Must Have Accordion!

Reagan brought her parents to band today, and her mom brought her accordion! It pointed out two things to me: 1. I do NOT know how to play the accordion, and 2. We need an accordion in the band! It added such a great sound!

We had fun playing for an audience of 2, especially because they told us we were wonderful! We ate it all up!

We had a particular fun time on "Cuanto le Gusta," where June was really cutting up a rug! We love band. Anyone who wants a band that thinks they are really good to come play for your event--we are yours!

New Me

I went shopping yesterday and bought a new pair of pants. It was a size I hadn't seen in a very long time! I wanted to wear the tags all day!

This has been my best time at Weight Watchers ever. I love the unlimited fruit and vegetables. I can't say there haven't been times where I've felt sorry for myself as I looked at a dessert menu, but losing 14 pounds in 6 weeks seems worth it! The trick will be keeping it off, as we all know!

The Three J's and Lynette's Showcase

Jen, June and Judy all take singing lessons from Lynette Casey. Jen and June have a leg up on me, but we're all enjoying what we're learning. We went yesterday to see her annual Student Showcase. She did not invite us to participate (although we would have jumped at the chance!). When we saw the talent we were up against, we could see why!

She has about 40 students. They performed in a variety of ways in solos and ensembles, finishing up with a big group number from Les Miserables. Lynette also sang a duet with one student, and we enjoyed seeing her strut her stuff, too! She knows what she's doing!

Los Cabos Opening Day

Ed and I had to stop at Los Cabos on opening day today, as it is the newest Mexican Restaurant in Eldersburg. We were anxious to see if it would pass muster! We gave it a B, which means, it's not too bad. The salsa was not very spicy, but had a nice texture. the fajitas were good enough, but not marinated in anything very flavorful. Ed liked his burrito. The inside is very attractive. We might go back for Mariachi night on Cinco de Mayo. That could be fun!

Temple in the Springtime

I went to the temple twice this weekend, Friday with Ed, and Saturday with the Columbia Stake Relief Society. The tulips were in full bloom and were a sight to behold! It was fun to drive down the road and see the cherry trees and the redbuds in bloom. It looks like spring!

However, it is not! We had box lunches after the Relief Society event, but it was so chilly that we ate ours in Helen's car. We've had a few nice days, but then it dips back down into the 40's and 50's! Oh, global warming, where are you when we need you?

Bird Bath and Others

We went shelf crazy this month, putting new shelves in three of our bathrooms. This is the bird bath, as we put two birds on the shelf. It makes the bathroom look so much more inviting. It previously had a towel rack behind the toilet. That would be nice if we ever used the shower, but we don't, as this bathroom is off the study, so we put a towel ring to the right of the sink. I like it much better.

We put elephants in the powder room off the main hall. This shelf, also, is a great improvement, and a new place to keep our PooPourri!

The turtle toilet room is the biggest change-as the master bath had bare walls and and a plunger with peeling paint before the makeover. This one even has a subtle hint of smell from the sachet turtle.

And because we were having so much fun, we added some artwork to the laundry room. I like the new teal basket and the lint pig on the left. It's nice to have a place to put the dryer lint when you clean the filter. I am loving my new sock sorting shelf-and am doing a better job of matching socks, as the light is great in there. Makes me want to fold clothes all day!

Rose Ball

Ed and I got all dressed up Saturday night for the Rose Ball. We had a fun night, going out to dinner with friends first, and then going dancing at the stake center. We thought we'd try to freshen up our dancing skills for Amanda's wedding. We were a sad disappointment! We're going to need some remediation before May 29th!

Our Declaration Book Review

Mary challenged the Book it Sisters to read something a little deeper this month. We read Our Declaration, a book about the Declaration of Independence. It had a lot of really interesting information in it. Some of us thought it was TOO much information, but the topic is always timely, especially yesterday, as it was Thomas Jefferson's birthday!

We not only drank out of pewter cups, but we dined on a colonial recipe of peanut soup! It was like a trip back in time. Mary even refused to let us have ice in our water! Those were hard times!

To read our review, see

http://bookitsisters.com/our-declaration/

Primary Presidency

Sunday I was called to be Primary President of the Eldersburg Ward. I am in shock, having not served in Primary for 15 years. However, working with the Activity Day girls for the past two years was a good way to get to know 1/4 of the children in advance. I talked the presidency into posing for a picture after church. Tara is the secretary, and Reagan and Ellen are counselors. We had a good laugh about the Reagan-Bush administration. Hopefully, there will be many more good laughs to come!

Dinner on the Town

Ed and I ate at Baldwin Station Friday night. It is Sykesville's fanciest restaurant, and we had a gift certificate from B4 (the Big Bush Basement Band). It is located in the old train station, so it has some atmosphere. You can tell it is upscale because we have edible flowers on our plates!

It was delicious and fun to test the limits of my diet for one day. Fortunately for me, fancy restaurants seem to serve small portion sizes. It was even warm enough to go for a walk along Main Street afterwards. Good times are here to come!

Coda Corners a Turtle

While I was in the barn brushing the horses this morning, I heard Coda carrying on like a maniac outside. Lo and behold, she had found a turtle! She wanted to chase it, but it didn't want to run! It drove her crazy.


Here is a short video of her enthusiasm. No turtles were harmed in the filming of this video, however there might be one turtle with a tale of terror to tell around the dinner table tonight!

Easter Tulips in Salt Lake City

We're enjoying watching LDS general conference this weekend, but the tulips are killing us! Between breaks, the TV pans outside to show the beautiful tulips and the spring buds on the trees around the Conference Center and Temple Square. Here in Maryland it has been so cold that we haven't even had a daffodil yet!

On the bright side, we're enjoying many of the talks. One I especially enjoyed was given by Wilford Anderson. He talked about learning to hear the music so we can do the steps of the dance. Here is a link, if you want to dance, too!  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch/2015/04?lang=eng&vid=4153714715001&cid=9.

New Guitar

Ed got me a new guitar for Mother's day, and was nice enough to let me use it now. It is an Eastman arch-top AR805CE, and is very beautiful. Taking guitar lessons from Frank has been very expensive for us. This is the third guitar we've purchased since taking lessons from him. In December 2012 we got a Taylor 314CE, and in June 2013 a Martin backpacker guitar.

Adding those to my Fender and my original nylon string Alvarez, I now have 5 guitars! I'm afraid there is some disease over at Frank's house, which may be contagious. He owns over 30 guitars! I can't afford to take lessons from him much longer!

Pencil Topper Sewing Project

Last week Heather and I taught the Activity Day girls how to sew by hand. Going in and out of the fabric wasn't a problem, but threading the needle was somewhat problematic. Despite the difficulties, several girls finished their pencil topper/finger puppets within the hour. They were very proud of themselves! So were we!