Not here.

This is where we "won't" be staying when we go to WV.

We have reservations at the Days Inn near the towns we want to visit. We will have a nice restaurant, lounge, coffee in the rooms, pool, sauna - the works. I'm not sure what the one shown above has. Probably the 2 C's (a cot and a crapper). This is a line from one of my favorite movies. 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag. For some weird reason, I get a kick out of this movie. This one and Galaxy Quest. For zany humor.

I was awoken this morning to the beeping of our carbon monoxide detector. My daughter said it read 208, then 209 then back to zero and it finally quit beeping on it's own. I wasn't sure what to do. It isn't like a smoke or fire alarm. My window was open, there were fans blowing. Nobody had turned the furnace on or anything with a flame.

I was going to forget it but when I went to the basement to get my shower, I noticed that the cats and kittens had knocked the front plate to the hot water heater off and I guessed that they put the pilot light out. (I didn't look). I turned the knob off and heard a click or a popping sound. Scared me. I called my furnace company (they were scheduled to come Tuesday to check the furnace anyway). I took the day off and bumped my appointment up to today and waited for them.

I was nervous so I cleaned and baked. (I really wish I got nervous more often!) Anyway, the guy came at 3:00. Sheesh! He checked everything. Told me that the noise I heard when I turned the pilot light knob off, was the pilot light going out. That the cats had not put the pilot light out. Furnace is okay, hot water heater is okay, but he said my carbon monoxide detector may need replaced. He said sometimes they get old and start giving mis-readings. He said if it does it again, I may want to replace it.He brought his carbon monoxide tester in (to the tune of $35) and found nothing. All clean air. Whew!

I must not strangle the kittens, I must not strangle the kittens. My poor dog has a severe rash on her underbelly and inside of her thighs. I will call the vet tomorrow to schedule an allergy shot for her before I head out of town this week-end. I am nervous about the procedure my nephew is having. I've read up on his team of doctors and the hospital and the procedure. I was not involved much when he had his open heart surgery when he was two.

Oh, as for the baking? I made apple crisp and banana nut bread today. Both turned out very well. For some reason I just seem to turn catatonic on Saturdays and Sundays anymore. But give me a day off from work when I am not sick and that's when things happen.

Yonder

Over yonder.

Bit of a headache tonight. It started to rain here. After a super glorious day. I was inside all day so I didn't get to go out and about to see anything. The sun just heated up my little office so that I had to turn the fan on.

Been gabbing with sisters trying to iron out the details of the fall festival and our WV trip. Above photo is where the streets have no names. Like the song. I believe it is called Township Rd 45. Along the area where I found the Redneck bus stop. A dirt road between Keene and Warsaw Ohio. Where the country is still beautiful. I would like to get back out there when the leaves turn, but I can probably count that out. I am going to be looking at the Lisbon run this week. Heading east.

You think?

You should defragment this volume. You really should!

The cobbler's children have no shoes. The computer worker never cleans her hard drive. Goodness. I did a lot of cleaning this week-end but the house is still a mess. Except for the kitty litter area. That is clean. We are making progress there and Titten is behaving herself. That is, until I get the both of them (Titten and Mr. Tibbs) fixed in November. Let's see how they react to that procedure.

November will be here before I know it. I have the first week-end of October in Columbus to help my nephew with a cardiac catheterisation and the Fall Festival I go to every year and a Home Interior Party. The second week-end we will be visiting relatives in WV and touring New River Gorge (before their BIG week-end) - I am really hoping to get some great pictures of the fall foliage down there, the third is a 75th birthday party out of town and the 4th week-end is... Oh, nothing yet! Well, October looks to be one crazy, busy month!

Ugh. Deep breath. Ready, set, GO!

Saving

Time to save some folders

It has been about a month since I saved my recent photos and files to my external hard drive. I think I almost locked my system up by saving too many folders at one time. I separated them over my desktop and snagged a photo of them using the wonderful free program snagit. Well, it used to be free. When I first found it about ten years ago, it was free. I have an old copy that is limited in what it does, but it does exactly what I want it to.

The kittens received their booster shots today. I also got them their rabies shots. Since the little one (Titten) has been having some bowel problems the vet treated both of them for coccidia and we have another dose of meds to give them tomorrow. Better safe than sorry and it only cost $8 per kitten.

We do not feed the cats any milk or people food. I think they ate some crumbs from some homemade chocolate chip cookies two weeks ago and that is about the extent of it. Not that they don't want human food. They try their best. They are learning the house rules. Mr. Tibbs will eat Sable's dog food if I leave it out. Sable is learning to eat quicker these days because all food gets put away, now.

This is a rare free week-end. I was supposed to go with my sisters to an alley rally, but I said no. I have something for the next four week-ends in a row and I need this one to catch up on housework and "me" time. Once October hits it is run, run, run. I hope to get the grass mowed also. It is getting pretty thick.

We have the one little pumpkin that stopped growing and turned orange when the connecting vine was killed by me. I have to push it up and out of my yard so I can mow. We have another pumpkin growing and the vine has survived longer. It is a bit bigger than the first one. I keep looking out for others, but so far that is it. I guess I'll have to purchase the rest.

Photo Friday's challenge this week is: Comfort.

Torrent

Rustic red barn

If that is indeed a hex sign, it is a simple design. I liked the contrast of the rustic red barn against the bright green grass. This was taken today on my drive.

I went to 8 schools today. Most of them I have never been to. I believe I have been to about two of them - many years ago. I know my older sister taught at one and took me with her on the last day of school. I think it was in the early 70's.

I most certainly picked the wrong day to go. I read the paper this morning. They are on the verge of a teacher strike. I met up with some very unhappy people today. And, they didn't take to me very well. After 12 years of providing service to my area schools, I am certainly not used to people looking at me with suspect in their eyes. I called each and every school and informed them this morning that I would be stopping in today to get the serial number from our equipment. And, still I was treated like the enemy. Except for the last two. The second to the last was a Career Center and is not involved in the teacher strike. The very last one I timed my visit with a torrent of rain so forceful there was nothing but pity in their eyes for me.

It was raining so hard when I was in this tiny town I actually thought that perhaps they were getting a mini tornado. I almost skipped it. But, I had 8 schools on my notebook paper and I couldn't stand to be this close and not get the serial number of the last one on my list. I could have driven back to the school on a sunnier and much prettier day, but since Mr. Joe Taxpayer pays for my mileage and my time, I don't care to waste it. So, I got soaked to the skin.

