Something fishy’s going on here…

After taking Dakota and Travis to the dentist this morning, I brought Travis home with me so he could help Jim around here.  They told me they were going to continue the tree limb clean up project.

Can anyone explain to me how these fishies came out of the woods?  Anyone?  I am really trying to understand….

It’s a small world!

 

We've been spending a lot of time at ball fields lately, cheering on the grandkids.  And that is exactly where we were last night.  At a ball game.

Jim is one of those guys who knows everyone, and everyone seems to know him.  So it is not at all unusual for him to disappear to visit with others.  And that is exactly what he was doing every time I turned around.  I finally shook my head and said to Travis, "There he goes again.  I wonder who he's visiting with now".  The next thing I knew, he was motioning for me to come over. 

Then it hit me.  He was visiting with Osage Bluff Quilter and her hubby, Osage Bluff Blacksmith  Patti and I have been following each other’s blogs for some time.  They just happened to be there for a ball game with their grandkids! 

It was like we had known each other forever.  And in a way, we did.  It turns out Patti and I grew up only a few miles from each other.  We are the same age and knew many of the same people.  The conversation was fast and furious.  I can't wait to visit with them, letting the guys do the guy things, while we tackle a serging job facing her.  What a wonderful new friend!

The evening happened to be one of those yucky, muggy Missouri nights.  One of those nights where makeup is useless and hair gets pulled back off the face.  And that's when she said it - "I have a camera..."  My hands immediately flew to my hair.  Oh what the heck.  I cheated and crawled behind her.  She said "no fair" but I'm not too good at listening.

Here is a slide show of three of Austin, Dakota and Travis playing ball.  I’m a bad grandma and don’t have photos of the other grandkids yet.

Slideshow design generated with Smilebox

Donations anyone?

The total cost (so far) to fix Buggy is $1,950...

Yea, I'm not so happy.

But it's still cheaper than a car payment. I have 96,000 miles on her and this is the first real repair cost we've had, so I'm going to suck it up and shell out the money (as if I had any other choice...)

There goes this year's vacation!!!!!

Will I Ever Learn Wednesday 6-9-10

This is the day of the week that I am supposed to put all of my silly ways out there for everybody to see.

However, today turned into the day of the week that NOTHING went right. My "VW Bug" has had a bug for some time now. We took her to her GP car Dr. and his diagnostics showed nothing wrong. So I've kept driving it - and the problem has gotten progressively worse. As the days heat up and if I am doing the city driving thingy, Buggy begins to shift through the lower gears really hard - giving me a lurch here and there and everywhere.

So early this morning we took my baby to a transmission shop and left her. A couple of hours later, the specialist called to let us know that VW had hidden her intestines behind such a shroud of secrecy, that they could not diagnose the problm. She had to go to a specialist in St. Louis (the closest VW dealer to my little part of Missouri). After a call to VW, we decided to take the already shot day and finish it off by driving the 2 hour drive to St. Louis and check baby bug into the VW Hospital.

Already resigned to the fact that this is going to be an expensive visit, I'm just hoping they figure out the problem and fix it. As I told Jim, Buggy is still in great shape, I still like her, and if we take care of her, she should be able to easily give me another 100,000 miles of fun. It sure beats a car payment!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOW FOR THE WILL I EVER LEARN...

I feel compelled to reach into the recesses of my mind and come up with some crazy thinking from the past.

We used to have a good size strawberry patch. In case you don't know, where there are strawberry plants, there are usually snakes. In our case, they were usually big black snakes. Like many of you, I have an irrrational fear of snakes. Crazy scared type fear. But being a resourceful kind of gal, I figured out a way to protect myself from scary snakes.

Here is where I introduce our beautiful faithful companion, our Golden Retriever, Dolly. I'm bummed right now, because I couldn't find a picture of her. I'm sure once I post this, one will jump out and bite me. You will just have to trust me that she was beautiful. And she was my protector.

Day after day Dolly and I would head down to pick strawberries in the early morning hours, before I headed for work. She stayed by my side and I knew if ever there was a snake, she would warn me.

My Jim had the audacity to laugh at me when I told him what I had been doing. It wasn't long after that a black snake showed up in our driveway. The laughing spouse called me to come watch. Walking to the other side of the snake, he called Dolly to him. I knew I had him now. That dog was going to go crazy barking!

