"Hello, Everybody!" says Agathe the Aardvark, one amazing wedding planner. "We, the ABC Creatures of the Honalee Bay Aquarium & Gardens, are here again this week to distract you of this and that, and all else from which you need and/or want momentary respite. Enjoy!" That's very kind of the ABC Creatures, who showed up on this blog in 2018 for the then upcoming wedding of Winnie the Wallaby and Thomas the Tree Kangaroo.  I love these guys and gals.  The A to M friends dropped by last week. If you missed them, click here . Nehemia the Narwhal, Noah the Nyala, and Nalia the Napoleon Mastiff are Nfinity x 3 Security who made sure everything was safe and secure at the wedding. Ofelia the Octopus was the officiant who married Winnie & Thomas. Pauly the Pademelon — where oh where had he gone? Quinn the Quokka and Quaid the Quoll hoped they could sing their way to America and the wedding. Cheers to our dear beloved Rhonda the Raccoon

Really? It was only two years ago when the ABC Creatures took over my imagination every Wednesday for 26 or so weeks. The gals and guys, most of whom live at the Honalee Bay Aquarium & Gardens, were all involved in one way or the other with the planning of and/or participation in the wedding of Winnie the Wallaby and Thomas the Tree Kangaroo. It didn't become apparent until week 8 that the ABC story was about the upcoming nuptials. The ABC Creatures don't like that I'm moping about election results. To distract me (and anyone else who wants to be distracted), they decided to take over Thursday this week and next. I don't mind. I love the ABC Creatures.  Agathe the Aardvark is quite an amazing wedding planner. Twins Bingo and Bubba Byrd work hard and party hard, too. Charlie the Camel loves to participate in the cable car ringing contest in San Francisco. The Daffodils—Davey and brothers Dicky and Davey —always take time to smell the flowers.

i, ii, iii, iv Evolution of Love.  That's what has been happening with the mystery craft project I'm working on for the county fair. I have to use at least four items from this list: bandana, feather,  pillar candle holder, magnet, cake pan, sea shells, wooden spoon, domino, yarn, rocks, paper party hat, and plastic liter bottle. So far, I have rocks, dominoes, and a cake pan in the mix. Yarn, sea shells, and/or a party hat are in consideration. Can you tell what the dominoes spell? v, vi Iago the Iguana is one of my ABC Creatures that I created for Round 22 of ABC Wednesday . The imaginary iguana was named for my dad, Santiago, who was sometimes called Ago (pronounced like Iago). This handsome dude, Iago, is in love with an egret named Edwina. Imagine that. If you want to read his story, click this link: Iago the Iguana and the Invitation . vii "And, love is all that I can give to you," sang Nat King Cole . viii, ix I drew this illustration

    At the moment, I'm working on my photo entries for the county fair (due tomorrow). As usual, I let the days go by like three years ago, the last time I participated in the fair. My post from September 28, 2015. ************** Yesterday afternoon, procrastinating me started thinking about my flower arrangement entries for the fair, which are due on Wednesday afternoon. I opened one of the kitchen cupboards and staring boldly at me, obviously begging to be in the fair, was an Eiffel Tower martini glass.  "I'm for the A Touch of Glass dry floral arrangement," it proclaimed.  "Okay," I said. "Let's go." We went to the office where I set the Eiffel Tower martini glass on the drawing board, into which the poor Husband keeps bumping as he goes in and out of the office. Before I knew it, the dried green moss called out from its basket on the floor, "Hey! Hey!" Bammm! A handful of moss planted itself in the glass,

Hi ya! Hey ya! Hope all's well with ya. All is well with us. I'm still playing catch up so I'm back to reaching into my archives for a while more. Have fun out there. Today's post was first published on April 15 2015. ============= Clang, clang, clang with my right hand. Clang, clang, clang with my left hand. Repeat and repeat. Then repeat again. And, again.   It always amazes me how I can get soft peaks of meringue just by beating egg whites. I'm sure there's a simple, straightforward explanation for the transformation, and maybe one day I will really want to know. Until then, I'm perfectly happy, making clang, clang noises with the egg beater against the stainless steel pan as the clear egg whites change to foam, to thicker, clingy foam, and finally to meringue. It's magic. Olé!

