Newspaper Headlines Are Speaking to Me...?

The Sunday paper was thin this week; unexpectedly so, since after-Easter sales are looming and ads galore are the usual fare. But two bold headlines spoke to me:

One:   CAM - my recently deceased friend's name (short for Camilla). This story referred to the new Contemporary Art Museum, called CAM, which is opening in a new building next Saturday.

Two:   "STORM takes painful toll....". Of course this one refers to the recent tornado damage suffered by many counties in North Carolina.

I, however, choose to believe that they are messages from my dearly departed Cam and Storm, my cat. It's comforting, somehow. Thanks go out to all of you who left messages, both here and on Facebook. It is nice to know you understand.

On the First Day of Spring...

Mother Nature gave to me:  a sunshiny forsythia (scraggly, but in full bloom). This one started almost 29 years ago as a very small plant at the corner of the house.

Baby dogwood tree blossoms - I love them when they are green like this!

And some determined tendrils, saying...."AHA! I got you right where I want you!" I spotted this beside the door to my hair salon. The tendrils fascinate me, and had I not had someplace to go when I left there, I might still be photographing them!

I know that we will undoubtedly have some cooler weather again - perhaps even the cold will return with a vengeance. But this weekend, we are awash in sunshine and mid-70's temperatures, and I wish that all of you could be here and experience it (especially friends in the northwest, who are having yet another snowstorm.)

You Just Never Know...Do You?

EDIT BELOW:  When you put something on a blog, you realize, of course, that it is in the public domain and may be seen and read by anyone. Little do you know, however, how far and wide your little seeds might scatter and where they will ultimately land. 

Today I got an email that I very nearly chucked into the spam file....but something told me to check it out first. I opened that email, and it was from a woman who works for a nationally known TV program, on that peacock network. She had seen a photo of my kitchen on my blog and wondered if I would give permission for them to use it on the show. I couldn't believe it.

I am under no illusions here, and I know that my photo will be used as the "before" kitchen; or as my daughter says, the one they proclaim as the disaster.  Apparently the theme of the segment  will be "how to update old Formica counter tops" and since mine are over thirty years old, they certainly fit that category!

Doubtless it will do no good, but I did mention that if they would like to come and update my kitchen or den, they are most welcome!

They will let me know if my photo is used on the show sometime tomorrow after they tape. If it will be used, I'll post an update here so you can watch the show.

EDIT:   Apparently I misunderstood how it works. The show in which they might use my photo tapes later today and will not be on TV until sometime later. I also heard that they found "a much worse" kitchen than mine, so they may not use my photo.  Seems orange form*ca is worse than yellow.....LOL

My Blogiversary

I can't believe I missed it. 

January 16th, 2005 was the first time I wrote a blog post  on my first blog....Just Ask Judy....So, as I enter my sixth year of blogging, I thank those of you who stop here daily (or at all) and I  want to especially thank those of you who stay around long enough to leave a comment. You do realize, don't you, that comments and feedback to a blogger are like standing ovations and reviews to a Broadway star???

Like everyone else who blogs for a long time, I am constantly amazed by the people with whom I have become friends (both in person and on the web). Not all of you are axe murderers (as my younger daughter predicted) and some of you are incredibly smart, talented, compassionate and funny! I consider myself very lucky to have discovered such a good group of people, who daily make me laugh, cry, ponder and agree with your pronouncements. I wish we could do it in person.

Getting Lucky...

My Christmas money was burning a hole in my pocket, so I went shopping today. It must have been the right day to go, as I was very lucky....and not the way you think I meant....lol

I was wearing a pair of brown Clark's clogs/slides that I bought last winter, and the insole had started tearing loose from the shoe bed and was  (to my dismay) visible. I showed them to the store manager and he refunded the purchase price - so the new pair I bought only cost me $20 (they would have been $70!!) I walked out wearing a new (black) pair, went to another shoe store and found the perfect pair of brown ones to replace the first pair. Add to that the two sweaters and two knit shirts I bought and -  knowing that I still have $$ left over - it was a very good day!!  Most of my shopping trips end in disappointment, so today was a banner one for me!

