An Easter Parade Saturday 9...

Easter Parade

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: Easter Parade ("In Your Easter Bonnet") (1948)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song is about a special Easter hat to be worn with your "Sunday best." Will you be getting dressed up this weekend?  No, we don't dress up any more than usual for Easter.  Those days are long gone.  (sad face)

2) Judy Garland's partner in this movie was supposed to be Gene Kelly, but he was unavailable because he broke his ankle playing volleyball. Have you ever lost a big opportunity because of a medical issue?  I've not missed any big opportunities but my bad knees have kept me from enjoying things I used to enjoy. 

3) Garland later confessed that, at first, she would have preferred Kelly because she knew him well and was intimidated by Fred Astaire. By the end of filming, she found she enjoyed Astaire a great deal. Can you think of a friend with whom you had a rocky relationship at the beginning?  I can't think of anyone.

 
4) This song was inspired by New York City's Easter Parade. Does your community host a similar event?  No Easter parades anywhere close to us that I know of.

5) The biggest chocolate Easter egg was made in Italy, measured 34 feet tall and weighed a staggering 15,000 lbs. Do you think it's possible to have too much chocolate?  LOL... that is a loaded question.  My answer is yes. 

6) Jelly beans are also popular this time of year. A 2013 poll tells us that red is by far the favorite jelly bean color, with yellow a distant second. Do you have a preference?  Black. I love licorice and pick out all the black beans!!

7) We've been talking a lot about sweets this morning. The only holiday that generates more candy sales is Halloween. When do you eat more candy: Easter or Halloween?  Probably Easter.

8) Easter is considered the season of rebirth. What makes you feel refreshed or rejuvenated?  Fresh air with no humidity.

9)  This year, April Fool's Day happens to coincide with Easter Sunday. Do you expect to fall victim to any pranks this weekend?  No, I am not expecting any jokes on this day of celebration.

Thanks to Crazy Sam for this week's Saturday 9!!  You can join the Saturday 9ers HERE!!  I happen to LOVE this movie, by the way. One of my all-time favorites!

Thanks for your visit!  Happy weekend!  Peace & hugs!!

Friday Foto Friends...

It is Friday, but not just any Friday.  It has always seemed strange to me that we call the day our Lord was crucified "good" but it is explained pretty well HERE.  We wait in anticipation now for His glorious resurrection, celebrated on Easter Sunday. I always remember singing this during Easter week... (I do love Alan Jackson!)

This is also Friday Foto Friends day, linking up with Deb at Breathing in Grace.  You can join in HERE!

I went to the farm with Joe on Wednesday morning.  It was such a beautiful day!!

See the little calf!! Spring has sprung!!

My buddy, Doc, was happy to see me and I had apples to share!

He and Pistle competed for the treats!

Little chickens being incubated... also speaking Spring!

Buddy the horse is being boarded at the farm and this is "G" who is Buddy's person.

I got permission from G's mom to take photos and she said I could post them.

 Mom was teaching G how to saddle Buddy. I learned a few things too!

G is quite the horsewoman! She walked, trotted and loved cantering best.

I was very impressed!

The sky was a glorious Florida blue!!

Yesterday we had a birthday celebration with our friend Helen.  She turned 90!!  She is healthy, spry, and has no dementia. She felt celebrated with specialty cupcakes from Crumb & Get It, balloons, banners and spaghetti and meatballs from her favorite Italian restaurant.

No, we did not eat them all! Could have, but didn't!

Joe gets his new hearing aids today!!  I am more excited than he is!  Those who have a spouse or significant other who can't hear will understand!  

Thanks for your visit and thanks to those who are already praying for Joe and his coming procedure! We feel the love!  Peace & hugs!

Thankful Thursday...

It is time to link-up with Rebecca Jo over at Knit By God's Hand for her Thankful Thursday!  Join in the fun HERE!

This is going to be a very silly Thankful Thursday post, though not forgetting the significance of Maundy Thursday/Holy Thursday and our Lord's Last Supper.

