I'm going to have lilacs this May. Can life get any better??

Mandarin meg is challenging us again:

S
I
T
T
I
N
G
PRETTY

This is a Magazine style that Mandarin thought was interesting. In the magazine this text is centered. What magazine is it? Blender. "What is Blender!" she shouted.

BY MANDARIN
NO PHOTOGRAPHY OF CONOR OBERST

Okay, a little Unconscious Mutterings:

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Out of place :: fish out of water
2. Helicopter :: Pad
3. Francis :: Scott Keys
4. Ryan :: O'Neal
5. Wedding :: Bell Blues
6. Apalled :: unbelievable
7. Historian :: Doris Goodwin?
8. Powerful :: Strong
9. Sex symbol :: Brad Pitt
10. Uncomfortable :: Underwear

Going through an old notebook of Grandma Bea's. Do you know the answers?

This is being bumped up. Susan got half of them. Well done! I'll post those answers as clues to the rest of them.

1. What is the social tree.
2. The tree which is nearest the sea.
3. The dandiest tree.
4. The kissable tree. tulip
5. The tree which is warmest clad. fir
6. The languishing tree. pine
7. The Egytian plague tree.
8. The tree which you see in your hand. palm
9. The straightest tree.
10. The tree which is not I. yew

More blogging around:

Cybertoad's dog Ginger is recovering from surgery. Poor baby. Cybertoad also helped out at a recent accident: her Spanish abilities allowed her to help some of the victims.

Bryn has a link to bald eagles being born. Good catch, bryn!

Want to go to the mountains? Go visit Karen's flickr photostream. She also has lovely spring flowers.

More to come . . .

Around and about the blogroll and flickr:

Picture of a meat market here. Diamonds has some wonderful shots.

Lynn is a covergirl!

Susan in NC is gardening up a storm, and telling great stories about eggs, among other items. Awesome!

Cyber-bro Jeeem's sweetie, Mam, is quite a rescuer.

And susan-on-the-other-side-of-the-world does some really interesting things to onions. Also, if she ever changes her office seat in Sydney, Australia, I'm going to go into withdrawal.

Roscoe is going to Fiesta, in San Antonio!

Julie's Saints lost again. But if you're looking for some smashing book reviews, check her out!

What Creativity Is (and isn't) is the hot topic at Kathryn's.

Looking a lot greener up here in Michigan!

Do you ever play dumb?

S o H a p p y I t ' s T h u r s d a y!

(or as Susan would say S.H.I.T.!)

Does anyone know the significance of the number of dots on a ladybug's back? And how do you tell if you've found a boy ladybug or a girl ladybug? And does anyone know the maximum number of dots on a ladybug's back?

Interesting ladybug link here and here. Oh, and susan, you are right, as usual. They really are ladybirds.

eek! Blogger had major hiccups today, and in the process I lost my scrolling post and the comments that went with it. Ack!

The City Girl Exposes Herself.

I was talking to Tim, the guy who manages my mom's place, on Saturday. "Umm," I said, "I had the electric changed to my name. What should I do about the water?"

He laughed. "Shirl, it's well water."

Doh.

Spring. She's finally here.

Going through an old notebook of Grandma Bea's. Do you know the answers?

1. What is the social tree.
2. The tree which is nearest the sea.
3. The dandiest tree.
4. The kissable tree.
5. The tree which is warmest clad.
6. The languishing tree.
7. The Egytian plague tree.
8. The tree which you see in your hand.
9. The straightest tree.
10. The tree which is not I.

shirl will direct the straight-to-video movie: "How Stella Lost her Groove in the First Place" Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

**chuckle**. Patti found this first.

Talk about timely emails.
Yesterday the farm work consisted of: Cleaning the bathroom/Planting HastasHostas (go visit Jeeem)/Spraying the weeds on the south side of the big barn and tool shed/Doing the downstairs windows. Busy, tiring day.

So I come home and check my email. There is a forward from Denny at work.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY...

If you sometimes get the urge to run around naked.
DRINK SOME WINDEX.

It will keep you from streaking.

Too timely

Unconscious Mutterings time:

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Rising::Sun. A mountain in Glacier National Park.
2. Third::Base
3. Disruptive::Rowdy
4. Surround::Sound
5. Distant::Thunder
6. Suction::Cup
7. Fried::Chicken
8. Nuggets::Chicken. (It's a trend!)
9. Clip::Hair
10. San Antonio::Roscoe

Find your own pose!

