End of Another Month

I guess the older I get, the faster time seems to fly.  Here it is the end of another month.  When I was working for a paycheck, I marked time with month end financial closings.

You know what?  Nothing much has changed in that regard.

I still mark time with month end financial closings -- but now it is in a volunteer position for the Friends of the Library.

I don't mind the financial reporting. BUT -- I HATE rolling coin.  Particularly pennies.  I HATE pennies.  I wonder how much time is wasted nationwide because we have to deal with pennies.  I think they should be eliminated from our banking system.  

So another month end.  More coin rolling.  I'd better get to it so I can make the deposit to close the books on April.  Another month that has literally "flown" by at what seems to be the speed of light.

You suppose that is because I am having so much fun at this stage of my life?

Yep.  Even if I have to roll coin, it is a great life.  Once I finish at the bank, I will make a trip here:

Another month ended in my 10th year of retirement.  

Loving what each new day brings, I am a very fortunate woman; and, I know it and never cease to be grateful for it.  

Monday Macro

Books & Beyond - April Book - The Client

Books & Beyond is what we call ourselves now.  We had been known for years and years (since 1988) as the "Fourth Thursday Book Group."  We were started by the Woman's Club of Tarpon Springs but it was open to all who were interested -- male and female.  We have had a man join us for a meeting or two but they are so out-numbered, I think they aren't all that comfortable.  My husband is one of the few men I know who would enjoy that environment.  One year his school decided to segregate the classes -- all boys and all girls.  Somehow, he ended up in a class with all girls.  His teacher let him stay.  "William and his Harem."  He made all "A's" -- not because he thrived in that environment, but because he was cute and all the girls did his homework for him and gave him the answers to tests.  Those who know him will not be surprised by that revelation.  He is a man who truly likes and respects women. And he knows how to be a friend with nothing else in mind.

I digress.

So today was the fourth Thursday of the month and we met as we usually do in the conference room of the library at noon.  Someone always brings refreshments and I made the coffee and a pitcher of ice water.  I distributed the book for May - "Mayday" by Nelson Demille and Thomas Block.  And then we started to talk about "The Client" by John Grisham.  Some of us had read it when it first came out.  Others had never read it but had read others by Grisham. Still other members had never read Grisham and were surprised by how much they enjoyed it.

That is the main function of a book club -- to try to introduce us to a genre or an author we have never read. Our club has evolved to a more participatory group in the last few years.  When I assumed the role of Coordinator, I changed a few things.  The most important was allowing the members to get their books anywhere they wanted to.  I have a list of people who prefer to have me handle getting their books for at prevailing used book prices.  Others prefer to borrow a print copy or to download an ebook from the library, Amazon, or a book store that sells them.  I place the orders for the paperback crowd, but download my own from Amazon to my Kindle.

I loved "The Client" when I first read it. Loved the movie.  Loved the main characters.  It is not a typical John Grisham novel though it is a "page turner" as his other legal thrillers are.  This year we introduced several members to that genre with books by Michael Connolly (The Lincoln Lawyer) and this month's book.

Next month after our book discussion, I'll pass out a list of possible book choices for next year with a synopsis of the book.  We will vote on the books for next year using that list and I'll assign them to each month from October 2013 through May 2014.  Some of us will be reading "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett over the summer and we'll discuss it in September.  In August we'll meet at a local restaurant for lunch to talk about our summer activities and, especially, what we read over the summer.

There are 18 of us and we all have two things in common:  1)  We LOVE to read, and 2) because we love to read, we're open to reading experiencing new reading unfamiliar authors and books. If you possess those two attributes, think about joining a book club -- or starting one of your own.

Now that I have four weeks before the next meeting, I'll start a non-book club book tonight, I have a new J.D. Robb that downloaded to my Kindle awhile back that I WILL start tonight!  I have it on good authority (from my daughter Chele) that it is a very good book!  I expect no less from Nora Roberts no matter which genre she is writing in.

It's Only Monday and....

I'm already exhausted.  I had a few things I really, really needed to get done today.  By 2 this afternoon, I had finished all but one of them.

This:

When I took it out of the box, it was in a quite a few pieces.  Wisely, I waited until my husband was back before I started assembling my new crafts supply cart. Unlike some other things I have had to put together, though,  this cart came with very clearly written and illustrated instructions.  So within a few minutes, with Beau's assistance, I had it square and put together.  It is sitting on the edge of the kitchen now and tomorrow I will begin the reorganization of the art nook.  All my new organization pieces have arrived now and I will start sorting through what I want to keep and what I can part with and not miss.

While I was researching for art studio organization ideas, I ran across this one.  For items like silk flowers, the clear plastic cases that libraries and other tape lenders put their tapes in are perfect.

They can be labeled but it's not necessary because you can see through them.  They can stand vertically or be stacked flat, allowing for easy retrieval of items.  So, since the library will not need their supply because all the VHS tapes have been pulled and replaced by DVDs, I bought the boxes that were going into the VHS Tape Sale.  That will save me a lot of money in this project.

I discovered another nifty organizational product and bought two of them,  It is made by Scraponizer.

The art nook looks like organization "Hell" as I write this.  But tomorrow I will be in organization "Heaven" -- and probably the next week or so, too.

