My Friend Alex

I would like to introduce you to my friend, Alex. Or Alec as he likes to be called. His full name is Alexander William MacLeod Beaton. Alex was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father was from the Isle of Skye and his mother was from Ireland. In the 1960's he was a member of a British group called the Cumberland Three. He immigrated to the US in 1965 and settled in the LA area. He served in the US Army entertaining the troops. In the 70's he started performing country music, writing many of the songs he sang. In the 80's he decided to go back to his roots, Scottish music. Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina hosted one of the largest Scottish Highland Games east of the Mississippi. Alex decided to set up shop outside the gates with his guitar, a few tapes, and his irrepressible personality, singing songs from his homeland. The following year he was invited inside the gates and thus began entertainment at Highland Games in the US. He began to be invited to perform at other Games and over the years has become the most popular entertainer at Highland Games throughout the US and Canada.

In 2003, Mr. Snowbird and I attended the games at Grandfather Mountain. Our friend, Vard, had told us that his favorite Scottish entertainer was Alex Beaton. When we found that he was performing at Grandfather, we caught one of his performances at the games. We really enjoyed him and decided to attend his "Alex Beaton and Friends" concert on Saturday night. Earlier in the week I had said that I would love to tour Scotland sometime. That night we were so impressed by Alex's humor and his knowledge of Scottish history each time he introduced a song. He also plugged his Scotland Tours. We grabbed a brochure and sent in our downpayment that very night for the 2004 tour. When we got home from the Games several days later, there was a message on our answering machine from Alex himself saying that we on the list for 2004. Thus began a very loonngg 13 month wait.

A week or so before we were to go to Scotland, we went to the games in Detroit where Alex was entertaining and introduced ourselves. We also bought a bunch of his CD's and got them all signed. (Did you know that CD's play better when they are signed by the artist?) We joined Alex again at O'Hare Airport in Chicago where we all met to begin our amazing 12 day tour.
Thus began an wonderful friendship. At the Ft. Lauderdale Florida Games that following January, I helped out in his booth selling his CD's. Then in the summer of 2006, he called us and asked us to man his booth at the Ohio Games. This was just a few weeks before we joined him for our second tour of Scotland. Believe it or not, we had an even better time the second time around.

Since that time, we have met up with him at the Ft. Lauderdale Games, The Kentucky Scottish Weekend and Stone Mountain Games each year manning his booth from time to time.

A few weeks ago, he emailed us and asked that we send him 20 to 30 of our favorite pictures from our Scotland tours as he was redoing his website and wanted to use some of our pictures. Wow! So I waded through what must be a couple of thousand pictures and narrowed them down to 45 and sent them off to him. He called me tonight from Savannah where he was performing at a Robert Burns Dinner and said that the site was supposed to be up and would I check it out. I did and it wasn't. So after a couple of more phone calls, it was up and running and I am so thrilled to have our pictures on his website. If you ever want to take a tour of Scotland, you just have to go with Alex. You will never find a better tour anywhere. And if you want to check out his new website, go here now.

FINALLY-Something to cheer about

Bob, the Blind guy--I mean the blinds installer guy--arrived about 10:30 today. Three hours later our blinds were in and are beautiful. One thing did go wrong, I mean it would have to wouldn't it. One of the headers was broken so another one has to be ordered and he will have to come back to install it. Now, Bob the Blind Guy, is really a super person. Remember, I said we couldn't put vertical blinds on the front windows so have to get mini blinds there. Bob measured for them and then said that since he had to come back to put the header on that if we would order the mini blinds and have them mailed to us, he would install them when he came back. No middle man!! And money saved. Told you he was a super person. He also measured for new blinds in the living room so that we could get a ball park price of what they would cost us.

So off to HD to order the new mini blinds which are almost the same color as the verticals and which will be sent directly to us. Also looked at some new Faux Wood blinds (per Bob the Blind guy's suggestion) and some carpet for the living room. (I must be crazy to even think of ordering more carpet!!!) We had new carpet installed a few years ago but it is a stain magnet and that isn't great when you live so close to the great outdoors. Everything gets tracked in.

