Sunny and her hormones

I wanted to post a video of Sunny, my DHY Amazon. I want to share it on one of the sites I belong to, but can't get it to copy.
I think it will post to the blog okay, and then I can link to the blog. Sigh. Will I ever get all this copying and stuff straight??

Anyhow, here is poor Sunny, getting hormonal in December:

Let's feature Jeff

As I mentioned in my last post Jeff had the misfortune of hitting a deer on Christmas Day. He just sent me a link to his online photos, and he was nice enough to include a pic of the damage the deer did to his vehicle. And nope, that's not Santa.....it's Jeff with some hair on his chinny chin chin. That was new to me the last time I saw him. Anyhow, Bro, I don't see any blood, so I'm taking the liberty of posting your misfortune. Plus.....I've left you out when it comes to pics. There are a couple nice ones of Jeff and Vicki in his album, so I'll include some of those....plus his kids and grandkids in some of my 2008 blogs.

We're all cleaned up and Christmas 2007 is now a memory. A good one, but it's always nice to "get the house back". It took us a million trips up and down the basement stairs, and my knee had to be iced last night. I did make an appointment with the knee surgeon for an evaulation on January 16th, so maybe I'll find out once and for all the extent of my knee damage and what it will take to fix it. Gulp.

Marco is preparing to leave for New Orleans on Thursday, along with 4 friends. He's going to take his clothes and misc. items out to where we keep the motor coach this evening. I think they are going to leave around 3:00 am, so he needs to have everything in place. Several people have said to me, "You're not going???" It's hard to keep a straight face and just say no. I think I did say HELL no one time before I could catch myself. I have a list of souveniers that I want from the French Quarter, some of them from Madame Eruzlies. Heh heh.

Okay, that's all for tonight. You say dry Columbus.

I love: having the house to myself for 5 days.

Just shoot me

I took a picture of my little African Grey Pepper the other day, and though it didn't come out the way I was aiming for, I thought it was kind of interesting. She is such a sweet little girl. But when she calls for me, "Barb", she uses Marco's voice and sometimes I actually think it's him. I'll say, "what?", and Marco will say, "I didn't say anything." It's never dull when you have animals that talk.

Christmas was wonderful and extremely tiring. It was spread over 3 days, and actually more, if you count the parties and get-togethers leading up to Christmas. I won't go into everything, as it's long-winded and a bit confusing. We just had plenty of time with everyone, and it was wonderful, and I'm so happy to have such a big and basically happy family. A few of the littler ones got crabby from time to time, but that's to be expected. Marco and I gained a few more unwanted pounds. I also fell in the driveway, as my stupid knee gave out on me again. Hurt my wrist some, but nothing broke. I promised to call the doctor today. Lordy, I'm scared when it comes to actually replacing something like a KNEE.

My poor brother hit a deer on the way to Jennifer's on Christmas day. Practically everyone I know has hit a deer, except Marco and me. Knock on wood. Haven't spoken to Jeff yet, but I imagine it will cost him a few $$$'s. Bummer.

Well, I think I'll limp into the kitchen and fix a sandwich. I got Marco the DVD "1408", and altho he's working today, I think I'll watch it without him. After all the work of the past week, I'm pooped.

You stay dry Columbus.

I love: pillows

Mike Harden commentary: Post-office angel helps little girl's sadness

This article was in today's Dispatch. Mike Harden and his family have been friends of our family for over 25 years, and Mike always has a great column. Please click on the link below to read this story.

Mike Harden commentary: Post-office angel helps little girl's sadness

Ah.....cool weather

I love this picture of the front of our house, even with the flag pole in the way. This is from last week, when we had about 3 inches of snow, which I loved. In fact, I had a dermatologists appointment that day, and one of the things he was going to check was the Rosacea on my face, which has been worse than ever due to all the heat this year. And naturally, since if had been cold for a couple of days, my face didn't look bad at all. But I still got a prescription for Metrocream, which is an anti-inflammatory. Also had some pre-cancerous lesions frozen on my chest, the area where I've had a couple of bad sunburns, and it's all catching up with me. Luckily, my dermatologist is rated one of the best in town.

