Waiting makes me crazy

We spent the day at the hospital yesterday, waiting. Today they took BIL in to do the dye through his heart and there appears to be no damage but they'll keep him in ICU because his heart beat is abnormally irregular. He's supposed to be evaluated by another doctor late next week to see if he needs a pacemaker. Another wait. Not sure when they'll begin rahab on the problems caused by the stroke. After the day spent there yesterday I am more than ever convinced that the reason medical costs are through the roof is there are too danged many specialists who have forgotten how to be doctors. If they ever learned how in the first place. Ask 3 of them the same question and you'll get 3 different answers, hell, if you're not ill when you get there, after all the frustration, you're insanely ill after a few days in there.

While sitting outside the hospital in a nice little garden I glanced around and noticed that 3 out of every 4 persons I saw in and around the place had cell phones to their ears. What in the world did they do before this technology was available?
When did it become acceptable to be having phone conversations as you eat your dinner or, in another instance, as you sat on the pot to pee? (yep, there was in lady in the stall next to mine). Maybe I'm just an old fuddy-duddy but I believe the technology is great in that I have my phone for emergencies and convenience, but I think folks who go around with their cells constantly glued to their ears or their hips have an awfully rude, bad, habit in the making.

I had about 5 gals of tomatoes ready to can today so I got that out of the way a while ago cause tomorrow we'll be heading back to Little Rock so James can spend the weekend at the hospital. Zach and I will stay with Trish. They turned out good, I think, and will taste mighty good next winter.



Another photo of Zach's sunflowers.

Tuesday,,, I think

The news about BIL was great today to start off, he was able to move his leg and everyone was ecstatic, then late this afternoon SIL called and said the cardiologist did some tests today and things aren't looking so good. He's put a halt on beginning PT until some more tests are done and has told the family that he must remain as calm as possible for now. James is plenty upset about his little brother, tonight and tomorrow will be a day of waiting and worrying. Hopefully they'll have more test results by the time we arrive tomorrow. We'll leave early in the morning so James can spend as much time with him as he can during the times they allow visits to ICU. BIL seems much less agitated when his brothers are with him so they're going to be there as much as possible.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.

I Be "Ti'erd

That's the Arkansas pronunciation of tired for those of ya'll who've never been exposed to us.

Things were kickin along right fine down here with hubby still being pissed at me for my daring caniption last Wednesday and then the bad news stuff hit the fan. We awoke on Sunday morning to find out that James's younger brother (who's my age by the way) was taken to the hospital during the early morning hours and has had a stroke. From what I understand,( James was there with him again today) it's a pretty bad one but it wasn't caused from an adhesion leakage in his brain, they believe, because all the tests have come back negative for that. He can feel his right leg and arm but can't move them and his speech is very slurred. He is aware though, in that he knows everyone, and the date, year, etc,,, He and his family are going to have a long row to hoe over the next while until all these tests are done to see how extensive the damage is and how much he can come back from this. We nearly lost him and thank The Lord that this may just be a wake up call and not THE call. He's in the hospital in Little Rock so I'll be going with James on Wednesday to see him and take him some books to keep his mind occupied. I think they're very worried about his state of mind right now, he's very depressed and that is not a good thing when he has so much work to do to come back from this. I sure love that boy and he'd better get better, I don't think I could stand it if he doesn't.

Today has been spent answering the phone and answering questions, although I knew next to nothing, from worried family members. My cousin came over with a whole heap of truck weigh tickets for me to enter and print out for her "friend" and that only took me about 10 hours of sitting in front of the computer to do. That's all done now and Zach is at his Mom's for a few days, so maybe tomorrow won't be as hectic as today was.

I'm off to relax a bit now before I hit the hay. I'll get around to see everyone soon. Thinking of everyone and hope you all had a great weekend!

I wish God had given me an imagination instead of small feet!

I'll take one of these,,, in red please. I bet noone would look over me, ya think?



Of course after one of those 18-wheelers turned me into a flip-flop, I'd be needin one of these for my next ride.



Who does this remind you of? I expect being body-slammed by a kitty doesn't make for a good day.

