Yesterday we celebrated the first anniversary of Trinity Wesleyan church. We had a few nay sayers last year who said they'd "give it six months". Well, our one year celebration was really good! We had a revival that started last Wed. night and went on until Sunday and on Sunday, we had a group called The Skyline Boys who came and sang.

Instead of having Sunday School, we had singing for the first hour, some talking, some congregational singing, offering and more singing for the worship hour. It was very good and even Tommy said it was good and he's not much for church.

After we finished we all went outside for a picture and then we went to the fellowship hall for lunch. There was a lot of good food....about every vegetable you can name, every kind of casserole, lots of salads, deviled eggs, lots of chicken and lots of dessert. As a last minute thing, I fixed what I laughingly call "stuffed wieners". This consists of warmed, split wieners stuffed with mashed potatoes with sharp cheddar stuck in the middle of the taters and then you zap them or stick them in the oven to melt the cheese. Emily and Rebecca had requested that I make them and there they sat along side all the goodies and every singer got one and then the preacher holding the revival reached and got one and I heard him say as he forked it onto his plate, "This must be a Wesleyan thing!" Don't know what that meant!!!

What if you gave a party and nobody came? What if you went to the mall and nobody was there? What if you went to school and you were the only one there? What if you went to work and nobody else showed up? What if you played the lottery and nobody else did, would you win? What if you had a yardsale and nobody came? What if you wrote a book and nobody read it? What if you turned on the shower and no water came out? What if you cooked and nobody ate it? What if you loved someone and they didn't love you back? What if it rained and nothing got wet? What if both your shoes were for the same foot? What if you were the only person in the world? What if you had more money than you could spend? What if you could pick any new car you wanted? What if you died, where would you go?

Today Cindy and I got an early start to go to yardsales. Not 6:00AM cause here lately not many folks start that early. But a little before 8.

We headed to the Big Sale warehouse sale cause that was only going to be from 8 to 10. Guess what?? Wrong day! Evidently the paper put the wrong day in the ad, not once, but three times. Seems it's gonna be next week. We think!

Next we headed to a church yard and bake sale. Usually churches have good stuff and this particular sale was okay, but not outstanding.While we were in the area, we took in a couple more and picked up a couple of things. Don't remember what except for a booster seat for my friend Ava for her granddaughter, Savannah, whom I babysit.

We went to one out off 41 which advertised 1/2 acre of tables and stuff. They did have a bunch of stuff, but the cutest thing I saw there was a minature goat which wasn't as big as a good sized dog and she danced around and was the cutest thing I ever did see. The man told Cindy that she was a Polish poodle! She had really long ears that curled up on the ends like someone had taken a curling iron to them.

All in all, it was a nice day. It warmed up and was very comfortable in the sunshine, except for the wasps and bees that dogged us. One thing I din't find was books. I usually stock up on books in the summer, but today all the books I saw were $1.25 for paper backs and I DON'T pay that much for paperbacks at yardsales. The going rate for paperbacks is 25cents at yardsales. So, maybe next time!!!

Mother's Day dawned bright and sunny. Since I didn't have anybody spending the night with me, I sorta took my time with my coffee and listening to Swing Shift and reading the paper.

I took my shower, ate my toast, got ready for church and made it on time. I wore a new top that Tommy had gotten me for Christmas with my five year old black skirt, but it looked very well together.

After church I came on home and sat around for a while and finally decided to go ahead and cook..a good thing to do if you're hungry. After I ate and cleaned up the mess, Bobby came with a big pot of flowers--the potted kind that you can divide up and make several pots out of, and also two tomato plants and two pepper plants (which I planted in my earth box today). I invited him to eat, which he did and I sent some food to Teresa and Rachel.

After he left, I checked my mail and had 3 cards from Tami and by the time I was finished, Cindy and Dave were here with a beautiful card and the promise of a meal out on Thursday. Also, Cindy wrote a beautiful entry in her journal about me that "brought a tear to my eye". But I didn't know about that until today when I was reading her journal. Then Susan came and brought a new book, candy and money! And she ate a little and we watched Desperate Housewives together.

