Saturday, August 30, 2008

Things I should be doing...

I should be running the sweeper, dusting, laundry or any number of things I don't get done through the week. The Hubby got a call early today from his hunting buddy to come over and help him. They lost power to part of the house and he can't track down the problem. So I have the house to myself for a time. Instead of getting stuff done around the house, here I am playing on the Internet and watching Gustav's progress. I uploaded new pics of grandkids to add to the 'Kafe' slide show, did up the dishes and started the tea syrup. So that's something! I also took some pics of our indoor cats:
Here's Samhein (Sami), the queen of the house. She was indoors first so I guess that's appropriate. Yesterday was her birthday but we didn't get her until almost Halloween, hence the name. Samhein Festival is what Halloween evolved from. I can't remember how old she is (bad mommy) but she's the youngest indoors. I think she's 5 today but it could be 6. She keeps trying to walk across my keyboard so she's looking for attention....again. When we want her to come to us she won't unless it's something she wants to do.


Next up is Natasha or we call her Momma. When I was leaving for work one day I heard a truck coming up the road and as it cleared the tree line I see this cat jump out from underneath it and roll in the road! I holler for it but it takes off into the corn field. A couple days later Hubby calls me outside and asks "Is that the cat you saw?" and there she is coming across the yard. I put out food and water and she makes herself at home. I tried a coupe times to find that truck parked at a house down the road but never did. I have no idea how long she road under the truck until it slowed down for the culvert. I wasn't long before she had 5 kittens and we got her fixed. A few years back a dog (the neighbors but we couldn't prove it) got a hold of her and practically ripped her left front leg off and we had to have it amputated and she became an indoor cat. It doesn't slow her down and she got the nickname Tripod. Not sure how old she was when she arrived on our doorstep but she's been here about 12 years.


Meet Nadia, she is one of Momma's kittens and stayed outside. In fact she loved it outdoors. Then a few years ago we had coyotes move into the area and animals were disappearing so we brought her in. Now she will look outside and snubs her nose at it. She knows where the easy life is. Yes, in this picture, she is laying on my kitchen table. Cats rule in this house or suffer the consequences. She is 10 years old now. She likes to sleep on Hubby's feet. Doesn't matter where he is, wherever he sits down that's where she goes.
This is the newest addition to the household and the easiest to take care of. My second puppet, Pearl Sock. She loves kids and loves to talk. I've yet to get her some arms made but the kids love her and the cats are afraid of her! LOL
Well, I've got the roast started while blogging and the tea finished up. Talked to my best friend, Linda, (Hi Linda and Jim!!) to let her know 'her' Jimmie is racing tonight in the Nationwide series race. Hubby is back home and the power trouble was the fault of the Electric Company. Seems they had a ground wire break off so it was an easy fix. As I said, lots to do today. We have a birthday party tomorrow for my Dad, 72, so the whole family will be together again. Have a fun weekend everyone and safe holiday! Until next post.....

Friday, August 29, 2008

Cookouts and holidays

Wow, been a few days since I posted and I had to dust off the cobwebs and wipe down the tables. Meant to post this morning but the Controller here surprised us by planning a cookout for lunch so I had to get some of my work done early. Now I'm waiting on one of the girls to get back with our Dairy Queen Blizzards!!! Mmmmm I'm getting the Oreo :)
Hoping you all have a safe and fun holiday. Keep anyone in the path of Gustav and Hanna in your prayers. Not sure yet where either one of them is headed but prayers never hurt.
Jack and Maggie are recovering along with their Momma, who came down with a sore throat on Tuesday (surprise). The only thing we have planned this weekend is a birthday party for my Dad on Sunday.

Oh did you see the new photo with Johnny Depp. It's him and his band, The Kids, with Dan Marino. Johnny and the band are doing a concert and some of the benefits are going to promoter Sheila Wilkens and one of Dan's Charities.



I also added a new blog to my list, Organized Doodles. Blogger, Rick, had left a comment here and I followed him back. He's a great caricature artist and has a wicked sense of humor. Check it out when you can.
Mmmmm....my Blizzard is here!!!!!! This is delicious!! Ice cream + Oreo = heaven!!! I definitely won't be eating super tonight LOL
I've also been busy trying to catch up on some french lessons ou françaises leçons. I have slacked off ever since Public Enemies started shooting and need to get back into it. Imagine that!! So much to do...so little time.
Wowsa, I just got a system message tell us we could leave an hour early today. Hot damn, I need to finish stuff up so I can get the 'H' out of here. Have a safe holiday....until next post.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

From yard sale to Birthday party...

