Five for Friday....

This has been an extremely looonnnngggg week!! How is it that seven days one week goes so fast, and seven days another week seems to stretch out forever?

1. I'm having lunch with Cindee and Shirley today (and maybe Melody).  Cindee's birthday was on Tuesday, this week, so we will treat her to lunch and give her birthday cards a few days late.
2. Joe and I are trekking over to Mazzaro's Italian Market, in St. Petersburg, tomorrow. Our wine rack is nearly empty and we both just have to get over there now and then, for the Italian smells and tastes!
3. We are happy some of our TV shows are back this week! Loved seeing Grey's Anatomy last night. My cousin, Justin Chambers, plays Alex Karev.  His mom and my mom were first cousins, so I guess that makes us second cousins. Haven't seen him in person since the mid-90s, but am in touch with his mom a little more often!
4. I am working on budget for our next fiscal year, at work this week. It requires attention to detail and lots of fussy stuff - reworking reports and allocation codes, etc. Can't wait to be done with the first round! This is probably why the week has seemed so long!
5. I made hamburgers for our dinner last night. Gosh, they tasted good. Funny how sometimes something simple just hits the spot!!

Wishing you a good weekend!! Thanks for stopping by my page, and I appreciate your comments!! Peace, love & hugs!!

Throwback Thursday....

I am enjoying looking through all the old photos. I've posted a few previously, but wanted to share this one today....

This is grandson, Tristan, when he was not quite three. He is trying to crawl through the cat's pet door, from our dining room to the screened in pool area. He looks concerned because he was yelling.... "Mom, I stuck!" over and over! We all grabbed cameras and probably caused him even further concern since we were not getting him un-stuck!  He loves the story, today, and laughs when we talk about it. He saw this photo while he was here last week.  Love that sweet young man!!

Wishing you a good Thursday!  Thanks so much for stopping by! Peace, love & hugs!!

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 164

It's Hodgepodge question time and the Hodgepodge, like time itself, waits for no
over-committed blogger man.

Thank you Joyce, for another weekly Hodgepodge!!

Answer on your own blog, then jump back HERE on Wednesday to share answers with friends old and new-

1. What is something you'll never forget about the age you are right now?  The aches and pains! But I imagine they will get worse, rather than better, as time goes by, so maybe I'll remember how much better I felt at this age!  I'm blessed. So blessed. I hope I'll never forget how blessed I am, each and every day. Life really does get better, aches and pains and all!

2. What's a household chore you've never done? How have you managed that???  I honestly don't think there is any chore I've not done. Maybe when I read the answers from others, something will pop up that I didn't think of, but I grew up in a do-it-yourself (or it doesn't get done) household. I've even taken a mixer and a toaster apart. I'm actually quite handy with tools. Toilets don't scare me.....

3. Does nature shape our personalities more than nurture? Explain?  My first reaction is to say no. I don't have a scientific explanation, but I know studies have been done. Babies do better when they are held and nurtured. We need human touch.  We just need human contact and gentle touch. We need to feel safe (nurtured) and grow up better for it.

4. Friday (February 28th) is 'Something on a Stick Day'...funny because Zoanna over at A Penchant for Pens recently sent me an idea for a question relating to this topic. What's your favorite food eaten on a stick?  Well, you can't beat a fudge sickle.  I also enjoy shrimp kabobs! Does that count?  I wouldn't turn down a Tootsie Pop....

5. Which of your five senses do you treasure most, and why?  I have actually thought about this one over the years. I can't imagine being without any, but many people live quite lovely and productive lives without one or more. I think I treasure touch.  See #3 - we just need human contact to feel alive - at least I do. I enjoy that connection when someone reaches out to touch my arm as they walk by, or that handshake, or that hug. A hug is one of the best things you can give away!! Touch!

6. What's the best music, theatre, or sporting venue you've been to? What made it great?  When I lived in the Washington, D.C. area, we went to the Kennedy Center frequently, and also the National Theater, and I've seen several plays at the Ford Theater, in Washington, and we attended Wolf Trap for concerts a few times. All wonderful, but so is Lakeland's own historic Polk Theatre. We have also enjoyed several events at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.  What makes them all great is the anticipation you feel when you walk in, find your seat, and wait for the curtain to rise.... anticipation makes them all great, each in its own way!! I don't think size or location matters - it's what you are going to experience that makes it great.

7. It's the last week of the month...in five words or less bid adieu to your February.  Gone so soon?

8.  Insert your own random thought here.  February, in Florida, is one of our nicest months. We get to turn off the AC, open the doors and windows to fresh air and welcome our Spring! March brings the pollen, so I am always sad to see February go.

Thanks for stopping in for my Hodgepodge!! Wishing  you all a good Wednesday!! Peace, love & hugs.

Tuesday Tidbits....

• That says it all!!!

• I am tired. Yesterday I was beyond tired. Today I am just tired. It's getting better!  LOL

•   Poor Joe has caught a cold.  I don't want it.  He also cut his finger real bad, so I am a little worried about it. Keeping it wrapped with medicine on it. Not something stitches could help, but he pealed a big chunk of skin from the pad of a finger - caught it on a hook in the garage. Glad he has a current tetanus shot!

• Work is crazy with Gala aftermath. Today is also our February Board of Trustees meeting. It is always good to have the Board meeting over....and it will be, by 1:30.

• I'm still doing laundry. One more load and I'll be done until Sunday. Laundry really never ends.

• Our son, daughter-in-law and the pups all got home safely yesterday! Jeff got home safely on Saturday.  We are always happy to hear of safe arrivals when our loved ones are traveling. Praise God.

• Can February really be almost over?  This year is just zipping by. Each one seems to go faster. I'm sure those of you still buried under piles of snow think it has gone too slow, but the end of February brings the March pollen for us....and the leaves to rake.  The live oak trees lose leaves in the spring as the new leaves push the old ones out. They are never bare, but those little leaves are a pain to keep up with, and they get tracked into the house, too.  Our four trees were gifts from my mom, when we bought the house nearly 25 years ago (We actually had five trees, but one died). They were about 5 feet tall then, and are now towering over the house!

Can you tell I really don't have much to say today? Even the tidbits are boring!! I'll just stop now, and appreciate that you got this far!! Have a good Tuesday, dear friends!!  Peace, love & hugs.

Monday Quiz.....

Monday Quiz About Me #MQAM - a great way to start the week!

Welcome to Monday Quiz About Me - hosted by Heather & Wayne from Acting Balanced.  

Here are FOUR QUESTIONS that everyone can answer and then you have the option to add a fifth question of your own for those who are visiting your blog to answer in the comment section, along with commenting on the four standard questions you answered!

<a href="http://www.actingbalanced.com/search/label/meet%20me%20on%20monday"target="_blank"><img alt="Acting Balanced" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAbZtCeKw5iC_laVMYo2oI_T4b7gqtltihFu0RNMgv-NsqlIxI8pBEX5fHTI0si6jZtYMsxI5wpgkC7FZfT7WKEm10AoCsJLa5mGUtzhhOITHuWZDtNM7Bgt88GGcO-zzZZETOoTZX0Hg/s1600/MondayQuiz.jpg"/>

Here are the Questions:

1. February 24th is National Tortilla Chip Day - do you like them?  What do you pair with Tortilla Chips?  I enjoy tortilla chips, especially the freshly made tortillas we get at our favorite Mexican restaurant. I like them with salsa.

2. February 26th is Carnival Day (and also Judy from Retired Not Tired's birthday- coincidence???)  What is your favorite carnival ride, game or food?  Happy Birthday to Judy!! I enjoy her blogs!!.  I loved wild roller coasters when I was younger. Now, I don't go on any rides. Too old and too fat!!  I love to smell the sausage, bell peppers and onions cooking, but the sandwich never tastes as good as it smells!!

3. Nascar has started for another year... albeit in a wet way... are you a fan?  Have never been a fan, and don't see that ever changing.
 
4. Other than your blog, do you actively participate in social media?  I have a Facebook account and am on Pinterest. I don't tweet.

I don't have a 5th question for post for my readers today, but if you want to tell me something about any of the above questions, I would like to hear your answers!! Thanks for stopping by my page!  Peace, love & hugs!!

The house is too quiet now....

Our company is gone. The house is back to "normal" but it sure seems too quiet now!  Looking back on the last month and a half seems like all that chaos of painting and new floors was much longer than just a few weeks ago.

We had such a wonderful time with my sister, Tammy and brother-in-law, Bruce, followed by Joey, Darlene and Tristan, and Jeff. Can't forget to mention Zoe and Brooke, the grand-puppies!!

Last night was the Museum's annual The Gala. It is a black-tie dinner/dance fundraiser.  We sold 292 tickets this year, which makes it one of the best attended in the last few years!!  We had to leave Joey and Darlene at home for the evening, which we hated to do, but I had to work (as well as enjoy the event).  Here are some photos from Gala....

Darlene took this photo of us, before we left.

 One of the galleries, set for dinner.

Light Up The Night was the theme.

 There were two tables, with girls in the middle, serving 

hors d'oeuvres (above & below).

The dance floor wasn't empty for long!

 The table set with the first course, salad.

A close-up of our names on the place cards.

My place, and salad.

Dessert was a nitrogen ice cream bar, served by

some very special ladies...in green, blue and orange!

One of the many beautiful floral arrangements.

