Coming soon

This is the view from the top of the hill at our motel in WV. This photo was taken last year.

I broke down and bought the coffee. I had to go to wallet mart. I needed other (dry/paper) products. I rarely get my groceries there. I paid $9.78 for a 2 1/2 lb can. When I mentioned the price difference to the cashier she said "Yeah, but 'the grocery store'  has milk cheaper than we do."  She is correct. I guess it all evens out.

I picked up things for the BBQ gift basket that I am making for the reunion.

Gift baskets are a nice way to raise money for an event. Somebody creates a basket with a theme and there is a paper sack or a container for people to place a ticket in. They buy six tickets for five dollars or a dollar each and place the one half of their ticket in the container for that basket.  They keep the other half so they know the number on the ticket if it is called for the winner.

My daughter and I won a puppy basket and a movie basket at a fund raiser earlier this year. 

You can really get carried away. I will (of course) take pictures as I create and assemble the basket. My brother is doing a fisherman themed one, one sister is doing a ladies luxury basket, one a cookie basket, one a lottery and the other one a children's themed basket.

I found a nice basket at Jo-Ann Fabrics for $2. Marked down from $8. I purchased two of them and will give my brother one for the fishing basket. I picked up grilling chips, spatula and tongs, BBQ sauce and grilling seasonings and since Borders is going out of business stopped at Walden's (part of Borders) and found a book on grilling recipes for $4.

The object (at least for me) is to get creative with it and have fun! A lot of it is in the packaging and the display of the basket. The prettier and more attractive it is the better chance it has of getting more tickets.

What big ears you have!

A photo of Belle from a couple of weeks ago. She is changing rapidly. My daughter and her beau cannot see it because they see her every day all day. I see her once a week or so. Her nose is now twice as long, her ears twice as big, a huge tail, very long skinny SKINNY body and lovely almond shaped eyes. The vet says she will fill out. She eats like a horse, or like a growing German Shepherd puppy.

Ugh. my mouse battery is near dead. Sigh. I have a long list for the store today. Very long. I need everything. Double AA batteries and coffee for starters. Yes, my plan to drink coffee at work is fine except I did not take into consideration the week-ends. I had a wee bit left this morning and drank it all. Good to the last drop. I have the time to shop around today to find a better deal than I saw last week at the grocery store. The dollar store has it for $9.95 a 2 1/2 pound can. Maxwell House. Beats the grocery store price of $14.95. Sheesh!  Maybe I can find it on sale somewhere. Sigh. I hate shopping.

Misery loves company

I had a few items on my list of things to get at the grocery store. Coffee was on the list. I came home without it. My reasoning? I'll drink it at work! 

I figure Hell, I have headaches all the time anyway! At least not having my cup of java in the morning will give me a reason to have the headache. At least for a week or so.

I do get my caffeine fix once I get to the office. They have a basket for donations there. I have cut way back on my intake.

Headache? Yeah. But, how would I know if it is from caffeine withdrawal or just my daily nuisance? At least now I have a good reason to feel the pain.

Anyway, I found this mug on line and figured since my boxer has been on my mind a lot lately, I chose this one.

$14.59 for a 2.25 pound container of coffee, my ass!

I had no idea

What I was getting myself into. I have always picked up rescued mutts. Ones that have been picked over and left. Ones that nobody wants.

A pure breed (such as this boxer) is a high energy, multi-faceted creature. I feel sorry for him that he got stuck with me. He needs somebody who is on the go and can take him with them. Somebody who goes hiking, to the beach. I would love to see him run along the ocean shore.

Sigh. He does not need to be stuck with somebody who gets migraines all the time. I tried for weeks to find him a new home when I first found him. That was a fiasco. He is such an adorable animal.

Tired and still....nothing

I'm more or less melting just like the rest of you in this dreadful heat wave. Sticking close to the A/C indoors and hoping above all else that the unit does not falter. I was away visiting daughter yesterday afternoon and saw my stove light blinking when I came home. It did rain and storm a bit where I was at but we did not lose power there. 

I did need to boot my computer this morning and the system sounds like a jet engine. I have not had the motivation to take any photos. This one was taken in May in a mirror at work. I work by myself now in the office and I love it. My co-worker was a real nut case. I do not miss her one iota. I am sort of a loner, anyway.