I'm back! Well, I was back yesterday but had too much catch up work to do....whew!! I finally got the slide show to load here. Geesh, that was an exercise in patience but don't those kids just make you smile? I've decided the Grandkids are my legacy. I may not have done much with my life here on earth but I did raise great kids and have the best Grandkids.
Thursday, I went and picked up Jack and Maggie and we played at my house all day. Surprisingly, Jack wanted to watch Cry Baby, LOL. Who am I to stop someone from watching a Johnny movie? He really liked all the singing. We also put together Pearl Sock. Pearl was made to be friends and play with Mr. Sock which Jack took home with him. Pearl, my second puppet made in many, many moons, has hair, red lips and a dress too. I got brave lol. I sacrificed a perfectly good pair of socks so Mr. Sock could have a friend but it was worth it for all the fun we had making her together. I started making Pearl talk to the cats and they totally freak out!! Poor Nadia and Sami are now scared for life because of puppets.
On Friday, I stayed over at their house to watch the kids. My mom and I helped Amanda out with her yard sale. The sale was a flop :( but we had some quality time and it was nice to have 4 generations sharing stories. Jack is still taking antibiotics for the strep throat so he was wound up. By 4:00 we were all hot, tired and hungry so we packed it up for the day. I picked up some McDonald's on my way home, hit the shower and promptly feel asleep on the couch watching the Nationwide race.
Saturday I met my parents, my younger sister Kay, Aunt Kathy and Ed and his wife Jana, old friends of my brother Phil, out at the cemetery. The 23rd would have been Phil's 59th birthday and it was the 2nd anniversary of his death. Ed had cancer of the larynx several years ago and used a voice box to talk but he found out a few months ago that he has cancer in his lungs and there is nothing they can do. He has gone from 160 lbs. to 112 lbs. in 2 months. This may be the last time he gets to celebrate birthdays with Phil. Mom, Dad, Kay and I went out afterwards for lunch then I met Bob, hubby, at Amanda and Tom's house and we took the kids over to the fair. Yes, I ate an Elephant Ear, well half of one, and mmmmm was it good!! I did resist the caramel apples though, so I was half good or half bad depending on how you want to look at it. :) Amanda is afraid of clowns and Ferris Wheels (don't ask me) so I took Jack on the Ferris Wheel and he was amazed that we could see his house. Then we hit the Fun House and the midway. After several tries to knock over a golf tee sitting between 2 pool balls to win a 14" Spiderman we gave up and the man running the trailer told Jack he could throw darts at balloons until he won. Have you ever tried to explain to a 2 year old how to throw a dart....straight? LOL He did finally burst 3 balloons and got a stuffed dog. He wasn't very happy cause he wanted the Spiderman but I guess it's just one of many lessons he will have to learn...you're not suppose to win big on the midway.
Sunday, we picked up Amanda and the kids and went to Richmond. Our first stop was to see Grandma Helen. She had been asking to see the kids for sometime and was so happy with our surprise visit. Then we were off to Lilly's birthday party. She is now 2 years old and loves her baby dolls. She got some new books to read and a couple new dolls, outfits to dress them up, doll diapers and bottles. Amanda got her a stroller for her dolls. She was one happy camper.
Now it's back to work for me. Jack had some kind of breathing attack Sunday night, so now he's on new antibiotics and breathing treatments. If his Dr. doesn't get a handle on what is going on with him soon I think we are going to have to go to Riley Hosp. to see if they can tell us more. He was sounding like me when I had bronchitis. With as much antibiotics as he has in his system I just don't think he should be getting anything and he should be tested better. We'll see how he does and then decide.
I saw this morning on the news that Gustav has been upgraded to a hurricane. Will keep you and the girls in my thoughts and prayers Shakes! I will be keeping an eye on this one. I better run and get some work done...stay safe.....until next post

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Olympic judging


I should first say that I am not a sports judge nor have I ever been a judge and don't want to be a judge. I did, however, judge a poster contest...twice, but I don't think that would count. Yes, I watched the Women's Uneven Bar competition last night. I feel like Nastia Luikin was robbed. He Kexin
made a few mistakes during her performance. The handstand that wasn't vertical and held for too short a time should have been a good size deduction. Then the misstep on the landing. Nastia had a few mistakes also but they were smaller deductions and she nailed her landing. Had the scoring been correct at this point, then there would have been no tie! Thus, no tie-breaker controversy. Nastia should have got the gold. Of course, this is just my humble opinion. And that's not even getting into the age thing! If He Kexin is 16 then Shawn Johnson is 30! Stepping down from my soap box!! Enough said!

Wanted to send out a heads up on my blogging. I am taking Thursday and Friday off this week to help out Amanda with the kids. So there likely won't be any posting. The town she lives in has what they call Blue Bird Days. It's a small fair like event with rides and fair food. (Resist the elephant ears!) They also use it as an All Town Rummage sal
e (Resist the elephant ears!). I will go over in the mornings to help with rummage sale and then when the kids get tired I will take them to my house for naps and playtime. Was hoping to get a new puppet made before this but, alas, Sally Sock is still in the sewing bag. Will have to see if I can get to work on that project. In the mean time, here's some Indiana and World news history for you all.

This Day in History:

August 19, 1909

First race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

On this day in 1909, the first race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, now the home of the world's most famous motor racing competition, the Indianapolis 500.

Built on 328 acres of farmland five miles northwest of Indianapolis, Indiana, the speedway was started by local businessmen as a testing facility for Indiana's growing automobile industry. The idea was that occasional races at the track would pit cars from different manufacturers against each other. After seeing what these cars could do, spectators would presumably head down to the showroom of their choice to get a closer look.

