I'm grateful for all I have to do

I wrote a bitchy post about having to help my two younger offspring get to work, but I deleted it. One has a truck, but I won't let her drive it, because it's not fully registered and it needs insurance. The other lost her license for failing to report an accident to DMV. That, and she doesn't have a car. They take the buses when they can. The buses leave something to be desired, but they don't cater directly to us and what we get is what we get.
I get up at 4:30-5 o'clock every morning of the week. My two days off? I have to get YD to the bus stop at 5:30 to catch the bus to her job. When I am working she rides down with me. MD needs to either get to the bus stop at 6:30AM or be picked up at work at 9PM depending on her schedule.
I was going to bitch about it because I commute for 3 people, 7 days a week.
My last sentence on that post was...Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that my daughters have jobs when there are families with no income. That stopped me in my tracks. What the hell do I have to bitch about at all???
We have a roof over our heads.
We have food on our table.
We have each other.
We have our health.
We are all working!
So...I am grateful that I have to commute for three people. I am grateful that my children are able to work and do work. I am grateful for ALL that I have. That includes all of you reading this, because if I wasn't writing that last post to complain to you, I would not have realized all that I have to be grateful for.

And to lighten up the mood even more...I give you Ziggy (next to Dante who makes THE Zigster look even smaller).

OMG! Brrrrr.......

I tried to find an award to give all of y'all who live in the snow, snowlike and downright freezing areas of the world.
I failed to figure that out. (Brain freeze)
I.AM.IN.AWE.OF.YOU.ALL.
It is only 40 degrees here. There was frozen stuff on my windsheild at 5:30 this morning when I went to take MD to her job. I had no business out there at that time, but there I was, trying to remember all I have learned about taking that crap off the windsheild...OH YEA! plastic credit card type thingy. Scrape, scrape, scrape...four frozen fingers and one frozen thumb later, I can kind of see through the windsheild. I turned on the defroster, which only works on July 16th, when the temperature is about 75 degrees out. Turned on the heater too. It warmed the truck up real nice. To about 35 degrees. (Yes, you read that right, it went backwards)
I am now sitting in my frontroom with my sweatshirt and jacket on, and mittens. I can see my breath. My furnace has decided to NOT work, I am out of firewood and my little space heater only works in a tiny space.
I live in California people! Granted I am not in the part of California that is 75 - 80 degrees year round (cause that is like a myth!), but our temps are usually low 50's at the worst. I am not prepared for these temperatures. I can't deal with this!
N E WAY...I just want to say, you all are awesome. Think warm thoughts for me today. I am going to try to fix my furnace, so that when I get my heating bill my tears over the cost won't freeze!

I wanna do this....

Hurry, hurry, hurry,

WAIT!
That's been my entire day.
I hurried, got up, got dressed at the butt crack of dawn, no before dawn, to wait for my daughter to finish getting ready for work so I could take her to the bus stop. (It's a mile away from us.)
Then I got home, waited for the second daughter to get up. (I had to go out and remind her it was time) She got up and ready, while I WAITED, so I could hurry her down to the bus stop. (I sure wish they were all on the same schedule)
Then I came home and hurried around trying to get the second coming of Thanksgiving dinner together. (I decided to cook another one, since I didn't get enough of the leftovers from the last one)
I had a Dr. appt at 12:10 to get my hip checked out and that is always a hurry up, get there, then wait thing. She ordered X-Rays so I hurried down there to wait. Then hurried over to the pharmacy to wait.
I then hurried to the store to pick up last minute things I had forgotten and hurried home because I have some guy coming to look at the washer/dryer I bought a few months back and don't need anymore. I may get my $100 back.
Now, I am waiting for him.
I'm also waiting for the turkey to be done.
And for my youngest to call to tell me when she will be home.
Then I am also waiting for this headache to go away.
I did not hurry up to get that, I think I got it cause I was hurrying.
Dr. gave me new blood pressure medicine.
She also gave me a once a day "painkiller".
I didn't want a painkiller, I wanted an anti-inflammatory. When I told her that, she said that is what that is.
Do you understand now, that this is precisely the reason I hate going to the doctor?
Plus it ended up costing me $75, so I am hoping the guy comes and actually buys the washer/dryer. That will pay for my not wanted trip to the Dr.

No Rain!

I suppose since I spent my formative years just south of San Francisco...meaning I was really influenced by HIPPIES, I fell in love with this video when it came out in the 90's. I love the little girl and she makes me feel a little sad because of the "story" being told in the video. Maybe I was a little like her growing up, maybe I am like her now.

Meet Mr. Ziggy!

I should have known that when YD came back from her adventures that my family would not just grow by one...or two...but three.
After she came home and settled in, we worked on getting her dog, Dozer back. Dozer is a gorgeous liver colored Australian Shepherd and when she had left last year, she had to give him up. The poor guy went through a couple of families who did not treat him right. We petitioned to get him back and we got him. (With some new found bad habits, that we are now training to fix.)
She went to see her girlfriend one night a few days back and called me to tell methat she was one her way home and said I am bringing home some mini love! I knew, that we were in trouble! Last week or the week before she was talking about wanting a Rottwieler and I put my foot down. NO! We have two big dogs now and a small one, so a Rotty would be so out of the question. We got Mr Ziggy instead. Now this one I can live with.
Her boyfriend's mother bestowed Zigs (as I call him) upon her. He is a pure bred Chihuahua with about as much personality as one can stand. He already thinks he is as big as my German Shepherd and has charmed us as much as our Aussy. Except that we all think that when it is nap time for Zigs, one of us has to sit down with a blankey and cuddle him. So he gets his beauty rest, ya know?
My big ol' orange cat Purrcy is three times bigger than Zigs! But I can't get a picture of the two of them together, cause well..the big ol's orange cat worries Ziggy just a little.

Baking and Soup Day

I just pulled a batch of Bran Muffins out of the oven. I let them cool and I just took a bite of one. They are good, but I wanted my mom's Great Muffins and didn't get it. Her recipe is lost. DAMN! These might be better a little warm with butter smathered all over. Hmmm...I'll try that with my next taste test in three...two...one...naw! Just kidding, I'll wait til morning. That is why I made them. I have been trying to not stop and get coffee and donuts every morning before work. I want to save some money and calories.
The recipe is as follows:

1-1/2 cups wheat bran
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with paper liners.
Mix together wheat bran and buttermilk; let stand for 10 minutes.
Beat together oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and add to buttermilk/bran mixture. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into buttermilk mixture until just blended. Fold in raisins and spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool and enjoy! Makes 12 smallish muffins.
I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com. It was submitted by Janet Kalman.

As for the soup part, I am preparing to make split pea soup today. The peas are soaking. I will put them in my crock pot tonight and let them cook on low all night. I'll turn it off in the morning and let it cool. Refrigerate them while I'm at work, were the flavors will blend nicely and then when I want dinner tomorrow night I can just heat it all up. I can't wait.

As for that recipe, I just throw a pound of split peas in my crock pot after they have soaked overnight, add about four carrots cleaned and sliced, one medium onion, chopped and two fist sized smoked ham hocks. When it's all said and done I add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Oh heck, I've got to stop! My mouth is watering!

I am also making regular bread and banana bread today! (It must be cold or something outside. This is the best way I know to keep my house warm!)

What Gives?

A few things to note here about what gives.

I went to a party yesterday. It was for my two great nephews. One of them turned two (today) and the other was christened. My neice had a party for both at the same time. Good idea I say! I took the day off of work. It was a great opportunity to see my family, I don't see them that often. And I live and or work within five miles of them all. Sucks, but we all have odd and different hours, so this doesn't happen much.
I sat and thought about my relationships with my sisters. The oldest is nine years older than me, the other is seven years older. The relationships have finally evolved to a level playing ground. Last year not so much, I was still the baby. Now, it is like we are all the same age. (Maybe they are wishing they were my age.) That statement cracks me up.
Then what gives with the hour here? I was wide awake and not wanting to sleep another minute this morning. Four AM!!! I don't have to be at work until nine AM!!! Five hours. Five hours that I need to entertain myself. And this after having a couple of glasses of wine, last night...at the party...
I have a full day ahead of me at work. My huge order finally came in. It was late getting there. It came in on Friday afternoon, around one. I leave at 3:30, so I wasn't going to break into it and have it scattered across the warehouse to get picked through and lost. Today I get to play receiving and stocking. That is fine, I would rather do that all day than to wait for customers to need me. It will probably be quiet at work, the weather is not so good today...wet and windy.
I got a message on my phone yesterday from my wonderful girlfriend. The one who had cancer, who is generous to a fault...TO A FAULT.... I was going to give up my cell phone last year, because I really couldn't afford it. I wanted my daughter's to get their own if they wanted them, and I wanted to loosen the ties to technology somewhat. My girlfriend said I had to have a phone regardless, and set me up on her family plan. She didn't want money for it, she just wanted me to have a phone. So, I said okay. Then, I got this message from her. I just wanted you to know the phones are back on. (I never noticed they were off) So, I'm thinking okay...whatever. It wasn't that part of the message that bothered me. She said in this meeky kind of little voice, (maybe like I wouldn't really hear it) "I don't understand, I have control over this thing, only I can never get through." Now how would you take that? I took it negatively. What I heard in my brain, was that I have no control over you, even though I have suppied you with this device. I don't want to say anything to her about it, because I KNOW it will be taken wrong. I know if I don't say anythng it will fester inside of me. No one controls me, but ME. So now what?!?

