To All My Readers

Where The Heck Did That Holiday Go?

It's hard to believe Christmas was two days ago.  These past two days flew by so fast I am still spinning.

I hope all my readers (what few I have) enjoyed their holiday.  Christmas for us was quiet as it was just the two of us.  My daughter and Jeff were here the following day and we all had a good time. 

The weather outside is frightful (to quote a song I once heard) and we are in for more on Saturday.  It all depends on which way the wind wants to blow as to whether we get a lot of snow, or maybe nothing at all.  Right now we are quite iced over.

I have finally come to terms with snow and lousy winter weather.  It no longer bothers me.  I hated it when I had to drive to work in snow or ice.  It took many years for me to get that out of my system but I can finally say it is gone for good.  I don't care if it starts snowing and never stops.  Except when we have to get more groceries in.

All in all this holiday season has not been too bad.  Before I know it the New Year will be here.  And if that darn fiscal cliff is not avoided, well...things will get out of hand.  It should be interesting to watch all that unfold.  But let's not spoil this season and enjoy what we have while we can.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

From our house to your house...

Junior, Dakota-Sioux, Punkin' and Eli would like to say:

Have A Meow-y Christmas.

Dentist, Anyone?

I went to the dentist yesterday.  I hate going to the dentist.  Not for the usual reasons of being afraid or not liking pain.  No, that doesn't bother me at all.  What does bother me and gives me the most pain is when it comes time to pay the bill.  

I have no dental insurance.  These days it seems there is no such thing unless you get coverage through your place of employment.  And the few places that do offer dental insurance aren't really worth the money you put out.  Especially if you only go a few times for routine things.

I have been going to this particular dentist for a little over a year now.  They took over the practice when my other dentist retired and sold everything.  I never had a problem with that dentist.  But now it seems these people are finding things wrong that shouldn't be wrong.

Three months ago I was told that two of my bottom teeth are cracked.  Well whoop-dee-doo, how long do you think they have been cracked?  Probably quite a while.  Yet I was approached by their money guy to sit down with him and he would work something out so that I could have crowns put on both teeth at a small fee of $2000.  Just where do these people think this money comes from to pay for these things out of pocket?  From a tree?  Perhaps from my butt which makes more sense.  Yeah, if I could crap money out I would be rich indeed.  They could put a crown on every one of my teeth whether they needed it or not.

So anyway, back to yesterday's visit.  I had been paying $65 the last two times for them to do pocket readings, a simple cleaning, and then a polishing of my teeth.  Yesterday the fee was $85 and they did less than they did the last two sessions.  I was doing fine with the hygienist until the dentist (female) was brought in to check things out and to make sure all was OK.  She found a very tiny cavity on the outside front of one of my upper teeth.  I had to schedule so that it could be filled.  The hole is so tiny that you cannot see it and you can hardly feel it.  They want $145 to fill it.  I will not be put under either as it is such a tiny indentation so I imagine it won't be a long job for the dentist to do.  

I still have most of my teeth and I want to keep them as they are in fairly decent shape so all I can do is go there, pay the bill, and wait for the next visit so they can take more money from me.  What a vicious cycle. 

Ask Me If I'm Ready For Christmas

Christmas is almost here, folks, and I cannot get started in any way, shape or form to do anything about it.

Yes, my table in the foyer has a Christmas tablecloth on it with decorations on the table.  Yes, I put a bunch of red velvet bows on the front windows and at the light pole in the yard.  Yes, my banner outside was changed from Fall to Winter with a snowman on it.  Yes, there are elves hanging on the outside of the front door.  But that is as far as I got.  And I didn't do that all in one day either.

Every year it gets harder and harder to decorate for Christmas.  I guess you could say I don't mind decorating and putting things about; it's taking them down and putting them away in the basement that is sort of depressing.  Once you get all that colorful stuff setting around, taking it away is, like I said, quite depressing.

I have a Christmas tree with lights that gets hung flat against the wall (we don't have a regular tree because of the cats).  Last year I debated whether I wanted to hang it or not.  Apparently I did but I can't remember.  I am not in the mood to do that this year once again.  I have to clean my bathroom and change the shower curtain and commode things with the new poinsettia-designed stuff I bought earlier this year.  I think about cleaning and decorating...but that is as far as I get.  I have become the master of thinking about doing things.  Carrying out my thoughts is another thing.

And, yes, there are all those poinsettia plants downstairs in the one large plastic container just waiting for me to take the lid off and bring them all up here to set around.  I can hear them calling...I try to ignore them.  They won't go away,   almost every day I have to walk by that tote when I go to the freezer to find something for our dinner. 

I will probably cave one of these days as we get closer and closer and just do what needs to be done, but for now all I can think of is Sunday football, taking care of my cats, and feeding my husband and myself.

Fan The Birdie! Fan The Birdie!

That's how our morning began a few days ago. 

As some of you might remember, I recently put myself on a low calorie diet.  I love pizza and although I don't eat it a lot when I'm not on a diet, I do like the taste of it now and then.  With that in mind, I decided to make my own concoction.  After toasting two round Thins in my toaster oven,  I place a tablespoon of pizza sauce on each round and spread it to the edges.  I then take an ounce of low salt, low calorie mozzarella cheese and cut it up over the sauce.  The final step is to put them into the microwave so the cheese melts.  When they are finished I add garlic powder and oregano.  And Voila! that is how I make low calorie, low sodium pizza.

OK, why the title for this post.  Well...my husband likes to eat my pizza Thins once in awhile so I made his first.   He wanted another serving but on toasted bread instead of the Thins.  So I tossed two pieces of his bread into the toaster oven.  It didn't take long before that bread started smoking like crazy and I didn't know if I should poop or go blind.  I felt like my feet were stuck to the floor while I yelled Fan the birdie! Fan the birdie!  I couldn't move or think straight.  All I could do was yell.

And now you all probably have a quizzical look on your faces asking yourself what the heck is she talking about?

It means to take a rolled up newspaper and fan the smoke detector.  Where's the birdie?  Our detector sounds like a baby bird chirping its fool head off when smoke hits it.  I didn't want that to happen.  I was in panic mode.  If the fire company shows up here one more time and it is another false alarm, they will fine me.  So they said the last time.  

Thankfully we were able to stop the chirping before the alarm company called.  And don't ask me how we were able to do that because at some places in the house the smoke was thick as fog.

So the birdie got fanned and I never did get my pizza Thins.  I ate oatmeal instead.

 

Happy Turkey Day

Although our cats do not eat this type turkey, they will have a chicken entree thanks to Elegant Medleys.

As for the two of us, we will have a turkey breast (in the slow cooker), stuffing, cranberry sauce, steamed broccoli, candied sweet potatoes, gravy, apple pie, pumpkin dessert, and that all-time favorite:  coffee.  

Parades and football are on the agenda for our TV viewing.

Give thanks and enjoy your day.

Shocker

It's a fairly well known fact that a lot of groceries are shrinking volume wise but the price remains the same or has risen. 

I have and always will be a label reader, especially as to how much is in the box or jar etc. and also the nutrition portion which is very important to me these days.

In a future post I'll write about my lifelong escapades with that monster high blood pressure.

I have a smaller matter to address today.  I found a can of chunky chicken breast meat in my pantry while looking for something to eat for lunch.  Before I opened it, I read the label to make sure it was in the realm of my being able to eat some of it.

It states that it is 5 oz. of white chicken in water.  No problem there.  It states that there are two and a half servings inside at two ounces per serving.   No problem there.  It states there is 180 mgs of sodium in each serving.  Again, no problem there.