So here we are at the weekend again. Spring weekends are so great. Everyone at work had plans to do yardwork this weekend, unless it rains. And this year, I got to chime in "me too, me too". What a dork. I was even happy that I ordered my Waste Bin. I've always had apartment trash pick-up.

I'll probably make it to the movies sometime over the weekend. Two weekends ago I saw Thank You for Smoking. I highly recommend it. It's a smart, funny, articulate movie, directed by Jason Reitman (Ivan's son) and based on the Christopher Buckley (son of William) book (which I had not read, now I must). Last weekend I saw Take the Lead, the Antonio Banderas ballroom dancing movie. I'm always a sucker for an underdog movie, and the fact that this one is based on a true story adds to the enjoyment. Plus, Antonio drips sensuality. Woohoo! **fans self**

Well, I'd better go now, and start loading the car. I'm taking some stuff out to the farm each weekend, so that moving day is hopefully just big stuff. We'll see. And what are you doing this fine weekend?

Today is National Garlic Day. I thought you would want to know!

Sherle has started a Favorite Five Photo meme. Each month, on or about the 15th (okay, so I'm very late, but oh well) gather your favorite five pictures in one place. Then, post the link on Sherle's site, so others can see what your choices. My April Favorite 5 set is here.

You Are a Blue Flower

A blue flower tends to represent peace, openness, and balance. At times, you are very delicate like a cornflower. And at other times, you are wise like an iris. And more than you wish, you're a little cold, like a blue hydrangea.

What Color Flower Are You?

Saw it at Gail's, where she is a yellow flower.

A-Z Meme

I've been tagged by Gail for the following A to Z meme:

Accent:
Michigander. We've got a real nasal short a going.

Booze:
Vodka Gimlet

Chore I Hate:
Cleaning the toilet

Dogs/Cats:
None right at the moment, but by the end of next month I hope to have two cats and a dog.

Essential Electronics:
Computer. Cell phone.

Favorite Perfume/Cologne:
Tresor

Gold & Silver:
Yes.

Hometown:
Lansing, Michigan.

Insomnia:
Only the occasional Sunday night insomnia.

Job Title:
Amanuensis.

Kids:
0

Living Arrangements:
Alone

Most Admired Trait:
I admire intelligence.

Number of Sexual Partners:
Yes.

Overnight Hospital Stays:
1

Phobia:
Heights. And Brussell Sprouts

Quote:
"Life without confetti is only an existence."

Religion:
Non-Denominational

Siblings:
four younger brothers, one younger sister. I AM the oldest.

Time I Usually Wake Up:
6 a.m.

Unusual Talent:
I know all the zipcodes in the area.

Vegetable I Refuse To Eat:
Brussell Sprouts! (Sorry, bryn)

Worst Habit:
Too emotional. WAAAHHH!!!!

X-Rays:
Remember when we used to have to get chest x-rays for tb tests?

Yummy Foods I Make:
No-Bake Cookies, Spaghetti

Zodiac Sign:
Capricorn.

Who to tag? Let's see. Who would LIKE to be tagged??

My flickr farm set has grown to eighteen pictures. View here.

You Are Gonzo the Great

"Is something burning in here? Oh, it's just me." You're a total nutball who will do anything for attention. The first to take a dare, you'll pull almost any stunt. You're one weird looking creature, but your chickens don't mind!

The Muppet Personality Test

swiped from Patti, who is just back from Paris!

Luke 24:1-6a

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!

The maple tree is homebase for the family's games of Hide N Seek. The tree was planted in 1908, the same year the house was built. That's a lot of seasons.

Unconscious Mutterings.

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Ambition::Energy
2. Meatloaf::Ketchup on top
3. Celebrity::Notoriety
4. Coach::Teach
5. Slacker::Goof-off
6. Reflection::in the mirror
7. Original::Unique
8. Risk::Danger
9. Saved::by Grace
10. June::Bride

Note to self: When you have a sign on the side-window of your car that says "Honk if You Scrapbook", don't be surprised if you get honked at! (Also note this, self: when you drive as wacky as you did Friday night, they're NOT honking about scrapbooking.)

I do love scrapbooking. I don't have kids, but I've been the unofficial family photographer for years. When the nieces and nephews hit sixteen, I make them a scrapbook. Today niece #4, Glory, hit that mark. It was a great stroll down memory lane, putting her book together. I think she liked it.

I overdid on the Krispy Kremes yesterday, so I was curious.

