I'm Lazy

And my energy has gone off somewhere, I'm not sure where, so I posted but it's over at my Dummy site. It's a fun post so please go take a look.

My mood could have something to do with the weather and my frustration with it. 73 on Thursday, 60 on Friday, 38 today and it's spittin' SNOW.

I'm going to continue hibernating now.

Evil Meal Planning

I'm having thoughts of Fricassee Parrot, or maybe Odie Cordon Bleu.

This squawking bird is DRIVING ME CRAZY!

*he's a tad bitchy right now because I've confined him to his cage. I was tired of needing a jackhammer to remove the bird turds from every teeny wire on his cage.*

Alexis stayed with me on Tuesday and for half of the day yesterday; she's still a little puny from her surgery. I also puppy sat with little Bindy, the jungle dog, on Tuesday. When Alexis and I went into town for an hour we left Odie with Bindy and wondered on the way home if we'd have fur and feathers strewn all over when we returned. They behaved and both were taking naps when we got back.

Happy Birthday Jordan!

How does it feel to be 11 today? We LOVE you!!!!

Petrified

I was back here at the computer yesterday trying to find some information on per diem rules when I heard someone at the front door. Seconds later I heard little girl voices and realized that Alexis and Beans had come to visit. I called out that I was in the back and would be out in a second but Beans needed to see me right then, so she came back to my office/junk/whateverelse will fit in here/ room and plopped something down on my desk. I finished jotting down some information and looked down,

"Wow Beans, that's a cute little turtle! Where did you get a turtle in Winter?"

Beans said, "Yep."

I looked a little closer at this 2 1/2 inch long critter and said,

"But he's not moving, what's wrong with him,,,,Beans, is that turtle dead???"

Beans said, "Uh huh, him's dead, but him's my friend and I wuv him!"

That turtle wasn't just dead, that turtle was petrified! He'd been alive once and he'd escaped her clutches and got lost. But I guess, months later, she found him and he's continueing to be her friend. She insists!

I reminded her a couple of times before she left yesterday that the turtle needed to go home with her cause Nanaw didn't know what to feed a petrified turtle.

It's Not Funny, but It Is!

While Jerri was here last Wednesday waiting for time to pick our Beans up from Pre-school, we were talking about times past, when we were growing up, and how there was never much money. I believe what started that branch of the conversation was how the door on the toy cupboard wouldn't quite close because of all the toys, and bits and pieces of toys, that were stuffed into it, and how lucky our kids were to have all of those toys.

The conversation drifted along, one subject leading to another as conversations tend to do, and then a memory popped into my head of the old hoopty my momma used to drive when I was about 10 years old, or thereabouts.

Back then, we lived about a mile out from a little, tiny, town here in Arkansas that's only about a 35 minute drive from where I live now. My sister's and I went to church in that little town almost every Sunday morning, and evening, and Wednesday evening and most of the time we walked that mile, plus several more yards, to get there. After dark though, Mom would come to pick us up because our imaginations could conjure up all kinds of evil critters and axe murderers along that country lane if she didn't.

Anyway, the memory was of the times we, and some of our friends, would be sitting on the church steps, in the quiet dark of the evening, waiting for our rides. Then, we'd hear this far-off, but very distinctive, roar of tail pipes as a car was cranked up and someone would inevitably say,

"Here comes your Momma."

We knew it was time to start saying goodbye to our friends then cause Momma was on her way. We knew when she got to the end of the lane to turn on another road that lead into town, and we could tell when she slowed down at the end of each street once she got inside the city limits. We'd always be lined up, waiting to get in as soon as she pulled up in front of the church.

We were so lucky to even have a family car those days; I can remember even earlier when we didn't and Momma would have to walk that mile, and more, before daylight, in every sort of weather, to catch a ride with a friend to get to work. So, it didn't bother us one hoot that we had one of the loudest cars in the county; it ran, and we had a ride.

Photo Challenge - Signs of Spring

The leaves are starting to peek out on the Chinese Willow in our back yard. We do a whole lot of sittin' under this tree when the weather is warm. You may have to click to enlarge the photo to see.

We planted this Blooming Pear tree in the front yard late last Spring to replace my beloved Mimosa that died from a lightening strike. I'm watching closely for the first bloom from this little lady.
Hipped rows in the field on the south side of our house. Seeing tractors in the field is a sure sign of Spring in these parts.

