Swing Low Sweet Chariot

Picture of the catafalque drawn by horses from my friend Judy's sister's funeral. I love the simple elegance. It seems much warmer than a modern hearse. At least one of the horses belonged to the deceased.

Where's Waldo part 2

The kid wrote about his Easter "homestay" visit. He stayed with an English family who were medical missionaries to Uganda for 15 years. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers. They took him to the larger family gathering on Saturday and to a cute little country church on Sunday and fed him Hot Cross buns, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. What a nice experience. May they be richly blessed.

NOT YET READY TO SWIM OR BIKE THE AMAZON

Just when I think I am doing pretty well with the exercise thing, someone moves the bar.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/04/07/bc.brazil.amazonswimmer.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

The past two days were a bear walking outside. It was cold and windy. Wind chills of -5 were reported. I had to get out the hat and scarf to fend off the stiff breezes but got in the three miles. Walking briskly has become easy. I need to walk more interesting places and am trying encouraging a couple of friends to get out on the hiking trails in the country with me. Will try again next week. The ground is dry so I could change the ten year old air in the tires on my bike and try that too. What looms in the back of my mind is getting in shape on the bicycle to eventually do one of those fund raising bike trips. A few years ago, our daughter Mary was doing 150 bike trips and running marathons. Maybe I could interest her to be my partner. All that will have to wait until next year when the new, improved me is ready to go.

Hopped UP Bunny

Our granddaughter Mina told me that the Easter Bunny is not real, but Santa Claus is. I guess it was just too much of a stretch to believe a giant bunny came to every house in the world. Maybe she saw the picture of this bunny and decided to reject him. This is a pix I got off the internet, not my Mina. Happy Easter, Sweetie.

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

(or---How I Learned to Not Hate Window Washing)

Last year I found a recipe that some professional window washers use. They also recommended using a squeegee and wiping the blade between wipes. This is the solution:

2 cups rubbing alcohol
1/2 cup sudsy ammonia
1 tsp. Dawn dish detergent
enough water to make 1 gallon.

I was probably the only one who did not know this. For years I have used spray Windex and cloths or newspaper only to see streaks when I was done. My husband still swears by this. I also had to stand on a ladder to get the outside of most of the windows. Now I have a squeegee with a long handle and a sponge on one side. Easy and faster. Not so easy today when it was cold enough outside to have the solution that dripped down the handle freeze.

DOES SHE WEAR PANCAKE MAKEUP?

We've had "Mr. Potato Head", now meet "Mrs. Pancake Face". This was on the front page of our regional section of the Pioneer Press. The rest of the article relates that this "Apparition" of Mother Nature's smiling face has a $60 bid on eBay. C'mon. Get a clue. When our granddaughter Mina stayed with us this week I made pancakes for her breakfast. My attempts at making Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes did not turn out so well, so I resorted to making smiling faces on them. She laughed. Drip a little batter on the griddle to make the eyes, nose, and mouth and then add the rest. Instant apparition! Don't expect to hear much from me in the way of blogging for a while. I will be in the kitchen turning out apparitions and marketing them on eBay.

EASTER BOWLING

Pretty isn't it? The way I bowl, it wouldn't look nice for long. I have given up trying to be a good bowler. Everytime I try my score is lower than the last time. The upside is, those tulips might act as a bumper and keep me in the lane.

PS. I am not losing fast, but I am making slow progress and have come to actually enjoy the physical activity. That is something I never thought I would say or feel. It is bitterly cold today with the wind gusts. I think it may be colder at Easter than it was at Christmas.