Remembering Ohio

ohio hills


The sky stretches out blue and beyond where they meet
the hills. How green was my valley.

March blue sky

blue_sky

Wave the flag

flag day


I am sorry to say that this may be the only picture of a flag that I have in my collection. Rather, the closest image to a flag. I must remedy that. It was not taken at my house but at a relative's house. I don't think she realized that there is a made in China logo on the upper left corner. On the other side. My images are taken very large and I resize them down. I noticed it right away when I pulled the picture up.

Her husband works in one of the Ohio River steel mills. They are well known for their disdain of anything made outside of the U.S.A. My sister and her husband tend to be more laid back. His father, however, is a real knee-jerk, fist-shaking, turn blue in the face type of personality. Several heart attacks have slowed him down some. He still gets pretty riled up about things. Very opinionated. He was the type who worked a full time job at the steel mill and came home and farmed until night and on the week-ends. Rarely saw his family. Was always working.

Coming from the speakers: Grand Ole Flag by George M. Cohan.

Goodnight, goodnight...

berries


It must have been ninety degrees Fahrenheit where I was working in today. Maybe even hotter. The humidity was extreme. My hair just melted. Well, the bangs did, I wear the back of it up in a bun. It was very hard to concentrate and troubleshoot. I gave up and moved on to the other end of the line. Where the wiring closet is air conditioned. That was where I fixed the problem, anyway. I bounced the interface.

Well, it was nice to come home for lunch to a cool house and cool, fresh berries. I do have a weakness, though. Fruit dip. When I was little I hated marshmallows. I still do. But, I love marshmallow cream mixed with cream cheese for a delicious fruit dip. I also put the berries in vanilla pudding. Very nice addition to a bland treat. I love vanilla. It is my favorite pudding. The kids like banana, chocolate and lemon. Just give me vanilla, and french vanilla and sometimes I like the cheesecake pudding. Instant.

I mowed today, so it can rain, now. I also watched Troy over the week-end. Eh - not so good. I despise war movies of this sort. Couldn't stand Braveheart. Just not my kind of entertainment. I was interested in the history, though. To see how closely they followed it.

My Mom had the books The Iliad and The Odyssey in her extensive library. They weren't the ones I read, though. My Mom was always reading four or five books at a time. Sci-fi and historical ones were her favorites. I like biography and psychology. I like to study people and their behaviors.

We always had plenty of magazines, too. Before the Internet, I enjoyed signing out encyclopedias and reading them. I still would if I could find the time. I should make time. One more party to plan for June and one for the fourth of July and then maybe I can settle into some me "reading" time.

Coming from the speakers: Goodnight, goodnight by Hot Hot Heat (my daughter's favorite new band).

To see a better day

green trees


Beautiful green Ohio trees along the interstate.

Well, my daughter and I may argue a lot, but I put things into perspective. As uncomfortable as it is having her in my face yelling at me, and even disobeying me; it beats the hell out of sitting around waiting and not knowing if she is alive or dead.

And, this one just beats all. What was this mother thinking? How about putting the dog in the basement?! What if a fire had broken out? Stupidity at it's finest, folks. And, her statement? "I guess it was his time to go." Somebody hold me back!

I have four T-bones waiting in marinade for me to grill them. Or, maybe that is the kids waiting for me to grill them. Four baked potatoes, butter and sour cream, a corn medley and steak sauce. Sweetened iced tea with lemons on the side and banana pudding for dessert. This is one beautiful Sunday. I think I will go and enjoy my family. They are only here for a short while.

Coming from the speakers: Oh Very Young by Cat Stevens.

(Sigh) I don't want to know

surprise raccoon


I don't want to know the reasons why my daughter felt she had to sneak out at night to see her boyfriend. I had an out-of-town baby shower to go to and she asked to spend the night at a girlfriend's house. Just so happened that while I was home on lunch, I was surfing around on the web and started to read my daughter's friend's xanga journals. The friend that she chose to spend the night with had put on her xanga "Friend (my daughter) is spending the night. We are going to go swimming at T's (daughter's boyfriend) house and he better keep his mouth shut!"

Hmmm. I didn't do anything right away. My daughter and a couple of her friends were in the next room. I had just brought them lunch. Once I returned to work, I called T's Mom. As I began to tell her what happened, she stated "That explains why T has been cleaning the house all morning. He never cleans without me asking him to." Mmmm Hmmm. Turns out that T's Mom is a very nice lady and she said that my daughter was welcome any time and that she and her husband were on vacation and maybe they would build a campfire outside Friday night and see what happens.

I chose not to say anything to my daughter. There was a chance (although very slight) that my daughter wouldn't do this. Now, why do they say "Fat chance" when it is slight? Strange English language.

On the way back from the shower I could not get a signal on my cell phone. When I finally was able to reach T's Mother, she said that "Yes, they have about eight kids around the campfire and they had been swimming. Her son had told her about the event."

I would have liked to have seen the look of surprise on my daughter's face when she found out I was coming to T's house. I am not sure if anyone forewarned her or not or if she only found out when she saw my car pull up in the driveway. I would think T would have warned her. Maybe she looked as surprised as the raccoon in the picture above.

I went to their house. I pulled my daughter aside and let her explain. Lame-o excuses. It basically boiled down to the fact that T's mom would have let them, B's father (friend she was staying with) would have let them - B lived about six houses down from T. She knew I would not allow her because it would be after ten o'clock. She is correct. Although, I may have allowed her to go for an hour or so (after I met T's parents). This was the first I was meeting them.

She asked me not to embarrass her in front of her friends. I concurred. They were having a good time. The parents were sitting outside with them, albeit a few feet away. It did look like a nice summer campfire. After talking to T's Mom for about an hour, I went home.

I will pick her up today from B's house. What to do? Talk things out? Punishment? The grounding isn't working very well. How many days for which truant behavior? If she misses her curfew by one hour, do I ground her for one day, two days?

What can I do next for punishment? She gets mad because she states that none of her friend's ever get grounded or punished. Most of them don't have chores. I write her a list of chores every day while I am at work and she is at home for summer vacation. She grumbles, but they get done. They aren't perfect, but she makes an effort. Her grades came up. Final grades were all A's and B's. No C's. They were showing up a little too much for my comfort the past two semesters, causing some arguing between us. This girl never brings a book home. Once in a while, her pre-algebra book, but that was all.

Sigh. Sometimes it is true. I just don't want to know. But, I will tackle it again today.

Coming from the speakers: I Don't Want To Know by Fleetwood Mac.

Why can't we be friends

raccoon


I had an interesting evening. I made some new friends. :)

tgif

sun_burst


Have a good Friday, everybody!

