Clinking with my herbal tea! Happy TGIF, everybody! Hang in there, Stacie. Susie, don't work too hard packing those dishes! Hope Will enjoyed DC. gbsim, I'm envious of your horses. I owned two as a kid but they don't fit into my lifestyle anymore. :( Have fun & glad DH is doing so well! Annie, I guess it's pot roast weekend on the CF. I've got one stovetop (chuck) now in my LC...smells heavenly. I forced myself to let it sear a full 15 minutes & I got wonderful color & flavor. Usually, I'm impatient & it only gets half that amount of time. shaun, happy birthday to your daughter! amck, we lived in Bedford. I was in Loudon a couple months ago. My DS lived in Exeter within sight of Mustangs' family (near the little triangular park). Small world, huh? Lyra, I'm glad you're getting the OT. Very uncertain times. Not sure about the RK though! lol Cathy, the parades sound like fun. I'd probably like the kid's parade the best! lol Enjoy the festivities & visit with your family. I'm not sure what we're doing this weekend. DH is, as I'm typing, stuck in a dentist chair upstate NY. He was out of town & got a toothache. Turns out he needs a root canal & a dentist squeezed him in at 3 p.m. this afternoon. Not sure if he's going to feel like making the drive to Mystic tonight. I've got a pot roast cooking...better make some smashed potatoes in case DH does decide to make the drive & can't chew! I also made a fresh blackberry pie this morning before I knew about his tooth...wonder if he can manage the seeds? If not, I'm going to be stuffed! We got the last of the new window blinds installed Wednesday & had planned on rearranging furniture this weekend. I'm just staying loose until I hear how DH's doing. Hopefully, as soon as they get it drained his pain will go away! Have a great weekend everybody! /tricia

TGIF y'all. Chiming in late as usual. Everyone seems to have something nice planned, even if it IS bathing suit shopping. I was supposed to go out with a friend for her birthday Friday lunch, but I had to cancel, and I suggested Sat night at our house instead thinking she might be alone - SCORE! She is excited about coming over for my cooking, LOL. Vday is a big yawn here. I am lucky, I've been treated like a queen pretty much every single day since 1981 when I met DH. No flowers though, unless he grows them himself, suits me fine - I don't like flowers...messy plant genitalia. I appreciate them better on the plant where they do some good. Today we're going to try to drag the kids to our library to renew passports; theirs have expired. I have chicken marsala on tonight's menu since a local store has HUGE MUTANT boneless chicken breasts (health food store, they say its natural, swear to God) on sale for $2/lb. I've been doing a little bit of necklace beading. I'm trying to fix a necklace I broke all over my car last September, and started noodling around ebay - not a good idea, grin. This guy has some stuff I've been lusting after - means a trip to downtown LA's bead mart....so far I've made a necklace I didn't like so I donated it to our school fund raiser, I made it in our school colors. Hey every few bucks helps. Sunday night we're going to a friends house for dinner, Monday I haven't figured out yet! I might drag a kid up to Los Angeles, museum hopping.

TGIF, everybody! Linda, ugh...wallpaper stripping. Good luck with that. Big job. Messy also. Keep focused on your vision for the finish & the fun of watching the new paint transform that room. Alexa, I'm so ready to spend time in the garden. Enjoy the hosta meeting. My early birds are just popping the ground. We've had good precipitation so I'm expecting some good growth this year, hoping anyway. Enjoy the confirmation party. We BBQ'd last night & have leftovers for dinner tonight. Housecleaning happening today. The BIG news here is that we got a conference call from our daughters last night. We'd been on pins & needles for a couple days wondering what was happening. I was just assuming it was a joint Happy BD a couple weeks early for DH. Nope, but it was about birthdays. BOTH of our daughters are pregnant!!! :)) DD#1 is due October 24. They've been trying for about 3 years. She's irregular & it just wasn't happening. She was at the doctor a week ago today & it's official. This will be her second child. DD#1 became pregnant when she was 15 & gave birth at 16 (our first grandson). DGS#1 is now 18 & just finished high school hoping to get into the USCG. Our daughter did not marry her son's father (thank goodness!). Anyway, she's married now to a great guy who wants this baby as badly as she does. We're delighted for them. DGS#1 also seem excited. DD#2 has been married about 7 years. She had a miscarriage a couple years ago. Then, about a year ago her husband lost his job. He was manager of several electronic stores. The entire company filed Chapter 11 late '09. He's not been able to find another job yet. :( Nevertheless, babies don't care about such things & we're all delighted. This is DD#2's first child. She's due September 10. So, we've got grandbabies #5 & #6 coming within six weeks of each other & in time for the Holiday season. This weekend, I want to go shopping for baby stuff! We've got a wonderful baby store here in town. I can hardly wait for DH to finish up some stuff he promised the law firm he's working with so we can go look for cuddly baby blankets, etc. This is a happy weekend in our house! TGIF! /tricia

David - have a great time with your group! Sorry about the Sooners and sorry about Sam Bradford. Hope the shoulder heals quickly. Claire, happy gardening! I have daylilies and hostas to move too, but I am waiting until it cools off here a little first. We are finally getting warm summery weather this weekend LOL! Sharon, I am so jealous of your being able to spend the fall at the cottage after the summer people are gonw. That was always my favorite time of year in Ogunquit - saying goodbye to the tourists! Enjoy your time and Clive bcskye, sounds like a blast! What sort of horse show is it? I used to ride hunters (and a few jumpers) back in the day, but I love all sorts of equestrian competitions. Have a great time with the family too. Linda, OGM! 1200?!?!?!? There are going to be some happy pooches and you are a dear for the labor of love. Katie - sounds like a wonderful way to spend the weekend. As David says - dance like no one is watching! Annie, glad to hear those beanies are going to good use. And happy canning! I can't wait to start my next project, I just have to find a little time. Dedtired - enjoy the Cape - as I mentioned before, fall is the BEST time to go anyplace touristy - the crowds have thinned. Lyra - Good luck with the projuect. I know how that goes, seems I can always find something else to do rather than what really needs to be done. Somehow it all does get dome though - an enjoy your time off, you deserve it! I had my second jewelry class on Friday - I just love it. Working on a multi metal (copper and brass) pendant to learn my skills. I will post photos as I complete projects. Fri night was out with friends for Happy Hour, yesterday was relaxing at home and getting totally caught up on Mad Men. I am TOTALLY addicted to that show now! Today we are having another couple over for a BBQ - sometimes it is nice not to have a gang and just sit and enjoy a quiet evening with grown up conversation. Tomorrow we are thinking about going to the NJ shore (I am cringing at the thought, I don't care for the shore) so we'll see. Maybe I will send the men folk off and have a canning day to myself. Stay happy and safe everyone! Alexa