This is what I do when I'm bored....write poems.

For those of you that know our situation:

When I bought my childhood home at a steal
I knew that my sister came with the deal
Sister moved out, and then came a brother
Who would soon leave but then came another

Along came Ken with his daughter in tow
We nicknamed him Chico, as our lawn he would mow
He would then leave as he found a place
Whew, that should give us some space

Then came the poor unfortunate kid
Wormed his way into our hearts he did
We watched him grow up and graduate school
He was helpful in cleaning the pool.

Bout that time middle sister was in trouble
All I can say is she left on the double
Then came Air Force retiree Steve
He was here to stay, not just on a leave.

He would find work and more out on his own
Once again we had regained our home
But not so fast cause there was some lovin
And Julie would soon have a bun in the oven

The first Grandchild-oh what a joy
The added plus is it was a boy
He would be over each day for awhile
And never cease to make me smile

Shawn would then move out on his own
And call each month for a little loan
Michelle would then declare herself master
Move out with her friends which would end in disaster

The house was once again just us two
Redecorated my kitchen with cows that went moo
But not for long, wait, what the muck
Here's comes David with a loaded down truck

He has some issues, his marriage is done
He was less like a brother-more like a son
Things got patched up and back home he went
Soon to return and start to pay rent

He stayed quite a while and saved up some money
His antics annoying, but sometimes quite funny
Then off he went, out on his own
And found an apartment and called it his home

When is seemed as if things were settled down
My daughter appeared with a rather huge frown
Her back was a mess, her husband had cheated
We let her come home cause she felt defeated

And now it seems that the house is to small
Stuff from their room bursting into the hall
She's feeling much better and has met nice fellow
Who had two small children, one isn't so mellow

I would like to think that this could be good
It could lead to her leaving, really it could
I won't get my hopes up, won't declare a win
Cause next thing I know they'll be moving in.

It's been joked that our house is really an Inn
So many have stayed, it's almost a sin
Arnie's the smart one, cause he sees the light
He hides in his man-cave most every night.

The List

I lost my list from last year. This could pose an issue. The list I am speaking of is my last years Christmas list. A very important document.

My mother always kept a notebook of Christmas gifts she had purchased. Each page listed each child and the gift & amount purchased. She kept it in her nightstand drawer. Once we were on to it we'd sneak in and check the list. She did a good job of spending an equal amount on each child. Once she knew we were on to it, she made two books. The fake one would contain nothing we asked for. Didn't take to long to figure out what she was doing.

I thought it was silly, but as I got older I started a list myself. I kept a notebook and therefore could look back a few years to assure I didn't give a gift I had given in a prior year. This especially helps with purchasing collectible items for someone. Last year I decided to put the list into a word document. Worked out quite nicely. But now it's gone. Vanished. I'm wondering if I erased it on purpose or may have tittled it something else to keep the nosey people out. Problem is I, myself forgot what I did. I managed to find some scribbling in a notebook from last year, but it doesn't say much. I shall not panic until all my resources are exhausted in the hunt.

Last week my mom fell and broke her arm. Did a pretty good number on it, as it required surgery to rebuilt the socket that the bone sits in. My mom knits a lot. She's made some very nice blankets, scarves, mittens and hats over the years. We place orders with Mom. One by one she's knitting blankets for her great grandchildren. This year was Dylan's turn. Let me just say that I can do some crocheting & knitting, but not as nicely as my mother. She's got patterns and colors going. When I received the phone call telling of the accident, she started out by asking if I could finish Dylan's blanket. After hearing the details of her accident I told her to send it and I'd finish it. "Oh no, that's okay" was her reply. This makes me chuckle as I picture the look on my mothers face at my suggestion. I know for a fact that she got off the phone , looked at my father and said "I'm not having her finish that blanket...have you seen her work" Thanks mom.

Divorce

After being married for nearly ten years, my daughter began single yesterday. Single to the point of also changing her name back to her maiden name.
I've known about the court date for a few months now and have been trying to "read" her. I often wonder how ironic life can be, in that some of her life mimics my own.

Has second thoughts before marriage- check
After a year into the marriage wants out-check
Husband begs her to stay & promises to change his ways-check
Husband cheats again and this time there's no forgiving-check
Move home with two kids-check.
Sits around moping for a while until Mom tells her to "get on with your life"-check

A few days before the court date we sat and had a heart to heart. I told her that when I divorced her dad that I was sad because it wasn't the course I thought my life would take. When I got married at 19 I was naive enough to think that life would be all rosy. I became the one that would deal with any financial and family issues while he just had a free for all. She had similar circumstances and therefore resentment begins to set in. At this point you have two choices: continue your course of being responsible and trying to get ahead on your own, or succumb to this person's immaturity and "settle" for the type of life you're in for. Turn your back on your spouse's infidelity and just be there whenever he needs you.
As a parent, I didn't want to see her marriage fall apart. Like me, she didn't reveal any of the problems leading to the split, but I could sense things weren't right. When she finally did break down and talk about some issues, it was very hard to keep my thoughts to myself. I could have ripped him apart, but then there was the fear that she'd go back and always know what I thought of her husband, so I ripped him apart to myself and friends. When she told me that she was going through with the divorce I wanted to whoop it up somewhere! I'm now very proud that she has chosen to get her life back on track and find herself again. It'll be a little bit of a rocky road for a while but I see the determination in her, and I think with a few pushes (or maybe a shove) she'll be on that track in no time.

Take the Squirrel

I'm not ready for the warm weather to move out. The forecast for the weekend is high 60's during the day and dipping down into the low 40's at night. I woke up this morning and it was a little nippy in our house as I'm not ready to close up all the windows yet. I like the crisp air and don't mind throwing on a sweatshirt. It may be time to close them at night. The cat was buried in the blankets and Sadie was all curled up on her rug this morning. I think if she could still make it up on the bed, she would have been there.

Ah, the camping weekend is upon me. 42 in the house is a little different then 42 outside. Canvas sides may not keep the chill out. I'm good with the forecast as long as rain doesn't sneak in there somewhere. 60's and sunny during the day is good. The bees may have already cut out so they won't be buzzing around every food item brought out and hopefully the days of the Asian beetles are over. Mosquito's=gone for the season.

We've had a owl hanging around our house for a while now. He sits on the basketball hoop. Usually when I leave for work he's setting off the sensor lights on the garage. It's nice that he lights the driveway for me. He may be after the abundance of rabbits and squirrels in our yard. It seems our dogs are not doing their job. On occasion you will see one of them get up and give chase to a rabbit. This morning I was almost to my car and heard the whoosh of the owls wings telling me that he was heading somewhere. He made a dive toward our front yard and swooped rabbit right up. I could do nothing but stand there and stare as the rabbit let out this horrible squeal. I wanted to yell "take the squirrel. They're the wreaking havoc on our yard", but he was gone and the rabbit was struggling. I think it was a lost cause.

I Am Just Way To Nice..Sometimes

"It's gotta be hotter than Africa in that huddle right now" actually came out of the radio announcers mouth during yesterdays Packer/Lions game. He was referring to the Lions huddle. I am not a huge fan of listening to the game on the radio but we made the wiser choice and chose Dylan's football game over the Packers. You can always DVR the Packers game and watch it later, but watching a tape of Dylan's game just wouldn't be the same as being there. The boys were a little sluggish in the first half allowing the Cowboys to score three times. After the half they scored two touchdowns and held the Cowboys. Whatever their coach said to them during half-time made them come out a different team. It was suggested that they not eat a big Sunday brunch prior to a game. They suffered their first loss 21-12 but didn't allow the Cowboys to score the entire second half. I tried to blame the loss on my mother-in-laws presence at the game. It seems every time she shows up for a football game they lose. She is banned.
The Cowboys have a very vocal and rude sideline and the coaches are pretty verbally brutal. We've experience this for the past several years. There is one woman in particular whose voice carries across the field. Just brutal.

I received a phone call this weekend from my ex-husbands soon to be ex-wife. They owe me some money and haven't been able to pay yet. She started making some excuses when I broke in and asked why it was her responsibility to pay me back. Why was she making this phone call and not him? Why is she sitting at home worrying about money and he's out spending money on his newest woman? Well, she wanted to talk to me and apologize for being a bitch to me when her and Ron first got together. In case she never sees or talks to me again, she just wanted to straighten some things out. Wanted to thank me for never suing them for child support and apologize for not being able to help out enough. This isn't her place to apologize for these things. These were his kids, his responsibility and his failure as a husband and father. I did however accept the first apology because she came into the relationship with him like Hitler and I wasted a lot of time arguing with her. Her famous quote was that she was "standing by her man". Well, look what that got her.

Responsibilities

Here comes another post regarding priorities. Must be a subject that really irks me because I tend to write about it a lot.

I have not always made the wisest choices in my life, but I can tell you that I have borrowed money once from someone and paid it back before I spent money on nonessential items. By nonessential, I mean things I did not need or could wait until I paid this person back. The money I borrowed haunted me until I made the last payment. This was an emergency borrowing situation and this person was kind enough to offer. I paid them back because I borrowed the money and it was my responsibility to pay them back.

