Friday Slots and Saturday Fishing

Last night's dinner was wonderful. I had lots of shrimp, salad, and some mussels. I finished up with a few bites of a dark chocolate dessert with a strong cup of coffee.

We played a little before dinner and I managed to win $90 with my $5. After dinner I put in another $15 and didn't hit for anything. I suppose it was a good thing I didn't win a jackpot because I nearly spilled my drink when I won the little bit that I did, a bigger win would have probably killed me.




We went fishing on Old Town Lake this morning and didn't get nary a nibble. I took my camera along so I didn't get the least bit bored.

Quickie

Had a fine dinner last night and played the slots a little.

Went fishing the morning and took my camera.

I'll be back later with photos cause right now I need a nap in the worst way.

HughesNet Still Sucks and A Rare Night Out

The Terrorist has left for school and I'm sitting here waiting for 8 a.m. to roll over on the clock so I can call those lying bastids at HughesNet again. I think the only qualifications you've gotta have to work for these folks is to be able to lie consistently, and not know where the hell you're going or where you've been.

After vigorously voicing my complaints on a form for the BBB in Maryland, I got a call from the corporate offices of HughesNet informing me that they were seriously looking into things and they'd have someone in tech support coming out to put things right.

He came, Wednesday of last week, this guy who's only been with the company for about 4 months, and spent several hours piddling around before telling me that he'd have to come back, on Friday, to finish.

Friday came and went.

Monday came and went.

I called the fella in MD who called me back to say the tech would be here by noon.

The tech guy called and said he had to install a new dish and it was too windy that day so he'd appreciate it if he could wait until Thursday to come out. I told him fine, but my frustration was mounting to shotgun levels.

It's Friday and he didn't come yesterday. He also didn't CALL yesterday. I was at home all day waiting even though I had a load of stuff to do in town. I'm now irritated, agitated, and aggravated. I'm ready to bite nails folks!

Maybe I'll be able to ease some of my frustrations tonight. We're going to dinner with friends at Sam's Town Casino over in Tunica, MS. They have a seafood buffet on Friday and Saturday nights and that's some of my favorite kind of groceries. And dang it, I might even take a 20 to put in the slots while I'm there.

Turkey Funny

Castles

I love old castles and I love meandering through them and imagining what life was like back when they were built for the Nobels and Royalty who lived in them during the middle ages. I've been fortunate to be able to visit a few old castles over the years and I wouldn't trade the experiences for anything in the world.

My first visit to a castle was in Edinburgh, Scotland. We vacationed there in the summer of 1970 because my stepmom's sister was married to a Scotsman and we went to visit them. Great Britian isn't a huge island, but I remember that drive, from the little village we lived in just north of London all the way up north to Scotland, as being a long one.

The Edinburgh Castle was awesome and my clearest memory of the day we spent there, and in the Princess Street Gardens, was the HUGE fireplaces located in a few areas on the ground floor of the castle. They were so big that you could stand up in them with plenty of room overhead.

The floors were worn smooth from the hundreds of years of being trodden upon and the rooms were big and drafty, and very cool even though it was a hot summer day outside. I could almost imagine how freezing cold it must have been in the winter months.

Kasteel Hoensbroek in Limburg, The Netherlands.

Marion, Herman, and I, sitting on the drawbridge at Kasteel Hosensbroek.

Castle Hosensbroek was a combination of old and newer. They added onto it in the 1700's (I think) so when we toured there was a point where it seemed we stepped out from one era into another.

In the older part of the Castle were the huge rooms, massive fireplaces, and dark and damp rooms. James even visited the dungeon but since I freak in closed, dark places, I stayed to stay where there was more light. This castle had something that other castles I've visited didn't have, they had an indoor bathroom! I expect it was added long after the castle was built and didn't amount to more than a dark little cubbyhole with a bench seat and hole that went down to the dungeon. Actually, it was much nicer than the old outdoor toilet's I've been in!

The newer part was more elegant and decorative. There were drapes and tiled fireplaces, wonderful old furniture, and windows.

Kasteel Arcen

We only toured the grounds of Castle Arcen but what wonderful grounds they were. They have every sort of garden imaginable so, as you wander, you can from a simple Japanese garden into a quaint English garden. There were rose gardens, tropical gardens, and water gardens. While we were there they were having a Koi auction so we stopped to watch for a bit. Some of those big, ornamental fish sold for more than most folks earn in a month.

Kasteel Stein

This Castle is in the town of Stein, where we were staying with our sweet Soony and her parents, Herman and Marion. This view is of the newer part of the Castle and during the time of our visit in 1995, it had been converted into a rest home for nuns. When I visited in 2004 it had been converted once again into apartments, and because Soony's in-laws lived in one of them, I was able to visit it again when we went for dinner there one night. The apartment was absolutely beautiful!

The older part of the castle is in ruins but is still on the grounds.

Valkenburg Kasteel ruins

We only saw this castle from the street below. It sits atop a bluff overlooking the city of Valkenburg, where the shopping is great by the way.

Now, for some fun stuff. I found this site a while ago where you can take a tour through a castle. All you have to do is type in your name and give your castle a name, click on the drawbridge, then follow the little mouse.

Day 6

We're finally seeing some fall colors around here. This old barn sits down in a little valley, one of the few in our area since we are mostly flat until you get to Crowley's Ridge.

