I will start this post off with a political statement. As to the above statement -- we cannot afford to take the same path. We cannot afford to have another Democrat in the White House who will continue on with the current president's way of thinking. And there is no one out there that can convince me otherwise.
Okay, off of my soapbox. As I have stated before, I don't like odd years (2015) but I do like even years (2016). And yet, I can't sit here and say one year was worse than the other or vice versa. Each year has had its ups and downs.
For the past two years we have had a lot of downs...and have brought ourselves back up each time. I am speaking about my husband and his health issues. As of now all is well. But that could change over the course of this coming year. Knock on wood, we hope things stay calm. Drama has become my middle name. And it also explains why I haven't been posting very much lately.
I chose not to make my husband's health issues public because I had not told my daughter what was going on...I felt she had enough on her own plate to not have to worry about her step-father too. However, she was told when she was here the day after Christmas.
Now that the new year is approaching (and quite fast I might add), there are several things on my list that must get done. For one, I have to get my eyes examined and a new pair of glasses. I used to wear contact lenses but gave up on those after I no longer had to work anywhere. Glasses became so much more convenient. I also have been putting off going to the dentist. I felt that my last dentist was just taking advantage of me since I had no dental insurance and they just love a cash-paying customer. So I stopped going. I never liked that dentist (female) and was only going there because my regular dentist retired and this new one took over the practice. I am not a fan of "chain" dentistry. I prefer a dentist with no other ties and works alone.
There are a few other things that need to be done but I must learn to take one day at a time, one step at a time.
NASCAR was not a good year. Well, it was until Dale Earnhardt Jr. was taken out of the Chase at the end of the year. I am not a fan of this new Chase format simply because a driver gives his all the entire season only to be taken out in the last races and can no longer qualify for the championship. NASCAR started treating racing like football -- having their kind of playoffs and to me it just doesn't make sense to do it that way. Football has a team, just like baseball etc., and that entire team is responsible as to whether they make the playoffs or not and NASCAR has one driver who is basically solely responsible for winning any race and making the playoffs (the Chase).
Football was very unkind for me in 2015. I have always been a fan of the San Francisco 49ers but when they have one bad year after another I kind of lose interest. They brought aboard a young quarterback by the name of Colin Kaepernick and I was absolutely thrilled with the way he played. But for some reason in 2015 his best receivers were no longer there and the entire year went down the drain. Colin was sidelined with an injury for the remainder of the season and now it looks like he won't be back with the 49ers in 2016.
My NY Giants however were almost as bad. They tried all year long but one thing after another kept tripping them up. They, too, lost a lot of good players but new ones came along and made their way into our hearts. They stood a chance to make the playoffs until the Eagles lost to the Redskins and when that happened the Giants' season was over. Sadly, I lost interest in football at that point. Like I always say though...next year will be better.
Back in the mid-80's I started following the career of Billy Idol, a punk rocker from the UK. He went on to record hit songs such as Rebel Yell, White Wedding, Dancing With Myself...and a lot of others. I have been following him ever since and last year he released his autobiography, Dancing With Myself. He wrote the entire book by himself having taken six years to get it done. It is an excellent read about what he went through to get from Point A to Point B in his life. Billy (William Broad) recently turned 60 and he is still going strong doing concerts all over the world. He is loved by many people world-wide. He will be making his Las Vegas debut this coming March and May. I was at his concert in Philadelphia in 1984 but I sure as heck would love to see him again.
I am going to stop here as this is getting far too long. I will leave you with the idea that hopefully I will be writing more as the new year goes by.
If this woman gets elected or even gets far enough to be in the running, I will dig a hole and climb in. I won't come out until the next presidential election, I swear.
I voted for the first time in my life when Mitt Romney ran against the current jackass that is in office only to keep said jackass out of the White House. My husband and I registered Republican because I wanted to distance myself as far away from the Democrats as I could.
Social Security, Medicare, and things we seniors worked all our lives for (taxes taken out of our paychecks) so we could enjoy our later years are being eaten away slowly but surely until nothing will be left. Just so that damned Obamacare can live on. I could go on quite the diatribe about that subject but that is not what I am here for today.