Rainy days and Mondays...

I know that's a song or something...does it continue on to say, always get me down? I think that's it, but I'm not so sure. At any rate...I have both all in one day! YAY! Rain! Hopefully, we will keep our storm door open and have this not be the end all to our rain for the season. We need green! And I'm not down, if that was the song says, rainy days and Mondays are cool in my book. I don't have to go anywhere if I don't want, I did get my groceries this morning before the rain and wind kicked in, so I'm all good.
The laundry is done, except for putting it away, I just put a lasagna in the oven, oven's not on yet, I will turn it on around 6-ish and then make a salad and garlic bread to go with the lasagna. I may be the only one here for dinner. OD is at work, MD is out helping her friend find an apartment, heaven only knows when she will be home. YD is still out of town, due back the 20th...I hope!
I got all the dishes done from making dinner, so I thought I'd sit with a cup of tea and relax, guilt free. YAY!
I had a nice surprise on Halloween day at work. I ws called downstairs because there was a gentlman there to see me. Of course, I am always wary when they say gentleman instead of customer. This means there is something personal or outside business going on. I don't like surprises, especially at work. I tried getting some information from the person who called me, but apparently the gentleman was still next to her and she didn't want to be rude and describe him or ask too many questions of him. I went ahead on down and was walking down the center aisle of the store. I saw this older man standing there facing my direction. I wondered if that was the gentleman. As I got closer to him I realised that this was the man I had lived with when I was 19 - 24 years old and was fishing! I have not seen him in 25 years! The last time I saw him OD was just under 2 years old. Talk about blast from the past.
I gave him my phone numbers and address and told him to come by after we talked a bit. He came by Halloween night and we sat and visited for several hours. It was nice to see him. He really hasn't changed all that much, except the hair is a different color! (white beard!) I expected he would come by today, but he hasn't, maybe tonight or tomorrow. He's always been the type to just go where the wind sends him, so if he shows okay, if not oh well.
I'm going to go pick up my knitting and get busy on finishing a dishcloth. I've been working on this darned thing forever it seems! That's me...slow as she goes!

Oh yea...need to show you cuteness....

Well, that's better!

I've been tweaking with my blog a little this morning. I always like when someone changes theirs around a little. Just freshening up. I have never really taken the time to mess with it, cause well, I just didn't know where to start. And since I have SOOO much time on my hands I thought I would just sit here and learn a little. Never mind that the laundry needs laundering or my room needs a little organizing, or the dogs need baths...and I have to be back at work at 7 in the morning. Right here and now, I wanted to play with the blog!
So I put up and new banner to fit the season and I changed colors, which means now that I figured that out, I can actually READ the words on my blog. Amazing, isn't it?
Other than playing with the blog, I have done much of nothing. I drove my MD to San Mateo yesterday for an appointment. I didn't ask for gas money (which normally I would do), I didn't complain about my time (which normally I would do). I took my waiting book to read, I took my dishcloth knitting, I patiently sat in my truck until she was done. She said thank you.
We were both hungry so I searched out a place to get a quick bite. We eneded up at New York Bagels. m-m-m good! I bought us both bagels and coffee. (I didn't complain about the money spent (which normally I would). She said thank you. We came home and waited for OD to come home and then we got in her car and went to JoAnn's Fabrics. OD had found a pattern for a really neat dress and has decided that she wants to learn to sew. I applaud that effort. So, we went to find fabric (inexpensive for practice) so she could start learning. While there, I found lots o' stuff I wanted. They are having a sale so I didn't feel as guilty as I normally would feel.
I bought a soda for MD as she was thirsty...didn't complain.
We got home with all our treasures. I put mine away, and started dinner. OD went to work. MD ate, and played on the computer. Then, just as we were getting ready to start shutting down for the night, MD asked me if she could have some ice cream that OD had bought just for me (my favorite). I told her no, that I hadn't even had any of it. She slammed out of the front room, making sure that the back door made as big a noise as she could get. I swear, I give and give and give, but she is never satisfied!

Oh Balls!

O.D. went to the local pharmacy/store yesterday and purchased a new bag of cotton balls. It is the same sized bag o' balls she bought about nine months ago. When she went to put her new balls into her glass container that she has for that purpose, she noticed a gigantic difference between the old balls and the new balls. The ball on the left is nine months old, on the right brand new. Oh hey! she got 300 hundred balls in the new bag, like she did in the previous bag, and at the same price, but somehow they have shrunk...like our economy?

Stitchin

I am thinking that I want to pull out my stitching and get with it. After all, if you look real close, the name of my blog IS stitchintime!
When did my life get in the way of my life?
I think I want to get back into it because we just had our first rain and it was a good one. YAY! Rain makes me want to curl up on the couch with my threads around me and make some pretty pictures. Please keep your fingers crossed for me that I can etch out some time for the thing that I love to do!

Words

It's amazing what words do. I was reading a newspaper article about the financial "bailout" that failed to pass whatever it was supposed to. The article was saying how it had failed and that they were changing the wording to get the "bailout" passed. (not in so many words though. haha)
"Bailout" has some pretty negative connotations. People "bailout" their relatives or friends who have been up to no good and got caught in the act and arrested. Other people "bailout" their sinking boats. Neither of which are good circumstances. Now our government wants to "bailout" sinking banks who were up to no good and got caught in the act.
I guess there were several surveys taken and the general consensus was that "bailout" was not a good word to use. So they are changing the wording to "investing in our future", "or the economic rescue bill" and that is supposed to sound much more like it will be to help us. I say BS!
A rose still has thorns even if you simply call it a flower.

I was so mislead!

I can hang with it!
We went to the concert last night. YAY!
I have been to this concert arena before, but the last time was YEARS ago, and I got to go by default. I worked at the hardware store close to my house, (1 whole mile away) and I had an old friend working for me. I hired her as cashier. She eventually began dating one of the other managers. He knew she liked country music and bought tickets to go see a Toby Keith concert...well in advance of the concert. Lo and behold, they got into a fight and broke up. He, still holding the tickets. Mind you, the tickets cost him a fortune! So, not having a date, not knowing what to do with the tickets, knowing that I like country music too, asked if I wanted to go with him! Do I hear a hell yeh? The seats were down where if I really wanted I could have hopped up on stage with Toby and sing with him...that close. I loved it, every minute of it!
Spring forward to last night...my girlfriend and I are single moms of grown children. Her daughter graduated from medical trade school last year and is now working for the county and doing well, living on her own with her fiance. But there are still apron stings to be untied, so the money still bleeds from my G/F. You all kind of know my situation...OD in college, MD vying for the laziest girl in the county, and a out of the picture for now YD. I bleed money from every pore. So the tickets? Um well, what we can afford for a once in a great while little vacation.
Can you picture me and G/F at the completely other end of the spectrum from my last concert attendance? Nose bleed area of the grassy seats. Yes, we sat on "The Green" for three hours. I am stiff, and sore. The hips are screaming, "What the "f" were you thinking?" We did have to stand for the last hour, cause everyone else did. I guess that is what you do at some of these things. If we hadn't stood, we wouldn't have been able to see the last act (???).
The mislead part...My G/F said Cheap Trick, Heart, Tom Petty. We saw Cheap Trick, Heart and Journey. Oh yeh...good venue. Cheap Trick...eh...I am not that into them, but Heart? Ann can belt out those songs today as well as she belted them out in the day. Journey was great. They have a new (I am not sure of how new though) lead singer. They found him on Youtube. He was singing Journey songs and sounded like the old lead singer and they signed him...he is fantastic! It took me a little while to get past the "he really doesn't look like a Journey musician, and to the "hey! this guy can sing and dance and entertain like a Journey musician!" He's from the Phillipines. There were a lot of proud Phillipinos there last. Can't say I blame them.
Us old ladies got home around 1:15 AM. I hope I don't get into trouble with the kids, I was out well past my bedtime!

