WHAT'S SPILLING FROM THE BAG?

Mama and I went to the grocery last week. We drove Susan's van. When we got home I carried in Mama's groceries and put them in the kitchen. It wasn't long until she called and asked if I had missed anything I had bought. I told her I hadn't. She said she had a sack of flour or sugar or meal and it wasn't hers. I assured her that I hadn't bought anything like that either. A day or so later I was at Mama's and she asked me about it again. So I looked at it and immediately laughed off my head. It was a sack of sand from the beach at Perdido Key, Florida. Susan had brought it home in July and it was still in her van. I'm glad she didn't use it for cooking.

X IS FOR XEBEC

Xebec - a small three-masted pirate ship. Maybe in my former life I sailed on a xebec. My name could have been Alicia. Maybe I wore a ragged red shirt and tattered black pants. My boots would have been scratched from dropping my blade, which would be blood stained from cutting myself when picking it up off the deck. Maybe my hair would have been long, matted and dirty. Lice would have crawled through my locks. Thank goodness there were no bras on pirate ships. I could have cussed like a real pirate and ripped meat off the bone with my front teeth. The stars would be visible through the cracks beside my bunk and I would have looked up at them before dreaming of seas yet to be sailed.

Y IS FOR YESTERDAY

Yesterday, my mother and I had our picture taken with Santa. Yesterday, we spent the day shopping and laughing.

Z IS FOR ZWIEBACH

Zwiebach. When my daughter was born, my mother couldn't wait to feed her zwiebach. As soon as Susan was able to hold it by herself, my mother was feeding it to her. The little crackers were hard as a rock but baby slobber soon reduced them to a gooey mess that just as quickly dried. It almost took a chisel to get it off of her face and hands. She would also gag on the pieces that slid down her throat. We would have to dig it out of her mouth with a finger or she would throw up all over the place. Susan seemed to enjoy it, although I can't imagine why. That little zwiebach-eater is now 38 and has three girls of her own.

FILLING EASTER EGGS WITH HALLOWEEN CANDY TO HIDE IN THE CHRISTMAS TREE

LEAH AND HER YELLOW EASTER EGG

CELEBRATING HOLIDAYS

Last Wednesday, Leah and I spent the day together. Our first stop was TWISTED TWIGS. It isn't necessarily a kid friendly store but Leah had the best time. Her favorite rooms were the ones displaying the dog accessories. Leah doesn't have a dog. But she sure enjoyed all the fancy dog items. She was such a good girl. Our next stop was The Salvation Army store. I wanted to visit my friend, Serena. The first thing Leah found in the store was a container of 8 Easter eggs, all colors and decorated with stickers. She also had a fine time playing with the stuffed animals, talking to them and sitting them on the couches and chairs. Wehn we got ready to leave she picked out her favorite one and we bought it along with the Easter eggs. Leah chose Old McDonald's for lunch. On our way home we stopped at a junk store where she found a little stuffed teddy bear all dressed up for Christmas. They gave it to her and she was happy. Later Wednesday night, Leah was playing with her Easter eggs so I asked her if she wanted to have an Easter egg hunt. She ran to the drawer and came back with a bag of candy Halloween pumpkins. She put one in each egg. She found a basket for the eggs and hid her eyes while I had the egss. I had them in the Christmas tree. We took turns hiding and hunting. When it was my turn to hunt she would snap her fingers to help me find the eggs. It was so much fun.