Guess who's awake at 3 a.m.?

I'm thinking my internal clock is having spasms right now.

I arrived here safe and sound if not sound of mind! In all the years that I've flown that flight had to be the FLIGHT FROM HELL!

Due to the security issue now, I had to go back to my gate, alone, an hour before the flight was due to leave and I did this after going through 3 security check points and 2 more additional times of having to show my boarding pass and passport only to get to the gate and be told the incoming plane (the one we were to take on our outgoing flight) was late coming in and had to be cleaned. That was delay #1. Delay #2 came when there was a mechanical problem that had to be fixed. Then came Delay #3 AFTER boarding at 7:30pm, which was a full flight, an old DC10, and not enough space for all the take-on bags, so 46 additional pieces of luggage had to be removed from the cabin and checked before being stowed into the baggage hold in the plane's belly.

Our 7:25pm flight left Memphis at 9:00 pm.

But the pilot said that we'd still arrive in Amsterdam on time due to the tail winds and his heavy foot. Well, you understand Murphy's law don't you?

The lights kept acting weird on the plane, blinking off, blinking on. ( Irritating to say the least.) I'm thinking that this was maybe the mechanical problem that they supposedly fixed. Then we're flying along at over 700mph and just as I see the little airplane nearing Toronto on the little animated screen where they show the flight progress, the flight attendent asks over the intercom if there is a doctor on board.

This caused me not more than a little concern, let me tell ya cause my first thought was "please, please don't let it be the guy flying this plane that needs the doc".

15 minutes later I notice a decrease in speed, then I notice the little antimated plane doing a u-turn. Then the pilot announces that we were turning around and landing at the nearest U.S. airport due to a medical emergency. One of the passengers ( a lady about my age) was having a heart attack. We landed around 11 pm.

In Detroit.

It was almost 1a.m. before we took off again so we arrived in Amsterdam just over 2 hours late after being on that plane for 12 straight hours (flying and on the ground). Mind you, for me this was 12 hours of being seated beside an elderly lady from Nirobi who spoke no English, who took up 1/3 of my seat room because she was wearing this huge, stuffed, coat, who every time we took off, or landed, (which we were doing more than is usually normal), and during every episode of turbulence, would take out her rosary to pray.

By the time we landed in Amsterdam, I was praying right along with her.

I also managed 2, 30 minute catnaps in amongst all those prayers.

The pilot shook every passenger's hand and apologized as we left the plane. I told him it was ok because the medical emergency could have been any of us and he did the right thing.

Soony and her parents met me at the airport and 2 1/2 hrs later I arrived safe and sound, (except for being slightly brain dead), in Stein, the Netherlands! We had a delicious family dinner,I met her sweet little nephew, Lucas, I had a little sleep, and now, here I am, at 3a.m. here, wide awake.

Today's the day!

I finally got to sleep around 1 a.m. this morning and was awake at 5 but so far I'm functioning. Just maybe I'll sleep tonight on the flight, ya think?

I laid down with Zach until he went to sleep last night and the reality that Nanaw is going to be gone for 2 weeks hit him. He is not a happy camper. First I had to explain to him that I will not be on the airplane for 2 weeks because he started crying when he thought they might not have enough food on there to last for 2 weeks and I might get hungry. Then he started talking about how I always took him with me on trips and 2 weeks was a long time. I explained to him, again, that he had semester tests at school next week and also if he missed 2 whole weeks of school he wouldn't get to go into the 3rd grade next year. I told him to think about how fast 2 weeks go by during the Christmas holidays when he's out of school. He said, "But Nanaw, it's the nights, you won't be here for the nights".

I cried too then.

I know this trip alone will be good for me and I keep telling myself that it'll be good for him too. And it will, won't it?

I'm outta here folks. I'll be posting as I can the next two weeks and ya'll feel free to send me a note at the gmail addy link down there.

Big hugs all round!

Whew!!

"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go,,,,", BIG sigh of relief. The laundry's all done, except for a load in the washer and one in the dryer. I still have to iron one blouse but it's the one I'm wearing so that's all good, and Soony just called to make sure I'm going to be on that plane. She also talked to my son and he told her to oversee my alcohol intake (grin). Her sister is taking the week off work next week so we're going to have all kinds of fun! I can't believe that this time tomorrow I'll be at Memphis International getting ready to board.

I'm going to take Kim's advice and take a few Tylenol PM just in case the benedryl doesn't knock me out. Of course the other passengers may toss my snoring ass out of the plane somewhere over the Canadian wilderness if I get too comfortable. I'll have to sleep a little because she's planning a family get-together the first evening I'm there. It doesn't take much for me to recharge so I'll be good to go, I'm sure!

I'll probably have to take something to be able to sleep tonight too because my mind is constantly going over this mental list of "did I pack,,, should I pack?" I ended up packing two bags because I just couldn't fit everything into one (I have to take my short boots ya know!) so now I'll worry about being over the weight limit. Jeri asked me as I was packing if I had written a list to check off things (heh,heh). She forgot for a moment that organization is not one of my strongest traits.

I took photos of the babies yesterday but my memory card must not have been seated well cause I lost them. I'll post some as soon as Jeri sends me some of the ones she took. Jordan, Jaylen, and Alexis put on a show for us in front of the fireplace. They were as cute as bugs!

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

Saturday and counting down!

First of all, I want to warn you folks that you won't be getting rid of me that easily.
The bedroom assigned to me has the computer in it(heh,heh), so hopefully, for my sanity, I'll have occasions to post updates. I know from experience that the first few days I'll still be rising much earlier than the rest of the household but I also know from experience that it won't take me many nights of staying up till the wee hours of the morning to be sleeping much later than I'm used to here at home.

My flight leaves from Memphis on Monday at 7:25pm so we'll probably leave here around 3 cause I have to be there 2 hrs before the flight leaves and we'll hopefully miss some of the rush hour traffic by leaving a few minutes early. It takes us a little less than 1 1/2 hrs to drive. James will be right in the middle of rush hour going home though which is not a good thing cause I won't be there to navigate (grin) but all he has to do is go west when he's in Memphis and you always end up at the Miss. River.

