A VISIT FROM THE LITTLE MAN!

TW spent the day with me on Saturday so that mom, Sarah, could visit with her friend who has a new baby.

We had a great time. I made him breakfast and found out he loves sausage and had two along with applesauce, biscuits, sorghum and milk. He will not eat eggs! When he does not like or want something, he just says "no" and hands it back to you or pushes it away.

We played outside with his wagon. This time he wanted to pull the wagon all around the yard and not ride in it. Nana had bought a couple water guns and he thought that was great fun but had trouble reaching the trigger on the gun.

He is still not quite tall enough to open the patio door by himself but he never fails to try!

Nana's shoes are still too big!

He absolutely loves that Disney movie, "Cars" and we watched that along with an Elmo movie.

TW is really into his cars and trucks now and plays with them constantly. He will be two on June 6, and I plan to make him a birthday cake and put the little cars from the movie on it.

Nap time lasted over two hours but he is used to taking a nap at daycare.

He is always glad to see Mommy return and blows me kisses when they are leaving. We had a great visit and a great day. He will be back on June 6 to spend the night with me on his birthday.

That look in the picture on the left just melts Nana's heart!

A SHORT TRIP TO VIVAY!

Bob and I decided to take a short trip this week just to get away for a few days. The weather here has been beautiful and in the high 70s and low 80s. We decided to drive up to Vevay, Indiana. Vevay is a small town that is trying to build up its tourist trade. It sits right on the river and the whole town is a mile long with only one stoplight. The drive is about an hour and a half from my house. I was ready to go somewhere after two straight weeks of rain, rain, rain!

We had breakfast in a small restaurant on Main Street where everyone knew everyone else in there and a full breakfast cost all of $3.50. There was one waitress and the lady cooking looked to be in her 80s. The food was great.

After breakfast, we ventured out to walk around the town and see the sights.

The Mercantile Shop carried all handmade items from the local people.

There was a sidewalk cafe for lunch and the local radio station pipes music onto Main Street all day.

The Amish Shop featured their goods and antiques. That's Bob under the sign. The puppet in the picture was looking for a good home.

The architecture of some of the buildings was awesome and the court house was built during Civil War Days. A rose garden and Farmer's Market surround the old court house.I saw this sign posted on the side of a shop in Vevay. I could not resist taking a picture. The owners must not be fans of the Clintons! The sign says, "Hillary and Bill belong in the big house, not in the White House!" There is a wonderful Riverfront Park with a playground for children and picnic area and benches along the river where you can sit and watch the boats. I saw this race car on the playground and immediately thought of my 23 month old grandson, Thomas Wyatt. He loves the Disney movie, "Cars", and he would love playing in this one.
Bob and I watched the boats and this tugboat came down the river pushing a barge loaded with coal.

This is such a laid back little town that I felt like I was in Mayberry and Andy and Barney might appear any minute. It was the perfect place to relax, talk to local people and shop keepers and enjoy the wonderful weather.

We have decided to take several short trips or day trips in the near future. I enjoy working in the yard at home and usually if I go on a big vacation I am ready to come home in a few days so this works well for us.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy three day weekend.

CLOTHES ON THE LINE

There is nothing that smells any better to me than fresh sheets straight from the clothesline.

When my children were small and we lived way out in the country on a farm, I used to hang nearly all my wash outside to dry.

I loved seeing the clothes blowing in the wind and we all did it back then.

I think the poem below says it all.

The Clothesline

by Marilyn K. Walker.

A clothesline was a news forecast

To neighbors passing by.

There were no secrets you could keep

When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link

For neighbors always knew

If company had stopped on by

To spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the fancy sheets and towels on the line;

You'd see the comp'ny tablecloths

With intricate design.

The line announced a baby's birth

To folks who lived inside

As brand new infant clothes were hung

So carefully with pride.

The ages of the children could

So readily be known

By watching how the sizes changed

You'd know how much they'd grown.

It also told when illness struck,

As extra sheets were hung;

Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,

Haphazardly were strung.

It said, "Gone on vacation now"When lines hung limp and bare.

It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged

With not an inch to spare.

New folks in town were scorned upon

If wash was dingy gray,

As neighbors raised their brows, and looked

Disgustedly away.

But clotheslines now are of the past

For dryers make work less.

Now what goes on inside a home

Is anybody's guess

I really miss that way of life.

It was a friendly sign

When neighbors knew each other best

By what hung on the line!

I have a drying rack that I use to hang some stuff on and in the summer I put it on the back patio in the sun just to get that wonderful smell. I think we will see more and more clotheslines in the future with the recession. I am seriously thinking of getting one for my backyard.

