Bits and Pieces

Just a quick post to jot down what is going on around here, so that when I re-read this post five years from now I will remember.

My sister-in-law is having surgery today. I may post more about that at another time. It is cancer. The photo above was what I sent to her on f@ceb00k.

My neighbor's basement wall collapsed the night before last under all this rain. A crew started water-proofing their basement on Monday. What do you think? Co-incidence or was the crew responsible? Tough situation to be in. I am going to double-check my wall on that side of the house. A few years back I had a company come in and put two big braces on that wall using steel anchors that lead to a brace ten to twenty feet out into the yard underground. Water has pooled in the little ditches between our houses for years.

My daughter's car broke down. Same thing that happened about a year ago. It was a piston then, sounds like a piston, now. She said it is doing the same thing. When I told my appliances (that were breaking down) not to let word slip out to my car in the driveway that I was spending money on them, I guess I forgot to tell them that also includes my daughter's car. Cripes.

I had to go out to a couple of schools yesterday and work with my hands instead of my brain. It was hot and muggy in the wiring closets. The schools are not keeping their equipment cool AT ALL. I was sweating up a storm and guess who forgot to put on deodorant yesterday? Yep, that's right. Not a pleasant morning.

I won (sort of) four tickets to the Pitt$burgh z00. I visit a radio station's web site to read their lost & found (pets) and when they designed a new one, I could not find the l&f. I sent them a message asking where it was. They assured me it was coming and since I commented, they wanted to send me 4 tickets to one of three places. I chose the z00.

My work is switching from 26 pays to 24 this next month. I know it is easier for them to do, but I really looked forward to those two "free" pays every  year. Sigh.

Yikes!

I think this photo was taken at the zoo gift shop in Pittsburgh back in '07. Not certain. Oh, that is my daughter in that snake's mouth. 

Speaking of teeth. We were, weren't we? I had a molar pulled Thursday. I have not had a tooth extraction since the late 70's when I had my wisdom teeth pulled out. In the chair. That's right sissies. No nitrous oxide for us back in those days. The dentist used a C-clamp and pliers. My mouth remained swollen as if I had a wad of chewing tobacco in there for a week.

I was a bit nervous with not knowing what to expect. Psshh! It was nothing! Two things bothered me. The first was the sound as they pulled it out. Talk about fingernails on a chalkboard. Grrr! And about three hours later was the intense itching as the Novocaine wore off. That did not last long and I barely needed Advil. I took it more as a precaution than as a pain reliever. I had no pain to speak of.

I am a tad bit worried about the sinus cavity that the tooth root was close to. The dentist told me not to blow my nose for two days. Okay. The dental instructions said not to swish for two days. Can I brush?! How can you brush without swishing a bit of water around up there?

Eh, I made it through. Other than that "weird" empty feeling - things are fine. It is healing quickly and I am hoping that this resolves a lot of (what I hope were related to this tooth) problems over the past years. That upper right region of my sinus/gums/ear has had it's share of misery.

The finger is healing. The tooth (or, rather gum) is healing. My body must be in some kind of "what the hell is happening to us" mode. It must be working overtime healing my wounds.  That is a lot of stuff going on in the body. I think I need to rest all week-end and take it easy and let my body heal. Movies are waiting. Also hovering  ominously close is :   Angry Birds - yes...dammit! I have become slightly addicted. I keep picking the Nook up and playing "ONE.MORE.LEVEL."!!!  OMG! There is a web site titled "one more level". Oh, God. Don't go there.

Pink clover

From September 2007. Going back into my photo archives again because, well... you know. I lost my camera's battery charger. Is anyone keeping count? A half dozen times? Very unorganized. I used to be very organized. What happened? Oh, yeah. Life happened. I added people, animals and stuff to my life and it is all getting away from me. I am just holding on tight these days and enjoying the ride.

Speaking of animals. My zoo is messy. It bothers me at times but anymore I just roll with it. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I am stressing a bit about the veterinarian bills and the dog food. I am a firm believer in purchasing the dog food where the first ingredient is NOT corn. A filler. Waste. And my cats get the food that keeps hairballs to a minimum. It does work. I have not seen a hairball in weeks. But that could also mean the pups are cleaning them up. I know, gross.

