For music lovers, here is a summer festival for you, July 2nd thru July 5th, held here in Michigan:
www.rothburyfestival.com
Can you believe I had to hear about this from a fellow in Minnesota?! Anyway, when I perused the website and saw the number of acts participating in this many days long concert, it sort of made me think of Woodstock. That and the camping, etc.
The concert is held on the grounds of the Double JJ resort where you cannot only ride horses and play golf, but they have an indoor water park as well.
And, Rothbury is located in western Michigan, not all that far from beautiful Lake Michigan, and but a hop, skip and a jump from my favorite summer vacation spot - Ludington, Michigan.
No, I'm not going to the festival. I don't like crowds. But if I did, I would, because it sounds okay.
My big summer plans, God willing, are a trip to Marquette to visit Tallulah and a few days in Ludington basking on the beach.
What about you? What are you thinking about for this summer?
Be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
A Little Sun Beam
When the most recent issue of The Sun, a wonderful magazine, showed up a few days ago, the first thing I read was the column on last page of the magazine, Sunbeams. Sunbeams is a collection of quotes, always. And they always either bring a smile to my face or they make me think, neither of which is a bad thing.
This issue they had a quote by Audre Lorde. Lorde was many things in her lifetime. Here are a few links so you can learn about her:
www.poets.org/alord
www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/lorde/lorde.htm
I had never heard of Audre Lorde until I bought the phone sex business. I was looking for artwork/posters to put on my office walls, something pretty yet inspirational, when I found a very large one of her at NorthernSun bearing this quote:
Her words moved me. Just like this quote of hers in Sunbeams:
Just wanted to give you something to think about today.
Be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
This issue they had a quote by Audre Lorde. Lorde was many things in her lifetime. Here are a few links so you can learn about her:
www.poets.org/alord
www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/lorde/lorde.htm
I had never heard of Audre Lorde until I bought the phone sex business. I was looking for artwork/posters to put on my office walls, something pretty yet inspirational, when I found a very large one of her at NorthernSun bearing this quote:
"When I dare to be powerful--to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid."
Audre Lorde
Her words moved me. Just like this quote of hers in Sunbeams:
"When I speak of change, I do not mean a simple switch of positions or a temporary lessening of tensions, nor the ability to smile or feel good. I am speaking of a basic and radical alteration in all those assumptions underlining our lives."
Audre Lorde
Just wanted to give you something to think about today.
Be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Oh No! A New Phone System!
Yes, my new 2-line phone with an integrated digital answering machine arrived yesterday.
Okay, I don't know about you but when I get something new I generally tend to not like it for a while. I have to get familiar with how it works, get used to it. But this new system? I don't think I'm ever going to like it.
Why? Well, first off, the doggone answering machine answers on the second ring. The second ring! Maybe if I was ten years old I could catch a phone before the second ring but I'm not ten. Maybe if I lived in a one-room efficiency apartment, a small one at that, I could catch it, but I don't, I live in a house.
And no, there's no changing the answering ring thing, it's set in stone at the factory.
The other thing is, a light flashes continually to let you know the answering machine is turned on. I don't know why it doesn't just light up and stay on, I don't know why it has to flash all of the time but it does. During the day it's okay, but at night, well, last night I got up to go to the bathroom around 3am and thought a space ship had landed in my living room!
So when you call me, if I don't answer the phone and you get the answering machine, please call me right back. If I'm not on another call that'll give me enough time to get to it. If I still don't answer then I'm already on the phone and please call me back in about twenty minutes. Thank you ever so much.
On another note, here's a pretty photo from Tallulah. She told me that Spring must be on the way because the ice cream shop on 3rd Street opened up yesterday (smile).
I'll tell you what, it felt like Spring had sprung here yesterday. It was close to 70 and sunny. I lugged a phone to the back patio and sat out in the sun for a few hours. It was wonderful, just wonderful!
Last night for dinner--no, I didn't go out for corned beef and green beer! (smile)--I grilled a salmon steak, made some risotto with fresh mushrooms, and stir fried some fresh green beans with butter and garlic. It was really good.
Nope, I didn't grill the salmon outside. I have a George Foreman Grill that sits on my kitchen counter and I used that. I lightly sprayed the grill surface with Pam and the salmon slid right off. Using the George is perfect for salmon, hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, all sorts of things. If you don't have one you should definitely buy one. Tawny's cooking tip for the day (smile).
