Mean and Green

Guess where I had lunch the other day? That's right! The place where they sell a thousand different brands of hot sauce. Well, maybe a hundred or so. I was able to capture about five shots of sauce that I did not previously post. I did not feel comfortable taking pictures because I neglected to ask permission first. They were just too busy.

I have not purchased any, yet. Some day I will. Maybe.

Sweet!

Zucchini carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Made it Monday evening. It was SO sweet, I could not finish it. Yes, I had to purchase zucchini. Drat! No friends. :(  Yes, this small cake was still too warm to ice, but I had things to do!

Hold strong

For all the ignorant conspiracy theories I heard this year regarding 9/11 - they are out there. The nut cases who think that the government was behind this horrible tragedy. My niece married one.

Car lashes

The photo is blurry. I was a couple of parking lots over and only had my phone with me. This photo is cropped from the original. I had never seen them before. Car lashes.

I was with sisters Saturday night and we watched "A Joyful Noise." I have a sister who is a D Parton fan. We made comments about the surgery structure of her face of course - how plasticized she looked and she even had a zinger put in the movie to make fun of her surgeries. Q Latifah's character was arguing with her and spit out  "I liked you seven procedures ago!"  - or something to that nature. It has a few one liners but for the most part if you don't like singing - skip this one. I love singing and still did not like it.

My sisters and I would have sworn that was Stella Parton at the end of the show singing on stage, but no - the movie claims it was Karen Peck. Sounded very much like D Parton.

And it was very strange that all choir members had loose-fitting choir robes but Dolly's was form fitting - snug as could be to show off her figure. Bizarre and distracting. What is up with that? Why does she feel the need to do that and how in the heck does she think it appropriate for a church choir for one to stand out like that?

My black babies

I did not take pictures Saturday night. I don't know why. I did not even think about it. My niece 1982 snapped this one of my babies. I had 23 show up from the family. My daughter had an after-the-family-leaves party for her age group. 21 - 23 crowd. From what I could see, she had about a dozen. She came in and chased me out of her bed at about 5:00 a.m. I was sleeping in her room with the window open so I could keep an "ear" out for their noise level. At 2:30 she had the group move inside the garage to continue.

I am just concerned about the one neighbor lady whose bedroom is almost butt up against my patio. She is 95 and has had many falls the past few years. She has somebody staying with her. I heard a man coughing while I was hosing off my patio Sunday morning.

I felt great the next day. No headache. But then again, I only drank a couple of the Bud Lite Lime-a-ritas that are kind of popular right now.

Inside

Inside a laptop. The guts.

Ouch!

I had never taken a laptop apart before, and if I have my say - will never do it again. To remove the bevel off the display I had to really pinch my fingers. But for me to take a picture while they were pinched, don't you think that rather odd?  My blogging must be some kind of addiction or obsession. Here is a photo opportunity for the blog. Oh, dear.

I still have very little in the posting department. I am gearing up for a big family get together at my place this Saturday. Since I did not have the fourth of July because of the outbreak of headaches, I am making up for it with a Labor Day bash. Who knows, I may change my holiday to this one. It was getting to the point where nobody could see the fireworks from my house anyway.

Empty

Nothing, I've got nothing. The photo above was taken at the work parking lot when I saw cloud reflection in the Volkswagen beetle parked next to me.

Seriously though, I have had nothing to write about. Have not read any blogs - I am so far behind. Either my week has been very boring or very busy. I can't decide because I can't remember. I know that I worked on my brother's computer yesterday and nearly rendered the darn thing useless. There was so much wrong each time I tried to fix something, I found a new problem I had to fix before I could continue and I never even got to any original problems. Sheesh.

Just plodding along. I have to go and read all your blogs now because I can't remember the last time I did. I don't know if I am running out of steam or if this is just a lull.

Wait, it's coming back to me. I had a busy week. Ah.

Passages

August has been busy. I threw a photo of Cheech up here today. He is looking at me as if I am going to make him move or something. Sort of like "What? What did I do? What do you want from me? Can't you just leave me alone?" The dogs do not like the camera.

My niece lost her baby over the week-end. She was only 11 weeks along and they told her the baby stopped developing at six weeks. My daughter told me two weeks ago that she thought that my niece was pushing herself while bike riding. hula hooping etc... I was not around them as much as my daughter was so, who is to know? It was a stressful time in the ER on Sunday night.

My two older sisters lost their first child. But they went on to have more children. My niece and her husband went to stay with my sister (her Mom). I thought it was because she wanted to be with her Mom (that is probably part of it) but came to find out they have another festival in that area this week-end. Her husband plays guitar and sings at the festivals for donations or gets paid. I am never quite certain of the circumstances. I don't ask.

I am not positive what their plans will be when the dust settles. They had been staying with me in a camper in my driveway. Don't ask. Let me just put it this way: I had that little girl a lot when she was growing up and I was  not about to let her go live in a camper in a campsite with no electricity while she is expecting.

'Nuff said.

Gearing up for a Labor Day get together for the family since I was unable to have the 4th of July. I hope that one day headache was just that. A one day episode. Grrr!

Flashback

A photo from August 2006. Holmes county, Ohio.