Hi ya! Hey ya! Hope all's well with ya. All is well with us. I'm still playing catch up so I'm back to reaching into my archives for a while more. Have fun out there. Today's post (edited) was first published on November 22, 2015. ============= A warning for delicate ears: Bodily toots are being mentioned on today's post. (Giggle.) I'm one of those people whose body systems get all relaxed when she wanders around a bookstore. The moment I enter the door, total zen. Unfortunately for those around me, I'm one of those book browsers who not only gives the occasional loud ah! when she sees an interesting book cover, but also an occasional silent toot, leaving a lingering aroma. I try not to, but, hey, better out than in. Sorry for the TMI, but it's to set you up for this next paragraph. (Snort) The future-Husband and my first adventure included a visit to a used bookstore in his neighborhood. I have no idea if the shop still exists. I

Hi ya! Hey ya! Hope all's well with ya. All is well with us. I'm still playing catch up so I'm back to reaching into my archives for a while more. Have fun out there. Today's post (edited) was first published on April 11, 2015. = = = = = = = = = = = = = Knock, knock. The Mama opened the kitchen door, which was the back door at our house on 44 Shore Road.  I sat at the kitchen table, keeping her company as she prepared dinner. Uncle Frank! The Daddy's younger brother. He carried a tree stump in his arms.  "I cut down a tree in my back yard," said Uncle Frank, putting it down next to the kitchen counter. "I thought it was the right size for Susie." I was four. Either Uncle Frank or the Mama held my hand as I climbed onto the stump. Yaaay! I had a wonderful view of the counter. I don't remember much of those very early years. But, I must've been in the kitchen a lot with the Mama. Enough so that Uncle Frank thought I o

Hi ya! Hey ya! Hope all's well with ya. All is well with us. I've been reaching into my archives the last several days so I can play catch up around the house. "I'll do it tomorrow." has finally reared itself into today.  Such is retirement. :-) Have fun out there. I'll be back with a new post tomorrow. Today's post was first published on April 26, 2014. ============ I knew the pet store was to the left, so I turned left.  "I think it's to the right," said the Husband, sitting in the passenger seat. "No, it's this way," I said, firm in my belief. "I think it's back that way," the Husband said, firm in his belief. "No." "Yes." "I'll bet you it's this way," I said. "I don't want to bet money," he said. "Jumping jacks," I said. "When you lose, you do 10 jumping jacks." "Okay," he said. Here, dear readers,

Hi ya! Hey ya! Hope all's well with ya. All is well with us. I'm reaching into my archives for a couple more days so I can play catch up around the house. "I'll do it tomorrow." has finally reared itself into today.  Such is retirement. :-) Have fun out there. Today's post (edited) was first published on August 30, 2012. It was originally titled "Quiet. Hospital." ============ The Mama may be coming home from the hospital today. The ambulance took her there on Monday afternoon. All of a sudden the Mama could not move her legs or arms, no matter how hard she tried. She caught the nasty bug from the Husband who has had it for a few days. On her, it turned into pneumonia. What made it worse was that she was dehydrated. Stay hydrated, folks! Hydration, however, is not what today's post is about. Nope. After two nights alone in her hospital room, the Mama got a "roommate" with a loving extended family to visit her. The

Hi ya! Hey ya! Hope all's well with ya. All is well with us. I'm reaching into my archives for the next several days so I can play catch up around the house. "I'll do it tomorrow." has finally reared itself into today.  Such is retirement. :-) Have fun out there. Today's post (edited) was first published on April 26, 2012.  It's narrated by Molly the Cat, who had been living with us for over two months when she had her adventure. ============ "Hey, Kid, your people are looking for you," said Lickity Split, as he speeds by me. I barely get onto the sidewalk when he turns the corner at the end of the street. There is no use following him. All afternoon I was following him. Just as I catch up to him, he jumps onto a fence and climbs over it into the unknown. I scoot back into my hiding place. Everything was fine and dandy when I first got outside, but it's now dark and cold. I have no idea where I live. If I was home righ