I took this cause I thought they were pretty.

Jerri called last night to tell me about the Bean's latest antic. It seems she decided the bucket that was used for storing her blocks would make a good hat. It got stuck on her head and it took several minutes of struggle to get it off. Bubbie had decided to try to cut the plastic handle but Jerri gave it one more push and finally got it off. I expect that trick was worth several more gray hairs.

It's a good day when,,,,

I wake up and know I don't have anywhere to go and can just stay at home for the day.

I don't have to raise my voice even one time to get Zach ready for school.

The sun is shining and the sounds of the dishwasher, washer, and dryer, don't interrupt my watching The Price Is Right.

The house is clean and I don't have to pick up 1,001 items that others have left laying around.

There aren't a sink full of dirty dishes left by the dirty dish fairy when I wake up.

One out of 5 ain't so bad, I didn't have to yell even one time this morning! Now, I'd best get my lazy butt dressed and moving so I can run into town and take some movies back.

I'll take my camera and maybe I'll see something to inspire a shot.

Kiddies 4, Nanaw -2

Possible Insanity

Jilly Beans stayed with me Thursday night, Abby stayed last night, tonight the Chick (Alexis), MeriKate, and Krysten, are having a sleepover at my house.

Am I brave, or what?

PopPop hasn't heard about the plans yet, he may head for more peaceful pastures when he does.

Snacks, DVDs, hot dogs, chili, corn chips, popcorn, and juice, are in stock and ready to be distributed.

Toby's New Trick

I bet Stanley Steemer got a load of work after this aired. I almost called them myself!

And I thought I was having a bad day,,,,,

Awake a little after 7 cause Jami felt the need to bring the girls over that early so she would be able to study for her 8:30 class.

Had to go to town, with 4 kids, to do the banking, buy gas for my truck, and buy groceries and I'm getting to old to herd 4 kids in the grocery store. I now know for certain that I'd rather be cooped up with wild, ebola carrying, monkeys than to be closed up in a truck with 4 kids.

Anyway, in the news today, or yesterday,,,hell, one day,,, and I can hear these dudes relating their bad luck stories to their good ole boy friends later on,,,

"Well,,,, I was driving home to Arkansas from Texas and the cops stopped me for speeding and started inquiring about those 2 dozen heads I had in that trailer behind my truck,,,,,"

"I was out huntin today, stopped to cross over a fence, and danged if my ole dog didn't shoot me!"

Halloween Horrorscope

Ascaryus (Jan 20-Feb 18): This Halloween looks to be a scary one foryou. But before you go around crying, "Ooooh, I want my mummy! I want my mummy!" think about this: You want more lovin’, right? Well, if you run around like a scaredycat, you will, to quoth the raven,"Neverscore."

Pieces (Feb 19-Mar 20): Vampires are evil, hypnotic people who will emerge in the night and drain you. Sounds like someone I used to date. You need to be careful because you may have closed the metaphoric coffinlid on a relationship, only to find that this person will rise from the graveyard of your heart to worm their way back into your life. One word of advice from "Buffy The Vampire Slayer": A vampire can only come in if you invite them.

Scaries (Mar 21-Apr 19): You've got to pick up every stitch this Halloween because, unless I miss my guess, it must be the Season of the Witch. If only every holiday could be commemorated with a bad Donovan song. Wouldn't it be great, on Thanksgiving, to sit around the table, giving thanks for the bounty we are to receive by singing a rousing round of "Mellow Yellow"? That is truly the most horrifying thought you can befaced with this Halloween.

Tarot (Apr 20-May 20): Sure, you ladies have been looking for some lovin'. But you don't want to go for just any Tom Dick and Harry. And heaven for fend you go for any Jack you find, especially when that Jack is some hollow-headed grinning gap-toothed idiot. But then again, despite his weird exterior, if you look inside, you'll see a flame burning bright. This might be the season of the witch, but if you try not to act so witchy and look past the odd exterior, you'll find hidden depths in the ugliest places.

OnlyOneEye (May 21- Jun 20): Horror is in the eye of the beholder, whether that eye be bloodshot and yellow, peering at you from the shadows of the night, or whether the eye is a horrible dismembered giant radioactive eye. What is truly scary? A werewolf? A werewolf is not so much a horrible half-man half-beast as a chronic undershaver. A headless horseman is just the victim of a particularly bad hair day. In much the same way, you can find the brighter side of anything that comes your way, no matter how horrific or annoying.

Dancer (Jun 21-Jul 22): Scary is relative, and we don't just mean your crazy relatives who threaten to come visit for six weeks, but rather the idea that whereas a movie with monsters made out of cardboard boxes and paper mache may have been the scariest thing you'd ever seen when you were eight, it now looks like crap. You must get over your initial fears of a new project or relationship; although it seems insurmountable now, if you stick with it, you will eventually be able to overcome it.

Tao (Jul 23-Aug 22): Frankenstein's monster was, of course, made out of the parts of a couple dozen other people, which must have been hell when it came to custody hearings. Nothing's more awkward at a family reunion than having one-tenth of Cousin Harry show up at the buffet. You, too, feel like you're being pulled in twenty different directions, but you'll soon receive the jolt you'll need to get on your feet again.

