I Need To Dust

I left for the store yesterday morning and returned to find that A and Ben had been working on tearing down the porch. The porch sits on the west side of our house which is where the kitchen and dining room are. It was mostly the width of the dining room. The boys had succeeded in removing the roof and doors. I walked in the house and was shocked by just how bright my dining room was. This was nice, except for on small thing. You could see every speck of dust and you could see dog hair on the floor that I just vacuumed hours before. You could tell that I hadn't dusted the rarely used dining room chairs in a while (not as bad as Stb's). Crap! Now there has been a can of worms opened which is going to just mean more work for me. I am liking the afternoon sunlight hitting the room.

The second problem with having this room under construction is our dog. She has never been on a chain, except for going for walks. She is not a very happy camper right now. Apparently a temporary fence is under construction. Last night I got the lecture on making sure I don't just open the door in the morning and let her out. "Duh" was my reply (I will admit it was a bit cocky). What do I do this morning? You got it, I opened the door, let the dog out, headed for the bathroom and realized my mistake.
I went back outside to find her just sitting on the deck. I'm not quite sure she realizes there is freedom for the taking.

We had a trivia tournament Saturday and although we didn't win big, I think we did okay. The questions were a bit harder than usual and we seconded guessed some of them but out of 26 teams we came in 6th place. We had a substitute player, while Stb was off on a roof top in Chicago. Thanks to Clete and his memory of song lyrics. My husband who was accused of usually being in la-la land was on it with the 3 second sound bytes from TV shows. I watched him scribbling away on his scratch paper as they were being played. I think he's now gotten over us replacing Great American Hero with St. Elsewhere. Oops..sorry honey.

After a long day at Trivia we went on to a small church festival where my husband and brother made their usual haul. Let's just say to all the fellow campers that it better rain a lot as they are stocked up with Jack for a long time. If Bonnie's nice she can probably get one just for sitting in her chair looking pretty. We also have about a years supply of hard salami. After the festival it was a sad goodbye to some great friends who have been visiting from Virgina. We'll miss them. Here's to a safe trip home.

Naked

My husband finally got the drawings together and made the trek to City Hall for the building permit for our porch. By the time I got home from work the demo had started. I didn't even get to say my last goodbyes before he started ripping it to shreds. There must be some kind of sick joy a man gets when ripping something apart as there he stood with crowbar in hand and a scary smile on his face. I know what was running through his head "I'll get you for all the times I had to fix the damn leaks. I'll show you".

By 8pm tonight the entire inside, the windows and the siding on two sides of the porch were gone. Part of the shingles on the roof are off. He had to call it quits as the bugs were getting to him. In a different situation I think he would have been out there with flood lights. Funnier was the guy next door looking over in pure admiration. He wanted in also.

I'm excited about getting a new screen porch, but I'm also a little sad. I can remember coming here when my kids were babies and sitting out on the porch with them and my younger siblings and parents. Many a family dinner, birthday celebrations and holidays were spent on the porch. The playpen was tucked in the corner so the kids could be out there and see out all the windows. Many poker games and board games where played out there. There were a few sleep overs on cots on the screen porch. Many TV shows watched and just chatting around the table. Most of all, my dad built the porch. There have been renovations over the years but it remained the original structure he built. To many good memories.

I know my husband will do an excellent job rebuilding the porch and I'm sure there will be many more memories to come. It's just a little sad right now. The back of my house will look naked for awhile and hopefully will not become a mud hole. Maybe we'll find some rare fossils or coins when digging that could bring us new found wealth.

And Three Makes it "Enough Already"

Late last September our AC took a poop. We had had a service guy over for yearly maintenance and he had discovered that the Freon was low and filled it. They suspected that there might have been a leak but wasn't to concerned about it. At the time we had inquired about the repair costs and replacement cost as the unit is going on 20 years old. So who thinks about these things in the winter when you're more concerned about getting heat in your home? Last week we decided to make an appointment for service. Husband called several places just to get more than one option. Guy #1 shows up yesterday. Not really worth it to fix it as it is at it's life expectancy. Gives us a figure of $2700.00 to replace the unit. After our jaws hit the ground we were able to ask a few questions. This is nothing more than pulling out the old unit and putting in a new one. Some electrical permit is involved. Not sure why. We tell him we'll let him know. In the mean time we borrow a room AC from Ben & Annette (thank you) to put in our bedroom to allow us to sleep.

Did I forget to mention that when I pulled in the driveway after work yesterday that I saw the hood open on my husbands truck? I should have just kept driving. He replaced the water pump today ($80.00).

Guy # 2 shows up today. I was at work so I got the information second hand. $2300.00 and they'll replace the furnace also for $1400.00. WTF? (knock on wood) nothing is wrong with that. He then tells me that the guy said there is a recall on our furnace. It's also 20 years old. I call bullshit as the people that serviced our furnace in March this year would have told us. I think it's a plot. My guess is that now in October when I turn the heat on it will go out. Then I'll get the AC for $1400.00 and the furnace will jump to $2300.00.

So, as if that wasn't enough...I decide to do laundry tonight. Go to put the first load in the dryer, turn on the dryer, the heat comes out but the drum does not turn. "Oh no, this is not happening" I calmly reach inside and turn the drum by hand, close the door, start it up and it makes this terrible clunk and begins to turn. I'm thinking the belt must have slipped. I then got a little nervous that it would stop and just burn my clothes so I went downstairs every few minutes. The old gal held on for three loads. I told Mr. Fix-It when he got home and all I saw was rolling eyes. Poor guy took vacation this week to begin working on the screen porch and has done nothing but fix things so far. I could put money on the fact that it won't get looked at.

This is my bad things happens in threes. I consider myself free and clear for awhile now. I can now go on living my life a little easier until the next thing comes along.

If this is the worst that's going to happen I feel pretty fortunate.

I Really Need To Carry A Camera

When I left the house yesterday morning for Summerfest there was a little chill in the air. Local weatherman said cooler by the lake. Using my better judgement I left the jacket in the car. There was no need for the extra baggage to carry around. The weather was great! A few of the guys managed to get a little pink in the face.

The day was interesting. Anytime there is a large gathering of people there are some that really stand out. I'm pretty sure it's the ones that want to stand out. This is where the lack of a camera is felt. People watching is a great thing! There were the usual Mohawks but what I found strange was the 50 plus year old woman with the red, white and blue one. There must have been a sale on black fishnet stockings somewhere as they were worn by many early 20 girls. The best outfit has to go to the girl with the thigh high fishnets made really fashionable with the furry boots. I spotted a girl that appeared to have lost her shorts or pants as she was just sporting boy shorts undergarments. I can pretty much say they were of the Hanes collection. We stopped to listen to a band (I am bad with band names) who had a good following of the "charlie Brown Christmas Special Dancers".

It was a good day. The bottled beer was chilled, the fried eggplant was better than last year and the company of friends was good. We left around 6 ish to be driven to the Park & Ride on a very empty bus. There was a little bit of silly singing for every one's enjoyment on the trip back. We were then able to enjoy a minute or so ride in STB's car back to Ben & Annette's house for a dinner of Gold Rush chicken and pizza and the best fries in Milwaukee.

It's A Vacation Day That You Can't Go Home

The tittle of my blog is a quote made by a co-worker on Tuesday. It was pretty dead by us for three days. We were on a repetitive, yet boring job. Around 8am Tuesday I made the comment that this could be a long two days. After joking around a bit I said "It's like hell with no fire". A few minutes later he came back with his comment. For some reason all three of us found it funny at the time.

Fortunately my company gave us a four day weekend. I'm thankful for that, as our weekend has filled up quite a bit. Today my daughter, sister and I took 6 kids to the Racine Zoo. I haven't been there in about 20 or so years. It's very small but very well kept and the kids seemed to enjoy it. There's quite a few animals with no lines or people mashing into you to get a view of the gorilla that moved an inch. The view of the lake is great. Racine has a very well kept beach area which I've been to before for air shows. And here's a plus...it doesn't smell at the beach.

The weather is promising to cooperate for the weekend. I'm glad it won't be sticky hot as walking around Summerfest sweating your ass off isn't all that appealing to me. We're looking at mid 70's which, if it happens could be perfect. I'm not really into the fireworks thing so we'll be heading to Ben & Annette's house after Summerfest. Sounds like a good day is in order.

Happy 4th To all of you and remember to say a little prayer for all those protecting our Country right now.

It's Raining Again.....

I think the only thing that would have cut through the humidity Friday & yesterday was for it to rain. The clouds that were coming toward my house yesterday afternoon did prove to be a little nasty. And the cooler dryer air that came with it was a relief from the humidity. Today I was able to shut off all the fans in the house and let nature take it's course. It's cooled off quite nicely.

I ventured out with my friend today to our first visit of Strawberry Fest held in Cedarburg. We were meeting up with some others and were warned in advance to get there early as it does get a bit crowded. They were planning on arriving at 7:30 am for the start of the Strawberry Pancake Breakfast. We were not going that early. We arrived around 9am and the crowd was pretty scarce. That is until we walked the the main road and saw "the line". The line for the pancake breakfast went down the block and around the corner. Sorry but no pancake is worth that wait in line for me. We opted for the $3.00 Strawberry Shortcake which proved to be possible the best I've ever eaten. We met up with our friends and strolled around a bit. By around noon the crowd was getting thick. It was that shuffle, shuffle, kind of walking. I was constantly looking for a spot to break free. Then I took a look at the sky and noticed the dark clouds. We decided to leave around 1230 and as we got it started raining. Had it been a little warmer and not so crowded we may have stuck around as there were a few bands playing but seriously beside the small vendor tents there was no where to go to not get soaked. That and the fact that the two public bathrooms I saw had lines longer than drunken Opening Day.
All in all I did accomplish the shuffle. Now I should be all set for Summerfest.

