Slipping On The Shoes

Carole's daughter Mandy had an open house tonight for Carole's jewelry.

As I prepared to go, I realized it was finally warm enough outside to wear shoes with no socks.  That is more significant than it may sound, as my feet are very sensitive to the cold.  It's only been within the past week that I stopped wearing socks to bed.

Thank you, Spring.  It's nice to have you around.

(Postscript:  I bought myself a piece of jewelry, of course!  It's been the featured piece on Carole's CJ Collection blog.  I love it!)

I Noticed the Pomp

Yes.

I watched the Royal Wedding.

Live.

Around 4:00 this morning, I texted the following to my mother:  "The guests are arriving!"

Mom and I had made plans to get up early and watch together.  But I admit that I was surprised when -- shortly after my text -- Mom did make her way over to my side of the house.

Her first words to me were, "Whose idea was this?"

But soon we were busy watching all of the people on TV.  The crowds lining the streets were quite impressive.  Suzy wrote on Facebook that she was "sitting between Big Ben and Westminster Abbey waiting for the William and Kate!"  I didn't expect to see Suzy on TV, but I looked for her anyway.

Mom and I got more than just a few chuckles over the hats.  Many of the hats seemed to defy gravity.  The most intriguing was that worn by Princess Beatrice.  (I just now read that her hat is being "mocked endlessly" online.)  I am not a fashion expert, but I understand her hat was one of 36 designed for the Royal Wedding by Philip Treacy.  It consisted of a vertical bow, "knotted" at the top of a vertical hollow oval, connected to a solid oval, which was attached to her head.  There were even curlicues coming down on the sides of the vertical oval.  I would post a picture of her taupe hat on my blog, but I don't wish to violate any Royal Wedding etiquette.

I've been trying to come up with something profound to say about the wedding itself.  I'm not having any luck, and what can I really say anyway?  The ceremony was simple and elegant.  The bride was stunning.  I watched right up to the balcony kiss (two kisses!) and the fly-overs.

Am I glad that I got up at 4:00 (yawn) a.m.?

You betcha!

Tornado Season

We Mainers are pretty blessed with our weather patterns.

Sure, it snows a lot in the winter.  We get some pretty nasty thunderstorms.  And occasionally, the latest hurricane will make an appearance.  But since I moved back home to Maine in 1996, I can think of only two separate times that a tornado has ever touched down here.  In fact I blogged about it in a post last July.

While ellipticalizing this morning, I watched some of the news coverage on the tornadoes that the Southern U.S. just experienced.  I couldn't believe the video footage.  The devastation was so sad to see.  And tragically, many lives were lost and some people were still missing.  My thoughts and prayers go out to those folks who have lost loved ones or lost their homes.

I was listening to a thunderstorm here within the last hour.  And it's still a little windy outside.  So it's not the greatest day weather-wise.

But, all in all, it's not so bad either.

Dad: Unedited XLII

(Well I, for one, am planning on getting up at 4:00 a.m. on Friday for the festivities.  I will be wearing my PJ's with the pastel-colored polka-dots.  Enjoy Dad's post!  --  Tracy)

Derf Here!  From an "Almost Spring" Northeast!  Please, let us have some sun!  I have no complaints about our weather as I watch the storms and devastation that are taking place throughout the rest of the country.  Prayers and concerns go out to the residents of those areas.  May the storms subside!! Peace, be still!

I received a phone call last evening from Josh as he was on his way home from baseball practice.  He just found out that he had made the school's seventh grade team and has a game today at 3:30 p.m.  We plan to be there (if it isn't raining).

Wanting to further my knowledge of how this happened, I phoned Deb this morning to learn the particulars.  It seems that the team is made up of 14 out of 32 tryouts.  Those who didn't make the squad will get to play on the developmental team.

Congratulations, Josh -- See you at the games!

I'm sure I'll keep you posted on the baseball season, be it good or bad.

As I sit here watching the T.V. screen I'm getting tired of all the hoopla about the upcoming wedding of "William the Prince" and his bride-to-be "Kate."  I am with Bill O'Reilly on this issue.  I care not what is happening within the "Royal Family."  They have no claim to fame in my opinion, except for being born into wealth.  History, I am told, tells us their wealth might not have been gained through legal measures.  Now, it seems, they are a burden on their country as supporting their lifestyle is quite costly.  I WILL NOT BE WATCHING THE CEREMONY!!  I'm sure I'll be unsuccessful as scenes will appear on all news shows.  I'll do my best to miss as much as possible.  Count me as a "fairy-tale hater."  Enough said!!

Sister Jean had a birthday a couple days ago.  I wish her a "Happy Belated Birthday."  I did call her for a chat on the correct day.  I'll make no mention of age or date of birth.  This should make her happy.  If you read "Mainely Tracy" about the birth of two new boys, you read about one of them being born into our family.  Sister Jean is a great-grandmother to Garrett and he is her third great-grandchild.  Congratulations to the family members involved.  At last check Missy and Garrett are well and Grandpa Robert and Grandma Carrie are handling the duties.  A "shout out" to all!

I rambled enough for this post, so until next time:

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Celebrating Life

Yesterday, two new little boys came into the world!

My cousin Robert's daughter, Missy, gave birth to Garrett.

And my friend Ruth gave birth to Daniel.

Lew and I had been praying for several days.  We were aware that both deliveries were going to be via C-section, so we were praying that mothers and babies would be happy and healthy when all was finished.

Last night we thanked God for these two little lives, for their parents, and for all of His goodness.

Welcome, Garrett and Daniel!  We pray that you will grow into men that love and serve Jesus.  Happy day after your birth!

"I'M IN" 113 Day Challenge

Our pastor presented a "Challenge to Change" once again this year.  It started on the first Sunday of January and ended yesterday on Easter Sunday.

Last year I shared my own progress.  This year I'm going to share a combined total for how Lew and I did, as that's how we submitted our data.  :)

-- 439 chapters of the Bible read.
-- 42.5 hours spent together in prayer.  (So, 85 hours turned in.)
-- 3 pounds lost.  (All by Lew!)
-- 400 miles walked or ran.  (Mostly elliptical machine miles.)
-- 78 people invited to attend church.  (Especially to the Easter program!)
-- We have a basic personal emergency fund (of at least $1,000) in place.
-- We tithe to our church.

Now that the challenge is over, we won't be tracking our progress as closely.

But, we're still "IN," of course!

Happy Easter!

Christ the Lord is risen today!  Hallelujah!

Yes!  He is risen.

He is risen indeed.

A celebration is in order, so have a glorious Easter!