Due to the arrival of snow and the salt the city spread on the roads, my car is almost totally white, instead of champagne beige. I'll have to get it washed soon, but I think I should wait until all the snow is melted.....right? It's time for an oil change too. Maybe I could get a deal if I do both. Nah, I'm not that lucky. 

Are you going out for New Year's Eve?  We were invited out for a fancy dinner at a nearby inn, but having gone to the Angus Barn only a week ago, we opted to stay home. A tight budget can only take just so many $100+ dinners in a short time, and our budget is beyond tight, especially at Christmas. 

As 2011 approaches, I am reminded to take stock of 2010. As years go, it was okay ; not a banner year, but not terrible either. We have much to be thankful for and I try to remember that when things get tough. I hope that 2011 will be a better year for us all - a year when we see continued improvement in the economy, good health for all and a definite downfall in gasoline prices. (That's probably a dream that will never come true - but I can dream it anyway.) Next, I hope we can get out of the business of war and bring our boys and men home from wherever they are trying to maintain peace. Happy New Year to us all!

Birthday Brunch at Brio

Eggs Oscar has asparagus under poached eggs with Hollandaise sauce, and this one has spinach and artichokes as well as bacon and red peppers.  I heartily recommend it!  Brio also has the best Italian 'French' toast I've ever eaten, with mascarpone cheese and three kids of berries. You should try it!

***

Thanks to everyone for the many nice messages yesterday concerning my birthday. Between the blog and Facebook, to say I was overwhelmed is an understatement! So many lovely people saying such nice things about me! I'm trying to be humble about it.....lol. As you see above, I was taken to Brio by my younger daughter. It is currently my favorite place to have lunch. Afterward we went back to her home to watch her giant TV, but it wasn't long before her dad and I fell asleep. All it takes is a full stomach and a recliner - and some times the full stomach isn't necessary!

Our city doesn't specify which night to trick-or-treat; consequently we could have children coming two nights in a row. I really wish they would pick a night and stick with it. As a child in my hometown, trick-or-treat was always on the 30th.  I lucked out since it was my birthday, and of course I told everyone I came in contact with - and usually got an extra handful of candy for my efforts.  For the past two years, we've been invited to a Halloween party, and have not given out treats at home. This year I opted not to participate; not because I'm stingy, but because a certain mr. kenju cannot control himself when candy is in the house. I was sure to be left with extras and I didn't want to have to fight the urge to eat it myself or to fight with him about his urges. So, we are sitting in the dark, with the porch light out, hoping that no one rings the bell. Bah humbug!

All in all, it was a nice, calm, quiet birthday - just the kind I like. We ordered Chinese food for dinner and it was very good this time. The only place we can order to have food delivered is not always consistent with quality or taste, so we were pleasantly surprised. It was a good ending to a pleasant day, and that's all you can ask for, right?

            Happy Halloween!

Caroling for Kerstin

Have you ever seen a more surprised look on a woman's face?! This is my next-door neighbor Kerstin (with her husband), who had the misfortune to fall recently and break her femur. That came on the heels of a hip and shoulder replacement, so suffice it to say she has been through the mill lately.

She is in a rehabilitation hospital and on learning that she wouldn't be home for Christmas, we decided to go and sing carols to her. Planning it with the help of her husband, about nine of us went on Monday. Her room is directly across the hall from a "rec" room, and we assembled there, along with the harpist from our NC Symphony, Anita Burroughs-Price. Anita is a friend of my neighbors, and when she heard what was being planned, she asked to come along. It was incredibly generous of her, and we are all grateful, since her playing made us all sound decidedly better! As we began to sing, Bob wheeled Kerstin across the hall to hear "the carolers", without telling her who it was. The photo above shows how flabbergasted she was to see us!

