We found our second geocache today and in all honesty, this was the second attempt at this one. But the thrill of finding this was well worth the trouble.  On to our next cache!

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I have been lusting after this book--the Ken Follett Fall of Giants, NOT the Susan Lucci below it. I have been stalking it ever since I read his Giants of the Earth. Yes, stalking is the correct word. But being a woman of principle, I could not bring myself to pay 18.00 on Amazon for an electronic download--which was more expensive than the physical book. I checked back frequently and it actually went UP in price. So I checked the availability at our library and LOOONG waiting list. So-I gave up and went to the library to find something else to read and there it was!! Sitting on the shelf!! I was almost afraid to check it out--I was sure the computer wouldn't let me and say "sorry there is a reserve on this" But I actually was able to bring this book home and I am thrilled! My hot tea is at my right, my hound dog at my left ---and now, if you'll excuse me, I have some reading to do!

Sunday mornings do not get any better than this-a 50 lb Basset who thinks he is a lap dog, a knitting project in hand and Jazz Brunch on the radio. And---"Dan can you get me another cup of coffee, I can't get up with this dog in my lap" Do you see the beauty of this set up?

Cabbage Patch kids in an antique shop? Now I really feel old!  Wasn't it yesterday we were in the midst of a Cabbage Patch craze!!! And to add insult to injury, this one is wearing on Ohio State Buckeye shirt. Wasn't it yesterday we were hoping for a Buckeye March Madness victory?

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Instead of horses, the Merry Go Round at our Toledo Zoo has-----zoo animals.And they are gorgeous---except you really don't notice them since you are usually so busy waving at the people you know on the ride! I took this picture during the holiday season and after I cropped it, the details really stood out. Next trip--I will pay better attention to the animals on the ride!

It is a little disheartening that after the sunny relatively warmer temps last week(that was conducive to a few bike rides) we are expecting the "wintery mix" tonite. Last Friday we visited one of our favorite town signs in Rudolph Ohio--on of the stops on Slippery Elm Trail.

Somedays you cannot get any respect from anyone-not even my lunch partner,the elliptical machine! Actually it is just the start up message when I first jump on!

We are Geocachers---officially! Oh,

we have ventured out in the past to find hidden caches, but actually finding one has always eluded us. But that has all changed on Sunday when we found this hidden stash--or cache. I am not going to say where we found this in case someone else wants to join the hunt. And in case you aren't familiar with Geocaching----here it is in a nutshell. Entusiasts have hidden caches all around the world---anyone can do it---and posted the GPS coordinates on a website. Anyone can look it up by area and take the GPS coordinates and go hunting. They aren't visible to the naked eye, so you have to do a little hunting and they are in weatherproof containers. The basic idea is you leave a token and take a token(left by others who found the cache) and log in the details. Can you guess what token we left--yup, the Detroit Tigers keyring. Magglio was a huge help---not! But he enjoyed the adventure all the same.

Here is a little Spring Time Music in celebration of the first day of SPRING!!!!! We were on a local bike trail and went around the bend and were seranaded by a symphony of Spring Peepers! Music to our winter weary ears!!! This was on the Slippery Elm Trail in Bowling Green Ohio.

Reminiscent of a bad horror movie-----the Christmas Tree on the Pond has returned. Bobbed back up after the ice melted!!! And it isn't a pretty sight. Dan to the rescue---rowed out to the tree and towed it farther out and re-sunk it after securing the cement block. Like I said---kind of like a bad horror movie.

I have been spending a good chunk of my grocery budget on these potted hyacinth's! I do it every year---and it is a 2 for 1 deal. It brightens up a winter weary house and provides a scent of Spring----and then I plant them outside when they are done blooming and next Spring I can enjoy them again!

Yesterday was Pi Day---as in Pi r2(it's a mathematical function and----be prepared to be impressed----the area of a circle). Anyway--I think it would have been appropriate to have baked a pie yesterday--but I didn't. And since St. Patrick's Day is coming up, I did make this Grasshopper Pie today. Super easy recipe. And before I post the recipe---it is also the National Day of Recognition in Hungary of the 1848 revolution. And since I am not Irish or a mathemitician---I am going to recognize the green in the Hungarian flag with this green pie.

Here is the recipe

1 Oreo cookie crust

1 bag of mini marshmallows

1/3 cup milk

1/4 tsp salt

3 TBL Creme de Menthe

3 Tbl White Creme de Cocoa

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

Melt marshmallows and stir in milk and salt. Chill till slightly thickened. Stir in liqours and green food coloring if desired. Whip cream and fold together with marshmallow mix and pour into crust

Okay, so I didn't have Creme de Menthe and didn't want to run out in the rain to buy any. And I didn't have White Creme de Cocoa. But I did have Peppermint Schnapps and brown Creme de Cocoa and they worked just perfectly(with the green food coloring). Try it!

It's gone! The Christmas tree slipped through the ice and left no evidence it ever existed. Trivial in contrast to the horrendous events of today but  I have no words to express the horror I felt at seeing those pictures on the news.

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Rainy day--all day! So Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies always seem to make things a little more pleasant. The recipe is from the Quaker Oatmeal Box---I think that recipe is perfect! And then----an Ash Wednesday dinner at Tony Packo's Restaurant before Mass and distribution of ashes. I'd have to say it was a pretty good day in spite of the rain!

My new purse-------from my old sweater. In 1987 I knit this irridescent yarned sweater and haven't worn it for awhile. But after puttimg all that effort into the project, I didn't have the heart to get rid of it. So I shrunk it and felted it and cut it and sewed it into a purse. And one of the sleeves is going to be made into an Ipod pouch. I am already eyeing another sweater in my closet!!

I always seem to have a collage in my work office area.They are never planned and evolve over time. This one seems to have a theme of happy thoughts. But on this gray overcast blustery day, this little saying on a scrap piece of paper kept me focused on brighter days ahead!

In honor of the passing of the real life 
Rosie the Riveter a month ago, I proudly wear this apron! I spent a pleasant hour this afternoon talking to a WW2 vet who served on the US Witchita. Fascinating gentleman who is coming back to visit with his scrapbook-I felt like I was talking to a real hero.

I am sure you are anxious to know the status of the Christmas tree that we put on the pond to sink as a fish refuge. It has sunk an inch or 2 since it was launched--and here is a photo report. But take note on the expanse of water in the backyard. That is not Lake Erie----it is one of many flooded fields in the area. And the weather report---rain for the weekend, turning to snow.

This is so wrong and a pet peeve of mine. It's a library book--and a new one at that---and someone went through and dog-eared just about every other recipe. On the other hand, I love to find little scraps of bookmarks in the library cookbooks. I am always curious to see what appeals to other people.