Hi ya! Hey ya! Hope all's well with ya. All is well with us. I'm reaching into my archives for the next several days so I can play catch up around the house. "I'll do it tomorrow." has finally reared itself into today.  Such is retirement. :-) Have fun out there. Today's post (edited) was first published on February 13, 2013. Warning: Cursing ahead. ============ One of the last times I went to church with the Daddy was a Good Friday. The Mama scored big that day as she got both the Daddy and me to go with her. I don't know how she did it. I did daydream through the service. That is, until the Daddy caught my attention. It was a struggle for his old cartilage to do all the physical activity that takes place during a Catholic mass, especially at the much longer Good Friday service. You stand, sit, and kneel a lot.  I don't think the Daddy realized he was protesting out loud. I still wonder if God and I were the only ones who heard

Hi ya! Hey ya! Hope all's well with ya. All is well with us. I'm reaching into my archives for the next several days so I can play catch up around the house. "I'll do it tomorrow." has finally reared itself into today.  Such is retirement. :-) Have fun out there. Today's post (edited) was first published on May 13, 2010.  Yes,  this really did happen. ============ Ding dong. "Who can that be?" asked the husband, not getting up from his desk. I scrambled up from mine and down the stairs.  Not another salesperson from the carpet cleaning or bug zapping service, I hoped. I also didn't want to find someone clutching slick campaign material. Most likely no religious people; they rarely show up around dinner time. Aw, gee. What if it was a friend? The husband and I bought hot dogs at the Farmers Market for dinner, only enough for the Mama and us. Our front door was open, but the security door was locked. "Hello," I called f

I'm reaching into my archives for today's post. It was originally published on April 24, 2015. See ya tomorrow. Earlier this month, the Husband and I entertained ourselves while he washed dishes and I dried them. The result was a rundown of the utensil choir. This is the make up of the choir, according to the Husband, a musician at heart. The soup spoon sings bass.   The special spoon, which is a Korean soup spoon, sings baritone.   Teaspoons sing soprano, while tablespoons sing alto or tenor.   Forks sing four-part harmony, of course. Salad forks? Three-part harmony! Knives are tone deaf. When they sing, the sound cuts to the heart. I didn't want the knives to feel left out, so I let them hold the music sheet for everyone.

On the afternoon that the Mama died, the Husband, Long-time Friend Kathy, Molly the Cat, and I sat on the patio and ate our lunch. The Mama's apple tree and her butterfly bush gave us shade from the warm Spring sun. The sky was blue. The Mama's roses, daisies, and other flowers were in bloom. The birds serenaded us. The Mama's bedroom window faced the backyard. I like to think that she could see, smell, and hear the day as we did and that she enjoyed listening to our relaxed cadences and tones. At one point I leaned back in my chair and gazed at the sky. A crow was lazily flying back and forth. It was like a photo, the crow framed by the foliage of the Mama's trees and bushes. As I watched the bird, I felt like I could see the Mama's spirit flying up towards the crow and dancing alongside it. When I finally looked away, I saw a white butterfly fly out of the Mama's garden by the  rose bushes. That was the first white butterfly I saw that day, which, eve

"Make an effort." This morning I read that line in Emma: A Modern Retelling by Alexander McCall Smith). I felt like the character, and the author, was talking to me.   Please make an effort, Susie.  The Mama said it another way about herself when she felt tired, which was every day for her last several years. Plain and simple, she used to say, "I push myself." After we buried the Mama this past April, the Only and Older Brother said to me, "Keep on living." I scoffed at what the Only and Older Brother said. Of course, I'd keep on living. Why would I not? Lately, though, honesty keeps trying to surface. Drat that honesty. For that matter, dang to introspection, rumination, and heart-searching that show up in my dreams. Sigh. So, this is my effort today for the letter E for this week's ABC Wednesday : a story that I shared three years ago (April 5, 2013) about an amazing thing that reminded me of the wonderful effortlessness of life.