Wall hanging, vacuuming, hummingbird flocks

1. I unpacked lots of pictures today and got most of them either packed back up and into storage, or hung on the wall. I also hung some new pictures, so I got 10 things off my floor and onto the walls.
   
   
2. Because of the picture hanging, I got my living room vacuumed for the first time in weeks, with some help from my mom.
   
   
3. There was a flock of hummingbirds (I saw five at once, so I think that qualifies as a flock) around one of my hummingbird feeders and the bushes on the south side of the house. We saw a hummingbird, too, at the feeder just outside the kitchen window (the north side of the house). It's nice to see them back.
   

No choir, no cooking, camp forms

1. There was no choir practice today, so we spent the afternoon watching Hogan's Heroes on DVD.
   
   
2. My husband grilled out for lunch, so I didn't have to cook.
   
   
3. I managed to get the kids' camp forms in on time, in spite of the fact I lost the forms and forgot my checkbook.
   

Tennessee Fine Arts Festival

The choir:


The duet:


The first place medals (for choir):

Tax-free in Tennessee

Tax-free day in Tennessee means a shopping trip into town for

1. Clothes.
2. A new basket for school papers to help me clean my desk.
3. A mirror for the entry way to match all my new picture frames.
   

Sunshine, water, flowers

1. Warm sunshine
   
   
2. Water in the creek
   
   
3. A new flower bed outside my office window
   

Babies

1. Baby Shetland ponies on the way into town.
   
   
2. Lots of other horse foals on the way into town also.
   
   
3. Lots of encouraging words about the girls' singing.
   

Cleaner room, home decor, rain

1. I sent up a lot of boxes from my bedroom to the upstairs storage room. My room is really looking much better now.
   
   
2. I hung a couple more quilts today, and tons of pictures from our travels. I'm feeling good about my plans for decorating the house. (Now that we've lived here almost a year . . .)
   
   
3. Today we're getting some rain. It's helping my hydrangea tremendously; I can tell just by looking at the leaves. I'm sure it will help all the other plants, too, like our strawberries and the corn. It will put some water in the creek, too, for when the girls go down to get the mail.
   

Dishes, mail run, laundry

1. My youngest and I cleaned the kitchen and washed up all the dishes from all the cookie making on Saturday.
   
   
2. My youngest also went down to the mail box and forgot to bring the mail up, and there isn't even that much water in the creek, so I don't know what distracted her. I was explaining to the girls that I had to walk 5 miles to school every day just like my father did before me, and uphill both ways. The girls said that they will tell their kids that I made them go to the mailbox every day, 5 miles uphill both ways, and then made them go back again if they walked all that way and forgot to get the mail.
   
   
3. My two older girls and I got two loads of laundry washed and hung on the lines to dry before the rain comes tomorrow.

Made it through, great sound, finished shawl

1. We successfully made it to church, Sunday school, choir practice and dress rehearsal.
   
   
2. My two older girls sang their duet for the evening service, and sang in the choir, and they sounded great. I think their duet was especially appreciated by the older people in the service. No Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston wanna-be's for my girls, just good solid harmonies and words you can understand.
   
   
3. My middlest daughter took the new shawl that she knitted to show her friends in Sunday school. It was warm enough outside for the air conditioning to be on inside, so it came in handy.
   

Flowers, cookies, sprouts

1. My husband and I worked on a new flower bed today, and we planted my new hydrangea.
   
   
2. The girls and I baked 15 dozen cookies this afternoon for a fundraiser tomorrow. We used my grandma's cookie press, so they are 15 dozen of the prettiest cookies you've ever seen.
   
   
3. The asparagus and strawberries are sprouting.
   

New plants, cleaning, ego boost

1. I successfully transplanted a basket of plants sent by a friend of mine from high school for Daddy's funeral. I had to give away my house plants when we moved to Europe. It's so nice to have plants and flowers in the house again!
   
   
2. I also accomplished some organizing and cleaning in my room.
   
   
3. I had several nice notes from clients today about how much they appreciate my help. I also had a referral from a previous client. It's very good for my ego.
   

Math Camp, clients, Aunt Mary

1. Today was the beginning of Math Camp, six days (not counting the weekend) of working mostly on math for the girls. After a couple of weeks of Julius Caesar and grammar lessons, the girls need to catch up in math, and I love teaching math and not worrying about grammar lessons and spelling tests. Once May comes around, it's just one final push to the end for all subjects.
   
   
2. I had quite a few new clients today, and several nice projects from current clients. It was a busy day, but I suppose that busy is good.
   
   
3. My Aunt Mary called me today to see how I was doing. I feel like I'm not doing so well, but hearing her voice makes me feel better.
   

Wordless Wednesday #17

On time, pink sweater, great sound

1. I was organized enough to cook a rather complicated meal, not burn anything, and have it all ready before my husband and kids were ready to eat. And we finished supper early enough to have time to watch Casablanca.
   
