Anger

Photo Friday Challenge: Anger

Don't stop. Don't think. Just get the HELL out of the way.

She squeaks

Little pumpkin

After a long day of work (I did have some successes today - but not in ATM) I finished the day with this bright little blue-eyed pumpkin girl. She is imitating us by talking in her little way - it just comes out as squeaks. A sing-songy chirp.

Late on a July Evening

One from my nephew's cache - July 2006 - near Irondale, Ohio.

Anybody ever listen to Uriah Heep? The actual song goes "Early on a July morning". I changed it a little. This photo is not mine. It belongs to my nephew. I downloaded it from his album.

I am still ear deep in ATM troubleshooting. I have fiddled with the fair queuing. It is now fifo (first in first out). We'll see what that does.

The schools are in a frenzy these days. Lots of stuff going on. My mind is reeling.

Up with the sun

Yawn. Yet another photo of Friday's sunrise.

I had a document due today, so I woke up early. I needed to add some finishing touches. It was good because I was fresh. I'm not now, but I was as brilliant as the sunrise this morning. It all came together for me. Sigh. It's in. It's done. No comment from anyone. Double sigh. Whatever.

What job is perfect, huh? I spent extra time on this project. I worked last week on another problem, one day putting in 12 hours. Nobody says a word. Nothing.

I knew that once my daughter was older, more time would open up for extras on the job. I must take care not to let it consume me. It won't do me any good to give more than my share when I get nothing in return. We are all guilty of that sometimes.

I remember when I first started working. I was so vibrant. So full of energy. Jumping out of bed in the morning. Late teens, early twenties. The work world was mine to conquer. I drank it in. I beamed. I laughed. I was good. I did it all. I did more. I burned out. Yep. Became angry and depressed. I moved on to the next job thinking things will be different here. I bounced again. I was vibrant again. Yes, I could still be good! Repeat. I moved on.

The more you do the more they ask you to do. When you don't do anything or volunteer to do anything, they don't ask you to do anything. I was never smart enough to not volunteer.

I finished the movie The Sentinel. It was okay. Now, I have Poseidon to watch.

Through the haze

Hazy sunrise - again east on 250 last Friday morning.

My head is hazy with the task of creating a Network diagram. It is a big school campus with lots of switches and fiber transceivers. My mind is boggled. Wires go every which way and to put it all on paper can end up looking like jumbled Christmas lights.

Over the week-end, I did catch a movie about Woody Guthrie. "Bound For Glory." I didn't know all that much about the folk singer before I saw the show. I followed up a little bit reading about him on Wikipedia. Arlo seems to have followed most in his footsteps.

I am trying to watch The Sentinel with Michael Douglas. I get about twenty minutes a day to watch it on my (home) computer. So far so good. I'm about halfway into it. Kim Basinger looks much better in this movie than she did in Cellular.

Rats are still doing very well. Cats are fine. I have moved the bird into the back bedroom again. Mouse is hanging in there. Dog is being very out of line. She ate all my roast beef on Sunday. I had it covered and on the kitchen counter. She popped the lid off and ate the roast without dropping the plate on the floor. The lid was on the floor but did not break. Counter is at least three feet high. She is barely touching her dog food. She must have heard me tell my daughter it was low calorie dog food. Ah.

She tried to get our tacos tonight but my daughter caught her as she was trying to get up on the table. I give the cats very little at a feeding because if they leave any at all, she will get it. Maybe I should go back to giving her anti-anxiety medicine. Maybe she is stocking up for winter. Maybe she is angry because I forgot her outside Friday evening for two hours. I fell asleep. Sleep. Speaking of sleep....yawn. Good-night.

A streetlight named desire

Rising sun

I traveled East on Friday morning to attend a much-needed meeting. Well, what I thought was going to be a meeting. We had huge changes a month or so ago at work and most of us were looking for somebody (anybody) to tell us where the organization was heading, what was expected of us, things like that.

Well, that all went up in smoke. We arrived and found ourselves thrust into learning a new help desk program. Great. No answers today. The manager that I asked is just as confused and frustrated as I am. Perhaps more so.

Situation normal. All fouled up.

Bows and earrings

Photo Friday's Challenge: Girl. All girl. And, every girl needs to have access to this!

Moonflower crystals

A wet moonflower

Ugh. It has been one of those weeks. No time for anything special that I like to do. The above photo is one of my moonflowers after a rain. I wanted to touch the photo up real bad, but I didn't. Only cropped it to center it a little better and put the little black and white frame around it.

Bravo's was exquisite. I was in a trance from all the great food and the beautiful atmosphere. Oh, maybe I was tired. That may have been it. So glad I didn't drink any wine. It is a 40 mile drive for me. Interstate and construction. Lovely.

