Inspiration

Oh my, this is incredible. My cousin, Mary Andrews, is a fabulous artist. We talked about her upcoming quilts that had to do with nature. When she found that a Chuhily exhibit was in Phoenix when we were going we discussed that she should make a Chihuly-inspired nature quilt hanging. And just a week home from Phoenix and this is what she has done. This is so beautiful. To be inspired by great works of art to create great works of art - this is what inspiration is all about. She has a website and her art is for sale:

Click here to go to Mary Andrews Website

utube connection - Lost Generation

This is really great - Joanna sent it to me today.

Click Here

Dinner out with Sheala and Zack

For birthday celebrations this year Pat thought we could take the birthday person out with a guest to the restaurant of their choice. Our Irish Rose, Sheala asked her friend Zack to go and she couldn't decide where or when. So I told her any night was fine during the week. This afternoon I got a text message that tonight would be good and to pick them both up at her house around 5:30 after her soccer practice.

She still hadn't decided where. She asked Zack and he told her it was her birthday so she had to pick (good answer). So I laughed and told her she had to make a decision when we started driving. We drove down to Tittabawassee and she finally decided on Famous Daves.

They weren't busy so we got right in. We ordered the American Feast and sat back and had a lovely conversation with the two of them. The food came within 10 minutes and there was so much I bet Sheala took 4 pounds of leftovers home. We all loved the food and ate way tooooooo much.

It was such a nice evening. I'm so glad Pat came up with this idea.

Michigan March

This weeks weather is why I love Michigan in March. 60 degree days filled with sunshine. On Saturday it was so beautiful we decided to go North. We stopped at Fabulous Finds to say hi to Julie and see my spoons. We went to the Fabulous Finds furniture store and bought a table to put next to the sofa in the living room. It is a mahogony style finish with a glass top. Perfect to sit my coffee cup on in the morning and not worry about ruining the finish. It was on sale for $45 - after seeing prices on the way to Phoenix and when we were out East in November you have to appreciate Michigan antique stores - the prices here are so affordable.

Then we went to St. Vincent De Paul and I couldn't believe it when I found a great gold metal frame with a green mat - the worker measured it for me and I thought it would work for the poster I bought at the Chihuly exhibit. So for the cost of a piece of mat board I purchased the frame for $25. I brought it home and realized it was from a first class frame store and when I put the poster in it fit perfect - it couldn't have been 1/8 of an inch smaller. The C in Chihuly at the top of the poster and the s in Seaforms on the bottom are exactly at the edge of the mat.

Yesterday it was another beautiful day in Michigan. I know the weather will get cold again - because it is March - but every day it gets closer to Spring which is so great in Michigan.

South Mountain Park

The world's largest municipal park is in Phoenix. Larry, Kathy, Mary Lynn, Jane, Pat and I went to the top (we drove)and spent the next hour looking over Phoenix. It was awesome to say the least. There are 17,000 acres in this park. You can watch hikers, horse riders, and we couldn't get in until after 2:00 because they were having a cancer run. When we drove up the mountain I couldn't imagine people running up the steep incline.

It was a perfect first day trip on our visit to Phoenix.

The bridges in Albuquerque

There was so much beauty in New Mexico - lots of the bridges have art work on it - I didn't even capture the bridges totally because we were on the expressway. But everywhere you look there is art. From large pottery jugs to designs in the gravel near the bridges to the artistry of the overpasses - it was a fabulous place to drive through. The pride in their city is so evident in the care they take to make the expressways a piece of art.

Angels vs Royals

While we were in Pheonix, Pat and I got to go to a Spring training game. Some of the family went shopping, some went to movies and Pat and I went all by ourselves. It was a great game - lots of hits - and we got to be happy whenever anyone hit because as you know we still love the tigers. Angels won 8-6.

