Celosia Plant

Over the weekend Eddie and I were in the local Bi-Lo and saw some of these pretty plants in a markdown basket. I've been wanting one of these for a long time. It's called Celosia. I've never had one before, but the stick tag on the inside said it can be either a houseplant in a container or planted outside. I read something else online that said that it was a seasonal plant. I hope that it lives inside in a container. Eddie planted it yesterday and it's really pretty. I haven't had a chance to take a picture of it yet, but I found one online that is very similar.

Swan Gourd or Squash?

My friend and her husband went hiking this weekend and they found this gourd or squash (I'm not sure which) that looks just like a swan. I had to share it.

Piano Lessons Continued

I'm into my second month of piano lessons. I am really having alot of fun with it. I have to admit, though, that I've hit a speed bump with learning the 1/8th notes. It's a little confusing, but I'll get the hang of it.

About 3 weeks ago, I thought I was going to have a piano given to me. Our renters (and friends) were moving out of our rental house and had a piano that they needed to find a home for. They were wanting to either sell it or donate it. I didn't have the funds to buy a piano, so I just forgot about it. Our friend said that they had asked their church if they wanted the piano and the church said they didn't need it. He also said that if they couldn't sell it or donate it, that I could have it. Oh joy! I was sure I was getting a real live piano. Well, I should have known better than to count my chickens before they were hatched. The people at the church changed their minds and decided they wanted the piano for their youth group. I kept hoping they would never come and get it, but I knew deep down that they would. And they did. I decided that God had a plan for that piano, and it didn't include me, so I'm fine with that. He knows what's best anyway. Who knows? I may decide playing the piano isn't for me and then I would have been stuck with a piano to do something with. I don't feel that way right now, though, but you never know how things will turn out.

One good thing is that I do have a picture of me playing the piano. It was a beautiful piano.

Barbie Calendar

Today I was in Hobby Lobby and on my way out I saw a pretty Barbie calender for 2010. I love Barbie and especially vintage Barbie. I used to collect Barbie dolls awhile back, but I ran out of room to display them and I stopped. It all started with collecting Hallmark Barbie ornaments. I have several, but I haven't bought any in the last several years. I collected Hallmark ornaments for about 5 years until I ran out of room on my tree. Anyway, I digress. I thought I would share a few of the pictures from the Barbie calendar that I bought today. The best thing about it is that I had a 40% off coupon, so I was not going to pass this up.






One day this week I was going to sit down in my recliner and I saw this:


The little bugger had taken my chair. He was so cute, though, that I had to grab the camera and take a picture.

This week has been a hard one. Earlier in the week, my best friend had to go to the hospital with breathing and heart problems. She was released from the hospital, though, and is resting at home now. Then today I learned that my cousin's wife has kidney cancer, plus she's having to have surgery today to have her gall bladder removed and it's uncertain what they found. I haven't heard anything since the surgery. It just reminds me how we have no guarantees and how thankful we should be for our blessings. How we should enjoy every single day on this earth and especially with our families. It just reminds me how precious life is and how important all the people that we love are. It makes me want to give my husband an extra hug and kiss before he or I goes out the door. It makes me want to really listen to everything he has to say instead of sometimes half listening while I'm doing something else.

Piano Lessons

I just started taking piano lessons this last weekend. My first lesson was Saturday and it went really well. I'm so excited. I have been wanting to do this for a really long time. I don't have a piano (yet), but I do have a keyboard that I bought last year and it's just fine for now.

I can't remember if I told the story of my piano lesson nightmare when I was a child. My aunt (my mother's sister), made up her mind that I was going to learn to play the piano like my cousin Jane. Well, I was only about 7 years old and I had absolutely no desire to be like "Cousin Jane", but for some reason, my aunt had her mind set on it and when she had her mind set, there was no changing it. She even bought a piano for me. I was such an ungrateful child. To add insult to injury, she arranged for me to have my piano lessons on Saturday mornings. Now, what could be worse when you are a child than having piano lessons on Saturday mornings, when what you really want to do is stay home and watch cartoons? So, grudgingly, I went every Saturday morning for my lesson. I hated it. I didn't retain anything and didn't practice so naturally I wasn't going to make any progress. Finally, the piano teacher told my aunt that I was not interested and wasn't making any progress. She told her that she was just throwing her money away, so my aunt stopped taking me. Later on, she sold the piano to her brother, whose wife played. I'm sure my aunt was very disappointed in me. The real tragedy to all this is that later, the piano burned when my uncle's house burned down. Poor piano. Nobody wanted it and it came to a tragic end.

Now that I've grown up and become more mature I realize that I threw away an awesome opportunity to learn something wonderful. If I had just stuck with it I would have learned to play and might even still have that very piano today. But, I didn't stick with it and I don't have that piano. But, that was then and this is now. Now, I truly have a desire to learn to play. I wish my aunt could see the desire that I have and watch me actually taking an interest now, since I disappointed her so long ago. But, I'm not doing this for her, I'm doing it for me. And, who knows, maybe she's looking down from Heaven.

Tales of Beatrix Potter by The Royal Ballet

I love Beatrix Potter books and illustrations and I also love the movie Miss Potter. I found this cute video excerpt of the Tales of Beatrix Potter by the Royal Ballet DVD on Youtube today. I think I'm going to have to get myself a copy for my own mental health. I think if I were down in the dumps, this would cheer me right up.

Beautiful Orchids

I wanted to share a beautiful orchid that is on the desk in the Circulation area of the library where I work.


I have tried growing orchids in the past, but after blooming once they seem to curl up and die. I even had one once that got root rot. I've since figured out that I was probably watering them too much or keeping the soil too wet. I talked to a coworker of mine who is an expert in raising orchids and I think I may have figured out how to keep one living. I might decide to try another one soon. I'll have to give that some thought. In the meantime, I saw this beautiful one (below) online and thought I would share it. I sure wish I had one like this. The red against the white is so dramatic and breathtaking.