I am careful about who I borrow money to. We have been hit up by relatives to help them out a little. Some were worthy of it. What makes me angry is the borrower that promises the pay back with the next check or anticipated tax return. One of the all time favorite excuses I've heard is "oh my gosh, I forgot". How do you forget you borrowed money from someone? I'm not talking about the quarter, nickle or dime one might borrow for the vending machine. I'm talking about the hundred dollar amounts.

Two issues stick out in my mind that bother me. The first was years ago when I received a call from a friend crying about how they had no money and could not afford groceries or diapers for their baby. Since we had borrowed money to them before without being paid back, I was hesitant. Instead of cash we went to the store and purchased the items for them. We brought the items over to their house and the husband came home with a case of beer and bottle of alcohol. Great priorities.

Same couple years later. Husband is in hospital on and off for two months. They're living on bare minimum as he's been out of work for a while. Many people jump forward and pay bills for them and come up with cash and gift cards to help them out. This is a situation where I didn't expect to be paid back. What I didn't expect was to drop in to visit a few weeks later and see a brand new flat screen TV in their living room and one in their bedroom. Once again-priorities. Basically the only conversations her and I have are when I listen to how broke they are. Yes, prescription medications and hospital bills will take a toll on your bank account, but so will over spending on unnecessary items.

Now lets get to the story that really bothers me. Daughter of hospitalized father lives out of state. She wanted to visit her father. The drive would have taken her 12 hours. She wanted to fly in as she had a limited amount of time. Several people offered to pay her plane fare but when it came to actually do so they backed out. The father's sister purchases her a one way ticket. She spends about 2 hours at the hospital with her father and then goes about visiting friends, getting her hair cut and picking up a few items. We get a phone call from her stating that the aunt had told her we were buying her ticket home. I offered to borrow her the money. She didn't know when she'd be able to pay me back. They were so broke. So I purchased the over-priced one way ticket and told her that we'd work something out with paying it back. A week after the girl arrives back home she sends a email with her new $600.00 dog. Within a month or so she sends pictures of her new camper. In the course of all this I get a call from her mother thanking me for paying for her ticket. I explain that we helped her out by borrowing her the money.
Over the course of the last two years the girl has purchased several big ticket items, including just recently another $600.00 dog, yet she is still posting about how she is always broke. I am so close to reminding her of her obligation to pay this money back. I am more angry now because of the disrespect that she has shown. She is my god-daughter and over the course of her life I have done more than the average person would do. The girl is 33 years old now and I am constantly reminded not to forget her birthday or Christmas. Really?

No Mental Mistakes

"Don't make the same mental mistakes that caused the Green Bay Packers to lose to the Bears" This is the message that the President has passed on to students in Wisconsin. Did he just jot that down on the plane ride. Maybe he figured that talking sports was a way to hold their attention.



I'm glad yesterday is over. The loss was tough enough, but they lost the game over the penalities they committed. Period. Chat rooms were buzzing yesterday putting the blame on the refs. Co-workers were complaining about the refs. And then last night at Dylan's football game people were still talking about the bad calls made by the refs. Maybe there might have been one or two, but for the most part from what I saw, the Packers were at fault. They lost the game due to their mistakes. If they can own up to it then their fans need to also.



I watched an interesting show on PBS last night about baseball. Funny how when every day life goes on you forget something as news worthy as the baseball strike. Showed the half empty stadiums after the strikes, people throwing money onto the field and the heckling of the players. Former President Bill Clinton also stepped in (according to the program). They credit Cal Ripken Jr. with bringing baseball back to where it should be. For setting a starting record and being the greatest shortstop in baseball history. I guess I dozed off right about then, so I'll have to see if I can find it on demand to hear the rest of the story.

Back to football. A man appears at Dylan's game last night sporting a Chicago Bears hat. He took some slack for it, including from his kids. "Dad, did you forget you're a Packer fan" The guy gives the worst reply in the world. "Yeah, but the Bears have the top record right now"
Now there is a loyal fan for you.

And we're walkin

Yesterday marked the 4th year our group has walked in the Susan B Komen race for the cure. The first year was the group of girls and then the guys joined us in the years after. Proud of my daughter who along with her friend and her daughters made the walk yesterday also.

I was always aware of breast cancer and like everyone else knew someones sister, friend, mother or daughter who had breast cancer. It's something that one is aware of but unless it hits someone close to you , it's stored in the back of your mind. In the past I had donated to the Cure and read many articles and life stories of those affected. As much as I dreaded it I faithfully had my annual checks after turning 40. Than it hit our family with a double whammy. First Nanette and then my mother. Two of the strongest women I know. Two fighters.
Nanette's diagnosis woke my mother into having a mammogram which she had skipped for several years. This allowed them to find her cancer very early on and not much treatment was needed. I had been on her for years to keep having them, so this was the one time I got to say "I told you so" to my mother. Not under the best circumstances, but I think I was allowed that one.

The walk is for a good cause. Yesterday's walk was a record crowd. I have been pretty fortunate in joining Nanette for the survivor breakfast each year. As I sit with her I look around at all the people in pink Survivor tee shirts. These are ordinary people who have been stricken with the disease. I look at the time and effort these people put in to hats, tee shirts and accessories and see the smiles on their faces. This is their day. Their day to celebrate the obstacles they have over come. Their day to hope that someday soon there will be a cure for this disease. I celebrate that I can sit there with my friend feel proud to be with her. (oh, and the bagels are good also) I sit there hoping for the same thing they do. For a cure.

Once done with the Survivor breakfast it's on to meet up with the rest of our fellow walkers. We don't have an overly large group, but the group we have are close and there for a good cause and for the support of our friend. Scanning the crowd will show all the other people there for the same reason. For their mom, wife, husband, sister, daughter, aunt, friend, and the list goes on.
As I'm walking I get into the habit of looking at the tags on their backs and seeing who they're walking for or in memory of. It disturbs me to see so many "in memory of" tags.
Yesterday was a record crowd. I felt proud to be a part of it. I plan to continue walking along with my friend until there is a cure. I will walk afterward also, to give my thanks for someone finding a cure. A pat on the back to all those who took the time and effort to support the cause yesterday. It was good to be a part of it.

I Want Some Answers!

There may have been some details from yesterday that prompted the dream/nightmare I had last night.
Yesterday afternoon facebook was down. Upon arriving home both my granddaughters and daughter were sitting at the kitchen table brooding. I had to remind them that facebook being down is not the end of the world and life would go on. Later on when I checked my email I found a friend request from my ex-husbands current wife (divorce in process). Not only did I find one from her, but then also one from his 2nd wife. I found it funny. Was it now time to get together and bash Jon publicly? I smell some sinister reasoning for this. I also found it odd that wife #2 and wife # 3 are friends now. Is there some club forming that I am invited to? Will I feel left out if I don't join.
My thoughts and feeling regarding Jon will not be aired on facebook. It's a natural fact that people will write more than they have the guts to say in person. I've also recently been witness to a bashing on fb that involved a person who did not have fb and was therefore unable to defend them self. Facebook is for fun. It's to share things with people. It's not to publicly bash a defenseless person. Nuff said. On to the dream.

I am at Dylan's football game intently watching the game. Wife #2 and #3 come walking over wishing to speak to me. I wave them off and tell them whatever it is can wait until after the game. I begin to notice other people around me. My ex-sister-in-laws, a few friends we had as a couple, my mother and a group of current friends. I look over and see ex husband with his current girlfriend (90 lb crack head-for real). I begin to wonder if something is up.
Flash forward to end of game and Dylan coming over to the sidelines. I try to get a picture of him and new girlfriend tries to get in the picture. This makes me angry and I ask her to move. She begins to cry and asks what she needs to do to be accepted by Jon's family. I start to laugh and wish her luck.
I am then face to face with Jon and mention that he owes me some money (that part is true). He begins to cry and tell me that he cannot believe how much he messed his life up. Points to the girlfriend and two ex's and tells me none of this would have happened to him if I had never divorced him. I explain to him that cheating will get you a divorce. He swears that if I take him back that it will never happen again. He just wants a chance to be happy again. The ex's appear and back him up. My stomach begins to churn and I can feel myself getting angry. I ask him why he did it in the first place and he tells me that he just figured I wouldn't care. I go on to tell him that I'm glad he did or I wouldn't be where I am now. The ex's are still backing him up and the girlfriend begins to chime in also. I looked for Barney to tell him it was time to leave and he tells me to make a choice right now. Huh? I am so confused that I wake up from the hellish dream. I actually think I forced myself awake because I felt instant relief and sighed when I woke up.

So the dope brings the current girlfriend to Dylan's game the other night. No shocker to me as he's done worse but I think he could have maybe introduced the girl to the grand kids at a more appropriate time and place. The little I know about her had come through my kids. Wife #3 filed for a separation a few months ago. She did it in hope that it would scare him and they'd work thing out. It backfired on her as he wasted no time in making his current fling public.
I'm not really interested in joining the club. The way I see it is I got the only good part of that marriage. Two kids.