Corned beef is for dinner tonight. I have a good-sized one in the crock-pot as we speak. I have a 7-quart Rival crock-pot and I really like it. I added extra seasonings to the crock-pot-- 1 tablespoon mustard seed, 4 bay leaves, and 1 onion quartered, 2 tablespoons peppercorns. Why did I add more stuff? That seasoning packet that comes with a piece of corned beef is so stingy, like they're afraid to put anything in there. And when you cook the meat for 4 or 5 hours you need more seasoning to make it taste good. I'll have sandwiches tonight, hash tomorrow, etc. Oh my (smile).
Until we speak again be good and be careful, take care, stay strong. Keep the faith and you'll be all right.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Okay, I don't know about you but when I get something new I generally tend to not like it for a while. I have to get familiar with how it works, get used to it. But this new system? I don't think I'm ever going to like it.
Why? Well, first off, the doggone answering machine answers on the second ring. The second ring! Maybe if I was ten years old I could catch a phone before the second ring but I'm not ten. Maybe if I lived in a one-room efficiency apartment, a small one at that, I could catch it, but I don't, I live in a house.
And no, there's no changing the answering ring thing, it's set in stone at the factory.
The other thing is, a light flashes continually to let you know the answering machine is turned on. I don't know why it doesn't just light up and stay on, I don't know why it has to flash all of the time but it does. During the day it's okay, but at night, well, last night I got up to go to the bathroom around 3am and thought a space ship had landed in my living room!
So when you call me, if I don't answer the phone and you get the answering machine, please call me right back. If I'm not on another call that'll give me enough time to get to it. If I still don't answer then I'm already on the phone and please call me back in about twenty minutes. Thank you ever so much.
On another note, here's a pretty photo from Tallulah. She told me that Spring must be on the way because the ice cream shop on 3rd Street opened up yesterday (smile).
I'll tell you what, it felt like Spring had sprung here yesterday. It was close to 70 and sunny. I lugged a phone to the back patio and sat out in the sun for a few hours. It was wonderful, just wonderful!
Last night for dinner--no, I didn't go out for corned beef and green beer! (smile)--I grilled a salmon steak, made some risotto with fresh mushrooms, and stir fried some fresh green beans with butter and garlic. It was really good.
Nope, I didn't grill the salmon outside. I have a George Foreman Grill that sits on my kitchen counter and I used that. I lightly sprayed the grill surface with Pam and the salmon slid right off. Using the George is perfect for salmon, hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, all sorts of things. If you don't have one you should definitely buy one. Tawny's cooking tip for the day (smile).
Corned beef is for dinner tonight. I have a good-sized one in the crock-pot as we speak. I have a 7-quart Rival crock-pot and I really like it. I added extra seasonings to the crock-pot-- 1 tablespoon mustard seed, 4 bay leaves, and 1 onion quartered, 2 tablespoons peppercorns. Why did I add more stuff? That seasoning packet that comes with a piece of corned beef is so stingy, like they're afraid to put anything in there. And when you cook the meat for 4 or 5 hours you need more seasoning to make it taste good. I'll have sandwiches tonight, hash tomorrow, etc. Oh my (smile).
Until we speak again be good and be careful, take care, stay strong. Keep the faith and you'll be all right.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Friday, March 13, 2009
A Productive Morning
A few months ago I was telling you that I desperately needed a new 2-line stand-alone answering machine, remember? Well, it's taken me a while but I have finally come to the realization that they just don't make 2-line stand-alone answering machines any more. Why, I don't know, but they don't. The sales representative at HelloDirect says it's because no one wants them any more. I disagree because I want one and surely I'm not the only one trying to find them.
But anyway, this morning, with the help of HSM, I found a new answering machine. Hurray!
Okay, it's not a stand-alone. Okay, it's actually a whole phone system with an answering machine. But I had to have something and this was the only corded 2-line anything with a digital answering machine we could find. So in 5 business days (or hopefully less!) I will be the proud possessor of this new machine!
And I tell you; it just couldn't come quickly enough. This morning it took over a half hour for me to be able to leave an out going message on the old machine.
I hadn't planned to search for an answering machine this morning. I wanted to go to Hobby Lobby - a new to this area craft/fabric/yarn store located about 15 miles from me. In fact, until I emailed Tallulah this morning, she thought I was up to my eyeballs in yarn and crochet hooks at HL (smile).
The new Hobby Lobby store is just a tad down the street from the IKEA store. When I heard IKEA was coming to town a few years ago I was thrilled. Could not wait to shop there. Now, well, I'm not all that thrilled about the place. Part of it is, I think, because the store is freaking enormous and I get tired trying to find my way around. And the other part is they sell tons of cheap stuff. And I don't mean inexpensive, I mean cheap, there's a difference.
