March Out Like a Lion

Well, March certainly went out like a lion! Nothing like a stiff breeze to keep the tree pollen moving. I am pretty sure the constant sneezing adds to the wind velocity as well. I decided to take my dogs for a walk the other day before I dried my hair. You know, sort of letting it dry naturally. Save the environment and all. Well, let me tell you, that was a mistake! I had no idea how many different directions my hair could stick out at the same time. It gave the term "body" a whole new meaning. Fortunately my route did not take me by the school so I didn't frighten any young children. I certainly gave myself a start when I looked in the mirror.

I hope you had a wonderful Easter. The weather really couldn't have been more beautiful. And believe me, there is nothing worse than a soggy Easter Bunny. All those muddy bunny tracks all over the house can really put a damper on things. But yesterday was ideal. Paula Benton, Lane Wozniak and I shared Easter dinner with Carol Stone. We ate to excess of course and enjoyed each other's company all afternoon. After dinner we saw Nancy Kemp trying to take a walk, so we called her in to join the crowd.

Steven and Lark Sigsby had a full weekend. Saturday they entertained Steven's aunt, Mary Turner from Memphis and his cousin Tim Turner and his wife Elyse and their daughter Susanna from Dallas, TX. Susanna found fun and excitement next door with Sherry and Buddy Dills guests.

Shelli and Jean-Paul Gentleman and their children, Elena and Kate were there as were Brian and Shaynee Fogarty from O'Fallon, MO, with their children Eli, Molly, Kate and Quinn. Paige Dills and Michael Adam were there and so were Shannon Stanley with her children Hayes and Sarah Beth. Penny French, Tim Howe and Vickie French and her grandson Cam rounded out the crowd. Can you see why Susanna ended up at the Dills? There were eggs to hunt, horses and dogs to play with and I hear enough mud to warrant a good washing off.

Sunday Marshall and Natalie joined Lark and Steven, bringing Natalie's roommate, Emily Nantz and friend, Joseph Rogers from Paragould. Lark's mother, Georgia Sallee was also there. They shared a delicious meal prepared by Lark and Georgia, and then enjoyed relaxing on the deck and counting their blessings as they appreciated the beautiful weather and the lovely surroundings. The redbud trees made a wonderful backdrop for it all.

Buddy and Sherry continued their weekend Sunday as well, when they went to church with the Gentleman family. Sherry said the service at the First United Methodist Church was beautiful. She loved the sermon and also commented on the music provided by Jerry Chilcutt and Candy Hill.

I understand Pauline Shields was there too, seated in the middle of her family. Surrounded by her grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, she looked quite the matriarch. Then they all went to Teresa Sain's for their Easter feast. What a wonderful family gathering. Good to see all you Sain's and Graves' back in town.

I hope you made it to Paragould to see the Ultimate Oldies V production over the weekend. It was terrific, even better than the last performance! The next one in August will be a collection of favorites. I really want to see that. I saw several faces from Rector at the Saturday performance, Russ and Sharon Gamblin, Neda Sain and Betty Lewis to name a few.

I have heard from Paul and Cheryl Schwager since the big earthquake. They missed the shaking and swaying as they are out of town. Their kids got to experience it, though. Water splashed out of the swimming pool and the rattling ran Phil and Cindy out of their house.

Many of you know that I am a big fan of Lowes, Riggs and Barton's as I have an old house that is constantly in need of something, but I want to say that I have been a customer of Gazaway's in Paragould for as long as I have lived here and I want to put in a good word for them. They always provide excellent service. Someone is there to answer questions and help you find what you want. Last week I was looking for replacement hardware for my really old storm windows and I ended up at Gazaways of course. After describing what I needed, someone said, "Yeah we just moved a bunch of stuff from upstairs and I think there is a box of that stuff around here somewhere." It took less than 10 minutes for him to come back to me with this tiny piece of a window lock, now discontinued, I am sure. It was exactly what I needed and it was in my hand. Thank you, Gazaway. There are many times when the smaller more personal businesses can provide what the larger chains cannot. We need to remember to support them too.

Oh, my. It is late and I need to finish this up. Let me know what goes on with you and yours. Who came to visit you over Easter? Where did you go? My address is 514 West 3rd St. Phone: (870) 595-3173 and email: porchswing@newwavecomm.net. I really love to hear from you all.

God bless our soldiers.