The Avatar Should Explain My Absence

The avatar may not work but the little guy, borrowed from my friend sheanc, is supposed to be banging his head on the keyboard. (Update - it worked once I posted it).

The computer is working, I replaced the mouse which helped a lot so far as being able to read my email goes, but the processor is slow. It means that it takes forever for a blog to load and even longer for the comment box. I'm back to trying to stay caught up with at least some of my friends in the Bloglines feeder but commenting has been difficult. I'll keep plugging away at it.

I have several new signers on the guestbook whom I haven't met. To my visitors from Kenya, China, and Malaysia, hello, thank you, and best wishes to all.

To any of you who have sent me Facebook messages. I finally have my password back and tried to catch up somewhat. Unfortunately, it's as slow as Blogger at the moment. I'll go through them a little at a time - meantime I tried to send most of you a hug or a flower.

Dawn and I were out shopping the other day and spotted a yard sale half a block from here. I've been looking for living room chairs to replace our small couch. You can see it's a tiny room and the couch took up most of it. The two chairs were sitting in the yard begging me to take them home. I got the two for $55., a real bargain since they're in almost perfect shape and exactly what the Ray, the cat, and I wanted. Both of them rock and recline and they're so comfortable. Spunky has never been a lap cat but suddenly she's turned into one. She'd prefer to have the chair to herself but will settle for flopping down on Ray.

Ray is continuing with his gardening. We've added fresh herbs, chamomile, several varieties of peppers, one okra plant (for me), a strawberry plant for Dawn's daughter Destiny, and lots of flowers. The strawberry has two tiny berries already and one rose bush has a bud. The cucumber didn't survive but everything else is doing fine so far. The weather here has been beautiful but they're predicting 90's (about 33 C) for next week. Mornings stay chilly still.

I stopped off at Goodwill the other day looking for pillowcases. Found them, several small plates I've been wanting, three pretty coffee cups (mine weren't fit for company, poor things), and a sombrero for Ray (from Chevy's). He doesn't need to be out in the yard without some protection and that will do it nicely. I should take his picture. (Just did - see above). I caught him watching the ball game in the living room while I'm doing the same thing in here. Should have had him change that shirt first - he was mowing the yard in it.

He's doing well although his leg was swollen last week. I think he overextended himself with the planting and weed digging. I nailed him to his chair for most of the next couple of days with his foot elevated and it looks normal now.

Dawn is planning a barbecue here for my birthday a week from Saturday. Should be fun. I know she's making a triple chocolate cake and we'll keep the rest of it simple. Hot dogs, hamburgers, etc. At last report, Jim is supposed to be here from Southern California. I think it was supposed to be a surprise but Tim told me and then forgot that he had.

Can't believe I'll be 70 although some days I feel much more than that. Somehow my two sons thought I was going to be 74 until one of them finally stopped and did the math. Let's see - 1938 - 2008? That's not 74, kids.

Not much happening out of the ordinary. Friend Janet and I are going to a play at Merced College (our Junior College - the other is University of California - Merced) on Sunday. I can't remember the name but I'm sure we'll enjoy it; just for the company if nothing else.

Hope all of you are well. Again, I apologize for not being around more.

Have a good weekend and take care everyone.

How's Your Spelling?

Your Spelling is Perfect

You got 10/10 correct. Your spelling is excellent. You also have a great memory and eye for detail.

How's Your Spelling?

I admit I guessed at one of the words and I was glad it was multiple choice - I didn't have to actually spell them. I always have problems with the word mispellmisspell.

Thanks to "J" at Thinking About for this one.

We have our first rosebud on one of the climbers. Had to transplant the small bush; I don't think it was getting enough sun underneath my window. I hope we got to it in time. It was looking rather forlorn. The tomato plants are growing - I'm still waiting for the first tomato.

The Easter dinner went off without a hitch except I cooked far too much food, even allowing for the amount my son can put away all by himself. Tomorrow I'll make spread/salad out of some of the ham and freeze the rest until later.

To those who left comments about the "menu" and the amount of work, much of the food came from boxes and cans this time rather than scratch. I didn't have the time, energy, or ingredients on hand to do a lot of last minute preparation. My sweet potato casserole is better than Betty Crocker's (even after I doctored it up) but it was okay. The music did help although I decided Beethoven (Emperor Concerto) might be a little much.

Tim and I met for coffee earlier today; his treat since he wasn't working. I came home to a phone call from the Social Worker. She was in the area with the girls. They stopped by for a few minutes so I was able to give them some of the things they'd asked about. It was so good to see them and I think it was good for them to see Ray and our little house. We keep telling them we're fine but better they could see for themselves. It was one of the best surprises we've had in a long time.

Our weather continues to be lovely. The forecast calls for rain this weekend but that's normal for March and April. We're far more fortunate than much of the country which is still digging out from blizzards and floods.

Bloglines is still acting up and so is Blogger, at least for me. I think I've gotten around to most of you but it's difficult to tell who has new posts and who doesn't. Blogger is being stubborn about comments sometimes but at least I can keep up with what you're doing.

For anyone out there who is also a Facebook friend. I'm not ignoring you. I lost my password in the great computer crash. I'll get a new one - just keep forgetting to do it. Meantime, thanks for thinking of me with the Superpokes, etc.

Other than that, not much is new. I'm waiting for baseball season to start. The American League played their first game today from Tokyo (started at 3:00 a.m. our time) but the Giants don't open until next Monday.

Take care everyone and thanks for the visits.

The Best Laid Plans, etc.

My friend emailed me last night that he and his family have the flu. No barbecue for us. Hope they're feeling better soon. It's much more of a bummer for them than for us.

Here's the comment I left for Diane on her Sunday Dinner post:

Our plans fell through (friends have the flu) so I'm scrambling to get a late dinner on the table. Luckily I have a canned ham and boxes and cans of stuff since I have no time to prepare much from scratch, do laundry, mop the floor, take a shower, - whew!! Oh, and put on clean clothes - that might be appropriate. I invited Tim - he's working but he'll come by around six.

So - ham, sweet potato casserole, scalloped potatoes au gratin, deviled eggs, Bush's baked beans, three bean salad, honey glazed carrots, sourdough bread, and banana pudding.

I didn't even have to go the store.

Wish me luck - I'm going to need it.

Ray just left for church and I'm taking ten minutes to sit down while the eggs are cooling. I put on a CD - Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #2 and Grieg Piano Concerto in A Minor. If that doesn't keep me enthused, I'll switch over to Beethoven - or perhaps Sousa marches.

Happy Easter everyone.