weigela

My Mom's weigela bush by the back door to her old house

I should have seen if I could grab some shoots off of this plant. I'd probably need to go in the spring to get them. This shrub has a nice memory of my childhood. It attracts many bees and I give them plenty of respect, they are not my favorite, but it also attracts the humming birds.

I don't recall it having much of a scent but it is pretty and it blooms a lot at one time. Something that stood the test of time. It was there in the 60's and the photo above is from a week ago.

My computer started acting wonky yesterday or the day before, I can't recall. When I would read others' blogs, I kept getting messages from the browser stating that this site was not secure and that the certificate was not certified, blah, blah, blah. I thought to myself "Well, what have they changed, now?" I was also having trouble logging into my web mail. I also thought that my cable company had changed something.

Then, I saw it. As I am smack dab in the middle of scrambling around cleaning, working and preparing for my daughter's graduation party (THIS SATURDAY!) I am keeping a close eye on the time. I get up in the morning. Feed the critters. Get my cup of coffee and sit down, check my e-mail and read a long list of blogs.

Next blog, wait. Do I have enough time? Check the time. Computer says 1:27 p.m. WTF? I am still on my first cup of coffee! I got up at 6:30. (Week of working vacation). September 2004? I hear in my head "There's something strange, in the neighborhood..." from Ghostbusters theme song. Hmmm. I must check into that. Things didn't click for me, yet.

I went to log into my blog to post and I got the message "this certificate won't be available until March 2009...." something like that. THEN it all clicked. I changed my computers' date and time and all is well again. I can read my email without a nasty certificate warning. I can read others' blogs without "this page is not secure..."

But what happened with the time? It must have been wonky for a few days because I have been having problems that long. Hmmm. I must check into that. Sigh. I suppose it is the system's battery. My computer is a 2003 Dell XPS Gen 2.

No movies to comment on, haven't had time to watch any. :-( Nothing to update about work because I haven't been there (YAY!). Just getting ready for the big blast. The sumo setup comes at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. (URL is from the UK). I rented mine locally, but they do not have photos of the setup. I rented the setup for my daughter and her friends, but I am thinking my family is going to get a bit rowdy (after a few beers) and put these suits on.

Weeks ago when I began planning this I even called my insurance company to see if my policy covered this type of entertainment. My agent loved the idea so much she looked into renting something similar for her son's graduation party and yes, I'm covered. She wanted a bull-riding setup but I don't think they carried that.

I was sent some pictures recently from my sister. They are from her wedding shower (October 1968). I was 8 years old. I was always with my oldest sister during this time and there I am in my brown hair, curled up in the 60's flip. She was wearing a faux hairpiece in this style. With not near as much hair as the photo shown. I have two sisters born with gobs of hair and two sisters with much thinner, finer hair. I always liked to think that I was somewhere in between. Not full and curly, but not as thin and fragile.

Well, time's a wastin'. I have the downstairs bathroom to clean up and then we are off to the party place for one last super purchasing spree. If there is time I am headed out to Amish country this evening for meat and cheeses (YUM!). If not, tomorrow morning will work for that trip. The Amish close early.

So far, here is the food lineup:

hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill (my daughter's request)
meat and cheese tray (for folks who stay hours and want to soak up the alcohol.. I mean nibble!)
rigatoni
calico beans
special coney sauce for the dogs
macaroni salad
pasta salad
veggie pizza
relish tray (veggies and olives/pickles)
7 layer taco dip
cheese/nacho dip (my daughter's request)
cheese ball w/crackers
fruit bowl
brownies
lemon bars
chips
pretzels
mints
peanuts
punch
pop
beer

and the cake, of course!

Dancin' in the street

On the way back from a museum today, I was stopped for a bit in traffic while some guy did "the duck walk."

Breathe in, breathe out

Here is a photo of the lake from the get together on Saturday night. I must stop calling it a party with my girlfriends because we don't "party" anymore. We sit around the camp fire and catch up on all our lives. How is your Mom, how is your Dad? Is your nephew still working in Vegas?

The lake and the fire have a calming effect on the soul. Not to mention the calming effect that friends have on the soul. And that moon! My pictures of the full moon did not come out because I had left my tripod at home. It was beautiful because it was wedged between two sets of pine tree groves and had a cloud silhouette next to it.

I am moving full steam ahead with arrangements for my daughter's graduation party. Five days left to prepare. Well, four because Tuesday I'll be visiting with sisters. Sister 1944 asked if I wanted to postpone the museum trip so that I could have more time. I told her that I would probably need a break away from it all by Tuesday and we are keeping the plans.

I have been to this museum before and posted photos. I'll try to get some new and different pics this time.

Onward and upward.

Two by Two

There were two babies inside the house and two babies outside the house. Old enough to be on their own we suppose because we did not see a Mommy raccoon anywhere around. My brother got to weed eating too close to the two living in a huge cement block at the back out of the house and ended up flushing them out of their hiding space.

They crawled around looking for anything, somewhere to go. We turned them around and they snuggled back into their safe block which was nestled underneath a huge trumpet vine. Tucked back in.

The grass was pretty high and there were six of us. We used the weed eaters, we used two push mowers, we used small chain saws, hammers, garbage bags and duct tape. Whew. Two people stopped to ask about the house. We just happened to do this on the day that the town had a block yard sale. People kept thinking we were having a sale.

One poor old man (my brother knew his son and said he was in his nineties) came across the yard from the neighbor's house that was participating in the yard sales and he began looking at the lawn mowers. I softly said to him "We aren't selling anything." Of course he was hard of hearing. He smiled and I repeated myself. "We are just here cleaning up and working today. We aren't having a yard sale." "Oh" and he meandered on his way. Too sweet.

I thought for sure that I would not be able to move this morning. Other than a slight headache at the back of my head, and a little pain in my heel, I am up and moving. I have two parties today (one a graduation and one with friends at the lake). My daughter has 3 to hit today - all graduation. She has it planned down to a science. They are all running at just about the same time frame but spread out enough so that she can hit all three of them.

Not much done in the cleaning phase of my place to prepare for our party, but hopefully I can remedy that in the next few days. Where is the Advil?

Fluff

Here is a seeded dandelion taken from the lake I visited about a month ago.

