Old friends

Hi again...

Last week while I visiting Knoxville I had the great pleasure of catching up with some very special people. I've always loved my life-long friends but in the past few months I've become even more aware of how magical it is to be connected with people who share a history.

Here are a few of my special Knoxville people...

Karen and I have been friends since 3rd grade. She's one of the most constant people in my life. I know I can count on her no matter what! I've known Brent since 1st grade. When I was little he (and David) had to pick me up so that I could get a drink from the water fountain. I hadn't seen Brent in more than a dozen years. It was fantastic to spend time with them.

Anita (to my right) was my friend and classmate from 1st through 12th grade. I hadn't seen her since graduation and was thrilled that she came to the party. She's such a sweet person. Debbi (to my left) came to our school in 5th grade and we were instantly great friends...well, most of the time! We still laugh about the squabbles we had in elementary school. We've maintained a lovely friendship all of our adult years and it's always a fun time whenever we're together.

Eddie (in yellow) and Scott - still sweet after all these years

Phil (in blue) volunteered to man the grill and did a great job of it. David (in brown) generously opened his home to us!

David's parents joined us. Mrs. McC was a room mother for most of our elementary school years. It was impressive that she recognized us and remembered all of our names. It's been a lot of years since she's seen most of us and we've...um...changed! David's dad is a riot! Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in their family!

In their "man cave" (or in this case...man porch)
L->R David, Dan, Phil

Here we are...and the tall ones are still in the back row...just like our class pics from elementary school.

I had such a great time. These are people who share my childhood memories (good and bad LOL). Having time with them is one of the best things about going "home."

Of course, I should be really careful about leaving my camera unguarded. Joe (Karen's husband) is a practical joker so I consider myself very fortunate that this is the worst he did with the camera! Never a dull moment when he's around, that's for sure.

There were some really fantastic spouses and children who attended the "reunion" too but I haven't posted pictures of them because I'm not sure how they feel about having their pictures made public!

I also got to catch up with my friend Donna. Donna is another one of the people in my life who seemed like a life-long friend from the moment we met!

Everyone who knows me knows that my aunt Nancy is one of my most favorite people in the entire universe!!! Always has been. She's my mom's baby sister but has been more like a sister than an aunt during the past few months. I don't know what Karen and I would have done without her. Her husband, Jack, is really special too!

Here's my "niece" Mandy. My sister hates having her picture taken so I'm not posting one of her here but it was fun spending time with her too.

As you can see, I'm very lucky to have really spectacular people in my life. I may not see them as often as I would like but I always know they are there for me as I am for them.

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit. I hope you're life is filled with people who make you smile.

A Finger-Lickin' Good Time

Hi Everyone, I've had such a fun week! I returned from Tennessee on Monday so that I could attend a book signing on Tuesday. My very favorite series in the entire world is the Stephanie Plum novels. This week was the long-awaited release of Finger-Lickin' Fifteen. A few weeks ago I saw on Evanovich.com that Janet Evanovich would be signing books at the Cherry Hill Barnes and Noble, which is close to my house! Needless to say, I knew I wanted to be there for that.







What a treat to be the first stop on Janet's book tour and on release date no less!











Luckily, Mavis was also available to go so we decided to meet at the store at 7 a.m. to get our bracelets for the signing. I arrived at 6:45 and was the first one there - by a long shot! :) Mavis arrived a few minutes later. Around 7:30 we were joined by a nice woman, Karen. Talking to Mavis and Karen made the time pass quickly. Karen (to my right) was so friendly and pleasant that it soon seemed like we'd known her forever.



I guess the early bird does catch the worm...or in this case...the first bracelet. Which turned out to be even more exciting since Barnes and Noble arranged us by numbers so I got to be FIRST in line to meet Janet!!!










This was the first major event at the new Barnes and Noble in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The management did a FANTASTIC job of seeing that everything ran smoothly. The manager, Anne, was so sweet and so dedicated to providing a fun experience for all in attendance. I'm sure her day wasn't easy but she kept her smile. She even recognized me later in the day and commented on my being the first in line!



We enjoyed talking to Janet's daughter, Alex, who was a real sweetie and has a terrific sense of humor.

From L->R: Karen, me, Alex, Mavis






It was a real honor to meet author Janet Evanovich. She asked what I had to do to get the #1 bracelet. I think she was surprised when I told her I arrived at 6:45 a.m. It was sooooooooo worth it!









With Mavis and Mr. Clucky







If you haven't read the Stephanie Plum novels, you really should go out and get One for the Money right now. I highly recommend reading them in order. But be warned...they are addictive. Once you've read one, you'll want to read them all.




Of course I have to add a picture of one of my babies...here's Punkin' sunning himself on the porch. He's forgotten that he's feral and spends a lot of his time sitting by the door looking in. I feel so bad...I want to bring him in too! He's letting us pet him now and is quite the little mush-ball.





I hope you're having a good day. I'll be back in the next few days with pictures of my Tennessee reunion with childhood friends!

On the road again...

Hello again...another week has flown by!

Still nothing job-wise. I'm disappointed to report that I never heard back from the school that I thought would be the perfect job for me. As my friend Sheri reminds me, that means there is something even more perfect out there.