Future File Tape

My husband has been working some long hours the past week due to his company having a booth at Summerfest this year. Yesterday he came straight from work in time to catch the ending of the first inning of Dylan's baseball game. He looked pretty worn out. After a few minutes he casually mentions to me that his mug may be on tv later. He was interviewed while setting up at Summerfest and told to watch the 10 pm news. I walked in the bedroom after Trivia last night to find him sound asleep and caught him on the news. His infamous words while unloading the back of the work truck "Yeah, it's been a rough one". End of his fame. When I told him about it this morning he laughed and remarked that they had talked to him for about 5 minutes. I also had to ask him if he knew this was coming as his hair was looking somewhat good. Not the usually standing on end or combed back look. Perhaps they caught him early in the day.

This is not the first time he's been on the tube. His company was on the Gus Tour show about a year ago and he's all up in the tube. They were also on about 3 years ago and he was on for a quick second. I think he may have gotten over his camera jitters. Wonder what's next?

Free Food?

I don't usually touch on news items to much as I like to keep my opinions of some things to myself, but today I feel compelled to voice my thoughts.
Is this the way we want Milwaukee portrayed in the news? I know it's a touch of reality, but is it that we are that needy of a city, or that we are loaded with free-loaders? Did the city bite off more than they could chew? Did they not think that the offer of $542.00 in food vouchers for a family of 4 would not cause near riot scenes? The sad part about this is that probably only 25% of the people who stood on the line were actually flood victims. Having some of your kids clothes that were in the basement get wet does not make you worthy of receiving free food vouchers.
Openly admitting on camera that you're just there to see if you can get them, and don't really need them does not make you anything more that a free-loader.
Then to have the alderman and Mayor speak about how they were so shocked at the amount of people that showed up (1/2 of them not even knowing why they could get these vouchers) and say they didn't realize that our city had that many hungry people. Yes, we have hungry people. We have a lot of people who need help and cannot get it. They don't have enough people to process these applications, so many of these vouchers will get into the wrong hands. Your penalty for lying on the application: a $250,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison. If they bilked you into getting the vouchers, they will bilk their way out of any kind of retribution for lying. They will be let go as "Uneducated victims who didn't understand what they were applying for".
I've been in the down and out position in my life and did stand on the cheese line once and also received WIC for 6 months. I was fortunate enough to have parents who, without me asking, helped out. I would come home from mom's to find a few food items tucked in the diaper bag. In the words of my father "Where there's a will, there's a way". Sometimes we are all guilty of not getting our priorities straight but one with responsibilities soon will learn from their mistakes. I am, however not guilty of ever being a moocher. I can always find someone that's in a worse way than I am and help out if needed. The people that I saw on the news yesterday and this morning were nothing more than guilty of trying to get something that they do not have coming. The one's that really had the help coming were probably at the end of the line. Why do our news stations only show the idiots?

Polka Dots, The Monkey, A Fashion Show & Prizes

Apparently dousing yourself in a vat of mosquito repellent wasn't enough to ward off the pesky little varmints this weekend. I guess it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that mucho rain=standing water=eggs=hatching=mosquito's=biting me.
The back of my legs, my ass and my back has the appearance of measles. Fortunately, not many of them itch yet, but I'll be taking the generic anti-itch medication I picked up just for this occasion.

Other than that minor problem the weekend went well. Once again there was way to much food, plenty to drink and the company of good friends. This year the task of Pudgie Pie cook was handed over with proper ceremony to Stb, who did a fine job. You can probably read about it in his blog if he is not to modest to gloat a little.
We had a few sprinkles of rain but for the most part the sun was present most of the weekend.

Our guest this weekend was "monkey". He came flying in shortly after dusk of Friday night. My husband "scored" on this furry little creature with rubber band sections of legs & arms. You pull this thing back like a sling shot and when it lands it makes this annoying, yet funny screaming noise. "Monkey" survived the weekend being annoying, yet never being tossed into the fire.

I know the motto "What Happens At Camping, Stays At Camping" but I cannot hold back on the Saturday morning fashion show. Some one's father disappeared into his camper and reappeared moments later wearing a striking pajama ensemble made lovingly for him by his talented seamstress bride. These pj's will hold sentimental value as they were crafted from the very own "rainbow" collection of sheets that C & R used to tuck J and baby Precious into at night. And as if C didn't work hard enough on that project, she managed to (while sometimes under the influence) whip out 16 scrubbies in a vast assortment of colors. Time was a ticking away and that needle was going at a steady rate but she finished in time to award the prizes for those who earned them. The contest: when making the potato salad C found that some of the potato's were to small to cut up so she left them whole. Those who wished to partake in the contest were required to find the whole potato's. I think there's one still hidden in the bowl of salad so R could earn himself a scrubbie.

All in All it was a good weekend. For the next few day while I am scratching away I will have fond memories.

Blame The Cook

I think that Jesus has a personal liking for my husband. Every time we go to a church festival the man makes a haul. His booty for the recent visit included:4 cases of brats, a bottle of wine, a 12 pack of beer, a sausage and a ham. I went over to the paddle game that he was winning on and they knew him. They knew that he wanted to purchase the last paddle each time..and when he did , he won. I think he needs to purchase the last lottery ticket to ensure a win also.

Yesterday when putting all these brats away in the freezer I came across a box of Italian sausage that he won last September. They were all wrapped in freezer wrap and protected very well. I decided that we should have them for dinner. I gave him several options-spaghetti with Italian sausage, bombers or a little dish called Polish Chop Suey. He opted for the Polish Chop Suey. As I was putting it together I had second thoughts as two of the ingredients are sauerkraut and mushroom soup. "How bad can it be" I asked myself. It turned out pretty good and he must of thought so also as he went for seconds. About an hour after we ate I was outside painting the fence and the end of our driveway and he was loading wood in the truck for the weekend camping trip. It was then that I noticed a stank odor in the air. I stood up and looked at him and as our eyes met I said "Was that you? Oh my GOD!" By the look on his face I knew it was. He then says "Phew, that dinner you made is hitting me hard". This is my fault. This continued throughout the night. Why do I do these things? Last night he put E to shame.

Crushed

Game 2 of the inter-league tournament. Dylan's team (Yankees) won 5-4. They played a good game and were told that they were on to game 3. The coach instructed them to go home, shower, eat a protein filled lunch and return to the ballpark at 1 pm for their next game. (BTW-Dylan had a great hit into center field which tied up the game)

A & I took off with a plan to return at 130 ish. We were walking out the door and received a call from my son (who was very irate mind you) and told to sit tight for a minute as there was an issue with the game. I wish I would have not listened and went anyway. A few minutes go by and he calls back to let us know that they had to forfeit the last game. WHA...WHA...WHA..What? They won. It appears that after the game ending cards were signed off by the coaches that the coach from the other team had a question. This question came up in a game a few nights ago. The opposing team had a pitcher in for one inning, he then returned 3 innings later to pitch again. According to the Ump that night, who claims he called the Little League commissioner this was okay. They could return, but had to be out for at least two innings. So, today the Yankee's had a pitcher in for the first inning and pulled him out. In the 5th inning they put him back in. The coach walked over to the ump and opposing team coach to notify them of the pitching change and to give him the boy's name. The boy pitches, they win the game. The score sheets are signed and nothing at all is said. Nothing, until all these kids left the field and went home for their hour rest. All hyped and geared up for the next game.

The kid's come back only to find out they won't be playing. The coach's are all trying to get a hold of the commissioner who they find sitting at a picnic table with a bunch of other guys drinking beers. They question this whole mess and are told that it's in the rule book. No one can find it anywhere. The ass wipe goes on to tell the coaches and parents that the Ump made a mistake the other night in telling them it was okay. Well, then the coach wants their loss from the other night wiped off. To late the guys says...you had to do that before the next game played. so they try to get this gripe fixed as the next game hasn't started yet and the guy tells them his decision has been made. "Take it up with the committee". They ask that the game be postponed until they can get a straight answer. He contradicts himself several times in the conversation and lets the next game start. They are still talking to him when he brings up the point that they had to protest before the start of the next game. Ass wipe. Not sure what is going to happen next as there is a meeting this week over the whole issue. To bad for the kids on the Yankees team and way to go for the other team's teaching the kids that they lost...but won.

Here's a good one also. When the tournament rules came out it stated that there could be no alcoholic beverages in and around the diamonds. Someone questioned the commissioner about his beer. He had a permit. This is supposed to be the best league in the City. But, I guess there's no use crying over spilt milk.

A Welcome Weekend

As long as the rain holds out or even stays to a minimum this could be a good weekend. I planned ahead and got all the little piddly things out of the way yesterday so I could actually enjoy the next 2 days. Dylan has baseball tournaments tonight and if they win, will go on to play 1 to 3 games tomorrow. Guess we'll be camping out for the day at the local park. Then it's on to the local Church festival where I can observe my husband playing every paddle game in site. This will stock up his bar with cheap booze and possibly a case or two of brats and Italians. He tried to bet me that he could make it through the festival without playing any games but I felt bad knowing that he'd loose the bet.

Work was a disaster this week. I think that's all I'm going to say about that.

My daughter had a surgery today that is supposed to relieve the pain she's having in her legs and back after having a back fusion over a year ago. I stopped at the surgery center on my way home from work as she was just getting into recovery. Funny thing is I know my kids embellish in drink here and there but I've never seen either of them in a state of drunkenness. She was a little dopey from the pain meds and it was hard for me not to chuckle a bit. They had given her a soda and crackers to munch on prior to letting her go and she was looking at these crackers like they were some sort of foreign object. Studying each and every one of them. Her choice of drink was an orange/pineapple drink which she went into detail about how WE used to get them at school. A puzzled look came over her face as she looked at me and realized we did not go to school together. After about 30 minutes she was released and I very sincerely wished my son-in-law the best of luck for the evening.