Remember I said that the original color of carpet we had picked out for the Florida Room couldn't be had until mid January? Well, we went in Tuesday and picked out a new color which will work. Then I called Home Services and told them of the color change. She said that it would be shipped in 24-48 hours. So, when we were at HD today, we checked on the status of the carpet. After they waded through pages and pages of orders, cancellations, orders, cancellations, orders, changes etc on our order form on the computer, they finally discovered that it was shipped today!! So it should be in by Monday and Wednesday at the latest. It has to come ALL the way from Georgia--about 12 hours away maybe?? But, as long as it is on it's way, I can live with it.

So, we finally have something to cheer about and I don't have to sleep in a plywood aquarium tonight. The plywood is still there but no more fishbowl.

Wordless Wednesday-Barry's Legs

This was just to be a picture of our Bus Driver in Scotland but it turned out to be more.

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Murphy's Law

According to Wikipedia "Murphy's law is an adage in Western culture that broadly states that things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance. "If there's more than one possible outcome of a job or task, and one of those outcomes will result in disaster or an undesirable consequence, then somebody will do it that way." It is most often cited as "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" (or, alternately, "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way" or, "Anything that can go wrong, will," or even, "If anything can go wrong, it will, and usually at the most inopportune moment")."

We got a message on our answering machine when we got home today. It was Ron at Home Depot. Hmmm, haven't talked to him yet. One of the few. Anyway, he tells us that the carpet color we picked out won't be made again until January 8th!!!! Arrrggghhhh. There are two other colors that we might like and these are available now. Soooo, I guess we take yet another trip to HD or wait until January or February or whenever to get a floor covering of some sort. I had kind of hoped to have something on the floor besides plywood when our son and family visit for Christmas. But I guess this isn't really something I can blame on HD but it sure follows Murphy's Law.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. We got all new windows in the Florida Room last spring. Great windows. I LOVE them. They come out very easily to clean. So, I thought maybe I should wash them before the blinds are installed later this week---yeah, like I'll believe that when the guy is finished putting them in. Whoa! As I was writing this the phone rang and the blinds installer (no not the blind installer) said he would be here at 10 AM Thursday. Yippee, yay, big cheer here! Oh wait, I said I would believe it when he finishes didn't I? But, I digress. I was washing windows wasn't I? Anyway, I got 2 of them done and then I tried the 3rd one. It wouldn't come out. Neither would #4 and #5! So now we have to call Custom Aluminum who put them in (and who are renown for not returning phone calls) and ask them to come out and fix them--and maybe even fix the overhead fan that hasn't worked since they were here and the trim on the door window which has warped.

So, as you can see, this whole experience has been following Murphy's Law to the T.

Stay tuned!

I am STILL Sick of remodeling!!

And I don't have any more pictures to go with this blog!

This comedy of errors just continues and continues and continues. Remember I told you about Willy, the flooring manager who had a less than desirable "phoneside manner"? Ok, I finally gave up and called him yesterday since we hadn't heard from Home Services in Tampa. Remember, he said that they would call us? So, I call him and he says that he never told me he would send my order up to Tampa. That was someone else's order. When I told him I still had the message on my machine, he said that he guess he had gotten confused and called us instead of someone else. Then he said that he had passed our order on to "Blanche, the expediter". And he told her that we wanted it installed in JANUARY!!! I almost screamed into the phone and said that I had NEVER said we wanted it in January. We are having family coming at Christmas and want it done by then! He said, ok he would call Blanche and then someone would call us back. Well, you guessed it. No phone call.

So this morning I sat down at the computer and compiled a documentation of the whole thing which has been going on for a whole month. Then we decided to make the trip back to Home Depot--half hour trip one way, remember. We went back and found the name and make of the carpet we had picked out and wrote it down. Then we went to one of the desks at Flooring which were all vacant. After a bit of a wait, we decided to go up to the front desk. When the girl there asked if she could help, I pulled out the documentation and told her the whole sad story. She looked up our order on the computer and when she couldn't make head nor tail of it, finally decided to call a store manager. Yay!!! So, Vonda, the store manager comes out and we tell her the story. When she sees my documentation, she also looks at the computer and is aghast at what we have gone through. She calls Mike in Flooring. Remember, he is the guy I talked to on the phone several times back when we thought we were putting laminate in. She also looked up our Vertical Blinds order and said that they were at the installers. She called him and left a message and promised that she would follow up on Monday with that and get those installed sometime next week.

