Well, I have to tell you that I am overjoyed that Summer is finally here!! I love the heat, the sun, swimming, enjoying the pool with kids and grandkids. I just flat enjoy it. Even in the hot North Texas heat. lol I love seening the Jonquils coming up, and the purple bearded irises. I just like summer!

Here it is the 6th of March and we are getting snow for the 2nd time this month!! Unbelievable!! It is also very pretty out. My son and I were in Downtown Dallas looking for Earth shoes for his wifes birthday gift, when my hubby calls to tell us it is now snowing and sleeting in McKinney. Where we were it was just gray, dreary and raining. Not a snowflake in sight, not even a hint of snow on the horizon. Well, I have downloaded pictures and tried to post them, but all to no avail. Not a happy camper!!! Lots of snow tho... http://us.dada.net/cgi-bin/sn_media/item.chm?media_id=6307590&media_type=image&loginvideo= http://us.dada.net/cgi-bin/sn_media/item.chm?media_id=6307759&media_type=image&loginvideo= From the weather channel, they are saying 7 to 9 inches of snow overnight, sort of hard to believe for this area. Here are some pictures from the snow earlier this week.

My Grandson Elvis at Jazz band Competition

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elvis and trophy he won at Jazz band competition

We are so proud of our 12 yr old grandson Elvis, he brought home a trophy for soloist in Jazz Band competition.

 

 

 

 

 

This was taken when he was 11. The boy is sooo good!

 

Yea!! For our E!!

 

 www.goldencompassmovie.com

Tthey are making a movie out of one of my favorite set of Books!!

 

This is my Hubbys Daemon, Verian

I love the books, the casting looks great, and the info is right on!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my Daemon, you can click on this to see if you agree or not....

Gulf Wars XVI Opening Ceremonies

Flag Bearers

Here are some more pictures of Gulf Wars XVI

 

 

Dismounting and coming in Fort

 

Gulf Wars XVI Opening Ceremonies

 

 

Their Majestys Opening procession

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their Majestys

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ansteorra and her Allies

Baronial Flag Austin TX

 

                                                          Ansteorra and more Allies

 

 

 

Trimaris and Her Allies

Fencing competiton at Gulf Wars XVI

The Fort

 

 

 A collection of various photos from Gulf Wars XVI                                   

Baronial Banner

Austin TX SCA

Mounted Combat at Gulf Wars XVI

2007 SCA

My son Ceallach McDonal posted these on his LJ and I am now posting them on mine.

 

 

A collection of various photos from Gulf Wars XVI 

 

Ceallach McDonal

Waiting on Rapier competition

 

 

 

 

 

Verona Street Brawl

Gulf Wars XVI

SCA

The Green Dragon Inn

Gulf Wars XVI

 

 

 

 

                                                                   

                               

                                            Rapier, Combat, and Archery Competitons

Gulf Wars XVI

SCA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merchants Row          

Gulf Wars XVI

SCA

 

 

                                           Gulf WarXV 2006/SCA

Marching to war

My middle son Ceallach is at this years SCA Gulf War XVI ,it is at King's Arrow Ranch, 26 Kings Highway, Lumberton, MS.    http://www.gulfwars.org

 

Fencing competition

Ceallach is one of the Marshalls

He will be gone for ten days, he has made a trailer to pull behind his jeep, has made a wood bed that is slotted to fit together and hold his king air mattress , and provide storage underneath for the containers with assorted clothes and supplies. He and his group have pre-cooked all of their food for the event, sealed it and froze it to take with them. Much easier way than cooking there.

My handsome son, Ceallach McDonal

He is a Rapier Fencer

Hawking at Gulf War XV 2006

 

Wooded scene at Gulf War XV, 2006

 

Group shot at Gulf War XV 2006,

my son, Ceallach is the first on the left of picture.

I hope they have a lot of fun at this years Gulf War XVI. It is a big SCA event.

http://www.gulfwars.org/schedule.html

                                  Toms' Valentine Tulips, they have bloomed just beautifully!