Vertigo (Aug 23-Sep 22): Pity the poor skeleton who wanders around on Halloween, looking so unfashionable in all-white a full two months afterMemorial Day. Of course, he can't help it, and he is actually successful in the love department; after all, he is "ribbed" for her pleasure. This week you'll find that you attract more flies with honey than even dead zombie flesh, and being inherently nice to the opposite sex will make them flock to you like vultures to a skeleton.

Webra (Sep 23-Oct 22): Zombies are pretty well-known for trying to suck the brains out of people's heads. As was every high school algebra teacher I ever had. Coincidence? Considering that those people were always pale on the point of being green, had trouble communicating more than moans and incoherent screams, and had awkward, stumbling walks down the hallway, I think it's lucky I escaped without some horrible "Night of the Living Dead scenario. " You escape a horrific fate worse than death, if you can steer clear of boring people at parties.

Scareio (Oct 23-Nov 21): You think you're being slick, but the truth is that you're like a ghost; people can see through you, and all the noise you're making is more effective scaring small children and dogs than actually doing anything. It's time to leave your old haunts and take care of that grave matter that's all your vault.

Sekeltarious (Nov 22-Dec 21): Boo! Scared ya!

Capricandycorn (Dec 22-Jan 19): You're in the zone this week! TheTwilight Zone, that is, and it's going to be a creepy thrill ride with anincredibly ironic twist at the end that serves as a commentary on our mixed-up Cold War nuclear society. Don't let the creepy situations you get yourself into this week get you skittish. Let them get you Skittles; why not go Trick-or-Treating? It's fun to dress up, get given stuff, and not have to give ten percent to a big guy named Huggy Bear. And Halloween candy doesn't count as calories!

DuckMasters Contest

The Chick (Alexis) is in the KHTV Duck Master's contest. You can take a look if you Click the link , then click on the first Duck Master photo, and she's on page 2 all decked out with a crown of blue flowers.

Cause I'm Slow!

I went ahead and changed my template to give it a Thanksgiving look even though Halloween isn't over yet (but it's near enough what with all the candy hanging out in this house). I'm as slow as molassas on a winter day and I have to do things the hard way.



It's also almost time for NaBloPoMo to begin and I figured I'd better get things set here so I'd be closer to the starting line. I had a little picture link over in the sidebar there but I lost that when I changed templates and danged if I can find another to replace it as easily as I did that one. I also can't remember how I even got that other one on there. I'll just have to try to remember to put a little icon or something up with each post in November (if I can figure that out) so ya'll know I'm a participate.



I could do a lot of the web stuff before Blogger came up with this new fangdangled stuff. I know they changed stuff just so they could mess with my mind!


So. What do ya'll want me to ramble on about in November?

*******

The Halloween carnival at the school last night was so crowded that I could barely concentrate on my Bingo card. I'm going to blame the conditions on my not winning even one bingo game, mainly cause I don't want to admit that I'm probably the unluckiest Bingo player on the planet. The last time I won playing Bingo, I was in the 5th grade and I gotta tell you good people, that was a LONG time ago!

Zach's homeroom class had this little game going on. He came home wet and cold cause he just had to volunteer to get smashed in the face with wet sponges. His teacher even took a turn at being a target. They sure had a lot of fun trying to earn money for their room.

Two Hours and Counting

That's how long I have left before that big yellow bus pulls into the drive.

I've almost come down from the kiddy high I've been on for over 10 days now and all I can think of is how good that couch feels with my body reclining upon it.

No rest for the wicked though, tonight's the Halloween carnival at the school, and the rest of the week has dibs on my time here and there too.

Zach's in trouble cause he had a D in Math. He's grounded which pretty much makes me grounded too because who else is going to make sure he's deprived of all the things he likes to do?

I'm Kicking!

Figure of speech ya know.

I just realized it's Friday and I haven't posted anything since way earlier this week. I was thinking back to see if I could remember why,,, and then it hit me,

last Friday was the last day I had that was kid-free for a few hours.

And Special K said there was a full moon,

double whammy!

Jerri really decorates her place up for Halloween and has both of the things I've posted photos of up there. Jillian doesn't like either one of them, nor many of the decorations very much. Jerri uses the motion sensored "rat-in-a-can" to keep her from sneaking out onto the car port. It works cause Beans will climb you like a tree if that rat starts shaking that can when she walks by.

She uses the second little item, the animated "rat hat", to keep her out of the fridge. Beans grazes all day and because she'd rather have sweet than healthy, Jerri had to find a way to make sure she has fruit or carrots over the other stuff. It works, she won't go near that fridge if she thinks the "rat hat" is hiding in there.

What's for Supper and At War With Hughesnet

Here's my first try at making a Chicken Enchilada Casserole. If it tastes as good as it looks, I'll be full as a tick about dark-thirty.

My homemade pica de gallo. I made a batch to go with the fried catfish last night and it was so good that I made some more to accompany the enchilada casserole. I was out of cilantro but it was still some fine eatin' without it. Here's another relish type dish that I make when we have fish or good ole pinto beans. It's just thinly sliced cucumbers, slices of onion, a few turns of the pepper mill and salt, and a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.

********

Now, about those HughesNet folks. Since August, I've only had a few rare occasions when their speeds have been anywhere near what they advertise. In fact, the speeds are often not even as fast as my old dial-up. Apparently these folks are selling services that they don't have the equipment to handle. Their tech folks (the ones that speak English clearly enough) must have a script that they read from too and they're full of every lie the company can think up.