The visitor

My moon flower has a little visitor. At night, yet.

I am going to focus on my beautiful moon flowers, of which I happen to have an abundance of this year. I am only going to mention briefly the horrible headache I had yesterday. I slept most of the day away. I tried to manage with acetaminophen. That was not helping much. At sundown (as usual) I was feeling much better. I woke with a bit of one again this morning. Back to ibuprofen. Sigh.

I did manage a movie before the pain hit me. The Experiment with A Brody and F Whitaker. My niece happened to catch part of the movie and mentioned that she watched a video in psych class that was similar to this movie we watched.

A Tor by any other name

This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. See this photograph's page on the Geograph website for the photographer's contact details. The copyright on this image is owned by Martin Bodman and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

Tor can be the rock pictured above, or it can be what I have had my nose stuck in for the past two days. Anonymous browsing. I had such a hard time saying the word anonymity. An non nim itty.  Anon imitty. Yep. www.dictionary.com will sound the word out for you. Go ahead. Try it. Yay!

This post has nothing to do with the photo above. I just figured a picture of the topic Tor (The onion router) I have been working with would be very boring. Why an onion? Layers, I think. A Vidalia, no less. I suppose I could have slapped up a photo of a vidalia onion. I love Vidalia onions. Oh well. Too late now.

What is Tor? Do you care? Well, I had to care about torvpn. I was able to download that program and circumvent my filter. If I can do it, those smart kids in high school and junior high can do it. Technology is topsy turvy. The younger set knows more than the older set. It really challenges us to stay on our toes.

Oh, one more Tor. A science fiction/fantasy site. Can't forget to mention that.

Hoopin'

Another shot of my niece - the hoop girl. She has put the hoop away for a few months (until after the baby is born). It is a wonderful exercise and will probably help her to lose the baby weight. She may be one of the lucky few who won't have much weight to lose. She may be "all baby" - as they call them.

Moon Burn

I gave one of my moonflower's a nasty sunburn. Or, would that be moon burn? Just playin' around with those free programs again. These days I spend most of my time fixing food and cleaning up the kitchen. It is getting old.

Most of us are sick. Even the dogs. They had kennel cough. I did not get them shots for it this year (we board them when we go to the reunion for three days) - they got their shots yesterday and their distemper. And flea medicine. The neighbor told my daughter their dog and cats all have fleas. We don't see any yet, but we should put the medicine on them anyway. Check. Taken care of.

I have small ear aches in both ears. Nothing too harsh. I almost always have a fan running on me (these days) and at times it causes me to get an ear ache. At home it hits my right side, at work my left. That explains why I have it in both ears. Sigh.

Trudging on through August. Work is busy - school staff are back in the buildings. Some have already brought students back, some are coming back next week.

Still playing

 I used Photo! Editor (free download)  to modify this picture. The original is below with the gray background. The modified one has the gold tones to it. The original was modified a bit with an automatic color adjuster so it is not straight out of the camera, either. Both were given a rounded edge frame from the (also free) program Photoscape.

Headache update. What can I say? Not a single migraine since I began the Neurontin (Gabapentin). I don't like the monopoly of pharmaceutical manufacturers but I do like not having any migraines. I'll just say it as simple as that. It is what it is.

You can read more here and here.

My home has been very active the past month. I have my daughter back living with me and her beau (from Florida). I have my niece and her husband staying (she is 9 weeks pregnant). It is fun to look up what the baby looks like and what is forming. We go here.  The way my daughter talks, this may be the closest I get to participating in the "grandmother" role. That is fine by me. I have lots of nieces and  nephews, I get a share of baby time. Don't get me wrong. That is not near the same as having your own grand-bambino/bambina, but I respect my daughters' wishes to not have children if that is what she chooses. If I wanted to guarantee that I have grand babies, I should have increased my odds by having more children.

Let's throw in a movie update while I am here. The Hunger Games. Lots of confusion in this story. I will skip reading the book unless I get laid up in bed for months at a time and need reading material. I know that the movie is geared towards the young adult. **Possible spoiler alerts - stop here***.  

To me, if you are trying to survive, you do not hang around or walk out in the open area. You keep your ass hidden in the trees and you keep moving. When a "friend" dies, you do not just hold that person (while the other killers are possibly close by) and sing to them and then bury them. Your enemies are all around you tracking you.

Many instances of this practice in the story. I am not clear why it got the publicity and acclaim it did. It was a good watch. A lot better than some of the shows I have seen. We like how they chose lesser known actors (that could have been a monetary decision) but this made it look a bit more real. For the girl to have short and dirty fingernails (not bitten) made it so much more believable than some of the better known actresses who may have insisted on having perfect manicures.

I did not care for them gussying the girls up in prom dresses during the ceremonies. Really? Have we not progressed beyond this sexist image? Apparently not. Will I watch the sequels? Perhaps. Maybe to see if they have more of a story line for the W Harrelson character.  And we always love Stanley in anything.

Oh my

I just posted the photo above and as I was thinking about a title and a subject to post about, I realized the picture matches the old saying "Pushing up daisies".  Sorry.

