Sunday Stuff

Gorgeous day today...... picture-postcard weather.... and when I see the breeze blowing the fronds of our recently transplanted palm tree (from the backyard to the front), it just makes me smile. I'm so glad the landscaper was able to move that tree..... it just looks better in front of the house, rather than on the side of the garage.

I went to SteinMart right when they opened today at noon. Not only did they remove that silly metal security clip from the white capri's I bought yesterday, but they honored a 20%-off coupon that was in my mailbox when I got home from SteinMart yesterday afternoon. So that extra savings made the return-trip worth my time.

True to my word, I didn't do any more shopping in SteinMart today. But, also true to my word, I did drive to the shoe store, and I'm so glad I did. They were having a pre-Memorial Day sale, and nearly all of their summer shoes were on sale for less than $15.00.... and far be it from me to not take an opportunity to save money. I found the most comfy sandals, and some espadrilles, and even two pairs of slippers. One of those slippers is made of a soft leopard-print fabric, which AngelBoy just loves.

I believe that cats can see colors, because AngelBoy always cuddles up to anything blue or anything with a leopard print. I put those leopard slippers by my side of the bed, and as soon as AngelBoy walked into the bedroom, he made a bee-line for them and curled up right on top of them. Little Mickey walked over and tried to sniff around and see what was underneath him, and AngelBoy gave Mickey a swat with his paw. (Mine! I saw them first and they're mine!) AngelBoy did the same thing with a pair of leopard flats that I had bought a couple of years ago. I used to wear them around the house as slippers, even though they were really shoes. If I sat down at my desk, or at the table for a meal, AngelBoy would cuddle up to those leopard shoes for as long as I sat there. There's just no figuring out that blue-eyed cat of mine.

When I came home with my new shoes and slippers today, I went through my closet and pulled out old shoes and slippers. I'm following my rule-- for every one thing that comes in, one thing must go out. Some of my old shoes are packed in a box to bring up to the lake cottage, and other ones are now in a bag for the abused women's shelter up near the lake town.

I had dinner tonight with young Miss C and her mom, and L's friend BD who had given me 29 pajama sets and 48 children's books for the Pajama Program. Tonight after we all had dinner, she went out to her car and came back with one box and three bags, all filled with pajamas for the Houston Chapter. Another large donation-- 95 pajama sets, for all ages, boys and girls, from babies to teens. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed. She is just having the best time shopping for the pajamas, and whenever she's near a store, she runs in to see what's on sale.

Tonight's donation of BD's brings the collection number to 493 pajamas. The total of books is now up to 370. When I came home tonight, I separated everything she gave me into my three groups-- boys, girls, and infants. So much easier to keep track of them all that way, and it's easy to know what I'm running low on. With tonight's surprise from BD, my plastic storage bins are filled right to the top.

But not for long....... I will be bringing even more pajama sets to the shelter up near the lake when we go, now that I've got so many extra sets because of BD's generosity. I already have a large box and two bags filled with donations for that particular shelter, but I'm going to add more to it-- BD gave me a lot of sizes that I just didn't have for those kids, so now I can give them more sizes.

Pajamas in.... pajamas out. Such a simple thing to do. And I have to agree with what BD said tonight-- shopping for all these cute pajama sets is much more fun than shopping for groceries or shopping for anything else.

Speaking of cute..... C showed me the dress and shoes she bought for an up-coming school dance. While she went into her bedroom to get them, her mom told me that C is starting to shop like me. She said that with a smile on her face, so she wasn't worried about that. The dress that C picked out is red with black polka-dots, and it has a ruffled flounce along the hemline, and a crinoline underneath the skirt. The shoes are bright red, a low-heeled sandal, with three crystal "jewels" near the toe of the shoe. I was happy that C took my suggestion to get a lower heel... the first pair of heels that she bought were way too high for her, and she couldn't walk right in them. I suggested that she start with a low heel and work her way up to the higher ones when she got a little older. C is beginning to like to dress up. She's just a casual tee-shirt and jeans sort of kid, but is now having fun with dressy outfits.

C's mom is having a "Bunco" party next month. She belongs to a group of twelve women who get together for a monthly Bunco game, and they all take turns hosting the parties throughout the year. June is L's month for hosting, and she's making this a "Bunco Pajama Party." She will ask all the ladies to wear pajamas to the party, as well as bring pajamas for the Houston Chapter of the Pajama Program. And Miss C is going to have an End-of-School Movie-Night Party at her house-- and asking her friends to wear pajamas and bring pajamas for the Pajama Program.

Little by little, pajamas just continue to come in. Into the storage bins they come, and out they go soon thereafter.

I spoke to my Aunt Dolly today..... she can be so funny at times, I swear. She told me that she was looking in the mirror this morning and she found some new wrinkles. I reminded her that at her age, she should expect some wrinkles. (She's 95.) She said that "Mother Nature was cruel" because the wrinkles show up on one's face. "My feet aren't as wrinkled as my face... why can't the wrinkles go down there near my toes? They'd be much easier to cover up that way."

My aunt also told me that a repairman was recently at her house to fix her oven...... he thought was aunt was 65, and gave her a senior citizen discount on the repairs. Aunt Dolly told him that he should give her more than the usual discount, being that she was 95. She told me that he couldn't believe it... and that he kept telling her that she looked to be "only 65."

Of course, I told my aunt that her face wrinkles couldn't be that bad if the repairman thought she was thirty years younger than she really is. She told me that she kept her "good side" towards the repairman, and the more wrinkled side towards the wall the whole time he was in her kitchen. She told me that if he'd seen more of the other side of her face, he would have thought she was over a hundred years old.

Vanity, thy name is woman. Even at 95. What a hoot! I can honestly say this.... I hope I take after my Aunt Dolly, and when I'm 95, someone will tell me that I look to be about 65.