So, we go back with Mike who tries to make sense of our order and says that we had too many people working on our order. Well, duh! I swear these people never work 2 days in a row and if they do, they are in a different department. However, Mike did tend to be the most knowledgeable of all of the people we have talked to in Flooring--including Willie--who we met today. He said that the guy who measured for the flooring and did a moisture measurement should have told us that they wouldn't install the laminate. If he had, we would never had had all this mess. Mike finally made sense of our order and said that, as we had thought, the carpet had never been ordered. The order was on the computer but it hadn't been sent! In the meantime, Vonda came back to make sure things were going ok and said she would check on Monday on the blinds and flooring. Mike made up the order, sent it, and gave us a copy of the order which we took up to the front desk where we finally had the old laminate bill cancelled out and the new rug order entered.

I think (fingers, toes, and everything else crossed) that we finally just might be seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Mike did say that this rarely happen and he profusely apologized. He said that they have to be multi taskers to work there since they will be talking to one customer, get a call from another, then someone else interrupts and sometimes, like in our case, things go awry.

I'm not sure I will ever order flooring at Home Depot again but I really don't have a complaint about too many of the people we have encountered there. They have been very friendly and I think honestly thought the job had been done but it just kept getting passed from peron to person and no one followed up. At any rate, maybe I will sleep a bit better tonight. I sure hope so--even if I am still sleeping in a plywood floored fishbowl!

Grandma’s Brag Book—Part 3

I was used to blonde, blue eyed grandkids until our Noah was born November 23, 2002 ---which makes today his 5th birthday. Happy Birthday Noah! When he was born he came out with a full head of black hair and eyes to match. He was the first of my grandkids that I actually saw delivered. What an amazing thing to be able to help your baby deliver her first baby. Actually Noah’s daddy did the delivering. He was a resident at Akron General Hospital and this was his very first delivery. Of course he had a bit of help from the Obstetrician but he did catch Noah as he came out. What was kind of neat was that both grandmas were in attendance, one on each side of Mommy. Grandpa was able to record the event for posterity on video and film.

As described by his mommy, Noah is a linguistic genius. He had a huge vocabulary by age 2. He was counting objects at 18 months and recognized all of his letters. He was reading some words by age 3. His favorite pastime was working on the computer. He knew how to get into his games and how to get from one to the other before he was 3. Grandma could hardly do that!!

When he began to call people by name, he started calling me Beyuh. We asked him if he meant Bear and he said “NO, Beyuh!!” So Beyuh I have stayed and am proud to probably be the only one known by that particular name. Mr. Snowbird is called Grandpa and the other set of grandparents are known as Mima and Papa. He named all 4 of us by himself.


In June of 2005, the family moved from Barberton to what Noah named the River House. It was a hundred year old home with a huge backyard that went down to the Cuyahoga River. The ducks and geese loved hanging out in the backyard as did the squirrels, deer, opossums and other wildlife. I really, really miss that house.

That December, twins Ethan and Luka joined the family a few weeks early. Because of this, Beyuh spent a lot of time at the Riverhouse helping Mommy out and taking care of Noah until Mommy and the twins came home from the hospital.


In September of 2007, Mommy, Daddy, Noah, and his brothers moved to California. Beyuh and Grandpa really missed them but Mima and Papa were happy because they got to make up for lost time with our grandsons.

We have gotten to visit Noah, Mommy, Daddy, and brothers a couple of times since they moved. Noah still astounds us linguistically. He started Kindergarten this fall in San Diego. He has made friends with a new buddy, Cooper. This was his first friend since he had to leave his best friend, Alex, in Ohio. Alex really misses seeing Noah all the time---and so do I!!


HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY NOAH!

Wordless Wednesday-Where did everybody go?

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HE's Baaaccckkk !!