I can see my camera from where I am sitting but have no idea where the battery charger is located. Canon cameras are mostly black and when the sun is this hot, you don't want anything black outside. 

My big dogs got their kennel cough (Bordetella) vaccinations yesterday. Cheech and Chong go in for theirs this Friday. I am boarding them somewhere new this year while we go to our family reunion in WV. They also were behind on distemper so they got their shot for that, also. Their papers are now ready for the new boarders.

We are going to vote on having the reunion on a Saturday next year. So many folks travel and "have" to be back to work Monday morning and they leave early on Sunday. I take both Monday and Tuesday off. Monday for traveling back home and Tuesday for resting. Yep. Every year I need to rest from my break. I do more work in one day of "vacation" than I do all week at work. That is probably because my job is very little physical activity anymore. 

I do have 10 fiber switches to install this summer/fall. They are about the size of...what? Bigger and much heavier than a VCR - maybe a heavy digital box that goes with your hi def TV? Something like that. I will try to remember to take pics.

I did get to spend some time with Cheech and Chong yesterday and it might be my imagination but I swear their eyes are imploring me to take them home. :(  It haunts me. Belle will be a huge German Shepherd and currently is their size. I think they realize that soon she is going to be the big Alpha dog in that house.

Since I was out and about yesterday that leaves today to try to clean up my house. I can find a phobia for fear of cleaning, but they mean bathing. I do not have THAT fear! Thank God! I do have phono/photo/ and osmo phobias. I feel that I am hypersensitive to sounds/light and smells.

There is a fear of the color of purple? Really?

Friday

Too tired to write anything. I can't think of anything. I was watching a recorded version of Morgan Freeman's "Through the Wormhole" and stayed up too late last night.

Plop!

In this blistering heat that is overtaking much of the country this week, here is wishing all of us a little relief - and soon. May your air conditioners remain functional.

I don't get to experience this often but my dogs almost knock me over trying to get back INTO the house with the A/C.

Still growing

I have approximately five moonflower plants growing. According to past posts they are full bloom by the first week in August. The shortage of rainfall this year may delay that, I don't know.

I transplanted one from the front of the house back to the west side of my house. That is where the original twelve or so plants were when I moved in. Fingers crossed that they build back up again.

I am not entirely positive how I am keeping them going. Just pure dumb luck. This one is in the front of the house and is from seed.

It is pouring the rain outside and lightning. My dogs will not budge off the back porch. You are not supposed to shower during a thunderstorm. It has been like this for 35 minutes. I am supposed to be getting ready for work. Headaches have been horrendous this past week because of the weather.

Things that I know for certain trigger my headache (whether migraine or cluster or tension):

strong smells especially clorox or most any cleaning product (hence why I do not clean often)

and perfume/cologne

bright lights

stress

loud sudden noises (fear of balloons)

stifling heat and/or hot sun

change in air pressure due to storm activity

lack of sleep or too much sleep

sometimes onions

hormonal changes

physical exertion - sometimes walking the dogs can be a pain, especially in the heat

laughing or coughing hard

too much caffeine or  caffeine withdrawal

Anesthesia side effects

multi-vitamins

skipping meals

dehydration

too much alcohol (naturally)

There are probably more, just can't think of them right now. I think the storm may be slowing down. Nope here it comes again. Sigh.

Macaroni Salad

I figure I have not posted any food pics since April, so here is my macaroni salad from my party. I add Ranch dressing and sweet pickle juice. I also slice up some of the sweet pickles in the salad and I add sliced green olives. As you can see here I also add little cherry tomatoes and celery but they are more for decoration.

I have a big day ahead of me. A few family members are getting together to tackle some weeds and shrub that have grown over at my Mom's house. She passed away in 2000 and we are still hanging on to the old place. It is in shambles but I think my oldest sister is ready to let it go, now. She bought the house in the sixties when she was in her early 20's for my Mom to live in. Prior to that we had to move around a lot as we were getting thrown out of places or the houses we lived in became condemned. Being the youngest I had the least exposure to this nomad lifestyle and I was able to benefit from the security of having a solid home since I was six years old. All thanks to my oldest sister and brother.

I do not fare well in the hot sun and the heat. We will see how it goes.