Unfortunately, the snow is gone now, and it is raining today. It's supposed to be about 54 today, and no really cold weather is in the forecast. Mom is having a Christmas party for the family this coming Sunday, which should be really fun. It's been a long time since we've all been together, and I have to remember to take my camera.

I just finished my Christmas cards, so that is one more thing out of the way. I think I've got everything wrapped, but still need a couple of things that I hope to get tomorrow or Thursday. Then that's IT.

Okay, Columbus, you stay dry today; I've got to get dressed and take mom some places today, and then we both have dentist appointments this afternoon. It's always something.....

I love: The Maijishan Grottoe

New Year on the horizon

Although it's only the last day of November, and a whole month away from New Years, I'm already thinking about what kind of resolutions I'm going to make. I remember reading that 100 million people in the United States make New Year's resolutions.

In addition to the "standard" resolutions of "lose weight" and "save money" and "exercise", one thing I want to do is start a "gratitude journal". And actually write in a journal, not type, like I'm doing now. Pen and paper for a change. I need to take stock each day of things I'm grateful for. I get bogged down with all the tedious things in life, and then get bummed out. Time to really look for the good things. It's all just a frame of mind, and I need to get into that frame more.

I'd like to see family members more, but everyone is in the same boat. Too much work, and too little time and energy. I have to think about that one, and what might be done......

I need to make sure I'm doing what I can environmentally. I passed a church that had something on it's sign out front about "this planet being God's creation; what are you doing to honor it?" I worry about the world my grandkids will be living in when they are adults.

And of course, we need to weed out all the junk we've accumulated AGAIN, and simplify.

I'd like to experiment with baking more, but again......gotta find the time. Marco's our cook, so I should be able to find time to do some baking.

So....I still have 4 weeks to think about resolutions and how to implement them and keep them. I've never really made any before, but this year I'm going to try. Maybe in 4 weeks I'll have mine done....

You stay warm Columbus.

I love: pay day

Farewell Thanksgiving

Ugh, I am probably the only one in the whole U.S. of A. who hates Thanksgiving, but so be it. Exhausting buying and fixing and taking stuff. The kitchen is a hundred degrees even with the window open. My knee is killing me..... well, I won't dwell on it. Christmas is a bit of a hassle with all the food and stuff, but somehow it's pretty much okay. Anyhow, I'm so glad Thanksgiving is OVER.

We had friends who camped outside of Best Buy for a couple of days in order to get all the specials, and Marco had them pick me up a Sony Vaio laptop, which of course was the best part of the Thanksgiving weekend. I'm so proud of it, I had to post it. Now I can take it in to Panera, and "be like everyone else". I swear, everyone who comes in to Panera has a laptop. And speaking of Panera, mmmmmm, it's my favorite place to hang out in the mornings and keep filling up the coffee mug with delicious coffee. While eating a fabulous pastry. Mom loves it too, and we go there a couple of times a month together. Once in a while, I get to go there by myself, and just chill out. But not very often.

Finally got rested up from the trip to Raleigh. Very nice town, by the way. But very glad to be home. I need a few things at the store, so I think I'll venture out today. You couldn't have budged me out of the house yesterday. Marco went out and said traffic was horrible. I'm getting spoiled, which is okay, after 35 years of having to go out and deal with the world every day out of necessity. Ahhhh......

Okay Columbus, you'd better start decorating your outdoor stuff while the weather is nice and warm!

I love: my own laptop to carry around. :-)))

Here's a better pic

Here's a pic of sweet little Ava. We got down to Raleigh to see her by the time she was 3 days old, so that's not too bad. She slept most of the time we were there. I must say, she looks mostly like her dad, altho I think she looks a little bit like Margaret, Aubrey's mother. I know it's crazy to look at a 3 day old baby and "see" the likeness to other family members, but I think a lot of people do it. Silly grandma's and grandpa's. But of course, she smells wonderful.....just like a baby, and I just couldn't cuddle her enough. Aubrey is feeling just "okay"; she had a lot of stitches, but really looked good. Todd and Aubrey are both happy that everything went well this time, and the rest of the family is too.

We had wonderful connections at the airport, and this was the first time we flew U.S. Air, and it was great. Then I read a story in today's paper about U.S. Air having the worst performance and quality of service in all the airlines. I'm glad I didn't read that story before we left. I would have been awfully nervous. Also taught Marco to play Sudoku, and he caught on just fine.