Just who do you think you are

lake_park


This is the park today in my small Ohio town. We are very fortunate to have this park where there is a small amusement park, a swimming pool, a lake for fishing, multiple playgrounds, tennis, basketball and a bocci court. Batting cages, amphitheater, track, ballfields, and shelter houses. It isn't New York City, but it'll do. Probably better in many ways.

I have continued to clean house. As in the blogs that I read. I have them narrowed down to about nine, now. One blogger made it real easy. This certain blogger has been dishing people lately. Not anyone they know, because their blog is so popular they can't dish anyone they know anymore. Their blog has been published in a magazine or two, I guess. This blog they were insulting a tourist. A fifteen-year-old girl tourist. It sounded to me like the blogger had more issues with the girl being blond and fifteen than with what they said about New York city. Indeed.

In a previous blog they dissed someone by saying "This is why you are forty-something and still single!" I guess the forty-something didn't like the way this blogger set their alarm clock. Actually, I do the same with my alarm clock. But still, ouch. I am forty-something and still single. Some may find it hard to believe, but I kind of like it that way.

Forward and onward. Onward and forward. Something is working for me, because I have been damn happy at work.

Coming from the speakers: Mr. Big Stuff (Who Do You Think You Are?) by Jean Knight.

Brilliant in the morning

pink peony


My peonies have finally bloomed. After three long years of living at this house, the peonies I planted when we first moved in have bloomed! Yeah. The ferns died. Mental note: Not good with ferns. I have one plant on the west side of the house and one on the east side. This is one from the west. East side is growing much slower.

This pic was taken this morning before my drive. It was pretty warm today, so I didn't feel like stopping and getting out of the air-conditioned car to take more pictures. I took some of the sky and the land from the car. They are okay, not great like some of the others from the spring.

My daughter and her friend stayed in the house all day and by the time I came home they were stir crazy. They were grounded from keeping me up too late last night. I understand now what I was mostly hearing was the dog jumping up on the couch and my nephew pushing her back off because the girls were scaring her with balloons.

They can make up for it tomorrow. Pool all day and "open mike" night at the local Park Plaza.

I let the girls get a couple of movies. Since they love Johnny Depp I introduced them to "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" I had seen the actual video years ago, but in the past few years I have only caught parts of it on T.V. I felt as if I were watching most of the movie for the first time. There were so many parts I had not remembered seeing. The other movie was "Crossworlds" - a sci-fi feature. It was okay.

During the Gilbert movie, I was thinking 'Johnny Depp has to have some native American blood in him.' I looked it up on imdb.com and finally found that he is part Navajo.

I think that the girls enjoyed the movie. (swoon) As for me, I thought that Leonardo DiCaprio was pretty convincing in the role he played. And, of course I loved it when mama went to town.

Coming from the speakers: Foolish Games by Jewel.

I'm going back someday

black palm


I feel as though everyone is on vacation, except me. There are about four people out from work on vacation, my nephew is here for some "visiting with family time" vacation. My daughter and her friends are on summer vacation, and I have to get up for work tomorrow morning. They are out in the living room having a blast. I did put a stop to the sucking helium out of the balloons. I can only imagine what consequences that would have on them. My daughter was the worst offender.

We have helium left over from another nephew's graduation party and we are supposed to be saving it for my niece's party, but I doubt that it will make it that long.

So the picture above is from a vacation two years ago. Traveling back through the southern states from Florida we spent a night near Savannah, Georgia. While the others swam in the pool, I took advantage of the setting sun and the beautiful palm trees. Ahh, I can still go there in my mind.

What in the world did people do before photographs were around to take them back in time? This is why I said some women just kept having babies. They forget what their children were like when they were small so they had another one to remind them. Not really, but why else would someone be nuts enough to keep having them? Oh, it could be that women didn't have a choice! I suppose that looking at baby pictures might even make some of them want to have another one, so pictures may in fact, contribute to more children. I love my pictures of my daughter when she was young. Before the arguing, before the attitude, before the sassing, in your face confrontations. Have another one? I'll pass.

Coming from the speakers: Blue Bayou by Linda Ronstadt.

Edit 1:05 a.m. (Wednesday, June 8th). Guess who had to go and get said daughter and bring her into my room? Now, guess who is sleeping on Mom's bed, while Mom is wide awake on the computer? I think the helium made her hyperactive. Guess who is tired and cranky and just grounded her daughter from swimming tomorrow? I had asked them to quiet down three times.

When darkness falls early

sunset reflection


I think someday I would like to find out if I can really hear a "hiss" when the big ball of sun hits the water. This is another one from the May 7th evening at the Springwood Lake campsite. (Soon to be sold) :(

Coming from the speakers: In a New York Minute by The Eagles.

Up with the sun

spanish moss


Figures. I couldn't find my camera battery/charger yesterday. My brother let me use his 35mm camera. The sun was merciless. Nobody passed out that I could see.

My nephew's party was grand. There was the outside group in the shelter house with the d.j. and the alcohol. There was the inside group in the air conditioning with the food and the soft drinks. We call it pop here in Eastern Ohio. "Want a can of pop?" "I'm gonna go get a can of pop." "Buy some pop." Now, that I look at it, it does look funny.

Since I don't have any recent pics, I have posted another from my nephew's trip to Louisiana last month. He did the sunshine through the tree branches because he knows I like those.

I was awoken by the sun streaming through my bedroom windows this morning. I thought someone had turned my light on. This must be the time of year that the sunshine sneaks through the curtains on my bedroom side of the house.

Well, now there is thunder from the skies and my lights are flickering. Gotta go!

Coming from the speakers: Travelin' Man by Bob Seger

Now, as the years roll on

schipperke


What an annoying little dog. Okay, sorry. My sister's/niece's dog. I suppose the little thing is lovable to them, but I found it's nature hyper and snappish. She nips, she barks, she runs around like a crazed psycho. I like a quiet, good-mannered, laid-back dog. Give me my Sable.

I have my niece's graduation ceremony today. It will be close to ninety degrees and they are having it outside. If it doesn't rain. It doesn't look like it is going to. Because of the recent lousy weather, few people have had any sun exposure. I can see a disaster in the making, here. I'll bet more than one person passes out today.

My niece had to purchase a new dress. The girls have to wear dresses. Oh, really? And do the boys have to wear dresses too? She said no, but they aren't allowed to wear sneakers. Mmmm, hmm. I feel that the girl should have a choice. If she doesn't want to wear a dress, she shouldn't have to. I don't think my daughter would. Four years. We'll find out what the rules are in four years. They can't really make a girl wear a dress. And, I don't think they can deny her walking in the ceremony for not wearing a dress. The gown should cover most everything anyway. As hot as it is, she might wish she were wearing a dress, though.