Panorama

I didn't even know my cell phone camera could do this. I was relaxing out in the back yard a few days ago and was messing with my cell phone and the camera. Left to right:  the very edge of my patio. My neighbor's duplex (two very sweet ladies live in them). My little gray house (with all the garbage cans - yes I am trashy). The road where you can see the duplex across the street. My other neighbor's house - two story gray (also super nice people, I am blessed!). The huge pine tree that provides us beautiful shade during the hot summer months. The little white house on the other side of my neighbor's house and my neighbor's garage with the orange/red wheel barrel leaning up against it.

Where in the hell are my dogs?

My Alien

Well, what did you expect? I've adopted just about every other creature known to man. How about a new species? Here he is hovering behind the chair that my cats are sleeping on.  I love how  perfectly formed his little hand is. It is a "he" isn't it?

Splish Splash

My grand/great nephew taking a bath at my sister's house. 

(His grandmother).

I got lost reading about Bobby Darin and now have no time for a post. I didn't have anything worthwhile to write about anyway.

No sleeping in this morning

I was trying to sleep past six a.m. My boxer was whining. Something had awoken me. As I finally dragged myself out of bed I noticed the oven clock and coffee pot clock blinking. Oh, the electric had gone off and back on. I think they are the only two clocks I have that are affected by electricity. Sigh. No wonder.

I really could go back to sleep. Not in bed. That is too hard. I can only nap or doze in the chair in front of the television. Maybe I will watch some television. I watched "The Fighter" with M Walhberg and C Bale. C Bale is  a strange duck. I do admire the way he is not typecast into one acting role. He branches out. I have only seen about six of his movies. He kind of creeps me out. It made me nervous to watch him in this movie. For some reason his character made me very uncomfortable.Perhaps it was the tendency to a violent outburst - the unpredictability of his actions. Even though it makes me uncomfortable, I love this in a character. To me that is art. Mark was also good but so predictable. Or rather, his character was.

I am not a boxer/fighter fan by any stretch of the imagination but I do like a good human interest story.

I really like M Leo and how she portrayed her character. I had seen her before in Frozen River. She played the mother of the two boys in The Fighter and she portrayed somebody very believable, very real in my opinion. She reminds me of somebody that drank and smoked and cursed a lot in life. Somebody for who the term "rode hard and put away wet" could apply.

I cannot finish this post without a shout out to A Adams. I thought she did very well, also. I've seen six of her movies also and am pleasantly surprised with her ability to change into character, also. She does tend to look the same however, but at least she uses an accent, a personality change, etc.. in her roles. I consider it good acting when I am reading the movies they have made on imdb.com and come across a movie I had seen and am like "She was in THAT movie? As what character? No way!" Then when I re-watch the move, "Oh, I see her, now." Such was the case with Amy in "Catch Me if You Can".

Did I ever tell you that I went to a seminar in 1979 and the speaker was none other than F Abagnale, Jr.? A few years back my nephew was telling me the story of this movie he had watched and I got a strange feeling of deja-vu. As I listened, something inside me began to click. What? This sounds so familiar to me! Then it hit me. The speaker I had listened to in 1979 told his story and in 2002 they made a movie of his life. Very strange for me.

Introducing....

Belle.

Lest you think I have gone off the deep end, relax. This is my daughter's boyfriend's new puppy. When my daughter moved in with him she took Cheech and Chong with her. They have a big two story house and plan to fence in the back yard. My daughter and her boyfriend worked out their problems (or are working them out) from a  few weeks ago. Mama big sigh of relief.

That leaves me with the five cats and two bigger dogs. The boxer and our old Sable.

The floor is holding up well. I find that I am a bit put out by the dirt I can now see every day. Well, carpet was good for hiding that! The cats are having a field day with little objects (such as a milk jug lid ring) and sliding around on the floor. The boxer's back legs still slide out from under him from time to time but I think they are all adjusting.

I finally was able to watch "True Grit".  Very well played. It has been a while since I read the book, but I really enjoyed the movie. I knew when the more savage parts were coming and yes, I hid my eyes. I still get grossed out by them.

In an effort to reduce my week-end migraines, I got my self up at six a.m. this morning. I am trying to keep the same schedule that I keep during the week. I walked the dogs a bit longer than usual since I have more time. The air is beautiful and fresh at this time. No heat, yet.

I have no plans this week-end. Just housework (if I feel like it) and relax. I am gearing up for the family reunion coming up the first Sunday in August. I want to create a gift basket to auction off and need to decide what food dish I am going to take. There is no electricity at the shelter house. My niece brought a huge generator the first year but it was so loud. We had 150 show that first year, not so many last year. I hope that the event is not losing momentum.