Well, I guess before I get to the tale of “HE’s Back”, I need to fill you in on some preliminaries. When an insomniac with Restless Leg Syndrome marries a VERY loud snorer, it is usually difficult for the insomniac to get any sleep. So, for the sanity of both people concerned and for the stability of the marriage, they end up sleeping in different beds. Well actually in different rooms! Up in Ohio, we have different rooms but here in Florida we only have one bedroom—thus one of us has to sleep in the Florida Room. And you guessed it, it’s the insomniac who gets the Florida Room. Generally sleeping out there is not too bad except when it is in the lower 40’s (yes, it gets that cold down here once in awhile) and right now when it is like a plywood floored fish bowl. Or- - - - when HE returns. And this morning about 5:00 HE returned. OK, I’ve kept you in suspense long enough, right? Well, HE is an Armadillo who enjoys rummaging around under our Florida Room. We don’t have a cement pad so there is lots of dirt to dig in, air ducts to chew at, etc. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love the little fellows and I think they are cute as can be, and they help keep the varmints and bugs away but I ask you, does HE have to do it at 5:00 in the morning right under my bed?????

Ok, Ok, I know that they are nocturnal but geez!

I am so SICK of remodeling!!!!!

Will it never end?? Last May before we headed north, we decided to redo our Florida Room which is attached to our trailer. We put in a new ceiling, new B Board on the side of the trailer, new shelves, and brand new windows long the whole 32 feet on the side as well as two windows on the front.


When we got back this fall, we knew that we had to paint and get window coverings and flooring. So off we went to Lowes to take a look. We weren't too impressed with what we found so we went across the street to Home Depot. We found exactly what we wanted with very friendly and helpful "experts". Of course we had to have one person handle the flooring part and another person handle the blinds or "decor" part even though their desks were next to each other divided only by a divider. So we found a laminate flooring that we loved. Using it, we picked out vertical blinds to go with the flooring and paint which matched the blinds. So, we picked up the paint and went home to get that part done. It took several days to get the painting done but we were very satisfied with the color. So up went our collection of pictures and paintings and our new wall light.

Two different guys came out to measure for the flooring and the blinds. The guy measuring the flooring was a bit concerned about the moisture level in our floor. Unfortunately our room is not on a cement slab. But, he went ahead and measured. The guy who measured for the blinds announced that he could put verticals on the side windows but there was no room for brackets for the ones on the front! I asked if we could use pull down shades and he said that there was no room for brackets at all. He said we could go with mini blinds in front and verticals on the side. Ugh!! So, back to Home Depot to possibly pick out different window treatments. We talked to Rosa again who had worked with us on our first trip. She showed us pictures of rooms that had both verticals and mini blinds next to each other and they didn't look to bad. Sooo, we decided to go that route---but we can't even order the mini's until AFTER the verticals are installed.

The flooring was delivered in about a week but there was one piece of trim missing so we had to wait several days before it arrived in the store before we could call the installers. So, when I finally was able to call the installers to set up a time, the guy told me that he refused to install laminate because of the moisture level and the fact that we are at ground level in a flood area. Argh! So, BACK to Home Depot yet again. (Did I mention that it takes a half hour or more to get to Home Depot??) We picked out ceramic tile thinking this might be better. Our neighbor across the street put ceramic tile in his place all by himself so heck why couldn't we use it. So, we canceled the laminate and ordered the tile and set up an appointment to have them come out and get the laminate which had been delivered.
Next day, Home Depot calls again and says that they will not lay ceramic tile in a mobile home or in a room attached to one especially since we have no concrete pad. You guessed it---BACK to Home Depot. Yolie who had worked with us on the laminate and tile was the one who called us and she apologized profusely saying she had no idea that there were rules like this. She wasn't going to be there when we arrived but turned us over to Eddie. Along with Eddie's help, we cancelled the tile and picked out indoor/outdoor carpeting. Surely, they can't not lay indoor/outdoor carpeting in a room that doesn't have a cement pad!!! We convinced ourselves that we really liked the carpeting and it was probably the best route to go afterall.

OK, after more than a week of waiting and waiting---and waiting for them to call and say something (blinds, carpet, whatever) was in and ready to install, I decided to call them. Last Friday, I finally get ahold of Eddie again and he looks it all up on the computer and says he can't find our order!!!!! At this point I am ready to strangle the nearest Home Depot Employee. He says he will check and call me back. No call. I wasn't able to call them on Saturday and of course no one was around on Sunday so today I call again. Well, Eddie is on vacation and Yolie isn't there so I talk to Lisa and try to tell her the whole sad story. She had problems finding things too so she said she would report it to the Flooring Manager and have him check it and give us a call. I love Home Depot but this is getting nuts! We had to work at the CROW giftshop today and about a half hour after I get there, Willy calls on our cellphone . Apparently he is the manager. I've never met Willy but his "phoneside manner" leaves something to be desired. So he tells me that Eddie never placed an order and we had to come back in to HD to pick out the carpeting AGAIN!!! I told him we had to work until 2:00 but I would be there at 2:30. About an hour later the phone rings and he says he found the order and we don't have to come in. Then when we got home about 3:00 there was a message on our home phone saying that Home Services in Tampa has our order and they will call in a day or two. Sure, right! I'm not holding my breath here folks.

