I thought it was time for a new thread. Besides, I'm having so much fun with the graphics I wanted to add a little bit of humor.

thanks Barb...how adorable

Siwa you can go to www.nioxin.com and read on it.....My stylist fot it for me from the beauty pro shop. Here sister uses it and loves it but I am so sensitive to stuff I will just have to try it! has a nice fresh smell to it and makes your scalp tingle. I bet that quilt is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!! Neat that you were the flower girl and they are having thier 50th! Congrats to them.........

I'm only at 5000 again today, but ahd to carry palnts in and out of the garage again due to storms, we did get 1/2 inch so far and no wind damage, but they are calling for storms every 12 hrs for the nex few day.

We had some icky HUMID days earlier this week but to day is gorgeous! Same temp today as yesterday but low himidity and what a difference. Can actually do a few things in the garden without becoming dripping wet in a fe seconds. The garden has really responded to the sunny days we finally had by blooming like crazy. Now we can actually sit on the patio and enjoy it.

Nothing else going on.

I think I had another sleep eating episode cause there is some food missing! I hate it when that happens and I always eat the "bad stuff" that I normally won't touch unless I have figured it in my pts for the day.

Had a bad storm here, no damage here but wow did it level some businesses and homes where dH works just down the road from us! So scary...an F4 Kansas type tornado it was!!!!!!!!! No one killed but a lot hurt...

Less humid today and I mowed and then off to the store, got lots of fruit but bought some donut holes too! (put them in the freezer)

Nothing much happing here either. We will be leaving next week Tuesday or Wednesday to go to Pennsylvania for a training session with one of our vendors. We are bring on a new product line, and this will supposedly make that easier. The town is Exeter, which is between Scranton and Wilkes-Barie. We are driving, and our son is flying in on Friday evening, and we are going to spend the weekend in Phildelphia before going to the training next Mon & Tues. We've been through Philadelphia, but never spent any time there.

8000 steps today....yard work and some cleaning......DS wil be here for ther weekend.

hot and HUMID here! Staying inside after 9 a.m. Even then it was so icky outside. I just did a garden walk thru to check on conditions and cut a few flowers for the kitchen. I chose purple cone flowers, purple liatris and queen Anne's lace and it looks so pretty. I love my cutting garden in the summer. I finally have a zucchini that the deer missed.

My mom's 99 yr old aunt died. I really wanted her to make it to 100 cuz we've not had a 100 yr old in the family yet. Lots of 90+ but never 100.

CANDICE--Thanks for the nioxin info.

We certainly are low on posters here lately.

Now even Candice isn't posting!

We had a few days of high temps and high, high humidity and then POUF! overnite it's gone and we're oh, so happy! We can go outside again. 95 degrees and 70% dewpoint makes for grouchy uncomfortable people. The cukes are in at the farmer's mkt so I bought lots of them and also potatoes, carrots and raspberries. DH is crazy for raspberries. I just found this out--after 35 years! Men!-they just don't talk.

I made a fabulous dessert sauce last nite that I'll serve on Sat. Cherries poached in red wine with cinnamon and cardamom. It's served w/ice cream. I had a little taste and YUM!! I'm not a wine drinker but the alcohol part is gone after it's heated. There's also sugar in this so I used part Splenda. I'm just beginnig to use it in cooking and baking.

Talk to ya later.

Siwa...what does cardoman taste like? Did you use a liquid flavor like vanilla for the cardamon or is it a spice..I have a cookie press recipe that calls for it and I do not know what it is?

Cooler here too..I love it...had to start watering stuff with the hose though too dry. My cukes are drying up already.. I love my purple cone flower too.......Your arrangement sounds pretty..... :

DS got back to shool ok..........cat goes in for shots today and dental check Tuesday.

CANDICE--Cardamom is a pod and is most used in the US in powder form. I can't say what it tastes like cuz it really has its own flavor. Lots of Swedish sweets use it. I used the powder for in my sauce but I use the pods in my Indian recipes. It's used to spice tea sometimes, especially in Afghanistan. Try it sometime.

DH and DS went to the cabin to do some work Sun and Mon and I decided to stay home to have some time to myself. It feels so good.

Minneapolis has a lite rail system finally. It's been under consideration and discussion for at least 37 years that I can remember and perhaps even before that. The first line is up and running so DH and I took it to see what it's like. It's a fast and smooth ride to downtown. My Curves once a month dining group will take the lite rail to downtown tomorrow and dine there. They are such fuddy duds when it comes to lunching. They don't want to leave our suburb or try anything new so it was a shock when they accepted this proposal that I made. For over 1 year I haven't offered a lunch suggestion because they grumble and moan when I do but I decided to give this a try and they went for it. I'm imagining that I'll have a group of ladies clinging to me as we walk from the rail stop for 3 blocks to the restaurant, for fear of..............fear of what? I can't figure it out! I often wonder how I came to be with such a group and why I stay.

