AF April Abundance

[dill]

Happy Holy Saturday evening,

I was so busy today that this is the first time I have had to sit down at my computer. Granddaughter spent the night and then I had a busy morning preparing for our Easter celebration. Gdaughter "helped" with the food prep so that made things interesting! When my son and gson arrived we colored eggs and had an egg hunt. Nice meal with ham, sweet potato casserole, corn pudding and asparagus. Then just visiting and a raucus game of Old Maid with the kids. It was a great family day and I am grateful for it. There were times in the last couple of years when I wondered if it would ever be so.

Cyn, thanks for the link. I'll have time tomorrow to explore. Try not to wear yourself out with double duty. I remember when I was in college I had lots of Jewish friends and they invited me to a Passover celebration. It was fascinating and fun to be exposed to a different cultural tratdition.

Star, we've been eating out a lot lately too! Just not today. I am really glad we had our family celebration today bc now I am looking forward to a peaceful and relaxind Easter Sunday.

Lav, how did your day turn out? I went to my neighbor's yesterday for coffee. These are the Romanian couple I've mentioned before. Anyway, they put a for sale sign up in their yard and are planning on moving to a warmer climate. I'm sad to see them go and truth be told, I'm hoping they change their minds and stay. But IF they go, the Mr. asked us if we would take his chickens and his chicken coop! (He made one on wheels.) So, it's possible I may be back in the egg business. Mr. D is mulling it over.

Papmom, thinking of you.

[Lavande]

Happy Easter friends

Sunny & warming up to 60 degrees today ~ nice!
Yesterday turned out OK, everyone fed & happy including my DIL's parents. We decided to break in the new grill with a bunch of burgers, chicken hot dogs & chicken sausage & a big bowl of pasta salad. I will be roasting a turkey breast today & roasting sweet potatoes & broccoli. Son & family returning for another meal. They are busy with painting, etc getting ready to put their little house on the market & find something bigger.
The birthday boy was happy because I made him some train cakes again http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recip...rain-cake.html
I bake the cakes then get my daughter to do the decorating - they never look quite as good as the website but the kids don't notice, ha ha!

Dill, glad your Saturday went well!
Very exciting that you may be adopting chickens I know they're messy but they do provide delicious fresh eggs & a great learning opportunity for the kids.

Star, my dishwasher was packed full last night after everyone left & I still have a few glasses & coffee cups sitting in my sink - typical!
Hope you have a great day.

Cyn & Papmom, I hope you both have a wonderful & peaceful day today as well.

YB is out planting (2)trees & (10)forsythia & (5)other shrubs we bought last weekend. He's determined to build a forest between our property & his brother's property. We're fairly certain that his sister-in-law will be leaving fairly soon. The house & property is way too big for her to take care of alone.

Wishing everyone a peaceful AF day!

Lav

[papmom3]

Happy Easter Everyone! Loved hearing about how everyone is celebrating-Passover too!
Yesterday was very sad but my nephew was a rock. His GFs parents had the most glowing words for him. I think they think of him as a son now. Now sure how that will all play out. He needs to remember that while its good to honor her memory, her issues and drug use brought him to this day of sadness and grieving and putting her on a pedestal is not all that healthy. He's already gone out and gotten matching tats on his hands and a tat on his thigh that is a replication of one of her favorite sayings and pictures. My poor neice was a wreak but was able to calm down after we went through the line. Lots of goth people came through-it was interesting. I saw a few of my nephew's friends but most of course were hers. We are all very concerned for him now that the craziness of getting the news, the hospital stay, the death and the decisions and arrangements are all over. There will be such a void in his life. Its just not fair he had to go through all this at 23 and also be the rock for her family.
We left the calling hours around 5 and my sis and BIL went to the Bruins and I took my neice home. We made pasta and special fun chocolate birds nests for today. Just a fun treat. I stayed until about 9 and then went home.
Today my big project was raking up the dog yard. Blech. Still some frozen stuff but for the most part its pretty clean finally.
I've got to get busy and shower, dress, have lunch and get some gifts bags for the birthdays today-kind of forgot about that yesterday!
Have a great day all

[paulywogg]

Happy Easter ladies, hope you enjoy your daywith family, friends and your fur babies

[treegirl]

Hello all -

OK, holidays done and dusted. I'm tired from mine and from reading about all of yours! Whew, Lav, that's a lot cooking you're doing. Pap - so glad that you were there for your nephew and niece yesterday, they are so lucky. Dill - how wonderful that you are living the good days that you were not sure would ever happen; love that. And what sweet daffys! So cute. Star - sounds busy but fun. Enjoy your eggplant. Paulyw, good to see you again.

I am glad for some peace and quiet now. I went to church early, a tiny little Episcopal church close to here. Though the wording of the prayers has changed somewhat from my childhood, it really brought be close to my parents' memory, and all the lively Easters our extended family had; comforting. I think I may look into some of the boxes of my Mom's things that I mailed home over a year ago...it seems right today.

Cold here, but it was sunny early this morning. Snow flurries out right now, but tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, with rain. That will be good. I feel blessed to be AF and able to see every bit of the new spring with joy, a clear head and a clear heart. And the setting full moon this morning! Wow what a sight.

