Beautiful glads

We received these glads as a hostess gift last weekend. I am truly appreciating them as the week has passed. They have been a great harbinger of spring and summer.
At the dinner that night I made a Chocolate Almond Raspberry Torte that also got better as it aged although it was pretty awesome the first night as well.

A night at the theater

On Saturday, we invited my cousin and his wife plus our realtor and his wife to attend the Music of John Denver concert at the Clark Center. Everyone met here for an early dinner and then we went to the theater.

Jim Curry did a great job of doing a pretty close rendition of many of the better known songs by John Denver.

Here's what the Clark Center said about the concert. "The music of the late John Denver is like an old friend, outlasting trends and standing the test of time. Join acclaimed performer Jim Curry for this tribute to the music of one of the most beloved singer/songwriters ever to grace the stage. Tribute artist Jim Curry, whose voice was heard in the CBS-TV movie Take Me Home: The John Denver Story, has performed Denver’s music in sold out shows throughout the country and has emerged as today’s top performer of Denver’s vast legacy of multi-platinum hits. Jim’s uncanny ability to mirror John’s voice and clean-cut look takes you back to the time when “Rocky Mountain High,” “Sunshine,” “Calypso” and “Annie’s Song” topped the charts, and his popular music had the heartfelt message of caring for the earth and caring for each other."

The audience was singing along and there was lots of foot tapping.

Sometimes it pays

A week and a half ago T's laser printer died. It was probably 20+ years old and certainly didn't owe him anything. I have a color hp officejet printer which he is networked to so he didn't really need another color printer. His laser printer was perfect for him except it just gave up. We went in search of a replacement laser printer and found a perfect replacement - a Brothers basic black/white laser printer for about $120. He's had it for the last 12 days and it's been working fine - so much faster than the 20+ year old model. I joined OfficeMax member group - you know discounts, coupons etc. if you buy x amount from them over a certain period. On Sunday I got an email from OfficeMax announcing their Presidents' day sale and what is on the front page but T's printer for $70 less! So I called to see if they would honor the price and lo and behold they said just bring in the receipt and they would give me back the money! It was a sweet surprise and definitely worth joining their rewards program! Sometimes it pays to read the emails from the places you subscribe to.

Two gigs at the Clark Center

Over the last few nights we usher-captained for two very full shows at the Clark Center. On Saturday "Four Bitchin' Babes" performed - http://www.fourbitchinbabes.com/ - there was a pre-show party, gift bags to give out to the first 200 ladies to enter the doors - an almost sold out house, merchandising in the lobby - It was pandamonium for a while with conflicting instructions from the executive director versus the house manager about what rules to follow. Pretty stressful evening. The group has a huge following and their fans showed up and had a great time.

Last night we usher-captained for "In the Mood" - http://www.inthemoodlive.com/ - a big band group complete with dancers and singers singing and dancing to the music of the 30s and 40s. It was a completely sold out show but the show was a much easier show to captain. There were no mixed messages from various entities and even with the parking problems with competing events - basketball finals and the show vying for parking - the show went smoothly. It was an older audience and there were no issues with food in the theater, picture taking, seating in the aisles, gum chewing, feet on the seats and dangerous behavior. So much more relaxing and the group was excellent.

Womenade potluck

I hosted the South County Womenade potluck last night. Thirty women arrived armed with casseroles and $35 checks. We listened to the president and founder of the organization tell us about the many needs we filled just since the beginning of the year. I had asked that attendees bring toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss for foster children in our county that the Family Care Network counsels. We like to have a hands on activity for everyone to jump in on as a way for people to start chatting and getting to know one another. One of the women brought about 40 zippered make-up containers - you know the ones you get as a free gift when you buy make-up. We packaged the toothcare items in them and in clear gift bags wrapped with ribbon. We must have had close to 70 packages. The food was awesome! See blog at http://womenade.blogspot.com

Elbow day at the Thrift Stop

When I arrived for my shift at the Thrift Shop I was informed that the manager was having surgery on her elbow. She had called me the night before to tell me her elbow was very inflamed and she was going to the doctor the next morning. Turns out the doctor decided she needed surgery immediately and she checked right into the hospital. She had a staph infection in the bursa and they removed the infection and put her on IV antibiotics. She'll be in the hospital for a couple of days. In the meantime when she was gone the crew managed to give the place a thorough cleaning.

Meanwhile, another of the volunteers was telling me of her escapade the previous night. She had driven round trip to LA to visit a sick friend. She was very tired and went to bed early. In the night she made a trip to the bathroom and upon returning to bed, she missed the bed when she thought she was getting back into bed and fell on the floor onto her elbow. She got herself up and put herself back in bed and in the morning her bed was covered in blood. She couldn't see her elbow too well but cleaned it up and put a couple of bandages on the it and came to the shop. I asked if I could look at her elbow just to make sure it was okay. She finally agreed and when I looked at it, it was a gaping wound and still bleeding. I packed her off to the doctor where they cleaned it properly and started her on antibiotics. They said that since it was more than 12 hours since she cut it that stitching it wouldn't do any good and that it would have to heal on its own. Never heard of such a thing but there you go....

Anyway both elbows appear to be on the mend.

Wild life

This morning was my turn to open the church. I arrived a little after 7 and went about the opening duties. Suddenly I heard loud cackling coming from behind the kitchen in the children's playground. I spied between 6 and 10 wild turkeys goggling away some displaying their tail feathers and some climbing about the playground equipment. Later on my rounds they had moved across the parking lot and looked like they were going to greet the early arrivals for the 8 AM service. Then as I returned to my car to wait for the service to begin I heard a lowing sound and in the pasture beside the church was a herd of cows that came down to munch on the beautiful green grass. Green mowing in action! On my way home after church I spied 3 of our long lost buffalo grazing in a field. We thought they had been moved but we hadn't seen them for a while. There had been a half dozen buffaloes but I only spied 3. Further up the road our little group or is it a herd of donkeys busily grazing in their usual spot. There were also many (and I'm sure many more to come) bunnies running back and forth across the street. What a morning!