A meme from Tabor. Pick up the book closest to you. Turn to page 161 and copy the fifth sentence. Here it is:


"But Julie is too sincere and thoughtful to mean it in anything other than an appreciative way."

The book is "Adventures with Ari" by Kathryn Miles. A book about a dog. Imagine that!

It is Saturday. Shhhh. I don't want anybody to hear this. I have nothing planned this week-end. Nothing! I have two days to myself! I am giddy. I can read all day. Watch movies. Well, after I do some cleaning. I have to do a little work or I will feel guilty as hell. But, not too much. I'm not going to go all Mr. Clean on you. I am more the Erma Bombeck type. Humor and a messy house. Which reminds me of a joke I read years ago. The first is a letter from Martha Stewart to Erma Bombeck. The second is from Erma back to Martha. I love it.

Hi Erma,

This perfectly delightful note is being sent on paper I made myself to tell you what I have been up to. Since it snowed last night, I got up early and made a sled with old barn wood and a glue gun. I hand painted it in gold leaf, got out my loom and made a blanket in peaches and mauves.

Then, to make the sled complete, I made a white horse to pull it from DNA that I had just sitting around in my craft room. By then, it was time to start making the place mats and napkins for my 20 breakfast guests. I'm serving the old standard Stewart twelve-course breakfast, but I'll let you in on a little secret: I didn't have time to make the tables and chairs this morning, so I used the ones I had on hand.

Before I moved the table into the dining room I decided to add just a touch of the holidays. So I repainted the room in pinks and stenciled gold stars on the ceiling.

While the homemade bread was rising, I took antique candle molds and made the dishes (exactly the same shade of pink) to use for breakfast. These were made from Hungarian clay, which you can get at almost any Hungarian craft store.

Well, I must run. I need to finish the hand-sewn buttonholes on the dress I'm wearing for breakfast. I'll get out the sled and drive this note to the post office as soon as the glue dries on the envelope I'll be making.

Hope my breakfast guests don't stay too long. I have 40,000 cranberries to string with bay leaves before my speaking engagement at noon. It's a good thing.

Love, Martha

P.S. When I made the ribbon for this typewriter, I used 1/8-inch gold gauze. I soaked the gauze in a mixture of white grapes and blackberries which I grew, picked, and crushed last week just for fun.

---

Dear Martha:

I'm writing this on the back of an old shopping list. Pay no attention to the coffee and jelly stains.

I'm 20 minutes late getting my daughter off for school, packing a lunch with one hand-on the phone with the dog pound, seems old Ruff needs bailing out again.

Burnt my arm on the curling iron when I was trying to make those cute curly fries, how DO they do that?

Still can't find the scissors to cut out some snowflakes, tried using an old disposable razor . . . trashed the tablecloth.

Tried that cranberry thing; frozen cranberries mushed up after I defrosted them in the microwave. Oh, and don't use Fruity Pebbles as a substitute in that Rice Krispies snowball recipe unless you like food that resembles puke!

Smoke alarm is going off, talk to ya later.

Love, Erma

Hamming it up

This is my brother's step grandson. I think I have that correct.

He went with his kindergarten class. He is the one hamming it up. Which reminded me of my schooling before first grade. I went to head start. I always hated that title. I always thought I went because my sisters taught it. That is what I thought. Perhaps I will ask more. I had the perfect opportunity last night but didn't even think of it. My two oldest sisters and I met for dinner.

So I read where head start is for "low income families". Of course. That is why I hated the title. You are labeled for life. I can recall a few times saying "I went to head start" when the subject of kindergarten came up.

Hey! And what is with his tee shirt? I'll have to ask my brother. If anybody in my daughter's school wore that they would be in 'all day suspension'. No cross bones of any kind allowed.

As for not being ashamed of the title? You can say that all you want, but it doesn't amount to a hill of beans while you are in school and at the mercy of the other kids. I can remember my brother (the step grandfather of the boy above) having his name written on the blackboard along with some other students who all received "free lunches." Talk about humiliating a child.

