big mouth!

While my big (oldest) brother Tom was here visiting, he requested a visit to MOSH, the local museum. To be honest, I'd been there at least a dozen times over the past twelve years and never found it to be all that interesting. And I like history. The science, not so much.

But strangely, this visit was different. Mom & Dad, Tom and I went to explore the Museum of Science and History together.

Our first exhibit was The Body Within. Sounds a little "sciencey" to me...

SCORE! No, this is amazing! Look, there's Grandma and Pa entering the exhibit, right through the mouth of a teenager. I know it's a teenager because like baby birds, their mouths are always open, waiting for their next feeding. Go, Mom and Dad! Get swallowed up in knowledge and explore the wonders within!

Interesting...a film about knee-replacement surgery and all the medical techniques. Intriguing, at least for three of us. Dad's already had three replacements, Mom is on deck for a new knee this Fall. Mom didn't want to stand and watch the blood and gore, hammering and sawing...can't say that I blame her. Ugh!

Here we have the lungs of a 79-year old male. I've decided to serve pickled lungs at Thanksgiving dinner this year. Care to join us?

You run into the nicest people at the museum! This guy was fairly nice, though I found him to be a little "thin-skinned." Some people just don't take constructive criticism very well.

And that, my friends, was the first stop on our museum tour. On which I made an interesting discovery of my own: the reason it was so enjoyable? NO KIDS! Ha, I was actually able to read the exhibits...mind boggling!

Thank you for tagging along.

Coming up: our voyage on the Currents of Time.

CALICO recipe!

Whenever there's a get-together at our house, Grandma offers to bring a side-dish to share with the other guests. Sometimes, though not very often, I tell her not to bring anything and just come over. And usually she just ignores me and brings her tallest grandson some deviled eggs. Because I don't make deviled eggs...and if I did, they'd never be as good as Grandma's. My jello isn't as good as Grandma's. Why bother making this stuff when you have Grandma, right?

Grandma knew that I had my hands full with the party last weekend and offered to make a dish...after reviewing the menu, she offered to make Calico Beans. The dish that captured my husband's heart when we were dating. The dish made every weekend, propelling Jason to propose to me and take me off John and Gail's hands.

I have to say, the guests raved over Grandma's beans. They wanted the coveted recipe! Yesterday, my friend Kathy interrogated me via text that the bean recipe had not yet been posted, as promised. "Well excuuuuuuuuuse me!" (Name the comedienne). She even threatened excommunication from our friendship if I didn't deliver the recipe, as promised. Geesh!

So without further ado:

"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears..."

GRANDMA'S CALICO BEANS

1 pound ground beef
1 large onion-chopped fine

Brown and Drain

Then add to beef mixture:
1/2 cup of dark brown sugar**
1/2 cup of white sugar**
2 teaspoons mustard (regular)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Catsup
1 can Pork & Beans (15.5 oz can)
1 can Kidney Beans
1 can Navy, Great Northern, or Pinto Beans

Cook slowly on top of stove or bake in a 375-degree oven for 1 hour. I usually cook in the crockpot for 5 hours or so.

*Note: I often double the recipe and use a variety of canned beans, including black beans. However, if doubling, use 2 cans of the Pork & Beans.

**I use about half the amount of sugars called for--you decide how much.

Thank you, Mom, for sharing your excellent recipe with us. The world is going to be a much better place, now that we have your Calico Bean recipe!

I love you!

Graduation, 2010.

I give you...The Graduate!

"Picnik Show"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

looks like we made it!

Only an uncle and aunt could pull this off...we just loved it!

I thought it an appropriate beginning to a week of chronicled graduation events, here at It's A Wonderful...

I have lots of photos to edit and narratives to tell, ending with a cool surprise by the Grad himself!

But today, today was spent with my big brother Tom, who is returning home to Brockport, NY tomorrow morning.

A perfect ending to a great and busy week!

two days to launch.

