Fourth of July, 2009 Two

The pyrotechnic people in the neighborhood came through last night. We had fireworks all around us. It was really nice. The people up the street must have had quite a crowd in their backyard. Lots of cheering and chants for more. The show in the back was not quite as spectacular but nice just the same. It is nice to have such accommodating neighbors - didn't have to leave home to see a nice show.

The lightening bugs enjoyed the show as well. All the sparkles in the sky really must have excited them because they provided a "fireworks" show of their own afterward. Did not realize that we had so many lightening bugs in our yard.

The bugs brought back many, many childhood memories of spending warm summer nights catching them - only to let them go later in the evening. The cousins would have contests about who could catch the most. It was always fun to play with the cousins.

Hope that your shows were as nice as ours........

Fourth of July, 2009

Here it is - Fourth of July, 2009. Where has the time gone? I am sitting here looking out my open window (sunshine off and on/cool breezes blowing - not very summer like for this area) and listening to music on my MP3 player. I added new music the other day. New in that it's new to my MP3, but old when it comes to when the music first came out. Freddy Mercury of Queen, Cass Elliot and five of Michael Jackson's older songs. Was never really a fan of these people way back when, but decided to broaden my horizons so to speak. All this as a result of watching the biography channel and the news, who would have known?

Anyway, it is going to be a very quiet holiday. Eddie has gone to the beach with friends, I am sitting here writing this, Terry is in the shower and Liz is still asleep. That is going to give you some idea as to how this day is going to go. Hopefully our neighborhood pyrotechnic guy will regale us with a fireworks display tonight - that would put a good ending on the day.

I have spent the morning reading blogs and face book entries. I have arrived in the 21st century and hope to keep improving my skills. My next project is take some pics and put the software on my laptop so that I can download them - I am getting there, please be patient. I am going to update my picture on Bip's World as well. I have cut my hair and I look a lot better than the pic there now (it was taken at my retirement party). People also tell me that I look younger and far more rested - but then what else could they think when I have spent the last two years since retirement "resting".

Time to go, I am getting hungry and when that happens my brain and fingers start to fight with each other. Brain works faster than the fingers can go and I get to use my favorite key - the backspace - to make corrections. HAVE A NICE HOLIDAY -ENJOY YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Music to my ears

I watched two programs on the biography channel tonight - one was about Freddy Mercury of Queen and the other was about Mama Cass Elliot. Now you would think that at my age I would be familiar with both of these entities, but that is not the case. So I spent some time tonight downloading some of their music to my MP3 player. Don't know quite how I did it, but I succeeded.

I learned that Freddy Mercury was enamored by the voice of an opera star (Montserrat) and that the last album he made before he died was with this person. It was called Barcelona. It was very good and quite the thing for a rock and roller to collaborate with an opera diva to make some beautiful music.

I always liked the Mamas and Papas (the group Cass was in for awhile) but I was not aware that she did so much on her own. She was likened to a modern day Kate Smith in her day. Very true - a voice that was and is very easy to listen to. So here I sit typing and listening to my MP3. I am slowly but surely joining the 21st century technologically speaking. I will never be a expert I am sure, but will at least I will be able to add and delete music from the MP3, post on my blog and hopefully master my site on facebook which is proving to be very interesting. It is going to take awhile to master this one.

An exciting way to spend a Saturday night right? It is for me. Now it is time to go for the night. Take care my lovelies and enjoy the music of your life.......

Not so sunny Saturday

It is 12:45 p.m. on Saturday afternoon and I have been on the computer for almost two hours already. Between making plans to take a trip to Pennsylvania so that Terry and I can attend an upcoming Hudak family reunion, reading my e-mails and now posting on my blog I have been fairly productive in that time period. I really should be thinking about going outside and doing some much needed yard work. It just keeps raining and the weeds etc. just keep coming. I do believe that I am waging in a losing battle.

I thought about blogging in the middle of the night one day last week - I woke up in my recliner in the middle of the night (which reminded me of daddy) and wanting to stay up getting something accomplished (which reminded me of mama). Mama was a night owl-type person, as everyone knew. She liked doing her housework etc. in the middle of the night because she could get done without being interrupted.

She would get us up in the a.m. (after sleeping a couple of hours at most), make us breakfast and then go back to bed to sleep. Heaven help the person who called the house before noon. Family and friends learned over the years that this was a big "no no" and patiently waited until the afternoon to call. In later years she established an "in and/or out box" system by the back door so that typing work for the church could be dropped off or picked up without bothering her. That's my mom.

It is funny how certain things happening trigger memories. Not a day goes by that I don't think of my parents or my grandma Sievert - they all played a big role in how I have lived my life for 60 plus years. They taught me to love God and family and to live as moral a life as possible. I am not an avid churchgoer, but I do try to live my life according to the Ten Commandments and the "do unto others" rule. They have worked pretty well for me.

Well the sun is attempting to shine through the clouds and my stomach is telling me that I need to satisfy the empty pit that it is. Hunger has a way of cutting things short.

Footloose and Fancy Free

Hip hip hooray!!!!!! I am free of "das boot" and once again can rejoin the regular world. That thing had a hobbling effect and kept me from moving around easily. I guess it did it's job.

I am once again free to work in my yard. There has been quite a bit of rain in the past weeks and the weeds have taken full advantage of the situation. They are going to be fun to try and pull out, but it needs to be done desperately. I fully admit that if it were not for weeds and very small varieties of wild flowers that my lawn would not be green. Grass has very little to do in my yard. One advantage is that when everyone else's yard is turning brown from heat and lack of rain later in the summer, mine is green and growing. However, weeds in with my flowers cannot be tolerated. They choke them and don't allow them to bloom and I do like my flowers to be visible and vibrant.

I went to lunch with a bunch of friends from the job yesterday and had a chance to catch up with their lives and how their families are doing. I also learned about the going away party for another friend that has transferred to Columbus, Ohio (their gain is our loss big time). I will be going to there on Thursday afternoon. He is a good agent and they will miss him. He was responsible for some serious wins against corrupt politicians in the area. One thing that happens when you work public corruption-type cases is that you become very jaded and have very little faith in any politician. There are good ones out there, just very few and far between.

Well, I have to go - take care my family. Keep up the good works and treasure the little ones.....