And the really bizarre thing now is, it is almost a status of pride to qualify for financial aid in the schools. But, back in the 60's? You just hung your head and scratched the dirt with the toe of your well-worn, scratched up penny loafer and prayed that the subject would move onto something else, and quickly.

And, I have to add this. I will always remember the merciful classmates who would change the subject quickly. And I will always, always remember the ones who were cruel. They never need to wonder why I don't chat amicably when we meet by chance. And why I will never, ever go to my class reunions. Okay, never say never. LOL!

Aw, who wants to go down this road on the beginning of a beautiful Saturday morning? Nobody, that's who! I am off to visit an old friend today. I bonded with her at my first job out of high school. Her father was a big drunkard, too. Leaving her Mom to raise six kids with limited resources. Whoops, there I go again. Enough!

Elephant Sage

Pittsburgh Zoo August 2008

If wrinkles are a sign of character, then this fella is pretty charismatic. He looks wise beyond his years. Could be a she? Do female elephants have tusks.? That is what the Internet is for. Yes, they do.

Being the resident computer guru in the family, I went to work on a sibling's computer last night. I am a bit dismayed when I fix something, but then the computer runs slower than before I touched it. Some fixes require a re-boot and when I did that, the system moved like cold molasses. I finally found the culprit, but what an ordeal.

It reminds me of a time I went to fix a program in a computer for a school district's Treasurer. He left the office while I worked. I had to insert a CD to run a fix for the program and I couldn't get it to run. I thought I had dome something to the CD drive and I spent some time trying to fix that. When the Treasurer returned he informed me "Oh, the CD drive has been broken for months." Sheesh.

More from the zoo

Here is a lazy bear (probably bored) from the zoo we visited in mid-month. The bears (all animals) were just too hot to move around very much. The tiger played in the water. He looked like he was enjoying himself. I have a small video of him (boring).

The ad in the store where I purchased my daughter's desk had that item on sale today. I went to the store and got the discounted price. My daughter didn't believe they would do it. I said "Sure they will. Besides, (I told her) it does not hurt to try." Now, if I needed to drive 40 miles or more it may be a little more of a process, but this was only a couple of miles away.

It was really interesting watching her put it together. I have put plenty shelves etc... together. I knew she was in for a tough time and I tried to soothe her as much as I could. She did get angry and I advised her to go to bed and start fresh in the morning. Things went much smoother the next morning.

I never did get my ceiling fan or my new porch light installed. There is a class on beginning electricity at the career center where my daughter is attending school. I might take that class and perhaps just put the fan and light in myself. Maybe I can also overcome my fear of electricity and wires.

Casper had to sleep in my room again last night. I let him out at six a.m. and took Moose back in with me. They are at it again. We are watching because it appears as if Moose if fighting with other cats also. Being that Casper is the Alpha cat, he may feel the need to restore order if she is the actual problem. Still. I cannot have that degree of violence.

Speaking of violence, we went to see "Death Race" last evening. Very violent and fast moving. I was outvoted for the movie choice. I do like Jason Statham so I was okay with it. I liked the character who played Coach. And the baby-faced boy was so familiar. I researched and discovered that he is none other than the young boy who played Chip on Kate & Allie from the 80's. Again, a little far-fetched in places, but there was a lot of action.

For the record

Here is a picture of the giraffe statue at the zoo. The real giraffes were far away and my photos were a bit sub par to do anything with.

My nephew is home and "resting." So says his sister. He is wearing a neck brace and his side is all bandaged up and if I know him he is probably playing in the floor with his little niece.

I am going to attempt a chocolate zucchini cake tomorrow. I hate to jinx it. I got the chocolate chunks instead of the chips. I dug out my bundt cake pan. As I have mentioned before, I do well on top of the stove. When I have to open up the oven door, eh, not so good.

More school shopping tonight. Lots of people out and about. Mad rushes to finish up the shopping.

And for those of us who spent their teen-age years in the 70's, a sigh for the memories. The record(s) may be broken, but certainly not forgotten.