My head is spinning right now and I have not imbibed one tiny sip. I may skip the fair this year and just sleep all week-end. Yeah, right.

I want a turn

I get no time with this one.

Too far away and first grandson on my sister's side. Hurruumph!

My dog found her way to eat an entire Entemann's cheese danish today. Somebody left it too close to the edge of the counter, I am guessing. It could have been me. Or, somebody left it on the dining room table. That seems more likely because the cardboard box was under the table and the aluminum tray was close to the table. When Sable pulls something off the kitchen counter (where I left the danish) she drags it into the living room and leaves it there. The dog just hasn't figured out how to pick the evidence up and place it in the trash.

I am tired and cranky. I worked about 12 hours today. That same ATM video problem. ATM - I'll be nice and rename the acronym to "A Terrible Monster". Hee, hee. I would really like to rename it to Asinine torturing method of video! Ha, ha. That is safe enough to say in the schools. I feel better, now. Little things mean a lot. I guess it is like name calling. But it is an inanimate object, so it doesn't have feelings, right? Okay, this is beginning to sound like a Stephen King novel.

Warped butterfly

Me? I think it looks more prickly than warped.

But, "warped paintbrush" was the feature I used in Photo Shop to make the jagged effects on a yard ornament I have in front of my patio. Yah. Fun stuff.

I do have a new photo of my "grand" nephew that I want to post. Tomorrow, then.

Having another teenager in the house is taking it's toll. A half gallon of milk was left out on the counter all afternoon. My daughter about had a fit. I went to the grocery store at 9 p.m. to buy more milk. To keep peace.

My bedroom door has been left open twice, now. I have my bird in there and I keep the door closed so that the cats don't bother him/her/it. I don't know why my niece is in my bedroom. I must put a stop to that. She used to use my computer, but she has her own laptop and it is wireless and can connect to the Internet fine. I don't have a printer in my room - it is out in the living room with my daughter's pc. Soo....

And, there are clothes left in the washing machine and the dryer when my daughter or I want to use them...little things that add up.

My therapist said that I need to make my niece pay something. I was thinking $20 a week. She is going to school full time, works at Red Lobster (pay is only 2.19 an hour plus tips) and sometimes she will sub for the Mental Retardation bus route helping load the riders and keep and eye on them while they ride the bus.

Red Lobster's 2.19 an hour is eaten up by taxes. It is a joke, really. She basically works for tip money and that is all.

She has little money and it isn't like she is drinking and laying around all day. She doesn't eat a lot and she does not have rowdy friends over. She used to have some seedy friends that made me nervous a couple of years ago when she was just 18. There will be the increase in water and electricity. She keeps the downstairs basement area clean, but does not do any kitchen work.

She does have car and car insurance to pay. She has no medical insurance.

I will remind her that there is no smoking in my house. What to do , what to do....

Our county fair is going on this week. I am going to try to get there at least once. I will remember to take my camera. My daughter wants to go with her beau, I am not sure what night. They are torn between dog show or llama show. Yeah, really. Me, I wouldn't mind seeing the harness racing on Saturday. But it is at 1:00 p.m. and I have a baby shower to attend at 2:00 p.m. So, I guess I'll miss it. My daughter and I got to go shopping for little girl stuff today! Oh, the memories. Pink, soft blankets. Little chick bath robe. Wild and colorful bibs. Wee, tiny pink booties. Sigh.

I am meeting a friend at Bravo's Thursday evening for dinner. Italian. Mmmmm.

My colorful twirlers on the patio

A closeup shot of the green part of a colorful twirler.

On my patio outside I have hanging five colorful twirlers. After the 4th of July get together, I wanted something with pretty colors. I "love" red, white and blue in the patriotic sense, but I hate it for decorating. Blah!

In 1976 my sisters painted a bunch of bedroom furniture red white and blue. I hated it. But, I never painted over it. So, what am I complaining about? I just realized that. I could have painted over it when they all moved out. I took over one of the other bedrooms. It wasn't like I didn't have my pick. I don't know whatever happened to that bedroom furniture. Hard to say.

So anyway, I was feeling kind of restless tonight. I went out in the rain and snapped some pictures from the patio. Mostly I experimented with the twirlers and the dreary wet gray background of the sky. I like the ones that came out like the above. Where the flash from the camera exploded into a thousand light rays.

Turner classic movies is playing Out of Africa. The movie is kind of long, and I've seen it at least a dozen times, but it is still one of my favorites. I have read the book and it is different than the movie. I can relate to the way the female lead falls in love with a man, and she believes he thinks the same way that she does. And she is so confused when he doesn't think the same way. In her opinion, when you love somebody and you think that they love you, they only want to be with you. She can't figure out why the men she falls in love with keep seeing other women besides her. Some women can tolerate that kind of behavior, and some don't.

