Singing TOGETHER!!!

Signing a song with EG

EG and me in the living room

Ever have a dream come true?

Do you have a bucket list/a wish list?  I know it's very popular to cite a bucket list - particularly for folks in my age bracket.  Time's flyin' by, ya know.

Those of you that know me well know that there's a specific singer/song writer that I am quite taken with.  Petey and I have traveled to 4 different states to see her perform.  We have formed a friendship accomplished, I'm sure, because of my stalker-mode. 

Meeting her was amazing and she was so gracious.  Didn't even act scared of me.  I gave her some jewelry so that helped, I think.

I have all of her CDs and know every lyric to every song.  I've had the pleasure of singing a few of her tunes with my friends here in town.  

So imagine my surprise when I found out Allegan was on her fall schedule.  Thank you, Deb and Joe Leverance for making that happen.

It was then that my dream began to form.  I was hoping that I could get her to come to our house for a bite to eat before the gig Saturday night.  Crossed my fingers for many days prior to her arrival.

It happened!  We chatted about everything under the sun.  Just like two old friends.  I was beside myself with happiness.

I was also thinking that if there ever was an opportunity to sing with her - this was it.  I was getting my courage up to ask when she turned to me and said "Ellen, I want to hear you sing." 

See above.  I couldn't figure out how to get it in the blog.

Wow and wow, wow, wow.  I can now die a happy woman.

Then came the performance at the Griswold Auditorium.  It had already been set up that I would sign Through the Eyes of a Child and I was geeked for it.

See above.

I was very pleased with the way it all went, hugged her afterward and was ready to step off the stage when she asked, "Do you wanna stay?"  Oh, HELL, yes!!!

You know the drill.


That's what it looks like when a person's dream comes true.

Buyer's remorse

I'm going to only address 3 categories for buyer's remorse today.  I know there are many out there and I'm counting on you to add your own examples.

Exercise equipment:  didn't that fancy treadmill sound like a good idea at the time?  You were going to walk every day, adding on the miles as time went by and then you'd enter your first big race/walk.
So, how'd that go for ya?  Did it become just another place to drape clothing?

And let us not forget the full set of weights in the basement that promised to make you look like Arnold.  Gathering dust are they?

Kitchen appliances: the blender that was going to do everything except the hand jive.  After using it once and finding out was a pain in the ass it was to clean - is it now sitting way, way in the back of some closet/pantry?

Clothing:  the shoes that really weren't you but you were trying to "step outside the box" you've been living in for too long and bought them anyway.  And you paid top dollar for those suckers.  And they hurt your feet!

I can't possibly be the only person out there who has gone astray.
Misery loves company - let's hear it!

A family reunion with the clan

So last Sunday mom, Lisa, Stacey, Petey and I drove across the state to spend some time with the McDonald clan in Ann Arbor.

There were a few McDonalds (Browns) there that we had never met before which put the icing on the cake.

It's a girl!  They're scarce in the McDonald clan  This is Tiegan (probably spelled it wrong - sorry) and her mom Maureen.

A cutie-pie, eh?

The hosts of the gathering.  My cousin, Wendy and her husband, Bob.

My cousin, Terry, with mom.  His mom was my mom's sister.

These are Terry's sons, Caleb and Joshua.  I loved meeting them for the first and I hope not the last time.

Tavis McDonald (Scottish enough for ya?) and my sister, Lisa.

The tall guy (there were a lot of them there) on the left is my cousin, Scot (two Ts or one?) father of Tavis and next to him is my husband, Petey.

Scott's (I'm giving him two Ts now) wife, Linda, hanging onto her sweet grand-daughter.  Terry looks like he's really getting into something, doesn't he?

That's my Uncle Ray.  We were celebrating his 91st b-day.  He's mom's brother.

My boy cousins who are brothers.  Richard on the left and you've already met Scot/Scott.

Food and family.  It's a hard combo to beat.

The triplets:  Wendy, Richard and me.  All born within 6 weeks of one another. 

The other triplets.  I can't remember the time spread on these guys but I think it was equally as close.

The only one you haven't seen yet is my sister, Stacey.  The shortest one in the clan.  Can you find her? hehe

Ter flanked by his boys.  Smiles all around.

The third generation.  See what I mean about the boy thing?

Cake, a song, hugs and good-byes.  What a wonderful afternoon.

 

Napkins!!!

We're all about paper napkins here in the Altamore household.  Always have been.  Sometimes they're nice paper napkins but most of the time they're cheap ones.

Every time we host dinner club or have any kind of a fancy dinner with company (which I notice is less and less as time goes by) I have to borrow my sister, Lisa's, cloth napkins.  Thanks, Lisa.

Well, recently I decided I'd had enough of that borrowing (mooching) so my other sister, Stacey, and I scooted into Pier 1 last week to see what they had to offer.

They had a lot of cloth napkins and had a helluva sale goin' on to boot.

Boy, howdy!  I picked up a dozen; 6 of the green-ish ones and 6 of the other.

I feel all grown up now.

The other night Petey and I used them for the first time.  They looked a bit odd sitting next to the paper plates but we enjoyed them.

We're going to try and use them all the time now - not just for company.  After all, I am a former "Stephens Susie" so it should come naturally to me, right? 

I missed one

I'm sure the reason behind Daylight Savings Time was a good one but I'm all for doing away with it now.  

Enough is enough!  What a pain and I simply do not see any gain.

I would much rather have a dark morning than an early evening.  Here on the western most edge of eastern time, it's dark by 5:30p.  I really feel sorry for the poor suckers on the east coast.  

The biggest PIA is changing the clocks.  All of them.  I always miss one and it took until today to realize I forgot about the coffee pot.

I woke up smelling coffee this morning and was ready to get up.  I have it set to start doing its thing at 6:30.  Imagine my disappointment when I saw the "real" time!

The other issue I have with changing the time is that I prefer to have every single time piece in my house/body/car to be exactly the same.  It's a challenge.  And frankly, I'm over it. 

Beaddazzled's Holiday Open House

Yikes!  Where have I been?  My last post was 10/22!
Oh, yeah - rolling paper.  I had a very successful "Arts and Eats" two weeks ago and have been working like a crazy woman beefing up my inventory.

Well, I'm back.  Slightly pooped but relaxing this morning after a great open house yesterday.

Alexa's pottery

My paper beads

Joyce's gourds

Danger!  Danger!  Deb's sweet treats!!!

Linda's various creative cuties

Sheila had some great hats and scarves

More mittens and hats from Linda

Goodies and something to drink for our customers

Stacey's quilted place mats

 It was a beautiful day albeit chilly but sunny.  I stress sunny because that's very important to us here in the mitten.

We had a great group of women participating this year and it was extra special to have the "Brachman dining room crew" together.

If you were unable to get here yesterday look for us again in the spring.