I have a little time before work, so I'll get to those Starbucks/Seattle's Best responses. I filled out one of those 'let us hear from you' cards for Starbucks. What I said, basically, was I like their lattes just fine, but that I like to bring my laptop to coffee shops that offer free wi-fi. Why should I go to Starbucks and pay? They sent me a e-mail explaining I could go to www.starbucks.com/wifi, register, agree to receive 4 e-mails a year from AT&T, and use a Starbucks card at least once a month to be able to use free wi-fi for up to 2 hours a day, every day. There you go. Last I had checked, you needed to have a T-Mobile wi-fi account to use the Starbucks wi-fi. So, that was a pleasant surprise. Next I mailed in one of those comment cards to Seattle's Best, the cafe in the Border's I frequent. Also owned by Starbucks. This time it was to write about the outstanding service by the new cafe manager. I received a letter from guest relations thanking me for contacting them, along with a coupon for a free beverage. Now wasn't that nice? Dell, on the other hand, never contacted me after the certified letters I sent them. That was the surprise.

Emily sent a bunch of pictures from Costa Rica. Here she is during the jungle tour. What a great experience she's having. Lucky girl!

I wanted to write something tonight. Really. I'm just too pooped. I wanted to write about the comment card I sent to Starbucks recently and the response I got. I wanted to write about the comment card I sent to Seattle's Best recently and the response I got to that. Then I wanted to compare it to the 2 page signature-required letter I sent to Dell when I went through Dell hell and the response I never got from them. I'll have to save that for another day.

I'm going to Sherwood tomorrow after work to hang out on the porch. I can't wait!

Did I mention Emily's away in Costa Rica with her dad and step-mom and that she'll be gone for 8 days? It's awfully quiet here. Well, it's usually quiet here. I bet she's having the time of her life. She called me this afternoon and told me about a 4 hour jungle tour they went on today. How cool is that? She's one lucky girl.

Time to put this day to rest zzzzz.......

The party was perfect...wish you were there!
Welcome...time to party

That Bon, she's a lot of fun

Neighbor and friend Kelly

Deep in conversation

Do you see a family resemblance?

Quite a spread

I don't think we stopped talking

Stopping by to say hello

Cousin Jill and me

With sister Lisa

The party was really perfect. In fact, I'm going to have another one in July. Things that made it perfect? Great friends, Coronas, conversation, Smirnoff Ice, great food, perfect weather, Chardonnay, and lots of laughter. There's nothing better than a 'Girl's Time Out'.

I'm having an uncharacteristic day today. Inside. In silence. I think I need to get on my walking shoes and get active. Yeah...that's the plan.

Having a good day?

I'll be posting soon...just uploaded the pics from the party!

Portrait in a garden


I was almost a lone walker at 6:45 this morning. The great thing about that is that I can sing out loud to my music. There's something very liberating about singing out loud. It's a great stress-reliever. Today I listened to Willie Nelson's 16 Biggest Hits. I got through 13 in 45 minutes. I didn't love the music. I don't love walking. I love that I walk. My clothes are fitting better and I think my thighs are a little less jiggly. I think I'd like to have someone to walk with, but 1. I don't have anyone to walk with and 2. Would that person walk at my pace? So, I'm a lone walker. I'm going to get back to listening to my Total Transformation CD's, but for the past few days I've really enjoyed my music, especially Brown Eyed Girl, Popsicle Toes, The Blower's Daughter, 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered', etc. I've been walking with a CD player in shorts with a big pocket. Old school. I have a MP3 player, but lost all the music on my laptop when my system crashed, and haven't loaded anything new on it. I'm probably going to buy an iPhone when they come out next month, so I'm waiting.

Did I mention I'm having a party today? At 4:00. I'm taking a tiny break to post this. The house is slowly becoming spotless. Nothing like a party to get'r done. Lots to do.

I started this post hours ago, but never finished. I'll do that tonight, when the party's over. Till then....

Carpe Diem
It's my motto of the day. I've walked, watered, and gotten a French pedicure. I'm sitting outside at a table at Panera's, eating a Chic-fil-A chicken burrito, and drinking my bottle of water from home. Yeah, I know, I'm being one of those people. I'm the only one outside. It's hot, but I'm in the shade and in 20 minutes I'll be in the air-conditioning for 8 hours of non-stop work. I'm loving the heat. I'm seizing the day.