It was over 90 degrees - but we got seats in the shade and the wind was blowing - it was such a pleasant day. The guy next to us was trying to get 5 people home to New Jersey because his flights had been cancelled because of so much snow back home. It took him the WHOLE game!

We had a great hot dog - Pat had a beer - we even moved at one point to get a little sun in the last inning. The game was at the old Diablo Stadium. It was $15 for the tickets and all in all - a great day.

Grand Canyon

We had such a nice time at the Grand Canyon. The drive there from Phoenix was so beautiful. When we got to there we stopped at the first parking lot to walk out to view the Canyon. It was magnificent. Then we went to the visitor center and found out about the bus tour. It is FREE. You get on at any stop, go as far as you want, take a bus back whenever you want. A bus stops every 10 minutes at each stop. After you get out you walk out to the viewing platforms and take in the beauty of the canyon. There is a section you cannot get to on the South Rim without taking the bus - it was so worth it.

It is over 7,000 feet elevation. The air is thin. We did have to work a bit to walk as much as we did. My knee was bothering me a bit getting on and off the bus but we made every stop.

The Colorado River runs through the Canyon and we all really liked it when we could see it from a viewing point. We spent the whole day there ending it at the Bright Angel Lodge having dinner. I could spend a few days at the canyon easily.

New Mexico

Albuquerque New Mexico has the most beautiful sunsets. And we had the best food at Los Cuates,4901 Lomas Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM (Jesse of course you were right CuAtes. We ate there on the way to Phoenix and on the way home.

Before we got to Albuquerque we stopped at The Sky City Acoma Pueblo. My cousin, John said if there was one thing we were going to do - this was it - and he was so right. The Acoma’s originally had 21 tribes but that is down to 14 now. The females own property and the males govern. The elders make sure that tradition continues and they have just begun in recent years to write down their language. Most of the people living there are Catholics (if you heard what the Friar’s did in the 1600’s to ensure this it would make you wonder why they even believe in God!) The men of the village had to walk over 30 miles to get the materials to build the mission and they hand cut huge trees and carried the timber back without letting them touch the ground all the way back to the Mesa and built the roof with them. Even today, there is no running water or electricity. The artwork for sale is beautiful clay colored and the beautiful white pottery with black designs.

I really enjoyed the tour - we had a wonderful guide - and the history surrounded us. They are a proud people - and I was very glad we had taken the tour.

Chihuly at Desert Botanical Garden

So I got to see a second Chihuly exhibit in four months time. This one was FABULOUS. It was an outdoor exhibit and it became part of the cactus gardens. When I went into the gallery there were pieces that I had watched on the CD with Indian rug designs. If I say AWESOME, FABULOUS, WONDERFUL, MAJESTIC 10,000 x over it wouldn't be enough to describe this exhibit. To share it with my family. To take pictures of it. To share it with you. I loved every minute of the Chihuly exhibit. (CLICK ON CHIHULY EXHIBIT)

Family

What a vacation. It will take me weeks to blog about this one. Our family get together in Phoenix was so amazing. It was wonderful to get to see our brother, Larry. He always makes me laugh and our first night together was a night FILLED with laughter and stories.

We started off picking up my Sister, Kathy and my Cousin, Mary Lynn in Grand Blanc. Kathy had driven there from Detroit to spend the evening and we picked them up at 6:00 am to begin our vacation.

We decided to stay at hotels that had a special on "Stay two nights, get one Free" - More on that later...........ggggrrrrr.........

The first evening we were in Springfield MO. Our hotel was nice and after 12 hours on the road we were pretty tired. The second night after another 12 hour drive we stayed in Albuquerque NM and that was a fun night - we asked the clerk at the hotel where to go for Mexican food and her eyes lit up when she told us about Los Cuertas. YUM. HOT HOT HOT salsa that bloomed in your mouth and spread heat all over.