Either I am very busy or very lazy here in the Peruby household. I have a full house this month and spend a lot of time visiting/chatting with relatives who are here.

The days seem to be sliding through my fingertips like running water.

Julia Fractal

I was messing around with a new program I downloaded called Pinta. I opened a photo and chose edit. Then I chose julia fractal. From that image, I came up with the above. Just messin' around.

Survived

Survived another family reunion. This time with extended family members is so special to us, but alas - not everybody feels that way. Our attendance was so low this year we doubt we will have it again next year. Or, we need to change the format to a much less activity-based event.

Our first year we had over 150 attend, this year - maybe 38. It was our fourth one and the heat was so intense I believe some of us suffered a mild heat stroke. So many were dizzy and we just sat around limp. Not to mention the body odor. It was a good idea to choose burgundy color shirts for our matching tee shirts but not healthy. The heat was intense and with a dark, thick tee shirt on - well, you can imagine. Some of my family members refuse to wear them and opt for spaghetti straps and what not for a cooler outcome.

I certainly will have to do something next year. I have expressed my desire for an air conditioned building and having it inside. That seems to be the major reason for absenteeism. The blessed heat.

The party on the patio at the motel was rather tame, also. Just a few who wanted to burn the candle at both ends, and the staff finally moved them into the lobby because of motel visitors complaining. I had gone to bed long ago. I do not party any more. Especially since I am on this medication. I asked to try the bud light lime a rita. It was so delicious and I only drank 6 oz. but it knocked me on my butt. (Medicine intensified, I am sure). I am not one to follow the rules, but when I felt woozy - I stopped cold. I don't push it too much. (Any longer).

We had two siblings that could not make it this year. The first time all 8 of us have not been to the reunion. Well, the first reunion sister 1954 could not make it. Not because she did not want to, though. Most of us find it difficult to understand why they would not want to come to the reunion but you have to let stuff like this go and let people be. Their "excuse" was that they had to work but we all knew about the reunion months in advance. The actual date, anyway. And the ones who could not make it got days off just prior to the reunion and another one - they are going to the ocean in a week or two. So it isn't like they CAN'T get time off. They just decided not to. We held the reunion on a Saturday this year to make it easier for folks who have to travel and get back to work on a Monday. That backfired. All the ones who requested that option, did not show anyway. Claiming they had to work. What is up with that?

Whoops. I am not letting it go, am I?  My daughter showed up and the ones that did show - we had a fantastic time. When the heat was so bad, we got out the water balloons and the mister (sprays water). I find it nice that we have coolers full of water bottles in the same amount as soda. I did not drink one soda, all water. I crave a soda once in a while - but drink water all day.

The food was fantastic - a lot less to choose from - but there is still plenty to go around. Desserts were almost non existent this time. Some cookies, pies and nut bread and that was it. I made calico beans. Once I heard my nephew was bringing a generator (my sister told me he was bringing it for me so that I can have a fan on me) I grabbed the chance to make my beans. The generator would run fans and a crock pot or two on low. I am just grinning to think that he would bring that for me. I love that boy (he will always be my little boy to me) so much! Even though he and his mama are very close and I am so happy they are. For all the hell they have gone through with each other they are so very, very close. It just makes my heart burst.

I find it strange to hear stories about other families that do not step in and take a child if their sibling is having trouble or problems in their life. My sister has been in and out of prison and I had no problem taking her daughter into my home.  Her son was old enough to be on his own. When she moved back home in the early 80's I was working a daylight job. She was tending bar at night. I watched her little boy every night and cared for him. This is family. Her children are my children. That is how I feel. My sisters ALL feel the same way.

Anyway, reunions are a special time for me. I grumble about them. I grumble about the heat. I grumble about the work. I grumble about the money - not so much because to me, complaining about money is vulgar. If you want a wonderful time - sometimes it costs a lot of money. But (to me) you cannot put a price on family and love.

Last, but not least - headache update. Although I did not have a migraine, I had a very bad headache through out the week-end. I attribute that to sleeping (or NOT sleeping) in a motel, the heat and the upset in the schedule. And driving long distance. If I were still on my migraine medication, I certainly would have taken one. Although the pain I felt was not a classic migraine, it was bad enough to warrant a migraine pill. The migraine pill would have knocked it out of the park. Alas, I did not and just kept taking Advil which was not touching it. Many more of my relatives were suffering, too.

This morning. No headache at all. I have taken this Monday off from work (recovery day!) and will releax, wash clothes and enjoy my daughter and her beau's company. The laughter is rocking the Peruby household once again. Quiet time is over. And... the dogs come back today. Ugh!

Headed south

All the folks in this old photograph have passed, now. My father is the only one not in the picture. We are hoping to see a lot of the children/grand children/ great grand children/ great-great grand children of these folks tomorrow. Not positive we are up to great-great yet. That would be the Mother of the clan in the middle. She went blind when my father was young. Or before he was born, I don't know. Glaucoma they say.

No Smoking Please

Well, I am driving a crappy loaner. Until 8:00 this morning. I will go back and get mine. Another nail in the tire. Either I really ticked somebody off or I have been driving in some rough terrain. This nail nearly punctured through the side wall of the tire. Forcing me to purchase a new tire. Which, as we all know - you must purchase in twos.

