COMPUTERS: Is There Anything They Can't Do

I found a link to this site at A Lettered Cottage and had to give it a go here. I sent it to a bunch of my family and friends with their names in it. It is so much fun. You can have a copy of it sent to you as well. It came in very quickly but it was in my junk mail and I had to take it out of there. I then sent those same people a quick note telling them that they could look in their junk mail if they didn't receive it from me. Take a look Have fun.

http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=6ov3CMjbxB6iTCMzUaAjZTE4NTM1MDY-&referred_by=16937828-6qLuHYx&p=moveon

MEME: What's On Your Wall Wednesday

Today we are having fun with What's On Your Wall Wednesday hosted by Barb at Grits & Glamour. She has a big project going on over there. Check it out.

Did I ever tell you I have a thing for roosters. Well I do. It seems cliche but I don't care. Although I am a city girl through and through I like the country look in my home. It seems grounding to me. Permanent, like it has always been there.
This piece hangs in my stairway. I bought it at a little shop that was nearby. I would sell my tole painted pieces out of there and often spent as much as I sold. They had so many creative people selling there. It is not something you see in many stores. Easy to make though if you take a close look. The rooster is actually a piece cut from a wallpaper border and isn't painted at all. The chicken wire is real.

THREE OR MORE TUESDAY: Definitely More Than Three

I am happy Three Or More Tuesday is here so that I can tell you how beautiful Tam's @ The Gypsy's Corner new blog design is. It is the freshest, happiest looking blog I have seen in a long time. Even better she designed all of it herself. Any of you who have tried even basic Html code know how challenging this can be. Bravo Tam.

This past weekend my family and I were attending the wedding of the son of our dear friends. They are about a 5 hour drive away from where we all used to live. My BB (Big Burly for those of you who don' know) also had some work things to take care of up in the same area so in the morning the day of the wedding he and I went out on a little drive for him to see his customer. The area we were in is full of old little towns that have tried to preserve their heritage. Enderby,British Columbia is one of these.
We were going through town and saw an antique shop. When we came to the corner to turn and park I saw their beautiful sculpture of salmon swimming by in front of their city hall. I believe the sculpture was done by Peter Postel and there is to be an eagle added along with tall grasses that the fish will be swimming through. They are quite large at about 3-4 feet long. The sunlight was reflecting off of the metal and the colors of the fish were shimmering like live salmon.

Mr. Postel has done a fabulous job and I will make sure to look for the finished piece next time I am up in the Enderby, British Columbia area.
Click here for a virtual tour of Enderby's main intersection

SUNDAY FAVORITES: Cause That's How He Rolls

Sunday Favorites is great for taking a break on one of our busiest days of the week. It is hosted by Chari @ Happy To Design I for one am very happy to have this chance to re-post an earlier item because I will be out of town this Sunday. All I will have to do is add my post to Mr. Linky from my hotel and it will be done. Thanks Chari. I will visit lots of you when I get back on Monday. I really don't want to miss any of your posts.

Now here is mine from back in early March.
There is not much I can do to explain the crazy dynamic that we have in our coffee group but this post below will give you some idea of the silliness that we crack up over on a daily basis.

As it is with all groups eventually the discussion comes around to underwear. No really, it does. I'm not kidding. Meet with a group of people long enough and it will.

This morning however we learned something very interesting.

Did you know there is a brand of men's underwear , boxer-briefs style to be exact, imported to Canada that are made in Madagascar? We had no idea.

I know that is where my green peppercorns for my peppercorn steak comes from but boxer-briefs? Who knew?

The best part is that SP would tell us he wears boxer-briefs. And in his own words it is because "that is how he rolls".

Not like we would ever bring it up again to torment him. We are not like that are we. My next question would be if you are wearing boxer-briefs wouldn't they actually keep you from rolling?
I'm just asking.

SERENDIPITY: Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all.

FOODIE FRIDAY: Carnivore On The Loose

The theme for this weeks Foodie Friday hosted by Designs by Gollum is cakes but thank goodness she let the rest of us play too. I won't even be home today so my foodie post is not going to follow the theme whatsoever. When you visit her site to see the fab cake make sure you take the time to visit the other sites.

I am cheating and posting a picture of what I want my Foodie Friday to be. Sorry all you vegetarians out there but my canine incisors tell me to have a nice grilled steak. I need the iron I think because I have been very cold and very tired lately. My hairdresser suggested it was from low iron and you know you can always trust what your hairdresser says.