So...gotta get cracking on some cooking and baking...so I'm outta here.

Have a great THANKSGIVING everyone.

Add One More!!!

Ava arrived just 3 days before her due date. She weighed 7 lb. 3 oz, bigger than we thought she was going to be. And Aubrey was in labor during the OSU~Michigan game, which they got to watch from their TV in the birthing room. All of the grandkids have been born in "birthing rooms", with the exception of the twins. They were born in the operating room, "just in case". They were full term twins, and since they each weighed almost 7 pounds, the doctor wanted to be in a sterile room in case a c-section had to be performed. Luckily, it didn't. But I digress...... I still can't get over having a baby in a room that looks like a nice hotel suite. Couch & chairs. Refrigerator. Television. Good grief.

Aubreys mom flew down and made it in time for the delivery. Everything went smoothly, and the pics of Ava show her to be very alert. Todd said she had her eyes open for a long time before she dozed back off. We weren't sure that Todd would ever arrive at this place, as he was quite the playboy for a lot of years. Also, Aubrey is the last of her sisters to have a baby.

We are attempting to get airline tickets for just an overnight stay, but this week being a holiday week, it may be impossible. The drive is miserable thru the mountains. That part that goes thru the panhandle of Virginia is a nightmare. Anyhow, grandpa is on his computer seeing what if anything we can get.

I'm happy to report that I won $500 in one of the football pools yesterday. Nancy and I got a few squares in a couple of the games, and we split our winnings. If I had played alone, I would have won $1,000!! But I'm happy with half that. Nancy is too.

That's it for now...more pics of the baby as we get them. Shutterfly doesn't let us enlarge them, so we have had to settle for teeny pics.

You stay warm, Columbus.

Before the Rush

I've been having so much trouble with Blogger that I stopped messing around with it as it was taking too much time and nothing was working. I'll try to post jut a little bit today, but everything keeps freezing up and I have to do a "Ctrl, Alt, Delete" and I get booted off and it's all just too much of a hassle. Plus, no pictures will upload.

Actually, I don't know why I'm even blogging. Today is beautiful, in the 60's and mild, and I don't have much scheduled. Then, starting tomorrow, I have all kinds of stuff, starting with haircut and weave, and then several dental appointments, car maintenance, along with Christmas shopping. Luckily, the kids mainly want one big item or gift cards, which makes things a lot more simple.

I am still limping along. I just don't want to confront what needs to be done with my knee at this time of year. Hopefully, after New Years, I'll check into it. I haven't had a haircut in almost 7 months, and I know my stylist thinks I went to someone else in that time period. Just wait till she see how long my hair has gotten. Much too long for this old granny.

The presidential crap goes on. Now we are less than a year from the next election. Let's just all hope and pray that this time we get an accurate count. Also the oil spill in San Francisco infuriates me, so badly I can't even talk about it. The world seems full of unaccountable idiots. My koi don't know what to do with all this warm weather. They are loving it. They'vd had warm weather for over 7 months now, which altho' is good for fish may not be good for us humans. I love that "stop global warming" commercial with the train coming - the man (who's probably my age) saying it's not going to effect him, and he steps out of the way, and then there is a little girl, about Logan's age, standing in it's path. Very effective, but I doubt if it changes anyone's point of view.

On the home front, Marco and I, the birds, the dogs and of course, the fish, are all doing pretty good. Todd and Aubrey are 1 week away from the due date of our newest grandchild, Ava. Aubrey is pretty miserable, but who isn't at that point. Can't wait to see the new baby, as the 3-D ultrasound shows her to look more like her daddy than her mommy. A little female Todd. Oh, also, today is Amy's birthday. Happy 38 sweetie. The next birthday is mine, however, I'm skipping it this year and for the rest of my life. Just too dang old.

Okay, I'm going to try to publish this, and hope it works instead of freezing up. Hope everyone in Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina and Missouri are doing well.

Be awesome!
I love: mild November days

Manual Labor

Halloween is sneaking up on us, but it's looking like it's going to rain for the next 4 or 5 days. I think it rained the last week of October last year, too.