Slish-Slosh

Prior to the sky opening on Saturday I was on a roll with yard work. I managed to get in a little on Sunday before the second wave of storms blew through. Yesterday I took a quick look around to survey the effects of the monsoon like weather we had. It didn't look to bad at a quick glance. So I dug it in tonight and continued on my trek toward the summer yard. I figure if the porch is going into demo stage then at least our yard can look somewhat nice. I filled up two P&S plastic bags with those freaking whrilly bird things that fall from our tree. Anyone know of someone with a tree farm. I guarantee they will grow because if we don't pick them up the little buggers are sprouting up all over.

When I got to the far back yard I discovered that it was a big soggy. I'm not quite sure how the hubby cut the grass as it was soaked. The grass is lush and green. I started planting some flowers that I had bought and figure it'll be a few days until they need water. Although we don't have any standing water it's very wet. I feel very fortunate that we did not sub stain any serious damage.

When I ventured to the front yard there was a squawking bird up in the tree. This thing would not fly away. It was then I made the discovery. She was homeless and her babies had suffered the effects of the storm. It seems that the birdhouse that was hanging in that tree was blown to the ground. She squawked louder when I picked it up. The nest was still intact and I could see eggs. I guess I could have easily gotten rid of the birdhouse but I got it back up in the tree. Last look she was sitting on top of it....very quietly.

"Good Luck With Your Basement"

That little ditty seems to be the phrase of the day. Shows you how friendly the people in Milwaukee and surrounding areas are. Sure, we're all in the same boat.
We were fortunate to only have a small amount of water in our basement, but what do you expect when you get dumped on with 8 plus inches of rain. Our little sump pump could only handle so much but we're glad for what it did.

Our yard, on the other hand is a mess. All the bark and mulch I had out is washed away somewhere. The helicopter things that fall from our tree are covering our yard and decks. The best bet there is to wait a few days until things dry out and then suck them up. All in all I can't really complain, as there are families in much worse condition then we are. I just watched a home in Lake Delton floating down the Wisconsin River. People just need to be a little smarter and stay out of the swollen rivers and not send their kids out to play in the raw sewage pond that is now their backyard.

My new computer is all set up and operating. I'm loving it. I have a lot to explore and get used to but so far so good.

My weekend sucked except for Friday night when I went with Annette to the unveiling of the Pink Harley. Had two Cosmos and a few munchies and proceeded to the local pub where we met up with some friends. Being that STB was in Vegas, I was able to collect the winning tickets off the Miller Lite bottles several times (4). Saturday and Sunday were emotional crap days spent trying to convince the brain surgery brother-in-law to seek some help. He's currently on a roll to self destruction. Very sad situation, but people are wearing thin trying to help them out.

I'm back to the normal shift now and happy as a lark. It's a little quiet due to lack of employees, but I'm sure we'll get used to the change. We're on our way out to catch Dylan's baseball game. They had to switch the location due to the original one being now under water.

Hope everyone weathered the storm well

What The #@$%^!!!

Yesterday was quite the busy day around this house. I was up bright and early to start the yearly chore of cleaning out all the gardens and replanting. I figured I'd better hit the greenhouse as early as possible to avoid the rush. By 830 am I was at the first one. Now I'm a pretty good cipher-er and totaled up my purchases. Imagine my shock when I got to the checkout and she rang up almost $90.00 less than I had purchased. I asked her if she was sure and her reply was "No, I got it all".
I was trying to be honest after the 12 pack of coke incident in Rhode Island. I asked again and she asked if I thought she over charged me. "No, just the opposite" I said. "No, I got it all" was repeated. When I got to my car and checked the receipt I was very under charged. Score. Not so much luck at the other stores. I'm hoping that the plants & flowers I wasn't charged for will live for at least a week or so. We managed to get quite a bit cleaned up and I did start planting some stuff. We have nothing going on this weekend so hopefully the weather will hold out. A see a few beers in the picture also (it will help to ease the muscle pain).

I finally took the plunge and ordered the new computer (well kind of) I am currently on hold awaiting a Customer Service Rep. as my order was kicked out the first time due to my debit card having a purchase limit. I forgot about that prior to placing the order so this is partially my fault. We're going on 15 minutes on hold right now. This doesn't include the first time I was on hold for 10 minutes and was cut off. The recorded voice is telling me to stay on the line as my call is important to them. Hopefully I'll get the English speaking person for my final call.

So here's what it's like to go back to work after being gone from the place for 6 working days. 5 people were let go and there was some shuffling. We're back to 5 of the original people from 1st shift. We thought we'd have a meeting this morning explaining why as only the shift leader and I knew somewhat of what was going on. I'm not quite sure anyone was expecting this as it was a little shocking. I'm on my last week of 3rd shift and looking forward to getting back to a normal shift next week.

Still on hold...my call is still important to them. She's thanking me for waiting. I just hope the doofus who's taking my call isn't on break or something. If so, most breaks are only 10-15 minutes so they'd better quit gabbing at the coffee machine or water cooler and get back to work. Maybe they're chatting about their weekend activities or something.

I'm giving them 5 more minutes and they lost my sale.

The Long Way Home

After what seemed to be forever we made it home safe and sound. For some reason it seemed that we got there a lot quicker. Maybe it was the straight through drive on the way there. I don't think any of us got more than 2-3 hours of sleep on the way out. I have problems sleeping in a car. I did note some people nodding off here and there and being awaken by their own snores. It's always funny to witness this, but funnier when it happens to you. A sudden snort will jar you out of complete sleep and you look around to see who made the noise and then realize it came from your own nose or mouth. I also noticed that sleep talking is not only Annette's thing. Interesting speech will jar anyone awake.

Interesting but funny license plate on the way home today "WHUZ HIZ". On the Illinois turnpike.

Not much new on the home front. House was still standing, grass is long, no water in the basement and the fridge and freezer were both running. The fridge has been re-stocked after a visit to the local P&S. There must have been something big going on there earlier today as they had stands set up all over the store. Most of the signs were for Roundy's food items. Guess they're pushing the Roundy's brand this week.

Things I learned on this trip:
Rhode Islander's are very friendly people. All you have to do is step off a curb (not even in a cross walk) and cars will stop and let you cross.
Boston sucks
The entire New England area is windy-forget about any hair styles out there
Croc's are popular nation wide.
There are some wealthy people out there. Newport & Jamestown make Bay Shore & River Hills look like pauper land.
Rhode Islanders are very laid back.
Flatulence is everywhere
A Cozy Cab is a cozy cab
My husband cannot read a map.
Toll booths suck! Wisconsin needs to start charging for road usage
There's a whole hell of a lot of road kill out there.
We have the worst radio stations in the nation
All Super 8's are not the same
Minor League baseball is quite entertaining
Fast food is fast food, no matter where it's from.
Lobster continues to gross me out. (Lobster splatter on the dining room window is even grosser)
When traveling always have beef jerky-it hits the spot
Cosmos are yummy
Someone told their son that I indulge in Bloody Mary's-had to save face
The worst part of a vacation is the end.

It's Raining On My Parade

We've been pretty fortunate with weather so far. Yesterday we went to a Pawsocks game which was enjoyable. The hot dogs were a little weak, but the beer was tasty. Stopped at the Warwick Hooters afterwards for wings, a passport stamp and some tee shirts. Wings were good, service sucked. Our service was slow because "our waitress was in a meeting" then "she was outside". We couldn't figure out if she was fired or what. It also seemed strange to hold a shift meeting with tables full of people waiting for service. Never quite figured it out. One girl served our drinks and took our order. Food came, no plates. Things were a little amiss. Then when a waitress finally did appear I almost chocked on my wing when she stood next to me and yelled in a very thick Jersey accent "Is everything all right here" Scared the crap out of me. I'm trying to figure out why everyone yells around here. At the stadium a young girl selling freeze pops just about shoves them in your face while screaming "Freeze Pops" at the top of her lungs. Gave J & I something to laugh about for awhile.

Woke up this morning to cloudy,cold and raining. It's off to Boston and then Maine as soon as we all start hauling ass out of bed. Guess who's still laying in bed? Give you a hint- I'm blogging, J's showering, K's upright and eating left over Hooters Wings.

It's All In The Family

After a 20 hour road trip we arrived safe and sound in Rhode Island. I was impressed at the Travel Stations along the way. I'm pretty sure we missed a few as my husband seems to have developed an adult bladder now.

J's family was generous enough to stock our room with a few necessities ( beer was a total score). We then went on a little tour of Middleton/ Newport over to their house. Yesterday was just a hang out and relax day and pizza which was yummy. This brought on a little gas from everyone. You'll all be happy to know that the flatulence in this family starts at Bonnie and Mick and goes right on down to little Tizzy. However I must say the Mick II has beat out everyone in the oder department.

Today it's off to the waterfront if we catch the bus. I'm in search of sea glass and the souvenir spoon for the mother-in-law, then it's over to the family for a barbecue. The sun is shining it's probably in the low 70's, I'm on vacation and life is grand.

I did score on a 12 pack of diet coke yesterday. Walking through the store parking lot with J on our way to a little pampering at the local nail place when I saw it. In the cart coral on the bottom of a cart was one lonely 12 pack of diet coke. I looked around to assure that no one was driving off without it and then snatched it up. I was on my way back into the store to turn it in when I ummm.. forgot and carried it into the Nail place with me. I meant to take it on the way back to the hotel but totally forgot. Lugging it up the hill to the hotel was a chore. Maybe I'll take it back today...if I have time.

Yep..You Guessed It-1 More Week on Third

The part that broke on our machine has now been semi-fixed. I was able to begin training associates on 3rd shift last night. There are still some kinks to work out with the system but I got through it pretty well. The problem is 1 night is not enough time to get everyone trained and comfortable. They are not running the line next week, so when I return from a much needed vacation I will be working the shift for one more week.

I mentioned to my husband this morning that it was very quiet on 3rd and you don't have people bugging you or constantly walking through the line. There are no trials, except that trials are a huge learning experience. The night goes by pretty fast as it's busy. He got this frightful look on his face and asked if I was thinking of staying on 3rd. Not for .35 per hour I'm not. Not for the constant tiredness and inability to sleep during the day.

