MAKING SOME CHANGES

I have made a couple changes on here today and I hope they are working properly. First off I added a some code that shows some of the comments left on my site. I thought it would change but it seems to be sitting on the same comments. Does anyone know if this is supposed to change all the time?
Next I added my blog list to a marquee and it scrolls down the list. You can stop the list by putting your mouse over it. I have linked the names to their sites. If it doesn't work for you I would like to hear about it. Don't know what to do to fix any of this but at least I will know about it.

The last change today is a marquee of featured artists and businesses. So far so good.

GENEALOGY: I Got Mail

Well it finally came. The long awaited (2 weeks) envelope from Switzerland full of genealogy information for tree I am working on. The two people I had mailed letters to out of the blue in Bellinzona are both deceased but the mail found it's way to the remaining sister whom I didn't have an address for. How lucky was that?

In her hard to read writing she thanked me for contacting her. She was thrilled I wrote to them in Italian (Bellinzona is an Italian speaking canton). She is sending more she says and is very interested in the person I did the tree for. There will happily be a contact made from this person.

When it comes to genealogy people are so generous with their time an information. Her data is one more step to confirming some of my data. Of course these are not proven. That would require seeing actual copies of the documents in question.
I could only hope there will be photos to come. Sorry to Sue and Lindalee. It doesn't look like they are naming a wine after me nor is the Nonno putting me in the will as all the Nonnos are gone already. I will try to track down another aristocratic Italian family to work on and see if I can get myself adopted. I am an orphan after all.

JOB RESUMES: A For Effort

These people are so creative. Have a look.
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/05/30-artistic-and-creative-resumes/

TAG I'M IT: 6 THINGS ABOUT ME

Kammy@ Small Home In The Country has tagged me to come up with 6 fascinating, amazing, stupendous things to tell you about myself. Only 6? With one hand tied behind my back. I could just cheat and re-post some from my previous list of 25 things about me but I thought I would come up with something new.

1. I am (was- he retired) such a big fan of the basketball player, Karl Malone, who at the time was playing for the Utah Jazz that I drove with a friend over 200 miles from Canada to Portland, Oregon to see him play. I briefly considered bidding on a charity weekend in Utah sponsored by his team to go there and attend the banquet and also go to his home for a get together with his wife, other players and dignitaries. My sons encouraged me to do it but I explained to them that it would cost way more than the charity bid as I would need my airfare, hotel expenses etc. when my husband piped up and said I would also need money for a lawyer. That kind of put a damper on my bidding even if it would have gone to charity.
   
2. I meet with a group of people every weekday morning at 7:00 for coffee. We have been meeting for about 5-6 years. Every single day we laugh out loud, good belly laughs about the silliest, rudest, crudest things. The major goal is to have coffee come out someones nose. Nothing is off limits. There are men and women, some still working, some retired. We go on road trips to wonderful places and buy organic vegetables, cheeses etc. We have a big summer barbecue at our house and also a Chinese food dinner in January. There have been health issues and marriage issues, kid issues and strata issues. We just vent and then we laugh. This is a good thing.
   
3. I love my kids so much but if I couldn't have had kids I would have been fine with that. I don't care to be around other peoples kids much, I don't want to hold their babies. If my kids didn't want to have their own kids I would be fine with that. It was such a huge responsibility that I took so very, very seriously I could never expect them to take that on just to give me grand kids. I will adore them if they come but if they don't I am fine.
4. I really want to go to Italy. We had planned it but I was having problems with my knee and could barely walk let alone go up and down stairs. We delayed it twice and right now financially it is not going to happen. I guess we could always stay at Lola's right? Sorry girl I am just teasing you.
   
5. I know an little bit about an awful lot of things. I am also pretty opinionated. I don't always voice my opinion but inside I am thinking "this person is so wrong, naive and uninformed".
   
6. I trust my intuition about people and so far I haven't been far off of my initial assessments. People start off yakking about what a great person so and so is and when I meet them the little bells go off in my head. I trust my instincts. For the first year of our dogs life I would walk her very early in the mornings on the dikes in our area. One morning while walking there I got the worst feeling of dread and fear and I called her and ran back to my car. That was 11 years ago and I have never gone back. They did find a burning torso there at one point but I am not sure of the time line. I just trust my intuition. Period.
   
   So now I get to pass the torch to 6 others who will rack their brains to talk about themselves. It really is a hard thing to do. Then you get to pass it on too.
   
