A Few Things

The Farm:
We had a great time as usual. I spent most of my time laying on the couch watching tv. You would think I've had enough of that already after the surgery, but I was feeling a little "iffy." I didn't get much scrapbooking done, but it was so much fun hanging with my "girls!" Plus, I just enjoyed the change of scenery.

The Garden:
When I got home, everything looked so pretty with flowers in bloom. I'm making it sound like I was gone a month! I was only gone 4 days, but there's a different perspective pulling back in the driveway than pulling out.

I've spent a lot of time on the front porch swing enjoying this gorgeous weather. When I talked to Butch from the farm, he said he had "pulled a Barbara." I already knew exactly what that meant. I ALWAYS underestimate how long something is going to take. Well, he said that he decided to take advantage of the nice weather and clean the front porch. He estimated it would take about an hour. Instead, it had taken him 3 1/2 and he hadn't even finished. I told him that I could have told him that it would take 3 hours---as I, too, underestimated the job. First, off, we have a rather large porch.

You wouldn't believe how dirty everything gets. We use soapy water, rags and the hose to clean it all. You can really see, but along the front of the house are 4 pairs of French doors besides the double wood front doors. There are the coach lights, furniture, columns, headboard ceiling, brass hardware and the brick. I've been doing the front porch myself every year. Butch does the entire back which is way larger than this. I felt like cleaning the front porch was the least I could do!

I asked Butch if he wiped up the water in the living room and dining room as they are not air tight. He said, "yes" that he had discovered that. You only have to learn that lesson one time. The first time I did it, I had water sopping in to my area rugs. Now I lay down beach towels before I begin. Butch ended up spending another 2 hours the next day to finish up. I told him that obviously, he did the job better than I did. He actually got out the ladder!! Anyway, it looks so fabulous---I loved spending my time right here this weekend. I didn't have the heart to tell him that he actually "jumped the gun." The pollen is just starting to drop. I don't usually do the cleaning until after---usually the first part to mid May. I'm considering it "done" for this year. I'm just so happy he did it. I'm not finished with my recuperation yet, so I have no idea if I would have been able to do it anyway.

The Books:
I read 2 books this week---both of which were excellent. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Septys is under $5.00 in the Kindle store. Do not confuse this book with the wildly popular, Shades of Grey series. Connie recommended this one to me. It's based on one Lithuanian family's stories of being imprisoned by the Russians in Siberia. I had no idea. That's all I'm sayin'.

Maude by Donna Foley Mabry. The Kindle edition is only $2.99. I have no idea where I got the lead on this one---probably just recommended by Amazon for me. I pretty much had learned my lesson with cheap books---the ones I read tended to be nothing more than "fluff"---no depth. Well, the reason  I decided to give this one a try was because it has 4 1/2 stars from nearly 6,500 reviewers. That means that thousands probably rated it a 5. It was soooo good too! Another book of non-fiction starting at the turn of the century.

The Food:
I'm pretty sick of everything we have in this house food related. I can't wait to start cooking again. I'm craving a good hamburger! But in the meantime, I've eaten a lot of cereal. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Add a half of a banana and you're all set!

The Family:
My sister, Janice and her friend, Kathy arrive on Thursday for a few days. They are going to Memphis to do the tourist "thing." I'll give them the Nashville tour here.

Mitchell has had a couple more college acceptances. He's still waiting to hear from his number #1. Either way, he has some great choices.

A couple weeks ago, Mindy couldn't resist posting this on Facebook: Spotted at Butch and Barbara house: a real life Rolodex. What's more is that my mom still uses this-- like actively keeps it up-to-date. This thing has to be worth some money, right? I can picture the eBay caption now: "the last current Rolodex IN THE WORLD!"

Doesn't everyone have a rolodex? I couldn't get along without mine.

The Organizing:

 I'm completely loving this system.

It is so easy to access and find just the thing you need! I ended up getting another one for all of my flatter things---journal cards and ephemera.

Ever since I developed my Making the Most of My Memories workshop 6 or 7 years ago, I'm always preaching about keeping up with organizing your photos. I practice what I preach. I spent about an hour today and managed to weed out 1200 from iPhoto. I love having my photos perfectly organized. That's how I find them quickly. And I do not over-organize. That's a problem with many of the programs out there---too complicated.

The Scrapbooking:
I only completed a couple of pages while "laid up." My stamina just wasn't there. Plus, I needed to keep my foot up which made it awkward to work.

I did get this layout done for Mitchell. It's about how nice his house is and then, there's his room! 

I was able to do a few pages at the farm. I'll have to share them later.

The Hives:

Are back. We'll leave it at that.