HAPPY EASTER!

Isn't this the sweetest card? Jo found this for me at Graphics Fairy and sent it to me. (See the little violets?) Thank you, Jo and thank you to Graphics Fairy for sharing her beautiful collection of vintage postcards.

I have been sick for several days with the dreaded stomach flu (yuck) that seems to be going around. I finally feel better tonight. At least I should be able to eat normally tomorrow. I plan to make ham, scalloped potatoes, baked pineapple and some kind of veggie. I want some real food! I have had enough of saltines and ginger ale.

Ken and I were supposed to take a road trip on Friday to Massachusetts to spend Easter with Beth and Dale and the grandsons. I cancelled -- they don't want my germs and I certainly didn't feel up to traveling. We were going to drive so we could take the poodle with us. (Unfortunately, though, he is not a particularly good passenger.) I was so looking forward to it. Now it will just be the two of us at Easter -- well actually the six of us counting the furry, four-legged children.

Having family far away on the holidays is for the birds. I am very much a family person and here I am in Delaware with my sister and my nieces in Pennsylvania and my daughter and her little family in Massachusetts. How I envy those of you who have your family close by.

I hope each and every one of you have an Easter filled with love and promise for the new season.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!!!

Thank you to Karen at Graphics Fairy for this vintage greeting.

THE STORY OF VIOLETTE

Today I thought I would share with you the story of my oldest cat, Violette. (I used to spell it Violet until I realized that the other three four-footed babies in my house have French names, so hence "Violette."

Once upon a time a very nice lady and her new husband lived in a condo just off the beach in a small town. There were many wild cats in this little beach town.

One day through the back fence appeared a little gray striped wild kitty. She was as wild as the squirrels who lived in the trees. The nice lady wanted to feed the kitty, but the kitty was so wild and shy she would not come close even though she was very hungry.

Each day the lady would put a can of tuna through the fence and the little kitty would eat her fill. Each day the lady moved the can closer to the back door. After many days the kitty would eat from the can while the lady sat beside her. After many more days the lady was allowed to touch the kitty and pet her.

But one day was different. On this day the lady picked up the shy, wild kitty and took her into the house. The kitty was so scared that she ran from room to room and cried to get out, but the lady would not let her out.

Finally, the kitty thought that this was not a bad place after all. The lady and the man were very nice and always fed her. She was no longer hungry. A big, old boy cat also lived there and he became her friend. He took care of her and showed her where she could sleep and even washed her ears for her.

The wild, shy cat was given the name "Shy Violet" by the nice lady. As the years passed, Violette was no longer wild and she was no longer shy. She loved her new home and she loved the nice lady and the nice man and she also loved the big, old boy cat who washed her ears.

They all lived happily ever after because that is how nice stories are supposed to end.

COMPUTER GAME CAN INCREASE VOCABULARY AND FEED A HUNGRY PERSON

Melissa, the winner of my Victoria Magazine giveaway, has done a post about a great Feed The Hungry program. Check it out at FREE RICE.COM.

You click on an answer that best defines the word given. If you get it right, you get a harder word. If wrong, you get an easier word. For each word you get right, 20 grains of rice are donated. Increase your vocabulary and help to feed hungry people. Food is distributed through the UN World Food Program.

In about 15 minutes I donated 2000 grains of rice. Every little bit helps, doesn't it? When you get to the site, read "Options" and you can set it to save your previous scores and you can challenge yourself.

Thank you, Melissa, for highlighting this very worthy program.

AND THE WINNER IS...............................

AND THE WINNER IS.................. Melissa at Off The Wall. Melissa, I hope you enjoy your very own subscription to this wonderful magazine. Please e-mail me with your e-mail and mailing address and I will send the subscription in. Congratulations! And thank you for those of you who entered.

A "JUST BECAUSE" GIVEAWAY

I am having a giveaway! No reason. Just because. The "Victoria" magazine has been a favorite of mine since the first issue quite some years ago. (See my 10/29/07 post) I was devastated when they ceased publication. A lot of people were. One day I received a letter that they were starting the magazine again. I was ecstatic.

To celebrate my "bliss" (as on the cover Bliss - Victoria) I am giving away a subscription to this wonderful magazine to some lucky lady.

By the way, I was reading the Jan/Feb issue (shown above) and there was an article about one of our fellow bloggers and a peek at her lovely home in France. Check out Corey's blog. It is called Tongue In Cheek.

Just leave a comment here and leave a link on your blog and I will randomly select your name on Sunday, March 9 at 9:00 p.m. SORRY, BUT U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY.

Good luck! You will love this magazine.

THIS IS A "STICKY" POST. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR RECENT POSTS.

SPRING READING THING 2008 - TRY IT - YOU'LL LIKE IT

Katrina at Callapidder Days is introducing a new reading challenge and, despite my previous misgivings about my ability (or inability) to commit, I am going to join in on this one. Click here to read Katrina's post about the challenge.


I am going to keep my reading list small so as not to be intimidated by it. The Challenge begins March 20 and runs through June 19. I'll let you know my reading selections soon. I hope you'll join in, too.


A rainy, miserable day here in coastal Delaware and probably more of the same tomorrow. But - the birds were singing this morning, the worms are crawling and Spring is just around the corner. Don't forget to "spring" your clocks forward tomorrow night!

BEAU - CAUGHT IN THE GENE POOL

My dear little poodle has been scratching so much lately and I discovered a sore patch on the inside of his back leg. Yesterday we went to the vet. Beau apparently has allergies - we don't know to what. He also has a skin infection where he chewed on the sore spot, so now he is on antibiotics for three weeks and Benadryl twice a day. The Benadryl seems to help, but unfortunately it doesn't make him less hyper. (ha, ha) I know Kris and Lynne have dogs with skin problems and have written about them.

Let's see -- My Violette the cat has skin problems, so does Pierre the cat, and so do I. Did they inherit my genes?

SIX WORD MEMOIR MEME

GRANDCHILDREN GIVE NEW MEANING TO LIFE

Lynne at Lynne's Little Corner Of The World tagged me for this. It was hard to do! Give it a try.

Here are the meme rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir

2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like

3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere

4. Tag five more blogs with links

5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

I tag:

Kookie at Fraternity of Dreamers

Kris at Gardens By The Lake

Barbara at The Clark Homestead

Linda at Somewhere In Time

Tracey at Show Me State Of Mind

7 ODDBALL THINGS ABOUT ME - A Meme

Quite awhile ago I was tagged for this meme: 7 Oddball Things About Me. I am finally catching up. I can't remember who tagged me it has been that long ago, but here goes:

1. I talk to myself a lot. Sometimes I worry that I have been talking to myself out in public.

2. I learned many years later from an old friend that I was considered very sophisticated and aloof in high school. I remember feeling very shy and very out of place.

3. I often sing and dance when I am home alone (that and the talking to myself -- yup that's me). Actually, I don't necessarily have to be alone to do this.

4. This is not really oddball, but not that common either -- I love poetry.

5. I collect mourning jewelry. These are pieces of jewelry that were generally inspired by Queen Victoria after the death of her beloved Albert. They often braided the hair of the departed loved one and inset it into brooches, lockets, rings, even used it for bracelets and watch fobs. I have some brooches with pictures in them of the loved ones.

6. I like cemeteries.

7. I generally like the company of animals better than people.

Care to share something a little eccentric about yourself? If so, consider yourself tagged!

BEING ALONE

Yesterday I drove my husband to the airport for his trip to Florida. He and an old Air Force buddy get together either here or there once a year. His friend is now 83 and is slowing down a little, but not much. He actually fought during WWII with the Marines in Iwo Jima.


So. I am alone until next weekend. Usually I wallow in my alone time like a pig in mud. Being alone sometimes is extremely important to me. I have always been that way. My mother used to tell me that she could tell when I needed some time to myself because I would start to get grumpy. Yup, that's me.