The rectangular two-and-a-half-mile track linked four turns, each exactly 440 yards from start to finish, by two long and two short straight sections. In that first five-mile race on August 19, 1909, 12,000 spectators watched Austrian engineer Louis Schwitzer win with an average speed of 57.4 miles per hour. The track's surface of crushed rock and tar proved a disaster, breaking up in a number of places and causing the deaths of two drivers, two mechanics and two spectators.

The surface was soon replaced with 3.2 million paving bricks, laid in a bed of sand and fixed with mortar. Dubbed "The Brickyard," the speedway reopened in December 1909. In 1911, low attendance led the track's owners to make a crucial decision: Instead of shorter races, they resolved to focus on a single, longer event each year, for a much larger prize. That May 30 marked the debut of the Indy 500--a grueling 500-mile race that was an immediate hit with audiences and drew press attention from all over the country. Driver Ray Haroun won the purse of $14,250, with an average speed of 74.59 mph and a total time of 6 hours and 42 minutes.

Since 1911, the Indianapolis 500 has been held every year, with the exception of 1917-18 and 1942-45, when the United States was involved in the two world wars. With an average crowd of 400,000, the Indy 500 is the best-attended event in U.S. sports. In 1936, asphalt was used for the first time to cover the rougher parts of the track, and by 1941 most of the track was paved. The last of the speedway's original bricks were covered in 1961, except for a three-foot line of bricks left exposed at the start-finish line as a nostalgic reminder of the track's history.


Take care.....(Resist the elephant ears!) until next post...
he he he I crept back in and added some NASCAR to my sidebar :)

Monday, August 18, 2008

Fay and the Olympics

Meant to post earlier but I got to watching my Key West camera at Sloppy Joe's and I lost track of time. If anyone wants to check it out go here. http://www.liveduvalstreet.com/ Once there you can also click the 'Crowd Cam' and it's a camera they put on the roof. (For as long as it last) Had been a long time since I checked out this website. I used to have it up everyday watching for my brother to pass by and wave :) When I first got to work today and started watching, it just look like it had been raining and quit. Just some of Fay's outer bands going through. Soon you could tell the wind had kicked up and the rain started. Now, in a matter of minutes, the water in the road is up over the sidewalk. I had some very, very good times in Key West!! I didn't get to attend any hurricane parties (Thank God!!) but people down there seem to take them in stride.

OMG! just in the time it took me to type this much, it's up over people's ankles now!! For any of you that don't know, Key West's highest (and I stress...highest) is only 24 inches above sea level!! I haven't heard how high the storm surge for Fay is. Or even if Key West is in the path of the storm surge. Check it out!

On the home front, Jack was back in the emergency room last night. I wish Amanda would have called me but she didn't want to drag us out at 2am :( He keeps getting these fevers that spike. Saturday his fever went up to 106.3. I was on my way to their house (we only live 5 miles from them) to watch Maggie so they could take him into ER because he had a 105 temp. When it hit 106 they put him in the tub and the fever broke. He hadn't eaten and when he did it didn't stay down so they could give him any meds. When I showed him 'MawMaw's Cheez-it's he wanted some and we gladly let him. He ate a pretty good handful so we got some Motrin down him. The fever stayed down until late last night/early morning. He has strep throat again!! They gave them a stronger antibiotic so hopefully it will get it cleared up and out of his system!!

In the midst of all that...WOW go Phelps!! What an amazing athlete. And I just love watching his Mom's reactions. I thought one of the American girls would take home gold in the final gymnastics then the Romanian girl did her floor event and man did she nail it!! She really deserves the gold. I really felt bad for the Chinese girl. She knows she could have done better but some days you're just off. Then again I can't stand to see someone cry.

Update on Key West camera view: rain has stopped for now and water has gone down. It's still over the sidewalk but not by much.

Ok, I gotta get some work done so it's a short post today. Take care! Until next post.....

Friday, August 15, 2008

Another week coming to a close

Winding down here at work for the weekend and I wanted to pop over here and update. Lots of things going on. Checked the NASCAR page for practice times and saw Jeff Gordon was down in 11th position (sigh)! Running out of races before the Chase begins. Jeff had over a 500 point lead last year going into the Chase and it didn't do him any good. So, maybe, they are just playing it safe and making sure they are in the Chase and then hammer it down. Hopefully!!
The Olympics have been riveting so far. Phelps just might break Spitz's record of 7 gold-7 world records. I'll be watching that! And, yeah!!!, women's gym.!! They fought back and got some gold.

Metal Count (top ten)

US 46 (14 gold)
China 41 (26 gold)
Australia 20 (5 gold)
Russia 19 (3 gold)
S. Korea 18 (6 gold)
France 18 (3 gold)
Germany 14 (8 gold)
Italy 14 (6 gold)
Japan 13 (6 gold)
Great Britain 8 (3 gold)

Something else that caught my eye yesterday. On CNN they had an article about gas usage being down in June. DUH! Here's some numbers they threw out:
  • people traveled 12.2 billion less miles in June
  • used 400 million gallons less gas June
  • 53.2 billion fewer miles overall from Nov. 2007 to June 2008
This is a larger decline than the whole decade of the 70's (49.3 Billion fewer miles) with gas embargo and gas lines!

