Pearl Necklace for Doggie

This isn't just ANY pearl necklace that a woman would wear. This is for my friend Rhonda's Chihuahua! Rhonda sent me an email a few days ago and told me that she took her dog to the vet and she saw a dog in the vet's office that had a pearl necklace on. So she wanted one for her dog! Since she knows that I do beading, she asked me if I had made any necklaces for dogs. I hadn't even thought about it. So today when I had the car, I went to Michael's and picked out some faux pearls and I made this necklace for Rhonda's Chihuahua. I added 3 crystal rondelles in the front of it just to add some pizazz! I think I'll add it to my website and maybe someone else would like a necklace for their doggie.

A Few Coins Short of a Roll

I hope that no one says that I'm a few coins short of a roll. But, today I did have a few coins short of a roll. Whenever I pay for something, I use my dollars and I save all of my coins. Don't ask me why I do this. I've been doing it for many years. I had a bag full of coins, so today I decided to roll them up and exchange the coins for dollar bills. I emptied out my bag of coins onto the dining room table and then I began to put them into the paper rolls. I remembered that Bob keeps coins in a dish on his nightstand -- mostly pennies -- so I decided to roll them too. And I have a ceramic cup that I use for my "found" money. These are coins I find on the street. My LUCKY coins. I was saving them to buy my winning lottery ticket, but today I decided to roll them up with all of the other coins and exchange them for dollars. I was 5 nickels and 2 dimes short of $28, so I took two quarters across the street to the grocery store and got the change I needed to complete my $28. On the way back home, I ran into a lady from our church, who was crossing the plaza in front of our apartment building. Marilyn was on her way to the library. I asked her to come up to see our apartment, so she came up and we had a very nice conversation while I was rolling up my coins into the paper holders. After she left, I took my rolled up coins to the bank and received my $28 in paper money. Now, I'm trying to decide what to do with my $28. I think I should do something special, don't you?

Finding a Place for Everything

Well, I have just about found a place for everything that I brought home from my mom's house. Today I sorted through all of the boxes and I ended up with a few things I didn't know I had brought home with me. Cindy & Mom packed up some of the boxes before I arrived in Springfield. They packed Mom's china, dolls and some other items. There is a pair of GOLD shoes in one of the boxes. Anyone need a pair of size 8 or 9 gold, wedge sandals? I have places for MOST of the dolls, MOST of the dishes and glassware, MOST of the photos and MOST of the odds and ends. But, as you can see by the stack of boxes under our stairs, I don't have a place in our two bedroom apartment for whatever is in these boxes. Most likely we will move these boxes to whatever place we end up in next and this stuff will continue to stay packed in these boxes. And then several years from now I'll put it all in a garage sale or give to the Goodwill.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggitty Jog

It's nice to finally be back home. A week ago last Saturday, I drove to Tulsa in a rental car -- a Saturn View SUV -- with Bob behind me in our Mercedes. We spent the night with Bob's brother. On Sun., Bob played golf with his two brothers and I spent the day with my son Corbin and his family. I stayed overnight with them and I hit the road by myself on Mon. a.m. headed to Springfield, IL, where I stayed the week at my mom's house. I actually enjoyed the 8-hr. drive by myself. I listened to a Janet Evanovich book on CD. My brother and niece from MA and my sister from Elgin, IL were there also. Mom sold her house and we helped her do some packing, a garage/moving sale and we got things ready for the Salvation Army to pick up on Tues. We also got to see family and friends, so it was a good trip. I probably SHOULD have stayed there this week too to help Mom with her move into an assisted living home on Thursday and the closing of her house on Friday, but I missed Bob and the cats and I was ready to get back to Dallas. Mom has several good neighbors who offered to help her this week. We had a tour and lunch at Brendon Gardens where Mom is moving, so I feel better about all of this now. I think Mom will enjoy her time there once she gets settled. And she found out that she has friends there already! Now, I need to find places for all of the stuff I brought back from Mom's house! This won't be an easy task in our two-bedroom apartment that is already filled to the hilt! Of course, everything I brought back is way too valuable to get rid of -- cookbooks, dolls, glassware, old photos and other odds and ends. So, I'd better get off of the computer and start unpacking!

Happy Birthday, Cavan!

Happy 31st birthday to my son, Lieutenant "JG" Cavan S. Tubbs.

Computer Nerds!

Bob and I are both Computer Nerds!! He gets on his computer and I get on mine and then we don't have to think up stuff to talk about. Bob and I have a GREAT relationship with each other and we DO talk to each other, but we just both happen to LOVE our computers! I am a terrific correspondent. Ask any of my friends or family and they will agree with me. I've always been a great correspondent. Even before computers came out. I wrote letters and called my friends and family. I've always kept in touch with everyone I know. I have grade school friends that I still keep in touch with. I'll be in IL next week and I'm having dinner one night with my friend Nancy, whom I've known since 4th grade. I also love to Google things. Anything I don't know about and want to know about. A while ago I was having a hard time coming up with the name of a book I read some time ago. I couldn't remember the name of it or the author, but I did remember one of the chapter titles -- "Panties is a Vile Word". What a weird thing to stick in my mind, right? I Googled it and ZAP! There it was! The name of the book and the author. It was "Chasing Harry Winston", which was a wonderful, very funny book that I highly recommend reading. I also love to share my photos, so the computer is a wonderful way to do that. Bob spends a lot of time reading things on his computer. He reads the local newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, and various websites. So, when the Internet goes out at our house, Bob and I are NOT Happy Campers! So glad it's back!!

Family Secrets

This is a photo of my brother Ken, who lives in MA. My brother and I don't talk to each other very often. I don't know if it's the distance in miles between us or if it's the 13 years difference in age or the difference in sex or if it's just that we don't have much in common with each other. When he was 3 years old, I was in high school and doing things that high schoolers do. And I had a boyfriend that I dated, so I guess I didn't spend much time with my brother. Ken was 9 when I got married in 1970 to my first husband. I lived in the Chicago area then and he still lived at home with Mom and Dad in Springfield. I DO love my brother, so don't get me wrong on that. I will be seeing Ken next week in IL at our Mom's house. I think the last time I saw him was at my son's funeral in November 2005.


This is Kelly. I've never met Kelly, but she has been engaged to my brother for some time. I know she works for IBM. I think. And she plays the flute. I think this is about the extent of my knowledge of Kelly.





I opened up my Facebook page awhile ago and I read a post from my brother that he "is married"!!! What a way to announce it to everyone, INCLUDING the family! Oh, well. I hope he and Kelly will be a very happy couple! I can't wait to see Ken next week!! Love ya', brother!