And, I got a migraine. My daughter and I noticed a few days ago that my windshield appears to be covered with some filmy oily substance. The wipers would only smear it. I felt like I was looking through blurry glasses the entire time I drove today. Certainly a headache in the making. All is well, now. I took Imitrex around 4 p.m. and it kicked in by 5.

Moody Lake

The gray sky is reflected in the water

The lake was a bit moody today when I stopped at lunch for this photo opportunity. It was a nice day, a bit warm. The sun did come out towards the end of my shoot, but I kind of like the moody ones better.

I realized that yesterday's photo post of the trotter looks like he is wearing a witch's hat on his head. Ack. I think I have been looking at too many Halloween decorations.

Well, it's back to kitty training and my book. All very time consuming. Humph.

Trotting Number Seven

Warming up before the race

Here is a photo of one of the trotters we saw at the fair on Sunday. I admire the discipline the horses have as they trot around the field and do not break into a canter or a gallop. There were plenty that broke this year. At least one in each race.

I have had my nose stuck in a book for days. I finished "The End of The World As We Know It" and am currently absorbing "Final Analysis". Dishes, kitty litter and trash got done but that was all. Heh heh. It is a great way to pass the time while re-introducing our littlest feline to the litter box. Gently and slowly so she doesn't fear me or the box. No trauma during this important time. I shut us both in the downstairs laundry room with a fresh clean litter box after she eats until she realizes what it is she is supposed to do and where she is supposed to be doing it. She is becoming quite affectionate with me because of our bonding time together.

Miserable

Doesn't he look just miserable?

This photo was not taken at the fair. Believe it or not, I didn't get any animal photos there. Just derby shots and harness racing. My daughter is miserable with a bad cold/flu bug. Could be the one I had a month or so ago.

I sat on an aluminum stadium bleacher seat with no back from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. yesterday with about 2 ten minute bathroom breaks. I actually thought I would be more miserable than I am. I don't feel too bad other than tired. And my arm hurts from holding my camera up while I took videos of the derby heats. The vans were funny. I'll shorten the videos to just the good parts and try to post them here. They are grainy, but I think you can make out what is happening. I was a good distance away.

I can't understand why folks take small children and infants to these events. It has always bothered me that my county fair holds the demolition derby the last day of the fair (which is always a Sunday) and they start it at 7:30 p.m. The kids have school on Monday. Someone told me they do it to keep the kids away. Oh, hell. That bothers me even more.

I never took my daughter because it was a school night. This was our first year. She is sixteen years old. We left before the last "free-for-all" heat. We got home after 11 p.m. There were three tiny babies around us. For the most part they slept. There were about 8 small children (between 3 and 7). Now, how fun was it for these kids? Not very. They were cranky and tired because if you want a seat you have to get there hours before the event. They were bored. They picked on one another and got smacked many times by their parent. They annoyed everyone around them by kicking their feet on the aluminum bleachers. They stomped up and down the stairs almost falling. They kept pulling other folks' blankets off the bleachers and knocking drinks over because they were tired of sitting still.

The funny thing is if the fair was trying to deter the parents from bringing restless kids, it has kind of backfired on them. Because what kids come to the event? The ones who have parents who don't give a damn that they get enough sleep the night before school and are a tad bit on the negligent side anyway. They don't care if their kids are a nuisance to other folks around them. These are the kids who are starving for attention and if they can't get the good kind, they will act up and get negative attention. And, they do.

Last day of the fair

This ride turns them upside down

We are off today to enjoy the last day of our county fair. We are looking forward to watching harness racing and the so very popular demolition derby tonight.

I never was a fan of riding the more dangerous rides at a county fair. Do you ever "look" at the people who man those rides? Smiling parents shuffle their children onto those kidde rides and the person taking the tickets looks like a prison inmate from San Quentin. I am stereo-typing here, but I have yet to see a decent looking person controlling a small town carnival ride.

I can still remember putting my daughter on a ride and the guy taking the tickets had eight sucker bites (a.k.a. hickies or hickeys) on his neck. Well, maybe seven. I lost count because I was counting fast and trying hard to wipe the look of disgust off of my face. Ew. I think that was her last little kidde ride. She cannot stand rides, so I don't worry about their safety any longer.

I cringe when I see mobs of teens standing in line to get their thrill rides in for the evening. I just wonder who inspects the rides, if they have a hangover when they are inspecting them, how much they get paid, how much they may get paid under the table, and how often do they make an appearance.

Please accept my apologies to any carnival employees, state inspection personnel or any relative and/or friend of said so people who may be reading. The post is purely my personal opinion and is not intended for statistical value or manifestation in any way shape or form.

Shady Dirt Road and an Amish "cult"

Why did I drive around the county on back dirt roads?

I gravitate to that lush drive between school buildings. Something to take me away from technology, wires and electronics. I can see me retiring among the Amish. Until I was made aware of this story.

This is the same group that is connected to the Amish guy in the garage at my sister's place. So, maybe retiring to that community is not in my best interest. Things certainly can escalate to a tragedy here. This sheriff is well-known for his unique ways of handling the community. You could say he has made a lot of enemies. However, I do agree with some of what he is saying in this video.

Quite an interesting development. Especially the way he keeps referring to this group as a "cult".

Redneck Bus Stop

On a back road in Ohio

I took over 400 photos today and I debated and sorted and finally realized that I just had to post this one first. The others are nice. There is some beautiful scenery on the back roads in that neck of the woods, but this one is just worth a thousand words.

Below is a map of the route (in red) that I drove today. That bus stop is on a back road somewhere close to where I pasted the smiley face on the map. Starting out I travelled west on Rt. 36 past West Lafayette. Turned North to Keene, took a shortcut (?) over to Warsaw. It was along one of the Township roads that I saw the setup. I had to laugh and take a picture.

Again, it was just a gorgeous day. The sun was streaming through the trees and the air was just crisp and fresh. I did get a monster of a headache from the sun shining through the trees. Small price to pay for the beauty of it all.

The Dover Dam

Morning sun over the Dover Dam

Hey, as long as it's sunshine streaming over the dam and not water, eh? I was on my way to a school the other day and stopped to snap a photo. The water was way down and was quite ugly, so I turned the camera up instead.