I read somewhere that 9 out of 10 wives will stay with an alcoholic husband, but only 1 out of 10 husbands stay with an alcoholic wife.

Another favorite part of the movie is when she first comes to Africa and walks right into the Men's club where women are NOT allowed. I guess that didn't happen in Denmark. She is surprised by this backward behavior. I feel like I have lived my entire life surprised like that. I can still recall when one of my sister's boyfriends complimented me on my driving. Way back in my Texas days I drove him back to a military base in New Mexico. He was just amazed that I could drive the Interstate and traffic, etc. At the time I was 22 and I didn't think much of it. Why in the hell wouldn't I be able to? A few years later I thought back on that. I had many rude awakenings with how some men are conditioned to think. And, some women.

My Mom never drove. I do have to confess that I never drove a stick. A lot of people chided me about that. My thinking was, why drive a shift when they make automatics? Kind of like using a scrub board and bucket of water when there is a perfectly good washing machine in the laundry room. Now, I didn't say I couldn't drive a stick. I just never felt the need to. When I was learning to drive, we didn't have any manual transmission vehicles around. So I never practiced with one.

If it counts for anything, I like to downshift my automatic once in a while before a red light or stop sign. Hah! Hah! I like the feel of it. Is that why people drive a stick? To feel the engine shift when you tell it to? Maybe it is a power thing.

I have been working in ATM video all day. Can you tell that my brain is fried? I am so mad that I can't get this blasted problem figured out. Just when I think I have it, the unit fails to make the video call. Stupid, outdated technology. It is like the old video Beta and VHS. Some video sites are still trying to hang on to the Beta technology (in the case, ATM). Shoot! Cut your losses, already. The money is spent. Quit beating a dead horse. I know, I know. There is no money to convert to the newer IP video calling equipment. No crystal ball was around 8 years ago when you bought this ATM equipment. Some bought the IP version, some the ATM. It was all a crap shoot for the schools. Now, there is no money.

What do you think about home schooling? There are so many opportunities now. There are also people who just cop out. They can't discipline their child to get to school or to behave, so the alternative solution is to stick a computer in their home and have the child learn on their own through a virtual environment. Some families need this for ill children or severely behavior problem children. Some abuse the system. As for me, my daughter will go to a school building with school teachers and fellow students. She needs the interaction with other people. She must learn how to get along with people.

I'm going back out and finish watching the movie. They just saw an airplane flying over the plains of Africa.

Too close for comfort!

Is that a for real spider in that web?

Today was beautiful! I finished up some yard work that I started yesterday and thought I would walk around the block and take some pictures. Most were of the take-over plant Rose of Sharon. I walked by a hedge and saw this spider web shining in the sun. I couldn't get a great angle, so I held the camera up above my head in an attempt to get a better view.

Of course, I didn't know what the view was of until I downloaded the photos to my computer. Yikes! Is that a spider? My daughter said YES! That is a bit too close for me. Look at the size of that monster! It blends in with some of the dried brown leaves from a nearby oak tree.

I fixed the link from my "The Reception" post that points to my new album page. I hyper-linked the web page incorrectly and it took you the blogspot's nether land. I posted more pics of the spider web here.

Just a side note here: The rats are doing fine. The cats could care less about them. Sheesh! Our poor mouse is having some bad days, though. He is bleeding from the ear. I hear that they only live 18 months to 2 years. It has been about that long.

Bright

Photo Friday Challenge: Bright

I guess it isn't too bright to look at the sun. Even through a camera lens. No wonder I was seeing haze after shooting this set.

Practice what you preach

Smiling at the wedding reception

I have lots of pics from the wedding and the reception that will probably continue to sprout up in here for a few days. This little girl was all smiles until she got tired and crashed. For the wedding she had a very feminine and very pink full skirted dress on. For the reception she kicked back and donned a onesie. You go girl!

Driving home from work today, I pass at least one school zone. In Ohio that means 20 mph. I work in the schools and I have a child in school. I can't remember what I used to do before my child, maybe sneak through, maybe I obeyed the speed limit. I pulled out of our work parking lot behind another co-worker. She works with pre-school children. I followed her up the road to where she charged through the school zone almost hitting a child on a bicycle. I noticed because she went way left of center to go around him. He was in the cross walk. There was also a crossing guard on his way to the middle of the cross walk holding up his STOP sign. Okay.

This reminded me of another incident. My brother is a volunteer fireman in a small town. He told me a story about another fireman. I suppose when a fireman gets a call or hears that siren a rush of adrenalin so strong courses through their veins that it catapults them into emergency mode. This enables the average human to take certain risks that helps mankind. I am thankful for this calling that they have. (Such as the ones who came to the aid of their fellow man in the 9-11 disaster).

