The Secret

[sammy]

I watched the wedding. I giggled when she had to say "I take you William Arthur Philip Louis" (now that's a mouthful!), the camera showed both their faces and they looked like they were trying to hold back laughter. So sweet. It's fun to watch weddings, they always bring me back to my own...so long ago, yet feels like yesterday. The big joke (to this day) about our wedding was my husbands socks. He was wearing a white tux and forgot to get white socks, so he threw on sweat socks. Apparently everybody could see the red stripes on the socks through the pant legs. I hadn't noticed it until the priest mentioned it in his sermon. We ALL roared with laughter!

LOVE!!!!
Sammy

[Seeker13]

Sammy,
You gave me a pretty good laugh this morning! Loved the socks story. Our 26th anniversary is coming up on the fourth, fortunately silly things like your sock story have been happening to us since the beginning, at least we can still laugh at each other. At our wedding, my brother, who was suppose to give me away got lost, walked in the minute I was about to start down the isle. We had to hurry through the photography session before the little flower girl pulled all the flowers out of my bouquet. At the reception Dave jumped off the stage, sprained his ankle, so I had to carry him over the threshold. The next morning I had no idea he'd put his contacts in a cup of water by the sink and dumped them down the drain. We took off on our honeymoon, hours later Dave realized he'd forgotten to pack anything for the trip! We didn't have much money so were simply exploring the wilderness of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, being lost seemed to be the main theme of our trip. Lost again, the road went from a highway, to a two lane, to a two-track, to a deer path. You can imagine that I was very patient, never would think of pointing our our situation, or that we should probably, "TURN AROUND," he of course wasn't about to alter our direction knowing it was the right way to go. It was getting dark, hadn't seen another car for hours... he finally stopped just feet from plunging into a huge river! All we could do was laugh, ended up having a great time, arriving home with a quarter in our pocket. Now that I think about it, it's really a miracle we've lasted this long!

Sandy,
So you're the one who implanted the omelet craving in my head! Hope yours was as tasty as mine. Our oven died a few weeks ago. I was having some crazy electrical happenings, one casuality was the stove. I can't be without an oven, an awful lot of meals have gone through our kitchen. We seem to be rather lucky in the appliance replacement department, the one that broke was free and very fancy schmancy. Dave works for the Village, so knows a lot of people who always seem to be getting rid of the very thing we need. The replacement wasn't as updated but the oven is a much bigger so I can fit more in it for our large family gatherings. The dishwasher quit last fall, Eugene found one on the side of the road, talked to the owner who was remodeling. When we hooked it, up it cleans better than any other dishwasher we've ever had!

Hope everyone is enjoying a beautiful sunny day!
Love,
Kim

[theunim]

Hello everyone!~ I was away for the weekend but read replies and I feel like I missed out on a lot But good to be back! Sandy, thank you for the kind words and compliment on my avatar! I appreciate it. It was taken right on Friday morning, after I cleaned up some for the day. AKA put make up on A very rare occurrence in my schedule, to the chagrin of my mother, who insisted throughout my teen years that I should know how to put makeup on and be okay with wearing it like one wears clothes. (Thanks Mom! I should put something about that in my Mother's Day card message.)

I stayed up late on Thursday night but I could have watched the Royal Wedding live-feed on youtube, had I been aware that it was on around 1am in California! Instead, I saw the recordings that were on the English Royal Family's youtube channel. What a dream wedding, such a beautiful event! I watched Catherine come out of the car and walk down the aisle, then continued to watch until the vows were done and then skipped to the end when they were walking out of the church all married already. I hope that's not bad of me, but I didn't feel like watching an hour's worth of a ceremony that time. Then I watched the recording of their kisses on the balcony! That's about it. I, too, hope and wish for the best for their lives and partnership, as well as their influence on the world.