My daughter went to the county fair with friends this evening and I made a much needed trip to the store that is taking over the world "Wally World". Nastradamus or some seer predicted that the anti-Christ would be born in 1962. Well guess when Wally World was founded? Hey, I'm just sayin'.

Cat and dog food and kitty litter. We are having potty-training problems with the wee one. I bought her some kitten food. I am thinking the adult cat food was a bit too strong for her. She does not seem to be growing and she has constant bathroom problems. Not the best thing to be dealing with. She started out fine for the first couple of weeks. I moved the litter box downstairs and I guess I'll have to move it back into the back bedroom and try a gentler approach with her. The little sh.. uh, varmint.

Standing out

Blue building

Today I didn't get to drive anywhere but to the office and back. This photo is from yesterday's excursion. I like the folks who dare to paint their home or garage a vivid color. One that will stand out. You could tell folks, "I live in the blue house. You can't miss it. It is blue. It is beyond blue." At the time I took the photo (a drive-by shoulder shot), I didn't realize that there was actually what appears to be a house on the one side. I thought it was an abandoned business of some sort. No vehicles were around the building. We have quite a few purple houses in our town along with a few green and yellow ones that stand out from the rest. I like that.

I went to the library at lunch today. I picked up a book that I nearly finished this evening. I forced myself to put it down and focus on other things that needed my attention. The book is "The End of the World As We Know It: Scenes of A Life: by Robert Goolrick. It is pretty good in the fact that I like to read about others' lives and how turbulent it was while they were growing up. It sounds a lot like "The Prince of Tides" by Pat Conroy. I read the book after I watched the movie. I was dismayed at the many changes the movie made. Anyway, back to "The End..." I like books like this. Why some of the children in a family remain functional in life and why some stumble along. There is a lot to birth order and how children turn out in life. As always, there are exceptions to every rule. It makes for great reading, though.

Fresh

Country

I wish you were with me today. I can show you photos and I could take a short video I suppose so you can hear the sounds. I'd have to turn the car motor off and travel into the field or woods some so that I wouldn't pick up the sound of any other automobiles. But what I can't give you is the smell or the feeling of the sunshine country fresh air. And no, I don't mean that country smell. This is the real fresh smell of September in Ohio when it cools the heat of summer off the land and the air is fresh and the sky is blue and there is pure delight when you breathe. That is what I want to share. If we can only bottle it.

There is a candle scent you can purchase called fresh cut grass. Have you taken a whiff of that one? If they can nail that scent down, I wish they could get this fresh country air that I experienced today. Pure heaven. It just took me to another place. A happy place.

I don't know if anyone has noticed but I seem to be missing a once popular topic in my blog these days. It's the "m" word. Shhh. I am not real sure why the decrease. If I happen upon a reason, I'll let you know what it is.

The county Fair - Day 1

Two girls riding the Umbrella ride (Paratrooper)

I did the right thing and disguised the two little girls. They are strangers to me. I am not sure what or who they were looking at. I used my zoom to get in closer to get the picture.

We went today (the first day of the fair) to see the Motocross racing. Some of those kids are so small it is amazing. I hate it when they get hurt. There were many wipe outs, but few injuries. My nephew raced for years. He was very good. He had the perfect build for dirt bike racing. He is somewhere in North Carolina working. He has broken so many bones he sets off metal detectors in the air ports. Just kidding. Maybe.

I was feeling good, so I ate deep fried vegetables with fair lemonade. Then, I wasn't feeling so good. Very filling. It did keep me from eating anything else, though. The kids continued with root beer floats and elephant ears while I just turned my head away from the sweet foods.

I purchased passes for four days, so we are going back on Thursday evening and over the week-end. I have to get some photos of the animals. I like watching the trotters, but I don't know if that is a good thing. Is it inhumane? I know that I don't like to watch them when it is 90 degrees out and they are running. But, it is beautiful weather this week. I am beginning to wonder about any sport that uses whips to make the horse go faster. I am torn about this.

This week-end was strange. I turn around and I feel that I missed it altogether. I didn't seem unusually busy, but I notice that I didn't post. I didn't do a lot, but I must have been preoccupied with something. I did watch Fracture. I liked it.

You can't see me!

Sable smiles.

This photo looks to me like my dog is thinking "I have my eyes closed, so you can't see me!" Or, it just may be that she is conditioned to close her eyes each time I point that little black box at her because the flash hurts her eyes. Poor overexposed puppy.

My co-worker in her infinite wisdom read an e-mail to me yesterday that she received. You may have received it, too. It is spam. I sighed to myself as she read it. You also can read it here here and here. She really believes this stuff. She was amazed by it. I quit wasting my time trying to reason with her long ago. No, in fact - I never did try to reason with her. I know an airhead when I see one.

September Sunset

Neil Diamond had his "September Morn" I figure I can have my September sunset. I stayed late after work and decided to drive to the top of the hill at our town park and get more photos of the sunset through the pine trees found there. Even though the weather was stunning and beautiful, there were very few folks out and about. I did run into someone I knew and chatted for a few minutes. By then, the moment to capture the sunset was gone. Ah, well. I have lots of this particular view, anyway.

My vacation time for October has been approved. Some family members and I are going to visit relatives in WV. We have an on-line calendar at work where we are to post our vacation and meetings. I have mine posted for vacation time. I just know my manager is going to schedule a meeting on one of the days that I am gone. I can feel it. He never checks the calendar to see who is going to be out that day. Hey, I just thought of something. Maybe he does check. And, when he sees that I am not going to be there, he schedules a meeting. I never thought of that! LOL! Well, bust my buttons. Now, I have a complex!

Morale

He was very proud of his sand castles.

He was a stranger to me. I was walking past him on a beach of Lake Erie and I asked him if I could take his picture. The girl in the background is laughing. I don't know if she is related to him or not. He was so proud of his work as he had every right to be. I hope that I boosted his morale.

We've all been there. Somebody says something that sends our morale plummeting. Down to the depths of hell. Not much can help after we have been stung like that. It happened today. Not to me. To a co-worker (friend). He had a serious heart attack around the New Year. He returned to work in April.

Blaming it on the rain

Abstract cake photo

Believe you me, this photo is much nicer than the actual cake. It was that bad! I have never had icing turn out that runny. I am blaming it on the rain!