Out came my strainer, the entire can of chicken and water went into the strainer, and I then rinsed the product that remained in the strainer.   My next step was to weigh what was left so I dumped it on my scale.  Sit down...I don't want anyone to fall over while reading this.  

The actual weight of the chicken was 2-1/2 ounces.

It's the last can in my pantry of that product and I'll never buy it again.  Things would not be so bad if we at least got what we paid for according to the weight on the label, but this is pure highway robbery at its best.

A First And A Last For Me

The wait is over.  Not the result I wanted either.  

I have never voted in my life (never registered) but this year I decided my husband and I would put in our two cents.  A lot of good that did.

Four more years of crap.  

Yes, I am angry...very angry.  As far as I am concerned my husband and I will never vote again.  It's not worth the aggravation and certainly not worth it when the one you cannot even look at much less listen to wins.  

I certainly hope those that voted for him can live with themselves over the next four years.  All they have to do is look at themselves in the mirror and say, Well, I brought this on myself and I have no one to blame but me.

Don't Vote Democrat Just Because You're Democrat

• Remember these?

THE OBAMA CHRONICLES:
“I promise that I support traditional marriage-1 man-1 woman.
“I promise 100% transparency in my administration.”.
“I promise NO NEW TAXES on a family making less than $250K a year.”.
“I will allow 5 days of public comment before I sign any bills.”.
“I will remove earmarks from PORK projects before I sign any bill.”.
“I will end Income Tax for seniors making less than $50K a year.”.
"I will bring ALL of our troops home within ONE year."
“I’ll put the Health Care negotiations on CSPAN so everyone can see who is at the table!”.
“I’ll have no lobbyists in my administration."
"I'll close Guantanamo."
"I'll resign if I don't cut the deficit in half by the end of four years."
"I'll unite the people of this great country."
... BETTER KNOWN AS LIES.

Think long and hard before you vote...

Riding Out The Hurricane

aka Sandy.

aka The Beyotch from hell.

It was not a pleasant night.  Not one bit.  The eye of the hurricane went directly over us (we are approximately 55 miles north of Philadelphia) and the wind was beyond belief.  I think that is what rattled me the most...the wind.  Most of the time I had my radio headset on so I would not have to hear the wind.  Sometimes I had the radio on, sometimes I didn't.  

I climbed into bed around 3:00am and fell into blessed sleep almost instantaneously and I thank God for that.  But, then again, I also was not eager to get up in the morning to survey the damages.  I worried about the cats outside, something I had been doing since hearing about this storm coming our way.

We came through pretty much unscathed in that nothing major was blown away.  We did lose a lot of downspouts, gutters, soffits etc.  At least they are still here and not in the next county though.  Our neighbor's trampoline ended up in our driveway.  It scaled his fence and flew well over 300 ft. to arrive at the side of our truck.  Several times my husband went outside while the storm was riding high so he could tie things down or retrieve something that was headed the wrong way, like our garbage container that wanted to visit the street, or the swing on the back deck that wanted to crash into our patio door windows.  

The worst of our damage is our greenhouse where our cats take refuge during rain or other bad weather.  It is also where I keep their water, dry food, and their wet food that I feed them twice a day.  The roof held...some of the side panels did not.  There are 12 main panels and 5 of them blew out.  My husband said those 5 panels did not blow away but now we have the chore of getting that building back together.  There were two cats that came up while I was there to give them fresh water and food this morning.  I can only pray they all made it and that they eventually took shelter in our garage at the back of our property.  They have ways of getting in and out.

It is times like these where we step back and remember there are a lot of people much worse off than what we went through, which was not pretty for want of a better word.  You thank your God that you still have a house that's dry inside and whatever happened to the outside can always be fixed.

I pray for everyone that was hit by this so-called perfect storm.  We are one of the lucky ones.  From what I am seeing on TV there are a lot out there not so lucky.

A Very Close Call

Apologies for not writing more often, but I have been preoccupied for quite a bit.  I don't remember if I wrote anything about a problem I had that started back in April of this year.  I was put on two antibiotics and neither of them cleared up the infection I had.  The doctor then prescribed a sulfa drug and on the last day of taking that medication, I broke out in a rash.  I eventually figured out that I was allergic to sulfa drugs.

OK, so the head scratching began.  How to get rid of that infection located in my renal system somewhere.  I decided to wait until my doctor appointment last week to actually do anything since the symptoms were almost all but gone.  I requested a urine sample be taken by the office to determine if it was the same result as the one I had taken at home the day before.  It was.  

Now, at this point in time, the doctor is as perplexed as I am.  Why is this certain infection hanging around?  And why is it one tiny symptom and still showing a trace in the tests?  A few months ago the doctor said that if it did not clear up he would order an ultrasound of my bladder and my kidneys.  I had blood work done and the numbers for my kidneys came back all out of whack.  My creatinine figure was very high and my GFR figure had gotten a lot lower than the same test a year ago.  This has progressed this way for the past 5 years and we have been keeping an eye on it, but the figures were so bad this last time I became very concerned.  

The doctor told me with those figures I was probably in Stage 3 of chronic kidney disease.  I was not officially diagnosed with that, but he did mention it in passing.  I have a history of high blood pressure.  High BP can cause kidney damage and kidneys can cause high BP.  Granted, my BP is always low in the stores, at home, but never at the doctor's office.  I have white coat syndrome.

This past Monday I had the ultrasound done.  My urine was sent to a lab for further analysis.  I have been stressing over the ultrasound ever since, reading everything I can and trying to figure out what the outcome is for different scenarios.  You do not want to know what I was thinking...other than I thought I was now living on borrowed time.  But aren't we all?  I thought I might get the dreaded call from the doctor's office Thursday.  I did not.  It came today while I was out.  I had hoped to get back too late to have to call back if they left a message for me to do so.  I am a big wuss when it comes to things like that.

When I walked into the house the first thing I did was check the answer machine and that darn red light was blinking away.  All I could think at the time was, oh crap.  My husband listened to the message, turned to me and asked me when I was going to return the call.  I had no choice but to do it right then and there, much as I did not want to.

They confirmed that I still had a tiny infection and I am now on yet another antibiotic, stronger than the first three, but not a sulfa drug.  That was all she was going to offer.  I had to question her on the results of the ultrasound.  

Both the bladder and the kidneys are normal.  They do not show any type of deterioration whatsoever.  That brought tears of hope and joy to my eyes...you cannot imagine the relief that flooded through me.

Meanwhile, I had put myself on a low sodium diet since I found out I was consuming far too much of it.  I have also been on a low calorie diet for the past 6 weeks.  This past week, since being on the low sodium diet, I have lost five pounds  besides the other ten I had lost prior to this.  Despite the fact that all is well, I am going to continue on the low sodium (as well as the low calorie diet) because now my main concern is getting my BP down when I visit the doctor in three months.  And losing another 20-25 pounds won't hurt. 

At A Crossroads

I am finding lately that I don't have much to write about with even less time to write.

And when I do post anything there are a handful of people that leave a comment.  Seriously, it makes me feel as if I am talking to myself half the time.

Therefore, I am wondering if I should just not post anything anymore, or if there is a real audience out there actually reading what I write about.

I think if I had more incentive (more people reading and leaving comments) it would prompt me to write more.

Meanwhile, we are in the midst of replacing our sliding patio door.  Last winter there was an awful lot of cold air coming in so husband covered the outside with plastic sheeting.  It helped a bit.  So this year we were finally able to sit with someone and go over the possibilities of what we can do to replace the old door.