Here is our group, minus your truly. Santa hats and jingle bells were requested, but not all of us wore them. It didn't matter.













This is Anita. Her small "travel harp" made it rather easy for her to come. She knew all twelve songs by heart and even embellished them quite a bit.

It was most evident that our neighbors enjoyed the caroling and we garnered a few other participants from the hall before we were finished. I had a phone call from Kerstin about 7 pm, thanking me for my part in it. She and her husband were genuinely touched and I explained that we got much more out of it than she did. It showed the true meaning of Christmas; the making time to do something good for someone else, no matter how busy we are. I hope you get a similar opportunity before the season is over. It will make your day! Now, make it a very Merry Christmas.

Over the 28 years that I was involved in the wedding flower business, I had quite a few brides and grooms who made me proud to be associated with them. Here are two of them: (Click to enlarge)

And here is Sarah getting ready before the ceremony (2002). The woman who referred Casey and Sarah to me told me about them; he had been orphaned at a young age, and even though he had a lot of trials and tribulations in his life, he grew up to become an exemplary young man, cherished by all who knew him. She didn't know much about Sarah, but over the course of the wedding planning, I came to know her as the kind of young woman of whom anyone would say the same. This article puts the exclamation point on it.

An Attitude of Gratitude

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ONE AND ALL!



We need to have gratitude every day!


For the bounty in our lives.....


For the beauty of the world around us....


For our friends and families (even when they are sarcastic....)

On my first Thanksgiving after starting the blog, I wrote this.....and except for minor changes due to the passage of time, it still stands. It is my fervent wish that each of you will have a blessed Thanksgiving to share with family and friends, and that you will reflect on gratitude and how you share it with the world.

You like me......you really like me!!

From the wonderful Buzzardbilly comes this new blessing.....called the Bella Award. I am not sure whether 'bella' refers to the photos or the writing, but I'd like to think it is a little of each. Thank you, BB, I consider this award high praise, coming from one of the most articulate bloggers I know about - and you are able to do it with humor, too! I shall try to remain worthy of this designation, and to pass it on to those who are also worthy. You chose 3-4 bloggers that I would also have chosen, so I'll try to come up with 15 different ones - a tall order.

The Bella Rules:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

To be continued.....

Silk Flowers, but First......

See what we received in the mail yesterday? This wonderful singing bear, from none other than Naomi of Here in the Hills. After she received one during the holidays, I wrote and asked where they were available. I had no idea that Naomi would be so kind as to purchase one for us - but here he is! The best thing about the bear is that when you press on his left paw, he sings - in the most delightful English accent - Put on a Happy Face! I had remarked to her that mr. kenju needed one of them to remind him not to be so dour. When we got it today, Mr. kenju had just opened our December power bill, which was a whopper. If he ever needed a "happy face" that was the time. And it worked! He laughed and laughed. You can't help but be cheered up by the sights and sounds of that cute bear singing in his wonderful accent! Thank you, Naomi, for being so thoughtful; we love you!

Now, on to the silks.....

Click to embiggen, I hope.

Silk flowers used to be more popular than they are now, and until about 4 years ago, I used to get calls for them all the time. My favorite clients were the ones like the woman who owned the painting above, which had been given to her by her brother. She brought me this gorgeous raku pottery container; I had to go to her home to see where it would sit. I was asked to take advantage of the height (over 5 feet from the mantel up) and to design something complimentary in color and style to the painting. I love a good challenge!

This arrangement, done in a beautiful epergne owned by a local decorator, was placed in a foyer niche in a Parade of Homes house a number of years ago. Containers such as this one inspire me, as did the confines of the niche, which was only about 2 feet wide.

The spray above was made for hanging above a frameless mirror in a client's home. It consists mainly of dried flowers, not silks, which was her stipulation. It has dried hydrangeas, gardenias, lemons, amaranthus, various foliages and some silk berries and branches to give it width and bulk. Good quality freeze-dried flowers will last at least a year, and sometimes longer if they are not exposed to bright sunlight.

