SIGNS OF SPRING

Although the Calendar says it's officially Spring, I'm having a hard time believing it. At work, I've heard rumors of people spotting little Crocus'...(Crocus's?) trying to peak their tiny heads. I haven't seen any for myself.
But....I know it's true.. the Scott's turf builder commercial is back on!
A real sign that Spring is here. Other vague signs, The stores are stocked with lawn items, beach buckets, and bird feeders.
The Temperature today was only in the low 30's. We somehow dodged the few inches of snow they were predicting, but my car was ice covered. The sun did make an appearance, late in the afternoon, and I enjoyed my sunny ride home.
Soooooo... The weekend is here. I'm planning on getting up as early as possible, having a cup of coffee and a "NEW" Bob Evans Sausage Egg & Cheese Croissant for breakfast, then heading into the artroom, for a whole day of art. I'm trying to finish a couple pieces, and submitting them to "Somerset Studio" magazine.. and hope maybe my pieces will be chosen for their "HALLOWEEN" issue. I have to get them there by the April 15th Deadline. That would be sooo exciting!!! I have one piece almost completed, and want to make a couple more, and send them all together. Hope I don't have an artist block!
Ok.. so I'm not going to get up, if I don't lay down! It's 2:54 a.m. The Coffee pot is on timer, and I'm going to bed!
I'll be posting the Halloween pieces for a sneak peak later then.
Enjoy your weekend!!

LEFTOVERS

MMMmmmmm LEFTOVERS!

Glazed Ham, Potato Salad, Meatballs, Develed Eggs... All mine!

It was a pretty quiet Easter at my house.

My kids showed up in shifts.

First, youngest daughter Allison, and Boyfriend Andy, came around 12:30.

Allison, was sporting her brand new haircut.. very cute!!!

She gave me a little gift.. a box filled with... Shampoo & Conditioner, Hair Color, and Vitamins...

Ya think she's trying to tell me something??? lol.. Well.. not really. She's become completely addicted to the CVS Rewards thing.. buy something get "Extra Bucks" back.. or something like that.. anyhow, she's gone crazy cutting out coupons, and printing them, and making several trips to CVS a week. She says she's saving lots of money, and trying to teach me how to too.. hmm.
Allison went up into the attic, and came down with her Pink and Purple duffel bag.. from her childhood. It was filled with headless Barbies.. and Body-less heads. ???... She says it was Eddie who was the culprit. She was over joyed to find her saucer sized "JORDAN" Button, and "New Kids on the Block" magazine. She's thrilled they're going to be touring again. She said Jonathan is 40 years old now... WHATTT???????????... get out!!!! How the hell did that happen?.. they're the "kids" for gosh sake!

So... I made Andy suffer through some home movies as we feasted on our Easter Buffet.

Son Eddie came around 5pm....after visiting his sorta-girlfriend. More food...

They All left, and around 7:45.
daughter Jamie came in, dragging and looking down. She had to work at Outback.. 12-8.. (got out early).. what is that all about?.. Do they think these poor kids have no family?... and who goes to a Steak house on Easter????.. and why can't they just do mini shifts so they could atleast spend some time with their family... GRRRrrrr. So she was sad she didn't get to see everyone. She drowned her sorrows in Food and hung out with me for a few hours.

Dispite everyone taking "Doggy Bags" home.. I still have a bowl of Potato salad, and Ham.. and Meatballs... guess what I had for dinner this evening.. and what I'll have tomorrow too.. Well, I can freeze the Ham and Meatballs.

So.. Spring has not shown up yet. I really, really... need some warm breezes, and I need to see the leaves back on the trees again. Nothing Better than that gorgeous Shade of Lime Green buds when they first bloom.

So... Monday is over.. and the week is in full swing.

Tom's wife called a few days ago, to say Tom was having more complications... I'm so worried about him. I hope he comes through this. Please remember Tom in your prayers.

That's all for now... have a great week!

HAPPY EASTER

As we spend this Sunday hunting for Easter Eggs,

eating Chocolate Bunnies & Jelly beans....

and having a feast of Ham & Potato Salad, .....

remember the reason for this glorious day....

