A meme post

Okay, I'm finally getting around to this song meme thing. Morgen , my good blogging buddy from It's a Blog eat Blog World, hit me with last Tuesday. I'm sure a lot of you bloggers have seen and participated in them. And I've said repeatedly, I'm not a meme kinda guy, but Morgen, in his infinite wisdom, must have thought other wise. And he is a blogger buddy.
So, here goes........

The theme of the meme = you list seven songs/Cd's that you've listened to recently and then tag seven people.

Well, I don't listen to too much music. I have some interesting songs I like for the blog, but it's limited to what Sonific has in their archives. On my mp3 player I just bought, I have a lot of old dance music from around the year 2000, I listen to when I exercise. I haven't bought a CD in a while.
I hardly ever listen to music in the car, and at work, it's a top 40 type station in the background.
So, back to this meme.
Seven songs I've listened to recently........ would be the different songs I've had on my blog.
I think how I'll do this, is every 3 days, I'll put a different song on my blog, till I reach 7 songs.
Currently on my blog is,
1. Dream by Moodfood.
On Monday, April 2nd,
2. Hot and Sweet by Zuela.
On Thursday, April 5th.
3. Perpetual Moves by Miguel Samiez.
On Sunday, April 8th,
4. C me by Ox Cohen.
On Wed. April 11th,
5. Nile dances by Andre Centazzo.
On Sat. April 14th.
6. Passion Dance by tomas Michard.
On Tues. April 17th.
7. The Wandering Trickster by Windwood.

This may not be how I'm suppose to do this meme, But I'm taking creative license to interpret this as I wish.
Oh, and then it says to tag 7 other poor unsuspecting bloggers........ I don't think so. But if any of my readers would like to jump on the meme bandwagon, go for it!

my weekend

We had just the best weather this last weekend!
Upper 60's to low 70's! Almost 20 degrees warmer than normal. So I took advantage of it and cleaned and sealed the roof of the Motor Home and washed the entire Motor Home.


And if you think washing your car is a lot of work, look at the mo-ho next to our car and truck!




Also checked the tire pressure, and started up the refrigerator and furnace, to make sure they were still working. We'll un-winterize the water system just before we leave on our first trip. We are still going to get freezing weather, and once I un-winterize the water, I'll have to leave the furnace on so the pipes don't freeze.

Also spring is finally here!

The grass is greening up, and the first flowers of spring are blooming.

Here you can see some Dwarf Daffodils,

Dwarf Dutch Iris,
another Dwarf Daffodil called Jack Frost.

And last, a clump of Hellebores.

I also trimmed back some bushes,

divided some Daylilies, Sedum, ornamental grasses,

and Siberian Iris, and potted up the extras.

I'll have a plant sale later this spring.

They should fetch me a couple hundred bucks.

Gas money for the mo-ho. It's a real gas pig!

As the weather gets better,

I'll be spending more time in the yard,

so my time with blogging will be less.

I'll try and post regularly,

but we'll see. I'm as much of an

outdoor junkie in the summer,

(our summers are quite short)

as I am a computer

game junkie in the winter.

Also, Morgan tagged me for a music meme.

You know I'm not really a meme kinda guy,

but for Mo, I'll do it.

But it will have to be a little later this week.

I've gotta get to work!

Another good day!

Another weekend is here!

My work week ended on a nice note. The last customer I cut Saturday, I had not seen in months. Her name is Sharon. She told me last summer she would not be coming in anymore. Her niece had graduated from Barber school, and was pressuring her to let her cut her hair. So she decided she would, even though she didn't really want too. I said I understood and wished her luck.

Saturday morning she called me to see when I could cut her hair, She'd tell me the whole story when I saw her. So I decided to stay a little later, and told her to come in then.

She had not been happy with her haircuts. She thought her niece would get better. She went in Saturday morning for a cut and highlight. Her niece would start working on her then let her sit while she did another customer. After her niece started on a third customer, Sharon said"I guess your too busy for me, so I'm leaving".

Now mind you, Sharon always paid full price, so it wasn't like the niece was doing her a favor. She was basically taking advantage of her, and Sharon finally got fed up.

So, I cut her hair, we caught up on things, and when I was done, she ran her fingers thru her hair and said how great it was. When she paid, her tip was as large as the price of the cut!

I told her that wasn't necessary, but she insisted, thanking me for taking her on such short notice. And out the door she went.