I started my vacation yesterday. It is a working vacation, except for one museum day. I did pretty well with the cleaning up in the morning, but for some strange reason yesterday afternoon I sat down in my T.V. chair and it was lights out for three hours.

I might still be there if an old friend had not called me. This is highly unusual for me. I am known as the 20 minute napper, if I do nap. Just enough to recharge my batteries. But, where did this three hour nap come from? I do remember waking up once and muting the T.V. All the doors and windows were open to allow fresh air in and I snoozed. I also remember waking up and saying "Enough! I must get up and get stuff done." When that phone rang, it was like "where am I?" "Why am I sleeping?" I was very confused. I was astounded that I had napped that long.

Years ago at work our office hired a wonderful person. He has a master's degree. He spoke professionally and arrived at work at about 5:30 a.m. every day. Still does. He still works the full day, he doesn't cut out and go home earlier than the rest. His field is that of a librarian.

He has been emailing me about things that are going on at our home office. He is very upset and has written some emails to a few of the more professional folks in the education world that might be able to step in and stop this nonsense.

The director (used to be a kid that I helped to show her how to set up a computer) has placed her favorite co-workers in high places of authority. She was heard to laugh and say "This is my baby now, I can do whatever I want."

Things are starting to backfire on her. Employees are in an uproar. The hard workers are not speaking to the brown nosers that she placed above them. Who loses? The clients. The schools will lose. Animosity abounds. We also had a very loyal worker retire recently. She will come back on a part-time basis, but I don't know how that will pan out. I have that sinking feeling (Titanic). I am glad I have a week off. I'll see how things pan out later this month.

I am travelling today. My Mom's old house needs some TLC. I am taking my weed eater and meeting some other family members there. It has been rather cool in Ohio the past few days.

My daughter and I watched "Bride Wars" last evening. I would barely give it a D rating. I was disappointed. I am not certain what I expected. I should have known it was a whimsical movie. I need to stick with the more plot oriented shows. My time is getting precious, especially when I sleep 3 hours of the afternoon away! Gah!

Could be

I think this is the reason I have been mellow, low and weepy

A time for celebration? I think not. At least they had the ceremony at 7:30 in the evening instead of when my niece graduated four years ago in blistering heat.

My daughter neglected to tell me that they were walking onto the field from two separate directions this year (unlike my nieces' ceremony) and I ended up sitting on the wrong side of the bleachers.

My nephew did the photo taking, though. He walked down to the middle of the field to get the photos. Of course there were gasps from the folks in the bleachers as he assembled his camera to an incredible length of over two feet. A man behind us said "It's the paparazzi!" I am almost certain that is what my nephew lives for.

And hey, I think there IS something to this Dunkin Donuts coffee. I am draining every single cup.

In Memorium

Circa 1999

I think this photo was my Mom's last Christmas. We were surprised that she actually wore a silky blouse that my sister(1954) got for her. My Mom was always cold and this material is not much for warmth.

She would have been 89 today. Her last birthday she turned 80. It was a wonderful day. We put a sign up out in front of her house telling the cars to honk to wish her a happy 80th. Oh, she didn't like that one bit. It never occurred to me that she would be offended. She left it out there, but I kind of felt like maybe she was upset. We just got a kick out of all the horn beeping, though.

I cannot look at a 3 axle truck without shivering. My sister (1956) was driving. She was not a seat belt advocate like the rest of us. She still becomes gripped with guilt. We do not fault her at all. Heck, one time I caught my Mom holding her seat belt in my car instead of clicking it locked. I guess she was having trouble getting it to snap so she just decided to hold it. I caught her and made her fasten it. She was like a little kid sometimes.

A coal truck bounced through a stop sign. My sister (1956) laid rubber trying to stop. We really thought my Mom would be okay because she was talking and joking with the EMT's at the accident. "Ruth, how do you feel?" "With my fingers!" my Mom quipped. Does that sound like she would be dead in 28 hours? Blunt trauma to the head.

A 30 minute ambulance ride to the nearest hospital. A 20 minute wait in the life flight on top of the hospital. (I would guess they were waiting for a paramedic). A 20 minute ride to Pittsburgh in the helicopter.

It was a two hour drive for me. All of us got to talk to her except for sister (1954) who was (as usual) in prison. My Mom was not happy. She did not like doctors or hospitals. She only went to the hospital to have a baby. I was her last baby and I was 40 years old. She went in the hospital for a week once in 1972 for dehydration. That was it. She wanted nothing to do with doctors. They wanted her to quit smoking and she just snapped at them that she would rather die than quit smoking. They just shook their heads. She would go for eye cataracts and stuff, but that didn't really count. She took only aspirin for medication.

They would give her morphine for the pain. Her heart would begin to stop beating. They would give her medicine to bring her out of the morphine, then she was in pain. It was a long cycle. Round and round they went until her poor old heart gave up in the middle of the night so they put her on life support. I realized later what they were doing. They were keeping her alive for 24 hours. Any time a victim of an accident lives for longer than 24 hours they have to do an autopsy and an investigation.

She burned coal in her fireplace. She rolled her own cigarettes with bugler tobacco. She was born in a log cabin. She had all her teeth pulled sometime in her 30's. She only wore her false teeth on vacation. Her gums hardened enough to even let her eat peanuts.

She bore 8 children. Her husband became an alcoholic and did not work steady after 1950. She refused to go on welfare. She came close to losing her children many times. She moved many times.

She was raised by her maternal grandparents. Her Mother did not marry the father. When my Mom was 8 her mother married and she was told to call her Mother "Mary." That wasn't even her name. My grandmother's new father-in-law didn't think Lydia was a proper name for a woman so she was to be called Mary. WTF?

Her Mother died when she was 10 giving birth to her half brother. He is still living and resides in Florida. Her father did not know her but tried to kiss her in a car one time. She really got her revenge when she told him "Sure you can kiss me, since I am your daughter." What a riot that must have been. She said he just beat his fists on the steering wheel calling her mother's name over and over again.

What a life. And that ain't even the half of it. This is definitely a book worth writing. I must be careful, though. With 8 children, some are still sensitive about it all. They are talking more about it as the years go by. Sister (1944) just recently told me the story about how she and brother (1942) had to beat our father in the head with a high heel shoe so he would stop beating our Mom. I wasn't even born yet. My father used to tell sister (1944) that he would beat their Mom more when my she tried to go to the neighbor's house for help or to call the police.

