101 Auntie E Street, Bloggersville, USA

101 Auntie E Street, Bloggersville, USA
Welcome, Back door is open, come in a sit Aspell..Let's talk...

Thursday, April 30, 2009

My "So Called" HighSchool Reunion?


Lola's dinner is hosting a "If I could blog back time" Thursdays. Today tropic is Reunions. I had to think back,it was hard ,these post do help my old Memory. So some facts may be tainted or just thought that the way it was. You see I am Pushing the Real mid age ( if one lives til 100,Which I plan to do). Oh And Yes I will still Be Blogging, maybe on Mars,Don't you Know(My Favorite Planet). I think I have a chance to live that long because my Grandmother is 92,shh....don't tell her,I think she thinks she 40! Still going strong. so, Now I get to reminisce about reunions that took place in my earlier years.
I graduated from high school earlier than my school mates. During my School years I skipped up 2 grades. the first was Seventh, There I caught up to my older brother. The school felt I was advanced in my learning. Then in eleventh grade the school was being changed to a Arts School. That meant all the up coming Seniors had to move to a new school their senior year. I was just horrified, go to another school way across town and I would have to take a city bus!! Not just one but transfer to a different bus in the downtown area. The high school admin allowed students to take summer school and graduate in August. So, I did that! I only needed English 12 to graduate. One Class, just think I would attend a New school for One Class!!! All that info to explain my high school reunion.

Here it goes, My husband graduated the same year as me (1971) from a small town school. The 20 year reunion was coming up. Hubby was going attend with me in tow. Now the School found out that I did not have a school reunion to attend(did not have a graduating class). so the Reunion team thought they would adopt me in their reunion. We really had some fun! No one could remember me. The Gaul of them, not to remember me! We had them really going all night. Only A few people knew who I was,they played along. I had so much fun.!!

If you would like to participate go to the Dinner and Sign in. This is a MrLinky Post.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Wordless Wednesday #6

There are seven Photos. You can read about the Trip. follow this link "Fiesta-Val"

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

A New Blog 2 View


I love working in the yard and gardens. Spring through fall our my favorite times to work in the yard. I have Four Gardens. Herb , Vegetables, English, and Rose. Then there's the trees, and bushes.
We have a enclosed Hot tub, Pool , two wood Decks, Brick Patio and a Country Front Porch, Lots of Grass , a Hill and Two sheds. On the Yard & Garden Site we will be posting Photos of the plants and trees in the yard as the blossom. There will be some sharing of tricks we have learned from farming in Missouri, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Upstate New York. Come over and visit the New Yard & Garden blog. Meet y'all there. Today entry "Oh, That Lilac Smell". With photos of my Drawf Lilac bushes.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Fiesta-Val Music Competition

Spent a long 4 day weekend with my Dad. It is nice to be with him. My daughter was in a Music competition with her school. The competition consisted of sixteen High Schools from Newyork, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia and Florida. She has been in East Coast School wide competitions since third grade. Music in Hershey Park was the one she competed in while in Elementary and Middle School. At was a one day affair. Her School Orchestra Always Took First Place. This was her first time at a new location,Virginia Beach. In case you do not know, my daughter plays Cello.
Hubby and I decided to go but not as a chaperons. Every year we have gone as chaperons, when she was in the other schools. I enjoyed the Day at Hershey Park. However since my Dad lived in the festival area this time. We decided not to pay the 800 dollars(for hubby and I) for a four day, three night competition trip.
Hubby,me, and my Dad attended the concert band, wind ensemble, and Orchestra competitions. It was long and the seat were hard. After the competition we went to the Golden Corral restaurant to eat with the school kids and chaperons. It was a long day. Did not get to see the Treble , Chamber,or Madrigal choirs. Also the Jazz Band we did not get to. They were all at a different school.
The next day there was the Marching Band and Dance team competitions. Then off to Busch Gardens for a fun day. Awards were at the Gardens Theater. Our school took First Place in every division they competed in,with the exception of Concert band-it took Second. The Choir director received the Grand Champion Award. School Esprit award went to our High School also. Several individual awards went to some of the High school members.
I will try to post some photos later this week. My camera was not available, so I will use my daughters and her friends. Waiting for them to post in their Facebook accounts.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Aloha Friday#5--Going Out on a Limb?