Calgon...take me away!

Good Lord! Ya'all know I have three daughters, right? Two of them live here with me, one is away for a while...can't talk about that one yet. That's not the point. The two who are here are simultaneously trying to drive me completely to the nut house, I swear they are. They both have great days, and then they have their not so great days. It can get to be high drama around here at times.
Then I go to work. I work with people of all ages, men and women, some boys and girls. There are mainly college students, with maybe two high school students, and then there are the "adults" That's what some of them call themselves. Two in particular are trying to drive everyone else to the nut house. Simultaneously, completely. These two have been bickering, for days, and two of the days the bickering got really stupid. Like today.
These are adult women. Control freaks! (I am a self admitted control freak, but I never went this far) One of them is my wonderful, generous, kind and funny bff, the other bugs me. They got into it today and it seemed like they literally seeked me out (in my little corner minding my own business) to tell on the other and what she did to aggravate the one who was snitching. AACCKK!!!!! I just want to work and get through my day and, stay in my little corner...no drama. Thanks I get enough of that at home. Since I wouldn't respond to their liking, they both in turn went from one manager to the other to...snitch, all the time saying "I didn't do anything, I am not wrong, I apologized and she doesn't want to hear it"...cause like you said "I'm sorry, but..."
My answer to someone getting in my face is to tell them straight up...you are in my face, I don't like it. Get out of my face. Then there is no bickering. No drama. No driving to the nut house.
Calgon, take me away!!!!!

So can I go work with horses now? Please? Can I can I? They are much easier to deal with.

I did a lot!

And didn't even realize it. It's hot here today too. Or as my MD says hot for you...(meaning me, cause I don't like hot) It was probably 75 degrees here, yep hot for me!
So like the other day my girlfriend calls me and asks me if I still need a washing machine. I thought I had told her I had gotten one, maybe she forgot, there's been a lot going on around here lately. She told me that they have her grandmother's brand new Maytag and the grandma only used it a couple of times.(How hard can a grandma be on a washer???) Well, even though I just went and bought that washer and dryer a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't very well say no to a brand new Maytag, now could I? Besides, I never did get the damned dryer running...the electric one anyway. So my friend's brother and nephew brought the washer over yesterday. I had started cleaning out my garage, cause I knew he was coming. He offered to let me clean out his garage as well. Um, I declined. I just had them leave it in the driveway, cause I tore up the garage cleaning it and had to wait for my MD to come home or get up, I forget which. So, when she did whatever it was she had to do, we tackled the washing machine hook up again. We're getting good at this; two times in a month!!!
This washer is big and has all kinna bells and whistles on it. Oh and buzzers. This one tells you that it is finished. I never had a washer do that before. My dryer tells me, but never my washers, I guess they just like me to guess or keep on coming out and checking on them.
So, we got that running, and I said well, it's high time we tackled the gas dryer and it's little problem. I let MD get down on her belly and disconnect the part that was in need of replacement. I pointed my finger and said things like, "that one, no, not that one, that one!" And she pointed to different things until we were both talking about the same that one at the same time. By the time we got that out of the way, all the parts places were closed or not cooperative SEARS being one of the uncooperative types. Without asking me, they moved all their service and repair dudes and dudettes to a place 60 miles away from me and would appreciate my business through the order desk. No, I do not think so. I want a part and I want it TODAY, thank you very much. MD found someone who was only 11 miles away and having the part. We went over today, picked it up she put it all back together and I have been very merrily catching up on laundry...YAY!
I wanted to give my girlfriend a little something to say thanks for once again thinking about me when there was something good to have or fun going on. So I baked 4loaves of bread and 4 loaves of banana bread, so I could take some over for her and her family.
Now, I gotta give my dogs a bath and then me a shower and call it a day. YAY! I'm pooped! But I only have to work three days this week. The same girlfriend and I have a concert to go to on Saturday and I took Saturday and Sunday off. We're going to see Cheap Trick, Heart and I think it's oh crap I forgot the third person. I can see his face, but not his name! I hate when I do that! I am second guessing myself on my time off. I may go in Saturday morning, and leave early, then work Sunday afternoon, or not, I don't know...we'll see how I feel when I get there.
Gotta go, baths and showers are a calling my name! Have a great rest of the week kiddos!

I just remembered who it was...It's Tom Petty.

I'm kind of pissed

I don't listen to the news much. I know, I know...it's like sticking my head in the sand. But I am tired of the politics, the economy (politics), the war (politics), the election...(politics)
Wall street is nervous! WTF do they think I am!?! Jees! All I am trying to do here is etch out a little postage stamp sized space for myself here in the world and live. I don't want to bug anybody. I don't want any body doing for me, I want to just go to work and come home and relax, and buy my groceries when I need them and pay my bills and just LIVE! Maybe watch a little TV now and then.
But some stoopid assed big companies have to go and get greedy and yea...then talk normal working assed people into being a little more greedy with promises of big things to come and then get these people to get in over their heads because we all know that if you get in over your head the company will be the first to make a profit on it...and then it all backfired on said greedy big assed companies, and WE, you and me, and any other person who is just working away at life are going to suffer. WE are going to pay for it in the short run and in the long run. Why the F**K do we have to bail them asses out? Why does our government have to intervene? (Don't answer...it's just rhetorical)
I'm pissed and I'm nervous and I'm scared. My kids are going to have an even harder time than I originally thought, I'm not getting any younger and my income is crap to begin with...what the hell am I gonna do? (Again...rhetorical)
Okay I am venting, and I probably don't make much sense, and I am probably off on some facts, but it is what I hear and I don't always hear right. But I am still nervous and I am still pissed.
'Nuff said!

Funny stuff

my OD found these:

What the...?

It's a Jack Russell-alope. Or something to that effect. No telling what my dogs will do next. Tootsie was some kind of into these antlers that a coworker gave me. She whined for about a half an hour after I put them up where she can't get them. I want to make a coat hanger from them...and chewing them up won't make them as nice to hang coats on. Don't mind me, I have a weird decorating sense.

It's but a memory

Just a stump now. And a big mess to deal with next weekend.
I got a lot done on this thing this weekend. I worked on it yesterday, and then after doing laundry, MD and I went out to tackle what was left from my adventures previously. I really got a glimpse into how differently we work and think. I want to go along and do one branch at a time. You know, cut it off, trim it up, and chop it into easily handled pieces. MD wants to get it down, deal later. Which is her life always, I should have known that. Just do the fun stuff and worry about the important underlying stuff later. She really liked playing lumberjack just a little too much. Scary. At least I had her help for the bigger heavy stuff. The tree was about fifteen feet tall and pretty weighty at the top. All the wet leafy stuff is up there. Plus it had entwined itself a little around our cable line coming in. Gawd forbid we take out our cable!
I'm glad it's down (for the most part) Now I just have to drag it all into the back yard where I will cut it into bitesized pieces and toss it into the wood box to await the winter chill. Hopefully, we'll get more warm weather to help dry out that sucker.
That has been my life this weekend. I didn't clean much. I did get to the dishes last night while my stew simmered. MD and I had gone to the grcery store while our clothes were drying and I saw winter vegetables and started craving a good hearty stew. It was good. I have some left over for lunch today. MD made cornbread to go with it. MMM good stuff.
In a while I am off to start my late day at work. I am starting to move "furniture around, because I got some new products in and want to highlight it. I have to place pads of various types of drawing, painting and drafting papers so that they don't get ruined. Standing them up bends them up on the corners and no one wants them. So I am trying to place them so they can be laying down. I'll have to see how it works out.
My friend is back to work after a year off fighting breast cancer. I had forgotten how much fun that woman can be. She's a big flirt with the guys, and some of the stuff that comes out of her mouth just floors me! I thought I wasn't prudish, but I guess I am! It is just heaven to have her back. I knew I missed her, but I really MISSED her!
So off I go! Y'all have a great day!

Banana Bread and Chainsaws

I gotta pay up here. I offered a banana bread recipe I found on the internet, can't remember where, and I am sorry person, but I am just passing on the love. Rice and Beans Chic asked for it a while ago, and I am sorry it took me so long to get it on here. I am sporadic at best. Here's the banana bread recipe:

1 C. mashed bananas (I used three)
1 C. sour cream
1/4 C. margarine
1-1/3 C. white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one 9" x 13" baking pan or 2 7" x 3" loaf pans.
Combine bananas and sour cream. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir int he vanilla and banana mixture.
Combine the flour, soda, baking powder, and salt; stir into the banana mixture. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pans Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
Wait just long enoug for it to cool a little tiny bit, cut it into slices and try not to eat it all right then and there.
I could NOT follow those last directions. I am currently waiting for some prefectly good bananas to get a little too ripe so I can make some more! I am even bribing people at work to bring me their overly ripe bananas...I can't get enough of that stuff!





