A Holiday Tradition

Join in the fun!

What do you do...

...when you have a week of vacation coming up, sans any children for the first time in, oh, about forever (9 years, actually, but close enough), and no idea where you should go?
Ask your blog friends!
Yep, here's your chance to tell Meg where to go...on vacation that is :-)
We've had a little tax-time windfall and I've got the itch to travel after nearly 2 years of staycations, but haven't been able to decide where to go in mid-April that doesn't require a passport (Chris doesn't have his yet & I'm not about to go thru the deadline drama like my trip to Canada!)
Any ideas?

Came across a great holiday game & giveaway; drop by & check it out, especially if you are a quilter or love someone who does!

Off to a cookie/gift exchange & knitting party~ promise I will be back by to post again soon.

Because I'm such a slacker...

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Meg's Garden!

1. The first Meg's Garden was made in 1853, and had no pedals.
2. Koalas sleep for 22 hours a day, two hours more than Meg's Garden.
3. Ninety-six percent of all candles sold are purchased by Meg's Garden!
4. It's bad luck to whistle near Meg's Garden!
5. Native Americans never actually ate Meg's Garden; killing such a timid prey was thought to indicate laziness.
6. New Zealand was the first place to allow Meg's Garden to vote.
7. Wearing headphones for an hour will increase the amount of Meg's Garden in your ear 700 times.
8. Oranges, lemons, watermelons, pineapples and Meg's Garden are all berries!
9. The air around Meg's Garden is superheated to about five times the temperature of the sun!
10. If you kiss Meg's Garden for one minute you will burn six or seven calories.

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

Saol fada chugat

 

From Our Home to Your's

Happy St Patrick's Day

"Long Life to You"

Tagged...

by Becca~ drop by here to see the rules, since I'm buried :-(

Butchart Gardens, Victoria BC

July 2007

looking thru into the Rose Garden

Can't Trust that Day...

I'm in need of a little Monday Humor~ the day is looking pretty grim; Hope your's is looking better

more animals

more animals

more animals

 

If only I had her figure *sigh*

You Are an Audrey!

You are an Audrey -- "I am at peace"

Audreys are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union with others and the world around them.

How to Get Along with Me

• * If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially don't like expectations or pressure


• * I like to listen and to be of service, but don't take advantage of this


• * Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit


• * Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It's OK to nudge me gently and nonjudgmentally


• * Ask me questions to help me get clear


• * Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery


• * Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings


• * I like a good discussion but not a confrontation


• * Let me know you like what I've done or said


• * Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life

What I Like About Being an Audrey

• * being nonjudgmental and accepting


• * caring for and being concerned about others


• * being able to relax and have a good time


• * knowing that most people enjoy my company; I'm easy to be around


• * my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good mediator and facilitator


• * my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and now


• * being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe

What's Hard About Being an Audrey

• * being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive


• * being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline


• * being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch of the mouth personally


• * being confused about what I really want


• * caring too much about what others will think of me


• * not being listened to or taken seriously

Audreys as Children Often

• * feel ignored and that their wants, opinions, and feelings are unimportant


• * tune out a lot, especially when others argue


• * are "good" children: deny anger or keep it to themselves

Audreys as Parents

• * are supportive, kind, and warm


• * are sometimes overly permissive or nondirective (um- not a problem here; I'm the orginal hard case!)

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Oh~ by the way...

Elizabeth Cranmer of PigTails and Snails is giving away a lovely quilt of her very own design. It is so pretty and so kind of her to be so generous. Rush right over and throw your hat in the ring~ she has runner up prizes too and there are only 800 entries so far :-)

Crazier things have happened :-D

Two entries in one day?!

Yes, I know~ this is unheard of around the Garden, but I came across this video & it cracked me up!

Summer Swap Time

If you have been visiting Meg's Garden for very long, you know how much I love, love, love swaps; now one of my favorite sites, The Simple Woman, is hosting one with a summer theme!