Christ has Risen!

FIRST DAY OF SPRING

Some images from Cleveland's First Day of SPRING!

.. well, atleast the Sun was shining!

HAPPY SPRING!!

Happy Spring!

May the Jelly Bean Fairy be good to you!

We had more snow on Wednesday.. and..there's more on the Way.

Someone please Find the Spring Fairy.. and Send her to Cleveland.. PLEASE????

The week is almost over.

I haven''t heard back from Cynthia, on the condition of Tom... I don't want to disturb her.. I'm sure she'll call when she get's the chance.

CHUCKLES...

I got a call from an "old" friend on Sunday. He really is old.. 85. You'd never know it though. He is one of the most "youthful" people I know. We met almost 13 years ago, when I worked at Pagenet. We've been good friends ever since.

He called to tell me that he was having surgery (today).. he has Cancer.

They found a tumor on his Esophagus. I was very upset, and being typical Tom.. he found ways to make me laugh, mentioning an old standing joke between us... "CHUCKLES THE CLOWN".. It was an episode from the old Mary Tyler Moore show.. about the TV station Clown, "Chuckles" who dies.. and his Wake. I knew Tom was going to say "Chuckles".. and we both had a good laugh. I thanked him for calling to let me know. He said I was a good friend, and that He knew I would want to know.

So I told him I would pray for him, and he said he was counting on it. I told him I loved him, and hes said he loved me too. So, all day at work, I kept thinking about him, and all the funny stuff we used to do at work. Actually, we worked together at 3 different places. Anyway, I called his lovely wife Cynthia, when I got home from work. She said he was still in surgery, and she would call tomorrow. And hour later, she called, to say he was out of surgery, and everything had gone well. They would keep him "under" and in ICU till morning, and that's when she would get to see him. Tom and Cynthia have been married 60 years, they've known each other since Kindergarten. They are the sweetest couple I've ever known. I felt honored, that in the midst of such a family crisis, I was called. I hope he'll come through this. Tom is very sharp, and high spirited, and has a lot of life in him. His mom lived to be 100! I hope I get to see him again, and laugh with him again. Please say a prayer for my friend Tom.

So..... in honor of Tom... I am loading the "Chuckles bites the Dust" scene... I had only heard about it, but never saw it. Tom would appreciate the gesture!

(if the link doesn't work, try: http://www.jibjab.com/ and do a search for "chuckles bites the dust")

Hang in there Tom.. I love you, ya old buzzard!

THE WEEKEND!

THE WEEKEND IS HERE!!!

I plan on getting my hair cut Saturday morning, and when I get home, doing some cleaning, and packing.
And I'm going to work on an art piece to submit to Somerset Studio magazine, for their Halloween issue. How fun would it be to have my art puplished in a national magazine!
I'll keep you posted.
So.. this is just a short one.
Here is a picture of a new Mothers Day Collage/greeting card I just finished listing on Etsy.
I'm in an ARTY mood, and hope to have a few more pieces finished by Sunday evening.
Hope you all have a great weekend!

PUZZLE SWAP 2

Ok...enough about the weather!! Here's the first batch of puzzle pieces I've been working on.
can you guess the themes? Each puzzle is 24 pieces, there are 12 women.. so... we each get to do 2 of each persons puzzle. My puzzle them is "Vintage Halloween".... and I can't wait to see it finished! Have I said that a few times already???

Ok, here a the themes for these pieces.....

"Celestial"... I made her a "Sun Goddess
"Miss Piggy"

"Cats & Women"

"Mermaids"

"Trees"

....and of course my 1st of 2 pieces.. for

"Vintage Halloween"...FYI... that's a photo of me in Halloween collage... about age 6.

Some of the other themes I'm working on:

"Whimsy"

"Old photos of Women"

"Mystical"

"Children"...

.....and more...

Ok. I just watched "Idol".. still don't have a favorite yet. How 'bout you?

I loved driving home in the Sun today.. YAYY!

and tomorrow is "hump" day.. and I have another weekend to myself.. ahhhhhhhh.

later!