Word from the Wise

Vent's almost over

After 35 years of being in this dysfunctional family I will someday remember that only 2 people in the world are right AND entitled,,,,, James, and his mother. Everyone else is either stupid or crazy, or both,,or so I'm told.

Anyway, no use crying over it, might as well tuck it away with those 1,565,422 other incidents and make arrangements with the headstone folks to put "To HELL with ALL YA'LL" on mine! (wonder if they'd do that if I prepaid?).

Vent or Bust!!

Some people are selfish, self-centered, know-it-alls and I've had a visit from one of the top dogs today!

I wait for almost 9 months every year for that wonderfully delicious taste of vine-ripened tomatoes, and although I'll share the bounty, I'm selfish enough that I want those first few lucious beauties sliced and sittin on MY table. After that, I'll give you a few for your dinner or if they are way more than I am able to can, I'll load you up with more tomatoes than you can shake a stick at.

Today the MIL came by and wanted to know if she could have a couple of ripe tomatoes for supper. I told her sure, and since Jami was here, she went to the garden and hunted around and picked her 4 nice sized ones. Well, MIL follows her out there and discovered there were more than 4 ripened ones so SHE PICKS THEM ALL!! Now I don't even have enough tomatoes for MY supper!!

Never mind that this woman and another of her sons have a half acre garden of their own (undoubtedly their tomatoes aren't ripe yet), has another son who is living with her since his wife left him, who does not earn enough to pay her anything for room and board, but who earns enough for his beer (guess we're providing tomatoes for his supper too!), and she probably still has 6 dozen jars of tomatoes she canned from our garden LAST year!

Forgive me, but holy shit I'm PISSED!!

The History Of The Middle Finger

Well, now......here's something I never knew before, and now that I know it, I feel compelled to send it on to my more intelligent friends in the hope that they, too, will feel edified. (And I don't actually know what else to do with this great knowledge).

Isn't history more fun when you know something about it?

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future.

This famous English longbow was made of the native English yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew" (or "pluck yew"). Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, see, we can still pluck yew!

Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodentals fricative F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute!

It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird."

AND IT IS STILL AN APPROPRIATE SALUTE TO THE FRENCH TODAY!

And yew thought yew knew every plucking thing.

If that don't make you feel enlightened today, it's likely nothing will!

The Short Gardener

For the past few years I've let Zach plant sunflower seeds and care for them. The first year he chopped a hole in the mud, scattered a few seed, then mostly forgot about them, and those babies grew almost as tall as the shed and bloomed all summer long! I reckon kids must be born with a lucky green thumb and if they're lucky it sticks with them through life. (Or in my case, grow up to live with what can kill em, will kill em luck)

Anyhow, here's his first sunflower bloom of the season,


Or click HERE for a larger view.

<--------- I like those buttons over there on my sidebar. I'd wear them all,,,at the same time! (grin)

Moral of the Story,,,,,,,

A pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won. The pastor was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in the race again, and it won again.

The local paper read: PASTOR'S ASS OUT FRONT.

The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the
pastor not to enter the donkey in another race.

The next day, the local paper headline read: BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR'S ASS.

This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the pastor to get rid of the donkey. The pastor decided to give it to a nun in a nearby convent.

The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day: NUN HAS BEST ASS IN TOWN.

The bishop fainted. He informed the nun that she would have to get rid of
the donkey, so she sold it to a farmer for $10.

The next day the paper read: NUN SELLS ASS FOR $10.

This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the nun to buy back the
donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild.

The next day the headlines read: NUN ANNOUNCES HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE.

The bishop was buried the next day....

Moral of the story is....

Being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery ... And even shorten your life.

So be yourself and enjoy life..... You'll be a lot happier and live longer!

Father's Day

I hope all the father's out in blogland had a great day today! I think James had a pretty good day. We had the ribs and some grill-steamed veggies and he got some nice presents.