When working days I average about 6 to 6 1/2 hours a sleep per night. On third it's about 5 hours of very broken up sleep. One guy that works on 3rd was telling me he sleeps from 8am to 2-gets up for lunch-sleeps again from 3-9. When I mentioned that he was getting 12 hours of sleep a day he looked a little shocked. "Wakes up for lunch" What a kook.

So J's family has got to be proud of her brother making Commander. I'll bet Bonnie had to let all the buttons out of Mick's shirts to allow for the pride. I'm happy for all them. This is a big deal. I'll have 17 hours to think of an appropriate gift.

So long all, for now! Have a good Memorial Day and remember to log on to WKLH.com to pledge to the Childrens Hospital.

It's Gonna Be A Long Ride

It is one more day before we leave on our trip to Rhode Island. The plan is to depart around 8 pm tomorrow night. I need to pack. I have things piled up and ready but they need to make their way into the suitcase. I have a mental checklist of what to bring and if something should be forgotten, I'm sure RI has stores.
Has anyone ever made a list of the absolute essentials for traveling? I jot things down but leave the notes at work or crunched up in my purse. I truly think that because we camp so much that some things are just a natural. Camping is different though as the stores are sometimes a bit out of the way. Therefore I have made a list of things that I never want to forget.

Toothbrush & toothpaste- you can borrow toothpaste, but not a toothbrush
Undergarments- nuff said
Soap- I simply refuse to use my husbands bar soap. Hotel soap is sticky and as much as I rinse I feel like there is a film of soap on me.
Money/wallet/purse-Ask J about this.
Tampons- so I don't have to send my husband, K & R to the local store for them.
A change of clothes until I can get to a store and buy more
Hair bands so when I forget my blow dryer I can just put my hair in a pony tail
Hat-so when I put my hair in a ponytail I can cover it with a hat
Lotion-My use of lotion is for dry skin
Makeup-something else you don't want to borrow.
books or magazines- so someone else can read them to me as I can't read on a plane or in the car.
My phone-so my kids can call me.
Cigarettes-a nasty habit.
I'm fairly sure I could survive a day or so on the above items. I'm sure that I better not forget anything that's essential for the car trip as the trip Nazi does not like to make unscheduled stops. The only relaxing part of this may be that he will sleep for a portion of the ride. We may be able to pull off a smoke/pee stop without him waking up. I wonder if there's a CD we can purchase with sounds of driving or traffic that we could put in while we stop.

A Value Meal For a Home Run

I've come to the conclusion that I will need to spring for a new computer after our vacation. I'm a little outdated and funky things are starting to happen. I'm just glad that the bitch hung on as long as she has. (Isn't that what men do? Give a name to items.) She's 9 years old now and in computer years probably 90. She is unable to be upgraded or have any more memory added to her. I believe she is gracefully fading in senility.

My first clue that there was a problem was when I started getting lines across the screen whenever I scrolled down. Of course once you clicked the cursor on something the lines would disappear. Tried another monitor and the same thing happened. Well now the lines aren't always going away so when I'm reading emails I'm feeling a little like Steve Martin in the jerk. Something just don't make sense. I tried to cut and copy them and low and behold the little lines appear on the copies. I have now lost the ability to change my fonts and sizes. Don't get that one at all. Probably within a week or so I will be typing minute size in wingdings.

I have begun to seriously check out PC's and compare prices and packages. With the help of my son-in-law I should be able to complete this task within the next two weeks.

Like the loyal grandparents we are we sat on the warm bleachers (I remembered the blanket) and watched yet another interesting Little League game last night. In the past few weeks Dylan has had a little problem connecting at the plate. Not so true last night. Of course there was a little bribing game going on. "Get a hit, get a burger after the game". His first at bat he hit a line drive that got him to 1st base. The not so fast kid running from 2nd to 3rd was a little confused and was tagged out well after Dylan was safe. I say give him the burger still. Before his second at bat I told him if he hit a home run I'd upgrade the burger to a value meal. He hit well into right field and drove himself and two runs in. He wanted to know what a grand slam would get him. This is where I drew the line and pulled one out from the past. "It will give you the satisfaction of knowing you did well". I was shocked when there was no face, no comment, just a pumped up fist.

They were up 15-0 going into the 3rd inning. That's when all hell broke loose. Is it possible to walk 23 people? That was the coach's comment to the home plate Ump. "I call um as I see em sir" was the Grizzly Adams Ump's response. Immediately after that the pitcher who couldn't throw a strike was striking people out. The final score of the game 15-15 with exactly one hit made by the other team. These games are to say the least, exciting.

Keep Your Rain

The weather this weekend wasn't as cold as we thought it would be. Friday afternoon was actually quite warm but the chill came when the sun went down. It was a tad bit windy but the rain held out. The carefully tended campfire kept us all warm. Saturday afternoon was a keeper, but the evening put a damper on things with the rain. Had the rain been steady it would have been less frustrating. Old Mother Nature couldn't decide whether she wanted an annoying drizzle or a little steady rain and stop, rain and stop. I say either poop or get off the pot. The good thing was there were no pesty bugs. A few spiders here and there and some ants in the bathroom but they're harmless.

I think the next time we have pizza on the menu I may take a trip to the local tavern and purchase my frozen pizza from them. We had an assortment of pizza's but none of them tasted as good as the DeRangos from the tavern. Once again we were not lacking in the food or alcohol department.


I purchased a 7 inch flat screen color TV for my husband for Christmas. I could give a rat's ass about TV when I'm camping. This guy sat for a couple of hours playing with this thing to get it "set up". Saturday night I was a little peeved at him for having his TV on while some of us were attempting to listen to the Brewer game. I myself found it a little rude. I don't think it enters his mind or he can completely block out a radio. At home I'll have the radio on in the kitchen and he'll walk in and flick on the TV. I give up , I've been trying to figure him out for 24 years.

I got to work tonight only to find out that the part we're waiting for which will enable us to run and enable me to train people has still not arrived. Apparently as of Friday they still had no idea when it would be in. I figure by the time I get used to 3rd they'll put me back on 1st.

Last night was rough, but the first night usually is. I don't feel so bad as everyone on the shift looks about the same. I think they're on the buddy system to keep each other awake. Speaking of sleeping...I'm gonna go get me some.

13-1

I have to remember to bring a blanket to watch Dylan's games. The new metal bleachers are a tad bit cold on the butt. It was an interesting game. They won 13-1. In the 2nd inning they scored 10 runs. I felt comfortable with that much of a lead as when I looked over to the other two diamonds the scores for those teams were close. Slugger does have to learn to relax at the plate and not try to kill every ball pitched to him. He did get on base on balls twice which means he's paying attention but at his 3rd at bat he struck out. Got a piece of two but not enough to make them fair. It's off to the batting cages this weekend. I'm impressed by the coaches on this team as they treat the kids good. They're called off to the side and told of their mistakes rather than signaling them out. We were watching the coach from the other team (The Cubs) ream out every kid that made a error. I also noticed last night that the bleachers for Dylan's team are filled with parents and family members. The other team had more kids on the team than parents in the bleachers.

I am spending my morning baking cookies for my fellow camp mates. One special order of oatmeal/choc. chip is currently in the works. I seemed to have gotten my second wind after my tiring ride home. I think it was the price at the gas pump that shocked me into awareness.

Right before I left work today I have my annual "This is how much your raise is " meeting. Needless to say I didn't expect a windfall and although we always want more I can live with this. I think it was the added bonus of a $50.00 gift check that made it all good. The raise itself was 3 1/4 %. Once again, although I'm grateful it's not covering the cost of everything that's going up. Maybe that part-time job at Steins is looking better.

I smell burning...I better go.

The Chili (Chilie) Is Brewing

Yes, that's my assignment for this weekends camping outing. A big slow cooker chock full of chili. I came home from work this morning and started the concoction I call chili. I think I have just the right amount of ingredients in it however will have to check after it cooks for a few hours. I hate the smell of food cooking when I'm sleeping so I'll be keeping the window open and the bedroom door closed. Since my husband was robbed of his chili at Brat & Beer the other day I may allow him a small bowl. (I made extra)

The weather forecast looks to be nice during the day but chilly at night. Hopefully the boys have remembered to fill the propane. There will be plenty of warm clothing packed. The first time out is always the hardest in getting used to the cold nights. The fire master will keep the fire hot but as he said the walk to the bathroom may be a little nippely. Hopefully by the time it gets cold I'll be numb to it. Warning!! It's been a while since I've had more than 2 beers.

I fear it's going to be a long spring/summer unless we put the kabosh on the neighbor kids. Last year we went through fetching their ball from our backyard quite often. I mentioned before that if Sadie is outside the balls are pretty much toast. We've warned the kids and father of this fact. I'm not replacing balls that she gets. Yesterday afternoon my doorbell rings and here stands the younger kid asking if I can get his ball. I think the older one sent him over. I got the ball and threw it back over the fence. Ten minutes later, the same thing. When I threw it over this time I watched for a few minutes to see how they can possibly be getting this thing over the fence all the time. Well it appears that they were using the fence as a target for practicing pitching. As the ball came over the third time I got it and walked to the fence and nicely said "Use your dad's garage for a target, not my fence". I then "nicely" explained how if they used the garage it wouldn't fly into my yard and the dog won't get it. The little kid looked really scared. The older 10 year old had this smirk on his face that I wanted to wipe off.

When my sisters were younger the old neighbors would yell if they stepped on the grass. My one sister led the younger one astray in smearing dog crap all over this woman's garage as they were sick of her bitching at them. The woman came to the door to tell my mother of this caper as they were caught in the act. Of course the girls were punished but my parents then installed the privacy fence which still remains standing. I'm wondering how long it will take them to smear dog crap on my house since I talked to them yesterday. Mark my words, one ounce of crap on my house and no more balls for them.

