The Power of Perseverance (And Water)

That part of me which is German took over my senses and wouldn't let go till I found my pictures that I erased accidentally on my memory card. It took me three days but I finally found them thanks to the third recovery program I used. And they were all free. What I didn't know was that the first two programs took all my pictures off my hard drive and dumped them back into my photo library. I now have the pleasure of deleting them, one at a time, and putting them back into oblivion from whence they came. Those first two recovery programs did not, however, retrieve the missing photos. Thank you Pandora for doing what they couldn't do.

I took a good amount of pictures the day after the rains stopped and these are only a few of them. They are all taken in the same vicinity and they all show water where there was not a single drop the day before the storms arrived. Remember that as you view them; not a single drop and all you could see was the sandy colored rounded stones in the creek bed and directly below the dam.

These next two photos are of the dam. Prior to the storm, the water came to the top and did not go over the dam. Not one single drop. For the majority of the summer, there was no water below the dam; therefore, no water made it to the creek either. The pieces of wood in both photos never made it beyond where they are. The turbulence right below the dam was so strong that there was no escape. From the top of the dam to the creek bed below is about six feet.

We stood on both sides just watching as the wood and tree limbs got jumbled around constantly. Couple that with the constant noise of the dam itself and one can get lost in time. However, we did leave eventually and on our journey to other places we found this:
Of course, she wasn't that close to us. I used my zoom lens. She was protecting her little one and kept very still while we watched her. Although it can't be seen in its entirety to get the whole picture, this doe was lying on a hillside with shrubs and trees all around her. The rains had stopped and she found this clearing to take a breather from the harsh weather she had just endured for a few days.

Continued From Yesterday's Post

I spent the major portion of Saturday trying to recover my lost photos. I had finally figured out what to do and how to do it. But it no longer mattered. You see, in my eagerness, I somehow managed to erase ALL the photos on my new camera. That includes my saved ones (but they are in my computer library) and the photos of the flooding and the two of the doe. Those are gone forever.

How I managed to erase them in one shot I will never know. Chalk it up to not knowing what I'm doing when it comes to computers and now apparently cameras too. I play around till something works but a lot of times I take the wrong path and really muck things up. I guess I have only myself to blame.

My last area to search was my hard drive. I downloaded a free recovery data program and ran a two hour scan. I checked all the entries dated October 1st and found nothing.

So let's see...nothing in the hard drive files, nothing in my photo library, and nothing on the camera memory card. I am way past that sinking feeling. The gremlins did their job on me and they are telling me I never went anywhere on Friday and I didn't take any pictures either. I have to believe them.

Just A Tad Angry

This us going to be one of those off the cuff posts. And an angry one at that. Most of you know that the East Coast has been inundated with rain, rain, and more rain. I guess we had two separate storm systems come up the coast over the past two or three days. I lost count.

The rain finally stopped and we decided to take my camera and see what kind of shots I could get as far as flooding was concerned. And I did get some great shots. I was even able to get a good closeup of a doe protecting her little one.

As soon as I had some time after we returned home, I decided to import the photos to my computer. For some reason they didn't go where they were supposed to go, so I deleted them. Oh dear God, I should never have done that. I have since learned, after much digging around, that Win7 does not allow pictures to be imported after they have already gone that route. Don't get me wrong, I love Win7, but geez they have some serious flaws in my book.

Two major ones are their mail system (there isn't any) and now this importing problem. I think there is a fix coming later this year so they can be imported a second time. I never had a problem with Windows XP, I could import old ones any time I wanted as I always had that option.

There is a fix I could do if only I knew how to find the needed file/folder to rename it. I tried everything in the book to find that file/folder but came up empty handed. They tell you what to do once you find it but not how to find it. And right about now my patience has run mighty thin so I think trying to locate it will have to wait another day.

This Cracks Me Up

This picture was taken after one of our cats came back from the vet last year. A lot of times Junior wanders off and finds a new place to sleep. I remember this particular day we couldn't find him. Who would ever think to look in the pet carrier. Especially when it is difficult to get the other two into that thing knowing where they are going and not liking it.

The problem is, Junior has never been transported to the vet in that carrier. He had no idea what it was other than a neat place to climb into and snooze. I highly doubt I could use that to take him to the vet because as you can see he fills it out nicely. He's quite a big boy.



I just threw this picture on here for the heck of it. It was a full moon and I was testing my new camera not only for the closeness but also to see how it would work at night.

New Kids On The Block

This litter belongs to our Stumpy who was born with half a tail. There is a black one (runt), a black and white one, and a gray and white one. They are four weeks old now. We have never had a gray one in all the litters over the years. Other colors, yes, but never a gray one. I have to think of a special name for that one.


To name this one was fairly easy. He is the color of sand on a beach, thus the name Sandy. And then we discovered he is a male so my husband named him Snuggle, like the bear in the fabric softener commercial. I was so used to calling him Sandy and I couldn't drop that name so now he is known as Sandy Snuggle. He is now around eight weeks old and still has the blue eyes. His coloring is a first for us also. Hmmmm...there must be a new sheriff in town.

And Again...

It's That Time Again

Yep, another birthday for me. Not that I look forward to them. But once they are over with I tell myself that I have a whole year till the next one. Clever, aren't I?

I Am Definitely In Love...Again

I loved him in Moonlight and I loved him in Three Rivers, and now I am loving him in the updated version of Hawaii Five-O.

Meet Alex O'Loughlin...another one of Australia's gorgeous gifts:





Does anyone disagree with me? I didn't think so. I am so glad CBS came up with another series for him since the demise of Moonlight and Three Rivers. They did me a huge favor...I just cannot get enough of him.

Sure, I'm old enough to be his mother, but who the hell cares?

Well I'll Be Damned

Dale Jr. finished 4th in Sunday's race!

And the Giants lost...

One Of My Dark Secrets

I do not like attics. There, it's out. Off my chest. Well, actually it's not such a big secret.

When I was around 4 or 5 years old my parents moved into a house with an attic. A hateful attic as far as I was concerned. Up until then I had no idea what an attic was. I wish I'd never found out.

Lucky me...I got the room with the door that led to that awful attic. One thing though, I never had the distinct pleasure *written with sarcasm* of visiting that attic. Unless I did and just blocked it out forever.



The house was old with lots of creaks and groans and squirrels rolling nuts around up there. When you are a little kid and you hear things like that you think you did something really wrong and the devil was coming for you. I wasn't old enough to do things to make the devil come after me. That came a few years later. And I might talk about those days in another post in the future.

It didn't take me long to figure out that I needed a light on so I could go to sleep. Those early days scarred me for the rest of my life and to this day I am still very scared of the dark.