Oh yeah, I did find out today that the blinds are due in this Thursday--Thanksgiving Day--so I guess I will have something to be thankful for, huh :-) I'm not holding my breath here either. And don't forget, we can't order mini blinds until after the Verticals go in.

Anyway, that is it up to now. I had hoped to have this all done by Thanksgiving. At this point, I will be glad to have it done by Christmas, or Valentine's Day, or Easter! Check back for further developments--if there are any.

Oh yeah, did I mention that when they remodeled the room last spring and put in the new ceiling, they did something to the overhead fan so it doesn't work anymore???? HELP!

Grandma’s Brag Book—Part 2

On Cinco De Mayo Day 10 years ago, Erin Elizabeth was born. You may remember that Sam had named her Kudos before she was born but luckily Erin became the name she was known as (unless you ask her Dad what her name is—he lovingly calls her Boo or Boofer). For about the first 4 years of her life, she was a “girlie girl”, pretty in pink, into Princesses etc. Then athletics took over her life. First it was soccer, then softball, then basketball. And Grandma couldn’t be prouder!!! Erin just made Team One Travel Soccer for her age group for the city of Twinsburg this summer. They are tearing up the league and just last weekend won three of four games in a tournament where Erin not only played goalie part of the time but also scored 2 goals in one game.

On her 9th birthday when I asked Erin what she wanted for her birthday, she said that she wanted to spend the day with Grandma and to pick out her own birthday present. Thus began a tradition. I gave her a billfold with her birthday money in it and she and I hit the mall. We had a blast and it was a great lesson for her in managing her money. This tradition has carried over to Sam as well. This past summer instead of going on a one day shopping trip, Erin joined her grandpa and me on a 2 week trip to San Diego to see her Aunt Karen, Uncle Michael, and her cousins, Noah, Ethan and Luka. It was a great reunion as she hadn’t seen them since they had moved to California the previous September. We kept busy going to the 4th of July fireworks, the beach, Torrey Pines, Balboa Park, the SD zoo, Coronado, Lego Land, and Julian where she toured a gold mine and panned for gold. She missed out on going to Mexico because she got sick. Luckily Uncle Michael is a doctor and he knew what to do to get her better fast.



One time she asked me if I had freckles like hers when I was little. I told her I sure did. There is a saying, Erin, "A face without freckles is like a night without stars." Erin is so much like I was at her age. She reminds me from time to time, with a big grin on her beautiful face, that she is my ONLY granddaughter. And if I am only blessed with one granddaughter in my life, then I couldn’t have gotten a better one.

Grandma’s Brag Book-Part 1

14 years ago this month, my first grandchild was born. He was named Samuel Evan but as he grew he demanded that we call him Sammy. That lasted for a couple of years but now he is simply Sam. When Sam was 3 and a half, his sister was born. Before she was even born, he had named her Kudos. Obviously that name didn’t stick—thank goodness.

When Sam was about 2 his Grandma turned him on to ice hockey. Even though he couldn’t skate, he played many a game in the living room while we looked on and cheered. We even had to sing the National Anthem before each “game”. When we took him to real live hockey games, he loved the action but loved the Zamboni more. As he got older, his interest in hockey waned but he did become interested in soccer, baseball and football. He has now dropped soccer and football to concentrate on baseball during the summer season. But if you asked him what he lives for, he will tell you winter and snow boarding. Interestingly enough though, one of his favorite places is Sanibel Island, Florida. Not a lot of snow boarding down here!! He has been coming down here at least once a year since he was 18 months old. We live in a combination trailer park and campground. The owner has a huge collection of exotic birds, lemurs, and iguanas. It always seems that the minute Sam arrives, he and his sister jump on their bikes and head down to see the birds.