We went to a Six Flags park not too far from the house, called Magic Mountain, on Friday night because there was a special voucher and set of tickets we got from a friend's HR department. Had gotten on a total of four roller coasters and that swinging ship that shows up in plenty of other theme parks... the roller coasters were CRAZY, I felt like I should have stopped riding them sometimes, I was kind of scared on the lines to a couple of them! (But thinking about how it simulated flying made me feel a teensy bit better.) I don't wear my glasses while on roller coasters because they might fall off my head, but I was still able to see a LOT of what was going on, so I enjoyed myself, and my husband, who's not a big fan of roller coasters, even went on three of the four I had ridden and enjoyed himself, too. Though, he's got worse vision than I do, so when he rides the coasters, they're not the same experience for him, and that's kind of a shame. We're both contemplating on getting contacts in the near future now. Saturday during the day, we spent time with a couple of friends in town, showing them how to shoot an M9, and night was at another friends' house down the road, a pizza-making night combined with watching a mixed martial arts fight on pay-per-view and playing Dance Central on XBOX 360 with all the friends that showed up to the event. My husband and I provided the pizza dough, sauce, and cheese, while everyone else brought the toppings of their choice. I think we made six pies, but my husband insists we made eight, and when we asked the hosts yesterday about leftovers, they replied, "What leftovers?" On Sunday we had to clean up the house, as per routine, and run our errands for husband's work events later in the week and the house in general. WHEW! Lots of stuff that was done.

Sandy, I feel like your oven omelet could also be called a frittata in Hispanic cuisine? Not sure at all, though. Sounds DELICIOUS either way! And I get super attached to items, too, like you do with your oven. In high school, I had a mechanical pencil that I used for writing my stories by hand, and one day it was just LOST, probably while I was in the literary magazine room. I was crushed! But, the club advisor for the magazine and other friends told me to get over it, it was just a pencil, and if I wanted, they could buy one for me. I refused! I think that even if these objects are just tools or whatever, it's our intentions that put love towards them, so I think that's how and why we would get attached...but that's pretty much my opinion of it. As far as your oven is concerned, though, I really hope you and George don't come away with more than some bruises that go away eventually from using that appliance.

Kim- We were warned about the potential of the noise and damages that beagles can make but we still feel love towards the breed, and in general we hope to have a dog that would love us as much as we would love it, no matter what kind we end up having. I'm sorry to hear that you lost a member of your family not too long ago.

It's definitely been awhile since PP and Pet have been around, I hope that they're doing swimmingly, too!

The wedding stories you guys told on the board in the past couple of days were very funny, Sammy and Kim, I'm very glad to have read them. It makes me look forward even more to the day that my husband and I can finally get a nice ceremony and reception set up for family and friends. (Last year at City Hall does not entirely count as our full-on wedding day, but it was still special. )

Before I forget, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO KIM AND HER HUSBAND! (Though it's on the fourth, that doesn't matter.) My husband and I aspire to have a long-lasting marriage like that, too. Enjoy your celebration!


What did everyone do during their weekend time?? I hope things were great!

Love,
Theunim

[sammy]

Hi All! (plenty for all!)

Kim! Your story totally blows mine away! IMHO it's amazing your marriage lasted past the honeymoon! And just like T, before I forget...HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

T - sounds like you had a great weekend! Boy, I haven't been to Magic Mountain in YEARS! - must be...had to pull the calculator out for that one...gulp! 30 years! Dang it! I don't feel old enough to be looking back THAT far! Must be because I am still a 2 year old at heart!

Sandy - How's that new oven coming? Must be the season - I have a friend in KS that just had to order a new stove.

I spent my weekend at the Cat Shelter (lovingly referred to as the Cat House) washing cars for a fund raiser. One of the women who has helped there for many years, much older than myself was there with her husband (Bill). He was SO funny...really nice man, but he kept referring to the Cat Shelter as the (edit...P word for cat) Palace.

Have to run, our "extra" kid needs help looking for an apartment.

LOVE!!!!
Sammy

[Sandy]

Good Morning everyone!
I am enjoying thiese wedding stories! I think these little things that seemingly went wrong just add to the memories! Oh and I too will wish you and hubby a very Happy Anniversary Kim! Do you have some good plans in the making?