Here's where the chainsaw comes in. The ugly tree. The pictures aren't all that great, but you can see where this thing is taking over. It just wrapped itself right up to and then around and over the eaves. I've been playing chop, chop on the tree for a while so this is not the whole original tree. I had only taken off about a third of it when I took these pictures. Tomorrow I will take more pics. By the time I got done cutting and pulling, and then cleaning up and putting my toys away it was getting dark. I did a lot of work on that side of the house today, it is only a slight dent in what needs to be done. Tomorrow I will just take pictures and do my laundry. I know already I will be suffering for what got done today!

The drive home

Today was a gorgeous day as the last five or six days have been. We are in our Indian Summer season now. I love it and I don't. It's beautiful, but it is too hot for my liking. And as I get older, the hot (anywhere from 70 to 80 degrees, I know, I'm a pansie) is just too much more to bear.
My ocean in this kind of weather is just flat...flat, flat, flat. And glassy, like a pond. When I fished out here commercially in my (so much) younger days, I loved this time of year. Of course, that is because in our regular weather I was always freezing and soaking wet. When it got like this I was warm and only slightly damp.
So today, I am driving home and kind of swearing cause it's Saturday and everybody and there gall blessed brother, sister, cousin twice removed, MIL's and FIL's and ALL their friends are on the coast enjoying the weather I had to work in. I wasn't really enjoying it, cause they always forget to turn on their turn signals long before they turn. (They just stop and turn from the middle of the lane! Thank Gawd I have good brakes) N.E.WAY...I started noticing that there were quite a few cars parked along the coast side of the highway and people all standing up on the cliffy parts with their hands up to their brows to ward off sun glare. They seemed to be watching some fascinating something out in the ocean. I'm thinking some fool got all messed up on a boat and they were watching a rescue. (happens a lot here) But I dared to look at the ocean as I went by a lower spot in the cliffy thing. And what I saw was fantastic!
I saw whales playing! Humpbacks on their way to Mexico to get married, or have their babies. I saw people for about five miles along the coast watching, so I finally pulled over to watch officially. Of course, my camera has been in my truck for weeks and the battery is dead and my cell phone is useless except for my daughter taking pictures of her face on long road trips. I was kicking myself for not keeping my batteries up and I was looking and one lone whale broached right in front of me! It was fantasic! I thanked him and went on my way.
I have seen these things so many times. (Remember the paragraph above about me fishing commercially?) We used to get our own personal show from the humpbacks, although it was really scary, cause we were right there with them on the same water level. BUT, I will never stop being in awe of this beautiful creature and it's ability to jump from the water and swim around so playfully. Maybe tomorrow, I will have my camera with me and I can get some (not so great) pictures. (cheap camera)

My New Toy

It's a dangerous new toy. But I say, the more dangerous it is, the more fun I can have with it. I mentioned it before. It's so cute! (I am a sick puppy, I tell ya) It's a little tiny chainsaw at the end of a pole. I don't even know what it's formally called, and the box is sitting out in the garage, but I am too lazy to go and look at it.
So today, I got home at a half way decent hour and decided to put my toy together. (some assembly required) I am no good at this stuff. I wanna just pull the thing outta the box and fire it up and cut things, but no, I have to assemble some stuff first. So I get the parts out, and the little book, skip over all the safety tips and precautionary notes, cause y'all know they are just there cause the company's lawyers said put 'em in or you'll get sued. The directions and all the other B.S. they write in those books is in three different languages. Now, I don't mind (well, I do, but this isn't the issue here) that they put the damned instructions in three languages, but it's the format they used. They could have put the three languages on separate pages in their own little sections of the book. BUT NO, they had to go and put the three separate languages in their own little PARAGRAPHS all on the same DAMNED page!!! Do you know how frustrating it is to be holding a sharp blade in your fingers while you are trying to find the directions in ENGLISH that tell you what to do with the blade now that it is cutting your fingers. (Yeah, I know, they warned me about wearing gloves while I was doing this part)
Well, I finally got it together and went about trying to find where I last used my extension cord. I swear, someday I will know these things when they first pop into my mind! I found it, and then spent the next ten minutes untangling the dang thing. So I finally got to plug it in, and cut away at that damned tree. Then the chain came off. I broke my new toy. Not permanently broke. I told you I'm not good at this sort of thing, I have no patience for some assembly required. So, tomorrow, I will have to go through all those languages again to find out what step I missed.
It was fun while it lasted. The tree smelled good when I cut what branches I cut. (Like a Christmas tree kind of smell) I can't wait to go at that tree this weekend, cause it's coming down baby!

I Can't Believe I Did It!

I baked two loaves of banana bread this morning before it got hot! Um, well, the girls and I have already eaten one of the loaves. Eeck! But they were SO good! Oh man...you wouldn't believe it! If you want I will post the recipe, I got it off the internet.
I don't like to do work and then sit and wait for the results of that labor. But the store where I work brought in some really, really pretty flower bulbs last week and I couldn't resist. Now, normally, I buy the bulbs and then they sit until they are all dried up and useless. Not because I love throwing money away, but I have brown instead of green thumbs. I bought the bulbs and was determined to plant the dang things before they were garbage.
And I did!
Of course, I picked one of our hottest days of the year to go out and pull the weeds and sweep up the walkway, to prepare to plant those bulbs. I just did the weeding, and took a break. Then I swept the walkway and took a break. It took a while longer than it should have I am sure (But I don't know really, because I have no reference point here)Then I dug and dug and dug. Eight inches is freakin' deep! Oh stop laughing! But I got those bulbs planted and I even put some small redwood bark over the top of the place I planted. Next paycheck I will purchase some of those cute little fence thingys, you know the border things, to put along the edge to keep the bark in place and hopefully the kitties out. Now, I look at that one little tiny spot in my front yard and then turn and look at the rest...oh my...I think I have started something I am going to have to keep going on with. Believe me when I say, the yard looks like CRAP! I do want to do something, but I never know how my energy and money will hold out. It does help that if I planned it right, I could get a lot of the stuff for the front yard from my sister at a more reasonable rate. My neighbors would love it. I need to do something that doesn't require a lot of maintenance.
I came in and gave the big dog a long cool bath and water massage. He just stood there in the bathtub and took it like a champ. Of course, I am sure that the water massage was what kept him there. Now he's all dried off and fuzzy furred cause I washed all the natural oils out of the fur. It'll be back by morning. He seems very content right now.
I just put a roast in the oven. Yeah, I know, crazy...it's hot and I have the oven going on. Can't answer for my cravings. I saw chuck roast on sale so bought one. I put condensed cream of mushroom soup on top of it and then sprinkled dry onion soup mix over that, added some burgundy wine to the baking dish, covered it loosely and popped it in the oven for an hour. I can almost taste it now. Add some steamed rice and your favorite vegetable and you have a dinner fit for a king...or queen. It's one of my mom's recipes that was always my favorite.
While that is cooking I'm going to wash up the dishes and then give the little dog a bath. She doesn't get a massage, I can't bend over the bathtub anymore. I gotta hitch in my getalong now from all the other bending over I have done today. She gets her bath in the washtub out in the garage, so I can stand.
Tomorrow is normally my late day at work, but I traded hours with one of my coworkers, so she could go to an appointment and not miss her hours at work. It'll be nice getting off at a normal hour. That meant I had to call another coworker who I give a ride home to. He's cool with it..he's only seventeen and can take the bus. (I say that like I am above taking the bus, but I'm not, I would, but jeez, I'd get home by 9:30!)
Anyway, you all have a great day tomorrow!

Long week, short post

I just was here and wrote the longest post ever. When I published it, I was embarrassed for myself, so I deleted it. I was rambling.
In short, my week felt like about ten years. I don't know why. You know how when you were little and there was like a b'day party coming up on the weekend or your mom said you could have a sleep over with a friend or something fun like that, the week just never seemed to end? I had no b'day party or sleep over or anything to look forward to, but man, talk about slow as molasses in the dead of winter! Cripes, I thought today would never get here.
But here it is, and I am full of anticipation for tomorrow. I am going to play with my "new" washer...YAY! and then go to the laundry mat to dry the clothes because fog is predicted as our weather for the day. Fog has a tendency to make the clothes more wet, rather than dry them. I also get to play with my newest toy, which is a tiny version of a chainsaw on the end of a pole. I am going to do the Cailfornia style of chainsaw massacre on that tree out on the side of my garage, before the tree lifts the eaves on it! Plus the sooner I can get it down and cut up into smaller pieces, the sooner it will dry out and I can gleen some heat from it during the winter.
I have to wage war on some stupid fleas that came to us with the help of some pretty hot days. I never have had that much of a flea problem. Just keep the dogs bathed, and the cats powdered, and we've been fine. Until the middle of last week. Now it's Flea City. So I am going to go and get some Diatomaceous Earth, and get those little rat bastards. All 50 gazillion of them! I also am going to put bowls of water out at night when the dogs are in my room with me. You put little night lights above the bowls of water and a drop or two of dish soap in the water and the stupid fleas dive right in. The soap makes them sink. And as a last resort I have flea bombs. I hate those things, cause you have to leave your house for four hours and then come back and clean up everything in sight before you or the animals can be at home again. So that is always my last resort.
Okay, I think this is getting longer than the short post I promised. I hope you all have a great whatever you are into and that your week goes faster than mine did, so you can be back on weekend duty! I'm looking forward to seeing you all later!