My daughter finally got a job at class today. She was to make a collage of four famous authors for the literature class and it needed to be large enough to place onto a cedar chest. ??? Got me.

She was telling me that the teacher does not teach the students anything about copyright laws. I have always told her to respect them. She knows all the URLs that offer free photos or those for educational purposes, non-profit and other stuff like that. I reminded her that we signed an AUP and not to take any chances. We don't need that thrown in our face after all we have been through. Who knows? This sick-o teacher may be setting her up.

Do I sound paranoid? Maybe, I am. That is what life has taught me. That is what I have become. I lean on the side of caution. Don't trust them. You get burnt. Hopefully, my daughter will have better experiences and a more positive turnout.

Kittens are doing well. Soon, they won't be kittens any longer. I have had to step up the litter control considerably. Ugh! That is to be expected. I fixed the hose on my Shop Vac. I got the (lazy) bright idea to use my Shop Vac to suck up my grass clippings a week or so ago on my back yard sidewalk. Whoops. Everything was going along just fine, until I hit a big patch. A big lump lodged like solid rock in the middle of the hose. I could push it one way with the broom handle and then from the other end. Finally, I began squeezing the hose until I worked it out. It took me a while. I felt like I was pushing a rat out of a snake.

I am hoping to post a little video of the two kittens roughing each other up before they get too old to be cute. They are quickly getting tired of one another. The other cats still keep their distance. Sable stepped on the little one (Titten). Just rolled her end over end. The big galoot.

Lazy week-end

I tried to teach my daughter not to wear stripes with dots.

But, you know teenagers. She will wear the opposite of anything I advise. At the butterfly conservatory in Niagara, not only the spotted butterflies were attracted to her headband, but as you can see, the striped ones also. This is the one we had to have the worker remove. He used a soft piece of felt to lift the winged diurnal insect off.

I was very lazy this week-end. I watched a lot of movies. My favorite out of the bunch was a tie between Georgia Rule and The Contract. Both very different movies. I did not expect Georgia Rule to have that story line. And I like most anything with John Cusak and Morgan Freeman in it and when they are in the same movie, it delighted as well as entertained.

I was disappointed in The Last King of Scotland. Okay, maybe disappointed is not the correct word. I don't like detailed torture and bloody scenes. Just let our imaginations figure out what happened, they don't have to be so graphic about it. It did inspire enough curiosity in me that I researched the story line on the Web. I know more about the background and the history. Which in fact, is a good thing. If not for the movie, I would be ignorant of the situation.

And, for fun, I watched Blades of Glory with my daughter. It wasn't bad, and I have to be in that teenage/young adult mindset to go with the humor they put in the movie. We laughed out loud in a couple of places. That is a good thing.

It rained here Friday evening and all day yesterday. It is still raining. We have a cook-out later this afternoon. My daughter made a cake (from a mix and with my help). I will be showing her how to make frosting (from scratch), next. I suppose her helping curiosity has run out by now, though. I'll probably be flying solo on the icing of the cake. Until it's time to lick the bowl. Yum.

I want one!

I did NOT take this picture!

I did NOT steal their souls. My sister did. She said somebody told her they didn't mind. Uh huh. Meanwhile, I called another sister today. She had to end the call -someone was at the door. I waited about ten to fifteen and called her back. A deep baritone answered. (Huh?) "Hello?" he said. I stammered. "Hello, is (my sister's name) there?" The deep baritone, "Who?" I was convinced I had the wrong number, even though I used my cell phone's speed dial and rang her up by name. I repeated the question. Deep baritone "I'm the Amish guy in the garage."

Wow! My sister has an Amish guy in the garage. I SO want one! How does she rate? So, she has been holding out on us, huh? Sigh. Could you imagine what my garage could look like with an Amish guy in it? Oh, the brilliance of it. The organization. The MUSCLE!

She had a chance to explain later. He came to use the telephone. The one at their saw mill was not working. Still, you think the guy would have said "I'm her neighbor, I'm just here to use the phone." But no, he is and will forever be "The Amish guy in the garage."

You've got the cutest little...

Baby Face

I am back to reading and studying html.

Such as:

• Sunday


• Monday


• Tuesday


• Wednesday


• Thursday


• Friday


• Saturday

and:

    This paragraph

       ..........   and this sentence.....

will go .............

          wherever.... I tell them to go!

It's fun.

The pool cake

I didn't get to taste it, but it sure looked yummy. I thought this cake was very precious because of the time the Mom took to make it for her 2 year old boy. She said she got the idea out of Parents magazine.

With the blue icing just the perfect color for pool water, and what looks to me like miniature marshmallows to form the bumper around the edge, the cake is ready for folks to dive right in. (Pun intended). Mmm mmm.

The barrel train

All aboard!

The kids loved it. The last barrel had a flag holder attached, so I imagine the builder entered the little train in parades now and then. A couple of the children (including the birthday boy) were too timid to ride the train.

Nothing was said to my daughter about her hair today. I just want her to learn Graphic Arts so that we can plan a future for her. Come on. Let's get past this dress code issue. Others did not change their hair color and I am miffed about that. Let's just put this behind us and move on. Is it a power issue do you think? They can't control anything else in their life, so they get obsessive about students' hair color?

Glee

Little girl on a water slide

My family must be tired of each other. Nobody had a cook-out this holiday week-end. If they did, they kept it very simple. I had plans to go to a friend's cook-out. Her grandson was turning 2 and her son and his wife were up from Biloxi, MS for a few weeks and decided to have a get together.

There were kids all over the place. It makes me realize what low producers my family members are. My friend's nephew built a little train for the kids to ride on. He made it out of barrels. The barrels are laid on their side and he cut out a section for the seat, put them on wheels, locked them together and pulls it with a tractor. It is really neat. I'll post a photo of it soon.

Some of the children relished the water slide and jumped right in. Others held back. Some parents tried to force their children to go on it, which just resulted in a crying child. The event was held at a small park and there were swings, sliding boards and a merry-go-round. Now, there's a piece of playground equipment you can have. I get sick just watching that thing. Ugh!

There was so much food. I realize that with each family get together we all tend to make or bring the same stuff. When you go to a new get together you get to sample and taste all kinds of new foods. Yum! This family brings food in tubs and roasters! We left in the late afternoon when one branch of the family started shoving each other's faces into pieces of cake. There were about five cakes, but I can't see wasting food like that when somebody else took the time, money and trouble to make it. The Mom of the little birthday boy had made a "pool cake" made out of cookies and such. She got the idea and recipe out of Parents magazine. I'll post a photo of it later, too.

