Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Today we spent five hours at the ballpark watching the first games of our grandchildren for the season. It was a beautiful day with sunshine and no rain! That's not common this time of year in the Northwest. However, even though the weather was good, the games were not good. It's going to be a long, long season! That seems to happen every other year. Oh, well, we enjoy watching the games no matter what the outcome.

I spent yesterday making sugar cookies for Easter. Lots of little bunnies, ducks, tulips carrots and butterflies. It is always fun to make these cookies for the holidays and then send them off to the grandkids who live in other states and won't be able to join us for Easter dinner. Oh, how I wish we all lived near eachother so we could share these special times. But life isn't always like Norman Rockwell depicted and we just have to adapt.

Home for the Holiday

I am so excited because I won't be working on Easter and will get to cook dinner for the family! Working for an airline has required me to miss all of the holidays for the past three years. I have really missed fixing the holiday meals and setting a nice table for all the family. Only one of our children and her family will be with us this year, but with grandma and my sister-in-law that will make nine at the table.

I have been having so much fun planning my tablescape. I am going with lavender since I have so many linens and things in that color already. I don't have enough chargers in one color so I think it will have to be placemats. Each guest will have a mini basket with candies and stuff. Then the three kids can search the yard for the 88 eggs I filled! Should be fun. Grandma can't eat ham, which is what I would prefer cooking, so I think I'll just roast a small turkey. Can't ever go wrong with turkey. And I found a yummy recipe for a pineapple, coconut cake that sounds perfect for dessert.

I can't wait till retirement so I can be home and cook for every holiday!

Home with the Tax Man

I am off from work for the week because I was summoned for jury duty. The last time I was on jury duty was in 1972! It's exciting to be serving again, but things are different now. I called a phone number last night and got a recording that told me my group wasn't needed today. Oh, boy! I really was looking forward to sitting in the court room for the jury selection process, but instead I get to sit here at home listening to the Bookseller rage over doing the taxes! Fun!

Don't get me wrong, I'm eternally thankful to the Bookseller for doing the taxes and all of our financial dealings. It's just that I don't enjoy hostility! He gets really wound up when the process doesn't go as smoothly as it should. On top of that, he is listening to MSNBC! The politics of our nation aren't helping his mood.

I think I'll go shopping!

Grandkids

Today is Ty's birthday! He is 10 years old today. How special is that? I remember being 10 and some of my favorite memories are from that age.

Ty is a special kid. He is so sensitive of others and yet a wonderful competitor. That is a great combination of traits to have. He is the middle child of my oldest son. I cherish the special moments we have had together. Unfortunately, we aren't together very often. They live in Kentucky which is many, many miles from our home. I have the ability to travel there, I just don't have the time. Work seems to get in the way! Oh, how I look forward to the day when time won't be an issue!

The Fab Five

My daughter and our grandkids were here for dinner tonight. It was nice to cook for a group again. Cooking has always been a pleasure and I have missed it. Not that I don't cook for my husband and myself, but meals for two are a whole different ballgame! It's not much fun.

After dinner, we all enjoyed rockin' out on Guitar Hero with The Beatles Rock Band. What a hoot to be playing Beatles music on a pretend guitar just like I used to do in 1965! It brought back such sweet memories that these grandkids can't possible understand, but we all enjoyed together. I love just being with family!

It is back to work tomorrow. I'll be out of town until Sunday. I just found out I will be off for Easter and I am thrilled. I haven't had a Sunday off for so long and I miss going to church. Being able to go to church on Easter will be such a blessing. And then I will get to cook a holiday meal! Life is good.

GETTING OLD IS OVERRATED!

These are supposed to be my golden years. However, all I am really feeling is tarnished! I have so many aches and pains, I am taking so many drugs for so many different ailments and now I have discovered that I have glaucoma and may lose my sight in one eye. What's an old girl to do?



O.K. So maybe I didn't do everything I could have done to keep myself healthy through the years. But I didn't do anything gross to my body, either! A little drinking and smoking never hurt anybody! So why is it that I have so many darn things wrong with me now? Just unlucky, I guess.

I ordered my new glasses today. It is something I've been needing to do, but found easy to neglect. The upgrade will be "transitions" to help protect my eyes in the sun. Boy, glasses are expensive! Another crappy side effect to getting old!

CHILLIN' IN MISSOULA

This is the third night of my four-day trip and I will be glad to get home tomorrow. It will be good to have three days off from work. I really love my job, but days off are much better! It is really chilly here in Montana tonight and we got in too late for me to go walking anywhere. My body is needing to walk, but the hours this week just haven't provided the opportunity. Hopefully I will find the time for walking when I'm home.

I'm watching Disney's "Snow White" in TV. They really were ahead of their time in animation. Sure brings back great memories! I'm looking forward to seeing "Alice In Wonderland" which just opened this week. It looks like a great movie and it has a brilliant cast of performers. I mean, who doesn't love Johnny Depp?

DUELING LAPTOPS

Here we sit in our very comfortable family room, enjoying "American Idol", and playing games on our laptops. We do this often. It is a good feeling to know that the bookseller is here with me. We say very little, but that is alright. We just like being here.

The book store is struggling right now. We are trusting that it is just a temporary setback due to the troubling economy. The bookseller just finished his annual inventory and now it's time for the taxes! This is when I make myself small and stay out of his way, 'cause he gets really intense.

I will be off flying tomorrow for four days. This should be a good trip with two nights in Missoula and one in Wenatchee. Both are destinations I enjoy. Looking forward to the day when I can have a weekend off. I guess I was spoiled when I worked for the public schools and had every weekend and all holidays off! Oh, well, maybe some day.

We got a call from our oldest son this evening. He lives in Kentucky with his wife and three children and we miss them. All is well there, but I can tell he is lonely for "home". He and his wife both grew up here in the northwest and are looking forward to the time when they will be able to move back. Not sure when that will be.