In Arizona We stayed at the Embassy Suites - it was as great as 15 years ago when we made this trip with as many children in tow as we could. When my Mom died we kept money out of the estate to spend Christmas in Arizona. We should have kept much, much more of the money to continue to travel and get to see each other. I can't believe it took us 15 years to go back! Anyway, Embassy Suites is a fun place to stay. Free breakfast and a free Manager's Evening Reception from 5:30 to 7:30 you can have popcorn, chips and salsa and anything you want to drink - we had lots to drink! The rooms are so nice and the setting with palm trees and stucco buildings is amazing.

My sister, Jane came in to Phoenix from Tulsa. We drove from Saginaw to pick her up. How many people do you know that can drive to the airport and wait 2 minutes to pick up someone at the door after driving for three days from Saginaw to Phoenix?

When Larry walked in and sat down that first night at the Manager's Reception it was like a hole was filled up in my heart. I missed him so much. So - I have lots and lots of stories to tell. So I'll be writing a lot in the coming days.

Ash Wednesday

Today begins Lent. I'm feeling out of touch actually with church. Fr. Jack has been on a sabatical and won't return until Holy Week. It still doesn't feel like family at church and I'm still sitting in the pew (which is why it still doesn't feel like family, I know, I know.) I think I will spend this Lent reflecting on that. We used to have fun at work with everyone giving something up - even the non-Catholics got in on it. No one even mentions religion much at work anymore. So - I am looking forward to a bit of time off from work and spending some time with my family.

With that said, we went to Robbie's game on Monday - they lost - but he did get 10 of the 12 points. And he passed the ball alot - giving everyone a chance but most times they just threw the ball back at him. At least it looked as if he had fun.

We were supposed to go to Ann Arbor on Sunday to see the twins on their birthday - but - the weather was so bad we couldn't go. We got as far as Freeland to go pick up Pat's parents and we couldn't see the road for all the snow. So we called Joanna and Robin and Caroline and Jesse and invited the whole gang over for dinner at our house. Since we were all planning on going to Ann Arbor we knew everyone could come. I called Javier and asked him if he wanted to come over and make pizza with Nana - he said OKAY. When he got here I let him put the sauce on and then all the pepperoni - I told him to give a piece to Robbie and that he could have one too - just as he got it in his mouth Robbie said, "This is HOT!" Javier made the worst face but wouldn't spit it out - we gave him a drink real quick. When I looked at the package it said it had Tobasco sauce in it! I never even knew they made it hot! Well Javier had enough of Nana and ran to his Mom. But I eventually lured him back throwing cheese on the pizza and he wanted to do that too.

Well, so much for 1:00 am ravings. ME

Quick Trip

Well - the Polenta was a hit at WW - except for Gracie who wouldn't try it because it sounded like Placenta. You go Gracie. The day was so beautiful we drove to Oscoda as soon as I got home. We played Keno - Lost at Keno - ate dinner - Pat got the biggest wet burrito we've ever seen and I had a yummy salmon salad.

Then back home and to bed early - which is why we are sitting in the bead room at 2:45 am!

I love my new camera. I've been taking it to Robbie and Sheala's sporting events. It really captures good images and you can even put it on speed picture taking and hold the button down and it takes picture after picture real fast. It's fun.

We drove to Ithaca to watch Robbie play this week - it was fun - he got 10 out of the 13 points. He had to sit the bench for awhile because he had 3 fouls - the coach told him to go in and "Don't touch anyone" Soon he was back on the bench and the coach said "It was like a dollar on the floor wasn't it? You just had to foul!" He went in at the end and he seemed to have such a good time this week.

We have the twins party today - we're supposed to get snow but I think we are going anyway. We haven't seen the twins since they came home and we really don't want to miss it. And I think Ayva and Javier are coming too - that will be great fun.

Pat bought a new atlas this week and he is having fun reading all the maps in it.

Later.

Connie

After a divorce many years ago in the family the term sister-in-law doesn't apply anymore. But Aunt does and Mother of our nieces does. And friend always applied. Connie died this week after a long illness. I have lots of good memories of her.