I am bringing my laptop along this weekend hoping to get a good internet connection so I can keep in touch with the rest of you in between wedding ceremonies and receptions.By Sunday I will be completly unplugged in a no internet zone although I do have a scheduled post for Sunday.

CARNIVAL OF GENEALOGY: Mother, By Any Other Name

This post is part of the Carnival of Genealogy Mother's Day carnival.

My mother was an amazing woman. She was smart and funny and resourceful. I love her and miss her. She passed away 28 years ago. However this story is not about my mother but my mother in law.I have been with my husband for 34 years. When I first met his mother I don't think she really approved of me. She was not unkind, she was just unsure. We did not see her too often at first. We were busy with the day to day lives of young love and she was busy in her own life.

Of course there were the birthdays and Christmas. I had such a hard time understanding what my in laws were saying because of their accents. His was German but my mother in law was from Latvia. I smiled and nodded a lot at those get togethers.

As the years passed we were together with them more and more. My own mother was gone but my mother in law was becoming more and more a part of my life. She would do things like put all the condiments on the table in pretty little dishes, never in their plastic containers. There were always place mats and pretty napkins. Always there would be a bloom or greenery of some sort on the table and a candle burning. This was new to me. My mom was a great cook but we were definitely not place mat & napkin folk.

My mother in law looked like Zsa Zsa Gabor. With very little money she dressed like a million bucks. She wore scarves and capes. She was once engaged to a real Count in Latvia. As a young teenager she fled the war in her area by going to the train station with a young girlfriend. They did not have the proper credentials to be getting on the train to leave town. There were armed Russians all around and they just started walking toward the train. They stared straight ahead and ignored the commands to stop, climbing onto the train as it was heading out of the station. For whatever reason the men did not go after them. She later walked through the snow in a mountainous area of Germany to find the home of a distant relative carrying her only possessions with her. This was where her family was to meet up and reunite. She was one tough woman.

Christmas was so different in their home too. In the past my Christmas was pretty basic and very low budget. Theirs didn't cost much but it was very special. One gift opened at a time to the oohs and ahhs of the rest of the group. Not to mention they celebrated on Holy Night, Christmas Eve. We were December 25th. No turkey served here but different dishes from her childhood. Rouladen one time, duck another.

But it was definitely all her that was making the festivities so special. She takes an hour to pick out gift tags. Honestly she does. Imagine the thought she would put into the gift.
She survived one husband and with her two sons went on to marry a man with two sons of his own. She raised those boys with very little money but lots of "kussies" and hugs. Then she went on to hug and kiss and love our two sons every chance she got.

I have learned so much from her through the years but you know what she confesses she has learned a lot from me too.

With mother's day around the corner I want to tell you about one time in particular. At the end of a dinner at our home for Mother's day we were walking arm in arm down the driveway to their car when she said "I want to thank you for all the work you did for this lovely Mother's Day dinner". "Without you" she went on " this wouldn't have been much of a Mother's Day".
I gave her a big hug and replied "You know what. I can say the very same thing".
I love my Mother In Law.

Treat Yourself Thursday: Week 1

I would like to invite all of you to join me in a day of special treats

starting Thursday, May 6th.

Treats for yourself, treats for your loved ones, your pets or maybe even a friend, neighbor or co-worker. You know you deserve a treat today.
What kinds of treats will you come up with? A soothing soak in a tub. An ice cream treat for your kids. A chance to go for a walk. Time to read a book. Some meditation. Even taking the time to rub on some hand lotion.
You define what is a treat that week. Is this something you have done, intend to do or just dream about doing?

Please invite your friends to stop in and make sure you visit the others who join.

• create your post and add a link back to this page. You can add the logo too.
  
• add your link for that post (and not your home page) to Mr. Linky
• please leave a comment here
• visit the other sites that have posted too

Now I love magazines. I keep them for a long time and when I need a treat I collect some up and go through them again. I tear out the pages I am interested in and put them in a pile that of course I never get around to for organizing.

The best way to do this is by filling the tub with some yummy milk bath and soaking away the day in fragrant lavender milk bath from Tuscan Garden Farms in Langley, B.C.

Now if you would like to join me (not in the tub silly) follow the Mr. Linky instructions above.