When you're 17, living in Florida and waiting for the big graduation day, the thing to do is head for the beach with as many friends as you can round up. To frolic in the surf, to play in the sand. Bronzing your skin, for all the world to admire. Bringing home shoes full of...

...sand. Towels of...sand. Swimming trunks of...sand.

Sand...my new found nemesis. I'm just going to leave my vacuum out until right before the party. My floors have never been cleaner!

countdown to commencement.

Welcome to High School Graduation Central.

We're preparing. And cleaning. Shopping. Working. Uncontrollable sobbing. Reminiscing. Stashing. Planning. Executing. Hugging. Calling. Driving. Planting. Writing. Anticipating...

I'll be back next week, after all the festivities. The fun and frivolity. The sleep and relaxation...

all in all we're just another brick in the wall.

Today Jason, Jonathan and moi moved 976 gajillion bricks. No lie.

We loaded the bed of the truck. We unloaded it. We neatly stacked the bricks.

Our neighbor liked our bricks. And if you're a friend of ours, you're a friend of our bricks.

So we hitched up the neighbor's work-trailer and backed it up to our gajillion bricks.

We loaded the bricks. Drove the trailer next door and unloaded the bricks. We neatly stacked the bricks.

We then drove the trailer back to our house, where we loaded more bricks. Drove the trailer back to the neighbor's, unloaded the bricks, neatly stacking them.

Back to our house. Where we loaded more bricks. Drove next door. Unloaded. Barely able to stack the bricks, not giving a flip if they were neat.

Unhitched the trailer, returned to the brick site, loaded the bed of the truck and stacked the remaining bricks behind Jason's nifty garage.

To sum up my day, I leave you with this famous quote (a word or two have been changed, due to literary liberties):

As God is my witness, as God is my witness, they're not going to lick me. I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never move another brick again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never move another brick again!

she had me at "Live!"

About a month ago, I did a little "investigative" work for my friend, Kathy, while she and her youngest daughter were in NYC.

It was dirty work, sifting through garbage; sitting in my car in the dark, drinking black java; wiring informants; greasing the palms of high-ranking officials.

Not really.

As a token of her appreciation and affection for me, her number one-all-time-favorite-esteemed friend, she brought a gift from a NYC television show...

A Live! With Regis and Kelly tote bag. I love it! It's to die for! Honestly, I am over the moon for this bag.

And if the tote wasn't enough, she included a gift card to the Outback!

I think I might have a lucrative future in the PI business!

Hey,Kathy! If you decide to do any traveling this summer, I'm still available...I hear the South of France is beautiful!

farewell to childhood. He's moving on!

It's happened. My baby grew up.

And today was the very last brown-bag school lunch I'll ever make for him.

It's a bittersweet day. Our boy is on the precipice of big life...

It's been my pleasure, lovingly preparing all those lunches.

Because that's how a mother shows her love for her boy...through his stomach.

On the other hand, I won't miss ironing white shirts and navy-blue slacks...

Or hunting the ever-elusive and recluse navy-blue tie...

The Sperries were cute...those suckers look good with everything!

This is the final week...of school and of tests.

It's been a great ride.

Excuse me while I go bury my face in my pillow and cry myself to sleep...

jungle in here!

I have been soooo busy, getting ready for RAM tomorrow.

There's fabric everywhere and the house needs cleaning. Clothes need washing.
HELP!
Today's theme: jungle...ROAR!

The true colors are much prettier...more orange, green and blue. But I'm in a hurry, so as Steve Martin would say, "Excuuuuuuuuuse Me!"

Oh, my! This is very adorable fabric. The background is more of a grey, but hey, I'm no Anne Geddes...this is amateur photography, folks!

Peace, man!

We'll be down at the Riverside Arts Market tomorrow, booth 617. Down by the river...come by and say, "Hi." Or, "take a hike, you're so lame!"

There are loads of great Mother's Day gifts under the bridge...it's going to be a beautiful day!

state of the art cooking.