News Flash

According to the newspaper and radio broadcasts this morning the Recession ended in July of 2009. This seems to have come as a shock to many people. If the recession has ended then why hasn't my husbands wage been restored? Why are people still having problems selling their homes? Why are so many people still out of work and still losing their jobs? Why are there still so many foreclosures and bankruptcies being filed?
Has the recession ended, or are people just learning to live with the financial downfalls?
I understand that when the economy was good people got a little more comfortable with their spending. Interest rates were down, luring people in to purchasing homes they really could not afford and using charge cards they would soon find out of control. We've always been a bit cautious about our spending, assuring that if there was a loss of a job or some sort of emergency the bills would still be payable. I can understand the trap that some people have been caught in. The realization that these things have to be paid back can slap one in the face. I have seen friends/relatives get caught up with the loss of a job or medical issues. I am no where near an expert on finances, but some of these mishaps were self-inflicted. Out of control spending.
This concludes the soap-box portion of my blog.

On to the Pirate Wedding we attended. When the details of the wedding first started coming out I thought it was kind of silly. I've been to several themed weddings in the past and thought them cute and original. Wasn't sure how well the pirate thing would go over. They picked the perfect place for the wedding. The South Shore pavilion. The building and natural scenery was perfect. The couple put a lot of time and effort into the planning and decor.
I wasn't aware that my husband was planning of dressing the part until about two weeks ago. He made several trips to thrift shops and Goodwill looking for items. We ended up running around to several Halloween stores over the weekend to complete his attire and find things for me. He looked good. Some would say there was not much of a difference but I must argue the point. His normal attire does not consist of a ruffled shirt or stripped pants. The wig he wore drove him nuts. I wanted to braid the hair for him but he'd have no part of that.
The ceremony itself was short and well written by the groom. Dinner was good and was of a Caribbean Cuisine. The beef was good but I shied away from the salmon. The reception was supposed to last until 11:30 but was almost empty of guests by 9. Being that it was a Sunday I'm going with the fact that most people needed to work on Monday. That and the fact that the band was not holding the crowd. I'm not sure that the bride and groom even cared that the place was just about empty. They seemed very relieved that things went so well, but were dead tired from all the planning and set up. All in all is was a lot of fun and the crowd participation was more than they hoped for.

Out Of Sorts

I have zero tolerance for people that lie to me. Or shall I say "attempt to pull one over". We dropped our truck off for repair yesterday afternoon and were told we'd have a free loaner. This entailed the service manager calling the rental car place a few blocks away and having them pick us up. The car rental guy showed up a few minutes driving a Jeep. My first thought was we were going to drop him off and have the Jeep. Bubble burst! We got back to the car rental place and were told we would be given a Silver Honda Civic that just came back and was getting washed at the moment. The loaner itself is free but then came the spiel regarding insurance. Our car insurance will cover any vehicle we drive, but then there's the deductible and the fact that if we take their insurance there will be no charges at all to us except the $15.00 a day to carry it. This, in my eyes, makes the loaner not free. My husband brought up the fact that our credit card automatically covers any charges incurred by an accident. Well that would be fine and dandy if we had used the credit card to rent the car in the first place.
After all the paperwork was done we went to check out the car prior to leaving. No dings, dents or damage found except normal wear and tear. The guy is talking this car up like it's the best thing since baseball. We got the keys and when starting it up I immediately notice the flashing service light. I call the guy back over and he tells us that the car is fine, they probably just forgot to reset the warning after the last oil change. Goes on to explain that the cars are checked out via computer and it checked out fine. I bring to his attention that the warning signal is noting that it required service 1.2 miles ago. Seeing that the car just came back a few moments before we came in can he honestly say it was checked out? He did note it on the paperwork and off we went.
I hate the car for several reasons. I'll never be able to find it in a parking lot unless I memorize the plate numbers. Have you ever noticed how many silver Civics's there are? It's way to low to the ground. I watched my husband just about exit on his knees. I feel vulnerable in this little car, after driving a truck for 10 plus years. I don't think it goes over 60. The stupid warning light drove me nuts as it was flashing all the way to work. The radio is good. The seat adjustment is really awkward and not power. I guess I just got spoiled.
I'm so out of sorts with this car that I forgot my phone this morning. Not that in itself is not a good feeling.

The Red Mullet

I started a water aerobics class last night with my friend Donna at a suburban high school. We had taken the class about 2 years ago and the attendance was low so they had cut out the class the following season. The teacher at the time was a little more intersted in gabbing with the ladies than teaching a class.
We arrived last night and found the parking lot to be packed. I figured walking the little extra to the entrance was a good think while my friend wanted to get closer. I wasn't about to drive around waiting for a spot to open so while listening to her complain we made the hike. In the past class there were about 15 women tops. We walked into the pool area and were among the 30 women enrolled in the class. I noticed some women from the past class we had attended.
One woman in particular must have felt she was the queen bee of the class. She noticed us right away and had to make her way to welcome us back. She started bringing us up to date on the "gossip ". I have no interest nor do I know these people. I'm there for the class, so I slowly backed away from her.
When the instructor appeared I had to do a double take. Change the red mullet hair style and she could have been my friend Kim. The facial expressions, the body movements and the sternness in her voice was right on. My friend who has only met Kim and handful of times had a hard time believing it wasn't her. She was very vocal and very descriptive in the routine we should be following. I give her a 10 in teaching abilities.
I found the class to be interesting. Got a good work out but also noticed that about 1/2 of the class was much more interested in chatting and doing their own thing rather than listening to the instructor. I guess being the newbies kept us out of the loop. The head hen kept moving over toward us and letting us know she takes the class twice a week and has been for years. One girl, also new, who joined the class to lose weight commented that the "chubby head hen" should move instead of gab and maybe she'd lose a few hundred pounds.
I didn't give much thought to after the class. The changing room is a little chilly and as of right now going outside afterward was okay. The class goes until the first week in December. It's going to be a little chilly in the future. My friend brought up the fact that we could be standing outside scraping windows. I may need to find a Saturday morning class for the winter session.

Sept.13th

Today would have been my brother David's birthday. Funny how certain days stick out in your mind. I remember eating dinner and my father trying to get us to hurry as he had to take Mom to the hospital. It was so quick that the dinner dishes didn't get done. My aunt and grandmother came to pick my two brothers and I up and my aunt almost got into an accident on the way back to grandma's house. We stayed there a while until my dad came back to tell us we had a brother. I had wanted a sister but got over it pretty quick. I also had to do the dishes when we got back home.
Anyway..remembering David on his day.

Vacation

This was my home for 6 days. You'll notice my husband legs as he sits in his chair which was his home for 6 days. I guess you could minus the times he sat at the table playing cards or eating, and the times he got up to play washers and go to the bathroom. He appeared to have a very relaxing week.
We hit some rain on the trip up and the credits were mounting. I'm not sure they ever cashed in on their Jack & Cokes. We stopped at the usual diner for a quick bite to eat prior to the last 10 miles to the campground. Waitress remembered offering to help one of the guys pitch his tent. I think she may have forgotten the message she had shown him on his phone, or she chose not to discuss it due to other customers being in the diner.
We lucked out with good weather. Had a few windy days which made fishing a little difficult. I did manage to catch the first fish which had to be released as he was a tad bit to small. Dick had a pretty good size carp that he had hooked in the back. He handed over his fishing pole so I could get the feel of a larger fish. Big ugly thing had to be tossed. Where was Catfish Charlie when you needed him? That would have made some good eats for his cat.

The casino took up some time but was pretty much a bust for all. I managed to come out a little ahead but nothing to write home about. Damn the no carrying in wood laws as it cost us a small fortune to purchase wood every day. It proved worth it as we had some pretty good fires. The citronella candle in the fire wasn't as great as the first one we'd done years ago. Sometimes you just can't repeat history.
As usual there were some pretty good quotes going around but I never felt like getting up and getting a paper and pen to write them down and my phone (believe it or not) was not getting service. I missed my phone but proved that I could go 6 days without it. I did cheat a little and made a few calls on the way to the Casino. I would mention some funny things and a Trevor Hoffman related comment that was made...but I guess what happens at Yellowstone stays at Yellowstone. Maybe a few beers would help to get it out.
All in all I had a great time. Coming back was hard. Missed certain people and my pets but did not miss the daily grindstone of work. The attempt was made to purchase the correct lottery ticket but I guess it's just not the right time.
Guy at work told me that camping was to much work. He doesn't get the reasoning for packing up all your stuff and sleeping outside and then having to come home and have more work waiting for you. Sometimes you have to put a little effort into having a good time. I had a great time and am looking forward to doing it again next year. Hopefully with the entire group. Two of our fellow campers were greatly missed.

And Off She Goes

Our niece is college bound as I write. She's not the first to go off, but she is the daughter of my late brother David. This is an event I know he would be beaming about. My daughter rode along with her and her mother to help move her in and "check the place out", so I'm getting updates along the way. She said Nicole shows no signs of nervousness-just plain excitement.
She wasn't scheduled to make the trip, but with a last minute ditching by another niece she was happy to fill the spot. I think she feels good about going along to assure Nicole is all set. My brother and daughter were very close so if he's looking down I'm sure he's content in knowing his daughter is in good hands.

From the time Nicole was born my brother was beaming. Proof is in the hours and hours of video taping he did of her every move. Like all families the first one has all the pictures and videos and when number two comes along they lessen. She shared his love of Mustangs and the Packers. Apparently we didn't do a good job of keeping that up as she could care less about football now. They would come over on Sunday's for Packer games and she would sit next to him and watch the entire game. The two of them had a collection of football helmets and at one time she could name every team by their helmets. I think she may have been five at the time.

