Royal wedding

So I woke up and watched the wedding festivities...William and Kate's that is. My mother LOVED watching Prince Charles and Diana's wedding...she watched the whole thing...all day I think. So..I had to watch it...and think of how much my mother would've enjoyed all the pageantry, the music, the hats...the celebration.(She would've had something to say about the unfortunate outfits on Princess Eugenia and Princess Beatrice.... seriously...what was the deal with those hats!) It really was like a fairy tale. And the best thing is...they all looked HAPPY! and really in love. CHEERS!

Art Show weekend

Let me start by saying we got a new computer today...which is great...except now I have to figure out how to do everything all over again! Agggh even when things are better...they are a challenge. But...I will not complain because I have a computer that now goes right to the site you want it to go to and it's FAST and it's capable of handling newer versions of the software I want, etc etc.
So now that I have successfully retrieved my two images...I will tell you about the annual Art Show.
JOhn had some dental work done at the end of the week...so his mouth was hurting and he was not doing much. I went to the art show alone and made the rounds. The past few years we have been part of the "Patron" program; where you pay (paid) $325.00 and for that you got $225.00 in vouchers for art purchases, free reserved parking (my favorite perk...besides the art) a covered sitting area near the main stage with complimentary beer, wine and water. JOhn would usually be off fishing...so it was a trade-off...his trip...my $ for art.
Having a place to relax was nice...and plenty of good water was great...but I don't drink beer and I didn't have anyone to join me and have a glass of wine...so when they increased the fee by $100.00 dollars...I decided that I would just get $225.00 from John and forgo the other benefits. (They also have a party on Thursday before the show...local restaurants provide food and beverages, they have a band...every is there to see and be seen I couldn't care less! and they also have a viewing of the prize winning art on display for patrons before the show opens on sunday. That includes mimosas ( I do like those)and a continental breakfast. I only ever went to that once....so again...when the price went up $100.00...I decided not to participate. I did buy one little piece of artwork...but it was only $20.00...so I was happy.
John DID join me for the Saturday night program which included the band "Asleep at the Wheel" and another local band that is a regular at the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp...which would explain why I was not familiar with them...haha They were great...so we might have to venture up to LCFC sometime for some frog legs, alligator nuggets and music from the band! As usual...it's like old home week when you go to the art show...anyone in town is there....it's kind of like a big drunken reunion. There is beer and wine for sale...so by 7-8pm the crowd is usually interesting. We did run into a lot of old friends and had a great time...seeing some folks we haven't seen in several years. I had several compliments."You look great...you look exactly the same!"...and that was great to hear...but since half of the people who were telling me that were also trying very hard to focus and walk in a straight line...I'm going to take it with a grain of salt...haha. I had one or two glasses of wine myself...but stumbling around drunk in a big crowd doesn't really appeal to me...so I kept it under control! haha In spite of that...it was nice to see all the people and enjoy a lovely evening and good music. And even though I'm sure given a choice John would've taken fishing....over the art show...he had a good time too.

Favorite commercial

For some reason or another we were recently talking about commercials. I mentioned one where the guy at a pizza place (turns out it was a Little Ceasar's ad) makes the pizza box into an origami animal. No one else ever seems to remember this commercial not unusual for me...haha..but a co-worker suggested finding it on You-tube. Being of a certain age...I had never thought about that....because I don't regularly look on You-tube for anything....but I figured it was worth a look.
Saturday night we were eating sushi with some friends and we started talking about it. Heather volunteered to look it up right then and there (she and I kind of think alike) and we FOUND it! Ahhhh I love it! So watch and laugh at the commercial...or me...if you find my sense of humor a little warped.