When I was eight we moved to another two-story house with a very large attic. All I could think was, here we go again. Are they going to stick me in that room with the door that leads to the attic? Nope, not this time. My older brother was the lucky one and only because that room was smaller than the other bedroom which I shared with my younger sister.

When I married and moved out, my first husband and I lived in an apartment. No attic there, thank goodness. Then we bought a house. A rancher. Again, no attic. I moved into another apartment, got divorced, moved into this house, got married and again no attic here as this house is also a rancher.

I may be afraid of the dark, and attics in particular, but I ain't stupid.

A Year Ago Today

It was on a Saturday back in 2009 on the 12th of September when my husband and I left the house to embark on our annual tour of the local vineyards to sample their wines and purchase the ones I liked. The weather wasn't perfect like other years as it was softly raining...just enough to mess up my day for taking pictures. It also wasn't a good omen of things to come.

We returned home around 4-4:30 pm which was feeding time for all the cats outside. As I walked alongside the garage on my way to the back of the house, I heard what I thought was a faint mewing of a kitten. By then the rain had gotten heavier and traffic was noisier so I dismissed what I thought I heard. I have been known to imagine things far worse.

I fed the cats and came back inside. But I was unsettled. Did I imagine that mewing or was it real? Finally I mentioned something to my husband and he suggested we go out and investigate. It couldn't hurt.

At that time we had a truck bedliner upside down on our car trailer. When my husband lifted it up, sure enough, there was a tiny orange kitten that started screaming his head off. He was hungry as hell and he wanted his mommy.

What he didn't know was his mommy (Mini-Me) had been hit and killed by a car in the front of our house. We found her when we came home before we even pulled into the driveway. That was pretty tough for me to take. It still is. But somehow we move on, don't we?

Our next step was to bring the little one inside, make him warm, and get some kitten milk inside his tummy. I knew he was 5 weeks old as he was born August 9th along with four siblings. He had been the only survivor, as the others weren't strong enough to make it. I actually thought they all had died.

His new home was a cardboard box with a screen on top, and that was kept in the bedroom at night so if there were any problems with him I would be right there to deal with them. Every morning I would wake up and lie in bed listening for him to make a noise because, to be honest with you, I worried myself sick that one morning I would walk over to that box and find he didn't make it either.

He never made a noise, no mewing, nothing. I guess he screamed enough the day we found him and lost his ability to meow. Poor little fellow.

His first visit to the vet was within a week after bringing him inside. A few days later we were informed the fecal sample we took revealed that he had giardia, a parasite, and it was wreaking havoc on his tiny body. After many weeks of turmoil and worriment he finally turned a corner and got healthy but not until that parasite was banished from him.

So, may I present Punkin' ~



My husband named him Pumpkin due to his orange coloration but when he started showing his personality, I altered his name to Punkin', Punk for short. And he is sometimes called Prince Punk.



Today he's a happy, lively cat. He only weighed 11.5 ounces at 5-1/2 weeks of age and was always underweight and although he is still tiny for his age, he has grown into a beautiful young cat. He still doesn't meow but sometimes when I pick him up and he doesn't want to be held he gets a little testy and makes a squealing noise, almost like a puppy bark. I am hoping that eventually he will start talking. Until then, he's here, he's healthy, and he's very much loved.

As I sit here and look at this picture of him, I think back to his early days and what he went through, both outside and with us. And I can only thank God for letting us get to know this beautiful cat.

Nine Years Ago...

You Caught Me At A Bad Time

This is a quick impromptu post. I feel bad if I don't post every couple of days. I follow a lot of blogs and when they go longer than a week between posts it drives me nuts. Therefore, it drives me nuts when I fall into that same pattern.

With that said, this will probably be a bitch and moan session. And I am going to start with my favorite sport, NASCAR. Ever since Dale Jr. joined Hendrick Motor Sports 2-1/2 years ago I have been waiting patiently for him to win a race. I can't really count his win in Michigan two years ago because that turned out to be a win of fuel mileage. He didn't have the best car and would never have won on strength alone. He has won other races but they were non-points races.

I am so disappointed in the #88 team just as I was disappointed last year. And yet nothing gets done to change things up. The announcement has been made that his crew chief, Lance McGrew, will be calling the shots in 2011 again. And probably in 2012 too. Dale Jr.'s contract with HMS runs through the end of 2012. I really am wondering what he is going to do when his contract is up at that time.

Of course, Dale Jr. has won in the Nationwide series and I am grateful for that. It's a different car, one that he knows. This COT car used for the Sprint Cup races sucks beyond sucking. And if that is bad English, so be it. I get pissy and whatever comes out of my fingers comes out.

The fact that Junior is 19th in points right now is another thing that has me really irritated. There is no way on this green earth that he should be 19th in the points. It's downright embarrassing for all us Junior fans. Don't get me wrong...I am not turning my back on him, nor will I ever do that. Not even thinking about it. But I do wish he would sprout a pair and start knocking others around on the track. Now THAT would make me happy.

On a different note, I would like to turn to the subject of football. I have been a fan of many teams over the years. When I discovered Joe Montana I became a diehard 49ers fan. I hated to see him leave the team and was kind of leery when they took on Steve Young. But Steve stepped up and came through for us fans. Thus, I have been a longtime fan. Until a few years ago. The 49ers became a last place team and I got a little tired of that too, year after year, hoping they would do better and all they did was get worse than the year before.

Although I was born in Pennsylvania, I spent my summers in New York, both in Manhattan and on Long Island. I had been a secret fan of the NY Giants for quite some time. But a few years ago I tossed caution to the wind, came out of the closet so to speak, and announced that I was a NY Giants fan. And now I read they don't hold much hope for them this year. But guess which team they have high hopes for...yep, you guessed it right if you said the San Francisco 49ers. What's a body supposed to do?

I suppose I have to support both teams this year, huh?

Oh, and don't even get me started on those NY Mets.

Spider Me This

Many years ago, maybe twelve or so, I worked for a company that moved 50 miles farther away from where they were. One of the office workers, who was not making the move with us, had a Spider Plant that she took care of while she was at work. It had a lot of "babies" and one was offered to me after she had gotten it to start growing on its own in a separate pot.

I brought that tiny baby home and nourished it to the point where it had its own little babies. I bought a macrame holder for it and hung it in the front bay window. It grew into a beautiful plant and I cherished it because I don't exactly have a green thumb.

Fast forward some ten years when my male cat, Junior, discovered that its leaves tasted mighty good. He chewed the ends off and they would get ragged and brown, so I took it away from him not only because it could be toxic but also to try and save its little behind. It was a beautiful healthy plant before he discovered it.

After I took it away I sorely missed it hanging in that window but it was dying and I knew I could never hang it there again if I wanted it to live. I put it in a room that isn't used much over a year ago and sort of kind of forgot about it. That same room does not get heated during the winter and so it sat, in a corner on the floor, like some crazed plant with a disease. Poor thing. I think I may have watered it a few times when I thought about it. Eventually it got emaciated, leaves turned brown and then black, and there were very few little green things left.