As I swept up the hair, I thought that after 30 years of cutting hair , I forget how a good haircut can make one's day. I went home feeling good!

my weekend

Over the weekend, (remember mine is Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday) I spent Sunday visiting my Mom. (read the last post) And Most of the other two days playing a new pc game. 1701 A.D. This is sort of a sequel to 1503 A.D. But of course much better graphics and a slightly different game plan.(1701 A.D. is a unique empire building simulation set in the 17th and 18th centuries. In this third episode of the incredibly successful series, players are immersed in the golden age of exploration and trade, where they set out to discover and inhabit new islands ) I've said it before, I'm a pc game freak! And since I can't be outside yet,(too damn cold still) I immerse myself in games!

Another thing I did was purchase an mp3 player! Dang, soo much music in such a tiny thing! I love the new technology!
And it only cost me $8.49! That's right, a 2 gig mp3 for $8.49?
That's because I used my points I've accumulated from my credit card for a Best Buy gift card! If you use a credit card and pay off the balance each month, you really should have a rewards card! It's like free money! And that's how I bought my nifty little
6 mega pixel camera!


The other thing I did was pick some Pussy Willows from the back of our yard. They are the first true signs of spring! I put them in our Salon. Mine get 3 to 4 feet long! The secret to that, is each spring cut the bush back by a third, and it will force the bush to grow longer new shoots, which will become the buds for the following spring! Customers rave at how long they are!

Spring is slowly creeping forth!

Yep! A good Day

Like I said in my last post, I spent yesterday in Muskegon visiting my Mom. Got there early so I could cut her hair.
Then we went for a drive around the downtown area to see what's new. Then a quick stop at Meijer's for some things she needed,
and then to Red Lobster for lunch!
Mom had the Blackened Catfish. I had their wonderful New Orleans Salmon! Best Salmon ever! And of course
those little Cheddar Biscuits, and an appetizer of Lobster and Crab Stuffed Mushrooms!
After lunch it was off to the local VFW,(Mom's a member, cause Dad served in WWII) where we enjoyed some after dinner cocktails, (they're really cheap there), pull tabs, and sports on their various tv monitors.

It was an enjoyable day.

When I got back home to Lansing, Craig had made a delicious meatloaf dinner!

It doesn't get any better!

.

So this morning, I awaken to THIS!

No.... it's not spring yet!

Maybe in a couple more weeks.

It is still March.

I am impatient.

No - Green

Well, the luck of the green didn't help our Spartans.
North Carolina was just too good.
But with no seniors on our team,
we should be a lot better next year!

Today I'm off to Muskegon,(90 miles west of Lansing) to see my Mom.
She's recovered completely from her
heart attack .
She needs a haircut, then off to Red Lobster for lunch.( they've got great fish!)
Craig's staying home to do bookwork, (there's always a lot of that when you own a business) and laundry.

Spring is slowly arriving. The temps this weekend should be around 40. And next week near 50.

It's looking good!

Go - Green!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Don't drink too much green beer!

(I can't stand the stuff myself)

And I hope the luck of the GREEN

is with our MSU SPARTANS!

As they play tonight in the second round of the NCAA tournament!
GO STATE!

GO - STATE!

Today, with the start of the NCAA tournaments, (I know you all watch them),

Our #9 seeded Michigan State Spartans, handily beat # 8 seeded Marquette!

Final score, 61-49!

It was a great game!

Considering the Spartans are in a rebuilding year, They have played tremendously well.

Their defense is #3 in the nation! To bad their offense kinda sucks.

Don't know how far they'll go, but today was fun!

Craig is an Alum of MSU.

So we follow the football and basketball games.

The other game we enjoyed today, was watching #6 Duke get sent home early by #11 seeded Virginia Commonwealth. (who the hell are they?)

Gotta love those upsets!

It'll be fun this weekend seeing what other high seeds fall. (there's always a few)

Enjoy!

Spring...maybe

What a difference a few days make!
In the first picture, posted here back on March 4th,
we were still in the icy grips of winter.
But over the last couple of weeks,
we warmed up into the 40's.
This last weekend, in the 50's.
Yesterday it hit 70!

The second pic was taken on Sunday,
and the last one yesterday.
The snow is almost gone!
It is suppose to get cold again this weekend,
but the long term forecast is looking good.
I think spring is on it's way!

Spent the weekend,(remember, mine is Sun.-Tues.)
Washing all the dishes and such for the Motor home,
Won't be long and we'll be taken it out on the road again!

Also picked up branches, trimmed back some bushes,
And of course spent way to much time on the puter.