THE BIG DIG

FEWWWWH! I'm out!!

After being "snowed in " my driveway, I've been set free! Thanks to Eddie's snowplow friend Tom.

I called him Sunday morning, and left a message, pleading for him to come plow me out. 4 hours later, I hadn't heard from him, so I left a second "sorry for being such a pest" message. His dad called back, and said son Tom's cell was dying, and that he would be over in the evening. ... YAYYYY!.. So breathed a sigh of relief, then prayed the van parked directly across from my drive would be gone before Tom arrived.



I waited and waited, and still no Tom. The van did move around 9:30 pm. When I went to bed at 2:30 a.m.... still no Tom. Darn... I'm not going to make it in to work now? When I woke up at 8 a.m... my first thought was the driveway. Bleary eyed, I walked straight to the front door. Pulling back the curtain, All I could see was Blinding white snow.. darn.... darn... no wait!! my eyes adjusted and I could see the driveway.. IT'S PLOWED!!! Thank you Lord!!... oh and Tom too!... Ahhhhh.

Sunday was quite a contrast to Saturday.
the sun came out, and I could see the Blue Sky. No blowing snow, no wind. Just beautiful calm.

I went into my art room, and tried to get motivated to make something new, but I was preoccupied with the driveway. I decided to work on the puzzle pieces for the puzzle swap. I got 5 more done, and I'll post them by the weekend.

This Monday morning, I was greatful for snowplows, and clear roads.. and even my job.
Getting an email from Daughter Allison, and talking to Jamie and Eddie.
OOOHHHH ya!... and for DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME!... I got to drive home in Daylight!
I celebrated by going to Marc's and picking up a few grociery's The store was packed, as if everyone had run out of food during the storm, and needed to re-stock!
I had a giant Bacon-Jack Sirloin burger on Italian Bread... with seeds and an Ice cold Pepsi for dinner.
Life is good.

BLIZZARD!

BLIZZARD!!


Make it stop!! I know I promised to stop whining about the weather.
But an Ice storm, and a Blizzard all in one week is just too much!!
The snowstorm started on Friday morning and it didn't stop snowing till about 5 hours ago.




The 14 mile drive home from work on Friday was quite a challenge. I never did more than 20 mph. the whole way! My normally 35 minute ride took me 1 hour and 15 minutes, But I made it home, safe and sound, and never slid once. It took 4 tries to get into my driveway, but I made it, and there my car sat.



The huge storm intensified, and I woke up to find my car surrounded by one giant drift! I was supposed to work today!!... NO WAY! Even if I made it out of my driveway, the street was a mess! I decided to call off, and the guilt set in. I had to convince myself that I had a legitimate reason not to attempting to go in. I felt better once I heard that Cleveland Hopkins airport was closed, (which Is very near to my work) and so was the whole city of Akron!



I decided to be productive, and clean up my art room. I put on a pot of coffee, and started cleaning, stopping occasionally to take some photos of the amazing storm, from my porch. I watched the neighbor across the street, get stuck in her driveway twice. I watched from my door, as the neighbor worked to dig his wife's car out. He had a huge blanket, and was putting it behind the front wheels!...omg!... I didn't want to be a nosey neighbor, but I couldn't keep shut. I went outside, and in the howling wind, I shouted across the street "HEYYYY!!!...HEYY!"... their daughter saw me waving and crossed the street, the drifts were up to her knees!... I shouted to her, to tell her dad not to use the blanket, because it would get tangled around the axle, and to use a car mat under the wheels instead.. (Don't guys know this???)... So she said thanks, and went back across the street, I went inside, and watched from the window. She was talking to her dad, and pointing to my house. I watched him go into the back of his van, and pull out 2 car mats. He put one under each tire, and in just a few minutes WHOOSH! she was back in the driveway!...my good deed for the day!




I was glad to know all my kids were safe and sound.
It's kinda fun being "hunkered down" during a storm. A warm house, a bowl of Chili, and a fuzzy sweater. I kept thinking about the drive I would have had, if I had attempted to go to work. I was content to watch the storm reports, and wonder why people would go out in weather like this.