Yesterday is but a memory

Thank Gawd! I do not want to relive the whole thing, maybe parts of it like when we went through the Mickey D's drive through...and I said Chicken-whatever funny and it made my MD laugh so hard she got me laughing and then I almost peed my pants and then the guy at the window collecting money started laughing cause you know I couldn't stop laughing. I think it was the fact that we had just gone through the stupidest part of our day and it was truely exasperating and we were this close to being hysterical. So laughter ensued...and I am glad for that.
I get it in my head from time to time to do something and I am not going to stop til I get it done. Somehow, yesterday mid morning-ish, I decided to find a washer and dryer because I am just sick and tired of hauling my dirty laundry into public to wash and dry and then when OD and I went Monday evening it was a man fest at the laundry mat and I hate man fests. (Especially when they are doing their own laundry, they are worse than a bunch of old women, I swear)I told MD to look on Craigslist to find me a reasonably priced washer. I don't care what color it is. It's in the garage for cris-sake who gives a hoot?!? She found a few. We called the ones that had phone numbers attached, as opposed to emailing the ones with no phones. (It's a little faster when you are on a mission)
I got one call back from one we left a message at. I got ahold of one live person and we decided to go there. They had a washer and dryer for $100. Older, but working and clean. So we got the information from her and agreed that 3 o'clock was a good time to go look at the pair. We got all ready to go. There was recycling in the back of the truck so we left early to go and sell that. They removed the recycling center sometime in the last coupla weeks! We went to the bank to get money out for the washer/dryer. We went to another recycler on the way, and there was a hella long line, so decided to wait til after we got the appliances and were on our way home. Well, first thing I did wrong was to leave my celly on the desk were I had used it last and not put it in my purse (dummy) The place where the washer was is WAY the frick and gone up a mountain in back of the city where they told me it was. So we get all the way up there and find there is no way to get ahold of the people cause it is a gated community and you have to have a celly or know the people's last name or code to get in. We went back down the mountain to get to a payphone. Do you know those are few and far between now? We had to pay for a parking spot to go and use a payphone. (thank gawd the phone worked) We got the people's code and went back up the mountain and into the gated community. We found the place with no problem and talked to the lady, looked at the washer/dryer, gave her the money and then loaded up the prize.
That was a blast! We had to put them on their sides to get them into my truck. I got a nasty gash on my hand and MD got her fingers squished. Then we tried to get all the recycling back into the back of the truck with the washer/dryer. Hmm. Yeah! Got most of it in there and the rest had to ride up front with MD. (snicker, snicker) We are talking big girl, small truck cab here.
So we leave with all our parts and travel down the mountain, go to the recyclers, with the long line. Park. Start to get out. A lady in line says to us...they're closed, I am the last one in line. Hmmm. Okay, there is one more recycler on the way home. So we head there. He is open. Turns out, he is the one where we used to go by our house. Nice, they want us to recycle, but they want us to use more gas to get there to do it...does this make sense to anyone out there? MD sells her garbage and goes to the grocery store to collect her money.
So off we go towards home to install the new goodies. First we had to move the broken washer, clean up the floor and area around it, put the new one in place. Then for the dryer. I had (and still have) a gas dryer. I bought a electric dryer. No problemo. I have the outlet for the electric in a different place in the garage than the gas dryer. YAY! For me! So we clean up the spot for it, put it in place hook up the vent, plug it in, and turn it on...nothing. Change settings, push the button, nothing. CRAP!!!
I pulled the plug, replugged it back in. Pushed button. Changed settings, pushed button. Rattled dryer, pushed button. NOTHING, DAMMIT! So I got a washer for $100. There was no place to plug in anything to test it out up there. I was going on pure faith. But at least the washer works. I have a friend who fixes appliances. I will have him come out and look at both dryers and fix them. Then, I will have two dryers working and will be able to wash and dry laundry at lightening speeds. Washer takes a half an hour tops, dryers longer. When one load is done washing put it in dryer, start another wash load and when it's done put it in the other dryer...no waiting, like at the laundry mat, except no quarters!
So yeah. Yesterday is gone. The washer is washing. The dryer is just sitting there. I suppose it would be all green of me to just make everyone hang their laundry in the back yard. When it's not foggy. That would be this week, probably not next week. And winter is quickly approaching. So wash the clothes and hang them out to get rained on? I think not.
Enough of that! Have a good one...

Just found this goofing around...

I was looking at blogs being updated and happened across one with this in it. I only agree with half of it..the part that says "You are forceful and agressive, and While you make your presence known, your message is a bit fuzzy and You are not the easiest person to understand, and you're not one for details."
Just give me the bullets points, ya know?

You Are Impact

You are very unique and quite striking. You are forceful and aggressive. You never go unnoticed, and people recognize your power instantly. While you make your presence known, your message is a bit fuzzy. You are not the easiest person to understand, and you're not one for details.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatfontareyouquiz/">What Font Are You?

Have you accepted Cheez-its into your life?

That's what I thought a woman in a restaurant asked me yesterday. I told her I had.
(I'm thinking to myself...I think there is a box in my cupboard. Can I get a Hallelujah Sister?)
Sorry please forgive me, I meant no harm, it's just what I heard.

I'm bad, sometimes these things come into my head and then go straight out my mouth.

When my grand nephew was being chistened, the preist dipped his finger into the holy water and then made a cross on the baby's forehead. This made the baby cry. I turned to my daughter and said, "Oh, he made the baby cross". Sorry.

Do I need to be excorcised?

My evil twin has surfaced.

The Purse

I made it! (the purse) But there's a small hitch. I didn't like the handles for it on the pattern after I had cut it out and all, so I am changing that part of it. It's gonna have to wait til next weekend, cause I need the 6 or so bucks it'll cost for the handles that I want. I was thinking it would look cute with those "bamboo" handles. This means I am going to have to tear out some of what I have already done and re-figure how to get those handles on securely. Nothing more embarrassing than walking down the street with a really cute set of handles and no purse! Ya know what I mean?
Then I started another project. I found a bag with some yarn and a mile a minute afghan pattern book in it, in my truck. You know I am always losing things, and I never know where I will find them. When I was doing my laundry this morning, I decided to clean out the truck while I was waiting for stuff to dry and there was this bag. So, I looked through the book and found one I liked and started it. I have no clue if I have enough yarn for this pattern, but I was thinking I could do all the bases of the strips and then do a second color of yarn for the outside borders of each strip. That seems to be a workable thing to do. The yarn I started with is a light beige with flecks of brown, gray and black in it, so I could go with any of those colors for the borders. Just one more thing to have to do while I am waiting for someone or something. I have lots of fidgety little things set up to do while I wait. (I'm not a still or silent waiter)
I just gave my little dog a bath. You'd think I was pulling her hair out bunch by bunch the way she carries on when I bathe her. And it's not like she doesn't like water. Whenever we go to the lake, I open the door to the truck to let them out and they (little and big dog) make a bee line for the water. Then I don't see them for hours. Usually someone had to go down and get her and make her come up to the cabin for a rest.
I worked out on my Wii for another half an hour this morning after I got back from doing my laundry. Hopefully I can make myself get up early enough in the morning to do some more damage on it before I have to get ready for work. I was thinking about my schedule and working out every day, (except one day) and the only way I can do that at a consistant time every day is to do it at night. Maybe I would sleep better too. I don't know...any suggestions?
Tomorrow is my late day at work. So I will go ahead and do the workout in the morning. That's the only thing I worry about is that I will be too tired to do any kind of excercise after work.
That's it for now. Have a wonderful.....

Yes...it is Monday.

