The Easter Bunny

I am so excited!! Three of my four "little" birds are returning to the nest for Easter! The fourth one can not make this trip....and she will be greatly missed.

We have always been a family that celebrates each holiday with lots of fun and insane amounts of food. Many of the traditions we started when my kiddos were little are still carried on today. Santa still comes at Christmas and the Easter Bunny arrives every Easter morning!

Sometimes the Easter Bunny hides the baskets and leaves fun clues for the kiddos to go on a scavenger hunt. The clues always make reference to something that is known and familiar to the kiddos, or an event that happened somewhere in the house...and they just know where to start searching. And, sometimes he just leaves the baskets on the dining table where each one sits.

So...this year the Easter Bunny is in a quandary. None of the kiddos know this house or where any of the familiar things may have been placed. No one has a regular seat at the dining table. Oh...what is he to do???

Family traditions should not be broken...I found this out the hard way. One time a few years ago I began a discussion with the kiddos about stopping the tradition of the Santa sacks that are filled by Santa. I was stopped abruptly by my honey who said..."you will not continue with this course of conduct!" There is a kid in each of us, and the thought of stopping this tradition was just too much for him to take! :) I must admit, I would miss this tradition, too, if it were no more. I have even passed it on to the next generation by making Cailyn...and our "almost" second grandbaby...their own version of a Santa sack!!

But sometimes traditions need to be "tweaked" a bit to fit a new circumstance. So...here I am...trying to figure out how to "tweak" the Easter basket tradition.

I am certain I will come up with something. After all, the Easter Bunny will arrive...just as he always has...hippity hopping down the bunny trail...whether or not I am ready!

Chainsaw Party

Sunday my honey hosted his first Chainsaw Party. What is a Chainsaw Party, you ask? It is when a group of guys gather together for the purpose of cutting down as many trees as is allowed by the host. There are no rules...except of course safety first...and you must BYOC...bring your own chainsaw.

The excitement level was "off the wall"! It was actually funny to watch the "boys"...in full grown men disguise...put on their goggles and gloves...and pull the cords to start the saws. It was like a "start gun" had been fired and they were in a race to see who could cut the most pieces of wood in the least amount of time!

When friend D arrived with coffee and doughnuts...wait a tic...I thought my honey was hosting???...a strategy for the day was discussed...and D was assigned "in charge of safety/project manager". The discussion continued until friend W arrived...who did not want to "burn daylight" and was ready to go. So the race began...however, friend D and my honey did not quite have their chainsaws prepped for a quick start.

Tree victim #1 was identified, and friend W began the cuts. Friend D and my honey were at the truck struggling just a little with their chainsaws...friend D's would not start at all...and my honey's was a little rough (the chain was apparently not moving and the saw was smoking just a tad!) I observed all of this from a safe distance inside the house with camera in hand!! Tree victim # 1....down!

The next 5 tree victims were cut down by friend D, and quickly cut into bite-sized pieces by friend W, my honey, and friend J and his son who arrived during the tree victim #4 massacre. All in all the day went quite smoothly...except for the last tree...which I thought sure was going to be in my dining room. There was no panicking...there was no running around grabbing chains and connecting them to the tree and friend D's truck...there was no yelling...there were no wheels spinning spewing stones everywhere. Just 5 guys bonding at the first Chainsaw Party. I am certain my honey will host several more!

By the way...a huge thanks to friend D who kept everyone on their toes when it came to safety first! T...I...M...B...E...R!!!!!

Roll Out the Barrel

When I was a little girl we used to spend some time in the summers at Mountain Lake in NJ...yes my Minnesota friends...there are lakes in NJ...and even PA!! There was a combination restaurant/bar at the lake that we went to...on occasion...for dinner. My parents did not have a lot of money back in those days so it was a real treat to go the lake...sometimes staying overnight...and sometimes enjoying dinner at the restaurant/bar instead of cooking on the charcoal grill...which always seemed to take FOREVER to get hot enough to cook on...then glowed on and on for hours long after dinner was over!...Strange?...I think that is why marshmallows were invented!!