However, this particular fireman found the desire to "rush" to the fire department so great that he sped through a school crossing cross walk. The crossing guard reported him and he was suspended for two days from the department. He became angry and quit. Nobody took his side. Most of the department members have small children that could have been crossing the street during that time.

I can imagine that once in a while your mind can be distracted and you make a mistake. I believe this to have happened to my co-worker today. At least I hope so. The second incident, I knew the guy and he really thought himself above the law. Hence his reaction to being punished. A little common sense goes a long way.

Speaking of thinking yourself as being "above the law":

Here in Ohio, it is illegal to make a U-Turn on the Interstate. The areas are for emergency vehicles only and are marked as such. There is a confusing off ramp near my town that if you miss it or get confused, you must travel 10 miles to the next off ramp. There is, however, a U-Turn area right past the confusing off ramp. A co-worker and I were in the company van and passed this area. I told her when I first started, I missed the exit and had to go all the way to the next exit to get back around. I told her that another co-worker had told me that they did the same, but turned around illegally. I said "They must think that they are ABOVE the law."

She was quiet for a second and said that she had done the same thing.

Whoops.

Alarmists

I usually recognize an alarm situation as just that. People running around in a panic because something is not working and others are affected. For an example. A class room of students get 45 minutes to listen to a historical program. The video connection is good when the teacher tests the connection fifteen minutes before the demonstration. Five minutes into the demonstration the connection dies. Panic time.

Before calmly trying to troubleshoot the problem somebody jumps on the horn and in a hysterical voice alarms the other party. The other party catches the panic in the caller's voice and they begin to panic. 26 students are sitting there looking at a dead screen. The school district has paid for a bus to take them to another location to view this video and time's a-wastin'! The other party puts the phone down and while running to the office next door alarms their co-worker sitting at the next desk. What? What are we going to do? Students sitting there with nothing to do! The co-worker jumps on the horn to their manager and the alarm begins as a rigmarole spreading from one person to another like some kind of wild fire out of control.

Again, usually I recognize this for what it is and I try to calmly contact the person closest to the failing equipment. I try to get them to "calmly" reboot the unit and try connecting again. No shortcuts because the kids are getting restless. A shortcut was taken and more time is wasted. The unit is slowly re-setting. It seems to take forever when time is a-wastin'. In this day and age of lightning speed Internet access, we are befuddled by the slow-booting older machines. It takes minutes instead of seconds. Nerves are frayed.

Oh, and the icing on the cake? When an alarmist comes to my office for help, she notices dark red painted toenails sticking up from underneath my co-workers desk. She gives me a quizzical look. I shrug my shoulders. Yes, my bizarre co-worker is laying on a neck brace underneath her desk because of her endless pain episodes. She is on her back and her legs are on her chair.

She has used up all of her sick days and has even borrowed some so this is what she is reduced to. Laying on the office floor sucking on her "FOR CANCER PATIENTS ONLY" pain sticks. Mumbling about how long it is before she can slap another pain patch on herself. Given half the chance and a gun, I'll put her out of her misery. And the reason she doesn't go home on her "lunch hour" to perform this rather personal deed? The pain medication makes her woozy and she is afraid to drive too much. Feel safe on the roads, do you?

The reception

Shady Hollow country club in Massillon, Ohio

My daughter and I arrived earlier in the afternoon to bag the buckeyes. Extras were laid out on silver trays. We then went on to the motel to dress for the wedding.

When we arrived after the wedding, the bar was in full swing. A huge television sat on one corner so that fans could watch the Ohio State Buckeyes play against Texas.

The buckeyes on the silver trays went like hotcakes. At the tables, most of the guests didn't even see or touch the gift bags with buckeyes in it. My sisters collected them at the end of the reception and took them home. As for me, my daughter and my niece - we don't want to see (especially smell) another buckeye for a long, long time.

The reception moved rather quickly. The entrance of the wedding party, the feast, the drinking, the toasts, the music, the dancing. The girlfriend of the brother of the groom caught the bride's bouquet. She made sure that her beau knew this fact. C'mon! Quit stallin' boy!

My web page appears to have bit the dust. Not my fault. It is my IP. They are in the process of changing over from Adelphia to Time Warner. Not sure if that has anything to do with it or not, or if the server crashed. They ain't saying. And, they don't sound positive. I discovered that I could not access my web page yesterday (September 11th). It is still down today.

I quickly setup a free account on myphotoalbum.com. To view more pictures of the wedding and the reception you can go here:

myalbum

I am going through and adding some of my older albums also. This free program is pretty nifty.