So last night I started to feel punky and realized I could be catching his cold, which I never do. And now there is no one to complain to!

"FIFTY ACRES AND A POODLE" by Jeanne Marie Laskas

Good evening, dear bloggers. Thought I would let you know another good book I just read. I bought this book several years ago and never read it. Since I own a poodle it caught my eye and I can't imagine why I forgot about it.

In a nutshell:

The author is a columnist for Washington Post Magazine and also writes for other publications. This is a true story of her life with her dog and cat and new husband and his poodle and their new farm and the surprise she gave him for a wedding present and their family and friends and her feelings about the changes she is experiencing and I reeaaaally enjoyed this book. Reeealllly.

A DAY AT THE AUCTION

You have probably heard by now about the license plate that was sold in Dubai for about a trillion dollars. Well, here in the first state, the smallest state, Delaware, we have a record sale price for a license plate also.

When I first moved to Delaware in 1992 I learned that it is a BIG DEAL to own a low number license plate. They are handed down through families, they are bought and sold for high prices, they are coveted and proudly displayed. My question was -- "what if someone steals it?". I now know that it does not matter if someone steals the tag off the vehicle, because it is the registration NUMBER that matters, not necessarily the tag itself (although this can have some value as I will explain).

Here are some facts:

The old tags were black and white.

Many people with newer registrations with longer numbers have the new tag made to look like the old black and white ones.

I know people who have the old real tags and I know people who have the new imitation old plates. It is a big deal here in Delaware.

The Governor of Delaware's tag is #1; the Lt. Governor is #2. I guess they have to give this up when they leave office.

I will never understand why these tags are so important to some Delawareans. Some say it is patriotic. I don't get it.

Yesterday there was a big multi-estate auction in Rehoboth Beach. I love these auctions. A friend and I went at 9:30 and stayed until 6:30. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner there and had front row seats. The big event was the sale of a #6 license plate which was to occur at 2:00. There had been a rumor for months that Katie Couric was going to be there to televise this unusual sale. Katie was not there, but there was a cameraman and other New York types from CBS. There was a model from "Deal Or No Deal" (tv show) to hold up the precious license plate. The family of the deceased prior owner was there and were interviewed. The room was packed -- more than standing room only. At 2:00 you could have heard a pin drop. Bidding commenced. Anyone interested had to leave a deposit of $50,000 in order to register to bid. It was down to two people -- one from Sussex County (the home team) and one representing someone from New Castle County (Wilmington, DE). As bidding became more intense the audience rooted and cheered for the home team guy. He eventually gave up and the plate was sold to the other guy for.....................$675 ,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UNBELIEVABLE.

As bidding on more license plates continued, an old #6 unregistered (or "dead") license plate came up on the block. Someone had found it in his yard. It was dirty, rusted and barely readable. But it definitely said 6. It sold for around $50,000. UNBELIEVABLE.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY and update

FOR YOU DEAR BLOGGERS,

Update: Just watched "Love With The Proper Stranger". Filmed in 1963, Steve McQueen gave Natalie Wood a small bouquet of violets that he bought from a street vendor in NYC. (See my 2/12 post)

THEN WE CAME TO THE END by Joshua Ferris

This was the last book in my Fall Reading Challenge which I am two months late in completing. That is one reason I don't usually do "Challenges."

Then We Came To The End took me through an on-again off-again rollercoaster about whether I should give up on the book or continue. Everytime I thought I would end it, I thought I just had to see what WAS at the end. It isn't that it isn't well-written. It is. In a detailed commentary the author takes us through the hours of the office workday. I kept getting distracted and then had to pick up the thread of the story again. This certainly was not the fault of the author.

The end result is that I greatly enjoyed this book. I even looked back into it to re-read sections for further clarification. I could easily read it again. This is a book that I would not mind owning rather than borrowing from the library. This is Joshua Ferris's first novel. I like to read first novels - they hold such promise for good things to come.

