Room with a view

My nephew took this photo in Vegas I think. I like it.

Yesterday I stopped in my insurance agent's office to pay my insurance. The lady who has been there for a long time was busy so I went to the other lady. I usually always deal with the first lady. This gal was nice, we chatted. I am very chatty at times. After a while the first lady (no longer busy) came over to chat. We got on the subject of Boxers. They were both big dog lovers and the first lady had owned a boxer for years. It was uncanny but they knew somebody who had a boxer dog stolen about a year ago.

The first lady went back to her desk to call them and to pull up the pictures I had of Slade on-line. While she was dialing I sighed and told her I was going to a family reunion this week-end. She said, "So is my husband!" I said I was traveling to West Virginia. She said "So is my husband" and then her brain put two and two together. My last name happens to be the same as her husband's mother's maiden name. It dawned on her and her jaw dropped open.

When she said that, I wondered "Who?" She said his mother's name and I realized that was my Aunt. Oh, my. Of course she had passed - clear back in 1982. When we would visit my dad's relatives, we would go to the aunt that my mom was the closest to. That aunt would call all the relatives and if they wanted to visit, they would come to her house. I don't recall seeing this aunt ever. I guess she was not as close to my dad and mom as the others were. So, I did not know her children (some of my first cousins). She lived two blocks over and we would drive by her house and my mom would say "Your Aunt ___ lives there." I was young and never thought much about why we didn't see them. Something about the husband not liking drinkers and my dad was a big drinker. That probably had a lot to do with it.

She called her husband and we had a good laugh. I said I guess I'd see him Sunday. Then came to find out her son is on the same fire department as my brother. She knew many people that I knew and we talked for another hour. I have known this lady for over 10 years. Granted I only go in to pay my bill once in a blue moon but we always chat and laugh and have a good time.

Small world. The folks she knew who had the boxer stolen were not at home. I told her to give them my number. Yes, I have bonded with the boxer. But, if I had a dog stolen I would want to know what happened to him. I guess the folks had moved and had another boxer. Must not have been theirs because I have not heard from them. I just always wondered where he came from and what happened. I guess it will remain a mystery to me.

I'll be taking the dogs to the boarder in a couple of hours. People should start arriving at my house shortly after that. A huge group of my family stay in the same motel and we will party on the patio tonight and swim. Then tomorrow is the reunion at the shelter house. Most of us stay an extra night because we stay to clean up. Then it is back on the road home on Monday.

I have heard that a few of the folks who went last year are not coming this year, (we have four from our group not showing but two new ones coming) but I have also heard there are other new ones coming this year (such as my insurance agent's husband and his siblings). My agent can't make it. This is our 2nd one. We had 125 last year.

I am usually so busy helping with the auction, the 50/50 drawing, placing food on the tables (the food, my God - the food!) that I don't get a lot of time to actually meet people and find out what line they are from. I am going to put forth an extra effort this time. More pictures, more pictures!

Riding on the B-Train

I was going thru my nephew's photos and I found this. Yes, it is the same barrel train that I took a photo of back in September of 2007. My good friend's nephew made it I think. Here he is hauling some kids thru the Memorial Day parade in their home town. Notice the little girl in the blue barrel holding her hears. That would have been me at that age. My ears are still sensitive.

Here is my photo: http://welcomemyworld.blogspot.com/2007/09/barrel-train.html

On Parade

This photo is lifted from my nephew's collection. He handed over his memory card that had pics of my party on it and I downloaded the entire folder onto my hard drive. I like the color of the car.

Feeling very blah. Have the reunion in WV this week-end. I'm saving all my energy up for that.

Monkey See

The visit with my sister, nephew and niece went very well. I had a house full Sunday. My daughter and her beau were here as well. My niece picked the meal for the day. Little pizzas made with split English muffins.

As for the monkey picture? It is kind of funny to me how the adults have more fun with the kids toys that I bought for my party than the kids did. The kids just kind of shake their heads and look strangely at us. Hmmm.

Eye Dee Ten Tee Error

A picture of my pineapple pudding cake before adding the pineapple and cool whip.

I had to throw almost the whole dang thing out after my party this year. I guess I just had way too much food this year. Nobody ate any of it. I gave a couple of pieces (or with this cake it is more like huge spoon fulls) away, and I ate one myself - but the rest? Garbage disposal got it. Oh, well. Mama said...