What I am here for today is Hitler-y Clinton. We do NOT need another one of those Clintons in the White House. They are not to be trusted. People haven't learned the first time around with the husband and now they are putting their faith and trust in the wife. Puh-leez! Wake up people!
I was not born a Democrat or a Republican. I think my parents were both registered Democrats. Politics was not a subject of great matter in our house as I was growing up. We studied about it in school and that was the extent of what I knew. But today I am much wiser and read everything I can about candidates and other issues.
I am sick and tired of being bullied around. Sick and tired of what is politically correct. Sick and tired of every damn group there is complaining about being wronged. Geez, people, get a life. Mind your own business; live and let live. Stop trying to change this country into what you think it should be or your way of life. We are all immigrants in one way or another by way of our ancestors. Most of us have been here for a long time through our ancestors. I am the 7th great granddaughter of the German immigrant that came to this area in the mid 1700's. I don't go around trying to make everything German. Or the other blood flowing through my veins ~ Welsh, Scottish, English, and Swiss. I am happy to be what I am and to live my life as best as I can but outsiders seem to think they know what's best for this country. If only they would read up on our history before going off on a tangent to try and make us what they want us to be.
Back to the subject at hand:
I haven't chosen who I will vote for as it is far too early. But I know for darn sure it won't be her. And Bernie Sanders is no better. Or Joe Biden, God forbid he decides to run. It is safe to say I will not be voting Democrat in the first place. I for one do not want their stupidity to be carried on another four or eight years after this next election.
I haven't written anything on here for awhile because I didn't have anything to write about. But it is like they say ~ don't waken the sleeping dog. I have been awakened.
This is a 1951 Ford convertible. It looks exactly like the one my brother owned and then sold to me. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 18. That's how old I was when I got my first job right out of high school.
I loved that convertible. I can't recall the proper name of the color but I dubbed her the Chartreuse Caboose. The rag top was black. Just prior to my brother selling the car to me, someone in his neighborhood sliced the top but it was replaced before I bought it. It cost me all of $200 for that car.
I remember washing it every weekend without fail and then polishing it as well. It rarely got dirty and if it did it was cleaned right away. I have many memories that go with that car, all good ones.
I used to drive my sister, who was only 12 at the time, all over the place. We had some good times together. Sadly, she now lives with her one daughter way across the country in Oakland, CA, and all I get from her is a Christmas card.
I had a cousin who was around the same age as I was and we were like sisters. I used to go visit her as often as I could. She lived a good distance from where I lived and one night it was rather late when I drove home. I was tired. I fell asleep at the wheel. My beloved Ford convertible hit a concrete span while I was on a bridge which went over and above another road. No, the car and I didn't go over, but by the grace of God the car hit at the right spot to keep from going over. The A-frame was bent too bad to put it back on the road.
It was around 1:00 am when I finally got home with the help of a good Samaritan. I had to wake my parents and tell them the bad news. It wasn't pretty.
I really miss that car. I think I have one picture of it somewhere in one of my albums. I have had many Fords since then including a Fairlane 500, a Comet and a Maverick, as well as a Jeep CJ-7 that was also yellow with a tan top, but now this is what I drive:
My 1997 GT Mustang bought new in late 1996 as a birthday present from my husband. It has yet to see 5000 miles. Why? Because our Ford F-150 King Ranch pickup truck takes us everywhere we need to go and my Mustang stays out of trouble in our garage. She gets out at least once a year for inspection and sometimes as a treat she goes for a ride or two. Good times.
Siblings Dusty (on the right) and Feisty born early April of this year.
They are tended by their mother, Stumpy, and older sister, Saddle. Saddle's brother, Boots, was recently killed by a speeding car. Normally these cats stay away from the street but males tend to roam. And the neighbor that lives across the street chases any cats out of his yard right into the street which is what we are thinking happened in this case.
A few weeks ago these two little ones did not show up one day and worried me to death about their whereabouts. They were gone all day and eventually showed up the next morning with sister Saddle.
This week they were gone for three entire days and don't think for one minute that I wasn't worried sick. Both husband and I had just about given up on them thinking they met their demise via coyotes or that someone trapped them or any other nasty thing that could have happened to them.