Blessing on all -

[papmom3]

Dill-loved those felt daffys!! How did you make them? I hope you decide to take the chickens! And a rolling coop to boot! Chicken envy here!!
Cyn-getting some well deserved rest I hope!! We're having snow flurries too-grrrr.
Lav and Star-how did your day go?
We had a very nice day at my Sister's. early dinner since my 2nd neph had to work at 4 (new bartending job). My 1st nephew was pretty hungover-hope he got a lot besides alcohol and food out of his system last nite. He seemed pretty chipper despite being sick and ate a fairly good dinner but then went back up to bed afterwards. I remember those days-I hope he doesn't have many more. We had great food, good laughs and nice birthday celebrations. My dad loved the wallhanging I made him:
dad's wallhanging.jpg

The buttons are from England!!
buttons.jpg

[dill]

Happy Easter Everyone!

Cyn, so glad you mentioned the moonset. I saw it too and what a wonderful way to start the day. I often think of you when I see such sights, and when there is a special play of sunlight on the land. I'm glad you found a moment of connection and comfort as you sat in church this morning. I have found that Church does that for me, as well. It gives a sense of continuity and brings back many memories of my family. I had a funny moment this morning in church. The man sitting next to me was one who doesn't attend regularly, but was in church for the special Easter service. I even wondered if he was perhaps just there to be next to his wife and children, but wasn't actually a church member. Anyway, he started to fidget with his nails during the homily and it immediately brought me back to being a little girl sitting next to my Dad in Church, pulling out his nail clippers. LOL! He only went on Easter and only to please my mother. He was not a church-goer.

Lav, my goodness YB is busy! That's a lot of holes to dig! What kind of trees and other shrubs did you put out? It's too bad your SIL is going to move but completely understandable. I would never be able to keep up this big old house if I were suddenly alone. Will she stay in the general area?

Hi Pauly, I hope you enjoyed your Easter weekend. Did you do anything special? After our busy day yesterday I was happy to have a very quiet and peaceful Easter Sunday, doing things in my own time.

Star, I hope you had and enjoyable Easter Sunday. It was so nice outside today, I bet you spent some time outside.

Papmom, I must say it seems to me unfortunate that your nephew had the tattoos done. I sort of understand, but it will make letting go harder. And sadly, he will have to let go and go on living. He is so young. He has so much of life ahead of him! Loved the wall hanging! Awesome quote.

[dill]

Papmom, here is a link to the daffodil pattern. I found many different variations on the web of course, but this is the one I used. I chose slightly different colors, and I didn't use a button for mine, but the basic pattern and assembly directions are here:

https://georginagiles.wordpress.com/2015/03/08/diy-felt-daffodil/

For the stem I used something I found at Jo Ann Fabrics. It was a pack of stems made of wire wrapped with raffi. It was in the floral craft area.

[papmom3]

Dill-what an easy and wonderful project!! I think i need to head to AC Moore and get some felt! I'd love to make these for everyone in my office. I love real ones of course but these will never die!!
Lav-did YB get everything planted? Did he dig the holes by hand or by bob cat or something? I can't imagine digging all those holes by hand!!
Dill-I sort of agree that he may regret the tats at some point but I do think that this generation treats tats like social media and a future GF will most likely not feel threatened by them. Yes, he will need to move on and I guess if he ever does regret them he can get them removed. But then again, he may not want to nor should he ever forget her. I hope to be able to speak with him at some point.

[Lavande]

Hi there Dill & papmom!

Survived another holiday, I'm all cooked out but at least I have leftovers

YB did a good bit of planting, not done yet & he's talking about having to buy more shrubs to get the complete enclosure he wants out there. He is digging by hand - hard work!!!!
I don't know when our sister-in-law will be moving but she really will have to at some point. She's got a 4 bedroom house with an attached 2 car garage, another 3 bay stand alone garage across the driveway, a built-in pool & I don't know how many acres of property. She's 2 years younger than I am - too much work for 1 person. Her daughter & 2 grandkids live about 3 miles away so I am sure she will stay in the area. They are the only family she has left.

Looks like I am assigned to pick up the boys tomorrow at 12:30. I hope the sugar highs have worn off by then - seriously!

Have a nice night everyone!

[SnoopyC]

Good morning all...Happy Easter!!!!

Had a great celebration of Easter on Saturday, colored eggs, played with grandson, lots of laughter and love. It was wonderful. Sunday, the weather was in the 60s and sunny, so after everyone left, we walked for over an hour. There is such hope for positive change when spring comes with its warm temps and sunshine.

Cyn, I am really bothered by my lack of welcoming church, but Episcopal is something I can explore, as they are an inclusive church, and that is what I have to have. I am going to make it a point to go outside and notice and honor the sunrise and sunset this month. I feel I need a more focused spiritual practice. I think when there are alot of changes, like moving, new job, spirituality can be neglected as you just try to adapt and survive.

