The Hilltop

Friday night Connie and I went to the Hilltop Restaurant for a nice steak dinner. The filet Mignon was delicious, deep and wide and yummy, and the baked potato with butter and sour cream was fresh and tasty and the salad was large, and just the ticket. We had a lot of fun catching up on news and talking about going to the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee this June.

The Hilltop is a Boston landmark, and almost everyone here has a story of waiting in a two block long line to get in. There are lots of rooms, and over the loudspeaker they call your ticket number; "102 for the Kansas City". All the rooms have names of cities known for cattle. There are placemats with cuts of meat illustrations. The people come in droves, but the wait now is not nearly so long as it used to be.

I have always felt like a tourist when I go to the Hilltop, but I am beginning to call it my own. You always know you are going to get a friendly waitress, a really good steak, more food that you need and often some to take home, and the steaks really are delicious.

I'm glad Boston has a good steakhouse that reminds me of Oklahoma!

Have a great day!

A 12 hour day

I recently worked a 12 hour day, straight through, without a break. Lunch was provided, so I had a very nice egg salad salad and an green apple around 2:00. I learned several things. One, they really can teach old dogs new tricks, and two, I am as good at staying on my feet and staying productive as the next guy. I was tired when I got home, but I survived. I managed to keep my spirits up, and when my energy flagged, my optimism kicked in. After all, 12 hours in a deep dark wet hole would be worse. Think about those men who you call on midnight on Thanksgiving when the power goes out, or the water main breaks. It wasn't as bad as that!

The problem with working long hours is that my creativity suffers. My beading table sits there surrounded with thousands of dollars of beautiful beads, silver and gold, and the powerful OTT lights are turned to off. Nada. Nothing. No jewelry here.

Tonight I get to go home at the regular time, in time for a manicure and a stop at the drug store, and maybe even the time to make a necklace or a bracelet. After a 12 hour day, any day with daylight left at the end of it looks really good!

Have a great day.

Is it ok to go to bed at 8:00?

I sometimes like to go to bed really early. Maybe it is the "couch potato" syndrome, but I'd much rather be a bed bug. Working nine or ten hours each day really makes me long for a nice stretch out. I wish I had time to walk a mile or so each day. That is something that would be far better for me, but ... I'll work on it.

George is off to the Pacific hinterlands, and Thunder and I are enjoying a quiet evening at home. Since I find TV dull and unexciting without George here, it is better for us to read a magazine and have a little stretchy-scratchy time on the bed. The fact that I am allergic to cats is not a problem. Thunder and I have been stretching and scratching together for 16 years and I've been allergic to her the whole time! When I lay my hand on the bed, Thunder has a way of turning her head in the palm of my hand so that my finger goes into her ears. She loves to get her ears scratched in this way, but like dancing, she takes the lead. She delicately twists so that my fingers just are in the right place to rub her ears. What a delight.

I noticed that it was 89 degrees outside today. I left my lunch in my car, and the cooler didn't keep things cool, so I had a hot turkey sandwich and luke warm applesauce; not thrilling, to say the least. I really have to find some time to take off work and go buy myself something yummy to eat. Or better yet, take a walk at lunch time. What a novel concept!

I'm jumping all over the place with this blog entry...so I think I'll go back to the bed for more cat scratching.

Have a great night.

A long flight

George is safe on the other side of the world. He called this morning and said that the flight was long and "grueling" but that he is safe at the Hilton Hotel. Thank God for globalization I say. When you go to a Hilton you know what to expect. My advice to him was to take a long walk down the hallway to the soda machine and buy a few bottles of nice cold water and then go to bed (it was nine o'clock there) with a couple of Advils. He is tall and I imagine that his legs need a good stretch. I hope he sleeps well.

I had two orders for necklaces from ladies at church, so I got up this morning early to finish one, and now I'm ready to go to church, teach Sunday School, and spend some part of the day with my good friend Connie. Not having George here to do things has already taken it's toll. I meant ALL day yesterday to go take the clothes out of the dryer, and they are still there. There's no one here to keep me on track!

The other thing I've noticed is that everything on TV is not worth watching. George is usually in charge of the remote, and often finds things of interest, but for the life of me, I can't find anything to watch. I'm trying to censor myself from the doom and gloom of the news stations, and unless there is a good travel show on, I find that TV is just a big waste of time.

The weather is glorious. Time for a nice walk.

Have a great day.

Aloha George!