Other news:

Zach was in trouble last night when I went to his bathroom and noticed some graffiti on the bathroom counter. It came off with a little alcohol scrub but I had to tell him that he really needed to learn how to spell better for it to have the effect he'd been going for. Then I got the fly swatter after his little terrorist ass.

The babies are coming over to play today so this Nanny may have more photos to post later. I'd best go finish what I'm supposed to be doing because I see a serious game of scrabble in my Saturday future (as serious as it can be with all those babies playing around us!).

I keep telling myself it's just 2 more days and a bit,,,

but if I have many more like today I may not make it.

First I did a little housework and Zach and I put up the Christmas tree. A little after 1, James took Zach hunting with him so I decided it would be a good time to slip off to go to the small Sears store here to get laundry detergent. On the way I nearly had a head-on encounter with some guy with a death wish who swerved to my side of the road while I was crossing a bridge and couldn't get out of his way. I don't know how he missed me but I'm sure glad he did. It took the rest of the drive into town for my heart to leave my tonsils though.

I'd told my son that I'd pick up his truck parts if he'd call ahead for them to have them ready for pickup. He did, but do you think they had them ready? After waiting for 30 minutes for them to decide that they had the parts (cause the puter said so) but didn't know which parts they were and would have to get them from another store (40 miles away) I told them I'd be back after I finished my other errands and left with the beginnings of a pissy mood brewing.

As I was backing out of the parking spot a car pulled behind me and I failed to see it (although I'd looked in all 3 mirrors and over my shoulder). When I felt the bump my pissy mood immediately came to a rolling boil. I got out to see how much damage I'd done and all it did was knock some of the dirt off this older model car. The cranked up lady doper in the passenger seat was insisting that it was minor so I should just give them cash for the repairs and should not call the police. I agreed about the police because I don't think they'd have appreciated being called out over a little dust but I declined the cash idea and gave them my insurance information and they left and I left.

I finally went on to Wal mart to pick up a few forgotten things and as usual they didn't have enough checkers. (insert several curse words here).

I then went to Sears to get the laundry detergent (which was really what I went to town for) and Erwin was there so it took 10 times longer than it should have because Erwin always loves to talk. That Erwin is one of a kind.

Then back to the auto parts place where the guy still hadn't come back with the parts from the other store. I waited some more and then I finally told them if they didn't want to see one of my Wal mart fits, they'd better have some food in that place somewhere because I'd forgotten to eat today and I was HUNGRY! Luckily for them, they had leftover pizza from lunch (big grin).

My next stop was at my insurance place that was closed for the holidays. I called my son on my cell while I was in their parking lot to ask him to meet me so I could give him his parts. He did, but I was listening to "Something In The Air Tonight" on the radio and missed him at the redlight so he had to chase me down.

FINALLY, I got to come home!

Now I'm tired and I still haven't packed one, single, thing. And I have to go back to town on Monday to get a few travelers checks for my trip.

I go away for a few hours ,,,

to chomp down on some fine vittles and have a delightful afternoon with my 3 children and ALL their children and I come back to find that my comments have been providing a free gripe section for comic artists.

Dayum, how did anything I have to say get to be so damned important? I'm amazed but I damn sure hope it's not hunting season for ditzy blonds with sore aching joints and those gals don't have a gun.

I threw dinner on the table here for James and Zach and then after I loaded the dishwasher I went to my son's to visit with him and my two daughters and daughter-in-law and all those busy babies. We spent the afternoon playing 90's Triva and this Nanny found out that she musta slept right through those years. Jami and Jerri took up the slack or else Bubbie and Trish would have beat us unmercifully but as it was they only beat us lightly.

And I got photos!!


First time ever to have them all in the same place and cooperating long enough to take a photo.


Trisha, probably having to explain one of the questions to us cause we were so dense we didn't understand some of them.


Jami, pretending to look like she's thinking when actually NONE of us were thinking too hard.


Bubbie (James too), reading one of our questions. He, along with Trish, were killing us with their knowledge of movies and sports.


Jerri, pretending to be a very special reindeer.

This bunch had me laughing all afternoon and I had an excellent time. I sure do love em.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Because I'm Pissed off Right Now

I've been working on a Christmas template and a couple of days ago I thought it would be neat to put an Off the Mark cartoon on there by Mark Parisi. I sent an email to him requesting permission to do this although all of his cartoons have his link on them giving him credit for his fine work, I felt that I should ask before putting one his cartoon on my template for a few weeks. I had also planned to post cartoons below some of my daily entries.

When I know the artist or author of a cartoon or graphic I try to give them credit if I'm putting it on my template. This is not easy for me since I'm surely no techno wizard, but I try.

Anyway, undoubtedly Mr. Parisi doesn't have time to reply to emails because I received an email from one of his associates who told me that I could purchase the rights to place a few of the cartoons, or if my site were appropriate and had enough traffic, I could post a few if I'd add a link to his online store. That was cool so I sent an email saying that I'd be glad to place the link.

The associate then sent me an email with a link to go to in order to choose which cartoons I wanted to use.

What?

How in the hell can I choose today which cartoons I want to use over the next few weeks? Hell, I could change my mind a dozen times today and over the course of 4 or 5 weeks, well you can just imagine. So I sent another email saying it was just too much trouble to go through but thanks anyway (and it is to post a few of his funnies) and I got this reply:

Well golly,

It's way too much trouble for you to look at a page of cartoons and select
which cartoons you want to use? And then when I send you the cartoon, you
have to add a link? Gosh, I had no idea how time-consuming it would be for
you.

Happy holidays.

Regards,


I have to assume this person did not understand my simple minded request which to me just needed a simple YES or NO. But let me tell you folks, this email completely pissed me off enough to say FUCK Off the Mark cartoons!! How dare this person treat me with disdain! I must say I had no such problem with using Blossom Fuller cartoons on my site. So my reply to this person was:

Kind (Person) with a very Smart mouth,

I am limited to dial up out here in the country and your page takes forever to load for those of us without access to the fast access , I have a Neilson tech coming in 15 minutes, and I've got a broken water line. I thought I could simply link each cartoon back to you so please forgive me for thinking.

