[gma22]

Good morning everyone! It is Friday so the weekend is coming up! I know Jack is glad about that. It was horrible here yesterday. He was just wrung out when he got home so we went over to the pool for a little while. Again, we were all alone so that was nice. Tangie, the lady paid to check on the pool, came up to the gate and looked in. I told her we were all alone and had been so she said to have a nice time and left. It does seem to have gotten better since she started working. She has tossed some people, but she says overall it hasn't been bad. What irritates me is that certain groups of people wear their clothes to swim in! That is against the rules, but no one wants to enforce it. It can cause the dyes to get into the pools and that is why, but they wear shirts and socks and blue jean shorts and all kinds of crap.

Jean: I did a whole closet clean out a couple years ago and finally got all the stuff to GW last year. I gave them a bunch of shoes, but seems I am up to my ears in shoes again. In Memphis I can wear sandals from probably March through October and sometimes into November so I have a lot of sandals. I prefer them actually to closed toed shoes. I have such big flat feet that shoe buying is never fun for me.

I have finished the booga but not knitted the icord for the handles yet. I started the wrap for my dress sleeveless top, but found the original pattern wouldn't work because the ribbon yarn doesn't stretch so I am making just a straight long wrap with fringe (maybe) at the end. Who knows, maybe I will use up the rest of the beads from Alicia's scarf. lol

I want to get some bamboo needles for the baby's stuff so I can take it with me to Vegas. That way there will be no TSA trouble when I go through security. Speaking of Vegas, listen to this. The website of the hotel we are staying at doesn't have 360 degree looks at the rooms only still shots. I was knitting and an Expedia commercial came on saying how they have photos and 360 shots of hotel rooms so I went to the site to see if I could find one of the place we are staying. I did, but I also found this...
(I surmise all the strip hotels are like this, but we have always stayed off strip before,) our hotel has a positively mandatory, $100 a day charge to your credit card for incidentals. That means for us another $700!!! I know you get back whatever you don't use, but come on!!! When we stayed at the off strip hotel twice before they only ask for $50 and that wasn't mandatory, but just meant if you didn't you wouldn't have phone callng capability except within the hotel and couldn't put any charges to your room. I don't mind putting money down, cash for me is preferred because we don't have to wait a bazillion days or weeks to get it credited back, but $700????? You do have a cash option of $200, but it only turns on the in room movies and the phone and can't be used up let's say for our internet access (which is $11 a day) or in restaurants or anything else. I have to budget our vacation, we don't have unlimited funds because we save for a whole year to take it, and the extra $$$$$ are going to pinch up somewhere else now. I told Jack I even thought about moving to another hotel because if we put down the $200 that would be money we couldn't use at all and if we allowed the other charge, we would need to eat at the hotel restaurants all the time to use it up. Well, we mulled it over and decided to fork over the $200 in cash. It isn't an option you are allowed either. You do one or the other or they won't let you check in! Thank goodness I saw it before hand or that would have been a nasty shock! At the off strip hotel, I usually put down around $100 then charge breakfast meals and stuff to the room, but that isn't an option here. All I can say is this better be a dang nice room! lol

Well, need to finish my morning chores before going and working out at the pool.

Everyone have a good Friday and a great weekend. I will more than likely be knitting and fighting Jack to read the new HP book! lol

Faye

[Jean]

Good Morning, Flowers! It is a beautiful cool morning in my corner of the world. Bob is gone for the day riding on his tractor. The rumor is that the guys want to promote a "powder puff" ride for their wives. I've never driven a tractor in my life and don't think I want to start now. I am missing a shoe box for a pair of shoes I didn't put away . . . I think Bob pitched it but won't admit it. I never throw boxes away; he thinks my mother was scared by a box when she was pregnant with me.

"Gma" -- I've never heard of having to pay in advance for any extras at a hotel. Of course, the only place we've ever stayed in a hotel for a week was in Maui. When we've traveled it's usually been one nighters as we went along. Do all of the Vegas hotels do that? Your knitting needles are sure flying -- they hardly have time to cool off!

Have a great day and a nice weekend! Bob's sister is coming from AZ, to MIL's, so the whole family (our kids and grandkids) will go up Sunday to see her. I need to make a grocery run.

Jean -- from Iowa!