I suppose since the car lot deals with things of this nature, we can let this grammatical error go.

Some things just show up where you lease expect them. LOL!

That sky

I grabbed a shot of the sky Saturday evening. I was at a Jimmy Buffet tribute party where the dj played mostly JB songs. I have no idea what that flash of fire or light is just off-center to the right. I was trying to get a shot with no people in it.

It was a beautiful evening. We were celebrating my birthday (2 months late). Hey, I'll take what I can get these days. I was spoiled beyond belief as is the way with this group of friends who have been gift giving since the late 80's. I joined them around 1992. When you reach  a certain age most people no longer get gifts on their birthdays. Only one of us have a significant other. None of us have married. Only I have a child. There are stragglers. My sister joins us now an again. She is married and has a grown son. None of us are gay. That I know of. I figure I would know by now - we have all spent so much time together. We are just a group of old maids. Two came very close to marriage. Whoops. Make that three. I have been engaged twice.

Ah, well. We have good times. Of the group - the original six of us have worked at one certain location. It just went out of business - putting three of my friends out of work. The other three of us had moved on long ago. Only one is  not currently working. I believe she is using her unemployment and furthering her education to obtain a new job.

I believe that leaves every place I have ever worked at - out of business/gone. Let me think. Oh...there is an ice cream stand I worked at when I was 17. It still operates. And Ponderosa. I worked there one summer. All the rest... gone.

Headache update - a bad one Sunday - but only took Advil. It was from lack of sleep. Too much caffeine the evening before. I do not drink alcohol while on this new medication. So THAT is not the reason for the headache. LOL!

Okay. I have rambled on long enough. Ciao!

I still got 'em!

Moonflowers out by the patio are doing well this year. I gave sister 1944 some seeds a couple of years ago and she now has moonflowers. It must take them a year or two to germinate. Is germinate the correct word? Yep, close enough.

I have two plants out front. They did not do as well this  year and still one lonely little plant along side the west side of the house. (The original place ).  I killed those off by accident one  year and am trying to get them back over there. They were something else. 

I love their smell. At night it drafts across the lawn. Okay, is draft the correct word? No, you idiot. It's waft! I love www.dictionary.com.   LOL!

Don't Drink the Water!

Words to my daughter and her beau.  "Don't drink the water!"

 Nephew above is also expecting. Well, his girlfriend is. This is not the nephew I wrote about in my post from yesterday. He may jump on the bandwagon. I do know that he wants to do things "socially proper" and get married and all that first.

Water Baby

Things have been hoppin' here at the Peruby household. So that should give me lots of news. The niece above (lived with me and my daughter for over six  years) is expecting. She is the one that had the outside wedding in June - the hippie fest. She did not know in the photo but she must have been suspect because a few days after this photo was taken she purchased two home pregnancy tests - which both came up positive and she sees a doctor today. YAY!

My niece that married in April (in Key West) is also expecting.

My nephew (the one above - her brother) has met a girl and he told me they both want to have children a.s.a.p. So looks like we are going to be growing. I am very close to the niece above and my nephew that recently hooked up so MY get-togethers are either going to grow or they are going to stay near Columbus more. Aw...now I'm sad. Shucks. I didn't think about that. There may be no more reason for them to come to Peruby's house. WAH!

Oh, oh, oh.....my daughter moved back to Ohio on Sunday and brought her beau with her. So, that makes it very full in my house. Besides having her back and the laughter that rings through the rooms again - I don't have to rush home all the time to "take the dogs out!"

Yep. Things are happenin'. Does Peruby have a headache? Not a once since July 9th. Well, not  a migraine-type headache. Normal headaches from the heat/lack of sleep - Advil takes care of. In fact I was sleep deprived  yesterday and did not even need to take an Advil once. I don't even know where they are.

I know it is early and I should not get TOO excited about the baby news. I can only imagine what it would be like to sit around our old dining room table and talk to my Mom about how all the family is growing and to hear her words of infinite wisdom. She was a gem.

At one time

Every soldier was somebody's little boy or grandson.

Sometimes...

...I just have to look it up.

Most of you know that my job requires blocking unsavory sights from the school districts, or rather managing an appliance that does it.

I was t'shooting a school and had to go through their list of blocked sites. LOL!  Most I have seen before and some were new. I came across one I just had to look up.

I just HAD to.

tin f0il under p@nts.  That's right.

The web page is defunct.

So what do I do?

I "googled" it. Yes, I did.

There is a little video about a guy wearing them (it did not show anything distasteful) but what got me was there is actual clothing made that claims to block microwave, radio waves, etc...

Sheesh! The things I learn from this job.

You know what I tell people, don't you?

It's a dirty job, but SOMEBODY's gotta do it.

Pretty colors

My niece invested in an LED H00la-h00p. She and her new husband travel around from one festival to another where there is a lot of dancing, people h00ping, twirling fire sticks etc...

They all do it for free and for fun. It is a great way to provide entertainment between or during bands playing.

This little gem that she is using will set you back $300. It has 90 different color/flash/pulsating combinations.

