First the deadly tornadoes that cut a swatch through many of our southern states and then the wedding of the century.
The death toll from the tornadoes is expected to reach over 400. This brought back memories for me of the year that my daughter was in the first grade. I was at home with my son who at that time was 3 years old. It was 12:30 and As the World Turns was on TV. The program was interrupted to give a tornado warning for my little town. I foolishly stood at my back door watching the tornado coming. It went down a street on the east side of town and leveled the houses on the right side of the block. Nothing to compare with the devastation of this week’s tornadoes but it has remained fresh in my mind all these many years. I was talking to my daughter and she remembered this. The tornado struck just a few blocks from her grade school. She remembers the teacher having them get under their desks as it was storming. My thoughts and prayers are with all of those who lost loved ones and property.
I watched bits and pieces of the wedding. It was lovely. I thought how very much William looks like his mother and how much I didn’t like looking at Camilla and Charles. I loved the image of the little girl with her face all scrunched up and holding her hands over her ears. That was priceless. I hope this is a forever, till death do us part marriage. They have had a few years practice so they should be able to make it. I pray that they do.
I think I am going out to check out Bergner’s this morning and see what they have on sale. I am needing some new summer tops. I looked in Kohl’s the other day. I couldn’t believe how ugly the summer tops are. I think I will stick to t’s.
I hope you are all having a good weekend. Stay safe and be happy!
Beth
Today would have been the birthdays of my dad and my next to the oldest sister Chris. They both have been gone a long time but I still miss them both. Daddy was fun most of the time. I can remember that he also knew how to give a good whack on the rear end too. I knew that because even as a small child I was prone to put my foot in my mouth. He called me Boogie. Daddy is the only one who ever called me that. I always thought when I was a little girl that Chris looked a lot like Lana Turner. She is the one who took care of me when I was small as mom had her hands full with 8 kids. I remember the day that Chris left home to get married. I cried a lot and had nightmares for a long time.
I have been looking for some pictures of Chris when she was young and I can’t find any. You have all seen a pic of my dad but in case you haven’t, here is one with my mom, Rae on the left, me next to Rae and Ebby on the far right. Taken on mom and dad’s anniversary in 1969.
Happy Birthday Chris and Daddy.
Beth
http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20110423/NEWS/110429921/1011/NEWS?Title=Best-selling-author-Beverly-Barton-dies-
I have said before that I love to read. I especially love a good murder mystery and there was no better mystery writer than Beverly Barton. Lisa Jackson ranks right up there with her. I also like Michael Connelly, John Sanford and Phillip Margolin. I love Janet Evanovich and her Stephanie Plum series. Her new book is out in June. I am keeping my Nook full and loving every minute of it.
It is still raining here this morning, dreary and chilly at 50 degrees. I have to make a pharmacy run, stop by and pay my rent and then on to the grocery store. It is a never ending cycle each month. One of these days the sun is going to shine again and I am looking forward to that.
Monday after the doctor visit my daughter and I stopped by Olive Garden for lunch. We both had the chicken parmesan. I had a creamy chicken soup that had dumplings in it. It was really good. YUMMM! First time I had eaten at the Olive Garden in quite a while. It is out of the way for me to get to.
I guess I had better get moving right now and get started on my errands. I really hate to go outside in the rain. I hope the sun is shining wherever you are.
Beth
It is raining again of course. The rain held off yesterday until evening and it started in raining again.
Yesterday was a very nice day. I got to see the new baby. He is two weeks old and adorable. Oh my goodness though, we do forget how tiny they are at that age. Just precious.
This is a short post as I have another doctor appointment at 9:15. I am getting tired of running to see a doctor every little bit and so is my daughter as she goes with me when I have to go to Peoria.
This will be an exciting week for my British friends. The wedding coverage begins here at 3 in the morning. I have my DVR set to tape it so I will be able to watch it in bits and pieces and not miss anything.
I do have to cut this short and start getting ready to go. I hope you all have a great week.
Beth
Christ Arose!
Words and Music by Robert Lowery
John 2:22
"When therefore he was risen from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them;
and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."
Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior, Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord! Refrain Up from the grave He arose, With a mighty triumph o'er His foes, He arose a Victor from the dark domain, And He lives forever, with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Savior; Vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!
Refrain Up from the grave He arose, With a mighty triumph o'er His foes, He arose a Victor from the dark domain, And He lives forever, with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior; He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!
Refrain Up from the grave He arose, With a mighty triumph o'er His foes, He arose a Victor from the dark domain, And He lives forever, with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
and the sun is shining today. More rain to come tomorrow afternoon but for right this very minute in time the sun is shining brightly. We have had over 9 inches of rain for the month of April so far. The rivers are approaching flood stage.
