May Favorites

I love to tell you about my favorites. I hope you like to hear about them. In May, as you know, we hosted a graduation party for Harley. All of our decorations came from the Dollar Tree! So my favorite place to shop in May was the Dollar Tree. They have some pretty quality things. And a great place to shop for parties. We had school pictures framed across the mantle. And I framed some hand prints she made for me when she was in pre-school. We also had napkins, plates, tablecloths, and poppers for her younger guests (which left a mess in the backyard) which they loved!


Harley bought me a candle for Memorial Day. Never have gotten a gift before for this holiday. LOL! I haven't yet burned it. But I can tell you the smell is heavenly. I have some others I would like to finish before I start on this one.

I'm thrilled with the return of the Oriole to my jelly feeders. These birds just make me happy. My brother, Fred, made me a couple of feeders in the years before he died. He called these birds "cookie birds" and he was always happy when it was time for them to return to Kansas.

My favorite wine this month is Pacific Rim's Sweet Riesling. It was a leftover from the grad party. And I have been enjoying it. It is a sweet, smooth wine with pineapple and lemon flavors. It comes from the Washington state area.


I am a big fan of reality TV. I guess it takes me away from my own reality and lets me know there are things worse than what I am living. Ha! Ha! I loved Survivor this past season. I have gotten somewhat bored with past seasons. I felt they did a good job of freshening up the season. Do you watch? My pick to win did not win. But that really isn't unusual. I think Dom played a better game than Wendall. But that is just my opinion. And while speaking about reality TV, did you watch the abbreviated version of Dancing With The Stars?? The chosen winner of this one really blew me away. I think they had picked him before the dancing ever started. 

I have a favorite app for my iPhone too. And it has caused me to have a lot of wasted time. Richard and I played a lot of Mexican Train Dominoes in our lifetime. Love this game. It is in the app store as Mexican Train Dominoes Gold. I just play the free version which allows me to play with two people. Who needs something else to waste time with???

And, last, but not least is this weather. Yes, I am a summer lover. I really don't know what happened to spring. We didn't have it this year. We went from Winter to Summer. But, I am not going to complain (yet). I am loving the sunshine and the 90 degree days. What are your favorites this month?  

What a Busy Month

May is usually a crazy, busy month for lots of us. And this year has been no different. It's been all about graduations, babies, and moving at our house.

I also spent almost two weeks dog-sitting for a friend who traveled to Greece. We have kept Alli for her before so it was fun to have him again. (Alli stands for Allowishus) He's a good dog and was a pleasure for me to have all through this.

First of all: Harley graduated from high school on May 12, 2018. We had a party at our house following the graduation ceremony. We enjoyed BBQ beef, cornbread casserole, deviled eggs, potato salad, pasta salad, baked beans. And of course a special graduation cake. It was fun and delicious.

You can see granny has comfortable shoes

Heather, Harley, Paige, Granny, Uncle Justin

Paige and Harley

Uncle Justin and Harley

The cord is for Quill and Scroll
the photography honor society

While relaxing and recovering from having this big party at my house I received a text from Darian that he was on his way to Tennessee for the birth of his baby. Sadly, he didn't get there in time. She was just too impatient. Here she is: Ivory Tyler, born on May 16 (also Paige's 18th birthday) weighing in at 6 pounds 9 ounces and 20 inches long.

Just born

With mommy 

with Daddy

wearing dad's glasses

Precious

And then it was time to get Paige graduated. May 20th. She lives about an hour from us. We traveled to see her graduate and then attended a very nice party at her house following the ceremony. Here she is:

Justin, Paige, Harley

Paige and Harley

Dad, Paige, Granny

Paige and Dad

So now you know why I haven't been blogging!  Also, between Harley's graduation and Paige's graduation, Harley moved. It's a big house here for just granny. I'm working on downsizing (it will be a process) and plan to put my house on the market in the future.

Book Reviews

I may not have gotten as much done this winter as I would have liked, but I did read! And that makes me happy! So, there's that!!
Here are a couple of book reviews for you.

Both of these books came from my Kindle Book subscription from Amazon Prime. I get both the book and the audible so I can switch back and forth to the form which works for me.

When You Disappeared is about Catherine and Simon and their marriage. They have 4 children; one, Billy, died when he was but a baby. Catherine wakes up one morning and finds that her husband has gone for a run before he heads to work. Except he never comes back. Twenty-five years passes before she finds out what happened to him. The story is told from Catherine's view and from Simon's view. It flashes between present time and the past. The characters are pretty well developed. But none of them are very likable. Catherine is way too much of a victim, in my view. And Simon, well, he's just a giant piece of crap. The horror of the story is about Billy in my estimation. This book has it all: murder, drugs, , death of a child, lies, suspense. I enjoyed the story but if I had just listened, and not had the book, I think I would have been very confused. Sometimes when the story jumps back and forth it is hard to keep up. But I will give it a solid *** for the story.