I got up fairly early for my day off. It was a nice little sleep in, but not headache producing cause I slept too much. I still got up and had my coffee for a little too long at the computer, but hey! It's my day off!
I swept the front room and got out my Wii and the Fit and exercised for 30 minutes, then went onto Wii Sports and did a little work out with the bowling ball. I think I played that thing for an hour today. Making up for lost time...I missed it for three days in a row. I don't like that it happened, but my schedule at work and the little goodies I have to do in between kind of got in the way of my Wii time. I am going to have to figure out a schedule of sorts so I can get on it at least six days a week.
I started making a purse today. My old one is breaking, the snaps are coming off of it. Normally, I would run down to our local Ross Store and stand there for two hours trying to pick something out that would suit me, but I have no money for a purse and I do have a couple of patterns and material to do it with, so I am making my own.
I have been reading Down to Earth and trying to follow some of her suggestions to living a simpler life. Believe me, this could take me a while, but I won't learn a thing if I dive in with both feet. Baby steps, baby steps. So here I have all the stuff I need to make the purse. I am saving gas, time and money! That's a great baby step to me!
I am also making a "salted"* attempt to make bread again today. *See August 12th's post. I'll be sure and let you know how this batch turns out. (I have regular salt today...)
I also need to work on that light I started a few weeks back. I had to stop working on it, because I need a place to hang it from so I can attach the material to the top ring. That is going to require me to place a hook in the ceiling in my front room, because that is where I have the most room to move around it freely. I suppose I should have thought about that while I was planning out the lamp itself! But that's the way I roll...
My new keyboard is working just fine. I am not making new words up anymore and there are spaces in between the legitimate words I type. It's amazing how much pleasure can be gotten from a simple thing like a keyboard that works. It still cost me too much, but oh well...I'm saving money on a purse.
Hope you all have a great week. I'll update the purse and bread situation sometime later this week!

Nice and quiet here

It's been a nice quiet week here at the old homestead. MD has worked a couple of days passing out Burt's Bees samples at "events". Loud raucous concerts, she can have it. I guess she is right in her element at these "events".
My girlfriend scored tickets for her and I to go to a Heart, Journey, Cheap Trip concert at the end of September. That will be fun. I am going to need the time out. Her grandma passed away Tuesday and had been failing the week before, so she has been into the family getting together all the last week or so, so we didn't go to our usual free concert on Friday. It's okay, we still have time. She and her family put together a beautiful memorial for the grandma.
I'm on my way to work. It's Super saturday, so it should go by quickly.
College starts up for OD in a few weeks, so she is spazing out trying to get everything together for that. Her financial stuff comes in three to four weeks after school starts, so there is always ranting and raving to be heard while she scrambles to get her books and whatnots bought for her classes. You would think she'd learn after so many years of doing the same thing over and over. She cracks me up!
I have done nothing special or spectacular this week. I love it...an absolutely normal life for me here!
Y'all have a wonderful weekend!

I made bread!

Yes, I did! I finally had a few minutes (hours) to concentrate on it...which doesn't take much for concentration. Um, but we didn't have enough real salt and I used unreal salt and not enough of it, so the bread turned out yucky. NO really YUCKY!
Do any of you have any suggestions for unsalted bread? Besides throwing it out for the birds.....

BWAA HA HA HA!

Guess what I got? I know, you don't have a clue...I got my WiiFit today!!!! YAY! for me! I am so excited, but you know what, I am so sore already! Oh my goodness this thing does give a good workout, and it is fun. Well, at least the few minutes I have done stuff on it. It gave my weight as about 18 pounds less than the last time I was at my doctor, which is possible, cause peeps have been telling me I look like I have lost weight. And it told me my Fit Age is two years younger than I actually am! Nice, very nice!
I had to go over the hill after work today and I knew I had enough money to buy the Fit. (I knew this last night) so I had done a little research online. It said that Toys R Us had some, but it was too late to call. So when I got over there this evening, I called them first thing and they said for some reason, they had three in stock. I guess the market may have been filled. So, I went right over and picked it up! I was so excited. I couldn't wait to get home and play, I mean work out.
So, tomorrow, I will begin for reals and start my fitness program. I will do progress pictures. Ew, wait, if I do that I probably should do a before. UGH! I'll see whatI can come up with...I'll put it on Morbid Monday, to go along with Hally's gross stuff.

Remote is home!

I don't know, I think I may have to calm my life down a bit. There is just too much excitement going on, on a daily basis.
The remote apparently took a side trip to the back house. Out there it doesn't have to work. I guess what happened is that "someone" set the remote on her pile of stuff to go out to her room and then took it there. Once out there, she just kind of tossed the pile of stuff and the remote landed in the middle. She finally cleaned her room yesterday and there was the remote just having a fine time not using up it's batteries.
Now I have to hook up the cable again, cause I couldn't change channels with it hooked up so I had disconnected it. YAY! Lazy TV watching again!
In other news, I haven't seen the stalker bitch lately. You know the one who decided to take over my daughter's horse. I haven't seen her car at the ranch either. One of the ranch hands honked at waved at me the other day as I went by him. They have never done that before. Maybe I have solved some other problems by being so bitchy myself. Glad I could help!
I cut my finger the other night. I was chopping off the tips of some green beans I was going to steam up for dinner, and one of them rolled, letting the knife come down on my finger. Oh freakin' OUCH! I cut it pretty deep. No one was home. My neighbors weren't home...I wondered what I should do. Cause I was getting woozy. I wrapped it up in a clean dish towel (the only thing really handy) and held it over my head while I played Pogo games until it stopped bleeding. It took awhile. I finally got brave enough to check out the damage I had done. I cut off a little of my fingernail along with it. I made myself a bandage out of rolled gauze and some of that tape they use for boo-boos and left it alone for another little while. It'll be okay, but it's gonna leave a scar. It hurts like hell still, I guess I cut some nerves. Hey! If your gonna do something, do it right I say! Now I can't wash dishes for a couple of days. Oh darn!
I'm off to get ready for work. It's gonna be a long one I am thinking. Saturday, everybody in town is back from whatever vacations they took and all are getting ready for school now. I like it busy, but then some days I don't want to be bothered by customers. (Nice attitude isn't it?) I'll make the best of it. You know there are some days I think I should be in Hollywood with all the great acting I have to do!
Hope you all have a great day!

Laundry Day

Got the laundry done. As usual. I worked on an afghan while I was waiting for my clothes to dry. I got a row done. It seems slow, but then I am crocheting the length of the afghan and not the width. I am making this for my sister's late birthday present. It's not bad late..only a couple of months!
When I got home to put the laundry away, I started putting things in order in my room. It is almost completely organized. Which is weird, cause I usually have to make a path through to get to anything. I vacuumed and I can actually see my rug. Amazing!
I didn't work on my lamp at all yesterday. I am going to have to put a hook up on the ceiling in my room, so I can work on it while it is hanging. I am thinking that will be the easist way to do that. So I will get on that next weekend.
I'm off Thursday, but I will probably be over the hill all day. I have an appointment there and some keys to return for YD, that is at a place I haven't been to before, so that will take me a while. I'm doing that Thursday, since I am over there. I don't want to make a special trip for one or the other. Well, the apointment I have to, cause well, it is all set and all. I will think of a few other things that can be done there on Thursday as well, so I don't waste the gas for just one thing.
I wish there was some way to save on the gas. I don't leave the house unless I have several things to do on one trip. Except for work, and my hours and days are so screwy that it keeps me from taking the bus, cause I would do that if I could. I would rather spend the $40 or so it would cost to take the bus, monthly than to spend the $150 or so it is costing me now. Even if I could do that one day a week it would help, but no...and I can't shange my hours at work either.
I am off to start my week. I hope you all have a great one!

This idea of mine

So, before I create anything, I have this vision of whatever it is I am going to create running around in my mind. Sometimes for a couple of days, sometimes for months, in this case it has been a year. Let's just say that I don't like jumping into anything with both feet all at once. I have to "see" it from all angles before I make it.
In this case, I have been "watching" this ambiance lamp in my head. It has changed forms several times, and today I started it. It is totally not the first lamp I saw when I first decided to make one. I also had the placement of it long before the lamp was started. Now though, I have to change where it will live, because it has grown in size.
What I have done with it so far is to take a big ring, about 18" across and attached it with jewelery wire at four points to a smaller ring. The rings are horizontal, and parallel to each other. Then I attached the smaller ring to a keysized ring at four points. The keysized ring is vertical and will be what the whole lamp hangs from.
I will be sewing this white gauzy material that I had for curtains for a while. I am going to sew that in four sections around the medium sized middle ring and let it drap over the bigger bottom ring. Where I sew it on the middle ring, I will sew some of my beads into the seam line. When all the sewing is done I will somehow afix the string of small blue Christmas lights that I have had forever. I don't know that this lamp will be the prettiest, but I wanted to check out my idea and see how it turns out.
Now, where should I hang it???