A funny story.....
While at work on Friday, everyone was keeping and eye out the window watching the snow, come down. One of our Supervisors named Becky, asked to speak to a co-worker named Carol.
Carol is about 45 years old. When Carol got to Becky's desk, Becky tried to keep from laughing, and told Carol that her MOM had called, asking if the company was going to close early and let her daughter leave, because the weather was getting bad, and her daughter doesn't drive well in snow!!!!!!!! OMG!!! Carol was mortified!!! "OMG, She did NOT!!!"..... it was the funnies thing!!!
I thought of my 28 yr. old daughter Jamie, who thinks I'M over protective!!!... well, I guess a kid is always a kid, in a mother's eyes.




So finally the BIG STORM has passed, and the winds have calmed. The drifts are amazing sculptures, and the snow is sparkling under the street lights.




For now, I will forget about having to dig my car out, and that I have to go to work on Monday. I'm going to sit here and watch "Sex in the City" reruns, smoke cigarettes, drink Pepsi, and be excited daylight savings time begins today. I will finally get to drive home in daylight!




Maybe I'll even get to do some art tomorrow (today!)

SUNSHINE ON A CLOUDY DAY

"I got sunshine on a cloudy day...."


When I left work today, I opened my car door to find this fuzzy little guy sitting on the front seat with 3 cards..yes 3...


from my darling, son, Eddie. (he has my spare car key) He's a tender heart, and does thoughtful little things like that every now and then.


It was so sweet, and just the thing to make me (almost) forget the snow and ice.


I named my new fuzzy friend "Sunny" because he brightened my day!





So... Enjoy the photos of my drive to work this morning.
Note the even longer icicles from my car mirror, and the ice crusted on my car.
The roads were such a mess!!
The Flag outside "my" window at work... was covered in Ice!

Ok... I will really try to stop whining about the weather... I will focus on what's coming... SPRING!... and.. as of this Saturday, March 9th... Daylight savings time will begin!...no more driving home in the dark... well, atleast not till November!!!
Ok. I'm up way too late again! Gotta get to bed!

@#$%$#% ICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GRRRRRRRRR!!

ICE....

FREEZING RAIN....

SLEET.....

RAIN...

WIND!

Just another Winter day in Cleveland.

"A winter storm warning remains in effect..."

I hate those words!!!

I had to chisel the ice off my car windows this morning, but was greatful the roads were just wet and not icy. All day long, my co-workers and I kept an eye out the window. Rain, then snow, then more freezing rain. When I left work at 6 p.m. I was nervous about my 14 mile ride home.

the parking lot was already coated with ice... and so was my whole car! GRRRR. The wind was blowing Icy pellets against my face, and blowing the hood off of my head, while I scraped and scraped the thick layer of ice off my car windows... for the second time today, and listening to that dreaded scraping noise. I walked carefully around the car, hoping I wouldn't fall! I grabbed my car antenna, and realized that it was encrusted in Ice too.

I got in the car, My pants were cold and damp, and Ice pellets fell from my hair. Are you getting a visual yet? I crept through the icy parking lot, and took a deep breath, as I got on the road. Thank you God... the roads weren't icy! the rush hour traffic helped keep the rain from freezing. As I drove, the freezing rain really came down hard, and I could hear it hitting the car. Even though It was a nerve-wracking drive, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the trees looked covered with ice, and sparkling under the street lights. I took my time, driving. and finally I made it home! My street was coated with frozen pellets, and I expected to slide into the driveway, but I didn't!..... yayyyy!!! Ahhhhhh HOME!!!! Of course, I had to call and check in with my kids... everyone is fine... Thanks again God.

Yes... I love radar... no.. I don't like freezing rain!

The pictures of my car back in its Ice cube-like state. Notice the icicles hanging from mirror. Yes, I get to leave 20 minutes early, tomorrow morning, so I can scrape more Ice from my car.

Soon.... ( I hope)... The leaves will bud, and Flowers will bloom. The temperature will rise, and warm breezes will gently blow.......and this day will all just be a chilly memory... right?

15 days till Spring!