If anyone reading this is thinking of using Hughesnet's shitty excuse of a broadband service, PLEASE DON ' T so you can save yourself a lot of grief.

I must say though, They are quite good at collecting their monthly fees for their crappy service.

Ole Charlie

Whenever I get in a funky mood, a little bit of down home Charlie Daniels fiddling sets me right.

It's Friday!!

Nuff said, I'm going back to bed.

I was born 100 years too early!

By the year 2050 people could perhaps be marrying robots and because I'll be missing out on this little upgrade in living standards, I'm jealous!

I suppose if I live to be 96 or so, I might be able to attend the wedding of a great-great-grandchild who chose a non-living mate, but I'm going to doubt that the first models that come out will be bald-headed, wrinkled up, old fellas so, at my ripe old age, I'd miss the boat.,,,even the raft for that matter.

Can you imagine having the perfect mate though? Someone who liked all the same things, who didn't ever argue, who picked up after themselves, brought flowers (ones you didn't get the bill for!). The list could go on forever! You'd just select your preferred model and then program in all the traits you want it to have.

I wonder if all the models will have built in heaters suitable for warming cold feet up against?

And I wonder if you can preorder?

What's Up?

Not a lot here, just been mosying about some.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are Tae Kwon Do nights for the Chick and Zach so we hurry with the homework to get there on time. They'll be testing some time the end of this month or the first part of November to see if they're ready for their yellow belts and then they'll have a break until January when the next class begins.

A couple of times on Thursdays I've been bringing Beans home with me to spend the night so the Chick and her Momma can have some time alone together. When she spends the night with us there's a lot of toddler-type reading going on,,,she reads the pictures to me,,, and lots of playing. Not much else gets done but who cares when you're having fun!

Abby stayed Friday night. She pretty much entertains herself so all I had to do was makes sure she was fed on a regular basis. For a tiny girl, she can sure put away some groceries!

Last night Zach had a little buddy over and I finally persuaded them around midnight that it was time to get some sleep if they planned on going to Children's Church this morning. Nanaw also needed some sleep as she was getting to be a cranky old broad by 11 or so.

Zach has spent the past 3 weeks reading a book for a book report and I'm sure glad he finally finished it today. Tonight I'm helping him do a couple of scrapbook pages to go along with his book summary so he can turn it in tomorrow and be done until we have to wrestle about reading the next one. I would give James's right testicle if I could find a way to get Zach interested in reading because I've found so much joy in my love of reading over the years, I've never had to fight boredom as long as I had a few books in my "to read" stack.

James finally got a day off today. The harvest is done on the part of the farm he's responsible for so he's now got hunting plans on the brain. He also cooked up some fine vittles on the grill this afternoon so I've had a belly full of chicken and ribs and have been fighting the urge to nap since about 1 or so.

Ok, I'm outta here now.

I hope everyone's had a lovely, relaxing weekend!

I AGREE!

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.",,,,, President Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907.

Taking a Sweet Breath of Air

My Morning Glories are especially loving this cool, clear, air and the brilliant sunlight.

The temperature today is down 20 degrees from what it was last week, can you believe it's only in the low 70's? Feels like Fall for a change. The Canadian cold fronts that have pushed through over the past few days have cleared the air too and the usual haze and humidity isn't wrecking havoc.

Little Boy Found!!

Jami called me just a few minutes ago to tell me that they've found the little boy who's been missing since noon yesterday. He'd managed to walk about 2 miles through the woods behind his grandparent's house.

Thank God he's safe!!

MISSING, James Michael Jones, age 3

This little boy either wandered away from his grandparent's home located on Crowleys Ridge in Helena or he was abducted. He's been missing since around noon yesterday. My son and some of his fellow correctional officers were called out to help in the search with their horses and the tracker dogs. As far as I know this morning, the little boy hasn't been found. My prayers are with this family during what has to be a nightmare.

The area surrounding their home is wooded forrest, full of gullies, kudzu, and snakes.

Maximillian Sunflowers

My Autumn sunflowers started blooming last week so that means it's October around here.

Leftover Nanaw

My horsey is slightly broken down and moving slow.

The pickle jar is empty.

I'm educated in the toddler translation for the names of the whole Wide World of Animals.

I've found I'm still fast enough to prevent a toddler from peeing in the a/c vent AND get her to the bathroom in time.

I know why it would be insane for 50+ year old women to give birth.

2 yr old girls think they like salt on their pancakes, but they don't.

1, tiny, melted, chocolate chip can cover most of a 2 yr old face.

"Keeeeeee" means see when you're 2, and no sometimes means yes, but not always.

Miss Jilly Beans spent last night and today with me, did you guess?

What I'm Learning during my second trip through 5th Grade

First off, I'm learning that they've changed the names of some of the stuff in Math as well as changing the way the stuff is done. The second thing that's quickly become apparent is that "the old dogs and new tricks" thing is a lot harder to get a handle on when you're actually an Old Dog.

So, when did an average become a mean? Did I learn that back in 1965 and have just forgotten it? Before you even get to the mean part, you've got to learn the parts about, organizing your data and finding the range. Mean is the 3rd step and then you've got to find the Median and Mode.

We're working on graphs now and learning even more new, or forgotten, terms.

I still can't remember the difference between a mean, mode, and median.

I think brain cells are dying here.