Kookiejar at A Fraternity of Dreamers read this and put it on her best new novel list for last year. She said it was "touching, funny and quirky." Kookiejar has recommended some good books that I have enjoyed.

If you enjoy the television show "The Office" you will surely enjoy this brilliant book.


A little blurb from the book flap:

No one knows us quite the same way as the men and women who sit beside us in department meetings and crowd the office refrigerator with their labeled yogurts. Every office is a family of sorts, and the ad agency Joshua Ferris brilliantly depicts in his debut novel is family at its strangest and best, coping with a business downturn in the time-honored way: through gossip, pranks and increasingly frequent coffee breaks.

I hope you put this on your reading list. You won't regret it.

P.S. Check out the author's website -- it is very entertaining.

VIOLETS FOR YOU, VIOLETS FOR ME

As you know by now, the violet is my favorite flower (NOT African violets). Violet is the name of my dearest oldest cat. Violetlady is my blog. I have a collection of violet decorated little boxes and bottles and pictures. It was also my mother's favorite flower. My first acquisition in the violet realm was a round violet cologne bottle hand painted with violets. It belonged to my paternal grandmother (my Nana) and she always kept it, even though empty, on a shelf in her bathroom. I admired it for years and finally it became mine.

I love old black and white movies. There is one on the television right now. It is called "Mannequin", made in 1937, and stars Joan Crawford and Spencer Tracy. I haven't been watching it, but I have seen several scenes where Spencer gives Joan small bouquets of violets.

I have seen this done in many old movies. Apparently, violet bunches used to be sold on the streets by vendors. Oh, how I wish that were still the case. And why not? Even in New York and Paris where flower stores put their flowers in wonderful outdoor displays, I have never seen bouquets of violets. Are they not grown for the merchant trade anymore? This is something I would like to know -- on to the internet!

There is a sentimental old song which sings about winter in New York and a gentleman giving a lady violets for her fur. Can you think of a more beautiful sight? A woman in a dark fur coat is walking down, mmmmm, Fifth Avenue. A gentleman is by her side. It is gently snowing. There is an old woman holding a basket of small bouquets of violets for sale. They stop. He buys a bouquet and gently pins it to her fur. The music continues..........

It was winter in Manhattan, falling snow flakes filled the air,

The streets were covered with a film of ice,

But a little simple magic that I learned about somewhere,

Changed the weather all around, just within a thrice.

I bought you violets for your furs and it was spring for a while, remember?

I bought you violets for your furs and there was April in that December.

The snow drifted down ON the flowers, and MELTED where it lay.

The snow looked like dew ON the blossoms as on a summer day.

I bought you violets for your furs and there was blue in the wintry sky,

You pinned my violets to your furs and gave a lift to the crowds passing by,

You smiled at me so sweetly, since then one thought occurs,

That we fell in love completely, the day I bought you violets for your furs.

A NEW AWARD!!

Tristi, Lynne and Kristina each have honored me with this award. Thank you so much Tristi -- you make my day, too! I first met Tristi when she left a comment on my other blog, Cabin Dream. (I am afraid my other blog is sorely ignored by me -- I will have to change that.) I was so thrilled and honored that an honest to gosh author left me a comment. Lynne is our fellow blogger and one of my oldest and dearest friends. She got me started in the blog world. Thank you, Lynne. And Kristina has a delightful new blog and I am grateful to her for this award. We share the same name!


Now to pass this award on to ten more people. I know some have been given this award already, so this may be hard. All of you deserve this award because I love to read your posts!