I have been out to Kroger this morning. Even at 8:30 in the morning the store was packed with wall to wall people. It didn’t take me long to make my purchases and get out of there. I am not fond of crowds.
I did cook the ham and beans and cornbread yesterday. Also since it was pouring down rain I decided to make a Texas Sheet Cake. I hadn’t made one of those for so many years that I had forgotten how good it is. The recipe is posted on my recipe space. http://msbethmariesrecipes.blogspot.com/ Turned out perfectly, naturally, because I had no plans to take it anywhere. There is something about knowing when you are baking something that you have to take it somewhere that makes the recipe flop. After I had prepared all of this bounty I called my kids and asked them to come over and help me eat it. They also took the leftovers home.
Not much else to report here. I do want to wish you all a very Blessed Easter. Do remember the meaning of the day.
Beth
Rolling eyes and sighing. 
Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich’s new trial begins today. The same defendant, the same courthouse, the same judge, even the same ridiculous hair.
AP photo at interview at the Chicago home of Blagojevich.
It seems totally appropriate that I should be writing this post today, Wednesday, which we in the blogging family officially declared rant day several years ago. Of course my local paper, the Peoria Journal Star, is filled with many articles about this today, including an interview with the lone holdout juror in his trial last year. The charges have been trimmed down from 24 to 20 and one defendant, his brother, is not being charged again. Some of you may never have heard of Blagojevich, although if you live in the United States of America you would have to be totally out of it not to know who this man is. In fact, I do believe he is known world wide for his shenanigans. He along with George Ryan and a couple of other disgraced Illinois governors has brought Illinois to its largest debt in history. In other words, we are broke.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37136518/ns/us_news-life/
There are two topics I rarely touch on in my blog, and that is politics and religion. I do take both of these topics very seriously though. I have a deep abiding faith and I follow politics very closely, but these are personal to me. However, when the welfare of my state is involved I will speak out. Our federal government will be paying for the prosecuting attorneys so that means all of us. The state of Illinois will be paying for the defendant’s attorneys which means me and the others citizens of Illinois.
Well, now I have said my piece so I will wait and see what happens with this trial. It really is a good thing for Blago that the trial is being held in Chicago. Chicagoans are more forgiving of their politicians than we are downstate.
And that is my Wednesday rant.
You all stay safe and be happy!!
Beth
go back in time if you could? I mean back to a time in your life when everything was bright and you were really happy. Well, I have had a lot of happiness in my life and quite a bit of sadness too. So yes, just for a little while I would like to go back… Have any of you seen the movie ‘Peggy Sue Got Married?’ I have the DVD and I have watched that movie so many times. Every time I run across it on TV I stop and watch it again.
What time in your life would you choose? I would choose the year that my daughter was ten and my son was seven years old. Jim and I were so happy. I worked most of my married life but at this particular time I wasn’t working. Jim was working a full time job at an AFB and working part time at the local Firestone store. I so much enjoyed cooking and baking, even cleaning. In those days I made everything from scratch. Box mixes were rare although even at that time there was Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner in the blue box. I am not the least bit embarrassed to say that to this day I still like the stuff even though homemade is lots better.
So here I am back in the real world and my children are grown and Jim is gone. I still try to have a positive outlook on life and live one day at a time.
You all stay safe and be happy!!
Beth
But I am not complaining as it is snow showering in Chicago. Also some of my Canadian friends have had a full fledged snow. Oh well, brighter days are ahead. It is 45 degrees right now with a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon.
I didn’t do much over the weekend as I was feeling a bit under the weather. I feel better today and I was up at 6 and have done my workout already.
I have to get out this morning and pay some bills and go to the post office. I really don’t like going to the post office here because of where it is located. Blame all of those years of living 3 blocks from the post office in a little bitty town and you will understand why.
I noticed yesterday that the Spirea 
is in full bloom in my neighborhood. This is a picture from the net as I didn’t feel like getting out with my camera yesterday. They are just beautiful. I didn’t realize till I googled this that there are many different kinds of Spirea.
This is just a short post today. Time to fix my breakfast and get moving. I will be by to visit all of you later.
Beth
to the beautiful weather we have been having all week? Today it is windy, in the 40s and with 100% chance of rain. YUCK!!
I did enjoy this week though. I was busy each day. A couple of days ago I even took a bucket of soapy water out and hand washed my car. I carried cold water to rinse it from the faucet around front to the back where I park my car. This all took me about an hour and half of labor but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Made for a great workout.
I am not doing much today. Yesterday I was busy hopping around all over town. Something about the grocery stores that draw me like a magnet. I love shopping at Kroger. It is a big store and I am one of their best customers. 
