Hello??

I think I may be the only one working this week. All my email buddies appear to have taken the same week off of work. What were they thinking? This is how I keep my sanity during the day. Was this a plot? Thankfully we are only working 8 hour days this week. Not sure if I could make it 10 under these conditions.

Actually it is quite a slow week. There is no production running so I am doing a lot of safety work.

I wish them all an enjoyable week off.

Is That BBQ Sauce on Your Ear?

Despite being a little humid on Friday & Saturday, the weather was pretty good to us for a camping weekend. Once again the food was plenty, but the consumption of alcohol was on the lower level. I think that once I drank a few gallons of water I was just to full to drink any beer. I did try the festival Vodka in a drink and decided that I'll pay the extra money for Vodka that doesn't taste like lighter fluid.

We did get a little rain on Saturday evening which brought out the Jack & Coke. It was decided that since I don't partake in the "ritual" that I have quite a few credits coming. Some people have a few debits so some dealings were made with trade-offs. Connie got an easy 10 from me for a sweet treat she'll be bringing next time.

Once again Ben's ribs turned out fantastic. The group must have been hungry as not one slobber of BBQ sauce was seen on any one's person. Clean t-shirt, clean hands, arms, faces and ears.

Saw some interesting creatures last night. First off we had a visitor hopping around for a few hours. It was a pretty good sized toad. He just kept appearing every so often. The next two were quite unwelcome. Mick was dive bombed by something we were not immediately able to locate. A few minutes later we spotted a rather large dark red beetle type thing with pincher's. Barney killed it. A few minutes later another one made it's way into our circle. We think they may have been falling from the trees as we did not see wings. At any rate they were big, ugly and sent a few people to bed.

This morning proved to be the day that you just wanted to sit down and not go home. The weather was perfect. It was hard to pack up and come home to reality. Some of us....there are quite a few people not working this next week. What was I thinking?

I Don't Want to Whine but..........

It's a little to hot for my liking. I'm all about the 75 and sunny with a little less humidity. The two room ac's are doing some work, but not much. I'm sure that as soon as I pour the $$ into having the central AC fixed the weather will cool off.

My poor dog was a mess yesterday. I was pretty concerned about her as we didn't have the ac's in yesterday and I got home and she was laying on the kitchen floor panting. She looked how I felt after lugging in 2 cases of water and some groceries. We got the ac in the bedroom window and I put her in there and that's where she stayed the rest of the night. The cats had the right idea in staying in the basement. She was much better today but I'm starting to see her age now. A few years back she would have sprung right back. Of course while at the store yesterday I had to see the idiot that left their dog in the car. Pets or kids left in the car on days like this are inexcusable. You don't need anything that bad that can't wait. I'm sure there will be several news stories within the next day or so regarding this matter. I'll wait until the news breaks and rant some more.

On a lighter note, with all the rain we had Friday the ground in our yard was still wet yesterday. I feel good knowing that the $$ I spent on flowers did not get wasted yet. Some of the weeds are doing quite nicely also. Hope I don't get a fine for those.

They're Taking the Nation By Storm

Because I'm a dork I actually took the time to look up the history of Combos. I know they've been around for some time now but they seemed to have faded away for a few years. I found that they were invented in the mid 70's. Within the past few years the company (Mars) has hired two new advertising firms.

When I first took my liking to Combos there were only two varieties available: The cheddar cheese cracker and the cheddar cheese pretzel. I prefer the cheddar cheese pretzel still. These are the variates now available:

Cheddar Cheese Cracker (original)
Cheddar Cheese Pretzel
Nacho Cheese Pretzel
Pepperoni Pizza Cracker
Pizzeria Pretzel
Zesty Salsa Tortilla

I'm not a big fan of the other flavors. To fake of a taste.
I started writing this post because just today I encountered a few run-ins with Combos. I walked in the lunchroom and overheard a co-worker ask the vending machine man if he could put Combos in the machine. (He won't but made it sound probable as he asked what flavors). A while later while eating lunch a co-worker pulled out a sack (large bag) of combos claiming they were her lunch. Then a discussion began about where to get them. I got the lead of Farm & Fleet, Walmart and just about every gas station you walk in. A argument almost broke out when someone said Sentry. There was tension in the air as one person pointed out that Sentry doesn't carry shit. I've been to Sentry and never saw Combos. Pick & Save came up and the general conscience was that not all P&S carry them. The conversation faded away.

On my way home from work I glanced over at the car next to me just in time to see a guy tipping the last of his bag of Combos into his mouth. He looked to be quite a happy guy. The story doesn't end here.