Sincerely,


P.S. Does your employer realize how you "write" to his fans?
Perhaps you should make that, a previous fan.

Ok, I I've let off the steam and diverted the volcano but I won't be a fan of Mark Parisi OR his Off the Mark cartoons again.

And I sent the Nielson folks back to Memphis, they wanted to drill holes in my HOUSE! They can just do without my viewing information.

One Step Forward and Two Steps Back

It looks like it's going to be another hit and miss kinda day around here. James and Jeffery (the early morning, coffee drinking, neighbor who also shares the service line), hubby's brother, and my son, are all out there digging up the world with a backhoe to try to find this water leak. I hope they find it without having to dig up the whole mile of line. We had another couple of inches of rain last night so I expect the washer and dryer will also be busy later (when I have water) since they're digging and sloshing through mud and water.

Nielsen contacted me last week and I agreed to let them attach a little thingy to my TV tuners so they can count our country TV viewing in their ratings. I warned them about hubby's finesse with the remote and his ability to watch 4 or more programs at the same time but they said it didn't matter. Anyway, the Nielsen tech will be here inside an hour, if he's on time, so I'd better go put some clothes on.

And I better start thawing that turkey.

Ya'll have a great day out there, ya hear?

hectic.jpeg

Creaking bones

If anyone needs some live sound effects I'm here and for hire. My body is producing more strange sounds than a haunted house lately and just the act of removing my big butt from a reclining sleep position can cause more moaning and groaning than a "haint" in above mentioned house.

My knees started it. They will get me down pretty good but act all stiff and hateful when it comes to gettin me back to my feet. Now the rest of the joints decided to join the knees and have a party or something. This week the party princess is my left thumb. Do you realize how much you use your thumb? It began to be a little painful and swollen, then it started making these weird popping noises in the first joint. That didn't bother me so much except for the pain, which wasn't constant, but now the hussy is sticking on me and it hurts bad enough that I must manhandle it to make it let go. It's an aggravation because it interferes with my reading (I hold my book open with this thumb), my smoking (cause I hold my cig with this hand), and my ambidextrous abilities to be able to use the belt or fly swat for Terrorist control.

It's a good thing I don't have to use my left thumb to type or I'd have to go to the doctor or something. I can't have that! It's probably a good thing that it isn't interfering with my ability to do laundry and cook or hubby would be dialing 911!



P.S. I had a call from the water association yesterday to inform us that our water use was 67,000 gallons for November. Our normal use is between 10 and 15 thousand. Hubby's been looking for the leak. We only have a mile long service line and it's raining so things are not looking good. Anyone wanna buy some water? (if we find the leak that is.)

I made it!

This time next week I'll be running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to do half of the things I should have already done for the trip that I so desperately NEED because I keep having days like yesterday.

Actually MeriKate and Abie were pretty good yesterday except for the couple of times that MeriKate banged Abie's head into the wall and took her toys away. They both actually took naps, at the same time too!

Things got much wilder after Zach and Krysten came home from school cause it's a lot harder to keep up with the doings of 4 than it is just 1. There was a lot of bouncing and running going on after that. By the time Jami finally came to pick them up around 6, I was getting cranky.

I hope everyone had a great Monday!

It's MONDAY!!

There are 4 Terrorists in my living room. Two will be getting on the school bus in about 15 minutes but MeriKate and Abie will be here for the day.

It's gonna be a longggggg day.

Lazy Sunday (just joking)

Actually I was pretty lazy for a couple of hours. James took Zach with him to the shop to work on Bubbie's truck and Jami and the girls and Jerri and the Chick didn't get here until noonish so I did a little laundry, took an uninterrupted shower, put the chicken in the pot for my dumpling supper, and started watching a Lifetime movie. Once the kiddies got here things livened up a bit. Quite a bit.

I believe 11 folks ended up sharing in the chick and dumplings and Jerri made some delicious apple turnovers (there's not even a crumb of those left!) We even had an extra diner today because Bubbie's friend, Jeremy, was with him and he didn't have to be asked twice to eat a bite.

After the mid-afternoon dinner/supper, Jerri spread some newspaper on the table and gave the kids markers so they spent the rest of the afternoon drawing.

Now Nanny's a little bit tired.


Our budding artists


The paper wasn't big enough


Don't they look underfed?

How do they do it?

Zach was sent to his room at 9:30 this morning to clean it. It is now after 11:00 and it's still not done. He keeps escaping with excuses about being thirsty, needing to find his tractor, needing to pee, needing someone to help him.

Mind you noone helped him create the mess.

I haven't done much to his room because originally it was supposed to be a play room, I even spent time putting up kid-type learning decorations back a couple of years ago. Those didn't last long. Now, Zach is here full time until the time comes when he might want to live with his mom again so the room needs to be a bedroom also.

I have learned over the years (but keep forgetting) that some kids are very destructive and we've got a whole heap of them (kids) here. I think things would have to be put on the ceiling to keep them intact and then I'd still have doubts.
The window in there only has a valance right now because they destroyed the blinds. So I bought curtains, those were pulled down and the rods made into swords. There is a little hole in the wall beside the closet where the Terrorist was searching for answers , as in what is behind this wall, because he's not been able to give me any other explanation for it. I've put the screws back into everything in there that had screws because he likes using a screwdriver. The little ones can manage to do more artwork on little areas of the walls faster than I can find energy to clean them. I haven't found anything to remove the little spots of craft paint from the carpet from one of Zach's artistic endeavers back last year. A search under the bed for a pair of lost shoes might turn up a banana peel, or candy wrappers, or a week old, half-full glass of chocolate milk.

