Choice Morsels

That's the question Hubby likes to ask all the teenage baggers as they walk our groceries out to our car after we're done shopping at the Commissary on base. (They work strictly for tips.) The answers are always interesting; some more then others. Enginerd Shirt The #1 answer is: " I'm going to be an Engineer. " I don't know why that's so popular. They never specify what kind of engineer though, since there are many different fields of study. So I doubt they actually know anything about it. The #2 most common answer is :  " I plan on joining the Military. " Most say they're planning on finishing the college first, so they can go in as an Officer, while a couple others planned to directly enlist after high school. (Both boys and girls) One we met more recently said  his plan was to attend the Air Force Academy---he'll probably end up being some kind of engineer. The 3 best answers we've ever heard are: 1) ...

As 2017 draws to a close, here's some of my favorite stories/anecdotes from Mama Kat's Writing Prompts: The One Good Day There was this one day, back when I was a floral designer, that was just really good..... That Went Well I was a by-stander to a pretty embarrassing conversation... Some Days... The one day I had to rebuke a 22 year old Air Force guy to stop acting like a 3 year old... The Big Win The time I won the my art class logo contest back when I was in college for the Indiana State Fair... The Legend of the Paddling Machine Was there something actually hidden in the principles office... If you're a writer or blogger looking for inspiration, you'll love Mama Kat's Pretty Much World Famous Writing Prompts! Thanks for Visiting!

Today, Hubby and I were doing a little outside clean-up: he got up on the roof and cleaned off the pine needle debris off the whole roof, but particularly the gutter corners while I cleaned up the litter of pine cones. They hadn't been picked up in a month, so quite a few. Then refilled the bird feeder and watered the Gerbers and Mums and various pots of Salvia and Parsley with miracle grow. The orange Gerber put up a bloom and is preparing another and the mums are in a regrowth phase prepping for spring bloom. Today's picture, though, is of my Christmas bouquet. Publix's grocery had a special on bundles of Alstroemeria, 3 for $12, which is a very good deal.  So on Christmas Eve we bought 3 of them, which gave me enough not only for my vase of Frazier greenery, but I had to also press a clear glass juice pitcher into service to hold a bunch on the kitchen counter and had a few blooms to put in a tiny with a bit of tree greenery on the sink counter in the guest ba...

The Mama Kat prompt choice I'm doing today is, "Write a blog post inspired by the word: Grinch." The "Grinch" is a character created by Dr. Seuss, a.k.a Theodor Geisel, famous for his numerous children's books.  The Grinch first appeared in a 32 line poem called, "The Hoobub and The Grinch," originally published in Redbook in 1955. (ah, making Mr. Ginch a year older then me!) The book, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," was published in December, 1957. Director Chuck Jones adapted the story into an animated special in 1966 narrated by Boris Karlof. The song, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," was wonderfully sung by voice actor, Thurl Ravenscroft, also well known for voicing Tony the Tiger for Kelloggs ads. Theodor Geisel's drove a car with a "GRINCH" on the license plate. I was 10 in 1966 when "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" first aired on network TV. I watched it every year it aired...

I moved numerous Shamrocks to my Hosta bed on the North side of my house for winter color, since all the Hosta's die back in winter and now they're blooming away! They bloom all winter and into spring1 So, todays Garden Pic is Winter Shamrocks!

Today, photos of our outdoor and indoor Christmas trees decorated for the season! Outside: Our Oakland Holly Tree It's first year for getting decorated!This is it's 3rd Christmas. Just the right size to slip a set of bush lights over! I figure we'll enjoy decorating it as long as it's a reachable height. Inside: Festive Frazier Fir There's just something magical about looking at a tree full of brightly colored lights, in the dark, and listening to the soft sounds of Christmas music.  It makes me relive so many happy childhood memories! Many of the ornaments on the tree are antique now, being 50 years old, considering I've had a couple of them, since I was 10.  I have still have a set of glass ornaments my sister, Jane, sent Hubby and I, when we were first married, making them around 35. All five, still good as new, grace the tree every year, then get stored in their original box.

The Mama Kat blog writing prompt suggestion I'm doing today is, "tell us about the last time you went ice skating." Last time I went ice skating....? How about somewhere in the range of 45 years ago. I only ever went once. Once was enough. The Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis on the State Fair grounds hosts events and entertainment all year round ranging from concerts to livestock shows to Hockey. I remember seeing the Shrine Circus there a couple times  and Holiday On Ice performances several times. Winter is Hockey season, though and the Coliseum floor gets a iced and is available for public ice skating during the day, skate rentals included. I think it might've been a 4-H club trip outing with several club members the time we went, since Mother & Dad were the leaders, plus my sisters and myself.  I was in my teens.  I did know how to roller skate well enough to mostly stay upright and circle around the rink with the rest of the crowd....

Today's Pic day is the same vase of Christmas tree greenery I showed you last week, but now full of Birthday flowers! Miniature carnations in happy variegated pink and the smell so nice! Like ground clove spice! Plus with the short side pieces, I made this nosegay arrangement for the table!  I always enjoyed the arranging flowers part of my job when I was a florist, so it makes putting together an arrangement for myself a bit of fun!

For me, the first Thursday of every Monday is typically a "lunch out" day for my Yoga class at a Mexican restaurant next door. At one of those lunch outs, I got to talking with "Bob," across the table, a man of contemporary age with me. (He and his wife both attend the Yoga class.) Come to find out, he and I were both active duty in the Air Force at the same time , back in the mid 1970's. I was an enlisted medic and he was a pilot. He's a retired Colonel now, but back then, he'd was probably just a young Lieutenant or Captain. I told him I'd been a medic and that's what inspired him to tell me hilarious story about "Golden Flow." Now "Golden Flow," is what we used to call drug urinalysis back in the 70's. It was random urinalysis testing. You'd get a message to show up at the hospital lab on a certain date and time, then you'd go, be handed a plastic specimen cup, then get in line to go one by one into the...

We usually buy a fresh Christmas tree from the local Boy Scouts here in town and I like to fill a vase with cuttings from lower branches that usually have to be snipped off around the bottom end. So, today's photo is my kitchen counter display featuring my vase of Frasier Fir greenery, my large ceramic penguin (for tea candles) and my first Christmas card.  My Birthday is next week and I usually buy a grocery bouquet and arrange the flowers in this vase of greenery.  Change the water, trim the stems and the greenery will last through New Years.