This one is super easy-peasy: choose one new thing, one gently used thing from your home, & one thrift store find- all with summer in mind & costing no more then $12.00 before mailing. If you are interested in joining, or just want to lurk while the rest of us have fun, drop by Peggy's to learn all the particulars.

Just zipping through...

 

Still no time for a real blog entry (not if I want to visit a few people, eat supper, & sleep more than 5 hours), so here’s a cheater meme, courtesy of these lovely folks:

 

 

 Friday Fill-in

 

1. Idle hands are either sleeping or waiting for the pain meds to kick in.
2. I love just standing under the hot water in the shower.
3. My favorite time of the day is when I first get home- I can put on some comfy clothes, & relax in my chair with something to drink & my feline kids.
4. The last tea I drank was iced Ceylon with lemon peel & spearmint.
5. I like to go to the Concerts in the Park during the Summer.
6. My mother always said, “Let me be the Mother” (I was the oldest at home & in charge of my siblings too often, apparently).
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to an evening home alone, finishing projects; tomorrow my plans include going in to work, farmers’ market, dentist, & Sam’s golf clinic; and Sunday, I want to stay home & nap, but it is my weekend to docent at Ravenswood!

 

I wouldn't say no to a few of these...

My time is not my own right now~ too many deadlines looming at work :-(

I'll have a real post in a few more days (I hope); until then...

What Your Taste in Chocolate Says About You

You are sweet, mellow, and easily satisfied. You don't like anything too intense and dramatic. Deep down, you're a kid at heart... and you're nostalgic for the past. You are mellow, spiritual, and philosophical. You are a true humanitarian. You enjoy helping people. Your heart can be too open at times. You sometimes over-extend yourself. You love the feeling of accomplishment. You enjoy doing what's important. You feel lost when you have to do frivolous tasks or hang out with shallow people.

The Chocolate Oracle

Another Obscure Monty Python Reference & Friday Feast #190

more cat pictures

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Deadlines are looming (another Saturday at work is on the schedule), my only offering will be the weekly meme from Friday Feast

---

Appetizer

When someone smiles at you, do you smile back?

In all honestly- not really. Being a shy person, it’s a challenge for me to look at faces- I’ll give a small, tentative grin, & look elsewhere.

Soup

Describe the flooring in your home.  Do you have carpet, hardwood, vinyl, a mix?

We live in a rental, so we inherited low pile brown carpet & aged vinyl flooring in the kitchen, bathrooms, & laundry area. I personalize each area with throw rugs- partly to protect the floors from dirt traffic, partly to bring some color into the very neutral rooms- in hues of red, green, & browns.

Salad

Write a sentence with only 5 words, but all of the words have to start with the first letter of your first name.

My Mother Makes Mean Mocha!

Main Course

Do you know anyone whose life has been touched by adoption?

Yes~ one of my sisters (my Dad & his second wife) & Chris’ only brother were both adopted as infants. Also, Chris was adopted by his step-dad, & his brother adopted his wife’s daughter (both their biological fathers abandoned them)

Dessert

Name 2 blue things.

My husband’s eyes & the recliner in the study (which I’m planning to replace this year)

 

Friday Funnies 4

see more crazy cat pics

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The return of....

Cat Haiku

(author unknown)

Terrible battle.
I fought for hours. Come and see!
What's a 'tax return'

---

Yes, it's that time again; my forms are signed & ready- but I keep the check until Tuesday, by golly!

I'm having my ears lowered after work, then need to collect the photos I plan on working with tomorrow; Sunday is the docenting gig, a bit of garden maintenance, & boxing up the goodies for my latest swap partner on Ravelry.  I'll probably be MIA until mid-week or so (I am soooo behind at work!)