But last night just around nightfall there they were...chomping away at the dry food on the deck alongside of their mother and older sister. I could tell they hadn't eaten for awhile, too. I have no idea where they were since mother and older sister were here off and on those three days. I sometimes wonder if they are taken somewhere, left there by themselves, and told to stay until mom or sister comes for them. I have no idea how that works but I have seen it happen far too often since we have been taking care of cats.
This is the lowest outside cat count I have ever had ~ six of them. Stumpy, Saddle, Beanie Bopper, Feisty, and Dusty. And then there is MamaJune who was gone for a year and a half and showed up in early Spring none the worse for wear like she had never left. A lot more skittish than she was before she left and I am thinking she was trapped by the bad neighbor when he went on his trapping rampage and wherever she was taken did not suit her so she found her way home again.
Here's Dusty sleeping on Mom:
A long time ago I received ten baby whips of purple lilacs as a bonus when I purchased some trees. At the time I had no place to plant them since we had just moved here and were figuring out what goes where and what gets taken away. I had a huge planter and I parked their little feet in that. And they stayed there for years before I finally figured out where to plant them...right by the yard pole with a mercury light on top.
Earlier this year we trimmed this lilac bush back severely because a lot of other weeds and even a tree were growing in it.
Before getting a trim:
We trimmed the bush and waited for summer to see if it would bloom. It did, just not as many as before and I thought next year it will be so much more fuller and there will be a lot more blooms on it and I can once again enjoy my lilacs. They are one of my favorite spring flowers. I used to cut blooms off and bring them inside but one of our cats loves greens like that so now all I do is walk by the bushes and smell the blooms. Ahhhhhhh...
And then along came a storm. It was a straight-line wind storm packing winds of 80-85 mph. Down went the light pole breaking the light. The pole broke off right at ground level. We have no idea what was keeping it up because it seemed like an accident just waiting to happen. The first picture below is the end of the pole where it broke off and the other picture shows how it was just hanging on by threads. (Click to enlarge all photos.)
Four days ago we had a thicker pole installed. The hole was made with an auger by the phone company (we got the pole no charge from them) and they put it five feet into the ground. That should hold that sucker in there at least for the remainder of our lifetime.
Today the new lamp is being installed and tonight, if everything goes well, we will have light and the back yard will not be so dark and spooky anymore.
This pole catastrophe was not the only thing damaged from that storm. We had a few trees come down as well as the neighbor's tree falling across his property and onto ours. But that is a post for another day.
I almost forgot ~ the lilac bush no longer exists.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., won his second race of the season ~ The Coke Zero 400 in Daytona.
The race was rain delayed for almost four hours and got started quite late only to finish early Monday morning.
Dale started on the pole because qualifying was rained out and he had the fastest lap in the first practice. NASCAR rules state that is how it's done.
He knew he had a fast car and if he stayed out front he would be hard to beat. I stayed awake to watch the entire race (I crawled into bed at 4:00 am), and I am glad I was able to watch him maneuver his car all over the track protecting his position, side drafting, blocking...it was amazing to watch him.
The project we had to get done first was to have a very large tree cut down by a tree service. It was at an area that, even if we used relatives and friends, would have been dangerous for them and for the barn alongside of the tree, which is why we had it cut down. We feared it would fall into the barn doing more damage than it had already done last year with one of its large heavy branches that poked a hole and had to be patched.
This job had to be done two separate days because they ran out of time the first day and then had to wait till they had a dry day before they did the rest of the tree.
After being tied to another tree for support...
...down it came. (It may look small but it was quite tall.)
A few days later, a visitor came to check things out.
She stopped for a bite to eat but checked me out before doing so.
I have no idea what that white stripe is on her side. It looks like she may have brushed up against something very hot that burned the hair off her hide.
A few days later a horrendous storm blew through bringing with it 80-85 mph straight-line wind, white-out conditions, large hail, and a lot of damage. In this first picture I took after things started clearing a tad, you can see our neighbor's huge tree that fell across his property and onto ours. The open space between the two still standing is where the fallen tree came from.