This is going to be super short, as Marco and I are painting the condo that we bought originally for mom and dad. We have had renters the past year, and they have bought a place of their own, and we were lucky to get new tenants. However, we have to paint and clean the place, including the carpets this week. And I'm doing the trim, and it's amazing how much trim there is in a place with only about 1,000 sq. ft. Plus removing and cleaning and putting the switch plates back on. People with arthritis should not do manual labor. Wish someone would tell my family. I could hardly get out of bed this morning, and the more Advil I take the more my head and ears buzz, so I think I'll cut back on it today.

The fires out in California are so terrible that it makes me sick just thinking about it. Hope everyone is remembering to pray for all those who are in harm's way. And of course, all our rain could be diverted to Georgia for good purpose. That drought is really bad. I don't think there's much happy medium on weather anymore.

Okay ya'll, I'm off to paint.

I love: Ice packs on sore knees.

Stay safe, Columbus.

Perfectly October

Wow, this is a day to really enjoy ~ a perfect October day. We need to enjoy it, as tomorrow supposedly ushers in the rain, and it's supposed to rain most of the week. But at least it has cooled off. The summer kicked my butt. They say global warming is happening 10 years before it was expected. But our wonderful president says there is no such thing as global warming. 'Tis a dilemma. (Yeah, right!)

Above is a pic of grandson Jared at one of his soccer games. Jared has grown up a bunch since last year. Now he's "the man" . . . it's fun to hear the adults on the sideline cheering for him. He did okay last year, but was a bit tentative. This year he is an aggressive player. And he's getting taller. Not as tall as his twin sister Jessica though. It will be interesting to see if he ever catches up with her. He was born first, but he takes after his dad's side of the family in height. Other than that, he takes after mom's side of the family with those huge brown eyes and the best set of eyelashes in Columbus.

This week we have 2 birthdays ~ Travis will be 3 and Kelcie will be 14. Those are the only 2 in October. The next 2 months will bring a few more family birthdays, including my brothers birthday and mine. Jeff thinks he's cool because he's younger than me, but I think I can still whip his butt. At least when it comes to sock fighting. Wonder if he remembers that?

Well, it's too nice to be in here blogging, so I'm going to go get the dogs and sit outside. Papaw is at the Legion doing a little bartending, so I'm blissfully alone. Wonder what kind of people are inside drinking on a glorious night like this? (Although I may just take a Bartles & James Original out with me on the deck.)

By the way, as you may recall I am a supporter of Operation Migration. I'm happy to report that it is underway, and the cranes were successful in their first flight on day #1. Day #2 was rainy and windy, so they stayed at stopover #1. It's a long trip with the ultralights, but they will make it, I know they will.

You stay cool, Columbus.

I Love: Origami

My Anniversary

I actually missed my anniversary as a blogger....... it was yesterday. So, I'll wish myself a Happy Anniversary. I know I missed quite a bit of time for various reasons, but this 2nd year I'm going to try to do at least 2 a week. That way, by setting the bar fairly low, maybe I'll be able to keep up. Hopefully, everyone will stay well, and therefore, I'll have some free time to do things I enjoy.

Today, October 4th, it's in the upper 80's outside and the airconditioner is running. I still simply cannot get over the heat we've had here in central Ohio this summer. I have "run it into the ground" as they say, but it has just worn me out. I spent the last couple of hours just messing around on the computer, which I really don't do. Maybe 15 or 20 minutes, but today was way too much.....my eyes are hurting, and I don't even feel like thinking up anything to blog about.

One thing I did run into was t.v. commercials, and one that I thought was cute was this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmmsr7PAhWU

Remember that one? So cute.

There are a couple of books that are out of print that I wanted to read again, so I'm heading down to the Half Price Books store to see if they might have them. One of them is by Lawrence Saunders (or is it Sanders??) ~ The Third Deadly Sin. He did a series of those "Deadly Sin" mystery books but I forget where he stopped. I think the one I'm looking for was published in 1980 or 1981. He didn't do near as many as Sue Grafton, with her "Alphabet Series" of books, starting with A is for Alibi, B is for Burgler, C is for Corpse, and so on. I think she is up to "S" now, and her "T" book is due out before Christmas. I've read alot of them but in random order. It kinda depends of what Meijer has on their shelf.