This past Spring I looked at it and could only shake my head in dismay. It was all but gone. I wanted to cry. Instead, I decided to hang it outside just the way it was. Either it died for good or it might grow a little. I had nothing to lose. And to my amazement, within a few short weeks, the little bugger started growing...and it hasn't stopped.

The problem I have now is when it gets cold outside, what do I do with it? I can't hang it inside where I had it. The babies and the leaves get very long and I would be right back where I started from with Junior and his lunchable.

These pictures were taken almost a month ago and since then it has grown by leaps and bounds and has more babies hanging down.




Help!

Time Out

We have been fairly busy the past few days and today is no exception. We are taking a small trip and I will be taking my camera along.

I will post something when we get back. Stay tuned...

I Never Tire Watching Deer

These deer were spotted when we were on our way home. Their habitat is not too far from our house. As far back as I can remember (and that's really, really far, folks), I have always been overjoyed seeing deer along the roads we travelled. Nowadays when we spy them we stop and watch. See the little one? Ain't it cute?

The photos are grainy because I used a zoom lens and zoomed farther than I should have. My zoom lens is built in and it goes up to 20x; however, I can zoom farther but then I lose quality. With these shots, I just wanted to bring them in as close as I could without compromising the shot.

For the life of me, I cannot comprehend how or why people want to shoot these beautiful animals. There is enough meat in stores on every corner, and I know some people like it because basically there's no fat and it is healthier, but come on people...they never did anything to you, why do you want to kill them?

I come from a strong hunting background and from the time I could understand just exactly what it was my father was doing when we ate venison, pheasant, rabbit, etc., I made a decision: I would never, ever marry a hunter. Two out of two ain't bad, so I have kept my promise to myself.

Thank God I'm A "C"

Have you ever wondered what the bra sizes A, B, C, D, DD, E, F, G, and H stand for?
If so, it's about time you knew!

{A} Almost Boobs...
{B} Barely there.
{C} Can't Complain!
{D} Dang!
{DD} Double dang!
{E} Enormous!
{F} Fake.
{G} Get a Reduction.
{H} Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up.

***********************************************************************************
The Right Stuff

The FBI had an opening for an assassin. After all the background checks, interviews and testing were done there were 3 finalists. Two men and a woman. For the final test, the FBI agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun.

"We must know that you will follow your instructions no matter what the circumstances. Inside the room you will find your wife sitting in a chair. Kill her!!!"

The man said, "You can't be serious, I could never shoot my wife." The agent said, "Then you're not the right man for this job. Take your wife and go home."

The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about 5 minutes. The man came out with tears in his eyes, "I tried, but I can't kill my wife."

The agent said, "You don't have what it takes. Take your wife and go home."

Finally, it was the woman's turn. She was given the same instructions, to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls.

After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman, She wiped the sweat from her brow.

"This gun is loaded with blanks" she said. "I had to beat him to death with the chair."

Experimenting In The Country

I love taking pictures. Around the house the only subjects I have are the cats, both inside and outside. And when we go away I rarely take my new camera along. I don't like leaving it in the vehicle on hot days and it is too big to slide into my purse. But on days where I know there will be photo ops, the camera most certainly goes along.

Such was the day back in June when we went for a ride in the country. When I get a new camera I tend to fool around with it and don't bother reading the manual. With that in mind, while riding in the passenger seat of our truck I decided to try and take pictures out the window while we drove around.

The following photos are what I shot and they seem to have come out fairly decent. Not too shabby for not reading the manual, huh?

Problems, Problems, Problems

Am I the only one having problems with Blogger? I pulled three photos out of my album to add to a post and after a long time nothing happened. I tried to do the same thing a few days ago,too. The pictures that I was able to put on my posts recently had to be put into Photobucket first and then pulled from there and added to my blog. What a pain in the butt that is, not to mention it shouldn't have to be that way.

There was a time, months ago, when I would want to create a post and pull photos out of my album, and within minutes everything was done and ready to go. That has come to a complete halt. And it is aggravating the you-know-what out of me. And that makes me cranky.

So tell me, am I the only one this is happening to? If so, can someone tell me what I am doing wrong? Or at the very least how I can overcome this gigantic problem?

Photos give me inspiration to write posts and that is why I haven't been keeping up every few days. It has become very frustrating for me.

***I think I solved my problem because it works now. All it took was a simple click***

Kitty Litter(s)

Lying in the front of this photo is Gizmo. She is one of the Queens. She rules the roost and most of the others steer clear of her. She is the grandmother of our Punkin' and is the oldest one born on our property.

The rest of them in this picture are all kittens from different litters that were born this summer. This is the most I have seen at one gathering this year. For the most part, they are not usually all up here at the house at the same time. They must have had a corporate meeting scheduled on this day.

We live in a rural area, so having this many cats and kittens is not unusual. It's those nosy ones that want to cross the street out front that take chances. They want to see what's on the other side of the road. When the farmer plants corn across the road, we cringe. Cats love corn fields. Yes, it is corn this year. We have been lucky so far in that we have only lost one cat this year, knock on wood. It's those mean drivers that aim for animals in the road that need to be horse whipped.

I would let you all know how many cats and how many kittens we have this year, but I don't want to start any controversies. Let's just say there are a lot and leave it at that. When people hear about them they tell us to trap and neuter or spay. I think a better plan would be some type of birth control substance I could put in their water. Until something like that comes along, we will go on feeding them and seeing that they have shelter all year 'round. They are happy cats and that is all that matters to me.

Birthday Celebrations

This is Punkin' who was born August 9th and is one year old today.

This is Junior who was born August 8th four years ago.

And last but not least our Princess, Dakota Sioux, also born August 8th four years ago.

(And I see I need to fix my date and time on the camera because all three pictures were taken on the same day around the same time.)

Still Here

Yes, I'm still kicking. I haven't had much to write about and what I want to write is nothing but complaints. And I'm sure people get tired of hearing me complain all the time.

Sports-wise, things just aren't going right. I seem to latch on to losers. And it makes me feel like a loser.

When I think of something good to say, I will. Other than that, I just don't know what else to say these days.

Have You Ever Wondered?

Of all the gazillions of people in the world, why don't any of them look alike? Yes, most of us all have a look-alike somewhere in the world, and a lot of us resemble someone, but I am talking about looking exactly like someone else.

There are mainly five components that make up a face: the hair, ears, eyes, nose and mouth. Five. That's all. That's not a lot to work with. And yet no two people are exactly alike. I find that eerily amazing.