I went to the farm with Joe yesterday and will post some of those photos on Friday Foto Friends, but while I was waiting for him, I started playing with some of the photo apps in my phone and was thankful for the distraction...

So there you have it, and it is probably not the last you will see of this silliness going forward! LOL

Today we will be celebrating our friend Helen's 90th birthday!  God bless her. She thinks we aren't doing anything special for her, but we are taking her out to dinner and there will be bakery made cupcakes, banners, and balloons when we bring her back to our house.  I'll have those photos too!

Please visit Rebecca Jo's blog. Her thankful posts are always special.  Thanks for peeking in today!

Have a blessed day.  Peace & hugs!

The Last Hodgepodge in March...

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 346

A big THANK YOU to Joyce for this week’s Hodgepodge questions.  Answer them on your blog and then jump back HERE to join all of us Hodgepodgers in this fun, weekly link-up!!

1. What's a word that describes your life?  Blessed.  A word you wish described your life?  My life is blessed. What more could I want?

2. Back in my day, we had respect for our teachers and our parents.  We had respect for our flag, our country, and for ourselves.  We enjoyed an imagination, played outside, and knew right from wrong. I could go on and on and on…

3. When it comes to takeout are you more likely to opt for Italian, Mexican, or Chinese food?  We do Chinese take-out because we can have it delivered.  We do Italian at home and Mexican at a local restaurant that is pretty authentic.  Does a typical week at your house include takeout?  Yes. Not every week, but a typical month might include it a couple of times.

4. Think about the people you most respect. What is it about them that earned your respect? They aren’t fake.  They say what they mean and mean what they say.  What you see is what you get.  They are trustworthy, believers, and care for others.

5. What's something your friends might see and say is 'so you'? I really have no idea other than anything with cats on it or about cats.  There is more to me than that, but I am known as one of those cat ladies.

6.  Insert your own random thought here. Our Canadian neighbors are heading home next week.  Joe will be in the hospital and I will be there with him, so we had them over last night for dessert (peach cobbler) and taught them a game Elaine and Jim taught us.  Back Alley Bridge has lots of versions if you look it up online, and not one of them is like we were taught.  I’m calling it the Ocala, Florida version since Elaine and Jim’s friends in Ocala taught it to them.  We will miss Jill and Murray.  They won’t be back until December.  

There are many “snowbirds” heading home next week.  The couple who do all the meals at the Clubhouse is also leaving.  They are from Ontario.  This Saturday there is a pajama breakfast to celebrate Denis and Helen’s last Saturday breakfast until they return in the Fall.  I understand they did this last year and had lots of fun with it.  Yes, I will have photos!!  Here is a photo of Denis and Helen that I copied from Facebook...  good people!!

Thanks for your visit!!  Peace & hugs!

Tickled Tuesday...

On this Easter week, as we remember the sacrifice made for us by our merciful Lord, I am tickled by memories of Easters as a child when we got shiny new patent leather shoes, lacy anklets, a new bonnet, a new dress, and gloves to wear to church. Grandpa always bought a corsage for all of his girls to wear on that new dress. I know what a blessing these memories are and how blessed I was to grow up in such a loving family.

When we got home from church, there were Easter baskets full of candy to find. The Easter bunny always hid them good.  The ham was in the oven...  Great memories!  I should have changed today's post to Tuesday Treasured Memories.  Tell me about your childhood Easter memories!!

That's me on the front porch at Grandma's house.

Have a blessed Easter week!! Thanks for your visit!  Peace & hugs!

Monday's Weekend Recap...

A brand new week with amazing promises for believers!! 
Wishing you a blessed Holy Week!!

Now...on to the weekend recap:

Our weekend was pretty laid back for a change.  It was really all about March Madness and cheering for the Villanova Wildcats basketball team.  There are several D'Orsaneo Villanova grads.  My Joe, our Joey, Joe's younger brother Nick and Nick's son Julian. Makes having a favorite team a lot more fun when the family is invested!! Happy the Wildcats are moving on to the final four.