The Sofa Kings was the band. They played oldies, and

had the crowd singing along. Lots of fun!

While Joe and Joey took Jeff to the airport yesterday, Darlene and I went to get manicures and gel polish. That was fun - a girls' time out.  

We sure do miss our boys, and even more right after they have been here. But, it is also good to fall back into our normal routine. I am working through mounds of laundry, and Joe and I did a little dusting and vacuuming after the kids and puppies left. We will kick back and chill now - but have already started missing everyone.

I have also missed a lot of your blogs, so will start catching up on your news!! I appreciate you stopping by my page, and wish you a good week ahead!  Peace, love & hugs!!

Catching up.....

I've let another day slip by, and have some catching up to do!!

We had to take Tristan back home yesterday. He drove his car up, but since it is a 3+ hour drive, we caravaned part of the way.  Uncle Jeff rode with Tristan and the rest of us (except Darlene and the puppies) went in the rental van that Joey & Darlene rented for the drive down.  We followed each other to Punta Gorda, which is about two hours from Lakeland, and only an hour from Naples, and stopped there for lunch, before Tristan drove the rest of the way alone.  Good practice for him, and he sent a text when he arrived home safely.  The place we usually have lunch at, when we use Punta Gorda for a drop off/meeting place with Tristan, is called the River City Grill.

On our way back to Lakeland, the rental van got a flat tire. Lovely. Joey called the rental company and they (of course) were terrible about getting any help. We all have AAA but the rental company said to call KIA road service (the car is a Kia Sedona). To make a very long and boring story short, we sat on the side of the road for TWO HOURS waiting for roadside assistance. Many phone calls later, a wonderful man showed up with his tools and truck, changed the tire for us and got us on our way. Let's just say Dollar Rental Car was awful, Kia Roadside Service was awful, and we all wished we had just called AAA, in spite of what we were asked to do. Route 17 is a very busy road, the shoulder was soft and none of the guys wanted to risk life or limb to change the tire. The flat was on the driver's side, and we couldn't pull off far enough to make it safe to be changing a tire with big trucks and cars flying by at 65 mph.

The biggest problem for all of us, by then, was to find a restroom!  McDonalds was our first stop after we got back on the road!! LOL  You all know what I mean, I'm sure!!

So, that was our "excitement" for yesterday!!  When we got home, right at 7:00 p.m.,  (poor Darlene had been home alone with the dogs and cats all day), I made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for our dinner, along with whatever else we had around to add to our dinner.  Chips, cheese, yogurt.... it was actually good!!

Today, the guys had to take the van to see if the tire can be patched, or if they need a new tire. Hoping it can be fixed, but the way it blew and went down do fast, I have my doubts. We are fortunate that Joey is a good driver and had good control of the vehicle when the tire blew.

Our weather has gone from being beautiful, and having the doors and windows open, to being hot and humid. We had to turn the AC back on last night, and intermittent thunder storms are in the forecast for the next three days. I have spaghetti sauce cooking in the crock pot and we will have stuffed shells tonight, with meatballs, salad and garlic bread.

Thanks for checking in! Peace, love & hugs!!

It's a Keeping Your Cool Hodgepodge Wednesday!

Thanks to Joyce for this week's Hodgepodge!!

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 163

Guess what's in our forecast today? Ka-razy!  Here are the questions for our Hodgepodge...answer on your own blog, then slide back over HERE tomorrow to link answers with all your friends and neighbors.  The more the merrier, so come join the party!

1. What's the biggest change since your childhood in the way people think or act?  When I was a kid, we played outside (weekends & summer) from right after breakfast, until we were made to come in for dinner. We didn't even break for lunch, though someone usually had homemade cookies to share.  Kids today seem to spend way too much time inside, in front of the TV or on the computer, playing games.  Now, I LOVE my computer and know I spend too much time on it, but the kids are really missing out on some special times with friends, learning skills that help with team work and how to be a leader, etc., etc.  Technology is the biggest change since my childhood.

2. The Olympic Biathlon involves cross country skiing broken up with either two or four rounds of target shooting. Which part of that would stress you out more? Or would you love them both equally?  The skiing part would stress me out! The shooting would be fun, but me on skis is no fun at all!!

3. February is National Canned Food Month...what is your most often purchased canned food item?  What was in the last can you opened?  We prefer frozen veggies, but I do buy canned green beans. The last can I opened was tomato sauce, to make spaghetti sauce. I actually opened sauce, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste. We use a lot of tomato sauce.  Canned spaghetti sauce is not allowed in my pantry. I have to make the "gravy" from scratch (though I draw the line at starting with the whole tomato!).

4. What river (anywhere in the world) would you most like to cruise?  I have had a life-long dream of taking a cruise down the Mississippi River, on one of those luxurious paddle wheel boats. I would board in Cincinnati, Ohio, and take it all the way to the Gulf of Mexico (if possible!).  It is more expensive than a trip to Europe, though, so unless we win the lottery, it will continue to just be a dream.