T it sounds like you had a very busy but fun week end. I have been craving pizza for days and so I am a little jealous of your 8 pizza pies! One of these days I am going to break down, forget the diet and endulge in a pizza myself! (Well, george too..maybehe can have half a slice or something... )

I still don't have an stove, Sammy, but I am becoming ever more creative in fixing meals in the oven and microwave. So far no more bruises as I remember to be extra careful in dealing with this poor dying appliance. I must speak with the landlord about it, but still putting it off. I bet my omelet was much like T's friatta.( Did I spell that right? probably not...) George enjoyed it but wasn't so crazy about the mocrowaved sausage...

I love beagle dogs too. We had two of them during my lifetime and they were both very sweet dogs... They aren't the easiet dog to walk though as they are all "nose!" But they are a gentle and loving breed... very patient with children.

I used to love theme parks and all those roller coaster rides...Once we had the boys in towe, the big rides sort of went by the wayside since the young ones weren't big enough to ride them. Then when they were big enough I discovered that I had turned into a bit of a wimp and no longer enjoyed being turned upside down and in some instances, inside out for the thrill of it! I am now relegated to the senior model T car rides or the gentle boat rides at these places... maybe if it is slow enough the carousel as well... Yep,I don't know what ever happened to the girl who knew no fear! ... sigh...
Hope this week is starting out great for all of you!

Love,
Sandy

[sammy]

SANDY!!!!! If you can walk those HIGH walkways you showed me and climb up to the metal tree house up in the clouds...YOU HAVE NO FEAR!!!!

LOVE!!!!

[Sandy]

You should have seen me! I was clinging to the metal railings with all my might, though!
Love,
Sandy

[Petra Wilson]

Sandy wrote:

Hey did anybody else watch the Royal wedding last night? I found myself in tears as I watched Prince William and Catherine say their vows. I hope and pray they have a good life and affect this world in a most positive way!

I blubbed all the way through and (as mentioned on another thread) thought the chief bridesmaid was the bride!
They look quite alike, and I didn't know quite exactly what Catherine looked like. They don't rant and rave about celebrities
here on this island, plus I rarely watch TV. Ask me what Johnny Halliday and Zarkozy look like and I can picture them right now.
To tell the truth I was overwhelmed by the British people and tourists who turned out for the event. I was lip reading Willi and
Catherine all the way through, and was so proud to be part British that day. How well behaved everyone were.
The anti royalists didn't get a look-in to spoil the day and even I was surprised by how many turned up to witness the event. It was
estimated not half as many as Diana and Charles would turn up.

When we got married (in a registry office) an African couple in full colourful outfits barged in the ceremony and the registrar had
a right fit at them. They seemed not to understand, but eventually left.
Nothing too eventful occurred except on the first night of our honeymoon. We were camping for a stop over night near Calais. Our
little blue Citroen 2 CV had "Just Married" plastered all over it thanks to my brother in law and I over heard a German say to his
mototbike buddies who were camping next to us: "Wayhey lads! Those two will be at it tonight, look! They've just got married!"
I turned to the one who'd said it in perfect unaccented German: "You will be hearing nothing my friend! Sorry to disappoint, you dirty
minded little git!" (It was a tad more vulgar but...ya know) His mates roared with laughter for hours, and we all had a wee party that
night.
KIM!!! It's great to hear from you. I'm loving the wedding stories, happy anniversary lovey.

Love to All, Pet xxx Oh, I'm making anything with a tonne of grilled cheese on top tonight, I dunno if I should have home made pizza
or cottage pie. Maybe both? My kid's are going through a phase where they take my culnery skills for granted. Last night I made
a beef and mushroom pie to perfection. They only ate the pastry so I shall teach them a lesson. They can have tinned ravioli or
perhaps tinned sauerkraut? Chips & egg? Yeah they love all that.

*Went on a bit there, *

[theunim]

Beef and mushroom pie? That sounds GREAT, Petra, I can't imagine why they wouldn't want to eat a delicious homemade meal with two things like those together, they're not an out-of-the-ordinary combination.