They never had a telephone until 1966 because he would get drunk and call relatives in West Virginia and run the phone bill up. I got to see the least because by the time I came along the older siblings were able to stop our dad.

My Mom used to go to the bars with my dad. She left the younger children in the care of sister (1944). She said if she didn't go with our dad he would spend all his money. He always was buying drinks for everybody. At least with my Mom there, she could stop him or the bartender would not do it if he saw my Mom and her look. The other patrons wouldn't accept the drinks either, if my Mom was there to give them a look.

I really have to stop, now.

The cake is ordered

My daughter designed her cake yesterday

Her graduation party theme is "aquarium". Since I bought her a new aquarium for graduation. It's the gift that keeps on getting. She needs this now, and this, and then there is that. What? Why can't you use the old aquarium stuff? Mom shakes her head.

I went to the bakery in town. They can take any photo and make an edible picture on the cake. We did the wolves the one year, and Brad Pitt (before he fooled around and lost our respect) another year for her birthday. You can look back at my April posts for pictures of the cakes.

This year she didn't want any cake for her birthday. Last year I was in Columbus and she was at my sister's. Before that it was another year with no cake. But for graduation, we have to get a cake. I will take pics of it on the big day.

The sumo-wrestling get-up is reserved and paid for. That will arrive the day of the party and be set up in the yard. My nephew will probably take the pics because when I host a party, I usually leave the camera in the house. This one may be different though, since it is a 'once in a lifetime' event.

My relatives say they are all getting into the sumo suits. I don't know. I am having a hard time thinking about donning a suit that a hundred other people have worn and probably sweat in.

My daughter is upset because she was told at the ceremony rehearsal to wear a dress or skirt. No exceptions. Before yesterday she was all adamant. "It is sexist!" Sigh. I try to tell her it is one day out of her life. One day. They say they won't let her walk with the others. I did. I wore a skirt under my gown. Well, a top, too. It was no big deal. But hey, it was mandatory for we females to wear a dress or skirt up until I was in the eighth grade. So, it was not a big deal for me. She is grumbling.

Well, coffee cup is empty. This Dunkin Donuts coffee is much smoother going down. I am draining every cup. Hmmm. Maybe there is something to this coffee. Oh, and this is my 1500th today. Who would have thunk it? It will be my fifth year of blogging in June. Seriously? Thunk passes the spellcheck feature? Oh, it is a word. A noise and the past tense of think. Well, bust my buttons.

Ol' Green Eyes

Mr. Tibbs peeking at me from inside the house

I have always been attracted to males with green eyes. I guess Mr. Tibbs is no exception. He was watching me take pictures of my poppies. Wondering why I was out there and he was inside.

My daughter cannot stand this cat. He is the cat you see on commercials or videos where the little girl takes and puts the cat into a dress or carries around upside down. He will let you do almost anything to him. And he comes back for more.

I don't dress him up. Well, there was that one time.... No, just kidding! He likes to come and rest on my arm. As long as he is touching me he is happy. He never wants to go outside. No interest. He does walk around the house with a pitiful meow once in a while. As if he is searching for something or someone.

I am trying to remember why my daughter does not like him. I think he gets into things in her room and knocks things over. He is rather clumsy and nosy. She says he is a stupid cat. The other cats know when to get out of her way or when to run when they knock something over. He just kind of slumps around. If you step on him in the dark he doesn't scamper out of the way. He just kind of lays there.

I don't know. I've seen him scamper away very quickly when something falls over. I like each of my cats in their own way. Mr. Tibbs. I guess Sidney didn't have green eyes. Drat!

I caved in and purchased some Dunkin Donuts coffee yesterday. I am trying it this morning. Since I woke up at 3:30 and can't sleep. I was worried that I was going to crave a donut or something while drinking it. Consumer Reports rated it the number one best tasting coffee. So far - big deal. Whoopee. I'll probably drink a couple of cups, read a few blogs and go back to bed for an hour.

Ahhh. It's Friday. Daughter graduates tomorrow. Now, where did we put that cap and gown?

Click photo for a very large view (1600 x 1213)

My poppies did well on the East side of my house this year. What I didn't plan was their growth in numbers. They were here before I moved in. I didn't know they existed when I planted my pink peonies. Now I have a huge, full and bright pink peony bush and a few feet over are the brightest, orangest, eye-poppin-est poppies you ever did see. Yes, I know I took some liberties with my spelling, here. "Took some"? Really? It is way too early to edit myself.

Wait. You can type the blackest night. The reddest sunset. The pinkest rose. The whitest sheets. The bluest sky. The greenest grass. You can even get away with the yellowest banana. But you cannot say the orangest poppy. Is that because it ends with a vowel? Blue ends with an "e". What then? The most orange poppy? I can even go farther. My skin is pinker than it was yesterday. The sky is bluer. My poppies are not oranger. LOL!

My daughter is finished with school. Her last day. She starts at the branch University here in town this fall. She is still job hunting. She is getting discouraged. I remind her that the job market is very tough right now. She still does not want to work with food.

It is peaceful and quiet in my office. I am just enjoying it. Schools are winding down for the summer. Very few require any assistance. I have quite a few summer projects on the horizon. But this is the stalled time. Data entry folks are as busy as bumblebees getting the grades, schedules and other things printed and recorded. Networks are slowing down and we are seeing a break in traffic as students and staff begin to empty the buildings.

Graduation party planning is still going on. My wallet says "ouch!"

It helps

As I get older, my hands hurt more. Mowing, mixing, sweeping. All that stuff hurts more and more. This can opener helps a lot. When I make calico beans (Sloppy Jo can shown in the video) it really comes in handy because I have to open so many cans of beans.

I never had much luck with electric can openers and the hand ones work fine when you first get them. This one does require batteries but you push a button and walk away. Noisy? Yes. But, it works.

A very simple cheese ball

Two ingredients. When I began making these years ago there were things like garlic salt and Worcestershire sauce in the recipe. Being 20-something and not having settled down yet, I didn't have any of that stuff around. So the cheese ball was simplified to 2 ingredients. Well, walnuts too. Oh, and maraschino cherries. But those really don't make the cheese ball.