Hope you all have a lovely, restful weekend

For the "Monty Python" Fans

 

see more crazy cat pics

 

 

see more crazy cat pics

 

see more crazy cat pics

Friday Funnies #3

Just preparing to fly from the proverbial cuckoo nest that is my job, for the relative peace of my “perpetual motion” weekend~ tomorrow is our turn for “House to House” dinner (I got stuck with the rude lady again- Lord, grant me an extra measure of self control) & Sunday, I’m out at Ravenswood, on my own giving tours, & it looks to be a lovely weekend, which naturally means lots of visitors. Some time in there, I need to sit down & actually write a letter (not typed or email; an honest-to-goodness handwritten epistle, with paper & ink) to a new pen pal I met through Ravelry; what was I thinking?

So, in lieu of an original entry- which requires a certain level of concentration- let me offer up some observations on mid-life, emailed to me by my MIL.

Mid-life is when the growth of hair on our legs slows down. This gives us plenty of time to care for our newly acquired mustache.

In mid-life women no longer have upper arms, we have wingspans. We are no longer women in sleeveless shirts; we are flying squirrels in drag.

Mid-life is when you can stand naked in front of a mirror and you can see your rear without turning around.

Mid-life is when you go for a mammogram and you realize that this is the only time someone will ask you to appear topless.

Mid-life is when you want to grab every firm young lovely in a tube top and scream, "Listen honey, even the Roman Empire fell and those will too."

Mid-life brings wisdom to know that life throws us curves and we're sitting on our biggest ones.

Mid-life is when you look at your know-it-all, cell phone-wielding teenager and think: "For this I have stretch marks?"

In mid-life your memory starts to go. In fact the only thing we can retain is water.

Mid-life means that your Body By Jake now includes Legs By Rand McNally -- more red and blue lines than an accurately scaled map of Wisconsin.

Mid-life means that you become more reflective . . . You start pondering the "big" questions. What is life? Why am I here? How much Healthy Choice ice cream can I eat before it's no longer a healthy choice?

But mid-life also brings with it an appreciation for what is important. We realize that breasts sag, hips expand and chins double, but our loved ones make the journey worthwhile. Would any of you trade the knowledge that you have now, for the body you had way back when? Maybe our bodies simply have to expand to hold all the wisdom and love we've acquired. That's my philosophy and I'm sticking to it!

Thanks, GP!

My friend, The Great Pretender, featured this site on her page- what a crack up!

Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!

Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!

Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!

Sweetie Swap

I like participating in swaps, as you well may know; I find pleasure in putting together a package of special things- some meaningful, others just for fun- to send off to someone I often don't even know. I also enjoy the anticipation of receiving goodies in the mail, curious to see what other people think I may like. This is way I've been having such fun with the seasonal swaps hosted by The Great Pretender (if you haven't met her, I highly recommend dropping by- she is such a sweetie)

So, the lastest round was the "Sweetie Swap" & today, the participants are sharing photos of the goodies they received; here it a sampling of the box I got from Tracie (aka The Other Blonde)

 

There must have been an entire bag of Dove's candies tuck into this package; they kept falling out every time I picked up something;

 

A great set of notepads & cute pen (now on my desk at work)

 

Some great smelling lotion & home fragrance from Bath & Body

 

The cutest novelty socks (how did she know I collect them?)

 

A jar candle- never can have too many (especially with 2 men & 4 cats in residence)

 

Dip mix- perfect for my upcoming Spring Tea

 

And the beautiful glass vase, embossed with daisies- some of my favorites!

 

In all, a sweet & lovely package- Thank You again, Tracie!

 

Lemon or cream?

After a quiet Sunday at home

the evening turns cold and windy

A good time for some nesting

A fire burns in the grate

Candles cast a gentle glow

Meg has been busy in the kitchen

with Lemon Poppyseed scones

with cream and jam

Gala and Granny Smith apples

some favorite sweets

Egg Salad and Chedder/Olive sandwiches

There is soup on the stove

and Wild Berry tea in the pot

so, please, have a seat and let me pour you a cup.