We had already picked out a door last Friday (the 12th) but had to wait for someone to come to the house and measure the space where the new door will be going.   That was done yesterday (the 19th).  When we went back to the store Saturday (the 20th) we again went over everything with a different person.  When he took us back to the door displays it was discovered that the only left hand door they had when we were there last week had been sold.  Yes, someone sold our door.  No, we didn't have our name on it.  We couldn't actually order it till the measuring was done.  It's just the idea...we saw what we wanted and expected it to be there when we needed it.  That is Rule #1.  Never assume.

That store called around to other stores to try and find what we needed.  Out of the five stores they called, only one had a left hand door in stock.  They said they will send it on a transfer truck and the earliest we would get it is this coming Thursday...if we're lucky.  And then, of course, the crew that will install it may not even be ready to do that for who knows when.

Do you people remember the bulls eye on our backs?  Well, it reared its ugly head again.  No matter what we try to do, something always goes wrong somewhere along the line.

Going Out On A Limb

I watched the Vice Presidential Debates Thursday evening and I will admit I dozed off once or twice for a few minutes.  I don't think I missed much though.

However, every time I awoke all I saw was an old man bullying a young man.  A very rude, obnoxious old man I might add.  Where the hell did he come from and who woke him up?

Now, before you get all crazy and start yelling at your screen to berate me...yes, I know both of them and who they are and what they stand for.  However, I was very uncomfortable watching that debate.    Joe Biden may be a likable man in his circles and also the public, but what I saw was someone yelling most of the time and laughing like a crazed person the rest of the time.

This post was not meant to offend anyone.  I am merely stating my take on that debate.  Hopefully, the next two Presidential debates will be a little more civil.

 

Calgon, Take Me Away

Anybody remember that slogan?  

I am up to here with things to do and don't have the gumption to do them.  I have no excuse, the severe heat is gone and it's currently 47° which, of course, is much too cold for me.  But then again, it is 12:45am as I type this.

And, yes, I am complaining.  It seems that's all I ever do these days.  I am getting tired of hearing myself complain, that's how bad it is. Anyway, like I said, I have so many things to do I don't know where to start.  By the time I get finished with a lot of my routine morning things...that is if I even get up early enough to consider it being morning...I can't seem to find the time to do the necessary things.

My morning, ahem...mid-morning begins by feeding the cats inside.  That's before I even go out to the rest of the house.  They are fed in the laundry room which is right off of the bathroom.  Once they are fed and their potties are cleaned, my next step is to feed the cats outside and that is done in the kitchen.  I usually have dried cat food mixed with water that has softened which I add a can of wet food to it, and then I heat that in the microwave since cats outside prefer warm food.  And since I am not a mouser and also I cannot outrun a mole, they get warmed food from me.  It's the least I can do for them.

Before I come back inside I fetch the paper.  I cannot start my day without reading an actual newspaper.  A lot of people have given up their newspapers and get their news elsewhere but I am not ready for that yet, although I do read a lot online and catch mostly old news on TV.  That's one thing nice about getting news online...it is fresher than what is on TV.  

While I am reading the newspaper I usually have my first cup of coffee.  I live on that stuff all day long and it's difficult to not be able to start the day with it.  I eat breakfast when I get hungry or there is the occasional morning when I make breakfast for husband and I eat with him despite the fact that I am not hungry yet.   That doesn't happen too often.   I like to eat when I am hungry, not just because it's time to eat.

Boy, did I go off course with this.  Back to the basics.  Back to what needs to be done.  I have curtains to iron and hang on the new round curtain rod with fancy balls on the ends that we put up yesterday.  It replaces two traverse rods.  Very old traverse rods...they were here when we moved in over 20 years ago.  I have kitchen curtains to iron and hang.  And then there is the usual housework...something I detest.  Who invented housework anyway?  And who said the women had to do it?   The only housework I like doing is laundry.  I have no idea why, I just enjoy doing it.

But for now?  It's time to go to bed and start all over in the morning.  Or is that mid-morning?  

A Full Day Of Sports

The pork roast is in the slow cooker making it that much easier for me to get dinner together tonight.  I can't be slowed down on a day such as this.  Too much going on for me as far as sports are concerned.

My main focus of the day will be the Good Sam Club 500 being run at the Talladega Speedway.  This is the fourth race of the Chase for the championship.  This is what is considered a plate track.  This is where Dale Jr. shines best.  Granted, his last few years of racing at this track proved fruitless; however, this year he is focused and on top of his game, so hopefully he will race well today.

While the race is being run, the NY Giants will do battle with the Cleveland Browns who are currently 0 and 4.  I will not let that sway my thinking and lull me into the fact that the Giants will win this game...those Browns may awaken from a deep sleep and trounce my beloved Giants.  Let's hope not.

Later this afternoon, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos will do battle against the New England Patriots.  No, I am not a Broncos fan, per se, but I am a fan of Peyton Manning's.  I am hoping to see him stage a huge comeback this year since his neck surgeries kept him out of football last year.  He has had his ups and downs so far this year and I am hoping it will soon turn to all ups.

So there you have it...quite a busy day for me.  A day of a lot of channel flipping.  I've done it before, I can do it again today.

Three out of three wins for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Eli Manning and Peyton Manning would make my day. 

*********************************************************************************
UPDATE:
Dale Jr. got wiped out along with 20 plus other drivers on the last lap and did not finish the race.  His championship hopes have gone up in smoke no doubt.

Peyton Manning and the Broncos lost their game to the New England Patriots.

Eli Manning and the Giants won their game against the Cleveland Browns.

SO I went one out of three.  Those are lousy odds wouldn't you say?

Rain, Rain, Rain

Where was all this rain when we needed it this past summer?

I guess it's helping the environment somehow and I shouldn't complain, but...

...I am not ready to turn any kind of heat on yet.

...it wreaks havoc on the cats outside, not to mention all the new kittens.

...second to nasty winter weather, a cold damp rain makes me crazy.

...it keeps me home because I don't like schlepping around in a downpour.

...But all in all I guess I should be very grateful for all this rain.  After all, without it Earth would not survive.  And with all the political crap that is going on projecting gloom and doom, it's all I can do to keep ahead of the survival game at this point in time.

For now anyway.  

Leaves of Fall

It's been two years since I have photographed the leaves in the Fall. I am anxious to do it again this year. I have my calendar marked as a reminder as to when the best weekend will be for my endeavor. Hopefully, we will be able to take the bike.  The first photo was taken out of the windshield of our truck. I have no idea where they were taken.

We had buckets of rain most of the night but for now it has stopped and the sun came out earlier this morning. We are in for rain for at least the next three days, as is Dover, Delaware, which is where the NASCAR race is being held this weekend. If it is postponed until Monday that's OK with me. I'm not going anywhere. 

This has been a long, hot summer but I'm not glad it's over. I will miss it despite the hellish heat we had most of the days. I enjoy the cooler weather just as much as the next person but I do not enjoy the nasty winters we get in this part of the country. And from what we are hearing this coming winter is supposed to be very nasty. It looks like I will be hibernating once again. I am getting quite used to that.

Not much news from this end since nothing exciting has happened lately. All the cats are doing fine and keeping us amused as usual. The new TV season has started so my nights are filled watching them. And, of course, I cannot finish off my day without watching Craig Ferguson's late night show.

Autumnal Equinox

Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.

~William Cullen Bryant

One Happy Giant Fan

New York Giants:  36

Carolina Panthers:  7 

What To Do, What To Do

What with everything that is going on in the world today I just want to run and hide somewhere.

But where?

Just where is it safe these days?

Probably nowhere.