There was a lot of crazy dancing at the reception. I am happy to say that I was sane that evening. There were a couple of little babies there and I pretty much stayed in a back room away from the noise with them. My brother has informed us that they are "grand" niece and "grand" nephew. I am their "Grand" Aunt. Because my sisters are Grandmothers, I also get to be grand. Well, well, well. We were thinking it was "great" aunt and so forth. Nope. Grand!

The only incident was a couple of the bridesmaids got into a little tiff. This would be expected because after all, this was a huge event to pull off and people were tired, cranky, drunk and for nothing to happen would have been a minor miracle.

The fireworks passed and we all moved on to an enjoyable, lovely evening. Celebrate!

The formal updo's

My daughter's do on the left and my niece's on the right.

Most people would think that a headache the morning after a wedding would be caused by too much drinking. But what of the younger crowd? The teenage girls? Staying up too late? That one little sip of champagne? Nope. How about the updo?

While in the hair salon Saturday morning if you listen you can hear some very remarkable things. First of all, the receptionist talking on the phone made a personal call. Not only did she tell the person on the other end of the line that she had cervical cancer, but she told all fifteen people in the salon at the time. We all could hear her very "personal" conversation. Where are the telephone manners? Don't even get me started on people with cell phones.

Getting updos for two people and prom nails on one can result in two hours of sitting in the salon. The stylists chat with one another and they hold nothing back. Making the hair look nice is only half the battle. The other half is making sure the "do" doesn't collapse or fall out. Bobby pins are used and plenty of them. My daughter wanted chopsticks placed in her updo and her stylist stated there wasn't any room for them. She moved on to another customer.

Meanwhile another stylist began putting prom nails on my daughter. We spoke of the chopsticks. The stylist putting on the nails said that one stylist would get the chopsticks in and she called her over. The others agreed. This stylist could get any hair to stay in place. She was actually proud of the fact that all her clients got a "headache" after she was done with them. She was doing my niece's hair later that day. I called my niece and told her "not" to wash her hair - dirty hair is much easier to work with and I advised her to take 2 Advil before her appointment.

My niece took her hair down last night and I helped my daughter take hers out this evening. She wanted to wear it to school like that. My niece had about 30 bobby pins in and my daughter had over a dozen. At least my stylist used blonde pins in my hair. My niece and daughter had black bobby pins in their hair.

I have 110 photos to post on my personal web page of the wedding and the reception, but my IP is having issues. Technical difficulties. There isn't a thing I can do until they get their act together.

Tomorrow: The reception.

The Church

St. Mary's Church - Massillon, Ohio.

If the object of church makers back in the 1800's was to intimidate the mere mortal, they have accomplished such a feat with this massive church that held the wedding of my nephew and his new bride on Saturday.

One can only feel humble when entering this structure for the first time. For a real breath-taking view, take the virtual tour here.

The day was warm with a refreshing breeze. Formal wear made things a bit warm. The church was not air conditioned but it was far from hot and stuffy. The atmosphere was excited anticipation with a side of 'ready to boil over the rim' chaos. It was a large wedding (in my book).

The bells of St. Mary's chimed throughout the green wooded area all around the church. Small groups of people arrived, parked in the enormous parking lot and began to gather at the front of the church steps. They admired the wedding party dressed in their beautiful scarlet gowns and black tuxedo's. Aunts and uncles ooh'd and ahh'd over the little girl's dresses. Rarely do we dress up any more. Some of the farmers on the grooms side of the family had arrived in their best pressed clothes. In jet black and beet burgundy their dark tanned faces and arms set a contrast with the cold stone of the church steps. Without their hats, they almost looked like strangers.

Tomorrow: The updos.

Here a buckeye, there a buckeye

I've got buckeyes coming out of my ears! My daughter picked up the corded phone and yelled "Why is there peanut butter on the phone?!!!" Well, it is everywhere. I have used up every ounce of peanut butter I have in the house. I have one jar of honey peanut butter that we never ate. I didn't have to dig into it. Total count: 700. Whew!

The 3 rats arrived today in their glass aquarium. They are downstairs on a table. May they rest in peace with a house of 4 cats.

Puppy dog tails

Snaps and snails, and puppy dog tails.

Photo Friday Challenge: Boy

Buckeyes - 380!

Mmmm... creamy peanut butter. Reminds me of the movie Meet Joe Black. Where the Joe character eats peanut butter for the first time. I love peanut butter as long as it is creamy. I can't stand the crunchy. I don't like peanuts in my chocolate bars, either. Or, on my ice cream sundaes! NO! NO! NO! But, I love salted peanuts out of the can. I had to give those up because of stomach problems. Boo hoo.