And while I'm moaning here, what's up with the Book Reports? Back when I was in school, there were two kinds, Written and Oral. Zach brought home 3 or 4 pages of book report examples! Each 9 weeks he has to do 2 of them, for 1 the teacher assigns the form, the 2nd is his choice which could include,

Writing a Radio Announcement about the book

Giving a Sales Pitch about the book

Creating a Book Jacket

Make a Movie about the book

,,,And the list goes on (they could even do a Power Point Presentation).

I think I prefer the old way when you only had two choices and the teacher decided which one you were to do.

I hope I can pass the 5th grade this go-round and if I do, I might have to drop out before entering the 6th again.

Annual Credit Report

Folks, it's a smart move to check your credit report at least once a year. The government now makes the 3 major credit bureaus give you a free check one time a year and it's pretty simple to do,,,except for Transunion's,,, you need account numbers and practically your mamma's, mamma's, birthday and birth weight to get at their report. (I personally think they do this so you'll throw up your hands and have a tantrum before finally giving up).

Anyhow, the reason I'm suggesting this fine idea, is because whilst doing the annual check of our credit worthiness I found 2 potentially negative items on the report from the Experian agency that hadn't been there when I checked last year. They have this little button you can click if you disagree with their information and they're supposed to investigate and correct their mistakes, etc...

I'm not sure how much time or effort they spend on research in order to make corrections but I'm here to tell ya, it's best to skip that little step cause it takes them about a month to do their "investigation" and apparently they don't do much during that period of time cause when I finally got the results, nothing had changed and I knew something smelly was going on in regards to those 2 potentially negative items.

So, I got out my magnifying glasses and tracked over to the Original Creditor section of the Experian report and see where both of the items in question originate from Helena Regional Medical Center.

"AH-HA", says I, " I know we haven't used the services of these fine folks since they garnished our bank account for someone else's bill back in 2002, so let's see what those crooked scoundrels have been up to now."

So, I called them and reached a lady named Brenda first, who knew nothing because none of the relevant information came up on her computer screen, so I'm transferred over to Ken in the financial office. I gave Ken the two account numbers in question and asked him about the services we supposedly received because we'd never actually been in his hospital on those dates and we'd also never been billed for the invisible services that were showing up on our credit report.

First we verified the last 4 digits of the social and that matched.

"Hmmm", says I. "So, who was this patient who received these emergency room services?"

"Mr. SoandSo received treatment", says Ken.

"Ahhh, it so happens that Mr. SoandSo is not a member of our household, I don't know who Mr. SoandSo is, where he lives, or anything else about Mr. SoandSo, and something fishy is going on since Mr. SoandSo has the same social security number as my husband", says I. "What billing address do you have on record for Mr. SoandSo"?

Ken informed me right quick that he wasn't allowed to share that piece of information with me.

"Then let me give you our address and you can check to see if it's the same as Mr. SoandSo", I suggested.

After I gave him my address Ken says, "Oh,,,Ok,,I think there's been a mistake here somewhere."

"Oh yes, Ken, that just happens to the the exact reason for my call", says I. "And since you're all up in this little matter of correcting mistakes, let me give you the other account number, again, and you can fix that error too."

After giving Ken the second account number, again, he proceeds to tell me that those charges came from the emergency room Doctor's billing service and it had nothing to do with them.

"How is this so", says I? "It's a charge from your emergency room doctor and he gets his patient billing address and other information from you, right?"

Ken agreed that indeed the information came from the hospital and he quickly agreed that there'd been some mistakes and he'd call me back after he got everything corrected.

5 hours later he called and said everything had been fixed but it would take at least 30 to 45 days for the information to be corrected by the credit bureaus. He did promise to send me a letter with the results of the investigation, so if it wasn't corrected by then, I'd have something to prove the charges weren't ours.

Now all I can do is wait to see if it's done.

It's scary folks, and it's sad, but it's a good idea to keep an eye out for this stuff.

And it sure can make you cranky to deal with it!

Looking Back

For some reason, the past few days, I've been thinking of the way things were when I was a child. I believe what kicked the memories into gear was watching Kid Nation on Wednesday evening, as I watched one kid who's chore was to pump water, I turned to James and asked him if he remembered having to pump water from an old pitcher pump in the back yard every day.

I remember that being my chore a lot of times when I was about 7 and on up until I was 9 or so when we finally got an electric pump and were able to at least have running water in the kitchen. When we came back from MN, where my dad had been stationed for a year, he left for an overseas tour and we moved into an old house on the Ligon place because it was only a few miles from my grandparents.

I can't remember exactly how long we lived there before moving to a house across the dirt lane from my grandparents, but I do remember a time of hot weather and a time of freezing cold. I also remember pumping water from an old pitcher pump that was in the back yard. I knew, from helping my grandpa and uncles at their house, how to prime the old pump with a little water if none would come out, and even though I had to sort of do a little jump and hop sometimes to get that handle up and down, I was pretty good at filling up the old galvanized bucket that supplied our drinking and cooking water. Another memory is never being able to get a full bucket of water to the house because it was a heavy load for a 7 yr old and I'd usually slosh a lot of it on the ground and all over me before I made it there.

It took a whole lot of buckets full to fill up that #3 wash tub to take a bath or to do fill up the wringer washer to do laundry but we did it and I don't remember being dirty or wearing dirty clothes, ever. Baths in the summer time were easier because we'd just leave the tub on the back porch or in the back yard, hidden behind the house, so it was a shorter trip to tote the water.