I've been having thoughts of doing some decorating in there in the Spring. I think I'll do a search on the internet for Child Proof rooms. Perhaps stainless steel wall covering and furniture and decorative bars on the windows would be nice. I could also put in a tile floor with a drain so that I could just bring in the water hose and wash it down once a week.

I'm open to ideas, what do ya'll think?

It's Friday!

I am not a morning conversationalist but morning conversation with a midget terrorist is the norm around here although neither of us gets much of anything out of it.

Zach: I need a dollar.

Nanny: Why?

Zach: To buy a ribbon for the pep rally.

Nanny: There is no pep rally today, they lost their first play-off game, they're done.

Zach: No they're not. The Warriors didn't beat them last year.

Nanny: Well they beat them this year.

Zach: But not last year.

Nanny: I promise you, they are not having a pep rally today. They lost. They're done.

Zach: Nanaw, you are going to be in so much trouble if they lose because you won't give me money for a ribbon for the pep rally.

Nanny: Ok, tell them it was all my fault.

The topic then turned to the reason he was still sitting there in his underwear with one sock on. (but I must admit, the fact that he was wearing his underwear on his butt and not on his head, where it had been 10 minutes previously, was an improvement).

God I love that school bus. Thank YOU! Amen!

I've been thinking again.

This is tough and if I don't watch it, there'll be smoke coming outta my ears here in a bit.

I live, and was born in, The United States of America (U.S.A. to shorten). So I was wondering, in that meadering way I have sometimes, why do we refer to ourselves as Americans? Why do others refer to us in this way?

We live on the North American continent which covers a big hunk of land that is shared by our Neighbors, the Canadians. Doesn't that make us ALL Americans? Throw in the attached big hunks of land below us which include Central and South America and that's a whole bunch of Americans.

Ok, I'm through thinking now. I think I'll go get another cup of coffee and get back to my blog strolling.



There's a new Chick story posted for your entertainment (and ours).

Happy Birthday Jami!

This time 26 years ago I was preparing for the birth of my youngest daughter (my second child). After I decided I was in labor, I spent the day doing the grocery shopping, housework, and picking up pecans out of the yard while waiting for the pains to be closer before leaving to go to the hospital. Even after all that activity they had to use "the drip" to finally bring her on. (let me tell you folks, that's some BAD stuff!) It also helped that I climbed 2 flights of stairs at the hospital because I refused to get into that rickety, old elevator they had.

I was dopey but alert enough when Jami came into the world screaming her head off but I guess I'd have been grumpy too after being in such a warm, secure place for all those months and suddenly be pushed into a bright, cold place with a bunch of strangers staring at me.

Hey,,, wait a minute. I WAS grumpy too. I'd given birth to my 9lbs, 2ozs of joy in a bright, cold place in front of a bunch of strangers.

As soon as they took me back to my room I had them bring Jami to me so I could check to make sure she had all her fingers and toes and when they took her back to the nursery I got up and gathered my shampoo and soap and limped to the shower. Giving birth is a nasty, sweaty job. I also helped the lady sharing the room, who had given birth earlier in the day, to get out of bed so she could have a shower too.

Charlotte and I became good friends after that. We were sharing a private room because it seemed that everyone had decided to have babies around the same time we did and all the beds were full. It was a very tiny private room with only a chair's width between our beds so for those 3 days we had a very close relationship.

Jami was a beautiful child with a head full of black hair and a complexion that had me confusing her with the little Mexican baby in the nursery. I soon learned to read the little cards on the bassinetts so I wouldn't take the wrong child out of there.

Happy Birthday Jami!!

I talked to Soony yesterday.

We had a nice telephone conversation about what I should or should not pack for the trip and we talked about what we'll do while I'm there (besides attending her wedding!).

Elena will arrive the second week I'm there. She is from Valencia in Spain and was hosted by family friends during the same time that Soony was here with us. She and Soony became friends and Elena spent almost as much time with us as she did with her host family. I haven't seen her in just over 14 years so it's a special treat to be able to spend time with her also on this trip. I'm going to ask her if she remembers who nervously taught her to drive (grin).

The first question Soony asked me was if I had packed yet. I think she has forgotten what a procrastinator I am. I'll do the folding, rolling, and finally the stuffing of the luggage a week from Sunday and not one minute before. She put my mind at ease about how I'd manage to get a winter coat into my bag by telling me there was no need to bring one. Hubby-to-be, Erik, works with his family in their factory where they make coats so he'll just bring some home for Elena and I to wear while we're there.

If Tine's schedule will allow it, Soony said we'd drive over to meet her the first week I'm there.

I'm beginning to get excited ya'll.


Soony and Elena, Summer 2004.


The Happy Couple

I'm not sure if I'll be able to post photos while I'm there, but I should be able to post to my blog occasionally while I'm away.

Ok, Whoever took my mind,,,,

I want it back now.

I had to scratch the part of the morning meanderings that included getting the tags for Hubby's truck. I drove all the way to town before I realized that I only had 1 check in my checkbook and I barely had enough cash to pay for my haircut.

P.S. Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper is some NASTY stuff!

I actually think there's been a mistake and today is really yesterday.

Almost a full day already.

It's just 7 a.m. here and I already feel like I've done a day's work. It took 4 trips back to the bedroom to finally convince the Terrorist that if he didn't get out of the bed I was going to resort to commando tactics. Then I had to prod him awake a couple of times to prevent his nose-dive into his pancakes. I actually had to put belt in hand to convince him to interrupt his happy, naked, dance down the hall after he'd done the pot thing and brushed his teeth (what is it with kids who insist on removing every item of clothes to use the bathroom?) After he finally decided it may be a wise move to replace his underwear on his little, naked, butt, it took 20 minutes for him to put the other 4 items of clothes and 1 pair of shoes on.

I'm so glad the school bus arrived on time!

Now, here I sit sipping my 3rd cup of coffee whilst trying to remember when the beauty salon opens so I can call to see if Ms. Bea is up to giving me a trim today. I reckon I should also drive over to Helena today and get James's truck tags before I forget and get into more trouble than I usually do around here.