People who were having a hard time making ends meet before all the gas increase sure isn't going to have the money to keep up with rising prices. Ours went as low as $3.61/gal until Tuesday when the British announced that they had shut off a pipe to-and-from Georgia (Russia invaded) due to the conflict. BAM ours went from $3.61 to $3.89!!!! It was either that or because the US women didn't win gold in team event. One of those 2 reason LOL I'm kidding!!

And just because I can and it always makes me smile....




I like to go boating! :)

This Day In History:

August 15, 1935

Will Rogers killed in plane crash

On this day in 1935, beloved actor and humorist Will Rogers dies in a plane crash in Alaska while flying with his friend, aviation pioneer Wiley Post.

August 15, 1945

Hirohito announces unconditional surrender

On this day in 1945, Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces the news of his country's unconditional surrender in World War II over a radio broadcast to the Japanese people.

August 15, 1969

Woodstock music festival

On this day in 1969, Woodstock begins. A massive rock festival in Bethel, New York, Woodstock drew vast crowds and served as a defining moment for baby boomers. Among the many performers were Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, and Crosby, Stills and Nash.

On Aug. 12, 1994, the much-publicized Woodstock II music festival takes place in Saugerties, New York, near the site of the legendary Woodstock concert of 1969. An estimated 300,000 people attended the event, marked--as was the original--by bad weather and pervasive mud. Some 50 bands and singers performed, including the Neville Brothers, Nine Inch Nails, Bob Dylan, Green Day, Jimmy Cliff, and Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Johnny Depp on set photos


Click on picture for bigger size. I found this over at JDR here: http://www.groovology.com/images/080501_koppa_Depp.jpg Johnny always did look good in a tux! This next one I found at JDR too. It from the ballroom scene but too far away to tell if it's actually Johnny and the stars or the stand ins. http://www.groovology.com/images/080501_Ko...FromBalcony.jpg



I also wanted to pass along a site my son-in-law had emailed to me. You can look up any date and find out what the #1 song was on that day. Could make for some interesting conversation at the next family get-together.

http://www.joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/SelectMonth.htm

Interesting stuff lol The number one song from July 4th 1957 was Teddy Bear by Elvis Presley :) No wonder I always liked that song!

Just a quick post. I have to get some work done. May add to it later. If I don't make it back, take care all.....until next post...

Monday, August 11, 2008

Grandma's Buttons

I finally got to open that bottle of Merlot. Mmmmm :) As you can see I took a generous helping lol


I loaded up some pictures of Hubby's Grandma's button jars. They are blue tinted Ball Jars. There are all kinds of buttons in them. Some are pressed metal. Even more interesting is the things she used to keep sets together. Old safety pins and wires. I haven't even begun to look through them. Just think of the stories they could tell.

So many little treasures

and here's some close up's. The ones on the right say 1925 and they are 'Bluebird Domestic Pearl' buttons. The ones on the left are 'Chic' buttons from 1933. These buttons were around during the depression, prohibition and WWII...



I snapped a picture of the saw too. Nobody seems to know how old it is but it's very old. His Grandparents owned a 98 acres dairy farm. Hubby hung it above his work bench in the garage.


Off to finish my wine...have a safe evening...

Best laid plans....

After the way the weekend went, I was starting to feel paranoid this morning. Came on line and was checking my usual blogs and sites. On one blog it wouldn't let me add comments (your comments aren't working Osh). Next I went to Rod's blog and saw he had dropped me from his blog list :( Then I saw others couldn't leave comments so hoping it's just a 'blog thing' and not me!?

Anyone seen Corpse Bride? The 'my time' didn't work out 'according to plan'! About 9am Saturday one of Hubby's hunting buddies showed up to get some wood from where we have been cutting down trees. Once loaded they were standing around talking so I ran to vet. for flea medication for the cats before one of them needed Prozac! Came back and friend was gone but Amanda, Tom and the kids were there. And it's not even NOON yet?! Needless to say, Hubby didn't go to Richmond to see his Mom, nor did the yard get mowed. Sat. night Hubby's Dad called and he sounded pretty much at his wits end.


When my Grandma had to be put in a nursing home for her last days the family pitched in and someone stayed with her 24/7 so she would have a familiar face around and to make sure the staff didn't ignore her needs. We had one of those dry-erase boards we kept our schedule on. Most times, even if we weren't needed to stay with her, we would go in anyway just to be therewith whoever was there because it's so hard to see a loved one like that. But his Dad doesn't have that support. It's unbelievable to me because Hubby has a sister and a brother that live in same town and they aren't helping at all. We even asked them to just stop by the house so Dad doesn't have an empty house all the time but they don't.


So, Sunday, Hubby went down to visit with his Mom at the nursing home and help his Dad out at the house. Basically he just spent time with his Dad and got his mind off things. And I finally got my 'me time'.....NOT ugh!! I got to mow the yard. The one day since forever that I get the house to myself and I have to mow. It takes about 4 hours to mow the yard, so that pretty much takes up the whole day. I didn't even get to watch the race! Blasphemy! I did take a quick break from mowing and checked the TV at one point. Saw where Jeff was back in 23rd place and Kyle Busch was leading and went back outside. Mowing didn't seems so bad after all. Tired of seeing that twerp, Kyle Busch, winning.