After the ceremony, we go to my nephew's party. His ceremony was a couple of weeks ago. (Different school.) His party starts at noon and is at a park where there is alcohol allowed. My brother is divorced from my nephew's mother, he advised them against the alcohol for a graduation party. He is the fireman/EMT. He has scraped a lot of drunks off the roadways. Literally. Decapitation, major ugly scenes.

I will not have alcohol when my niece has her party. Some may call me a hypocrite, because that was all I did when I graduated. Went from party to party looking for the booze. That was twenty-seven years ago and I was completely irresponsible. In fact, the local bars served me. And, no one told me not to. In fact, no one told me anything at all. Another lifetime ago. I lived about twenty-five miles from the West Virginia state line where you only had to be eighteen to purchase hard liquor. Of course they had a liquor store right next to the state line. They aren't stupid. Just drove over and purchased all the booze I wanted.

I can have a party with alcohol anytime. This time is for my niece and her friends and the recognition that they are closing one chapter in their life and starting a new one.

My brother will be here in an hour, and I must keep moving. Must find my camera and make sure the battery is charged.

Coming form the speakers: Reminiscing by The Little River Band

Dance along the light of day

day_break


Picture above is of the sun setting in the west, but it could also look like daybreak. This is how the sky looked near the end of May in Ohio. I had to crop out the roof edge of my neighbor's house. I have a grocery store that I go to and sometimes I see the most awesome sky from their parking lot. I need to get on a rooftop somewhere around there, though. Because of all the telephone and electrical wires. Don't think that will happen anytime soon.

During the carpet scrubbing, their vacuum machine in the van broke down. So my carpet got to sit for over an hour with the detergent and the deodorizer on it. Could only help it, I guess. I forgot how sensitive I am to strong odors, the deodorizer made me feel pretty ill. At least I didn't get a migraine. I did have to wait an extra long time though, stuck in my bedroom. One of the scrubbers had sucked up a cleaning rag in the hose. I was hoping it was a cat. (No, not really!) Sigh.

My dog, Sable wasn't very happy. She was penned up in the little nook off of the kitchen. Because the carpet was wet and it was mostly dog hair that I swept up. And, I broke my sweeper yesterday morning. I heard a click and the thing just stopped sucking up the dirt and dog hairs. The bag wasn't full, but the attachment worked so I finished sucking up dog hairs with it. Sable did manage to break down her barrier during the night and there she was wagging her tail sheepishly this morning when I walked out of my bedroom.

The carpet seems to be dry enough. Oh, and it looks beautiful. They were able to get out all of the pet stains except for two. The two I had used Resolve on. Scrubber guy said to never use store-bought products. It only bleached the carpet out.

That was the same as the plumber who told me to never use store-bought products to clean my drains. He said to just call a plumber and have the drains cleaned professionally. Hmmm.

Well, it looks like it is going to be a sunny day. I need to go get gas for the mower and cut the grass. The bunnies are really starting to hang out in my yard because the clover is so thick. Guess I'll charge the camera battery and see if I can't get some cute shots.

Probably will hang my terracotta clock/thermometer combination today. It is heavy, so I need to think about where and how to hang it.

Coffee cup is empty. Time for a refill.

Coming from the speakers: Drops of Jupiter by Train.

Edit: 9:53 a.m. - I just realized that I duplicated the above song. I originally posted Drops of Jupiter on March 28th. My apologizes. Need to check my list more often.

Laughing to the sky

stormy sky


Have the day off today. I have carpet scrubbers coming. Been moving excess furniture out of living room. Whew. Daughter helped. She got a new swimsuit out of it. She doesn't mind the scars on her back - says her hair covers them. Good. New suit has a skirt. Maybe she will start wearing real skirts - nah. Not a chance.

Graduation is Sunday. Free day tomorrow. Will try to catch up on outside yard work. Unless it rains. Haven't watched the weather channel in a while. I have a new terracotta clock and thermometer to hang outside on my patio. Very heavy. I still have patio lights that I purchased two years ago that I need to get up. My patio has that vinyl siding around the inside of the roof, thought. It makes it hard to hang stuff. Can't put a nail in it, can't glue anything to it. Hmmm. Must work on this.

I did catch MXC last night. They have really changed the format to the show. It isn't like it used to be. I barely laughed last night. Bring back the old events and leave out all that in-between stuff where they are trying too hard to be funny. I think these were all shot a couple of years ago, anyway. The show isn't even current.

Well, I have more stuff to move so I had better get crackin'. You know how some people clean before the maid comes, I need to sweep the carpet before the carpet scrubbers come. But, that's just me.

Coming from the speakers: Dog and Butterfly by Heart.

Neither rain, nor sleet...

old_mail_jeep


Found an old mail jeep down in the fields behind my sister's house. What is that saying? Neither rain nor sleet nor broken down jeep? Well, something like that. Notice the keg in the back seat.

In the leaves on the trees

Ohio_Green


The summer of 1982 I lived in El Paso, Texas. I was hungry for adventure and had a bad case of wanderlust. Besides family and friends I missed the greens of Ohio. Maybe I should visit Ireland.

The picture above is from my sister's house out in the boondocks. She lives so far out she has been invaded by the Amish. Yesiree. Imagine the Amish discovering virgin territory. Well, when they first moved out there, everyone on the ridge was thinking "The Amish. How bad can they be? They won't disrupt the ridge. They are a quiet, peaceful people." WRONG! They couldn't have been more wrong. Lumber yard. The Amish get up at the crack of dawn, remember. Saws grinding at 5:30 in the morning is not a pleasant sound. The Amish don't drive semi tractor trailers, but they sell their lumber to people that do. They now have pot holes in their little one lane road that I about lost my car in.

So, if you live in a remote area and hear about the Amish coming to live next door. Move, run and hide. The kids are really cute, though. Oh, and their horses get loose every other week or so. Big, gigantic, Pershing horses. Their hoof prints are as big as my car. Well, almost. My sister's peaceful ridge is now a distant memory. Who would have thunk it?


I think I did the impossible today. I could easily imagine that no one has ever done this before. I made an employee of the DMV laugh. Yes, I did! Her face may have cracked, but she laughed, none the less. My apologies to any readers who are, have been, plan to be, or are related to, any employee of the DMV, BMV or equivalent in any state thereof. I couldn't help myself.

Regardless, I did my annual duty. My vehicle is legal again for another year. And, what is this renewal for two years thing? I saw it on the wall as I was paying. I can get a sticker for two years, now? I only have to visit this Nazi camp once every other year? Yeehaw! I'll sign up for that option next year, you betcha!

