Happy 4th of Ju....

NOT how I wanted to start my holiday today!

I found it this morning. Or, rather my cat Teton did. I walked out of the kitchen with my cup of coffee and noticed her sitting on the back of my TV chair staring outside at the open front door. I'm like "What is SHE looking at?" What is up there? I looked. I groaned.

I took pictures. They are tiny little insects. Not exactly certain what, yet. I didn't want to look that long or get too close. Even though I am dreading this discovery, I can't help but be amazed at their ability to build such a beautiful structure. The picture is blurry. That's right. I'm not getting that close and I wanted to snap away quickly and get the H-E -double hockey sticks out of there. Do you blame me?

From the looks of it, they have been at it a long time. I usually only use the front door to retrieve the newspaper and the mail. That is twice a day. Funny that I didn't notice it before. Sigh.

The town festival is going on over the hill in the park. I just don't have any inclination to go this year. I am not having my annual 4th party and I am a wee bit bummed about it, but I have a headache feeling coming on, so I imagine it is probably for the best. (Huge fight with daughter the other night, so my mood has been rather sour). I overslept this morning and am beginning to feel sick.

I am headed to my sister's house this evening. Her son loves to set off fireworks. He makes me nervous. I am taking calico beans and my usual cheese ball. I am also taking my headphones to drown out the noise of the fireworks. Where is that mosquito spray? And the Advil.

Pretty cat

Here is my nephew's cat, Gato. She had her front claws removed. It was done before he adopted her. She goes outside for long periods of time. Probably to visit her old friends in the neighborhood.

My foot has taken a turn for the worse. That Plantar faciitjusthurts, being the culprit. I've been cranky so I have not felt like writing much.

Top photo is from my nephew's archive.

Cats, fireworks and the visit

The natives (my cats) were restless the other day. I guess I had neglected to "over-feed" them, which I feel that I do from time to time so I make them go a little longer with no food. They were circling me like some wild animal pack and since they could not take their frustrations out on me, they began turning amongst themselves. Kind of reminds me of work.

I had fireworks in my work office on Friday. I have been waiting for this for three years. Three years! What comes around goes around. I ate my imaginary popcorn and watched the show from my front row seat. It was very entertaining. Sick ticket that I am.

We DID get to see my sister, but not without a little scare first. My nephew asked me the reservation number. I had not written it down anywhere. That is not like me. I don't understand why I would not have written it down in my little calendar I carry in my purse when I made the appointment back on May 5th. I worried all night long. I dreamt about it. I did get through on my cell phone to the institute before we left the house and they did give me the number. I was so relieved. Then when we got there, they didn't ask me for it. Figures!

The visit with my sister went very well. It was emotional. I was so out of it from lack of sleep, I may have zoned out from time to time. I am glad my other sister (1944) was there to talk. The sister (1954) who is incarcerated does tend to dramatize her stories. She has sprung a few dandies on us that all of us wonder the credibility of.

Out of 8 children (5 girls) she claims that she was molested by our father. She claims this happened somewhere in the time frame of 1960-1963. We are skeptical of this, but I am aware enough about alleged abuse, to keep an open mind about her claim. I mean out of 8 of us, she is the only one in prison... There were a few more claims (nothing to do with either parent or sibling) and she does keep rehashing them when she has the limelight and a captive audience.

Claims such as: A child given up for adoption in 1974, an abortion in 1981. She and I were very close in 1982. I lived with her in El Paso while she served in the Army. I watched my nephew. She told me so many personal things, I find it difficult to believe that she would not have told me this fact. We spoke of birth control many times. We partied a good bit. We shared many secrets. This is why I am skeptical.

We were not a strict family (especially in religion) in any form. We were very open minded and liberal.

I am the sister who has spent the most time with her. Sister 1956 spent their teenage years together and the in the early 70's they were very, very close. She certainly would have known about the pregnancy and adoption. Sister 1954 was away at college during this time.

It was not until about 10 years ago that she made this claim against our father. I am pretty sure our Mom never found out about this claim. I spent many times with my sister and she never told me about this. She had plenty of chances to. She said she repressed it. I lived with her in 1982, she lived with me in 1987. We went out many, many times.