MRI

Having an MRI is like being in a tube with some kid and that kid has one of those toy ray guns (except is the size of a super soaker) and you never know what button he is going to push and make all kinds of pulsating pounding noises. Rat-a-tat-a-tat...Boom...boom...boom.....bang...bang...bang. You also do not know how long it is going to go on and when it is going to start/stop. Sheesh!

Mmmm...watermelon

I'll have some of that!

Sister 1944's 2nd grandson.

I dreamt last night that she and I were riding in a car. She was driving (steering wheel was on the right side of the car. What is up with that?). I was in the back seat. We were driving an old dirt road because of a detour. We saw a mama black bear with her cubs. One bear jumped in the backseat with me through an open window and another jumped in the front seat with my sister.  They were not cubs any longer but they were small in size. They did not get fierce, but I knew that we needed to get them out. I grabbed a sweater laying on the seat and opened a car door and wrapped the head of the bear with me in the sweater and pushed him out the door. Then I opened the front door of the car and did the same to the bear in the front seat. My sister drove on. Then we found a restaurant that we used to go to but it had moved. It was called "Sisters". Weird.

A little self analysis here. I was the first one at the hospital when my sister had her accident. This sister is sixteen years older than I am. She was always like a Mother figure to me. She was so frightened when I got to the ER. I immediately went into protective mode. I stayed with her and took care of what I could for over 8 hours. I called the insurance company. I drove her home. (Her son drove her husband to get a spare car). I brought them food. I made certain she was comfortable. Her husband filled her prescriptions. She took care of me as a mother would most of my childhood.

The bear or bears represent danger to my sister. She was always there to protect our family. She paid it forward many times back in the 60's and 70's.

Never on a Sunday

Yes, that is correct. The date on the photo IS July 1st. That is a Sunday. Sister 1944 called a plumber on a Sunday. This is the same sister who had 2 inches of water in her kitchen the morning of July 9th. And later that day had her car totaled in an accident. Yes, July 9th was 8 days after the plumber was there. Not certain what that was all about.

Anyway, we thought this was a cute vehicle for plumbing "emergencies".

Cozy coupe

The cozy coupe car has provided many a child with delight. My great nephew being one of them. 

Sister 1944 was in the car accident on Monday. This is one of her three grandsons. I cringe to think of what might have been. Actually, I try not to think of it.

Things are good. My sister got a shock when she looked in the mirror the next morning at herself. But she is here as is her husband. The car is gone. We may never know what the other driver was doing that she went left of center and did not even correct herself after she hit my sister's car and was going straight for the car behind my sister. (Words of the driver of the car behind them. He had enough time to get out of the way).

I was actually going to post about something else but this stupid medication has made me stupid. I mean forgetful. I was forgetful before but I can't wait to see how forgetful I am now. Huh.

Since I cannot recall what I wanted to say, I will fall back on movies. I watched "Flash of Genius" with Greg Kinnear. Love Kinnear. The movie is based on the story of the life of the engineer that designed the intermittent windshield wiper and the big automobile companies stole it out from under him. He fought them. It is a good tale. In real life I think it took him 20 to 30  years to get his day in court. I do not have the mind set of an engineer. I am a free thinker. My mind wanders. I think that is quiet evident.

And they walked away

This is not my car. My car is green. This is sister 1944's car. She was driving and her husband was in the passenger seat. They do not know what the lady who hit them was doing. She was left of center and she did not even correct herself when she almost hit them, she just plowed into them and was headed for the car behind them.

It was at the crest of a hill so my sister had little time to react, but was able to swerve to avoid a head-on collision. The collision was horrendous. It spun my sister's car around twice, it hit an embankment. The bank propelled the car back out and into the road and spun it around again. The car landed with it's back end lodged in another embankment facing north when they were originally headed south. An entire wheel with tire flew off the car.

Bless the car engineers. All airbags deployed as they were supposed to. That solid steel bar that is placed in the door stopped the offending metal barge of the other vehicle from causing more damage to my sister.

Her husband has a hurt elbow. She has a burn on the inside of her left arm and a bruised elbow. She and he both will have horrendous aches and pains today - no doubt. Whiplash is bound to be one of them.

The other lady? Not a scratch and she refused treatment.

They may never know what she was doing. Was she sleeping? Texting? Fiddling with her GPS?

Now they must deal with the memory of that sound. The feel of a car spinning out of control. The fear of not knowing if you are going to die. The sickening after thoughts. Looking at your property and knowing it is not salvageable. Dealing with insurance claims. Getting a rental car and depending on somebody to get you around until you get the rental. And then, lastly - searching for another vehicle. Ugh!

We did find humor. We always do. On the ride home I told my sister when I called their insurance company and I was telling the representative all that I knew and that they had hit a bank, he said "like a ditch - bank?"  Not realizing I could be referring to a building bank. As in ATM machines went flying and money was floating everywhere!"  We got a good chuckle out of that.

Not to mention that they had dealt with a kitchen under two inches of water when they got up that morning and had to sump pump it all out. This was one of those days where they definitely should have stayed in bed.

Whoops!