The Last Thing She Ever Did takes place in Oregon along the banks of the Deschutes River. (Which I have to admit I had never heard of). The town has built up along the river with houses owned by people who have lived there for years and years. And then there are mansions built by the very wealthy who have come to make this town theirs. The main characters of this story are Liz and Owen, Carol and David and their young son Charlie. Charlie mysteriously disappears one morning when Carol has turned her back on him while he plays on the river banks. Liz knows what happened to him. In one horrible moment, while on her way to take the bar exam, Liz backs over Charlie with her car. It is an accident. But instead of calling the police, she covers it up. The only other person who knows what happened is her husband Owen. Owen is not a very nice person. His main concern in life is to get rich. And he doesn't want it known that his wife not only hit this child but covered it up. So he helps her hide the accident. However, someone else knows what happened! And Owen knows more than he lets Liz know. 

The characters are well developed, but much like the first book I reviewed, are not very likable. I think the only person in this book I remotely liked was the female detective. The story takes many twists and turns and the ending, although abrupt, was satisfying to me. Another solid ***!

Now I imagine my reading will slow down as the weather gets nicer. Anyway I hope to get out into the yard and do some work. Do you read more in the winter than in the summer??

April Favorites

I can't even believe I just typed that! Is is possible April is already over? Yikes!!!

I wonder if it is crazy that some of my favorites in April are about food! I think I must have been doing a bit of eating in the month of April. I think that is because I am depressed that winter will just NOT end. However, today May 3, we are now seeing spring. It is in the way of thunderstorm warnings and tornado watches. But it IS spring. 

Now on to the favorites for April.

I have discovered the best hummus I have ever eaten. Do you like hummus? Hummus is a thick paste (spread) made from ground chickpeas and sesame seeds, olive oil, lemon and garlic. Well that is what 'real' hummus is. And I like it too. But in April I discovered Lantana Black Bean Hummus. And it is to die for!! It is made with black beans. I love, love, love, black beans. This hummus is sweet AND spicy. It has a corn relish topping in the middle. And the best thing is it is ONLY 45 calories per 2 tablespoon serving. Hip, hip, hooray. Lets hear it for black bean hummus. 


You might ask what I eat my hummus with? Well, let me tell you what else I have discovered that I am in love with. Wasa Crackers. These are a very thin multi-grain crisp bread. And they are perfect spread with a layer of hummus and topped with sliced cherry tomatoes. My favorite snack of all time for the month of April. I have already gone through 2 tubs of hummus. My favorite flavor of Wasa crackers has been Rosemary and Sea Salt. Try them!!

For my birthday in early April I received a gift box of sangria. It is Lolea Sangria. A Spanish sangria made with fine wine and natural ingredients and is soooooo good. And the bottles are delightful. 

I also found a new podcast that has quickly become a favorite. Do you listen to podcasts? This one is my go to podcast when I am having trouble sleeping at night. It is called Sleep With Silk. They have several different ones that you can download in the iTunes store , but my favorite is Nature Sounds. It is awesome. You can listen to water babbling, winds blowing, birds on a beach, a backyard fire-pit....and on and on and on. I am in love. And the best part is it is FREE!

That's it! Just a short list for April. I really didn't do much in April so I didn't try out many new things. I didn't order much on line (I am waiting on a couple of light cardigans for spring) so my list is short. But they are my favorites. Let me know what you found to be a favorite for April.  

May ! Currently....

Outside my window...

I think we have finally arrived in spring! But with spring comes bad weather in Tornado Alley! Today is one of those kinds of days. It is dreary. No rain yet! Temperature is 77* and the winds are blowing! Supposed to have the 'possibility' of bad weather later today.


Pondering..

OMG there is always so much to ponder. But I just can't get to it all. Our dear leader of the United States is all over the news today (as usual) bashing the free press. Anything he doesn't like is a Witch Hunt. I wonder what will we believe once this is all over. Will it have been for naught? Or will we find that we have the most crooked president ever? I'm voting for the later. Sorry to all my Trump loving friends. While there are some things he has done well (excuse me while I try to ponder this) he has slandered and bashed so many that I just cannot really understand how he has people who still like him. It's just a mystery to me. But......

Watching...

Who is watching Dancing With the Stars? Me! Me! Although I have to admit I'm not as enthused about all the athletes this go-around. I am stunned that Kareem did not get eliminated last night. He has a huge fan base. I'm glad they are giving Tanya Harding a chance. I think she has paid her dues to society and it is time to move on!


Reading...

I'm reading/listening to The Last Thing She Ever Did by Gregg Olsen. And I'm still working on Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll. 

 
Creating...

I am creating space! This weekend I cleaned out one side of Richard's closet. There were 54 boxes of canceled checks!!! And an entire box of cash register receipts. I knew the man was a pack rat but really! I have been shredding checks! Big job! God Bless his soul :)

Learning...

Oh my goodness there is so much I am learning. And I am not yet ready to share. So there's that!



Planning....

We are planning a Graduation Party. On May 12th. Saying Goodbye to high school. She says it can't come soon enough. Wonder what she thinks college is going to be like??



What's in the kitchen...

I've been terrible at meal planning lately. Harley is gone more than she is home. She is doing her nursing home clinicals after school these past weeks. So it is just me. And I don't feel the need to plan for one. YET! I will be sharing a recipe when I do my April Favorites. Stay tuned!


A quote to share...

If only it were that easy Walt!

Photographing...

Harley and Isaiah
Her Senior Prom

Taken downtown

Granny with Harley

Paige and Blake
Her Senior Prom

Paige with her daddy

A final thought...

I cannot say it often enough. Time is flying by. We need to pay attention to all the little details of our lives and love the ones who are in it. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us.

Happy May