Terrorist Tutorials


Jerri took this photo on Saturday of one of our fine delta sunsets.

Do you remember?

In honor of the beginning of Miz Leslie's 43rd year (although I'm thinking she's probably too much of a youngun to remember most of these).

Remember --
When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up.
When nearly everyone's Mom was at home when the kids arrived home from school.
When nobody owned a purebred dog.
When a quarter was a decent allowance.
When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
When your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces.
When all of your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done everyday and wore high heels.
Running through the sprinkler, circle pins, bobby pins, Mickey Mouse Club, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Kookla, Fran & Ollie, Spin & Marty...Dick Clark's American Bandstand ... all in black and white and your Mom made you turn it off when a storm came.
When around the corner seemed far away, and going downtown seemed like going somewhere.
Climbing trees, making forts, backyard shows, lemonade stands, cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, staring at clouds, jumping on the bed, pillow fights,ribbon candy, angel hair on the Christmas tree, Jackie Gleason, white gloves, walking to the movie theater, running till you were out of breath, laughing so hard that your stomach hurt...remember that?
Not stepping on a crack or you'd break your mother's back ... paper-chains at Christmas, silhouettes of Lincoln and Washington, the smells of school, of paste and Evening in Paris.
What about the girl who dotted her i's with hearts? (that was before that stupid smiley face)!
The Stroll, popcorn balls and sock hops?
Remember when there were just two types of sneakers for girls and boys - Keds and PF Flyers, and the only time you wore them at school was for gym. And the girls had those ugly gym uniforms.
When you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking -- all for free -- every time! And, you didn't pay for air either, and you got trading stamps to boot!
When laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.
When the worst thing you could do at school was flunk a test or chew gum.And the prom was in the gym or the lunchroom and you danced to a real orchestra.
When they threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed -- and did!
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited the student at home. Basically, we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But we survived because their love was so much greater than the threat.
Remember when a '57 Chevy was everyone's dream car -- used to cruise, peel out, lay rubber, scratch off or watch the submarine races?
When people went steady; and girls wore a class ring with an inch of wrapped Band-Aids, dental floss, or yarn coated with pastel-frost nail polish so it would fit their finger.
When no one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the car and house doors were never locked!
Remember lying on your back on the grass with your friends and saying things like "That cloud looks like a..." And playing baseball with no adults needed to enforce the rules of the game.
Remember when stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals, because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger.


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I've been trying and trying this past week to visit all of my favorite bloggers but time hasn't been kind so I'm so far behind I'm ashamed. Please forgive me for not coming by every day but know that when I do visit, I read every word of what I've missed (and sometimes twice!)

Just Rewards!

A man was sick and tired of going to work every day while his wife stayed home. He wanted her to see what he went through so he prayed:

"Dear Lord: I go to work every day and put in 8 hours while my wife merely stays at home. I want her to know what I go through, so please allow her body to switch with mine for a day. Amen."

God, in his infinite wisdom, granted the man's wish. The next morning, sure enough, the man awoke as a woman. He arose, cooked breakfast for his mate, awakened the kids, set out their school clothes, fed them breakfast, packed their lunches, drove them to school, came home and picked up the dry cleaning, took it to the cleaners and stopped at the bank to make a deposit, went grocery shopping, then drove home to put away the groceries, paid the bills and balanced the check book. He cleaned the cat's litter box and bathed the dog. Then it was already 1 P.M. and he hurried to make the beds, do the laundry, vacuum, dust, and sweep and mop the kitchen floor. Ran
to the school to pick up the kids and got into an argument with them on the way home. Set out milk and cookies and got the kids organized to do their homework, then set up the ironing board and watched TV while he did the ironing. At 4:30 he began peeling potatoes and washing vegetables for salad, breaded the pork chops and snapped fresh beans for supper. After supper, he cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher, folded laundry, bathed the kids, and put them to bed. At 9 P.M. he was exhausted and, though his daily chores weren't finished, he went to bed where he was expected to make love which he managed to get through without complaint.

The next morning, he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said: "Lord, I don't know what I was thinking. I was so wrong to envy my wife's being able to stay home all day. Please, oh please, let us trade back."

The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, replied, "My son, I feel you have learned your lesson and I will be happy to change things back to the way they were. You'll just have to wait nine months, though. "You got pregnant last night."

I'd like to see the size of this 6 year-old

Police used Taser gun to subdue 6-year-old student wielding piece of glass

BY SUSANNAH A. NESMITH

Miami-Dade police tasered a 6-year-old boy who was wielding a piece of glass in a school office and threatening to hurt himself, officials confirmed Thursday.

Police say they followed their own guidelines and only tasered the child because they were afraid he would hurt himself. But the incident has raised calls for the department tighten its policies regarding the use of the stun guns, which shoot 50,000 volts of electric current through a subject.

The incident happened on Oct. 20 at Kelsey Pharr Elementary School. The principal, Maria Mason, called 911 after the child, who has not been identified, broke a picture frame in the assistant principal's office. Then the boy began waving the piece of glass around, holding a security guard at bay.

Two Miami-Dade police officers responded, followed by a school police officer. When they got there, the boy already had a cut under his right eye and another on his hand from the glass. The three officers talked to the boy, trying to get him to put down the glass, according to a police report.

One of the officers slid a trash can to him, hoping he would throw the glass away if he didn't want to give it to any of the five adults there.

Then the officer contacted a supervisor to see if there was a policy specifically prohibiting the use of a stun gun on a child. There isn't, and the officer was told to do what she felt was necessary.

The two officers continued to try to talk to the child, who didn't respond.

Then he cut his own leg and the officers acted. One officer shocked him with the Taser while the other grabbed him, preventing him from falling on the ground.

The boy was treated by Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue at the school and taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he was committed for psychiatric evaluation.

''By using the Taser, we were able to stop the situation, stop him from hurting himself,'' said police spokesman Juan DelCastillo. ``We inflicted no injuries on him. We were able to take him to the hospital and hopefully he's going to get the mental health attention he needs.