My daughter wasn't feeling well. I really hope she does not get that nasty cold that I had last week. Well, tomorrow we get to see what the school says about her hair. Since that school is one where I install, maintain and setup equipment in, I am scheduling a maintenance day there tomorrow. I really need to check on their router, you know? I am a little bit concerned about the CRC errors on the Fast Ethernet port out there. Well, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Let's see them refute that. I also need to go right about lunch time for the students so Mama Bear can cast a discerning eye over the students in the cafeteria for any offenders of the strict hair code. Damn straight. Let's play some hard ball. I'm ready.

The new red

Not sure what is going to happen when the school sees this color. It always comes out blaring at first, it will fade. We are having a hard time keeping the blond from absorbing the red color and turning a faded pink. This is a more natural shade of red. I believe it was called copper red. My daughter wanted the violet red, but saw it to be a bit too purple. The stylist said that we really shouldn't touch her hair for two months after this round. I agree.

I have come to name the gray kitten Mr. Tibbs. My daughter still calls the orange one Titten. I call her Buttercup. I've also thought of Marmalade. Both nixed by my daughter. Regardless of what their names are, the kittens are a riot. They play with everything. It is so fun to see the romping and carrying on that they do around the house. They have come close to breaking things, though. I'm not exactly thrilled about that. My two first cats (Casper and Jasper) are getting used to them. We have seen Jasper playing with Mr. Tibbs.

Poor Moose is more isolated than ever. She barely comes out of the basement at all. I will try to find the time to go down there and give her more loving. But, when I do my big baby Casper comes storming down there and it just makes him all the meaner towards Moose. Sigh. Why can't we all just get along? Sable is also all dejected from all the attention the kittens are getting.

Moose threw up again today. I am wondering if she eats too fast because she is so nervous and afraid. I hate to think of what any of them went through before their life with us. Back in 1982 my sister caught a little boy swinging a cat around by it's tail. She went off on him. I also recall some co-workers laughing and one saying they used to bury cats with just their heads above ground and run over them with the lawn mower. Or tie their tails together and hang them over a clothes line. I wish I had the mouth that I have now on me back then. I'd give them good ol' boys a piece of my mind. I can only hope they were making it all up in some sick way to get a reaction out of me.

I have a cook-out tomorrow. I've made my pineapple pudding cake to take. My daughter thinks that she is getting my bad cold I had last week. I hope not. If she does, I hope it is a very mild case of it. It is not an experience I ever want to go through again, I especially don't want my daughter to suffer.

Hey there country bumpkin

How do you like my green pumpkin?

We can all thank our lucky stars I didn't pursue writing songs, eh? I didn't plant this vine. It grew of it's own free will. I do put pumpkins on my patio in October, so a seed must have found its way to the ground and nature took its course. As nature will do. It has taken over the front of my patio and threatened to take over the side. It is currently in a war with my newly planted moon flower on the East side of my patio. The moon flower is not giving way.

A few more little pumpkins have started here and there, but they die off. Probably because I keep sweeping the vine up and out of the yard, thus crushing or twisting the vine. I am surprised this one got as far as it did. I don't see me having a great bounty for decorating with.

I missed an opportunity to go with family to Amish Charm today. From the photos my sister sent it looks like they had a lovely time. I am still hacking (coughing) pretty hard. Today I did what a lot of folks believe in. I sweat out my cold. I mowed the grass, I raked, I swept and I am exhausted. I was sweating something awful. And the good clean air that my lungs did breathe, couldn't have hurt me any, either. I took my time. It took me twice as long to mow. But, that was mostly because it hasn't been mowed in so long.

Tomorrow my daughter is getting her red part in her hair re-colored. Oh, I know. I went up and down and inside out trying to figure out what I was going to do. I even did "this". Oh, I am wicked. But in all reality, her hair looks horrible. It does not look like the picture in the above link at all. (I planned to take a recent photo of my daughter's hair and post it, instead.) Fact is, I have not gone "live" with that URL yet, anyway. Since they made the remark about her hair, she has been washing it in very hot water in an attempt to get the red to fade quickly. The end result being, it is a very faded red color.

So, we go tomorrow to see what damage control the hair stylist can come up with and a more "natural" shade of red. However, I am still amused at how the Administrator came up with the color "fuchsia" for her hair. My daughter wishes she could have fuchsia in her hair! The salon won't do those "wild" colors. They can't guarantee the color will remain. They actually call that red a natural color. Whatever, I am tired of the subject, as I am sure so are you.

The kittens are adjusting very well. They still need to learn a few fundamentals. Stay off the dining room table. Do not get under my feet when I am walking. Do not climb up my living room curtains. (Already snagged, sigh). One day, when I do not have any pets, I am going to have beautiful carpet, beautiful drapes, beautiful furniture, nice smelling house.... aw, who am I kidding? I am the cat lady.

Almost there

A spinning quarter

I have been off from work since Wednesday. That is three days out sick. That is quite rare for me as usually the occasional migraine will knock me out a day at the most. Usually I only need half a day with the sick headaches because of the medicine that is now available.

But this cold/flu. Which is it? I didn't take my temperature but at work on Tuesday I caught myself wiping my forehead and face with a paper towel. When someone asked me if I were alright, I replied "Oh, just a fever of sorts." I had a relentless headache that did not respond to any medication that I threw at it. It may have been a very bad cold for all I know.

The sneezing was so bad yesterday I felt like each time my head would fly off. I got to the point where I was sneezing into a hand towel because I just felt like I was blowing up. The only thing I had to do yesterday was drive my daughter to a dentist appointment. Since I had only eaten toast, applesauce and liquid soup for three days I was pretty hungry last night. We ordered pizza. Oh, cruel, cruel world. No taste buds. It seriously tasted like I was chewing wet cardboard. Although, I can't recall exactly when it was in life that I had the chance to chew wet cardboard.

So, today I am back to soup. At least I can half taste it. Pizza probably wasn't the best thing to place into my digestive system that was still dealing with the bug.

