Bellevue's Starlight Spectacular 2008

Last night, our church hosted our annual Independence Day celebration - Starlight Spectacular. (We know it wasn't held on the 4th - sometimes we're exact with the date, sometimes not. . .)


The weather was fantastic - particularly and exceptionally so for the end of June in Memphis.


Volunteers passed out free water, flags, glo-sticks, etc. The music was great: our choir and orchestra, as well as 33Miles and the Isaacs.



"What Could be Better" by 33miles is one of my favorite songs, so it was especially enjoyable for me!

FIRST things FIRST:

Danny headed straight for the corndogs,

and was looking for the watermelon

Thousands of people, but we didn't feel crowded!

Red, white, and blue toenails and flipflops!

It was the kind of event and venue that Charlotte dreams about,

Wide open spaces to run away in...

Stuffing her face with snacks. . .




Catching up with her BFF Isabella

And believing that all the glorious sights and sounds were there just for her!

I don't claim to be able or to even try anything special to take fireworks photos. Even if I could, they couldn't compare to how incredible the show was. They were bigger, better, louder, longer, and more awesome than in any years past. The fireworks were synced to live music from our orchestra. You might get an idea from these:

It was a fun family event. It took a long time to get out of the parking lot when it was over. . . but it was certainly still worth it to have been there.

Happy Early Fourth of July!!!

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Sweeeeeet

Visit my daughter's bloggy friend,

Caroline,

and read about

The Wedding.

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Shower Hour

I just finished working a sudoku puzzle and reading a few pages in my current book.

The very idea of it just shocks and appalls family and the less than a handful of friends who know. . . . about WHERE I was solving the sudoku and enjoying a good read.


I. read. in. the. shower.


And no, I am not going through any 12-step program to "cure" myself!


1.) Our shower is quite large - it is not a bathtub shower. It's a walk-in, with two shower heads. Good lighting above.


2.) It is the most peaceful place in my house.


The reason people argue about my 'disgusting habit' is that it "ruins" books. Well, first of all, they are my books, and second of all, they aren't unreadable later, they are just a 'little' fat for the bookshelf and they certainly couldn't be resold. (I am not going to take a $25.00 hardback in there.)

These disturbed, angry peeps want to know why I can't read in the bathtub.

I don't like taking baths, for one. Our bathtub is also huge. It would take a long time to fill up. Then the water is too hot, but quickly it is too cold. Constant adjustments.

But more importantly, the bathing is not quiet and peaceful. Not only do other people believe that while in the tub, I can still answer the phone, converse through the door, or continue to solve problems (referee fights, locate items, etc.), I don't relax because I can HEAR things. I can hear the T.V. or the arguing or the laughing or the dryer or whatever else is going on in the house. And maybe, back in the day, I could have tuned all the noises out, these days, I am too easily distractable.

In the shower: no phone. no sounds. no interuptions.

Therefore, I work sudokus. I read.

My paper only gets splashed or slightly dewy. I take the same sudoku book in every night, so it is not ruined. I read the same book until I finish - it is not ruined.

I take long showers. Thirty minutes or a little longer. I have a (plastic) glass of crushed ice and water that I drink while I'm in there. I relax. It is wonderful.

Yes, there'll likely come the day when the house is always quiet, and I can read and relax anywhere, and I can part from these evil ways.

Right now, it works for me. A little water didn't bother Gene Kelly, and it doesn't bother me!

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Blogging in My Head

Since my last post, I have had many others. They've been riveting, thought-provoking, conversation-starting musings of mine. Incredible photos or graphics with every one. Really awesome stuff. Writing I can be proud of.

But, apparently, none of you are mind-readers.

Now, I don't want to offend anyone, but I just don't see how that is my fault or responsibility.

Oh, I know the real problem: Us Internets are spoiled by the likes of the ever enjoyable and always fresh Rocks in My Dryer, Pioneer Woman, and the Big and Boo Mamas.

Well, I'm starting to have my suspicions about those bloggers: I am beginning to think that they are all syndicates. Yep. No individual women. No not one.

Over here, it is just me. Just me me me to take the pictures, write the posts, barely keep up with my blogging friends, and do the grocery shopping, too.

I took a hiatus - probably won't be my only one, but I'm back now.

I've actually been unusually productive around the house during my blogging lull, so that's something.

And so is this:

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Almost over

Except for the aftermath. That's the cleaning up, loading the cars with Goodwill bounty, talking about who's the most exhausted, etc.

Again, I say, Never Again.

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Phone Blogging

Trying to blog from the garage sale --- the one that was nearly rained out but is fairly robust now.

I have Charlotte duty right now, so I'd better go now and see if this works anyway. . .

