Memorial Day

Hi gang! I hope you are all enjoying your long holiday weekend...doing whatever it is that you are doing! I know I am enjoying 3 days off in a row from the store...what a pleasure it has been, even though some of it is being spent playing catch up on stuff I usually put off until the last minute.

Since it is Memorial Day, I thought I'd save these pictures for today, even though I took them this past Friday. A church that Skip & I pass every day to & from work had these flags out front on their lawn & when we happened across them on Thursday, we got the chills, we were that moved by it. I wanted to make a point of getting pictures of it as best I could on Friday evening on our way home. There must be at least several thousand of these little flags, no exaggeration.

So, in honor of all Americans who gave their lives in Iraq & Afghanistan (& in other wars, too)...here are my pictures of the "Field of Flags."

A Kid in a Candy Shop

Yesterday my friend Lori & I went on a day trip to the Berkshires in Massachusetts...destination...the great big mama store of the Yankee Candle Company in South Deerfield. The place is fabulous & I'm like a kid in a candy shop!

I've been heading up there at least once a year since I first discovered Yankee Candles about 15 years or so ago & my how they've changed & expanded big time over the years. The "headquarters" ~ the candles used to be made right there, but that part of it is down the road a bit now ~ has everything from their candles (of course ~ duh!) to stuff for your home & garden & a Bavarian Christmas village & the Black Forest. Although there are Yankee Candle stores in malls & Yankee Candle candles to be found at Bed Bath & Beyond (among other places), no place has the immense selection of scents that they do here in South Deerfield, MA. Thee's every scent from tea & honey to dune grass to gardenia to fresh ground coffee...& everything in between! I myself, picked up 29 different scented tarts (wickless "candles" that I put in an electric tart warmer)...& 2 of each of those different scents! I had this trip planned & saved my pennies so I could go a little nuts. I also picked up some of their jar candles. It's no exaggeration when I tell you that 1 of these little tarts scents my entire house for the day...so I'm pretty well set for a while, don't ya think?

I took a couple of pictures on my camera phone of the Bavarian Christmas village & thought I e-mailed them to myself, but they haven't shown up yet. Bizarre! Sooooo....you'll have to make do with the picture I snapped here at home of my basket~o~tarts & what I've lifted from their website.

Music Video

For my hubby, Skip, 1 of my favorite songs of all time, by 1 of my favorite artists of all time. Where's a boombox when you need 1?

Catchin' Up With Nub

I bet you all thought I fell off the face of the Earth, didn't you? Well...no....not exactly. Skip was unable to work for about a week & a half, so I had the store to myself for that time. I basically went to work, came home & forced myself to eat something (anything) & went to bed. It's not easy running a busy little store all on your own for a day or 2, but for an extended period it's....well.....draining, physically & emotionally. Skip has rallied beautifully, but I'm still feeling the effects. I'm just sort of blah & going through the motions right now. I don't blame Skip at all, please don't get me wrong! I'm just feeling how difficult running a retail store on your own can be. I need a vacation or at least a day off where I'm not running around to my own various doctor's appointments (I've got a lot going on there, but that's another story ~ I'm ok, but figuring out what's going on), trips to the vet (Stella the kitty either has a kidney infection, UTI, or her kidneys are failing because of her age ~ let's hope it's not the last), doing laundry, etc. I just plainly & simply need to re~group. Thank the powers above that next weekend is Memorial Day weekend & the store is closed on Saturday, Sunday & Monday. I'm thinking of doing a day trip up to the main Yankee Candle Company store in South Deerfield, MA (Lori....do you want to join me? I'll be calling you! Phinney...do you want to meet me there?)

Anywho...yesterday, my mom, aunt & I went to a young (or at least young to me, she was born in 1982 ~ LOL) cousin's bridal shower in Bethlehem, PA. It has gotten to that point where our cousins kids are now all getting married. They're all young enough to be my own kids, but old enough to be getting married ~ WOW! She's a cute little thing (as you can see by the picture below...that's the nicest bridal~shower~ribbon~bouquet I've ever seen made!), quite bubbly, has a great smile & just all around sweet. Her mom (also my cousin, obviously) is 1 of 8 kids (5 boys, 3 girls) & her 2 sisters & her mom (my great~aunt & the bride's grandmother) were there. The 3 girls I mentioned are so funny (especially Patty) & all are fabulously crafty & great at baking ~ look out Martha Stewart! Later on, my great~uncle Jack (the bride's grandfather & my grandmother's brother) showed up (he's in the other picture below with my great~aunt, my mom & my aunt). It was wonderful to see him, as he's now 87 & his health, unfortunately, is really starting to fail. My grandmother would be sooooo pleased that we got to spend some time with him.

That's enough rambling for me for now. I must now get off my butt & continue on with the 42bazillion things that need to get done. And if you're wondering about the picture above, that's taken from the deck behind my house & shows the view at night, down the valley to White Plains, NY. Hope all is well with you...if any of you are still out there reading my blog....I hope I haven't lost all of you! LOL

I'm still here....

Hi everybody! Yes.........I'm still out here......alive & kicking! I've just had a rough couple of weeks for one reason or another, I'm still rather out of sorts & not sure what to write, but I'm OK...there's nothing to worry about. Will catch up with a post on Sunday....I promise!