And I'm amused you thought the sister was the bride, it's an okay mistake to make since she had been wearing white! Both women were outstandingly beautiful, though, and there was love all around on that ceremony!

I love the wedding story you had! I don't know much German yet (only what they teach you to speak when you want to be proper or polite), so I can only imagine how vulgar it must have sounded!

Love,
Theunim

[Sandy]

Hi Pet,

My kid's are going through a phase where they take my culnery skills for granted. Last night I made
a beef and mushroom pie to perfection. They only ate the pastry so I shall teach them a lesson.

Hmmm... Maybe you have three budding vegetarians there. But Whoa!... tinned saurkraut!!! That ought to show them! Shoot, knowing you, though, you'll probably turn that into something extraordinary! Let's face it...You have a real gift in the kitchen!

I just came across you pizza crust recipe tonight while looking for something boring and fitting into our current "lifestyle"...sigh. I kept thinking, "OH MY!!! A home made pizza would taste good right now!" I think T too just enjoyed homemade pizza not long ago...my mouth is still watering...

I didn't know you and Phil were married in Africa...
Love,
Sandy

[Seeker13]

Hi, All!
Thank you for the anniversary wishes. We had no special plans since both of us had long days scheduled at work. It was a sweet surprise finding a note on my steering wheel.

Hey, Babie!
Meet me at Peterson Park for a picnic!
XXXOOO

I thought, "Boy, I hope this is from Dave!" It wasn't roses and a fancy dinner, but sweet when I expected nothing. Just the two of us laughing about our honeymoon , watching the sun set over a picturesque bay. What's even more special is he's going to help me weed my flower gardens for Mother's Day!... It's just what I asked for!

Love to all,
Kim

[peacockplume]

Hi y'all,,,,

This healing thing can take you out of circulation for awhile (like the last couple of weeks)

You know the story....did something I shouldn't have done.....not bad....just did it wrong.....so the piper came the next day...and I've been a real invalid......but. I'm back now!!!!!

Hi Kimi......nice you popped in.....I'll give you a call and we can catch up,,,,I could never type it all.../


Miss T,,,,I loved your comment about the rainboots, we used to call them galoshes,,,,and I think they're pretty passay out on the west coast. it would be something like me going to Nova Scotia with my umbrella....

I'll have to read those above posts again....I missed the part about a bakery for Miss T???

Hey Sandy,,,,,big hugs and kisses sis.... and Hi to Lucky tooo......ooops, I just stepped on some cookie crumbs......SANDEEEEEEEEEEEE..

Love you all...

PP

[theunim]

Kim, that's a lovely way of celebrating an anniversary, not all years have to be greeted with roses and a romantic dinner...since every day should be something sweet and romantic between the two of you, right? Even if it's just a tiny gesture like a brush of a hand or a glance. Ah me, that's my romantic side coming out...I like to air it out sometimes.

PP, I'm so glad to see that you're feeling better after being under the weather. Welcome back and take your time on catching up! xoxoxoxoxo
I have a feeling that rainboots/galoshes get their chance in the sun every so often...so if I have a pair still when they're back as a trend, then I'll feel "with it" and if not in trend when I wear them...at least MY feet are dry, bwahahahaha!

PP, also, I want to have a bakery in the future, and if I become a dentist, I'd like to have a dentistry practice not too far away, aka right above the bakery so I can run up and down the stairs checking on both places, making a commute between the businesses a lot easier. But yes, there's been a lot of food talk lately, and that's the best part about being here, getting well-fed without the calories racking up.

Love,
Theunim

[Sandy]

Good morning everybody!

It is a beautiful morning here in Oz and I wish I could share a little of it with each one of you. My good mood could be in part to the lovely new stove our landlord installed last night. Thank goodness! No more trying to "finagal" every meal in the microwave or oven. I wanted boiled eggs the other day and so I decided to try something a friend suggested... puncturing one end with a pin and boiling them in the microwave. So I did and 10 minutes later I heard a horrendous noise and all those lovely eggs had exploded coating every inch of the surfaces with gunk! To my surprise I actually started laughing and I kept wondering why I wasn't more upset. Not like me at all!