I will post more pictures from the storm and damages in a few days since it takes so long for photos to download from my album to this blog, and I just don't have the patience or time to wait. Otherwise, there would have been a lot more pictures on this post.
Strange things happened to us while my husband and I were out shopping today. We always catch breakfast, or sometimes lunch if we get a late start, before going to the grocery store.
While we were in the diner today the power went out. Thank goodness we were done eating and just savoring our last cup of coffee before leaving. When we paid our bill one of the owners decided not to mess around with the tax so that was nice fr a change.
Next stop was the grocery store. While we were in there all the power went off and it was really dark. I guess their backup generator kicked in or whatever it is they depend on when power goes out because it was not out for long. Still spooky though.
I was beginning to think I had some kind of power but we all know stores lose power now and then.
The weather was beautiful today with the sun shining and a bit of a breeze so no one can blame a storm for what happened. And the diner and the store are not on the same grid either.
Just one of those strange things I guess.
"They" want to take our guns away. I wonder how the people that live near the areas those two NY prison escapees were for over three weeks feel about that?
At one point those people were told to stay inside, lock their doors, and if they have a weapon they should sit with it on their lap.
My father was a hunter and he passed that activity on to his son who passed it on to his son etc. I never liked guns and hated hunting animals more, but it kept food on the table. My father hunted for food, not sport. We never went near the gun cabinets where many rifles and handguns were kept. Locked tight I might add. Not that we tried to get into the cabinets, but when our father said something we listened.
This household has handguns and rifles. One rifle is kept loaded by the bedside. I have only ever shot my registered handgun once when we went target practicing. It is a feeling of comfort knowing we have access to something that protects us in the face of imminent danger. This is a rural area, after all.
I have no use for people who are against having guns for safety reasons. I do, however, think people who keep loaded guns anywhere in their house when there are small children are crazy and should have their heads examined. One can never underestimate what a small child can and will do. And the results can be deadly.
We will never be able to stop the illegal gun trade in this country. Those will always be available to thieves, thugs, and murderers. But why should the rest of us God-fearing law-abiding citizens be punished and left at risk because of them?
First off, I am going to apologize for the picture. But I need to humor myself so I chose to put it here anyway. Pardon me if it offends anyone but that is the way my sense of humor leans.
Wednesdays are our grocery shopping days and today was no different. We rarely miss a Wednesday to go shopping.
Usually we go for breakfast first at a place near the store. We alternate between two stores every week because what one store doesn't have the other one usually does and vice-versa. When neither store has what I am looking for I get a tad upset but that doesn't happen all that often.
Something always happens to me on a Wednesday that rarely happens on other days when we go shopping elsewhere: abdominal upset beyond belief. Sometimes I have to wait until later in the day before I feel safe enough to leave my precious throne. If there is one thing I hate it's having to use public bathrooms.
For a few weeks when I had trouble with my knee ligament and couldn't walk, I used both stores' mobile carts. They were a wonderful solution to my abdominal problems as well. But I can't always rely on them. Besides, they aren't the speediest things around and I feel like I am in everyone's way while using one.
I might (hopefully) have found a solution to my problem Oh, and by the way, I have researched my problem beyond the limits and came up empty handed. My first thought was IBS but it isn't that. It isn't anything else any of you can think of either.
I am currently taking a probiotic and have been taking the same one daily for many, many years now. I felt there was a need for change, especially when I started seeing advertisements for a new one on the market. Well, it's not really new but it's name was changed so to me it's new.
I received a 50-day supply today and will start the regimen tomorrow. Fingers crossed they work. If not, I am right back to where I started from ~ in the "dump"ster.
Sorry I haven't posted for awhile but there is just nothing spectacular happening to write about.
The biggest doings going on around these parts is the gigantic tree we are in the midst of taking down. The tree guys were here last week for two and a half hours but had to quit. Not only was it too hot and humid for what they were doing, but it was also their quitting time.
I was able to take some pictures and will continue taking them when they come back. That won't be until we dry out. We have had rain almost every day since they were here and the ground where the tree is, is very soft.
Other than that, it has been very quiet but it's pretty sad when the highlight of my days is a big tree being taken down.