When I comment on somebodys' post and I am not logged into Google, I get this error. I have then - lost my entire comment. I have gotten (I hate using that word) into the habit of saving my comment before I post so that when I do get the error, I can log in - and  re-comment by just pasting it in.

What a pain!

Bloggers are bailing out of blogspot.com to wordpress like rats running from a sinking ship.

http://welcomeyoutomyworld.wordpress.com/

Celebration

However you celebrate it  (Independence Day) - have a good one.

As for me - quiet today.

A crew is coming in on Saturday (the 7th) to grill. I told them I was not 'doing' the fourth this year. Sigh. They said they will bring everything. Go for it.

I am on some new medication for migraines. And am scheduled for an MRI. I called earlier in the week when I got yet another headache. They are not full blown migraines but my quality of life really sucks. I am trying to find a solution to this "staying home and staying quiet all summer" theme that I have committed myself to. Until I find out what the hell is causing this or what is going on, I am laying low. If it is menopause then I may just have to deal with it until it all passes, but I am not taking it laying down. I will fight but only when I can muster up the energy to do so. I look like shit.

The ones coming in this week-end do not get headaches. I love them and I hope I do not get grouchy. Screw fire works. I hate the noise.

Okay, enough for the negativity. My new med is for seizures but also is believed to help with migraines. Anticonvulsant. Two days in and so far so good. Time will tell. I am certain the MRI will tell nothing, but at least I'll have gotten it out of the way. They seriously asked me if I had any pins or bolts in my head. Really? What am I? Frankenstein? I said the only metal I had were teeth fillings and my mouth is full of that. That is another story. Welfare children do not get to pick much from the dentist arena. Every dentist I have been to since I turned 20 has cursed the dentist that pulled one of my molars at 12 years old.

Okay - back to quiet. Seriously - have a good one. Grill outside if you must but get back into the shade or the Air or a big blue pool. God Bless America. And anything/anybody else who wants to bless us. Every one.

I think I'll go online and try to find an American song by Andy Griffith. I like to hear him sing.

Oh, and wonder of wonders. My computer sputtered on me this morning. I swear! Every fourth of July or close to it (you can go back in my archives and look for yourself) this damn computer crashes. WTF? It is back up and running but it gave me a good scare. I immediately backed up a lot of stuff. I am running out of external hard drive space. Prices are coming down, I think I'll get a 2 TB one.  Newegg has a WD for $129.

Alert!

I am getting this nastiness taken care of Thursday after work. I love my Honda service department. They are the greatest guys. Well, the guys out at the front desk are. I never see or speak to the actual workers. I hope they know how much I appreciate them. Hmmm. How can I let them know?

Eh - anyway. I know that Honda has an indicator to tell them WHICH tire is low on their nicer models, but it certainly did not help me when I first saw this alert a couple of years ago when  it was seven (7) flipping degrees Fahrenheit outside. With numb fingers I put air in each tire, trying to find the one that was low. My service stations did not have what they have in place now. A digital readout on a screen that gauges the air pressure and stops and sounds a small alarm when you reach 32 psi. It is a bit easier now that the weather is warm, the digital display is quite large and it stops putting air in at the correct pressure.

I wonder if I can get the service department to clean my dusty dashboard.

Time

Time to do some cleaning on my keyboard at work.

There's a reason...

...why I have not been posting. My keyboard melted from this extreme heat. Well, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Not certain why I am in a slump. Just a dry spell, I guess. I am reading all of your posts, though. Very good stuff and very entertaining.

Nobody move!

I wanted to title it: Don't nobody move, but what bad English. I know I should have titled this blog "Headaches R Us".  I sneeze and I panic. I take the dogs out in the heat and I panic. A car horn blares, I panic. Do not move too quickly. Slow movements. Slowly ascend the stairs.

I awoke yesterday with no pain. Well, a slight tightness around the head - but nothing that needs medication. I tread carefully all day. Funny how when you don't have a headache all the other pains (normal getting older pains) come to the surface. 

Since I had no headache I watered flowers, I puttered and pulled weeds. Ah, the back ache. Back inside. All laundry done. All dishes done. Move slowly, move carefully.

Oh, Friday was hell because that is the day I had to bite the bullet and NOT take anything. If this last rash of headaches were due to a rebound effect then I have to flush it out.

It is one thing to have pain and no medication. It is another thing to have pain and medication that will take the pain away. But to have the pain, the medication that will take it away and not being able to take it is another matter entirely. I knew if I took my migraine meds the pain would go away and I would feel good and be able to function. If only for 12 to 24 hours.  I opted out. I took Friday and just let myself be miserable. I had to flush out this mess if it was rebound.

Well, it was rebound or the weather changed or my hormones evaporated. Sinus pressure dissipated? Something. Day two of not having to take medicine. Well, not yet anyway.

The photo above is not mine. I lifted it. This is the way my head feels when I have no pain. Crystal blue. I found myself yesterday wanting to cry. With relief.

If the article is correct, then I am certainly a candidate for MOH (medical overuse headache). It would take longer than two or three days to kick the over the counter meds. The migraine medicine I can go for long periods of time without taking them. During menopause the migraines have increased. I am on a daily beta blocker. It is supposed to lessen the number of migraines or perhaps the intensity. Well, I sure would hate to see what would happen if I didn't take the beta blocker. 