   
2. I accomplished more unpacking in my room. I found my favorite pink sweater, just in time for spring!
   
   
3. My youth sang for their music pastor in preparation for a competition the end of next week. It was good for them to practice with microphones, and it was good for all of us to hear how well they are doing.
   

Sleep, shopping, nap

1. Darin and the girls let me sleep in this morning.
   
   
2. The girls and I had a fun day of shopping. We bought pots for our new plants, some pictures frames I'd been thinking about getting, and lots of groceries.
   
   
3. The girls had a chance to play in the creek today (it was warmer than predicted), and I had a chance for an afternoon nap. (You may have noticed a theme lately, but I haven't been sleeping well at night, so naps are a beautiful thing right now especially.)
   

"Days of Elijah", not pregnant, nap

1. Singing "Days of Elijah" in the van on the way to church, and then singing it again during the service.
   
   
2. Hearing that my friend Michelle is pregnant, and being really honestly happy that it's her and not me.
   
   
3. Another afternoon nap while the girls are at choir practice
   

Home, nap, eggs and cheese

1. A safe trip back home.
   
   
2. A chance for an afternoon nap.
   
   
3. A plate of eggs and cheese for supper.
   

Relay for Life at ETSU

Tonight at the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life at ETSU, we will make luminaries for three of our loved ones:

1. In memory of my dad, Dr. Leo Harvill, the greatest dad in the world, who we lost to leukemia only two weeks ago
   
   
   
2. In memory of my good friend Mary Ellen Davis, who we lost to ovarian cancer four years ago.
   
   
   
3. In honor of our good friend Rick Lewis, who is still fighting bravely to recover from his cancer.
   
   

The ides of March, chocolate chip pizza, "box of chocolates"

1. The girls and I read the third act of Julius Caesar this afternoon out on the patio. We got to kill both Caesar and Cinna the poet, so that was extra fun!
   
   
2. We kidnapped my sister from work and took her out to eat at Pizza Inn. Their chocolate chip pizza melts in your mouth.
   
   
3. We watched Forest Gump last night. Now my girls have some context to the line, "Life is like a box of chocolates . . ."
   

Wordless Wednesday #16

Writing notes, school, cucumbers

1. I'm getting lots of thank you notes written. It's not any fun, but I think it's easier than Mom's job because she has to read all the sympathy cards.
   
   
2. The girls seem to be getting some school done in spite of everything. I hope we can stay on schedule.
   
   
3. I found the last three good cucumbers at the grocery store tonight.

Happy eggs and sun

1. Today we finished up the eggs we had colored. My middlest daughter finally ate her egg that said, "I am a happy egg."
   
   
   
2. My oldest daughter ate her patriotic egg. She decided it must also be happy because it's from the US and very patriotic.
   
   
   
3. The sun came out today, and the dogwood blossoms are making a comeback.

Great hymns, Easter parade, potatoes and cheese

1. Lots of great hymns today at church and my mom playing on the organ.
   
   
2. Watching the movie Easter Parade with Mom and the girls. (My brother left---too mushy for him, he said.)
   
   
3. We had both hashbrown casserole from Firehouse and Gail's potato casserole for lunch. (The Firehouse was my dad's favorite bar-b-q place. I never went there with him because I'm not a big fan of bar-b-q, but I should have gone just for their hashbrown casserole.) Mmmm, nothing says "Easter" like potatoes and cheese.

Dogwood winter, thank you notes, clean

1. There was snow on the ground today, and snow on the dogwood blossoms.
   
   
2. I finished up a lot of thank you notes today.
   
   
3. I got some laundry and cleaning done today also.

Photos, drawings, and work

1. Today I scanned in the photos Mom had chosen for the DVD done by the funeral home. I scanned them in so I could share the pictures with others. I was nice to go through all the pictures again and think about the memories. I'm looking forward to getting them posted on the internet at some point.
   
   
2. I also scanned the drawings Daddy had collected from Dr. Milne. That also brought back lots of memories.
   
   
3. I also, somehow, managed to finish a project for a client today. I suppose it's good for me to stay busy.

Christian Bale, foreign languages, green plants

1. We watched Empire of the Sun. Christian Bale did a great job of acting, but I'm not sure I believed a lot of what was in the movie.
   
   
2. We also watched Tora, Tora, Tora. I enjoyed listening to the Japanese and the German. It reminded me of how Daddy used to tease me about taking German and Japanese in college so I could understand the bad guys in the World War II movies.
   
   
3. The plants are coming back. They came to us yesterday very dry, but they are all making a comeback.

Great relatives, lots of food, work

1. Seeing relatives I hadn't seen in years, especially watching my girls interact with my cousin Gaby. I think it was good for my mom, too, that Gaby came, because then they can talk nurse talk.
   
   
2. Never having to wonder if I there is enough food for supper. You wouldn't believe the amount of food that's come in this week.
   
   
3. Getting back to work.