Day Two

I knew I'd be tired at work last night. I have a problem sleeping at night so the day time sleep just doesn't fly. I did manage to sleep but it was very broken up. We must have the loudest garbage men in the city and I'm not sure if anyone works in this area as I heard lawn mowers several times.

We went to Dylan's game around 530 and it started out being warm enough for just a sweatshirt. That changed rapidly when the wind shifted a little. Even sitting facing the sun wasn't helping. I need to remember to bring a blanket to sit on as the metal bleacher seats are a tad bit chilly on the ass. They lost last night. I know bottom line is they lost but they had went into the last inning down by 6. They did not allow any runs after the 3rd inning. They scored 3 runs in the 6th and had the bases loaded with 2 outs and the tying run at the plate. The kid hits a nice ground ball into center field and two runs score. The Ump made a terrible call in calling out the runner going to 2nd. The kid clearly was safe. The coach goes out to argue and the Ump calls time. The games are supposed to last 7 innings or 2 hours. It started at 530. At 720 they decided to let them play through the 6th inning as there was no other team scheduled to take the field. What was sad was walking past the other teams dugout after the game and hearing the coach say they got a break. I know it happens all the time but it's frustrating that you cannot challenge an Ump's bad call.

As we were sitting out there freezing I asked my husband if he was sure he wanted to camp this weekend. With the stern look I got I figure there's no backing out.

In answer to STB's comment regarding Brat & Beer. The only brat item I saw on their menu was the brat pattie special.

A Strange New World

You know when you leave work and you're hyped up to do things? Like make a quick stop at the store or run an errand that is on your way home. Or you think about things that you need to or could do when you get home? This is all good when you're working a day shift. Not so true when you're coming home at 7a.m. Beside Walgreens, a few fast food places, doughnut shops, P&S or gas stations, not much else is open.

When I work days I have this small time span when I'm very tired but once 3pm rolls around I'm awake and ready to tackle things. Not so on the night shift. I started getting tired around 5am and by 7 it was worse. The drive home was chilly as I left the heat off and drove home with my window 1/2 open. About 1/2 way home I got my second wind.

I was asked to work 3rd this week for training the current 3rd shift people. This worked to my advantage for the weekend. The night did go by rather fast which I was thankful for. Hopefully the remainder of the week will go as fast. I just have to get a sleeping pattern down pat as I hate the broken sleep. Ahhh, it'll be over before I know it.

My husband and I tried out the newly remodeled Brat & Beer yesterday. This was after we drove to Night Owl only to find out it was closed. I had a taste for a good burger , which doesn't happen to often. I would not recommend the Brat & Beer to anyone. First downer was the chili is not in season. I chuckled when the waitress told us and I remarked that it was 50 degrees outside. We opted for the Turkey noodle soup. This consisted of two noodles, a small chunk of turkey and broth for $2.95. The burger itself was good but the fries were so salty I was beyond thirsty the remainder of the night. The service sucked and they were a little under staffed. I found this odd as they advertised a Mothers Day Buffet and Brunch. Gone is the brat link special and California Burger. We were also trying to figure out why the had Metro's outside. Couldn't have been that they were so crowded that there were lines to the bathrooms inside. We were both a little disappointed as this used to be a place we'd stop at once in awhile for a quick bite.

So I'm not sure if I'm supposed to watch the weather for the weekend and if it's over 50 not make the chili for camping. Could be that it's not seasonal.

Strange Dream

I used to have a dream book that every once in a while would look up what a dream I had meant, but sometimes I didn't like the explaination so I tossed the book. Unless it said I was going to prosper and be rich I usually ignored the explaination.

Last night I had a dream that my mother and father came for a visit and my mother's belly was huge. At first the family was polite and didn't say "God Mom, you're pretty fat" but I think it got to us so we asked. She explained that she was pregnant. "It's lonely in Arizona with just your father and I so we opted to have another child". There was only one problem. They didn't think the baby could take the summer heat in Arizona so they were going to leave it with me for the summer. The dream goes on to me shopping at Target for baby items and finding wads of cash in my purse when I was trying to figure out how to pay for all the stuff I had to buy for someone else's child. On our way home from the store my husband says "Your parents are not going to come back for this kid. We will be stuck with it. What's your plan?. This kid will live with us just as every family member of yours has lived with us at one time or another." I woke up in a bit of a panic and before I would gather my thoughts I felt a little sad knowing that he was right but I couldn't turn my back on this kid. Time to fully wake and shrug this off.

My husbands family is now having some issues with Mom and the sister downstairs from her. Not so much ths sister as her kids. Just as in the winter when not one of those lazy kids would go out and shovel, we are now faced with the lawn mowing issues. His mom wants to pay some guy to come and mow the lawn. I feel those kids should pay it. This is their home, and they need to kick it up a notch or get out on their own. My sister-in-law in stressed from being in the middle. She needs to lay down the law to them or it's going to be another long summer. In my childhood years it was just a natural that if dad said "the grass needs cut" out we went. We didn't have a weed whacker so this involved trimming the fence lines on your knees by hand. Shoveling in the winter was a given. You live here you get your ass out and shovel. Mom's home with groceries, you get your ass out and help carry the bags in. These chores were also expected of us when we got jobs. This is a constant battle with these kids and when we step in and try to lay down some ground rules we are told by their mother to back off, she'll handle it. I have no love lost for disrespectful kids (I should say adults as the two worst ones are 19 &21) so I've already said my peace to them which is probably the reason that they don't talk to me much. It just burns my ass that anyone would treat their mother or grandmother the way they do. My husband is slowly developing the balls to go over and lay down some rules. In the mean time caller ID is a wonderful thing.

Where Are All The Fans

Did anyone else watch the Brewers/Marlins game? I was in awe over the lack of people in the Marlins Stadium. There was an entire top section all the way around with not one person in it. Even in a major slump I'm willing to bet that fans at Miller Park would have out-numbered them 50-1. It looked as if there would be a glimmer of hope in the 9th but the Marlins had to go and change their pitcher. At least the games have been exciting verses sleepers.

I want to know how many people have screen doors on their garage. I didn't catch it until today but my husband replaced the storm/screen door on our porch and put the old screen door on the side (man) door of the garage. According to him, I need to look around and take note of all the screen doors on garages. I may just do that.

Be on the look out for anyone who has never invited you to a cook out to come over for one. Ben & Annette were victims of thieves today. Their grill seems to have been stolen. Is nothing sacred? I did try to reassure her by noting that at least there was not food on it at the time. That happened to us once while at my brother-in-laws house. Bastards stole the grill right out of the back yard complete with ribs and chicken. People just need to leave what's not theirs alone.

The Party's Over

I know many of you can agree with me that coming back to work after a relaxing vacation sucks. I had a hard time sleeping last night and woke up every hour on the hour until I finally shut the alarm off at 430 and just got up. What's another 1/2 hour of crappy sleep. I was moving in slow motion so it took me just as long to do my morning routine.

Things went pretty smooth until I got out to the line and stood in total confusion. I had no clue what they were running and I'm pretty sure the 3 people I was working with were clueless also. I'm still not sure what the hell was going on. We ran for a few hours and then shut down for a major change in the equipment. (to boring to go into). All I know is the day dragged and it is extremely hot in our room. I can work in 70-72 degrees but 86 is going a little to far. I know my boss is looking into the problem , or should be before he finds a crew of melted people.

On another note I will be going to 3rd shift for one week starting next Sunday. As much as I hate the hours it's in my favor this time as our first camping trip is on the Friday that week. On first I would be working until 3 and rushing home to fight the traffic and get to the campground. Now I can just go home and catch a nap. I say now that it'll be okay but by the 2nd or 3rd day I know my mind will change. I've been told it's one week only.

Dylan's first season baseball game was tonight. I guess the 3 times per week practices have paid off. They played very well as a team and won 16-4. He started out on 1st base, then left field for one inning and finally to the catcher position for 3 innings. They let those kids drink so much water and Gatorade that there was a bee-line to the bathrooms as soon as the game ended.

I'm missing Arizona. Although it was warm today I was a little annoyed by the chilliness that set in around 7pm. Better a little chilly then hot and buggy.

Back Home

Eight days is not a long enough vacation. I have always hated the feeling of coming back home after a vacation. Not because I don't miss my family or dog but I hate the thought of returning to work. One can become very used to the lifestyle of being non-commital and layed back. The thought of an alarm clock waking me up rather than the soft coo of the dove's outside the bedroom of my parent's home is just not right. The thought of possible frost on my windshield or having to wear a jacket at 6am rather than it being 65-70 at 6am is just not right. But that's what vacations are for : a teaser to let you know what could be in store for you if you plan things out right and can retire at an early enough age to enjoy these things.

My dad is doing good. He's a little scared after the stroke, but I think he's relaxing a bit now. Mom is mom and always will be. My dad want's to come back to Wisconsin to be near family and of course is worried that he may be leaving her in a quandry should something happen. The hardest thing I had to do was inquire about their plans for the future. I don't want them to feel as if their kids are ripping their lives out from under them, but we all live in Wisconsin. I case of and emergency we'd have to find the quickest way there. Is it fair to suggest they move back because of that? I'll answer my own question..No. They are both in good sound mind, they're a little slower getting around now but who isn't at 75? My mom claims she enjoys the weather but from June to August rarely goes outside due to the heat. My dad is miserable from March thru August due to allergies to dust, pollen and the catcus flowers.

My dad has this old solid wooden rocking chair that he moved from Wisconsin to Arizona 16 years ago. It's out of his patio and he still sits in it and reads his paper daily. We fight over it when I'm there. As old and rickity as the chair is its comfortable. The chair has history, it was my Grandfathers. He asked me if I wanted the chair should something happen to him. My mom didn't think I was to funny when I said I'd tie it to the roof of the truck and tie her in it. It will save storage space on the trip back. She can sit up there and knit away. I did promise not to forget about her when we stopped to eat or gas up on the way back.