I'm leaving Monday morning to go to Tennessee again. This trip will involve less work and more play. I'm hoping to see some friends throughout the week and then on Saturday night my friends from elementary school are getting together. Several of us had dinner back in January and it was so much fun. This time we were able to locate a few more and I'm so excited to see them. I'm just blown away to think of how rare and how special it is to have friends that I've known since I was six years old!

They try to deny it but I suspect Toby and Dolly are really good friends. Or perhaps they are both just too stubborn to give up their favorite spots!

Unlike her Mama, Dolly doesn't mind profile shots! Maybe that's because she has a cute nose!

Dolly decided she had been the subject of enough pictures and wanted to experience life from the other side of the camera!

Lacey expresses her opinion of photography! Everybody's a critic!

Thanks again to all who stop by to read my blog. I hope you've enjoyed it more than Lacey! I probably won't be able to post from the road but do hope to have some interesting photos when I return.

Have a fantastic week. Talk to you soon.

Happy Anniversary...the benefits of a good deed :)

Hello again! It's a very special day in our house! We're celebrating Lacey and Dolly's one-year anniversary here. Their story proves there are many rewards to even the most random act of kindness... or as my friend Lori-Ann says "no good deed goes unpunished!" Please permit me to share the round-about way a speeding ticket brought great joy to my life:

Last year on June 3rd I had to take a day off to go to court for a speeding ticket! Afterwards, I decided to take some towels to the animal shelter. While there the receptionist made a plea for canned dog food so off I went to the local grocery store (am I a sucker for animals or what????) When I returned there was an older couple there. The woman had a cat wrapped in a towel and another in the carrier. The woman was crying as the man announced to the receptionist that they were there to "surrender" the cats. The woman's 91 year old mom had passed away and the couple couldn't keep the cats due to allergies. Since our shelter is NOT a no-kill facility the girls' "shelf life" would have been about 72 hours. So I convinced the couple to change their plans. Instead of surrendering to the shelter (which would have resulted in tons of paperwork to spring the girls) the couple took the kitties and met me at a local vet clinic. This allowed me to adopt the cats immediately. They stayed at the vet's overnight while being checked out to prevent them from bringing any diseases into our house.

It's been a year now and I honestly cannot imagine life without these two!

"Don't bother me, I'm trying to sleep!!!"

After a year here, Lacey still won't come downstairs. I was planning to get rid of the little footstool in "her" room but she claimed it for her own!

Dolly's favorite song is played by an ice cream truck. It doesn't matter where she is in the house, if she hears the refrigerator or freezer door open she comes running to see if maybe, just maybe, she'll get a taste of ICE CREAM!!!!

In honor of her "anniversary" today she did! Yum!

Don't be fooled by how close together they are...there was lots of growling going on!

"All those carbs have made me very sleepy"

"Hey, Mom, why are you standing on your head?"

"Ahhh, the sun feels so good!"

Perhaps reflecting on Dolly & Lacey's story put me into the mood to do something worthwhile today so I cleaned out my pantry and donated the food to a local food bank. This afternoon I sat down to watch some taped Oprah episodes and was thrilled to find an episode about volunteering. If you didn't get a chance to see it you can still read the featured stories by going to Oprah.com/heroes.

There were many inspiring stories on the show which aired 5/19. One was of a young girl who is helping "homeless" cats. You can see her website at freekibble.com. By clicking on a give button on the site you can help feed cats and dogs. As you know, I love animals but I also love stories about kids who volunteer. My friend, Janet, has two daughters Sarah and Lauren. I've known Janet and her family for almost 10 years now and even when her girls were very young they always found ways to help those less fortunate! In a time where too many kids are completely self-absorbed it's very impressive to hear about the ways Sarah and Lauren reach out to others! Kudos girls!

One thing I believe with my entire heart and soul is that when we do for others our own lives are enriched.

Many thanks to all who have sent encouragement about the job interviews. I received notice today that I was not selected for one of the positions (luckily it was the one I was least excited about) and found out that for the other one the notification of the second round of interviews will be the middle of next week. I'm still very enthusiastic about that position as I believe it would be a PERFECT fit for me! So please keep those fingers crossed and I'll let you know when I hear more!

I hope you have a wonderful day and that great things come to you!

Happy June

Hi everyone. Happy June. Can you believe how fast the 1st five months of the year have passed?!?

I was surprised to discover it had been so long since I'd posted here. Time bandits strike again. Last week was great but didn't have many photo moments. I did interview for two jobs in New Jersey and celebrated a phone call from my sister telling me we have a contract on mom's condo! Perhaps things are taking a turn for the better!

Since I never got around to showing you the park where Mavis and I had our picnic I thought I would share those shots today. It's a lovely place. I hope you like the view...

Cool steps, huh?

This sweet little couple was going from bench to bench. Don't you just love seeing couples that look like they have been together forever?

The woods beside the lake were a spectacular green with the sun "dappling" through the trees. There's a walking path into the woods that I must explore someday soon.

And then just for fun....

A silly shot :)

AND

a whisker moment

Well, that's all from this corner of the world. I hope your June is off to a fantastic start.