April Showers Bring May Flowers...

And today we are having April Showers with some left over March wind. Love it. My kind of day!

Went to Prime Time today. It is a senior group that meets in a church on Tuesday mornings. Been going there over ten years. Off and on. Live entertainment this morning.....a senior group of tap dancers in full customs Very short skirts on the ladies and I envied their lovely legs. And no one limped...no signs of any pain or aging except for their 'grandmother' faces. They changed three different times and were on for an hour. At one point an alarm went off and the lights also went out. I said, "We're being raided."......but there is a Christian School here and they were having a fire drill. Be the time we were told what was going on it was too late to get out of the building if there had been a fire so they told us to stay seated.

Joined a group playing Mahjong and I asked if I could sit and watch. First thing I knew I was playing. It is a fun game. Like cards but with tiles and different markings. Two men, both really funny and lively and a lady who has been my friend for a long time. I didn't win but will play again.

Had lunch and went home. Was still raining. Daryl picked me up.

Saw my California Golden Poppies as we drove up to the house. They where curled up and sleeping. I got the message. I went in and went to bed and watched news on tv until I fell asleep.

So goes my lovely day.

My new client called today and I was to met her tomorrow and pick up the key to her house at 5:30 but she had called to ask me if we could meet at nine am instead. Better for me. So will do that tomorrow.

Daryl told me today that Billy, grandson, is planning to visit from Ireland in May. That s exciting news. And also my nephew is coming over for a bar b que in May and we will share more family history with him. And another pet sitting job the last week in May.

So when do I have time to work on family history and tell my stories. When I'm working, of course, on lap top. Love the fact we know my great great grandmother traveled with five children from Virginia to West Virginia right after the Civil War all alone in a covered wagon.

Also am planning on starting a notebook with a page for each relative and making notes when I remember something about them and just keep adding. I try to remember their birthdays each year and try to celebrate and remember them.

My Life History will be titled "I've Always Lived With Strangers".

now to get busy..........

I'm Blue All Day Monday.........

Think I will put today on the back burner.......Bill paying day is not my favorite time.

And I'm getting ready for my wonderful 11 job in San Ramon.

So busy bee....................is me.............

buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Some Sunday Morning I'm going to.......

Is it still April? Somehow this month is vague and far away . Keep thinking it is May. Even with the April showers.

There is NOTHING more exciting to me than a BOOK. This morning while going through my library books to check and see if anything due back......I came to the bottom of the stack ..... this was the largest sized book so only reason it was on the bottom. "How I Write, The Secret Lives of Authors Edited by Dan Crowe. No picture on the white cover just the title and on the left side a long list of authors. Turned it over and on the white cover it has "Read me!" Inside fly cover, "I had a close look at my desk just now and realized that it just wasn't designed for quality writing." Franz Kafka's diary, 24 December 1910

My poor, over populated, desk isn't designed for anything.

Each page I turned was grabbing me. Short essays by authors with photos of the object they are telling about that inspires them to write. I come to the center of the book and who jumps out at me???? Frank Sinatra! The last person, or picture, I expected to see. It is Mr Sinatra's 'in the wee small hours' album The writing on the page across from it is by author Neil LaBute and why this inspires him.

Talk about getting excited. WOW. Made my day. Now I'm awake.

Love BOOKS. All kinds. When I have time I will catalyze my types of books. Too much energy to do it right now. Need to be calm .

This book brought to my mind the time I was in London. Visited one of Charles Dickens' homes and in an empty room was HIS desk that he wrote one of his stories at. And on this desk was a small monkey made of brass. A note attached said Charles Dickens could never write unless that monkey was on the table he would be writing on.

See how one book can not only be good in its self but bring back memories. Besides having a picture of Sinatra of which was a complete surprise. The size of 8x10, the slick paper, the photos , the essays....even the selection of the authors.....everything about this book is exciting to me.

Now eventide and have to confess I, yes me, did two bad things this week end. One, Saturday went to a Garage Sale, the worse part is I brought 'things'. One, a heavy dish with snowmen all around it. I know it's not winter But I love snowmen. My reasoning is it would make a great bird bath for my out door birds. Tulips...to put into my outdoor flower arrangements. It is spring you know. But the good thing is Daryl and I walked to the sale. The second bad thing I did was to go to a library book sale today. And I did find treasures I just could not live without. But good thing I put back some at the end. And we did walk and take photos around the library. Stopped at Danville Cemetery. Daryl took photos but I was too tired and only took one from the car.

Mark e-mailed me today a lot of really great photos he has taken. Now I want to get copies made. Some I'd like to put on here and some on Facebook. I'll try Costco.

It really got warm today. Almost hot. Think summer is not far away although it is suppose to rain this coming Tues. Also on Prime Time day. But we need rain so it is fine with me

Sleepy Time Gal signing off.......yawn. It is not easy having fun you know.

Saturday, Day of Rest

I wake in the morning, peek over the hill and survive my kingdom on Mocking Bird Hill

Tra la, tweetle dee dee, it gives me a thrill to wake up in the morning when everything's still on Mocking Bird Hill......

There is peace and good will in the morning on my Mocking Bird Hill.

Woke up slowing and felt a little stiff from sitting on that chair at the book store last night for an hour. The hour went fast for my brain but my body feels it this morning.

Daryl and I went to hear a talk by Linda Joy Megers about her new book, "The Power of Memory". How interesting and motivating she was. Only six people there but being a Friday night people are busy. The two ladies who were there asked interesting questions and I felt they were writing something. After the program the one lady told me about a writing group in the area that was very good and she thought I would enjoy it. Ok, already I forgot the name but SR Senior center has a writing group on Friday afternoons that does the same thing and I use to attend that and enjoyed it.

Yes, I bought her book and she autographed it and I told her to make it out to Daryl as he was the working writer at the present moment.

She handed out a two pages of ideas, Turning Points-Creating the Arc of Your Memoir, to help us get started. And a card, Be Brave-Write your story National Association of Memoir Writers on the back Learn how to feel empowered with purpose and energy to begin and develop your life stories. NAMW.org

Daryl and I have been interested in getting our life stories together. Even working on turning the dinning room into our work area for this purpose only. Already it is full of old photos and letters and information waiting to be organized.

So the timing of this is perfect.

TO DO Today Write to Linda Joy Meyers. lindajoy@namw.org

Since today is Saturday and only plan was to maybe go see the Street Art Faire in Walnut Creek, I was in no hurry to start my day......Yesterday Daryl picked up from the library a DVD I had placed on hold......'The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' based on the best-selling novels by Alexander McCall Smith of which I have read every book of his in this series. So I put it on and started watching it.....from my bed.....all warm and cozy. What a wonderful and great surprise.....The book became alive!!!!! Usually a movie is not as good as the book but this DVD IS the Book!!!! It captures the characters and setting perfectly. I'm so excited. And this was on HBO so I knew about it but had to wait until this DVD became available. The whole first season is on this one DVD.......some things are better than the 'good old days'.


S

Chapter One-Page one

Not being a night bird and this is night.....for now I'll say good night Meet again when the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day......oops, wrong song and wrong singer. How about Put Your Dreams Away For Another Day....YES, that's better.

Paper and ink will meet tomorrow....