[gma22]

Good early morning gals! Jack scared me awake when the cat bit his leg so I am up. I was having a nightmare anyway about myself, Jack, Thomas and othe people being out in a river somewhere swimming to get to a shore with tangled stuff (like in the Bayou) all around and I get bit by an alligator on my right arm so when he yelled, it woke me up. I had to go to the bathroom and Fortune wanted out so I came downstairs and let him out.

Jean: We have never stayed on the strip, but I started looking at websites and looks like they pretty much all do this credit card or cash deposit thing. The only off strip hotel we stayed at the other two times, requested a $50 deposit for in room movies and outgoing phone, but it wasn't mandatory. I guess they have had a lot of people rack up charges to the room and not be able to collect or something. It is what it is and you can't get around it so we will just have to go with it.

Our Chicago Cubs are coming right along. They are now only 2.5 games back from Milwaukee and we are breathing down their necks. Milwaukee is playing one of the worst teams in the division, SD Giants, but Barry Bonds plays for the Giants. I have a sneaking suspicion the reason they lost yesterday was Bonds. They just played Chicago and we took them 3-4 games, but Bonds didn't play all 4 games. I know, boring, huh, but I like baseball.

I finished another project. I made this handbag for my girlfriend, Becky for her birthday next month. I hope she likes it. I bought this button for the bag and paid about $3 for just the one button. I really loved the look of it and thought it would look great on the bag. When it got here and I took it out of the packing envelope I almost freaked. It was purple!!! I forgot her birthday and have been hurrying to finish this and really don't have time to run around looking for another button or send this one back. Well, it was packaged with the front side down! A real moment!

I can't leave this morning without a picture of my sweet baby. They sent me some last night. Btw, he's a Cubs fan too! He is growing out of his little sleepers by leaps and bounds.

Well, the world now has the last Potter book. Ours will be here sometime this morning. I imagine there are lots of little kids who stayed up all night reading after they got their books at midnight.

Have a good Saturday!
Faye

[nanacas]

It has been a very busy couple of weeks here in my corner of the world. Last Saturday, just a week ago and it doesn't seem possible the week has flown by, our kids gave us a party in celebration of our 50th Wedding Anniversary. The actual one is in September but the NC contingent will be in school then so this was the best time. They really did it up with all the bells and whistles. Limo, with all 9 grandkids and us, to church for the renewal of vows and then to Nino's, our favorite restaurant. They had a private room set up for 25 and it was wonderful. Cathy, our oldest, set up a screen and her lap top and showed a video of photo of our lives, us and the kids. She also had copies for each couple and she had made a 3 CD set of 50 Tunes for 50 Years and had one for everyone. They had a neighbor taking pictures and he said he would have a CD for us later.
Jackie and Carrie, 3rd & 4th inline, got together and had a 'cookbook' printed up for all, it was entitled "79 Brow" Fifty Years of Wonderful Food (and questionable nutrition) The Cassidy Family Cookbook 1957-2007 (and beyond). The dedication page reads: Dedicated to Our Parents: *Gloria & jack Cassidy Who Provided Us With a Taste For the Finer Things in Life ! Love, Cathy, Chris, Jackie & Carrie *Unless otherwise noted, all food prepared by MOM !
It included some of our most popular foods but also had kid invented recipies and other funny items.
Chris was in charge of the restaurant and the gift, as if this wasn't enough, which was 3 days on the date of our Anniversary at a B&B in Maine.
Carrie was in charge of the Limo and the invitations which were our wedding picture.
Jackie was also the MC and had a lot of fun 'roast' items about us and also about each of the kids and some of the grandkids.
We also had a visit from the vacationing Santa, Ryan-10, who interupted his Hawaiian vacation to come in his Hawaiian shirt and sandals and brought all Leis. They also had wine glasses imprinted with our names and the date and pencils as well.
To top it off they had a beautiful cake with the largest strawberries dipped in chocolate on top.
It was overwelming and we are just the luckiest people.
This whole week was filled with visiting and jaunts to the Cape and a BBQ here that was fun with a bouncy castle for the youngsters and plenty of food for all.
Last night was a leftover food gettogether and more fun. They left for home this morning. WOW!

Last funny was after the renewal of vows out youngest granddaughter turned to her mom and asked "Does this mean they will have babies now?"
Catalina bite your tongue!!!!

Faye: I just can't get over how big and beautiful your new baby is. You are a knitting machine.

Susan: Hope hubby continues to feel better each day.

Jean: Enjoy your summer vacation...don't let those piles get you down.

Gloria