I hate the beta blocker! Side effects are horrible. You know that 'second wind' you get when you need it when hiking - especially up a hill? You cannot get that with a beta blocker. It does not let my heart beat harder. The first time I experienced this I could not figure out for the life of me what the heck was going on. I loved to walk and hike and I always had that extra burst of energy to walk fast and get up that hill. No more.

Am I in menopause? Ha! The average time for women to experience menopause is 51/52  years old. I am 52. This menopause can go ten years or longer. Migraines are supposed to ease up after menopause. I am taking cues from my sisters who also get migraines. The oldest one said her 50's were the worst for migraine. Nice.

There is a test the doctor can do to determine if you are experiencing menopause or not. A few years back when I had blood work taken for other tests, she asked me if I wanted to test to see if I was in menopause. I said sure. Not thinking. A few weeks later I received a bill for over $70 - insurance does not cover this test. Arrgghh! I had not even thought of that. So the medical diagnosis from an actual doctor will remain a mystery as to whether or not I am. I have no night sweats. Not yet. That would be horrid. I do get hot very quickly and have to have a fan on me constantly. That could be anything.

So anyway. If only for a week or so, I hope to be medicine free. Of course there is the occasional regular headache you get from sitting at a computer too long, or lack of sleep. Sleep problems are also a sign of menopause. Heck, I had lunch with an old friend and she said that memory loss is a sign of menopause. I had not heard that one. I thought it was my medication. Hmmm. I see no documentation that states memory loss as a symptom. She also said we crave calcium. I don't recall hearing that one and I cannot find any documentation to back it up.

Back on the carousel - or merry-go-round, or roller coaster.

Number eight

Yesterday was this blog's eighth birthday. Whew. What a bunch of words. I still like to do it...blather on, that is. So, here's to another eight years!

Stay cool

The dog days of summer have started a bit early 'round here. My grass is burnt yellow-brown and crunches when I walk on it. When I take the dogs out - we head straight for the shaded areas where the grass has managed to remain green.

Sometimes, the dogs get a little too cool in the house, I think. When they go outside they begin to roll in the dry grass to scratch their backs and to soak up some warmth on their belly. All four paws in the air and twist! It looks like a canine Hokey Pokey .(interesting read about this popular dance/song).

Do like the little fella in the photo, find a cool pool and stay in it. Shaded of course. The sun is a killer. I was never a sun bather. Time in the sun produced a 100 % certain headache for me. Indoor A/C, fans, shade and hats are my style.

To get the % (percent sign), hold the alt key down on your keyboard and type in 37 on your numeric keypad. Num Lock must be turned on.

On the road

I sat here this morning nursing my coffee and hoping it does not make me sick as I am plagued by more headaches. BORING! Stupid weather.

I said to myself "You have no new pictures. What in the hell are you going to post about? Since you are taking it easy this summer you go nowhere, nothing happens to give you any stories to tell."

Well, not true. For work yesterday, I drove to a high school close to the river and whilst on the road, a huge yellow truck followed me for quite a while. The driver had a yellow shirt on.

And what is that name splashed across the grill? Why, it's GRUMPY! LOL! Click it to big it.

A closer view

A close up view. I get the windshield replaced on Monday. While I am at work. They come to the parking lot and replace it. You have to wait an hour before you can drive the car.

Yes, I have a green cover for my phone. It is to help me find it in the deep dark depth of my purse. It makes it easier than the black cover I had.

I watched "The Pianist". This one had escaped me. I knew it was praised but I just did not get around to watching it. Very disturbing..as most war biography movies are.

What are you going to do?

Yep, it was THAT kind of day, yesterday.
Click it to big it.

Magenta

Last year I planted all red in this container. This year I went with purple and pink and magenta. Looks like I have a spot on my lens I need to clean. Oily finger, no doubt.

Dry here in this part of Ohio.

My favorite part of the festival

As you would know...my favorite time at the festival was when I got kisses from this adorable canine. And she would not stop. She was smaller than my cats. I wanted to take her home with me. Sigh.

I finally slept in this morning. I did not wake up with any pain but sometimes it comes after I move around a bit. I want to do so many things. I managed to get more flowers planted  yesterday and some shrubs cut back. I want to pull more weeds and thistles today but am also trying to balance it with rest.

This is not a bad pain. It is just annoying. Bending over is the worst. Clanging dishes brings in a close second. Dogs barking (when they hear something outside) comes in third. I know better than to clean with any harsh chemicals (smells). I will try to clean up but that means bending over.

I did not have to take any Treximet yesterday. I am taking prednisone for five days. It tastes awful! I am still swallowing my Advil. At this point my headache could be rebounds from this medication. Need to ween off of it.

One good note. I have washed everything in the house. Rugs, sheets, clothes, towels and pillows. I am caught up on that. My dishes are all caught up. If I can manage to stay home today and tomorrow I should feel much better by Monday. Right? Right!