Earlier in the afternoon Sharon had called and wished me Happy Mother's Day and also, Rebecca had called. I had gotten a beautiful card from her and Tommy on Saturday and she was checking to see that I had gotten it. Kerri had come by on Saturday and stuck a check in the door that was A Mother's Day gift.

Today, Linda and 3 of her kids came by and we went to Big Lots and bought some stuff. She had brought me gifts and also money and she brought a card from Douglas that had money in it. I don't know if people think I'm hard to buy for or if they just think I love to get money. Anyway, part of the money gifts went into my checking account and I think I might buy me a new cordless phone with part of what I kept out. Or at least a new battery for the one I have. The batteries seem to die a lot quicker than they used to when the phones first came out.

If you're counting, that's 6 out of 7. That's pretty good odds!!!!!

Yesterday I was very pleasantly surprised when my oldest son came over. I knew he'd been putting in long hours at the funeral home so I was really surprised when he came and stayed for a while.

You know, when my kids were young, Boots was working his butt off so we could put food on the table and keep shoes on their feet and whenever the kids got to do something, it was either with G'pa Whitt or G'pa Craig. I guess that's where they learned to fish and garden.

So I'm really proud that Keister is so involved in what his girls do. He referees soccer games and is involved in their dance classes and recitals. A good, involved dad and looking more like his dad every time I see him.

Today I happened to be at my front door when I glanced across the street to Hospitality House and saw a couple of cars parking in front. I saw a couple of ladies get out of each car and they were dressed in purple with red hats which were trimmed in purple. A couple of hours later I went to the door to let someone in and looked across the street and saw all these ladies dressed in purple with red hats come out and head to the church parking lot. I counted 30 ladies who,I guess, comprise one chapter of "The Red Hat Society". Some of the hats were plain red straw with purple ribbons around the brim, but some were really fancy. One lady's hat looked like it was made out of feathers with the purple part also made of feathers. Now, what I want to know is: what exactly is and what do The Red Hat Society do?

Yesterday I planted my garden. On the deck. In my earth boxes. I planted two tomato plants, two cucumber plants and two pepper plants. They joined my strawberry plant which is full of berries, one of which is getting ripe. I hope to get one more BIG tomato plant to put in a really big planter and maybe a squash plant to put in another planter. Then I'll be all set for my summer food!!

Today Anna, Brittany and Savannah were seated around my table eating lunch and having a conversation among themselves.

Emily had been telling them that she found 2 dead baby birds out in the parking lot and had buried them under the tree in my yard.

Brittany said,"I saw a dead mice one time".Anna looked at her and said, "Was it really dead"? Brittany said, "Yes, it was in our fooze(fuse) box and it was weally, weally, weally dead. It smelled like bad poop". "Oh" said Anna."Then it was very, very, very dead?" Savannah stopped in the middle of a bite and said "Den it was weally very dead and stinky. Wight"?

Then Brittany had to tell them how her Paw-paw had to come to her house to get it out of the fooze box and get rid of it.

I was standing with my back to them doing dishes and really, really really wanted to laugh very, very, very much, but I didn't! It's amazing how they talk and make perfect sense. At least to each other.

What's the weirdest thing you ever cooked and then ate? Tonight I was looking for something on my counter where I keep my cook books and when I shook one, a recipe that Tami sent me years ago fell out. It was for fried dill pickles.

I read it over, thought about it and decided that since I had a brand new jar of pickles, I'd just try it. I did cut the recipe in half, tho. Just in case I didn't really like fried pickles

Well, I made them, and they actually tasted pretty good. You beat up an egg with milk, put salt and pepper in some flour and slice your pickles. Dip the slices in flour, then the egg mix, then back in flour and fry them in hot oil until the outside is brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels and let cool a bit (so you don't burn your tongue) and enjoy.

Another thing that sounds really gross, but is good is peanut butter sandwich with onion. You take a sweet onion and slice it really thin and put it on the peanut butter. When you bite into it, you don't get the onion taste, just the peanut butter with a good crunch to it...you know, a light crunch instead of the hard to chew crunch you get with crunchy peanut butter.

Another different one is peanut butter with thin sliced pickle on it. As with the other one, you mainly get the crunch, not the taste. Try it, you might like it.