I looked at some portable generators, but I would only need it that one time out of the year. And, with my family - somebody would always be borrowing it. I have one sister I can think of in particular and when she "borrows" something you never see it again. She has an uncanny way of being unavailable when you attempt to track the item down and get it back. And you always have to go after it - she never returns it herself. Do you have a family  member like this?

Guarding

He may look as if he is sleeping but he is actually guarding my lone moonflower plant. Somebody sat him down into the dirt from the patio. I don't know who, but I found him this way. Maybe he moved there himself? Hmmm?

Obsessive?

I like to work puzzles. My Mom was the same. I noticed my obsessive-compulsive behavior (of course I did not know it had a name back then) when I would work a book of fill-it-in puzzles. I refused to enter and cross off a word unless I went in order (or down the line, so to speak). This meant all the three letter words had to be placed in the puzzle before I moved onto the four letter words, etc... It was a great exercise in memory. The puzzles with numbers was especially challenging. LOL!

I have a book (above) of picture puzzles where you find the difference. I refuse to move on to the next puzzle until I have discovered all of the differences in the puzzle before it. It can be maddening. I do the same with word search puzzles. I have to find them in order and refuse to move ahead. Would this be obsessive compulsive? I guess it would.

Somebody did this

It was not me. I took it off later in the evening. He left it on there during the party.  He may have thought it was just a collar and did not notice or feel or see the flags. He was the life of the party. He is bushed in this photo. Cheech and Chong came for a visit and he and Cheech ran around the yard in their crazy way they used to until poor Slade just plain tuckered out (as seen here). Although this time they had to dodge coolers, lawn chairs, people, other dogs and dog cables. It proved to be quite entertaining.

Me, on the other hand. I was in pain (head,back,legs and feet) and no amount of medicine was helping. With 35 people in attendance somebody always needed something where I had to get up and move. In my opinion it was the worst party I have thrown, yet. My sour mood and attitude (which I tried many times to change) put a damper on the whole thing. Grrrr!

Deflated

I just managed to crawl to my computer keyboard and touch up this picture I lifted and post it here. I suffered a massive migraine the day of the party and during the party and it really ticked me off. What can you do? I had taken all the medicine I possibly could and I felt horrible. It was a strange party. I had 35 show.

I got all my sistuhs with me

I could not imagine my life without my sisters in it. My mom had 8 children. Three boys and five girls. I am taking the photo and the four ladies above (outside of my daughter) are my life. Left to right, sister 1954, sister 1949, sister 1944 and sister 1956.

All four will be at my party today. And one brother. Many nieces and nephews and a handful of friends. I will have my camera out. I have noticed that recent years I have not taken many photos of the event. This is my 7th Independence day party. Held on the night that my town lets off their fireworks.

I provide the main food dishes, most everybody brings a covered dish. I supply soft drinks and some beer and most everybody brings their own alcohol. We make our own entertainment. There will be ping pong, badminton, corn hole and Frisbee tossing. I have a craft table set up for small children. My record is forty. I am not certain I can beat that number.

Smooth

It looks smooth, but the dirt is already driving me nuts! I bought a swiffer last night at the store and can see that I probably will have to dry sweep every day with these pests... pets. 

I should just get big fluffy socks and spray them with a nice cleaner (that is approved for this type of floor) and just slide around.

I got up from the table yesterday and (since it was within two hours of their feeding time) all the cats scrambled to the kitchen thinking they were getting some grub. This startled the boxer who was sleeping in the chair and in his foggy state forgot there was no carpet to stop his bound out of the chair and the massive canine slid all the way across the floor and I thought for certain he was going to wipe out the TV because he slid right into the TV stand landing up against it with a great big thud.

I cursed and he scrambled to get up and ran to the kitchen door and hung his head. I think he woke up, then.

I was speaking to my neighbor yesterday. She mentioned that it was her ninth wedding anniversary. They married the summer I moved into my house. What! That can't be! I've been here nine years? NINE years! I was in shock the rest of the evening.

This is all I can write today as my head is pounding for the second day in a row.  Advil is not touching them (and they are not a migraine). I know I need more sleep but if you can't sleep, you can't sleep. I'll try a nap later. This is all normal before my annual blow out.