The bucket sat in the kitchen and we had a ladle for dipping a drink or for mom to dip up however much she needed to cook with. In the summer the water was great right after it had been pumped and most of the time when we wanted a drink we'd go straight to the pump instead of getting a drink from the bucket in the house. In the winter it would be so cold in the house before mom got a fire started in that cast iron wood stove and we'd have to take the ladle and break the ice layer on top in order to dip out a drink. It was so cold and so good!

Now, I wonder if they filter that water before those kids drink it cause it was a lot cleaner and purer back when pumping water was a way of life for some folks.

Ha! I wonder if they use AT&T!

The failure of radio and telephone equipment at the Memphis Air Route Traffic Control Center, which controls 100,000 square miles of air space include most of Arkansas, is causing flight delays at Little Rock National.

Those Devils at AT&T are messin with my mind!

Last winter I dropped everything but basic service on my land line phone. I'd previously been paying for 2 lines because I used one for that dreadful dial-up Internet service but with the installation of the new, faster, satellite service I no longer needed the extra line. I'd also previously had a intrastate and international long distance calling plan but with AT&T's acquisition of Southwestern Bell, and their immediate increases in these services, I decided I just didn't need all that anymore.

After I cancelled all the extra stuff, my bill for basic services was $34.73 per month and it stayed that way for 3 whole months. Then the crazy stuff started up.

In March it was $35.17

In May it was $34.97

In June it remained $34.97

In July it jumped up to $36.13 (due to a basic rate increase)

BUT, In August it was $35.59

So this morning I sent an email to AT&T customer service to ask some simple questions, "Why has my bill been going up and down and what IS the amount of my basic monthly bill."

Someone from AT&T's customer service just called me in regard to my email, woke me up from my nap, and I still don't know the answer to those 2 simple questions. After she hummed and hawed for 10 minutes or so, I told her to please hunt around and find someone who knows the answers and call me back,,,or even better, answer my email WITH an email and I can finish my nap.

Happy Fall Ya'll !

Two views from last November (click em for a bigger view)

I know the first day of Autumn was yesterday but I didn't get around to posting so I'm late with my greetings. I would love to say that Fall was my favorite time of the year, but because it leads to Winter, it just isn't so. I don't like Winter with it's short days, it's bare trees, and the cold that I feel in my bones. I reckon I'm lucky that we don't have too many really, really cold days though.

Since the trees in my part of the world won't be feeling too autumnish for a few more weeks, (we hang on to Summer as long as we can) I dug into some of my photo files from last year.

I'm a Seeing is Believing Kinda Gal

It's not easy to bullshit me, don't get me wrong, in most instances, I'd rather believe what a person tells me than not, but I do tend to disbelieve most of the hype on TV commercials or magazine ads. I figure, in those cases, they're gonna tell you mostly what they think you want to hear/read and if it means some major exaggeration to sell something, they'll do it in a heartbeat. They want your money, ya know?

Anyway, in my meandering way, I'm trying to say that I'm not easily fooled into spending my money on foolishness so I'd like to tell you about something I tried a sample of, and just ordered a 2 month supply of.
After using the sample, for 3 nights (it only included 6 patches), I woke up after the 2nd night without pain in most of my bodily parts for the first time in several years.

Those foot detox patches are pretty fine. The heat from the Detox Pad (Patch) helps absorb perspiration from the bottom of your foot. The bottom of the foot is the location where most of the nerves in our body end. Therefore it's used on the sole of the foot to clean out waste and toxic materials that are expelled in the form of sweat.

I decided to try them after visiting an online site about pain relief for arthritis. Old Arthur has been dealing me a heap of misery lately and I was near 'bout to get to the end of my rope. The patches are used for a whole lot of stuff like, "arthritis, to improve your immunity system, increase vitality and energy,
reduce stress and anxiety, improve circulation, improve sleep, hot flashes, and mood swings, among other things.

The main ingredients are wood vinegar extract, bamboo vinegar extract, and Tourmaline, but there's some more stuff the Japanese throw in there. It's all natural stuff too.

I'm going to try a round of 30 treatments first off cause I'm pretty sure there are enough toxins in my system to cause Green Peace to take up residence in my back yard. I'll let you know how it goes.

Wednesday Already???

Dusty Delta Sundown

Geez, where's this week going?

Beans got her cast off yesterday
and the poor baby has blisters all over her arm. She's afraid to use
that hand right now but I think she'll realize it doesn't hurt anymore
soon and be right back at it soon.

Zach and The Chick really got a workout at their Tae Kwon Do class yesterday. I makes me tired just watching them. Alexis also takes dance and tumbling so she's in good shape.

Trish sent me a copy of Jordan and Jaylen's 5 wk reports and those girls are shining! All A's for Jordan and nothing but good things for Jaylen.

We haven't gotten Zach's 5 wk report yet but I'm thinking there'll be room for improvement after looking at his grades online the other day. He seems to go from one extreme to the other.

Jami hasn't mentioned MeriKate, Krysten,
or Abie's grades but I've helped them with their homework some and they
seem to know what they're doing so I think their reports will be just
fine.

Ok, I'm outta here, the way my back feels, I think I'm getting a kidney infection. I'm a little nauseous too.