Speaking of food, the local churches here pass out food to the needy, some once a week, some once a month. One of the churches is a Baptist Church which I pass each time I go to my daughter’s house. They pass out food each Thursday morning beginning at 9 AM. I have noticed as I am driving by there each time that the parking lot is full of lots of cars and trucks, many of them new. ?????? Do you think that some people take advantage of food banks? I do know that at one church one of the volunteers had food thrown back at her saying that they didn’t like what was being given to them. Just saying??
I had to stop for a minute and call maintenance. My furnace was running and the carbon monoxide beeper started blaring away like crazy. The guys from maintenance were here in 5 minutes. The carbon monoxide level was zero and all it needed was a new battery. There are some things about being a renter that are good and some things that are bad.
Well, I guess I had better close this off as I see company coming to my door. I hope you all have a peaceful weekend. Stay safe and be happy!!
Beth
Oh what a beautiful day, I’ve got a beautiful feeling, everything’s going my way. This song just came into my head this morning as I was out and about town. It is a bright sunshiny day at 48 degrees right now. Everything Spring is popping out. The tulip trees and flowering shrubs are in full bloom. The trees are leafing out. It is just gorgeous today. I love the Spring of the year with the promise of new beginnings and hope for the future. I am truly thankful to be here to enjoy it.
I have been to Kroger and Aldi. Grocery prices are getting as outrageous as the gasoline. Can you believe a jar of Miracle Whip is $3.99. Some things I will buy generic or store brand, but salad dressing or mayo I will not. Gas at Casey’s this morning was $3.84 a gallon although most places around town it is $3.89 and higher. It is well over $4 a gallon in Chicago where my son lives. I don’t live close enough to any of the stores to walk there.
Sunday was an extremely hot humid day. I didn’t turn on the AC although I was really tempted. Believe me the next hot day I will. Today the furnace kicked on.
I hope you all are out enjoying this beautiful day. Stay safe and be happy!!
Beth
It is a beautiful day here at 64 degrees right now headed to the mid to upper 80s. Of course, along with that comes the forecast for severe storms. Yesterday was beautiful topping out at 79 degrees. I was able to open some of my nice clean windows last night to enjoy some fresh air.
In the nice weather yesterday I was able to get the new sticker on my license plate for the car. $99 for that, which is ridiculous for 1 year. But what can a poor old body do? Nothing is right so we pay it and go on.
I finished up my spring cleaning and everything looks beautiful, for a little while anyway. Subject to change at any given minute.
I hope you all have a wonderful day. Stay safe and be happy!!
Beth
Here are some memories for you Jim. I enjoyed your visit so much on Sunday.
Just click on the picture to make it larger.
Mom
and yesterday was a very nice day. It was very warm and windy reaching 82 degrees in the afternoon. We were under a tornado watch all night but it has been lifted now. My sis wanted me to take some blankets and a pillow and bed down in the hallway for over night. I was so tired I went to bed at a little after 9 in my bed. We didn’t even get a thunderstorm which was OK by me.
My son’s visit was very nice. My daughter and son in law came over to eat with us. There were lots of leftovers for everyone to take home with them. I kept enough for lunch for today as my niece is coming for lunch.
The cleaning craze has struck me and tomorrow I am going to start in on curtains and walls I think. I am thinking about buying a carpet cleaner but I don’t know where I would put it if I did. Maybe I will just see about renting one.
This is just a short update. I hope you all have a good week. Stay safe and be happy!!
Beth
dawned bright and clear with the sun shining in my bedroom window reminding me that I had overslept. And this aggravated me a bit because I had lots of things to do today.
My son was to visit today, but plans changed and he is to come tomorrow. So I decided to start getting things ready. Instead of eating out I have cooked a spiral sliced ham, made potato salad and have mac and cheese and baked beans ready to put in the oven. I have the fridge full of food so that I can pack a cooler for him to take back home with him tomorrow evening. We mothers are like that. Nobody takes better care of our kids than we do. 
Today has turned out to be beautiful, 52 degrees and bright sunshine. I have finished everything I planned to do today. Now I think I will sit down and rest a bit and watch an episode of Bones. I am so hooked on that show. I keep waiting for Bones and Booth to hook up but I think it ain’t gonna happen. I downloaded one of Kathy Reichs books to my Nook thinking I would like it. I found it to be boring. I was expecting it to be more exciting since the Bones series is based on Kathy’s Temprance Brennan series. Emily Deschanel who plays Dr. Brennan in the series actually favors Kathy a lot. David Boreanaz is really easy on the eyes. He plays Booth on the show. And that is my celebrity lesson for you all today. Pop quiz tomorrow.
You can tell from all of this chattering that I have nothing newsworthy to report. I hope you all are having a lovely peaceful weekend. Stay safe and be happy!!
Beth
for $2 million. I feel generous so I will share with you all. NOT!!!
However, if I ever do hit the lottery I do promise to share with you all!
Beth
Beth
Beth
Beth