One of the trickiest parts of making buckeyes is not mixing too hard when you first start out. Powdered sugar is very light and if you slip the spatula you get sugar everywhere. A big cloud of it will explode out of your bowl. So, you take your time. I have lost count of how many batches I have made. I am thinking six that survived. (We all know what happened to the first batch.)

The mutt is doing fine, though. In Sable's behalf I must mention that I did just purchase her a Kong when we were at the vet's office last week. I filled it with peanut butter a couple of times to try to keep her busy and not scratch her sore. So, I guess Sable figured anything with peanut butter in it was fair game. The entire house smells like peanut butter, powdered sugar and chocolate. It must be driving her crazy.

Nothing disastrous happened today. Almost, though. I almost dropped an entire cookie sheet of buckeyes onto the floor. Sigh. That would have been a wonderful follow-up to the fiasco yesterday, but it didn't happen. I caught myself and the little peanut butter balls rolled around a bit but remained on the tray. I am not sure I would have posted that if it did happen. You guys would probably think that I am a real klutz. Or accident prone, at least. I am none of those things. I am very sane, and practical. In fact, I am boring.

I felt a migraine coming on at about 2:00. I had 5 hours of sleep last night and two pots of coffee. Way too much caffeine. (Note: small 4 cup pot). I nipped it with one of my Relpax. I have no time for headaches this week.

So, I still have all day tomorrow and I re-stocked on supplies today. I have it down to a science, now. I am a lean, mean buckeye-making machine! Oh, and just for the record - I have eaten a total of two buckeyes. TWO. I cannot stomach any more. I am wondering if this would be a great way to rid yourself of a food addiction. Maybe? If so, I will be making pizza all next week. LOL!

Rolling of the Buckeyes - Day One

Here are the ingredients. Forget the granular sugar. That wasn't an ingredient I needed for the buckeye candies. There are buckeye trees in Ohio that produce this nut that is poisonous to eat. It (the tree's nut) was named after the eye of a deer Buck.

The candy is quite delicious. Peanut butter balls dipped in melted chocolate chips.

After mixing the ingredients, you roll the dough into little balls. Chill them for at least an hour and melt the chocolate chips into a double boiler. I use two pans. The bottom (bigger) pan I boil water in and set the smaller pan down into the water and melt the chips in it. I add paraffin wax to give the buckeyes a clear coat. In the above picture I didn't add enough wax, so I made up for that in the next batch. Use toothpicks to dip the balls into the melted chocolate. Set them on wax paper to dry. My niece and her husband came down to help, she also wanted to see how to make them so she can make her own.

There are many recipes. Just google "recipe buckeye candy" and you will get lots.

Now, for the bad news. My daughter's boyfriend is not feeling well, so after our company left we were going to run him over some herbal tea. I placed all of the buckeyes on a high counter in the kitchen and folded the wax paper over top of them so that if any cat decided to get frisky, they wouldn't be able to get to them. I had 54 buckeyes on the dining room table in a rubbermaid container with the lid on it. My niece and her husband each sampled a buckeye out of this rubbermaid container. What I didn't know is that they didn't snap the lid shut. They just sat the lid back on the container. Big mistake.

While we were gone, my dog (Sable) ate all 54 buckeyes. When I walked past the table and glanced at the container, my first thought was "where in the heck did I put those buckeyes? I don't remember moving them." Then it hit me. I saw the top layer of wax paper laying next to the container. I didn't move them. They were gone. OH NO!

I looked at Sable. She seemed fine. I showed her the empty container. Big sad brown guilty eyes. Christ dog! Do you have a death wish? I was angry. All that work! And, what in the world is going to happen to my dog? Should I call a vet? Should I look on the Internet for what to do? I was so mad I told my daughter that I didn't care if she did die. Well, she did something worse. She threw up melted, foamy buckeyes all over my living room carpet. I rushed her outside. She continued to throw up out there.

Gagging, I cleaned up the carpet mess. Let's just say I think I pulled that muscle in my neck/shoulder all over again. It was already stressed from stirring three batches of stiff buckeye dough!

Later: I called my vet. She called back about 30 minutes later. She said that a dog can safely eat 1 oz of chocolate per pound of dog. My dog is a barrel. One batch of buckeyes uses 1 12 oz bag of chocolate chips. Sable is at least 80 lbs. She kept throwing up and drinking water so we moved her outside. It is a beautiful night out. Cool and a full moon. We walked her around a bit. She is not convulsing. She is not foaming at the mouth. She is not shaky. She is in fact wagging her tail and begging our forgiveness with her big round soft brown eyes. Aw, geez! Okay, I'm not mad any more. At least not until I see the other mess the vet said to expect in the morning. Coming from the other end!

Buckeyes: zero

One of the many beautiful lakes in Eastern Ohio.

