No no. This is a prime example of “what not to wear.” What Jim was thinking, none of us will ever know! We were all yelling at him as he ran out the door, but apparently it went in one ear and out the other. Jim went to the church and then to the grocery store like this. Oh, and he also wouldn’t pose for a photo perhaps because deep down he knew…

Yes folks, Jim is sporting a short-sleeved collared shirt tucked in, underneath a long-sleeved shirt that has remained unbuttoning. Jim is obviously exploring layering, but could use some guidance!

I’m all done the blanket I was crocheting. It took about 3 days to finish it! Woo hoo. It’s been gifted and received with delight. Phew!

Meet our baby basil plant. Did you know basil blossoms? I sure didn’t! This itty bitty flowers look so exotic as well!

I have a beasty “to do” list that I was hoping to whittle away at this morning, but alas my time was coiled up elsewhere. Blogging was one thing on my list that I am going to complete now!

Yesterday, my mother gave me an inheritance piece. It’s what a fondly refer to as my Ruth Cup. It’s a silver mug with Ruth engraved and it belonged to my maternal Grandmother since she was a child (her name is Ruth Ianthe). Because I bear the name Ruth, the cup has always been intended for me. This little cup has a huge amount of significance in my life since my grandparents immigrated from South Africa bringing hardly anything with them so that they could be sealed in the temple for eternity and enjoy the blessings found therein. The sacrifice that they made was so immense and has obviously had a massive effect on my life. The family silver is pretty much the only thing of value that they brought to Canada. To me this little cup is priceless! And so is the name that the cup and I both carry.

I also love it because this is one antique that can’t be bought or bartered from a store!

PS: the books I borrowed from my paternal grandmother. I’m so excited to read them!

Soooo I had a bit of an idiot moment this week. I’m really, really running low on my perfume and I saw it at Superstore for $20 and to myself I thought, “huh that’s really cheap. I never knew.” AND I DIDN’T BUY IT! Surprise, it’s not actually that cheap in real life. It was on sale. Like 66% off. Monday I went to a couple Superstores to hear nothing but, “sorry we must be sold-out.” Yesterday I went to a third store and although they had the perfume the price was no longer a killer deal. Ugh.

I figure that this provides the perfect opportunity to discuss the difference between perfume and toilette. I can’t decide if I’ll stick with my perfume or if I should try out the toilette. Guidance please!

In the McNeill household, there is a tradition that comes around every month on the first day. It’s called “A pinch and a punch for the first of the month” where we children (the term children includes my mother as well) would literally pinch and punch each other as we sang the little rhyme with a hint of menace. This was a source of much contention in our home and despite the “opt out” option that my parents desperately put into play, it never really stood for much. There are specific rules to the game that would sometimes get broken like you can’t pinch and punch someone who has already pinched and punched you so quite often I would pinch and punch a sibling and then tell them to quickly to the same to so-and-so.

I have brought this little piece of luggage along with me into my marriage and as it was contentious in the McNeill home, it is also usually a point of dispute in our little Muirhead family. I am usually victorious at getting Conor first due to my many years of experience. Conor seems to be rather prideful about the whole thing and 9 out of 10 times will not take it like a man. Instead he’ll pinch and punch me back breaking the number one ground rule! And yes we are grown-up bona fide adults. However any evidence of maturity dissolves on the first day of every month.