Lav, wow, what a great weekend, it is fun to cookout, we have to buy a grill in the next few weeks. It is sad to have to downsize, but we have already done that and in so many ways it is a relief. Yesterday, with no big yardwork, we could walk, relax, take it easy. At our old house, we would have had tons to do as the yard was so big, so many trees, branches, etc. How nice that YB is planting so many new shrubs and trees. In a few years it will be beautiful. I planted a fence of lilacs in the 80s and it was so full and flowerful by the time we moved 20 years later. Truly a gift that keeps on giving.

Pap, I think when someone dies of a tragedy, it is so difficult to comprehend that at first everyone is just in shock. They know it is true, you get through the funeral, but then the reality is more stark afterwards. Lots of young people get tattoos when someone they love dies, to honor them. It was just not something done in our generation. I am not a tattoo person, but sure it is just generational.

Dill, loved your chance for a peaceful Easter Sunday, doing things on your own time. Love the coming of spring too. It involves all our senses, not just sight. The smells and feel of the soft warm wind and sunshine is so renewing. I love it.

Well, back to work after a three day weekend. Got most of my stuff done, on a new eating plan with my husband, feel lighter already.

Have a great start to your week, AF.

[Lavande]

Good Monday morning friends,

Partly sunny at the moment but I hear it's heading up to 70 degrees, woo hoo!!!
I am picking up my grandsons at noon so they can have an outside day here for sure

Glad you had such a nice weekend Star!
I have always made a point of pointing out sunsets to the kids. We have such a great view here when the sun drops behind the chicken house, ha ha! Very pretty, really!

Greetings to Dill, Cyn & papmom - let's all have a terrific AF day!

Lav

[paulywogg]

Sounds like everyone had a nice Easter love the wall hanging, I wish I could do stuff like that, was gonna buy one for my grandson Louie when he was born with his name, d.o.b,etc but it was over 100 bux! Lav,I'm on kid watch too this afternoon and I too hope the sugar high has worn off,Louie was running around like the energizer bunny yesterday!then they went to his other gramma's and of course,more candy from her and another basket(with candy) from his uncle, too much, luckily he ate real food too in between all that candy thanks for letting me post here guys,I have just always liked this thread cuz you guys seem so relaxed and calm hope everyone has a nice Monday

[dill]

Pauly, thanks for joining us, it's great to have you! So, how old is Louie and is he your only? What country to you live in?

Lav, I hope your afternoon with the gsons was fun. I'm sure it was busy!

Star, your Sunday sounds wonderful! You said you and Mr. Star walked for over an hour? Was in in the neighborhood? Now that the weather is warming up and you've been able to be out a little, have you met any neighbors?

Papmom, the world has changed so much, so fast in the last generation. Technology is a big reason for sure. But I do not for the life of me understand the attraction to tattoos! LOL! I know, I'm just an old fuddy-duddy, but I really just don't get it. I know how my tastes have changed over the years and I can't imagine committing to a permanent image or symbol being placed on my skin. Yes, it is a different world.

Greetings Cyn.

We drove up to the lake today and bought a boat slip for the summer. Now, if the weather would just get warm!!! Have a great AF Monday evening.

[treegirl]

Hi all -

Pap - what a great gift for your Dad - loved it, and what a great quote - one of my favs. We had snow consistently all late afternoon and into the night! Uuugh! But warm and sunny today, so it's all gone. But not the best sight I've ever seen on Easter.

Lav - wow, that's a whole lot of digging going on. It's good for the soul, though, that work. Maybe YB is working out some feelings. I hope you got some rest after all that cooking, those were some serious feasts. We always seem to eat everything up, and I'm sorry that I don't make more - no leftovers is hard after so much work!

Star - yes, try the Episcopal church. The national bishop is a woman, and they have gay priests. It's been a hard-won battle and the church is somewhat scarred, but there are a lot of 'thinking' people in the congregations generally. Also I think you would like the language of the service - there have been many changes and it isn't as beautiful as it was in my childhood, but it still has a certain beauty and rhythm to it. Good luck.

Dill - A boat slip? Sounds like perfection; that is definitely something to look forward to for the spring and summer. I stopped by our local lake to see how the thaw is coming - oh boy, it will be awhile until they will start thinking about putting out the docks. But so pretty to see the rivulets of thaw making designs in the icey-snowy covering of the lake. Each day will bring more water, less ice.

PaulyW - lovely to have your voice here, keep visiting!

I have had some business frustrations lately, and have not been sure of how to handle the emotions that have come up. I was up in the night again trying to figure it all out. This morning, I took time to look at 2 things that were in my in-box, and I felt as if they were designed just for me. One was the most recent JOT of Rick Hansen's (Accept difficulty), and the other was a great discussion of the 'warring' energies of this full moon, and how to handle them (MindBodyGreen: 9 tips to activate the power of the libra full moon). Not that I live my life by astrology, but the suggestions were perfect for anytime that opposing factions are at play. Thank goodness for all the working-hard-for-the-good-of-all people who are out there. And I count you all in that category!

Have a good Monday eve all - I'm off to take care of Mr Tree who has a touch of the GI flu - poor guy. Miso soup to the rescue!