Some of my friends and my OCD daughter Chele will relate, I am sure.

Playing with Scrap Paper

I was playing with my paints the other day when my daughter, Chele, asked me to make a couple of cards for her.  I am her "card maker," you know.  She said, "I think a "beach" type would be good for the guy I'm sending one of them to."  "Like a palm tree?" I asked.  "Yes, that would be good," she replied.

So I pulled a couple of bottles of acrylic paint out of their respective drawers and poured some on a Styrofoam plate, my preferred "palette" for a quick little painting.  While it was drying, I found the background paper I wanted to use for "framing" the little painting and for creating a matching bookmark.  I placed them on mt art table and started digging through my embellishments for "beach" stuff and found some cute ones.  Then grabbed my basket of stamps and stamp pads and found a birthday stamp.

And the result is below.

I was happy with the results, so I took a picture of it and emailed it to Chele to see if this was good enough.

She liked it.

My friends who have been into card making for a long time have "created a monster."  I am so into this now. I may never buy another card.  On the other hand, after buying the stuff to make cards, I won't be able to afford to buy a card off the rack anymore.

And I have learned that it is important to save the scraps because there are many, many uses for them.  I am just a beginner at this craft.  And, I am loving it.

Saturdays

I have always loved Saturdays.  I find that in retirement my Saturdays are pretty much just like they were when I was working full time.  It is routinely a day where I play catch up around the house after a leisurely morning drinking coffee while I make a list of what I need to get done and I get the laundry started.  I stay fairly busy during the work with my duties as treasurer of the Friends of the Library and my work in the FOL bookstore at the library.  This past week I had a Woman's Club luncheon and also helped a friend out by taking her to a doctor's appointment and worked all day yesterday setting up for today's VHS Tape sale at the library.

So today won't be a typical Saturday.  And this atypical Saturday will lead to an atypical Monday and Tuesday next week. I haven't gotten stuff done this past week that I normally do around here and they won't get done again today.   But all in all next week should be a little slower and I'll eventually catch up.

The tape sale today is my last major event of the "season" for me.  I am looking forward to the slower pace of May through mid-August.  It is usually when I can get a lot of painting and other art and craft projects done. A time when almost every morning affords me the luxury of a leisurely cup of coffee while I plan my day and make a list.  A time when every day looks a little like a Saturday.  And, a time when I blog a little more.

Yes, I'm ready for that.

Just like the kids, I am ready for "school" to be out!

BLT, Anyone?

 We had our first BLTs of the season last night.  BLTs made with Butch's home growns.  My friend, Nancy in JAX, requested pics of the 'maters.  I think she wants to torture herself.  So I decided to do a garden update while I was out there with the camera.  Nancy, you can go straight to the bottom of the page if you are too impatient to wade through the preliminaries.

So here we go.  These first two shots are of some of the tomatoes on the first plants Butch put in Topsy Turvy hanging planters.  They are HUGE plants  And the tomatoes are nice sized.  He "thinks" they are Mortgage Lifters. They do have the look of an heirloom tomato and that is what the Mortgage Lifter is supposed to be.

 Next to the Topsy Turvy hanging planters is a cart with pots.  These two pictures show my avocado "trees."  Both are very healthy looking.  I pinched the tops out a couple of months ago so they wouldn't get tall an spindly.  As I hoped, the trunk thickened and strengthened and the plant bushed out as it grew taller.  Eventually, we plan to put them both in the front yard.  Avocado trees grow very tall and provide wonderful shade.  The terra cotta pot behind the second avocado holds my pineapple plant.  That has done NOTHING so far but it takes two years to produce a new pineapple so we'll see.

The next three pictures are all more tomato plants grown from "suckers" that Butch has pinched off the Topsy Turvy tomato plants and stuck in pots and then transplanted to the grown outside the screened lanai.  To say my husband has a "green thumb" is an understatement.  He loves puttering around his plants and makes sure they stay fertilized and well watered.  He also waters my avocados and pineapple while he is at it. The plants outside the screen range from 4' down to about 2' in height.  All have blooms and fruit on them.

Here are some new seedlings ready to go into the ground.  These are some that he raised from seeds inside and recently started leaving outside overnight. They are Mortgage Lifters and Brandywine Pinks.  Both heirloom varieties.

Our Plumeria trees are still bare but have new growth on the tips of their branches so we will have fun watching them leaf and bud out over the next few weeks.  Butch says they are "ugly" in the wintertime.  I love them then, too, because I love the way the branches grow from year to year.  An almost oriental look to them, don't you think?

 The next picture is a shot of one of the Topsy Turvy" planters.  Butch lets that 5 gallon paint bucket catch the water that drips down when he pours the water in from above the planter.  This planter is on its last legs, but never fear -- he bought a dozen more at BIG LOTS! when they had them on sale for a dollar a piece a couple of months ago.  Our daughter, Chele, started all this a couple of Father's Days back.

 So I guess I have Chele to thank for these:

The BLTs we had for dinner last night were DELISH!

Tonight I'll stuff a couple with shrimp salad.

The weather is getting warmer so they will start ripening more quickly as the nighttime temps get into the high 60's and 70's.

I see many more BLTs in our future.

Happy now, Nancy?