I Blew Up at Work

This is Utah and my daughter.

Remember people I hate? It should have just said person I hate. This woman is dangerous. She's been in my store three times in one week. My antennas are up. This woman needs to take a chill pill or something is gonna happen! Maybe I fixed it yesterday, I hope I didn't make it worse! She came in first thing yesterday morning. Let me preface this by saying Saturday afternoon she came in and bought some chain and stuffys for the ranch, to keep people out of "her" area. While I was ringing her purchases up she is making idle conversation in which she so happily tells me that her 15 year old daughter had taken Utah (YD's horse) out twice.
ZZZTTT...my brain is thinking WTF! So I calmly (as calmly as I could) say why? What would she be taking him out for? Oh, she says, just to give him a bath and walk him around for excercise. Um, um...NO, she doesn't need to take him out. He is a dangerous horse to the uninformed on the Utah's of the world. He is my daughter's horse, which means, he is dangerous. My daughter buys horses that no one else can handle and tames them. Nobody, but nobody has any business whatsoever taking that horse N.E.WHERE! Because of her boldness in just taking over everything that has to do with my daughter, I stammered and studdered and said I will talk to YD about this. You shouldn't be taking him out.
Luckily, I was going to see YD that evening, and when I told her, she freaked out! I felt bad, cause right now, she has no control over what is going on and can't do anything in person about the situation at the ranch and only has me to intercept anything for her. So I told her I would "fix" it. She asked me to go to the woman who runs that particular part of the ranch. So I am going to talk to her today.
Well, yesterday, she came in the store first thing in the morning. (joy, joy, just how I wanted to start my day) She ambled up to the service counter, all cutsey and stuff. I just looked at her and said...in capital letters...under no circumstances are you, or anyone around you to touch that horse again! Period, don't argue with me! She comes back with, we were just trying to help, he needed a bath. (well, no he didn't) and it was after the ranch closed so he was safe. (um, no, he wasn't, you weren't, the cars on the highway next to the ranch weren't) I just lit into her. What if he had gone crazy and done his little I'm going to stomp you to death dance? What if he got loose and went through the fence (it's happened) ran across the highway caused and accident and someone died? No one would be suing you, no one would be suing the ranch, someone would be suing my daughter! And if he hurt your daughter, I am so absolutely positive that you would find a way to make my daughter pay for damages. So leave the horse in the pasture, where he is happiest and where he can cause no harm to anyone. The ranch hands don't even mess with him, he is not a little girls horse!
Soon after I blasted her, she disappeared. I think I won't be seeing her much unless I go to the ranch, which is where I wil be in an hour or so. Wish me luck, I don't really want to blow up again.

So I wasn't alone...

when the internet went kerplunk, or whatever that was it did. I thought it was me.

Still no remote.

I'm so confused. I haven't known what day it is for two days now. Yesterday I thought it was Saturday, today I didn't even attempt a guess. When someone at work tells me to have a nice weekend I will know not to come back for a couple of days. That is the only clue I have. It might be fun if I didn't have certain things to do on certain days. Ack, I'll just wing it for awhile.

Grrrrr Blogger...or internet or something...

For some reason, I cannot see a few of my favorite bloggers today. It says that internet explorer cannot read them or open them or some such stupid thing. And though I would love to read what you have posted today, I cannot. So, the three I know for sure I can't get into are...Pioneer Women, my Kim D, and Debbie over at Gettin It Outta My Head...I guess I am on restriction! GRRRRR!!!

UPDATE: Internet is working properly again.
Still no remote. I guess I will have to buy another from Comcast. Damn!

August 1, 1987

I meant to post this, this morning, but I got up late. Luckily, my baby knows how I feel!


Today is my "baby's" birthday. She is 21 years old. I remember when she joined our family like it was yesterday.



I love you Binks! Happy Birthday!

People I hate

I know. Hate is a strong word. But there are people who make me hate them. They are people who look you straight in the eye and lie through their teeth. Then walk away with a smirk on their face as if you didn't get that they were lying. I encountered one such person tonight. I have never cared for this woman. I always thought that there was something not right with her, something a tad askew. She is a "friend" of My YD's
She called me at work all out of breath and dramatic. "Oh!" she says, "I just had to talk to you, I'm glad you answered!" Then proceeds to tell me that they had cut the locks on YD's tack room at the ranch (with an expensive saddle inside) and there were people who were getting ready to start taking all of YD's things. But how she had come in a saved the day and now she wanted me to have all of YD's things so could she bring them right over.
Supposedly, they cut the locks, because they rented out a stall and paddock and the tack room was supposed to go with it. (That right there is poppycock) YD's horse is in pasture right now and she needed the tack room cause SHE WORKS THERE! N.E.WAy...She shows up at work, and we put all the tack in the back of my truck. I locked it up and started back into the store. She said I'll meet you inside I have to pick up something. So we get in the store, and she wants to know where the...padlocks are...because the lock they cut on YD's tack room was...her lock...um...no it wasn't...it was YD's lock...(?) Because if it was this friend's lock on there, why didn't she just use her key??? Then she blows it even more by telling me that the new manager of that ranch is her new boyfriend...(???) SCUZZY WOMAN!

I'll tell ya...do not piss on my back and then tell me it's raining. I know these things.


UPDATE ON THE REMOTE...It's still MIA. Maybe I gave it away with the kittens yesterday!

Has anybody seen the remote?

I cannot believe that we have lost the remote to the TV/cable! There are three of us here, one of us has the remote in hand or next to our hand always, other than that it lives in the drawer in my desk. Sometime yesterday the remote went AWOL.
I seached the couch cushions, under the couches, in back of the couches, under the dogs, in the garbage, on the TV, desk drawer, my bedroom, the garage. It is GONE! Shouldn't be a big deal, but the TV remains on the same channel since we can't find the remote. And we can't turn it up or down. The cable company gave us this little box with no controls on it what so ever, so if you lose the remote, you have no control at all. There are no buttons to get up and change things, no buttons for on or off...it all comes from the remote.
Have you seen the remote? I guess the dogs will have to watch the learning channel all day, instead of animal planet.

A little bit of a few things done.

I couldn't have planned this pose!

Some friends of YD's came today to pick up some kittens I have been raising for the last nine weeks. I had found homes for all of them, but three of those people had to change their plans. Amanda was going to take one of them and ended up taking all of them for me. She is a critter foster, and will get them all spayed/neutered, and find good homes for them for me. BIG load off my mind and an extra half hour a day. The poor things were living quite comfortably, but since they were born I have had less and less time to spend with them so they are a little wild. No worries. As soon as they are separated and in their permanent homes, they will settle down and enjoy their new humans more. I have never had to ignore furbabies like this, I feel bad, but there was nothing I could do about it. It would have been fine if YD had been able to be here, but she is not and I don't know when she will be able to come back. Amanda is also going to find a home for the other two adult cats I have that I didn't ask for. YD had brought Gata (the kittens mommy) years ago, and then right after I got Purrcy, YD brought Chili who looks like a siamese kitty. He is a little cranky cause I think he would prefer to be the only cat, and he has to share this place with cats, dogs, a bird and a rat. Oh, and humans, which I think he feels is the biggest insult.
So after we visited the kitties for a while Amanda and another friend played Wii for a couple of hours. We did the turns, with next up plays the winner. We had a good time. We laughed and that felt good, cause I haven't had a reason to really laugh for a while. When it was time to go, we gathered the kittens into a big box for their ride home. I gave Amanda my litter boxes, a new bag of litter and some kitten food. After all, she is helping me out, I don't want it to cost her anything.

I had picked up some wood from the lumber yard next door to the hardware store where I work. They had gone over the whole lumber yard and cleaned it up really good which meant they threw out pieces of wood that aren't good for building. But it's great for burning! Sunday after work I went through the dumpster where they tossed the wood and gathered it. Today I cut it up into pieces that will fit in my fireplace. I am starting to stock pile for the winter. I love a good fire, and it'll help keep my heating bill down. I just need to gather wood from here on through to November and we should have enough to last us throughout December - March. I HOPE! My only wish is that I could sleep in the frontroom during the winter, cause the warmth is in there and not in the bedrooms. I DO NOT WANT the $500 a month gas and electric bills I had last year. (and they have told us the rates are going up!!!)
I got the dreaded laundry all done this morning. It was an uneventful trip, again. I love when laundry is actually boring. I just got it all done and put away nice and neat and I don't have to think about it until next Monday or Tuesday.
Tomorrow is back to work after a (what feels like) short weekend. I have to start setting up a new way to order my products, because the rep I had for my stuff has left his position. He said MAYBE a new guy will come in. But I don't live by maybes, so I am going to start fixing my new ordering ways.
I hope you all have a great week!