Litter bugs

Earth day is almost here...and it makes me think of all the little things people can do that add up to a cleaner place for everyone to live. One thing I don't understand is people who don't recycle...it's really not hard...you throw the things that can be recycled into a different bin....big deal! But so many people can't be bothered...I don't get it.
Here's Kiena.... (notice her latest haircut!)I walk her once or twice a day. I use my newspaper bag/wrapper to pick up after her when we walk. But I also pick up other things along the route.
A few years ago during our Summer Reading Program we had someone from the county come in and present a program about our Waste water Treatment Plant in our county. She talked to the group about ways they could help keep unwanted waste out of the the water system and the river. Anything on the street is ultimately going to end up in the river...grass clippings, animal waste, trash and the number one culprit,cigarette butts. They are everywhere. Ever since I heard the speaker...I can't walk by without picking things up as I walk around the block. (only what fits in my bag...and nothing too gross...) Sometimes I wish I could just ignore what I see...but I just can't...so is you ever see me bending down several times as I move along...it's not that my dog has problems...haha...it's that I feel compelled to pick up the cigarette butts I see lying around. I average 10-20 per trip around the block. Multiply that times 7 and you can see why they are the number 1 problem causing pollution in our river.
Here's a few photos of what I normally find...lots of bottle caps, candy wrappers (especially around Halloween, Valentine's Day, etc...and those kids better watch out...because if I ever catch them....I'm going to give them a piece of my mind! hah), cigarette packs and butts, foam packing materials (probably fall out when the trash gets collected), straws and fast food wrappers. It's a little disheartening...I don't know why people can't just find a trash can!

Spring Stories

Tomorrow I am reading Spring and Easter stories for Storytime. Here are a few of the books I have picked. First is "The Caterpillar and the Polliwog" by Jack Kent. I just love this story...the little caterpillar walks around the pond bragging about how she is going to turn into something else when she grows up. (We also have a movie version of this book...so whenever I read it...I hear the voices in the movie in my head. haha)
The tadpole is the only one around the pond that is excited for the caterpillar and he's so busy watching her change...he doesn't realize he's changing himself. Very cute!
"Happy Easter" by Kurt Wiese was originally published in 1952....so it's hardly new...but it's another favorite of mine. Mother Rabbit sends her bunnies out to find some eggs to color and hide. None of the hens want to give up their eggs...except the hen at the last place they stop. When they get there, the hen tells them she has been sitting on her eggs for several weeks and they haven't hatched so she doesn't mind giving them up.
The bunnies head home to decorate the eggs...but they hear noises coming from the eggs....
When the hen comes over to see how the eggs look in color...she gets a big surprise! We are going to do a craft that goes along with this story. I made some colored chicks to glue onto a picture of a basket...add some "eggs", stickers and a little Easter grass...and we'll have a nice picture to hang on the refrigerator. I hope! haha
Another old favorite...I read every year, is "The Golden Egg Book" by Margaret Wise Brown. This one is even older than the last one...it first came out in 1947! I love the little bunny who finds the egg...and then the what happens when the little duck hatches. This book is actually the first book I ever read to one of my Storytime groups way back when; maybe that's why I like it. :)
Bunny trying to listen to the egg...
"Hurray For Spring!" by Patricia Hubbell was written and published in 2005. It's illustrations are big and bright and cheerful and it rhymes! I love rhyming books for little ones.
Another cute story is "Ollie's Easter Eggs" by Olivier Dunrea. It is part of the Gossie & Friends series by the author.
It's simple and so cute. I love the pictures of Ollie trying to hide the eggs and Gossie and Gertie trying to find them.
And last, but not least..."I Need an Easter Egg!" by Harriet Ziefert. This one is a lift-the-flap story...which the little ones usually enjoy. Depending on the size of the group...I let them come up one at a time to lift the flaps as I read...anytime they can participate they love it!
I'm not sure if we will get all these stories in tomorrow......but we'll try...and we still have another week before Easter if we don't!

Who doesn't love a costume party?

