158/365

READ ME A STORY
Susannah Conway is doing a book giveaway over on her blog... I'm a bit of a book whore. I actually have over half of the ones on the giveaway list and I can say they are worth the read. Check them out!
Enter soon - closing date is in a couple days.

What was your favorite book from childhood?

157/365

HELLO STRANGER
After a really, really long time I finally got the Xterra back... I'm not sure how long it's going to stay running... I'm still a little hesitant to pull into a parking space. I still hold my breath as to whether it's going to start or not. I went to visit Glo and backed in... I'm always preparing for the possibility of getting towed!

156/365

CLASS OF...

Tonight was Janel's graduation night...

As the kids were walking out to the field and giving their speeches and receiving their diplomas you saw the same people... They had the same valedictorian... they had the same fabulous one... they had the same lovable nerd that all the girls cheered for... they had the same guy that stopped in the middle of the field and did a little dance... they had the same party girl that threw her arms up in the air while she received her high honor cords... I saw "Denise" and "Scott" and I think I heard "Andy Kim" give the valedictorian speech... There was the girl that never wore heels in her life and decided to go with 4 inch ones that day and ended her school career falling on her face... I don't think she got the memo that it was all about the wedge! ;-)

After the ceremony we went out on the field and I was taken right back to this... MY high school graduation.

It was the same night - just 24 years later.

The speeches were the same... humor and nostalgia... family and friends... hope and inspiration.  Wise young words to do what makes you proud and be proud of what you do. Talk of how everyone can be a genius - in art, music, sports - not just grades. Remember, your past is not your potential. There was honest melancholy acknowledging the fact that the people that were with you the last four years may not be with you the next four years - the pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again... We heard quotes from Charles Dickens and Thomas Edison and Dr Seuss ... words to inspire and excite and guide.

The weather cooperated for the most part... there was a good amount of sun and some dark clouds and a few rain drops. Kind of like life, I guess. Sun, clouds, rain and full of possibilities -  319 possibilities and then some.

Congratulations Class of 2013 and HAPPY GRADUATION DAY to our two favorite graduates... Janel and Sergio!!

How did it get so late so soon?

It's night before it's afternoon.

December is here before it's June.

My goodness how the time has flewn.

How did it get so late so soon?

~ Dr. Seuss

155/365

GARDEN OF MY HEART

154/365

RED LIGHT - GREEN LIGHT - YELLOW LIGHT - GO...
I don't even like ice cream. I can seriously never eat it again and be totally fine with it so I don't know why everything seems to revolve around ice cream these days... ;-) I don't even have a picture for this because we were taken so off guard by it but I feel like I have to document the weirdness. We were outside at the ice cream place on 286 - I don't even know the name of it - and we heard this strange noise. It sounded more like a chant of sorts..Katherine and I were kind of mesmerized by it.  With all the outside noise it took awhile to dissect the parts of what we heard. I don't know how long the traffic light was but it seemed like it was forever.  We finally discovered it was a man on a motorcycle who was stopped on the road at the red light... he kept saying - please don't let her die over and over - the entire length of the light. He finally went on his way and we spent awhile brainstorming what was going on... Was he trying to get to the hospital before his mother took her last breath?  Was he rushing to the emergency vet?  Did he just run someone over and was fleeing the scene?  We are never going to know. I really hope she didn't die.

153/365

COME AND MEET THOSE DANCING FEET...
The Glo-worm has been putting up a good fight about not going on any excursions at the nursing home. They have a lot of trips - lots of plays, monthly trips to the casino, Dunkin' Donuts, Walmart, they are going to a strawberry festival and Glen's this month...  She says she is fine in her room - just sitting there.  She doesn't want to do anything with those "old people" and is fine how she is.  The activities people have been trying to get her to do more and thought that if I went with her to something it would get the ball rolling.  I signed up to be a volunteer so I could ride the bus with them (hello nausea) to see 42nd Street at the Benedum.

I was feeling a little nostalgic. I don't know if it was the locale or the vision of the lovely and talented Joey Fatone that did it but I thought of something... not too long ago I was cleaning up Over 2 at Dixon House... for those of you that don't know - that's what we affectionately called the third floor because that's the term they used in the listing for it... anyway, I was cleaning out the file cabinets and came across the (many) playbills from all the shows we went to - here, NYC, Vegas, Toronto... we had two of everything. We decided to get rid of the duplicates.  Why did we need two?

I guess I should have kept them. ;-(

Anyway, Glo had a really good time... she remembered some of the songs and was singing along and every time a girl came on stage with a fancy dress she would put her hands up to her face like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone.  It was pretty funny. We got back on the bus and I asked her if she liked it and she gave me a wink and said - when's the next one?  Mission accomplished.

152/365

AND THEN THERE WAS ICE CREAM
I am notoriously late.  I have to say I've been getting better time wise  - getting to places,  etc... but I'm still late on other things... like Christmas presents.  I don't know how it happened but I just gave Chrissy her Christmas gift a few weeks ago... Well I do know how it happened... they got pushed aside with other things and got shoved behind bins and stuff and I just couldn't get to them. Being 5 months late I finally tackled some cleanup in the game room and dug them out of the mess...

Today I used a Groupon that was about to expire that I bought Cara as one of her Christmas gifts.  Looks like Christmas in June is the new Christmas in July. ;-)  Anyway, on the way back we drove by Seneca and Chrissy made a quick turn in as we're debating whether or not to stop by to see Glo.  We all had stuff to do and, truthfully, didn't want to be there all day playing cards, etc... so Chrissy turns around to leave and then turns back in again and parks... her only request was to NOT go for ice cream.  It's always fun but it's a bit exhausting and, as Sweet Brown said, nobody had time for that today.

We went up to the room and did the normal routine... she asked if we ate and what we were doing later... of course, asked if she could come with us... We told her that it was a busy day and we were all going home. She asked if we were going to go shopping and if she could come if we were... I was straightening up a little, going through her laundry... she was harassing Cara about whether or not she fixed the hem on her sweater and next thing I hear, out of the clear blue sky, without any input from the rest of us - Chrissy asks her if she wants to go get ice cream! Seriously!?! She totally f-ing caved.