I bring the Phila cream cheese to room temperature. The jarred cheese does not have to be refrigerated until after it is open so it is usually already room temperature. The grocery store workers can be real devils. They just love to hide these little jars. I have found it a personal challenge to know where they hide them in each and every store I frequent.

Sometimes they are in the refrigerated area with the other cheeses and sometimes they are on a shelf with Cheez Whiz and Velveeta. Sometimes they stick them on an end cap where you think they would be obvious, but they aren't.

Do not attempt to substitute another flavor (such as pimento) for this cheese ball. Trust me on this. Some folks say they like pineapple in their cheese ball. That is just wrong. I feel the same way about my pizza. Aw, I'm just kidding. Do what you want.



I mix the two cheeses together with a spatula. I form a ball as best I can while it is in the bottom of the bowl. I don't use a plastic bowl any more. I believe that food absorbs odors and a bad taste from the plastic. I always use glass or a corning ware bowl. I let it sit in the refrigerator over night (uncovered). No longer than 8-9 hours because it will begin to dry out.You do not want tiny little crusty pieces in your cheese ball. Gross.



I chop walnuts. Yes, I used to cut them up with a knife, but since I have settled down I now use Pampered Chef's chopper. Love it! That is about the only thing I use it for but since I make so many cheese balls it gets a lot of use.

I spread the chopped walnuts out on a cutting board. I like my walnuts chopped so fine they are almost a powder. I scoop the cheese ball out of the bowl (use a spatula because this puppy can get very messy). I plop it down on the walnuts.

Your hand is going to get messy. I roll the cheese ball around in the nuts. Now, here is the thing. Sometimes the ball will come out perfect and sometimes it will come out like goo. I have found what I believe are two reasons for this.

One - the weather. If you bake a lot or have made fudge, you know that rain can really mess with your end result. I was recently proved wrong with this fact when on a nice beautiful sunny and dry day my cheese ball came out like mush. WTF?!

Two - How long I mix the two cheeses together or if I let the cream cheese soften too much. I have found that the less I mix them together, the better the ball seems to form.

Once you have rolled the gooey mess in the walnuts, plop it into a bowl. Oh, yeah. Have the bowl ready BEFORE you roll the ball. You don't want to be rummaging around for a paper bowl or any bowl with that goo on your hands!

Top with a maraschino cherry or two.

Serve with crackers of choice. Another tip I have found. Club crackers are the strongest. When spreading a cheese ball on crackers it is very frustrating when the cracker snaps in two. Ritz just crumbles. Townhouse breaks easily, but the Club crackers are the strongest.

My daughter and I spent the day together yesterday. We shopped for graduation and party supplies. What fun. Then we ate at Outback steak house. I go weak in the knees....

We watched Twilight. Netflix sent it next, even though I had moved other movies ahead of it in my queue. My daughter had seen it before. A lady at work told me I really should watch it and read the books. No thanks. Not my cup of tea. The main characters are 17 years old. And vampires. I do not like vampire movies. And high school angst? Been there. Don't care to go back. Not even in a movie.

I have seen the female lead character before in Panic Room. I loved that movie.

Well, now. It's off to bake my cake and start the Calico beans. Sayonara.

A few moments for me

While driving down to the home office yesterday morning, I stopped to look at the lake. Except for the trucks roaring by on Rt. 25o it was a peaceful, beautiful scene.

There were lots of fishermen out already this morning. Long week-end and all. They looked like they were ready to party.

At work in the home office, we had all the spare old equipment ready for the truck to pick up and no truck came. This truck was coming from the C0lumbus area to my home office (by the river). My manager finally called and the office person said they had mechanical problems. They arrived a little over three hours later. Sounds to me like they left when we called. Hmmm?

We all worked up a mighty sweat loading that truck in 85 degree Fahrenheit weather. I wish I had taken pictures. Somebody said "It's probably better not to take pictures of a state agency getting rid of old equipment." I guess one time years ago a University threw away some junk equipment and the newspaper took a picture and the headlines read "They have so much money, they can throw computers away!"

No pics of the deed.

I asked about 10 co-workers what their plans were for the week-end. People like to talk about themselves. Some were camping, some where grilling, some were doing nothing and one was taking his son for his first run in Wh33ling. He said something before the number, so I am guessing he said the Ogd3n 5k.

Me? I am off to a cook-out tomorrow so I will be fixing the food stuff today. My Calico beans, pineapple pudding cake and yes, as usual, my "cheese ball!" I am certain I have made a thousand of these things in my lifetime. At the very least, I make 10 a year. Probably more like 20 a year for the past 20 years. That is 400. Before that it was sporadic. Okay, maybe 500 of them, then.

Sticky Ants

It's that time of year again. My peonies are starting to bud. I loved the bright "eyes?" of the ant on the top of the flower. I guess it is the eyes. Click the photo to see in closer.

Funny how you feel things on your legs, arms, back when you are looking at pictures of ants, spiders, bugs. There is nothing there, Peruby!

I guess I did so well at work yesterday, they have cancelled me coming back the next two days. Originally my manager scheduled me to drive down to the home office Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to get old equipment ready for a truck that is picking it all up on Friday. Now, they just want me to come back an hour before the truck comes on Friday to finish the job.

It does figure. My job was to peel inventory stickers off of equipment, stick it to a notepad and record it. Then to add the old equipment to the "junk" pile. I filled out 10 pages where the guys had filled out two.

I have watched the extended version of Taken. I didn't know it was the extended version until I began reading up on the movie on imdb.com. No wonder I had to hide my eyes during some of the more violent scenes. Ugh.

I asked my daughter how her boyfriend obtained a copy of this movie so quickly. My Netflix told me it was a very long wait for this one. She smiled and said "You don't' want to know." Oh, jeez. They knew I really wanted to see this movie. I am afraid he may be trying a little too hard with me.

In another post I may go over what I found to be "loose strings" of this movie. I felt that it left a lot of things hanging. Things that bother me in a movie. Overall, it was good. Neeson was very good in it. No complaints there. Just those pesky little things that were never explained or cleared up. You are just left hanging, asking yourself "How did...?" and "What happened to....?"

Tuesday Afternoon

After a day in the garage re-arranging equipment, I felt it really necessary to stop along the lake on the way home and enjoy a moment of serenity.