As I walked in, I took my number from the red round dispenser at the door. Heaven knows, you don't want to try to get in line without a number. Picture the line at the soup Nazi on Seinfeld. I picked number 91 and the counter on the wall said 87. Not too bad. I was on my lunch break. But there were only three people and they were all already at the counter. Where were 88, 89 and 90?

She called out number 88. She looked at me. "What number do you have?" I told her 91. I was certain I had done something wrong and would have to suffer their wrath. Is that what happened to 88, 89 and 90? Were they in the back getting tortured? Maybe they were being forced to peel off annual vehicle stickers, or worse read the drivers test study guide. I couldn't hear any screaming.

She just changed the marker to 91 and motioned me up to the counter. Forty dollars later and a good snicker from her and I was out the door with my vehicle sticker. She didn't even let me know that I was late. Overdue. Well, that's just me. Whew, made it in time to get back to work before my lunch hour was up.


Coming from the speakers: Top of the World by The Carpenters

And as the sunset faded

my pink sky

This was the sky last night from my front yard. Well, okay maybe I fixed it a little in Paint Shop. It was the quickfix feature, I didn't add anything. The sky was beautiful. I was running around in my socks, getting them soaking wet until the battery died on my camera. It is always something! Driving home, I filled both my memory cards up. I have more, but I'll be darned if I can find them. So, I swap two back and forth. Fill them up, dump them out and start over again.

I watched two movies over the week-end. Meet the Fockers and National Treasure. Hmmm. What do I say? I didn't like either one of them, I guess. I was begging for National Treasure to end. They milked that one for all it was worth and then some.

And, the sequel to Meet the Parents - well, I did not care for it. I thought it was a little over the top as far as the sexual innuendos go. Give me a break. Were Mr. and Mrs. Focker complete idiots? They acted like a couple of stoned hippies. Maybe they were supposed to be. I don't know.

But, when Ben Stiller's character was giving his speech in the bar (after being injected with truth serum) and he told that fifteen-year-old boy that he was his father .... no explanations. The boy admitted earlier in the movie that he had never met his father, don't you think he would have been a bit emotional? And, Mr. and Mrs. Focker? Wouldn't they want to talk to the boy. No, the next day they all just went along like nothing had happened the night before. Like it was an every day ordeal that their son got up in front of all the friends and family and admitted to fathering a child out of wedlock fifteen years earlier. Even if it wasn't true, no one really knew until the next morning.

And, really. Would anyone even want to be remotely associated with Robert DeNiro's character if he was going to go around injecting innocent people with truth serum? I understand that the movie is a dramatization of in-law relationships, but my goodness. It was like, "Oh, he injected you with truth serum? No worries. What would you like for breakfast? Wait, your Mother wants to go have sex, now. Breakfast? Fend for yourself! I'm off to the bedroom!"

Maybe I am taking the movie out of context. It doesn't matter, I guess. I won't be watching it again. At least I liked the first one a little bit.

I love to hear Barbra sing, but I can't stand to see her act. Or lack, thereof. I used to like Dustin Hoffman. But, this movie and Tootsie has made me reconsider. Some of his other movies made up for it, though.

Coming from the speakers: Roll Me Away by Bob Seger

From the day that I was born I've waved the flag

flag

Beautiful week-end! Wow, it doesn't get much better than this. My family is awesome. I laughed so hard Sunday and Monday I thought my head was going to split open. But, I didn't care. I wanted to keep laughing. We needed a get together. I went north on Sunday and south today. Family is spread out over fifty miles and I am sort of in the middle and was able to make it to both get togethers.

I did miss seeing one brother and his family. He couldn't make it to either cook out and wanted me to stop in for dessert, but I ran out of time. I got some awesome pictures of my one sister's pond and some beautiful pics of a stormy sky today at my other sister's house.

I thought it would be appropriate to post a little red, white and blue today.

My cats are fighting for window sill space. I opened my windows when I got home - my house was quite warm. I am baking chicken, mashed potatoes and biscuits for the kids. Needless to say we are all hamburger and hot dogged out.

Coming from the speakers: Philadelphia Freedom by Elton John

To hold on to these moments as they pass

snow day

Here is a blustery cold day from one of the snowy wintry months. In case you were missing it, you know. I was mowing the lawn today and it got pretty hot and I really welcomed the ice water when I was done. So, I thought I would take a peek at some cold pictures to remind me that this heat ain't so bad. Well, it really isn't now, because we have had one heck of a cold front come through.

Have been visiting with friends and their small grandchildren. They are so precious, so special. The unfettered laughter of a child, is there anything sweeter? I want to bring them home with me, but reason soon takes over. My daughter is not wanting me around these days, but that is okay. I planned for this and now I am experiencing more freedom to visit some long overdue friends in their home environment instead of mine or at a restaurant.

A lot of people say "You better do this, this or this; because one day your daughter won't need you anymore and you are going to be wondering what you are going to do with yourself." Hmmm. I wonder. I have plenty that I would like to do now, but I either don't have the money when I have the time, or I don't have the time when I have the money. Or, as Tabor says, I will just get back into the swing of "me things" again, when my daughter will decide that she wants to have me around a lot more. I guess we never know what is coming down the pike for us. I do know that I would love grandchildren (all in good time) and I would also love to have some "me time" to travel. Or, at least be able to stay away from home for longer than one night.

Coming from the speakers: Long December by the Counting Crows

I'm tired of being used

pink_bouquet

I am taking steps to move forward in my life. Who knows what the morrow will bring? Will I have a job? Will my siblings lose their jobs and want to move in with me? I have to be able to say "no." My Mom would want me to take them in, but I can't live like my Mom. I have to live like me. My Mom didn't have a life outside of her children. She was a recluse. I refuse to be.

Coming from the speakers: Sail On by The Commodores.

Start my life anew

reach

My daughter had her stitches taken out today. This was the big one from two weeks ago. We (the dermatologist and I) decided that it might be a good idea to give everyone a break. So, we have two months off. Until July 20th. My daughter said she just wants it over with, but I know that I need the break. That last one was too harsh for me.

I let my relatives know that I am unable to host any visitors this summer. It was an uncomfortable feat on my part. I usually don't say no to family. But, it was a necessary one. And, a turning point in my life. Forward and Onward. Something like that. I am tired.

Been busy all day. Had a wonderful steak dinner. Can't recall the last time I had really good steak. Too tired to try to remember.

End of May and June on the calendar looks like pure hell. I have something every week-end for the next six weeks. And I think five of them are out of town. Forward and Onward.

But, sleep first. Time to find a pillow.

Coming from the speakers: Sweet Dreams of You by Patsy Cline.

Tuesday's Gone

bouquet

With the wind. And, I sure hope Wednesday blows in some warmer weather. The air was a wee bit chilly today. Above is some of my craft florals. I was crafting one day and just threw everything out on my bed and started taking pictures of it all in a pile. It was fun.