I am angry ~ very angry, but I am literally afraid to voice my opinion here on this page as it might get me in trouble with a lot of folks.

I have very strong opinions about so many things and yet I cannot talk about them.

So I won't.

You get the idea...

The Four Horsemen

Congratulations to Hendrick Motor Sports.  All the HMS drivers made it into the Chase which begins  Sunday, January 16th, at Chicagoland Speedway and runs concurrently through the next nine races ending Sunday, November 18th, at Homestead-Miami Speedway. 

Left to right:  Kasey Kahne (wild card), Jeff Gordon (wild card), Jimmie Johnson (finished 4th in regular season points), and Dale Earnhardt, Jr (finished 2nd in regular season points).

May the best man win!

Time To Weigh In On The Mattress Topper

When I first started sleeping on the 4" memory foam I didn't get the results I had hoped for so I decided perhaps it was my pillow that was all wrong.  I searched high and low for the right pillow and when I finally found it, I purchased what I thought would be my savior.  Not so.  I have used that pillow three times, each time hoping it would feel better, and each time I have been disappointed with it.  Seriously, it is like laying my head on a rock.   Back to the one I was using.

But you didn't come here to read about my pillow.  It has been many weeks since I first started sleeping on the foam topper, and now it is time to tell you how I really feel about it.  

I am very happy with it.  I am sleeping better and longer.  Sometimes my mind is so cluttered when I lay my head down on the pillow that it is hard to fall asleep for many hours.  But once I do, that's it...I sleep well and long.  For the nights when I simply can't fall asleep I have at the ready a sleep aid.  Nothing harsh.  It is a simple over-the-counter medication that does not interfere with my other medications for my cholesterol and blood pressure problems.

The real test for the foam topper was when I first slept a full eight hours.  And those times have happened a lot since that first one.  The second test was after that first full eight hours of sleep, I also noticed a big difference in my back pain upon arising.  No, it's not gone entirely, but once I get out of bed I don't feel near the pain I used to feel.  And I don't feel like a creepy old zombie either.  Rather, I feel quite refreshed and ready to greet the day...and my cats and husband.

So, yes, I would recommend anyone out there with back pain and/or problems to try a memory foam topper.  I switched from a three-inch to a four-inch topper and am glad I did.  And I didn't purchase just any old memory foam...I invested in a brand name from a reputable mattress maker that starts with an S and ends with an a.

Now, if only I could get this kink out of my neck from being on the computer and having to look up at the screen.  And now I hear you asking why I don't adjust the chair or get one that lets me look straight on.  Well, I do have such a chair.  And right now Dakota-Sioux is napping on it.  That's how it is when one has cats.  They always get the best seats in the house.

Seasons Come & Seasons Go

Labor Day has come and gone.  It rained all day.  My husband and I spent the entire day indoors watching TV.  AMC had a Clint Eastwood marathon on so we watched one of his movies.  And then we watched whatever we could find that interested both of us.  It was a rather lazy day.  I did manage to get the dishes done and also made steak sandwiches for dinner.  But that's all I did, and I'm not ashamed to say it.

As much as I really hated the humidity and high heat of this past summer, I still hate to see it leave us.  Don't get me wrong, I love the autumn months, too.  I enjoy the leaves changing color, the cooler air, the warm afternoons, the aroma of anything made with pumpkins, crisp apples, and everything else that goes with the Fall season.  However, what follows it is not a favorite of mine.  Yep, that dreaded Ol' Man Winter.  Nope, not a favorite of mine at all.  I wish we could skip right into Spring from Fall.

I watched the Republican convention but I will not watch the Democratic convention.  Without going into detail, all I will say is I am looking forward to all the debates.  Those should be quite interesting. I love a good debate.

I watched a small miracle on Sunday evening.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr., started the Advocare 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in the 35th position.  When the race was over he finished in the 7th position.  At one point during the race he was two laps down and got both of them back to be on the lead lap.  Later he went a lap down but was able to get himself back on the lead lap once again.  I am still in awe that he finished in 7th and will never doubt that team again.  Seriously, I thought Sunday's race was going to be a disaster.  Not so.  I am blessed to be a member of Junior Nation and Dale is blessed to have the crew chief that he has.



 

 

Our Forefathers

I thought you all needed a good laugh today.

Disappointed

Yes, I am a little disappointed that no one chose to comment on the video in my previous post.

It is what I have been preaching all along.  This country was born out of Christianity.  I don't care how many other religions there are or how many of those infiltrate this country, the fact of the matter is, I do not like when someone comes to these hallowed shores and wants to take our freedoms away from us.  And I mean those of us who were not only born here but have ancestors that came to this country a long time ago.

My great, great, great, great, great grandfather came to this country circa 1750.  I am directly related to him on my father's side.  He came from Germany and had ten children.  To this day I can safely say that I practice the same religion he brought with him to America.

I get very angry when so many people want to change things in this country.  There is a thing called being politically correct.  I am so sick and tired of hearing that phrase not to mention the fact that it is worn out and useless.  All I want is for the people of this country who can boast a background like me to get off their broad behinds and do something instead of talking about it.

Wake up and smell the coffee for heavens' sake.  Stop buckling under to bullies.  

Case in point:  we have a neighbor who moved near our property many years ago.  He moved here from New York.  He brought with him certain ideas that he was going to change things in the neighborhood.  He caused quite a ruckus between us and our township leaders.  I am of the old adage that, we were here first.  How dare he come into our neighborhood and stir things up against us?  And that is exactly what people who come to this country from another country do...not all of them, mind you, just a certain few.  Well, maybe more than a few.  It just irritates me and I don't understand one thing.  If things weren't so great from where they came, why do they come here and try to make things the same way they were where they came from?

I am climbing down off my soapbox now.  But I hope I gave you something to think about.

Christianity & America ~ Let's Get Back To The Basics

It's That Time Again

I am guessing it costs a lot to send a child back to school these days.  When I went to school almost everything was supplied by the school.  I do remember my parents having to pay for my school pictures.  

In my early years of school I am fairly certain that I really loved to go to school.  One of the reasons was that I had (and still do) a love affair with pens, pencils, crayons, paper etc.  To this day I have quite the collection of pens at any given time.  I love to write.  Before I even went to school I would find books in the attic and scribble in them.  Maybe that's why I went on to be top student in my shorthand class.  I can still take shorthand to this day.

And I loved to read.  Still do.  I am a chain reader.  As soon as I am finished with a book, I always have another one waiting to be read.  I never had trouble with most subjects, never had to really study.  I hated math and anything to do with numbers so that was the only class that gave me trouble.  My specialties were spelling, reading, and English.  As far as I was concerned anything else was just rubbish.

Now I am heavily into history.  In school it was just another pesky subject.  Like Home Economics, or Home Ec.  How I hated that class.  I would have preferred to take shop with my brother who was two years ahead of me in school.  Science was another subject I didn't like.  

I was in the high school band.  We marched in parades and we also played at junior varsity basketball games.  To this day I detest basketball.  Those games back then were so boring to me.  They scarred me for life. 

The main point of this post today is that once I graduated I never looked back.  Yes, most subjects came easy to me, but I actually did not like school.  I did not like being penned up all day having to move from one room to another like a rat in a maze.  

I don't remember graduation day.  I am sure I was elated the day had finally come.  And I swore I would never go back to any kind of school ever again.  But I did.  It was off campus where I attended law classes.    A few years later I went to another campus to learn how to drive tractor-trailer.  I loved learning and driving and passed my tests with flying colors but I never got a job driving truck.  Just the fact that I took the course and passed was enough to satisfy me.  That is what I told myself when no one would hire myself and another girl when we made the rounds looking for a job.  