I envision him being around now and her going off to College. I'm almost certain that my brother would have found a Domino's around her Campus to work at and in a heartbeat would have relocated. Otherwise he would be up there every chance he had. If all holds true to what I've always been told he's up there watching over her now. She's doing great and it's hard to watch her go. She got all the lectures last night and I'm sure she'll experience the life of freedom in some ways. We warned her that she's not that far away. Aunties J & A are all about the road trips. If she's anything like Ben's opera star, she will flourish.

It's just hard watching the little girl with the cowboy boots and hat going off on her own. I'll get over it. Soon.

Scratch That Weekend...

Maybe it was the date, like an omen haunting us. Two years ago on this same weekend my brother passed away. The events leading up to his passing started the weekend prior when we were camping. I'm not one to be superstitious but I think I may cut the entire August camping thing off my list.

This weekend started out good. We got an early start and had things set up and were kicking back within two hours of arriving. Then the storm warnings started coming through, the wind picked up and the rain started. A few minutes into the storm we all heard a rather large thump and first thought was something bounced off the top of the camper. It wasn't much later that we discovered the thump was the tree branch that hit our truck. Left a nice dent in the hood. A picture was taken and the branch was burned in the fire pit. The rain eventually stopped, the jack & cokes were consumed and the night went on.

The next morning we discovered more damage to the truck. The windshield is cracked and there is another crack in the hood. Never saw it the night before, but there were leaves on the truck and it was raining. I feel fortunate that the falling branch did damage to the truck and not to one of us. The rest of the time spent camping went pretty well. There was a little giddiness at camp as some of the campers were taking off for Vegas later in the day.

When we got home I went to unpack the cooler and when opening the fridge I found it to be warm. The freezer items were still frozen. We ended up loading everything into the downstairs fridge and coolers. The mighty maintenance man found that the compressor was shot. The fridge is around 30 years old and came with the house. It didn't seem worth fixing so off we went to Menards to purchase a new fridge.

Ended up with a very plain fridge. I really didn't have the time to shop around and compare prices and I also knew that there really wasn't anyone around to help him carry the fridge in beside me. All in all I didn't get a fridge that I like very much. I think Barn knew it as we were walking out of the store as he has now doomed us further. "I know that's not the one you wanted but it'll be good in the basement. Plus it came with a 25% in store rebate that I'll be able to buy the sump pump with". I think he may still have the slap marks on his arm. And one should never ask "what's next". On my way to the car I simply looked up toward the sky and said" What else you got? Bring it on!

So, I felt a little sad this morning and I know family members are also still struggling with the loss of our brother/father/son. I have my moments which I thought would go away after a while. Its just not on the date he left us, or his birthday, or holidays. I miss my brother and I don't think a day goes by that I don't think of him in some way. I'll admit I don't cry as much but it still hurts. I don't know what step I'm on as far as the grieving process, but I still can't get past the anger part of it. My day was cheered up a bit with a 5:30 am phone call from my friend/sister-in-law from Vegas. I talk to a lot of people during the course of my day, but it's only a few that can get me out of a funk. I thank GOD everyday that 10 years ago my brother made a very wise choice in marrying her.

I Want to go !

To Vegas with my friends.

Walking To Memories

Toward the end of last week I decided to get back on track and start walking outside again. Waiting until early evening proved to be a good idea as the weather cooled a little, however the mosquito's were vicious. Early mornings on the weekend tend to work out better. I wish every day could be a weekend because I love walking in the morning. There is nothing better than having the sidewalk to yourself except for an occasional jogger or fellow dog walker. Sadie seems to do better in the early morning also. My initial thought was to get up an hour earlier every morning and hit the pavement with my four-legged walking partner. This morning my alarm went off and reality set in. Sadie was snoring away and I didn't want to wake her. She looked so peaceful. (not a valid excuse). So my walk will be after work, which really isn't to bad. The humidity and oven like heat seems to have taken a break.

So each day, with poop bag in hand, Sadie and I have set out for our 2 mile walk. I make sure she's hydrated and has made her deposit prior to leaving. I have taken to counting how many houses we go past before she feels the need to poop. The first day she made it about 3 blocks and decided to squat and poop on a semi-busy street. Nice. Nothing better than picking up poop while cars are buzzing by. Day two she waited until we were almost back home which I thanked her for. I've begun to carry two bags. One for the early deposit which I can usually find a garbage can to dump it in rather than carry it 2 miles. The other day I took Bella along also, who managed to make the entire trip without incident. By yesterday I thought Sadie would get the routine under control and be able to make it without me having to stoop and pick up poop. No, we made it four houses away and there she went. I thought for sure she wouldn't make the rest of the trip without doing it again. Even went an extra 1/2 mile. She made it! We'll see what today brings.

I like walking the neighborhood. It beats walking in the house staring at the TV. Each day I try to change up the route a little to take in some different scenery. Strolled past my elementary school and saw that they have grades K-4 through 8th grade now. Wondered if they still play dodge ball on the lower playground. The lower playground was only for the 6th graders when I attended the school. Funny how it made us feel so grown up, but yet cut off from the rest of the school.

I live in the neighborhood where I grew up so it's interesting to see the changes. Walking past former classmates and friends homes I sometimes see their parents still live in the homes. Wondering how many of my classmates bought their parents home like I did. Last night I took the path through the park that we used to hang out at. When Ben and I were younger we used to get with friends and being that the park was not developed yet, would go and have bonfires deep in the woods. Had this whole set up with logs to sit on and a small fire pit we dug out. We used trees that were down , branches and leaves to keep the fire going. The path is now asphalt and I can still see the spot we hung out at. We hung out there for an entire summer and never once had anyone come through. Of course the area was not to developed and the woods was pretty thick. There used to be a fairly large pond that I learned to ice skate on. My dad would come with us and I would skate and my brothers would sled. We had the park to ourselves. The pond has now been drained and covered up and I'm pretty sure the hill shrunk. The park is built up with basketball courts, a baseball diamond, soccer practice and a playground. The kids all looked to be having a good time but I wonder if they'll have the memories that I do.

I'm In a Band

In my dreams that is. I woke up the Saturday morning around 5am and decided that for being a Saturday it was just a bit to early to get up. I turned on the TV and started watching Drumline. I've watched the movie before but it won over the millions of infomercials and religious shows that were also playing.
I figure I dozed off during the first ten minutes and couldn't have been asleep more than 1/2 hour or so when I woke up laughing. Once again I fell asleep during a movie and took on a role in the movie. It was a star-studded dream.
First off my friend Kim was the band leader. We all had blue uniforms with the tall white furry hats (looked more like the guards at Buckingham Palace). Kim was out in front just marching away with her baton in hand. She also had a whistle in her mouth that she would not stop blowing (found out later that annoying noise was actually my daughters alarm clock). My husband was playing the tuba and smoking a cigar in between. Steve was walking along playing an electric guitar with an amp strapped to his back. He was sweating. Jodi was on the flute and was wearing a skirt with white boots. Then there's Janet who was playing the drums and walking next to her husband also playing the drums and they kept switching drumsticks in mid air (very talented). Our friend E was playing a trumpet and I was walking next to him holding his sheet music, not playing anything. The most vivid part of the dream was walking down Howell Avenue and Kim just going to town with that baton. Pete was standing on the curb waving us on. Gotta love the fun dreams.

Then there's the deceased brother dream. He gave me money to go to Vegas. Some of the gang are going to Vegas next week and I opted to stay home with the husband that does not fly. I have the urge to go, but I guess it can wait. In my dream my brother showed up and said he knew how much I wanted to go, and he'd take care of things while I was gone. He showed up with his suitcase and was ready to take care of the household. Don't want to analyze that dream.

Dreams Again

I seem to be having a lot of action dreams lately. The ones where you wake up in the midst of moving around. At first what you're doing is a little fuzzy but then you either wake fully and laugh it off or just fall back to sleep and forget it.
The other night I went to bed and must have fallen asleep pretty quickly. According to my husband we were in the middle of conversation and I drifted off. I recall slipping into a dream where I grabbed the girls basketball off the porch to put it away in the garage where it belongs. On my way to the garage Barney intercepted the basketball and began to dribble and then shoot a couple baskets. I asked for the ball back explaining that I needed to put it away and if he continued to play with it he'd just leave it lay in the driveway. He kept urging me to shoot a few. I told him I wouldn't shoot against him because he cheats and always blocks my shots (isn't that what basketball is about..blocking shots). Anyway I took the ball and backed up to attempt a hook shot. As I put my arm out to shoot he ran up from behind me and blocked my arm and thud I hit a solid wall. "What the hell" I heard as I woke up and realized that I had carried out the motions and decked him pretty good in the chest. I was going to apologize but figured he probably had it coming for something so I went back to sleep.