I watched a documentary on Typhoid Mary this evening on Nova. I have never watched an episode of ER, Law and Order, CSI, American Idol, Survivor, but I will watch endless reruns of Seinfeld and I love a good documentary. I used to watch the Biography channel but I have not been into that for a couple of years. I am also a big fan of Funniest videos and the MXC on the Spike channel once in a while.

I like to watch shows about things like Mary Mallon because I have heard the nickname through the years and I knew what typhoid was but I never knew the story. What did I learn? How darn scary it must have been for her. She was basically ostracized to Brother Island without any legal representation or help at all. In this version, it shows what can happen to a poor victim. Although when she is freed a few years later, she goes right back to cooking and starts another epidemic of typhoid. So, can you feel all that sorry for her? It shows how the government (the Department of Health) or the legal system can basically railroad a person.

What else did I learn? That New York City slums in that timeframe was more crowded than Calcutta is today. (Ironic that the url I chose to depict Calcutta is called Irishhealth, because Mary Mallon was Irish.)

I try to teach my daughter to believe in mankind. To have faith that there is good in people and that justice prevails. And then I am whacked to my knees by something as riveting as this. This documentary has me reading up on the immigrants and their plight and now I am sunk into despair with Calcutta, India. Was it only five months ago that Indonesia was hit with the tsunami? It seems like a year or so ago. The world moves on. But what of the poor people laying in the street hour after hour slowly losing hope? Rotting away.

We have teenagers driving Volkswagens trying to conserve gasoline, while they criticize the elder couple in their Lincoln Continental. Later in the evening, while the elder couple are sleeping in their bed, the teenagers are still driving up and down the boulevard looking for their friends, cruising through the fast-food places, throwing away half their sandwiches and fries. Isn't this the American way?

How many foreign countries hate us? But, would they live any differently if they were us? Would we hate us if we were born over there? Why did (do) millions migrate to this country? They say the next great power will be China. Will millions migrate to China? Wasn't it Great Britain in the 1800's, USA in the 1900's and next the experts say is China.

What else did I learn from the Typhoid Mary documentary? That today with Aids, SARS and other infectious diseases we are not much further along in the humane treatment of our fellow human beings than we were with Mary Mallon in the early 1900's. Medically we have made leaps and bounds, but personally we all get scared. And fear is a very powerful foe.

Edit: Wednesday, May 25th. Here is an excerpt from an article about quarantine:

1916
When an epidemic of poliomyletis strikes New York residents, authorities begin forcibly separating children from their parents and placing them in quarantine. Wealthy parents, however, can keep their stricken children at home if they can provide a separate room and medical care.

This is where I begin to see red. Right about where it says "Wealthy parents, however...."

Coming from the speakers: Tuesday's Gone by Lynard Skynard.

Sunshine on my shoulder

happy face


Pretty sure I have used this pic before, but it suits my mood. My headache is gone. Thank-you, Relpax!

My daughter brought home her new(est) beau. Another Trevor. Trevor, Tyler and another Trevor. And, get this. My niece is dating a Tyler. My daughter's newest has a brother named Tyler and a sister named Taylor. My nieces' Tyler has a sister named Taylor too. Tippecanoe and Tyler too.

Okay. I warned this Trevor that I may get his name wrong. Trevor, Tyler, Trevor, Taylor. Puhleeeeeze!

Coming from the speakers: Sunshine On My Shoulder by John Denver.

Rainy Days and Mondays

dogwood


It's raining and it's Monday. Blah! I drove my niece to get her graduation invitations ordered. The ceremony is less than two weeks away. Then she told me she needed material for a project. It is 4:45 p.m. She starts work at 5 p.m. I asked her when the project was due. "Tomorrow."

Oh well. She works until 9:30 p.m. She does not have her drivers license. She wanted to buy her boyfriend a puppy for his birthday. Fortunately (for the puppy) his father said 'no.' Heaven help all the animals purchased by young adults or persons who have never grown up to realize all the responsibility that owning a pet takes. Heaven help all those small babies born to same said persons.

My head hurts and my eyeballs hurt. I am sick to my stomach and just finished a glass of alka-seltzer. I shall retreat to a dark, cool room for respite.

Coming from the speakers: (if they were on) Rainy Days and Mondays by The Carpenters.

Black Velvet

black squirrel

Squirrel in the back yard from March.

At first, I wasn't sure what the song Black Velvet was about, but I surmise it has something to do with Elvis. From what I gather it is the preferred medium on which to paint a portrait of the man. All the lyrics refer to him in some way.

Coming from the speakers: Black Velvet by Alannah Myles.

Love from the Linden tree

double sunset
I am probably a couple of years behind the times on this video song that is sweeping the nation, but it has been going through my head a lot. A few weeks ago my niece showed it to me, and just this past week my custodian at work was telling me about it. So, I thought I would research it a little bit. My daughter loves it, too.

Here is the URL to the "funny" video:

http://www.funpic.hu/swf/numanuma.html

with a bit tamer version found here:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6987134

Here is the version I like to watch, performed by o-zone:

http://mapage.noos.fr/martialro/ozone/video.html

And, for the guys to look at something, but not hear audio, here is a URL to the original singer (a female named Haiducci). Scroll down the page in the link to see the girl:

http://www.ischok.de/Events/Beachparty/2004/Haiducci.htm

And, a loose English translation in text:

http://www.catteacorner.com/dragosteadintei.htm

And, if you absolutely must see it, here is a version someone put to Napoleon Dynamite dancing to it. (Not one of my favorites):

http://www.flashplayer.com/music/napoleonnumadance.html

It is a toe-tapping good dance tune. If you want to get up and move or just drum your fingers on the desk, this ditty should do it. We have an area near my brother's town called Lindentree and a road with the same name. So, I guess in the song "with love from the linden trees" some are thinking it is a Romanian neighborhood.

Have fun and enjoy. It is great background music for me to clean house by today. Which I had better get back to doing. (Dancing away from the keyboard to the song)

Coming from the house speakers: Dragostea Din Tei (a.k.a. The Numa Numa song) by o-zone.

Well, the night weighs heavy

Sony microvault
Available: 5GB. That was one hour ago. Available now: 56MB. What happened? I copied my music over. Supreme portability.


Who knows what desires lurk in the minds of technology nerds? I think Sony does. To a pack rat like me. My 128MB thumb drive just wasn't doing the job any more. Let's see. That is an 800 GB hard drive, a 250 GB external hard drive, and now a 5 GB Sony Microvault. For a total of 1,055 GB. Yep, everyone has their weakness folks, and I think we have found mine. Excessive, hell yes. But, this coming from someone who has deleted data and wish she hadn't later. I think I must have started out on a very small hard drive and kept having to squeeze it to fit more on. Yeah, I remember. Stacker. And, I don't mean bodybuilding supplements. It was (is) a file compression software.


