Randomness

I have been on my sabbatical (read about it here) from my blog for almost a month now, and thought I would check in with some randomness from the last month.

1.  On March 23rd, Bob and Wyatt went fishing.  The next day, it snowed.  Then we had more snow this past weekend! Springtime in the Rockies.

2.  Caitlin participated in our local Blossom Day pageant - a great learning experience for the young girls in our community.  Beautiful, as always.

3.  Went to my favorite old bakery (40 miles away) where we got our wedding cake 56 years ago and have shopped periodically since.  Was greeted by a security guard.  What's with that?  Granted in the past, I've seen some little old ladies argue over the last few remaining bread sticks.  The goods are that wonderful, but a security guard?
4.  Easter weekend came and went.  We had our usual teenage Easter egg hunt (involving gift cards) and family celebration dinner on Saturday.  I cooked for two days, and they devoured it in 20 minutes.  Sunday was church for the real celebration, then a few leftovers and a nap.  (I just realized that Wyatt had on the same clothes egg hunting as he did fishing -- oh, a teenage boy's wardrobe -- hope they encountered the washing machine in between!!)

5.  Bob and I checked out a new antique(?) mall in the area.  It is located in an old furniture store, and they have done a great job in the renovation.  The floors, mezzanine railings, and handrails are beautiful, but the booths were filled with 1970s and yardsale stuff.  We were disappointed.

6.  Prom was this past Saturday for our local high school.  It rained, snowed, groveled, the wind blew, and it was cold.  The traditional photo shoot was difficult, but we managed some photos of the cute couple.  She wanted to wear her Blossom Day Pageant dress again - it is really beautiful on her!

Yes, the corsage had lights!

7.  The reason for the sabbatical -- taming the albatross.  I've been hand quilting hard and furious trying to average about five hours a day.  It is going well, and I have fallen in love all over again with this quilt.  I would quilt 10 hours a day on it if arthritic fingers and shoulders didn't stop me!

I'll try to check in again next month.  

WHAT I LEARNED ON MY SPRING BREAK!

1.  PROM

It has been 23 years since my kids went to their high school proms, and 57 years since Bob and I went to prom.  Things have changed.

First - comfort:  The trend (locally anyway) is for the girls to ditch the sparkly high heels and just go with flip flops or skater shoes.  The salesman that sold my granddaughter her white (to match the dress) Vans, said that more and more are buying comfort shoes for the prom.  Maybe those teenagers are smarter than we give them credit!

Second - Wrist corsages have been popular for awhile, but now boutonnieres come with a magnetic strip on the back.  Navigating a long, sharp corsage pin without drawing blood is a lost art.  Who knew?

Third - The Pre-prom Photo Shoot.  In the past, a couple of fuzzy, Polaroids in front of the fireplace was good enough.  Now, they have full-blown photo shoots.  I was a secondary, tag-along picture taker; but I managed to get a couple of good shots of our beautiful granddaughter and her cute, dimple-endowed boyfriend.

If you want a fun people-watching experience, on prom night at about 4:00 or 5:00 pm go to your local attraction (historic building, park, river, etc.) and you will see lots of pretty dresses, beautiful girls and cute boys having fun getting their pictures taken!

On the same evening, our son, the high school teacher, was chaperoning the prom at his school.  He says that a successful prom is one where no one fails the breathalizer test at the entrance.  It was a good prom year!

2.  EASTER
Teenagers still get a kick out of an Easter Egg Hunt, especially if it involves chocolate, money and gift cards!

3.  OLD AGE AND RETIREMENT
Last week it took me the whole week to iron 4 pillowcases, 5 shirts and a blouse.  At my age, I've learned that I'm easily distracted, lack motivation, and my knees hurt.  In my heyday, I could iron 5 shirts in 30 minutes.  Oh, well!!

4.  COSTS ARE RISING
Sonic is now charging me $.40 extra to add a quarter of a lime to my Diet Coke.  Guess I'll need to forgo that luxury, so I can afford to buy meat at the new higher prices.

5.  SPRING TIME IN THE ROCKIES
The only predictable thing about Spring in Colorado is its unpredictability.  Guess I've always known about the weather, but it catches me unaware every Spring.  The past couple of weeks, we have had snow, rain, cold, heat, and wind -- sometimes all on the same day!

It's hard to tell the snow from the blossoms on our pear tree.

And, that is what I have learned in my short absence from blogland.

I'm spreading my new knowledge on the following:
Smiling Sally for Blue Monday
Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at our Home
A Stroll Thru Life for Inspire Me Tuesday
A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday
Green Willow Pond for What We Accomplished Wednesday
Have a Daily Cup for Share Your Cup Thursday
Nancherrow for Fridays Unfolded