In a way it's good to be home. I had tulips in my yard that the rabbits must have moved from someone else's yard over the winter. I have never planted red tulips and I have about 6 of them in full bloom. This is the season I enjoy the most in Wisconsin. Everything is blooming and turning green, baseball is in full swing and the weather is getting nicer every day. It's two more weeks until the first "freeze your ass off" camping weekend. It doesn't get much better than this.

I'm Outta Here

In 11 hours I will be flying away from Milwaukee where it could be snowing and heading for Phoenix where it will be sunny and warm. I think I could label this a cheater prelude to summer. I look forward to this but don't look forward to the boring plane ride. I get the thrill at take off but once in the air boredom sets in. I have problems reading on a plane and staring out the window is only good for so long. This is where the portable DVD player comes in handy. My daughter is supposed to be borrowing it from my grandson. Something is terribly wrong when an 8 year old has better electronic equipment then his 50 year old grandmother. If that doesn't come true I'll be renting one and hoping it's some type of good movie. Snakes on A Plane won't fly with me.

I was scheduled to work 8 hours today but when we weren't running from 830 and 11 was getting closer I did the deed and took 1/2 day of vacation. I'm glad I did as there was a lot of things I needed to get done yet. At the moment the sky has opened up to dump some more rain on us and our power has flickered several times already. Glad I got the laundry done so I didn't have to leave it for the hubby. My guess is it would still be sitting there when I got home. I was kind enough to clean the house for him. He's pretty good about not making a huge mess. I'm sure that next Saturday he'll shovel out the food wrappers, start the dishwasher and throw all the dirty clothes down the magic chute.

It's been a pretty stormy night so far. Sadie is a little nervous which is unusual as a good thunderstorm usually doesn't bother her. Maybe in her older age she's getting to be a worry wart. I did go to look for a flashlight just in case the power should go out. Found two of them, both with dead batteries. I have resorted to finding a few candles. The annoying weather alert on my husbands alarm clock has gone off a million times already tonight. I still can't believe I bought that damn thing.

On the local radio station I listen to on my commute to work they got on the subject of American Idol. I'm not a big fan of the show and will watch the first week or so and then if I think of it will watch the final few shows. Paula annoys the crap out of me. She always sounds like she's whining and ready to break into tears. This morning the DJ commented that her breasts look unusually large and pushed up the other night. "As if her chin was resting on two pillows". That was comfirmed at work this morning by a few of the guys. I'm finding that more men at work watch the show then women.

Hope you all have a great week. Go Brewers!

Dad Is Good

My dad was released from the hospital today with an rx for medication. He did not require any surgery. He did have three strokes, two which he can account for. The speech therapist came in to see him and told him by the time he saw her for his appointment next week that he'd probably be back to normal with his speech. When I talked to him today he sounded much better. A big improvement from Sunday night. Now if we can just get him to take it easy he'll probably be okay.
They both seem to go through a lot when one of us visit's and I tried to convince them that I need nothing special. I just want to bask in the sun and relax. We'll see how well they listen. As he puts it " He'll listen as well as I did as a child". I find that unfair as I did listen (to him). He had a way of making you feel really guilty when you did something wrong (without talking).

So I am as well as my siblings very relieved. Thank's to all of you for your concern and well wishes. It just beats us up that they're so far away. We've had the talk before about them moving back and I can see it in their faces that they are not ready to give up their independence yet. My parents are both very stubborn and have very rarely asked for help from anyone. (some of that may have rubbed off on a few of us). There may be some convincing that maybe coming up here for the warmer seasons might just be a good idea. I remember my parents going through this with my grandfather. He lived part time in Florida and at 85 was still driving back and forth. Had he not had complications I'm sure he would still be doing so. I was told that all is well now as they have On Star in their car. That makes me feel so much better (not). So now instead of flying into Phoenix in case of an emergency I can have the airline pilot drop me off in the desert some where between Phoenix and Laughlin.

I took the liberty to pack early just in case. Probably not a bad idea aa I have already thought of several things I had forgotten. I did see the weather forecast for Milwaukee on Monday. 46 sounds a little chilly.

The Stroke

Finally we had a great weekend weather wise. The rain forecasted for Saturday never happened. Instead we had a full afternoon of sun and temperatures in the high 50's. We caught our grandson's baseball scrimmage, when each and every one of the boys is hoping to get the position they really want. Dylan started out on 3rd base and in the 3rd inning went to catcher. He did a good job and should be splitting this duty with another boy. Hopefully he can maintain that position as he is happy and seems at home there.

I managed to clear the remainder of the fall leaves from the yard yesterday. When I finished I remembered the the helicopters will be falling within the next week or so which means I'll be right back at it. I threw all the neighbor kids balls over the fence to their yard and noticed that Sadie only poked a tooth hole through one of them. I don't even feel bad about it any more as they've been warned. At one point last summer I was stupid enough the replace the ball. I have now seen the youngest purposly toss the ball over the fence. Although his father did yell at him, he continues to do it.

Last night I received a call from my mother that dad was in the hospital. He was having some difficulty speaking and felt dizzy. My parents are not one's to tell us all the details of their health (mom's breast cancer that they didn't want to worry us about). Of course receiving this call was a little bit of a shock. My dad had a heart attack about two years ago and I spent some time out there checking things out. He had shown improvement and was on medication which he was weaned off of within a year. He continues to walk daily and while walking the other day felt out of breath and dizzy. Of course he didn't tell anyone until after he landed in the hospital yesterday. After talking to my mother and siblings I didn't feel I could fall asleep without talking to him. He was his usual humerous self yet was having some speech problems. The staff made the mistake this morning of telling him he'd be having some additional tests this morning. As of 3 pm our time he was still waiting. The tests they ran this morning showed he had suffered 3 strokes. Hmmm...guess that walking incident should have been reported. Regardless he's waiting on one more test which will determine whether he will have surgery or be home tomorrow. His speech was much improved this afternoon. For right now the doctor is calling this aphasia.

Maybe it's a stroke of luck that I'm heading out there on Saturday. I'll have to be pretty nosey and check things out. I'm not sure what if any limitations he'll have. Knowing dad he'll work hard at getting better and will soon be taking his walks again.

The Count Down Begins

I fetched the suitcase from the attic today. In nine more days I will be venturing out to Sun City West with my daughter to visit my parents. (that is if MidWest can hold on for that long). The last time I used this particular suitcase would have been last April when I went there. I was pretty sure I cleaned it out well. It has a ton of side pockets and when inspecting them I found : 2 brand new pair of socks (bonus), 5 quarters (must have been all I had left from the Casino) the comb I had looked for, my Gold Nugget players club card (there's points on there) and a pencil from the Colorado Belle (I think I was going to give that to J) After those finds I dug more hoping to find money. I came up empty. I'm in complete hope that this vacation will do my daughter good. She is still not fully recovered from her back surgery last May. I'm in complete hope that we'll get there and she'll be able to relax and have a good week. I may need to get a wheelchair to get her to and from the plane. I picture her in the wheelchair with suitcases piled up on her lap. I'll try to leave her a little room to see where we're going.

Last week my husband offically started his summer hours. He now works Monday through Thursday. He will be off every Friday until the end of August. I'm just a tad bit jealous. More so on Friday morning when I'm leaving for work and he lets out the overly dramatic yawn. We went a few years at work with 4 day work weeks and the Fridays off were nice. Last summer we went back to 5 days. There was an attempt to go to 4 days this summer which was shot down for reasons I won't get into. Maybe it's best that I'm not home on Fridays as the porch demolition has begun it's next stage. I came home yesterday and saw the back of his truck loaded with insulation and the carpeting from the porch. He is now starting to break up the cement. I think the jack hammer is coming into use soon. I'll figure that out when I get home and he has what appears to be a nervous twitch and stutters.

Good trivia night last night. We were able to take first place and collect another gift certificate. Good weather, good friends, free beer= good time.

She's In Her Glory

The weather Gods have finally decided that it's time to give us a little taste of brighter things to come. The sun is out in it's full glory today. It could be a tad warmer but we must be patient and take what we can get for now. The rest of the week looks promising. We could reach 65 tomorrow. I let my dog out around 1pm today and she seems to have found her favorite spot on the deck. I've gone to let her in several times and she's just sprawled out under the sun looking so comfortable. I figure within the next hour or so she'll be at the door. This also means that the rabbits and squirrels will once again overtake our back yard while Sadie basks in the sun.

I made a trip to the newly opened Woodmans this weekend. For all the hype I didn't find it very impressive. Keep in mind that I hate to grocery shop in the first place. But I had heard so many great things about it that I figured I'd check it out. Here are some things that I observed.
#1) The prices are a bit lower than P&S.
#2) The produce was not as great as I had been told. All the bananas were green, the oranges were not huge as I was told and nothing appeared cheaper than else where. You want good produce visit Sendiks.
#3) The entire store is like a maze. The 2 aisles of bread are just one aisle and two square displays. There is more of a selection of breads but most of us get stuck on a few certain brands of bread and don't really switch to often.
#4) The bakery is mostly imported things. I saw Grebes, Muerer's and a few different Kringle places. It didn't appear that they do their own baking.
#5) The deli did not have a very big selection. All the salads are packaged.
#6). Almost everyone I walked by had the same look of confusion on their faces. The women mostly had smiles, the men had the "Get me the hell out of here" look.
#7) If you are looking for any type of ethnic food you will find it here. One aisle each dedicated to Mexican or Asian. One aisle, both sides dedicated to all natural food items.
#8) It has the warehouse shopping appearence. I was looking for the crayons to write the prices on what I was buying.
#9) Checkouts are slow. The girls are still learning. However they are friendly enough.
#10) If you work there you will get a lunch break. They will announce for a relief cashier to take over on lane whatever for a lunch break.