My daughter received a lot of positive comments on her hair. My niece is adjusting to the fact that she is going to move ahead with her life. I am on vacation. I bought sugar, powdered sugar, peanut butter, chocolate chips, butter, vanilla and paraffin wax. Number of buckeyes made today: A big fat zero.

Do you think it makes a big difference if you use real vanilla extract? I just finished up a bottle of the real stuff in my banana bread yesterday. Today I purchased imitation. I don't bake a lot so I have never really experimented with the imitation. My Mom used imitation.

I do know that rainy weather affects fudge and I swear it ruined my buckeyes one year. I am hoping for drier weather. I have not checked the weather. I guess it will be what it will be.

I just hope that the wedding reception does not end up in one huge buckeye throwing fight.

Cheap sunglasses

It's never too early to protect your eyes.

This is my great-nephew. His parents are getting married this week-end. Cart before the horse and all that stuff. They purchased a house a month ago. Then they are off to Nassau for a honeymoon. I forgot to ask my sister, but I suppose she is watching the bambino while they go.

The wedding is out of town so a lot of family will be staying overnight in a motel. The rooms were going quickly so I reserved all they had left. Which was three. My other sister asked if we should check into the motel room and then go to the wedding. I said "Definitely, because if they are that booked they will probably give our rooms away!"

My niece called me today crying. Her boyfriend told her to "Get out." They have been living together for 18 months. I read a book a long time ago that if couples co-habitating aren't married in 18 months, it isn't going to happen. This is the niece that stayed with me from 15 to 18.5 years. She is heartbroken.

Not a one of her friends like(d) her boyfriend. Her Mother didn't like him. I don't care for him, he can be nice - but I didn't like a lot of things that I saw. But, I believe that everybody has to learn for themselves. Nobody can tell you. She works two part-time jobs, goes to school full time and took care of most of the cleaning and cooking at his house that he shared with his dad. We (the family) felt that she was being used. Nobody could tell me anything at 19, and I feel that she is pretty much the same way. Blind to love. Love conquers all. Love at all costs. She doesn't eat very well, and I can't imagine that this is going to be very good for her.

Over the past year, she has let all her girlfriends go because of him. One recently re-newed their friendship, but she is leaving for Columbus this month for college. Maybe 2 jobs and school will be good for her. She can keep herself busy.

My daughter is bouncing around with her new haircut. She loves it. I am worried about when her roots start growing in. I swear when I combed it out for her today after her shower, the hair was pure white on the top of her head. I know it will tone down. This coming from somebody who has now dyed her hair for close to 30 years.

My daughter's style is a cut that needs some fixing up in the mornings. Not something she is very good at. We like that wash it, comb it and go hairstyle. I never use a blow dryer. My hair is dry before I am done combing it out. Well, okay - not that fast but pretty close.

This should be interesting. Lucky for me I am off all week for the buckeye marathon, and can give her hair some "style" time. But when I go back to work, she is going to have to buckle down and do it herself. She wanted the hair, she can deal with it.

So we are back to a three girl family again. My counsellor is going to raise her eyebrows at me for not telling my niece "No, you can't come back." How can I turn my back on her? I helped to raise her for crying out loud. My niece has 3 rats. I have 4 cats. This should be very interesting.

Hair cut

Daughter's new haircut and color.

My daughter has been after me to let her get her hair dyed black underneath and bright blonde on the top. We did that today. The beautician talked us into going with a rich coffee brown on the bottom layer. My daughter doesn't think it is dark enough, but I told her with all of the black she wears, you wouldn't even be able to see the underside. She also had it layered. Her chore list is pretty long for this bill.

She is very happy with it. I have to admit, I was a bit anxious about it, but it turned out really nice. It has improved her self esteem enormously. She doesn't look like my daughter. I have to adjust.

This week I will perform a new endeavor. I have titled it "The Rolling of the Buckeyes".

Pondering

What gets me, is if this 'headache' episode is from a pulled muscle during my "rage" incident on Friday the 25th, why didn't it hurt on Saturday, Sunday and Monday? Other than lack of sleep, I was fine on Saturday. Sunday I had my usual migraine behind my left eye. My prescription medicine took care of that. Monday I was tired, but okay. Tuesday morning I had another 'thunderclap' headache. Wednesday a dull ache. Thursday day - I was fine. Thursday afternoon another 'thunderclap' headache. Friday - dull ache. Saturday dull-ache. Headache woke me up this morning, that is why I am sitting here on the computer.

