I'm Back

I'm pleased to say that I have arrived safely back home after a wonderful ten day bus trip to some wonderful places in Michigan. I loaded my pictures into my computer last night and have lots of good ones to share with you soon. I'm sure I'll be spending some time organizing today.

Of course, there is a pile of clothes waiting for me to do the laundry today. It is nice to unpack the suitcase and know that I don't have to use it for awhile. I didn't even have to set my packed clothing outside my door to be picked up this morning. I'm happy to be doing things at my own pace today, so am just sipping some coffee and typing a bit to tell you I'm back.

I knew I shouldn't do it, but I stepped on the scales. There has been much food in my life these past ten days, and the scale is showing it up nicely now. Naturally, I'm going to have to hit the old diet trail with a vengeance. I do not know why happy eating must equal fat. It seems to be how it works, so will just have to deal with it.

Please come back tomorrow as hope to have a good start on my writings by then. I'm really looking forward to sharing some of the neat places we've been this month.

Be Back Soon

I'm having to take a small break from my posting. I WILL be back, and hope you will too. I promise you lots of pictures and worthwhile items when I return. Expect me back around June 18th.

I Need Products Too

That Bed Head isn't working right!

This is the way I felt in the morning when trying once again to create a new 'do' with all those products that I bought. I'm not getting the hang of this upscale city look. It just isn't working yet.

Actually, this is one of those photo attachments that is going around the Internet. I have no idea where this poor little critter originated, and I certainly make no claims to this being anyone I know. I just had to laugh when I saw it. Yes, I saw something familiar in the little fellow's eyes. I'm not a hundred percent sure what it is yet, but I'm getting there.

The Dangers of Oil Changes

Lessons From The Mother

Not long ago, I made the really BIG confession of going to get an oil change and coming home with a new vehicle. I must admit that I really am having fun with it. It isn't as fuel efficient as my sedan style car, but I like it, and I don't have to commute or take cross country trips in it. Here you see it tucked safely in its spot in the carport, which is fit snugly up against my craft cottage. It is happy here. I've named it Snowball as is my first white car and it even has a little glistening in the paint which reminds me of the glare of snow in winter.

If you read my little confession, you know that this was the second time I'd gone in for an oil change and come home with a new vehicle. I did have GOOD reasons to do this. Of course, all my friends and family laughed at me.... again.

I recently drove my less than two week old Hyundai purchase to I-Needa's house, which is about two hours away. I really enjoyed the ride and all the new toys that are part of Snowball.


I-Needa Becomes Her Mother

I-Needa was just paying off her darling little Jeep, which was such a cute car. The problem with the Jeep was the gas milage. I-Needa has a number of miles to travel each day across Big City to get to her work. With the cost of gas, it was taking a bite out of her budget.

I-Needa has reasoning powers which she inherited from her mother.... me. She spent much time on the Internet looking at cars and comparing them. She had loved her spunky Jeep, but decided that something was going to have to be done. In all fairness to I-Needa, she had been talking about this issue even before I came tootling up to her house in a new Santa Fe. However.... really.... I'm sure my enthusiasm over my new car didn't help quiet I-Needa's festering new car fever. AND... BY THE WAY... I-Needa had scheduled an oil change for her Jeep. ALERT: AN OIL CHANGE!

Because of the dire threat of more severe weather, I came home a day early. I wanted my buggy under the carport as I-Needa's garage will only hold one vehicle. So, I-Needa was left to her own devices for awhile, and I'm thinking she was glued to the computer chair with more facts and figures rolling around in her head.

I spoke to her early on Monday morning. I tried to be sly, but asked if she was going to look at any cars that day. She said that making a pan of brownies might be what she should do. She might even eat all of them. I knew better. I'm the mother. I knew that I-Needa would dress and head straight for the car dealerships to just look.

That's exactly what she did. I received a call from her later in the morning. She was sitting in a 2009 Hyundai Sonata waiting to test drive it. Giggle Giggle....... I-Needa had been busy, but not with baking brownies.

Hours later, I-Needa was the proud owner of her new vehicle. She is back to the sedan style as HAD to opt for better gas mileage. She is having a wonderful time with her new car and all its toys.

Of course, there are lots of things to do when you purchase a new car. That's nice as gave her an excuse to be out and about driving.

I-Needa did remember to call and cancel the oil change on the jeep. Yes, indeedie, oil changes can be dangerous. They can lead to increased car payments. By the way, I-Needa has again become her mother....me. She even managed to avoid that oil change. I believe the tradition has been carried on. Tah Dah!!

I Must Have Products

While visiting I-Needa recently, I had an appointment to have my hair styled. Normally, I’d say I was getting a haircut. However, this was a bit fussier in terms of time, service, and outlay of cash. Therefore, I choose to call it styling.

I’m a simple gal. I want a really great haircut that I can blow dry with a hairdryer and let fly in the wind. I have no ‘products’. I can’t remember the last time I purchased a can of hairspray. I don’t need it. I don’t want it. I don’t like the way it feels.

So....... I walked in to get my hair styled. Karen, the stylist, greeted me warmly. She has been styling I-Needa’s hair for awhile, and it does look darling. Karen ushered me to her cubical and began fussing with my hair. I do have wonderful hair. It is thick and coarse. It will do about anything. After playing with my hair a bit, Karen gave me a wonderful shampoo. Then it was back to the cubical to start the process of making me over. She got the razor and began working like mad on my hair. Pretty soon she did some other things with scissors. She did some fairly funky things, but I remained calm. When at last she was finished, she grabbed the blow dryer and started in on me with a very tiny round brush. Then she leveled her eyes on me and announced that I needed PRODUCTS.  She grabbed a tall slender bottle, shook the beejeebers out of it, and squirted a lemon size amount of foam into her hands. Then she pulled it all through my hair...Volumizing Mousse she called it. I’ve been Moussed!