Keeping warm

I did not take this photo. I believe my nephew did. Quite a few campers came in on Friday night (the 1st of June). It had rained all day and the weather was very cool for this time of year. Many chose to sit around the big campfire to stay warm before heading to their tents to sleep and prepare for the next day (the wedding).

I drank earlier in the evening at dinner but stopped when we got to the campground (private field). It was not a public campground. My nephew and I went to rescue a couple who had broken down on the expressway. Tolls are tricky when you need to get on the road and pick up people. We had to travel 12 miles past the broken down couple to exit properly (pay the .50¢). No illegal U-turns allowed. If we had not exited properly, the ticket booth lady said if we brought the original ticket back to her (or that checkpoint) we would have to pay the full toll fare (which was $80). Ouch!

The couple could not get their car started after it cut out on them, so we gave them a lift to the party. I spoke to them on Sunday and they had to have her mother drive all the way (across state) to get them and use her Triple A to tow the car back home. They had just picked the car up from the garage. (They used wallet mart - but I am going to refrain from any comments here).

The next day my nephew chose to ride with me and leave his car at the motel. He gets real tired of being the "sober" guy who has to drive everywhere and do everything. I don't blame him. This may not have been the issue, he said it was because of parking room (there was plenty). I think the colder rainy weather may have kept a few of the party goers away. One guy counted 220 people, but I wonder. There were so many people and they kept moving, I don't know how he could have counted them. Anyway, there were tents on the fields all around us - as far as I could see.

I think a lot of people had a really good time. If I were 25 years younger and I did not have the impending headache, I well may have been one of them. Minus the smoke. I cannot stand smoke of any kind. I learned something I did not know. A "nugget" is a ball of of weed. Some sites say it is a bud. I think they roll it and smoke it in a bong. I am not certain because I usually was not around this activity. From what I see on TV, it still requires using a cigarette lighter (the movie Hesher) and I say that means smoke of some kind. (maybe? - maybe not).  Ha, ha - I really DON'T know.

There were no other drugs that I could see (except for alcohol). No pills, no cocaine, no sniffing or huffing. Just weed. A real hippie festival. 

What am I talking about? How would I know if anybody took pills or imbibed in ecstasy? How do you take ecstasy? Ah...thank-you Google. It's a pill. They did not have this kind of stuff around when I was in my 20's. And meth? What the hell is that? One of my ex-boyfriends OD'd on this (years after we broke up).  Wow. Looks like you can snort, smoke or inject this drug. The pictures of people on meth are horrible! 

Hey, it is way too early in the morning for this sh!t!

No, wait! One more. My neighbor told me about this one. He said they used to breathe nitrous oxide out of a balloon when he went to the festivals in the 90's.  This is laughing gas like you would get at a dentist's office. I have never had any at any dentist so I do not have any idea what effect this has on folks. My daughter has had it (at the dentist) and she said it feels like you are floating. Man...I need to switch dentists. :)

The "in-between bands" band

This group of singers were friends of the groom. Most of the songs they sang were his songs. I had heard them because he has a web page where he has his songs and I had listened to them. They sang on the small stage between gigs while the bands on the big stage set up for their next set. My niece had arranged bands to play from 1:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. on her wedding day. Minus the hour during the ceremony of course.

My niece is very happy. As long as she is happy. She is a bright,  young and very sweet girl. She just graduated with a degree in Psychology. I hate to see her take this hippie route; but again - what do I know? She wants to continue her education in holistic medicine or naturopathy.

All I can say is -what a great way to practice your psychological skills.

The children

Remember the saying "Not in front of the children?"  Many people brought their children to the festival. Beer drinking, whiskey drinking, pot-smoking, and hippies stumbling around. 

I saw many moms watching over their children. I saw no dads helping to take care that the children stayed out of harms way.  Except for my niece and her new husband. He watched her six year old like no other.

The children were having a wonderful time. From what I could see. There were no tears. There were not tantrums. The children danced, hula-hooped and laughed.

What do I know?

One family had all their blankets and sleeping bags stolen. They had to rent a motel room because they had small children and needed to provide them with warm shelter. 

I overheard others talking and one guy said "Possessions are not important." Kiss my ass, mister.

It may have been my headaches that soured my experience at the festival also.

I'm back in the saddle

This festival of hippies? You can have it. I was not impressed.  Quite the opposite, in fact.

The wedding was wonderful.

I am just posting a few sentences because I had a massive four day migraine hit and am just now able to function thanks to First Care and tramadol HCL.  No thanks to my doctor's office who would not see me until 10:30 tomorrow morning. Boo!

I have been a patient for over ten years. Maybe four or five times have I called in those ten years asking to be seen right away due to some pain or ailment. I think they could have done better.

My migraine was not responding to any Imitrex or Advil that I would throw at it. I had a thunderclap episode that I have had before but not as severe. It was followed by severe vomiting and a massive migraine. It scared the bejesus out of my daughter. I was beside myself with pain. It was 1:30 a.m.

I am stubborn about going to the ER.

I will post more about the event when I am feeling better. The highlights for me were the people who brought their dogs.

Away we go

We  have an outdoor wedding this week-end. It is a 3-day event. Music, food, beer. Weather has been perfect up until today. Rain. Cooler. Eh. We'll do our best.