The day was not nearly as bad as I anticipated. After re-reading this morning's post I was like "Gee Peruby, don't hold back. Why don't you tell us how you really feel."

Tiny dog

This is my friend's dog Neenee

Photo is from last year. I've lost my camera battery charger and have not taken any recent pictures. I'll find it. My desk is a mess. Neenee is a timid little creature. She likes to bark and she is very nimble.

After the visit, I met up with some family who had organized a cake walk to raise money for a community project. I didn't win a cake. :-(

Hamming it up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Don't ignore me

My car circa 2006

My car talked to me the other evening. Tuesday, yes that was the day. Tuesday. Because I rushed right home from work with the intention of mowing the grass. I get started on the mowing as soon as I change clothes so that I don't get relaxed and settled in at home. If I do that then all hope is lost for the lawn.

As I pulled the car into the garage and turned off the engine, I heard it.

"Hey you!"

Me (annoyed at any delay): "What?"

"I need to talk to you."

Me: "I'm busy!" And with that I got out and slammed the door shut.

"Heyyyyy!"

Me: "Shut up! I've got work to do. And, you stink!"

With that I closed the garage door. I can't be certain but I thought I heard my car mumble something about driving my fat ass around for almost 200,000 miles.

I didn't have time.

The next morning I drove my car the entire 2.5 miles to work. When I got out, I smelled it. The sickening sweet smell. I looked under the front end. Hmmm. Anti-freeze. 2.5 miles? Really?

I went inside and began my work day. I didn't talk to the car. It didn't talk to me. You don't make a remark about my behind like that and expect me not to give it the cold shoulder!

At lunch I looked at the puddle again. My car was eerily quiet. I drove to the sandwich shop and back. Hmm. Not a good smell. It produced nothing more. No more regurgitation. I looked at it. It did look kind of green.

Oh, it is green.

I sighed, went inside and called my auto shop. I had an appointment to get the oil changed on the 21st but explained the situation to them. Bring it in after work, they said.

I did. Ouch.

My car must have heard me speaking of renting a sumo wrestling mat setup for my daughter's graduation party. "So, you got money to throw around on fun stuff, but you won't ignore me. I'll make certain of that!"

Well, I guess so. Radiators are plastic. Did you know that? A very expensive type of plastic, I guess. Not only was my back sore from mowing, now my wallet is sore. Ah, well. Such is life.

Risk

Yes. This is the same nephew who tumbled off a cliff on his ATV last fall. No medical insurance. My sister about choked when he called us to come outside. I am thinking a stuntman school (if there is such a thing) would have been his calling.

My Treasure Hunt

My daughter knows that the first thing I do (even before fixing my coffee) is to feed the cats and let the dog out. This is where I found the first clue to my treasure hunt.

Our mailbox is on the porch. Sigh. I was forced to get dressed before retrieving this clue. I wouldn't dare go outside in my pajamas!

Our leak was fixed last fall, but I still knew where to find this clue.

How did she know I wouldn't do a load of laundry last night? She must have set this up before she went camping. Or did she return during the night? I don't think so. Sly little monkey.

I texted her a heartfelt thank-you, telling her it was fun and that I loved it. She answered me quickly from a tent somewhere in some woods somewhere.

This is how I set my daughter's name to come up first in my cell phone's Contact list. By placing the AAA before her name. It appears first, right before AAHome.

I think this treasure hunt is reminiscent of one I did for her when she was about five or six years old. She had lost a tooth and having early morning insomnia (even 13 years ago) I created a treasure hunt for her beginning with a note/clue under her pillow.

I am off to a cook-out today. I already prepared the calico beans and they are warming up nicely in the travel crock pot. My cheese ball flopped today. Strange because there is no rain. Go figure.

Calico beans recipe:

1 large can of baked beans
(any flavor, any brand - don't drain this can)

1 can of black beans
(drain the juice into the empty baked beans can)

1 can baby green limas
(drain the juice into the empty baked beans can)

1 can butter beans
(drain the juice into the empty baked beans can)

1 can kidney beans
(drain the juice into the empty baked beans can)

(can substitute or add any beans to suit your personal taste)

1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
(add more if you like them sweet!)

1 tsp dry prepared (or ground) mustard
(I have also used regular wet mustard)

1 14 oz. bottle of catsup (ketchup)

1 small, diced yellow cooking onion - or half an onion
(depends on how much you like onions)

(can substitute a sweeter onion - your personal taste)

1 lb. of cooked, chopped up ground beef

6 - 10 slices of fried, crisp bacon, crumbled

Add all ingredients into a crock pot (or into a large baking dish).

Add extra (drained) bean juice if dish appears too dry.

Bake in an oven (I would estimate 350 degrees F. for an hour) or heat in a crock pot for a few hours before serving.

You can see how flexible I am with recipes. I change my ingredients almost every time.

I google a recipe and take ingredients I like from seven or eight versions.

Okay. Spell checker didn't like the word catsup. Really? And, it wanted to change my limas (plural for lima beans) to llamas. Yeech!

Here is the mailbox

Five baby birds nested inside

Here is a broader view of the bird's nest we found in the mailbox. I'd never seen anything like it. Do they plan it? Was it an accident? Does the Mommy bird nest here every year? We have one on the side of our house and it is full (sometimes twice) every year.

Well, the busy season is upon me. I have something every week-end between now and the fourth of July. I cancelled my annual 4th of July blast because I am giving a graduation party for my daughter in June. Still, I will have some company for the fourth, just not forty people.

My daughter wants something a little different for her graduation party. I'll have to think about it. An inflatable sumo wrestling setup.

Update on the co-worker. I overheard her calling the doctors for an increase in her medications.

You've got mail

Seen in a mailbox

Two sisters and I went to WV to begin planning a reunion this past week-end. I suppose if my sister didn't smoke we would never have seen the five baby birds nested inside a mailbox. The door was left open all the time (of course). The mommy bird did not show while we took pictures. I would have removed the door completely for fear that some ornery kid would come along and close it. This nest was outside of a flower shop. I suppose they check on it from time to time.

We laughed a lot while visiting relatives. Old memories and old sayings. We got the ball rolling on this first annual reunion on my father's side. My Mom was born in the same vicinity but she was (almost) an only child. Her half brother didn't come along until she was ten and she never met him until they were in their fifties.