George is leaving for Hawaii in the morning. I am sad that he is going and even sadder that I am not going with him. I hope he has a splendid time. In the past he has gone to a lovely store and bought me pearls to make into jewelry, but lately I discovered an online seller of pearls in the Philippines and I have just about as many strands of pearls as a girl needs! They sold $200 worth of pearls for $80, and...I bought some. I also bought many strands of beautiful mother-of-pearl that are gorgeous and I can't wait to start on some new jewelry this weekend.

I will be alone for the next week and a half and will have lots of time to make jewelry. I even might have time to pick up a book and read it! Kitty and I are going to be lonesome around here. And worse, I have to do my own laundry, dishes and cooking! Oh no!

Since I am working again, George is picking up the slack with the housework. I get home later than he does, so he is kind enough to cook, clean, and shop. I'm really going to miss him!

I hope he has a safe trip and enjoys the tangerines and cookies that I'm going to sneak into his carry on. You never know when they will run out of food on airplanes these days.

Have a great day!

Too many beads?

Yesterday I went to the bead shore and bought some beads to make a necklace. I'm not sure, but I think I own too many beads. Putting them away has become a problem. I have lots of divided boxes, containers and cases of beads. And more just keep coming in. Recently there was a sale on pearls, and I ordered many strands of beautiful pearls from the Philippines.

I made a trip to the bead store yesterday and made this necklace. As I was making it, I wondered if my huge collection of beads was becoming a little over the top. Maybe I am a little out of balance. Maybe I have too many beads.

I love 'em. I don't care.

Have a great day.

This is what happens when I say "smile!"

The basket I made for Lucy, George's 4 month old granddaughter

Easter Smiles

Coffee Hour

Easter Day

Coffee hour at church was great. We arrived at eight o'clock and started unloading coffee cakes, cup cakes and cookies. Our oven was on 350 degrees from 11:00 a.m. yesterday until 7:00 pm last night. We made three bundt cakes, two batches of cup cakes, confetti and chocolate, and George made roll'em out sugar cookies.

This morning I made 100 cups of coffee and 30 cups of decaf and they drank every drop. The bell choir played a piece by Handel, Rigaudon, and it all went very nicely. It is fun to play bells when you really know the piece and are confident. I enjoyed every minute of it. The church looked beautiful, everyone was happy to be there, and the coffee and cakes just kept coming.

These red tulips were the centerpiece today. Every Easter George and I host coffee hour, and we always come home a little tired, but happy. Since there are two services, we serve after both of them, so it is like hosting TWO coffee hours. Today we served over 200 people.

Since neither George nor I have family here to visit, it is great to use our energy to entertain at church. It is our Easter celebration. And I can't think of a better place to celebrate.

Have a great day.

Almost Easter!

This is the weekend when we go to church services every night. Tonight was simple and nice, and George and I were happy to be there, and happy to be together. Afterward we stopped at Kohl's and I bought mom an Easter present -- a new blouse -- and George bought me a new gold coffee filter. No one said you can't go shopping after church, did they?

Tomorrow is cake baking day. We will make bundt cakes and cup cakes to serve on Easter morning. It is a flurry of activity at this time of year. We also will make a trip to our favorite Swedish bakery for some bought cakes filled with fruit. Every year we are the coffee hosts and there is a big crowd. It is fun to make special cakes and do things up nice for the hungry crowd between Easter services. We put in the extra effort and everyone looks forward to it.

I am also coloring eggs this year. There aren't any kids here to enjoy them, but I like them! I like coloring them, I like looking at them, and I like eating them...so there.

Have a great night. Tomorrow is Saturday and I've been looking forward to it all week!

Icy Slush Wind & Cold

Right now I'm wishing I lived in Arizona, or Kansas, or anywhere that has some sunshine. The weather today was so dreary and cold and then the big dollops of wet snow came down and created an inch of slush. Looking at the baseball game tonight in Kansas City, and realizing that somewhere there is some sun, made me wish I was still a southern girl.

I'm dreaming of a beach in the summer. I seldom go to the beach, but this summer I'm going to try harder to find some time to lay on the sand. Right now, a day on the beach sounds really good. We could go to Gloucester to Good Harbor Beach and wiggle our toes in the sand. My friend Connie and I made a pact that as soon as summer comes we will find a whole Saturday to spend at the beach. Some day soon the rain and snow will be gone, and it will be sunshiny bright and hot. Oh no. Hot.

Have a good day.