Sparkler could be a boy's name. You never know.

When my husband was young, "Mr. Bojangles" was his very favorite song. He would sing along and dance to it. I didn't know him then, but I love that image of him doing that as a little boy.

It's a looong way for me so I won't vote on dates, but I'll keep checking the thread and see if I can make it.

Wow, congratulations!!!!

I know, it's very nasty-sounding. The guy who wrote that book might have been exaggerating for the sake of humor, but not much. My Minnesotan-born grandmother would offer us canned ham sandwiches on white buttered bread when we visited. I was just a kid but I tried to decline politely. In fairness, Grandma never liked to cook. Some of my Minnesotan relatives were much better cooks than she was.

I am reminded of "Minnesotan barbecue" as described in the book How to Talk Minnesotan. Barbecue is ketchup mixed with ground beef, served on a buttered white bun. If you put it in a tortilla and add some Cheez Whiz it is a Minnesotan taco, pronounced "tack-o". I do not live in Minnesota though I have relatives there. I have not partaken of Minnesotan barbecue or tacos though. :-)

Aww. BTW...I noticed your age. My second oldest kid is YOUR AGE. Yes, I have one older than you. And a few younger. When I started reading these boards you were probably in the eighth grade!!! Yipes.

Ha, yes the title is...interesting if you have a funeral in mind. Didn't think of that. The music and verses are so beautiful, though, and speak of God and eternity.

Well okay then. Go take a nap. P.S. And watch this.

I have a few too many songs picked out for my funeral Mass. I love Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence and O Breath on Me, O Breath of God and several others. I'd love a little hammered dulcimer music, maybe afterward.

If there were a dislike button, I would have clicked it for this post. This makes me sad. Don't talk about yourself like that! Please.

This made me laugh. Apparently Chrome identifies you as a classical educator.

Do you think I would do a thing like THAT? Oh my.

Cool! It's not that close to me, but a heck of a lot closer than the East Coast meetup was.

That sounds lovely.

I am just posting again so that I can make the jump to 2600 posts. Only a few more to go...

I had a call from him, or someone just like him. I asked his name. "I am John. I am from California." Imagine that in a nice Bombay accent, complete with that little head bobble they do. Maybe next time I will keep "John" on the line longer, so he will have less time to scam little old ladies. I feel sorry for the poor people there, too, but they should not be scamming people.

Wait, you mean you don't want to weave your own wrapping paper out of dried grass and make a bow from pine cones and berries? I might just slip some cash into their hands at the wedding...but the "dream fund" thing would bug me, too, so maybe I'd give a gift in a basket instead.

General, absolutely.

Hey, could you have returned all this to the Tupperware host lady for a cash refund? It would have been less tacky than what they did.

I was invited to a shower for the mother of the groom once. The couple lived far away. We were instructed in the invitation to donate money for a gift card to...I think Lowe's or Home Depot. I wasn't invited to the wedding. Hardly anyone local was, as it was halfway across the country. It was just the oddest thing. I didn't go but I was a little tempted to, just to see what happened at a mother of the groom shower. :-) Another time a wedding invitation included a request for cash so that "we can have the honeymoon of our dreams." No. Way. We did attend that wedding, but brought a gift.

I have never heard of a Tupperware party as a bridal shower. Just no. If I weren't that close to the bride or the family, I'd send my regrets.

That is just awful, doubly awful that they did not even ask you about it. Triply awful that the Tupperware lady was one of the hosts of the shower.

I get it. I have pounds to lose also. There are certain foods I just cannot have in the house. Finding a substitute activity helps me..knitting, crocheting, playing my guitar, reading. I know I need to substitute junk food with baby carrots or grapes or apple slices. I am not always successful. I lost twenty pounds a few years ago after joining a weight loss group. I kept most of it off but need to lose more. I know it's hard. {{{Hugs}}}

Hmm..is all Nestea sweetened now, with either sugar or sugar substitute? Ours wasn't back in the day. It was plain and you had to add your own sugar.