Posted about My love for Quilting. In the post I mentioned a friend who inspired me to do crafts. If you have time view them. Now Here is your Question:

Have You ever been Inspired by a Friend to try something you normally would not have thought about?


Want to participate in Aloha Friday go to An Island Life to read others and join in.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Wordless Wednesday #5 ( Kind of wordless)

My Dad smiling! He makes me happy when He smiles. We both are struggling with the lost of Mom. It has been a rough week! I almost did not post this. But I needed something to lift me up.

Monday, April 20, 2009

The Love of Quilting

When I lived in Europe I got into crafting things. Had a friend and neighbor, Deborah Todd. She really love to cook and do crafts. The Southern Living Books was her resource of choice. One year, for Christmas, she gave me a Southern Living Cookbook. It was a year in review catalog cook book. I really cherish that book.

When I returned to the United States I started to collect the Southern Living books. There was a collection of books called "Christmas with Southern Living". It came out once every year. That got me thinking about Deborah. Her house was always done up at Christmas. The pictures were wrapped in Christmas paper with Bows. Deborah changed her whole house to be Christmas!!
I signed up to receive the Southern Living Yearly Christmas books. The first year I learned to quilt This table runner. I did it all by hand. Following the instructions given in the book. this was my first Quilt. A table runner.

Slowly I started to do more and more.
I took a class with my daughter a few years back at a local Quilting Shop. Learning to quilt the Quilters way. We both made quilts by hand, not Machine. Learning to draw and make Pattern pieces, Cut and Hand Piece them together. This was my Autumn table runner.
I got the bug! Started making quilts!!






I made many more but gave them as gifts. At the time I didn't think to take photos. Then my Quilting friend Dee, the owner of the Quilt Shop, told me to always take photos. So Now I have started.





this is a picture of a kaleidoscope quilt I am working on now. I have all the pieces cut and some are sewn together in squares. I am using the Machine for this one. It is a very difficult one. but comming along quite nice. Hoping to finish it this summer.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Blog Page Upload Time?

Have you ever thought about how long it takes your page to upload? Never thought about it til I started Dropping 300 EC per day for both my Blogs! Some sites take so long to upload. When time is precious, it makes the difference if one stays on your site or not. Found if I have to wait longer than 5 seconds for a page to load I leave it. Sometimes the EC widget will load faster than the page, and I drop and run. There is a site that will tell you the load time, Stopwatch. It is easy to use, just put your URL in the box and it will do the rest. No Joining or Logging in.
If your blog takes a long time to upload, there are things that can be tweaked;
  1. Limiting the amount of post on the page. Read ten is a good choice. I keep mine at seven. archiving the rest in the side bar.
  2. Sizing down the Graphics you use. Sometimes the graphics are over 1000 pixels. Resizing them to 300 Pixels will help load time. Mine are always re-sized to 200 pixels. Sometimes I have to size down the graphics in the Html script. If you have graphics that can not be re-sized in your side bar, such as Badges, posting them at the bottom of the page will help. However I find I can re-sized them in their Html script.
  3. One of the biggest causes for slow uploads are Videos. There are programs that can load video right on your site, you will not have to use a Host. This is the method to use. Even though videos are nice, they clog up the load time if they use an outside host. For example, YouTube, and Yahoo video to name a couple. One needs to keep in mind the Copy right laws. Just know that Outside Host videos will slow down your upload time.
I found sites that have layered Graphics, which are hard to read. These site load their background first then the Printed text and then the background under the printed text. It is hard to read the page when the solid background takes too long to upload. I do like reading some of those blogs. However it takes such a long time to upload that I Keep them up (loading for minutes) until I can read the words on the page. I think these are called Scrapbook pages. Nice looking. Do not have an answer to make them load faster. Maybe it is in the way the program is written.
However you look at it,the amount of time it takes a Page to upload affects the reading visitors.
I Read some people Follow one hundred blogs, wouldn't you like one of those to be yours?