This client's home was very well appointed and I enjoyed getting to see her decor, and adding to it. She requested pheasant feathers and calla lilies, and I added bells of Ireland , miniature orchids and corkscrew willow branches.

For the one above, I worked with an interior designer. She also requested pheasant feathers and willow. Do you know the word serendipity? That's what I had here. I had not seen the painting hanging over the mantel, and thus did not know about the curves found in it. When I delivered the arrangement, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the curves of my feathers perfectly echoed the curves in the painting! Another good point was that the decorator mentioned to me that she didn't know what to put on the right side of the mantel, but she knew it needed something. I told her I had seen that gold obelisk at a local gift shop, and she bought it for that mantel. Additionally, she had seen in my home the monkey table beside the chair and asked me how to get one - so I ordered it for the decorator and she used it here.

NOTE To the Spiffys (Biff and Tiff); every time I see that leopard spotted ottoman, I think of your neighbor's "porn couch".....LOL

Lastly, a wreath for a client's front door. I need to make a new one similar to this for my front porch - since I still have my Christmas wreath hanging out there. Shame on me!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MILLIE!!

Today is Millie's birthday, and I hope you will all go and tell her to have a happy one. If you are not a reader of her blog, stay around a while and you'll see why we love her so much. Millie is the queen of American elderbloggers!!

Leftovers

This came in an email, billed as a redneck's solution to the problem of flooding. Looks like they took all the important stuff!

<><><><><><><>

If you remember reading about my banking troubles recently, you'll know I had a time of it! I told about paying exorbitant amounts of bank service charges for my business checking, and finding out that I had the wrong type of account. I took the advice I was given in my comments - which was to write a letter asking what they would be willing to do to keep me as a customer - and their answer was to refund five months worth of service charges. It's not as much as I would have liked, but it is surely better than nothing. Thanks for your good advice.

Sooooooo....when I went to the bank drive-through after work today, I was feeling good about it. I had a check for $90 and I wrote a deposit ticket for $50. When the carrier came back to me, it had only a deposit ticket - and NO CASH!! I couldn't push the button fast enough! and I am sure I fairly screamed into the speaker at the teller (one previously unknown to me)......."Hey, lady, I was supposed to get $40 back!!" Now, I ask you, how much confidence can you have in a teller who doesn't even read the amount on the check ???

<><><><><><><>

It's really hot here, people. "How hot is it", you ask? It has been 97* or more for the last 3-4 days and will remain so over the weekend. There is little rain expected in the near future, and we are sliding head-long back into the drought we thought we had climbed out of late in the spring. Our weather man said last night that this is one of the hottest June's on record, and the highest for the number of over 90* days in a good while. Now try and tell me global warming is not a fact.

Four Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

If you are looking for a good place to take your vacation, celebrate a special occasion or just lay about on the beach for a few days - this is THE place! Marriott's Grande Dunes Hotel and Spa (on the left) and the Grand Dunes Marriott Vacation Club (on the right and below), on the Grand Strand in Myrtle Beach, SC. (DO click to enlarge!)

All that is accompanied by miles of flat, white, sandy beach, sunshine and blue/green ocean ~ what more could you ask?

Two outdoor pools: a salt-water pool in the front and a fresh-water pool in the rear, with dozens of tables, umbrellas, lounge chairs and waitstaff always at the ready with drinks or munchies. I almost forgot to mention the outdoor hot-tub!

The corner of the building you can see on the right above houses the indoor pool and hot tub, and behind that - a spa with services to rival those of the best ones (not that I know first-hand....LOL.....we didn't get any massages or facials, etc., on this trip.)

Our bed, replete with mattresses to die for and feather duvets and lush pillows!

Our bathroom, with every convenience necessary, and some that are not necessary, but enjoyed.