Anyway...back to the restaurant/bar...they had a jukebox and my Aunt Jean...the sweater maker (another future blog)...would fill it with coins and play all of the polkas. It was here that I learned to polka, and here that I was introduced to one of the great polka songs...Roll Out the Barrel. I think I was too young at the time to know what was in the barrel they sang about...but I did have a barrel of fun learning to dance to it!

So...today I realized that spring IS just around the corner...actually in some places here in PA the daffodils are beginning to pop up!! There is not much time to get ready for the warm weather...ie. the wearing of shorts, sandals, sleeveless shirts...and it struck me that I would have to get cracking soon with a diet exercise/routine or I will give "roll out the barrel" a whole new meaning!

Therefore...I am thinking...with my experience and all...I should start a polka dancing/exercise class...it is surprising that no one has ever come up with that idea before??!!

You may sign up for the class by leaving me a note below! Come on, friends, wouldn't it just be a barrel of fun??!!

Missing Pieces

I love puzzles. When I was a little girl my next door neighbor always had a puzzle table set up by her dining room window. I would spend hours there finding pieces that fit just right.

I used to set up a puzzle table in the winter. My last house in MN did not have a good place to set up a puzzle table. I have high hopes for this house, but have not yet had the time to set up the table, let alone put together a puzzle. Maybe next winter.

It used to drive me crazy when I would finish a puzzle only to find that there were one or two missing pieces. This happened a lot when the kids were little and the house was full of dogs with wagging tails that sent pieces flying...never to be seen again.

The problem with the missing pieces is that a puzzle can not be complete until all the pieces are in place, right? And being the personality type that I am, I had to search until I found the missing pieces. This sometimes made me a bit crazy...uh, crazier??...and the puzzle often ended up in the trash!

As you know, the unpacking process continues. Every time another project is completed I get to empty more boxes. I have now emptied every box in the house. The only ones left to empty are in the garage or shed. This is a scary thought.

Scary because I have 3 pieces of my stemware missing. I know I had 12...or at least 11...water glasses when I left MN. That means that the 2 Guys from Texas must have packed them with something in the garage?????....outrageous thought! Not unbelievable...just outrageous.

My honey and I will be on a search for those missing pieces very soon. My set of water glasses must be complete for me to get any sleep. One thing I know for sure, however...I will not throw out the rest of the set because of a few missing pieces.

I wonder who the cowboys are moving this week?? Maybe I should send up a smoke signal to warn the unknowing settlers of things to come!

In other words...

Goodbye...Farewell...See ya...Buhbye...Later...Solong...Toodles...Tata for now...Bye...Catch ya later...See ya later alligator...Hasta la vista...Ciao...Sayonara...Cheerio...Good riddance.

The contractors are gone!

In other words...my house can now begin to become my home! Yippee!!!

An "Aha! Moment"

I am thankful...even for the small things.

I have discovered that my "empty nest" age bracket has brought both patience and thankfulness at levels I never experienced before. Not that I don't ever "lose it" anymore...or that I always remember to give thanks for all that I have...but I have found that I look at things through different eyes...and prioritize the importance of these things...or lack there of...in a new way.

Yesterday was an example of this...what one may call an "aha! moment" (thanks to Oprah we all know what an "aha! moment" is).

You know that I have been a bit stressed since the beginning of December with...holidays...graduation...decluttering...moving...unpacking...the "Money Pit"...contractors...you have heard it all! I have been a bit distracted...disgruntled...overwhelmed...by just about everything in my life. Thank goodness for my honey...he remains the one constant in my life...a calming influence...at times I am not sure how he puts up with me!

So yesterday I am putting away the groceries. I walk to the refrigerator with my arms loaded with strawberries and blueberries...which were on sale "buy one-get one". As I am placing them on the shelf I drop a box of blueberries. Now...do you have a visual??? The box flies open when it hits the ground and blueberries scatter everywhere...rolling under the refrigerator...into the hall...even under the door of the broom closet.