So ~ this is going to be all for today. I'm just too lazy and hot.
Catch you soon; you be cool Columbus!
I love: the smell of fresh flowers

Getting into fall

Today I took mom to my favorite park, Chestnut Ridge in Carroll, about 15 minutes from here. We got a lunch at Wendy's (Coke float for me......mmmmmm) and took it to the park and ate it there. I do that a lot....both breakfast and lunch, and sometimes dinner if Marco is golfing or something. (Not all in the same day.) But I can't get anyone to go with me. Now mind you, when Grandma Barb is needed somewhere, Grandma Barb goes. But when Grandma Barb wants company to do something she likes, no one is interested. So I kidnapped Miss Jean, and she found that it wasn't too bad. Our leaves are turning yellow and orange, but we're not seeing much red this year. The trees got stressed, much the same way I got stressed. I simply roasted, and actually, it was like 83 today and windy and humid-ish, so it's not really fall weather. But the world is a-changin' and I think the falls I remember are a thing of the past.

Our poor dog Buddy - the older one - is developing cataracts in both his eyes, so I have to make an appointment for him tomorrow to get the ball rolling for possible surgery. Imagine, cataract surgery for dogs. I'll bet this will cost a pretty penny. Poor Bud is only 7, so we are surprised that he's developing this problem. Dusty, on the other hand, is too ornery to get sick.

I took my African Grey Maggy to the vet yesterday, and got the I.D. band cut off of his foot (ankle?). Since he has heart problems, his feet swell occasionally, and the other day his band looked pretty tight. So he's taken care of, and all the other birds are up to date on their check-ups.

Marco goes to his new cardiologist in 2 weeks, as sadly, Dr. Stock died a couple of weeks ago. Plus, Miss Jean is doing pretty well. This calls for a big "knock on wood", plus a couple of thanksgiving prayers, but I'm hoping we're on a roll of some low-stress times for a little while. Hopefully, thru' Christmas.

Okay, Columbus you be cool ~ that's it for now.

I love: learning new things.

Videos

The kitty cat and the bald eagle don't have anything to do with my topic, which is videos, but someone sent it to me, and I can't resist posting a great picture, since I don't take any great pictures myself. I'm not sure what a bald eagle was doing on someone's deck, but in the original pic, you can see the reflection of the eagles legs and the cats legs in the water on the railing, so I'm thinking possibly it wasn't Photoshopped. Even so, it makes a great pic.

Now, as for videos, I finally got a small video camera. It's an RCA Small Wonder, and it's pocket sized. This is a picture of it:It takes 60 minutes of video on the hard drive, and with a $20 memory card, you get 5 hours of memory. I think it's cool for the price of $129.00. I don't want anything bigger, as all I'll probably film is grandkids and pets. I don't know if a lot of people who have used video cameras over the years sit around and watch old videos or not. I can't imagine doing that very much. I post on YouTube for friends and family to watch, and that's about it.

I'll link to a YouTube video that I've already posted, so you can get an idea of how clear the videos are. Not great, but like I said, I just wanted a cheapie that I can throw in my purse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd4xNCaaGnA

Allrighty then, I guess that's about it for today.....

As Forrest Gump says, that's all I want to say about that!

You stay dry, Columbus.

I love: Origami

September blues

October is just around the corner, altho' you'd never know it by the weather. I've been bitching about the weather for 4 months now, and I thought sure I'd be done by now, but it was 94 fricking degrees outside today, and I had to be out in in. And I'm sick of it. Thus the title today: September blues.

The pumpkin conveys how I feel tonight; felt that way all day, and Pepcid didn't help. Speaking of pumpkins, we have 5 of them already. Plus a ghost pumpkin, a white one, which is totally cool. I think I'll pick up a couple more of those, and carve at least one. I got one of those pumpkin carving kits that has the tools in it to punch thru' the paper templates with a little punch thingy. Then when you carve, it's much easier to do. Which is what I need, with my hands getting arthritic. But I love Halloween and wish I had more room for decorations, namely, that little Halloween Village that Michaels has. The little buildings are all lit up and have moving parts and little moving people and music or screams.... and each one costs anywhere from $39.00 to $109.00. They're not the cheap ones ~ but they are awesome. I'd have the whole town if I had room. Well, at that price, maybe not the whole town. I guess it's something you'd have to start buying young and adding on to. Which leaves me out. Bummer.