I have heard her concoct so many stories (about her life) that I knew were not true, you just begin to wonder. My father is not here to defend himself and she can pretty well say what she wants. He was not perfect, he was a horrible family man, he was sadistic and mean when he drank (to certain siblings), but he never made sexual advances that any of the rest of us can recall.

For the record he was kind and caring when he was sober. At least the man that I knew. My Mom has a different view and after so many beatings, I can sympathize with her view. I do believe the mean spirit only showed up under the influence of alcohol. I am not 100% certain about this. As I spend more and more time with sister 1944 I learn more. Driving for long distances in the car is a wonderful place to listen.

Anyway, sister 1944 and I made it through the gates. Or, the security doors. You show your drivers license. They keep it and give you a visitor's tag. You get your hand stamped. You go through one door into a small room. The other door won't open until the first one is completely closed. You go from there across a yard to the reception hall. You sign in and get a small square table assigned to you. About 2 feet by 2 feet. There are three chairs. Sister 1954 must sit in her assigned chair - facing the guards. We can hug. We can go up to the vending machines. We talk and talk and talk. It got very warm in there and after 2 hours the body odor of the people in there began to make me very ill. That and the lack of sleep. We moved outside for the last half hour.

The chairs are not comfortable. They are not the folding chairs you find in an auditorium, but they are the straight back ones you might find in an office for meetings or in the doctor's office. No arms. We squirmed around a good bit. There were about 80 people in this room. They had the doors open. It was very warm that day, and I could not imagine what the place would be like on a hot afternoon.

My sister did say that the big library is air conditioned but inmates are only allowed one hour a week there. Her son sent her a fan. She can receive merchandise via UPS/US mail. He orders the stuff online for her.

She is "into" dianetics this month. I recall reading a book on this subject many years ago. She was always practicing health food, Prevention magazine idolization, and topping it off with drinking binges. Many times after "cleaning up" after she was sent to the big house, I was left with the job of sifting through and pitching her stuff. I would pitch hundreds of dollars worth of vitamins and minerals. Hundreds of dollars.

I told her I would send information about dianetics that I find on the Internet. I am horrible at keeping up my end of the bargain. I must rectify this. She can receive no more than three type-written pages in each envelope. No more than 3 photographs. I can do better.

My hydrangea color

I sharpened the photo up a wee bit, but I kept the color true. This is the color of my hydrangea if I don't add anything to enhance the blue or go the other way to make them pink. Unless some aluminum sulfate is still in the earth left over. This bloom is actually over a week old, hence the ratty edges on some of the petals.

Headed west towards Columbus for the week end in our second attempt to visit my sister. If you recall we were 10 minutes late a couple of months ago and we did not get in to see her. We are going to try to mind the time a little better this trip.

I have never been inside a correctional institute before. There will not be any pictures, we can only take our drivers license with us. Our car keys too, I guess, and cash to purchase a money card.

I ran out of road

On my trip yesterday I took a shortcut to an elementary from the high school. Well, I thought I knew where I was going. I was just driving along, enjoying the beautiful Ohio countryside, snapping away when all of a sudden "BAM!" I ran out of road. Pavement dropped off to gravel in a split second. I wasn't expecting that. I knew then that I was somewhat lost. I found my way, I was going in the general direction, but I do so enjoy new roads that I have never been on before.

It makes up for that dirty, dark, hot and noisy wiring closet that I spent most of my morning in.

The only downfall was I got to the elementary too late. They told me the custodians worked until 2, seems they leave at 1. I got there at 1:12. Drat. They work from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. I guess it is partly to beat the heat because there is no air conditioning in these little elementary buildings.

It's that little green car again, Pa

I think I may have passed this buggy 4 times today.

I believe it was the same family. I passed them once while going to the school. Then I passed them when I went back and towards another school. I needed to check back at the first school and I passed them again, then when I went to drive back to my office, I saw them yet again. I figured I would see them, so I had my camera ready.