Check your site out click Here

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Aloha Friday- Your Teen years




In" If I Could Blog Back Time" Thursday Series I blogged about; what was going on in the world during my teens. If you have time,stay and read it (see below).
So, here is my Question to you
:

What was your major interest in when you were a teen?

Want to participate in Aloha Friday go to An Island Life to read others and join in.

If I Could Blog back Time-The Vietnam War Protest




Think Back to Your Teen years. What was going on in your world? What was your major interest in? When I was a teen it was Protesting the Vietnam War. One of my school friends got me to go to a protest. Yes,I skip out on school classes and went to one. The street was so crowded, thought I would be safe from being noticed. Not so!! You see my Dad, at that time,worked for a TV Station in town. They were covering the protest. Cameras were all over the place. I went to the protest and then went home at my usual time. My family always had dinner together. One of the question asked at the table was " How was your day?". Everyone answered in their usual way, school activities,friends, lunchroom fights and News items. When it came to news items,I mentioned the Protest in town. I later found out my dad knew I was there. You see the Remote Camera team needed a fill in that day. My dads friend was on that team and suggested he come. So when the cameras scanned the protesting site there I was. His friend pointed me out. Asking "Is that your daughter?". I never attended a protest again!! Never Skipped Classes again!! Most of all because I realized that with a dad working in television I would surely be seen.


A few years later I join the Military and was attached to a Vietnam Medical Support Battalion. Now I find that funny. Never had to serve in Vietnam. By the time I was through with Basic training and Medical School the troops were being sent back. But, just to know that I could have been serving in a war I attended a protest for was funny.
The Vietnam War was the biggest News item during my teen years. I really did not know that much about the issues. I think if I could turn back time,one thing that would be top on my list is, learning why people are protesting against something. Maybe I would have developed a different view of Politics.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Can You Develop A New Tax Law?

Phew, Taxes are done. Why is it we always wait til the last week to do taxes. The Tax program is bought in January. I do all my inventory in January. Have a Tax folder with all info in it; charity,w2,1099s,1098s,and business receipts. So, here it was now April and we are doing taxes! Will say I was well organized this year. Only took a few hours and not days! E-Filed and sent, this is the 3rd year of e-filing,I really do like it. One click and the taxes are in IRS inbox. The return time is great also. Now the state is different. It's not so easy to e-file. Normally the amount of return is not much,Therefore to paid the amount for e-file isn't worth it. That one gets put in Snail-Mail. We do however request direct deposit, the turn around time is good. No checks to wait on clearing at the bank,Instant money!!! Two of my Brothers work for the IRS. I do not want to put them out of a job! However I do think some kind of New tax structure is needed. Have no clue to what kind,there are many suggestion out there. A Flat tax. Federal clothing tax, federal food tax, federal gas tax, and I'm sure many more. If the Federal Government gave you the task of presenting a new tax law proposal, What would it be?

Monday, April 13, 2009

Passing Time at the Tain Station?

This is one of my Favorite songs. My hubby sent it to me,I laughed so..hard. Never been in a train station where this happened. Now this is how to wait for that train... Click on the photo below and Enjoy!!


Sound of Music Train Station @ Yahoo! Video

Friday, April 10, 2009

Play time Characters


In "IF I Could Blog Back Time" post below, I remembered a play time with my brothers long ago. It got me thinking how the TV show impacted our Play time as kids. Stay and Read it,if you have time. Here is the Question:
What TV shows Character does your child pretend to be at playtime?
No Children,you say, then who did you pretend to be?