Anyway... good news. I figured out half way through the day (when I dropped my cell phone) that it was still missing the battery, so when I went home at lunch I found the battery under a hamper and my cell phone is fine. I am kind of bummed because I really want a smart phone and I need a good excuse to treat myself to one. (Just because I am eligible for an upgrade isn't a good enough reason for me). This coming from someone who will get her daughter the latest and greatest gadget while I take her hand-me-downs.

As to the title of the post, has anybody ever said to you "That's an eye dee ten tee error?" It certainly is NOT a compliment. We techs would jokingly tell each other that and when we came across somebody who did not know what it is, we say "write it down." Phonetically it is pronounced eye dee ten tee. Written down it looks like this:

id10t. :)

What a lousy host I am! A good friend e-mailed me Saturday morning and said she was getting a group together that evening to play cards and such. I said "Sure" because I did not have plans. I had worked on a small "mini-laptop" that she purchased for her niece and this would be a good time to return it. (I'll post more about this unit another day.) Note: I am seriously "NOT IMPRESSED" with this device.

So, I head up north and settle in with good friends, good snacks and good games.

I get a message from my sister in Columbus. She was visiting her daughter (autistic) and she, my nephew and niece were headed to my house and would be there in an hour. I was an hour away. Whoops. I had forgotten they were coming. Yikes!

I tried to call them back, but they were probably travelling through the "no man's land" area where I had worked at a week before and I did not reach them. My nephew still had his key so it all turned out okay, but I felt bad. I stayed to play cards with friends (because we were playing teams and stuff) and I made it home around midnight.

Bad sister! Bad host!

Heat

Here is Teton busy trying to grab the wrist strap to my camera.

I am blaming it all on the heat. The heat is making everybody crazy. I went out to walk the dogs this morning and it hit me like an oven. Once we got out and about there is a breeze blowing. That helps. We went our usual route. We rounded a corner and I heard a funny sound. I stopped. It was the Boxer growling! He has never growled before. A deep very soft growl.

I quickly looked around. What in the world would make this massive animal growl? Is it a bear? A deer? A huge dog? All I could see was the street department cones and a flashing battery operated light on top of a street sign where they had dug up the pavement to put in a new home's sewage drain pipe.

Ack! That was it! He was afraid of the traffic cones and the flashing light. I talked softly to him and walked him over to the area and he finally came forward and sniffed the cones and the sign and then he was no longer afraid of them.

Then we went on our merry way.

Sigh. To the showers to cool down!

Memories

Here are a couple of links to some past posts of my pet dogs (not pictured above):

http://welcomemyworld.blogspot.com/2006/09/rolling-of-buckeyes-day-one.html

http://welcomemyworld.blogspot.com/2005/04/shes-been-good-dog.html

Hope you enjoy.

Somebody stop the world.

What is this? What do you do with this? Huh? This "look" is the result of me playing with a cat instead of him. I was taking pictures of Teton (who was playing with the wrist strap to the camera) and I happened to look over my floor fan and see this. Good God Almighty! It is the look of "But, I thought you loved ME best!"

Anyways, my nightmare didn't end. It just moved into my house and follows me around. After my freakish day on Thursday the 15th, Friday was rather mundane and normal. Saturday brought me a ripe and juicy migraine with a side of exhaustion.

Sunday came. I ventured out to buy groceries and cat/dog food. I purchased some frozen food and ice cream. Came home and "BAM" no keys to get in the house. The spare key we keep hidden (LOL!) I had given to daughter's boyfriend so he could get into the house. Oh, my. I looked at my daughter's bedroom window. Is it unlocked? Yes, it was. It wasn't pretty folks and I hope (for their sake) the neighbors were not looking. I got in and I am still feeling the ramifications from THAT!. The dogs all thought it was quite hilarious. I gave them a what for.

Monday came. Work was okay. I stopped at the drug store on the way home. Two hours later I went to balance my checkbook and what? No wallet! I had left it at the drug store. I called them, yes they had it. I went back and picked it up. All money still there. I thanked the cashier and pointed to my head and made a motion that I was losing it.

Tuesday came. I took the dogs out for their early morning walk and when I returned there in the middle of the floor was one of my brand new SAS sandals. The back strap was chewed completely off. I had forgotten to put them in my bedroom overnight. They cost me serious $$ but they are so wonderfully comfortable. I wore my tennis shoes that day and will wear them today. Grrrr.

Wednesday dawns. I go downstairs to take a shower and flip my cell phone off with my clothes and it clatters to the hard tiled floor. It ain't comin' back folks. It is dead as a doornail. I am eligible to upgrade to a new phone. I guess something is telling me it is time to do it. NOW!

