Mary that sounds like a good deal. In the end even thou it is such a hassle, it IS for the safety of our children! At first I was so upset that they would not let me go see my granddaughters teacher real fast in the morning. Not even with a pass. I messed up and little one got in trouble. Then I found out from my friend here in town that a girl got molested a couple of years ago at the school. So it woke me up that times have changed so much since my kids went to school. I do not like it, but obviously it has to be that way. Now that you read my little story, go back to studying. and do not stop to play bingo ok rofl Oh Kylie I got cold just by reading your message. Good morning and hope you can stay inside!!! It will not get warm here today and so there is no sunbathing for my cuttings today :-( Lucy

Hey, grab any opportunity to party you can! Fireworks here were last night, the culmination of a "family friendly" festival sponsored by a local evangelical Baptist church starring Christian music groups, preachers, heavily-conservative political speakers, and other stuff of that type. I really hope that the fireworks were privately funded because I would have been seriously pi$$ed if our tax money had been spent as part of such an overtly religious and non-inclusive event. I dosed the dog with Benadryl as soon as it got dark, since private fireworks are legal in my state and it seems like the trashier the town, the more fireworks are set off, and our neighbors were going pretty wild with 'em. He slept through the main fireworks that rattled our windows, and normally he'd have been running in circles whining and peeing on the floor, thank heavens for Benadryl (1 mg per pound, vet's orders). We have a cookout planned - 8 of our friends will be arriving in a bit over an hour - and all are beseeching the forces of Nature for just a FEW hours without rain! (It has rained at least a little in every 24 hour period for more than a month, and more often than not it's been all-day rains.) It was only partly cloudy this morning with sun peeking out so we were hopeful, but it's clouding over again and the wind's picked up. :-( Well, we have an awning over part of our little back deck so we can at least grill our burgers and hot dogs and stuff, even if we have to eat inside. The dogs are going to have a field day playing in the muddy yard (and I just had Goku groomed last week *eyeroll*). We'll put the Pops concert on TV this evening - it just isn't the 4th without the 1812 Overture with the cannons. *BOOM* When we lived in South Boston we were MILES from the Esplanade but we could see some of the fireworks from the window of our third-floor walkup and the cannon blasts shook the building. No flag - need to wait until the porch columns are stripped to put up a flag holder. I am one of those danged hippies so I want this one.

I used Micron black technical pens, and Prisma watercolor markers/pencils. I absolutely love to dabble in all things creative. Gardening included! There's always something to learn and it keeps me both curious and humble. We're supposed to FINALLY get some much-needed warm weather starting tomorrow here in Nashville, TN. I can't wait to get outside and catch up on a few things. My last-remaining hen who the kids named, "Chubby Cheeks," passed away. She was the lone survivor of a coyote attack a few months ago. I recently bought some new chicks at the co-op to raise and keep her company, but I think either illness or loneliness beat us to it. We plan to make some better adjustments to the coop tomorrow when it's warmer, and do all we can to make this next batch of chickens as happy and spoiled rotten as possible. I hope you all have a wonderful evening! Lisa

I see Krispie Kreme met their goal of giving away a million donuts yesterday. Me, DH, and my Dad helped! :-) Our backup plan in case KK was too crowded was to buy donuts at a much smaller local donut shop. But it wasn't too bad mid-morning when we got there. We waited in line maybe five minutes. It was fun seeing excited little kids watching the donuts float down the line. Most people bought a drink or extra donuts, but we didn't. My dad was raised during the Great Depression, and "free" will always equal "good value" to him. edited to add: this is the first time I realized that "National Donut Day" is an annual event -- who knew, LOL?