5. It's the middle of the night and you can't sleep...what do you do? Count sheep? Toss and turn? Watch television? Or do you get up and do something productive?  I turn on my Kindle and read.

6. How important is keeping your cool?  It is extremely important for me to keep my cool.  I need to keep my "Irish" blood below boiling!! LOL  (Then there is the stubborn Scottish blood, and the German blood to also deal with!)

7. I've got white stuff on the brain so why not run with it? White lie, wave the white flag, white knuckle it, white wash a situation, or white as a sheet...which phrase could most recently apply to your own life in some way?  Wave the white flag!! I had to surrender to having our house in a mess for a month. Rather than let it make me too crazy, I had to surrender and see the light at the end of the tunnel. And we made it!!

8. Insert your own random thought here.  Having our sons and grandson here, all of us together, is such a blessing! I can't help but think about how fast time goes, and all the trials and joy we have experienced in my almost 29 years as a D'Orsaneo.  So blessed. So very blessed. It would be perfect if granddaughter Lauren could be here too!!  I cooked dinner for us last night, even though they all wanted to go out so I wouldn't have to cook. Yellow rice and chicken, with black beans, a nice salad, and apple pie (not homemade) for dessert. Then Joey, Darlene and Tristan cleared the table, and Jeff did all the dishes. Wow. I felt very spoiled. I think they want to go out for Chinese tonight. I baked a chocolate cake on Sunday. It was gone when I got home last night, so they had gone out to get a few groceries and got the apple pie.  I may have to bake another cake, though. Happy days!!! 

Got my four guys!!

Sunday....

Tammy and Bruce left this morning, after a nice visit over breakfast. They called to let us know they arrived home, in Georgia, late this afternoon, praise God. I'm always happy when loved ones traveling arrive safely at their destination! We had such a good visit!!

Joey, Darlene and Tristan (and grand-pups Brooke & Zoe) arrived just before noon. I had some vegetable soup in the crock pot and we had left over pasta, as well as salad, deli meats and cheeses. An opened bottle of wine made the soup and leftovers taste pretty good. We picked all afternoon and the leftovers were cleaned up.  Our son, Jeff, arrives tomorrow!!

I got beds made up when Tammy and Bruce left, and the last load of laundry is in tonight. Starting the week with the work caught up is a good thing! No special plans made ahead of time while our boys are here, but we are enjoying just hanging out and they are too. Everyone leads busy lives so just hanging out is good.

Back to work tomorrow for me. I have Thursday and Friday off, but have to be at work Monday-Wednesday this week. Too much going on with Board Committee meetings and budget meetings.

I am once again behind on reading blogs, but will be working on catching up. I've missed reading your news!!  And I thank you for reading mine!  Wishing you a good week ahead! Peace, love & hugs.

Our Friday & Saturday....

I am enjoying my sister's visit!! Tammy and Bruce are lots of fun, and they have already loaded all the "stuff" into the trailer they brought down from Georgia. Our patio is a patio again, instead of a storage area! We have been enjoying time out there, too! Our weather is just beautiful these last two days.

Yesterday, we took Tammy and Bruce to Fantasy of Flight, which is an airplane museum not far from Lakeland.  It is a private collection, turned into quite an interesting destination.  Since it was Valentine's Day, we didn't try to go out to eat. I put some spaghetti sauce in the crock pot, before we left, and made some sausage to go with the pasta. Some garlic bread and a nice salad rounded off a pretty good dinner, if I do say so myself.

Today (Saturday) we slept in (yes!) and had a good breakfast. Bruce and Joe went to run errands, so Tammy and I went to run some errands of our own (at Bed Bath & Beyond, for one).  Now we are watching the movie "Cool Runnings" about a Jamaican bobsled team, with John Candy as the coach. It is a very cute movie.

Joe and I are going to church shortly, then we are all going out to eat at Catfish Country. Tammy and Bruce are leaving in the morning, and Joey, Darlene and Tristan (and pups, Brooke & Zoey) will be here tomorrow. More fun ahead!!

Here are some photos from our day at Fantasy of Flight.....

Thanks for stopping by! I love having you visit.  Peace, love & hugs to all!!

Did you know.....

Happy Friday!!  We are off to treat Tammy and Bruce to Fantasy of Flight. I will have pictures for tomorrow's blog.  Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

My BFF, Elaine, sent me this by email and I was fairly blown away by of few of these statements! Thought I should share with you!  Sorry if you've seen it before, but it was a first for me!

DID YOU KNOW?

  

And now you know, don't you feel smarter..?

Thanks for stopping by! Peace, love & hugs!