I woke up to a trail of paper hearts, leading down to the kitchen table, where I found my birthday cards neatly arranged and the table decorated with streamers and a card and present from Emily. It did my heart good.

Happy Friday, friends.

I feel like I went away on a long vacation. I needed a vacation
Sherwood Forest is magical. It's a community in a time warp. The screened-in porch of Kit's cottage is one of my very favorite places to be. Kit and our other grade school friend, Lisa, spent many hours on the porch eating, drinking and talking. Karen (Happyone) joined us in the morning. We talked non-stop on the porch, until Lisa and Kit left to get our lunch. After lunch we took an hour-long walk. Then it was off to explore every nook and cranny of the community on the golf cart. Here's some sights from our day.

Kit and Lisa bought the best lunch at the Amish market

Our walk had a steep start

Happyone and me. It was SO hot

Do we look wilted?




Everyone gets around on golf carts. I had a blast driving


Our cottage, then some other favorites






I knew Em would love the peace sign on the bottom of this boat

I drove home today at about 5:00, changed into my bathing suit, and went to the pool. I spent about 15 minutes swimming laps, then came home and showered. It felt so good to be clean after a day of sweating. And now? I'm on my porch. Enjoying the end of a happy day.

Morning...Just wanted to touch base before heading off for work. I'll be spending the night with my friends Kit and Lisa at one of my favorite places, Sherwood Forest. Happyone will be joining us tomorrow. I'm ready for some down time with friends.

Happy Wednesday!

What a day! Scattered. Emily was very sick when she got up. I had to call the doctor. Unbearable stomach pain, clammy, etc... I helped her as best I could, and spent a bunch of time sitting on her floor, telling her stories about when she was little. She loves hearing stories about herself. Finally she fell asleep, and when she woke she was fine. And yes, it is that time of month. I didn't spend the day cleaning after all. I cleaned off the dining room table, finally. And the counters. I cut the heat control window film I bought to fit the two halves of my storm door by the deck. The sun streams through that window. Anyway, Em and I decided to go to the pool. How's that for an escape? I grew up with a community pool, and I've always lived in an area that had a pool. My community has two, and it's included in my homeowner's fee. After the pool, I made a shrimp dinner and then vacuumed the downstairs and mopped the hardwood floors. My least favorite job. Emily did half of it, which was a big help. What I didn't do today was read blogs. Sorry. I also didn't iron the stack of capri's waiting in my closet. Oh well, tomorrow is a new day. I'll at least iron tomorrow's clothes tomorrow.

My neighbor called me to ask if I saw the rainbow outside. Out we went.

Aren't rainbows amazing?

Yup, that's Em out there

The view from my deck

And while I was out I took a few garden pics. This is the one that runs along the right side of my driveway

I love my yarrow


And that's it for today. Time to read my Wired magazine in bed. Till the next time....

I like days off with plans. I'm off today, have no plans, and don't feel like making a plan. So, I'm feeling out of sorts and a little depressed. Of course, it's still early in the day, with plenty of time for change. What I should do is clean house, and I think I probably will. I'm having a little party here on Sunday, and I like my house to be perfect when I entertain. The party is sort of to celebrate my Friday birthday. I'm not thrilled about being another year older, but am very happy about being healthy, and pretty happy, and here. You know?

I got an early start today, as usual. I walked. Watered. Read yesterday's newspaper on my porch, which is where I'm at now. It's not too hot yet, but it is humid. I've been out here long enough to be acclimated to it. I've had my coffee, but what I really need to do is eat. I'm sure that will improve my mood.

I've started using Twitter. Not sure if I'll keep up with it, but this is my Twitter URL if you'd like to keep up with me. Not that my life is so exciting, you know.

OK...I'm getting up, and getting on with the day. Happy Monday!

I'm sitting on my deck instead of my porch. My neighbor Steve has his car up on blocks, and has two neighbor guys sitting out there with him drinking beer. I didn't feel right sitting on the porch with my laptop. No hummers tonight :( It's a beautiful night. It's been a gorgeous week. I'm so thankful.

I went to Dairy Queen the other night and had a strawberry cheesecake Blizzard. I can't stop thinking about going back for another one. Yum. Anyone have a DQ nearby? A favorite Blizzard flavor?

The day flew by, and I actually got off a little early. I didn't go to Borders :( I felt like I should be home, because of 'things'. As it turned out, I was here alone. I had to call Verizon about some computer issues, and felt good that I got that accomplished. The technician was great. He taught me all about parental controls on the computer, helped me wire my DVD player, program my remote, and fix a wireless problem I was having. And he was American!