Jillybeans spent the day with us while her momma and daddy went to fetch those fireworks. She's a mover, that girl is, with those chubby little legs! I went to the kitchen to fetch potatoes to peel and peeked around the corner at her and she had gotten in her diaper bag, had her powdered formula, had the top off, and was trying to drink it. Without thinking, I put the colander full of potatoes down on the foot stool with the knife on top so I could save the formula and while I was putting that back in her bag I turned around and she had the knife stabbing at the potatoes. I nearly had a heart attack during the 2 seconds it took me to get to her and take the knife away! After that I stood at the counter to peel the spuds while she had fun dragging my mop around the kitchen.

I was able to have a quick snuggle and talk with the Chick and Abby today before they left and they told me they were going to sell hot dogs, cokes, and lemonade at the firework stand. I think they have plans to buy fireworks with the money they earn because they both declared they weren't spending their money on anything silly like clothes! Ha!



We got a call this evening with the news that Zach made the All Star baseball team again so it appears that my bleacher shaped hinny will be sittin through a few more games again this summer.

Ok, I'm outta here. I have a feeling I'm gonna sleep like a rock tonight after the exercise Miss Jillybeans gave this Nanaw today. I'll have some new photos tomorrow to share once I get a little sleep.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!!

The Magic Recliner and other stuff

You'd never believe that this ragged old thing could be so magical but I promise ya, when hubby sits down, he's sound asleep and snoring in less than 5 minutes. It must have fairy stuffing in it or something. It also works it's magic on Nanaw's who are foolish enough to have a sit but this Nanaw knows better and avoids it's spell. It does not, however, work on the youngest generation because I believe they sense it's magical powers.


I just love these little weedy wild flowers that grow along the roads and everywhere
they find a spot this time of the year. Sometimes we'll pass by a pasture that hasn't been mowed or grazed and there are thousands of these little beauties spreading their bright yellow delight around.



I think the littlest chicklet is coming to visit tomorrow while her mommy and daddy go to pick up fireworks for their stand. We have plans to cook some ribs on the grill if we don't get rained on and she loves to play outdoors so she'll have fun.

Momma Killdeer

I've seen killdeers lay their eggs everywhere along the gravel roads around here but this momma must have thought she'd found a prize location at the empty ball field on Wednesday until the park began to fill up last evening. She was little more than 2 feet from a much used path leading from the parking area and she had her feathers puffed out and was raising 9 kinds of hell every time someone passed her nest. I bet she was one tired momma by the time the games were over last night around 10ish.

Thunk, Thunk, Thunk,,,,

That's the sound of my forehead hitting the monitor as I try to get my brain in motion this morning. I didn't get up/wake up until almost 10, the day is half gone! I remember waking up to go potty once,,,I think,,,. I should probably check around the bedroom to make sure it wasn't a dream, huh?

I staggered into the kitchen and grabbed the coffee pot before I looked at the clock and noticed the crude oil appearance of the contents as it dribbled into my cup. After I saw what time it was, I realized that it probably was on it's way to becoming crude oil since James had most likely perked it at around 4 a.m. this morning. I dumped in a bunch of creamer to take some of the bite out and chewed on it as I zapped a cup of water for some instant.

Zach was still asleep when Jessie, from next door, and her little friend came over to see if he was ready to begin their day of play. I made him eat a bowl of cereal before he went out and reminded them not to abuse him as they were going out the door. (You have to remind them of this because 11 yr old girls often see 9 yr old boys as objects for torture experiment.)

There's another ball game tonight, they won the game on Tuesday evening. I sure hope I am in a state of consciousness by then because it's good to be alert to avoid those foul balls that come flying over the fence and into the bleachers fairly regularly.

Do you realize that June is already half gone? We'll see the longest day of the year on June 20th (or is it 21st?) and I hear that it's also the first day of summer (but I don't think that applies to Arkansas since a lot of times our summer weather begins in April!) I found this about Solstice Moons that I thought was interesting,

SOLSTICE FULL MOON
Full Moons that occur close to the summer solstice are special because they follow the lowest path across the sky of all the year's full Moons. This low path means the Moon will be near the horizon for much of the night, and will look very large. This is mainly an optical illusion, but it is an incredible sight! Be sure to go outside shortly after sunset on Friday, June 16th for the best view.