''Sure he could have been tackled and maybe injured, maybe his arm broken or maybe that glass could have cut him in a critical area,'' DelCastillo said.

Yet others in the community wondered why four adults -- the three officers and the security guard -- weren't able to control a 6-year-old without resorting to a stun gun.

Retired Broward County Juvenile Judge Frank Orlando, who now runs a law clinic on youth law at Nova Southeastern University, called the incident ``ridiculous.''

''It just sounds excessive to me to Taser gun a 6-year-old when everyone else around there were adults,'' he said. ``They couldn't subdue a 6-year-old? Must have been a pretty big kid.''

Police would not release any details on the size of the child. The department is reviewing the case.

Hard to keep my eyes open.

It's been a long day and I had to take some benedryl a little while ago so I'm moving slow. Maybe tomorrow will be a more newsworthy day.

Hope everyone had a grand Saturday!


Happy Birthday Miz Leslie!!

A Couple of Dreary Days in Arkansas

I know we need rain occasionally but lately rainy days mean that little gets done around here cause they make me lazy.

The school bus should be coming in a few minutes and then I'm going to take a hot, soaking, bath and then go to the dreaded WalMart to buy dog food. That'll make for an exciting day, won't it?

Hubby forgot rule number one this morning. You'd think after more than 33 years he'd learn.

I'd been up less than 2 minutes when he went out the front door and came back in bitching cause it rained some time during the night and he'd left his boots on the front porch. He was bitching because the weather forecast didn't call for rain last night therefore it was the weatherman's fault that he had wet boots. (never mind the fact that it wasn't the weatherman that left his danged boots on the porch).

I laughed because he does this stuff all the time and even in my sleep-fogged mind, I thought it was damned funny that he'd actually bitch about a weather forecaster out loud. Heck, everyone knows to take what they say with a grain of salt.

My mistake, cause after I laughed it became MY fault that his boots were wet because I get pretty danged upset if he wears his muddy boots into the house. (which is not true by the way, I get upset if he wears them on the carpet, but there is the back door that leads into the utility room where he should have come in, and being upset over mud in redneck country can cause enough stress to kill ya).

What can I say? I should be mad as hell because he told our neighbor, who was still here after having his morning coffee, that he'd just throw all my "shit" out in the yard and me with it, but I'm still laughing.

Maybe I should have offered to call the weatherman to complain about the rain.

It's Wednesday, right?

I'm plodding along here by doing a little of the stuff on my "getting ready to go list". I decided a while ago to give Soony a gift of scrapbook and supplies instead of trying to do a collage in a frame because I think there won't be enough space in my luggage. One day soon I need to print some of our family photos for her (adding that to the list). All I like now, gift-wise, are the booze gifts for the men folk.

In her comments, Kim asked me about my job search. Since I won't be returning to the Tax business that I've worked for the past 4 years because of the too long commute to West Memphis, I'd been sending out feelers to some of the other tax businesses. I had an offer from Jackson-Hewlett but they didn't seem to want to get up off the pocketbook paywise so I politely declined. A few weeks ago I ran into an old friend who I'd worked with before who owns a tax business in West Helena and I'll be working for her beginning sometime in early January, but only through tax season. I'm not sure if I'll ever go back to work full time again unless the right thing falls into my lap (or James decides to spend more time at home, that would send me back to working full AND overtime!)

I hope everyone is having a great Wednesday!

My Life Could Be A Country Song.

And I think I'd like for David Allan Coe to write the song.

"I like cheap thrills. If I ain't supposed to do it I will."

"It was all that I could do to keep from crying. Sometimes it seems so useless to remain."

"LORD, I'VE BEEN TALKIN WHEN I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED

LISTENING WHEN I SHOULD HAVE SPOKE

LIGHTING A MATCH TO OLD MEMORIES

SENDING THEM ALL UP IN SMOKE

SINGING WITH NO ONE TO HEAR ME

FIGHTING MY WAY TO THE TOP

ROLLING WITH ALL OF THE PUNCHES

WONDERING IF THEY'D EVER STOP."

"Boy can you make folks feel what you feel inside?"

" Well I hope the years that wrinkled up our faces
Have enjoyed us half as much as we did then."

" Mama taught us how to sing in harmony
Grandma used to stomp her foot and slap her knee
I can still hear daddy singin'
Down by the old mill stream
When uncle Jim played the fiddle
You could hear it talk you could hear it sing."

"Coal-burin' stove, no natural gas
If that ain't country, I'll kiss your ass."

************************************************************************************

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Here is my post from March 26, 2003. I thought it would be appropriate to post it again since Thanksgiving is a comin'.

Yep, I'm thankful!, for having indoor plumbing cause I'm not partial to spiders and snakes and smelly old outhouses.
For being able to eat and pay the bills AT THE SAME TIME! For shoes and clothes that fit and for having enough of them that I don't have to wear the same thing three times in the same 7 day period. For the right to say NO, or FUCK, or I disagree, even if they may not be appropriate at any given time. For having a home, with heat and a/c, cause I remember not having much of one in days past so that when it rained or snowed there was almost as much participition inside as there was out. For my healthy children who can choose what they want to do with their lives and even if it doesn't amount to much, they have the choice. For being able to choose what I want to read and what I want to hear. Yes, I do believe I'm thankful.

Top 10 Reasons to go to work naked

I feel this was written just for me!

10. No one ever steals your chair.

9. Gives "bad hair day" a whole new meaning.

8. Diverts attention from the fact that you also came to work drunk.

7. People stop stealing your pens after they've seen where you keep them.

6. You want to see if it's like the dream.

5. To stop those creepy programmer guys from looking down your blouse.

4. "I'd love to chip in... but I left my wallet in my pants."

3. Inventive way to finally meet that 'special' person in Human Resources.

2. Can take advantage of your computer monitor radiation to work on your tan.

1. Your boss will never say, "I wanna see your ass in here by 8:00!" ever again.

We Ought to Come With Warning Signs.

