What's that? You say the party is just here on the computer
screen and the only garden involved is the view out of our
own windows? That would seem to make dancing and
hors d'oeuvres a bit tricky. But its just as well, my party
dress is quite out of style, and now I won't have to change
out of my baggy jeans and comfy Minnie Mouse shirt.

A while back, someone wrote that they would like some new
young participants to bring new ideas; sorry, I can no longer
qualify in that regard - I'm so old that some people who don't
know me, seem to think that I am fragile, offer to carry my
tray in the cafeteria, and call me Ma'am (hate that). Since
I may have just come from hoisting 35 pounds of used coffee
grounds � But if you could use a new voice in your choir -
I'm a sorta off key alto.

Many years lived, means many experiences � good and bad.
And many experiences means that some of them, like yours,
were interesting and some were funny (to me).

I've enjoyed your quotes, jokes, stories, and music, but most
of all, I've admired the way that you respect each other. There
is so much empathy when someone is going through a bad
time and delight with each other's successes and good times.
Its a good thing that there is no shortage of ((( 's and )))'s
on your keyboards, a delightful way of expressing your
concerns and support.

By the way gandle(s), my mother's name was Leone, a name
rarely given to baby girls after the 1940's. Every time I read
it, it takes me on a memory trip.

So, who am I? Shy in person, but not on a keyboard, not
very educated, and a bit weird. I have a husband who has a
very quirky sense of humor and keeps me laughing, a son
and a daughter who lead interesting lives, two tuxedo
cats, and one outlier, who are amusing and amazing. My
main interests are politics (I know, I know, a no-no),
gardening, children with learning "differences",
genealogy - which leads to history, and, and, and �

I love a good conversation and would like to crash yours.
May I come in, please?

(A disclaimer: - not affiliated with the Salahis, the
President's State Dinner Party Crashers Extraordinaire.)

Listen, I should not be the one to greet you first because of being so new here. So, very quickly she whispers, "You sound like a blast!"

;)

-Robin or Rob

I'm sitting on the steps to the patio, eye-level with the top of the grape arbor. DH put a feeder up there where it can be watched from the kitchen window. I'm told that serious watchers are very quiet and non-obtrusive; that's not me. My latest laugh was at two sparrows ganging up on a squirrel, first one then the other pulling his tail fluffs while he tried to stuff his mouth with the bird-nibblies; while they were harrassing him, a titmouse and a downy woodpecker tiptoed across the feeder and took the last of peanutbutter treats and then flew off to enjoy them in peace.

as I drove into the driveway the other day, I spied a very precocious squirrel. My housemates had a gathering of pumpkins set out right in front of their busy door, and he sat atop it, eating whatever he pleased under the walnut. It didn't even look real for a moment and I burst out when I realized what it was that I was seeing! Still making me smile.

I was a lurker for many years, but now I have a hard time keeping quiet! (If you see my message from yesterday under Lilo's *quote post*--at least, I think that's where it was--you'll see what I'm saying.)

Anyway, this is the first place I visit when I get on line--right after I donate at the Hunger site, (which also includes several other charitable sites) and the Free Kibble for dogs and cats site. I agree with Robin, you are very welcome, here.

I would have answered sooner, but I decided to find out
why the GW hates my ellipses. So I grabbed up my trusty
axe to chop my way through the dense jungle of complex
computerese to find out. (Do the Nerds really have to talk
like they do on the web? I wonder if they're just showing
off.) Anyway, it turns out that Linux does not shake hands
with Microsoft when they process ellipses. I don't know
what Linux did to annoy you Mr. Gates, but I wish that you
two would makeup and get this straightened out.

I have decided that there are ways to get around this - short
of switching to Microsoft. Maybe if I just complete my
sentences without using an ellipise, but I rather like the
dangling, airiness of them. I could type out the word ellipis
or perhaps typing period comma space, period comma space,
period may trick the computer. But maybe it would be
easier just to get used to �. If this were audio, I imagine
its what the bleep used to cover up a naughty word would
look like.

Again, thank you

Maybe our machinery is related. My printer decides when and if it chooses to work. Its gone on strike for now. Do you suppose that it wants more salary, better working conditions, or shorter hours? I'm going to ask for a meeting with the printer's union labor committee later today to see if we can come to some sort of an agreement, or maybe I should just hit it on its stubborn head.

Again, thank you everyone for your welcome. I feel like I walked into a room and made instant friends.