There is something going on with our appliances. We are sort of on an appliance blitz here. Night before last I went to make some coffee and the coffee maker I had just used in the morning was kapoot! It has now joined our other kapoot appliances of the month...the DVD player and the cd player. Those last two didn't make much difference but the coffee maker! Luckily Geoff had given us his almost new Bausch maker minus a broken glass pot last year...and being such a marvelus pack rat...I knew just where I stored it in the garage. Once I found a glass pot that fitted the maker (pack rat again ) we were in business! And so after that long winded story leading no where I am simply sitting here enjoying this freshly brewed cup of coffee this morning...

PP I am sorry you have been feeling badly. It is good...always good to see you on the board and especially this "kitchen room." How is life on Vancouver island since spring is now well underway. Please ignore those sprouting nettles and other goodies and baddies of nature. They will come and go as they please perhaps this year as you are in no shape to worry about them I suspect. I hope and pray that you are soon able to follow those lovely traveling dreams of yours.

Kim, your anniversary celebration sounded perfect to my ears! You couldn't have spent it any better in my opinion! Of course you must remember the way George and I spent our impromptu wedding celebration at a picnic table with a basket of chips (french fries) overlooking the bay where a huge pod of dolphins were dancing, leaping and playing. We felt very priviledged to be alive and together as we observed Urantia's beautiful show...

Well George is up and about. Might go sit outside with him a bit.

Love you all...
Sandy

PP...I will be a tad more careful with those cookie crumbs... The cookies were delicious by the way... brown sugar cookies... a lovely old recipe given to me by an older gentlemen at the Lutheran Church I attended. It was his mother's recipe.

[theunim]

Sandy, that's very good luck with the coffee maker right there. Glad you're enjoying what is sounding like a marvelous day down in Oz, enjoy! Regards to George.

Love,
Theunim

[Seeker13]

Hi, Pet!
You can cook for me anyday! Wait until your kids go off to college or get married, then they'll be calling every week for your recipes, complaining that nothing tastes the way Mom made it!
Miss you!

Lynn I'm sorry you haven't been well. I'm still including the continuous healing circle in my meditations. Actually added you, Pet and her family, Laura, Sandy and George last night. You guys just popped into my head. Gets pretty crowded sometimes!

T,
You said

since every day should be something sweet and romantic between the two of you, right?

Please don't take this the wrong way but it gave me a good laugh, almost fell out of my seat! After twenty-six years we are still in love, but I have to admit there are some days when we look at each other, roll our eyes, sigh, and are grateful to have survived to live another day!

Sandy,
I cheered right out loud for your new stove! Here I'll do it again, "WHOO!!! WHO!!" I love waking up in love with the world.

Oh yeah, eggs in the microwave, not a good idea. I'm laughing at myself a lot lately and why not? If I can forgive everyone else for their mistakes, why not include myself?

I never did hear the story of your wedding, sounds pretty perfect to me.

Well, there's a book downstairs with my name on it.(it really doesn't have my name on it...it's just an expression)

Love to all!
Kim

[theunim]

Oh! Kim, you reminded me!~ Congrats on the new stove, Sandy!

And I don't mind the laughing, I kind of expected it...that's why I was asking if it was even right to say that :p

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

Love,
Theunim

[Petra Wilson]

It was mothers day? Well, this serves me right I suppose...last year I had 3 of them. The
English mother's day, the French one and one I made up! hahaha.

Kim, I loved the anniversary surprise your hubby gave you. Phil and I keep forgetting ours.
But we always remember the anniversary of the day Phil proposed to me: May the first.
Oh, and I know the kid's will miss my cooking, but don't remind me of the day they leave me
and no longer need me. I'm dreading that day.
Tonight I'll be making garlicky breaded chicken breasts with fries and a tomato, lettuce, onion
and cucumber salad with home-made French dressing. Gotg nothing much else to do these days
except perfecting my cooking.
Last night I made a decent beef Strogonoff and that went down really well.

Oh dear, food again, I think I ought to join a cookery website.

God bless everyone and a big group hug all round.