Our wonderful warm (not hot) and dry air is staying with us and it's great to be outside every day. This type of weather makes you glad to be alive.

Hi Candice. Cardamom is used in lots of Scandinavian baking. It is a wonderful spice. I have been using it for over 30 years now and love it. It goes right in with cinnamon and nutmeg. It does have a taste all it's own, but is sure is nice. You can usually buy it in the small container, at least here we can. You should give it a try, and "spice" up your life

Hi Everyone: We are back from our extended vacation. And glad to be home. It seemed that there was a lot of cold and rainy weather wherever we went. One morning in Maine it was 48deg. That is on the chilly side for this Florida Chick.

We did see all of our kids and most of our grandkids. It was a good summer vacation, but I think we have sort of decided that is getting to be a lot of driving for us. I think all told probably around 3000 miles. A big circle. Florida, to Virginia, to Maine, to Vermont, to northern New York, to central new York, to Baltimore Md. and back to Virginia and then home.

Did some shopping and decided to get new tableware for the kitchen, dishes and all. I think we will enjoy it. At least I know i will, and as long as I feed him, I don't think that DH cares one way or another. He just doesn't get that women need to change their 'nest' every now and again.

Siwa: sounds like you and Candice have been having some not so goo weather. A quick rail should be fun. I had a lot of weeds in my flowers when I got home, and one very dead plant. They do well to survice the heat.

Candice: You could make some wonderful spice cookies with Cardamom in them. I bought some DaVinci Raspberry Sugar Free syrup, while we were away, and it is really good. Tried some on some Sugar Free, low fat ice cream. yum. Also it is great mixed with Club Soda.

Barb: Hope you enjoyed your Pennsylvania trip. Philly is an interesting city. So much history.

HOpe to get back to regular posting again. Ann

I'm writing this from a motel room in Wilkes-Barre PA, We left last Tuesday around 1:00. We spent the weekend in Philadelphia and did a lot of tourist stuff and had a pretty good time, except our car was broken into at the hotel Saturday night and everything worth anything was stolen, mainly the bags of new clothes we had bought at the outlet mall earlier in the day.

We sat through a whole day of computer training today and have another one to set through tomorrow, then we will start home. It's rather funny how much quicker we can make it home, than it takes to get somewhere!

I think I'll see if I can get some sleep. Of course no bed is as good as your own bed, and I have been having trouble sleeping. I was really proud of myself because I was determined to stay at least halfway OP while I was gone, so I decided not to do any snacking. (I usually eat something every hour or so in the car.) I did great until we went to the outlet mall and dh and son bought two boxes of Godiva Chocolates! It seems like once I caved in and started eating, I couldn 't quit!

Hope everyone else has a great week. I'll check in the next chance I get. I never know what type computer services the hotels have, and sometimes it's just too much trouble to try to get online!

Thanks for the cardamon info..I will have to look for it, our local store does not carry it.

Gonna try a new cookie recipe with lemon........Oh now..how many will I eat this time!

Got the cat in for shots today and dentist Tues for check up. Ran some errands and they chared me for something I didn't buy but it was colsing time and by the time I checked my receipt the door was locked! I will try tomorrow to get my 15 dollars back!

The lite rail trip went well with all 11 ladies and lunch in the "big scary city" went well too. Everyone enjoyed the day and liked their food. They really don't understand how to walk on city sidewalks tho. Just after we exited the train I noticed that they were walking 8 abreast!! We arrived DT early so walked around looking at various things. all in all, it was a good outing. Many of them thanked me for arranging it and wondered how we'll top this lunch outing.

Today I'm painting the entry and hallway. I'm trying a new "treatment". I want to add just hints of a darker color to a lighter one by rolling both while still wet. I've painted a couple trial spots and am now waiting for it to dry. I just bought a couple quarts cuz every time I go ahead and buy gallons I end up changing colors cuz it's not exactly right and then I end up spending twice as much. So now, even when I'm absolutely sure of the colors I still buy quarts and then go back to buy gallons. It's less stressful for me that way.

ANN--You certainly did have a long trip but wasn't it great to see all the kids and grandkids! 48 degrees is quite cool for a summer temp. I understand how you feel about new dinnerware. It will be fun for quite a while to prepare meals cuz you know you'll be eating with/on the items.

BARB--How awful that all your new clothes were stolen. Was the car damaged too?

CANDICE--Hope you get your money back. I recently notice I was charged for something that I didn't buy and never had any intention of buying. It was also a $15 item. I returned to the store and wondered how they would believe me cuz I had nothing to show or prove that I didn't buy it. They did give me a refund and they actually found the book in their return bin. The store was Michael's.