The West Memphis 3 Inspires a Cold Case File Episode

COLD CASE Episode Inspired by WM3 Story will air on Sept. 23rd.

Three young boys were reported missing in West Memphis, AR in May 1993 and shortly after their bodies were found, the press, with help from the police department, jumped on the bandwagon and inspired what became one of the most well-known witch hunts since the Salem Witch Trials.

With evidence consisting only of a "confession"( that very evening recanted), from Jesse Misskelley, JR, a mentally handicapped teen, given after being held and questioned for 12 consecuative hours without aid of council or parental consent, Misskelly, and acquaintances, Damien Echols, and Jason Baldwin, were arrested, tried, and convicted.

The case bothered me greatly from the get-go. My heart ached when I first heard the news about the missing boys and ached even more when their bodies were found and it was later announced that the suspects were teens, which to me meant they were also children.

Over the past 14 years, I've kept up with news about the West Memphis 3 and very shortly after the investigation and trial information became available, I read it all, and I came to believe that the murderer or murderers of those 3, 8 yr. old boys was never found. DNA evidence was finally completed this summer and no DNA from any of the West Memphis 3 was found and this, even without the other BS that went on during the trial, makes me feel even more certain that our Justice system has screwed up big time.

Read all about it here, or read all the other information to be found online, and tell me what you think.

Just so I can say I did,,,,,

Thought I'd post a little something even though little of nuttin' has been going on in my neck of the woods lately.

Yesterday I had play time with Jillian while Jerri took the Chick and Zach to Tae Kwon Do and we stayed pretty entertained the whole time.

First we were entertained by Jerri's Mom's 2 Poms. Baby Girl was in heat, and Skipper, who's been neutered, wrestled around with her for a short while before getting tired and losing interest. Then Baby Girl decided he wasn't putting forth enough effort, so she'd fool around with him for awhile. Jillian would get irritated because they were "wrestling" around so much they'd get in the way of her playing so she'd take her BOW WOW (this huge blow up hammer thingy) and bop the hell of of them. It was a lot more entertaining than the cartoons on TV.

During the "wrestling" match we were also watching for the hummingbirds to come to the feeder outside the living room window. I was trying to get Jillian to say "hummingbird" but she insisted they were "birds". Simple enough, she's not one for long, drawn out, conversations or elaborations.

We also made several potty trips during which we sang the "PeePee on the Potty" song, discussed the artwork on the walls, played peep-pie in the mirror, and had short answer discussions about if it was time to wipe or not. I bet we spent over half an hour in the bathroom during that play date.

Afterwards while I was trying to put a diaper on her as she was in an upright position (she insisted), I was having problems with getting the tabs straight,

Nanaw : Well, Shoot!

Jillian: Shit?

Nanaw: That's not what I said this time Jillian.

Jillian: Shoot.

Nanaw: Yep, let's go see if we can find some big girl panties, ok?

Mid-Week

A little blurry, but here are our two Tae Kwon Do beginners. I think they look as cute as little bugs in their uniforms. James told me I won't be thinking cute when one of them tries to use what they've learned on me.

They have a variety of students in their class but also have more than one instructor so that they are learning at different levels. The oldest student is my age. They were having to duck walk around the perimeter of the gym during one class and I was observing from the bleachers. When the "older student" was passing he breathlessly told me, "I'm getting too old for this." I replied, "You're doing a great job, if I were to get down that low it would take Turk's Crane Service to get my old butt upright again."

Jilly Beans saw the doctor yesterday and the cast stays on for at least another 2 weeks. When I saw her last night, I asked her what the doctor said, and being a child who doesn't waste a lot of time on chit-chat, she lifted her arm and told me, "Doctor, broke, boo-boo." I reckon that said it all.

When I dropped the Chick off at home after their class, Beans came running out of the house in her birthday suit to give me bye sugars. After she sat in my lap for a few minutes, confiscated my powdered donuts and Zach's left-over chips, she was ready to go back inside. Alexis had plans to show her momma and daddy what she'd learned in class so I bet it was a rowdy there for the next little while.

Trish called last night to tell me that she's officially on strike. She told Jordan and Jaylen that since they couldn't pick up their toys and clothes or clean their rooms, she couldn't drive them to ball practice or take them other places because she had to spend all of her time cleaning up their messes.

Jami came in this morning with 3 sad little girls. It seems, from first appearances, that someone has poisoned 3 of their dogs, two of which stay in a pen. The county Sheriff is one of their neighbors so I'm hoping they'll investigate and find out who did this because it takes someone mighty evil and cold-hearted to kill a pet.

UPDATE: Only one of the girls pets was poisoned, the ones in the pen were ok.

Burned Popcorn

Zach pushed too many buttons on the microwave the other evening when he was popping some popcorn. He doesn't stay around to wait on it so the result was a bag of popcorn that was reduced to cinders. Since then I've been trying to get the smell out of the microwave and my house.

Febreeze has done a lot towards reducing the nasty smell in the house but the microwave is another matter.

I first tried vinegar,,,zapped it several times, left it in there to cool, then washed the inside of the microwave out with the vinegar... Still had the cindered popcorn smell but with a pickled undertone.

Next I tried lemon. I zapped that lemon several times too. First in a bowl with a little water, then just tossed it in and tried it. Could still smell the popcorn-pickle, but now there was also a lemony smell added to it.