I've been hiding out...

I feel like a slug. Kim-D, I am with ya!

Just saying.

That is all...

Speaking of sleep...

I went to bed at eight o'clock last night. I didn't go right to sleep, but I figured if I was in there and I got all warm and cozy, I would fall asleep earlier than I have the past few weeks. It worked! I think the last time I looked at the clock was about 9:15. I did start watching a movie, but it was one that pisses me off every time I see it (so why would I watch it, you ask?) I didn't complete it. It was one (heaven forbid I should remember the name of it) where Julia Roberts lives in a beach mansion with her skuzzy husband who is a complete control freak and smacks her around...okay, I'm hating it. I changed the channel and looked at the clock and fell asleep.
I did wake up on my own at around 6:15 this morning. Not exactly on my own, I have this big, black, furry alarm clock who needs to go outside at around 6-ish every morning.
So, now, I have work until 8 tonight, which I am fine with, sorta. I'm basically lazy and would rather not go to work, cause it's be much more fun to sit around here and look at all I have to accomplish here. Which I wouldn't accomplish cause, well, I am lazy.
I'm leaving for work a little early so I can stop at the store and pick up a sandwich for lunch and stamps. I get the sandwich for free, because we have purchased seven already. Um...well, I think my daughter purchased seven, I get the free one. Don't tell her! She owes me, I'm the mom! Plus, there is a Starbuck's in the grocery store and I'm craving me something warm and sweet. I am thinking I can afford that, cause I don't have to pay for the sandwich.
It looks like a sunny day here today. Not warm, but sunny. I can live with that. I don't do warm well.
When I get home tonight, I will force myself into bed as soon as I can and try to get myself back on a good sleep pattern, I am so tired of being tired.
Hope your day is a good one. Thanks for stopping by!

Seriously Sleeping In

Never again! I was tired last night. Iwas tired the night before and the nights before those. I just haven't gotten any sleep to speak of and there have been some late nights here. Not even partying nights, just stuff I had to do or places I had to go that kept me out and up late, late, late.

So, when the dog let me know it was time to go out at 6AM, (which is really sleeping in for me) I got up and let him out and then left the back door open for him to let himself back in and crawled back into my nice warm bed. I woke up again at 9:30! I was thinking as I drifted off to sleep that 7 or even 7:30 would be a good time to wake up. Now I feel as though I've been clobbered on the very center of my head with a hatchet. I feel lazy and groggy and all yeck! I think I hate sleeping in.

I have got to clean this house today. Since I have been busy, the whole thing has just sort of gotten out of hand and I guess everyone else who lives here have just been busy too. (I'm sure that is what they will tell me)

What really scares me is that I will have to go to the laundymat to do laundry (what else would I do there???) Our track record with the laundymats around here lately have not been good. It seems that all the lunatics are going to them now. My girls ran into a really crazy woman in the laundrymat yesterday, who ended up chasing them around town after she drove up on a curb to try and run over one of them. This was after my daughter had asked if she could use the rolly basket after the woman was done with it. The woman wouldn't take her purse out of it. The daughter said to her (after asking politely three or four times, can you take your purse out of the basket? I need the basket) The woman made some really crude comments under her breath to her as she walked off. It escalated from there.
The other day when I was doing my laundry, there was this weird couple in there. After my clothes were dry I couldn't find a rolly basket that was empty, so I just put my clothes in one of my baskets and folded out of it and into my other basket. The weird guy, came over to where his wife was putting clothes in the dryer I had just vacated and stared at her butt. I mean stared! I just thought okay, he's weird, and let it go. Then he put his grimey elbow on the edge of my basket and I kind of just shot him a look. BUT then he looked in my basket to see what clothes I was folding, and reached in and picked up one of my t-shirts! Then I gave him this," OH YOU DID NOT JUST PICK UP MY CLOTHES" look. He threw it back in and threw his hands up and started apologizing. I looked him straight in the eyes and said, "That was just fucking weird." Loudly. His freaking wife gave me a look and I repeated it to her and jerked my basket out from under his 'still sitting on my basket grimey elbow'. He slinked over to a corner of the laundymat and sat there staring at the wall as I finished up my laundry. The whole time I'm thinking, well thank God it wasn't my underwear, or the guy would have been flattened to the floor, and maybe I should re-wash that shirt. Ew, ick, nasty. I have never liked doing my laundry in public, and especially do not like my clothes, let alone the undies exposed for public eyes.
I have GOT to get my washer and dryer fixed. MD said last night that if we can find some cheap used ones for sale she will help me buy them. My MD has turned a corner here and I think I like the direction she is headed in.
I am off to try and make some semblance of a clean house here. (Including the laundry, ick!) Y'all have a wonderful day!

Free Music

I can't believe what a turn my life has taken! I have been so busy lately, it is pathetic, and so totally not me. I have managed to do a few things around the house that I wanted to do, like clean, but not as much as I would like. Work has been the same crazy, frustrating place it always has been, but that is good, as right now it is the only constant in my life I have going for me.

Friday night I did etch out some time for myself. Pleasurable time. One of my friends and I have been trying to get together for a long time. It's hard, because she has regular hours at a regular job. (she works for the state) I work weekends and have varying hours throughout the week. Fridays though, I get off work at 3:30 and I am home by four, so that lends itself to getting together with my friend.
Her daughter lives on the other side of the hill from us in this darling little town called Brisbane. This little town is like stepping out of the world as we know it and traveling back in time..to the fifties. Families play together, neighbors actually know each other, and they get together a lot outside of their homes and have fun. We joined them Friday night for "Concert in the Park". What. A. Blast. I wish I had my video camera with me, although it could not show the realness of this place. There was a band playing country music, kids running around playing tag, across the street is a skate park where teenagers where showing off their skateboarding skills to other teenagers and teaching each other new tricks on those boards, and a basketball court where several teens were playing b-ball. Parents were sitting around in front of the band on blankets or chairs, and enjoying the music. Everone was watching out for everyone else's kids. There were older people with money, on over to bikers in leathers with their motorcycles, and everyone in between. Everyone was smiling. The band was good, people were dancing to the music or rocking their babies in time to it. I have never felt such a calmness, I so needed it. We met a few of the local people and had such a great time. We have plans to go back every Friday. The next time we will be better prepared, these old bones don't like sitting on the lawn!
Next time we will take sandwiches and thermoses of tea and chairs to sit on. Salsa music is on the bill for next Friday. I'm going to take pictures.

New thing I picked up at Blogger.

I like this new list of Blogger's I read. It shows when the person last posted, so I don't need to go to each and every one every day to see if something new is there that I just have to get in on. I spent a bit of time moving y'all over to the new list and then, ahem, I deleted y'all from the old list. Now that didn't hurt a bit did it?

We won't discuss the arguement when I got home from work and asked if it was really above the realm of doableness that there be some clean dishes going on when I get home so I could cook dinner. I was asked by YD to be nicer to MD last week and not evict her for the time being. (I will explain that at a later date, I don't have the liberty to do so now) I will tell you. I would walk to the ends of the earth for that particular daughter, but this...this is really asking too much of her dear ol' mom. I couldn't get along with MD if I had my mouth taped shut and I was blind and deaf! (Oh and lived in a different country) I tried, I really tried, I promise. I left the house yesterday and there were no dirty dishes in the sink. When I came back home yesterday, the sink was full. She was no where in sight. Today, I just said, I want everyone to get in the kitchen and wash the dishes they have used in the past coupla days, and I got this, "Well, most of those are OD's." I looked at OD and she said she had a plate, a fork and a cup dirty...the sink is full I tell ya! Geez! Am I overbearing? A nag? Bitch? Geez again!

So OD washed a pan that she forgot to mention that she used today, and left for work. MD stood in the kitchen fiddling with something and then when I got busy with my blog list she slipped out the back door to go to her room. No dishes done there! I really want to run away from home.

Okay, enough of that.

I went to get pictures of YD's horse to send to her, and one of her girlfriends was there. In fact she helped us catch the horse. Her girlfriend has this little dog. Roper. He's a chi-weiner. I normally don't care for these kinds of dogs, cause usually the chi part of the chi-weiner is shakey, shy, slow to warm up to people, etc., etc. but this little guy grabbed my heart. And I picked him up, cradled him in my arms and he just melted into me. You should see him go after a herd of horses. I wish I had pictures of that! This little guy has GUTS! He doesn't run, he bounds. I had such a blast with him. Well, the whole point to this is that they want to find a home for him. I have thought about it and I am thinking I am going to take him. He would be such a asset in this house. So, there may be a new baby in my house soon...he's nine months old, btw.