Now I'm going to have to try to remember to brave the skeeters to have a look at the moon tomorrow night beings that I've never noticed this before.

Well, I'd best go get something done today, even if it's wrong! Have a great Thursday!

I hope to be as wise as Tonto some day.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto went camping in the
desert. After they got
their tent all set up, both men fell sound
asleep.

Some hours later, Tonto wakes the Lone Ranger
and says, "Kemo Sabe, look
towards sky, what you see?"

The Lone Ranger replies, "I see millions of
stars."

"What that tell you?" asked Tonto.

The Lone Ranger ponders for a minute then
says,
"Astronomically speaking, it tells me there are millions of
galaxies.
Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three in the
morning.
Theologically, the Lord is all powerful and we are small and
insignificant.
Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.

What's it tell you, Tonto?"



"You dumber than buffalo . Someone stole tent"
*********************************
Ballgame tonight and if I weren't afraid it would jinx me I'd tell you that there are only 4 more to go, heheheheheheh (that's a Nanaw's evil laugh). Zach's team is in second place and there are a lot of really good players on it so don't think he'll make it on the All Star team this year. He's a good little steady player but steady doesn't always cut it on some of these teams. He had a wonderful time doing the tourniments last summer but it was extremely tiring for me, not to mention hard on my hinny, and hard on the pocketbook to boot.

Smothering in the Delta

I can tell by the dust and the 95 degree temps that summer has definitely arrived here. We've been to Storm Creek Lake a couple of times over the past few days to let the kids splash and play in the swimming area there but with only 2 lonely little trees at that area of the lake, I've gotten a bit crispy fried.




Trish sent me some photos of Jaylen and Jordan last week too!

Deep Ponderings

THE TALK

After paying my dollar at the gate at the ballpark on Monday, and watching the last bit of the game before Zach's, we found out that the team they were to play didn't have all their players so it was to be a forfeit. The coaches decided not to waste the empty ball field so they kept them there to practice. The mommys and couple of grandmas sitting around holding the bleachers down passed the time away by discussing the problems of the world.

And a few more things.

I'm not sure what route we took to get from the dangers of ATVs to "THE TALK" but we stumbled upon it somehow and it really got lively there for awhile. One young mother told us of the wisdom of her 5 yr old daughter concerning the male anatomy.
"Dogs poop out of their tails but boys pee out of theirs, except for Poppa, he doesn't have a tail." She went on to tell us that when she told her father of this revelation, he said, "Well I have to sit to pee when she's in the house because she stays on my heels and I can't get away from her!"

A couple of the young moms said that their boys didn't know anything about sex yet and they hadn't had "THE TALK" with them because they hadn't asked any questions yet. Myself and the other grandmother in the group informed them that it wasn't wise to wait until they asked because they were in school with other little boys who were certain they knew all there was to know about sex, and were glad to share the knowledge, so they probably already knew all they thought they'd need to know about it. This passed on knowledge is not commonly found printed in the health books of any generation.

I felt obliged to also inform them if they had plans for their husbands to have THE TALK with their boys, they should first have THE TALK with their husbands because a man's idea of THE TALK could also not be common knowledge found in the printed health books of most generations because they'd very likely learned all their facts from the same sort of little know-it-all youngun when they were growing up.

Before we knew it, practice was over and it was time to pack up and go home.

Tired and Smiling

Jerri's mother had outpatient surgery today so I got to keep the girls for a few hours this afternoon and evening. Abby and Alexis have become as close as sisters so I had her as well. I must say there's been some excellent playing going on at this place today.

Jillian was asleep when Jerri brought them by so Abby and The Chick sat and stared at her during her 20 minute nap because they knew they couldn't go swimming until she woke up. They must have been sending esp messages to her because she awoke smiling and ready to go, so we gathered towels, passies, and sippy cup and went next door so they could play in the pool. Jillian took one look at all that splashing water and climbed me like a tree, so she and I sat under a tree and watched the birds as the others splashed and paddled.

After more than an hour I talked them out of the pool so they wouldn't get too much sun and took them inside to dry off and find other things to play with while I started cooking supper. I thought Jillian was quick as lightening before she started walking but she's faster now. I do believe she's got more of the tornado tendencies than Alexis had.