There's a commercial on the radio station we listen to at work that I just hate. It's for something called Total Transformation, a system to fix behavioral problems with your kids, and they repeat the 1-800 number at least 6 times in a row. Well, my friend Laura came over this week and gave me her copy of the CD's. The same CD's as in the commercial. I've only listened to the first, actually 3 times so far, and it's fantastic. Common sense. I wish I'd had them years ago. So, I'm listening and learning.

Thanks for all the comments about my 100 things. Jennifer...we do have a lot in common. Mo...I'd love to have your help with my closets. Diane...wasn't John Denver the best? I can't believe this is my 615th post and that was my 100th. How did that time fly by so quickly?

You know how one thing leads to another? I had a post almost ready for publishing. I wanted to write something about Edisto Island, so I searched through my blog to find an old entry. I found it, but I found this too, and thought I'd republish it. It's more interesting than the one I'd written today. This was posted in February of 2007. There's been a few changes since then, but not many.

Something Unusual Besides This Picture




I started this blog in earnest last August. I've never stuck with a journaling project before, but this must be the thing for me, because this is my .........

Hundredth Post

With that said, I put together a list of 100 to mark this occasion. With no further ado, here's a bunch of stuff about ME

1. I have curly hair
2. I love jelly beans
3. I love candy corn
4. I love summer
5. I wish I had more of a social life
6. I almost never watch movies
7. I hate the sound of sports on TV
8. I hate cleaning mini blinds
9. I’m very conscientious
10. I don’t like talking on the phone
11. I’m a middle sister
12. I was born in Brooklyn, NY
13. I wish I made more money
14. I love taking pictures
15. I’d love to have Photoshop, but don’t think I could figure it out
16. I love to read blogs
17. I wish there were more hours in the day
18. I’m bad about keeping in touch with friends
19. I caused the death of my bird
20. I don’t like dogs or cats
21. I keep books and magazines on the empty side of my bed
22. I love my house
23. I want but don’t need an iPod video
24. I’m 5’7”& 140 pounds
25. I loved college
26. I want to have red hair
27. I like to drive
28. I miss John Denver
29. I don’t exercise
30. I've made all my curtains
31. I eat the same thing for breakfast every day
32. I eat the same thing for lunch every workday
33. I love caffeine
34. I like to grocery shop
35. I'm an optimistic person
36. I rarely sit down
37. My best friend committed suicide
38. I wish I could sing
39. I love learning
40. I like to camp
41. I wish I had more friends
42. I can keep a secret
43. I always wanted to be a mother
44. Its hard to be a mother
45. I’ve had surgery
46. I love my job
47. I hate to clothes shop
48. I don't like cleaning floors
49. I’m honest
50. I don’t want to be this age
51. I’m afraid to fly
52. I never balance my checkbook
53. I wear make up every day
54. I love having a laptop
55. I want a Kitchen Aid mixer but don’t need one
56. All my closets are messy
57. I’d go out with John Mayer
58. I love getting comments
59. I worry about cancer
60. I wish my GA sister lived closer
70. I love Edisto Island
71. I wore overalls and construction boots in college
72. I love Spanish moss
73. I read the newspaper every day
74. I sometimes wish I lived in a small rural town
75. I love the beach
76. I’m friends with my neighbor
77. I make my own cards
78. I love to entertain
79. I love decorating for Christmas
80. Besides my grandparents, none of my relatives have died
81. I love going to Border’s
82. I love getting together with family
83. I always use my turn signals
84. I love the movies but rarely go
85. I never let my daughter get soda when we eat out
86. I love a bargain
87. I listen to audio books in my car
88. I used to love gardening
89. I need to drink more water
90. I want a HDTV
91. I’m impatient in traffic
92. I love being single
93. I don’t talk to my brother enough
94. I’m a big Mary Engelbreit fan
95. I love ice cream
96. I love music
97. I wish I was funny
98. I use Google everyday
99. I sleep less on weekends than on workdays
100. I love to blog, of course

Here's the changes...
#23...I want but don't need an iPhone
#26...I don't want red hair
#29...I exercise
#31...I got a little tired of oatmeal. Now I have cereal or oatmeal
#55...I have a Kitchen Aid mixer
#88...I love to garden
#90...I have a HDTV

It seems like there should be more changes. And it all seems pretty mundane, but it's me. I think I'll write up a new '100 things about me' list. How about playing along?