1. Jo and JD at Bits and Pieces
2. Lidy at French Garden House
3. Nan at Letters From a Hill Farm
4. Mary at Mary's Writing Nook
5. Miles Away In France
6. Willow's Cottage
7. Barbara at The Clark Homestead
8. Morning Glory at Seeds From My Garden
9. Tracey at Show Me State Of Mind
10. Karen at Over The Backyard Fence

GIANTS 17 - PATRIOTS 14

As you all know by now, the NY Giants have won the Superbowl. I actually watched much of the game and I was rooting for the Patriots since my daughter lives in New England. I have never been a football fan at all and I mean AT ALL. In fact, I am not very interested in the major sports unless the Phila. Phillies are playing. I could not believe this game. Did you see the very end, right down to the last minute when the Giants scored a touchdown? Pretty impressive I must say, although I still think the Patriots should have won -- after all they were undefeated during the entire season and that guy Tom Brady is soooooo cute. That's my sports report for the day.

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY

The great prognosticator, Punxutawney Phil, arose at dawn today at Gobbler's Knob in Pennsylvania, saw his shadow and declared that there would be six more weeks of winter.

Phil has been predicting his winter forecast since the 1800's and I think he is to be believed, don't you?

A movie that I really enjoy is "Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray. So funny! Sometimes I feel just like Bill. Some days I wake up and know it will be the same ol', same ol'. Just sometimes, though. I hope I find the movie on TV tonight.

I hope you all have a great Groundhog Celebration tonight!

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

I found this on Literary Feline's blog and I decided it would make a nice change of pace.

What kind of soap is in your shower right now? Irish Spring, Violet and a bottle of something from Bath & Body Works.

Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator? I wish.

What would you change about your living room? New wall color.

Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty? Clean.

What is in your fridge? Tons of things - lots of condiments, milk, cream, celery, carrots, apples, oranges, soda, etc.

White or wheat bread? White.

What is on top of your refrigerator? A cabinet.

What color or design is on your shower curtain? One bathroom has palm trees, another has beige, another has a door.

How many plants are in your home? None. The cats eat them.

Is your bed made right now? Yes.

Comet or Soft Scrub? Comet.

Is your closet organized? Slightly.

Can you describe your flashlight? The one that works is black.

Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home? Glass.

Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now? No.

If you have a garage, is it cluttered? Not right now.

Curtains or blinds? Depends on the room.

How many pillows do you sleep with? Two.

Do you sleep with any lights on at night? No.

How often do you vacuum? Whenever necessary. Don't want to overdo it.

Standard toothbrush or electric? Electric.

What color is your toothbrush? White.

Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch? A mat without the welcome.

What is in your oven right now? A pizza stone.

Is there anything under your bed? Not in the master bedroom.

Chore you hate doing the most? Anything related to laundry.

What retro items are in your home? Lots of old things. Retro? An old non-working radio from the 40's. Some old cameras from the 30's and 40's.

Do you have a separate room that you use as an office? Yes.

How many mirrors are in your home? Twelve, counting closet doors in one room, hand mirrors, wall mirrors, bathroom mirrors, dresser mirrors.

What color are your walls? Yellow, beige, green, ivory, light brown.

What does your home smell like right now? Hopefully, not cats. Maybe like the scented reeds by my front door.

Favorite candle scent? I like lots of scents, but I especially like cedar or pine.

What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now? Dill and sweet.

What color is your favorite Bible? Black.

Ever been on your roof? No.

Do you own a stereo? Yes, but it isn't working well right now.

How many TVs do you have? Three.

How many house phones? One cordless.

Do you have a housekeeper? I have a woman who cleans every few weeks.

What style do you decorate in? Eclectic.

Do you like solid colors or prints in furniture? Both.

Is there a smoke detector in your home? Yes, there is.

In case of fire, what are the items in your house which you’d grab if you only could make one quick trip? Given that my husband and the animals are safe, I would probably take my little box that has my good jewelry in it. I once lived in an apartment building that had a fire and I tried to escape with all my cats (one had just had kittens). One of the kittens hid and did not make it, unfortunately. I am known in my family as the one who collects the family memorabilia. Some of it is in an antique china cabinet. That would be too heavy to carry out and I would be hysterical over it.