The hardest part will be no electricity in the shelter house. The grills were in pretty bad shape but after talking to one cousin he knew who to talk to and will have new ones there by August.

There were 8 children in my father's family. One did not have any children. But, one had fourteen. I am thinking about 35 children from this original 8. No one remains of the original 8, but you can imagine the children and grandchildren. They are scattered all over. Some in New York, some in Maryland, some in Virginia and some in Ohio. It will be interesting to see how many show up. Our family will have a definite 20 show (maybe more). We know of 20 that confirmed while on our recent visit. Outside of that is any body's guess.

Terminology is different there. We chuckled at our one cousin. While calling relatives close by his call waiting kept beeping. He was trying to answer it. He was not successful. (I usually never am, either). He said "The kids say to press the tic-tac-toe button."

Coming soon

May 2006 Ants on a Peony

In a couple of weeks, I should have buds on my peonies. The April rains have watered them properly, I suppose - and now they are ready for some May sunshine. Well, maybe a few more days of rain.

I mowed (for the second time already!) my grass....I mean my dandelions. My yard has been inundated with the yellow weed. Maybe I will get a head start next year and mow my grass much sooner so that the plant does not have time to dig in. I'm sure my neighbors loved me last evening. As I mowed, the seeds from the flower blew all over the neighborhood. Ahh.

At least I got a second mowing in before our trip this week-end. The folks that are staying at my house to care for the pets won't be doing any mowing. No cleaning, either.

The party for June is beginning to take shape. I will be skipping my annual 4th of July bang. Who knows? I might cave in and throw it anyway. I told family to make other plans - kind of do their own thing. It gives them a break. Every year - same thing. Peruby's house for the 4th (because you can see the town's fireworks from my front yard). Well, anymore it is getting more and more difficult. Every year we threaten to cut those trees down.

Things are quiet at work. Very quiet. My co-worker has taken the week off sick. The beginning of the end? Maybe.

Wild, wonderful

West Virginia

Some family and I are headed south this week-end. Back to our roots in wild, wonderful West Virginia. We are planning a family reunion on my father's side in August. We are heading down to check out the shelter area and make plans.

The above photo is the cemetery where my father is buried. We don't think he was ever really happy in Ohio. When my parents and others moved to Ohio in the 40's some only stayed a few years, then returned. My Mom refused. She had no family left in the hills of West Virginia.

All 8 of my Mom's children were born in Ohio. I have maybe one aunt (by marriage) that remains in the mountain state. The rest are cousins. Lots of cousins. I may get to see just how many this year.

When we were kids (it took us two cars) we would visit every summer. It was great. We explored all over town. They had RR tracks and a train that went through the little town, directly across from my Aunt's house. I can still remember the train whistle blowing at night and the clickety clack of the cars running along the tracks. It was very mysterious and exciting for me.

They had an old, working hand pump in the back yard. We found it fascinating down there. They had bees and we would bring back honey. And my Aunt made jelly and always gave me a little jar of apple jelly - it was my favorite. We would have to be careful. If we said we liked anything, she was wrapping it up and giving it to us. I am so glad I didn't say anything about the glass cake holder. That would have been a little too much for a ten year old.

Her house was well lived in. It was just full of furniture and stuff that would be there from year to year. We would return and everything would be in exactly the same place and my Aunt would be sitting in her rocking chair in the enclosed sun porch where we would all gather around and talk. Next to that dreadful gas heater. Between the long car ride (none of my sisters and brothers ever wanted to ride in the same car as me, because I was the one who got car sick) and the smell of that gas heater, I was always ready for the outside excursions.

The house was full of old stuff. Calendars from the 50's and so much glass. Two things I didn't care for was the smell of natural gas and the spittoons. Mostly it was a big empty Maxwell House coffee can. My Mom always told us kids, "Do not get between folks and the coffee can." Yuck.

I think the coffee cans are long gone. The houses we visit now are more modern. The hospitality is the same. The pictures are nostalgic. I wonder if they have pictures of me and my siblings from the 60's and wonder who we are. I know I do when I go through the old family album. I will copy the old black & white photos and paste them onto a big poster board for the reunion and maybe I'll finally get to meet some of those kids I have looked at all of these years.

A little out of focus

The picture I snagged of one of my tulips on Saturday morning appeared a little out of focus. But, that's okay because I feel as if my life is a little out of focus right now, too.

I am dragging because I have been up for over an hour and the sleep monster is trying to drag me back down. A shower should take care of that monster. If I give in and doze back off, I may feel worse than if I don't.

It was a two party Saturday and a stay home Sunday. I made lasagna. My niece (the one that lived with us for five years) came to visit. At least she likes my cooking. My daughter was gone all day. She won't touch my lasagna.

Work has become very quiet and sedate. The schools are beginning to gear down for the summer. Not purchasing anything, not starting anything new. Usually there are a lot of updates during the summer but I am thinking the poor economy may have squelched any projects of that nature. Any that involve money, that is.

Since my early morning insomnia is an on-going event, I grab towels and my robe as soon as I get up in the morning in preparation for me to go downstairs and shower. I know that if I had to walk back into my bedroom and grab my robe right now, I would collapse back into bed.

I drink coffee every morning. I can doze in between cups. The caffeine seems to have no effect on me. However, if I skip my morning coffee the head begins to complain. Something fierce.

I was very busy this week-end though. I re-financed on Saturday. Dropped an entire percent from my loan. I kept the same number of years and lowered my payment by about 50 dollars a month. No closing cost! My bank picked up everything! Everything! It was a no-brainer. Sweet.

On Sunday I went over the daughter's graduation party again. Who to invite, what foods to have, so on and so forth. The date has finally been chosen. I am going to skip my annual fourth of July party. Next is to get the invitations made. One month to graduation. Don't panic.

One shot for my daughter, please

As if scars aren't bad enough, a keloid develops. The break is over. Six months. Back to the surgeries and the scars. And the lovely keloids. I will make an appointment at Akron Children's Hospital for the removal of three moles. Oh, excuse me "Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron". How can I forget it's proper name when my insurance agent was so adamant that I get it right!?