Thinking about all these things and actually writing about them brings back a lot of memories.  And looking back at what I accomplished with my life, well, I wouldn't change a thing.   Or maybe I would...

Oh, Dear

That has become one of my sayings as of late and I have no idea where I picked it up.

Thursday evening before my husband went to bed he set his alarm for early in the morning.  He had an auction he wanted to go to which is something he does at least once a week.  I figured I would have much of the day to myself and that I could get a lot of work done around the house.  Those are the times when I feel I can throw things out.  Otherwise, with him underfoot, he questions what I am throwing out.  Uh...maybe it's because we haven't used it in over a year, or maybe because I am tired of cleaning around it, or maybe it's just because I feel like throwing something out.

At any rate, when I get up the first thing I do is come down the hall and go into the bathroom to get to the laundry room which is where I feed the cats.  After they are taken care of I then go out to the kitchen where I get the food ready to feed the cats outside.  

My husband has to sleep in a separate bed because of his knee, so he chose to sleep in the family room where the big screen TV is which I always thought was a wise decision.  I sleep in the bedroom with the door closed so the cats cannot come in and wake me up long before I am ready to wake up.  As I was puttering around in the kitchen I saw that my husband was lying on top of his bed.  After making sure he was breathing (yes, I do that a lot) I decided to question him once he arose.  Which was well over an hour later.

It seems he did get up when his alarm went off, got dressed, and drove to where the auction was.  Only to find out it wasn't until 4:00 in the afternoon.  So he went to the diner and had breakfast, then came back home and went back to bed.  I damn near laughed my butt off over that one.  He has some nerve making fun of me when I do stupid things, doesn't he?  At least I own up to my errors.



 

This Is So Much Better

Yes, it is so much better when one does the right thing in the right place.  I don't know where my  head was when I posted using the wrong browser.  I really should know better.  

I saw a sign the other day while on our way to the grocery store.  It read:

YOU THINK HEALTH CARE IS EXPENSIVE NOW, WAIT TILL IT'S FREE

And I thought to myself, well that is precisely the wording I have been trying to form in my mind but was too angry to make it work.  I hate what this country is coming to and also what it has become.  I am not going to pussyfoot around...I am neither Democrat or Republican so I can say what I am going to say without feeling one bit guilty.  I do not like our current leader.  I pray to God he does not get elected again.  He has hidden so much from the American public and I have always felt he came riding in on the back of a wagon and sold the people snake oil convincing them it was good for them. 

I am a Christian first and foremost.  This country was founded on Christian beliefs and principles and has been guided by such until 2008.  Now it just seems as if we are going to hell in a hand basket.  Hopefully that can be stopped.

People are nasty to one another, they are killing for no reason whatsoever, the younger generation is mostly disrespectful to anyone older than they are, the schools are not teaching manners or anything else that really matters.  I shudder to think what this country will be like in another 50 years, especially if it keeps on the path it is now.  

I read and re-read this post a couple times and each time I sat here thinking whether I should hit the publish button or not.  There are many more things I would love to add to this, but I need to bite my tongue.  I do not mean to offend anyone as this is my opinion and everyone has a right to their opinions.  

 

OK, I Know What I DId Wrong

Stupid me.  I was in the wrong browser.  Blogger does not like when I do things in Internet Explorer.  I have no idea why.  It prefers that I use Firefox, and I post so little that I forget that little fact.  Sheesh!

Now that I am in the right browser, everything is as it should be.  So for now, I am going to go look for those brain cells I lost... 

This Is Crazy

I wanted to write something and post it but to tell the truth I am at a loss of just what the heck is going on with this new template and other things that used to be available. It used to be that there were pictures all in a row and all I had to do was click on them and take it from there. Now all of those are gone but when I put my cursor where they should be it just shows a word instead of a picture. And when I take the cursor away all I see is...nothing! Once I pull a picture out of my album, if I keep it in compose mode it only shows half of the first photo and none of the rest. So I had to put this in HTML mode. This really sucks. I am beginning to not like this anymore. It is such a deterrent and I am wondering why the heck they have done this weird thing to those of us who were told our template needed to be upgraded. I don't remember doing anything wrong to deserve this. Oh well...I just have to make the best of a bad, and sad, situation. That is at least until I get fed up with it and quit altogether. Moving on: I have slept two nights on my new foam topper. The first night I had such anticipation of having a good night's sleep that actually it was quite the opposite. I guess I was expecting too much and it took me hours till I finally fell asleep. And then all I did was toss and turn. Funny what the mind can do to a person. The next night was better. That was last night. I am hoping now that each night does indeed get better and soon I will have restful sleep every night. My husband and I had errands to do today. One of them was paying school taxes. Ugh. That is never an easy pill to swallow. We now have nine months until we have to pay our taxes next spring which are county and township taxes. I don't mind those; but these school taxes we pay in this district are enough to choke a horse. And they will be worse next year since we were recently reassessed by the county and they jacked our assessment higher than a kite. That means all of our taxes will go higher yet next year. It makes me just want to set up a teepee somewhere in the boondocks where no one can find us with their idiotic taxes. There, I am glad I got that off my chest.

Why The Change?

There are those of you who have come to this blog that are shocked to see the huge change from what it was.  I know...so am I.  So let me explain just exactly what happened.

I wanted to change the background picture of Dale Jr. as I felt it needed a more current one.  For the past few weeks I had been tucking away those I felt would be a good fit.  Yesterday I had some time to sort of play around since I was home alone.  So I played around. 

To change the background photo I had to first take it from my personal album and put it into my Photobucket album because that was the only way I could get the IMG info for the template.  I have not been savvy enough to figure out any other way and what worked for me is what I used every time.  I try not to look for trouble when it comes to computers.

For some reason I could not get the new picture to work.  The IMG info I copied to drop into the template (while deleting the old IMG info) just would not behave.  Parts of it stuck out of the margin and each time I fixed it, it would just revert to sticking out again.  After a few times, and especially after losing the original photo, I just gave up.

It was then that I saw the orange bar that stated I needed to upgrade my template, so I clicked on that.  But only after sitting here arguing with myself as to whether I should or shouldn't click on it.  Once I did that, there was no turning back.  I found what I liked best from all the choices and what you see is what I chose...for now. 

Of course I'm not happy with it.  But I will get used to it.  All my info on the right side, including the adoption animations of my four cats and the wolf we support in Denali, are gone.  Not my choice.  My counter is gone but I can figure that out elsewhere.  I don't get that much traffic anyway so it's not a big deal anymore.

I am getting used to the new look.  It does uplift me when I click on it.  It's very refreshing and clean, so I guess I am satisfied with it till it bores me and I want to change it again.

I hope you like the new look...let me know either way, I have big shoulders.

A Day Alone

I don't get many days alone but when I do I try to take advantage of them and get a lot of work done.  During the summer husband goes to an auction every other week.  Sometimes it is three weeks in between and I look forward to my "day off."

What I mean by that is some days off I don't do a lick and just laze around and play on the computer or do light things that amuse me.  Other days off I get a lot of work done in the house.  Today is an in-between day.  I accomplished getting a lot of paperwork done and a few other lighter things.  Nothing heavy is on the agenda.

My memory foam mattress topper arrived this morning.  It is currently spread out on the floor and recovering from the tightly wound state it arrived in.  I cannot wait to sleep on it.  I have a three-inch topper on the bed now but it has long seen its better days and I am hoping it is the cause of my back pain escalating over the past few months.  The new topper is four inches thick.  Hopefully by Saturday night I will be sleeping on it.  And hopefully my back pain will subside somewhat.  I don't expect the pain to go away all together but the soreness I now have every morning is getting a little old.

