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Happy May Day! A recent photo from our family farm property in Texas.

We didn't lose anyone in April. Still at 40 members.

Happy 50th birthday to me month!!! I have clawed, scratched and climbed this hill and ready for the other side. Happy May!!!

I'm back to work this week after spring break last week, with 5 more weeks of school left after this week. I always like to have productive breaks, and we did a lot of stuff, but no really big projects. But that's okay. We got 65 bags of mulch, and maybe about half are spread. But, I did get a new car! That really wasn't needed or planned, but sometimes things happen. I had picked out what I wanted, and planned to purchase in the fall. But then I saw that the factory started shipping a new color, and that's all it took. So I found one in my state with the features I wanted, and checked the site every day until it arrived. Then showed up first thing the next day! I didn't need a car, and I feel horribly guilty, but I love it.

Just need a tarp, bungies, and garbage bags.

I’d love no mow may. Biggest issues are snakes and HOA. Not sure which I detest more. Just being back in an annoying one has already made us discuss buying a few acres and building again.

We managed to get 1 mow in a couple weeks ago. As much rain as we've had though, by the time we can mow again we are going to need a brush hog. I was wondering earlier if they make a pontoon lawn mower, LOL.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of our GD Mom’s! Hope you have a great day!

It’s been a week of doctors for me. I finally convinced my GP that something has to be done about my knee pain so she shot me up with steroids and Holy Cow, I can walk again! What a difference. I also have a fancy new ️placard for my car that I feel like an imposter using LOL then yesterday, I spent 6 hours in a dentist chair with a cracked molar that got infected. So now I have to deal with the infection before he can fix the tooth. Why is tooth pain the absolute worst pain ever?! But hooray for hydrocodone haha

Would rather deal with snakes than an HOA. Hope you can build and escape the HOA

At this rate, I'd need a full on brush mower if I did a no-mow May... The dandelions are as big as my cats already!

"No Mow May"?!? We don't even have No Mow Decembers most years! Wanna trade?

I got an old car. Yesterday, I got my crappy Focus inspected. I was not willing to spend more than $1k getting it to pass inspection and not getting a sticker would have triggered a lot of changes in my life. Primarily, retirement. I would not have repaired the car, was unwilling to commute 18k miles per year in my F150, and was uninterested in any new or used car available to me at this time. The only recommendation of the inspection station was that I change the oil and rotate the tires. All green -- not a single yellow or red mark on their checklist. The service manager said I could put another 100k on the POS. I may. So I had the oil changed and rotated the tires. I'll have to find a better reason to retire than my crappy Ford Focus.

Don't feel guilty! If the car works for you to fit your needs, and budget wise as well, you're fine!

I used to be a summer girl. But, man, we haven't even hit summer yet and I'm ready for the BER months!

So yesterday was "May the 4th be with you" and today is "Revenge of the 5th" for us Star Wars nerds. Mew (kitty in my picture) goes in for her semi-annual checkup this morning. We check her thyroid and bp twice a year since she's a senior kitty and is taking daily maintenance meds for both. She's not happy with me right now because, in order to safely handle the drive (we've discovered her heart rate spikes badly on longer than about a 10 minute ride), I have to give her a dose of gabapentin 2 hours before we leave. I know she hates the way it makes her feel, so I feel terrible giving it to her, with my only comfort being that it's better than the alternative for her. [If we could draw her blood remotely somehow, I'd totally spare her the "fun".] The gaba takes 8-12 hours to wear off after I administer it to her, so I do my best to set her appointments on my work from home days to minimize disruption to my work while allowing close monitoring of her to keep her safe and to make sure it actually does wear off properly. When she's feeling good otherwise, it does tend to wear off closer to the 8 hour range than the 12, thankfully. In other news, my "sister from another mister" mom's celebration of life has been scheduled for 5/24. This will be while us other two of the 3 musketeers are local, since that's Charlotte race week (this was not intentionally set up that way - just happened to be the best date for the family overall) so we will be able to be there for/with her as she says her last goodbye to her mama. In the meantime, we told her to keep us posted on how much of the race week stuff she wants to join us for, as we've committed to making the drive between her house in SC and Charlotte (roughly 2 hours each way) multiple times as needed. It'll be worth every minute and every penny we spend on gas to support her any way we can while we're that close.

Scans: https://gottadeal.com/scans/hallmark-dream-book-2025 Also available in PDF and on browse-able product pages on https://www.hallmark.com

Woooo! Thought I'd missed a month. Finally started new job, so far lots of training and new information. Sad to see ppl are still hired based on social skills and presentation, Wondering how far these 2 are going to get. Looks like trainer is new to position too so slow and unsure going.

I give you guys credit. I would have lost my mind.