We are extremely fortunate to have a family member who is a Marriott employee, otherwise, we might not be able to experience such a wonderful place. We arrived on Sunday, with our older grandson, our son, his wife and their girls and our daughter, Miss Kenju.

I didn't take photos of it, but I can highly recommend the breakfast buffet! Anything you might ever want for breakfast is there (even for Europeans) and it is delicious!

More photos tomorrow. I am tired, as you might imagine.

A sweet band of little angels, who received their First Communion on Saturday. Mr. kenju, Miss Kenju and I travelled a round trip of 250 miles on Saturday, to see (first) this youngest grandchild receive her First Communion. I can't tell you which one she is (her mother forbids it) but she was the cutest one! After the Mass and luncheon at her home, we got back in the car and travelled to the home of our son and his family. We saw a play, in which another granddaughter was a cast member. I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

It was a very long day for all of us. Mr. kenju was apprehensive about being in the car for so long a time. Since his stroke he has been a bit claustrophobic, so we had wondered how he would do in a crowded church. He was fine, since this church was large and not terribly crowded. I think we're making progress!

Our little one did us proud, and we were all happy when it was over. So........now that she is 8 years old, I need a baby to hold. I doubt if I'm going to get any more grandkids from the two who are married. I guess Miss Kenju needs to find a husband......and quickly!

(She says she doesn't read my blog, but I think she does and this might make her own up to it!!)

My Great Neighborhood

Since mr. kenju came home from the hospital in September, my neighbors have been bringing food here every Thursday. The schedule was set up through November 15th, but since I was not working any of the first 3 weeks of the month, I cancelled some of them, much to mr. kenju's consternation. I felt like a fraud accepting food from people when I was fully able to cook.

Some of them refused to take no for an answer, and one woman called several weeks ago and asked if we liked chili. Answering in the affirmative, I learned that we would receive a pot of chili that night. It was wonderful; there is little better than a big bowl of chili on a cold night, with chopped onions, shredded cheese and crackers!

Last night, we were brought an excellent meal by a neighbor who should never have to feed anyone outside her home, considering that she has an invalid husband. The pork loin above is similar to what she brought, although hers was stuffed with dried apricots, which I heartily recommend. Rounding out the meal were salad with feta cheese, scalloped potatoes, steamed broccoli, rolls and ice cream. It was a feast, and we were both grateful, but mr. kenju was ecstatic. He is so tired of my cooking, since it tends to be boring, low fat and salt-free, and the same things over and over ad nauseum.

Now that Thanksgiving is coming closer, I find myself reflecting on how lucky we have been in our lives and the many people for whom I am grateful. Right near the top of the list, after my terrific family, will have to be many of my neighbors, who continually prove their compassion and friendship by selfless acts, such as these. I am truly grateful for them and surprised by them.

I was hoping I would get the opportunity to "pay it forward", although the idea that someone else would have to be sick to make that possible is not appealing. Today I learned that one of our own is in the hospital, and will definitely need help with meals after she comes home. She also has an almost invalid husband - so my ability to do something for them is coming sooner than I thought. Now, just what should I plan to cook?

A Most Fortunate Woman.......

I AM!!

A great thing happened here in kenjuland today; two of my young women blog-friends came here and cooked for me! They made four or more meals that I can freeze and pull out whenever I need something quickly. Do you know what a blessing that is? It will be especially nice these next few months, when I am headed into a busy wedding and decorating season. My neighbors are still bringing food to us every Thursday, and now I have extra foods ready for other days as well. The best part is that I got to see how each one was made and I can replicate them at will.

What did I ever do to deserve them??? I am grateful beyond measure to both Renn and Tiff. I have only known these women for about 8-9 months, and they are surely storing up treasures in the great beyond. I know I've put in a few good words for them!

My house smells soooooo good right now! It's full of good things like beef roast, chicken, carrots, celery, onions, spinach, great northern beans, olive oil, garlic and spices. The best part is that it is not full of fat or salt!

YAY! Would you visit them, please, and tell them how nice they are?