Here's a link to a blog about IKEA - http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com that you may enjoy.
My plan for the remainder of my day, aside from talking with you when you call (hint! hint!), is to finish the scarf I've been working on. So far so good with it. My next project will be a summer purse, two of them, one for me and one for HSM. That was partly why I wanted to get to Hobby Lobby, to find some bright cotton yarn for the purses.
Okay, well that's it for now. You be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
But anyway, this morning, with the help of HSM, I found a new answering machine. Hurray!
Okay, it's not a stand-alone. Okay, it's actually a whole phone system with an answering machine. But I had to have something and this was the only corded 2-line anything with a digital answering machine we could find. So in 5 business days (or hopefully less!) I will be the proud possessor of this new machine!
And I tell you; it just couldn't come quickly enough. This morning it took over a half hour for me to be able to leave an out going message on the old machine.
I hadn't planned to search for an answering machine this morning. I wanted to go to Hobby Lobby - a new to this area craft/fabric/yarn store located about 15 miles from me. In fact, until I emailed Tallulah this morning, she thought I was up to my eyeballs in yarn and crochet hooks at HL (smile).
The new Hobby Lobby store is just a tad down the street from the IKEA store. When I heard IKEA was coming to town a few years ago I was thrilled. Could not wait to shop there. Now, well, I'm not all that thrilled about the place. Part of it is, I think, because the store is freaking enormous and I get tired trying to find my way around. And the other part is they sell tons of cheap stuff. And I don't mean inexpensive, I mean cheap, there's a difference.
Here's a link to a blog about IKEA - http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com that you may enjoy.
My plan for the remainder of my day, aside from talking with you when you call (hint! hint!), is to finish the scarf I've been working on. So far so good with it. My next project will be a summer purse, two of them, one for me and one for HSM. That was partly why I wanted to get to Hobby Lobby, to find some bright cotton yarn for the purses.
Okay, well that's it for now. You be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Spring Is Just Around The Corner!
Around here, southeastern lower Michigan, Spring is on its way. Okay, some days it's downright cold and chilly and the furnace is working overtime, but some days it's bright, sunny and temperatures are in the 50s. And it's been rainy, so rainy that roads get flooded and mud is everywhere. Plus, look at the calendar. Geez, it's mid-March! April is just about here!
In the upper peninsula of Michigan, along the shores of Lake Superior where my friend Tallulah lives in Marquette, well, it's another story. They still have snow on the ground, snow on the way and it's cold.
Granted, looking at these photos from Tallulah, you'd never think it was almost Spring, would you?
And if you check out the web cams in Marquette at http://www.yooperland.com where you can get an up-to-the-minute look at their weather, well…
For weeks Tallulah and I have been having a running email and telephone battle about Spring, or the lack of it in the UP.
See, going by the calendar, it's almost Spring. And Spring is much, much, much closer than Winter, right? I rest my case. It's almost Spring.
Tallulah says that Spring is a myth. Okay, not exactly a myth, I mean she used to live down here and she knows it happens every year, but they've had such a hard winter up there…the hardest since the 1960's the old people say…that she's just about given up on it ever being warm again.
When, in a sudden burst of optimism fueled by my insisting to her that winter is almost over, she told her 90 year old neighbors that Spring was just around the corner, they laughed and told her they still had to get through the traditional St. Patrick's Day Blizzard before it could ever be Spring!
But I tell you, eventually it will be Spring in the UP. It my not be right away or as close to happening as it is down here, but one of these days when she least expects it…POW! Spring!
In my backyard there's a Woodpecker setting up housekeeping in one of the many trees. And there's some other bird, I don't know what kind, sorry, but it's back and it has the most beautiful song you'd ever want to hear. Those are all signs of Spring to me.
Even this morning, after yet another night of rain, when the winds were raging and my power went out for three hours, even that was yet another sign that Spring was almost ready to be sprung (smile).
You be good and be careful, take care and stay strong. And remember, Spring is right around the corner!
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
In the upper peninsula of Michigan, along the shores of Lake Superior where my friend Tallulah lives in Marquette, well, it's another story. They still have snow on the ground, snow on the way and it's cold.
Granted, looking at these photos from Tallulah, you'd never think it was almost Spring, would you?
And if you check out the web cams in Marquette at http://www.yooperland.com where you can get an up-to-the-minute look at their weather, well…
For weeks Tallulah and I have been having a running email and telephone battle about Spring, or the lack of it in the UP.
See, going by the calendar, it's almost Spring. And Spring is much, much, much closer than Winter, right? I rest my case. It's almost Spring.