When hubby got home he was telling me how he and his Dad were messing around in the garage and his Dad came across these 2 Ball jars full on buttons. They were from Hubby's grandma and I couldn't wait to go through them! A few of the buttons were still on the cards! Some she had put together on old safety pins or wire. 2 of the cards had dates: 1925 and 1933! I took pictures of them but I didn't get them downloaded to the computer last night so hopefully I will be able to post them tomorrow. I just love old stuff! He also brought home an old saw that had been his Grandpa's. It's every bit of 5 feet long. I googled and found this one that is similar but will post some pics when I get them. This one isn't a very good picture.



The bottle of Merlot is still unopened but I doubt it stays that way for long.
Take care....until next post....

Friday, August 8, 2008

It's downhill to the weekend!!

Now that I have my temper worked off my weekend is looking pretty good! lol The blog is all cleaned up. The house is cleaned up, dishes caught up and the laundry's done so there was some good that came out of Weds. anger! After work yesterday had to stop by the vet. to get some flea meds. for Natasha (Momma), Nadia and Sami (short for Samhein Esmerelda-we got her at Halloween). I think we carried the fleas into the house with us since none of these girls EVER go outside. All day long all I could think about was getting home to a glass of Merlot and a long soak in the tub.

I never did open the bottle of Merlot but while Hubby was eating I fill the Jacuzzi with hot water and grabbed a book :) The Merlot could wait for the weekend! Heaven!
Hubby was talking about going to visit his Mom on Sat. so I may take that day for a 'my time' day. I'm thinking, boot him out the door, get the Merlot and a stack of Johnny DVD's should just about do it! We'll see.

The 'boys' (nascar drivers) are at Watkins Glen this weekend. It's a road course and Jeff used to be the 'Road King' but the other drivers have caught up to him. I blame this on the computer games. The drivers have said this themselves. That they play to get familiar with the tracks. Does that mean I could go out there and be competitive with them? NOT! lol

High School Band Day was at the State Fair weds. The Southside Rebels won it. Here's a link to the local newspaper who has a video of their morning performance.

http://tinyurl.com/6azaxq

Believe me I KNOW how HARD these kids have worked. Not only from my own experience but because I drive by that school daily on my way home and have seen them practicing in this heat! There must be special guardian angels for band kids and their parents!

I got a call from Amanda at lunch. Seeee, I took a lunch break and you didn't even miss me! ha ha! She and her hubby were to go out to eat tonight for their anniversary but Maggie's babysitter had to back out. So, guess it's MawMaw to the rescue! I'll swing by and get her on my way home. Jack is staying with an Aunt on the other side of the family. At least she's the easy one to keep up with, for now.

Looking forward to the Olympics. I will definitely be watching the Opening Ceremonies. I'll fess up now and say I've already been checking out YouTube and it looks like it will be awesome. We have always followed the Olympics. Me, Hubby and the kids would always watch the ceremony together. The winter Olympics more than the summer. Was very surprised when Beijing won the bid for 2008. They have a lot of issues with other countries but hopefully everything will go smooth. So far the only problem has been the smog.

Ok, gotta get some work done. Take care......until next post


Thursday, August 7, 2008

Cleaning House

For anyone visiting here that knows me in the real life, you understand exactly what my new look here is about. For those of you that don't know me...I'm one of those people who cleans when they get mad. Several things happened over the last several weeks or so that had me feeling like, well, I can't explain it without sounding like a 'poor little me' saga. Probably a mix between depression, hormones and sleep deprivation! Then on top of it some things came down at work yesterday that just total pissed me off! Even after sleeping I was still pissed, hence the 'cleaning' today. This space is nothing! You should have seen me at home last night. Did dishes twice, 2 loads of laundry, fixed a spaghetti dinner and then washed those dishes. Hubby, smart man, just tried to stay out of my way LOL
I had a tropical layout loaded but it was a hassle to use for posting so I dumped it and went looking for French Cafe pictures and art. Not sure I like this layout so may tweak a few things yet. I saw this... or maybe this one I can use on the home page from time to time maybe. In the meantime, while I was playing with layouts, my counter hit 1000!! I figure the last 30-40 was probably me going back and forth.
Post a comment and let me know what you think of the new look.

Until next post....

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Challenge reply

This post is in reply to a challenge issued by Osh at http://thehousethatoshbuilt.blogspot.com/

Excerpt:
Think back on the last 15 years of your life. What would you tell someone that you hadn't seen or talked to for 15 years? How would you sum up your life? You get 10 bullet points. A list of 10 things to summarize about you.

This was way harder than I thought it would be. First to try to remember time sequence and second, once I remembered stuff, trying to shorten it into 10 bullets! lol After glancing back at the last fifteen years I really have to say my life seems pretty normal. It didn't at the time going through it but any crisis' were met, joys were enjoyed and there was new life and death. It reminded me of a line in a country song 'Life's about changes...' but for the life of me I can think who sings it or from what song. I thought Reba and then I thought it was Terri Clark but I'm not finding it. If anyone out there knows which one it is please let me know. It's driving me nuts now!! lol

Ok, here goes...

15 years ago it would have been 1993.

  • We still had 2 teenage kids living with us. Most of our time for that year and the next few would have been filled with Band. You name it and my kids were in it. Concert band, jazz band and the never ending summer Band! In 1994 they placed 4th in state! In order to watch over the kids but not seem to be watching over the kids, I volunteered to help run the concession stands. Boy, was that work! But it gave me a legitimate reason to hang out at school. (wink)
  • Went west with my Mom and 2 sisters. We went through 11 states in 5 days!! Had a blast all the way too!
  • Our son got married in 1997
  • 1998 our daughter graduated and at last we had no kids living with us LOL
  • 1999 the family 'snuck' down to Key West and surprised my brother for his big 5 0 birthday.
  • 2003 saw the birth of our first grandchild, Faith, and the end of a family business.
  • 2004 We settled into new jobs after 26 years on the same job and our daughter got married. With the marriage came a 13 year old step-granddaughter.
  • Grandma passed away at 97 years young. 3 weeks before her passing she was still taking 100 steps every morning on her Step Master. Lord, I hope I have her genes! Our second (or would it be third?) grandchild, Jack.
  • 2006 We gained a grandchild, Lillian, on Aug. 21st but I lost a brother on Aug. 23rd (his birthday).
  • 2007 Started off with another new grandchild, Maggie, VIP passes which included getting into the garage and pit road areas to see the Brickyard race where I met Richard Childress and got to 'rub elbows' with many, many drivers. And meeting Johnny Depp in 2008
(Edited: got in a hurry and had meeting Johnny in 2007 when it was just this March!..haste makes waste as Grandma said)

So, now you can see why I said it reminded me of that song line....Life's about changes...and how we deal with them. Me and mine, we try to think positive even though some days it's very hard to do that. We are lucky that we are part of a big family so we have a huge support group. If anything happens we are all there to help. Not just 1 or 2 but mostly the whole family. They are there to support you and they are there to celebrate with you, either way, they are there! In that I'm very blessed. There's the old adage that 'life is full of up and downs' and looking at this I'd have to agree. You have to learn to take the bad with the good and hope that in the end it balances out. I better get this posted because I'm starting to sound like Forest Gump! :P

Thanks Osh!!

Take care and God Bless....Until next post....



Monday, August 4, 2008

Happy Birthday Jeff Gordon!!

Man, I had so much fun over the weekend that today is a major bummer!! I really wanted to throw myself on the floor this morning and have a temper tantrum and scream 'I don't want to go to work!" but didn't figure anyone would listen. The cats would just run and take cover and the hubby would probably kiss me on the forehead and step over me on his way out the door! Wish I could stay home and play every day :( Of course it wouldn't take long before we would have no food or money for gas! But, gas was down to $3.67 today! woohoo! Still sad that those prices seem like a bargain... Was suppose to be a sunny day without too much humidity. Cracks me up as I sit here looking out the window at the rain. I used to tell my kids to be a psychiatrist or a weather anchor...no wrong answers! Did they listen to me? Ha!

We got to watch a decent race this week. Came down to fuel mileage. Carl Edwards won but a handful ran out of gas coming to the checkered flag. Jeff Gordon being one of them but he managed a 10Th place finish. Jimmie Johnson ran out too but he was closer to the line and finished 3rd with Dale Jr. coming in 12Th. Not too bad of a day but would have like Jeff to win one. He is listed today on the 'Today in History' site. Today is his birthday (along with my daughter-in-law ;) was the only way I could remember her birthday for a long time!) the funny thing is it's listed in Automotive and not Sports! NASCAR gets no respect as a sport. Happy Birthday Jeff!

The Nationwide race on Saturday was a hoot. Didn't get to watch it live as we were babysitting but I taped it and we watched it after the girls were in bed for the night. They were in Montreal on a road course and it began to rain.
NASCAR had put in place several years ago that if it rained on the road course then the cars would have to put on rain tires. (tires with grooves) It was pretty hilarious to watch. Some went off-course but mostly they just drove slow. Some cars had windshield wipers and some didn't. Really felt for the ones without because it was raining pretty good. Officials finally called the race 26 laps early because of visibility.

Today in History:

August 4, 1892

Borden parents found dead

On this day in 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden are found hacked to death in their Fall River, Massachusetts, home. Andrew was discovered in a pool of blood on the living room couch, his face nearly split in two. Abby was upstairs, her head smashed to pieces; it was later determined that she was killed first. Suspicion soon fell on one of the Bordens' two daughters, Lizzie, age 32 and single, who lived with her wealthy father and stepmother and was the only other person besides their maid, Bridget Sullivan, who was home when the bodies were found. Lizzie Borden was arrested and charged with the double homicide. As a result of the crime's sensational nature, her trial attracted national attention.

Lizzie Andrew Borden was born on July 19, 1860. Her mother died when Lizzie was a young girl and her father, who became a bank president and successful businessman, married Abby Gray, who helped raise Lizzie and her older sister Emma. The sisters reportedly despised their stepmother and, as adults, argued with their father over money matters. Lizzie claimed she was in the barn at the time of the murders and entered the house later that morning to find her father dead in the living room.

The evidence that the prosecution presented against Borden was circumstantial. It was alleged that she tried to buy poison the day before the murders and that she burned one of her dresses several days afterward. And, although fingerprint testing was becoming commonplace in Europe at the time, the Fall River police were wary of its reliability, and refused to test for prints on the potential murder weapon--a hatchet--found in the Bordens' basement. The fact that no blood was found on Lizzie coupled with her well-bred Christian persona convinced the all-male jury that she was incapable of the gruesome crime and they quickly acquitted her.

Lizzie, who inherited a substantial sum after her father's death, moved from the murder site into a different home, where she lived until her death on June 1, 1927. Today, the house where the Borden murders occurred is a bed and breakfast. Despite Lizzie Borden's acquittal, the cloud of suspicion that hung over her never disappeared. She is immortalized in a famous rhyme:

Lizzie Borden took an axe, And gave her mother forty whacks; When she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one.

August 4, 1944

Anne Frank captured

Acting on tip from a Dutch informer, the Nazi Gestapo captures 15-year-old Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family in a sealed-off area of an Amsterdam warehouse. The Franks had taken shelter there in 1942 out of fear of deportation to a Nazi concentration camp. They occupied the small space with another Jewish family and a single Jewish man, and were aided by Christian friends, who brought them food and supplies. Anne spent much of her time in the "secret annex" working on her diary. The diary survived the war, overlooked by the Gestapo that discovered the hiding place, but Anne and nearly all of the others perished in the Nazi death camps.

August 4, 1942

Holiday Inn premieres

Audiences around the country are introduced to a new holiday classic as Bing Crosby croons "White Christmas" in the film Holiday Inn, which opens on this day in 1942.

Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby in Tacoma, Washington, in 1903. As a child, he was such a fan of a cartoon character named Bing that the nickname was pinned on him. During college in Spokane, he began singing and playing the drums with a band and abandoned an interest in law to pursue a career in show business. He and a college friend, Al Rinker, moved to Los Angeles in 1925 and started a vaudeville act.

Impressed by the act, bandleader Paul Whiteman hired Crosby and Rinker to tour with his band in 1927. Three years later, Crosby made his film debut as part of the band. Meanwhile, he married a starlet named Dixie Lee, with whom he had four sons.

Crosby became one of the most beloved entertainers in history. In 1931, he landed his own radio show, which ran in various forms until the mid-1940s. Radio boosted his popularity, and before long he was a hit at the box office as well as on the radio.

Crosby signed with Paramount in 1932 and appeared in The Big Broadcast the same year. His comic flair surfaced in the 1940s with the Road movies that co-starred Bob Hope. During the same period, however, his dramatic work also gained attention: He won an Oscar for his performance as a priest in Going My Way (1944) and was nominated for his performances in The Bells of Saint Mary's (1945) and The Country Girl (1954). Widowed in 1952, he later married actress Kathryn Grant, who was 30 years his junior, and had three more children. He had a short-lived TV sitcom from 1964 to 1965 called The Bing Crosby Show, in which he played an aging singer trying to settle into domestic life. Years later, his daughter Mary Crosby played the girl who shot J.R. Ewing in the TV soap Dallas. Bing Crosby died on the golf course in 1977.

August 4, 1971

"The Kid" is born

Jeff Gordon, a stock-car driver known as "The Kid," was born on this day in 1971. Gordon raced onto the NASCAR scene in 1997 by winning the Winston Cup season points championship for a prestigious second time at the age of 26. "The Kid" was also the first driver to win the Southern 500, NASCAR's oldest race, three years in a row. His clean-cut California image was initially disliked by many racing fans, who tended to prefer the gritty personas of traditional stock-car drivers. However, Gordon had talent, an aggressive driving style, and a knack for publicity, which drew many new fans to the sport.

They didn't say on This Day in History that it was Dale Earnhardt that gave Jeff the nickname 'The Kid'. Some people did, and still do, think Dale and Jeff didn't get along but they were very close friends and business partners. They were also very competitive drivers. Which made for some reeeeeal good racing! :)
I gotta scoot...storm cell moving in (imagine that!)....until next post....

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Weekend work and fun




I don't ususally post on the weekend but I just had to share these pictures! It all started with taking down a tree. I had to get pictures of that event. You see, we planted 10 Poplar trees when we moved into the farm and by gosh I was sure going to watch them come down.

Once we cleaned that all up it was time for some fun in the pool. No, not an inground but big enough to have fun.




Jack and Maggie



Jack is go, go ,go all the time. The only time he stops is when he falls asleep.His favorite activity in the pool is splashing. Splashing Mommy and splashing Maggie.

Faith didn't like getting splashed so she went in on the couch.


But Jack just folllowed her saying "Come on Faith"
Lilly has a mind of her own. She knew I wanted a picture and wouldn't look at the camera. Soooo, I told her to look at MawMaw, smile and don't move. This is what I got LOL





Tom and Hubby put the tent up. Nope, we didn't all sleep in it. I'm not THAT crazy! LOL Then Jack wanted the camera and started chasing me.

But Faith got the camera and snapped this picture of me.

Then i baked brownies and chocolate chip cookies. All in all it was a great weekend and we had lots of fun! Until next post......

Friday, August 1, 2008

Dog Days of Summer

What exactly is the 'Dog Days of Summer'? Everyone knows that the 'dog days of summer' occur during the hottest and muggiest part of the season. But where does the term come from? Why do we call the hot, sultry days of summer 'dog days'� Is it something that dogs everywhere got together 1000s of years ago and decided it was too hot to do anything so they made their own holiday?

Well, according to Google:
1 : the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere
2 : a period of stagnation or inactivity

The Farmer's Almanac
lists the traditional timing of the Dog Days as the 40 days beginning July 3rd and ending August 11th. If this is true, then we are about done with them. Does that mean on Aug. 12th the humidity will disperse, the earth (and us) will breath easier and all will be right in the world again? I think not.

A casual survey will usually find that many people believe the phrase is in reference to the conspicuous laziness of domesticated dogs (who are in danger of overheating with too much exercise) during the hottest days of the summer. When speaking of "Dog Days" there seems to be a connotation of lying or "dogging" around, or being "dog tired" on these hot and humid days. Although these meanings have nothing to do with the original source of the phrase, they may have been attached to the phrase in recent years due to common usage or misunderstanding of the origin of the phrase.

Here's how it all came about.
In ancient times, when the night sky wasn't obscured by artificial lights and smog, different groups of peoples in different parts of the world drew images in the sky by 'connecting the dots' of stars. The images drawn were dependent upon the culture: The Chinese saw different images than the Native Americans, who saw different pictures than the Europeans. These star pictures are now called constellations, and the constellations that are now mapped out in the sky come from our European ancestors.

The brightest of the stars in Canis Major (the big dog) is Sirius, which also happens to be the brightest star in the night sky. In fact, it is so bright that the ancient Romans thought that the earth received heat from it. Look for it in the southern sky (viewed from northern latitudes) during January.

In the summer, however, Sirius, the 'dog star', rises and sets with the sun. During late July Sirius is in conjunction with the sun, and the ancients believed that its heat added to the heat of the sun, creating a stretch of hot and sultry weather. They named this period of time, from 20 days before the conjunction to 20 days after, 'dog days' after the dog star.

The conjunction of Sirius with the sun varies somewhat with latitude. And the 'precession of the equinoxes' (a gradual drifting of the constellations over time) means that the constellations today are not in exactly the same place in the sky as they were in ancient Rome. Today, dog days occur during the period between July 3 and August 11. Although it is certainly the warmest period of the summer, the heat is not due to the added radiation from a far-away star, regardless of its brightness. No, the heat of summer is a direct result of the earth's tilt.

So, my next question is are there Cat Days of Winter? :P You know, when it's to cold to chase mice and too much snow on the ground to keep their paws clean....Just a thought....

This Day in History:

August 1, 1942

Jerry Garcia is born

Grateful Dead singer Jerry Garcia is born in San Francisco. At age 15, he traded a birthday gift from his mother-an accordion-for an electric guitar and was soon playing in San Francisco coffeehouses. Along the way, he began playing in various groups with keyboardist Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, guitarist Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh, and drummer Bill Kreutzmann. They formed psychedelic rock phenomenon the Grateful Dead in 1965. The group toured for more than 30 years, acquiring an enormously devoted following. Although many of their songs are now classics, including "Dark Star," "Uncle John's Band," and "Truckin'," their only Top 10 hit was "Touch of Grey" in 1987. Garcia, who reportedly struggled with heroin addiction, died of a heart attack on August 9, 1995.


August 1, 1972

Bush is suspended from flying with the Air National Guard

On this day in 1972, future President George Walker Bush, son of former president George Herbert Walker Bush, is suspended from flying with the Texas Air National Guard for missing an annual medical examination.

Bush’s military-service record became a source of controversy during the 2000 and 2004 elections, and underwent further scrutiny when he launched a controversial war in Iraq in 2003. Although Bush served in the National Guard, many opponents of the war, including veterans, criticized the president for a sketchy military record, which, it was alleged, contained extended and inexplicable absences of six months to a year at a time. Bush defended his military record by saying he satisfactorily completed all of his military obligations.

Bush was given an honorable discharge from the Air National Guard in 1973 to attend Harvard Business School. Still, some veterans and war opponents equated Bush’s stint in the National Guard and his subsequent Harvard attendance as tantamount to a Vietnam War draft deferment procured by his politically influential father. Bush’s harshest critics went even further, claiming that Bush’s military records may have been tampered with or forged to create a positive military-service record. According to analyses by historians and investigators, however, Bush’s military records do not substantiate this or some critics’ claims that Bush ever went AWOL (absent without leave).

Time for me to check out NASCAR practice times. Hopefully this weekend there will be an actual race. Getting anxious for football to start too. Go colts!!

Take care....until next post....