I know I mentioned having a couple of links to look back at. Some funny stories from the past. I did not have time to look them up on my blog, but will get to them soon.

Until tomorrow... I am locking myself in a padded room. Somebody stop the world, I want to get off! Ha, ha!

Go granny, go!

The men love her. She is a granny. When she talks she sounds like a trucker. A voice affected by too many cigarettes and too much whiskey. Each time I got near her with the camera she stood up and pulled her top down over her tat. This one I had to zoom in from across the room (sorry for the deterioration of the photo) but she was unaware that I got it. My daughter told me this type of tattoo has a slang name. A tramp stamp.

She is the type of gal who comes up to you (even if you are a stranger) and wraps her arms around your neck and puts her face directly in your face to talk. She comes on strong. This photo is where she hung all over a young fellow in a wheel chair. I am sure she made his night. She comes on just a little too strong for my taste. She is always putting her foot in her mouth. Perhaps because of the alcohol?

I did enjoy some conversations with her from time to time over the years. She is a big dog lover. Of course she knows everything there is to know about everything. She has lived a colorful life to say the least. Another expression that comes to mind when you see her "Rode hard and put away wet."

Blueish

That's it! After the rain today I am getting my camera and my daughter's and going out and shooting some new pictures. I am tired of this same old stuff. All I had on this memory card was hydrangea, blurred photos of my pets and a few pics of fully ripe tomatoes and huge sweet onions. Plus about 40 pics of my daughter (she was attempting to get a new facebook pose).

After a lazy week-end, I awoke this morning to very painful eyes. Before I looked at the clock as I lay there after wakening, my eyes still closed, I thought to myself "Is it supposed to rain today?" Because both of my eyeballs hurt like the dickens.

I rolled out of bed. About the 3rd thing I do is take some Advil. Opening the door to let the first varmint outside to do his business I see and smell the rain. You know what? It is an hour later and my eyes still hurt! Blast it. I hate it when the medicine does not work.

I've got the summertime blues. Even though there is a lot going on almost every week-end, we have not been on a real vacation in a couple of years. I think the last trip was to Cincinnati in April of 2007? Yes, I just checked. Sigh. The reunion is a couple of nights away and I guess that will suffice as a vacation again this year. The dogs will have to go to the vet's office for that week-end. The fish and the cats will be on self-feeders.

Cooling off the hydrangea

Yes, I finally went out to Staples and bought another card reader for my daughter's camera's memory stick. The dogs chewed up the camera cable and a card reader is easier to purchase. Less than 24 hours after the purchase I moved my big mammoth computer (still trying to revive it you know) and "voila!" found the card reader I bought her at Christmas.

Yes, folks. My life is the same as yours. Lose something. Go out and buy a new one. Find the old one. Rinse and repeat.

This photo is where I brought some of my hydrangeas in from outside and shot from underneath them looking up towards the ceiling fan.

Sweltering here in Ohio. Due to lack of organization/planning/funds I have not had my furnace/AC checked in a year. My bad. It grinds away. I was so good at having the company come and check it twice a year. Every spring and fall. Without fail. Well, maybe the dogs messing up my downstairs basement to a horrible state might have something to do with it also.

Life goes on after my July blowout. I had so much food left over to get rid of. My daughter and her beau either didn't like the leftovers or they are so much in love with one another they have no appetite, yet. They are planning a camping trip next week-end. Interesting. I am promised pictures of a grass skirt and coconut bra. (Not my daughter wearing them!)

On to planning the reunion. Which is fast approaching. 3 weeks away. We would like to hand over the planning and organizing to somebody closer to the event but we have no takers. So, we plan from a distance and hope for the best.

Movies.

Shutter Island - not as spine tingling as the previews lead you on to believe. A lot of hallucinations and back flashes add to the confusion of the main character's memory. Interesting ending and then a tiny pinch of yet another twist at the very end. Crude language and some male frontal nudity. (No female nudity). The sameness of the uniforms and hairstyles and hats lead me to get a bit confused as to which guard was which. They all looked the same to me! Rather gory in places.

The Book of Eli - sigh. It wasn't "Man on Fire" that's for sure. Although I have to admit - the ending will leave you wanting to watch the movie again for certain clues. I started to watch again, caught a few clues but then was like "No way he could do those things!" G Oldman played the nasty bullying character that he has come to create over the years - same as always. I see that J Beals looks as great as ever. I recognized M Kunis from "That 70's Show". I felt like I knew R Stevenson but looking at imdb.com I can't figure out where. I've not seen any of his priors. The movie bothered me in a couple of places. I was disappointed.