Our son Joey was here until Saturday morning.  We took him up to the Clubhouse for the Saturday breakfast before he left for home, and he got to meet a few more of our neighbors.  They do a nice breakfast for $5.00.  I got the western omelet, hash browns, toast, juice, and coffee. Joey had the same and Joe tried the French toast this time. Yum.  We do love a big breakfast!

Did I mention we watched basketball all weekend?  Joe had to critique the other teams so he knows what his team should expect.  I have come to enjoy college basketball, so it's all good here!  Vinny likes it too and spent a lot of time on my lap in front of the TV...

I had a text from Theresa and Al to see if we wanted to meet for breakfast at Fred's on Sunday morning.  We said yes to that and enjoyed visiting with them while taking advantage of the breakfast buffet.  It was a little more expensive than the Saturday Clubhouse breakfast (x 2!).

Back home, we continued taking it easy and had basketball on all afternoon.  Our youngest son, Jeff, loves basketball and called a couple of times during the games to talk sports with his dad.  Nice.

We do have a busy week ahead and are looking forward to getting Joe's heart cath and valve replacement behind us.  Please keep him on your prayer lists!!

Thanks for your visit!! Peace & hugs.

Sunday Blessings...

Blessings to you all as we enter the holiest week 

of the year for Christians!

Grace:  Receiving what we don't deserve.

Mercy: Not receiving what we do deserve.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow.

Peace & hugs!

Satuday 9 Time...

Thanks to Crazy Sam for this week's Saturday 9 questions!  Join in HERE!

Sweet Disaster

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!


Sweet Disaster (2016)

Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here.

1) This video begins outside a convenience store with a sign advertising beer, produce, lotto and an ATM. Will you buy beer, produce or a lotto ticket this weekend?  None of the above. Will you visit an ATM?  Nope.

2) As the video progresses, fountain drinks and donuts are consumed. When you stop for a snack during a road trip, what do you usually grab?  Coffee.

3) The lyrics reference "a river of champagne." When did you last enjoy a spot of the bubbly?  Sorry, I don't care for 'bubbly'.  I did have a glass of wine when Elaine and Jim were here.

4) The end of the video features sci-fi/horror images. Is that a genre you enjoy?  Not usually.  If not, what kind of books do you read most often?  I enjoy history, mystery, and detective stories.

5) The trio that makes up The Dreamers are dyed-in-the-wool New Yorkers. If you could live in any city or village in the world, would you move or stay right where you are?  At my age, all the adventure is gone. I will stay right here and be quite happy.

6) The Dreamers describe themselves as "impractical."  What about you? Do you consider yourself practical or impractical?  I am practical 95% of the time.

7) They also won't "listen to those who doubt" them. Sometimes we find the ones who doubt us most are ourselves. What about you? Are you confident, or do you suffer from self-doubt?  I am confident. 

8) Do you often remember your dreams?  I know that I dream but I rarely remember my dreams.
 
9) Random question: Would you rather get $100 today, or $250 on this date a year from now? I'll take it in a year. That's a good interest rate!! 😀

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!

We said goodbye to our son, Joey, and won't see him for a year (maybe an R&R visit at 6 months, but not sure).  Sad day for us and I know Tuesday will be an even sadder day for his wife, Darlene.  This isn't his first deployment, just his longest.

Thanks for your visit today!!  Peace & hugs!!

Friday Foto Friends...

Not sure how Friday arrived so quickly, but here it is! That means it is time to link up with Debbie at Breathing In Grace for her Friday Foto Friends link-up!!  Join the fun HERE!  Thanks for hosting, Deb!!

Our friends (my BFF) Elaine and Jim had to leave on Wednesday morning. They headed for the Orlando airport at the same time we left for the farm/ranch. Their flight was delayed (like so many) due to weather. They did not arrive back home in Illinois until after 9:00 p.m.  Nearly 12 hours! They could almost have driven it in that amount of time.  (I HATE flying... delays, airport security, baggage rules... hate it. Rant over.)

We sure had a good time while they were here, and we had that good time by not doing much of anything!  I posted about our Mexican dinner on St. Patrick's Day and that we watched basketball (March Madness) most of the weekend.