This was over a three hour period. It was very hot today. In the closets it felt like it was a hundred degrees. The sweat was rolling down the back of my neck. My only solace was my little car and the air conditioner.

I did have success today, though. Got the elementary buildings connected.

I've mentioned before that we are planning our first family reunion in August. My sister sent me an address of a cousin. I went to add their email address into my contact list. They use "we.serve.the.lord" and I accidentally typed in "we.serve.the.lard". I started laughing and I could not stop. I had tears running down my face. I think I have found my new email address.

I watched "Gran Torino" over the week-end. I had read a book on the Hmong people about a year ago. I don't think I liked the movie or it's message very much. Did he change in the end? Did he stop being prejudiced? He is eating dinner at his neighbor's house and he calls them "fish heads?" Really? I thought it was a little out of character for him to warm up to the family like he did. And calling the black gang "spooks?" and using "gooks" and what was with the slang term "slopes?" Was it a cocaine reference or was it a reference to their slanted eyes? Was he trying to be an Archie Bunker type? I get it in the end. How he handled the situation so that it turned out better for everyone he cared for. But, seriously. Christopher Carley really creeps me out.

Two things I did really like about the movie. I had a '73 Gran Torino (his was a '72) and PBR. That beer ruled in the mid-70's!

Meet Loach

Why anybody would want something that looks like this in their bedroom is beyond me.

She has two of them. One algae eater and some fish. I think they are platies? Beats me. I do not like fish. I especially do not like fish eyeballs staring at me through glass. I do like the blue, though.

My daughter upgraded her fish tank from a 10 gallon to a 29 gallon tank. That was a lot of water. I certainly hope those tanks are dependable. I'd hate to see that mess. Especially where electricity is involved. When the tank was in the living room it sat on the top of the DVD player stand next to the TV and next to her computer setup. Now, that was a lot of electrical stuff.

It just makes me nervous.

Turning 5 today

My blog turns 5 today. Summer solstice.

You can see the imprint of the sumo wrestling mat in my back yard in the photo above. The mat started out farther to the right (where you can see a faint imprint) and steadily moved left as more and more sumo wrestlers jumped on it. I was a bit concerned about them hitting the wires up above, but they didn't.

The mat rested more on the circle at the left before the company came back and picked it up so that left a more definitive imprint.

This photo also shows some of the rain we had last week. It came down in buckets. I did get my gutters cleaned except for that pesky one on the front end of my house. I don't like the way they designed my gutters. I think I am going to have that changed. They are supposed to drain away from the front and all drain at the back. That doesn't work. I end up with a mess at the front corners of my house.

I saw that both vehicles were gone from my neighbor's house yesterday morning and I ran and got the ladder. It is only a 6 ft. and I was able to clean most of my gutters. The one at the front of the house is just too tall for me. Blast it! I am seriously considering buying a taller ladder. Can I get it home in my little car?

Far be it from me to ask somebody with a truck to bring it home for me. LOL! You should know that answer by now.

Why am I like this? I don't know. I just hear a little voice in my head (maybe my Mom's, I don't know) that says "You made your bed, now lie in it!" In other words if I decide to live my life, purchase a house and raise a daughter all on my own, then I should be able to take care of all my house needs and daughter needs ON MY OWN!

Too independent? Maybe. I've been in therapy (mostly in an effort to communicate better with my daughter) and I am even more independent now than ever. The therapist tries with me, really she does, but I am not budging. Not in that area. She gave up asking me about dating. Poor lady. I told her "it isn't for everybody." I am not sure she buys that but I could care less. I just plain ain't interested.

Five years. FIVE years. So what is it all about? I blog for me. I purge the feelings out of me onto this blog. I can go back in time and re-read what I was feeling or doing at any given year, month, week or day. It is very therapeutic. I do write less in my personal journal that I have kept on and off since 1986.

I don't see any end in sight. I love to blog. I'm just trying to keep family and work out of it, but work is really trying at times. I should make a rule to write my feelings about work in my personal journal before writing in my blog.