Three years ago I had X-rays done on my lower back and it was determined I have degenerative disc disease...that is when I realized my trips to the chiropractor would not be doing me any favors so I stopped going.  Prior to having those X-rays done, I used to have lower back pain on a daily basis but not as bad as it is now.  It has only gotten worse within the past three months, so I really  am hoping the foam topper will work to my advantage.  Otherwise, I am at a loss as to what to do.  I suppose I will just take it one day at a time as usual.

On another note, three of my cats are celebrating their birthdays.  Yesterday, the 8th, Junior and Dakota were 6 years old.  Today is Punkin's third birthday.  Eli will be a year old next month on the fourth.  We don't do anything special for them, although we did get a certificate from our local pet store for a toy for one of them.  They all play with all the toys we have so it doesn't matter that four cats are only getting one toy.  They really don't know the difference.

I am quite glad for the moment that the weather has tamed down somewhat.  Instead of knocking at the 100's or baking in the 90's, we are having mid-80 temps.  We just survived Heat Wave #6 and I pray there will not be a #7 but those meteorologists like to drive me insane so I will be on the lookout for that #7.  What really bothers me the most is the thunderstorms that come with high heat.  Especially the ones that have high wind velocities and/or hail.  Lightning makes me insane, too.  Thunder is not so bad, other than the fact that lightning usually follows it.

Now I can get back to my "light duty" day.
 

Heat Wave #6

Here we go again.  

When I go outside to feed the cats in the morning and again in the early evening, by the time I am finished doing everything that needs to be done, the sweat pours down my face.  And all I can think of is getting back inside to the air conditioning.  It's such a wonderful feeling.

And it's fair to say that I will be staying home through the weekend.  On days like this, it's where I am the happiest.  And on most other days too.  And how do I entertain myself when I stay at home?  Besides the normal housework ?  This week and next I will be watching as much of the Olympics that I can.  But this weekend, Friday through Sunday, I tune in to NASCAR.  The boys are racing at our home track in Pocono, PA, this weekend.  Not one of my favorite tracks, but it's racing.

To take away from some of the boredom that the TV analysts throw at us during a race, I listen to it on the radio while watching it on TV.  The guys on the radio make the race so much more colorful and exciting.  Recently my AM/FM headset has been acting wonky and there has been quite a bit of static.  And the darn thing works better in some parts of the house than the other, but you know that it would not work when I am in my recliner.  Plus, I have to hold my head a certain way for it to work best.  I had a difficult time replacing it, but I did find one at R*dio Sh*ck and it was on sale $15 less than the regular price.  That was a nice surprise.

And speaking of the Olympics...congratulations to the five American gymnasts for their gold medal.  Also, congrats to Gabby Douglas for her individual all-around gold medal in gymnastics.  And who can forget what Michael Phelps has done over the past eight years.  Incredible.  Will anyone ever do better as far as winning more medals than Michael?  It's possible, but I doubt I will see it in my lifetime.

I have looked forward to the games, including the Winter games, ever since I can remember and it seems as fast as they get started, that's how fast they fly by and soon we are watching the closing ceremonies.  So I watch as much as I can.  What can I say?  I'm a sports nut.  Except basketball...don't even get me started on that sport.  In high school I had to endure the basketball games because I was in the band and we were required to be there to play.  And of course we can't forget March Madness.  Yes, it drives me mad when basketball takes over the channel I watch most shows on, which is CBS.  I wish they would broadcast those games on a sports channel where they belong. 

 

Bummer

Recently all I have been doing is complaining about the wretched heat.  Not while I'm inside with blessed air conditioning, but only when I had to go outside.  Rain was needed badly in our area so when it did rain these last few days it didn't bother me.  I was more than glad to see it and welcomed it with open arms, so to speak.   I love rain.  When I was little I used to play in the rain, barefoot, all the time.  My mother was always yelling at me to come inside.

It wasn't supposed to rain tonight.  But it did.  And it wrecked our evening.  I wrote a few months ago about the tickets we won to see a local band, Crazy Hearts.  It was a great concert and I became an instant fan.  Tonight they were appearing a few miles north of us for a local benefit.  They do a lot of local benefits.  Tonight the concert was free,  and the food vendors were hoping those that came to see the band would spend their money at the various food stands.

It started at 7:00 and we arrived a few minutes after that.  We found a space to sit under the trees using our portable chairs.  We settled in hoping for an evening of listening to country western music under the stars.  Within ten minutes it started raining ever so lightly.  Everyone thought it wouldn't last, including the band.  Soon it was pouring, accompanied by thunder and some lightning.   We gathered up our chairs and made a bee-line for our truck, which, thank goodness, wasn't too far away.  Sitting under trees while lightning is happening is not smart.


We ended up sitting in the truck quite some time hoping the rain would stop.  At least the lightning stopped and the thunder was soon farther away.  That indicated the storm was moving out.  Or not.  It wasn't long before more rain clouds moved in with more rain.  After waiting in the truck, and talking about other people we saw running here there and everywhere, we finally decided to leave.


Our evening was ruined.  We stopped at Mickey D's and had coffee and a soft ice cream cone and decided to come home.  Like I said...bummer.

You will also remember when we went to the first Crazy Hearts concert, I had just finished a ten-day regimen of a sulfa-based antibiotic.   I broke out with a rash, which my doctor said was hives, while we were at the concert.  I didn't know what it was until I researched it on the Internet and then it took awhile for the light bulb to go on over my head.


Fast forward to now and I am on a different antibiotic.  I learned the hard way that I am allergic to sulfa-based medicines and it didn't work like it was supposed to.  I can only hope this antibiotic works like it should.  The hardest part of this one is that I have to take it three times a day on an empty stomach.  Mornings are the worst since it has to be taken an hour before I eat.  There is nothing worse than a glassful of water on an empty stomach.  It almost makes me want to upchuck.


So here's hoping that by next week my infection goes away...and stays away this time.  Because ever since we lost our sister-in-law (my husband's brother's wife), I have been on the roller coaster from hell.  With all my symptoms, both real and imagined, I had somehow put myself in her shoes and thought the same thing would happen to me.  I know better now.

What A Difference A Carrier Makes

This is the story of Dakota-Sioux, aka Cody, and her recent visit to the vet.

Last year I transported all my cats to the vet in a soft-sided carrier with a zippered flap on the top. It worked fine for many years. But for some reason Dakota did not want to be in it when it was time for her visit to the vet a year ago. As soon as I got her in it, she popped right out and ran away. Try finding a cat, or catching one when you do find it, if they do not want to be caught or found. No easy task. She ran me ragged last year. When I finally caught up to her and was able to get her into that carrier, I was a blithering idiot.

 I called ahead to the vet explaining my dilemma and they were concerned we would miss our appointment. Five minutes prior to the appointment time we were still in the house, but I did have Dakota in the carrier. We decided to see if we would be able to get there in time. Normal drive time is approximately 15 minutes, longer depending on the traffic. Somehow we were able to walk in the door only a few minutes late.

 Fast forward to Dakota's visit this year. I have since started using a hard sided carrier that loads on the end instead of the top. Stick their head in and shove. Works like a charm. Once I picked her up and started walking she stiffened. It was like she knew what was coming, even though I pick her up and walk numerous times on any given day. That particular day I hung on to her so she wouldn't get away. Easy peasy this year.

 I should have switched to the hard-sided carrier long ago but I was determined to make the soft one work because it was smaller. Now that all the cats are bigger, the hard-sided one will always be used. For more reasons than one.