I got these at Costco and they were just bulbs set in a clear glass vase, the bulbs sit about 3 inches above the water. The bulbs sit on a perforated clear plastic? disk, above the water and the roots are below in the water. You water only enough to keep the roots damp, but not enough to get the bulbs wet, otherwise the bulbs would rot.

We have really enjoyed these, there were no buds when I bought them, but they soon developed and "lo and behold" we have these gorgeous Tulips. The added bonus being that new little bulbs are growing alongside the old ones.

We were in Costco last Sunday and they now have a large assortment of different coloured bulbs, talk about a big temptation! lol   I love the red with yellow tips, hmmmm must resist, must resist.

 

 

These are Paper-whites (Narcissus)

It is absolutely gorgeous outside today! The sky is clear blue, the clouds are fluffy and white, and the sun is shining, the birds are out, and the flowers are trying to bloom. It is in the high 70 degrees outside today and I love it.

I got my hubby some potted purple tulips for Valentines and they opened up today, so far 14 have bloomed. They just make you think of Spring in Capital  Letters!! lol   I had bought some Paperwhite bulbs at Christmas and they are blooming also, just beautiful things. My hubby doesn't like the way they smell tho. Oh well....  

 

This is a picture of Purple Tulips

 

 I had bought two small miniature rose bushes but the red one didn't survive and the yellow one might not. I either have a green thumb or a very, very black one.  I do quite well with ivys though, and all my bulbs outside around the pool do well. I had some beautiful purple Irises last year, I hope they come back this year.

I hope this weather stays awhile, I love the warmth!  Yea Spring!!

 

The games and fun will soon begin!

 

 

 

 

The feast determines
Our luck for all the seasons
The chefs must not fail!

                                                                            

 

 

                                       The New Year Celebration is Nigh!!

 

Rockets soar up high
Sparklers glint and poppers flash
Noises scare nian

New Year's is at hand
A time for feasts, friends, and fun
Fortunes will come true

 

Races will be run
Pigs will most certainly fly
Will you win or lose?

 

 

 

 

                                                                          The New Year is coming 16 February 2007, for Guild Wars.

I am so excited! Games, Masks, Potions, I am ready to go!!

 

What will you collect?
Sugar for speed? Bags for greed?
                                                     Your fortune foretold.

There are going to be cooking competion, rollerblading, all kinds of good fun to be had!! Whoops, so sorry, I meant to say "Roller Beetle" racing.   lol   too funny!!

The feast determines
Our luck for all the seasons
The chefs must not fail!

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                     

               Rich or Poor, Old or Young, Male or Female,

              We All have the same amount of one thing -- Time.

              Does time matter that much?

              To realize the value of one Minute,

ask a person who just missed the plane, train or bus.

The value of one Second, ask a person who just avoided an accident.

The value of one Millisecond, ask a person who just won a race.

 Each of us has a bank called Time.

Each morning it credits us with 86,400 seconds.

 Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever we have failed to invest to good purpose.

It carries over no balance, it allows no overdraft.

 Each day it opens a new account for us.

Each night it burns the remains of the day.

If we fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is ours.

There is No Going Back.

There is No Drawing against tomorrow.

We must live in the present on Today's Deposits.

Invest it so as to get from it the Utmost in Health, Happiness and Success.

Time: It's the Essence of Life.

If we use it wisely, we can become better, more productive, better people.

We can love others more effectively. We can remember to play a little and to stay young at heart.

The Anonymous Author of these words helps Us Realize how Important Time Is!

 

My dream car when I was a teenager

1955 Ford Thunderbird Roadster

Comments made in the year 1955:

"I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $20."

"Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before $2000 will only buy a used one."

 "If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous." "Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?"

"If they raise the minimum wage to $1, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store."

 "When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon. Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage."

"Kids today are impossible. Those duck tail hair cuts make it impossible to stay groomed. Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair as long as the girls."

"I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more. Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying 'damn' in 'Gone With The Wind,' it seems every new movie has either "hell" or "damn" in it. "

I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas."

"Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the president."