Have you ever seen one of these?

It's a grill, yes, but attached to it is your cooler. So you don't have to step away from the grill and bend over to get a drink.

What will they think of next?

I'll be back next week, with regular posts...I've been busy making bikini key rings.

Your keys won't be the same, once they're attached to a bikini!

end of year teacher gift ideas.

Mmmm-hmmm....

Wow!

How adorable!

And there's much, much more! Go here. Here. And here.

Then take a look around, 'cause there's so much more over at Eighteen 25!

dirty laundry.

Wow. Someone is really ticked!

Proof is out there, for the whole world to see.

Living in the South is really quite fun...you get to park the truck in the front yard, store your boat next to the house, walk barefoot in grocery stores...mullets. You still can see a mullet on a redneck.

And then, there's airing of a personal grievances.

Let me show you...


The arrow is pointing to the sign, proclaiming disdain. Injury. Hurt.

Let's continue...
Can you make out what the sign says?

If not, follow the arrows.

What's this...a divorce sale?

As in D.I.V.O.R.C.E?

Like the old Tammy Wynette song.

The jon boat is for sale...

I'll bet the boat was his.

It's a classy place.

Very classy people must live there.

I think I saw Jesse James sitting in his jon boat...

spending the hour reminiscing.

Late yesterday afternoon, Jason and I took a little jaunt over to Lowe's...Jason needed some pool chemicals.

We walked around, looking at stuff we'd like to buy.

Here's a handy-dandy little set that would look excellent sitting out by the pool...

Oh, but look at this! Do remember this nifty furniture, from way back when?

I'm in love with a chair!

But this... This is the chair I can spend my old age on, with Jason right by my side.

Where I can keep an eagle's eye on him!

technique in marketing.

It was a beautiful day down on the river, hawking our purses and other wares at the Riverside Arts Market.

Jason and I enjoyed watching the people walking by, listening to the music, making friends with the other vendors and chatting with customers.

Dogs on leashes are a big part of the market...many vendors cater to the visiting pooches who are walking their masters.

And then you get this...

Three dachshunds in a stroller. Adorable. Dachshunds. Spoiled.

They are spoiled and I know it...their owner/mother is one of my dearest friends.

These doggies caused quite a stir in my booth. People were swarming over, taking photos of the girls in their stroller.

I'm thinking of hiring Abby, Shelby and Amber to be an attraction in & to my booth.

I wouldn't be breaking any labor laws!

Don't tell PETA.

Bark is cheap!

visit from Sybil.

Just yesterday, I discovered something about myself...

I have an alter-ego. Medically referred to as Dissociative Identity Disorder.

It's a self-diagnosis.

How do I know I'm suffering from this disorder? It's the only logical answer to some mysterious happenings around here this week.

Case in point: the other day I picked up a pattern to check how many yards of fabric was needed to make an apron. Yesterday, I went to make said apron and could not find the pattern anywhere. I searched and searched...no pattern. Hmmm.

I then went to look for a bag that I recently brought home from the store, which contained some binding tape for the apron. Couldn't find the bag containing the binding tape.

It only makes sense that there is another woman living in this house and that she's playing tricks on me. On my mind. There is no other "real" woman here, so this theory has to be correct.

I've named this new woman, "Sybil." Like the Sally Fields' Sybil in the '70's. I remember that movie and it's only fitting I salute an old classic with my malady. And Sybil is such an old-fashioned name...and Sally Fields played in my favorite T.V. show, The Flying Nun.

Do you know what Sybil did that really ticked me off?

Sybil put the contents of the misplaced bag away, placing the binding where it was supposed to go. Had she told me that she was here and "helping" me by being responsible and organized, I wouldn't have wasted 30 minutes of my life looking for a little white shopping bag!

Perhaps I could cajole Sybil into organizing and cleaning my house...she's never around when I need her!

pimpin' pumps!

I have another tale for you.