When Pat and I first started dating I was overwhelmed with a new family to get to know. But Connie immediately became a friend. Our children are a few years apart - enough to have her go through all the stages of motherhood just before I did - it was very comforting to have her give me such good advice over the years.

One time, she was at our house for a party and Joanna was about 4, she thought she could go home with Aunt Connie, well, her bag was packed and waiting by the door. She was crushed when she realized she had to stay with boring Mom and Dad.

Our nieces are loving and compassionate women. Certainly some of the reason for that is because of their mother. We will miss her.

Whiners

Yeah - you know who you are - "I'm hungry" "This is hard" "I don't have enough to eat" Well - if some of you wouldn't drink your points you would be having enough to eat!!!!! Actually, I think ww is going well for most of us. It's just a couple of those friends of mine that need a kick in the buttola.

This got me through the last ww - Pat loves it too - so I try to have it on hand all the time in the freezer.

Graham Cracker light crust
12 oz cool whip
1/2 cup peanut butter
FF chocolate syrup

Mix half the cool whip with the peanut butter - put in crust, top with rest of cool whip and drizzle (just a little bit) of syrup over it - freeze. Cut into 8 pieces. 4 points each. YUMMY snack each night. I look forward to it.

Graciela asked for Strawberry Pie recipe - here it is:

1 graham cracker pie crust
1 6 0z pkg. low-cal strawberry Jello
6 c. fresh strawberries
1 c. diet strawberry soda
1 tsp. cornstarch

Mix soda, Jello and cornstarch in saucepan and heat until it begins to boil. Remove from heat and chill until slightly thick. Mix strawberries into chilled Jello mixture. Pour into pie crust. Top with low-cal topping (Cool Whip). Makes 6 servings. I don't have the points figured out and I gotta tell you - I'm upstairs and my points finder is downstairs and well - that's probably why I'm in ww!!! Someone help me with this one!!!!

Vegetable Soup

This weekend I made vegetable soup. I put in zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, onions, kale, 2 cans of tomatoes and cabbage. 2 low sodium boxes of vegetable broth. Lots of Mrs. Dash, oregano, pepper, and maybe a little too much Cajun seasoning (my nose runs when I eat the soup).

For dinner I add some of my frozen shredded chicken for 2 points but for lunch I eat it for 0 points without the chicken.

Okay - that's it for tonight - ME

Weight Watchers Starts Today

Weight Watchers starts today at City Hall. We have been trying to get it back at work for a long time. So every Friday we will be meeting at lunch time and hopefully I will be as successful as I was last time I did this.

Work has been very busy lately - I'm trying to go paperless for payroll and it is a huge change. Today starts all the divisions except Patrol - that is going to have to wait until the end of March. So I sent the printjob to print out the Patrol time sheets and the stupid new copier/printer/fax/and probably fix your dinner machine decided to copy 3 sets - so much for going paperless! There is no confidentiality with that machine - you can make a copy - walk away and someone else comes to make a copy and they get a copy of your stuff, too!!! GGGGRRRR..... I hate machines.

The Oneida outlet in Birch Run is going out of business - I really am going to miss that store - Pat and I went out there this week and bought some knives and they had a display piece for sale that is so cool - it is to display silverware in lots of different slots - I bought it and we'll pick it up when they call us - of course - I'm not sure where the thing is going to go - but one side will be for silverware and the other side will be for beads. Yeah! Organization here we come!

The Shack

Go to the Shack Book Website

From Jean Marie, to Bill and Amy, to Pat, to ME - a book so thought provoking and so healing I just have to share with you. First - I think it is the first book Pat has read since he read Centennial when we first were married - so that is a miracle in itself. Thank you Bill. (Fran - don't even think of buying it!!!!)