Thanks. Yes I know the feeling. My wife wants to rip out these bushes that are in the middle of our front yard and replace with flowers and some boulders. Have to get HOA approval. We are going to add stairs to our back deck. Have to get HOA approval. We are going to repaint the outside of the house, have to get approval and the house can’t be the same color as any other houses within 5 houses of us in all directions. It’s a ton of houses because we are on a corner. Insanity. Happy May all.

Baruch Dayem ha’Emetz Blessed Be the True Judge

Also checking in for April. Spring has certainly sprung here. Think I will celebrate No Mow May except an a space by the street! (Golden rod and milk weed are not weeds.) luckily- NO HOA

Checking in. I hope I checked in for March but , I really don’t know

Saying a prayer for your dear friend. What a blessing though, to be so loved. She must have been a very special person.

Happy Easter to those who celebrate!

I then started a Passover adapted version of Joanna’s Sausage Kraut in the crockpot for tonight’s dinner. I forgot to show the apple and dried cranberries in the photo above, so I took this shot before combining. Well, at this point I’m being limited on uploads, so I guess to be continued later…

Congratulations, she's a beauty! As for guilt, nah, sometimes we just have to show ourselves some love. Good for you!

Happy April! My luger and I are back in the swing of things since coming back from Salt Lake City last month. Kendall's second race there was the Norton Jr. National Championships, for sliders age 14 to 21. Kendall is one of the youngest on the team (she is currently 15), and raced against her teammates, as well as the athletes on the next level up, the Jr. National Team, where they are more experienced sliders, in addition to being older and bigger. Kendall managed a 6th place finish out of 17 athletes. The athletes ahead of her, except for 1, were all on the next level team, so out of those on her team, she placed 2nd. She finished 3rd overall for the season, so when she returns to Lake Placid for the summer (she will be training with the next level team for the entire summer), she has another medal waiting for her. The official team list gets released on May 1, though we already know what her placement will be, but we aren't allowed to discuss it openly until the list comes out. Today's video is of Kendall sliding into the finish on the 2002 (and 2034) Olympic track! VID_20250414_200821.mp4

Ate at one of their restaurants on the way home from somewhere and IT WAS DELICIOUS!

Heck, I've "washed out" in years past but I've still come back around and posted/read throughout the year just to see what everyone was up to. Good times.

I still think I am out but here is a quick note.

:::HUGS:::

April showers brings..... mud! Lots and lots of mud. At least the last half of the month even though a bit soggy was much better than the first part of the month. Here's hoping May will dry out a bit as the weather starts getting nicer. Also hoping to maybe find a few garage sales to get out and do something.

Good for you I got my first new car, also blue in 2012. I like sedans. Owned 2 station wagons in the past and no desire for an suv. Always keep our cars a loooong time. ENJOY

Oh my!! But I could see myself doing that too. If I hadn't researched and picked out and stalked and made a trip for that particular car!

Time for a new phone. My last phone was a Samsung S22, which I bought in 2022 as part of a carrier deal with AT&T. Three years ago I started a 36-month contract that made the phone free after 36 monthly bill credits. But the reality of that plan is that if I lost or accidentally destroyed my phone at any point during those 36 months, I would still have to pay the whole thing off at the full MSRP. I didn't pay for phone insurance because that would have negated the "free" nature of the phone. So now that the three years are up, I'm ratcheting down the level of phone I'm getting and paying cash for a new phone worth half of what the Samsung was financed for. If I lose this phone, that's on me but since the phone is paid for it's not as big a setback as if I lost the Samsung. So that's my May.

I have always wanted a blue/navy car but when I’m on the lot car shopping I always chicken out. ROFL! I have no idea why either!

Happy May Day

Happy Easter

Happy Easter

Got to spend my Granddaughters 6th birthday with her. Such a blessing!!!

The Joanns closing really hurts. I shopped there quite a bit, and bought my embroidery machine from a Viking dealer inside one of those stores. I went to my local one yesterday and 1. I've never seen so many cars in the parking lot, 2. People were bellied up to the cutting bar with bolt after bolt of fabrics, yelling at the employees that they only wanted a half yard even though there were signs everywhere saying they had a 1 yard minimum and 3. 20% off is not a real sale, when you could regularly use a 40% off coupon previously. I don't know where these people came from, but I felt so bad for the employees having to deal with them. I walked out without buying anything, I just felt like saying goodbye to an old friend. Not sure where I'll get my fabric from in the future, but I'm sure something will pop up in its place. I really don't like the idea of buying fabric online. I have enough of a stash to last me through at least one apocalypse, so I should be good for a while

Most around me are closing. I don't hit Joann's often but I will miss them still for the times I did find stuff I needed there.