"I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now."

"It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet."

"It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work."

"Marriage doesn't mean a thing any more; those Hollywood stars seem to be getting divorced at the drop of a hat."

 "I'm just afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business."

 "Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people ?

"The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on."

"There is no sense going to Vancouver anymore for a weekend. It costs nearly $15 a night to stay in a hotel."

"No one can afford to be sick any more; $35 a day in the hospital is too rich for my blood."

"If they think I'll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it."

Our granddaughter Cassie and her son Sam, our first great grandson.

Blogs

Keeping in touch with family and friends can get expensive and time consuming, especially when it comes to sending pictures. But as Tom Haynes shows us in tonight's More Bang for Your Buck, there's a new and easy way to stay close to loved ones -- for free.

 Reported by: Tom Haynes Producer: Diana Reed Contact dreed@wsvn.com View all archived More Bang for Your Buck reports WSVN --

 Cassie Hatcher is pretty good at keeping in touch with family and friends, despite living hundreds of miles apart. But when she had Sam six months ago everyone wanted to hear more from her about the new addition.

Cassie Hatcher: "He links you so much more to the family that everybody has to know about him." Cassie used to spend hours uploading and sending pictures via e-mail. But now she's found a new way to do it that is less time consuming and free.

 Cassie Hatcher: "I've got 200 plus pictures, plus like 20 videos on here." She created an on-line blog on Dada.net. Now her whole family can sign on and check out the baby's progress.

 Cassie Hatcher: "We've got my grandmother on there, my father on there, my brother." Dada.net is based in Italy but is expanding worldwide including the U.S.

 Chiara Ronchetti: "Dada is now a community of more than 7 million people world wide." Here's how it works: You create a family blog...

 Antonella Stellacci: "Once the setup process is finished you can start uploading pictures and writing up your blogs." ...Then your friends and family join.

 Antonella Stellacci: "So all of them will participate to the writing. They can also upload pictures to the same blog." There are a lot of free blog sites out there. What sets Dada apart is you can use your mobile phone. Photos can be uploaded immediately. "It is available with all carriers here in the U.S." And the family can get the picture on their phone instantly. "You can share it in real time with your friends or family members."

 "He's thinking about it, You gonna swallow?" So whether it's Sam's first food or his first step, mom Cassie can share it with the entire family in an instant.

 Cassie Hatcher: "I take probably 15 pictures of him a day and I post them all on there."

Tom Haynes: "Photos on the phone can only be shared here in the states. But if you've got family overseas they can all sign on to your blog via the internet."

 FOR MORE INFORMATION: life.Dada.net http://us.life.dada.net/home/

Can't lose this trio.

  Nothing like a shiny smile.

On the 11th of January 2007, I

received my retainers.

As in all things, as you get older things like to shift around, including your teeth. I have always had beautifully straight teeth and it seemed to me that they were getting crooked in front. When I went to my dentist, he laughed and said "Like everything else, as we get older our teeth also shift, and yes, mine were crowding frontward." So, I found out that, yes, my teeth were getting crooked, and yes, I could go see an Orthodontist if I wanted to get it reversed.

So off I went to see the Orthodontist and was measured and fitted for retainers. The top for an overbite and space between the front teeth, and the bottom to get straightened  back out. I opted for a glow in the dark top and a tiger stripe for the bottom. Figured that at my age (65), I just as well have fun while doing it.

When I told my daughter the color choices, she started giggling, "I can just see Dads' face if he wakes up in the middle of the night and there is this glowing hole on your side of the bed." No accounting for your kids' sense of humor. Lol, it was funny tho.

I have to wear them 24/7 except when I eat or brush my teeth. What the Orthodontist didn't tell me, was how dadgum sensitive my teeth would get. I accidentally bumped them together and Oh! did it hurt. I also at this point cannot bite things from the front of my mouth, I have to go at it from the back sides. Small bites too!

Maybe I will get lucky and lose weight doing this, ummm? Definitely not sticking junk food into my mouth now. The retainers put a fast stop to that.