Sylvia would pull weeds in a garden that wasn't hers.  And so does Sister, without shame or remorse.  Never mind that there are more than ten gardens at her own little house that provide more weeds than she can possibly keep up with.  When Sister is out and about and comes upon a nice flower bed, if there's a big honkin' weed right there she's gonna pull it. Just like that. She just returned from that trip to Colorado, where her hostess's beautiful garden had a rose bush that had a whole mess of dead limbs that needed to be pruned. The hostess was away, and Sister took the liberty (and the pleasure) of going in and cutting all the dead stuff out, leaving the bed looking that much prettier.  She figured her hostess wouldn't mind.  That's the expectation, anyway. 

Big item on Sister's bucket list: Be the Phantom Planter.  You know how you go past a house and there's nothing planted near it and you think, "geez, plant something, will you?"  It's just so naked looking and the lack of landscaping makes a house look unloved (in Sister's rarely humble opinion).   The temptation to go in there when they're not home and prettify it and leave, totally anonymously, is so delicious.    Someday.... well, a girl can dream, can't she? 

So yeah, Sister didn't get a chance to update in time for WWS... Wednesday.  Having juggled a record number of plates over the past week she just couldn't make it happen. (For those of you too young to remember the Ed Sullivan Show, there used to be a guy who balanced spinning plates on sticks of various lengths.  It was pretty amazing.)  

Sylvia would say "It's not critical.  You can't do everything in a day.  Don't waste time worrying about it.  Tomorrow's another day. You need to relax a little."  

She's right.  If no one is bleeding and the house isn't on fire, chances are it's 'small stuff'.  There's not a day that goes by when I don't hear something that reminds me how small any of my own 'problems' are by comparison to those of so many others... or how minor the things we worry about really are.  

If a thing that isn't a matter of life or death doesn't happen exactly on schedule or as planned, well, it doesn't.  One needs to have some degree of flexibility and the capacity to "go with the flow" or one will be consistently full of angst.   Life's too short for that. Focus on the important stuff - family, friends, having the basics in life and being content with whatever extra you get beyond that.   Give more than you take.  That's what Sylvia would tell you, anyway.  Sister is just the messenger. 

One of the "big ones" for Sylvia, the one we all learned pretty quick(ly), was the correct usage of "I" versus "me".   And despite the fact that we all learned it well, there are the occasional times when we all get it wrong.  We only get it wrong for a second though, because lo these many years later we still hear Mom's voice in our ear saying "It's Cathy and I, dear." or, if you'd said "Cathy and I..." chances are she would say "It's Cathy and me, dear."  You know how that goes.  

This week Sylvia reminds us that in figuring out whether to use "I" or "me", you drop out the other person and then say the sentence about only yourself.  Here's an example

        Incorrect: "Cathy and me are going to the store."

        How do you know that?  Drop Cathy out of the sentence.           Now, you wouldn't say "Me am going to the store.", right?           You'd say "I am going to the store." So,

        Correct: "Cathy and I are going to the store."

        Easy, right?  You've got this!

Below are some funny grammar tips.  Laugh a little!  And remember, spelling and grammar aren't everyone's strong point, so don't sweat the small stuff.  (P.S. most of the stuff we sweat in life is small stuff.)  But Sylvia would tell you that knowing at least the basics of proper use of our English language does still matter, and in the case of Grandma above, really can serve you well or completely screw up your intended meaning.   Grammar questions?  We'll do our best.  Ask Sylvia.