How Hot Is It?

It's so hot, they expect it to reach at least 100° today, maybe more.

It's so hot, I feel like I live in the desert and have to stare at this sun.

It's so hot, my cats outside don't run when I go out to feed. They stay right where they are. Lying on the cement or the deck. They usually all hightail it under the deck.

 It's so hot, that even with the air conditioning on inside, the minute I do housework, the waterworks starts and I soon find myself wiping my brow...and a few other things.

 It's so hot, my husband and I don't want to ride the trike.

 It's so hot, all I want to do is... oh hell, I don't know what I want to do. My brain is too fried from all this heat.

 One more day, they say. By Thursday morning things should be cooler. And then I suppose another heat wave is right around the corner, lurking, just waiting to pounce on us again and slap us right in the face when we step out the door.

Unhappy Days

We lost a sister-in-law a few days ago.  It all happened so fast I'm still not quite sure it's not all a dream.

Forty-two days. 

Forty-Two days from the time we learned what was wrong till the time she left this earth.

And now her widowed husband sits at home with her ashes not knowing what will happen to him from one day to the next.

When did life get so damn unfair?

In Response To My Previous Post

I haven't tried the Synch program again but I did realize that despite the fact that I had Internet capabilities on my laptop from the router, I still had to marry said laptop to the router. I don't know if that makes a difference and I am not in a hurry to find out.

 E-mail? I am currently using my Yahoo account that was set up on my PC a long time ago as a backup. I no longer have a need to download another mail system on the laptop and mess around with all that it entails. My Yahoo account is all I need for now.

 Eli, who had been sick with stomach problems along with nasty diarrhea, is much better. I always keep Culturelle for Kids in the house, so I started giving him that as well as all the other cats just to be safe. I am fairly certain Eli's problem was due to a change in his diet and nothing more. All four cats are now on the same page as far as food goes so hopefully this problem won't arise again.

We are finally experiencing some normalcy with the weather. After 11 or so days of excessive heat, sometimes into the triple digits, today is not as hot but you could cut the humidity with a knife. By Monday things should be much nicer with lower temps and humidity. All I can say is thank goodness for air conditioning. We recently installed another one in the computer room after not having one in there for a year.

Yesterday I thought I was going to the land of the munchkins. I went out to feed early due to an impending storm and I was hoping to beat it and get back inside before it hit us. Too late. I got caught while inside the greenhouse. I had to stay inside during the entire storm because the two vent flaps would have broken off from the high winds. So, while holding both of them down with both hands, I had to use my foot to close the door to stop the wind from blowing through the greenhouse. I ended up riding out that storm with winds at 70 plus mph not knowing if it was my last day on earth or not. Let met tell you...that was no picnic.

What A Week This Has Been

First of all, let me preface this by saying I finally have my laptop working.  I thought that day would never come.  I broke out the brand new Cisco Valet Plus  wireless router and hooked it up.  And it didn't work the first time I tried it, but I was not going to let it get the better of me so I tried again and that time it worked.  I then attempted to synch the two computers but that isn't going to happen in the near future.  They weren't speaking to one another and I didn't have the patience to find out why.  There are so many other things I have to do before I can figure that out.  Since both computers are on Windows 7, there is a Synch program but I couldn't get it to work.  I also tried Windows Live Mesh to no avail.  So it's not like I didn't try.  For now, I am quite happy that I have the laptop working so I am not tied to this computer room whenever I need to work on one.

Naturally, that has kept me busy most of the week.  The next major step is to figure out the e-mail system.  No hurry on that, but it will get done.

Moving on to another subject, we have a sick cat.  Eli is not quite a year old yet, he has a few months to go, but he is not up to par.  He has to see the vet and I will be making that call Monday morning. So I have been fussing over him while working on the laptop.

I always say, if it isn't one thing, it's another around this place.  A lot of times I think how boring it is sometimes and then something goes wonky and I have to eat my words.  I have been eating a lot of words this past week so far.

Dale Jr. finished 4th in the race Saturday night.  That hoisted him from 3rd to 2nd in the points.  Another top five finish to add to his bag of tricks.  Next week is Daytona, one of his favorite tracks.  Mine too.  Since Dale is running a lot better than he has been for the past few years, I am hoping he does well at Daytona.  Fingers crossed.

And that, folks, is all she wrote...for now.

 

Snooze-oma

Sorry folks, but that was just one big snooze-fest of a race.  I'm not all that fond of road racing to start with and today's race just proved why.

Dale Jr. qualified 19th and he was never a factor in the race, but with a few laps to go he was in the 13th position only to be punted off course and turned around by a has-been driver whom I will not name here simply because he does not deserve any space on my blog.

At least when we go to Watkins Glen road racing, there is some excitement during that race but Sonoma, California, just doesn't do it for me.  I was glad, however, that Clint Bowyer was able to hold off Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch for the win.  Clint needed this one to help him stay in the top ten in points.

Dale Jr. may have finished 23rd in today's race, but he is still the only Cup driver to have finished all the laps in every race this year.  No one else has been able to do that. 

 On to Kentucky next week where I hope to get back to some good racing once again.  I could have done without this weekend all together.

Congratulations, Dale Jr.!

He carried the paint scheme for the movie, The Dark Knight Rises.  And like the Dark Knight, Dale Jr. finally rose out of the ashes like a phoenix to win the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.  On Father's Day.  In a black car.  Need I say more?

After not winning 143 races, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finally won one.  It was four years ago this weekend that he last won a NASCAR Cup race.  At the very same track he won today.

Today was a day of reckoning.  He's back.  Finally.  He had been knocking on the door all season and finally broke through.  I hope there are many more doors he can knock over before the Chase begins.  Right now, he stands 4 points out of first place.  

You go Junior!  We Junior Nation fans all love you...

I'm Just Sayin'...

For many, many years I have been eating only Hebrew National beef franks as pictured above.  Occasionally, when out and about, and I get the urge to eat a hot dog (and it's cheap enough), I will indulge in what is being offered.  But that has been a rarity over those many, many years.

I love the taste of the Hebrew National franks.  There are only 40 calories per frank and they are 97% fat free and that means a lot for my diet.  There are no fillers, no by-products, no sugar and only 1 gram of the good fat.  Which means no saturated or trans fats.  There is a downside, however, and that is the sodium content.  But if I watch what sodium I eat for the remainder of the day I am okay.  I am on high blood pressure medication so I have to be careful with the sodium.

I checked to see what a regular hot dog contains and was horrified to see that there are at least 250 calories and 14 grams of fat in each frank.  Ouch.  

Of course, no hot dog is a good hot dog, but for me, when I get the urge to have one, the Hebrew Nationals are the best.  My husband doesn't like them, he prefers the what I call nasty ones.  To each his own.

Like I said in my title, I'm just sayin'...


(This is by no means a product endorsement...I just love these franks and felt I had to say something about them.)

I Thought I Was Dying

About a week or so ago I started having some weird and strange symptoms so I researched them on the Internet.  Yes, I have a very bad habit of doing that, but there are just some things I need to know...especially when it comes to my health.

I was having a bit of nausea, my upper arms hurt as well as my thighs, I developed a slight cough and one night I had what I thought was a slight sore throat.  I had trouble falling asleep, a lot of times sleep did not come till 4 or 5 in the morning.  I developed a stiff neck and that gave me a slight headache lasting more days than I care to think about.  It's still a bit stiff but at least the headache is gone.

On top of all of that, I got tired no matter what I did.  Sometimes I was physically exhausted.  