Love, Petra xxx

[sammy]

Ho NO you don't Pet! You stay right here and keep on sharing your food stories!

I think one reason we so often come back to food is that eating brings us together. Especially those with busy lives, it is a time we (usually) make to sit down, face to face and share time with those we love. When y'all share your food stories it's like we are sitting right there with you in the kitchen enjoying some face to face time together!

LOVE!!!!
Sammy

[Petra Wilson]

Ho NO you don't Pet! You stay right here and keep on sharing your food stories!

I think one reason we so often come back to food is that eating brings us together. Especially those with busy lives, it is a time we (usually) make to sit down, face to face and share time with those we love. When y'all share your food stories it's like we are sitting right there with you in the kitchen enjoying some face to face time together!

LOVE!!!!
Sammy

You have a point there sammy! It is like that isn't it? And worry your pretty head not!
I won't ever stumble across a more loving bunch of guys and gals as here, who accept me, warts and all.
I enjoy the evening meal with family. So many families don't eat together anymore and that's quite sad.
I guess my father taught me that; he abhored the tele on during a meal. Only when we had take away did
we eat during a special programme or film.
Sometimes Mathilda dresses the table up all posh, with candles, serviettes and matching glasses, LOL! Most
of my crockery and cutlery is mish mash. But I have Phil's Granny's gold etched tea set which only comes out
on special occasions. And we sip our tea with pinkies up and talk in a posh Queen's English accent too.

(Wharram I babbling on about??!!)

HUGS and LOVE, Pet xxxx

[luvinlife]

I love sit down dinners. Unfortunately, my kids are always off and running to some place or another, and I'm usually at the table (or on the couch) eating by myself. But, on special occasions or holidays, it's a treat.

Love, Clare

[Petra Wilson]

Hiya Clare, yeah, well, I'm sure as they become teenagers they'll prefer to eat alone
or be dashing about too. At lunch today, Phil was alone at the dining table while the
girls and I ate in the kitchen whilst laughing at Youtube clips of "talking" animals.

Love, Pet xx

[Seeker13]

Dear Pet,
I meant that someday the kids will appreciate that Mom spent so much time filling them with love, and not only with her cooking. Received a letter from Dan (middle son) for Mother's day, it was so wonderful I think it will fill my heart up for the rest of my life!

My hubby is pretty special

Love,
Kim

[luvinlife]

Oh, Kim, how sweet! For Mother's Day, my two teenagers gave me some flowers (they were dead, but adorable), a giant Hershey chocolate bar (my favorite)...but the best was the card. They both wrote such sweet things in it. We had a "group" hug, and it was such a beautiful, loving moment.

Then, the next day they were back to "normal".....fighting with each other, being short with me.....Oh well!

Love, Clare

[LurkerAbyss]

Alright guys, the coffee, decaf, and hot water for tea are ready to go and, unfortunately, I'm going to have to ask someone to supply the munchies, but otherwise we are good to go for a round of conversation with all you lovely doves at the 11:11 board.

Is anyone doing anything remotely exciting or interesting this weekend? I think this is just in Canada, but it happens to be the weekend of "Victoria Day" which means a long weekend for me! Woohoo no school on Monday! [/gloating]

I know everybody's different but I have to say this.. the rain hasn't been too bad here, but it's been grey almost every day of the week so far and maybe it's just me but I find that to be so depressing! I try to focus on the general beauty of Mother Earth and just being a part of it all, but today was the first truly sunny day in awhile and I just couldn't help but feel that it *naturally* made a difference.

Alright, apparently I don't have as much to say as I thought I did but I'd like to end off on a bit of a question to anybody who can help me.. for awhile now, I've wanted to learn how to make a "real" lasagna. We've only ever done frozen here, and honestly I want to learn to make one just so I can at least say there was a time I've done it. But I'm not sure how to go about that.. I mean I really haven't the slightest how to build it, which parts to cook in which order and how, etc. And I KNOW there has to be somebody on this food-crazy board who can help me out here!

Sweetest wishes and blessings to you, my doves

Love
Lucky