I would say that it may be worth a second visit if I am in the area, but it's not worth the drive just to go there. I didn't go into the liquor area (which is seperate) but it looked pretty big. So for now it's the usual P&S or Sentry for me. If I feel like grocery shopping.

The Purse

With enough comments from my friends about my suitcase sized purse I went in pursuit today. With my 30% off coupon that came in the mail along with the Kohls advertisment I made a slight detour on my way home from work. This is anal I know but I have to find just the right purse. I may purchase one once every 6 months or so and I do not have a collection of them. I have the every day purse, the casino purse, the wedding purse and another smaller standby purse. I need my everyday purse to be large enough to hold more than just a tube of lipstick and it has to have a shoulder strap. I'm not about the small strap that you cock your arm and walk around like an old blue hair. I'm also not about the purse matching the shoes or the seasonal purses. (white or cream in summer, dark in winter). Not happening here.

I made my way through the purse aisle. I knew this was no easy task. This thing has to be sturdy, not gaudy (hate big buckles or any decoration on them). Just simple brown or black with a shoulder strap. I don't need the added extra cell phone case or checkbook holder. After about 1/2 hour of pulling out just about every purse in the section I was almost ready to give up when I spotted it. The Vera Wang purse. Not sure how I missed that small rack the first time through. It may have been because I looked at the prices. But I consider what I got a bargin. Or shall I say with the sale price and extra 30% off and the balance on a gift card I paid what I would have paid for a normal purse. Not as long of a strap as I wanted but I did downsize. I can fit a tube of lipstick and a lighter in it.

Koo-Koo-Ka-Choo

What can you say about Opening Day? The weather was good, the crowd watching was great and the Brewers won.

We left Ben and Nannettes house around 9 ish and began the trek to the stadium. We had bets on what time we would actually hit the lot. 10:30 was the magic time. Don't know who won that as I don't think we ever put money on it. We were able to enjoy a few cocktails and dogs before going into the game. We were also able to do some crowd watching. The hairy bearded man in the tan colored skirt walked by a few times. There was a guy with a "Virgin Tailgater" shirt on that was pretty funny.

We had good seats thanks to Nannette and her connections. Did I mention someone stole her jersey. Yes folks walking over the bridge right in front of us was a man with "Gambino" across his jersey. I pointed it out to her but I think she refrained in taking it back due to the crowd. We sat up by Bernie which gave us a good view of the game. We were in a small section which was good for entering and exiting. There was a good crowd of people around us which made for a better time.

We lost the boys for a while. On a trek to smoke we got all the way to the smoking section and realized they were no longer behind us. When they did finally show up we were ready to head back in. My husband in his drunkedness tried to convince us that there was a shorter route. I've been the victim of his shorter routes in the past so opted to go back the same way. On our way back Nannette and I were behind 3 men until one reached over a felt up on of the others ass. Quick veer off to the left passing lane and we were outa that view. Needless to say we did beat the boys back. A good 5 minutes ahead. They took a wrong turn. This is why I will not follow a drunk.

When we got back to our seats there were a few differend faces. Or may a few more drunken faces. There was a guy in front of us, I'd say maybe in his early 20's that struck up a conversation. He made note that I looked unhappy because my beer was empty and he wanted to find the beer guy so he could buy me a beer and make me happy. After he left my husband was joking around about my "flirting" with the young lad. I was then labeled "Mrs. Robinson". He thought it was funny (it was a little). I didn't think so at first. We all know what Mrs. Robinson was. Priceless was the look on his face when I said "Mrs. Robinson was a whore". I guess you could just say it was my way of getting back at the situation.

Speaking of drunkenstines, the man just got up. He looks like hell. This should be a good day. I'm off to watch my grandson's baseball practice.

Go Brewers

The boys pulled it off! I got to listen to the game on the way home from work due to the rain delay and then capped it off watching the last few innings at home. It was a bit of a nail biter but I had complete faith they'd pull it off. I did get to catch Braun's little slip on his way to first base and Weeks get hit twice while at bat. Oh yeah, and Prince's little mishap at first base. The scowl on his face showed he'd do something the next time at bat. Good game for what I saw of it.
Hopefully they will play well for our home opener Friday. Hopefully the weather will hold up enough that I won't have to chip the ice off my brat or hot dog while tailgating. Looking forward to Friday.

I have a friend at work that is a huge Cub's fan so we'll trade a little smack talk tomorrow. Actually he talks smack..I just extend my sympathy at the loss.

Snow is in the forecast for tonight. Nothing of measurable amounts but it shows we're not in the clear yet. It's 26 days before I leave for Arizona which is usually a weather shock for me. Getting on a plane when it's in the 40's here and landing in 85-90 degree weather there. A week of the same and it's back on the plane and back to maybe the 50's by then. I know that when I go there is usually a day or so of 70's up here so it's like a prelude to spring.

One of these times I'm going to plan a trip around when the Brewers play in Arizona so I can take my dad to a game. He's been there 15 years and not yet been to a baseball game. I blame that on my mother as she finds no fun in going to games. She'd probably be bitching at my dad the whole time for dropping his peanut shells on the ground. One would think she knows nothing of sports at all but she can tell you how the teams down there are doing. Know's the guys by name also. I guess that happens when you read 4 different papers on a daily basis and watch the news several times a day. She just never was one for going to any type of sporting event or allowing popcorn or peanuts to be eaten anywhere else but the kitchen table.

Not Seeing Eye to Eye

After spending a Friday night out with friends, Saturday was spent quietly. I'm such a bore that I was in bed by 10:30 watching a movie that I think I saw the opening credits on. I was up bright and early today and suggested we go to the Home & Garden Show for some ideas for the porch.

These shows kill me as maybe 30% of the exhibitors have something to do with remodeling. The rest range from cooking demos, sheets (??) lots of Asian guys selling sheets, the newest in mops and a few crafters. There were 3 places that actually had to do with sunrooms so we did manage to get some ideas.

After that we went to Southridge, or as my husband would put it "I dragged him to the mall". We had a few birthday gifts to purchase and rightfully so he should help with these things. Besides with the price of gas I wasn't about to take him home and go back. It was kind of a round trip thing. I did buy him lunch at the Red Robin which I found to be a bit over priced and over rated. My chicken sandwich was bland and dry. One of the basketball games was on while we were there and we sat right under a tv. I had to chuckle as almost every guy facing the tv was absorbed in the game rather then the family they were sitting with. The wife and kids would be chattering away and dad would be focused on the tv.

I made this kick butt dinner of chuck roast, taters and fresh mushrooms which was in the slow cooker from 9am until 5. I'm not a big beef eater but it was good. It was at that point that I could see trouble brewing. We began to discuss brick for the bottom half of the porch. I though it should match the siding. He thinks it should match the brick on the front of the house which is a peachy sandstone color. WAWAWA WHat?? was my response. There was complete silence. I then mentioned that I would be tagging along to the store for any purchases made. WHile I'm in Arizona I will be freezing the bank account and hiding any credit cards he has. There will be no peachy/pinky sandstone colored brick in my porch. He explained that it should match the house. The back and sides of the house are done in light gray and white. Someone help me!!!

The Wrecking Crew

As I'm sitting here typing I can hear the faint sound of the demolition of the screen porch. I'm a little nervous. The window treatments have come down and at last look the ceiling tiles and framing for the tiles were starting to come down also. This must be a spurt of energy on my husbands part as I didn't expect this to begin happening for a least another month. My questioning brough a stern look and the reply that he wanted to get this started while everything was dead. I assume he's talking about the possible wasp nest that may be between the walls.

He's just left to purchase "Industrial Bags" for the insulation. This may get farther than I thought. Earlier I assisted with carrying the chairs down to the basement. This was the first thoughts on how much I'm going to miss the porch. I vowed I would be patient but it may be difficult. I just picture this mud hole when it starts to rain. I think he's on a roll as he'll be renting a Bobcat to do some work and this excites him in a way only a man could relate to (so I'm told).

Yesterday he spent the afternoon at the book store and Best Buy for a program on drawing up plans. I noted a sketch pad was purchased and spralled out on the kitchen table with numerous "Self Help" books. I asked if he was going to need to purchase a drafting table and got a nasty look. I have complete faith that he can do this, but he has a habit of not finishing things as he gets bored with them. Two days before J's birthday party he painted the railing on the basement steps that he started two years ago. He may have no choice in the porch as my parents are coming this summer and he'll feel the need to complete it by then.

I don't usually write reviews on bars but I must mention that we stopped at the City Lounge last night for the basketball game. Nice place. Plenty of room, a lot of tv's, good service and a good crowd. A little more pricey then I'm used to but it was a step up from the corner bar. They have a good choice of beer and Jo tried some type of rasberry Ale that was a little to sweet for my liking. It would have to be a one shot deal or my stomach would be churning. Because I don't really like many types of beer I didn't really scan the list for what they actually had , so no review on beers here.

The demo has resumed so I must go see if I can be of any assistance.

A Dream or Wishful Thinking??

Every once in a while I have some really wacked out dreams. I don't eat before bed and other than the fact that I am a restless and light sleeper I see no cause for some of the crazy shit I dream.

We have a vacation planned in May to go to Rhode Island to visit Gambino's brother and family. On the way there we are driving straight through. The other night I dreamt that we arrived at their home and E (the sister-in-law) hugged everyone and then looked at me and said "God A you look like crap". I was so floored I woke up.