Dolly jumped right over that snake without giving it a second thought! She wasn't going to ever protect me - she couldn't care less about snakes! Dolly was never again forced to help me pick strawberries. She was always welcome to come with me, though, and even though she had proven herself totally worthless, we remained the very best of friends.

I believe that was the year that I let the strawberry patch go to weeds...

How to bend a cast iron tub

The bathroom saga continues.

I shamefully neglected to take a picture of the 29 year old, outdated bathroom before we started this project. But here is a shot with the doors removed from the narrow, can’t get anything in there and find it back, linen closet. The vanity to the left was also outdated, with the formica being the original.

It was time to gut this room and start over! And that is exactly what we did.

We even removed the stained glass window. Now that the linen closet was gone, we could center it on the wall and frame it properly.

Did you know that cast iron tubs are dated? Me neither. But they are – and this particular one will be 100 years old next August.

Jim spent countless hours sanding the tub down to bare metal. I think he put 4 coats of paint on it. The claw feet now sport a touch of artistic talent.

Out of the garage and into the truck bed.

Out of the truck bed and down the brick walkway into the front door. All hands on deck.

Alioop and bend around the step railing, into the hallway.

Back down ya go. Breathe boys. Now, down the hallway.

Alioop again! Bend it right through the bathroom doorway.

And that, my friends, is how to bend a cast iron bath tub.

Now for the finishing touches. You know, minor things like stool, sink, lights, etc.

I can’t wait to post a “project complete” picture!

A classic reading the classics

Are the "classics" still required reading in High School English class?

I was an ok student, disliking any subject that included a mathematical equation and loving any subject that allowed me to feed my reading fetish. I devoured the required reading list of Catcher In The Rye, To Kill A Mockingbird, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, 1984, The Grapes of Wrath... the list is endless. And since I've always loved to write, the inevitable book report was usually a piece of cake.

Flash forward 40 years.

I happened onto a Reader's Digest article about To Kill A Mockingbird and what the book was really about. It got me to thinking. I've read all of these books, but I don't remember much about them. So I picked up a copy of Mockingbird for my reading pleasure. I was amazed to discover that other than snipets here and there, I didn't remember the story. It wasn't until the trial towards the end of the book that things started coming back to me.

I can see many more reruns of the classics in my near future.

Do you remember what you read 40 years ago?

Will I Ever Learn Wednesday – 6/2/10

It’s raining!  THEY predicted 30% chance of rain, which means there is a 70% chance that it won’t, which means that it will.  Right?  Right.

Up until 5:30 last night, I had finally made it through the week without any new ditzo moments.  It was a great feeling.

Then it happened – the IT that I never thought could happen to me.
I stopped to get gas.  Like any normal person, I swiped my credit/debit card, chose the gas, and got the pump going.  That’s when my mind wandered.

I looked off to a corner of the parking lot, and couldn’t believe my eyes.



There were ORBS and OCHAS everywhere.  Those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about are missing out.  You can learn more by following Intenseguy's blog.  They tend to make appearances there on a regular basis.  But I digress…

Obviously I had to get some photos.  So while the gas was pumping, I wandered across the lot.  Walking back to my car, I couldn’t help but smile at myself getting the perfect pictures.
I hopped back into my little Bug and took off.

That’s right.  I hopped back into my little Bug and took off… Imagine my horror when I heard the gas hose pop out of my tank.  It was too late when I slammed on my brakes.  There it was laying on the concrete.
I ran inside and said something like “I just pulled a major dummy – I forgot to remove that thing before I drove off!”  Oh how I knew this was going to cause a ruckus and I was going to be in deep doo doo.  Apparently there is a world of ditzo’s running around, because she just rolled her eyes and said, “never mind – I’ll take care of it…” 

I was too shook up to even remember to take a picture!  Besides, some things just don’t need to be documented for posterity.

My only consolation is that I wasn’t one of those idiots driving around town with the hose hanging out of the tank.  Come on folks, fess up – has anyone else ever done this? 



Here’s what happens when you commune with nature.  You already know the birds ate all my cherries.  I didn’t even bother to mention that the squirrels ate every single strawberry.  And now my poor flowers are paying the price.  They are the perfect snack for our deer.  I guess it is a small price to pay for the beauty that surrounds us.

  

At least the deer share – they only ate half the plant.

That’s it for today.  Have a wonderful rest of the week!  Cheers, peace, and all that good stuff.