Do you remember this meme?  My sister, Clara, started it on her blog, which is no longer available online.  I loved this opportunity to share accomplishments and victories with fellow bloggers.  I’ve wanted to see this revived and so I asked Clara if it would be okay to bring it back.  With no hesitation, she gave me her blessing to do that.

For that reason, I have started a new blogger blog to support “I Did It! – Monday.”  You can get there by clicking on the banner.  I invite you to join me on Mondays–or later in the week if that works better for you–and leave a link to you post on the IDIM blog.  And please tell your friends.  Thanks–a lot!

Sylvia’s Big Project

The impetus to launch IDIM this week came from Sylvia.  When she found out that her dad would not be home last Tuesday, she realized she had Monday and Tuesday open.  That didn’t last long.  Monday morning while I was making my usual online rounds, I realized that she was doing something in the bathroom next to the office.  The “cottage cheese” or “popcorn” ceiling was about to be removed.  I helped with removing lighting fixtures.  Then I got out of the way.  (I can be very good about things like that.)  When the day was ended, two bathrooms had smooth ceilings.

Come Tuesday, Sylvia sanded the ceilings, wiped them clean and painted.  Tuesday ended with fresh paint on the ceilings.  Sylvia was very tired, but had a huge smile on her face. 😀

I replaced lighting fixtures on Wednesday and Sylvia did some cleanup.  It’s done!  All I can say is, “Well done Honey!”  Oh, “And thanks.” :up:

In the past 24 hours, I have been deluged with spam comments. :frustrated:   I have changed my anti-spam plugin. :pray:   Please let me know if you have a problem with comments.

On the same day that I saw the yellow dandelion near my back door, I saw this more typical scene.  It was in our flower garden.

I think milkweed is beautiful.  How about you?

Last night I was remembering how I used to tease my sons when they were youngsters.  (No longer true.  One of them is retired already.  How can that be?)

They would say, “Dad, tell us a story.”  Sometimes my response was this ditty that I learned from my Dad:

I’ll tell you a story about old Mother Morey,
And now my story’s begun.
I’ll tell you another about her brother,
And now my story is done.

As you might expect, they didn’t appreciate that response.  I would then proceed to tell them a story.  I miss those days on the one hand.  Yet, on the other hand, I’m glad to see that they are grown and have done well with their respective lives.

I had them memorize verses from the Proverbs back then.  One my favorites was this one, “A wise son makes his father glad.”  True 3,000 years ago when it was penned.  And still true today.

My sons have made me glad.  Almost as much as their mother has.

On Friday, I posted an extreme closeup of an object.  I had captured that image earlier last week.  This is that image:

Not surprising that many of you guessed flower petals.  These included Black-eyed Susan, Chrysanthemum and Mum.  Another had offered the generic version: “flower petals.”

Well my friends, you were all on the right track.  I’m going to call this one, “Close, but no cigar.”  I called my sister, Clara, on Friday with a question.  She answered the phone by saying, “What excellent timing.  I was just looking at your blog and trying to figure out what that image is.  I first thought it was a dandelion, but realized it was the wrong time of year.  Tell me, please, what is it?”

Could it be a dandelion blossoming in November?  Yes, it could and is!

Just outside our back door is a south-facing, sheltered area.  I was surprised last week to see this dandy in bloom.  It became the inspiration for this little game.

The Winner

I’ll have to declare everyone who left a comment  as a winner.  Those really were good guesses.  Each of you is a winner in my eyes.  Congrats!  And thanks.

Wild Weekend

Great NASCAR action from Phoenix over the weekend.  Both the truck and Nationwide series races were action packed.  The way these things usually go, I expected the next-to-last Sprint Cup race for this year to be dull.  It wasn’t!

Wrecks and retaliation played big in the action.  Oil on the track during the final lap saw some crossing the finish line sideways, backwards or spinning.

The big drama going into Sunday’s race focused on the championship chase.  Jimmie Johnson had a seven-point lead on Brad Keselowski who, two weeks earlier, had had a seven-point lead on Johnson.  Misfortune overtook the 48 team as Jimmie lost a tire and hit the wall.  Hard.  Brad brought the number 2 through the final carnage with a battered car, a sixth place finish and a 20-point lead in the standings.

Next Sunday wraps this year’s racing.  The contest at Miami/Homestead will decide this year’s champion.

You know what I’ll be doing next Sunday afternoon?  That’s right!

We haven’t played this game for quite a while.  Here’s how it works: 1. I show you an image.  2. You try to guess what it is.  3. The first correct answer wins.  Okay?

Here’s the image:

Here’s a hint.  This extreme closeup was taken earlier this week. :thinker:

Good luck on this one.  I’ll share the correct answer and announce the winner on Monday. :smart:

Have a great weekend.  I’ll see you next week.

Posting in cooperation with: