BAKERWOMAN

VEGAS, HERE WE COME

2007-10-19T10:06:00.000-07:00

I always seem to post when we're going to Vegas. Does that tell you anything? Mom is here and going this time. We usually don't go when she's here because it is a five hour trip and she is seventy eight. She hasn't been for about 7 or 8 years so she is flying high.

Years ago, I would use a couple of days vacation and we would take off. Sometimes there were four of us women-sometimes just Mom and I. What a time we had! No husbands to tell us we had to go to bed, no one to tell us it was time to get up. We just did whatever we damn well pleased for a few days. That is a heady experience for a grown woman. It only happens when your children are all grown and secure and you have a husband who knows how important this kind of time is once in a while.

We did have some situations: one time we went in my little blue Toyota which was wearing out. By the time we hit the top of mountains, we were doing about 20 m.p.h., There were two Hispanic men who looked like Father and Son having the same trouble so all the way to Vegas we would wave at each other and laugh at whichever of us had the least head start on each mountain. What a hoot! The unfun part was when my headlights went out on the way home just as we came off a hairpin turn on Old Highway 58. The car would never do it again but needless to say, it was time for a trade-in.

One night we went to Binion's to play Bingo and couldn't find our car afterwards. Finally, after watching us walk by him about five times (2:00 a.m.), a nice security guard explained that we had to turn around and walk the other way to find our car. We did but I've never figured out how that garage worked. Actually, I think that was the same trip with the Old Toyota and if someone had stolen it, they would have done us a favor.

One time we went to Laughlin. I kept telling my husband that there weren't any mountains on the way. He half convinced me, though. We had a flat about 75 miles out of Barstow. A nice young soldier stopped to help us. After he changed the tire and asked us where we were headed, he kindly told us we were going in the wrong direction. We had to go back to Barstow, get a new tire and head back out in the right direction.

When we went with our Friends, B and M we would have a great trip, too, except M is my good friend but a little odd. She gets really absorbed in slot machines sometimes and misses part of the fun we are having. She is a dreadful tipper, too. Mom would distract her and B or I would sneak back and adjust the tip under her plate. If we can save up enough money to go gambling (we're working people), then by Damn Sure we can keep enough money to tip working people over there enough to help them live. I would rather not go out to eat if I can't include a decent trip.

I think the funniest thing that every happened was this: We went to the Colorado Belle in Laughlin. Everyone sat down to play slots while I checked us in. Mom and my money were in an envelope in my brand new purse. I got us checked in and walked over to her. Just at that minute she won an $80.00 jackpot. In her excitement, she dragged the cord connecting her to her slot club card across my cigarette (we all smoked, then). The ash dropped into my purse onto a tissue next to our money and caught on fire. I was able to get it out without burning up our money but ruined my purse.
I put the burned mess in an ashtry. M came over to see what Mom had won and put her cigarette out in that ashtray and caught the whole mess on fire again. I bet the people who worked there were dismayed that we were checking in instead of out.

Anyway, we've had lots of memories and stories.

Later,

Bev

MOMS

2007-10-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

My Mom flew out to visit me for a couple of months. She is 78 but she tries to take care of me. While I am at work, she makes the beds, gathers walnuts, keeps the dog fed and keeps the house picked up. It really helps me (I don't want her to overdo, though) but the other thing is, it helps her.
Us Moms need to be needed.

I, too, like to do whatever I can for my daughters. Once they get through the teenage years and you become friends again, there is nothing more rewarding than to give them a little help whether it's just a little bit financial, doing a pan of dishes or providing a night of babysitting. I always hope that they know how much their Dad and I love them and realize that if we can help ease their hardships, it's a lot easier on our hearts.

I've had people tell me that when their kids turn 18 that they will be so happy that they don't have to worry about them anymore. Some of those friends have already had to eat their words. How can you stop worrying and caring about your children because they reach a certain age? Once they are adults and have families of their own, there is so much more to worry about. Some people think that men don't worry so much. That is a fallacy. My husband hurts when our girls hurt and when our grandchildren hurt.

Life is not a bowl of cherries. Life is a struggle but there are huge rewards: graduations with honors, that basket made from the other end of the court, the rare, perfect smile of happiness from a little one, weddings and births. As a parent you appreciate your infants but not nearly in the way a grandparent can appreciate clutching a little one to themselves in a rocking chair and knowing how precious and fleeting this time is. I would hope that at the end of my life, I can know I tried my hardest and know that my family will remember me with love. Is

Anyway, that's how I'm feeling today. It might bore someone else but I guess I need to remind myself today what is important

DUH!

2007-05-16T13:21:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, I thought I had an eye infection and started using antibiotic drops in both eyes. My eyes seemed better on weekends but during the week, they got continually worse. I have an appointment at the opthamologist tomorrow so I thought I could stick it out.

Yesterday, both eyes were so bloodshot that I looked albino and they were almost buttoned shut. Needless to say, I decided not to wait until tomorrow. Guess what the optometrist said? "Are you using any new makeup?" Duh!

I'm now using a steroid in my eyes that he prescribed and my eyes are almost normal in one day.

Has anyone but me ever done anything this stupid?

Wouldn't you think it would have occured to MOI that the fact my eyes were better on the weekend would have told me something? I've never had allergies to anything before and it didn't occur to me that this could be it. Apparently, I never had an eye infection to begin with.

BLOGGING

2007-05-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

Does anyone but me have a problem with these blogging accounts? About half the time, I can't get back on here. I know I am not stupid!

Not much is going on. I have been sewing for my long distance grandkids.
I finished 2 outfits for the girl and ordered some embroidered motorcyle patches on line ( for his two new outfits from the store) for the boy (He is nuts about motorcyles).

The motorcyle patches company MJ Trim (online) made me truly angry. I ordered on 4-23-07 and paid for three days shipping. They were sent on 4-30. I asked them for a credit on the postage. We will see how that goes.
The worst thing is, they were finally delivered on May 3rd. The UPS man apparently put them on the cement inside the breezeway and my dog thought they were dinner. Luckily, I guess he didn't like the taste so none of them were ruined. I will be washing the things before I send them up so no harm was done.

I would love to see the little one's face when he sees the motorcyle clothing.

Anyway, nothing is new or exciting here so I'm signing off.

BLATHERING

2007-03-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

That's a good title for someone who can't think of anything to say. Actually, I can think of a lot more stuff when things aren't going well so I guess that's not a bad thing, right?

My husband's club had a dance last Saturday. It's a men's club but one night a year they invite the "widders". For some reason, it wasn't a success and only about 49 of the expected 200 showed up. The dinner was great but-Oh My God-the music!

They hired one of their guys to play music (he's supposedly a DJ). He never announced a song or spoke a word. There was no one under forty there and most of us were in our fifties. I would have thought after an hour or so that he would have realized that nobody was dancing when he played hiphop music and omitted playing anymore of it for the evening.

Needless to say, the party was supposed to last until midnight and the place was cleared out by 10:45 p.m. Maybe that was his intention. I hope they prorated the amount they paid him by the hours he had to work(sic).

The other teeny problem was no dessert. For me, this is a cardinal sin. I don't care how scrumptious the chow is, I need my sugar hit!

Maybe next year, they ought to let the "Widders" plan it for them.

BLOGGING

2006-10-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

Never, Never, Never remove your cookies. I have finally figured out how to get my blog back. Something that is supposed to be fun shouldn't be so darn difficult.

We had a wonderful visit with all the kids and grandkids this weekend. Oh, and we had a wonderful visit with our granddogs and great grandpuppies.

I made popcorn balls which I told myself were for everyone else and finished the last one for breakfast this morning. I'm glad they're gone because my mouth is really sore.

I'm coming along well with my leg and and back to work full time after two weeks instead of the estimated four to six the doctor estimated. Lucky me!

Well, that's all for now.

OUR BABY

2006-09-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

My youngest grandson is wonderful. He is loving, bright and funny. He loves lights, fans, clocks and anything that makes noise. He also has PDD (a mild form of autism). There is a wonderful article about this in the August Reader's Digest.

I read that many countries had banned thimerosal (a mercury-containing preservative in innoculations) many years before the U.S. did. If it is found that this is the cause of PDD, shame on our government and on the drug companies. The government and the drug companies should have to pay for the teaching of our children and pledge a lifelong committment to provide them with what they need for the rest of their lives. It is truly sickening to me that this practice was allowed to continue.

Our baby is luckier than many. His case is relatively mild. He has a Mom who recognized something was wrong quite early and she spends the time she needs to ensuring that he stays on a gluten free, casein free diet. It is very difficult to make everything tasty but she does a great job.

UPDATE

2006-09-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for entertainment, you shouldn't read this.

Today is depressing. It was a bad year for oranges and when I closed the books, there is a significant loss to the growers. I hope the auditor finds that I've made some huge, glaring mistake.

I'm having surgery on September 29th. I haven't had a complete recovery. Apparently, the bone graft in my knee collapsed and now the plate is down over the joint meaning I can straighten my leg even less than before and when I try to do things, I'm having quite severe pain. So now, a doctor will remove all the pins, rods and plate that I had put in last year. I'm in the process of getting ahead at work so I can have this done. My Mom is coming out to fetch and carry for me while I am down.

We had a nice weekend camping with the kids a couple of weeks ago. My husband gave up his nice new cot so I wouldn't have to get up and down off an air mattress. It was really cool at night so I slept like a log.

My best friend and I are going away tomorrow night. I can hardly wait.

HAPPY FRIGGING BIRTHDAY TO ME

2006-07-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

Today I am 57. Lucky me! It is also my oldest grandson's birthday. He is 13. My oldest granddaughter will be 16 in two days.

My body feels 57. I just can't get my mind much past being 30. I have always been active and in good shape. A shattered leg from a fall took care of that a little over a year ago. I think, though, my strength is coming back so if I have to live with some pain and have a few limitations, so be it. I have decided to go for my former life. If I get hurt again, those are the breaks (heh! heh!). I can't waste time worrying about it and favoring my leg. Life is too damn short!

I have had a strange life. When I started high school, my Mom let me date a senior. Consequences? I was married six weeks before my fifteenth birthday. The groom was couple of months short of eighteen. Needless to say, we were divorced a year later. Would I change it? I have wonderful daughter number one. Who would ever change that?

Anyway, I had gone right back to school after my daughter's birth so I was able to finish high school. I was a good student. I was especially good at bookkeeping and won an award. Little did I know it was a sign of things to come. I had OJT in my senior year. The man I worked for was President of the local bank so I had a job assured when I graduated.

I was accepted at our State University. I wanted to be a high school history or English teacher. I had a little one I couldn't bear to leave, though, so I didn't go. Years later, I found out that the state would have helped me out and I could have gotten an apartment and taken her with me. We were just not welfare people, though. We were poor but we were proud.

When I was nineteen and working at the bank, my mother insisted I stay home one Saturday night to meet someone my cousin was bringing down. That's how I wound up married to an alkie for twelve years. He didn't drink at all the summer before we married. He started at the wedding reception and never stopped again. He wouldn't work and he beat the shit out of me. I didn't leave until twelve years later when he started being mean to the kids. I just have always believed you must try hard to make marriage work. Would I change anything? I have wonderful daughter #2 and that's your answer.

Now I am married (for 24 years) to a man who respects me and treats me well. I have been at this job (bookkeeping) for 25 years. We live in a different state and life is easier here. He works just as hard as I always have (maybe harder). He maybe liked to party too much on the weekends when he was younger, but he outgrew it. We are a good match. We maybe aren't the most fascinating couple in the world, but we are happy.

I especially love about him how much he loves my daughters and the grandchildren. We helped my younger daughter with the first granddaughter and that one can melt his heart with one tear. He had no children of his own. The experience of being a grandparent from infancy on has been one of the blessings of his life. Actually, it's the biggest blessing of anyone's life.

Anyway, that's who I am. Plain old me having a plain old birthday.

Oh, did I forget to mention I will be in Vegas tonight for three days? I told you my life has changed!

SUMMERTIME WHIRLWIND

2006-07-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law says she needs me to post so she'll know what's going on. It's pretty boring stuff so you might want to stop reading right about now.

The summer is really flying by. Almost every weekend is accounted for. I am starting to just leave most of my suitcase packed.

This last trip we went to Lake Tahoe for the weekend (Hubby had a class) and t we took my oldest granddaughter and her friend with us. We had a blast (except Hard Rock Cafe served me a raw hamburger after I ordered well done).
Hubby then went on home while I stayed with the granddaughter for a week. She has summer school (her choice) and the kids were going on a camping trip with the other grandparents. I really had fun! One evening, we actually spent 3 hours in Walmart. I am sure that would qualify for the Guiness book.

I will be in Vegas for my 57th birthday (I refuse to go past 59). We are meeting Hubby's family over there for three days. We are both taking the rest of that week off to go up to our cabin to get some work done. We are installing a new water heater.

Work is going great. It is kind of our slack time. We use it to get all the projects done that we had to set aside the rest of the year.

I'm probably going to have arthroscopic surgery in August. The calcification from the break needs to be cleaned up. If possible, I want them to bend my knee while I am out. A year later, I can still only bend my leg to 100 degrees. Going up steep stairs is very difficult and I cannot bend it enough to fit in a confined space (such as an airplane). Hopefully, it works out. My leg is sort of twisted sideways below my knee so I'm not sure how much improvement is possible.

My two oldest grandkids both have a birthday next week. I'm just going to write them a check. At their ages (16 and 13), that is exactly the right gift.

Well, anyway, that's about it for now.

SERVICE PEOPLE

2006-06-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

I can't think of my own ideas so I'm stealing from my daughter today. Here goes:

Dear Fabric Store Young Man:

I just wanted you to know that I will always remember you. The last time I saw you (store now closed), I was only 43 and in good shape. I had, however, been sick with the flu. You ruined my day (and maybe a few more). You didn't look closely at me when I went to pay for my material and I will never forget being asked if I want the Senior discount. I really hope the same thing happens to you some day.

Dear 99cent Store Employee:

I really appreciated the fact that you have such a wonderful social life that you wanted to make sure all your customers heard about it by you turning around, not running your scanner and spending five minutes at a time chatting with your coworker. The fact that it was Friday night and the end of a long week of work for me might have had something to do with my mood. The long line of other customers behind me might have all been in a bad mood also just coincidentally.

I'm sure you will appreciate the fact that you had the honor of being the first salesperson (in 56 years) that I have ever been rude to. The thing I guess doesn't really make sense is that if I was being so rude when I asked you to please stop talking and get me checked through, was the clapping and cheering from every customer in the line behind me.

P.S. I guess you didn't work out for the store. I haven't seen you one time since.

WEEKEND

2006-06-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

The weekend was great. The set of kids who live close enough came over for Father's Day. This is my oldest daughter's family and she always makes a big deal out of cooking Hubby tacos for Father's Day. He told her it's the first time he's had them since last Father's Day but that's not true. I'm sure she made them for him at New Year's Time. This year she even made flan which he loved and I haven't tasted because I hate custard and it looks like custard to me!

I would rather cook Thanksgiving dinner than Tacos. I don't know why but I can make more of a mess making those things than anything else I cook. You dice and chop for hours, dirty fifty dishes and cover the stove with grease. I actually specialize in good cooking with very few dishes. I can make bread using one bowl. I can make a casserole using just my cast iron skillet. Taco mess cannot be reduced.

Hubby got three or four presents but his favorite was a card given to him by the oldest grandson. He had a project at school last year and part of that project was writing up two or three people who had the greatest effect on his life. Grandpa was the first one he did. He began by saying how much Pop loved fart jokes and that his favorite present ever was the fart machine. He then went on to tell about Pop trying to teach him to say "Booger" for his first word (I bet the Teacher enjoyed those parts). But finally at the end of the page he said that his grandpa was the kindest person he knew and that he helped everyone.

We watched Hubby as he read. At first he looked kind of apolectic to think that his fart and booger stuff had been read by strangers. When he got to the end, though, he couldn't talk for a minute. I guess things like that card are what make you know that your memory will live on and that is all that's really important about our lives.

Anyway, after the present unwrapping, my daughter cleaned the kitchen and we all went for a swim. We offset the day by making big pans of popcorn balls requested by the youngest grandson. It was quite a day.

Tomorrow, we leave for San Diego for my husband's military reunion. This will be the first time he's gone and he hasn't seen most of these people for darn near forty years. I am worried about what to wear and he said don't worry. These people are all old and fat and bald just like us (I'm not bald). As my brother used to say I resemble that remark.

I had to call the hotel to see if there was a banquet or anything. That's what happen when guys organize everthing. They always think that everything will just kind of fall together. I talked to the lady who is head of the catering department at the hotel. She told me about the banquet and that it is dressy. I pity the poor wife who is going for the first time who shows up in daytime clothes because she didn't know. I'm taking lots of books and plan on spending a lot of time in the room so Hubby can have lots of time to visit. He's not one of those who stresses about Vietnam. He is one of the lucky ones who was able to move on. Still, I think that while the conversations may not always be enjoyable to him, it will be good for him to talk to others who were there and understand. Those of us who have never had to lay our lives on the line can try but we will never actually know what our soldiers go through on foreign shores.

Anyway, I need to get to work. See you later.

DOCTOR AGAIN

2006-06-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

Well, back to LA tomorrow so I can have xrays and see the orthopoedic surgeon. It will go like this: How are you doing? (Doc) Not too badly-I think I've regained a little more flexion! (Me) How's the Pain? (Doc) Well, without moaning about it too much, some days it is still almost unbearable. (Me) Well, let's give it another year or ten because I told you you would have arthritis. (Doc) The whole process is a big waste of time and gasoline.

Originally, the doctor had told me that he would be doing arthoroscopic surgery at the end of the year time frame if my pain was still severe. I think he has backed away because the knee is such a freaking mess he doesn't think it will help. Oh Well, who cares?

Work is going well and most of the family is feeling reasonably decent right now. Who could ask for more? (Except to maybe win the lottery)

See Ya!

WEEKEND AT KIDS

2006-05-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I blogged about our lovely trip up. It sure was good to see the kids, though, it took Mr. Man a whole evening to remember that he likes us.

J (15) came home from her school dance at about eleven. We talked for a few minutes. Then she asked if we could shop on Saturday. I replied I couldn't drive the stick shift in heavy traffic so Grandpa volunteered to drive us. She just beamed. By the way, I have never seen a 15 year old with such a clean bedroom. Both her Mom and my other daughter kept their rooms like pigsties. I thought that's how all teenagers kept their room! I must have been doing something wrong.

Saturday we all got up and visited for awhile. Mr. Man was still playing it shy until he remembered that we take him with us when we go out to smoke on the porch. Pop and I became his new best friends. One time, he actually sat on my lap and cuddled. It was wonderful. We haven't had a real little one in our family for four years.

My seven year old granddaughter was also invited to go with us for the day. Her Mom has a problem getting her to brush so I told her she couldn't possibly be seen with us with yellow teeth. That kid went in to shower, brush, and did her own hair. Her hair is getting curly and she is going to be just as beautiful as her big sis. I like seven year olds. You can still con them into doing what you want.

Our trip started out pretty normally. "J" remarked how hungry she was (my daughter had just made waffles!) and wouldn't a salad be nice. I did my part and piped up that I wish they had a Macaroni Grill. It just so happened that there was one right in the mall we were going to! Coincidences!

Our waiter was a guy. Needless to say, 'J's soup, salad and bread were almost consumed before the rest of us were served. "A" was a doll. I had told her before hand that I wanted people to say, OH How Pretty and isn't she well behaved? She got me a little, however, when I realized on the way out she was walking ahead of me with her eyes crossed and tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. I'd forgotten how hard it is to scold them when all you want to do is laugh hysterically. The rest of the shopping went well. We used our list and got everything we needed.

Our big kids got to go out for dinner. I made sandwiches and bathed Mr. Man while Pop vacuumed. I hope we helped the kids out some. My SIL has been sick and my daughter is worn out. Three kids will do that to you.

Anyway, talk to you later.

GREAT WEEKEND

2006-05-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of selling my oldest daughter my car. Right now, the only vehicles we have are our Ford truck with the V-10 engine (8 miles a gallon) or his toy-a 1985 BMV piece of crap that he is in the process of restoring. One of the things he has not yet had fixed is the air conditioner. We were going to visit my youngest daughter for the weekend and had to decide which vehicle to take. As she lives over two hundred miles away and we didn't want to take a third mortgage to buy gasoline, the choice was simple.

Did I mention that his toy is a convertible? Ah? Men in menopause!

I really dreaded the trip but I really wanted to see my daughter and her family.

Summer came on with a bang here and at four o'clock Friday afternoon, it was over 90 degrees. We pack our stuff, jump in the car (which is actually almost easy to get into when the top is off) and take off. My husband was in seventh heaven. I'd brought a cloth hat to try to keep my hair from tying in knots and because I sunburn easily and have a huge ski slope of a nose that is the first to burn. I had a string under my chin that was choking me and I still could barely keep the damn hat on. My husband had on his straw summer cowboy hat and it wasn't even blowing. What the Hell?

After about 100 miles of streaming wind and bumping ass (it sits close to the ground and needs shocks), my head was soaking wet from sweat and I felt like I'd spent the day out weeding my garden in 100 degrees. I took off the damn hat to dry my hair and it dried in strings. Now my body is salty and my scalp feels like there's enough dry stuff on there to plant a garden. Hubby decides it is time to stop for gas and a potty break. I stagger into the restroom and do the best I can. (Did you ever wash your face only to find out there are no paper towels-only one of those stupid blowers at waist height?) By now, it's cooling down. I get back into the car, we head out and I ask where my jacket is. He replies that it is in the trunk. I don't like to complain so for about 50 more miles I tried to hunch over under the dash and finally covered up with his windshield sun screen. Just when I was getting toasty, he pulls over to put up the top because he is cold. The rest of the trip was uneventful except when we arrived, about the first thing I did was take a shower so I wouldn't offend the rest of the family.

Well, this isn't too bad a blog so I think I'll stretch it out for a couple of days. Talk to you later.

ALASKA

2006-05-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

My husband has always wanted to do the Alaskan cruise. I cannot figure out why. We both grew up in New England. We are already familiar with lots of greenery, lots of water, moose, bears and lots and lots of mosquitos. If we want to see all that, we can go visit our old stomping grounds and at least have the benefit of seeing family.

When we retire, I want to see the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican, the Greek Islands, Ireland, Scotland and England. I want to see the Roman tiles unearthed in Ireland. I want to see the Tower of London and breathe in the history. I want to see where the Scottish warlords fell. I want to see the Louvre and see where Michalangelo spent all those years painting the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. I want to see the holy relics at the Vatican. I'd like to see the ruins of the coloseum. I would love to see the Holy Land the most but, unfortunately, that is a privilege that us Westerners will not have in our lifetime. Hopefully, someday it will be safe enough to go there again. Think about seeing the Sea of Gallilee or the garden where Jesus stood!

I know some people who revere God's scenery but are not interested in the accomplishments of men. If we were created to accomplish all these great things, isn't that kind of a weird attitude?

Anyway, here I am not funny again.

WHY AM I NOT FUNNY?

2006-05-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

My youngest daughter has a wonderful sense of humor. I can't understand where she got it. Her father was about as hilarious as a dead puppy.

When I go to post a blog, I'm going "Now let me see-What can I say to entertain people?". The answer is nothing. I must be the world's most boring human being.

Our pool is back up and running. That means that we actually get company now. My grandsons close by have been over twice in a week. We only have one grandchild left who can't swim now. He is three and doesn't live close enough to drop over.

The pool isn't warm enough for me yet. I can't stand the "Booby Shock" when it's under 85. My husband hasn't been in yet. I guess he's judging the pool temp from my son-in-law's Bull Moose hollering on Sunday. I don't know how it feels when testes hit cold water but it must be at least as bad as boody shock. My oldest granddaughter now knows the booby shock. She has really grown up. She started swimming when she could only say "Poo, Wawin, Me" (Pool, Waterwings). One day when we had a marguerita party, she was actually in so much, she was ill that evening.

We have a great snap of her in the hot tub with us at three years old. She always wanted a stawberry marguerita (boozefree for her) when we have one. It is Christmas and we are in the hot tub toasting our family back home with Margueritas. I couldn't wait to send that Christmas picture. My Little Brother's only comment was "You Bitch". He loves me, of course, and it was all in fun.

Well, anyway, that's all for now.

PLANS

2006-05-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

Isn't it amazing how just planning fun weekends brightens up months and months? Everyone should be able to have one weekend every few months with no cares and responsibilities. Unfornately, that is only available to us "Old Farts". The people who need it most are young people with children. Having children is life's greatest reward. Also, it is life's greatest challenge. It means years of going through life exhausted and putting off your own needs. Mother's Day is the only day of the whole year that Mom's actually get recognition. Wouldn't it be great if all kids and husbands really truly did pay homage.

How about this for an idea?

Husband gets up with kids. They all work together and tidy the house. They then leave a full pot of coffee, some cut up fruit and some tasty bagels on the counter. Next they all leave the house and stay gone for several hours. When they return, they bring lovely take out food and some flowers. When dinner is over, Mom sits on the couch while dishes are washed and Hubby bathes the kids and get them ready for bed. Surprise! Mom got to read a whole book today. She also got a nice long bath! The answering machine gets all calls so she didn't talk to anyone she didn't want to talk to.

Talk about fantasy. The average husband will buy some gift that Mom probably didn't want and go about his normal routine.

Anyway, I'm going to my daughters next weekend. I hope I can give her a break!

HELL WEEK

2006-04-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

Well, this has been one of the most stressful weeks of work I've ever had. I always go to bed around midnight. I usually can't sleep any earlier than that. Last night I was out at 9:30 and I feel pretty spiffy today.

Today will have a really happy ending. My friend and I are going to our local Indian/resort casino for the weekend. I would like to win but that's not the main goal: I am getting the hell out of Dodge and I will be with "B" who is the second funniest person I've ever known (My youngest daughter, crazedmomof5, takes the number one place).

My friend and I have had quite some experiences on our weekends together. There's the time my Mom caught my purse on fire, the time we had to change a tire and nobody stopped and one time when we took her mother-in-law and my Mom. That one was a real hoot (not)! We spent a lot of time in our room waiting for her MIL to get done primping. She had a total beauty regimen which she explained in detail and demonstrated (maybe Jaffra or whoever would have paid her a commission if they'd only known), had to match her socks and had to model in front of us to make sure her jewelry and the rest of her ensemble matched. This from a woman who wears real jewelry, buys expensive cosmetics but gets her clothes from Mervyn's and Walmart just like the rest of us. Who gives a shit what you look like in a casino as long as you don't stink?

Of course, my friend and I put in a late night before we went home. We woke up and it was almost time to check out. The MIL was in hogging the bathroom. I simply put on yesterdays clothes and ran a pick through my hair and packed. Poof! Ready to Go! The MIL's comment? Aren't you even going to comb your hair? I simply replied that I already did and kept on going. She's not a bad person-just clueless! She's also one of those really helpless type females.

Well, back to work.

Bye.

HARRY POTTER

2006-04-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

I THINK THAT THE HARRY POTTER MOVIES AND BOOKS ARE OKAY FOR KIDS TO WATCH AS LONG AS THEY REALIZE IT'S JUST FUN AND FANTASY.

TODAY FROM BARNES AND NOBLE, I RECEIVED A BROCHURE FOR HARRY POTTER CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS. CHRISTMAS IS TO CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. DOES ANYONE ELSE FIND IT OFFENSIVE TO HANG ORNAMENTS BASED ON WITCHCRAFT ON THE CHRISTMAS TREE?

PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS.

ANNIVERSARY

2006-04-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

No not my wedding anniversary. Yesterday at work, I was thrown a party for being with this company 25 years. I have been the Office Manager for 24 years.
Does this twenty-five years at one place make me a great employee or a sap?
In the old days, staying on a job was a good thing. In the eighties, people hopped jobs like freight trains and it was considered a smart thing to do.

I know I could have a job that pays much better. I actually had an interview set up with the state when I took this one. The thing is I like the people I work with. We have now about 120 growers and I like almost everyone of them. My Board is a great group of guys. My mentor who used to be President of the Board retired from farming and I miss him a lot. Also, the President of the Board before that just recently died. He was a wonderful person and a good friend. Still the guys left are great.

I am now the oldest person working in this packinghouse. I am fixty-six. I am not the oldest person to attend the Board meeting but I have been attending Board meetings about ten more years than my Board Members. This whole thing is just a little depressing. I want to be young (maybe around 40).

When I was forty-one, I still didn't have any wrinkles. I've always been active, so I wasn't in bad shape. I decided I wanted to go home for my 25th class reunion that was taking place in two years. It took the whole two years but I lost 40 lbs (I am 5' 8"). One of the boys I went to school with asked me to dance and asked me how I stayed so trim. Do you think I told the truth that I spent two years preparing? Not on your life! I just replied that I worked at it. He probably thought I spend all my time in a gym instead of knowing that I just inherited good genes. What a crock.

I will never go to a reunion again. I now look my age and so would everyone else. Who wants to remember the handsomest boy in class as an elderly gentlemen. It reminds us of our own mortality.

One of my girls here is leaving to take a job closer to where she lives. She asked if she could now toss the envelope that says "in case something happens to Bev".
I said no. This morning I asked the girl she is training to be in charge of my "Dead Envelope". It is simply instructions about what needs to done regarding my insurances and things here through work. I don't know why that bothers people. It is terribly irresonsible not to be prepard for death. We have a will. The original is with our Attorney. In a file cabinet at home, are letters and instructions for my Girls.

People seem to be horrified by death. I wouldn't want to die right now but we don't get to choose. It's part of life. It's also part of a wondrous mystery. Do we really get to know all the answers when we're dead? I believe in God. Can anyone who is near death not even be a little excited also to know? My mother-in-law was and she was one of the smartest, kindest, most wonderul people I ever knew.

Enough about that! I am looking forward to the weekend of the 28th. My best friend in the whole world (and my daughter's MIL), Bunny, and I are getting to spend a whole weekend together at an Indian Casino out of Fresno. We haven't done a weekend together for a couple of years. The rooms are gorgeous and include a coffee pot (my most important requirement). The gambling is good and there are seven restaurants.

There is nothing like a weekend with Bunny to get my head on straight. It's like a tune-up for my brain. We talk a lot. She's always very frank and I always come away from the weekend with a better feeling about the person I am. She is also the most funny and clever person I have ever known. I wish she could spend time with my Brothers. Repartee was king in my family!

Anyway, I'm signing off.

Love you all.

NOTHING SPECIAL

2006-04-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

Well, guess what? I screwed up the cookies! I had complained because the recipe called for a lot of salt and they were very salty. Everyone has been putting things away for me this year. I couldn't find my metal measuring spoon so I used a plastic one from my drawer.

When I was putting away clean dishes, I looked at it again. It was not a 1/2 teaspoon measure. It was a half tablespoon. Who's the idiot? The sad thing is, I took those cookies to work and they were gobbled up. My husband and I had taken one bite and we wouldn't eat them!

I made a big boo boo this weekend. I have always done something for Easter for my kids (including sons-in-law) and I forgot. My oldest daughter and her kids came over for a barbecue yesterday and she forewarned me that the little one expected an egg hunt. It was a mighty pitiful hunt but I did my best with what I had. I had made a cake so that part was okay.

We did have a nice visit, although there is something a little unsettling when
you hear your daughter in the other room telling the kids if they come out and spend time with the old people, they will be grounded.

When did we get to be Old?

Oh well.

The little one brought his colored eggs to show me. Hubby asked me afterward where the eggs were. He thought the kids brought them for us and he had almost eaten one before dinner. He would have been in serious trouble.

SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER

2006-04-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

I read a novel last week. It was pretty light weight but the herione had her own cookie shop. I am a sucker for that. Some cookie recipes were included and they sounded wonderful and unique. I scanned and copied them to share with everyone and mixed up a batch of two different ones.

Now when trying new recipes, I measure exactly. These cookies were expensive. They called for real butter, chocolate chips and brown sugar. You had to melt and cool and chill etc. When I was putting them together and I saw the amount of salt called for, my first thought was that it was too much for cookies. I added it anyway against my better judgement.

Last night after the sufficient chill time, I started baking. The cookies are all flat and salty. What a bummer! I was going to bring the recipes to work but I left them home. I did bring some cookies. I'll be able to know how bad they are by the amount that gets consumed today.

I have a feeling that nobody ever tested those recipes before. I wasted my time and my ingredients for an inedible product. Shame on me.

Actually, the chocolate ones are hard enough to use for paperweights. Maybe they will be useful after all.

See Ya.

Nothing New on the Home Front

2006-04-04T07:42:00.000-07:00

Well, my telephone has now been out for nine days. Pac Bell, or AT& T or whoever the hell it is now, is supposed to come tomorrow.

We don't make our receive a lot of calls but it is nice to have it there when you want it. My girls have taken turns calling my Mom on Sunday for me. I'm sure she's been just as happy with that. My cell phone area is for areas of California and Nevada only. A call to Maine would probably cost about $30.00 for 45 minutes so I'll just wait.

We'll get credit on our phone bill but I don't think the $12.00 or $13.00 is quite worth the inconvenience this has caused. On the good side, the telemarketers for the Sheriff's Dept, the City Police (for about 4 cities), the Fireman's Fund nor the Special Olympics have not been able to hit up my husband (the marshmallow) for money. I agree with donating to these agencies but the fact they have hired telemarketers to do it makes me feel that it has kind of become a business instead of a need for extra funds.

My husband is a born sucker. I always buy when the schools are selling and I have (gasp) even given money to people broken down at a rest stop. I hoped that the people's plight at the rest stop was fake because they had children in the car and I hate to see kids living in such a situation. Anyway, I can't come close to my husband when it comes to a hard luck story. I guess I'm just really glad that we can do it and that we are not the unfortunates on the receiving end.

I made five dozen plain donuts and five dozen chocolate donuts this weekend. Now, this is a big mistake. Some came to work and some are reserved for the kids. Did you know that a donut straight from the freezer is just delicious? A plain homemade donut is the one thing I will gorge on. If I made them very often, I would weigh 500 pounds. I cannot eat enough of them to be sick of them. If I went to someone else's house who served them, I would not be able to stop myself and those people would be calling me a hog after I went out the door. When I take them from the freezer, I eat them frozen and can polish off 1/2 dozen in about ten minutes. I am not like this with any other food and I try to eat moderately. I wonder if a person can become addicted to a certain food?

I got my youngest Granddaughter's presents wrapped last night. I so miss seeing their faces when they unwrap their presents. My youngest daughter (3 grandchildren) lives about four hours away and I have missed so much in their lives. I also wish I could be of more help and support to my daughter. Everyone needs a break sometimes. Maybe next time we go up, she and Hubby can take an evening out.

Well, it's 8 o'clock and time to get to work. See Ya.

BACON

2006-03-31T08:44:00.000-08:00

I just have a couple of minutes. Hubby's having surgery on his ears again this morning.

I just check "Ol Hosses" blog. Isn't it terrible that I have gotten so old? He talks about frying bacon in the nude. Instead of sexy scenes running through my mind, I am salivating for bacon.

Bacon is my favorite food in the world. When I make sausage gravy, I have to have a little bacon fat in there also just to give it the perfect taste. With some fried potatoes on the side, this is truly a meal fit for a kind.

My grandparents ate bacon, homemade bread, homemade butter, meat and lots of vegetables. Neither of them were diabetic and lived into their eighties pretty much doing and eating what they wanted. As my daughter has been investigating lately, there are now so many chemicals in the food we eat, we are poisoning ourselves and our children.

When I went to grammar school, we had maybe four kids in the whole school who were overweight. I don't think it was so much what we ate as the fact that there were no video games, black and white tv only had a few shows and mothers automatically threw their kids out the door to play so they could have peace and quiet. In the summer, we packed a lunch and stayed gone all day. In the winter, we came in long enough to warm up and get dry mittens. Being overweight was not a problem. Two of the kids who were overweight were orphans being brought up by their grandparents. I'm sure their lives were more sheltered and a little more sendentary.

Anyway, I'm off.

MISCELLANEOUS BULL-----

2006-03-29T08:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm taking just a few minutes. I took home work Thursday night and worked on it Friday, Saturday and Sunday so I'm due. My desk is pretty clean and Board Meeting is an hour away (not time enough to drag out a bunch of stuff).

We have no telephone at home right now. It was out Sunday morning and Pac Bell can't get there until April 5th. My husband set it up. I called yesterday to tell them I am partially handicapped and need to be able to work from home sometimes. I was on hold for 45 minutes (speakerphone with Frank Sinatra and Edie Gormet-Oh goody!). Then the guy comes on, listens to my handicap speiel and tells me I need the service department. Back on speakerphone I go for another fifteen minutes. A woman finally comes on and then she cuts me off. I think they do this on purpose. So, I finally just went on line like they prefer you do. I could see my service call in there but there's no place to put in a comment. I guess we'll just wait. When my husband called originally, they offered to forward all calls to my cell phone. If I'd been the one talking to them, I would have said that's great if you want to pay my cell phone bill! Bah and humbug!

My daughter was blogging about her first car today. This remebrance was brought on by the fact that my granddaughter will soon be driving. She has already offered to drive me to Las Vegas. I think I will let her drive a couple of years first. She sure is a doll, though. Even though she's a teenager, she still doesn't mind spending time with her old Grandma and I love spending time with her.

It's been a couple of years since I got to have her for a night or a weekend. I really miss that so much. One time about four years ago, we pulled a mattress onto the livingroom floor. I had to work the next morning and she wanted to watch Lord of the Rings (she had seen it before). Her out-of-control sobbing woke me up later. Oh Lord, I was frightened. She was sobbing so hard, it took a few minutes for me to understand the words "He died, he died". I said "Honey, who died?". Imagine my pleasure when I finally found out it was someone in the movie. I know I was less than gracious when I told her "It's only a movie, shut the hell up"! I'm usually a good Grandma and I really feel bad about that.

Well, my time is up. Goodbye all!

SURPRISE

2006-03-17T08:17:00.000-08:00

I tried to view my daughter's blog this morning but it says that I am not authorized. That's probably the story of our lives.

I remember having a discussion with my former boss. He was upset because a woman sports reporter was allowed in the locker room after a game. Women shouldn't be there in his opinion. I told him that he was right. No reporters should be in the locker room. All interviews should be held after so that the woman had an equal opportunity to do her job. His lips got really purple and started trembling so I let it drop.

I hope within the next fifty years, women will really have the same opportunities as men with equal pay. I don't believe it will happen in my life time. I don't mean to sound like a libber, I'm just a working person who is in my fortieth year of working.

My Boss was a really nice and good man. He's just a product of the times when women had the opportunity to stay home and shine as wifes and mothers. That is not the case in most households now. Us women have to go through life missing opportunities with our children that the previous generation took for granted. I didn't miss the most important things but I sure missed a lot of little things. I had no choice. I had to work.

I am thrilled that one of my daughters has an opportunity to stay home with her children. She is an excellent and loving mother and I hope that she will never have the regrets (and unreasonable guilt) that I have.

Now for a little cheer. I knocked their socks off in Vegas and came home with more money than I left with. I have also made great progress with my leg. In the mornings, before I tire, I can walk without a limp. I have no idea if I'll get back any more flexion but it looks like I won't be doing my Herman Munster imitation for the rest of my life.

I need to get back up to see our kids up north soon. My Mom sent Devil Dogs to my house for them. Of course, with today's chemicals, they probably have a two year shelf life. I also need to see them all. I can hear the little one talking when I am on the phone. Alas, I am missing important times with my grandchildren!

Well, I've spent enough time being crabby. See ya!

FUN AND GAMES

2006-03-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

Well, here I sit waiting for the computer at work.

I've made my pack list for Vegas next week. It doesn't take much. We can never round the whole bunch up to do anything where we have to dress nicely.

I ordered a couple of Audio Books for the car. One of them has five books of John McDonald on them. I love his writing (he passed away about ten years ago.). I decided to buy these because my husband enjoyed listening them so much on the trip last time. He hates to read so who would have thought he would like the tapes so much.

Last time the tape was a little embarrassing. It was a detective story, but unfortunately, there was also a lot of soupy, sappy romantic crap in it. You know the kind: His very kiss caused her to have a fire in the lowest part of her belly kind of crap. I think romance writers live in a world of their own. Do they really believe what they write? Maybe Danielle Steele does because she's been married something like 8 times. I guess when the romance turns to real life and real love, it's not to her taste.

The other thing that bothers me about her writing is the horrible things that her characters have to live through. Ms. Steele is an excellent writer and her books are very well researched, but to me, life is depressing enough. I like to read stuff that doesn't make me sad.

One of these days, I'd like to write a book. I've started before, the plot is in my head. I didn't realize, however, how tedious it would be to do. Oh, well!

The computer is free. Talk to everyone later.

HELLO

2006-03-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to get to work early each day to have a little time to get more done. It doesn't seem to be working. I, therefore, am going to take a minute to blog.

Next weekend we go to the Nascar races in Vegas. I would be more excited but I have no "He Money" right now. The cruise was poor timing but my Hubby had his heart set on it. ("He Money is money He doesn't know about.)

I need to be like OL HOSS and figure out some way to make my pile. The lottery isn't working!
Isn't that a big surprise?

I wonder if anyone has a sure fire way to make money? I have thought of three things I could do: write a book, design and sew clothes and/or divorce my Hubby and find some rich, old, repulsive dude and convince him to marry me. Why he would, I don't know.

Well, my five minutes is up.

Happy Birthday Little Man

2006-02-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

Not a lot to say or much time to say it. I just wanted to wish my youngest grandson a Happy Birthday. I am thinking of you.

Still have my nose to the grindstone. I'm so tired I can barely stand up. I got my feet tangled today and took a header at work. My leg is fine but banged up my arm. Oh, Well!

This is sure a cheery little talk.

Ta! Ta!

I'M BACK

2006-02-21T07:48:00.000-08:00

I'm here but I don't have much time.

The cruise was pretty decent but it sure seems like Carnival is trying to cut down on their help. Dinners were so, so. Our waiter was excellent but usually he has a few minutes to talk with you. This time he didn't. I watched and he and the busboy were running steadily.

This is the most kids I've ever seen on a cruise. The weather was quite cool so they couldn't spend time in the pool. That is usually such a fun experience to watch them. Because it was so cool, there was no music on top deck after the first day.

We went in the glass-bottomed boat at Catalina. I have this to say "If you've seen one blue carp, you've seen them all.

We went to LaBufadoro (Blow Hole) in Ensenada. There are only three in the world. Unfortunately, the walkway to see it is built almost over the blow hole itself. You can see the spray come up, but to see the blow hole, you have to lean way out over a four foot stone fence.
I'll look it up on the net. I bet I get a better view.

The best thing happened, though. We had two other couples at our dining table and they were both great. One couple was from Vancouver-he's a commercial fisherman. They other couple was from Pennsylvania-she's a service rep for Blue Cross. I couldn't hear what he did. Anyway, they were all fun. We exchanged numbers and email addresses. I hope they liked us as much as we did them.

The worst part of the cruise is that my husband wanted to go to Karaoke every night. I sat through the first two nights (my husband can sing, but he only got up twice an evening). Once, we got past Valentine's Day, he was on his own. Everyone deserves a hand for getting up. If they want to make a joke out of it, then it's okay to laugh. It's gets old when they are on their third of fourth song and are deadly serious. Wouldn't it be more kind to holler out "You Suck!" before you have to watch them embarrass themselves on the American Idol tryouts next year. Of course, that's my favorite part of American Idol. I kind of lose interest after that.

When I was a kid and would sing, my folks would tell me "that was awful", "you are not a soprano", "kind of flat", etc. I turned out to be an average singer with no illusions about my abilities.

Anyway, Ta Ta for now.

BLOGGING

2006-02-10T08:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I deleted my cookies. Duh! Do you know how much work it is to recover your own blog? Of course you don't, nobody else is that stupid.

I typed out a big old long comment on my daughter's blog then couldn't post it.

I got a hair cut last night. It is a little shorter than I normally wear it. The lady who cut it was about my age and knew what she was doing. It actually looks great. It's about the only haircut I have ever been pleased with. My husband actually told me that my hair looked great and believe me, he very seldom comments on my hair!

Anyway, I'm getting to work. As of Monday, I have a week's vacation. Happy Day! I'll actually have something to blog about!

VACATION

2006-02-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

Well, it looks like I may be cruising in the nude next week. I'd like to say it's because I can't yet determine what the weather may be but the truth is work is a bitch right now and I just can't seem to get off my lazy ass at home and get packed. I do have everyone ready and washed to choose from and a list ready. On the top of my list is to find a good beautician and get my hair cut. I have problem hair. It is fine and thin. I go in and point at a picture fully expecting my finished product to look the same. It never does! Once you let a beautician pick up a pair of scissors, you are at their mercy and you wind up with whatever to hell they feel like doing. I am doubly handicapped because I have to take off my glasses and can't see what they are doing!

Anyway, I can just picture everyone running from the dinner table when I show up with no clothes and a G.I. haircut. Ditto the hot tub and swimming pool. My luck would be one ancient old fart would think I look good and I wouldn't be able to get rid of him. If he is a cazillionaire, that might be okay. I'll have to ask Hubby.

Oh, and Hubby is salivating because he saw me washing up all my nice lingerie. He is thinking sex-I can tell. One of the reasons I love him is that he still desires my old, fat, sagging body. Maybe he makes believe I am someone else. Who knows?

All I really want is to not get off the ship. I want to lay on deck and read all day with my chair close to the buffet so I can eat all day, also. Hubby is already looking at the shore tours and I must admit, I am using the old crippled leg bit so that I don't have to do anything at all. I just want to rest. We'll probably compromise (which means I will feel guilty and make believe I want to do whatever he wants).

Well, talk to you all later.

Hillary

2006-02-07T11:44:00.000-08:00

Ol Hoss blogged about Hillary yesterday. Now, I stood up for that Old Girl when she was trying to work up a health insurance program. I didn't like the jokes about her aggessiveness (I had a boss for 24 years who was the old school chauvinist as far as where women belong).

I liked her ambition. I liked her right up until she didn't divorce Bill. Bill is a really smart man. I can't figure out why, when he was being grilled about Monica Lewinsky that he just didn't say that it was nobody's business. It really wasn't any of the public's business. But, the idiot had to tell us that it was not true, thereby, making a big old liar out of himself.

As for the other participants in this huge scandal, who gives a rat's ass? Why do we let our government spend money on an investigation on whether or not we have a president who can't keep his pecker in his pants? We have had plenty of those kinds of presidents. Does anyone remember Thomas Jefferson or John F. Kennedy? Who cares? I just want them to do the best job they can for the people they work for (us). Let's spend our money to find out who defrauds the government and takes bribes and grafts (probably most of them).

Anyway, I wouldn't vote for Hillary or read either her's or Bill's book. I prefer non-fiction.

BLACK AND WHITE

2006-02-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

You probably think from the title that I am talking about morality. WRONG! I am talking about the fact that I started trying on clothes for the cruise last night and those seem to be the only colored clothes hanging in my closet. I have several different styles of black slacks in three different sizes (YoYo affect) and most of my shirts are black or white with the occasional red thrown in. I guess I didn't even realize that my warddrobe is so drab. I must be pretty conservative.

I did see one really interesting item. I have two identical skirts in the same size (black, of course). I guess I'll be giving one of them to my oldest daughter. A person can always use a black skirt, right?

I actually know how I did this. I stockpile on items that are a good buy just like I do on groceries. If I find a sale on blazers really cheap (last time was $10.00), I buy one in each color for me and also buy my girls or my Mom one or two. I can't seem to help myself.

I also stockpile groceries. I could probably cook for six months without going to the store-ditto on what I store at our mountain cabin. Up there, in addition to powdered milk and evaporated milk, I also keep powdered eggs. You can't eat them by themselves but they work great for cooking. I would keep Danish canned bacon up there but for some reason, they stopped making it.

I like to be self-sufficient but even I realize that I go too far. (Are you reading this, Girls?)
In addition to stockpiling, I also sometimes forget that I already replaced something (such as the three cans of Crisco I noticed in my pantry). Oh well, at least I am never forced into a run to the grocery store. (My big plan is if we have some kind of disaster, all the kids and grandkids are supposed to grab what food and clothes they can and get to the cabin. Hubby and I will do the same. I have a treadle sewing machine and a butter churn up there and am planning to take up a bunch of canning jars. There are plenty of wild cows and I have a drawer full of vegetable seeds. Now you really think I am nuts.)

When I moved here from Maine, I gave away all my patterns never thinking about the fact I would have granddaughters in about ten years. The patterns today are crap. Seams aren't finished and all the shortcuts make a poor looking garment. I bet you've already guessed, though, that I already have another hundred or so patterns. My friend, B, gave me her Mom's patterns when her Mom passed away. The rest I have bought. I have three or four hundred yards of cloth just sitting there waiting to be sewed. One of these days, I will get to it.

My oldest daughter is slightly compulsive and obsessive. I guess the acorn didn't fall too far from the tree.

EXERCISING

2006-01-24T15:38:00.000-08:00

Well, my doctor said I don't need any more physical therapy. I am now stable. Bullshit! I've been on the stationery bike and treadmill for two nights now. I will not be satisfied with the way I am.

There is nothing worse anyone call tell this old broad than that she can't do something. It goes against my grain. Just ask my husband!

I raised two kids married to a drunk who couldn't work. I've canned vegetables, made clothes and changed the plugs in my car. I can do plumbing and plane a door. I bet I can get back more movement in this leg if I put my mind to it. I certainly intend to try.

Well, that's enough spouting off. Talk to you later.

PACKING

2006-01-23T09:07:00.000-08:00

It's time to start assembling our wardrobes for our cruise. One time we went in February and were able to hang out at the pool. Another time we were outrunning a hurricane and it was so blustery no one wanted to be topside. I hate taking clothes I don't need.

My problem this time is dress up night. I really can't wear anything but my New Balance tennis shoes right now. I sent for a pair on Hush Puppy flats. They didn't look too bad on line but Oh My God! They look like something my Grandma would have worn.

I have always loved to wear heels when I dress up. I can imagine, though, trying to walk in them, the deck pitches a bit, and there I am-hurt and embarrassed. Why do we always get embarrassed when we fall down. How many times have all of us hit the dust and the first thing we do is look around to see if anyone noticed? This is a strange reaction, isn't it?

Well, anyway, I pulled out a bunch of crap out of the closet and tonight is try on night. A lot of my stuff is different sizes so who knows what will fit? Come to think of it, why the hell do I care? I'm 56 years old. I should be enjoying my Too God Damn Old to care about what other people think age. Don't you agree?

Talk to you later.

NO BLOG

2006-01-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

Today is my Dad's birthday. He would have been 87. He died at 61 and I still miss him after 25 years.

DINNER PARTNERS

2006-01-17T08:16:00.000-08:00

When you go on a cruise, the smallest dinner table is for four people. Generally, we have really enjoyed the company of these people. The maitre 'd looks at your profiles ahead of time and tries to set you up with companionable people. I'm a bookkeeper and my husband is a Nurse Practioner. On our first cruise, we were set up with an Accountant and a Nurse. There company was very enjoyable and interesting except for they were having a miserable time in their marriage. We found the husband in a funk up on deck one night and he spent the entire evening with us. How sad!

The last time we went cruising was for a week. We were seated with some people from LA who were interesting and intelligent. The only thing wrong was that they were: 1. overzealous religious people, 2. they were embarrasing hogs. The first night, the husband looked at the portions and remarked that he didn't think he would be full. I innocently remarked that one could ask for seconds. (Bear in mind that there are four courses-most everyone is stuffed by the time they are finished). Both husband and wife ordered at least two entries per night which was not too bad.

The crowning glory, though, was the night we had lobster. The wife had three dinners, the husband had four and then asked for four more lobsters only. They ate a total of eleven lobsters and, honest to God, the next day our busboy told us that the lobster ran out on the second seating. I can't even imagine what their grocery bill must be like!

My husband and I had a glass of wine each night. These people were non-drinkers. One evening, we saw the husband in a special cigar section puffing up a storm. Now I know their religion forbids smoking.

The reason these people came on a cruise was that their nineteen year old son had come on the cruise with some friends and they decided they would go to keep an eye on him. Can't you imagine what a good time the son and his buddies had? Good Grief! They made sure the cabin they booked was right beside the kid!

The other bad thing about these people was that the husband was a name dropper. He sold Nikes or something in L.A. and supposedly all the stars came to him to be fitted (Pia Zadora was one name he dropped). He also bragged about all the free, expensive, dinners he had had. What a claim to fame!

Anyway, I hope we get some people that are really fun this time.

WEEKEND

2006-01-16T08:31:00.000-08:00

I spent all day Sunday in the kitchen. It was just like old times as my favorite thing is to bake. I wanted to have my own bakery or be a history teacher. I wound up as a bookkeeper because I am good at it but it never was my first choice.

My younger daughter did a southern dinner in honor of Martin Luther King yesterday. I had my older daughter and her kids over for dinner and I wish I had told them we were honoring Dr. King. He was a great man.

I'm going to my LA doctor on Friday. At least my husband and I get to spend the day together and eat out. That's always fun. I'm going to surprise him and sit in front all the way down. In previous trips, I have had to lay on the back seat to keep my leg elevated. I bet he's tired of looking like my chauffer. He does love to drive and says he would have liked to be a truck driver. What a waste that would have been. He's a Nurse Practioner and his compassion for his patients is astounding.

Anyway, I can't think of a damn thing funny this morning so I'll talk to you later.

CRUISING

2006-01-13T15:16:00.000-08:00

My husband tells me because I didn't have any vacation this year, he's going to take me on a cruise. We are now booked on a four-day to Ensenada. We have done this same cruise twice so I can tell you we're not getting off the boat at Catalina or Ensenada. My apologies to anyone who lives in Ensanada, but it really is a shit hole. We've been to four places in Mexico and the best was Mazatlan. Catalina is nice but we did the whole island and plant museum last time.
Why get off and spend money when everything on the boat is prepaid?

Being on a cruise is like being rich for a week. They are cheap (if you don't care about a top cabin). The total cost for two of us is $585.00. Where else can you stay and have exquisite meals, free shows and someone else picking up after you for four days for that price? I love it. I could live like that all the time. Sigh!

We went out of New Orleans for a Bahama cruise for our 20th Anniversary. I picked a week's trip with only three stops: Jamaica, Cozumel, and the Grand Caymans. I hate being rushed. The best part of the trip was the day the boat stopped at Cozumel and we booked an all day trip to see the Mayan ruins. It was fantastic.

My favorite show on the boat is always the newly-wed game(although the Hairiest man contest by the pool was pretty entertaining but kind of sickening). The host picks three couples: newlyweds, middle-weds and long term-weds. The strange part is that the newly-weds generally can answer more questions about each other. I guess the longer we are married, the less we dote on the little things or maybe we just plain don't notice anymore.

Anyway, I'm sure looking forward to a nice rest.

ANNIVERSARY

2006-01-11T16:45:00.000-08:00

Today is Old Hoss's First Anniversary as a blogger. As my daughter says "any reason is a good reason to eat cake". I guess I'll have to stop on the way home and get one of the frozen Pepperidge Farms as I have become very lazy in the baking area since Christmas cookie day.

It's almost time to go home from work. I don't know about other people but some nights I hate to go home to cook dinner so much that I would rather stay and work overtime. I started cooking all the meals in our family when I was about eleven and then went into cooking for my own family when I married. At even just one meal per day, that comes to 20,440 meals I have prepared. If you add on an extra meal two days a week, I don't even want to add it up.

This is what you young girls have to look forward to. Cooking, laundry and cleaning plus holding down a full-time job. Isn't life grand?

Oh well, at least I'm still healthy enough to do and for that I am thankful. Talk to you later.

MEMORIES

2006-01-09T08:23:00.000-08:00

I hope I didn't already tell this story, but having my Mom here brought back a lot of old memories.

My cousin Judy (the tattle-tale and adult ass kisser) was with us for the summer. My cousin Tom walked down to spend the day. My folks decided to go somewhere for the day and us four were left home alone (ages 10 to 12). Of course, my Grandma lived next door in case of emergency.

Anyway, my ass-kissing cousin told my folks that she and I would clean the house while they were gone. The boys kind of laughed at us, grabbed the wagon and headed on off. They were on their way to scour the roadside for bottles and walk three miles into town to trade them in for candy. This was our favorite summer pasttime and about the only candy we got. By the time they came back, we'd changed the beds, swept, and were starting on a huge sink of dishes.

They had taken some blankets to make a tent on the lawn so I had to sneak out to see how large the spoils were. They'd had a good day. There was about a gosh damn peck of penny candy. Even the ass kisser wanted some of that. We sneaked back to the tent and the fight was on. I don't mean argument-I mean fistfight. When any of us would complain to my mother that so and so hurt us she would say "Shut the hell up and fight it out". We became very tough.
Anyway, after about 45 minutes or so, we wound up with our fair share and headed back to the house.

One of us had left the water in the sink running. Now my Dad was a cheapskate and we were nagged every day about wasting hot water. Also, the house had hardwood floors and there was about an inch of standing water through the whole house. Our asses were grass and our folks were going to mow it when they came home.

I went to get the boys. You understand that the fist fighting was kind of a normal thing with no hard feelings. The boys knew they owed us the candy. They just wanted us to work for it. They came in, took one look, grabbed a broom and went and borrowed Grammie's broom and extra mop and pail. They were sweeping the water out the door and my cousin and I mopped behind them. My Grandmas was wise and never walked over to see what we were doing.

Well, we got it all done and the floor was dry when my parents got home. You never heard so much praise for how nice the house looked and for the fact that every floor was so clean. This was one time I truly felt bad for the ass kisser because our present for cleaning was a new book for all of us (I never figured out why the boys always got a present because they didn't usually clean) and she didn't much like to read.

That was one thing my folks did right. My whole family loves to read. My folks also never censored what we read. I read Mandingo when I was thirteen. When we were old enough to choose, we chose not to read smut, but everything was our choice.

Anyway, that's a story for today.

LIFE AS NORMAL

2006-01-05T13:34:00.000-08:00

Mom got home safe and sound and not too tired. She was, however, cooking herself something to eat when I called. I know the airlines have had to increase prices to keep up with gas prices (tickets are really high right now) but has anyone seen the box lunch (and I use the term loosely) that one gets to purchase for $5.00? Mom said it had cookies, raisins, nuts and other snack foods in small quantities. She brought the box of raisins to show us. The box was so small that it held 8 raisins! How about they raise the price to $7.50 and have mabe 10 raisins and maybe a peanut butter sandwish? I wonder what people get served on the long international flights?

It really sucked to go home to a dark house last night. It is really not welcoming after you've worked all day. The nice offset? I didn't cook dinner. My husband and I both scrounged when we became hungry. We use regular plates only when we have to. Most of the time, we use paper and I am worth it! I generally do cook decent dinners but after 50 years of so of cooking them, a person starts to get a little tired of cooking, cleaning, working and any other darn thing that requires him/her to get off the damn couch. I like to bake a lot more than I like to cook.

Well, that's it.

RETURN TO THE ICE ZONE

2006-01-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

We have a room at the Marriot beside the Airport tonight. The reason? I let a travel agent make Mom's flight reservations and she leaves at 5:44 a.m. tomorrow. As this is the height of the fog season, we can't take a chance on driving. By the time we drop her off and drive home, it will be just exactly time enough for us to get to work. Oh Jolly! Won't we be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed?

Mom called my sister to pick her up after I called the airline and confirmed her flight yesterday.
She will be going from California (our days have actually been in the sixties this winter) to Maine. My sister has already told her that once she is home, she will have to stay inside because her steps and yard are glare ice. My sister will get rock salt to take care of it but, meanwhile, Mom is housebound. I am so damn glad that I don't have to put up with the crappy weather anymore.

This week starts real winter life for me. I'll be working overtime and starting our income tax crap at home. It would be nice to claim all the medical bills this year, but I am sure that when I figure them up it will be just under the percentage of income that IRS allows. I'm sure most government employees have a health insurance that covers every little sneeze!

When I took this job twenty-five years ago, I was scheduled for an interview with the state (I had already passed their test). Because I knew I wouldn't be working locally and we had one vehicle, I stayed with the job I had already started. You don't know how many times I have regretted that decision. A great retirement here was one of the benefit packages. Last year, our plan was frozen. Imagine that-a retirement plan in trouble! Darn!

Well, time to go to work.

Talk to you later.

D-DAY (WEEK)

2005-12-30T08:08:00.000-08:00

Well, today's the last day of the year. Next week will be busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger. That's enough about work, though!

Yesterday, I was able to walk downstairs at P.T. I guess my brain forgot how to do it. I was trying to bend my right (injured) leg enough to get my left foot flat on the next step before I lifted it. Surprise! You're supposed to step down and trust that your right leg will release and let you hop down. Last year, I never could have imagined that my body could forget how to do things in just a few months.

Crazedmom of three should be home today. They've been camping on the coast. I keep checking the weather and it has rained steadily at their location. I sure hope they had a good time. Ol Hosstail Snake is also back. Qwest has a lot to answer for when the rest of us don't get our daily dose of Gene.

Mom goes home Wednesday. I hate to see her go back into the ice and snow but the rest of the family is there and she has to take care of some medicare stuff. She has started eating too many carbs at my house and that concerns me a bit but she has had diabetes for five years now and kept it well in check, so I leave it up to her. There's nothing worse than people treating you like an idiot just because you're aging.

The kids are coming over for New Year's. Last year, my husband and I had our own party. I inherited some really old homemade records. Most of them were from 1949. Some were earlier because there was one of my Uncle Harvey singing and he died in 1945 or 1947. I bought my husband a turntable and we spent the night drinking wine and recording. The quality was very poor because the records were so damaged but for this Christmas, we were able to give my Mom a copy. There was her and Dad singing (with Dad playing the guitar), her and Aunt Anna (her closest sister) and the finale was Uncle Harvey. She was very pleased and I expect there will be a big clamor from back home for some copies. Actually, I was present in the January 1949 because I was born in July. Pretty cool, Huh?

I still miss my Dad. He was so loving. He was crabby and not always kind but he sure loved us and we knew it. Some of my favorite memories are of harmonizing with him when our band played at family functions.

Anyway, time to go. Talk to you later.

GOODBYE CHRISTMAS

2005-12-27T12:52:00.000-08:00

Well, the hardest holiday of the year is over once again. Now I just have to get through the next three weeks at work. This time of year has more pressure than any other time.

I received some very nice gifts this year and I hope the gifts I gave pleased everyone else. We had a nice dinner and good company.

This week finishes up my physical therapy until I go back to the doctor in January. I can't get flexion anymore than 105 so I'll be having some arthroscopic surgery in April or May to clean things up. I hate to go three weeks without therapy. It really does offer some pain relief.

Mom goes home next Wednesday morning at 5:22 a.m. We'll have to get a room in Fresno because we're having a lot of fog right now. I dread her going back but she has medicare stuff to take care of at home and the grandchildren back there are missing her a lot. It's been a really good visit.

Hubby bought me some memory foam for our bed for Christmas. I think it will help me sleep. Last night, though, I was sleepless because I let myself take an afternoon nap. I know better. Also, I had a new Alex Cross novel that I just couldn't stop thinking about. As long as I couldn't sleep anyway, I finished it. Oh Well!

We had a huge ham for Christmas (from my company). I think tonight the rest gets frozen. We have had omelets, biscuits and gravy, fried rice and ham sandwiches. Enough already!

Mom said she has gained weight since she's been here and Hubby has too! I don't know why because I seem to be losing. I haven't been able to get back an appetite since my accident. My size twelves are getting baggy and I am 5 foot 8 inches. I have no desire to look like a stick woman so I hope I get hungry soon.

Well, there's nothing humorous today. I just wanted to update family.

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS

2005-12-21T14:23:00.000-08:00

Well, only four days to go. The weekend was great. We enjoyed all the grandchildren and the cookie trays are all finished. The neighbors are all bought for and our mail lady got her favorite turtles. Whew! The only hitch was the that my daughter's puppy made a mess on her bedding in the motor home so there was some extra laundry.

I've wound up sick (flu like) so it's a little difficult to get into the spirit of things this week. Everyone at the office has been sick so it is kind of expected. Merry Christmas to us.

I wanted to tell the story that illustrates the kind of presents my husband used to give. One year I mentioned several times how much I would like to have a rowing machine. To my great surprise, a box of the right shape and weight appeared behind the tree. I bragged to everyone how my husband had really listened when I was hinting and how proud I was.

Christmas morning I opened the package and found guess what? A closet organizer! Now, Hubby had been nagging that he wished my side of the closet was as tidy as his so not only was it not what I wanted, but it was an insult besides and clearly what he wanted me to have. I didn't say anything but I sure was hurt and disappointed. I guess one of my girls told him because that was the end of that kind of present.

If a woman asks for that kind of stuff, it is fine. But, poor is the husband who doesn't listen or care enough to buy a personalized present. We had a guy here at work who bought his wife a commerical mop and scrub bucket for her birthday (I can't believe he's still married.).

Here is a list of poor Christmas presents (unless requested by your wife):

1. A closet organizer
2. Any kind of household cleaner (including a vacuum cleaner, carpet shampooer, steam cleaner, etc.
3. Any clothing over size 14 (we would rather return it and get the right size.)
4. Tools
5. Pots, pans or silverware
6. Dish towels and or cloths
7. A duster
8. Any and all gifts that require you to use elbow grease or that can used for any kind of household chores.

Here is a list of good Christmas presents:

1. Perfume (one that she actually uses)
2. Nighties or P.J.'s
3. A warm robe
4. Pretty slippers
5. Clothing in normal sizes
6. A gift certificate for her favorite restaurant
7. Candles with a purpose-such as aroma therapy (not cookie baking crap)
8. An IOU to clean the kitchen for a week.
9. An IOU for a weekend at HER favorite place.
10. An IOU for babysitting
11. A card that says I love you.

8, 9, and 10 would be especially effective if you want sex.

Talk to you later.

OH DARN!

2005-12-16T09:59:00.000-08:00

I forgot our neighbors. One more damn trip to the store! Ho Ho HO!

Hallelujah!

2005-12-15T10:03:00.000-08:00

My last present is wrapped and gone. Whew! All that's left is cookie day.

Cookie day has become a tradition with Hubby. There are actually eight offices in his complex and we make huge trays of cookies the weekend before Christmas. The favorite cookie is, of course, filled cookies which are a huge pain in the ass. This is everyone's favorite cookie when we give them out but strangely enough, no one has ever asked for the recipe. A few year's ago, I made up a few pages of family recipes I had. The only one that was truly lost was Aunt Renie's blueberry cake and it was to die for. Even her daughter doesn't have it.

We start on Saturday and make our dough and filling. Sunday morning we get up early and start rolling, baking and decorating. I guess this is what people without small children get to do at Christmas. Woo Hoo!

My youngest daughter is coming down with her three kids and I have already commandeered the teenager to make snickerdoodles. Her's are wonderful. We also do molasses cookies to round everything out. My daughter has decided to take the three year old and spend the day at his other grandma's house. She's pretty sure she won't be able to keep him off the cookie table.

Actually, I'm really looking forward to this time. It will be hectic and messy but both my girls and all my grandkids will be here and that pleases me greatly. I expect the six year olds will want to help decorate and set up the plates. What could be more fun? It will be like when my kids were little. It's nice to be needed.

POEM

2005-12-13T12:09:00.000-08:00

I'm not entering the lipo contest but I do like to write poems. Here goes.

Dear Morning Rave:

I need to win some liposuction
so I may have a butt reduction

My belly has become so round
it gurgles up in sur-round sound

In my mirror is no chin
it made itself a little twin

My arms are flabby, thighs are dimpled
I'd really rather have some pimples

As long as I am going to rant
I'd rather have a whole transplant

Just put my brain in some hot Babe
It's youth and beauty that I crave

When "Star" material I then make
I'll share my pile with Hosstail Snake!

CHRISTMAS JOKES

2005-12-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

When I lived in Maine, the highlight of the season was Christmas jokes. My family probably spent more time on those kind of presents than the real kind. Some of them were pretty elaborate.

This year, we've planned a few on Hubby. He wanted a CDG tape of Keith Urban so he could sing along. What I'm wrapping up is some I ordered with really old country music (my favorites so I can have them). Mom bought the one he wanted and is putting it in his stocking (which he opens last).

I think I need to go to the dollar store so I can find more stuff. One year I wrapped up a rubber chicken for my son-in-law. One year I wrapped up a donut that was a month old before Hubby unwrapped it (he pissed and moaned because we didn't buy him a donut when we all had one.)

Anyway, I'll keep you all posted if I come up with any really great stuff. That's what memories are made of.

MUSIC ON MY MIND

2005-12-06T08:17:00.000-08:00

It's a great day! I feel like me! There's almost no pain today and "Herman's Hermits" popped in. "Woke up this morning feeling fine, got something special on my mind!". I loved those guys. There was no one cuter than Peter Noone. Soon after we moved to California, my dear husband gave my albums to my kids to sell on a yard sale. Because we were new to this area, we had no idea what happened to vinyl at 110 degrees. Luckily, I rescued my first Beatle's album. I would have killed him if that was gone. Lord, we thought we were such rebels! Compared to some of today's happenings, we were angels singing in a holy choir.

As an older adult, I no longer fixate and daydream about singers and stars. I love Jackie Chan, who I think every woman thinks of in a maternal way. I also love Vin Diesel who I must admit, fills my mind in a most unmaternal way. That guy has more sex appeal than any star has had since Cary Grant. Nope, he just doesn't bring out my maternal instincts at all! (That does sound like a fixation! Sorry!)

I took my Mom out to dinner and Christmas shopping last night. She really is feeling better! She about wore me out. I thought she might be finished but she's still looking forward to a shopping trip with my oldest daughter.

Last night I did the unthinkable. I saw a darling outfit for Mr. Man on sale. That means I have to start the "even it all up" process on the rest of the grandkids. I never learn! What a sucker!

Work is going well. As soon as the other girls are done posting this morning, I'm going to do some grower credit posting. I can't send checks yet because our funds are a little slow this year. I really like to send them a check before December 10th so everyone has a little extra for property taxes. It's not going to happen so I'm going to aim for the week before Christmas.

I ordered Hubby the Karaoke tape he wanted yesterday of Keith Urban. Mom is going to buy it for me and put it in his stocking which we always open last. Instead, I am going to wrap up for him the Karaoke I bought myself for Christmas. It has Kitty Wells, Wanda Jackson, Red Foley, etc. You get the picture. I'm stuck on the old music and he likes the new. It's going to be great watching him try to be gracious when he opens it (and gracious he will be because he's a nice man). It almost gets me even for my Herman and the Hermits album. Almost!

Never let it be said that I can't carry a grudge.

I almost forgot the best thing about yesterday! When I wrote the date at work, I remembered it was my baby brother's birthday and he was turning 50. Thanks to the magic of our local florist, he received a bouquet of black carnations from his loving sister. Thank God, they were able to get them to him in time. He's a wonderful husband, Dad, granddad, brother and just all around kindly person. It almost seems cruel to treat him in this manner. I love it! In four years I will be sixty and I expect my sister and two brothers will be really showing payback for their birthdays I have honored. Maybe I will just go on vacation then so no one can find me!

Well, I am really rambling! Oh No! No the Allman Brothers will be stuck in my head all darn day.

KIDS ARE FUNNY

2005-12-05T08:14:00.000-08:00

This is sure a hectic time of year. Also, my Mom is staying in the bedroom where the computer is located so I don't have much access to my home computer right now. That's why I haven't been blogging. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

My daughter posted a picture of her ficus tree with presents under it and it reminded me of a story from her childhood.

We'd been remiss in getting up our Christmas tree that year. One day about two weeks before Christmas, we came home to the most pitiful sight I'd ever seen. My youngest daughter (about 13 at that time) had brought in a large branch that had fallen from our weeping willow tree. She had stood it up in the Christmas tree corner and decorated it with some rather pathetic homemade decorations. My husband and I both laughed hysterically but were really ashamed of ourselves at the same time. She sure got the point across that Christmas is for kids and as adults we owe it to them to get off our duffs and make sure that kids will have a joyous season.

Another story about this particular child is from when we first moved to CA and we were so broke. She was twelve and I thought it would be okay not to buy Easter candy. Of course, I was not okay with it. It was really depressing.

She went to bed and I was out tidying the kitchen when I decided I just couldn't stand it and started raiding my cupboards. I had no chocolate chips and absolutely nothing to cook with but some powdered sugar. I would up making potato candy flavored with peppermint. I colored it and made it into egg shapes. For a basket, I took an old plastic peanut butter pail, punched holes in it and picked yellow roses from an outside bush to fill the holes. I left it on the table and went to bed still feeling mighty blue.

The next morning, there was a knock on our bedroom door. In popped C. She had taken four socks and stuffed them with paper. Two were hanging down off a baseball cap to make floppy ears. Two were pulled over her shoes to make huge bunny feet. She had her basket in her hand and hopped through the room for us several times. We were all laughing but it was one of those moments (for me) that you almost feel like crying because you did something right for your child. It was also one of those moments when you realize that what little bit of joy you bring to your children will be repaid a thousandfold.

LEFTOVERS

2005-11-28T12:04:00.000-08:00

Well, the Thanksgiving Holiday is over. It's usually my favorite time but this year was a little harder. I took a stupid pain pill in the morning (I don't like to take drugs) and got through just fine until after dinner cleanup when the damn thing wore off. I had to hit the couch with a heating pad and take another stupid pill! The bad thing is the timing. I'm sure that all of us have had one family member who never helps with cleanup. I felt like a real rat.

When I was a kid, my cousin Dinah was the one who always disappeared at dishwashing time. When we were at Uncle Joe's camp, the kids were supposed to wash all the dishes. Of course, instead of just going ahead and doing them, we would spend an hour looking for Dinah first while the dishes hardened and then work twice as hard getting them clean. Dinah grew up to be a wonderful adult and two years ago, I finally asked where she hid. She told me there was a hollow tree that she used to be able to shinny into and we would walk right by her everytime.

The camp was primitive and full of bats but it was on its own island and we had wonderful times there. We caught a lot of fish which we required to eat and we played a lot of poker with matchsticks. There was no running water and no electricity but we thought it was heaven. I wonder what today's kids would think of an outhouse? Our bathtub was the lake. We drank warm Kool-Aid and hot cocoa with evaporated milk and thought it was great.

It was originally a hunting camp on a hill until a damn was built. Otherwise, my relatives could have never afforded an island.

The biggest secret us kids never told our parents was the time we found Uncle Joe's nudist magazine. I guess that was the porno of the times. We memorized the photos of people playing tennis, mowing the lawns and sitting on front porches in the nude. Especially disgusting was a really fat old woman out sunning on her porch. I can still see it in my mind! Ugh!

Anyway, camp remains one of my favorite childhood memories.

POTTY TRAINING

2005-11-25T08:03:00.000-08:00

I realize that when my children were little, we did everything wrong. Breast feeding was considered barbaric and we had an age schedule to use for weening and potty training. Weening was done at eight months (how stupid is that!) so you had to listen to your infant cry all night for three of four nights. Potty training started at 18 months. If your child wasn't potty trained by two, you were considered a bad mom and your child was considered slightly backwards.

Parents today do a much better job at these two things. They actually pay attention to the child's development without any stupid schedules!

This does bring up a really funny story, though.

We had friends and all our children over for a cookout. My oldest grandson was about a year and a half and had not started potty training yet. His older cousin had a little broom and mop to use in her playhouse. Z was running around in the nude (all babies' favorite attire). He had his cousin's mop and would tinkle just a tiny bit and then mop it up off the cement. He did this all afternoon. We would have put a diaper on him but it was hysterical! Now, I could be wrong, but it seems a little boy with the control to shut it off, could probably have been potty trained pretty easily at that point.

Anyway, my friend mentions this story quite frequently, so I hope everyone enjoys it.

NOT MUCH NEW

2005-11-22T16:07:00.000-08:00

My friend took Mom and me gambling at the Res on Friday night. Mom played mostly pennies and won a few bucks. She was so thrilled. We ate at the buffet which was actually reasonably decent for a change. We had a great time.

Hubby just went back to work after a week's vacation. He used the time to do all the chores and yardwork that has been building up. What a crappy way to use vacation time.

The weekend was great for me. Grandkids came over both days and Sunday we baked pies and Christmas cookies. It's the most fun I've had with the oldest grandson for some time.

I guess we are staying home for Thanksgiving. I wanted to go to my youngest daughter's house because we haven't had Thanksgiving with them for about 10 years. I asked for the day off and then found out that Hubby had to work. That really sucks. We did get to go there for Christmas last year and it was wonderful. It's hard when they live four to five hours away. It's a killer for me to ride very far and I hate having those babies on the highway with idiot drivers at holiday times.

My leg is better but still won't bend. It also got locked in extension a couple of weeks ago. The surgeon says that he may have to go back in after it has healed for a year to clean things up. It will be arthroscopic so it shouldn't be too bad. I wish it could be done sooner, though, because I think I would have less pain (maybe not, though).

Anyway, this is all pretty boring so goodbye.

GRANDPA

2005-11-21T08:29:00.000-08:00

Granpa is about busting his buttons with pride (not to mention 50 extra pounds). Our oldest grandson had to write a report about a person who has impacted his life. I too, was very proud until I heard what his first paragraph was about:

When he was learning to talk Grandpa was determined to teach him his first word. The word he wanted to teach was "Booger". Now at the time, we thought it was hysterical. It loses something, though, when you know that my Grandson's whole sixth grade class and the teacher are reading this. The rest of the report was complimentary but I'm sure the first paragraph defined Grandpa in everyone's mind. My grandson's teacher told him that his report was quite funny! Talk about understatement.

Grandpa always used to get a big chuckle over getting the grandkids to do a huge burp at the table! I've sat there saying things like "This is only funny at home. If we do this in front of other people, they will not like us! This is not polite." Talk about being the bad guy!

I guess that boys will be boys and so will men.

MR. HOSS

2005-11-20T10:23:00.000-08:00

Mr. Maudlin's wife passed away. He put her obituary on his blog. Anyone who read's his blog has seen the occasional comments about his wife. I have pictured them together in their apartment with him reading her his blog and comments and have pictured her as a beautiful lady with a wonderful smile on her face as he reads. From his blog, it seems that they had a wonderful marriage.

Even though I have never met Mr. Maudlin, he feels like a friend to me. There are 145 comments on his blog so I thinks everyone else feels the same way. By extension, I'm sure we are all feeling very sad about his wife.
What an incredible thing this is that he has so touched us all with his words.

LOSING WEIGHT

2005-11-17T11:53:00.000-08:00

Well, Mom has only been here three days and I think I'm losing weight already. I will be cooking for a diabetic while she is here. A few years ago, the doctor told my hubby that his blood sugar was high. I immediately bought a carb and calorie counter, a scale, and began to plan and cook according to his dietary needs. I lost 25 lbs and he lost about 60 lbs. The next year when he went back for a recheck, he was told that there must have been a mistake made and his blood sugar was fine. In the meantime, he had given away all of his clothes. Many of them were reasonably new.

Guess what? He started eating normally again and is now buying new larger clothes. Not to say I told you so but "I told him so"!

I keep three sizes in my closet and he always crabbing about me having so many clothes. I have two grown daughters and a granddaughter who is fifteen. We are all about the same height. For the last twenty years, we have swapped clothes as someone gains or loses (except granddaughter doesn't wear what we will). When one of us loses or gains, the others pack up that size and send it down. It is like having a new wardrobe. Besides, it is like tempting fate to say "I am now thin and will stay that way". HA!

I have always envied people who keep their weight down. People don't keep their weight down because of magic metabolisms! They keep their weight down because they have willpower and don't belly up to the trough like the rest of us. The willpower is what I envy and admire. I don't have it.

I am talking about normal people. I would never want anyone I know to try to be as thin as the women I see on TV. Those women are probably ten times more unhealthy than those of us who are fifteen or twenty pounds overweight. Some of them are not even pretty anymore because their faces look like skulls. There has never been anyone more beautiful than Liz Taylor and her weight used to be around 140 pounds.

Anyway, this is probably way too much on the subject.

MONDAY, MONDAY

2005-11-13T13:35:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow my Mom arrives. The doctor cleared her to fly. She's pretty exited and was all packed this morning. Even though she has done this trip many times, this is the first time she's come cross country since she started having so many health problems. She's seventy-six with COPD, asthma and sciatica (sp) so I'm pretty proud she's going to do this! We'll pick her up tomorrow and then she can rest in the car while I have my annual eye exam before starting the drive home.

Two years ago, I had a torn retina-not a big deal-but each year I have to have a check up in the city. The amazing part of the checkup is the dilation of the eye. You older people know what I'm talking about. This is not the kind of dilation as at the optometrist. When these drops kick in, you can see every blood vessel in your eye from the inside. It is a strange feeling.

If you have ever seen any alien movies where they have the huge irises, that is what a person looks like. My older daughter usually takes me. On the way home I have to wear two pairs of eyeshades and keep my eyes closed because the light is so blinding. Last year I stayed at her house until about four hours after the drops before daring to drive home and my son-in-law was still making up wisecracks about the way I looked! He's a pretty serious guy who's not prone to a lot of joking so I really enjoyed the jokes.

I grew up in a family that was never serious. Wisecrack was our middle name. Add to that the fact that my Dad was hard of hearing and you can guess what a get together with my family consists of. My brother two years younger than me still calls me nicknames like "Fatso" (which I'm not), Bubbles and the ilk. My younger brother (seven years) apparently thinks I'm getting really old because he calls me Honey and Sweetheart. My little sister (fifteen years) is more like a daughter but she can wisecrack with the best of us. My Mom really spread us out on our ages.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to these next few weeks. We're going to spend a couple of nights at a local Indian casino and hotel and go to see Chrystal Gayle who must be getting damn near as old as I am.

To quote a friend who came to visit this morning. "Bye, Bye and Buy Bonds".

DAUGHTER NUMBER TWO

2005-11-11T07:52:00.000-08:00

This kid (now a woman) has always had what some considered an inappropriate sense of humor. She was my sunshine baby and even though I didn't always understand the humor she could see in everything, she was such a joy. In some ways, she used humor to cover hurt. She has sure turned out to be a great Mom and wonderful human being.

Last night I was depressed and even though she is upset also, she managed to make me laugh. While asking about the progress of my physical therapy, I said my right leg is now a little longer than my left. She coined me a new nickname: "BEVENSTEIN". Isn't it great? I love it. I'll talk to everyone later.

LIFE IS A RUSH

2005-11-10T18:17:00.000-08:00

Well, the season has started! I had my first night of overtime. Things will only get worse from now on. The great news is my bookkeeping is all caught up and in perfect order. Yahoo!

I've had a terrible time sleeping this week. My youngest Grandson seems to be showing some signs of something called Stims (a mild form of autism). I'm hoping the powers that be are dead wrong. I think he is the most beautiful, brightest little guy that you have ever seen! Of course, while we all worry, their stupid insurance company doctors can't squeeze him in for testing until January.

My Mom may not be able to come out. She's retaining water and the doctor thinks she has a spot on her lung. She says she feels well, though, and had a perm today. I'll know tomorrow.

Someone with no driver's license ran a stop sign this morning, hit my oldest daughter and totalled her vehicle. Thank God, she is okay.

I also had a message from a friend of Crusher. He said that Crusher committed suicide. I didn't know Crusher but I am so sorry to think that someone is in such despair that they can't bear to live.

I think tonight I'd better say a few prayers for Crusher and for all of us.

It sure seems like when trouble comes, it comes in large amounts.

Well, I know all this is depressing but I try to keep family in touch with what's going on. Talk to you later.

MY JOB

2005-11-06T08:01:00.000-08:00

When I graduated from High School, there was a job waiting for me at our local bank (I had worked OJT (gratis, of course) at the Bank President's general store/post office after school for my entire senior year). I married the drunk shortly after and four years later realized that I was not going to be able to support the family working at a bank. I then went to work at a Shoe Shop (we made Old Maine Trotters) where I stayed for twelve more years until I met Dave and we moved out here in February of 1981. In preparation for the move, our local high school had sent me some out-of- use text books to brush up on my shorthand, bookkeeping, etc.

I had a terrible time finding a job! I signed up for unemployment because I had been laid off (happened each year for a couple of months) when I moved here. The shoe shop now had work for me so unless I wanted to turn around and drive back 3500 miles, I was out of luck on unemployment. For a person who has always taken care of the whole family, it was unacceptable to me to ask Dave for money. My pride was really bruised.

Anyway, I was checking the unemployment office to see if they had another job interview for me when I noticed that there was a space there that said CETA and a man was sitting there. I'm normally pretty shy but desperation drives us to do strange things. I plopped my butt down, told him who I was, told him I had two children and only $400. and asked what he could do for me. The next Monday I went to work at Magnolia Citrus Association. CETA is now defunct. The deal was that they paid one half of your salary for a year until you could prove yourself to your employer. I will always be sad that they did away with the program and I will always be thanking Mr. Kimball (that was his name) for helping me get my life back together.

The office manager at Magnolia was almost ready to retire and Boy was she a tyrant. (I suspect she was also a little insane.) One girl worked for her up front and, thank god, I worked in the back office. The only time I had to deal with her was when I did payroll once a week and that was too often. She was very strange in that she would exult in the fact that she could make people cry. She treated the vendors, the growers and the Manager like shit and got away with it because she had been there thirty years. She spent most of her time playing bridge on a sheet of paper while she overloaded everyone else on paperwork. One story about her illustrates her personality quite well: She forgot to put in the new tax loads in January. She discovered this along towards March and said nothing. She went back and refigured everyone's taxes to date and took them all out of one paycheck without telling anyone (including the Manager). Everyone got a pittance and she got away with it. She actually told me once that she had made only one mistake in 32 years and she believed it!

This is how I got my job: The other office person, Arlene, who is my friend went on vacation. In her absence, the girl from the other office was expected to do both jobs. Arlene did a good job training me in just a couple of days. The office Manager was pleasantly surprised and gave me some of her bookkeeping to do. (I won a bookkeeping award in school and was the bookkeeper at the bank.) When Arlene came back, she made her take my old job. I protested but Arlene didn't dare. She was probably relieved not to have to work with the old bat all the time.

To make a long story shorter (Ha!Ha!), the office manager retired that spring and I was offered her job which I accepted. Even though I was competent enough to do things the way she had, I wanted to do better for the company so I spent the next year taking accounting in the evening at our local college.

Back in 1981, things were a lot different at Magnolia. We only processed oranges and our fruit was sold as it was run. It was reasonably easy. Things have sure changed. We are a member of Sunkist, who has gone global, and we merged with our sister house down the road, who specialized in exotic fruit (mandarins, pummelos, and all kinds of grapefruit). We will have over one million cartons this year which is still quite small until you realize that we have about 70% of the Pummelos in this whole area and we have people clamoring to join.

We are a coop, which means everything is owned by the growers. They are charged a capital fund assessment each year and get it back over a five year period. One thing I always tell my girls is that every grower is your boss. Always great them with a smile and respect. Although, Arlene is retired now, I was lucky enough to inherit a well trained girl from our other facility. She is who the growers see when they come in because she always has a smile on her face. Both of my girls are smart as whips but Patty is the one I chose to be in front just because of her lovely attitude.

What people don't realize is that every piece of citrus they consume has been washed, waxed and dried. This is done to keep out decay and to make it pretty. Americans only want pretty fruit which is a shame because fruit with a slight mark has usually been on the tree longer and is oftentimes a better tasting piece of fruit. We now deal in large part with Costco and Walmart who can pretty much dictate whatever they want. They want special packaging, special this and special that and can also just about dictate what they will pay.

This highest returns to growers I have ever seen was in 1982. That's right! While consumers are paying quite a stiff price for produce, growers are going under. Most of the people still making it are those who have no loans on their property. The price of water, chemicals (got to have that perfect piece of fruit), property taxes and harvesting have all tripled, what they receive for their fruit is about the same-an average of $9.00 for forty pounds. Then on top of their costs, it takes about $4.00 a carton to get it through their packinghouse-labor, comp, cartons, supplies, etc. They get back an average of $40. to $50. a bin (about 1000 pounds) and out of that they pay water, chemicals, etc. It's a losing proposition.

I saw this when I worked at the shoe shop. New England used to be full of these factories. There are now very few left due to imports. The same thing is happening now to our growers. There are no restrictions on chemicals in these foreign countries. When the consumer buys imported fruit, it may still be sprayed with DDT. Our farmers fight a losing battle trying to have pretty fruit because today's chemicals while safe, are also not as effective. They cannot compete with countries who still get cheap chemicals and have $2.00 a day labor.

This is the San Joaquin Valley. Twenty years ago, we produced 1/5 of the world's produce. I don't know what the ratio is now but nobody brags about it anymore. All I know is that it makes me sad when I write some of the grower checks-knowing when I look at it that it isn't going to cover their costs for the year.

Well, Hoss, is that enough about where I work? For once, I wish everybody could read this blog and bypass the Australian, South American, Brazilian, Spanish, etc. fruit and buy the American product. It is no more expensive, it is safer and it is an investment in your own country.

SUBJECTS

2005-11-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

I never can seem to come up with great Blogging ideas! This morning, I read Ol Hoss and he really has a hot one today. He has invented a bed with a toilet plus it cleans you up and all the food you want is near at hand. I want one!

My daughter has three children which gives her plenty of funny stuff to blog about. She's always had a keen sense of humor and sees funny things where the rest of us do not.

What do I have to blog about? My dog, Buddy, and cracking walnuts. Whoopie! I'm sure that will keep everybody spellbound. I could take about breaking my leg some more but even I am sick of that old chestnut!

My Mom is coming to visit on November 14th until January 4th. I cannot believe how much we had to pay for a plane ticket this year. Talk about highway robbery!

Mom has asthma and COPD. Buddy just got out of the vet's again. Because he has been sick and his hind quarters are shaved, Hubby thinks he should sleep inside. We will keep him confined to the kitchen but I still don't think it's a good idea. I think maybe we'll rig up some kind of safe heater so he can sleep in the garage.

My daughter who gave us Buddy feels terrible. He has become a very valuable dog because of all the investing we have done at the vet's office. I have never been attached to an animal before but Buddy is like us. He's getting older (he's 10) and he's having health problems. We've had him for four years now and he has brought us a lot of joy. So money be damned! He's part of the family and unless he is suffering terribly, we will keep him alive just as long as we can.

By the way, Ol Hoss, this is a depressed area. Divide your estimate of my earnings by 3 and you will approximate what I earn after twenty-four years. This is a farming community and we are a grower owned co-op. Most of our growers are not huge and they don't earn a lot of money as you mentioned in your blog. The nice thing is that we are all in this together and it's like one big family.

I have a great new exercise. I get to kick an exercise ball. The first time I did it at PT was so much fun! Even though I appreciate all they do for me, I didn't realize that I kind of resent being hurt so much. I kicked so hard, I had Steve running all over that damn place. He got to be the sweaty, out of breath guy. My husband is going to start throwing it for me at home. I can hardly wait! It is a lot better than knee bends and lunges!

I used to play softball in grammar school. I always had to play a base, though, because I throw like a girl and couldn't get it there from the outfield. I could run like the wind, though. That came in mighty handy when I was married to the drunk.

I just realized that I was right! I really didn't have anything to blog about and I've put in a lot of monotous crap. Oh well, that's me! Ms. Boring!

MICE

2005-11-01T15:40:00.000-08:00

We live in the country. The field behind us used to be grape vineyards. They were pulled out and for three years now, the field has lay fallow. It must be a wonderful environment for mice. We have never had the likes of what we have this year.

I hate rodents! Some people think mice are cute. Apparently, these are people who don't mind stinking little mouse turds all over everything. The mice are too numerous to trap this year so we had to resort to D-Con. Supposedly, D-Con has an ingredient that immediatly dries up the mouse so it doesn't smell. That is a bunch of hogwash. We have spent the summer tracking down godawful dead mouse smells.

The other day, I was sitting on our bed and happened to notice one dead in a pair of very nice sandals I have only worn once. He was quite fresh so I thought I would be okay. I have cloroxed them twice, used fabreeze and sneaker spray. I can still smell that odor.

One year when we just had a few mice, one of our friends suggested those sticky traps. I immediately caught a mouse. The poor thing didn't die. I tried to pull it off the trap and pulled one of the feet off. What kind of cruel person could use those things. When I asked the friend, she said I was supposed to push the mousie head down into the sticky stuff so it would smother. Yuck! Back to the D-Con. At least I don't have to watch them die.

We have a ghekko in the house right now. I like those little devils. They eat spiders and you can never find any poopies. I will put him back outside if I can catch him without pulling off his tail. My husband did that last year and when I caught him again, it was quite interesting to see where it had grown back.

I think the worst thing we ever had was a whole summer of ants. They ruined food! They even got into the fridge. Sprays, traps; nothing worked. Later that fall, my daughter cleaned her closet which backs our main cupboard. Lo and Behold! There was her whole basket of Easter candy partially eaten by ants. You talk about an urge to kill!

Anyway, even though we have pests, I am a country girl and I guess I always will be.

SUNDAY NIGHT BLUES

2005-10-30T17:05:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am already dreading work tomorrow.
Yesterday, we went out to dinner and rented some movies. We were going to go to the movies but couldn't see anything we thought was worth paying $8.50 each to see. Popcorn is 5.95 and drinks (small) are 2.75.

I saw an article in the Distorter (our local paper) from AP that talked about how movie attendance, live plays attendance and other types of entertainment are down an average of 20%. Duh! Movie stars get $20 million per picture, pictures have become more expensive to make and movie theatres have become very lush. This all gets passed down to the consumer.

Why hasn't someone figured out that many families can't afford to take their children to the movies? If you went once a week with three kids and bought popcorn and candy, you have spent your car payment. Is this so hard to figure out? They also mentioned baseball stadiums. Ditto!

Does any normal hardworking person think that someone else should earn forty of fifty million a year? I read Jennifer Lopez has solid gold fixtures in her bathroom and someone comes to do her hair and nails each day. Kids are starving all over the world while someone gets to poop on solid gold.
I don't mean to pick on her but wouldn't maybe $2million a year be enough for these people to live on?

I think the ordinary people in America should go on strike. We should not go to the movies, stadiums, rent movies or turn on our televisions for a month? Do you think anyone would notice?

It sure seems to me that everything is nuts when these things get to be the norm in America.

FRIDAY

2005-10-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

Well, it's finally the last work day of the week. I can remember when that was really exciting. Now all it means is that maybe Hubby and I can get rested enough to do it again next week. Getting older absolutely, positively, SUCKS THE BIG ONE!

I think the big whoop for this weekend is finishing the walnuts. Of course, this means picking them up only. We still have the cracking, shelling, washing and microwaving to do so they'll be all nice and pretty to send for Christmas.

When we moved to our house, it had two walnut trees. Almost every year when they came to shake the tree, it would be the first weekend of bowhunting season and Hubby would be gone. Of course he didn't mind picking them up. I usually did it!

Then the neighbor across the road told Hubby that his trees produced enough to pay his property taxes and my husband planted eight more trees. Luckily, they are not all in production yet. We don't have enough to sell but we do have enough to make evening work for a couple of months. Oh, the fun!

Christmas is just around the corner. My younger daughter in the Northern part of State is great about making her kids do their lists early. My older daughter's boys procrastinate. The list comes about the second week of December and they have changed their mind by Christmas. I have returned gifts on the day before Christmas Eve. This year I am slightly handicapped. My girl up north says she doesn't mind shopping for her family which would be wonderful. I know the kid down here will be horribly stressed if I ask her to do that. It seems I spend most of my life on a guilt trip.

I don't know what's with the italics. It just happens. I'm sure I press some button that I don't know I'm pressing. What a dolt!

Well, the boss just interrupted and asked me to do something for him. How rude!

Just kidding! He's a sweetheart. Talk to you later.

2nd try

2005-10-24T13:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I posted once and the darn thing didn't work. I also couldn't leave a comment on Ol Hoss today.

Well, the visit with the kids seemed so short, but it was great to see them. The little one is no trouble at all. He ran from room to room closing doors, turning on lights and fans. For him that was big entertainment. For us, it was no sweat.

We did the birthday party. My granddaughter J who is fifteen, gave me a hand with games while the daughters were picking up pizza and birthday cake. Do you know they don't play London Bridge or Farmer in the Dell anymore? That makes me feel ancient! I happened to have some $1.00 is my purse so we used those for prizes. I was a big hit with the kids.

We stayed about three hours which seemed like quite a long time. It was warm in the sun and fly ridden in the shade so I was more than ready to come home.

Yesterday, I decided to give the old leg a whole day of rest. It's been months since I've stayed completely off it. I only got up to haul more grub and drinks into the bedroom. I didn't have time to tidy up this morning and guess what? The spray guy called and had me meet him at the house. While he was spraying the outbuildings, I hobbled as quick as I could to tidy up a little.
I am 56 years old! I should know by now that anytime you don't clean your house, you are guaranteed to have company. If you are lonely and want someone to drop by, just make sure the house is a holy mess and someone will come.

Well, everyone have a great Monday.

WEEKEND WITH THE KIDS

2005-10-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

As usual, time with my youngest daughter and her kids was not enough. I'm just really grateful to get to see them. I haven't been able to travel for awhile.

I did get some decent visiting with all of them except S who is 2 1/2. He never stopped running for the whole visit. He's no trouble because he doesn't get into stuff but he has a fascination with doors, lights and any kind of button. He ran (literally) from room to room closing the doors and turning on the lights and fans. For him, this was entertainment! I haven't figured out why we waste money on toys.

On Saturday morning, we all trooped over to have a birthday party for one of the grandsons in the next town. He was six and had requested a bounce house. My girls went to pick up pizzas and the cake, my son-in-law was dispensed to go get some batteries and so my oldest granddaughter (15) and I were in charge for awhile.

Some of the kids were interested in playing games so my granddaughter did Simon Says, Limbo and Musical Chairs. I then suggested London Bridge (which nobody heard of). J had to do the singing for Musical Chairs so I had to croak out London Bridge myself. The kids didn't seem to notice. I also suggested Farmer-in-the Dell which is also obsolete apparently. Luckily, the girls came back with the pizza and cake just about then.

I had about 10 ones in my wallet so I had used those for prizes. I think most of the kids liked the dollars better than prizes. I got to tell you, I've never seen my grandkids that impressed with one single dollar!

I know that London Bridge is one of those songs that was supposed to have some deep, dark, political meaning in the days of intrigue at court and public beheadings. I think that might be fun to study sometime. The queens had to bear their children with witnesses in the room and were required to make no noise. Nice, huh? The rest of their lives were dependent upon the good will of their husbands and countrymen. So much for the good old days.

Well, this is short and sweet. Have a nice Monday everyone.

COMMENTS

2005-10-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

To the person who left me comments on October 18th. I won't say your name but you know who you are. I followed your link and saw the picture. Please don't comment on my blog again. I hope that your blog is just a joke and not your real life. Please accept my deepest sympathy if it is not a joke.

HALLOWEEN

2005-10-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

One of the girls brought candy corn today. Thank god I can't stand the stuff. I've already had so much chocolate that I refuse to get on the scales.

There's a reason why I can't stand it. It was my Mom's favorite and if there was any candy in the house, candy corn was it. As poor as we were, the fact that us kids didn't care for it was probably a big plus for Mom. I did read the ingredients off the package this morning:
sugar, corn syrup, salt, confectioner's glaze, cocoa (some), honey, cotton seed/and or soybean oil, plus lots of colors and preservatives. That comes to sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, salt, fat and cancerous causing agents! Yum! Yum!

Not that chocolate is any better for us. It's about the same thing except it has a whole lot more fat.

I don't think that the candy, sweet tooth problem is even just confined to the U.S. Good
chocolate comes from Belgium. Truffles originated in Britain. The key is moderation which somehow does not seem to be in my make up.

There are so many occasions to buy chocolate! Valentines, Easter, Birthdays, Halloween and Christmas. My favorite chocolates (and my husband's) are the ones that are marked on the lid of the box. We both loathe cocoanut and those fruity jelly crappers. Having the marks keeps us from having to bite into those nasty things.

This is the time of year when we start telling ourselves that it's okay to keep porking all the crap down that we want because it's useless to try to diet through the holidays. Oh, the lies we tell ourselves to keep on doing things we want to do.

APOLOGY

2005-10-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I haven't blogged this week. Working full time, doing physical therapy and trying to get back into helping with some of the household chores are leaving me exhausted and barely able to move at night.

On a brighter note, I am getting stronger and my youngest daughter and Grandkids are coming down this weekend. These grandkids are J who is fifteen, A who is six and S who is only two.
J was one of those infants and kids who are just easy. A is a little stubborn says her Mom (they are all perfect to me.) but I swear she started talking at six months and has never shut up since. She has always used big words and understood them! You do have to tune her out just a little after awhile. She's a good kid, though. S never, ever slows down. He is very smart but his pace is just short of the Indy 500 cars. His home is pretty much childproof, but when he visits me, we put on cupboard locks and child gates because he is fast!

Saturday, we all are going to my older daughter's youngest son's Birthday party. She has two kids. Z who is 12, and N who is 6 (the honoree). There will be a jump house, bean bag toss and a myriad of other crap that kids love. I will enjoy being there but I am almost tired thinking about it.

Just the same, what could be better than family. Those of you who still have kids at home, will not believe how times goes by so much quicker as you get older. You've heard it before-Enjoy them while you can.

Anyway, I should have some good blogger fodder by Sunday.

UPDATE OF BUDDY

2005-10-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

Three years ago, we inherited our daughter's familys Australian Shephard. He is a wonderful dog and almost seems human. I must admit, we have really spoiled him.

Last year he had prostate trouble and we had to have him neutered at 10 years old. He actually had papers and the kids had thought about breeding him which is why he was still unneutered at that age. We felt terrible about having it done.

Last week, he stopped eating. We wormed him-no difference. Finally, on Friday, my husband took him to the vet. We both felt sick because we were sure he had prostate cancer and we would lose him.

Good news! He has cellulitus from some kind of injury to his butt. Bad news! In addition to his antibiotic, someone is supposed to hot pack the injury. Luckily, my broken leg prevents me from helping with this chore!

Poor Old Bud now has a totally bald rearend from the Vet's razor and has the indignity of having to lay there for this kind of treatment. He is horrible about taking medicine so I used a pound of cooked ham and made him his own vegetable stew to entice him to take his pills. He'll probably never eat dog food again.

I generally don't get attached to animals but I have to say that Buddy is really so smart that he is a member of the family. Just like kids, though, he really finds lots of ways to outsmart and outmanuever us.

COUNTRY MUSIC

2005-10-16T21:19:00.000-07:00

My daughter wrote today how she hates country music but there are so many kinds that are classified as country nowadays.

My family used to sing all the time, so I am familiar with a lot of really old music. Today's country music is not the same. It is what rock and roll was forty year's ago.

The first music I really loved was the Beatles. The next music I loved and still love most of all is anything by the Eagles. They have made the sweetest, best music of all time for so many years. For me no one else even comes close.

I do still like old country music, though. Anyone remember Wanda Jackson or Kitty Wells? And nobody does the blues better than George Jones. I melt when I hear the Statlers sing "This Bed of Roses". Yes, they all have a whiny quality but that's how country music was. Garth Brooks has a truly wondrous voice and some good songs but it still doesn't sound like real country music.

By the way, Conway Twitty was originally a rock and roll star. I never cared for him a lot. No one could stand to watch his face when he sang. He strained constantly like a constipated, pregnant woman. My Ex used to put his music on a lot (on volume 10, of course, so no one else could sleep). He particularly liked "Linda on my Mind". It was probably the name of his current girl friend. I used to love it when he went for sleep-overs and I didn't have to bother with his crap.

I love Willis Nelson's music (not his voice) and Waylon Jennings was really great. Johnny Cash and Christopherson could/cannot sing but Chris writes great music. By the way who calls their kid Chris Christopherson? It sounds like Larry Larry.

Night All

BODILY FUNCTIONS

2005-10-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

My daughter is worried about mentioning kid's bodily functions on her blog.

Last night we had our six year old's birthday party at a local restaurant. My husband and I
were the last ones out. A little boy at another table remarked to us that he was three. His
Mom and Dad just beamed because we stopped and made a big deal over him. Next he said that he now is required to go "poop on the pot". His parents were mortified until they realized that we thought that this was cute, normal conversation for a three year old. We gave the kid cudos on his accomplishment.

As we left, we were chuckling and the parents were once again beaming!

"OLD DAYS"

2005-10-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

My younger daughter and her children are coming down to spend the weekend of October 22nd. I am really jazzed but we sure never seem to have enough time. We will be celebrating my Grandson's "N" 6th birthday. I think that 6, 13, 16 and 21 are all very important birthdays. I don't know why I think that. It's just that those birthdays seem to make a remarkable change in young people.

My dream has been just one time to get all the grandchildren up to our mountain place for a week. I would like to teach them to churn butter, to can and to make soap. I hate to see old traditions die. As you might have guessed, I am a "Mother Earth" subscriber. I know I am an old Doomsday person but what if something really happened in this country and we really did have to convert back to the old days? Who would remember? Do people know how to sink a point to dig a well? Do they know how to change the leathers in a hand pump? What would happen if there was no grocery store and money was worthless?

I guess I'm probably just an old fool but sometimes I just can't get this stuff out of my mind.

COUSINS

2005-10-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

I think I probably had way more cousins growing up than most people. The ones who were generally around ranged from three years younger than me to eight years older. There were thirteen of us in about five miles.

Summertime meant wienie roasts at Grammie's and Grampy's house on Saturday night. Grampy had built a swing about eight feet long and four feet wide with a roof over it. It swung end to end. We would all load on and boy could we make it go!

Grampy always bought a watermelon if there was one available. It wasn't cut up for us-it just dribbled down our fronts and mixed with the dirt we piled up while playing in the yard. There was no such thing as S'Moas. If we were very fortunate, someone would bring a bag of marshmallows. It was a great time. If you didn't grab a stick and cook your own hot dog, you went hungry-and believe me no one went hungry!

As soon as dinner was over, the adults would go into the house to avoid the mosquitos (and the kids). We would play hide and go seek, tin can alley and tag. Of course, the bigger kids always won but I don't ever remember anybody whining about it.

I guess I'll rephrase that. My cousin, Judy, who I now love dearly, was one of those "tattle tales". I remember my cousin Butch got his butt busted one time cause she fell down when he tagged her. She cried and carried on so that none of the adults believed it when we said it was an accident. Judy's parents were D-I-V-O-R-C-E-D so all us kids were expected to defer to her.
We all liked to roller skate. She didn't! When she was there, we went to the movies on Saturday afternoon instead. I guess none of the adults realized just how much they made us dislike her by insisting her wish was our command.

I think the cousin I was closest to was Tom. I was six months older than him and he lived just up the road. He came down every day in the summer. My brother, Rick, Tom and I would pack fluffernutters and some Kool-Aid and head out to our camp in the woods every day. My grandfather could never hang onto a board or a nail. He never gave us hell for taking them either. Along towards dark we would head on home. Our parents must have loved us cause they never had to bother with us.

When Tom got older he sort of fell into horse trading. He was a born salesman. First he had a pony (that's another story) which he traded for a motorcyle which he traded for an old jalopy. We had some good times on that motorcyle. I've got the burns on my leg to prove it.

Tom used to come down every Saturday night to watch "Weird" with us. It was a show that started at midnight and was hosted by local yocal "Eddie Driscoll". He always tried to dress scary and was the weirdest thing about the show! He would present a horror movie and we would sit there glued to the tv for a couple of hours. The Pod People was the scariest movie ever! Tom never spent the night so we'd take a flashlight out and stand there shining it until we thought he made it home. He would run really fast but it was a half mile to Aunt Hazel's house. He was a brave kid!

You know, we never ran out of fun things to do. We didn't have many toys but we loved to read. The best reward Rick and I could get was a new Trixie Beldon and a new Hardy Boys. Everyone in our family was a reader-Aunts, Uncles, Cousins-Everybody! It was just the thing you did when you had time.

Well, I hope Cousin Judy doesn't read this. By the time we were teenagers, she had turned into a really good person and I love her.

TEENAGERS

2005-10-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

My granddaughter thinks I'm prejudiced against teenagers. She must have a different outlook than I did when I was her age. I've talked to several people at work to see how they felt. Most of them felt the same way I did as a teenager. E gave me a good description. He said he felt "Bullet proof". I actually felt that way as an adult until my aging body started letting me down occasionally.

Maybe "J" just has a better head on her shoulders than I did. I hope she doesn't dwell on dying and death. Beyond using due diligence, young people should be mostly carefree. Worrying should be the parents' responsibility.

"J" is a beautiful young woman. She can sing like an angel and she had the lead in a musical at a local playhouse last year. She has a keyboard which she has learned to play very well-mostly by ear and by some tips given to her by a friend who takes piano lessons. She also has a great sense of humor. She has a great sense of style which she must have gotten from her mother because I am not stylish. I am at the "I won't wear it if it isn't comfortable" stage.

Anyway, I apologize to "J".

2005-10-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

SPAM

2005-10-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I have added word verification to my blog in hopes of ridding myself of spam. These people comment on the blog but you can see they obviously haven't read it. It's crazy!
One of the commentors wants me to see his sex website. Do you think my blog reflects that I am remotely interested in that kind of crap? One of the commentors is Johnny Canuck. My grandfather was Canadian. I think that is one of the words he pretty much didn't care for.

One of my favorite Uncle-in-laws is French. He and my Aunt divorced after 30 years or so.
He then dated a woman with relatives in L.A. They flew out to see them and Uncle Roland made a point of coming to see me. What did my Aunt say? She said " no matter what happened between Roland and me, he has been your Uncle and loved you all your life". Wouldn't it be nice if all divorces were like that?

Work is going badly this morning. One of the girls has a daughter in high school who lost a friend Friday night. She died sniffing air freshener. Everyone has been warned about the computer cleaning spray and the kids that have died sniffing it-but air freshener? Does it seem reasonable that parents have to keep every kind of cleaning, gluing, spraying, etc., product under lock and key until their children have left home? You know they will just buy their own!

All we can do is parents is try to do our best. We can give warnings and keep our foot up their butt to keep them on the straight and narrow but we can only do so much. Don't we remember as young people how we thought that nothing would ever happen to us? Young people today are no different. They just have access and knowledge to a heck of a lot more things than we did. They are no smarter or no stupider than we were. Unfortunately, friends will be lost along llife's paths. Maybe out of such a tragedy, one good thing might be that someone else's child won't try the same thing.

I'm sure my youngest daughter might have some ideas on this.

MUSIC

2005-10-08T12:16:00.000-07:00

My mom reminded me of her favorite part (not) of the trip. My brother loves to sing. All the way home he wanted to sing and wanted me to sing too. My throat was sore and I sounded like hell, but he's my little brother and I love him so sing we did. We went all the way from Old Spinning Wheel in the Parlor, to please Mr. Custer and his all time favorite "Good Bye Miss American Pie". He knows everyone of the fifty verses, I swear. Thirty miles from Home when we dropped off our oldest daughter, Mom changed vehicles. She told my husband she couldn't stand to ride with Homer and Jethro one minute longer. Her ears hurt. Imagine That!

WEDDING CONTINUED

2005-10-08T11:48:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are overlooking beautiful Lake Tahoe, twenty-six hours and no sleep later. My Mom and brother thought that it had been the worst storm they had ever seen even in Maine.

My nice little Toyota now looks like dogshit because the chains took off all the paint and is dented all around the wheel wells. It was one of those trips that can only get worse. The wedding was supposed to be in six hours and the kids were still supposed to go to Minden to get the license.

My hubby in the Bronco had the directions to the rental company so we could pick up the keys and find our house. This took about another hour.
We drove on over to the house and the snow was up over the windows-no path, etc.

Now my husband who only lived one year in Maine says lets just all wade inside. They should be along shortly to plow us out and then we'll unload everything. Those of us who spent our lives in Maine, just looked at each other, grabbed an armload, and started wading. The plastic on the wedding dress was frozen to the hatchback window. I still feel so sick that I know my mood is only going to get worse. After everything is in the house, Hubby borrows a shovel from the people next door. By the way, the plow showed up at seven that night.

My brother, the electrician, got the dryer working and the heat streaming. Mom and I made hot coffee and pulled out the homemade donuts. The house was really spacious and comfy so we all calmed down and relaxed. Even my Brother, the comic electrician, had not been up to snuff. He now got back to his funny, funny self.

Basically, everything turned out fine. The road to Minden was shut down so the kids had to pick another chapel and get married the next day. We had to delay the wedding cake but the lady was very cooperative. The son-in-law's family couldn't make it because of the storm but he had friends there and the wedding was videotaped. We had tons of barbecued beef, donuts, cookies and other food because we expected a crowd so we ate very, very well.

My daughter was a beautiful bride. She and Hubby did crash into a huge, glass flower display as he was bringing her around the corner which had everyone laughing hysterically as she walked down the aisle (told you we are all weird). I have beautiful pictures of her and her sister helping each other get ready in the dressing room. Most of all, I had all my family in one spot. We were all warm, fed, healthy and together and life doesn't get any better than that.

There was one final note on the way out of town on the last morning. My son-in-law (gloveless again) realized he had lost his new wedding ring out throwing snowballs. We went back but a ring in a snowbank is like a needle in a haystack. As the marriage only lasted a couple of years, my daughter now says that was a harbinger of things to come. At least the marrage brought my first, wonderful grandchild so who could wish it away?

She remarried a few years later and when she told me, we immediately started planning a local wedding. You are never too old to learn.

THE WEDDINGS OF ALL WEDDINGS

2005-10-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

When my youngest daughter was almost 21 and lived with her older sister in another town, she brought her boyfriend down so they could tell Hubby and me that they were getting married in a month.

I was in shock! My baby was too young! I tried to think how to be tactful until I could get her alone and beg her not to get married yet. In desperation I said "I can't possibly put together a wedding that fast!". They immediately upped me with "We will just get married in Lake Tahoe, then." I told them "But February is a terrible time to try to get to Lake Tahoe!" My son-in-law to be piped up with "My family goes skiing up there in the winter and they have never had trouble!"

I eventually lost the battle. I couldn't change my daughter's mind and so I began to plan a long distance wedding. We didn't have a computer then so everything had to be done by telephone.
After ascertaining the name of a chapel in Nevada, I called them, set it up and they very nicely gave me some names of cake makers, liquor stores and reality companies.

We got the two attendants dresses, the wedding dress and paraphenalia. We got the silk flowers and cake top. We forwarded a piece of ribbon and cake top to the decorator and we rented a five room house for everyone for four days.

My Mom and brother flew up from Maine two days before and we made the seven hour round trip to L.A. to pick them up. I thought we'd better make our barbecued beef before we went so I did that. Mom helped me make about twenty dozen donuts and we took bread and sandwich meat to have at the house.

Finally, we are all ready! We have 9 people in two vehicles which doesn't sound too bad until I explain that my vehicle was a little Toyota hatchback. My husband had a Bronco but we still were so crowded with packing all the things we would need for the wedding. We took off about 8:00 a.m. in the morning for a six hour drive. And, by the way, I had caught a flu bad enough that I hardly cared if I lived or died.

I had reminded everyone to make sure they brought winter clothes. When we hit Sacramento and it was pouring cats and dogs, I felt secure knowing that everyone had listened. We had chains for both vehicles although mine had never been on the car before. Well, it started to snow just before we reached Cameron Park. About twenty more minutes up the road, we came to a complete halt. There was already about 1 1/2 feet of snow by that time. It took us about an hour and a half to go two miles to be turned around by the state cops. The highway was closed due to snow.

We went back to Cameron Park where there was one motel. The whole town was out of power!
The motel rented us a room just fine! They gave us 1 candle to use and they had no spare blankets. The men went over to Safeway and got some cold food for everyone to eat (thank God the store had a generator. By this time, it was alread dinnertime and getting very dark.
And by the way, it was very hard to feel sorry for my son-in-law to be who wore sneakers and a light jacket. Luckily, I took a lot of extra gloves so at least his hands were warm.

Hubby had thrown in a sleeping bag (which I told him we wouldn't need-it's one time I'm glad he ignored me). Hubby and I crawled into it on the floor (it was only a single-we were thin then), everyone else shared beds except my poor brother who wound up on the floor covered with wet coats. No electricity meant no heat! I know I was a bear. Nothing was going well and I felt so bad. For that I apoligize to my daughter.

We had a radio with us and after about five hours of laying there in the cold, we heard they opened the road. We packed in a hurry and boogied on out. Before we started, we put the chains on. Gee, mine didn't fit right! The whole rest of the trip, we could hear them tearing up the wheel wells on our car. My brother drove because I was so sick. He only has one eye that works due to a hunting accident when he was sixteen. Finally he said "Sis, I just can't drive anymore (Oh, by the way, the back sear was piled so high he couldn't push the seat back and he is six foot three-He looked pretty funny with his knees under his chin!). I took over at that point and two miles later we pulled into Tahoe. When he realized that I knew we were almost there and I could have driven earlier I think said something like "You bitch". He said it with love, of course, and we had our first really good laugh of the trip.

Well, this is getting really long. Will put the rest on another blog.

BROTHER DAN

2005-10-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

My littlest brother, like me before him, was married at a young age. Now, we all know that the younger your are, the harder the path.

One night I was visiting my Mom and she got a phone call from him to please come pick him up. He was leaving his wife and never going back! When she brought him to the house, he had all his belongings packed in two small grocery sacks. When he started to unpack, we all began to realize that he only had underwear and jock straps (he loved to play basketball). By the time all three of us were done heaving with laughter, he was looking sheepish and missing his wife terribly.

The phone call that followed to his wife was groveling if I ever saw it. He didn't even really spend the night. The car pulled up and he ran right out and jumped in. We never did ask what damn fool thing he did to make her so mad.

By the way, they have now been married for over thirty years, have two kids and four grandkids. They are doting, hands-on grandparents.

We went back to visit a couple of years ago and they are supposed to come out this next summer. They still take some pretty good swipes at each other and they are fun to be around. His wife plays straight man. It's like having your very own traveling comedy club. I'm looking forward to it.

Tomorrow or tonight, I will talk about the time he came out for my daughter's wedding.

BLOGGING

2005-10-05T12:05:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this seem like a curious thing to do? At first I just wanted to comment on my daughter's site but when I started to read how funny hers was, I wanted to try my hand also. The other blog I really enjoy is OLHOSSTAILSNAKE. There is no better feeling in the world than making people laugh.

I've have also found that by talking about the abusive alcholic that I was married to for twelve years have been cathargic. I didn't want to hurt the kids until finally they told me that the Ex was fair game. Presto! I have a subject.

You know the worst thing about being married to people who blame you for everything is that after awhile you believe them. It takes a very long time after the divorce to get back any sense of self worth. You don't open your mouth because you know you're stupid. You don't smile or try to look good because you know you are fat and homely. At least, I have the advantage of being an adult at the time. I don't think kids ever actually fully recover when they grow to adulthood.

I knew if I stayed with my husband, he would eventually kill me. His violence has escalated to that point. I think all abused women should hear just one message. Get away from the bastard now. The stupid things we tell ourselves are amazing: he only hits me, the kids would miss their father, everyone deserves another chance, etc. They are all only stupid words! There are many more shelters to go to now and get away.

Oh Yeah! I forgot the biggest excuse of all. I am ashamed and I don't want anyone to know. I have news. WHEN I LEFT, EVERYONE ALREADY KNEW. Do we think our friends and family are blind?

Anyway, I didn't mean to get off on a tangent. My next posting will be a corker and very funny.

HOME

2005-10-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back from vacation. I was able to get both girls on the phone yesterday to make sure they were okay. I'm somewhat of a worry wart.

I slept well on vacation except for one night. Last night in my own home was right back to normal. I lay down. I start worrying about work or kids. Last night it was work. It is so frustrating to want to sleep when visions of all the things you have to do and remember for work start churning around in the brain. You'd think, after twenty-four years, that my job would be somewhat by rote but that has never happened.

The day I was leaving for vacation, I finally got my auditor's adjusting entries. I posted them and closed year end. Last year the auditor had four adjusting entries and told the Board that when he was down to none, they should probably find a new auditor (that speaks well of my bookkeeping). This year, he had three pages so I guess we should be fine. All in all, though, considering I worked from home; I am very happy.

Well, time to get back to work.

HOME REPAIRS

2005-09-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

My daughter and her husband are doing home improvements right now and it reminded me of when I was married to my Ex.

We also did home repairs occasionally and this is how it went. After one or two days, my ex would lose interest. Then his tools had to stay in place where he left them until he regained interest-days or months later. Only once I piled them all in a box at the same spot he left them and he screamed blue murder.

We lived in an old house where the pipes froze and broke regularly. Once after repairing a kitchen pipe (hot water) twice, he told me that I would have to do without hot water the rest of the winter. I thought about it awhile. The first time he was gone, I dug out the torch, the solder, the paste and the steel wool. I always helped with everything so I figured how hard could it be? It took about ten minutes and came out perfect. Boy, was there hell to pay when he came home! He couldn't believe I didn't have some S.O.B. come in the house and make a repair! When I finally convinced him I did it, he informed me I could do it from now on-which I did.

One time he decided he needed a building to work on his car when winter came. The only trouble? There was already three feet on snow and it was bitterly cold. He made the kids stand out in the cold and help him until I finally just sent them in. They were only 7 and 11 and I thought it was a pretty damn rotten deal.

Anyway, first off, I realized the spikes he was using were too short to hold the frame together. They only went about 1/2 inch into the wood. He told me that was plenty and to shut up. (Did I mention that a fifth of vodka was keeping him warm?). We worked and worked and finally got up a frame. The next item on the agenda was covering it with plastic (you heard me!). Here is the wind whipping all around us and we were trying to staple on plastice sheeting.

The upshot was that I was up until about three in the morning and had to leave for work at 6:30 a.m. The asshole was sleeping in a nice warm bed. And, by the way, his new building was laying flat on the ground. (He should have listened about the spikes).