Who doesn't love a costume party????Certainly not a Burton family member!!! haha Last week Brenna got some free tickets to a function at the United States Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Al....costumes were optional..so Brenna was in ! Right away she was calling me to decide what she was going to dress up as... maybe Connie Conehead........Judy Jetson......something... which sent her to the stores looking for some sort of inexpensive cape to "Bedazzle" hahahaha (she's always loved that bedazzler thing!...haha)But it's tough to find silver capes in April...haha so she had to think a little harder.
I told her about the time Martha, Dixie and I went to the Mardi Gras Ball (hosted by our church) as Martians when my parents were on the committee and the theme was.... SPACE... of course.. We dressed up just like Martha in this photo( seen at this Halloween party circa 1976!) The night of the Mardi Gras Ball...We drove around in Dixie's car and when we stopped at red lights we rolled the windows down and said "Beep Beep Beeep" and laughed to people in other cars and then we went ot the local 7/11, and Martha and Dixie went in and asked the clerk if they happened to have Moon Pies. HAhahahaha oh...we were easily amused!
Better yet.... she could dress like Elizabeth did at one of our Halloween parties...as a piece of Skylab. This was October 1979, and that was the year Skylab was falling from the sky...and no one knew exactly where it was going to land....in case you are too young to remember that little piece of space history. Anyway...Liz put this together...a few NASA stickers, red, white and blue shirt, shorts and tights...a couple of flags and she was good to go. I figured that would get people's attention at the Space and Rocket Center...but Brenna had other plans...haha By the way...the night we had our Halloween party back in 1979...it wasn't ON Halloween night (it was on the 27th)...so not everybody was dressed up when we stopped in at the local spot (Mac's 5th Avenue) later that night. There were some other people from another costume party there though...and between the two groups we convinced the owners to have a costume contest. The winner was the one who got the most applause...we had more people in our group than the other group had in theirs...so it wasn't really fair...haha so lo and behold...Liz was the WINNER! I believe it was a bottle of something...but we didn't really care about that!
Well, Brenna scoured the stores for items that might work for a Conehead...or Judy Jetson....but then decided to be Leela from Futurama. She already had the boots....haha so the rest would be easy and inexpensive...here you go

Lazy Day & Coffee Cake

John went out fishing today so I had the day to myself. I was reading a good book..."Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins. It's the second book of 3 ,of the Hunger Games. I enjoy reading YA books in between other books I'm reading for a couple of reasons. One...because they're kind of fun and usually a quick read; and the other reason is then I can recommend titles to teens who are trying to figure out what to read. The first book "The Hunger Games" was a teen favorite, so was #3 "Mockingjay"...so I decided to see what they were about. I made the mistake of reading "Mockingjay" first...and spent a good part of the book trying to figure out what the heck was going on and who the people were...haha. It is a little different than what I normally read...sort of SiFi...but also exciting and a love story too. (terrible description...but...for now that's all I've got) Anyway Book #3 intrigued me enough to make me go back and read 1 & 2. I finished the "Hunger Games" last week and lucked out and got "Catching Fire" on Thursday. (That's one good thing about finding out about books after they have become popular...you don't have to wait for the next one to be written!) anyway...I was reading away all morning...finished it and I will have to go back and see Book 3 again...to have it all make sense! SOOOOO.....after I finished the book and walked the dog...I decided to bake something.I recently got some new mixing bowls from Pampered Chef. They are great! My old Tupperware bowls kept getting used for holding FISH!...when I complainednicely asked John to use something else for the fish...he told me if I wanted to order some new mixing bowls...that would be fine...since my current ones were perfect for holding his fish.
I was going to try to find some more Tupperware...but when I had a PC party...I kind of fell in love with the mixing bowl set. Each stainless steel bowl has measurements inside, a thumb grip and a non-slip bottom...and a lid! Nice!
I was making Streusel Coffee Cake (from Nov.2011) Southern Living magazine.The streusel topping is made from
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 1/4 cup softened butter. Mix the first three together and then add the butter and mix together until crumbly. Set aside.
Mix 8 oz cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter( at room temperature) together.
Beat until creamy. Gradually add sugar.

Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears.

Sift together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt. Add flour mixture alternating with 1/2 cup milk to the butter mixture.
Begin and end with the flour mixture, Beat just until blended after each addition.
Stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp almond extract.(yum...I love the almond smell!)
Pour batter into 13 x 9 inch pan. You can grease and flour the pan..or just use PAM.
Top with streusel mixture and put in (preheated) 350 oven.
Make yourself a cup of coffee.
And have a piece of warm coffee cake!

"A picture is worth a thousand words"

Yesterday the local paper had this cartoon by Jeff Parker on the Editorial/Opinions page
Now you all know the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words...and my family and friends will happy to hear that instead of having to listen me tell everyone how I FEEL about the bill in question...I will simply say...Jeff Parker has managed to say with his cartoon...exactly what I THINK! so I'll spare everyone from listening to me rant and rave...haha!