For over forty years everybody in Ohio has known the establishment as Akron Children's, but when I called my insurance company last year they kept telling me that the hospital does not exist. The web site lists it as Akron Children's, all the nurses, doctors and any other personnel in the state of Ohio calls it by "Akron Children's". Why would I even dream it had another name? When the agent finally figured out that it was listed in her database under "Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron" she was irate and told me that I need to give her the correct name. Good grief.

So my daughter got a shot of cortisone in the keloid. Why doesn't blogger's dictionary recognize this word? It stung and we hope that the growth subsides just leaving the scar. How did the girls in my daughter's gym class put it? "Did you get shot!?" I guess my daughter's back looks like she was shot with rifle spray. How many now? 12.... 15? Dysplastic nevus (nevi).

When my daughter told the dr. she wanted three new ones removed, the dr. kept saying "If you think she needs them removed." I had three separate doctors say that "Yes" the moles need to come off when we started this madness five years ago. Now they aren't so certain. What? Did the Medical Association publish an article saying that maybe they were removing too many moles unnecessarily? Like hysterectomies in the 80's? Now the doctor is leaving it up to me. Oh, excuse me. Up to my daughter. She is 18, now. She can decide for herself. We went from "These moles have to be removed!" a couple of years ago to "Well, if you think it's necessary."

Every mole removed has been tested and come back benign. I have wondered through the years if this was really necessary? What do you do when three different doctors say "Yes." I did not intentionally seek out different opinions. I am not that obsessive.

The first doctor that alerted us was rude and my daughter did not like him at all. She was 12 or 13 and this guy just creeped her out. So we found a female dermatologist. She agreed. The moles needed to come out. After about six removals I asked my family doctor. She agreed they need to come out. After so many we started to go to a plastic surgeon. He didn't really give an opinion - he just removed the ones in the more delicate areas.

When my daughter had a rash in January that doctor just freaked out. Why did she have them removed? Who did that job? We got the impression that the job was ugly and messy. Thanks doc. Made us feel like crap. Seriously. You think that doctors would have better reaction skills. They should teach that in medical school.

Am I rambling? Probably. I am tired and I am starting to get angry. My daughter wants them off. They have her afraid that every little mole is a potential door to cancer and death for her.

Did you know that virtually every prom dress made has no back to it? My daughter (like me) does not care for the hoopla of prom anyway. Good thing. Every now and then I would hear my daughter mention tanning lotion. She would put some on because as we have had it drilled into our heads for five years now, tanning beds and sunning are death.

I always hated the sun anyway. Anyone with migraines will tell you this. Sunshine equals headache. I shunned the sun. I was lily white. At 43 I began going to a tanning bed. Wow! I loved it. Especially on cold, rainy days. That stopped cold when my daughter was forbidden to go. They said it would be certain death. Or, they made her fear it as much.

I know it is for the better. I know this. It doesn't help my daughter when she compares herself to all the girls in school that are bronzed and showing their backs in their beautiful flowing prom dresses.

That is more or less why I let my daughter go wild with her hair. And by wild, I mean blond, black and red. Whooppee. No green, blue, orange, pink or purple. So the red faded a little and looked like magenta. So they said. I got a different definition of magenta. Nope. The school stopped that real quick. I got an idea. Why don't they make the kids stop tanning? Now there would be a worthwhile rule. Save a life! Color your hair, not your skin! I've got to stop. I'm getting belligerent.

Red, Gold and Green

I heard an old song on the radio the other day. A blast from the past. "Karma Chameleon" by Culture Club. I couldn't find who exactly wrote the song. I didn't search very long. It has a catchy tune and beat and I love red, gold and green.

Am seeing lots of green these days. I started to mow for the first time this year, only to be met by a downpour when I wheeled the mower out of the garage. I put it away and went inside. Washed my hands, turned around and the sun was shining again. Go figure. Ohio.

We watched Lakeview Terrace. It was okay.

Got ten minutes?

My sister and I went to visit another sister on Saturday. The one in prison. We had never been before. We went to my nephew's house the night before so we could get an early start. We had a GPS but still managed to get turned around a couple of times. We arrived at 9:40. The guards would not let us enter. We needed to be there by 9:30. (I do recall the day I made the reservation they said we needed to be there by 10:30) but do you think that the guards cared? Not one iota. Did they care that we had travelled so far? You guessed it. No they did not.

We turned around and said that we would probably laugh about it one day.

We could not get word to my sister. She called me at home later that evening and I was able to explain what happened. She said "That is typical for that place."

Sigh. We will try again. It took me about 70 phone calls before I could get through the last time.

D, D and a peony

I should be seeing this type of activity in the next month or so.

That's the peony. Now for the "D's". My co-worker gave me some news yesterday. It starts with a "d" and ends with a "y" and in between is 'isabilit'.

The other "D". I watched 'Doubt'. It was okay. I was interrupted about ten times and kept having to pause the movie. Maybe I should watch it again. It is set in 1964 so the repression of women bothers me a little bit. Streep was good. I thought that halfway through the movie the Father changed unnaturally from an 'I am superior' attitude to one of submission. Maybe that was how it was meant to look, but it didn't seem to fit.

And, of course. I didn't like the ending. It left me flat. I expected more, I guess.

Gonna go round in circles

Our park will be opening at the end of May for rides.

And it is back to work for me today. I have been off since April 2nd. I logged into email yesterday so that I wouldn't have too much stress this morning. I hate surprises. Back to the grind. Up and down. Round and round. Any chance my co-worker has taken a vow of silence? Probably not.

Company

My daughter will be here for Easter, as well as my nephew. I don't think my niece will make it down from Toledo. So, when my sister called I invited her. Her family has mushroomed in the last month. Not only is her son staying with her but his new girlfriend and her two children plus my sister's daughter and her little one (above). Ooookay.

Still cleaning. My daughter's bedroom is back in order and I am trying to focus on the downstairs laundry room area. My back only lets me work in spurts. I rest it as often as I can. I have not watched any movies, but I did download the latest House episode from Monday and watch it. My daughter was busy with friends over that night and it was a bit chaotic around here. This is the episode where one of the main characters committed suicide.

I used utorrent to watch the show and the characters all sounded like they had a serious lisp. Especially House. It was a bit hard to understand what they were saying. My daughter and I run closed caption on our television all the time. Some visitors complain, but we still do it. We are surprised at how much we actually miss them saying when it isn't on.