Last night was better. J & K, my husband and Dimmy M. took a ride in J's new car to 7 Mile Fair. Where this came from is beyond me as I hate 7 Mile Fair and haven't been there in years. Well somewhere along the way J purchased a new couch. There wasn't room in the car for this so the guys tied it to the back of the car and J proudly sat on her couch as it was being dragged on the freeway. I suggested that they drop me off first to make more room in the car. I stood at the end of my driveway waving to J as they pulled away. I then noticed that our garage door was open. I went into the house to make sure the house wasn't robbed and went back out to the garage to find the snowblower and lawnmower gone. The garage was also very clean. At this point my husband pulled in the driveway. I notified him of the missing items and he stated that it was no big deal. It was then that I noticed that his ancient snowmobile was gone. I turned to tell him and found him falling to his knees in the driveway with his hands covering his face. "Not my snowmobile...It was the only thing that mattered to me". In the dream I comforted him. In reality I was jumping for joy. Those of you who know us may find humor in this dream. This piece of crap snowmobile has followed us for 24 years. I have seen it run once. We have moved it 4 times in 24 years. There are rabbits living in it.

Now I ask you....Dream or Wishful Thinking?

The Egg Police

I went in to work early today to get out early enough to catch my Granddaughters school program. They had a wax museum. This consisted of picking a person from the past, writing a report, making a poster board and dressing as this person. She portrayed Debra Sampson. (dressed as a boy to get into the army during the Civil War and was booted out after being discovered, but later received a metal).

The Wax Museum opened at 2 and went for 45 minutes. I was amazed at how these kids (ages 9-11) sat, stood, and were able to pose for that long without moving. Her mother, my joking daughter, in trying to get her to flinch or crack a smile walked up to her and said "You smell like butt cheese". What a nice mom, but nothing..not even a flinch. She did really good.

The best part of this was seeing the kid dressed as Elvis. On the poster they had to have a time line. This kid's time line showed a date with the caption "His mom died cause she was old". I could not help but smile a bit. This is something I've never heard of being done in a school before and though all the kids did a great job.

On the way home I made a stop at a small Sentry store on the south side. I haven't been to this one in years and opted to stop there as ham was on sale and I figured the store wouldn't be to crowded. Got the ham. The aisles in the store are wide enough for just two small carts. This was no heavy duty shopping store. The deli cracked me up as I think they had maybe 10 different selections of meat and a handful of salads to choose from. I did find everything I needed. I even got the 2 dozen for $2.28 eggs. I picked up 4 dozen thinking I'd get the sale price for two and pay the regular price for the other two. WRONG!

I knew there would be some sort of trouble when I got to the checkout line. The cashier looked like someone pissed her off really bad. She saw my card and immediatly called for a bagger. I told her I could bag. Apparently I'm mute as she continued to call for a bagger before even checking anything out. I always save my eggs for last and as they were being rang up she announced loud enough for shoppers in aisle 3 to hear "There is a limit on these eggs". I told her that I was under the impression that I could purchase two at the sale price and the othersat regular price. A flat-out "NO" came from her mouth. "There is a limit" and she swiftly moved them off the belt and to the side of her register. It seemed as if she though I was going to dive for them. She then said that she'd had several customers today that she had to "pull" eggs from. I'm wondering if she got a badge at the end of the day.

So Long

Glancing through the obits this morning I saw that a former boss of mine had passed away. I graduated High School early and went to work for a medical supply company the day after I graduated. I remember the interview like it was yesterday. The co-owner was my friends mother. The place was in Franklin which at the time was like driving out to farm country. I went to the interview with basic office skills. At the time they didn't have a computer system so everything was done by good old fashioned electric typewriter and a big filing cabinet full of over-stuffed files. My job was to be taking care of billing Medicare/T19 patients and answering phones. I had no prior experience but remember thinking that things weren't very organized.
"Terry & Gene" made me feel very comfortable and welcome. They were both very dedicated to their company and put a lot of trust into employees. Some of which stole from them and had some pretty crap ass ways of dealing with customers. In the 7 years that I was there I watched the company boom...and then take a huge fall due to new competition. The owner attempted to start a Solar Heat company which may have been a bit to early for people to accept. That flopped horribly and he went on to rebuild and design boats. It was a small office with a total of about 12 employees so everyone was pretty close. Their daughter came to work for them also and then her boyfriend (soon to be husband) joined the "team". Needless to say things weren't working out as they were also friends of my ex-husband and mine. Wasn't much fun working with her all day and then having them hang around at night also.

When my divorce proceedings started I felt it was time to leave the coop. Terry was very caring and understanding and we remained in contact for several years. Gene passed away two years ago, and now she's joined him.My ex remained friends with this couple and visited Terry & Gene often in Reedsburg. My kids have been to visit them also and had a good relationship with them.

I called my son today to see if his dad knew. He called me back tonight a little upset as his dad was choosing not to attend the funeral as he has a problem with the "former friends". I have always been glad that I walked away from that friendship as it was all about money and who could buy more shit. But does someone want to tell me what that has to do with paying your respects to someone who was never more than kind to you?

He's Famous...kind of

I took the grandkids to the yearly Open House at Quality Candy/Buddy Squirrel today. This year was a little different. As we approached the building there was no line. This was a plus as it was a little chilly out today. Although they were dressed warm it just felt damp and cold out. So we were able to start our trek indoors. They have a line set up where you just walk through and can see how certain things are made. You then get to a point where you can take the "Bunny Bypass" and not see the Easter Bunny. They tried to act like they were old enough not to do that this year but I could tell by the looks on their faces that they may need another year yet. So this was about a 1/2 hour detour. It was around this point that we met up with my husband. He had the camera out and ready to film them. He then walked along with us for a bit which I think makes the kids feel special as Grandpa works at this place. They get an extra sucker and a few extra samples.

We walked into one area where they sell nut mixtures and different popcorns and I had a request from my daughter to purchase some cheese corn for her. I glanced through some of the bags of nut mixes when I saw it..."Arnie's Awesome Mix". What the &*(* !. The kids spotted it also. Grandpa has his own candy mix. Their faces were priceless. Their chests puffed up and you could see pride. I just looked at him and said "YOu have a mix named after you". Mr Humble just nods and says "Yep" I had to buy it. Not sure what I'm going to do with the contents as I remember when he brought some home for us to sample and I didn't care for it all that much. I recall saying "It needs something a little sweet". When we got home I looked at it again and noticed there were some chocolate covered peanuts in it. They weren't in there before. Did he take my advice? Should it now be re-named Arnie's Awesome Mix (with a little help from his wife)? Either way, I'm a little proud. I wondered if he gets anything from it? His answer "Just my name on a bag".

Wanted: 1 Quarterback

I heard the news at 9am this morning and it spread quickly on the line. I got to witness the expressions on everyone's faces. We had a customer in from out east and it was the first thing he said to me when he walked in. He, of course being somewhat of a Packer fan himself. I myself won't believe it until the first game of the season is played and I don't see #4 running out on the field. If it all holds true then "Thanks for the ride Brett".

I had to do an interesting Grandma chore last night. My son dropped my grandson off and asked a favor of me. "Would you please take him to his "God" class. My son had to do a tile installation quote and was not sure he'd make it back in time. Not a problem, we live about 4 blocks from his church. About 10 minutes before we had to leave it started...."I don't feel good Grandma" (didn't work) "I don't get to spend a lot of time with you and Grandpa" (didn't work either). " The class is boring" (made me smile but still didn't work). "Did my dad go to these classes" (yes). I then told him that I also did and I also argued with my parents about it. I went into lecture mode and explained that no one ever suffered taking these classes and that it was a parental duty to allow their children to learn these things. That when he was old enough he could make his own decisions but for now he needed to go and actually listen to what he was being taught. There was quite a pitiful little act going on but I wasn't buying it.
The whole incident brought back the memory of me at about 8 years old fighting with my father over learning the weekly assignment and how I didn't need to know that stuff. This turned into my first attempt at running away. Where did I go? I walked the 6 or so blocks to our church. I never said I was a smart kid.
His reasoning continued up until I walked him to his class room. I told him if he still felt sick to call me and I'd come and get him, but he would have to get his homework and class work and we'd do it at home. He told me that his dad said I was a tuff one.
On the way home I had a flashback to when my son was attending his classes and the constant arguing in getting him there. This boy is a spitting image of his father. When I got home I promptly called my son to "thank" him for this wonderful duty that he put on me.
About 2 hours later I received a call from Dylan telling me that he learned about Moses and it wasn't all that bad. There is truth in your parents telling you "What comes around goes around.

Bingo! (not)

I've probably only visited our local casino 4 times in the 17 years it's been here. Three for Bingo and once with my parents. The visit with them was okay. We went during the day when the casino was not at all crowded and there were no strange smells. We went this Friday to celebrate J's birthday with a round of Bingo.
I drove down alone which is a first. My first mistake was taking 16th street. It took me longer to get from 16th & Greenfield to the Casino then it took to get from my house to 16th & Greenfield. Then to walk through the casino to the Bingo hall took forever. Through the gapers who feel the need to stand behind people playing slots and watch their every spin. Unless you're playing it's just not that exciting.

Bingo was fun. Although we seemed to be at the unlucky table. One winner of $100.00 was all we could produce. Afterwards we opted to cut out rather than stick around and try to find some slots to play. Plus I was a little turned off by the whole thing when someone felt the need to drop their ass in a crowd. Guess that's one way to clear an aisle for retreat.

Not much more of an exciting weekend. I consumed a total of 3 beers on Friday and on Saturday roamed around my house looking for something to do. Today I think my husband finally got fed up with my comments about wanting to do something and broke into a lecture about how winter is always boring and I should more or less get over it. So I opted to go and sit with my sister-in-law at the hospital with her crabby husband who is still cooped up there. A few rounds of borrowed "Go Fish" cards later I was on my way out of there also.

Some ice was chopped today which has allowed for the Roman River to flow down our driveway. Can't figure out why the porch is not leaking but there is a waterfall coming off the corner of it which I'm sure will be running under the wall within the next few hours.
That will then probably freeze tonigh when it's turns colder and we'll be holding skating lessons in our enclosed porch. The plan is in action to tear down and replace the entire thing in spring. I'm not really to excited about that as it's going to be a mess and of course we can't really start anything until early May. My only hope it that it will be done by fall. I'll miss my porch but will be happy when it's done. The old lady is pushing 32 years and needs work.