Well, folks. I just got a call from my daughter's school. They say they are asking all the parents of students with un-natural color hair to change it back to their natural color. Well, well. I almost got into it with the guy that called, but I bit my tongue. He said that the advisory committee has commented over the past couple of years that this is what they want from the career-oriented students. I said, "And your advisory committee is listed on your web page?" He said, "Yes." I said, "So, if I call each one of them, they will tell me the same?" He said, "Well, that's over 100 individuals, ma'am." Blah, blah, blah. They have given us the long week-end to change it.

I then questioned the "School policy" vs. "Class by class" policy. He said "Yes, per school policy." He said their "natural" hair color. I know of three or four girls who dye their hair a different color than their natural color. As in all red, or all blond. This does not include all the students who do the bi-color or tri-color hair. Will they be having to return to their natural hair color, also?

Oh, bother. Now, I am in a sour mood.

Big Brother

Buddies

By looking at the photo you would think that the orange kitten protects the gray one, huh? I saw something yesterday that was so touching.

My big black cat (Casper) was sitting on the arm of my T.V. chair. I was sitting in the chair. The little tiny orange kitten jumped up onto the arm and immediately got a hiss and a claw swipe from Casper knocking the poor tiny thing back onto the floor. I usually let the critters work things out for themselves.

Ten seconds later the gray one jumped up onto the edge of the arm. You could tell he was scared. His eyes were as big as saucers and although his tiny claws held him fast to the arm of the chair, his body leaned as far away from Casper as he could. He perched there for about a minute or two prepared to take the brunt of whatever Casper was going to give out. Casper backed up a bit and they had the usual stare down.

After a couple of tense minutes, the orange kitten jumped up onto the chair beside me. Still scared. The gray one moved down off of the arm and covered the orange one with his body. It looked like he was smashing it, but this is how they cuddle. And that was that. Casper went back to relaxing on the chair arm, and the other two slept by me on the chair.

It was amazing to see since I don't get much time to just sit with my critters.

I am so sick. The headache from hell lasted through Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Now, I am not sure if the headache was a result of the liquid vitamin or this flu bug that I have. The sneezing and coughing are severe. (The kind of sneeze that rips your throat out). I am sore from coughing. My head continues to hurt, but not like before. Medication will take the edge off of it. The bug is still going strong. That is why I am awake at this hour. I have no taste buds. My daughter was very sweet and brought throat lozenges home yesterday. I take them, but I can't taste them.

Oh, and we have decided to keep both kittens, now. My daughter's friend was going to take the gray one but she couldn't wait until I had him all taken care of with the shots and stuff so she went out and got a frisky kitten of her own. She said she would still take the gray one, but I don't want to separate the two and I don't like her track record with pets. The cuddler stays with me. Now, for the names.

My daughter calls the orange one Titten. Hmmm. I guess that is her way of getting back at me for calling her Buttercup. I've taken to calling the gray one Cuddles for now. After a childhood stuffed mouse named Kuddles.

Well, cuddler isn't a word. But, he is "one who likes to cuddle." So there is a word for Peruby's dictionary.

My sister is also a cat lady. At one time I think she had over nine in her house. She found out yesterday that one has jaw cancer. Her daughter was distraught to say the least. Although her daughter is married and lives in another town, she comes back to take the cats to the vet's office. This was her very favorite cat. They are going to medicate and make the cat as comfortable as possible. The vet said the cat probably wouldn't survive surgery and if it did, would have to live on a feeding tube. They got this cat in 1988. Wow. Well, that is what my sister said. They take very good care of them. Wow. 19 years if it was a kitten when they got it.

I dread the day when any of my pets are dying.

Golden hue

October Sunrise

I have posted this photo before, or a variation of it. I love the golden hue of the sunrise I captured that morning on the way to work. October has always been one of my favorite months. Not sure why. I guess I love the crispness and freshness in the air. I am glad I don't have allergies, as I have heard that is a bad month for the ones afflicted with that ailment.

The daughter was treated very well today by the teacher. Mama Bear did not have to attack. Mama Bear was ready. However, I am glad it did not happen. I want this to be a fun and wonderful experience for my daughter. Not a war zone. Cripes.

Every couple of years I get a stupid streak and purchase vitamins. Why, oh why do I do this to myself? This was the liquid one you put under your tongue. I had been feeling very run down (because of my flu bug) and thought that vitamins would again be the answer. I am so sick with a headache. My Advil won't touch it, nor will my migraine medicine. I tried to nap, but this nagging cough is keeping me awake and causing my head to split open. And, this happens to be the evening that I get phone call after phone call.

And, I keep getting the damn hiccups. I have spent the evening gagging, coughing and sneezing. A regular bear alright. I can't type anymore because of the headache.

Clean bill of health

Healthy by scared

No worms. No leukemia. Ear mites and possibly fleas. Have been treated for both. In two weeks will be the shots. They are quite overwhelmed by our three cats and dog. Sable just wags her tail and whimpers. She tries to get as close as she can to them. Wagging, wagging and whimpering. I do hope that is a good sign for a dog. Hee, hee. Maybe she thinks they are her very own live toys. She is such a dog!

Thing 2 (smaller orange one on the top) is a girl and the vet guesses her age at 14 weeks. She was the bravest and went exploring right out of the box. I call her Buttercup, much to my daughter's chagrin. Thing 1 is a male and is about 4 months. He seems to be a bit traumatized by the ordeal. He just wants to hide, sleep and forget about things for a while. I did hold him and he purred away. A friend of my daughter's said that she will take him. I am going to get his shots first, though. I am not sure she will be able to afford them. I will also get him fixed for her if she doesn't take it upon herself to do it.

My daughter told her teacher that she plans to re-color her hair in two weeks. I instructed her not to say a word. But, she told her. It didn't help. Later that morning, my daughter couldn't get her locker to open (discovered they had given her the wrong combination), and noticing that the handle was bent my daughter tried to push it with her foot. Which had more power than her hand. The teacher grabbed my daughter by the arm and told her "That's not the way to get it to work!" My daughter said she pulled her arm away and said "Okay!" In the class room the teacher told her "I can see we are going to have a problem!"

Another girl was rolling her chair on wheels back and forth between two desks and the teacher yelled out "Is that (my daughter's name)? Tell her to stop it!" My daughter was on the other side of the room and said "I"m clear over here!" The teacher said "Oh, well who is it then?" And told the girl to be careful because she could get hurt or break the chair.