Same Old, Same Old

Here it is, another weekend of racing and I'm not looking forward to it. It's been that way all year. Plus this weekend they are racing at boring Pocono, which just happens to be a bit north of me.

I never thought the day would come when my interest in racing would be slipping month after month as it has this season.

I think often about the 80's and 90's when racing was magical. The drivers were very colorful and when they had something to say, they said it with no repercussions. I read that NASCAR recently fined two of its star drivers for speaking out about the hand that feeds them. Isn't this a free country with freedom of speech? I guess someone forgot to tell NASCAR that.

The powers that be that run NASCAR seem to think the drivers should shut up and just race their little cars. Yeah, and that's another thing...those cars. Those damn so-called CoT cars, aka Car of Tomorrow. Well, tomorrow has long come and gone and we are still dealing with them. I just wish they would bring back the car they replaced with the CoT.

And I am so sick and tired of all this politically correct crap taking place in this country today. Not only in NASCAR but everywhere you look. It seems no one can say much about anything or anyone without getting in trouble. Why have so many people gotten so thin-skinned? Gee, you can't even think a bad thought anymore without someone getting pissed off. Even those two words, politically correct, drive me insane. I cringe when I hear them, so it took a lot for me to even write about them.

Sorry, I got off track there for a moment. Getting back to NASCAR: I suppose my biggest problem is the way Dale Jr. has been running this season. I truly thought that once he signed on with Hendrick that he would be just as good as his teammates, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Boy, was I ever misled. Don't get me wrong...I will never turn my back on Dale Jr. He will always be my driver until he retires. But with each passing race I always feel maybe the next race he'll do better that he'll finish in the top five, or with a bit of luck and good driving that he'll win. It's not asking for much. Just one lousy little win.

Junior Nation is getting mighty impatient, so I know I'm not alone.

I Am My Father's Daughter

Being the middle child has always been difficult for me. I always felt my brother, who was born 2-1/2 years before I was, got all the attention simply because he was the firstborn son. Six-and-a-half years after I was born my sister came along, and once again I felt she got all the attention because she was and always would be the baby.

Growing up as a middle child, I self-labeled myself as the black sheep of the family. Don't ask me why, I just did. I have always marched to the beat of a different drummer. But I was daddy's girl. And that meant so much more to me than being stuck in the middle.

When I hit those miserable teen years everything changed. I distanced myself from both my parents, especially my father. I wasn't a bad kid by any means, but I wasn't an angel either. Eventually I came to the conclusion that I could no longer live under the same roof, so at the age of 19 I married the first guy that would have me as his wife. I met him toward the end of September and married him mid-January.

My father didn't like him, but he tolerated him as did the rest of my family. I didn't care. He was mine and I was going to change him and the way people felt about him. It never happened. Eventually we had a daughter. She is the best thing that happened to me because shortly after she was born I got a divorce. It was one of the smartest things I ever did.

While all that was happening, the distance between my father and I grew even farther. You see, my family was never the kissy-huggy type. We never said those three magic words to one another: I love you. Not once do I ever remember either of my parents telling me that. And I didn't crave that while I was little because I didn't know any better. And I never witnessed it in other families, so I didn't know what I was missing. I never had to feel sorry for myself because of it.

I remarried. And the love of my life is the one who taught me to use those words; not only between the two of us but to other family members as well. When we married it was my decision to have my father walk me down the aisle. I didn't have that for my first marriage, even though I was married in church. It was a simple private ceremony after services with only our parents in attendance. My second marraige had all the trappings but on a small scale.

Just a few months prior to my second marriage, I was able to finally let down my defenses and give my parents a hug or a kiss and tell them I loved them. And do you know what? They responded, and I was finally able to hear each one tell me they loved me. And it happened every time we parted.

My father adored my current husband and treated him like a son. We visited them quite often and the two of them would sit and talk for hours on end. It was such a peaceful time in my life and had finally brought me full circle.

I loved my mother, but it is my father I miss the most. It's so very hard to shake that daddy's girl feeling once they are gone.

My father and I were like two peas in a pod when I was little. I followed him everywhere so they tell me. As I grew up I realized that I had more of his traits than either of my siblings. My brother looks like my father today and he has some of his traits but he is more like Mom's side of the family. My sister is 100% like Mom's side. Today I am proud to say that, yes, I am my father's daughter...in more ways than one.

Happy Birthday Dad

Gone from this world but not forgotten.

We miss you.

Hot As Hades In The House

I have no idea how hot it was outside but it sure as heck was hot on the inside. 80 degrees hot. My husband was trading out air conditioners yesterday. The poor cats were awake most of the day because there was no place that was cool for them so they could sleep.

We had to purchase a new air conditioner for the family room because the one that was in there was doing weird stuff after 15 years of use. The weird stuff being black sootballs that it blew back into the room. When we turned it on at the beginning of the season we didn't realize it was not doing its job properly. We kept a large bucket on the outside for the water to drip into and that just wasn't happening this year. But it took us this long to realize that. Hey, we're busy people. OK, that's a joke.

So when my husband starting getting dizzy only when he was in that room and nowhere else, it was time to try and figure out just what was causing that to happen to him. After many days of scratching our heads and me getting tired of hearing him ask, I wonder if something in this room is causing this? I told him maybe it was the air conditioner causing it. It was the last thing left to blame. Also, all three of our cats were sneezing and for the most part when a cat sneezes it usually has an upper respiratory infection. And I knew none of them had that.

When we took the air conditioner apart we could see that the water had stayed inside and the black sootballs were actually a form of mold. Any wonder it was making him goofy. Well, I should say goofy-er. But don't tell him I said that because he says I'm the goofy one in the family.

The new air conditioner is up and running and we are both quite anxious to see if what we thought was the cause of his dizziness actually was the mold from the air conditioner. If not, I don't know what else could be causing it. Everything else has been ruled out. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Dang, It Happened Again

I've been on a thousand-calories-a-day diet for some weeks, so when we go out to eat breakfast I usually order eggs. This morning I opted to go with an onion omelet made with egg whites. I don't eat fried potatoes unless they look like they were in a fire, so because potatoes came with what I ordered I asked that they be cremated. If they weren't made to my liking I simply wouldn't eat them. I hate mushy potatoes unless they're mashed and I don't eat them that way too often either.

When my plate was placed in front of me, one look at the potatoes and a complaint came out of my mouth. I had asked that they be done the color of my coffee (which I take black) and so I said they certainly don't look like my coffee. As a matter of fact my husband's potatoes were darker than mine were. But it wasn't the potatoes that upset me.

My first bite of the omelet told me something wasn't right. It had the taste of regular eggs rather than egg whites and the consistency was much too thick for egg whites. I have eaten enough egg whites to know the difference. But I was hungry and I kept eating because I felt they had done the right thing by me. Oh dear sweet naive me...