Oh yes, even without all the necessary equipment and while in the beginning throes of Menopause you can have PMS. I do believe I've discovered the symptoms get worse with this combination or it could just be that I'm enraged and anxious fruitcake material to begin with.

Friday there was this trip to my favorite shopping spot, WalMart, with the hubby AND Zach (I'm a glutton for punishment sometimes folks.) The Chick was also with us, but since she was contained in the pushcart, that went pretty well except for when she opened my wallet/organizer thingy and spilled out about 1500 pennies, $6, credit cards, photos, a million little "notes to self", and various other junk that you can cram into one of those things.

We grabbed the things that we went there for and were only delayed once by someone who wanted to know what we'd been doing since the last time we'd seen them a few months before. I thought for a short time that I was on a roll!

THEN we went to check out. I walked the length of the store by the check-out lanes, while James was checking out the candy choices, to try to find one that was open and didn't have a long line since we had the two kiddies with us (they make those displays to tempt kids at the check-outs you know). I finally found one lane which was both open, and only had one customer ahead of us (never mind that she had a basket piled so high that things were falling off the sides.) And we waited.

And waited.

The lady was using one of those foodstamp card thingies and kept stopping the cashier to have her remove items, then they had to sort things that could be bought with the card and things that couldn't be. Next the card wouldn't scan so they had to wait for a supervisor. Then there wasn't enough credit on the card for all the items and they had to be removed to the things being paid for with cash pile and the cashier turned the light on again for the supervisor. And we waited some more.

After about 15 minutes of the last wait, and no supervisor came, I told the cashier I'd go find a supervisor. She was about 20 steps away over at the courtesy counter where I saw one customer and 3 cashiers and when I asked her if she'd please take care of the problem at our register she told me she'd be there in a few minutes because she was helping a customer.

What??? Was this woman crazy? Did she not see the glow of insanity in my eyes?


After I politely informed her that I had two teens with me who'd been babies when I pushed my cart up to the check-out, and asked her if she was the only supervisor in the whole damned store, she beat me back to the register.

I hate WalMart.

I especially hate WalMart when I am suffering from pms, menopausal, rages.

Then there was yesterday. I had another one of those days when the parts of my brain that control short term memory and muscle and nerve control decided to take a vacation.

First I lost my Dr. Pepper. I could remember taking it from the fridge but from there I reckon it grew legs and made it's way to it's hiding place into the cupboard/pantry because I didn't find it until much later when I went to the cupboard to get the cake fixins and there is sat, all proud of itself, like it was supposed to be there.

THEN there's the cake. The directions are on the box and I've made these danged boxed cakes many, many times in my life so you'd think there was no way to screw it up, right? (I know right about now Special K is laughing her ass off remembering another cake episode). Well if you guessed right, you'd be wrong.

I opened the package of floury stuff and dumped it into the bowl and plugged in the mixer and proceeded to mix the ingredients. The ingredients that only included the cake floury stuff.

After I cleaned up that mess, I put the eggs and water in, measured my oil and proceeded to mix again, and noticed the oil still sitting all measured out and NOT in the cake batter.

I did eventually get the cake made.

Lastly, I had made some chicken salad for a late lunch, early supper when Jerri and the Chick came over to bring some stuff Jerri had picked up for me in town. I guess I was overly excited cause as I took the bowl of chicken salad out of the fridge I sort of dropped it. I was thankful that chicken salad does not have the consistency of mashed potatoes ( I remember how far and wide dropped mashed potatoes can travel) because I only had to clean up a little chicken salad from the floor and fridge and cabinets and most of it stayed in the bowl.

Today I have hopes that nothing comes up that will take any thought or muscular control cause it could be down right dangerous.

To Do List before the trip (but I'll probably lose it )

1. Buy nicotine patches (I'm going to try not to smoke much while I'm away)
2. Buy an extra SD disk for camera and extra batteries for both cameras
   
3. Make sure battery is fully charged for Video camera and remember the tapes and the voltage converter that Kim and Dennis sent.
   
4. Buy some packable gifts (and wrap)
   
5. Do some major house cleaning
6. Wrap the Christmas gifts I've already bought to have ready to put under the tree (which goes up the Friday after Thanksgiving here)
7. Show James how to use the washer and dryer
8. Pay all of Dec bills on Nov. 27th
9. Buy travelers checks
10. Find a large purse/tote so I'll have room for all my junk (passport, tickets, ect..)
    
11. Try on clothes and decide what to pack
    
12. Talk to Jerri and Jami to see what they'll be willing to do to help Zach and James while I'm away.
13. Make sure there is acceptable food in the fridge and cupboards for the two junk addicts.
14. Stop periodically to cry and pull my hair out because I'm not an organized person and I don't think I can DO all of this.
15. Call Ms. Bea for a haircut appt.

16. Confirm my flight information and print eticket on Nov 27th or 28th.


I've only got just a tad over 3 weeks to do all this. Am I forgetting anything??

More of the Quarters

I hope I can live with my decision.

My sister, Paula, just called to tell me that our father is dying and may not live until Christmas. She asked me to go to the hospital with her Saturday and I told her no. I'll pray for him but I won't go and pretend that he gives a damn if we're there or not.

That's my decision.

My Cousin in Alabama makes it a point to keep me in the know!

I'll just post a few of these today and follow with more later.

New Quarters in the works by the U.S. Mint

You know it's Menopause when you,,,

Stop reading Glamour and start reading Guns and Ammo.

Consider chocolate a major FDA food group.

Develope a new talent for spinning head around in 360 degree circles.

Retain more water than Lake Superior.

Deny a bad mood as you pop a clip into a semiautomatic and "chambers one."

Buy hubby/boyfriend a new T-shirt-----with a bulls-eye on the front.

When asked to please pass the salt at the dinner table and you blurt out,"All I ever do is give, give, give! AM I SUPPOSED TO DO EVERYTHING?"

Enroll in the Lizzie Borden School of Charm.

Order 3 Big Macs, 4 large fries, a bucket of Chicken McNuggets, and then maul the manager because they're out of Diet Coke.

