Happy Birthday Erica!!!

Happy Birthday beloved daughter of mine. I love you more than a few words on this blog could ever express. I hope you have a wonderful day, and a fun trip to your conference in Philly this coming week. I LOVED your text message last night. It made me smile (she texted me that she spotted somebody walking around the downtown mall area with a pygmy goat on a leash). And somehow reading that right before bed made me dream that I woke up this morning to find that Poe had broken off one of his horns...? Strange. Maybe I should train my goats to walk around on leashes though.
That would be ultra cool/fun...HA! But back to the original intent of my post:
I hope you have the most fantastic birthday/year ahead....EVER! We love you.

And for all of you who asked about yesterday...It was quick and peaceful. It was also emotionally exhausting. I will be fine, but I am not ready to talk about it just yet. Its still a little too raw. But thanks for all of the love and the kind words and support.

Star Struck

I got to meet Stephanie tonight!! I swear I was a little star struck. Stephen and Hannia went with me. It was so nice to see her in person. And...she recognized me!!! I couldn't believe it. I really thought I would need to tell her who I was, but nope, she knew the minute I walked in. I can't believe we did NOT bring a camera. Darn it. What was I thinking?

There was a picture taken though, and it might show up on her blog. I will be looking for it. Mainly because Stephanie was sitting down, and I was leaning over, and I hope you can't see down my shirt. That would be my luck.... But it was a good time. I wish her all the luck in the world with her book, and the next one.

Now, I have to face something that is not going to be a good time. We are going to have Scotty euthanized tomorrow. I hate it...and I mean really REALLY hate it, but its time. He is so fragile anymore. He is blind, deaf, and crippled with arthritis. And lately, he has had an ominous cough. We think it might possibly be lung cancer. And as hard as it is for me to say good-bye, it is even harder to watch him suffer. I have been a mess ever since I made the final decision and scheduled with the vet. She is coming to our home, so at least that helps. Bruce and I have taken the day off work to make this as peaceful as possible. My heart aches, but I also know its the right thing to do.

Tomorrow....

Tomorrow I am going to get to meet blogger buddy Stephanie Snowe from "Jason, for the Love of God".
I am sure I have mentioned her before. I read her blog EVERY day because she is funny.
Also? She used to live here in Greenville, so she knows the area. Stephanie recently had her first book published: "Meeting Mr. Wrong"
Apparently, Stephanie had some very unique dating experiences right here in Eastern NC.
And I loved every minute of reading it. Anyway, she is going to be at our local Barnes and Noble for a book signing tomorrow evening, and I am going to be there. I am excited....and jealous. I kind of sort of wish it was me, but I haven't motivated myself to have the discipline to sit down and actually write my first book yet. Maybe one day...? In the meantime, I am going to live vicariously through others who have had the fortitude that it takes to work full-time, raise a family, blog, read blogs, do a million other things that normal life requires, and somehow find the time to sit down and write every day. I am in awe, y'all.

Living Paper Dolls.

I was surfing through a fashion page online where the designers had done these fabulous dresses out of paper. It reminded me of something, which led me to Google to see if I could verify that my memory was, in fact, accurate. Apparently way back in the dark old ages of 1967-68 (I KNOW I am giving away my age here, but whatever. I don't have any hangups about numbers, so I don't care), paper fashions were all the rage. I had a vague memory of my Mother putting me in those disposable paper dresses for the better part of a summer. They were little sleeveless shifts in bright colors, and they just slipped right over your head. No buttons, or zippers at all. I spent the majority of my summer days outside playing. I remember rolling in the grass, making mud pies, catching lightning bugs (why do some people call them fireflies?)...and I am sure I was a filthy little monster by nightfall. With those dresses you just threw it away at the end of the day, and pulled out a nice fresh clean one the next morning. I'm sure it cut way down on laundry for my mother. The dresses looked exactly like this:



I was really young then (around 5 ish...again, shut up about the age thing). I don't recall hating the paper dresses. I think that they were kind of gauzy, almost like a dried baby wipe, but not as stiff. They didn't tear as easily as you might imagine. I just can't see anything like that going over well in this day and age, though. Throw away clothes wouldn't fit in to our (necessary) need to recycle. Think of all that waste. But my google search provided some insight into what prompted the idea way back in the late 60's. They were trying to market them to reduce laundry, and to make travel more simple. Hotels, and vacation destinations were thinking about providing paper resort wear so that a person could literally go on vacation wtihout having to pack luggage. Just buy a few disposable outfits when you arrive and you are good to go. The major producer of these items was the Mars company out of Asheville, NC.

The downfall of the paper clothing line? They turned out to be quite flammable, unfortunately. They had all but disappeared within a year's time. Oh well. Its funny how I hadn't thought about that in so long, and its also quite amazing how much you can find out about almost anything on Google. Most of the paper dresses that remain from that time can be found in museums now....HAHA! Ok, so now I might feel old.