Next she opened a small jar and took a dab of something gooey which she slapped around in the palm of her hands. 'Now, you are going to have to use manipulator. You really need products.'  I later found that this manipulator stuff goes by the name of Bed Head.

Honestly, all my life I’ve hurried to the shower to get rid of any bed head look. I didn’t know that my hair sticking out in all directions was such a fetching look. Well, I was about to find out what the new look would do. I was being updated.

With volumizing mousse and bed head goo, I was on my way to style. Now, bed head goo is worked into dry hair. Lovely. You pull that hair up and out and round about to create something wonderful. When you get the look you want, you grab a bottle of hair spray. ‘Wait’, I said. ‘I don’t use hairspray.’ I think the poor stylist about passed out. I saw some eye rolling going on and she again repeated with a slight laugh, or perhaps cackle, 'You need products!'

I will admit that my hair looked pretty good as I left. Wind didn’t bother it either. I felt pretty spunky about my new look. I carried with me a bag of ..... you guessed it... products that she had sold me to get me on the right track to looking good.

The next morning I washed my hair. I put in the lemon size amount of volumizing mousse. I dried my hair with the hairdryer and a tiny round brush. I didn’t have a clue about the amount of Bed Head goo to put on, so I experimented. For all my efforts, it didn’t really stick out like it had the day before, and I will also admit to not putting on enough hairspray. Some time during the day, I decided to add a little more goo. Not a good idea. I finally gave up and just washed my hair in the middle of the day.

This really is a great haircut, and it does fall nicely with just blow drying it. I’m afraid I’m just not a goo and goop gal, and I don’t think I’m going to apologize for it. I think life will go on without hairspray and goo. I will continue to use the mousse. It is rather nifty and has a nice simple fragrance.  

Pretty Flowers and Wild Wind

This is one of the Grace's Pretty Flowers pics that I took. I know it is orange, and I know that it is a lily. I also know there are tons of kinds of lilies, and I'm not a lily specialist. I'm not a flower specialist. I just know a flower when I see it, and know this is orange. You can see all the flowers by going to Flickr badge I put on here yesterday. Click on one of the pictures, and it will sail you off to my Flickr place to see all of them in large glowing personal terms.

I went outside this morning and noticed that some of MY lilies are about to open. There will be pictures one of these days. I can't remember what color they are suppose to be.... mixed I think. They were one of my QVC purchases a couple of years ago.

I think I'm obsessed with these flowers as they keep my mind off the tornadoes. We were in another warning on Saturday night. Note: I said 'warning', not 'watch'. Oh, yes... the sirens were sounding, and I was once again tucked into the closet. I've decided to remodel the closet as it is a bit small. I've considered replacing the wooden sliding doors with steel. That won't happen, but just an idea.

Grace and I have a carport arrangement. I have one, she doesn't. She bought a new vehicle a short time ago and certainly doesn't want hail dings in her new buggy. I understand completely. I don't want any in mine either. So.... when the nasty word 'hail' is used, Grace knows she is welcome to appear and put her car in the carport with mine. Thankfully, I bought a big carport. So, with the threat of up to baseball size hail, which would put more than a ding in anything, Grace arrived quickly to put her car in the carport. We watched the TV for a blow by blow (good pun) account of what tornadoes and what hail was where. When the sirens began sounding in Big P, we decided the closet might be a good option. So, here we were, crammed into the closet. I'm thinking it might have been Grace who suggested the remodel.

I do have my closet stocked with some emergency items. I have some nifty battery powered small lanterns. I also LOVE the radio that I bought from L.L. Bean that has the VHF frequency for TV. Yes, it is nice to sit huddled in the closet listening to the blow by blow (oops, there it is again) and knowing if it is right there or not.

I also find myself checking in with God on these matters. It is a nice feeling to know He is listening and paying attention. I certainly was talking to Him about weakening and dissipation of the storm. We did have a big nasty wall cloud above us. Thankfully, the long hangy down thingy that causes it to become an actual tornado stayed aloft. WHEE! Son Right Back said that he saw the base of that cloud pass right over us. Right Back has had some storm chaser training, so has a much better handle on what the sky is saying than I do. I've stood looking at the sky before, remarking on how beautiful it looks, when he has looked at me like I'm crazy.

All of this has brought me around again to flowers. I think they are pretty. They are calming, and in all this stormy stressing time, we need a little calm.

Flowers

I've been at I-Needa's house and missing here. When I returned, this happy pot of flowers met me. It is the first ones that I have in full blossom. Okay, so I can't think of the name of this little perky flower at the moment. I know it is really a cactus of some kind. I'm sure my gardening friends, especially JuJu ,will e-mail me immediately. Then I'll just amend the post and put its name at the bottom. I can do that.

I also went to Grace's house last night and took pictures of her flowers. I'm not going to show you hers for a bit as they are spectacular and make my little pot of whatever they are look rather pathetic.

I do have tales to tell.... of a haircut and products.... of more tornadoes and sitting in the closet again... and other fascinating things. However, I'm just not up to the telling this very minute, so will just let you look at my pot of whatever they are and be happy. I'll be back with more... soon... (I thought of it! It's.... are you ready?..... Portulaca! Rose Moss! So, maybe it isn't a cactus.) I'll work on that thought next. ) (I-Needa just chimed in that it is a succulent. I think this is about covered.)

Also..... I couldn't stand it and added a badge from flickr of Grace's Pretty Flowers. Just go to the right and scroll down.