Because I can't think of a title, this'll have to do

It's another rainy day here in the delta, but for a change, it's below 80 degrees today. Dare I wonder if Autumn has arrived? Even with these occasional hot flashes my body is protesting the 54 degree temps this morning by requiring that I drag my old flannel pjs out.

I called my Step-mom yesterday, because I told her I would, and I got no answer so I'm assuming since she told me she'd be there, unless there was bad news from the biopsy, that the news was not good. I am still at odds about how to handle the situation because there has never been a close relationship between my father and myself but the past many years it's been almost nonexistent. I've worried and pondered over my inability to put the past behind me and try to forgive him but finally came to the realization that it's damn near impossible to forgive someone who would never in a million years acknowledge the fact that he'd done something that he'd need forgiveness for.

The man is perfect and never wrong.

My father was career Air Force and was home on leave when I was born. When I was a few weeks old my first trip out of Arkansas was to be taken to Louisiana to return him to his station. From what I understand, my Mom and I spent time with his relatives or hers while he was away.

In 1956 he was stationed in Blythsville, AR (about 4 hrs north of here) where my sister, Paula, was born in Dec. 1956. I know we were in North Carolina in 1958 because my youngest sister, Terri, was born there. Very soon after she was born, he left for a tour in England where, without his family's knowledge, he met and began living with, the woman who is now my step-mom.

My mom learned of the "other" woman when he was stationed in MN in 60-61 because she found a letter telling him about the birth of my oldest step-brother in May 61. I don't know what transpired over this information but I do know that the summer of 1961 my father returned to England where he continued to live with, and have another son with, the other woman. My parents weren't divorced until I was around 10 which was in 1964. Some time after that, he married my stepmom. At some point during this time, my mother gave birth to my brother, Roger. He was not my father's and I don't know, even now, who his father was, but since my mother still went by my father's name, his last name was the same as ours on his birth certificate. It was a couple of years before a cousin informed me that Roger wasn't my father's child.

Please keep in mind that all of this information came to me secondhand because while I remember bits about living in NC and MN, I really had no knowledge of the other goings on and I'm only putting together fragments here. I do remember my mother telling me later that he never even supported us (even before the divorce) until she wrote to his commanding officer to request it.

I believe they returned from England in late 1965 or early 1966 because my father was stationed in MD at Andrews AFB for a year. My 2 sisters and I lived with them for a few months during the summer of 1966.

In 1967 he moved my stepmom to Arkansas and went to Viet Nam for a year and upon his return, in 1968, he was sent for another tour of England where I later joined them because my stepmom decided she wanted to see what it would be like to have a daughter since, by then, they then had 3 sons.

Since this was the longest I'd ever lived with my father, (add it up, previously he'd only lived with us just over 3 years of our life up till then) it wasn't until then that I found out why he had never been around. He just didn't care. My mother gave him 3 daughters when he wanted sons so I really believe my sisters and I were considered his mistakes. In May, 1970, while I lived with them, their 4th son was born.

He retired soon after our return to Arkansas in early 1971 and I gradually began to put bad feelings aside and visited them pretty often when they moved next door to my Grandmother who lived about 35 miles from me. We had somewhat of a family relationship but I always felt that it was more like the relationship he had with a cousin or other less close relation.

Even that relationship came to a halt in 1994. My brother, Roger, was killed in a car accident. My mother was ill and I had to help her with the funeral arrangements so I know the information we gave the funeral director did not include my father as a survivor. In fact, I remember thinking, when he asked for the name of Roger's father, and her reply was NONE, "How could you have done this to him all these years. He lived and died never knowing who his father was." However, either the director took it upon himself to rectify this (he'd grown up with my Mom's brothers), or my brother's drug induced, nutty, wife gave him different information, but the obituary came out in the newspaper and over the radio the day of the funeral and listed my father as a survivor of the deceased.

My father and stepmom called me with screaming accusations as I was dressing for my brother's funeral. I was pretty much accused of trying to "save face" because they claim I didn't want anyone to know that my brother was a bastard. I wasn't handling my brother's death very well at all and had been through a really bad time with having to help with the funeral arrangements and they chose the day we buried him to do this.

I gave up any thoughts or hopes that day of ever having a relationship with my father. For awhile, I thought that if he'd apologize to me, that I would try to forgive him, but when our mother died in 1999 and he wasn't there for us, it killed all hope.

A couple of years ago, his brother died and I saw him at the funeral home and spoke to him and he told me he was sorry. I knew these words were empty when I saw him a couple of weeks later and had 3 of my grandchildren with me and he never even spoke to them.

So. What now?

Am I supposed to put it all behind me and pretend that we're one big, happy, family now that he's ill?

I don't think I can and it bothers me because I don't think God will forgive me because of it.

Ok, done until I think of something else to screw up.

I'd best get my rear in gear, get dressed, and go vote. It's not something I'm looking forward to during this election cause, for some reason, it's really scary this time.

Dang IT!

Nothing looks right on this thing today.

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Well I screwed something up.

Whothehell knows what but I'm too aggitated to mess with it anymore at the moment. I don't know if I messed up my Holoscan code or if Haloscan just doesn't want to work for me today.

Dreary Monday

It's been raining so I'm starting another long, aggravating week of hubby being home more than usual. Then I heard from my youngest sister, Terri (over to the left there) with news that our father is in the hospital and they did a biopsy of his liver today.
I've got pretty mixed feelings over this news because I've only had contact with my father twice in the past 8 1/2 years. I'm really not sure how I'm supposed to feel about it but I'm pretty sure it's not this lack of emotions that I'm experiencing. I'll have to write more about this after I've thought more about it.

I fell asleep on the couch today while reading and had the most vivid dream about my mom's sister, my Aunt Ruth, who's been dead for almost 23 years now. I was very close to her and often think about her but I rarely ever dream so I suppose that is what made this dream stay with me after I awakened.

It's been an odd day.

Anyway, here's another Halloween photo. I still don't have any of the other kids and I hope their Mommies made some!!