JUDY BLUE 'ADD-ON' BAROMETER

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First of all I want to say thank you to all you who leave me comments and suggestions... I can't express how much it delights me. Some of you are SO VERY FAITHFUL too... I know, personally, how hard it is to leave something at every blog we visit - specially when one has many one loves...

I spent a lovely day outdoors yesterday! I worked around the yard all morning, cleaning underneath more trees and getting a good workout. In the afternoon Bonnie and I sat up on a bench (we call it 'pineveiw bench') and we created cards for our Mom's. Actually, I've lost all sense of time out here... and I thought Mother's day was coming THIS weekend, not the next. LOL! It was not until later, talking to my sister in law Judy (who this kit is named for) that I became aware I'm a week early. Better early than late, I say!

SSSSSSSSSSHHH! (don't tell Mom!)

The roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones; they are for what they are; they exist with God today. There is no time to them. There is simply the rose; it is perfect every moment of its existence. Before a leaf-bud has burst, its whole life acts; in the full-blown flower there is no more; in the leafless root there is no less. Its nature is satisfied, and it satisfies nature, in all moments alike. But man postpones or remembers; he does not live in the present, but with reverted eye laments the past, or, heedless of the riches that surround him, stands on tiptoe to foresee the future. He cannot be happy and strong until he too lives with nature in the present, above time.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

ANTELOPE BRUSH IN BLOOM

Time to store those winter sweaters away. These tips I found in a Chatelaine Magazine tell you how to store them in the best shape!

1. Fold, don't hang wool sweaters and lightweight knits as they stretch out on hangers.

2. Discourage fabric-eating pests as well as keep your clothes fresh by storing with sachets of dried lavender.

3. Avoid discoloration and lint buildup by placing sheets of tissue paper between sweaters when stacking them away in a cupboard for the summer!

YESSSSSSSSSSS, BE ALERT!

Spring Clean your Bills!

In a recent issue of House and Home Magazine they asked Janet Barclay of Organized Assistant, an Ontario based firm which provides organizational solutions to entrepreneurs to help define when it's time to toss personal documents:

ATM reciepts - After transaction appears on bank statements

Household repair bills - Six months

Cable and phone bills - One year

Utility bills - One year

Income tax returns and supporting documents - Six years

Banking and financial records - Six years

Investment certificates, saving bonds, etc - Once cashed in

Rent and lease agreements - After expiration date

Guarantees and warranties - After expiration date

Insurance policies - After expiration date

Vehicle records - When ownership ends

Receipts for valuables (furniture, appliances, art, etc...) - When ownership ends

Home renovation and property tax records - When property ownership ends

Real estate documents - Six years after selling property

ALWAYS keep the following:

Diplomas and certificates; medical records; power of attorney or will; vital records (birth, death and marriage certificates, divorce papers, adoption papers.

YIKES! HERE'S ONE... good thing it's behind glass!

Today in History (it was BUSY!):

1682 - Louis XIV & his court inaugurate Paris Observatory

1701 - England - Wales & Scotland form UK of Great Britain

1840 - 1st adhesive postage stamps ("Penny Blacks" from England) issued. Click HERE to see one!

1841 - 1st wagon train leaves Independance - Mo for Cal

1860 - 1st school for deaf founded

1873 - 1st US postal card issued

1890 - May Day

1892 - Angel Is US Quarantine Station opens

1926 - Satchel Paige makes pitching debut in Negro Southern League

1928 - Lei Day begun (a Hawaiian celebration)

1931 - Empire State Building opens in NYC

1932 - Charles Lindbergh's baby kidnapped

1947 - Radar for coml & private planes 1st demonstrated

1920 - Babe Ruth's 1st Yankee HR & 50th of career - out of Polo Grounds

1951 - Mickey Mantle's 1st HR

1964 - 1st BASIC program run on a computer (Dartmouth)

A WORD FOR YOU TODAY - TO GET YOU THRU WORK!

Forth in thy name, Oh Lord, I go,
My daily labour to pursue;
Thee, only thee, resolved to know,
In all I think, or speak, or do.

The task thy wisdom hath assigned
O let me cheerfully fulfil:
In all my works thy presence find,
And prove thine acceptance will.

by
Charles Wesley

BARB'S HANDY TIP #250

Walk - Don't Bus!

I heard about this concept while listening to NPR radio - on how to help 'go green'... What is a Walking Bus, you ask?

The walking bus is the latest safe, fun and healthy way to travel to and from school.

Each walking bus had an adult 'driver' at the front and and an adult 'conductor' bringing up the rear. The children walk to school in a group along a set route picking up additional 'passengers' at specific 'bus-stops' along the way.

A walking bus at your school could be set up to match the availability of the volunteers.

WALKING BUS