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Dumpster Diving

Not exactly, but you'd think so considering my son's reaction to an exciting acquisition the other day.

We were all outside one morning, marveling at how hot it already was. It was garbage pick-up day, and waiting to be picked up, down the street, was one of those blue, molded-plastic pools.

Mary and I thought we should check it out, because Charlotte would LOVE a pool at our house. We figured (correctly) that it was probably in good shape but being discarded just because the family's grandkids were getting older.

I was in my houseshoes (yes, okay, my houseshoes are kind of indoor-outdoor. . .), and told Christopher to go with Mary to investigate. When he was able to catch his breath and acknowledge that I was serious, he said: "We are not the kind of people to go through trash!"

The rest of us looked at each other, looked at him, and replied: "Since when?"

I guess he is going to usher in a new generation that has more class and dignity than his ancestors (and his sibling), but in the meantime, here's what he ended up bringing home:

How awesome is it? Built in slide, and 'big' - five feet round and about a foot deep. This is what a summer vacation looks like for an almost two-year old. . .

It has this one small hole / gash, but I think some duct tape will keep the water in long enough every day for tons of fun.

It will probably be full of water tomorrow even, based on the constant sound of thunder right now. This is an unwelcome rumble tonight, because the 'guys' just finished putting out all the non-waterproof signs for the garage sale in the morning. : (

Maybe 2008 garage-sale shoppers have GPS systems and know exactly where they're going.

I hope so!

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Excuse Number Two

Okay, the reason I haven't blogged since Monday:  Jessica is having a garage sale this Saturday.

I'm sure that sentence isn't self-explanatory, so I'll share what that means for me.

Several years ago, I SWORE that I would never have another garage sale.  And I haven't.  But I'm weary of ebay.  

So, when Jessica said she was having one, I started looking around the house with that garage sale mentality. . . .I've never really liked that knick-knack, and I never read that book,  and I'm sick of this purse and these shoes and Mary has outgrown those dresses and I'll never use that pitcher and so on and so on.  And I haven't even gotten to the attic.

When you start showing up at your grown daughter's house with more for her to put in her sale, then she 'needs more help'.  TIME.  Tables.  Hangers.  Stickers.  Ads.  Posters.  Sorting.  

Fortunately, I could simply trade her Mary and Christopher and some Chick-fil-A versus me doing all the things that would make me feel like I was having a garage sale. 

 That's the important thing.

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I apologize to the three or four people who have been checking in to see if my blog still exists.

It seems like I have just been as lazy as Samantha (aka 'Fatty'), but first it was Vacation Bible School, and then it was Monday. . . Mondays and I don't get along.

To clarify about VBS, and the whining and exhaustion it produces in me: the event is a good good thing, I keep signing up to work; it just throws me out of my comfort zone and blows my routine. Early mornings aren't my 'thing'.

In other news: I went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday and bought five plants and some corn and peaches and some locally roasted coffee beans. Mary and I went to Blockbuster and rented two Alfred Hitchcock movies (Vertigo, North by Northwest), Harvey with James Stewart, and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, for me. We wanted to rent Gone with the Wind and Sense and Sensibility, but they were checked out.

Outside, it is HOT. But the hydrangeas are beautiful in their blending of pink, purples, and blues.

Glad I have a picture of them, because I'm gonna be indoors for a while. . . . I hate the heat. . .

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One More Day!!

Just one more day of VBS; so far, so good, but I'm exhausted.

The kids have had a blast this week; even the little ones in childcare:

And today, we came home to the smell of crockpot roast: oh, what I would give to be able to put smells on my blog and share with you all! We cook roast with onion soup mix and in "homemade" (saved then frozen) chicken broth. You cannot imagine!! It has actually been hard to stay in the house, the aroma is so enticing. It's almost time to eat; the torture will soon be over!

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Menu Plan Monday

This is VBS week;  five days of Vacation Bible School at a big church with literally thousands of kids - - - I wanted all crockpot meals.

But Mary got a gander at some of the things I was considering (nothing as nasty or as likely a  disaster as last week's salmon and potatoes), and protested.  SHE wanted to plan the menu.  I told her to go for it, but just plan things that she wants to cook if that's the case.  

So this is the list of what Mary is making for dinner this week (she even made the shopping list):

Monday:  Poppyseed Chicken

Tuesday:  Mary's Special Cheesy Pasta with Beef

Wednesday:  Salad with chicken 

Thursday: Roast (crockpot)

Friday:  Royal Roundsteak

I'm going to plan next week's menu, and I vow to try at least two new things that sound yummy to me, and just make the kids partake.  So sad.   : )

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