Tallulah says that Spring is a myth. Okay, not exactly a myth, I mean she used to live down here and she knows it happens every year, but they've had such a hard winter up there…the hardest since the 1960's the old people say…that she's just about given up on it ever being warm again.
When, in a sudden burst of optimism fueled by my insisting to her that winter is almost over, she told her 90 year old neighbors that Spring was just around the corner, they laughed and told her they still had to get through the traditional St. Patrick's Day Blizzard before it could ever be Spring!
But I tell you, eventually it will be Spring in the UP. It my not be right away or as close to happening as it is down here, but one of these days when she least expects it…POW! Spring!
In my backyard there's a Woodpecker setting up housekeeping in one of the many trees. And there's some other bird, I don't know what kind, sorry, but it's back and it has the most beautiful song you'd ever want to hear. Those are all signs of Spring to me.
Even this morning, after yet another night of rain, when the winds were raging and my power went out for three hours, even that was yet another sign that Spring was almost ready to be sprung (smile).
You be good and be careful, take care and stay strong. And remember, Spring is right around the corner!
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Life Throws Curve Balls
Like I needed to tell you that, huh?
Just when you think everything is going really good, or at least well enough so you're not grumbling or worried or pissed off about something, that's when the curve ball comes flying out of nowhere.
Mine was the other day. My Uncle David was reminding me about the summer when HSM's #1 son was playing basketball in my driveway with the son of one of Uncle David's friends, and three of that kid's buddies. Six years ago it was, the boys were all 13, and had their whole lives spread out in front of them.
They were fun to watch. Silly, talking 'stuff', laughing as they dribbled the basketball to and fro on my driveway. You know how teenaged boys are - Half-boy, half-man. Silly one minute, serious as a heart attack the next.
The boys are 19 now. HSM's #1 is a freshman in college and, at this writing, hoping to be a police officer. One of the other boys graduated high school, went off to college and is back home because he ran out of tuition money. Another one of the boys, a high school graduate himself, wastes his days smoking stuff, laying up with his girlfriend and doing nothing…no job, no school, no nothing. The fourth boy graduated high school, too. Then he got himself killed. In the wrong place at the wrong time.
And that's what I mean by a curve ball. That day six years ago, looking at those four boys, it was a reasonable expectation, at least to me that they would all grow up go to school, get a job, start families. The American dream.
At this writing only one of them is still on the path. One is working to get back on the path. One is so far off the path it'll be a miracle if he doesn't end up in prison. And one is dead.
I'm not suggesting that this is peculiar to around here or to people that I know. I would guess that lots of kids fall through the cracks and don't end up living the life that their parents hoped and dreamed for them as they first held them in their arms at their birth.
I'm not real sure where I'm going with this, much less the point I'm trying to make. Unless it's that life is fragile, full of promise and unless we stay focused, well, everything can get all messed up.
Be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Just when you think everything is going really good, or at least well enough so you're not grumbling or worried or pissed off about something, that's when the curve ball comes flying out of nowhere.
Mine was the other day. My Uncle David was reminding me about the summer when HSM's #1 son was playing basketball in my driveway with the son of one of Uncle David's friends, and three of that kid's buddies. Six years ago it was, the boys were all 13, and had their whole lives spread out in front of them.
They were fun to watch. Silly, talking 'stuff', laughing as they dribbled the basketball to and fro on my driveway. You know how teenaged boys are - Half-boy, half-man. Silly one minute, serious as a heart attack the next.
The boys are 19 now. HSM's #1 is a freshman in college and, at this writing, hoping to be a police officer. One of the other boys graduated high school, went off to college and is back home because he ran out of tuition money. Another one of the boys, a high school graduate himself, wastes his days smoking stuff, laying up with his girlfriend and doing nothing…no job, no school, no nothing. The fourth boy graduated high school, too. Then he got himself killed. In the wrong place at the wrong time.
And that's what I mean by a curve ball. That day six years ago, looking at those four boys, it was a reasonable expectation, at least to me that they would all grow up go to school, get a job, start families. The American dream.
At this writing only one of them is still on the path. One is working to get back on the path. One is so far off the path it'll be a miracle if he doesn't end up in prison. And one is dead.
I'm not suggesting that this is peculiar to around here or to people that I know. I would guess that lots of kids fall through the cracks and don't end up living the life that their parents hoped and dreamed for them as they first held them in their arms at their birth.
I'm not real sure where I'm going with this, much less the point I'm trying to make. Unless it's that life is fragile, full of promise and unless we stay focused, well, everything can get all messed up.
Be good and be careful, take care, stay strong.
Hugs, Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
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