Refreshing

Iced Tea

It has been very popular for restaurants around here (not sure about elsewhere) to serve sweetened iced tea. I know this is very popular in the south, but 'round here you had to add sugar if you wanted your tea sweet. And that is hard to do once the ice has been added.

I find the sweetened variety too sweet. So, I ask for half sweet and half unsweetened. Works out well for me.

Anymore, I drink water at restaurants. Cutting costs wherever I can.

My daughter drinks milk. Nobody gives free refills on milk and she always drinks at the very least two big glasses.

Of course there are free refills on pop, iced tea and coffee. I am not sure about hot tea. Are there free refills on hot tea? I usually only drink hot tea when I have a migraine. Oh, no. I said the word, didn't I? I have a "free" week-end and I just said the "M" word. Take a deep breath. Forget about it. Wipe it from your memory.

Thunder is still rolling about the Ohio valley today. It's dark and humid outside. I don't know what we have coming. I wanted to clean my gutters. But I want to do it without my neighbor seeing me since he offered to do it. That will be tricky. Is his truck out front? Yep.

My sister has started sending me emails about the first annual family reunion we are planning in August in WV. There will be no electricity at the shelter house. This ought to be interesting. Full steam ahead!

What a mess

I don't like to clean gutters

I don't have a fear of heights. Well, maybe I do. But not six or eight feet off the ground. I don't fear that. I really need to clean my gutters so I guess I'll get the ladder out this week-end. This is my patio during the rainstorm. That's where my daughter and I spent the evening Wednesday watching the storm. Sirens were blaring all over town, but we stayed put.

My neighbor asked me if I wanted him to clean out my gutters? The really bad one was on the side of the house where he could see it. That does it! I'm going to figure out some way to reach that side and clean it. I may have to buy a new ladder. I am considering sitting my 6 ft ladder on a table to reach. Sigh. I know. I won't do it. Dammit.

It was very nice of him to offer, but you have to know me. It was an insult to me. It made me feel inadequate. I thanked him profusely and his offer still stands, but I cannot ask for help from anybody. He said "I work for beer!" I laughed.

I am going to watch very closely. When he leaves (hopefully for a golf outing) I am going to get up there and clean them out. What a mess.

I have a horrible case of plantar fasciitis in my left foot. It came about from doing so much work the week before the graduation party. It flared up and has not let up since. My days have been sheer misery. Hot, sweaty, grimy and in pain. I am certainly not getting the Miss Congeniality award this week.

The neighbors sumo

My neighbors sumo

The party place dropped the sumo setup off on Saturday morning and picked it up on Monday afternoon. Sunday evening I saw that my neighbors were having a get together. They often have about six of their friends over. I walked over and told them to "have at it". And, after a couple of hours and (I am sure) a few beers later, they did just that.

I got more videos and pictures. I hope they had fun.

The mat did a number on my grass but it was all worth it.

Over he goes

It was not as easy as it looked.

The setup

OH. MY. GOD.

"What HAVE I gotten myself into?" was the first thought that went through my mind.

Sister 1956 came up on Friday afternoon to help me prepare for the party. She was a godsend. Come Saturday morning we were on the patio taking a quick coffee break. My neighbor was having work done on the back of his garage. Trucks pulling up in the back alley were nothing to cause alarm. Two very cute guys came around the patio and I thought they might need our cars moved so they can have better access to my neighbor's garage. Nope. They were there to set up the sumo mat. Five hours early!

My daughter was STILL in bed. She said she peaked out the window, saw one of the cute guys and nearly broke her neck trying to get outside before they finished. Yeah. That's my girl.

showers

Sister 1944 at her bridal shower 1968 - me on the right at 8 yrs old

Speaking of showers, it is very cloudy outside. They promised sunshine for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The clouds had better clear out or they will have me to deal with.

We are off to Sugarcreek for meat and cheese. What do I tell family and friends when they ask me about Amish country? NEVER go on a Friday or Saturday. NEVER. Of course everything is closed on Sundays.

So it is Friday and we are off to Amish country. Color me stupid.

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."