Oh stop it! You know you want to hear it!

At the end of yesterday's post, I promised you a photo of my new pumps...

Early this morning, I took the pumps out of their box and set the lovelies on the floor. Something didn't look right...

Aaaargh! Two right shoes?! Different sizes?!!! Oh, no!

I raced back to the store and thankfully, was there in time to be the first customer.

"Oh, please-oh-please-oh please, let the right (left) shoe be there, in the right (correct) size...

Ahhhhhh....relief! Here are the pimpin' pretties! Aren't they just adorable? I'll let you know how they feel after a few hours...I can pretty much promise you that they'll hurt. But they'll hurt so good!

And in other news, check out the wallet. Big deal, you say? Yeah, not when it's made out of paper! Snap!

I'll be making more of these fun and funky wallets...I have lots of paper!

Here's the link on how to make them. But I warn you, the instructions aren't complete. I had to figure some stuff out on my own.

Oh, and one more thing...I was on the radio today. Queen Of Peace Radio. I was nervous. I'm not sure what I said...

So friends, I'll understand if you pretend you don't know me when I run into you in public.

Just don't hate me because my shoes are beautiful!

plaid shoes.

These brown/white plaid shoes beckoned to me.

They cried out, "Here I am! Choose me!"

Do you think I can get away wearing these with black capris? What if I told you that I won't know most of the people at the function, the majority being from out-of-town?

What if I told you that I could redeem myself later in the evening, with a smashing pair of black pumps that do match my outfit?

Would that make a difference to you? To them?

That later in the evening, they'll all be bellied up to the bar and shouldn't recollect the events that transpired earlier in the day, much less the fact that my shoes didn't match my outfit.

And then there were these.

I sold them last weekend. In the "Big Wind" sale.

I loved them and now I miss them. Because it's back to the drawing board.

Tomorrow: a photo of my new black pumps.

I know you can't wait to see them!

"soaper" day!

A funny thing happened this past weekend, at RAM.

It was windy...again. The tent felt like it was going to fly away. That's not what was funny.

We sold out of almost everything. Now I have to make scads of new stuff. That's not funny.

Jason's phone didn't stop ringing. Work problems. Definitely not funny.


We were neighbors with this delightful company, The Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe, Inc. What a precious, precious display of aromatic soaps, gels, sachets, balms. Oh my! The smell wafting in the air, surrounding our booth with luscious scents was really too much to handle. I wanted to run over and snatch some soap to place inside my purses, making them smell irresistible. I really should have done that...but that's not the funny part.

This is my new best friend, Mary. She is the owner-extraordinaire of PVSoaps. What a lovely lady. I asked her way too many questions, but she enthusiastically answered every one of them. What a talent! She holds soap-making classes in her home. Groovy! She also has soap-making recipes on her web site. Smashing! As well as all kinds of supplies, should you attempt this art in your own kitchen. Yikes!

This hip chick is Leslie. She is very funny. As we were taking apart our booths at the end of the show, I shared with her a kind of personal issue I was having at the time. Now most people would have thought I was weird, "off," or just plain creepy. Not Leslie. She discussed my dilemma with me and we had a nice little laugh over it. I like Leslie. That conversation was funny...

Look at that soap. Oh, my. It makes me want to march right on over to Mary's and buy more. You choose what fragrance appeals to your senses, then Mary or Leslie will take the whole wheel of soap over to the scale, cut off a slice and weigh it.

Then they wrap your yummy soap in tissue paper, complete with a sticker of the name of the scent you just purchased. It's almost like shopping in a deli...just too, too cute!

The "funny thing" I was alluding to at the beginning?

I didn't find out until I emailed Mary on Monday from the comfort of my chair...

Mary and I both are originally from Buffalo, NY.

We just might have attended the same concert all those years ago.

Or sat near each other in a restaurant.

Or, as I mentioned to Mary, maybe we dated the same guy.

Now that would be funny!