We are looking at 1990 or 1991, I believe. Right before Microsoft came out with DoubleSpace.


Well, not to worry any more. I have all my songs and my backgrounds and my web page files all in my purse with me at all times. I did have to eliminate some classical, comedy, instrumental and full CD length mp3's from my stash.

It could be the color. I am totally infatuated with slate blue. The cool, steely gray/blue of the unit pictured above. You could probably tell by the font color I use most of the time.

Coming from the speakers: When the Bullet Hits the Bone by Golden Earring

The Greens of Summer

park lake

Here is a beautiful photo of a lake somewhere in a park in New Orleans. (From my nephew's archive). My niece is going to school there. I think the lake looks like a mirror.

I did it. I cleaned house. I whittled my blog reads by half. I now have twenty instead of forty. If I miss the blog badly enough, I figure I will remember enough of it to search for it and find it.

My sister is on her way to my house. We are going out to eat and shopping for a new lawn mower (for her). She likes to shop. I am in the mood to tag along.

Coming from the speakers: Kodachrome by Paul Simon.

Peaceful Easy Feeling

the lake

Here is another beautiful picture of "The Lake." You would wonder if I even visited with my friends. I assure you, I did. I am a little antsy about the fact that the friend that owns this campsite will sell it soon. No time to keep up two places, now.

Well, I have been sidetracked the past few days and tonight I realize that I read forty (yes, forty) blog sites a day. That was after I dropped some because they really didn't relate to me. Not that they didn't interest me, they just weren't my age group and/or personality style. I look for pictures, creativity, amusement (I love humor) and intelligence and/or common sense writing. Introspect and insight are popular. Wonderings and wanderings.

I really feel that I am missing something if I fall behind reading the blogs. I feel guilty. As if I am not doing my part. And, how can I comment on a post that is four days old? I feel as though I missed my window, like everyone else has moved on. I recall the first time I signed up for a BBS. Someone had asked a question that I knew the answer to, and I posted it. When I re-read it the next day, I realized that the person had posted the question a year prior to my post. Yeah, like anyone was still waiting for an answer. Newbie!

I have my posts come to my personal e-mail so that I don't miss the opportunity to converse with my commenter. However, one blogger uses a name to blog and her personal name came through in my email. Her personal email name happened to be the same as my niece and I thought it was my niece emailing me. So, I didn't recognize her as a blogger. I just thought my niece was making an observation about the news media that day. It was only a week or so later that I realized it was a fellow blogger. (Sorry, Renee) I have just been slipping behind.

It is time to squeeze out the fluff again. I love to read all of the blogs, but I have to whittle them down. But who? Which one? It's like my pets. I have accumulated too many, but I can't even consider getting rid of any of them. They all have their own cute little personality and I love them each in their own way. And, I never delete ones that post to me. And, if someone new posts to me, I always read their blog (if they have one); and usually end up adding them to my daily reads. Except for the rude one who wanted to do something really weird to my cats, but he was an anonymous poster. At least I think it was a "he." Usually I cut off the ones who don't post in over a month, without a reason why. I figure that they have stopped blogging or moved on. This is going to be hard.

Well, on second thought, summer is coming and I do get out of work an hour earlier. Maybe I can still read them all. Yeah, okay. I'll just have to shave something else off of my day - like hey - shaving! That should get me a couple of blog sites a day! Hmm. Not a good idea. Warmer weather = shorts and I'll need to shave more, not less.

Oh, I'll think of something.

Coming from the speakers: Peaceful Easy Feeling by The Eagles.

Blinded by the Light

sunset lake

A beautiful sunset reflection on the lake from Saturday the 7th. So serene, so mesmerizing. Something about a sunset and water. Calming, I guess.

A while back I mentioned that the electric company came and cleared some grape vines out of my wires behind my house and left the mess in my driveway. Well, I have been round and round with them and they finally cleaned it up today.

I thought for a while there, I was going to have to pay someone to do it. It boiled down to the way I worded the request, I guess. I stated the fact that my neighbor and I had decided we needed to remove some trees on the property line. So, the electric company said "Hey, you had already planned on removing them, so they are your responsibility."

Almost everyone I talked to said they couldn't believe that they would leave such a mess, and that they were responsible, etc. So, I thought it won't hurt to call them and request it. Well, after about two weeks I got them to do it.

Whew. Now, on to the graduation party planning.

Coming from the speakers: Blinded by the Light by Manfred Mann

Explosion of Music

explosion


To see why I haven't posted in a couple of days go here:


http://users.adelphia.net/~mgwine/fire.htm

I have volunteered to construct a web page for my brother's fire department. I think I may have gone overboard and given him too many to choose from, but I couldn't stop myself.

Okay, Tabor. I'll share my favorite composer: Tchaikovsky.

Coming from the speakers: Piano Concerto No 1 in B flat Minor

Find the sunshine, leave the rain

dandelion
Anybody else got the blues today? I could be feeling this way because I am tired. My daughter and I didn't get much sleep last night. Her incision hurt more this time than usual because of it being a deeper cut. When I get tired, I get down.

And on top of that she is giving back the jewelry her most recent boyfriend gave her. She is having a rough go of it this week. She is also supposed to go to Cedar Point with her choir on Saturday. She hates rides. She doesn't want to go. Sigh.

Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues by Danny O'Keefe.

Shards of me

s_lake
My daughter told me today that one of her boyfriend's Mom's called me ignorant. Because I don't have my daughter on birth control. Okay. My daughter and I talk about this stuff. She trusts me enough to tell me that someone called me ignorant.

Ignorant:

1. Lacking education or knowledge
2. Showing or arising from lack of education or knowledge
3. Unaware or uninformed

I talked to my daughter about birth control I think about three years ago. My niece is still with us. My daughter understands that if she is not comfortable coming to me with the issue, that she is to go to my niece for assistance. I put my niece on birth control when she first moved in with us. She was fifteen and had already had sexual relations (when she was in her Mother's care - not mine).

So what? Should I just put my daughter on birth control to be safe? I also explained to my daughter that the pill isn't the end-all to precautions. That she must use a condom each and every time because of STD's. Procreation is something that humans are born to do. That is nature at it's finest. Ready or not, girls get pregnant. We can live with raising a child. You can't live with STD's. Or, you wouldn't want to.

Is she ready emotionally to deal with sex issues? Am I ready? Am I balking?

Also, the big discussion about teenage girls is all the oral sex that is not taken very seriously. Most girls don't consider this "having sex." We have also discussed this. To great lengths.