By the time I finished that omelet I felt so guilty because I knew it wasn't egg whites. I mentioned it to the waitress and she said she would ask the cook. The cook, we were told, was from south of the border. And the waitress never came back with an answer.

When we paid our bill my husband asked her again about my egg order and she then told us the cook said he added one regular egg to the egg whites. Now why in God's name would any decent cook do something like that? I wondered if he did that to every egg white order, and if he was aware that there are a lot of people who are allergic to eggs. I prefer egg whites because they are fat free and very low in calories, and my cholesterol is something I really have to work at to keep the numbers low.

There's a reason people order egg whites and it's not the cook's decision to add regular eggs. To say I was really pissed off when we left is an understatement. I felt betrayed. Just like the deal with that chicken sandwich a few weeks ago.

The good thing is that the waitress deducted the difference for the egg whites (they cost more than regular eggs; why, I don't know, since you're not getting the yolks.)The bad thing is, the next time we decide to go there the owner will definitely get an earful about his cook that thinks he is a sous chef and screws with peoples' orders.

Relief Is Just A Raindrop Away

This is coming:

I can't tell you how much we need rain. Well, I could tell you, but a lot of other areas need it just as much as we do. And then there are areas that are sick and tired of it and wish it would go away because of the flooding it has caused. Just send it here, we will gladly take it for a couple days. And then it can go away, too.

It is so dry in our area that we haven't had to mow grass for quite some time. We have clover in our yard at places and even those are burned to a crisp.

I have to keep fresh water for the cats outside at all times. It isn't easy since we do have lives and aren't always home all day. I do my best. It does my heart good to see them drink after I replace the bathwater caused by the heat and sun.

We had a teaser rain on Friday afternoon while we were in the doctor's office. Since the doctor was running rather late, at least the rain kept us entertained. The weather people claim we are in for a soaking on Saturday (today). I am so ready for rain. What I would really love to do is run around in it with no clothing on, but then I come to my senses and realize where we live has so few people and I can't take the chance of running them all away. Does that sentence make sense? I would probably make an English teacher cringe. Sorry if any of you are out there and reading it and cringing. It's the only way I know how to get my thought across.

It is currently 76 degrees and quite comfortable. The humidity has gone away for now. The heavy rain will move in, create havoc, move out, and within a few days we are in for another heat wave. We just can't win. For now, I will relish the rain.

We Just Hit 102 degrees!!!!!!

One Day Journal

This is going to be an ongoing project over the course of the day. It is supposed to be our hottest day yet. The temperature reached 100 yesterday. It's 11 am and already 96.

My first act of every day is to feed the inside cats and then feed the ones that are outside. The greenhouse we built for them so they would have shelter and a bit of warmth over the winter is about 10-15 (maybe more) degrees higher than it is outside. Had I stayed in there any longer I think my skin would have slid off my skeleton. The older cats are very sluggish, but the little ones (last count was 15) are like the energizer bunny; they just keep going and going till they tire and take a much needed nap. Got to recharge those batteries, you know.

From the looks of it, this it is fixing to be a hellacious day weather-wise.

1:00 PM: The temperature is currently 98 degrees outside. My cats have found cooler spots, if any are available. Best place? Under our deck on the bare ground.

We were planning on going to a folk festival today, but decided to go Thursday instead because of the hot weather this week that was forecast days ago. I am glad we changed days, because today is supposed to be the worst of this current heat wave the northeast is embroiled in. And broiling we are. I am picturing a huge snowbank right about now, with me diving into it head first. Ahhhhhh...

2:00 PM: Just hit 100 degrees. Ouch! Dreaming of Alaska...

5:30 PM: Still 100 degrees and holding. The water in the cats' bowl outside was hot, not warm like it usually is. Hot enough to maybe cause a burn it seemed. Now thinking of a tubful of ice cubes...

6:30 PM: According to the news, the Valley hit 101 degrees today. As I sit here in my air conditioned room looking out the window, I see a soft breeze rustling through the cherry tree and I think, who would ever believe it's 99 degrees outside right now?

7:00 PM: Wow, we have dropped to 95 degrees. Be honest now, do you feel that breeze?

11:30 PM: Finally some relief...86 degrees. Wednesday is supposed to be almost as bad as today. And then we get a change. I am so ready for a change. My cats outside walk around with their little tongues hanging out, so I know they are ready for some change. If only they didn't have those little fur coats...at least we can take our clothes off if we wish. No, I do not wish, I was just saying...

Dale Jr. Wins One For His Daddy

Congratulations to Dale Jr. for his very emotional win in the Subway Jalapeno 250 Friday night.

I couldn't have asked for a better ending to a race. I know his daddy was looking out for him and had a huge smile on his face as he crossed the finish line.

Yep, It's In There All Right

Preacher was telling his congregation that anything they could think of, old or new, was discussed somewhere in the Bible and that the entirety of the human experience could be found there.

After the service, he was approached by a woman who said, "Preacher, I don't believe the Bible mentions PMS."

The preacher replied that he was sure it must be there somewhere and that he would look for it.

The following week after the service, the preacher called the woman aside and showed her a passage that reads,

"...And Mary rode Joseph's ass all the way to Bethlehem."

****************************************
I had that little gem tucked away for a day when there wasn't anything to write about. Today's the day. I don't like going too many days between a post. I get embarrassed and I don't know why. I feel like people are silently yelling at me when I go to check my site meter. I don't have that many readers, but I still feel like I am letting them down.

I had to slow down on my ancestry search. My great great grandfather on my father's side was in the Civil War. I don't think he actually fought though because he died in 1862. I don't know much about him so I sent for some pension papers at the National Archives. He is the father to my great grandfather who was orphaned by the time he was eight years old. I can hardly wait to get those papers in my hand. Anxious doesn't even come close to how I feel. There are supposed to be eight different papers in the packet and it takes from 40 to 120 days to get them to me. Today is day 20. Once I get more information I will be posting about that.

Also, I have an old picture of my brother and myself back in the day when we were holy terrors. I will have to scan that into the computer and then let all you folks know the trouble we stirred up when we were around 5-7 and 7-9 years old (we're 2-1/2 years apart).

Until then, if an idea hits me in the face I will write about it. Been kinda quiet these days.

Veggie Dreaming

When we moved here 24 years ago, we had high hopes of having a garden. Oh how naive we were. We bought plants and oh so carefully set their little feet into the ground. We watered them, watched them grow day after day, and then reality struck. We forgot about the wild animals. After all, this is a very rural area. So we had to find out the hard way. I will never forget it either, when my husband went out to check on his crop one morning only to find everything chewed down to the ground. Damn groundhogs!