Memorial Day weekend kicks off the beginning of summer. And I say it every year repeating what my mother always said: Memorial Day is the beginning, then 4th of July, and before you know it, Labor Day is here and gone.
I have a dilemma facing me tomorrow. The Indy 500 race is on early in the day and the coca Cola 600 is on with pre-race activities early in the afternoon leading up to a race under the lights. So for the most part my day will be taken up with lots of racing activity. That alone is enough to keep me occupied the entire day. And inside the house.
However, my we-crawled-out-from-under-a-rock neighbors apparently are planning a big shindig at their place tomorrow. This past Monday the Mr. and Mrs. worked on cleaning up areas of their yard until rain chased them inside. The worst was around their fire pit and beyond. All kinds of yard waste, wood stumps, branches, you name it, it was there. And today it is all gone because he made several trips this week hauling it all away in his pickup. I thought I would never see the day when all that garbage would be gone. Of course, one of the township supervisors had to come and set them straight about a month ago. They were told to clean up their yard and to stop burning yard waste in their fire pit. No one else is allowed to do that, why would they be any different? That's why we have ordinances.
So here is my dilemma: I want to and will watch most of the racing. I also wanted to roll out my new awning, sit in one of my new Adirondack chairs with its new all-in-one-piece cushion and do some neighbor-watching. No, I am not a voyeur...I just want to try and make them feel uncomfortable after all the crap they have put us through since moving here in November of 2012. It's my deck and I can sit out there if and when I choose.
I guess I just have to wait for their toddler's birthday in about five weeks.
Back in 2001 we had a manual awning installed on the rear extension of our house. Yes, back when we were younger and could handle the tedious job of extending it or bringing it back in. It was about six months ago when I finally decided, after debating a year or two before that, to look into installing a motorized awning. It would make things so much easier for us especially since I never once opened or closed the manual awning.
The old awning had to come down first and that didn't take long.
We received this awning a few weeks ago but we had to wait until our helpers, two relatives and a friend, could all be here. First, the preparation:
I took the pictures from inside because I wasn't dressed properly for outside, so pardon me for that please. This one is from the kitchen window. The awning installation took place to the left.
The non-related helper:
Yes, he did do a lot of work despite me catching him watching.
I took the photo above and below from the family room through the patio door window.
The finished product:
We added a wind sensor (not installed yet in this photo) because we tend to get very high winds in this area. These awnings have been tested to withstand winds up to 70 miles an hour. I have been caught in a 70-mile-an-hour wind storm and I doubt their tests. At any rate the wind sensor will alert the motor and the awning will automatically recede back to the house.
After one of the guys installed the sensor it had to be tested by jostling the awning frame up and down several times...he barely hit it with his elbow before trying the test and it receded on its own so I think the current setting will do just fine.
What I also like about the motorized awning is the fact that there aren't any bars dropping down to the deck at either end...it is nothing more than the awning itself with clearance all around and underneath it. That was another thing I hated about the manual awning: you had to walk straight out and go around those bars that came out at an angle. And you couldn't step over them at either side which is where our steps go down from the deck. So, yes, those bars were a nuisance.
The only drawback with this type awning is when it rains...water will pool in it if there is a heavy downpour. But we had the same problem with the manual awning so I can't really complain about that. The answer to that is to never leave the house with the awning fully extended. And that is why the remote is such a blessing to have...always trying to make life a little simpler for ourselves.
Our next step is to prepare the deck for re-coating. As you can see in the first photo, it is in sad shape. We applied one of the best coatings two year ago and it wasn't long before it was peeling and fading. We were refunded all the money we paid for the coating and now we have to look at something different once the deck is again prepped for that.
When you own a home there's always something that has to be done somewhere.
They write and post on their blogs. Some daily, some a few times a week, some only once a week, and some even less than that.
And then they stop...never to post again. I often wonder why they stopped. There's never an explanation as to why. One day they post and then never again. Like some giant thing came down from the sky and lifted them away. It's perplexing.
Did they run out of things to write about? Did they just get too busy with day to day things? Did they get bored? Did they get sick...or, God forbid, pass away?