More than a book

Did you ever think about how many uses there are for a book beside reading? First you must take into account the size of the book. For example a paperback book can be used to prop a door open, add a little more height to a reading lamp, and if thin enough it can be used to prop up a table leg. A phone book or catalog has many uses. Doubled up they can make a booster seat for a child. As the child gets older and taller you can remove one book (showing my age here as we didn't have booster seats when I was younger). Short little old ladies use the phone book to sit on while driving. My use for the phone book today was to add more height to my monitor. I have had some neck and shoulder pain for the past few weeks. My monitor at home is positioned so I can look straight at it. Work is another story. There are several areas where I use a computer and the monitors are not positioned to be operator friendly. I could lug my paperwork back to my office and sit and enter it all there, but its not a very efficient practice. I find myself constantly tilting my head back to see the monitor. It's an area where the PC is at standing height and the monitor is above it. Unless you're Paul Bunyan it's not very user friendly. I'm working on getting that problem resolved. At one time someone in my office had a box made to set the monitor on. I'm a little taller than that person and have asked for a shelf several times. I've rummaged through the "old office equipment" area with no luck. This morning I took it into my own hands and found a phone book from 2004 , slid it on top of the box and my life has now been made easier. For now.

My sick husband seems to be recovering. He's a little spent but should have his energy level back to normal within a day or so. On top of his being ill he discovered that the rash he had on his leg above his ankle is poison ivy. His nurse wife fixed him up with some ointment and gauze to keep it covered. I think in his delirium he didn't realize what it was, just that it itched. Web MD is a wonderful thing.

Flashback

When I asked my 51 year old husband what he'd like for his birthday this year I expected him to have an idea in his noggin for me. Some things ran through my head like a new weed whacker or trimmer. He had mentioned a smoker for his grill. I did go looking for that but wasn't quite sure what he had in mind. I then asked for his assistance in finding this. He headed off to the store for something else and upon returning home announced that he changed his mind and wanted a pool instead. I think the pool was more for the kids then himself because that is the kind of guy he is. Although hesitant at first, I gave in and the pool was purchased, set up and filled.

As a kid there was always a pool in our yard. Throughout the years my parents purchased several pools. It was a ritual to uncover and clean the pool over Memorial Day weekend. As it was filling we'd all be eager to swim. It would usually be ready by the the next day but usually the weather wasn't. I can remember sitting on the deck and sticking my feet in to sub-zero temperature water thinking I could handle it. My mom would be the one to lay the law down as my father would say "Hey, if they want to go in, let them go." He'd more often then not join us. I remember the first dive in and how cold it would be. Within a few minutes your body would become numb from the cold and the enjoyment of the pool would take over.

On Sunday after returning from a rather hot weekend of camping we decided to test the waters. Dylan was over and took the first step in. I watched his face for signs of frigid water but his expression didn't change. I stuck my foot in and instantly felt the coldness of the water. After standing on the ladder for a few seconds and being heckled by my grandson I took the plunge. Yes, it was a blast of cold water and a blast from the past. The air outside was 92 while the pool water was 74. It took a few minutes to adjust but as in the past the enjoyment of the pool took over.

When buying the pool I wasn't sure how the kids would react. It's not a huge pool (39 inches by 15 ft). I thought they might not get much enjoyment out of it. Yesterday I couldn't get them out of it. I went to bed around 9:30 and Michelle and the kids were still in the pool. Might have been a good idea on my husband's part. I just hope he'll be able to get in it once in awhile. I also think that next year we may need a bigger pool.

It's Gonna Be A Hot One

Yesterday when I got home I had two cats and Sadie waiting at the door. I think they smiled when I got home. Either that or they were trying to rat each other out for something. I checked out the house and nothing was amiss so in my head I'm telling myself they were happy to see me. Bella's been gone for a few days and I think she must be the social director as they usually don't greet me at the door.
When my alarm rudely went off at 3:20 this morning both cats were on my bed and sprung up as soon as I got up. Sadie was laying at the foot of the bed and also woke and followed us out of the room. Couldn't be the need for food or water, all the bowls were full. I gave them fresh water and got a nudge from Sadie and a meow from the cats. They were all clustered by the bathroom door when I came out my shower and proceeded to follow me around. I let Sadie out to do her business and the two cats sat by the door waiting. I was beginning to wonder if they're trying to tell me something. Am I sick and they feel they need to be lovable so they can get a free pass in also? Are they waiting for me to leave to start the daily ruckus? Are they bored, or missing Bella? Whatever the answer to this is, it's just weird to have all three of them follow me around. Especially the evil Lilo. You can pet her to your hearts content but if you try and pick her up she will give you a piece of her mind. She's a true cat bitch. But as I sat down to check emails, she jumped up on my lap. Something is up I tell you. Bella will be back today and I'm sure she'll set them all straight. Usually she is the attention seeker and will butt in between whoever is currently receiving attention. She's an attention hoarder. That could very well be the answer. The big Momma is gone and the other guys want some attention.
Heading out for a hot weekend of camping (weather wise that is). Mother Nature has already been cursed by someone, so it's quite possible we may seek the nearest air conditioned bar for a break from the heat. At any rate it'll be good to get away and have a relaxing weekend.

Interesting

We received a flyer in the mail the other day from our Neighborhood Association. I felt a little out of sorts at first because in the 19 years we've lived in our home I never knew we had a Neighborhood Association. It seems to be just a bunch of neighbors that get along. Sure you have the occasional griper but I'm not aware of any feuds going on.
We seem to be a neighborhood where everyone minds their own business, yet watches out for each other. When the hoodlums came through with their paintball guns, we all got hit. When the storms ripped through a few years back, we all helped each other move tree branches and returned lawn furniture to it's rightful owners. There are the friendly waves and idle chit chat or talking over the fence. We're pretty good friends with our neighbors to the south and across the street. The people who's backyard butts up against ours are a little on the snobby side. This goes back a few years when she wanted to pull the fence down. I had commented that if she did choose to pull it down that we'd be putting another one up for our dogs. She was all about matching the fences and wanted to "pick out" the fence we'd be putting up. It's chain link now and she didn't like that I said I'd be putting chain link back up. I'm pretty sure the fence issue is over. Plus they have a dog now, but I think it goes to the bathroom inside, as we never see it in the yard.
So, back to the letter. We can join the association for $10.00 per year. We then can be involved in the block party, movies in the park and Friday night round robins. The round robins are explained as "one family per week (Friday) opens their home/yard to other members. The round robin starts at 6:30 pm and ends by 8. The host is not obligated to put out food or drink, people are expected to have eaten before coming over. You are allowed to bring your own beverages, however if you need to keep them cool you must bring your own cooler. If the host chooses to allow people to stay longer they can, but as a visitor you must not over-stay your welcome. I didn't see much problem with this. This is basically to get to know each other and discuss any problems in the neighborhood and to solve them. Well, that is where I had the slight issue.
Like I said, we've lived here for 19 years without any major problems. Yes, I would like to be informed of any incidents involving crime in our area. I passed the flyer onto my daughter as the kids would probably enjoy the park events they have posted. Maybe she can find a nice husband.

Such A Waste

I have a friend, Kellie, that I have known well for about 28 years. We became friends when I began working at a packaging company right after my daughter was born. She was going through a break-up and I was going through a divorce. We clicked right away, thus began a good friendship.
Both of us had some serious financial hardships (dead-beat ex's that wouldn't pay support) and within two years of working together decided to move in together. The main goal was to get out of debt and actually be able to open a savings account. We worried that working together and living together would put a strain on our friendship, but for the most part things worked out well. We managed to make a good situation out of a bad one. We still look back on those years and find so much to laugh about.
With my son starting 1st grade I made the move back to the south side. It was hard to tell her, but we had both achieved our goals. We remained friends and still socialized outside of work.
Met our husbands and stood up for each others weddings. We didn't see each other as much but talked often. Any social events we were at together were always fun. We caught up on the kids doings. She had two more children after marrying. Our husbands got along great which is always a plus. They're also very much alike.
We saw each other in the sad times also. Her father who was her idol in life passed away, my brother passed away.
Her son was in trouble. At 15 they discovered he was using prescription pain killers. This girl wasn't having it and was extremely upset that she didn't see the signs earlier. They took him to rehab several times, they tried the tough love approach, they racked their brains and their pocketbooks to help him. She thought they had succeeded as he was passing drug tests and got through high school. He was arrested for possession with intent to sell. He went to jail and back to rehab. Again they emptied their wallets to help him. I talked to her several times through out the years they went through this. She was tired and hurting. Her and her husband stuck together on this. At 20 years old they got tougher. They booted him out of their house. He went to live with his older sister and husband and they thought he was doing better. About 8 months ago he went back to jail which they got him out of and into an in-patient rehab program. After getting out he started his life over again without drugs. He went to counseling and seemed to be on the up and up.
On Sunday he died of an overdose. My heart goes out to my friend & her husband. I called her on Tuesday after finding out and thought I'd be at a loss for words. I didn't need to say much. Josh is now at peace.

Mini Vacation

In about 10 minutes I will be walking out the door of work to 6 1/2 days of freedom. The good thing is I don't have to much on the plate. The bad thing is I feel like crap right now.

I woke up around 1 am this morning with stomach pain which resulted in a few trips to Mr. Toilet. At work a co-worker mentioned the same thing. At first we thought maybe it was the food they fed us yesterday. I suspected either the fruit salad or the potato salad. No one else is sick though, so it's been ruled out.

I intend to go home, pull out my lawn chair and make myself very comfortable on the deck and let the sun do it's healing. Hopefully I'll be able to get out there before dark. There always seems to be something or someone that disrupts my plans.