I so badly wanted to reap these:

But those varmints had other plans and I'll bet they couldn't wait till we set out some more plants. Well, we didn't...not for a couple of years. Eventually we ended up buying the empty field alongside of us. We could have planted a huge truck patch but I'm no dummy. I know who would have ended up weeding it all the time.

We did eventually have a nice sized garden though, but we also wised up and used chicken wire to keep out those that didn't belong there. That was long before our cat colony arrived. Maybe they would have kept some of the unsavories at bay.

I truly miss having a garden. I love harvesting all kinds of veggies, especially carrots, radishes, corn, peppers and beans. It's next to impossible having one these days though due to my bad back. In order for me to be able to pull weeds, I practically have to lie on the ground. Even sitting while weeding doesn't work.

It is funny though every Spring when we see the little seed packets in the stores how my husband says he would like to start a garden. It's one thing to talk about it...it's another thing when you expect your wife to do the weeding, cultivating, crop gathering, and then incorporating them into making meals. Yeah, if I had someone doing all that I would have a garden every year.

Which Would You Prefer Eating?

One day last week my husband and I stopped in at a local fast food restaurant (the one where the girl has red pigtails) for a quick bite to eat. Since I am on a low calorie diet these days, there isn't much I can eat at those places.

I decided to get the Ultimate Grilled Chicken Sandwich. It was the lesser of all evils. Little did I know what evil lurked in that sandwich. This is what it looks like in their ads:

I would have been happier than a pig in sh*t had it looked like that. I cannot explain what the meat in my sandwich looked like other than these rawhide pig ears for dogs to chew:

No lie...it was flat, same color, very hard and very dry, and had a crust that was not easy to bite a piece off let alone chew it. And do you see that red thing peeking out from under the bun in the first photo? Yeah, that's a tomato. According to their website there are supposed to be one to two pieces of tomato on that sandwich. Mine had none.

For some dumb stupid reason, I ate the damn sandwich. What I should have done was take it back to the counter and asked for a replacement. Grilled chicken is supposed to be plump and moist, not to mention edible. I did say to my husband that I wished I had a camera phone, or at the very least a camera with me. I felt like I was lost in space and I still can't believe I accepted that thing and ate it without so much as a whimper other than complaining to my husband about it. I mean, I have more sense than that. I'm not afraid to complain about other things. But this time, it was almost as if I was under some sort of spell or something.

I have no idea if it was their idea of a joke just to see how far it would go or if they had it laying around and passed it off to me because I looked like the type that wouldn't complain about it. I really don't know. But someone sure as hell saw me coming and decided they needed to have a good laugh at my expense.

Needless to say my husband contacted the corporate office and complained. He didn't really get anywhere either. We will repay them by never stepping inside that particular store again. And another thing, I have had issues with girls that have red hair and pigtails ever since the 2nd grade.

Latest Crop

I have nothing to write about so I thought I would post pictures of theses kittens. They belong to our outside cat, Spring. That thing they are playing on is a huge light standard like you find in parking lots. It is where they live. The sun was very bright and kind of washes them out.

These pictures aren't the best because I used a zoom lens. I could never get this close to this pair. They come up to the greenhouse to eat but run when I go out to feed them.
When I first saw them I gave them the names of Pepper (black and white) and Ginger (red and white). It turns out that Ginger is a male, so now we call him Gin. We haven't ascertained what Pepper is yet but that name is good for either sex.

The other kitten we have is younger than those two and belongs to Stumpy. Stumpy is the daughter of Spring and is two years old. We call her Stumpy because she has half a tail. She was either born that way or lost it in an accident. Her mother kept them in a weird place after they were born and the rim was sharp so we are thinking maybe it got sliced off while she was taking them in and out of her nest.

I am really surprised that this is the extent of our kitten crop this year so far. If there are more, they are being well hidden till the time is right to bring them up to the house for food. Time will tell.

Hurry Up And Wait

My time is precious. One thing that has always bothered me most of my life is having to wait. I am very short on patience.

My husband had his annual stress test along with a Doppler test today for his heart. Normally we get an early morning appointment due to his not being able to eat or drink twelve hours prior to the tests. We had an early morning appointment three days ago but it was changed by the cardiology office over a month ago. And so we got stuck with an 11:20 appointment.

I am always prepared to wait the 3-1/2 hours it takes from start to finish. I take my book, the newspaper, a bottle of water, and light snacks. The Doppler test went smoothly and was over in 45 minutes (just in time for their lunch break). And then we waited. And waited. Finally a little after 12:30 they came for my husband. I think it's very rude to have to wait while they take lunch. They need to have someone to cover for them. Why must our time be wasted?

I didn't see my husband again until almost 3:30. Can I mention here that I was really perturbed? And that I was ready to rip lips off? Really...I was fully prepared to march myself through that door and demand to know where the hell he was and what was taking so long. But I didn't want to make a fool of myself so I stayed in my chair fuming beyond belief.

Once we left there, of course my husband is stark raving hungry not to mention he is having coffee withdrawal symptoms, so our next stop was to get to a diner as quickly as possible. And wouldn't you know it, the thruway was backed up and not moving. We had to take a different route which was longer but less stressful.

Once we got to the diner and were seated...guess what? We waited again. My husband said he was ready to get up and get his own coffee. But he persevered and eventually they brought it to our table. Have you ever seen a person who hasn't had coffee for almost 20 hours drink that first cup? Did I say drink? He inhaled it. And when they brought the wrong soup to me he ate it along with his own soup. They did remember to bring my soup. Lucky for them.

On the way home we ran into more heavy traffic on a back road. I have no idea what was going on in our area, other than the fact it was us out there and everyone was just out to give us a hard time. It's called being paranoid. I have the three p's...paranoia, procrastination, and (lack of) patience. But by no means am I a type A personality. If I were, I think I would have been dead a long time ago. Especially with days like this one.

I Really Need To Work On This Room

Seriously, I do. When we moved here, this became our storage room. Back in the old days things either went into the attic or the basement. I have no attic, so to speak.

But now that our basement is almost brand spanking new thanks to the flood in it a year and a half ago, things are finding their way downstairs.

I must say though, this room doesn't look like that anymore. No, it hasn't been cleaned out yet...things have been moved around and I can at least walk into it part way.

I need one of two things: a huge dumpster to throw things into or the ability to be able to burn things like we could when we moved here. Dang township went and made it an ordinance banning the ability to burn anything. They took all my fun away.

But I really do want to get that room straightened up. At least before I croak. I don't need people talking about me after I'm gone. Oh who the hell am I kidding? What do I care if they do talk about me...I won't be here to listen to it.

I'll make a deal with you...when I get it straightened out I'll take another picture and post it right here. But I am going to ask a favor of you ~ please do not hold your breath.

One Day I'll Learn

I really need to stop watching these NASCAR races. I keep watching them telling myself before every race that this time things might be different. And sometimes during the race things do look different. But not for long. Something usually happens and all hope is lost. Today's race at Pocono was no different than the others.

