Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I do not die.


Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004)

What book are you?

From Paula @ full of life

You're One Hundred Years of Solitude!

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Lonely and struggling, you've been around for a very long time. Conflict has filled most of your life and torn apart nearly everyone you know. Yet there is something majestic and even epic about your presence in the world. You love life all the more for having seen its decimation. After all, it takes a village.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is always a special day. A day of enjoyement, relaxation, celebration and family gathering. For me, it always has a bit of sadness too. Not only is my mother gone, but my husband's mother is gone too. Every year seems to get a little bit easier. This year was no exception. I posted on one of my boards some pictures of my mom. I want to share them here too!

I am about 1 here, my sister is in the background


This was in 1991


And a bonus picture of one of my presents


I hope everyone had a great day. Mine was low key and very pleasant.

Gas Prices

What are gas prices in your area? I know they are high everywhere. Exxon Mobil just posted HISTORY MAKING PROFITS. What's up with that. The country is hitting a recession and we are being gouged at the pump. Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said Thursday record crude prices helped its first-quarter profit climb 17 percent to $10.9 billion the second biggest U.S. quarterly corporate profit ever.

I don't know about you, but that sure makes me want to stay home.

Interestingly enough, I received an email this morning with a link to MSN Autos that has a nifty tool that allows you to check out gas prices before you leave the house. Just enter your zip code in the site below, and it tells you which gas stations have the cheapest prices (and the highest) on gas in your zip code area. It's updated every evening!

Here is the link. Prices in my area are $3.50 for the low, $3.60 for the average and $3.69 for the high; but diesel prices are $4.25 - $4.40. The last time I filled up, I paid $4.25 for biodiesel and the truck has been sitting at the dealer for a week now, so I am saving money on gas, right?

A Catch up Post

So much has been going on here. First - it is BASEBALL season!!! We have lots of running to do with 3 boys playing. My Father-in-law has come to live with us as he needs Assisted Living now. He had a fall and at the moment is recovering, but requires constant care, so my husband and I have been playing tag team in his care. All in all, I think he is doing well.

Here is a list, in pictures of what else we have been doing. And this is in no means a complete list!


Carpet damage:


Trying to pick a paint color:


Replacing Carpet with Wood (aka Going Green):


Almost done:


Spring has sprung:


The Cuteness is Astounding!!!

Lunar Eclipse

How many of you saw this on Tuesday night?




We did! We were in and out of the house, watching the moon go into a full eclipse - on my Birthday!!! How cool is that??? Well, cold is was for sure. The temperature was in the teens and dropping. That is why we were in and out of the house. It really was something to see.

Random Thoughts From Me

I'm very happy that 40 is over. It is an age that lots of people dread. The stigma attached to being 40 is overwhelming amazing astounding devastating exciting mind-boggling shattering staggering stunning vast eye-opening. I feel like I've spent the last year waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It has. Sort-of. My 16 year old son was just diagnosed with Juvenille Myoclonic Epilepsy. It sounds bad. It feels bad. But it really isn't. With medication, he should be able to live a seizure free life. Everything with him was up and down last year. First, he had a grand mal seizure, his only one ever. Then we had lots of testing with negative results. That felt good. It seemed like it was a fluke that he'd had the seizure. 40% of all people have 1 grand mal in their lifetime. The doctor thought that it was probable that he'd never have another one. Then he was having some mild twitching. At first, it didn't seem like anything. Then it became more prominent, so off to the doctor we went. More testing. Results this time showed some slow wave activity indicating his seizure disorder. So now he just needs to be on the seizure medication to prevent a grand mal. And I will be purchasing a medic alert bracelet for him.

And that was my year of 40. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. I'm working on keeping it up!

Bottom Round Roast

I am making a roast tonight for dinner. I wanted to document this so that I can redo it if it actually turns out good.

4 pound bottom round roast

cut up med onion and put in bottom of sprayed roasting pan
add 1 bay leaf and 1 tsp minced garlic
add 1 cup dry red wine

bring to a boil, then simmer - add roast continue to simmer

heat oven to 300 degrees

turn off stove-top and put in oven 3-4 hours


This was VERY good. Everyone liked it. I thought the gravy was outstanding, all I did was take out the onions. It wasn't super thick, but it was very yummy.

I would have taken pictures, but I had NO batteries for the camera.