Oh, and I tried frebreezing it too,,,didn't work but it added floral notes to the others.

I just looked online and saw that someone there suggested vanilla. I may come up with a new frangrance here if this keeps up.

Turning Granny Cartwheels

Alexis did such a FANTASTIC job in her pageant last night. Her momma did a fine job finding this dress cause it showed off those pretty blue eyes of hers. It was her first trip out onto the stage without momma's help and she did it like a pro. Jerri and her mom took all the photos, Nanaw manned the video camera. I think there will be a lot of film with different butts in it even though I was trying to focus around them all during the pageant.
Jillian had her pageant last night too but since it was hot and muggy, and after her bed time, all she wanted was for that dress to be OFF so she could get cool. Jerri took this shot when they were trying on the dresses sometime last week. She's doing her wink.

I put 4 of my photos in the photography exhibit at the Tri-County Fair this year (same place they hold the pageants). I've thought about it the past several years but was so afraid that my "beginner" stuff would look pitiful being shown there with so many wonderfully creative shots by others.

Anyway, the photos of my Butterfly, Zach and Abby, and Jillybeans Wiggle, all won blue ribbons and you can't imagine how excited I was. But then I looked for the Sunflower shot I'd entered and I couldn't find it. I looked some more, and it just wasn't there with all the others being displayed on that side of the hall. I was starting to give up, thinking they'd disqualified it for some reason, when Zach told me there were some pictures over on the other side. I walked over there and looked around the walls and didn't notice it at first even though it was directly in front of me. If my old, butt hadn't been so tired I'd have tried a cartwheel or two, right there on the spot cause there, under the Best of Show Banner was my Sunflower photo with a blue ribbon AND a Best of Show ribbon.

I was a little excited about that.

Germantown Performing Arts Center Bullshit

You know what? I'm tired of this bullshit. These employees were fired for tying off excess ropes in the same way that, apparently, it's done in theatres everywhere, worldwide. Should I also take offense because one of my great, great, great, uncles was hanged for horse thievery?

As a U.S. citizen, I'm tired of all the controversy over whether or not we are offending some group, individual, or their culture, if we choose to show our patriotism or practice our right to free speech, and I'm tired of every, little, mundane action being treated as a racial slur. In my country, you may practice this right to free speech but when you're all done whining, complaining, and putting down our cultures, and way of life, you can practice another right freely given in this country, you can leave.

We're Americans dammit! We're made up of a variety of cultural backgrounds but we chose democracy in this country and lately our rights, as American citizens, are being stomped on.

You want to live here?

Learn English, it's our national language, and by the way, Ebonics is NOT a language.
Practice your religion, it's another of the freedoms our constitution gives you, but don't you dare object when I, as a citizen, practice my own. "In God We Trust" is our national motto because this nation was founded on religious principles.

Wear what you want and eat what you want, and I'll do the same.

Leave my flag alone! I have a right to wave it.

I'm going to continue to say Merry Christmas and if you're polite you'll nod your head and smile. I won't take offense if you wish to give me your preferred greetings either,,,well most of them.

I take offense when someone who's never been to Africa, who's parent's have never been to Africa, or who's grandparent's have never been to Africa, refer to themselves as African Americans, but I don't protest this offense on the national news. My heritage is German/Irish/American Indian/and who knows what else, but I don't go around telling everyone that I'm German/Irish/American Indian/and who knows what else in every conversation, nor do I put this information on any personal information I'm filling out. You are African/Irish/German/etc,,, American IF you were BORN in another country, were a citizen of that country, and MOVED here and became a citizen of this country.

Ok, I'm done bitching for the moment.

Happy Labor Day!

I hope every one's having a great holiday weekend. It's been a hot one here but a bit cooler than it was in August, thank goodness, but still, I've spent most of the long weekend avoiding things that make me sweat.

Beans got her cast last Wednesday, finally. It's green and they've already painted it with some sparkles, and Jerri is trying to think of a way to decorate it a bit for their pageants coming up on Tuesday night.

The doc also decided to put Jami's broken foot in a cast since the boot/splint wasn't doing the job to let it heal.

Tae Kwon Do classes are going well for Zach and Alexis and they both like it. Their uniforms (do you call them that?) should be in on Tuesday so they'll look like little MA students then.

Trish, Jordan, and Jaylen are in town for the weekend and we went over on Saturday to spend some time with them. I swear, those girls look as though they've grown an inch just over the past few weeks!

Jordan's softball team was ranked 3rd/4th (depends on which championship you read) in the state and 6th in the nation this season!

I got the news the other day that one of my past tax clients is in jail for handling an incident on his own with some good ole boy redneck justice. Apparently he'd been having problems with someone breaking into his welding shop and stealing stuff, so he decided to set up an ambush for them. He decked himself out in cammo clothing and night vision goggles and waited. When they broke in the other night he met them with shotgun blasts and killed two men.

I've heard, through the grapevine, that they're charging him with first degree murder but haven't seen anything on the news about it, so who knows?

This guy was working on a part for my son-in-law and the part became part of a crime scene. I think the sheriff escorted him onto the property the next day and let him get it so he could put his truck back together.

School's going good so far this year, I've heard no complaints from Zach's teachers. I went up on Friday and met with all of them except 1 and I'm really encouraged that this year will work out better than previous ones.