There was a time...not so long ago...that this mere happenstance would have put me into a tailspin complete with stomping feet and words I would not think to say today. But yesterday I merely dropped to my hands and knees and began to pick them up...not an easy task I might add...slippery little suckers!

I am just about done...just a few more to go...when I hit the container and....BAM!!!...they scatter all over the floor once more! Now, in my younger years I would have probably gone ballistic at this point...and along with the expletives and stomping of the feet...I would have killed each blueberry...only to cause myself more stress trying to clean it up later.

But yesterday I realized with clarity that it was my stupidity that caused me to be in this predicament. Wow!!...wisdom...maturity...this getting old thing isn't that bad.

So...I sat back on my heels...paused for a moment...and thanked the Lord that I was healthy and able to be on my hands and knees. In His plan for my life...this little task...as menial as it was...reassured me that I am growing in wisdom and maturity...and with His help will make it another 50+ years!

My "aha! moment". I hope that I experience many, many more!

Keeping on Task

I think I suffer from a disease...not really sure what it is called but I can describe the symptoms to you precisely. I have suffered from this disease for years...but my honey found out only recently that I was afflicted. Honestly, I think that many women suffer from this same disease...and may or may not realize it.

I find it extremely difficult to "keep on task". Now I have mentioned before that I am a very organized person. So when I see something out of place I have to fix it right then...not later...not when I have finished what I am currently doing...but immediately. "Middle age memory loss" coupled with the failure to "keep on task" disease makes for one very crazy day!!

I will begin by describing a typical day for me.

I wake at 5 am...that's probably part of the problem...make my honey some coffee for his commute, then sit down in the "Oprah chair", drink my coffee, and plan my day...usually with a mental list of what I want to accomplish.

Yesterday's #1 item was scrub the wood floors AGAIN. Now that the cardboard floors are gone I have been trying to keep the wood floors as clean as possible, but they have yet to look like the sample I saw in the flooring store OR the pretty colorful brochure that was handed to me. The never-ending construction dust has played a huge part in this...AND the muddy boots of the construction workers.

So I go to the nearly completed laundry room to retrieve a bucket and a terry cloth rag...then off to the kitchen sink cabinet for the floor cleaner...then back to the nearly completed laundry room for a towel to kneel on (I have no idea where my gardening kneepads are but they sure would have come in handy!). I begin to run water in the bucket...but alas the phone rings. I answer the phone, and after a few minute conversation I hang up. While I was on the phone I see some dust bunnies by the baseboard. I think...hmmmmm...better vacuum them up first. So I go to the closet in the kitchen to get the vacuum and I hear the water running into the bucket in the kitchen sink. I turn off the water and return to get out the vacuum. While vacuuming the floor I move the pictures of the kids that I have been meaning to hang on the wall...so when I finish the vacuuming, I get the nails and hammer, measuring tape and level, and begin to hang them. When finished I put the tools away and see the bucket waiting patiently in the sink. Oh, yeah...scrub the floor.

So I get on my hands and knees and begin the task of scrubbing. Now I have a large living room bordered with wood, a smaller living room, dining room, kitchen, hall and 1/2 bath all with wood floors. Not a small task I might add.

I complete the large living room floor and am half-way through the smaller living room when I get the idea to switch the rugs in the dining room and living room. So I begin to move the furniture off the rugs...I move the rugs...I see that there is more dirt to vacuum...I begin the vacuuming...I put the rugs back in there new rooms...I move the furniture back on to the rugs...I hang a picture in the dining room that was in my way...I move a small desk from the dining room into the smaller living room...I rearrange the furniture to see how it will look in the future after I purchase some bookshelves and a grand piano...I put the furniture back to how it will be until I purchase the bookshelves and grand piano. Oh, yeah...scrub the floor.

This scenario took place in just a fraction of my day. I continued with the "course of conduct" for several more hours before I FINALLY completed the floor scrubbing task. Exhausted, and with painful knees, I sat down in the "Oprah chair" to examine the result of my hard work. I get a really good reflection of light on the floor visible from the "Oprah chair"!

One positive side affect of the disease....I did manage to accomplish much more than I planned for at 5 am!!