It's a beautiful and cool morning. It's only in the low 60's, which is amazing considering the heat wave we suffered through last week. As my mother would say, it was a delightful change. I made myself go out and walk as soon as I woke up. I didn't want to. I hated every minute of it. Don't ask me why, I just didn't want to do it and it was hard. Am I happy I did and it's over with? Yes!

Thank you for all the comments about my decision to go to therapy. I try to be careful of what I put out there, because my daughter reads this blog, at least from time to time, and I want to be considerate of her feelings. Still, it is my blog, and I don't want all of you to think I have this idylic life and not know there's another side that has me near tears every day. No one's life is perfect, right? If only... I'm thankful for so many things. I'm an optimist. I'm naturally a happy person. I have a job I love. I have clients who really like me and seek me out, and I care very much about them. And we talk non-stop. Maybe the reason I'm so content with my solitary home life is because I get so much of my social life from work. Anyway, I have a home I love. I get pleasure out of the simple things...a cup of coffee, a bird on my feeder, time on my front porch or hammock, having lunch with my mom, talking to my sisters, having this blog and the friends I've made here, etc. It balances out the bad stuff. I'm trying to make my bad stuff better. I'm taking Emily's appointment tonight, as she's decided not to go. She says she's just being a normal teenager, and she may be right.

Well, that was a lot more than I planned to say. Time for work. Have a great day!

I had my first therapy session today. I came prepared, and I talked nonstop...I wanted to make every moment count. I need help with my parenting skills, and I've found a counselor I think I really like. Emily saw her last week, and it might turn out that she's Emily's counselor. We'll see. I just know we need to fix some things here, and I need help.

I went to the same Panera's I lost my money at a few weeks ago. I even sat at the same table. How's that for a creature of habit? I had their summer corn soup and it was delicious. I came home and dead-headed just a few plants when it started raining. I had no idea they were calling for storms. I brought my book outside on the porch and read till the rain got in my way. Then it was into the house to continue. It was so nice to listen to the rain. I thought I'd try to take a nap. I never nap. Never ever. It just doesn't happen for me. It didn't happen today either, but I rested. When I was done, the sun was shining, much to my surprise, and the temperature had dropped. I had a quick salad, then was off to walk. And here I am, again, on the porch. The hummingbirds have been crazy. There's been three at a time on the feeders, but I don't think they like to share, because they fly away in twos. I have 3 feeders now, but the newest one is on the other side of my driveway and I can't see it from here. I'm not sure why I get so much pleasure out of seeing them at my feeders, but I do.

It seems quiet in blogland today. I'm caught up on my reading. Where are you all?

Ah, what a day....

I'm sitting outside on my deck in the shade with a sundress on, it's 84 degrees, breezy, and no humidity. The birds are singing. Ahh, if only life could always be just like this.

I woke up, put on my walking clothes, turned the sprinkler on, and headed off for my walk. I swung back to the house halfway through to move the sprinkler, then continued on. That was a nice way to do it. (There's a tufted titmouse on my feeder right now. They're so cute! Big eyes, small body with a tufted head) When I got back, I took some pictures of a 'freak' cherry tree on my cul-de-sac. The builder planted an ornamental cherry tree in front of every house about a year after we moved in. I opted not to have mine planted in front as I had already put in my garden. One of my neighbor's trees started bearing cherries on half of the tree. See the trunk that appears grafted to the right? That shouldn't be there.


See the difference? The right side of the tree bears the cherries.

Delicious cherries

This is what the sidewalk looks like:

It's a mess! The birds eat the cherries, and there's pits everywhere. There's a nest of vegetarian Robins, and I tried to get a picture of the momma with a cherry in her beak, but I couldn't. Anyway, I guess I tried one of the cherries last year. I didn't get sick, so I kept on eating them. I stop by the tree every morning when I'm finishing up my walk and pick and eat cherries. Yum! OK, some of the pits are mine.

We decided to go to a Chinese buffet today instead of IHOP. My sister called me from the parking lot to say the place opened at noon, not 11:00. Em, JD, and I went to Lowe's, then Borders, to pass the time, before driving over to the restaurant. My sister and parents waited in their cars. Boring. We were the first ones in, and had a nice lunch together. I gave my father his usual present: a Walmart gift card. Not creative, but practical. He goes there every Tuesday to buy a new DVD. When we got home, we went to the pool. It was such a beautiful day, and we spent most of our time in the water. I swam laps, and read my book, The Other, by David Guterson, the author of Snow Falling on Cedars. I've read a few of his books, and they're intense and so descriptive. It's a hard story, but I'm really loving it.