Something is Amiss

My house seems to have turned into a pet sanctuary. Let's start out with our dog Sadie. She's been with us going on 10 years now. We had previously had two of our own dogs, and one that my parents left behind because none of us thought she'd make the adjustment to Arizona at her age. She lived 3 years after they left. We waited over 1 1/2 years after losing the other two before we got Sadie.
Last year we got two cats, one of which is no longer with us. In September when my daughter came back home she brought her dog Bella. She's a good dog, despite her nervousness with thunder and fireworks. A month or so later came her cat Lilo. Her ex wasn't taking care of her and the cat was a mess. She's a bitchy little thing that let's no one pick her up. It took a few weeks for her and our cat Carmine to get along.
My daughter's ex goes out of town a lot for either work or his own personal pleasure. He lives downstairs from his father and has another dog, Bear. Well because his father is as useless as he is Bear doesn't get taken care of when he's gone, so suck up me allows him to stay at our house. Bear is getting up there in age and I can't stand that he's left alone in the house until the useless father remembers to let him out, which can be 10 to 12 hours. He's also pretty good except he doesn't like to stay outside for any length of time. Wants to do his business, snoop around a little and come back in. Sadie on the other hand will lay outside on the deck for hours.
The final straw came Saturday night when my daughter came home with the other cat. Hannah was left at home with no food and no water. The useless father in law forgot about her. Granted the ex husband left a bowl of water and food, but after day 3 it was gone. I nicely explained to her that 6 pets is way to many. Bear and Hannah will go home when the ex husband gets back.
Hannah is also a good cat, or so I thought so until this morning.
I woke for work and noticed the other two cats snooping around the bathroom. They were on a mission. At first I thought they were hunting spiders , but they then headed for the bathtub. I looked in the tub and saw a nice pile of poop. What the heck! My bathtub is not a giant litter box. I know these two didn't do it. After cleaning it up and spraying the bathroom cleaner I went to look for the culprit. I didn't have to. The other two cats had her cornered in the kitchen and there was some loud meowing going on. I'm pretty sure Carmine was letting her know, in no uncertain terms that you do not poop in the lady's tub!
She will be leaving today, along with Bear. Until his next trip, at which time I will allow the dog to come back but poop pants stays at her own home.

Bad Ump..Bad Call

"When you're playing Little League baseball you don't get the pro umps". This quote came from one of the "senior" umps at Tuesday nights game. No shocker there, but at least be fair.
They played a team they've played before. A team with coaches similar to Dylan's coaches. A group of guys who show respect for the kids and teach them the game. Theres some yelling once in a while, but they also give credit when credit is due.

After two innings there was some grumbling about the strike zone. This was coming from both teams so at least the ump was being fair in that case. The more senior ump was behind the plate but making a lot of calls that the field ump should have been making. He just so happened to not see the play where the first base kid blocked the runner from advancing to second. We're talking standing in front of him with his arms out. This happened several times and when the coach called it out they simply didn't see it. They did however see Dylan knock a kid out of his way and talked to the coach about it. The coach had previously asked the boys how many of them played football, and told them to use their shoulders to get through if they needed to. Then there was the play where one of Dylan's team was coming into home and the catcher missed the ball but blocked the plate. He was safe but the ump said not a word about the play.
Now we come to the final inning. The game is tied 2-2 and they have completed 7 innings. They decide to play one more inning as they are within the time limit. Dylan's team does not score. There are two outs and they get a base runner. She steals second and then on a hit takes off for 3rd base. The ball gets thrown to 3rd and the kid puts the tag on her before she reaches the base. The field ump calls her out. Final out, the team starts to leave the field and the home plate ump suddenly yells "Safe". What!! The coaches are in shock, the kids are in shock. He had the out. A little arguing goes on and senior ump tells them he had a better view. The other coach tells him that she was clearly out. He's not budging. The game continues and she ends up scoring.
Dylan's coach ended up filing a protest to have the game brought back to tie. The coach from the other team agreed. This is where I have some respect for him. They clearly did not win the game and I know had the tables been turned Dylan's coach would have acted the same as he did. The kids get a little talk after the game and we overheard their coach tell them that although the record shows they won, he didn't think the win was fair.
The kid that made the play at third usually bobbles the ball when thrown to him. He lets a lot of balls that should have been fielded by him go into left field. This was his first real play and the smile that broke out on his face when he put the tag on was more of a look of relief. Soon turned to a frown but he got some reassurance once the game was over.
So I'm not sure on what the rule is on one ump overturning a call by another ump but I guess we'll find that out tonight. Hopefully they'll have different umps tonight.

Idiots

As anticipated group camp went well. The weather although not as predicted was tolerable and we made due with it. When I had heard the forecast of 88 and humid I was a little worried that we would be quite uncomfortable in that heat. We ended up with cloudy and a high of 64. We were able to get a quick look at the sun Saturday around 7:30 pm. I have learned to pack for the unexpected so I was good. I did however, leave my winter jacket at home this time.

Within a few minutes of arriving at group camp we had a visit from the camp host. He was just letting us know where he was located in case of any issues. We got to chatting with him and he broke into a story about some recent destruction on the site we were on. It seems some college kids reserved the site. He said he knew there would be trouble when there were about 60 guys and 1 or 2 tents. The party was broken up and tickets were given when the kids decided to burn the picnic tables and fence for firewood. Did the story shock me? No, it immediatly made me angry. He went on to tell us that some of these guys lost scholarships & State grants for destruction of State property. "Good" was my first thought. I bet their parent's are damn proud of them. Idiots!

My tolerence for property damage is zero. I'm sure alcohol played into this but wouldn't you think that out of 60 or so people that some would have the sense to stop it. I asked that question this weekend and the peer pressure excuse came up. I don't buy it. Maybe it's my appreciation of State Parks. I feel very strongly about obeying the rules and not doing any damage. Maddening is also the writing in the bathrooms at the campgrounds. Just because a portion of your taxes may go toward State Parks & Forests doesn't mean you have the right to destroy them. I'm thankful to live in a State that has one of the best park systems. The small fee that I pay for an annual sticker and campsite is well worth it.

This is where I also have a strong appreciation for my family and friends. I know that I can go on an outing with them and will never, even if they over indulged, need to stop them from any type of property destruction. People need to start showing some pride.

The Pub Crawl

Can I blame it on the weather? We did not plan to attend the pub crawl but with the forecast of rain for Saturday afternoon and evening we opted to join Ben & Nannette to benefit Easter Seals.

It started out at a locally known Irish Pub. We enjoyed a few beers while watching the Brewers battle against the Cardinals. We thought maybe we could get a quick glimpse of two of our friends who ventured to St. Louis for the game. He said he'd be a blue shirt in a sea of red. There were quite a few blue shirts and maybe we weren't looking hard enough. There was the Brewer fan with the foam cheese on his head, but that wasn't either of them.
After the first tavern we ran through the downpour across the street to stop number two. We were given a free drink ticket. The tickets were only good for certain beers, non of them being Miller Lite. Call me anal but I have become accustomed to a certain taste of beer. I will try others but just don't like the bitter after taste that some dark beers have. To me they all taste like I'm drinking a cup of coffee and I am not a coffee drinker. But I drank two beers and don't recall the name of them. On to the 3rd pub. At this one we were ushered into the basement. I immediately knew this would be the one where people got crazy. Maybe it was the beer pong that was set up and people immediately flocked to. There was another game that Nannette got in to with drinking your beer and then tipping the cups on the table. Ben, Barney and I watched the beer pong and drank a few beers. Nannette introduced me to a guy who claimed to be one of the Brewers cousins. Had the same last name . On opening day a few years back we had sat behind one of his cousins but that is another story. I remarked that this Brewer must have a lot of cousins and was told that basically the entire city of Oconomowoc is flooded with them.

On to stop # 4. This is the one that I do believe did us in. This is the one where all the drama from the younger people unfolded. After about an hour of listening to sob stories and feeling like I was Oprah I found an open spot next to Nannette on the stage and sat down. This is when the texting began. Two women sitting on a slightly dark stage attempting to text. I can use the excuse that I didn't have my glass's for the misspelled words in one text. Our husbands were seated not far from us and kept wandering over to see if we were still there. I'm still not quite sure why they seemed ticked off. I was just happy that I could get Miller Lite there. Sorry, call me a wimp but I can't keep up with the Irish and their high alcohol content in their beer.

Back to the starting point. By this time we were all starving and decided to order food. As I was eating my soup I wondered if I was the only one who felt as if their lips were swelling from the saltiness, Nannette leaned over and asked if my soup was salty. I thought maybe my swollen lips gave it away but we all had the same issue. The food came and was good yet again overly salty. We came to the bright conclusion that salty food makes you order more beer. Ha! I outsmarted them and ordered water. (at that point it seemed I did) All in all it was a good time and for a good cause. And once again I blame it all on the Irish.
Oh, and I am hoping to get my key chain from MO.

Analyze This

I have some crazy dreams at times but last nights has me stumped and ready to go out and purchase the dream book.