I'll never know. I keep checking on some of them thinking maybe they will remember they have a blog, or that their once busy lives have slowed down and now they have time to write about something. Anything. I love to read.
I know that I have been very guilty of not writing for awhile between posts but my excuse is I don't have much to write about these days. And a lot of times I will think of something neat to write about and then when I sit down to write it I can't remember what it was or why I wanted to write about it in the first place.
Or I'll be lying in bed either trying to go to sleep or after waking up in the morning and a really good post will come in my head but it gets forgotten too.
On another note, remember this?
This picture, of course, is when it was still in good shape. I am quite pleased to say that the entire dilapidated nasty cardboard is NOW GONE ! Isn't that wonderful? Now I wish the neighbors would be gone, too.
Dale Jr. made a lot of left turns today with many of them being in the lead of the race. He also led many laps today but the most important one was the last lap crossing the finish line in first place.
What a happy man he was today after winning at Talladega for the first time since 2004.
Junior Nation rose to the occasion. Hardly anyone left the grandstand once the race was over and many stayed for the victory lane celebration.
Everything went smooth today for Dale Jr. There was only one thing missing...his best friend and girlfriend, Amy. For one reason or another they both decided she would stay home in North Carolina this weekend. What a shame she wasn't there for the win...but I'm sure there will be plenty more races he will win this year while she is in attendance.
Do you know what this win means? It means he is in The Chase !
We say that a lot around here because it is something to be grateful for these days.
Today I finally decided to spread some almost-black mulch around my flower bed and under the waterfall cherry tree, or whatever it's called.
Two years ago we bought 5 bags of mulch with the intent to distribute it the following spring. Heat came on like a banshee and I was in no mood to be working in it. We then stacked the five bags near the front porch out of eyesight from the street.
Today, two bags of mulch were spread in the flower bed where a white dogwood tree resides. I think we are going to have to replace that tree as it gets worse each year as far as blooming goes. As of now the pink and white daffodils and the purple hyacinths are blooming. The day lilies will soon follow with blooms. The remaining three bags of mulch were then shoveled underneath the cherry tree. The cascading branches have to be severely cut back each fall or early spring because they grow like wildfire. In a few more weeks that mulch will go unseen but it was something I have been wanting to do for quite some time. I will have to rest my back now because it was put through a lot today.
On another note, yesterday when I went out to feed the cats (and kittens) another female cat was with Stumpy's kittens. It made no sense to me since Stumpy was nearby so I thought she hired a wet nurse. What I didn't know, and couldn't see, was the fact that this other cat had deposited four more kittens into the same nest and she was caring for all of them. She (Saddle) is the daughter of Stumpy so they take turns with the kittens. One big happy family.
How did Saddle get such an odd name? When Stumpy had her three kittens early last year they went nameless as most kittens do until they show some characteristic that they can be named for or after. My husband decided that the one with the white paws would be named Boots. I then said Boots and Saddle. The solid black one wasn't named right away. Eventually we started calling that one Spur because it just fit the other two names.
Hark! I hear a cup of coffee calling my name right about now. It keeps me going these days and I don't know what I would do with it.
Just to keep you updated on the cardboard lying alongside the neighbor's garage and facing me every time I look out the window, here is the latest photo. Yes, that is one of our outside cats inspecting the cardboard.
This mess above is right alongside the cardboard box. That is the so-called fence they put up between our properties. And they never clean the trash that gathers on both sides or take care of the weeds. The photo is cloudy on the side because I take these out of my window.
Below is a photo of their front yard. Those are sunflower plants and they don't pull them until they are completely dried and ugly. This was taken before all the ugliness of what they did to their yard that has since occurred behind the sunflowers. Now there is an ugly green chicken wire fence back there as well as a garden and I just cannot begin to talk about the rest of it. We get asked all the time about the sunflowers. They plant them wherever they have room. They have since cut down a hickory nut tree and a few others as well in the left of the photo. There was nothing wrong with the trees.
This photo above is of the cardboard box in its better days. It is almost a year it has been put there. I know they are making a statement by keeping it there. We don't call them The Honey Boo Boos for nothing. Remember that TV show?