Since our Wesleyan Women Oasis is tomorrow, I had a bunch of things to finish making, the little baggy hand outs, the chicken salad, pimiento cheese, cheese straws,etc.

Well, last night I decided I'd go to bed early, so I could get up early and get started. I did go to bed, did go to sleep and about 3AM, all of a sudden, a tremendous banging woke me. My first thought was that someone was trying to knock the door down. While I was trying to decide whether I ought to be scared, I heard this very, very loud meorrrrow! Then I heard the banging again and discovered it was coming from the upstairs bathroom. I got up and staggered over there and heard the fool cat yowling again and it was coming from the little double door cupboard in the bathroom where I keep the towels and toilet paper.I opened the door and grabbed him and took him downstairs and put him in the basement, where he should have been in the first place.

Today, Anna was here by herself and after her nap, asked me to turn on the bathroom light for her. I did, and went back into the kitchen for something and when I went back to the bathroom, she was sitting on the commode with her eyes closed, smiling, with a look of ecstasy on her face. I asked her if she was finished and she said "My poopie has come and it's not dirina (dirreaha). Yesterday it was dirina, but today it's just plain ole poop!"

This evening I had to go to the church to help get the tables up and put out the decorations. Mary Elizabeth brought her husband, which was a real good thing cause we put him to work! He set up the tables, hung my poster, arranged the tables for us and then complimented us on how good it looked when we got finished. Then I had to come home and make those cheese straws! But, except for making the potato salad when I get up at 5 in the morning, I think I'm finished.

Well, our W W Oasis was yesterday and while we didn't have as many ladies as I had hoped for, the ones who came had a great time.

It was supposed to start at 10:30 AM and we were just a little late. The girl playing the guitar for our District Director to sing got there about 10:35 and told us that Violet and the ladies riding with her would be a little late. Well, they got there a few minutes later, laughing like crazy. Seems they had sent one of the ladies to get biscuits and told her to hurry and she hurried so fast that the cops stopped her and gave her a ticket. However, her husband IS a cop and so she just told the ticket writer to put it in her hubby's box at the police station. She said that it would at least put off telling him until Monday morning when he went back to work.

We had an interesting and informative talk about Guatemala given by my pastor's wife and the very good singing by Violet, lots of talk about missions, lots and lots of good food and parting gifts for everyone.

I worked so hard on the Oasis--the actual planning and the invitations and the decorations and the food. It was good and when one of the ladies said "Next time we'll know better than to do that", I replied, "If it's up to me to do it, there'll not be a next time." But, it was a learning experience!!

I've finally decided that when I ever get a new (new to me, that is) vehicle, I want a truck. Not a BIG one, but one with a front and a back seat. That way I can haul the kids to see Sharon and to church, but also be able to haul any thing big we buy at yardsales.

Now, if I had money, Ford has one that looks like an Explorer in front, but has a short bed in back.That would be nice and also good to look at. But Toyota has a neat little truck that has the two seats, also. Of course, that one looks like a truck, but, what the heck. It is a truck!

I always think of going to Charlottesville to see Sharon as "The Trip". It's not that it's so long, it's just that there's so much to do to get ready.

I guess trying to get Tommy and Rebecca in bed early on Friday night is the hardest part(after getting a car), but this week, Ginny is bringing them on Sat. morning so they'll already be up and dressed!

Since I always have to rent a car, that has to be taken care of. Since Dave moved to South Boston Enterprise, I hadn't gotten a car from him. Thus, we hadn't been to see her since Jan. Although a couple of times, the weather kept us at home.

I called Dave yesterday and asked if he could possibly get me a car and he called me back today and said he could. So, that's good. He's such a sweet fellow!

Now, I have to make sure Rebecca and Emily (if she goes) wear shirts that aren't short, tight or too revealing (as in tank top). They have some weird rules about what kind of shirts you can wear.

Then, we have to leave there in time to get back home in time for them to go to the teen thingy the church is having, which starts at 5:30. I guess they can be a little late. But if we leave there at 3PM and don't stop to eat, we ought to be home by 6PM. Oh well, I just hope that all the Memorial Day traffic does it's traveling on Friday evening instead of Sat. morning.