In my dream I had a stomach ache that wouldn't quit. Arnie urged me to see a doctor. At the doctors office I was informed I was pregnant. I was confused and listened to the doctor explain to me that the fertilized eggs and sat dorment for over 30 years which (in my dream) they will do. The shock was the realization that this was my ex-husbands baby. Arnie didn't bat an eye. It turned out that I had twin boys. I had nothing for them. I took them home from the hospital in a box and was worried I would get caught. I had questioned the hospital about car seats and was told that because they were unsafe they were no longer required. We had no crib so we put the babies in Dylan's old pack n play. (funny because I just saw this in the attic the other day). My ex husband came to see the boys and identified them as his but said we'd get no help from him because he already had enough mouths to feed. Shocking! I asked him if he could at least go pick up some diapers so I could take them to the doctor and he brought over two diapers. (cheap as always). In my dream I was stressed over what I was going to do but was re-assured by my husband that it would all work out. I think he was just happy we had twin boys as now there would be someone to carry the coolers at camping.

Hurry Up Scrap Man

I though going back to work would give me a break from yard work. Once my alarm clock went off I felt differently. How nice it would have been to just shut it off, roll over and catch a few more hours of sleep. Then I'd get up and at some point wander back out into the yard and do a few things or just plop in a lawn chair for a few hours and relax. Dream over...back to reality.
I'm not alone in this as just about every one of my co-workers have expressed their opinion on being here today.

Between trips to hardware stores and a lot of pulling of weeds, planting and moving plants around my entire 4 day weekend was consumed. We took a few hours on Friday night and headed to a Brewers game.

There were a few times when the heat consumed me and I headed in for a cold drink and cooling off. Our AC should be back in action within the next week or so, but as much as I dislike AC I did feel the need for it this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I love warm weather. Just could do without the 94 degrees with humidity.

Last night Barney and I were cleaning out behind the garage. This area seems to have become the heap of junk pile. I spotted the old and rusted out wheelbarrow parked back there with old leaves and a few pieces of wood in it. I thought he'd gotten rid of it last year. It was my grandpa's and then my fathers and when we bought the house it became ours. If I'm not mistaken I think it was my great-grandfathers. The thing has to be 80 or more years old. The bottom is rusted out. At one point my husband tried to repair and it worked for a year or so. Last night when I spotted it I immediately told him to take it to the curb. He said he was saving it for me in case I wanted it for flowers. Not a thing to say to someone who just finished digging in the dirt and planting for 4 days. I walked behind him as he wheeled it to the curb (mainly to ensure it made it there and not into the garage). I had to explain that you don't just hang on to something like that for sentimental reasons. I have many more things to remember my grandfather by.

As we walked away from the rusted wheelbarrow I hoped and prayed that the junk man would come before my husband had second thoughts.

Open Your Wallets

It's that time of the year again. The time that WKLH holds it's annual Miracle Marathon for Children's Hospital. We need to open our wallets and donate for the kids. You can wait for the power hour when a certain company will match donations, you can donate a lump sum or you can choose the $20.00 for 12 option. It that doesn't suit your fancy you may also partake in the live auction. I've viewed this and found several summer music packages that may appeal to some.

Then if you really need a push toward donating you can tune in and listen to some live interviews from those with good outcomes and those with not so good. They all have the same thing to say in the end, and wouldn't be taking time to share their stories if they didn't think Children's Hospital was an outstanding facility.

We as a family have made several trips to Children's. We've been blessed with having the outcome of each visit be good. Years ago my son was involved in a pretty bad car accident. As he was 16 years old he was taken to Children's. I have nothing but good to say about his continuous treatment over 2 years and the staff that took care of us. At 2 years old Dylan spent several days in Children's for a blood issue. Can't say anything but good about the care and concern given at the hospital.

Bottom line is..we all know someone who's child has visited Children's Hospital and I'm sure in the future will know of more. Donate...It's the right thing to do.

Choices

Another trip to Menard's is in order. This time to return the ceiling fan purchased the day before. It appears the fan only runs with a remote. I commend my husband for telling me before he installed it. I just don't think we need to search the house for yet another remote to turn a fan on. Apparently we should have read the foreign language on the box a little better prior to purchasing it. I picked up one that would more fit our needs at my local WalMart last night. Problem solved.

On to baseball. A good majority of Dylan's games are at a later time this year. When I saw the 7:45 start last night I had second thoughts on going. I have an early start this week and was really beat due to lack of sleep the past few days. The time rolled around and my final decision was to go. Barney told me to go and if I got tired I could leave early. I knew that wouldn't happen.

The game started out bad. The first inning had them down 4-0. They were hitting but the Sox were quick and accurate in fielding. The A's (Dylan's team) stranded a few in the first 3 innings. As all the kids are given a chance to play Dylan sat out the first two innings. He came on in the 3rd and hit a double and two batters later was driven in. 3-1 end of 3rd inning. Sox score 1 run in the 4th and manage to get out of a bases loaded situation with a 2nd to home double play that had the stands on their feet. 5th inning- A's have bases loaded and 2 outs. Dylan hits to the outfield and 3 runs score. He ends up on 2nd and then on a wild pitch gets to 3rd and then is driven home. They held them the rest of the game. Final score 5-4.

In the end I made the right decision by going and staying for the entire game. So what if Grandma's a little tired today. The game was played well and the game ball went to Dylan. I admire his modesty in saying his coaches should receive the ball for their coaching, hard work and patience with all of the kids on the team. "But I'll just take it".

The Wanderer

Ever wonder why when one thing you own breaks and requires repair that other things will soon follow suite? It started with my truck making a noise for the past few weeks. It would only happen once in a while and therefore was hard to diagnosis. Well of course it decided to act up when we left for camping. My plan was to take it in Monday morning. My husband had other plans and after talking to our neighbor (a service manager) found the problem and fixed it for $10.00 and a few hours under the truck. My hero..he save us at least $100.00. Well we all know when you save on one thing that something else will break. In our case it was the ceiling fan in our dining room. I went to turn it on after work yesterday and it had one speed-super slow. Then it began to make a grinding noise and just stopped dead. Once again Mr. Fix-It to the rescue only this was a lost cause. This would require a trip to our local Menard's as the light also went out.

Menard's wasn't exactly on my list of things to do last night, but I we decided to kill two birds with one stone and get some other things needed for the yard and repairs. Once there we went right to the ceiling fans which took about two minutes to irk me. I had no problem finding a fan from the tons they have on display, but apparently we should have brought along someone able to read another language. Every box we looked had the Spanish side of the box facing out, requiring us to turn each box in order to read it. Now to be fair, maybe they could have turned 1/2 the boxes with the English language facing out. I saw this as not only a huge inconvenience to a customer, but also a safety hazard. There was an elderly couple also looking at fans and he was having a problem lifting and turning the box so he could read it. I realize a company wants to appeal to all customers (money is money) but is it to much to ask that they appeal to the natural origin customers also? BTW the ceiling fan ended up costing as much as the savings on the truck.

We then went along our way, picking up a few things and then it was on to the paint department. I suggested I wait for the paint while he went to get the last thing on the list. I told him that I would come over by him after waiting for the paint. As he walked away I knew I had made a mistake...again. From where I was standing I had a clear view of him walking toward the window area. I saw him take two detours then I lost sight of him. After securing the paint I started off toward the window area. I did not detour, but rather stayed in the main aisle and glanced down each window aisle. Not a sight of him. I ran into a neighbor , a former co-worker and the Dillers. Staying in the main aisle I chatted with them for a moment while still keeping my eye out for him. As they walked away they promised to send him my way if they spotted him.

I continued to look around in the area and then I pulled out my cellphone. I'd had enough at that point. As I was making the call I spotted the Dillers once again and saw that they were sending my lost husband toward me. He was on the complete opposite side of the store. Back by the paint. I saw he was carrying a roll of tape and wondered if he had ever gotten over to the windows at all. Turns out he had no luck in that area and rather than coming back to the paint area right away he stopped to look at a few things. As we were walking toward the check-out I lost him two more times. You would think by now I would learn my lesson in going to the store with my husband. I think I go with him because I fear that if he goes alone he may not come home for a few days and I would really miss him.

That Was Just What I Needed

It had been 8 months since we had been camping. Last season we ended up canceling the last two trips due to weather and changes in plans, so I had been looking forward to this trip. When I woke up Friday morning to rain and fog I didn't even care. But luck was on our side as by the time we left it had cleared up.
Once we got to our destination everyone went about their own little duties of setting up camp. One by one others arrived and within no time things were set up and people were relaxing with a beverage of choice. The rest of the weekend went well. Beside one or two useless June bugs we weren't bothered by bugs unless you want to count the few ticks that were found on shoes or socks. The only critter we saw was a chipmunk that took an interest to the peanut shells that didn't make it into the fire pit.
The weather was great. A little toasty on Saturday afternoon but those who did not care for the sun were able to find shade. As usual the food was good and the silly songs made up about the food drew plenty of laughter.
The most enjoyable part of the weekend was my ability to sleep straight through the night. Both nights I heard or woke to nothing until 7 hours later when the sun hit the camper. There were no trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I slept through someones car alarm, barking dogs and others getting up. I woke up well rested and feeling pretty good. My hubbie also noted how well he slept. We discussed this on the way home and I suggested he set up the camper in the driveway and we'll just sleep out there. Who would think that sleeping on a piece of plywood with a thin mattress would give you such comfort?