We had a summer meal for dinner...grilled Flat Iron steak, baked potato, and corn on the cob. Yum!



And here I am, sitting on my porch with the fan creating a wonderful, if artificial breeze, and writing and watching the hummingbirds visiting the feeders. I wish I could suspend this time. This perfect day. Things have been really hard at home lately. Really hard. Today was a great day with Emily. No conflicts at all. A much, much needed reprieve. I'm going to hope that tomorrow is another good day. And with that, I'll say g'night.

It's Saturday! I can't really say, finally!!, because I'm off during the week too. There's just something special about a shorter workday followed by a once a week treat. I don't have many plans for the weekend. Tonight will be quiet. We'll get together with my family to celebrate Father's Day tomorrow. We'll probably go to IHOP for breakfast. Emily will spend the rest of the day with her father.

I'm heading outside to fill the feeders and clean out the birdbath. It's going to be in the 90's today and the humidity will be unbearable. They're calling for storms late in the day. I'll be glad to be inside where the AC is cool.

I'll be back later. Enjoy your day.

I'm finally home after a long day, set up with my stuff on the porch. Tired. I'm not often tired. I'll hang out here for a while...there's probably about 15 minutes of daylight left.

I was commenting on someone's blog recently about sitemeters. I used to check mine every day, or more than once every day. I was happiest when I had a lot of visitors, and a little let down when I didn't. When Andrew put a blurb
about me and a link in his sidebar, my numbers increased. I felt a little popular, on a very small scale. After a while, my name settled further down on his list, and my numbers decreased. And I was a little dejected. Pretty silly, huh? I rarely look at my sitemeter anymore, because it doesn't matter. I'm so fortunate to have the friends I've made here, to be part of what I consider a fantastic circle of friends, that the numbers mean nothing. Or almost nothing :) I love getting comments, and I thank all of you who take the time to leave a 'hello.' And that's my thoughts on the sitemeter subject. And I'll probably check it as soon as I sign off.

Salmonella and a reason for low-tech engineering
OK, now that I have the catchy title, can I write a good story? I haven't been paying attention to the salmonella/tomato problem, but yesterday I overheard a hairdresser having a conversation with her client about it, and joined in. That's one of the great things about my job. Talking to other clients and stylists really fosters a sense of 'home' in the salon. Unless you're having a conversation with your client about something private and realize you've been talking too loud. But, it turns out the client talking about the tomatoes works for the FDA and had a lot of interesting things to say, mainly: they have no idea where it's coming from. I told her I'd been lamenting the fact that I wouldn't be able to make my tomato pie, and she informed me that cooked tomatoes are fine. Yeah! But cooked to what temperature? I'll have to find out. But, I digress, which I do a lot.

Remember the fence I built to keep the squirrels out of my potted tomato plants?

I built it to try to keep this guy...

From doing this to my tomatoes:



I was really proud of my skills in building that tomato fence. My forearms bear the scars of the chicken-wire scratches. Then this happened:


The tomato flowers started growing through the top of my not-tall-enough cage. I really remembered this variety being short and squat. Not! So, back to work. The cage isn't looking quite as spiffy as it used to, but it's over 2 feet higher now. And you know what? The head squirrel is probably laughing it's head off, 'cause his plan to steal my tomatoes has long been in place, and he's just biding his time.


I hope I grow enough tomatoes to justify all the effort I put into the fence. If it works, I'll store it in my basement over the winter and reuse it every year. Oh wait, how will I get it through the door? I guess I'll be storing it under my deck. Maybe I could leave a small opening and it could be a squirrel trap? No, that would be cruel.

Here's my recipe for Tomato Pie. I first had it in the South Carolina 'lowcountry', and its become a family favorite. There's many variations of this on the internet.

Preheat oven and baking sheet to 350*

1 (9") deep dish pie shell (I use frozen)
5 large tomatoes, peeled, sliced and squeezed to get seeds out
1/2 small onion, chopped (I cook it in the microwave for a few minutes)
3 t dried basil or 1/4 c fresh, chopped (I only use fresh)
salt and pepper
3/4 c mayonnaise
1 1/4 c grated cheddar cheese

Mix tomatoes, basil, onion, s&p in a bowl. If it seems too liquid-y, drain it. Place in bottom of pie shell. Mix mayo and cheese and spread over tomato mixture. Bake on cookie sheet at 350* for 35 minutes or till golden brown and bubbly. The bottom crust is always soggy, and I haven't figured out how to fix that, but it doesn't take away from the deliciousness of the pie.