Tonight is the premier of Dancing With The Stars and Heroes and Journeyman, and with overlapping times, I'll have to save Heroes, and possible Journeyman to the DVR. Jane Seymour is going to be one of the celebrity dancers, and she is 56. Wheew. That's a lot of work for someone her age, since I'm not that much older. I sure wouldn't want to be dancing 8 hours a day. Usually the older ones are weeded out fairly early, which I'm sure is okay with them.

So...I'd better clean up the birdies and fold a little laundry and be ready for TV again. It's been a long time.

I love: cotton blankets

Death Pools

I don't remember how I stumbled on this, but there are a whole lot of sites on the internet devoted to "Death Pools". One hub I looked at had over 50 separate sites where you could play, and another had even more. They are actual pools - like a football pool - where you make a list of people that you think will die this year, and put money on it. Some of them are just for fun. Some offer trophies. Some of them have been around for 20 years. Once I overcame my surprise, curiosity took it's place.

One of the sites I looked at gave points according to the age of the people you picked. Say you picked someone who was between 16 and 29 you would get 12 points, while a person between 70 and 79 years would only net you 7 points. You earn 1 extra point for a unique pick ~ if you were the only competitor to pick that person. You get 2 points for a celeb who dies on the 13th of any month. Three points for murder, suicide or other accident, and five points for a celeb who dies on their birthday or Christmas Day. Don't know why that site didn't award 4 points for anything. I imagine most of the sites award points this basic way. Anyhow, you total up your points at the end of the year based on that kind of criteria.

They have great names: "Dying for Dollars", "You Bet Their Life", "Cash for Cadavers", Celebrity Crypt", "Grave Expectations", and on and on. Gotta like the originality.

In no particular order, I made up a list of the celebrities that appear on alot of the lists. Some surprised me, some didn't:

Billy Graham, Jerry Lewis, Osama bin Laden, Fidel Castro, Kirk Douglas, Dolores Hope, Willie Nelson, Nancy Reagan, Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor, Mike Wallace, Muhammad Ali, George Bush Sr., Courtney Love, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Nicole Richie. I saw Madonna and Howard Stern's names on a couple of lists.

Recently deceased people were on a lot of lists: Lady Bird, Tammy Faye, Brooke Astor, Luciano Pavarotti....

Merv Griffin and Anna Nicole weren't on many lists.

I don't know whether to think this is a sad commentary on life today, or whether it's just harmless fun. I think I'm leaning to "harmless fun" since I really enjoy being in pools. What do you think ~ would you ever participate in a Death Pool?

I love: Bacon

Chit chat

Absolutely nothing went on today with me. Took mom to the doctor, and went to the bank. That's about it.

I posted the picture of that huge spider web in Texas. I've never seen anything like it, and I'll bet you haven't either. People are quoted as saying that so many mosquitos were trapped in the web, you could actually hear them screaming. Make my hair stand on end..... I love it around my own house on foggy mornings when the sun breaks thru and you can see all the webs that you never knew existed till then. They are truly amazing.

I also read that the oldest person in the world, Tomoji Tanabe, turns 112 today. This is a bit mystifying to me, as there are quite a few sites that list the worlds supercentarians (over 110 years of age), and they still list Edna Parker of Indiana as the world's oldest at 114. I checked 4 web sites, and according to them, she is still around. Maybe we're all wrong. Who cares, right??

Also noted on CNN's site that the Phil Spector jury is deadlocked. Why am I not surprised? I hope I never get called for jury duty. To me, looks are foremost in determining innocent or guilt. :-) Also, can't make myself even mention O.J........

One last note: the Autobahn is 75 today. CNN has a feature on it. I was hoping it would be filmed from inside a car going about 110, but no such luck. They did mention that even tho' there is no speed limit on it, there aren't any more accidents on it than on any other road. Marco and I were on an amazing freeway system in Montreal, Canada quite a few years ago, and cars were zooming past us and we were doing 70 or 75. There were about 16 lanes, counting east bound and west bound lanes. Compared to that, the Autobahn seemed more like Interstate 70.

Okay, kids, this old lady is heading for her jammies and a coke. You all be cool!!