Saturday was the day we saw Crazy Hearts at the Lehigh Valley Zoo using the tickets I won from the local newspaper.  We took our chairs, found a decent spot to park our butts for the remainder of the night, and just took in all the scenery before the band played.  

It was still light yet when I looked at my one arm and noticed spots on it.  Prior to that my back was itching and I accredited it to mosquito bites.  I looked at my other arm and it too had spots on it.  Within a few hours the spots on my arms seemed to fade so I didn't think too much about it after that.

Once we got home and I looked in the mirror, I was horrified.  My cheeks were bright red, and my chest and back were far worse than my arms had been.  I immediately jumped into the shower and after I dried off,  I applied anti-itch cream all over.

All I can say is thank goodness for the Internet.  I suspected it was the antibiotic I had just finished taking on Friday night, a day before the concert.  And I was right.  I am allergic to sulfa drugs.  Just one more thing to add to my resume of stupid things that happen to me as I get older.

I didn't take my camera along, but here is a file photo of the band we saw: 

 

Today's My Lucky Day

I have been hard pressed as to what to write on my blog.  It is getting quite serious because my ideas are nil.  And the harder I think about it nothing jumps out at me.  

Today is our grocery shopping day.  After we finished that we stopped at a scratch off lottery ticket machine and purchased some tickets.  I chose a $2 ticket, and my husband chose three $1 tickets.  I have not been that lucky with this type of lottery (or any lottery for that matter), and because of that I don't get excited when I do buy one.  In this case, my husband bought it for me.

I did win in a second chance drawing years ago.  That was a jackpot of Elvis Presley items like a denim jacket with his name on, a large framed black and white photo of him with Betty Boop in color inserted with him in the photo, a watch, playing cards, four movies, and things I can't remember anymore.

I think the highest I ever won on a scratch off was $20.  Well, I beat that today.  I won $100.  My husband thought I was fibbing when I told him and he made me give him the ticket so he could check to see if I was right.  Of course I was right...I'm always right.  When will they ever learn?

We cashed that baby in  and came home.  The phone rang.  It was our local newspaper telling me I won two tickets to see a local country-western band (Crazy Hearts) at the Lehigh Valley Zoo this Saturday.  Food vouchers are also included with the tickets.

Since the day is not over, I am wondering what else will come along since they say things happen in three's.  I am not going to worry about it and push my luck.  I am happy with what I already got out of the day.

The Weather And Other Things

Here we are coming to the end of May and I cannot remember it being so hot this early in the year.  Today we hit 94°, a degree higher than yesterday.  

We also had a severe storm pass this way around 6:30pm but it wasn't as bad as they were saying it could be.  That is twice we dodged a bullet in the past week or so.  I do not like thunderstorms.  I feel somewhat safer when my husband is home but when I am here alone and one drops by I am a basket case.  But I have to be calm for the cats otherwise they will run and hide and I don't want that to happen.  If I remain calm so will they.

Well now that Memorial Day has come and gone it's on to the next holiday.  I am going to repeat what my mother always used to say the day after Memorial Day.  She would say that before we know it, the 4th of July will be here and then next is Labor Day and that's the end of summer.  It never failed, she would say something to that effect every year.  And I can't forget that.  Because it is so true.  And the older one gets, the faster the summer goes by.

I have been watching the TV show The Hatfields & McCoys on the History channel.  I never read any full accounts on that era, never saw any movies about them, and never read any books about the two feuding families.  All I can say is I am glad I did not live back then and that my name was neither Hatfield or McCoy.  All they did was shoot one another.  Retaliation after retaliation.  The third and final installment is on Wednesday evening.   I believe they will be showing it again.  Catch it if you can, especially if you don't know the family history. 


Speaking of history...I recently made another discovery about one of my ancestors.  My 4th great grandfather was an American Patriot in the Revolutionary War.  I have been toying with the idea to join the DAR, Daughters of The American Revolution.  It takes a lot of research and paperwork and is probably insurmountable when it comes to getting all the information together, but I am giving it some thought.  My ancestor has been assigned a number in the DAR/SAR so at least I would not have to prove anything.  It's the birth and death certificates that are hard to come by these days. 

Maybe it won't be as difficult as I think because I was able to get the pension papers for my 2nd great grandfather who enlisted in the Civil War.  When I get more information one of these days I will write about the direct line from my father straight back to my 5th great grandfather, the one who came over here from Germany back around 1750 and started it all.  And boy, do I have a story to tell about him.  All I can say is it's a good thing two of his descendants were soldiers.  I'll leave it at that for now.

Enjoy The Holiday Everyone!

Where Did We Go Wrong?

I don't know why, but when I woke up Saturday morning I felt as if I had just walked into the twilight zone.

It sort of was like a day from hell.  There are two adults and four cats in our household.  Both adults had something wrong with them as did the two youngest cats.

Let me elaborate.  I took another UTI test and failed it.  I have to go back to the doctor after I call and make an appointment.  Not something I am looking forward to but the antibiotics he prescribed did not work 100%.  

My husband complained of being dizzy most of the day so he stayed inside and rested horizontally most of the time.

As for the cats, Eli, our kitten, developed diarrhea and Punkin', our two-year-old, started hacking again only not as violently as when he was really, really sick a few months ago. Both of them were rescued from outside and both of them have issues where their stomachs are concerned.

One of the 4-1/2 week old kittens outside was dead in the greenhouse this morning.  I figured he wouldn't make it as he was listless the night before.  It's always very sad when I find one like that.  It's very stressful for me.

All of the above unfolded long before noon.  I was not ready for any of it.  

There was a bit of some good news, however.  We finally were able to sell our motorcycle that we have been trying to sell for ages.  Now that we have the trike there was no need to keep the bike.  The deal was done Saturday.

And the other good news is that Dale Jr. had a great car in Saturday night's All Star Race.  First he had to race his way into the main race and he did that very easily.  Then there were four segments prior to the main race, and Dale Jr. won the fourth segment which meant he lined up fourth in the All Star Race.  He finished fifth.  He raced his heart out all night and I am quite proud of what he did.  Of course I would have preferred he won the race but I am happy with what he was able to accomplish overall.

Now I can only hope the next few days will be much better than Satan's Saturday.

What I Am Thankful For...

First of all, I am thankful I was finally able to get this onto my blog.  I discovered I cannot load a picture through Firefox and had to rely on good old I.E.  Just another reason why I have to have two browsers.  The more the merrier I suppose.

OK, on with the post:

I am thankful most of all for my husband.  I don't even want to think of what my life would be without him by my side.  He is and always has been my knight in shining armor.

I am thankful for my daughter.  When my mother was alive, if I didn't call or visit enough she would get upset and depressed.  What my daughter and I have works out great.  I respect the fact that she has a life and when she needs to talk to me she calls or we send emails back and forth.  It's enough for me ~ I am not my mother.

I am thankful for my fur babies.  They keep me on my toes when they are awake.  They entertain us and give such unconditional love that it is unbelievable.

I am thankful for my religious beliefs.  I am a Christian with Christian beliefs and no one will ever sway me from that.

I am thankful for NASCAR.  What an escape from reality for me.  It keeps me busy Friday through Sunday, and sometimes as early as Thursday depending when and where the race is held.  Life would be a bit miserable without my NASCAR. 

I am thankful I no longer have to drive every day to and from a job.  Ditto for my husband.  Why?  The high cost of gas.  The last job we both held (at the same place) was approximately 30 miles one way.  Filling two tanks every week would make me very angry beyond anything you can imagine.

So there you have it.  There are other things I am thankful for but these are the most important ones.