The one, the only "Mr. Sp!tz"

Some jelly fish from the zoo

Beautiful, cool. Out of the hot sun, inside the Aquarium. Glow in the dark jelly fish.

Not much news on my nephew. I understand the my sister is probably spending a lot of time at the hospital and travelling. You cannot use a cell phone in the hospital. I have tried calling her cell phone, but she does not answer and the mailbox is full.

My other sisters have heard bits and pieces here and there. The land owner may file trespassing charges. One sister told me that our nephew called his Mom while she was at the house, so he is able to sit up and use the phone. We think the hospital is waiting to see if most of his injuries heal on their own. No word on the other rider.

Penguin rally

It appeared as if they were all gathered together and listening to a speaker. We were at the Pittsburgh zoo all day today. Whew. I am whipped. Yesterday we shopped til we dropped. Just about. School clothes. No sales tax in Pennsylvania (on clothes).

Lucky brand Sundowns broke the bank. Ouch. I am still rubbing my sore wallet.

I got turned around a couple of times in Pittsburgh. There was construction. The AAA Triptik had to go out the window when the bridge they suggested was closed. Couldn't they have at least checked here before they filled it in? From then on it was vague memory and my wits.

My wits were out because of the wee bit of sleep I got the night before. In the motel room, I had an air conditioner unit that was on the fritz. My daughter was sawing logs, so I didn't really want to call anyone to come and fix it. I listened to it pop and snap a few times, click, click. Stop and start and then I just finally put it out of it's misery (and mine). The room got warm, but not too bad. At least I fell asleep after that.

We watched some of the Olympic Parade of Nations. And, what a city to be in when the Steelers beat the Eagles.

It figures

Here is one of the lakes near my house. A hot summer afternoon.

Blogger had a fit with posting photos last night. I went online to the G00g!e help and thought I had it figured out with Pic@sa. I posted how I did it and this morning I look and my picture was non-existent. It figures. Any poor soul that followed my advice probably thought I was nuts.

If you check Blogger status they have it fixed now.

Summer is trudging along. My daughter is excited for her last year of school. She does not want to continue with the home schooling. I thought she would return to public school. She is not one who likes that much isolation. Which is a good thing.

We hope to visit a zoo out of state this week-end and do some shopping. Her choice, not mine. The older I get the more I am bothered by the caging of these beautiful animals. However, if not for zoos I would never have seen most of them.

I guess we will trade one zoo for another. (I may have enough critters to qualify.)

Taking a dip

Rhino at the zoo

The weather is warm. This rhino has the right idea. Take a cool dip. I don't have a pool. My daughter has asked for one. Too much maintenance for me, plus we shun the sun.

Watched "Zodiac" tonight. It was pretty good. I liked the character cast.

I spoke with some workers in one of the schools today after I overheard one guy tell a co-worker that he put fire alarm systems in a college last week. He told me mostly what I read on-line. Both he and his co-worker stated that they were pretty sure 180 decibels (yesterday's post) would be incorrect. The co-worker said that would break the windows. Whew. My ears still hurt.

I am ticked off at my high speed Internet provider. I ordered the turbo and was having problems so I called them last night. They said they would have a tech call me. Asked for a good time. I waited all evening. Nothing. I am busy tomorrow all day. Not sure if I want to call them on a Sunday and lay into them. Grrr.

It's Independence Day

The eagle photo is mine (taken at the Cleveland Zoo yesterday) and the flag background can be found here. The title of my post today is the same as a song penned by Gretchen Peters and performed so soulfully by Martina McBride. To grow up in a family with alcoholism we find ourselves escaping. Whether it is outside of the house, in a book, or eventually into alcohol ourselves one day. The song is a favorite of one of my sister's.

How I wish that I had not posted the Photo Friday theme before yesterday. The elephant area was the first we went to at the zoo. I was not tired of taking pictures since I was just beginning so I got plenty of shots of "gray" elephants. Ah, well. Here is what I posted.