About a year ago I ordered a bunch of pamphlets from www.plannedparenthood.org. I have pulled them off the bookshelf and we are going to go over them again. Because I could very well be ignorant. She had her child at seventeen and I had mine at thirty-one. Perhaps she is trying to avoid another teenage pregnancy.

Another trip to the dermatologist today. This time she was going in with a bigger knife. This is the mole that she feels perhaps there was some left inside. I was able to watch her stitch my daughter's wound. I am not able to observe the actual cutting, yet; but I made progress. I watched the stitching up. Big breath. I realize that I wasn't breathing while I typed that last part. Another big breath.
Again, I want the doctor to cut me up instead. Take the knife or scalpel and excise ME! Cut out little shards of my back instead! Please! Please!


Coming from the speakers: Breathe No More by Evanescence

Isadora was the first bra burner

braless statue
Somebody decided to hang a bra off the raised arm of this lady statue in New Orleans. I didn't get the name of the fountain/statue, and I tried to find it on Google, but haven't had much luck. This is a picture from my nephew's photos during his trip through the South.

Coming from the speakers: And Then There's Maude Theme Song by Dave Grusin and Andrew Bergman

Just call me Lucifer

lilacs
I stopped in a little greasy spoon for lunch today. Modeled after the old trolley cars. Quaint, it was. It was very small and you could hear everyone else's conversations. I just sat down when I caught the comment "Computers are the sign of the Devil." Oh, this was going to be good.

Two gentlemen were sitting at the counter bantering back and forth. One proceeded to tell the other that all of his problems happened after he got his computer. His wife hooked up with someone over the Internet because of that stupid computer, and then he had an awful accident at work which burned his arms up pretty bad. He is out of work. Well, he let his wife have one computer, he gave the other one to his kids and the third one he took outside on his back porch and took a sledge hammer to.

Okay, my thought is - if the computer was the root of all evil, why let his kids have one?

He was your typical stereo-type redneck if I ever saw one. He stood well over six feet, muscle t-shirt, dirty jeans, and brown boots, shaved head with a handle-bar moustache with accented goatee. He looked like a Cold Stone Steve Austin-wannabe. When he left the diner he got into his used, beat-up, primer gray, gas guzzling Ford pick-up truck with muddy running boards and thirty-day tags.

Coming from the speakers: Sympathy For the Devil by The Rolling Stones

All dressed up and someplace to go

prom
What a nice evening for the prom. We went to the park to snap a few pictures before the happy couple went out to eat. After the hair fiasco she ended up being very happy with her "do". Convertible-proof.


He was hot. As were all the young gentlemen escorts. It was crowded at the park and at the school. I went on to my derby party. What an upset, eh?

I have enough pictures from this week-end to last me well through the entire summer, I would imagine. It started out with my nephew's pictures from his Southern States tour. Then there were prom pictures. Then sunset pictures on the lake last night, and today I snapped all my lilacs and flowering dogwood in bloom.

Yes, I have a huge amount of photos to pull from for the blogsite. I can't wait to post them.

I hope you are having a great Sunday. I am exhausted (sleepy). Stayed up too late Friday night and last night. Must stay awake. I have a full jar of sun tea and fresh lemons. Mmmmmm.

Coming from the speakers: Empty Garden by Elton John (Hey, Hey, Johnnie)

Bad Hair Day

red butterfly

Hurry up! Can you hurry up, please! Hit the ground running this morning. Nails done last night, hair done early afternoon. I went to pick my niece up at the salon. She was in tears. A new hair stylist and she had to re-do it six times. No go. My niece was a mess. Hurry and take her over to her boyfriend's sisters' house for a total re-do.

An hour later, things are going a bit smoother. It is windy out and they are riding in a convertible. Won't have much time to get ready for pictures. It is partly cloudy, but this wind! Meet you at the park in an hour. Bring extra AA batteries for my camera. Don't forget to charge my camera. Tell my brother to come.

Okay, charge my camera, look for AA batteries for her camera. Fix the daughter and two friends a late lunch, move, move, move! Take the dog out. She hasn't been out since 7:30 this morning. Fill up the ice cube trays, put a new roll of toilet paper on the bathroom dispenser. No time to grumble about things, now. Just move!

Why can't we be friends?

mohawk

Some kids just love to be the center of attention. Today at my daughter's school it was "80's day". This is one of my daughter's friends with a mohawk. She was all gussied up. My daughter does not care to participate, but this girl loves attention. She lives with her Grandmother and her third husband. Her Mother kicked her out long ago. I just don't relate to this kind of lifestyle. I grew up in a loving home. Dysfunctional, yes - but we always felt loved and wanted.

My daughter called me from the dance about fifteen minutes ago. Her boyfriend came in and broke up with her. Okay. This was out of the blue. She did ditch him earlier this evening. She was supposed to go to his house and instead she went to the dance. Now, he just gave her two rings last evening. They look like little engagement rings. I think we are getting mixed signals, here.

Earlier my daughter called me from the school. She was talking a mile a minute. She and her friend were starting to walk home from school when another schoolmate fell off her sister's car. It seems like the older sister was mad at the girl and wouldn't let her in the car. So, the girl sat on the car. The sister gunned it and the girl fell off the car. My daughter called me on the cell phone. She said that the girl was okay, but then she and her sister began fighting in the middle of the road. I asked my daughter if there were any teachers or adults around. She said "No." I asked her if anyone had called 9-1-1. No, again. I asked her if there was blood, she said "Yes." I told her I would be right there. I grabbed a couple of towels and went to the school.

It was just my daughter and her very good friend. Where was the girl who fell off the car? She walked to the Park. I took my daughter and her friend to the Park and we found the girl. A scrape on the elbow. The step-dad came and got her. What a way to live. I have heard about other siblings fighting like this. My family and I never fought. We may have given one another the cold shoulder now and then, but nothing physical. Ever.

Thus, my daughter and her friend stayed at the Park and went on to the dance - and she ditched seeing her boyfriend tonight. I guess he had enough. My daughter likes to dance, he wants her to come see him. Summer is coming. Maybe it is time to be footloose and fancy free. For their age, I think it might be best.

My nephew is due in from his vacation. He drove to Louisiana and through a bunch of the Southern states. With the price of gasoline so high and he just takes off driving. Okay.

I took my niece to get her nails done tonight. The big prom is tomorrow night. I will take before-prom pictures. I won't be there for the walk-in, though. My annual derby-party. I won't get to the party in time to pick a horse, but that's okay. As long as I make it for the drinks and laughs.

So, I'll be up half the night listening to travels through the South and who danced with whom, and who said what, and who saw what and why he broke up with her and what new girl he took off with. Sigh. I would wager that her boyfriend walked into the dance and saw her dancing and/or flirting with another boy. Such drama! The rings are in a box on her computer desk.

