Friday Favorite Things--From Puppies to Paris

These are a few of my favorite things this week

Granddaughter playing with puppies who will be six weeks old on Sunday.

Grandson with puppy 

Granddaughter playing with the first doll house that  I made.  She loves housecleaning just like her mom.

Jupiter and Venus in the sky at dusk-very bright

Orchid tree blooming across the street

Class I attended this week
Rhea-teacher of art class, classmate Margaret

Finished collage--I love Paris in the Springtime

Each week, Hilary at Feeling Beachie lists four statements with a blank for you to fill in on your own blogs. If you want to join the fun and come up with four fill in’s of your own, please email them to her at feelingbeachie@gmail.com. If she uses them, she will add you as co-host to the hop! 

Pondering with a Purpose

This Week's prompt is:  Blog Hops  Do you participate in blog hops? Or better yet...why did you start your blog... was it to particpate in other people's hops? 

Obviously, I participate in blog hops because here I am writing this, but along with this hop, I love to join in several others. Monday, I hop along with Heather on Meet Me on Monday, then on Wednesday I join Joyce for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Come Thursday you will find me giving my thoughts on Pondering with a Purpose hosted by Brenda, and lastly on Friday I participate in Rachael's Friday's Favorite Things where I try to capture highlights of the week in photos, and I also fill in the blanks on Follow Friday hosted by Hilary.  I love the sharing that blog hops promote.  I am able to express my thoughts, and see how others think about the same topics.  Often, I gain perspective and another point of view.

The rest of the week, my blog is generally filled with stories of growing up in the Wild West many years ago.  I love relating the stories of "the olden days".  I started to blog to chronicle the change in my life once I retired, but because of many questions from friends and family it has morphed into what it is today.  Along the way I discovered blog hops and look forward to each one of them.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. St. Patrick's Day will be celebrated this coming Saturday...what's a favorite article of clothing you own that contains a touch o' the green?

Probably this tee, although I am only Irish by association, I do enjoy the spirit of the holiday.

2. What's a favorite 'green space' in the town, state, or province where you live?

Although it is far from green, it would have to be the Grand Canyon.  It is one of the natural wonders of the world, and with good reason--its beauty, mystery, and history.

3. Do you wish you were taller, shorter, or think you're just about right in the height department?

As Goldilocks said, This is just right.

4. What's the surest way for someone to pick a fight with you?

I am not a fighter, I HATE conflict. That being said, I would get upset if your started picking on my family.

5. Broccoli-Spinach-String Beans-Peas...of the four, your favorite green veg? (Or the one you dislike the least if that first option's too hard. I just know there's some veggie haters out there.)

I like them all, but I love spinach.  It is so good raw in a salad, or cooked and served with butter and a touch of vinegar, or as part of a quiche, lasagna, or other Italian foods.

6. March is National Women's History Month...besides friends, neighbors and the women you're related to, who's a woman in history you admire and why?

Biblical history it would be Esther--she left all familiar, risked her life for her people, and made wise choices.  Modern history--Madame Curie, who  discovered the mysterious element radium. It opened the door to deep changes in the way scientists think about matter and energy. She also led the way to a new era for medical knowledge and the treatment of diseases. She won two Nobel Peace Prizes.  As one of the most famous female scientists to date, Marie Curie has become an icon in the scientific world and has received tributes from across the globe. In 1995, she became the first woman to be entombed on her own merits in the Panthéon, Paris.

7. Keep Calm and ____________on.

You fill in the blank.

Keep moving on.  Remember that you are never alone.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!

When Chickens Fly

With six brothers and sisters there was never a dull moment growing up.  The adventures were never ending, and the experiences memorable.  I remember one spring Daddy brought home a box of chicks to be raised.  They lived in the garage under the house, until they would be big enough to move over the hill.  David and Bob decided to teach them to swim. So they put them in the middle pond and trained them until Mom discovered their endeavor, and swiftly put a stop to it, luckily before any chicks drowned, although my brothers said they were sure that some of them had learned to swim. Was this a tall tale?

Research in this day of technology provided enlightenment. Any farmer who raises both chickens and ducks will tell you that chicks will follow the ducklings into the water and float and paddle about just as well as the ducks but a little slower as their feet are not webbed. The mother hen will also reluctantly enter the water to retrieve an errant chick. Chickens do not enjoy getting wet, they do not like the pouring rain, they do not bathe in water but yes, they will swim. 

Meet Me on Monday

Heather is carrying on the MMOM Hop tradition. This weeks questions

 1. What are your plans for St. Patrick's Day?
I shall gather up me pot and tiptoe through the land, then at rainbow's end, I shall fill me pot and live happily ever after.

2. What is your favorite room in your house?
My studio--that is where the creative majic happens.

3. What 'gadget' do you have that you can't live without?
That's hard to narrow down--for my art I love my Cricut, for the kitchen my coffeemaker, for my car my GPS.

4. What will your first thought be when you learn that you won a lottery?
Now I can build my art studio in Prescott and teach, after tithe I would give my kids some money but not too much so they get lazy, and I might buy a new car--my 1995 Contour has about 150K miles and I don't know how much longer it will be dependable. But don't you have to play to win?

5. Other than Acting Balanced and your own, what is your favorite blog to read?
I have so many of them.  Some I like for inspiration, some for homemaking, some I like to follow the adventures and misadventures of the blogger, and some I like for their humor.  Today I chose Sandie at Chatty Crone http://chattycrone.blogspot.com/2012/03/fun-friday-with-little-help-from-my_09.html Her posts will put a smile on your face for sure.