Meeting Fran

Today I met my friend Fran for the first time. She called after seeing us on TV telling the world about our plans for kidney transplantation. We have been in contact ever since and finally met. She sent me an email yesterday asking if we were still on for dinner today. I responded yes and she sent back another email telling me that she was 5 feet 3 inches tall with short brown hair. I told her I thought she knew what I looked like but in case she didn't remember I would be wearing a huge pink bow in my hair so she could find me. . . . . NOT! I had no intention of wearing a pink bow but as I got to thinking about it, I thought it would be pretty funny so I went in search of pink ribbon. Mary made me a pink bow out of paper which I would have placed on the table if I wasn't able to find the ribbon. As luck would have it, I did have two pieces the perfect length. So I made a bow out of it and clipped it in my hair. Here I am. I asked Dave to take a picture. He did so with rolling eyes. Of course I realize it is silly. That is the whole point! I said I was going to wear the bow in the car, all the way to the restaurant, :) and I did.

We agreed to meet at Perkins on Ridge Road. While I was waiting to be seated, she came in and stood beside me with a pink bow in her hair. We both laughed and gave big hugs. We talked , laughed and shared stories over dinner. Then asked the waitress to take a few pictures of us. Should have gotten a few more though since I am so very photogenic HA! At any rate, here we are.

Thought for the Day

When there is nothing left but God,

that is when you find out that God is all you need.

GardenScape 2008

On Friday Mary Lou, Mary Ann and I went to the dome for GardenScape 2008. We had a wonderful time there. The scents of spring flowers, colorful landscapes, gathering new ideas, playing with displays, harassing some of the workers, etc. This is one of the arrangements on display. I love the choices they made. It's a great arrangement for shady areas. If you zoom in you can see, dragon wing begonias (I think), potato vine, coleus, and two other annuals that I can not identify.

This is Tasmanian Angel, Bears Breeches. Great leaves...for casting:)! They are thick and sturdy, almost fake looking, at least I thought so. I don't think the sign said whether it preferred sun or shade but it certainly stands out and would definitely attract attention in your garden.

Here are the girls and me enjoying this Arabian/Middle Eastern decor. This was great with the hanging beaded curtains, flouncy fabrics, and dim lighting. Wow! We were certainly impressed and caught in a world of day dreams thinking how grand it would be to see this set up in our own back yards. Other good paying customers waited patiently for their turn to check out the accommodations and dream dreams. And check out this little guy, he was so, so.............entranced by me :) that he gave me all the time in the world to take his picture. Look at this little cutie, stood there perfectly still. He is like...this little model, just sitting there waiting for people to admire him and capture a pic or two. Okay so he's taxidermied. I can dream can't I :)? After checking out the landscaping we checked out the kiosks/shops looking at all the garden paraphernalia. We each bought a dragonfly decoration that stands about 4 or 5 feet high with two hooks attached, one for a hanging plant and one for a solar light. We checked out all the dragonfly's the guy had trying to get matching ones. Yeah, we gave him a hard time but....I think he enjoyed it, in fact, we have a date with him next year. Sure why wouldn't he want a date for next year so he can swindle more money out of us. We finally made our choices and decided our dragonfly's will travel whenever we have an evening party :). This way we can show off our dragonfly's together.

After admiring all the gardens and spending our money in shops, (a gruelling outing like this works up quite an appetite don't you know.;)) we decided to grab some lunch. We were going to go to Subway but one of us...with a brilliant mind, grand intelligence and excellent memory (whoever could that be :)).....recalled it was Friday so we headed to Perkins.Yeah, the girls were jealous of my heaping plate of hot cakes dripping with strawberries, blueberries, maple syrup and topped with whipped cream. I should have taken a picture it was soooo scrumptious looking and sinfully delicious. I don't know what their problem was, they could have ordered it too.

What a wonderful day!

St. Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received,

and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones,

and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

Thought for the Day

Your ways O Lord, make known to me;
teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
Remember that your compassion,

O Lord and your love are from of old.

In your kindness remember me,

because of your goodness, O Lord.
Good and upright is the Lord,
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice
and he teaches the humble his way.
Put an end to my affliction and suffering;

take away all my sins.

Preserve my life and rescue me;

do not let me be disgraced, for I trust you.

psalm from Lenten penance service

Thought for the Day

Your ways O Lord, make known to me;

teach me your paths.

Guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my savior.

Remember that your compassion,
O Lord and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O Lord.

Good and upright is the Lord,

thus he shows sinners the way.

He guides the humble to justice

and he teaches the humble his way.

psalm from Lenten penance service

Thought for the Day

Your ways O Lord, make known to me;
teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

Remember that your compassion,

O Lord and your love are from of old.

In your kindness remember me,

because of your goodness, O Lord.

psalm from Lenten penance service

Thought for the Day!

Your ways O Lord, make known to me;

teach me your paths.

Guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my savior.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

psalm from Lenten penance service

Another Project

The repairs I made on the living room prior to painting created lots of . While I was cleaning off this lamp to put back in place I came up with a little project. Here is the lamp. My project will be covering the shade with fabric from the left over curtain material. I may also try a throw pillow or two. But first the shade. Here it is...sort of pinned on. A little short on the width. Guess I'll have to piece it. Nothing is ever easy! Since the shade is tapered or would that be bell shaped...I will have to take small sections in at the top. Not sure if I will like the outcome with several seams on the shade but I want to try. It will be something that just fits over the shade. That way if I ever get tired of it or don't like the way it comes out, I can remove it without having to replace the shade. This lamp was originally given to my mom and dad as a wedding gift. The wiring was brittle so I have to rewire it and the little globe in the bottom lights up too. I rarely use it but it does work. So that's my next project. I will post the outcome when finished.