These early daffodils were growing in a yard in Lexa so I got a quick shot of them (I didn't want want the folks living there to come to the door with a shotgun). They must be one of the earlier varieties because mine don't even have a bud showing yet; just the green blades. Last year my early daffodils first started blooming the last week in February then Mother Nature dumped 7 inches of snow on them the first week in March.

It's that time again; time to put out the results of our efforts for the new photo challenge. Joy over at Shuttershy was kind to be our topic hostess for this round. Thank you Joy!

The signs were subtle around here so I had to get up close to see most of them, but over the next couple of weeks I expect Spring will start popping out all over here in the Mississippi River Delta.
I have noticed a few of the Tulip Trees (pink magnolias) have been trying to open a few blooms, and some of the Spring shrubs are beginning to flower.

Y'all be sure to go over to the Brenda Photo Challenge blog and click on the names in the comments to see all of the other challenge photos. I love seeing everyone's take on these challenges!

Frenzied!

My mind is busy, busy, but it skips around like a scratched record on the wrong speed setting.

I work on a tax return,

I have to make a phone call to get more information,

I get busy with the return again,

I jump up to put a load of laundry in to wash,

Forget to start the dryer; I also threw a load in there,

The phone rings; I have to find it,

Oh yeah, I was working on that return,

Think about my back brace for the hundredth time;
don't know where it is and I need to find it,

I go looking for the brace, I notice 2 blankets are in need of a wash,

Where did I put that thing?

Put blankets in laundry basket to wash in next load,

The sink is full of dishes; I've started in there twice to get those done,

I still haven't finished the tax return, need even MORE information,

I'm getting nowhere fast around here!

Staying Ahead,,,or Behind

This is the way My Brain looks today. My Brain is a nice sized calendar book where I can jot down the things I need to do so that I don't forget to do them. I have 6 years of Brains stored for future reference (for which I have no idea whether I'll ever need, but if I throw them out, I'll surely need). The first things in My Brain to be done today are for the Improvement District, except for the entry jotted on a pink sticky note, that one's for the farm. There are a few personal items that need addressing too, if I get around to them. If I don't, they'll be moved to the tomorrow section of My Brain. You can probably tell at a glance that My Brain is mostly dead, but occasionally it keeps me in line so that things get done around here.

There were the Pee Wee basketball games on Friday evening and (too early) Saturday morning. Zach's team won Friday, and lost by 1 point on Saturday. He sure looks anxious in this picture.

Alexis, (aka, the Chick) getting ready to blow out the candle on her birthday cake on Saturday afternoon. The cake was delicious!

Paco was one of the guests at the birthday party. If you click the picture to make it a bit bigger, you can see the feather sticking out of the side of his mouth. Poor Paco won't be attending any more birthday parties. (that's a joke, he found one of Odie's feather's floating around and somehow it ended up in his mouth).

****My son called a few minutes ago and Alexis had her surgery to remove tonsils, adenoids, and to insert tubes in her ears. They're already out of the hospital and on their way back to my daughter's to spend another night in case there are any problems. I sure hope the Chick starts feeling lots better now!

I'll be around to visit as soon!

Happy Valentines Day!

There was a time when I had high expectations from my redneck husband concerning romance but those expectations went up in smoke pretty much within our first few months of marriage. I knew my romantic ideals were over and done for sure the year I told him that I wanted two new commode seats for Valentines Day, and would you believe it, that was one year when he didn't forget what day it was!

Happy Heart Day everyone!

What's In a Name

My sister tells us this story about a woman who's daughter was in the hospital where she worked. The lady was all in a huff because the nurses were not pronouncing her daughter's name, La-eia, correctly. Terri told her to just tell them the correct pronunciation and she'd see to it that they'd say her name correctly from then on. The woman's reply was, "It's a simple name really if you'll just remember that the DASH is NOT silent. La (dash) eia."

What is it with these people? Do they not realize that they're giving their children names that will define them every single day for the rest of their lives? When we named our children my first concern was that they be able to spell, and write, their names before reaching adulthood. We have "Trisha", "Jami", and "James", simple names, good names, strong names, common names, but not so common that they ever had more than 1 other child in any of their classes with the same names.

I was reading the Honor Roll list from one of the nearby school districts a while ago and all I could do was shake my head when I read some of the names of the children. Can you imagine being in kindergarten and having to learn how to spell, "Darhranesha", or "Shonqawnicksa", "Trieqauna", "Tieawauna", "Lavortchano", or heaven help you, "Shaquirta"?