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
~~Eleanor Roosevelt

Woo hoo! I get to stay up late tonight! I have tomorrow off. I get to watch Lettermen! YAY! Survey asks: are you a Letterman or Leno fan?

Oh good. Tyler Perry is on Letterman.

Heading out to the farm tomorrow. The plans are for some cleaning and for planting peas. When we were kids that used to be the adage: plant peas on Good Friday. Googling that, I'm finding lots of interesting garden lore. Examples are here, here, and here. Any garden tips you want to share?

Thursday. Playing with the colors of the boxed caps (because meg said to). It's like playing with crayons: too much fun.

"Happiness is a direction, not a place."

~~Sydney J. Harris

Wednesday. It's raining outside, but it's a gentle rain, an April Shower. It's a nice sound.

Has anyone tried to make postage stamps at Zazzle? Or photo confetti at photofetti?

If you want a drop cap in a block, go visit MandarinDesign. I've also swiped meg's Pantone color chart to choose the colors.

Spring Love

Pronunciation Check.

The word is Coyote.

Do you pronounce it: ky-oat or ky-oat-ee? Or do you have another pronunciation? There is no wrong or right on this, it's a dialectic study.

"Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence.
Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance.
Autumn passes and one rememebers one's reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance."
~~Yoko Ono

Monday Madness time!

The following questions were offered by one of our fellow participants who wishes to remain anonymous. After you've answered the first question, proceed to the set of questions below it, depending on if your answer was YES or NO. Thanks so much for playing! =)

Do you like to shop? Yes

IF YES, answer the following:

1. What is your favorite store? Why? Currently it is October Moon in Old Town Lansing. Why? Because Aura has neat products (who woulda thunk cleaning products could be cool?) and she has such a sweet personality it makes you feel as if you were in an olden day shop.
2. Do you only shop when there is something you specifically need or want or do you sometimes go shopping just for "something to do?" Whenever
3. Do you prefer shopping online or in stores? Yes
4. Do you have a shopping buddy or are you perfectly content going alone? Yes.

And of course, I'm paying the price now as I sift through some of the "treasures" I've purchased. What the HECK was I thinking???

Look who I found raiding the trash at the Arboretum tonight!

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act, but a habit."
~~Aristotle

Spring truly might be coming to mid-Michigan. The snow missed us this week. We've had several thunderstorms, and the grass is greening up now. (Temperatures still below freezing at night, but that can happen until mid-May.) It was a pretty day yesterday. I was out at the farm, taking measurements, and meeting Tim, the man who manages it for my mom. (He's the one to call when there are problems, he just lives down the road.) Of course, I've known him all my life, so it wasn't really "meeting" him.

I goofed when I counted windows before. I forgot the two porches! They don't need window furnishings, but I'm going to have to wash all those windows! Oh nieces . . . how much do you charge an hour?

I'm not really up, just wandering around in the early am hours. I'll go back to bed, but first, how about some Unconscious Mutterings.

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Buck::Barry. He was a local TV personality in the 50's. It was a big thing to be in his audience (sort of like Howdy Doody, but local.) My brownie group was going, and my Mom took me to get a permanent before the big event. It came out awful!! Tight funky curls. I saw the hairdresser 20 years later. She said "the last time I saw you we were getting you ready for Buck Barry". She sounded so cheerful about it I didn't dare tell her the experience had warped me for life!
2. Harry::Belafonte.
3. Play::Ground
4. Monstrosity::Evil
5. Nightclub::Cadillac Club
6. Missing::Children
7. Sprout::Brussels (and no Bryn, I'm not going to eat any!)
8. Flavor::Taste
9. Identity::Crisis
10. Saucy::Pert

"Why not go out on a limb?
That's where all the fruit is."
~~Mark Twain

keys

keys,
originally uploaded by Aunt Owwee.

Okay, there they are. Anyone have a skeleton they want unlocked?


This was a test. It was only a test. You can blog directly from flickr. I need to work on some modifications, but I'm out of time again tonight! Carry on!

What an adventure! (Doesn't take much to amuse some of us *grin*.) I'm moving in mid-May. To recap: I've lived for 23 years in the same third floor apartment in a student area of Lansing. I have one door, one balcony door, and two windows. I'm moving to a 98-year-old farm house. It has seven doors and thirteen windows on the ground floor. (You know how they were always adding on to those old farmhouses.) Sometimes I think I can't handle such a change, but because the farmhouse was Grandma Bea's, I know that I can.