We had a great day at the zoo. Wonderful weather. The traffic was a bit hectic and I lost my way while driving to the Interstate leaving the zoo, but I soon righted myself. I told my daughter, forget the map, I will follow my nose. I turned right one time and there in front of us was the exit to the very by-pass we were looking for. I've driven to Cleveland many times to the zoo, museum, theatre - so I just followed my gut feelings.

This is a day for cleaning and getting ready for the party, so I must get to work.

Motherly advice

Fuzzy picture because I used my maxium zoom (12x) of the Mother Bird and baby on my neighbor's landscaping trim.

The other morning, I am thinking it was Saturday, I went out onto my front porch to retrieve the paper and saw a baby bird making quite a mess as birds are prone to do (if you know what I mean). I noticed he wasn't moving and I opened the door. He hopped off the porch across the part of the yard between my house and my neighbors and attempted to fly. He smacked into the side of their house and just barely missed falling into their window well. He landed on their landscaping trim next to a coleus and there he remained for about an hour.

Mother Bird was nearby encouraging him. He had no tail that I could see. Maybe this comes later? My daughter and I watched him for about an hour and the Mother Bird kept feeding him worms and chirping what was either warnings or encouragement. Eventually I took my own Mother's advice and left nature alone. When we looked outside later he and the Mother Bird were gone. I really hope that he figured out how to fly and nothing bad happened to him.

For a lady who lived her first 20 years secluded on a small family farm in West Virginia and later raised 8 children in Ohio my Mother was quite worldly in her wisdom. I expected her to know things about farm life and wild animals, but other things surprised me.

One job I worked at the boss was accused of perjury. Mom Mom explained that term to me and told me all about how he got kickbacks in the business. At the time I was 23 and didn't much think about it (my Mom was a walking encyclopedia), but as the years unfolded I often wondered how she knew so much. Reading, I guess. Her television consisted of soap operas (until she shut them off for good because of their racy story lines) and sci fi.

Aw heck. Who knows? Maybe she obtained her worldly knowledge from the soaps. LOL!

We are on our way to the Cleveland zoo today. Daughter's pick.

Giraffe

I guess this is what he thought of my picture taking

This photo combines The Lion King and the Zoo. The show was absolutely stunning, of course. Performance and costumes. I went in with a slight migraine (any travelling or change of schedule will certainly trigger one) and had taken my medicine three hours prior. The lady that sat next to me must have emptied her entire bottle of perfume on that day. It was strong. I understand that a migraine kicks all of my senses up about a hundred notches. Smell, taste, hearing, sight and feel. All super sensitive to any activity. This is why they tell you to lie down in a dark, quiet room. Block all the senses.

We had a beautiful day for the zoo. The critters were lazy, but so was I. Six hours. I made it six hours with many rests. I was constantly looking for an outlet to charge my one good battery for my camera. That was okay with me as it gave me a chance to sit down. I think I may have had more fun watching every body's little children experience the animals. I recall why I don't go to the zoo. I love the excitement and I love to learn but I hate to see the total boredom of the animals. My daughter will be sixteen. I believe the next time I will visit a zoo is when I take a grandchild.

I do have a humorous little story. I was sitting in a tropical room (waiting for my batteries to charge - both mine and my camera's) and this family walked in. The father must have sneezed a dozen times. I said "Sounds like you are allergic to something in this room." There was silence for about ten seconds. Sometimes when I am in a good mood I try to make light chit chat with the folks around me and I am delighted when I find another light soul. I especially like to have fun with the little children. I don't pursue anything if the parent does not give me some kind of signal that it is okay to correspond with their child. I read them and if it feels like I am intruding I quickly move on.

After the ten seconds he turned around and said "Why don't you leave and we'll see if I quit sneezing." I had to laugh. I guess he had allergies and this was a two month process for him. He mumbled something about "Every year like clockwork, two months I have this!" I notice that his wife was not saying "Bless you". She just kind of gave him a sad smile as if she knew he were suffering and couldn't do anything about it. Well, color me "put in my place!" As he left he said "See, I'm leaving and I've stopped sneezing." I smiled at him. Pardon me.