Another story my sister, the nurse, told me was about this woman who was naming her newborn son and the nurse was helping her to fill out the birth announcement for the newspaper. The woman said the baby's name was Dominique, the nurse asked her to please spell it so she'd get it right and the woman said, "D O N O T H I N G". Then she got mad because the nurse couldn't stop laughing!

Please Momma's, have mercy on your children by giving them a names that they can spell before they're 20!

Happy 6th Birthday Alexis (aka Chick)! I hope your day is one of the bestest ever! We love you!

Day Is Done

And I'm danged glad of it! I finally got that farmer's books set up, got 2008 posted, and did his tax return. I've got a couple more returns in the stack to do tomorrow and then I'll be caught up for a day or so. Financial reports and 2009 postings can wait until I get a couple of naps in.

My brain is fried.

My butt is numb.

My house is a wreck.

***

I had this text message from Jerri last night:

"Guess who said it!"
"U know who da president is Momma?"
"Who?"
"Obama!"
"Really?, ur so smart!"
"I not like him."
(I sat and braced myself before asking)
"Why?"
She said, "cause, silly, hims a boy! I not like em!"

Warning!!!

Do Not Buy This Game! It is extremely addictive!

I had the first version of this game and would often play when I was stressed and it would help me to relax after spending hours looking at all those numbers in my accounting program.

This danged game causes more frustration and stress than trying to explain Capital Gains to a farmer.

It does!

I promise!

The game scene above does not come with the bullet hole in Sebastian's head, nor does it come with the red X across his chest. I did that after the 99th time that I had to try again to get more points than that wily Sebastian dude.

He's Evil I tell ya,,,EVIL! And he doesn't play fair either.

I'm going to go do some laundry and vacuuming to relieve some of the frustration from playing this danged game. Maybe I'll calm down enough to get some real work done later.

Y'all better heed my warnings unless you need a rise in yer blood pressure.

Taters and Onions

Some of our little girls came over to help PopPop plant the potatoes and onions today. The temperature was about 67F so it was a pretty nice day to be doing some gardening.


After the onions were all in the ground, the girls moved over to the turnip patch to pull a bunch up to take to their other granny's house. You can see PopPop still over there in the potato and onion patch in the background. The wind broke the pole on our Martin house so that still needs repairing. The baskets scattered around behind the girls will support the tomatoes after they're planted in a few weeks.

There was a little tree climbing going on after the gardening was done.

Photo Challenge - Textures and Patterns

It's photo challenge time! Miz Donna over at Cottage Days is our hostess for this challenge and she chose Textures and Patterns as our challenge topic for this round. I watched for patterns and textures in everything over the past two weeks.

I took this macro of some bitter weed growing along the roadside a couple of years ago. I love the textures that showed up in it.

Jerri paints some of the most adorable designs on her girl's clothes. I especially love denim and love the texture.

Patterns of light and dark in a view of the Terrorist's eye. His skin texture makes me so envious.

I noticed the pattern of tree shadows the setting sun was casting on the side of the gym at the college the other day when I took Zach to tae kwon do.

Go by and see the other challenge photos by checking each participate comment link over at the Brenda Photo Challenge Blog.

Grandpuppy Day

Zach and Fugley taking a nap. Fugley was going to her new home with Jerri, Bubbie, Alexis, and Beans. She's one of the litter of Boston Terrier puppies that Jami's Molly had around Christmas. She's almost 6 weeks old now. Don't let her sweet little face fool you though, 9 week old Zeus (below) was aggravating her today and she stood her ground with a mighty bark and growl that said, "You better get back fuzzball!"


Jami's mighty Zeus. He's a busy little fella and quite handsome even if he does look like a tiny furry rug when he's stretched out taking a nap. He's a 10 week old Lhasa Apsa (Did I spell that right?)

I've been up to my eyeballs in accounting and tax work this week and I don't have the energy left to fight a gnat.

Don't forget the photo challenge tomorrow! Miz Donna over at Cottage Days is our hostess and you'll be able to view all of the participants at our Brenda Photo Challenge Blog, or even join us! We'd love to have you!

Tuesday

I'm cold and I've got a headache.

Ok, I'm through whining now.

Happy Birthday Momma.

Mom and I when I was a baby.

Mom and I a few short months before she died.

My mother would have been 71 years old today. She died almost 10 years ago and I still miss her so much.

She and I made many happy memories on some of our fishing trips and almost always had a good time doing anything every time we were together. If my sisters and I know nothing else, we know our Momma loved us.

Happy Birthday Mom.