The past two years for his birthday, we have given him money then he and grandma go shopping together. Last year he spent the weekend with us in Findlay. We went to a BGSU hockey game on Friday night, shopped on Saturday AM, went to a tailgate and BG football game Saturday PM, then more shopping on Sunday before I drove him home across the state. He told me it was one of the best times he had ever had. Nothing could make a grandma feel better. This year he and his dad came for Homecoming at BGSU, then Sam and I went shopping together. Another great time together.

I can’t believe that he is 14 already and in 8^th grade. Where do the years go? Wasn’t it just yesterday that my son placed his first born in my arms when he was just minutes old? Sam, I miss the little guy who loved to ride around on his little truck at my house but I am so proud of the young man you have become. I just wish you would smile for your pictures like you used to. :-)

Wordless Wednesday--You may kiss the bride.

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Old Friends

47 years ago after my graduation from college, I moved in with Marilyn. We had only met once before the day I moved in. I was a first year teacher with a first job in a strange town where I knew no one. One of my student’s parents had a friend who owned an apartment building and one of the tenants (Marilyn) was losing a roommate and needed a new one. Thus began a 47 year long friendship.

We joined a group called the Coffee Breakers. This was a group of young single adults between the ages of 20 and 35. It was sponsored by the YMCA. We would have meetings but it was mainly a social group. We went on canoe trips to northern Michigan, ski trips to Canada and northern Michigan, and mystery trips to nightclubs, hockey games etc. We also would meet at someone’s house for an evening of dancing—usually the cha cha! It was through this group that I met many other friends and yes, my husband. Lots of marriages came out of that group.

Marilyn and I lived together for about 2 years until I got married and obviously moved out. She was my maid of honor. Soon after our marriage we moved from Michigan to Ohio. When she was married 3 years later, to Bob who she met in Coffee Breakers also, I was her matron of honor. She and Bob became our daughter’s godparents. They soon had their own children and even though we tried to keep up with each other, our lives tended to go in different directions and we drifted apart. 5 years ago, our kids and our best friends threw us with a surprise 40^th wedding anniversary party. Attending the party were Marilyn and Bob plus several of the old Coffee Breakers who had been our friends or had been in our wedding. We discovered that Coffee Breakers was again meeting once a month at some restaurant in the “downriver” area of SE Michigan. Anywhere from 8 to 20 people would get together. We decided that we could make the 3 hour round trip once a month to get re-acquainted with old friends. And so we did. It was kind of like we had never been apart. We would drive up, spend the day with Bob and Marilyn, go out to eat with the whole gang, then drive home.

Last summer, Jennifer, Bob and Marilyn’s daughter, pulled me aside and told me that they were having a surprise 40^th for them. In the meantime, we were invited to go up to Bob and Marilyn’s cottage near Boyne Mountain, Michigan the week before the surprise party. We were really looking forward to spending that time together. But, about 3 days before we were to go, Bob called and said Marilyn had fallen and broken her shoulder. So no trip. Everyone was kind of worried that the anniversary party would be a no go too so they went ahead and told them about it to see if she was up to going to the party. She was---thankfully. We had a great time at the party. Her sister and brother and his wife were the big surprise as they drove in from Illinois to spend the day. We all laughed and reminisced and looked at wedding pictures and had a fantastic time. We went back to their house afterward and enjoyed more time together. As we were leaving, we made plans to go to a dinner theatre sometime in the fall. Little did we know when we left that this would be the last time we would see her.

4 days later Bob called me from the hospital to tell me Marilyn was in surgery for a perforated colon. Chuck had this same surgery several years ago and even though it was very scary with a fairly long recovery, he came through with flying colors. We figured she would too. Unfortunately, she developed an infection which moved rapidly through her body and a week later she passed away.

Obviously, we are all still trying to come to grips with her passing. Bob lost his wife of 40 years. Jennifer and Paul lost their mom way too early.Johanna and Jana lost their beloved Nana. And I lost one of my oldest and dearest friends. We can never take anything for granted. Call a friend today and tell them how much they mean to you.

Getting Started

Well, what do I say? This is my first ever post on my first ever blog. I never in a million years thought I would have a blog but my daughter started one which I love. Check out Shama-lama Mama. Who knows what I will post here but I have a feeling a lot of it will be my ramblings about my kids, my grandkids, my friends, our travels, and CROW. Enjoy.