Now it's back to work for me.

The Wrens Nest.

Today's post is for my Blogger Buddy Morgen .

He owns a business called The Wrens Nest.

Today is his on-line store's,

Grand Opening!

Owning a business myself, I know how much work

that can be. And I was amazed at how much time it

took to get his on-line store up and running!

This is his brick and mortar store in beautiful downtown

Dowagiac, Michigan. The store carries a wide selection of

unique gifts as well as variety of wonderful things for the home.

Am I starting to sound like a paid advertisement?

Well, it's not.

I just know how difficult it is to run a successful business, so I'm giving my friend a little free plug here.

So click on this link, and check out his Great stuff!

The Wrens Nest.

Oh, and if you want to visit his brick and mortar store.

You'll find Dowagiac, in southwestern Michigan.

Happy shopping!

Our Salon

Well, I finally got thru my 2 long days, and have a chance to post.

As of next month, we will have been in this Salon for 10 years. This is our 2nd Salon. Our first one we owned for 12 years, and was much larger. After getting a little burnt out working in, and running such a large business (anyone who owns their own business will understand) we decided to sell. We worked as independent contractors for awhile. ( which means we rented a chair in another salon, we weren't their employee) Then we opened this Salon, and made it a rental Salon.

That means all the stylist who work here are self-employed.

They rent their space from me.

They set their own hours.

They have a phone at their station with their own extension,

so they make their own appointments. They buy their own supplies, charge their own prices, and the customer pays them directly. They do their own estimated taxes.

This set-up works great for the stylist and us.

So here's a pic of me in our Salon. For more pics, go to this album at Webshots.

Our Salon

As always, click on the pic for a larger view!

When I Die

In thinking about the post I did a couple posts back, about funerals and such, I've wondered, who has their final resting place planned?
I for one, will not have anyone staring at me in a casket!
That is just too gross! They never look 'good'!
So I plan on being cremated.
Craig and I have talked about this , and this is how it will happen.
If I go first, my ashes will be put into vials and placed
in the salon for anyone to take and do with me as they please!
But I can't decide if I want the clear, green, or blue!









I'll suggest they put me in their flower beds to nourish their plants. (me being a gardener)
Unless they just want to keep me lying around somewhere. Heck, They can flush me down the toilet if they want!
Craig will (hopefully) keep a vial of me in a special place for himself.
As for Craig, He wants his ashes to be thrown
off an overlook at Lake Powell, Utah, with this cool bridge!
He loves this place! This pic has his '88' Thunderbird in it on our first of 3 trips to this area. And he has a pic of each car he had at the time,
taken in the same spot, all framed on a wall.
And it'll be a road trip for me!
Hopefully this won't happen for a long time.. But then again, at some point, it will.
And if we both go at the same time, we'll both be cremated and our ashes mixed together. And our families can do what they want with them, since it won't really matter at that point.
Please, if you have a loved one, take the time to prepare for this.
In most states, the next of kin has control of the body!

Yep, Still winter here

This post is for all my readers who live in warmer climates, or spend the winter there.
I know you miss this stuff!
My last post showed my yard in summer. Here's a pic I took yesterday. Nope, no daffodils yet!We had some snow melt last week during a very brief warm spell. ( It got way up to 40! WOO-HOO!)

But of course, today is cold and It's been snowing off and on. And sun, what's that? But I have to keep telling myself, it's March, and it should slowly start to get better.

But I'm an impatient person.

So, today I'll clean the house, and play computer games. Craig will cook a beef roast in the crock pot with carrots, onions, and mushrooms. (I love the smell of food cooking all day)! And do paperwork.

And I'm spending way to much time at this computer. And slowly getting addicted to too many blogs.

Hope the weather breaks soon!

Are we there yet?

No.....We're Not!
Where we are not yet, is Spring. Yes it's now March, but here in the Midwest, we still have about 5 more weeks before we'll see any daffodils and such. We still have snow cover and well most likely add to that before we're done. At least the daytime temps have been getting into the mid 30's. And the day's are getting noticeably longer.
Craig spent most of the weekend
doing our taxes,
while I scanned more of our
pictures so I can save them to disk.
I've also uploaded some more,
to my Webshots picture hosting site.
I've added an album of my yard .



I've also added an album of all my Hostas
I have about 30 different varieties.




And an album of my Daylilies
I have about 50 different Daylilies.
It felt good seeing pictures of summer.
And doing this helps get me
through this long winter.
And if any of my readers are
gardeners, you know we love
to share!