At one point Dale Jr. was running in the 10th position. Along comes a caution or two and suddenly he is in the 26th position. What did I miss? Why do I bother?

And you know what? I am seriously thinking about not watching them anymore. Between NASCAR throwing cautions for mysterious debris on the track and Dale Jr.'s crew chief, I don't know which is worse.

Those debris cautions? I swear NASCAR calls them toward the end of the races so the cars can then bunch up again because they get stretched out and that makes for a boring race. Well, I've got news for them...the races are boring no matter what they do.

I guess we can concede that racing at Pocono makes for a very long day and a very boring race. I know, I've said that already, but to me the most interesting thing that happened today was the wild crash at the end on the last lap. Dale Jr. made it through and you would think he would have finished higher than he did (18th), but NASCAR has this dumb rule that when there is an accident on the last lap the field gets frozen. At the moment of the crash, basically, that is where those crashed cars will also finish in the race, no matter who goes around them and crosses the finish line. That is ignorant, I am sorry.

I just wish I could wise up and find something else to do when there is a Sprint Cup race on. I say that every week and still I get sucked into it anyway.

'bout Time

It looks like it might be a half decent weekend as far as NASCAR is concerned. I have been so frustrated and down and out because Dale Jr. has been in such a slump, it was refreshing to see him doing well during practice. He finished fourth fastest.

Of course when it was time for qualifying I again became agitated and quite nervous, as he has not been doing that very well either. He was the 27th car out and put himself in the second spot, nano seconds out of first place aka The Pole. Of course, butt head vile Kyle had to come along and bully his way to the pole position, pushing Dale Jr. to 3rd. No matter...I am just as thrilled that he qualified in the top five. Now, if only he can finish up there too.

I love the new facial hair he is sporting this weekend. He has gotten rid of the full beard, having had to shave it off for a commercial, and now has a goatee. I am not a big fan of those, but on him it really looks good. But then again I am a tad biased when it comes to him.

I just wish he would wear his cap backward more often. We need that Dale Jr.

Refreshing, Isn't It?

As much as I hate winter, this actually looks good. Especially on these 90 degree days we are having. I could dive right into that.

I Learned Something New Today

It's no secret that I love wine. But due to its caloric content, I only drink 4 oz. a day, usually with my evening meal. If I drank it like I would love to drink it, I would be labeled a wino.

We usually try to visit one of our local wineries. The Valley has proven to be an excellent place to grow grapes for wine. This place is #1 on my list:

Come on grapes, hurry up and grow...

Sometimes when I want a greater variety I will visit our state store, especially when they have their sale on the wines I prefer. Which, by the way, I prefer red over white, and a little on the sweet side. Not a lot, just a little.

When we made our weekly grocery trip yesterday, I found a new item that I hadn't seen before ~ non-alcoholic wine (0.5% alcohol). It was at the very beginning of the store, or in other words, the route we take out of habit. At $4.99 I felt it was a bargain and if I didn't like it, there wasn't much lost. But I knew I would probably like it. *wink*

I put the bottle of red non-alcoholic wine in the cart and proceeded with our shopping as we usually do each week. When we finally got to the checkout, we were told I had to purchase the non-alcoholic wine in the department where I found it. They weren't allowed to do that in the grocery checkout. I finished with our purchases, took the bottle of non-alcoholic wine and a ten dollar bill and marched myself all the way to the other side of the store where our journey began.

When it was my turn at the register, I was asked for my drivers license. What? Why? It's non-alcoholic for heaven's sake. Store policy I was told. So now I had to head back to where my husband was waiting along with my purse that had my drivers license in it. I grabbed my wallet, spun around, and headed to the other side of the store still holding that bottle of non-alcoholic wine. I handed the clerk my license, she scanned it and gave it back to me, and proceeded to plop some kind of round sticker on the cap of the non-alcoholic wine bottle.

I was asked by the same clerk if I wanted my bottle in a bag. Of course I said yes. And she said I had to do it myself. What? Why? It's non-alcoholic for heaven's sake. I was told they have underage clerks who work at those registers at times and they are not allowed to touch liquor in any form. I can understand that. But I did wonder why they have underage clerks working those registers in the first place. Why put them in jeopardy?

The upshot of this is: the clerk that waited on me is someone's granny first of all. And secondly, she had to touch the damn bottle of non-alcoholic wine when she scanned it and again when she plopped the sticker on it. So why was she so darn adamant about putting it into a bag?

I looked around to see if there were any cameras because I was sure as hell certain that this was a joke being played on me. But there weren't any. So I left...with my non-alcoholic wine.

Just Can't Catch A Break

I go to my family doctor every six months for a simple checkup. Yesterday my appointment was for 10 am. We arrived ten minutes before that. After I signed in, I gave them my new insurance card as I haven’t been there yet this year and it’s a different plan than last year. They would have asked me for it anyway as they are incorporating them into their computer system for everyone’s account, which is something new for them. That should have been my first clue. I sat down and waited...and waited...and waited. Finally after about 45 minutes of watching new people come in and then being called before me, I went to the window and asked if the doctor was running late. She asked me my name...duh, what a stupid question when I am a patient with an appointment. They should know who I was, right? Because I signed in and they crossed my name off as they put me in rotation plus they scanned my card and put it in my file. I wanted to reach in the window and grab her by the throat, just for being so stupid. One person looked for my file along the wall and couldn't find it there. One person looked through a stack of slips as they called it, and didn’t find me there. Another person looked through another stack of slips and I wasn’t in that one either. Now I am lost. WTF?

Eventually they found me and after I was there an hour and ten minutes I was finally called into one of the examining rooms. When the doctor came in of course I complained to him about it. He said he heard them saying they couldn’t find something when he passed by but had no idea it was me. He also said he couldn’t understand why I had missed my 10 am appointment and yet when he came into the office around 10:30 he looked out the window right at me and my husband while we were in the waiting room. Again, WTF? The nurse that took me into the room and did my blood pressure was apologizing all over the place. She said she wouldn’t be surprised if my blood pressure was higher than normal. It was, and I knew it would be.

The doctor apologized, too. A fat lot of good that did for me. I told him this visit should be a freebie. He ignored me. I had also told the nurse and she ignored me too. When I was finally finished and had to pay my co-pay I said the same thing to that person, that my visit should be free. Guess I don't have to tell you, she ignored me, too. And then to top it all off she wanted to charge me last year’s co-pay which was $10 higher than this year. And she had the new scan of this year’s card with the co-pay amounts right in front of her face. Right there on the inside cover of my folder big as you please. And so I say once again, WTF?

Thank the Lord it will be another six months before I go back because I don't know what they were drinking and I wanted no part of whatever it was.