I love: Being ALONE in my car.

The Kitty and the Truck

Look at this sad little face. This is a baby kitty that ended up in Marco's car, and I'm not sure if I can condense the story enough, but I'll try. . . .

Marco was on his way to the Legion last week. On the way, he was just coming over a hill, and about 25 feet in front of him was this kitty playing with a bug in the middle of the road. He stopped his car, thinking the kitty would run off, but the kitty didn't budge. Marco got out of his car and that's when the kitty ran. Under his car. He thought the kitty ran under his car to get to the corn field next to the road. He proceeded to the Legion, and was there about 3 hours, and then he came home and parked the car in Grandma Jean's garage next door. The next morning, we were sitting on the front porch having our coffee and we thought we heard a cat meowing. Marco said, "Oh no!", and proceeded to tell me the story of Mr. Kitty. We opened the garage door, and sure enough we heard meowing, and it was under the car. We looked everywhere, and Marco even got under the car, but we couldn't see it. Marco put the car into gear and we pushed the car out into the driveway so the cat could get out and run into the corn field across from OUR house. Marco drove the truck to the Legion that day. When he came home that night, the kitty was STILL under the car. We couldn't believe it. I got a bowl of water, and some cat food so it might be lured out of the car better, and then run across to the field or WHERE EVER. The next morning while we were having our coffee on the porch, we heard meowing coming from under the TRUCK. The kitty had eaten the food, drank the water and climbed into the engine of the truck. Marco had to drive the car that day, and when he came home the kitty was still in the truck. I had given it more food, which it ate when I wasn't around. We were tired of Mr. Kitty to say the least. We ate dinner, and Marco went out to the truck to look for the cat, and he opened the hood the the kitty was sitting right there on the radiator. Luckily, Marco made a grab for it and caught it!! Mr. Kitty went right in one of the plastic carriers that we have for the dogs. Also, luckily, the Humane Society was still open, and we were able to take the kitty up there. They said that as young as it was, they would more than likely have someone to foster it, and as cute as it was, it had a good chance of being adopted. Hopefully, if it is tamed and adopted, it won't go back into the engine of it's new owners car! That kitty got the best of us for 2 days. But he sure was a cutie. We wish him the very best!!!

Rain on our parade

Looks like rain is moving in, and we won't be mingling with Woody and the rest of the Buckeye fans this weekend up at tailgating. The new parking arrangements for campers is going to put a crimp in it, as it is. We used to be able to have our guests park next to our motor coach, but this year there will be a separate parking lot for cars. All in all, it will be about 14 hours expended for a 3 hour game.

Plus, this year I am going to have to get an electric scooter like the kids all have if I'm going to be able to get around. Marco and I used to walk all over the place; sometimes down 2 or 3 parking lots to chat with other tailgaters that we know. With the total crash of my left knee, I never know when it's going to be a "bad day". Ha. I'm going to talk to the doctor about getting a brace made especially for me, and my chubby little leg. Plus, I may give in, and get the series of Synvisc shots to cushion the knee joint. But I've hit the floor too many times to try to walk all over the campus, and risk hitting the concrete. Just recently, the knowledge that I'm never really going to be able to walk well again is just sinking in. It's been bad. Never thought I'd be in this situation this early, but there's not much I can do about it. No total replacement is in my near future, with my allergies to all pain meds. Doc won't do it. So...............

DH and I are going out for a late dinner; think we'll probably just go to bed when we get home, so Columbus.............you be cool.

I love:a good hair day

Waiting for Cool

I'm fresh out of pics from the camera to post. Maybe I'll get a few more at tailgating this weekend. If it doesn't rain. I forget who sent me the pic of the bird and the mouse, but it's cute. Obviously someone posed it and then snapped it quickly, but it works.

I keep hearing on the news that some of the schools are using their 'snow days' as 'heat days' already. I think most of our kids have airconditioned schools, but some of them ride the bus, and I can only imagine how hot that is. Since it's too hot to be out, I bought a variety of books at Barnes & Noble. Some are for our new laptop that has Vista on it, and has new features that we have to learn. We also want to set up our webcam in the great room and aim it where we can see the birds and the dogs. Then we'll set up a home page and that way, as long as we have the wireless laptop with us, we can log onto our home page and see what's going on at home. Nifty.

