Congrats on the promotion, Nancy! Bummer that you now have to miss the get-together with Sharon, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

I am hosting a craft boutique this weekend. We have lots of fun stuff for sale, glassware, jewelry, quilts, pottery, etc. Hoping for a good turnout!

Working at the hospital today....it will be my last day here for quite a while. Monday I start insurance licensing classes.

I'll clink this evening while I set up for the sale. Hope the weather cooperates!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Linda

Sounds like a wonderful job Nancy. Congratulations on the promotion!
I hope you are still able to meet up somehow with the group.
Enjoy your weekend.

Today's a holiday but I had Pilates this morning. Otherwise nothing special going on here except planting a few more things in the garden that I bought from the nursery a couple of days ago. My haul included three more rose bushes, more herbs, portulaca, alyssum and dama de noche. I used to grow a lot of small things from seeds but gave it up as a waste of time when they can be bought so cheaply already grown as bedding plants.

So I have to decide where to put the roses and bushes and plant the rest.
Weather here is still iffy. Grey, cloudy and windy although temps are warming up and clothes are drying faster outside.

Clinking with my red wine at lunchtime today!

SharonCb

Nancy, congrats to you on the new position! Couldn't think of anyone more deserving than you for that! And the time off, job itself...and the view...good deal!

Linda, have fun at the craft show. Sounds like a great time.

Only a few doggies here this weekend which is good. Me and the other 2 Fetch people in this area are helping sponsor "Meet your best friend at the zoo" all weekend. Last year 650 animals were adopted and 30,000 people wandered through the zoo looking for a new best friend. Should be fun. Wonder how the economy and the swine flu is going to effect attendance this year. Interesting to find out.

Have fun everyone!

Duane

Nancy, what a beautiful store. My youngest daughter would kill to work there. Her relationship with a food store started with Williams-Sonoma where she worked for 8 years in various locations but quit so she could get back to her hometown. She is now Bakery/Deli manager at a chain grocery.

You guys do such fun things! Linda, I was involved with crafts for 30 years so I would love to come to your craft boutique. There's always interesting things to see/buy.

My DH's 60th (can it be that many?) high school reunion is this evening and we're going to Asheville, N.C. tomorrow to an Herb Festival.

I'll raise my glass of sweet tea with lemon this evening.

Y'all have a nice weekend!

jude

This weekend I'll be meeting Chase and Clive and Sherry and Roger for dinner tomorrow night at Pietro's. I'm so excited! Since Russo's is right across the street, I might make a stop there too...

Nancy, you and I talked about that job and you know that I think you couldn't have possibly passed up that opportunity. I'll miss seeing you and Kim, though, so Elery and I will just have to drive North. Don't be surprised if we just show up at Spoon Foods one day demanding supper later, LOL.

Good luck on those insurance classes, Linda.

SharonCB, I'm just waiting to be able to plant something, I have watermelons, peppers, eggplant, cabbage, brussels sprouts on my porch in the sun but I still take them inside at night. It was probably too early to buy them, but I just couldn't help myself, LOL. No, actually, Elery bought them, he's impatient for gardening season too.

Duane, have fun at the zoo, just don't kiss the pigs, OK?

Jude, 60 YEARS? Oh geez. I've never attended a reunion although my class has had several, including a 35th year last year. I hated high school and couldn't leave fast enough, I don't plan to EVER go back, LOL.

Clink to everyone with my cup of Irish Breakfast Tea.

Annie

Annie, you are so wise. The only people there will be old people.LOL Actually the school he graduated from, like mine, was small so it's basically an alumni dinner for all ages. It's been 60 for me as well but to my knowledge nobody is doing anything....they're all too old.

jude

Nancy, congratulations on the promotion, and Linda, good luck on the classes.

This is my last few days of having the house to myself and being off work and I plan to enjoy it. I am hoping the weather cooperates too. We have had rain all week and it has been too wet to plant much, so I only got the compost pile spread out and some baskets planted.

Tomorrow I am heading out to the Kane Co. Antique and Flea market hoping to find some nursey plants and other finds plus to see some freinds that live out that way. On Sunday Dad is back so I will be home hopefully planting.

And on Monday, dinner with Clive and Sharon! Yahoo!

Happy weekend everyone!

LOL, Jude, and just what is wrong with OLD people anyway? I'm just waiting until I can hit that magic age where I can order from the "senior menu". (grin) My class was big enough that each year has their own reunion, I like your way better because I was friends with some people who were ahead of me and some who were in lower classes, that way one reunion and you could see all of your friends at once.

I felt like a spring chicken, though, when Elery and I went to Texas. We were the youngest people there!

Annie

Nancy I am so happy for you! What a great opportunity and one you greatly deserve. I totally understand and now that Clive is retired no telling where we will show up.

Tonight my brother is taking Clive and I out for dinner and to see Diana Krahl ( whom Clive adores! ) for his retirement and as a thanks for me minding his daughter last week.

The Saturday we head out for our road trip. First stop Grand Rapids Saturday night and dinner with Annie and Sherry...Woo Hoo!!!

Then on to Chicago Sunday and Monday and dinner with Peppi! Woo Hoo!

Then on to St Loooooie and lunch with Weed.....Woo Hoo!

Next TGIF I'll be clinking with David. Woo Hoo !!!!

I'm trying real hard to remember this is Clive's road trip ! LOL Actually he is very excited to be meeting my friends along the way.