Coming from the speakers: Why Can't We Be Friends? by War

Yep, it's still there

nose job

I am sorry. I couldn't resist. It looks like he is making sure his nose is still there and not sliding down his face. How tedious.

I tried to explain to my daughter a couple of years ago when she mentioned how can he not know he looks like a freak. I told her that he lives in such an isolated world that he only hears what his "yes" men tell him. Since he is paying them, they tell him he looks good. So he begins to believe it. Then I retell her the story of "The Emperor's New Clothes."

No music tonight. Been working outside.

Where have all the flowers gone?

purple iris

Did the frost get your flowers last night? I covered my yellow tulips, but it appears that I really didn't need to. They were the only ones that I was worried about that I was capable of covering. I know that I didn't care for the bright yellow, but they are so darn full and pretty, I certainly don't want them to die. I also cared about my lilacs, but I didn't have a tarp big enough to cover them. Didn't need to. They are fine. Now, tonight we have another cold snap and then things should begin to warm up.

My daughter called me at work as soon as she got home from school. She stated matter-of-factly that she was going to the Park to get her hoodie back. Someone had stolen it and she found out today who it was. I didn't want her to get into trouble so I met her there. We played a game of pool while waiting for the girl to arrive. She had no idea we were there waiting for her. My daughter said that she goes to this Park every day after school.

I suck at pool. I used to play long ago, but I was more interested in the liquid entertainment than the pool tables. I am not an exhibitionist and I found it quite unsettling to stick my arse in someone's face to shoot pool. That was what most of the girls did. I knew one girl that literally spread herself over the pool table to shoot. It was hilarious.

Anyway, my daughter got her hoodie back without much fanfare. The girl looked scared and I felt bad for her. She said she needed a hoodie that night and just took it. At first she tried to say it was her neighbor's. She just ended up taking it off and giving it back to my daughter. We left. No fuss, no worries. At least, not for now. For those of you who don't have teenagers, hoodies run in the $40 to $60 price range. You can't find them in the stores this time of year, I have to order them on line. Now, if my daughter can only get back the CD player she loaned out during the Washington D.C. trip. It plays mp3's and cost around $85. I told her if she doesn't have it back by the end of the week, I will go to the girl's house. I usually take everyone home from the dances, so I know where all the girls live.

I am trying to teach my daughter that you don't have to be nasty, just ask for the stuff back. Be firm, but don't threaten. You usually don't need to. I think a lot of teenagers go through a stage where they take something that isn't theirs. This girl made the mistake of wearing the hoodie to school, though. It happens to be an Adio Tar & Feathers black hooded sweatshirt. There aren't many around.

My right eyeball is starting to hurt in the inside corner socket. (okay, the pool lingo is carrying over). I feel a wee bit nauseous, but I want to go and fix some computers this evening. But, they aren't home, so it can wait. I think they said that they do not have an anti-virus program. (Groan). I am wondering about the latest virus, Sobero or whatever you want to call it. We'll see. I must remember to turn off the backup/restore option in XP. I think she has XP.

A lot of my school's email servers got hit pretty hard before the anti-virus programs came out with the fix. I try to explain to people that there is always that window of time where the creator sends the virus out into the wild and until the time that the av developers can come up with a fix or a cure for it. And then you have to take into consideration the time it takes you (the end users) to upgrade your anti-virus definition files. Some of my relatives and friends don't even know what that means. This is who auto-update was invented for, right? I mean, come on. It is difficult to inoculate your machine against a virus if it doesn't know about it yet. And, they are getting craftier and quicker and more of a regular all around pain in the arse.

Coming from the speakers: Where Have All The Flowers Gone? by Peter, Paul and Mary.

Look what they've done to my tree, Ma!

tree down

I came home from my Doctor's appointment this morning to this wonderful sight. I can barely get into my garage. The removal of the tree/brush is my responsibility. The electric company hired Asplundh to clear the wires and trim the tops of the trees. They said that the tree/s that had been uprooted would probably fall once the grape vines were cut away from the wires. They did. They also said it was a miracle we never had a fire. That we must have had lights flickering when it was windy. Nope. No flickering. I asked them if my Internet cable would be faster. Huh. No comment. That wasn't their area. I was just kidding.

Whew! At least they didn't touch my flowering dogwood, and the hemlocks (or whatever ugly evergreen they were) didn't fall on top of my garage. You can see the guy in the cherry picker in the middle left side of the picture. I took the pictures from my kitchen window.

The dogwood is in full bloom. I hope it lasts until Saturday so I can take pictures of my niece in her prom dress. We have frost warnings for the wee hours overnight, but it should warm up to almost seventy by Saturday/Sunday. I wonder if she shouldn't get some sort of shawl to wear.

Coming from the speakers: Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma by The New Seekers

Polka dots and moonbeams

dots


This is a picture of Christmas lights from December. The picture blurred when I snapped it; I magnified it, then inverted it. I wasn't aware that my negative could come out in pretty colored dots. What you discover by experimenting.

Bath and Body has a new fragrance that I liked. Gardenia lily. But, only in the candle. The lotion was too strong for me. I usually like their lighter products like honeysuckle. The names with water in them were always my favorites, but they always take them off the market. I can stand the plumeria and night blooming jasmine for small amounts of time. The cotton blossom makes me cough whenever I smell it. My co-worker has it in hand lotion.

I found some pretty flowers growing behind my garage recently. I have been in this house three years and never noticed them before. I do have some pale, weak daffodils that grow there. I don't pay them much mind. However, a couple of days ago I found what I believe to be "chiming bells" or the Latin term Mertensia oblongifolia. Not abundant, but maybe I can cultivate them to another area where they will get more attention.

I watched Victor/Victoria for the first time. The movie version with Julie Andrews and James Garner. I am not real sure that it did the homosexual population any favors. It represents a time when being gay was not acceptable and treated them unfairly. Because he was rumored to be gay, the part played by James Garner was being forced to sell out his half of the business. He was being shunned by society until it was truly discovered that he was actually seeing a female, and not a male. Oh, well. I still liked it, though. If only to watch the handsome Mr. Garner tackle Lesley Ann Warren in the bedroom.

Well, I had a little hiatus from the html practice because I have been fixing others' computers. I have a couple more to clean up and at work I have been busy back out in the schools, so I hope to get back into it soon. I am going to start a self-study course on fiber optics also. That is all the training we get. Self-study. We can pretty much study what we want, but it has to be on our own. I'm used to that. O solo mio.

Coming from the speakers: Polka Dots and Moonbeams by Frank Sinatra. (No, not really.)