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Blog Back 2 Nineteensixty Playtime











Remember Catwoman in the 1960's Batman TV show. It was a big hit in our home. My brothers and I never missed an episode. After it aired we would get our costumes out and plan the next days play time. We lived in a Farming community,there were plenty of space. See Catwomans nails? I would make them out of stiff paper( I made several sets) and glue them to long black gloves. Had some wicked ones. My middle brother was always Robin,he knew how to talk just like the actor. His friend was Batman,he had his own suit. Ricky my older brother was Penguin, he could walk like him. We made what ever props we needed. TV show were simple back then and easy to pretend in play time. Now I look back and think how simple things were.
What was your Favorite childhood TV show?

Want to participate go to Lola's Dinner to find out how. At the Dinner who will find links to others participators in "If I Could Blog Back Time".

WW#3- Egrets Photo Infomation.

Joy ask a question:"Do they come to that tree every year?"- This is just two of the many Pine trees!The Egrets Live in the Pines all Year long. They are nesting in them. With the growth of the city and surrounding area their natural habitat was destroyed. The Egrets needed to find a New home. This Became their New Home!They have been nesting there for about four years now.Every time I visit my Dads I am amazed.At first the residents wanted to cut down the trees. Bird droppings were causing havoc,destroying paint on cars and roofs were being damaged. The city will not allow the trees to be cut down. So, each year the numbers grow. People living in the houses have to tarp their cars to protect them. It is quite a site. For about a square block( about a 2miles area)you see them in the trees.

Wordless Wednesday#3


Click on photo to enlarge

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Cherry Blossom Festival in Japan?


Is the National Cherry Blossom festival akin to how the Japanese view the sakura? Lina asked a good question. So,I will answer it for all to see.In Japan Cherry Tree Blossom Viewing Parties called Hanami celebrate new beginnings. Schools and Corporate Fiscal years start early April. A Hanami Party usually includes a Large picnic with food, drink and music. Corporation are big at having them,locating a good Blossom-viewing spot,and laying down large blue Tarps.
Sakura Matsuri(Cherry Blossom Festival) are held when the blossom are at full peak. The festival dates can change due to the Cherry tree locations. Moving toward the south part of Japan,Okinawa, it is around January. In the Northern part,Tokyo and Kyoto, in early April. Then it continues on, Hokkaido blossoms being in full peak in May. The festivals are more like street fairs with food,drinks, arts and craft demonstrations. Reading of fairy tales and legends. Performances of Japanese dance , martial art, and Spots.
The Cherry blossom symbolizes New beginnings, Beauty, Peace and Joy. Bringing a Moment of Joy to ones Heart.
The Cherry Blossom Festival Book is a good resource.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Aloha Friday-Time 2 day dream


I have enjoyed attending the The National Cherry Blossom Festival. Look forward to it every year. Posted photos, videos and some interesting facts about it this week. Hope you have some time to visit and look around. Post a comment or two, please.Will post some more Festival sights next week.
Here is your Question.What Festival do you look forward to every year? Tell us some about it.

Time 2 Hear Music

Tidal Basin Stage-at the foot of the Jefferson Memorial
Japanese Choral Society of Washington
singing in Japanese.See if you can pick out Sakura(word for Cherry Blossom).

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Thanks 2 Top Ten Droppers

Started EC in March. I want to thank all who dropped by in March. These are my Ten Top Droppers. Thankyou!!

MamaFlo's Place A friend from the past
Lola's Diner sit-a-spell
Mature Not Senile Wisdom abound
Search Engine Panel information needed
Self Improvement a great site for insight
Welcome to your new lifestyle Blogging info + more
Wii Mommies Playing Wii together
Gossip Avenue What's the World up to?
Daily Ramblings Life experienced daily
Las Vegas Baby Everything Free
Visit them and shout a Hi out - in their comment sections.

Wordless Wednesday


Family at Festival. The Little girl, In Hapmudo Studio Photo, is my Niece Alex age 8.