This was the first time I used utorrent and I don't think I'll be using it again. I didn't care for it.

Through the years

My daughter (little to big) through the years.

It was a morning of heavy and strenuous work. The day bed (with a trundle) was finally leaving. My daughter slept in it when she was little. The futon had never been used. Both were leaving. Good riddance. I started at 8 a.m. My brother was to arrive at 9:00. He didn't get here until 10:00. My back had time to recuperate. The lower back was thumping pretty hard when I finally sat down to rest.

After he hauled them away I was outside in the beautiful sunshine sweeping the leaves and pine needles off the patio. The windows in my house were closed. I heard the most God-awful screaming. I threw the broom down and ran (okay, hobbled) inside. My daughter was crying. She and her on-again/off-again boyfriend were into it big time. I picked up her cell phone. He was inconsolable. I have told her that she cannot keep playing him along like this. One day she calls it quits, the next day he is over here. We had gone round and round.

I felt absolutely horrible but after 10 minutes of trying to reason with him I had to hang up on him. He said that he had no one to talk to. Nobody to turn to. I turned her cell phone off and hid it in the garage. I unplugged the house phones. My daughter demanded her cell phone back. I told her to go and settle down. She slammed her bedroom door and all was peaceful and quiet the rest of the day. She calmed down. I hope he did, too. It was just awful. I remember well what the pain was like. I wanted to tell him it gets easier. But does it?

I told her she was part of the problem. She gets tired of me harping at her. She says "I know, Mom!" Ah, the life. The drama. She is 18, he is 17. I wish that his family had not "home-schooled" him. He is still a freshman academic-wise. I don't think he is learning very many social skills. I think he may be emotionally crippled and immature. I believe in school they learn much more than an education. They learn how to get along in life. How to cope with disappointment. Eventually they see what it is like to have to "put up" with teachers and other things that do not go your way. In school the students have to learn to "Get over it!"

He grew dread locks. He has his ear gauged. He has piercings in his nose, in his lower lip and I don't even want to know where else. All in the past year. This was too much even for my daughter who is very liberal and tries not to judge others by their appearance. She thinks it is unhealthy because I believe he does the piercings himself. I think he tried to pierce his own tongue. They broke up for 9 months last year. I really thought they both had moved on. Oh, well. Big sigh. This too shall pass. Please let it be without incident.

Visitor

This huge dog came to visit on Monday. She belongs to my daughter's on again/off again boyfriend. We were cleaning and she didn't help much. He was a big help. We have moved furniture around in my daughter's bedroom to make room for her new bed. My brother is coming to take away some older furniture tomorrow but until then we have to walk/work/live around it. Ugh. I've stubbed my toe more times than I care to count. Ouch.

My daughter and a bunch of her friends went to a hip/hop dance club Monday night (after midnight so my daughter could get in). I was worried. I am glad I did not look at the site before they went, I would have been a basket case. It looks positively wild. They had a blast. They had one big dude with them (the rest were girls). I shook my head in utter disbelief. I told them to be careful. They were all 18. They went to IHOP afterwards.

They had plenty of stories to tell me the next day (thankfully, nothing bad happened). I am hoping they got this out of their system and will stay closer to home, but I doubt it. By the sound of it they had a great time and there is nothing around here. Nothing.

There are more blankets and sheets to wash. The cats have shed all over stuff in the basement. This is probably as close to spring cleaning as I ever get.

::Movie Spoiler Alert!::

Oh, I almost forgot. I watched 'Burn After Reading'. What? Who? Why? What were they thinking? Who in their right mind would write it? And why would any self-respecting actor be a part of it? I found out that McDormand is married to the writer/director so she has to be involved by proxy, I guess. I have to give Pitt a little bit of credit here for playing a character I'd not ever seen him play before. He played a dolt. He pulled it off okay, I guess. Malkovich was his usual crass self. Jenkins played his usual sad sack. And, I truly believe that Clooney is Middle Eastern. I think his acting is just ridiculous. I don't know. I guess I don't watch them in movies enough to know if they stretched their acting range or not. I was absolutely nauseated by the entire thing. And, half the time I wasn't sure which basement they were breaking into. And who left the CD at the club was a mystery for half of the movie.

I also watched 'Milk'. I could have read about the incident and got just as much out of the story. Which I did read up on it after the movie. I would have liked the movie to have focused a little bit more on the reasoning behind White's motive for shooting Milk and the mayor. Why was White so angry with them? After I read their stories on wikipedia it made more sense to me.

My Generation

Closing in on the 18. She is going with friends to a Hip Hop club. They are going after midnight so she can get in. Then to IHOP. I'm sitting here with my headphones on because the music is cranked and tongues are talking 100 mph all around me. Mountain Dew will do that. The weather is nasty, but no accumulation is expected.

Stella Sierra

One beer called Stella Artois and one called Sierra Nevada. I drank the one called Stella. One. At the bar. At the restaurant I drank a Madras (vodka, orange juice and a splash of cranberry juice). One.

I had the orange roughy. A bit salty but still good.

The bar scene was such a drag for me. It got crowded. How do these people do it? How did I do it twenty/thirty years ago? It was so hot in there. The wind was howling outside and spitting snow. Inside it felt like a sauna. People just stood around, spilled drinks on one another and you had to squeeze yourself between bodies to go to the restroom.

I mixed it up with a table of drinkers next to our table also drinking Stella Artois beer. I kept doing a rendition of "Stella!" from 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. They would laugh and scream the name back to me. What can I say? I was bored out of my skull. Only the folks in the three foot vicinity could hear above the din, so it was harmless fun. And, they seemed pretty drunk. The men were in suits (albeit rumpled and loosened ties), so it looks like they had been drinking since they left work at 5 or so.

I drank ice water for most of the night. I wanted to pour it over my head. I discovered I liked (at least) one song by "The Black Keys". I am trying to find it's name so I can download it. The group is from Akron. Close. I think the song I heard is "Things Ain't Like They Used To Be". Not sure. It sure sounds like another song. I keep waiting for them to sing "Don't bring me down..."

After trying the other songs out on YouTube, I won't be purchasing a whole lot from this group.

Are we having fun yet?

A typical response from a 3-year-old at a mostly adult birthday party.