What The Hey

I was all prepared to put something new on my blog but I don't have all day or night to wait for the photos. You will just have to suffer another day or two till Blogger gets out of its funk.

Our Furry Kids

This is Dakota-Sioux, aka Princess. Sister to Junior. They will both be four years old August 8th.

This is Junior, aka Junes, June-June, or Junebug.

This is Punkin', aka Punkin'Doodle or Punks. He will be a year old August 9th.

Finally ~ A Breakthrough

Sorry, I have no idea who these people are. I just felt like putting up a picture for a change.

My husband and I took a trip to the courthouse to try and find information on my great grandfather. I have been searching for weeks now and no place else to turn for answers. So off we went to the courthouse in the county where he lived.

The information desk pointed us in the direction of the Register of Wills which also housed the Orphans Court and Marriage Licenses. That room offered a huge array of very heavy books containing some of the most beautiful handwriting I have ever seen. Not all by the same person though, but I guess you knew that.

Right off the bat I ran into a problem. They didn't cover the year my great grandfather was born, nor did they cover the year he was married. I needed either his birth certificate or his marriage license to obtain his parents' names. They suggested we try the library or the historical society. While getting instructions as to where the library was, I mentioned the fact that my ancestor had moved into another family's home at the age of 9 (or earlier) according to one census.

That proved to be fruitful as I was told that maybe he was an orphan, something I hadn't thought about. But I am getting ahead of myself because there were five books with recorded deaths in them and I had to go through all of them looking for the name I was seeking. The range of his death falls within a ten year span...not an easy task to track him down.

While I was laboriously paging through those books my husband was going through the orphans court records. It wasn't long before he called me over to check something out. Suddenly that brick wall I hit weeks ago was no longer there. We had finally found my great grandfather on my father's side of the family.

To say that I was elated is putting it mildly. I wanted to hug and kiss everyone within that room.

What I found out about him is that he was an only child and an orphan. I don't know when he lost his parents but when he was 8 years of age, his grandfather passed on and he had been living with him. Imagine losing your parents and your grandparents before you are nine. He was then appointed a guardian, a distant relative. The same person he was living with when I first found him on that census when he was nine.

When he turned 21 in September he moved out and married that same year. According to my grandfather (his son), he had 17 children. Probably because he was an only child. My grandfather also said one of his relatives was a rum runner during the Civil War and I am thinking (if it's really true) that it was my great grandfather's father. I haven't found anything to back that up...yet.

Besides the information I found out today about him, I also discovered his father's name and his grandfather's name, as well as an uncle (who is the one who petitioned the court for a guardian on behalf of the grandfather's estate).

I can finally move on because now I need to know what happened to his grandmother and his parents as well.

I know some of you might think this is boring stuff, especially since you don't know the people I am talking about, but I just want to say that my day in that courthouse was one of the most productive days I have had in a long time.

For those of you who have not traced any of your ancestors, I suggest you do. It is very gratifying when you find something elusive...like my great grandfather.

I Just Can't Win

I have an aunt who lives in Florida. She is a widow but has a live-in helper. Recently she sent me a check so that I could buy fresh flowers to put on her parents' grave site. That would make them my grandparents. They share the same headstone with my parents. We always put flowers there for Christmas and Easter. But I thought this would be a nice opportunity to put flowers on for Mother's Day too.

So flower hunting we went. First we found a beautiful arrangement in a window box setting and I thought that would work out really well for the grave. Long and low to the ground. It is filled with red geraniums, ivy and long fronds sticking up and gracefully curving back. A few days later we went to find something for my parents and decided on a sort of miniature petunia in creamy yellow (my mother's favorite color).

My aunt requested this a few weeks ago but it was still much too cold to put any fresh flowers out in the open. I then decided Mother's Day would be a good fit, so we made plans for the day. I figured it would be a good time to make the rounds of some of the graves where my early ancestors are so that I can try to figure out one of my puzzles. That being the name of my great grandfather's father. I've searched everywhere including several ancestry type websites and have come up empty handed. I also want to go to the little town where my grandfather was born and raised. When my father's people came over here from Germany they settled in Northampton County, one county over from the one I live in, and they pretty much stayed there. So I shouldn't have too much trouble finding at least some of them.

Now to my dilemma: after having beautiful weather for days, by Sunday they say we are in for another cold spell. The temperature is supposedly dipping below freezing. If I put those flowers out for Sunday, they may not make it. I see no point in putting something out only to have it frozen to death. The flowers are in soil but my local nursery says both those varieties (geraniums and petunias) are susceptible to being damaged by frost unless they are protected. I have no plans of camping out in a grave yard, thank you.

I guess I just have to wait and see if it's going to really get that cold. And if it is, we will be putting off our little journey for a few days. Something I am not liking at all. I guess I should have figured this would not work out to my advantage. Nothing ever does.

Somebody Needs To Straighten Me Out Right Quick

The headline in my newspaper states: Call 811 Before Digging This Spring.

I can understand calling them if you have a large project that will cover a large area. Or if you have no idea where any lines might be buried or whatever else they are wanting you to avoid messing up.

First you have to call 811 several days in advance. And don't you dare put your shovel into the ground before you do. Then they go on to collect the necessary information for your area and notify the local utility company of your intent to dig.

This is really a big deal. So don't be smirking there on the other end.

Once you make the call, a professional locator will visit your dig site and mark the approximate location of all underground lines etc. In our case there are no underground utility lines other than the one that was recently laid for our wind turbine and we know where it is.

The article goes on to say that even if you are putting in a mailbox, call 811. If you're planting trees or shrubbery? Call 811. Installing a fence? Call 811. I can understand calling them if you are putting in a reasonably sized patio or deck, or even a large garden for that matter, but that mailbox has me a bit baffled. But that's just my opinion; I am certain there are reasonable arguments as to why calling them really matters. Especially if one moves into a newer development. We are in a rural area, we don't have underground utility lines. So when I first read that article it really tickled my funny bone. As a matter of fact, I am still tickled by it every time I read it. Yes I know, I find humor in the dumbest things.

Now...I am going to be getting bulbs this Fall and need to plant them where other plants are currently growing in the front of my yard. They are in a confined area, lined with landscaping stones. Tell me, do I need to call 811?

Bad Day At Black Rock

My horse, Dublin, finished 7th in the Kentucky Derby.

The Mets lost 10-0 to the Phillies after trimming their butts 9-1 Friday.

Marco Andretti had a crappy day in the IRL race and finished 19th.

Dale Jr. finished 32nd in the Richmond race, dropped to 13th in the Chase points (he is 4 points out of the Chase)and a$$wipe won the race, and I don't mean Jimmie Johnson. I mean that other a$$wipe with the initials KB.

Sorry, but I'm in no mood!