   • Lindalee @ Flipside
   • Shirl @ Life on an artistic shoestring
   • Tina @ Campo Santo - Tina is new and I am sure would appreciate some visits.
   • Morgan @ MG Fantastic Artwork - with her mom's permission as she is only 7
   • Ali @ A Second Age and of Moon Garden
   • Sue @ Sullivan & Murphy - if nothing else I will learn enough about her so I don't mix her up with the other Sue/Lucy again. BTW You will have to be Ethel because we already have two Lucys and our brains can't sort out another.
     

THE GARDENER'S CREED

• I want it
• I want it all
• I want it now
• If it will not grow in my zone or is prohibitively expensive I want it most of all
• I am perfectly willing to forgo any necessity of life such as food in order to have it
• I recognize my horticultural dependency and I recognize your horticultural dependency
• I will aid and abet your dependency as long as you will mine and this will make us infinately happy
• All money saved by virtue of comparison shopping equals found money and therefore is not counted as spending
• If everyone else has it I too must have it
• If I have planted everything that I have already purchased I am entitled to buy more plants
• At this point it is customary to recite your Visa number from memory.
  

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

A man was sick and tired
of going to work every day
while his wife stayed home.
He wanted her to see what he went
through so he prayed:
'Dear Lord:
I go to work every day and put
in 8 hours while my wife
merely stays at home.
I want her to know what
I go through.
So, please allow her body to
switch with mine for a day.
'

God, in his infinite wisdom,
granted the man's wish.
The next morning, sure enough,
the man awoke as a woman...
He arose, cooked breakfast
for his mate,
Awakened the kids,

Set out their school clothes,
Fed them breakfast,
Packed their lunches,
Drove them to school,
Came home and picked
up the dry cleaning,
Took it to the cleaners
And stopped at the bank
to make a deposit,

Went grocery shopping,
Then drove home to put
away the groceries,

Paid the bills and balanced
the check book.
He cleaned the cat's litter box
and bathed the dog..
Then, it was already 1 P.M.
And he hurried to make the beds,
Do the laundry, vacuum,
Dust, And sweep and mop
the kitchen floor.
Ran to the school to pick up
the kids and got into an argument
with them on the way home.
Set out milk and cookies and
got the kids organized to do
their homework.
Then, set up the ironing board
and watched TV while he
did the ironing.
At 4:30 he began peeling
potatoes and washing
vegetables for salad,
breaded the pork chops
and snapped
fresh beans for supper.

After supper,
He cleaned the kitchen,
Ran the dishwasher,
Folded laundry,
Bathed the kids, And put
them to bed.
At 9 P.M. He was exhausted
and, though his daily chores
weren't finished, he went to
bed where he was expected to
make love, which he managed
to get through without complaint.

The next morning, he awoke
and immediately knelt by the
bed and said: -
Lord, I don't know what
I was thinking.
I was so wrong to envy my
wife's being able to stay
home all day.
Please, Oh! Please,
let us trade back.. Amen!'
The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, replied:

'My son, I feel you have
learned your lesson and
I will be happy to change
things back to the way
they were.
You'll just have to wait
nine months, though.
You got pregnant last night.'

THREE OR MORE TUESDAY: Playing Poker

Three or More Tuesday is on again and let's hope Mr. Linky holds up this time. Tam @ The Gypsy's Corner is once again the hostess with the mostest. You can click on the picture or the name to be directed there but wait...first have a look here and let me know you stopped by.

Tam's 3 or more today were her beautiful ruffled poppies. I will play poker with my poker face and not only see her 3 poppies but raise her 3 more. If she had waited one more week for this post I could have raised her 5 more but alas the white and the bi-colored poppies are not open yet. Now if I am correct Tam will promptly kick my butt and post a mass of incredible poppies the likes of which I have never seen sending me to the poppy poorhouse.


If you enlarge the picture you will see the bee inside of the yellow poppy at the bottom. Actually you can just see his bottom sticking out of the top yellow flower. I have just planted a new poppy that they say is a complete blue red not the common red one but they have been wrong before. I can't wait until that one blooms this year.

GARDENING: Get A Room

I was in the garden taking pictures of my poppies for a later post when what did my eyes see...it was an orgy on my poppies. These guys (and gals I presume) were everywhere. They didn't seem to be eating any of the plants. Just mating. Everywhere I looked there they were. I finally had to walk away, after taking a picture of course. Just a little Bow chicka wow wow for your Monday.
Can any of you guess what this plant below is? Yes I do know I just want to see if you guys do.
I know I am in British Columbia but it isn't marijuana. It will have some interesting "blooms" on it in a little while. Come on guess. Or I am sure one of you super gardeners out there already knows what it is.