Picking up the pieces

Here is a photo from the past. I think I have some new pics on my camera, but have not had the chance to connect the memory card to the reader to download them to my PC.

I am still so very, very tired from the long week-end. I had a low count of 21 people at my party. That made for a nice, enjoyable get together. The next day it was up to my sister's house where her son was setting off fireworks (and the canon). Gosh, that thing is loud!

I did the baby care during the firework display so I do not have any pictures or movies to post. The wee one slept through the entire show without so much as a whimper. Nobody lost a thumb. It was a close call. There were about a dozen men drinking and there were fireworks. We should probably have an ambulance standing by next time.

Scamp

A shot of Cheech when he was still a wee mischief-maker.

I usually get up at six or six-thirty. Today? The day of my big blow-out party. I slept in until 9 a.m. It figures! (silent scream).

Pics are older because my main computer died. I am using my back-up. I am slowly adding all the extras to it so that I can have sound/back-up/photo card reader and a few other stuff that my monster mammoth system always held for me. I'm not playing taps, yet. When I get the time, I may format the other hard drive and add the OS to see if I can still continue to use my system.

My boxer threw up just as I started typing the post. I'm like, "Oh, goodie! Something else to contend with." The puppy gods are on my side today. Chong cleaned it up for me. Nice puppy! Helping Mommy out. The poor boxer ran to a corner and has not left since. He is sleeping by the back bedroom door where my nephew is sleeping. He likes men so much. I think a guy owned him before I did. People always ask where and how I got him. They still gush over his markings and shape and size. Well, when they aren't amazed at Sable's barrel-shaped frame.

Okay. Enough delay. I have a cake to bake and a couple of cheese balls to whip up. That is for starters. My nephew is doing the outside stuff for me. Yay! That is a good thing because my back is threatening me! I'll take pictures if I can find room in my kitchen to take a decent one without a ton of stuff piled up around the subjects.

Great and Grand

I looked it up. Grand Nephew is just the same as a great nephew. So, I was right all along.

My party is Saturday. My annual July celebration. I have it on whatever day my town is setting off their fireworks. They have a festival in the park (just over the hill from me) for about 3 or 4 days during this long week-end. It is a great time. Sometimes I don't get the chance to get over there, but when I do - I am never disappointed.

So far on the menu, sweet Italian sausage, hot dogs, hamburgs, calico beans, macaroni salad, potato salad, vegetable tray w/dip, cheese ball and cheese tray (I just remembered I need crackers), strawberry frozen, peanut butter fudge, pineapple pudding cake, lemonade, iced tea, pop and beer. Sister 1956 won't be able to make it this year. Drat! She and I just went to a party Saturday so that is okay. She could only go to one or the other (because of her job).

Sister 1954 is excited because there will be some family members she has not seen yet since her release from prison.

I didn't have my party last year because I had my daughter's high school graduation party (remember the sumo wrestling?). That was only one year ago? Good grief!

My daughter's new beau will get the full exposure to family and I think she might be nervous about it. I don't know. She got mad at me last night. I guess I embarrassed her in front of him by telling her to "chill out." She called me on it and accused me of getting an attitude each time company was over. She was stomping around the house trying to force one of the puppies to poop outside. He was so scared he ran and jumped into my lap shaking. (The pup, not the boyfriend).

I think stress is getting the best of her. New job, new beau and all. Me? I bit my tongue with her. I know how hard it is to be the new love interest in some one's home and I refused to make her new beau feel uncomfortable by arguing with her. I let it pass.

I bought my first bag less sweeper. I got the Bissell Healthy Home model. I really like the bag less feature. It was so easy to snap it in and out and to empty it. Once I figured out that I kept putting it back into "brush" mode and that was the reason I was not picking anything up, I was okay. It is much lighter than my previous models.

I am going to focus on outside mowing and landscaping today. I hope. I need energy. My head hurt as soon as I got up this morning. I went to bed too late (vacation days from work) and I suppose that might be the reason. The dogs don't care that I went to bed late, they want to go out at 6 or 6:30. Sooner if they can. I also got myself a brand new hedge trimmer. I have never used one before. I guess you have to supply your own electrical cord? Good thing I have one. My friends spoke of how they cut the cord while they trim. Sounds like it happens a lot. I suppose I will do it, too. I chose the lightest model they had. My arms will be sore enough.

I hate, hate, hate waking up with a headache.