Some of my fondest memories of home and being a child is of clothes drying on the line.

Do you have a clothesline or memories of a clothesline?

WD-40 A WONDER PRODUCT!

I have not tried all these but there are some good uses for WD-40 in this list. I usually keep things like this in a folder so I can refer to them in case I need a quick fix for something.

Created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find water Displacement compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation; thus WD-40.


The Corvair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts.


Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you.
When you read the 'shower door' part, try it. It's the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic, it works just as well as glass. Then try it on your stovetop. It is now shinier than it has ever been before.












1) Protects silver from tarnishing.
2) Removes road tar and grime from cars.
3) Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
4) Gives floors that 'just-waxed' sheen without making it slippery.
5) Keeps flies off cows!
6) Restores and cleans chalkboards.
7) Removes lipstick stains.
8) Loosens stubborn zippers.
9) Untangles jewelry chains.
10) Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
11) Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
12) Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
13) Removes tomato stains from clothing.
14) Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
15) Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
16) Keeps scissors working smoothly.
17) Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes.
18) It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
19) Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car. Removed quickly, with WD-40!
20) Gives children's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
21) Lubricates gear shift on lawn mowers.
22) Rids kids' rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.
23) Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.
24) Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
25) Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.
26) Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.
27) Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.
28) Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.
29) Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them ru nning smoothly.
30) Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.
31) Removes splattered grease on stove.
32) Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
33) Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
34) Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
35) Removes all traces of duct tape.
36) Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.
37) Florida's favorite use: 'cleans and removes Love Bugs from grills and bumpers.'
38) Protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.
39) WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a LITTLE on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time.
40) Fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.
41) WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.
42) If you've washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and rewash.. Presto! Lipstick is gone!
43) If you spray WD-40 on the distributor cap, it will displace the moisture and allow the car to start.



Keep a can of WD-40 in your kitchen cabinet over the stove. It is good for oven burns or any other type of burn. It takes the burned feeling away and heals with NO scarring. . ALSO ELIMINATES NAIL FUNGUS !!

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE!

This is just one of the many little devils that inhabit my yard and are playing havoc with my potted plants.

Every morning I find a pot where the dirt has been dug out and a nut has been buried during the night.

I put those little wind stars on a stick in some of the pots but they don't deter these monsters in the least.

Balisha of Never Enough Time suggested that I write a blog about my problem in hopes that someone out there in blogland can tell me what to do to keep the little devils out of my flower pots.

My poor plants are suffering at the mercy of these fur covered nut hoarders.

Does anyone have any suggestions??????

THANK YOU FRIENDS, BOOKCASES, AND A BOOTH AT THE PEDDLER'S MALL

First of all, I want to say thank you to all my wonderful friends in the blogging world for your kind comments, prayers and thoughts while I took this time off. My niece was a very special person and will be truly missed by her family and friends.

Next, I want to tell you about Bob's booth at the Peddler's Mall. He decided he wanted to try making small tables, birdhouses, bird feeders and whatever else he could put together from the scraps of wood in his workshop. Since retiring from mechanical engineering, he has built custom book case units such as the one in the photo he made for my niece on the left and the one he made for me on the right.

So, we gathered up everything we wanted to get rid of or had planned to take to the Goodwill Store and put it in there until he can get some items made. We took the whole first week of April to put stuff in and he and his brother built the booth itself. We still need more shelves and peg board, etc. but we are just getting started. The monthly rent is $120 and we took in $217 in three weeks! I could not believe what people will buy. Some of the things we have sold are magazines, clothing, books, and toys that I thought no one would care about. I had two huge containers of junk left over from a yard sale a couple years ago. It was stored in my outside building. I put it all in there since I never planned on using it again. It did not sell in the yard sale but it is selling in the booth. This mall gets quite a bit of traffic so I guess that helps. What really blows my mind is that it is selling for more than what it was priced in the yard sale!

Once we get it completely stocked with his handmade items we will know what to expect. We are going to give it two or three months and just see what it does. It is more a hobby than anything else. Bob likes to stay busy and I enjoy going to yard sales, etc. I picked up three framed pictures, and two angel statues at a yard sale a couple weeks ago for $6. We sold two of the pictures for $10 in two days.

Here is a picture of the booth as it is today and not yet totally stocked with the handmade stuff he wants to make. He has bought a book on birdhouses and he likes to make tables and has made some really nice tables in the past.

One good thing is that the Goodwill store is across the street and if we decide to give it up, we can just take it all over there very easily and they keep a big dumpster out back of this place, too.

Right now, we are having fun playing with it and seeing what sells or don't sell and what funny things people will buy!