Anyway, I really didn't mean to write such a long post. Well, there's really not too much writing---the pictures take up a lot of space. Yesterday was another day in the heatwave zone, ending with a thunderstorm with lots of rain. Thank goodness for the rain. I came out to my porch this morning with my laptop, ready to go back in and grab my fan, when much to my surprise, I felt an actual cool breeze. It's only 72 degrees right now, the sky is bright blue, and it's beautiful outside. It's going to be in the upper 80's instead of the upper 90's for the rest of the week. That said, I'm getting on my walking shoes and putting in my time. I switched days off this week, and I'm so glad!

I've got just a couple of minutes to post before leaving for some errands and then work. Where the AC is turned really low and sometimes you're too cold. What a concept.

Today is trash, recycling and yard waste day. My favorite day of the week to walk so I can be nosy and see what people leave out for pick-up. One thing I saw a lot of were empty box fan boxes. This heat wave is killing us! Recycling is very easy in my neighborhood. They provide a container, and if you ever need to replace it or get an additional one, they're free at the county landfill, which is close-by. You don't have to sort anything, just throw it all in together. They take plastic, glass, any kind of paper, metal, and cardboard. Today I walked through town house developments. So few people recycle. You can see all the paper and plastic showing through their white garbage bags. What's up with that? It makes me mad. Also, I think I only saw one house with yard waste. All you do for that is put masking tape X on the bag. How can all the single family homes have multiple bags out, and not the townhouses? Almost everyone in my cul-de-sac has yard waste outside. It got me thinking about herd mentality. And why it's good to walk on Tuesdays.

A lot of this and that, fueled by coffee.

I was out and walking at 6:15 this morning. I knew if I didn't do it then that I wouldn't walk at all today. I thought of Karen and Elizabeth walking, and that helped. Before I knew it, 45 minutes had passed, and I was home. I spent about a half hour watering, then put my fan on the porch, along with my laptop and a cup of coffee. I had my annual AC service call scheduled for today between 7:30 and noon. I decided to check on my filter before the tech came and found water leaking out of the furnace and into my sump well. How amazing is that? I have a problem on the same day I have a service call? I think it about makes up for my bad luck last week with the money. Anyway, I came outside to hang out on the porch with my computer. As I'm sitting there, I'm thinking it doesn't feel too bad out. It's in the 80's already, but I'm in the shade, and there's a really nice breeze. Then I remember I have a fan set up about 6" from my knees. I'm happy I can amuse myself. Believe me, these days I need all the *amusement I can get.

So, the AC guy shows up, and down we go to the basement. Turns out the coolant was low which caused the coils to freeze into a solid block of ice, and the water on the floor was some melt-off. He had to turn the HEAT on to melt it all. Then he put the coolant in and tested the coils for leaks, and it all seems fine. I didn't lower the thermostat, and the house feels cooler than it has in days. I spoke to the tech about my upstairs heat problem. He looked at the duct work in the basement and showed me all the shortcuts that were taken in the building process. I'd have to have major work done to get the air to flow in an efficient way way upstairs. He recommended an additional AC unit for the upstairs. I think I'm going to continue to deal with it, as I have for the past 15 years. I'm going to look into a free-standing electric AC unit. I'm going to buy the reflective film you can put on your windows.

Here's a picture of the cracker candy

Preheat oven to 400. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil. Line every bit of that pan with saltine crackers. Mine took exactly 5 rows of 8 crackers for a total of 40. Combine 1 cup of packed light brown sugar with 2 sticks of butter and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Spread over crackers, then bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle a 12 oz bag of milk chocolate chips on top. Wait 5 minutes, then spread the melted chips. Refrigerate or put in freezer. When cool, invert, peel off foil, and break into pieces. It is wondrously good, and about as easy as can be. I took 3 little pieces home from my book club meeting, and let everyone else take the rest.

It's all of a sudden breezy out here, and it's not just the fan. It's a nice place to be. I have no plans for the day. I might just bring my new book out here and read for a while. It's 90 degrees now, at 10:30, and it's supposed to be about 100 degrees today, so it's now or never with being outside. Em's inside...it's her first real day of summer vacation. Did I mention she and her old *boyfriend are back together?