Her Momma Is a Hooker

Ah the knowledge and innocence of 12 year olds. Since my daughter has returned home we see the girls more often and have become involved in their every day lives. The highlight of dinner usually starts out with the daily gossip but I try to turn it into what they may have learned in school that day. In the past eight months I've come to know some of their friends and listen to the frustrations that 12 year old girls have. I now know the boys they have secret crushes on and although I continuously tell them they are much to young to think of boyfriends yet, I still listen to "just how cute he is" and "he ate lunch at my table" or "he asked so and so about me". Come on, we all have to remember back to that stage of life.

Yesterday I picked the girls up after school and in route I spotted this girl about their age walking down the street. I had to do a double take. This girl was a little chubby and had on some short shorts with a belly top. May have needed a size or two bigger because she was hanging out all over. The jean shorts were barely covering her butt and the bright yellow shirt exposed quite a tummy roll. What made me really look was the bright orange spike heeled shoes. Both the girls expressed shock at what she was wearing and then both looked back and said "Hey, she didn't have that on at school". They said she was dressed normal at school and had flat shoes on. They commented that she must have changed her clothes after school. Then one of them says " You know they say her momma is a hooker". Grandma double take. Should they know what a hooker is at this age? Well they don't because the "Grandma, what is a hooker? question came next. I did my best to explain and added that they would never hold that profession. I also commented that if I was ever driving by and saw them dressed in that way that they would be in the car so fast they wouldn't know what hit them. I was told I'd never have to worry about that. Let's just hope so.

29 hours from now I should be in the car in route to the campground. I'm really looking forward to a relaxing weekend. The weather is still looking promising. If not, I don't really think it will be a problem. I'm just looking forward to a good weekend.

FT 9005

Yes, that is you. Mr. Litterbug. I had the pleasure of driving behind you on the freeway this morning and discovered that you must either be quite the chain smoker or felt the need to empty your ashtray along the way. The three or four cigarette butts that came out your window and toward my truck irked me a tad. I'm not a butt flicker so I have no tolerance for people that do. Use an empty water bottle or ashtray and then take the time to empty it in the proper place. So if that wasn't enough you felt the need to toss your empty coffee cup right out your window. WTF! Carry a small trash bag in your car for these things. Good thing you exited because Lord knows what was going to come flying out next. Our city streets & freeways are not a giant garbage can and should not be used as such. Do you think you have people for that?
Done with that soapbox and on to the next...

Let's talk rude people for a minute. I'm at the local WalMart and walking in the entrance. Guy is coming out with his cart. First off I am going in the door clearly marked "Enter". He is coming out the "Enter" door. He's not moving to the side, just walking right through the middle. I figure he's not going to move so I move to the side. As he walks past I politely say "excuse me" to which he answers "F You". I was a little floored and wondered what I had did wrong and my moment of confusion turned to anger and I nicely replied " F You Too Asshat". Didn't feel any better after I did so. I wasted words on a jerk. Apparently I wasn't the only confused one because Mr. Cart Giver-outer had the same confused look that I did.

On a lighter note...3 more days until the first camping trip of the season. It's been a long 8 months. I think making a list may be in order to ensure nothing is left behind. First non-drinkable item on the list will be my shiny new flashlight. Then of course come the other essential items- cold cup, Lawn chair, some clothes, blanket, pillow, shower shoes, notice there is no rain gear in this list, that's because there is not rain in the forecast (for now), I guess some food would be a good item to pack also, a book, some rag magazines, toothbrush, comb, a hat, and that's all I have for now. Three days.

Call In The Family?

In any failed relationship there are two sides to the story. When my first marriage failed my parents were instant on my moving back home. There I went with two kids in tow. I appreciated it then and to this day still do. I didn't tell my parents all the details of the marriage because I -#1 didn't want my father to do injury to the father of my children and I felt I was old enough to handle my own problems. He pulled some pretty nasty crap after I moved back home and I often wondered why my father didn't go nuts on him. Instead he kept his cool and later I realized that he did so to not badmouth him in front of his children. Believe me, he voices his opinion now.
We have a similar situation now. My daughter has moved back home. She shares custody of the twins. I have tried to remain neutral in the situation siting the "two sides to every story" theme. He's pulled some crap like loosing their tax return to a student loan he swore he paid off, not telling her about the state refund (swearing it never went in the account) and promising her money and having some bullshit excuse when he can't pay her. Problem is he likes to spend money. He likes to go to Cigar bars and buy expensive booze. The final straw came this weekend. In lieu of some money she had borrowed him last year he made the agreement to continue to cover her car insurance for 1 year. On Saturday she found out he hasn't paid it in 6 months. 6 months she's been driving around with her kids and no insurance. To some people this is no big deal but to me it is. Her car is parked now until her doctor releases her to drive but we are now in the scramble to insure her car. But of course there is a road block as Mr. Responsible cannot locate the title so we can have his name removed, switch it to our name and insure her car (much cheaper rate) which now means a mess at the DMV. Not my favorite place to go but it is what it is. My problem is having the will power to not open my mouth in front of the kids, so I found my latest release is working outside. This could be a long summer and I could have a beautifully landscaped yard when all is said and done. I think it might be less stress on me to call in the family. Ooops, did I say that out loud.

Who Opened The Flood Gates?

We really do need this rain so I really shouldn't complain. Right now it doesn't bother me because I'm at work and can't do much outside anyway. Just wondering if Dylan's first baseball game of the season will be rained out tonight. I just heard the rain is to diminish early this evening with a high of 47 degrees. I foresee one large mud puddle of a baseball field. To the boys it might be fun. To the observers it could be a little uncomfortable.
Sounds a little silly seeing as I stand outside and watch him play football in the rain and cold. My logic in that is it is later in the season and I expect it to be cold and rainy. I guess only time will tell today whether or not I will be sitting on the bleachers in the cold and rain cheering his team on.
I was going to write about our fridge at work today but I see my friend Super Steve has already written a blurb on his work fridge. I just have to say that ours is nasty. It's been said that it was cleaned out last Friday but I have my doubts. We are told that on cleaning day "all containers, bags, and leftover food will be thrown away". The same cottage cheese container from a month ago is in there. There is a bag of cantaloupe cut up that has turned to mostly all juice. Our fridge is now used by more than 15 people. Some office personnel have just moved to our area and with it came their lunches, water bottles and bags of food. Plus, when a fridge is cleaned out wouldn't someone wipe the shelves clean of the ketchup goobers. I'll just keep my little lunch tote on top of the fridge as always.

Headache Gone

I woke up this morning to the birds chirping and a nice breeze blowing in my window. It was almost as if the morning went out of its way to greet me. As I went about my morning rituals I found myself it a very good mood. Packed my lunch which included a Jell-O pudding (one of many that I received as a birthday gift), fed the dogs and off I went.
The ride in was good as there isn't much traffic at 5 am. I found myself singing along with the radio and didn't even have the dreaded Monday morning feeling. Got to work, did a few things and at 7 went out to the line for the daily production meeting. My mood was great! My headache was gone! Yes, the headache in the form of a person has been transferred from our department. No longer will I need to listen to her complaining or witness her mood swings. It could be better noted as the thorn in my side has been removed. See, good things do come to those who wait!.

The Plan

Yesterday I made a plan for today. It was simple. Go to Dylan's baseball game, come home and lay out on the deck in the new lawn chair my husband purchased for me for my birthday. This is what really happened:
Got up at 7:30. Phone call a little bit later that mother in law was having issues with her lawn mower. My husband said he'd stop in the afternoon and check it out. Got to Dylan's game by 9. Throughout the game I made note of the weather. By the time I would get home the air would be warmer and the conditions would be perfect for an hour or so on the deck with good book and maybe a nap. Left the game at 10:45 and mentioned to my husband that he should stop at his mother' s house on the way home instead of making another trip. My first mistake. We pull up and see his niece and sister by the garage with the hood open on the niece's truck. Didn't pass emissions and they were trying to replace a part. Of course Barney got right in there. During the stop I received a phone call from my grand daughters who had a tragic story. It appeared that their friends were all going to the mall and the friends mother was suppose to pick them up however got called into work. She was willing to pick them up but wouldn't be staying with them. Of course my daughter would not be able to take them as she can't drive nor walk around the mall and didn't want them going without parental supervision. Some sucking up was done to get me to go. Figured I could kill two birds with one stone and do the mall walk and return an item . This could delay the original plan. An hour later we left the mother in laws house with the lawn mower in the back of the truck. The impatient girls were waiting and we took off for the mall. I walked the mall they walked around with their friends. I gave them one hour and them were good with it. Upon leaving the mall I noticed some clouds forming. My plan was starting to fizzle out. Got a call to please stop and pick something up on the way home. Another 10 minute delay.
Turning the corner of my street I saw there could still be some hope for my plan. Parked and got out of the truck and walking up the driveway I hear the neighbor call out my name. Damn!
1/2 hour long driveway conversation. Made it into the house with one thing on my mind. Here it is now 3 hours later and my plan has been completely wiped out. "what time is dinner" I think if I get up early enough tomorrow I can pack my chair in my trunk and find a nice secluded spot somewhere. The phone will be accidentally left behind.