Yesterday April brought me a ticket for the Greek Food Fest (my late Mother's Day present, she said) which is an annual fundraiser for the Greek church. The Greek church doesn't have a fellowship hall big enough, so they use the Epiphany church (across the street) fellowship hall.

I decided if I went to pick my food up between 4 and 5, there wouldn't be much of a crowd. Boy, was I wrong! You could either eat in or take out, but it seemed most people were eating in. I got my food and took it home and made some tea to go with it. They had cokes, but somehow, coke just didn't seem to be the beverage to go with Greek food.

Well, I opened my tray when I got home--the aroma had me really salivating all the way home-- and I have never seen so much food. Two BIG slices of bread, 2 Athenian chicken breasts on rice, Greek green beans and that spinach stuff made with phyllo dough and a salad made with the usual stuff and feta cheese and black olives with a good, tangy dressing. Mmmmmmmmmm, good. I also got some baklava and some walnut cake for dessert. I had so much that I saved Doug some chicken, rice and the spinach stuff and divided my dessert with him and Cindy.Thank you, April for my Mother's Day present!

Cindy came by and put some clothes in the washer and then went to get her hair cut and colored. She came back a couple of hours later and her hair looked so good. She had light streaks in her hair and a really good haircut. You could tell it had been cut, but it didn't really look that much shorter. She has bangs that are so cool. I really like the way she looks!

Well, Ginny got Tommy and Rebecca here between 8:30 and 9AM this morning. I had already had a shower and washed my hair and was dressed and trying to curl this stick straight stuff on my head. Emily had her shower and a grilled cheese sandwich and was almost ready when they got here. Rebecca rushed in and said she had to have a shower and shampoo cause she'd been to a pool party last night and had chlorine in her hair.

We finally left here at 9:40 AM which was not too much off schedule. This was after Emily had called her dad and had him bring her and Rebecca "Bojangles" to eat! I told them that I would not stop for them to go to the bathroom, but I did cause Tommy had to "use it real bad".

We made good time and the traffic wasn't too bad....pretty busy in and around Lynchburg, but that might have been the usual Sat. traffic.

Dave had rented me a nice little white Mitshibitshi Lancer and I went all the way to Charlottesville and all the way back to Tightsqueeze on 3/4 tank of gas.It was a sweet running lil car! Sometimes, tho, on a long stretch of highway I'd catch myself kinda exceeding the speed limit. I really had to watch myself cause the troopers were out in force.

We had a very nice visit with Sharon. She hadn't seen the kids since Jan. cause things hadn't worked out visit wise since then, although Kelly and I went to see her in March.She had picture tickets and we all had to get out pics taken. At least, they have a new, up to date digital camera that makes and prints in just a few minutes. The pics of the kids and Sharon were real good, but I DO NOT make good pictures.

They had put new snack machines in and gone up..way up...on the prices and while we took $15 in change in, all Sharon got was one Mt. Dew and she nibbled on some of the stuff the kids got. What she really wanted was the nachos and cheese, but it was all gone by the time we got to the machine. Maybe one day we'll get there really early and there won't be many visitors and she can get all of the good stuff she wants.

Coming home, we made good time. Only stopped for gas, but all the kids went in to buy gum and that ended up taking 10 minutes. The kids were in a hurry to get here and change socks and go to the church to a teen thing they were having.Tommy went on skating with Susan and they were going skating later. All in all, a very nice day.Now, I'm gonna go eat..been a long time since my cheese and bread at 7AM.

Sat. night I was tucking Tommy into bed and he was laying on his side with his back to me. I leaned over to kiss him good-night just as he sat up. His little firm head hit me in my nose and I heard it crunch!

Blood started pouring out one nostril and tears started pouring down both cheeks and I ran to the bathroom. It hurt so bad I thought i would really scream. I didn't cause Tommy was sitting in there sayin, "Are you all right, I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm sorry". When I could finally get my breath I assured him that I was OK and it wasn't his fault.

I took a cold wash cloth to bed and slept with it on my upper nose and when I got up Sunday, it was slightly swollen, but very sore.

Last night on the way to the church picnic, Emily innocently said, "G'ma is your nose gonna straighten back out or is it gonna stay crooked"? She was kidding.........it's not crooked, just very tender!