It was a one fantastic afternoon full of hugs and kisses!

Reasons I don't jog.

The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

I would have to do it in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing.

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

I have flabby thighs, if I move too fast the friction could start a major fire.

the final reason I don't jog is because makes the ice jump right out of my glass.

Feeling muley

I'm feeling like the south end of that north bound mule again today. Zach and I had dentist appointments this morning, he for a check up and polish, and me for an extraction. I knew before I went that the tooth was gonna have to come out cause that's what happens when you're a wuss about going to the dentist and wait over a year to get a broken tooth fixed. I did not, however, know that it was going to hurt this bad hours later.

They let Zach come in to sit with me after they were done with him because he's so afraid of the needles and they wanted to reassure him before his next visit. The doc had him up there looking as he gave me the injection to show him that only the very tip of the needle actually goes in. I didn't dare twitch or make a sound but I sure did want to, but I was the example ya know. The dentist went out of the room for a few and the assistant laid out the tools, then she left. Zach looked over at the tools and said, "Nanaw, you might want to think again about having that tooth pulled cause he's got a screw driver sitting here to work on you with!" I had to laugh even if it was only with half my mouth.

And wouldn't you know it? Zach has a ballgame tonight.

Down and defeated

The past few weeks haven't been very good ones for me and I've been wallowing around in my own little pity pit while trying my very best to see the good that can come from change.

I don't do change well. At all.

My son and Jerri are going to eventually move about 130 or so miles (or more) away and they're taking the chicklets with them. When this happens, 4 of our 8 babies will not be nearby and it's breaking my heart. It's already tough enough that Trish, Jaylen, and Jordan are a 2 hour drive away which isn't so much, but with the price of gas as it is and the hectic schedules, (theirs and ours), it might as well be. The only good thing I see in their move is the opportunity to own their own place some day but that doesn't keep the selfish part of me from wanting to keep them close. It also doesn't help that Bubbie is my baby. Doesn't matter that he's 6'3 and over 250lbs, he'll always be my baby.

I'm also worried about Jami and Trish. The conflict between Trish and her father is no closer to resolution now than it ever was and I don't feel that either of them will give up or give in to make things right between them. This grieves me greatly.

Jami is in a terrible marriage, her second, and needs to grow up and take better care of her children and home. She lacks confidence and self-respect and I don't know how to help her to do this but I think these things are what she needs to begin to see that she gets herself into these miserable situations.

I don't know how other mother's feel but when my children aren't happy, or if they've done something stupid, or wrong, I feel so damned guilty. I wonder what I did while raising them that was so bad that it's made things turn out the way they do. I pushed the girls to excel in school because I know from experience how it feels to be beholden to someone for the food on your table, and although I was able to finish just enough of my education to be able to be, at one point, nearly equal in the earnings department, those feelings of dependency aren't easy to put aside, ever.

I expected Bubbie to do well in school too but I made things too easy for him sometimes,,doing term papers instead of making him do them himself, paying for things that he should have been responsible for himself,,,I did this too many times with all of them. Maybe I just pushed them all too hard. I've never felt that I didn't give them enough materially because I still believe the day will come that they'll remember the times I was there for them but won't remember the things we bought.

Anyway, more change is coming, like it or not, so I guess it's time to cut the apron strings, zip up the pocketbook and keep tormenting myself silly.

I should of stayed in bed!

I first realized that it could be the beginning of a not so good day when I was vacuuming the living room and that blasted machine found one of those balloons, for making critters and stuff, hidden under the recliner. It sure made for some stinky, rubber burning, aromas before I finally got that thing turned off. After Zach helped me get the rubber unwound I got back on the job and saw a long screw laying on the floor and reached down to pick it up, that's when the whole damned vacuum started coming apart. At least now I know where that screw came from. I'm not sure I put everything back together right cause the vacuum isn't sucking too good any more and after all that effort, I'm just too damned tired and aggravated to figure it out.

Zach has a ballgame tonight, I hope it doesn't rain.