Yankees box. The time is coming for me to sit down and make the final decision on what to make for this years craft show. I will let you know if I come across anything really cool.