Later, after the combination fiasco was corrected a friend of my daughter's was putting his books away and closed his locker with his foot (making a loud bang sound) and the teacher tapped my daughter on the shoulder "Did you just kick that locker again!?" My daughter said she got really angry and lost it this time. She began screaming at the teacher (she has no recollection of what she said - a friend had to tell her later). The teacher was taken aback, I guess and said "Oh, well who did it then?" The boy came forward and said he had kicked the locker. The teacher said "Oh, okay." And walked away. My daughter said the teacher was super sweet to her the rest of the day.

I asked her if she had apologized to her about the wrong accusation. My daughter said "No." But, my daughter said she was feeling lousy for yelling at the teacher. She said "Mom, I am sick about it. I wanted to apologize to her, I felt so bad."

I said "One more day. If ANYTHING happens tomorrow you are to leave, go straight to the office and call me on my cell phone. ANYTHING other than her teaching you." And, I told her forget about re-coloring her hair now. That lady is pushing one too many of my buttons. My daughter's arm may be forming a bruise. We'll have to wait and see.

My daughter was rising above their policy and took it upon herself to agree to the hair color change when I told her not to and this is how it ends up. She was very upset to say the least. Now Mama Bear has been stirred into coming over and watching. Claws out and ready. I ain't listening to anymore.

Get together

View from my nephew's front yard

The house in the distance is not my nephew's. He does not need that much room. His house is just charming. This is the view of the land across from the small road he lives on. Quiet, peaceful and reminds me of farm country.

We drove around 200 miles to join family, his friends and co-workers in a house warming party for him north of Columbus. He was having a Bar-B-Que. What my family has always referred to as a "cook-out".

Driving home, the sunset view was spectacular. But, we were in a hurry and my camera was stowed away in the trunk of the car. Drat! My daughter said "This looks like tornado country" because the land was so flat. I told her about Xenia, Ohio in 1974. Since we had been to Cincinnati in April, she saw a lot of flat land there, too.

I have not made any decision on my daughter's hair, yet. Although, I am much calmer about it.

I am exhausted. August was extremely busy for this old gal. I like to stay home more than most people. I have caught something. I was achy all week. I am running a low grade fever, and have a sore throat, headache and scratchy (tickle throat) cough. It is the type where it makes your eyes water. You drink and drink, but it still tickles. This is another reason why I am not sleeping so well. Plain rundown. I would like to rest today, but the house is a disaster. Because I have been running all of August only the "have to" things got done. I want to go back to bed and dream of little elves that come and work while you sleep.

Dress codes

This is an older picture of how my daughter wears her hair when she gets the red dyed into it. Her home school did not even blink when she showed up with it. Probably because they had gone through a controversial situation with a girl with purple hair about two years ago. I don't know.

Since my daughter had downsized to two colors over the summer (black and blond) when she returned to the red last week, the blond was porous enough to grab some of the red and turn a bit pink. In April we went to Cincinnati to see "The Lion King" on stage and her hair had a pink hue to it then. This photo below is my second favorite style for her to wear her hair. It may be close to my very favorite.

Unfortunately, her hair is not that long and she does not have near the same amount of blond covering the red/pink as she did in this photo.

I can attest to the fact that she gets a compliment a week on her hair if we are out and about. People make a point to walk up to her and tell her. A lot of times they are women my age or older. This makes her feel good about herself.

I looked the rules up at this Career center on line last night. My daughter told me that a couple of teachers she talked to on Friday said that they did not have any problem with her hair. The teacher of Graphics Arts is the problem. And she is only the teacher for the Juniors. The guy that teaches the Seniors told my daughter he did not have a problem with her hair.

The rules are printed as:

Makeup must be of a natural color or tone. Hair color must be an acceptable color as deemed by the administration. Unusual hair is unacceptable.

We have received nothing in writing. The teacher spoke to my daughter. There are nine individuals listed under Administrative staff at this school. It does not specify that the color of hair is considered on a class per class basis. So, this means the lime green and bright pink that the girls are wearing to cosmetology class will have to go if my daughter's has to go. Or, they can be accused of discrimination.

When my daughter mentioned the cost factor to her teacher, the teacher said "Aw, that's so sad." Then she said "Our Cosmetology department will do it for free." My daughter was not amused. My daughter told me that she had been talking to one of her classmates at lunch and asked "What does she want me to do, shave my head?" The classmate told the teacher and I guess the teacher said "I would like to." I guess the teacher came up to my daughter later in the day and said "I meant that I would like to shave my head, not yours because I can't do a thing with mine." Hmmmm.

My daughter also told me that the teacher told her she had a customer scheduled to come in that day but since she saw my daughter's hair at orientation night, she cancelled the appointment. Why would she schedule a customer to come in when the Juniors were going to play games all day Friday and were not going to do any work? It was the first day for crying out loud. The Seniors don't start until Monday. And, don't you think the Seniors would be more apt to work with potential customers than the Juniors who don't even know what they are doing, yet? To me this was a blatant effort to make my daughter feel bad.

So, what is it I want to teach my daughter? That is where the problem lies. If we fight this thing and she gets to keep the red hair, how is that going to lay the groundwork for the relationship between her teacher and herself for the year? Pretty ugly if I know human nature to be what it is. I am also picking up bad vibrations from the way this teacher speaks to my daughter.

My first instinct is to fight it. If we win, then change the hair color to a more normal one. If we don't win, she will have to change it regardless. I didn't sleep very well last night. I have a big family get together today 200 miles away. It is going to be a long day, but at least I will get to discuss this subject with my sisters who are older and wiser about kids and school conflicts than I. And,, by that I mean that they learned the hard way. Two of my sisters were school teachers. They went a couple of rounds with school staff in an effort to fight for their kids. Was it worth it? I think they may regret it and I will find out today.

I also have at my disposal a wealth of advice from my colleagues. There is another career center in another county that I work with. I can get advice from them. I personally work on friendly terms with two of the nine administrators listed at our career center. Not that I want to ask for any favors from them, but I can get their advice on the situation. One of them I am quite close to.

I know what my Mom would have done. She would simply say "Change your hair." And, that would be the end of it. Sigh. Sometimes I feel like such a rebel but not in a good way. Other times I feel like I have a problem with authority. But, who doesn't from time to time? The main issue for me is "Are they being fair, or is one person just being difficult?" Then if that is the case, am I myself being difficult? And again, I want to scream out "Aren't the Arts supposed to be a display of creativity and originality?" Do I want to suppress that talent in my daughter? Hell, no! This is the part of me that gets fired up and says to myself "Hell or high water, we are going to fight this thing!" Then the little voice comes creeping in (probably my Mother's, LOL!) "Don't make waves. Go with the flow. It will be easier on you that way. Less stress."