On Monday Elaine and I took Helen to a doctor's appointment. Helen doesn't drive so Joe and I help her out when we can with transportation.  I made pasta with homemade 'gravy' and Italian sausage for our dinner.  We also had a salad, some garlic bread and strawberry shortcake for dessert.

On Tuesday, Joe had a doctor's appointment with his VA doctor. I went with him for that. In the waiting room, there was a beautiful artificial flower arrangement.  I had to take a photo!  I should photo-shop out the empty coke can and the two magazines...but it is what it is.  I loved the purple Irises.

When we got home from there, we all loaded up in the car and headed for downtown Lakeland for lunch.   Elaine and Jim took us out to lunch at Harry's and we asked the waiter to take our picture...

I had a yummy spicy chicken sandwich and sweetcorn grits. Joe had jambalaya.  Elaine had salmon and Jim had shrimp and scallops over a grits cake. It was yummy!!

From there, we went to the Museum to see the new exhibit "Painting a Nation" Hudson River Landscapes from the Higdon Collection. I really enjoyed seeing those breathtaking landscapes. The detail in some of them is so fine you might think it was a photo.  We posed in front of the Museum for the required 'I visited the Polk Museum of Art' photo with the John Henry sculpture we fondly call the French Fries.

Jim and Elaine above/Elaine and me below.

From the Museum we all went to Bealls, which is a Florida department store with great buys and Tuesdays are senior days with an extra 15% off your total purchase!  We were there for an hour or so.  Yes, Elaine and I both found things to buy.  Joe found a shirt he liked but not in his size. Jim had some good self-control and only looked and waited patiently for the rest of us.

Our son and daughter-in-law were to come Wednesday afternoon, but they had to delay that until Thursday morning and Darlene wasn't able to come. Joe and I went to the farm, stopped at Lenny's for lunch and then Sam's Club for gasoline and groceries.

 Can you see Joe pumping gas...

On Thursday morning, we were happy to see Joey, and thank Darlene for sending him to us even though she couldn't come because of some issues with their horses. Joey is being deployed for a year, leaving on Tuesday next week for the middle east. He will be missed!!  We have him until tomorrow morning though, and we will have fun watching the Villanova basketball game tonight. Both of my Joes graduated from Villanova.

So there you have my update for the week and my photos for today's meme.  I am still working on visiting the blogs I have missed this week. I'm making it to most of them, even though I don't comment on some of them. I really do miss you when I can't visit!

Thanks for peeking in today!! Thanks for all the offered prayers for Joe and his coming TAVR procedure April 3rd.  Your prayers are very much appreciated!!

Peace & hugs!!  Happy weekend!

Thankful Thursday...

I am linking up with Rebecca Jo at Knit By God's Hand for her Thankful Thursday link-up.  You can visit Rebecca Jo HERE and join in!!

I am thankful for my blogging friends who are also my amazing prayer partners here!!  

Joe has been having some trouble getting short of breath recently.  Our past experience tells us that it usually means a heart problem.  He already has five stents in his heart.  His echo cardiogram from a couple of weeks ago showed our cardiologist that a heart valve is narrowing and not letting enough blood through.  We have been waiting to get approval from the insurance company so we can get the catherterization scheduled.  The date is Tuesday, April 3rd.  No time yet.  If our cardio doc thinks a TAVR  (transcatheter aortic valve replacement) will work, they will go ahead and do that procedure while they are there.  Fingers crossed for this procedure.  If it doesn't work, Joe will have to have open-heart surgery.

Right now we are just having him take it easy. He isn't walking far because he gets short of breath. No lifting (why I did all the mulch work last week) and nothing crazy or out of the ordinary for him right now.  He feels fine... just short of breath unless sedentary. 

We will be telling family this week (sons today). Until then, please don't refer to this on Facebook (those who are connected with me there).  Thanks for your discretion.  

And thanks in advance for getting Joe and his surgical team on your prayer lists (please!).

Thankful too for your patience as I try my best to catch up with your posts over these last few days! I'll get there!   Peace & hugs!