My favorite quote from the book is when Papa is talking to Mack about Grace:

"Mack, just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies doesn't mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don't ever assume that my using something means I caused it or that I need it to accomplish my purposes. That will only lead you to false notions about me. Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors." Wm. Paul Young, The Shack

The Mom Song

OH MY GOODNESS - our friend, Rod, sent this to us - you have to watch it! It is so good.

Another phone camera picture!

So - the fuzzy picture taker is back again - I really have to remember to take my camera! But this is Sheala at her first cheerleading competition. They did great! For such a small team they were very precise and their drills were in unison - I was very proud watching them work together.

There were five teams - Sheala's had six girls the other teams had 10-30 girls. That makes competition difficult because those huge teams had girls flipping all over the place. It was fun watching them work so hard and then while they were waiting for the first place winner to be announced the girls were on the mats just talking to each other - then they all started having fun in their separate groups - but it was amazing to watch them gravitate towards each other and start having fun together. Someone in the middle of the circle would do a cartwheel or flip then go back to the circle and then someone else would go in the middle and do something. They all had such fun - that was really great to see.

Dinner at 6 on Hoyt Street

Lately - I've been cooking in the crock pot adding one package of Lipton dry onion soup mix on top for 12 hours whether it is pork, beef or chicken. Then when I get it out I shred it and put it in small containers for one meal easy cooking. It sure has been making life easier on the run. And I love the garlic mashed potatoes in the refrigerator containers - ee gad - I'm starting to cook like Mom after just Jim and Jane were home!!!!!

When Jane tells you something tastes like Mom's cooking - well - I'm not sure whether that is compliment or not because Mom was working and after Dad died I don't think cooking dinner was a top priority - when Kathy or Larry tell you it tastes like Mom's cooking - you know that is a compliment - when Jim tells you - again - not sure because he had both styles of cooking. When we were growing up Mom spent hours cooking our dinners - 6:00 (right after Kathy came home from work at Bertie's Bakery. Sometimes after watching Superman on TV - Dad and I would walk down to meet her. It was always an experience walking with my Dad - he would do a double take with his feet if you were trying to walk in the same cadence as he was and then you had to do the same to get back in rhythm! It was fun.

Anyway - every night a friend of my brother Jim's would call - and Jim would have to tell him we were eating dinner and he would call him back! Can you imagine - every single night! And lots of times my sister's friend, Nancy, would come over to eat with us.

Sometimes after dinner we would get to go to Andersen Pool to go swimming during family night swimming. That was my favorite time with my Dad and sister Jane - he would pick us up and throw us into the water (until a lifeguard would yell at us.)

Jane and I were talking about memories this morning - it triggered these: I have many fond memories of the kitchen on Hoyt Street. Mom's several kinds of jam in the cupboard, the Novena we were praying every night after dinner written on the chalk board, the maid's stairway up to the pantry and to the maid's bedroom (of course we never had a maid - but it was fun having a back stairway, looking out to the backyard where every winter Mom would say she was taking the fry pan outside to melt the snow, the times when Mom would put our names on milk bottles so she knew if we were getting our milk, Kathy and I sitting at the table while I listened to her as she practiced her forensic talk from "Please Don't Eat the Daisies," Dad sitting at the head of the table, helping Mom do dishes at the sink, watching Larry eat Peanut Butter sandwiches when he didn't like what was for dinner (most anything other than chicken or spaghetti caused him to have a sandwich!)and best of all when Mom and the aunts made Christmas cookies weeks in advance.

We are planning a family get together - Jane and I were saying it will be fun to get to hear everyone's memories! I can't wait to see all of you!

7th Grade Basketball

Even though this picture was from my phone and the kids were all running - it's our Robbie in red number 12! We have been to three of Robbie's games - they lost all the games - HOWEVER - in the first game the team scored 5 points and Robbie scored all 5 of those - in the second game - the team scored 7 points and Robbie scored 5 of those - in the third game the team scored 12 points and Robbie scored 8 of those! He loves playing and we love going to the games. There are only 7 kids on the team so Robbie plays a lot and is exhausted but after every game we ask him if he had fun - and the answer is always YES!