I stopped at my local P&S on my way home (one that does not carry Combos). As I was going down the snack isle a customer stopped an employee asking where they kept the Combos. He looked crushed when it was announced that they don't carry them. He clutched his chest and fell to the ground. (not really). The employee stated that they "May" begin to carry them as so many customers have asked for them. So as if that wasn't enough for the day, I am then walking to my car and what should blow past me but an empty bag from Combos. I would like to think that those that indulge in the combo are courteous enough to dispose of the waste properly.

I've also made a friend for life. I've been bringing a bag of Combos to Dylan's baseball games and his 2 year old sister will sit next to me and chow them down. She likes to dip them in the cheese of whoever's nachos she can get her hands on.Don't worry Stb, I will replace my stash of them.

If It Starts

This entire weekend was spent working on the porch and doing yard work. I painted a ton of trim and now that it's all up I'll be touching it up sometime this week. The good news is the windows are now done. I can open them and get a nice breeze going. The bad news is there is more work to be done. I think Menards loves us this past couple of days.

While my husband was slaving away at getting all the trim done I took on the chore of cutting the grass and cleaning it up. It appears we don't have a bag for our mower. I asked if I should cut the grass and got a response of "Sure if the mower starts". For craps sake if we need a new mower then go buy one. Well it started but I stood wondering were the bag was. I should have worn leg guards and goggles because stuff was blowing all over. When the job was complete I asked for the blower/leaf sucker to clean up the mess. Once again "Sure if it starts". Now this is beyond belief as this blower is only 2 years old. I know because I bought it for him. It started after a few pulls and I was on my way. 1/2 hour later with my arm vibrating I shut if off and noticed my husband talking to the neighbor. I heard the comment "What's next for her. Can you get her up on the roof to start those shingles". As my head spun around and I spit green I sarcastically said "That's not funny", and I quit.

Yep, that's poop I smell

Friday. An off day. A day to sleep past 3:15 a.m. A day to wake up to the sunshine verses dark. A day to lay under the covers just a few more minutes. A day to wake up when I want to. But someone had a different plan for me.

There I was in the midst of a good dream when everything went sour (or should I say stink?) This was something I couldn't even blame on Barney. Maybe I should have taken into consideration that just because I don't have an alarm clock today, that maybe someone else does. I shan't take the blame for this. Right now the culprit is outside looking a little bit sheepish. It appears that Sadie's is pretty regular.

I can't stand the smell of anything cooking while I'm sleeping. Never could. I'm not the person on the commercial that is awaken by the smell of something brewing and wakes with a smile. I'm the person that smells something and hides her face under the pillow. My stomach immediately churns. Well it churned and did a few flips this morning. Out of my deep and relaxing sleep came the words "Shit, I smell poop". It woke Barney also who's first words were " What the hell is wrong with her". I don't recall the cold nose nudging my arm or the little whimper which if not answered turns into a loud bark. This would have prompted me to get up and let her out or suffer the outcome. There was no warning. Just the smell. Hell she even knew it was bad. As soon as I hit the "spot" she was standing at the door ready to hit the road. Barney got up, looked at the area, went and did his own morning ritual and hit the sack again. I, cleaned it up, disposed of it, de-smelled the area and am now wide awake at 6:40 a.m. when I should still be sleeping. She's out laying on the deck in the sun looking all kinds of smug.

Tired

I don't know if it's effects of the cold I had or what, but I could have fallen asleep at the bat of an eye today. Luck had it that today I spent a lot of time entering numbers and sitting in front of a computer. I almost drank a cup of coffee but then my senses got the best of me.

I think the higher ups at work are counting their chickens before they are hatching. As I was eating lunch my former boss and the warehouse manager were conversing about hiring some people for the new business that's coming our way. They brought me into the conversation by mentioning that they still hadn't replaced me out on the floor and then went on to say they were going to have to go back to two shifts. Insert doom music here. Not doom for the new business, but doom for the other shift. I think I may have ESP because the next question that came was whether I thought it should be a second or third shift. "Why are you asking me" I innocently said. It was then that warehouse guy starts talking about how they're going to have to hire a shipping person as he can't do it alone. He can't handle all the paperwork and trucking. So I said " They'll probably need another QC person too, because I'm not working two shifts" (with a chuckle). Former boss then says "No, Charlie (new boss) will need to start earning his salary." If I was a betting person I'd put a grand down on Charlie staying on day's and me going to another shift. Then I choose third as I cannot stand working second shift. The bad news is it's going to happen. The good news is they're predicting not until after October. All in all if it means we're picking up business, then it's a good thing.

I think Sadie may have finally come to the conclusion that rabbits do not belong in our yard. I also think she may have attacked one. When I let her out before work she usually does her business and comes right back in. If not, I shake the treat container and she comes running. I had to go out and look for her this morning and found her digging at something and growling. She may have gotten into a nest. I went to look after work and all I saw was some fur. Hopefully something else got it and not her. At any rate, there may be hope for the mighty huntress yet.