Spring is Here Hodgepodge...

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 345

Thanks to Joyce for this week’s Hodgepodge! She gives us the questions, we answer and then link up HERE!  Join the fun!

1. On this first official day of spring tell us something (besides the weather) you're looking forward to in this season of the year.  I hesitate to say it, but I am looking forward to Spring Training being over, so the snowbirds go home!  Traffic is crazy. The restaurants are crowded. There is no parking close to any place I want to go. Blah, blah, blah. God bless our snowbirds and their contribution to our economy, but spring is when they all go home!!  😊

2. When it comes to spring cleaning would you rather wash windows or wash baseboards? Clean out closets or clean out the garage? Dust ceiling fans or dust bookcases? Wipe down the patio furniture outside or wipe down the light fixtures inside? Any of these tasks recently completed? No.

3. Your favorite thing to make/eat that calls for cream cheese? That cream cheese pound cake I just made is pretty terrific.  Sour cream?  Baked potatoes or anything Mexican.  Whipped cream?  Strawberry shortcake.

4. I read here a list of commonly mispronounced words. What is a word that gives you trouble when it comes to pronunciation?  Looking at that list there are a couple… applicable and Gif.  They don’t give me trouble, I was just saying them wrong.  Also, Quinoa until I heard it on the Food Channel. Who knew?!!

5. What's a song you love with the word 'rain' in the title or lyrics? Love? Gosh I really can’t think of any song that I LOVE, but I do really like this one…

6.  Insert your own random thought here. We are having a great time with our company! I’ll have more photos for Friday’s post, but we did go by the Museum yesterday and saw a beautiful exhibit of Hudson River School paintings from the mid-1800s.

Thanks for your visit today!!  Elaine and Jim went home. 😒😞 Joey and Darlene arrive tomorrow! 😊😊 Peace & hugs!  🙏

Tickled Tuesday...

I am tickled this Tuesday to be enjoying my time with Elaine and Jim. Forgive me for not getting to your posts. I will catch up!

Peace and hugs!

Weekend Recap on Monday...

Our weekend went pretty fast! How was yours?

Friday was a grocery shopping day and I got the guest room ready for our company.  Joe went to the clubhouse to play Nickels, but I stayed home to finish some baking.

I made Pizzelles...

I cleaned and sliced some fresh strawberries (sorry, no pictures), and then I got some laundry started and got out the recipe for my neighbor's cream cheese pound cake.  She served it with strawberries a couple of weeks ago when she had us over for dinner. It was delicious so I asked for the recipe.  Here it is... (click on it to make it big enough to read/print)

I only used Pam on the pan and it clearly failed me.  The cake broke in one place and a big chunk stuck in another place, so it was not pretty.  BUT, when all is said and done, we cut into it so we can eat it, so there you have it.  It was still delicious!!

We didn't really do anything special for St. Patrick's Day but I DID dress up Pink Floyd Flamingo...

I went ahead and took down our St. Patrick's Day inside decorations and got ready for Easter/Spring.  Here is our door decoration...

And here is my two-tiered centerpiece...

Elaine and Jim arrived around 5:30 and we went out to dinner and had Mexican food (not Irish at all, LOL).  We watched basketball the rest of the evening, happy that they enjoy college b-ball too.

I made us a good breakfast yesterday morning, we watched some more basketball, played a couple of new card games (Back Alley Bridge and Pennies).  We taught them how to play Nickels. Lots of fun.  We picked up Chinese for our dinner followed by more college March Madness!  We also called and got to talk to Elaine's mom, who calls me her 4th daughter.  You might remember that we visited her in September when Joe and I were up in Ohio.  It was good to hear her voice and catch up with her.

(Elaine and I lived across the street from each other from age 10 through high school.  She called my folks mom and dad and I did the same at her house.)

Today I am cooking Italian for our dinner.  Elaine and I will take our friend Helen to a doctor's appointment and we may get some shopping done too. This is a pretty laid-back kind of visit, which is perfect!!

Thanks for checking in !!  Peace & hugs!!