Hope

After watching all the presidential TV yesterday - only one thing remains constant to me - I keep thinking - What if it works? What if all of us begin to hope again that the United States of America will pull out of this financial mess? What if the youth in our country begin to want to be part of the change? Every time the media showed one more story of hope I kept looking over to Pat and saying "What if it works?"

I am excited about the possibility that we may be on the verge of our politicians working together. There was so much speculation yesterday - everyone kept saying that when so many people want change and when so many people made the trip to Washington that the politicians will have to listen to what their constituents want. So many interviews yesterday hinted at the possibility that things could turn around.

I've been having fun with CNN's "The Moment"

They had people submit photos of the swearing in and then matched the pixels together to create a huge 3D photo - it's been fun to play around and people watch and just imagine all those people in one spot.

Grissom's Last Show

Well - the VCR taped everything but the last 10 minutes of CSI - I know you think, just like Jan always did, that stupid in = stupid out - BUT in my defense - I HATE THE VCR!!! I know we should get up to speed with technology - but - that costs money and I would rather drive with my honey 500 miles than spend it on something stupid. So Stupid is as Stupid does - MMMM.....

We went online this morning and watched the last ten minutes - it was really good. It ended just the way I wanted it to - when was the last time that happened on a show?

Thank God it is Friday - I hate LONG weeks after the holidays give us time off - and - we get MONDAY - YEAH! And my New Year's resolution of never being at work a whole week without time off is already broken - I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my time sheet with NO TIME OFF for the whole two weeks - YUCK!

So - a goodbye party for one of the sgts at work tonight - I will miss the little poop - it seems as if so many people are leaving right now - it makes it harder to keep on working when your friends keep leaving.

Our contract was ratified this week - I can't say how happy I am that it does not expire until I will be gone - if we had been getting contracts on time I would have had three contracts to lose benefits in - now I can leave with just one hit to health care - I have to really count that blessing - who knows what will happen in the next contract?

It has been so cold lately - right now it is -4 degrees - and that is not the wind chill factor. I can't wait for our trip to Arizona to see my brother Larry - we will welcome the warm weather that is for sure.

Dinner with the Little Princess

oh - and her parents and grandparents, too! We had Jesse and Caroline and Crystal and Chad over with Ayva. She is such a doll - she is getting big and smiling, too. I love to hold her. We missed Javier - he was with his other Grandma and so we didn't get to play. We thought the next time he comes over we would get the blocks out and build towers to knock down, I can't wait. We had such a nice evening - it is always fun to visit with them.

Well I've started back on the WW diet - I am waiting for WW at work to start if we get enough people. I never do real well on my own but I have to start on something. We had the best 6 point dinner the other night (no not when Jesse and Caroline were here that was MUCHO points). I thought I would share the wrap 6 point recipe:

Fat Free Tortilla Wraps
Jennie-O Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage
1 small onion, sliced thin
half bag broccoli slaw
Mrs. Dash, garlic and pepper
Lauging Cow French Onion Cheese wedges

Saute the onion, take the casing off the sausage and saute with onions, add seasoning, cook until the sausage is done. Add the broccoli slaw and cook until starting to wilt but still crunchy.

Steam the wraps, spread one LLC on it - top with the hot mixture. It was very filling - and Pat loved it too..... MMMMM 5 servings - 6 points each.

A Cruise?

Update to this Blog already!!!!

Nope - when I went down to the calendar in the kitchen this morning I realized my first big weekend show is in Frankenmuth on the weekend we would be on the cruise - so 8-( I had to call Cindy and tell her we can't go with them. That is a huge show and I just can't miss it - if it was a one day show I could ask Joanna to cover it - but not a whole weekend. Have fun Jim and Cindy!