Changing the subject (Thank God!). We have had a big cold front move through the Ohio valley. A bit of rain, too. School started, work picked up. I get to make buckeyes and I hope I don't eat too many of them. They are my favorite candy/cookie. If I find my camera (house is still in a semi-Atomic explosion state), I'll take pictures of the "rolling of the buckeyes". The plan is to make 1,000 of them? 500? As many as I can, I guess. I am thinking that they will end up just being thrown at other people at the reception. A huge buckeye cookie fight. LOL!

Pain or something like it

Something swirled in Paint Shop.

A few years back, maybe a decade or two, Kenny Rogers had a song out that had the line "Love or something like it's got a hold on me." Pain or something like it's got a hold on me. Not so bad today. Thursday afternoon we took Sable to the vet's office. She had scratched a sore on the side of her face under her right ear. I suspected ear mites, but again the vet said it was her allergies.

I had to hold Sable down while the doctor shaved the hair from around the sore. Sable didn't like it one bit and she is a big dog. The exertion of holding her down brought me a headache that slams into the back of my head like a crowbar. Again, it lasts five minutes and then retreats to a dull ache. Friday night, Tuesday morning and now, Thursday afternoon.

My description is like somebody taking a crowbar and sinking it into the back of your skull. Then they begin to pry it towards them in an attempt to pull your head off.

I researched on the Internet. The closest I could find to what I was experiencing is called a "Thunderclap" headache. The doctor went through the normal examination. No numbness, dizziness or tingling. Thankfully, it doesn't appear to be an aneurysm. She diagnosed a pulled muscle and sent me home with a prescription for muscle relaxers and the name of a masseuse. "Say what?" Yep. Giving her (the doctor) the benefit of the doubt, maybe the pulled muscle is causing the exertion headaches. Maybe she realizes the same thing I read on the Internet. There ain't much you can do for a "thunderclap" headache. Wonderful.

Oh, and the masseuse is $120.00 for an hour and a half. First visit must be an hour and a half. You know insurance won't pay. They said 99.9% don't. That would be too wonderful. I am debating the massage.

Meanwhile I am on day two of the relaxers. Big deal. Doctor told me to relax for the next week. I have been sick for over five days. Do you know what kind of state my house is in? Major atomic bomb site. Relax, my butt. Maybe she has a maid. I wonder just how in touch professionals are with the rest of us out here in the real world.

I also wonder what life would be like without all of these headaches. I have had some good days and sometimes I stop and get real quiet. What would it be like to feel this way every single day? I wouldn't be so grumpy. I wouldn't be so mean and nasty. I would make crafts and paint again. The smell of paints or glue wouldn't bother me. I could stay outside and work. The weather changes wouldn't bother me, either. Oh, get real.

My oldest brother and sister's migraines stopped when they retired from their jobs. They rarely get one any more. I still use the relaxation CD. Two years, now.

I am rambling. I am tired. Can headaches be recognized like a major illness such as diabetes? Or, arthritis? When somebody says they have diabetes, people kind of know what they are speaking of. Take your medicine and you should be okay. When you mention migraines, you kind of get a look like "Uh huh." Sometimes people like to think they know what causes your headaches. You must be eating too much cheese, chocolate and red wine. You need to take vitamins. You're breathing wrong. You must be allergic to some foods. You sit wrong. You walk wrong. You wear the wrong type of shoes. You need to walk more. You need to drink more water. You take too many 'over the counter' pills. Oh, there are more. Many more. I've heard my share.

Over the past 30 years with my migraines I have discovered the major triggers (for me):

1. Hormones
2.Weather change
3.Change in sleep patterns
(I don't care what they say about going to bed at the same time and getting up at the same time each and every day. Sometimes you have to go out on a week-end and stay up late! I do like to socialize, you know!)
4.Smells such as perfume and cigarette smoke
5.Stress, I guess.
6.Onions, I think.

I never know when I am under stress. I have become so conditioned to saying "I am fine" when anyone asks me, I don't give it a second thought. A lot of migraines come after the stress episode.

We watched "Eight Below" today. About the sled dogs. I can't believe we waited this long to watch it. My daughter really likes the husky-type dogs. I don't. I can't stand a blue-eyed dog for some weird reason. I don't trust them. My Sable has the big soft brown eyes.

We have "Failure to Launch" to watch for tomorrow or Monday. I am trying to relax but I can't stand to sit in the living room and watch a movie when I look around and this needs done and that needs done.

At least this holiday week-end I am free from get togethers. Well, a birthday party last night but no cook-outs. Since last week-end was the graduation party and next week-end is the big wedding, I guess everybody needs some breathing room.

I hope I kick this latest headache episode before the wedding! That would certainly be a damper.

I know that I have to mow the grass soon. I can't let it go very much longer. Just give me one good day, and hopefully on that good day it is dry enough to mow.

Silky

Shasta sitting on the grass.

Friday's Photo Challenge: Silver.