Spring is coming. Yes. It really is. It comes slowly up here in Michigan, with fits and starts. Today the temperatures may hit 70 degrees fahrenheit. Tomorrow possible snow is predicted. This is spring in Michigan. The weather raises hob with heating and air conditioning sales and services. Lots of times in April we go on no heats in the morning, no cools in the afternoon.

I got the keys to the farm last night. I'm going out on Saturday, to take measurements and pictures. I am SO excited!

Wednesday has come and almost gone already. Yikes! I was going to post this morning about today being April 5, 2006. The way we write the date in our office is Month/date/Year, so today is 04/05/06, and I thought that was pretty cool. But I overslept, and all the radio stations beat me to it. They went one step further. At 1:02:03 on 04/05/06, there was a great line-up of numbers.

So how did YOUR day go?

and continuing with the dream theme . . .

You Are a Dreaming Soul

Your vivid emotions and imagination takes you away from this world So much so that you tend to live in your head most of the time You have great dreams and ambitions that could be the envy of all... But for you, following through with your dreams is a bit difficult You are charming, endearing, and people tend to love you. Forgiving and tolerant, you see the world through rose colored glasses. Underneath it all, you have a ton of passion that you hide from others. Always hopeful, you tend to expect positive outcomes in your life. Souls you are most compatible with: Newborn Soul, Prophet Soul, and Traveler Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE

Opening Credits:
Waking-Up scene: 1812 Overture (recommended by Sheryl. Sorry kiddo, I don't think even THAT would work!)
Average Day scene:
Best-friend scene: Wind Beneath My Wings
First-date scene:
Falling-in-love scene:
Love scene:
Sex scene:
Fight-with-friend scene:
Break-up scene:
Get-back-together scene:
Long-night-alone scene:
Heartbreak scene:
Mental-breakdown scene:
Driving scene:
Deep-thought scene:
Regret scene:
Lesson-learning scene:
Party at house scene:
Flashback scene:
Death scene:
Closing credits: My Way

I swiped this from my brother. I'm kind of at a loss. I don't know that much music. Any thoughts?

“Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die, Life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly, Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams go, Life is a barren field, Frozen with snow”

~~Langston Hughes

Mandarin meg introduced me to this quote. Thanks!

D R E A M

Okay, we're playing with stuff from Mandarin Design again. If you could have a dream fulfilled, what would it be?

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can be stupid with them.
~~Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is not my car. Thank heavens. It's a car sitting in our parking lot, and it appeared on April First. Yikes!

Monday is here again: let's start the day with the Monday Madness.

Thank you, Tricia, for the first two questions below! Thanks to all of you for playing! Have an excellent week! =)

1. Do you own any box sets of your favorite shows? No
2. Are you penpals with other people? No
3. Do you still send out real, paper cards in the mail? Yes
4. Have you ever bought or sold anything on Ebay? Yes
5. Did you have to set your clocks an hour ahead this past weekend? Yes
6. How many of your blog buddies' birthdays do you know? 10
7. When is your birthday (need not include year)? January 3

*******

Need something different to celebrate in April? Check out Cassie-B's April Holidays!

. . . we have been talking, as old friends should talk, about nothing, about everything.
~~Lillian Hellman

Utoh. I'm afraid my town has a bad rap with the graffiti folks. If you click on the picture, you can see that the right side says: Lansing you sleep too much.

Up for the 3:30 a.m. wanderings, no make that 4:30 a.m., here comes Daylight Savings Time! Good time for Unconsciously Muttering:

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Desire::of the heart
2. Sleep::perchance to dream
3. Lost::in Space
4. 2006::Moving Year!
5. Pump::up the volume
6. Space::Cadet
7. Stuck::in a rut
8. Reference::Dictionary
9. Birth::day
10. Hand::ful

Who Should Paint You: Gustav Klimt

Sensual and gorgeous, you would inspire an enchanting portrait.. With just enough classic appeal to be hung in any museum!

What Artist Should Paint Your Portrait?

Your Lucky Underwear is Blue

You are caring and extroverted. You've made relationships your number one focus, and your lucky blue underwear can bring some balance to them. You thrive in one-on-one situations. You are a good listener and a natural born therapist. Sometimes you let the concerns of others become too important in your life, leading to stress and worry. If you want more balance, put on your blue underpants. They'll help you take care of yourself first.

What Color Is Your Lucky Underwear?

There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness is the true method.

~~Herman Melville

April Fool!