Yup - the two people that said they would never go on a cruise - said yes last night to Jim and Cindy. We'll be going on a cruise this fall out East. All the ports of call are in the US and Canada. It sounds like it is going to be a fun time with Cindy's first husband's family. They had a couple extra staterooms booked and voila - it didn't even take any talking us into it - we both immediately said yes!

While we were at Jim and Cindy's we called Larry and Kathy to finalize our trip to Arizona. You know it is a good thing Pat went back to work and that there is LOTS of work right now - he's going to have to save for the trips.

While there we read a reference letter that someone wrote for Michael. It was such a beautiful testimony to Michael's amazing life. And he explained to a T what Michael is like - it was so nice to read it and we appreciate Jim and Cindy sharing it with us.

We had dinner last night with our friends we haven't seen in a long time - Jan and Rod - it sure was nice to catch up and hear all about their family - they are both retired and loving every minute of it.

So - Jesse and Caroline and anyone else in the family that can make it are coming for dinner tonight - of course Caroline demanded fettucini - I told her that they all will think that is the only thing I can cook - every time they come over she asks for it - really - I CAN make other things Carolina Moon.

That's all on the homefront for today!

Earthy Possessions Closes in Grand Haven

We were so sad to hear that the consignment shop that had my wrapped silverware for sale is closing in Grand Haven. We went Saturday to pick up our pieces that hadn't sold. Leah and Hank made that store so fabulous. I told them they couldn't just stop using their talent they had to find a way to continue somehow - even if they designed store windows or something.

I have never seen a space so beautifully utilized - even better than Jacobsons which was always my favorite store to walk through in awe of the artistic way everything was displayed. This consignment shop was elegant and warm and smelled of flavored coffee.

I know they will do something when the economy gets better - I hope I'm one of the first they call so I can have them sell my serving pieces. Good Luck friends.

Visiting

We had Joanna, Robin, Sheala and Robbie over for dinner the other night. Pat picked up Robbie after basketball practice so he got here first. He is such a great help in the kitchen. And - a Pfalzgraft outlet went out of business and we bought a new set of Cuisinart knives - oh my goodness - I have never had such good knives in my kitchen. So I warned Robbie to be very careful. When he used one for his salami - he said "Oh my goodness it cuts right through the salami!" - I told him, "You are right that is exactly how it would cut through your finger!"

He then helped Papa make a great salad for dinner. I shouldn't ever worry because he has been helping in the kitchen since he was just a toddler and he loves to cut up veggies - of course - more goes in his mouth than in the bowl but that is how I got his mother to eat her veggies when she was little, too. I made some mashed potatoes and took the roast out of the slow cooker. I still have to thank my friend Cathy for teaching me the secret for making the most tender meat in the slow cooker - just add one package of dry onion soup - it works every time with 12 hours cooking.

Then Joanna came in from work and we enjoyed some "couch" time. I love it when I get to cuddle with my daughters or grandchildren on the couch. We watched Robbie on the Wii fit - and we laughed the whole time. He likes to sit on it, stand on it, twist on it - always trying some different position to see if he can get the top score - and of course he does in many areas. But it is nice that Nana gets to be top Penguin fish catcher and super hula hoop twister.

Then Jesse called to say hi and Caroline got on to say hi - they both were working and it was an extremely slow night at the restaurant so they were watching TV. We figured they could all come for dinner on Saturday - so that will be a nice visit.

Then Robin and Sheala came in and we had a great dinner - everyone laughing and recounting their days at work and school. Sheala had to jump up to show us her splits at one point - and Robin had to tease her about never getting to drive because she couldn't possibly already be 15 next month. And Sheala teasing him about how he learned to drive from his Mom and then had to learn all over. Telling stories on Jesse about when he saw a police officer at the corner and so he used his blinker and both Sheala and Robbie looked around to see why because that so seldom happens.

Then after dishes and a few more minutes in the living room they all went home. These nights are what such great memories are made of - I love it.