Route 66 Hear we come!

Here is a link that might be useful: Route 66

Aw, Sharon....Are you sure I can't talk you into changing your homeward route to come thru Minnesota? LOL

Have a great trip!

Linda

Minnesota! Not this time sweetie! How about you come to our cottage this summer? We are only about 12 hours south of the Thunder Bay or 5 hours from the Sault !!! Give or take.....

The weekend hasn;t started and I am exhausted. We had a luncheon for our retired physicians today and I was in charge. I always get my panties in a knot that things will not run well. Fortunately, it did. Lunch was a yummy salad with sliced tenderloin on it. Best of all I get to take a centerpeice and some dessert home with me.

We took the docs on a tour of the newly built hospital wing. It was like herding cats.

Anyway I am zonked. I have plenty of work to do this weekend to prepare for book club at my house on Thursday and houseguests next weekend. It never ends.

I need to get out in the yard, too. Oh that reminds me that the library is having a plant sale so I need to get to that in the morning.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone.

Congratulations, Nancy! I envy that three mos. off.

Spring has sprung at last and we have two days before it rains, so today we picked up fence posts, groceries and ice. It's sunny and almost-warn, so I am clinking with the first margarita of the season.

Tomorrow is a half day at work and book sale day, so we will be hopping. Then home to work on the fence, drag out the grill and have the second margaritas of the season.

Sunday we meet with the landscaper who traded dh a kitchen for redoing my yard (did I make out or what?). Now I need to find a cabinet-less gardener to maintain it.

Have a good weekend, everyone. All you travelers drive safe.

I've been juggling a few things and going bananas basically. One of my "couple" friends seem headed for divorce. They were to host another couple's birthday party tomorrow night, but the wife in the maybe-divorcing couple called me yesterday to ask me to call everyone and cancel. So I did that and re-scheduled the other people to meet at a restaurant instead. That only took like, 15 dang phone calls!

Then I'm still juggling Sharon and Clive's meet-up in a few weeks. That's almost set.

I'm also in the middle of redecorating our house. So I have a furniture delivery coming tomorrow. I scheduled a Salvation Army pickup for tomorrow as well, but I did that online and had no confirmation (they wouldn't do it over the phone). So half my garage is full of stuff. Hope they come! Still need to get other furnishings, lamps, change the upstairs carpet and have the whole house painted. I hope everything looks good at the end of this. And little Odo is tired of having his bed moved all around, LOL.

Scrambling to set up lots of summer visitors, trips, dental appointments and other stuff as well. See, none of this would be happening if I didn't have any family or friends, LOL! Life is busy man! Sure glad I don't have kids - OMG...

Ping pong tonight and Sunday as usual.

Gina, you are hilarious! None of this would be happening if I didn't have family and friends! LOL. That is the funniest thing I have heard in a long time and I can totally relate! Consider yourself blessed! And have a great time at ping pong! What a great life you live...enjoy it! No kids? The only time I regret not having children is at Christmas time!
Duane

Sounds like everyone is busy as usual this weekend. Our new addition arrived this morning, so I have a feeling we won't be getting much sleep this weekend. Lily May is our newest rescue. She is an 8 week old red-sable mini dachshund. Of course she was the runt of the litter, but I chose her any way. Hopefully sometime this weekend I will get some pictures uploaded for all to see.

Hope everyone has a great and safe weekend.

Clinking with my diet Pepsi.
Linda

I think it's a busy spring weekend for everybody: new jobs (sounds great btw), gardening, crafts, pups....

I spent the day today mowing, weeding and blowing, so I've got some free time to spend with Joe this weekend. We're hoping to get in a ride on the ponies and then work on the barn.... man will I be glad to get that project done! Guess I'll try and watch the Derby too, not sure why but at least I can say I saw it.... who knows maybe there will be another Secretariat that makes it worth watching!

I'm going to pour myself a glass of my 15 year old homemade Peach Brandy and then we're going to watch Slumdog Millionaire.

Grace

Clinking with a Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Friday was a total loss other then I took some garbage out to the road. First time I remembered in about a month... ewww stinky kitty litter.

Chrysler bankrupting caused things to be ugly at work. Only a dozen people laid-off at our factory but our sister plants are in deep trouble... almost shut down. So far we turned a profit 4 out of 4 months this year! My audit team caught up three overdue audits and finished half of the audits due this month. Our managers forgot to allot hours for auditing so I put in about 20 volunteer hours this week. I asked them to pay me something for the time so next week's check should be interesting. Sort of like being on my own time as I work at my own pace in my own way and nobody can say diddly about how I'm doing things... and things are getting done.

I was not feeling well this morning. Fell back asleep drinking my coffee then went back to bed until I had to go to work. Feeling much better tonight.

A big chunk of smoked brisket to do something with. Dolly and I have been eating on it all week and it needs to become something else before it goes bad. Very probably going to make chili with it.

Glad to see April done... trees, taxes, audits, and a boatload of overtime. Biggest tree order has yet to be paid for but I have the guys skidsteer as collateral. Tempted to gas it up and move some dirt this weekend... as an "interest" payment.... $50k toy!

Ten tomato plants up and going indoors. Planted six Early Girls this week but no sprouts yet. Cayenne pepper in the window has new peppers on it already! Need to get off my lazy butt and do some mushroom hunting.

Scratches and pats for all the puppy dogs!

: )
lyra