Mudville

This is a photo of one of the 4 schools that I put up with in the school district for over 3 weeks. Usually my job is much easier. Normally I would only have to come out to the building twice or so to setup and configure my equipment. This summer was a comedy of errors with this district. What a fiasco. And in a couple of years (if that contractor was right) the building(s) will fall apart anyway.

Between this mess, my sparring with my home Internet cable support, this oppressive heat, I now get the word from the career center my daughter is attending that she must get rid of her "magenta" hair.

Mama Bear is mad. My daughter went back to the blond on top, bright red in the middle and black on the bottom. Her home school did not have a problem with it. This career center has a cosmetology department. Of course they can have pink and lime green hair if they so choose. She is in a program called Graphic Arts. This subject in and of itself is an expression of artistic creativity. The reason she must change her hair color? They must meet with customers from time to time to do a project for them and they must present a professional appearance.

Mama Bear is still mad. I told my daughter we have about four choices. We can:

1. Ignore this and see if they will actually kick her out
2. Change her hair color (they have given us 2 weeks) If we choose this option I want a longer time frame because it is too harsh on the hair.
3. Buy a wig
4. Fight them

Of course she wants me to go with number four. I said "You have to realize the consequences. Do you really want to begin your two year education on this subject this way? It could make it pretty rough on you the rest of the year if we do win."

The first thing I am going to tackle is the school rules. Is the "hair" policy by a classroom basis or is it an overall school rule? If it is a school rule, then the pink and lime hair has to go. I also told her that she just spent the summer with black and blond only. Would it be so bad to go back to that? It all boils down to what do I want to teach my daughter? It's only hair.

Do I want to teach her that this is life, sometimes we have to bend to the rules a little bit, or do I want to fight for her - that I think it is unfair that they are making her (and only her) change her hair coloring. Mind you, a couple of students in her class have eyebrow, nose, cheek and tongue piercings.

I also got on line immediately to see who the potential customers of this program would be. I will go to each and every one of them and ask them if they mind the hair color if I have to. Unfortunately, the list only produced a couple of live hits on the Internet. The others I will look up in the telephone directory. I'll go the distance if I am inclined to. It all depends on how I feel in the next couple of days. I will be seeking advice from my sisters.

This red has bled into her blond a lot and created a pink (magenta?) hue. Perhaps I should go back to the salon and see what they can do to fix it up. Or, change the red to auburn. Mama Bear is getting fired up again and it is getting late. I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow.

Green Beans straight from the garden

"Well, somebodies garden." That's what my Mom used to say. She had a garden for years. If she was serving something and it wasn't from our garden or years after we stopped having a garden that is what she would say. Somebodies garden.

The photo above is from my grocery store. I thought I would try to take some produce pictures. One blog that I visit has a theme every Thursday. He says "Because Thursday is grocery night." I asked him if he takes the pictures in the grocery store. He said that he does, but he does it without anyone who works there seeing. Well, today I did 3 pictures. Bananas, peaches and green beans. And, I would like to know how in the heck he manages it. First thing I did was turn the flash off. And, I was still nervous. Oh, well. So here you have the green beans. I don't think I'll be doing any more. I'm not cut out for the sneaky stuff.

And, are people so organized that they actually DO go to the grocery store on a set day every week? Ack! When I leave for work I ask myself the following questions: 1. Do I have enough energy to go grocery shopping? 2. Do I have enough money to go grocery shopping? 3. Do I have appointments, errands or visits tonight? and 4. Am I hungry? Cause if I'm hungry, I am NOT going grocery shopping. Big mistake! Actually, I envy folks who are that organized. I barely know what day it is.

I wrote the "Me and FTP" tale that I spoke of a few days back. It is L.O.N.G.! Now, I have to write about the Todd the Technician episode. My speed seems to be back to normal. My download tests are averaging about 3000kbps and upload of 700kbps. Oh, well.

I still haven't brought the pictues of the mud at the construction sites off my work computer to home, yet. I was showing some folks today. What a mess. My manager told me not to go out there again until next week. And only if I have to go. I am hoping I can do everything remotely now that I have access to my equipment via telnet.

My nephew's house warming party is Saturday. It is about 2 hours away. My daughter starts school tomorrow. Hey, why isn't she in bed? Gotta go!

Thing One and Thing Two

I called the vet's office today to make an appointment. Since it is going to be over $100 just to get their leukemia tests, heart worm tests and the office visit, I need to wait until after payday. So Monday it is. I definitely see some serious ear mite activity going on. She asked for their names and it threw me, since we haven't named them yet. You don't name what you aren't going to keep, right? (LOL!) I said "Let's just call them Thing One and Thing Two." She laughed. She said the vet will decide about their shots when they get the results from the leukemia tests back.

My daughter said her friend will take the gray one and she wants to keep the orange one. Whatever. We'll see. My daughter wants to get rid of Moose since she keeps throwing up. I can't do that! After a certain amount of time, I bond with the critter. Look at my bird. She is back in my bedroom temporarily until we get the kittens checked over. Boy, do they love the laser light beam. They are very playful, active and curious. After the first mess in the litter box, their stool has been solid. The orange one has glassy eyes. I don't like the looks of that. No sneezing. Nothing coming out of their noses. Coats look good.

I keep reminding my daughter to wash her hands carefully after each visit to them and gave her a fresh new cylinder of anti-bacterial wipes. She has wiped down her keyboard and mouse, too. They have their own room, litter box and dishes.

Well, I did not have any bouts of conflict today. Relief. In fact I solved a couple of problems that made me feel pretty good. All my schools were up and running today. They are ready for the office people to come back and prepare for the opening of school. I really hope that I do not have to see any more construction sites or construction workers for many, many months. Hopefully, years.

I watched "Wild Hogs" this evening. I was not crazy about it. I like Martin Lawrence and Tim Allen. I also like Wm. H. Macy and Ray Liotta. I can tolerate John Travolta. When Blade made his appearance, I was like "Who is that? Who is that?" Aha! It took me a few seconds. Who else for a biker movie?