Also got a new Ann Lamott book. I'm reading non fiction at the moment. I'll read a couple of scary books as fall progresses, and we get closer to Halloween. Anyhow, Ann's book that I'm reading is 'Bird by Bird', one of her earlier books. Before Dubya was president. I like her recent books for the anti-Bush and anti-Cheney stand. Wonderful reading. She kind of echos Dennis Diehls' assertion that our president and his whole family seem to have family ties, intentions, backgrounds, beliefs and motives that are a whole lot less glorious than we poor commoners have been led to believe. Dad would have approved of her books. We're not much of a Bush family. And my view of him is mild. Check out Rick's blog on the sidebar. It's much more informative on the gang in D.C.

Well, until it cools off, I'll just be huddled away in some air conditioning or another. We've got some neat fairs and festivals in the upcoming weeks, so that will be fun, and hopefully cooler. Since Marco is at a general meeting at the Legion (and probably drinking beer on the patio again), I'm going to haul out my DVD player and watch something chick-flicky. So....later, ya'll.

I love: when the cashier rings it up, and it's cheaper than I thought.

You stay cool, Columbus.

A good night's sleep

Here's a great pic of Kayla that papaw Marco took Sunday at the Labor Day picnic. Papaw just saw Kayla chilling out and snapped her and I love it. Miss Kayla is a junior this year. (!!) Amazing. She drove over to the picnic. I still can't get over that. A grandchild driving. Jeff knows how this is also. How did we get so old so fast?? The question now is: who will become a great grandparent first?? It will be interesting.

This is another really hot day, and I think that makes about 400 this year alone. It's 94 outside and humid and hazy. I feel terrible. Oh.....I'll bet you're all thinking: What's the deal with "a good night's sleep"? Well, we got a new mattress and it was delivered today. It's awesome and it was badly needed. I can't wait to hit it tonight. Let's see ~ it's about 7:00 now, and I think bedtime will be about 8:30. We have a king size bed, but not king size pillows. They're standard. Down filled. And I have 6 of them on the bed. Everything is fluffed and clean and waiting on me. Marco is at the Legion working on the books, which is a euphemism for "drinking beer on the patio." Which is probably a good idea. I think I'll have something icy before bed; I think there is cranberry juice and vodka here.

I've been yaking to mom that she ought to have a debit card, even if she doesn't use it. You never know when you'll need access to your money at 2:00 a.m. in the morning. She always refused. Then her bank SENT her one. Yay. It's been activated and she has her PIN. We're gonna get this ole lady into the 21st century yet. Can't wait to see if she actually uses it. :-)

I can't think of anything else exciting today. Guess I'm too excited about my new mattress. In fact, it's calling me now, so I think I'll wind this up.
Let's see.....I love kissing in the rain.
You be cool Columbus.

September!!

Here's another view of Austin. Papaw took it on the staircase, so he was a couple of steps above me, and I really like the picture. I know......regrowth.....I need a weave. Maybe soon. I just love new babies and he makes the cutest little sounds, and as you can see, he's always moving his little hands around. In my humble opinion, he looks just like Travis. But that's just me.

I haven't blogged for a couple of days as I haven't even been close to my computer. On the road making personal appearances. In fact, we just got back from a very fun party at Debbie & Ernies. We played horseshoes, and it was actually fun, bad knee and all. Scott and I won our game, and we played Marco and Jackie! Surprise. We showed 'em, didn't we sweetie??

Today would have been daddy's 86th birthday. His was always the hardest to remember, as his was right there when you flipped the calendar from August to September. We have a couple during the first week of a month....Jackie, Kayla, Trent, and Amie, but at least there would be time to get a card and send it to them, along with their birthday check. One time I forgot dad's and when I turned the calendar, I was in tears. I forget what I did....I could swear I did something like Western Union but........it was at least 10 years ago, and my mind isn't quite what it used to be. Ha.

Anyhow, family and friends, I'm tired from a day in the sun, so I'm heading for my nightgown and bed. And speaking of BED, we finally got a new mattress and box springs that will be delivered Wednesday, thank goodness!! We got a Serta and they gave us one of those little sheep that are on their commercial. We looking forward to better quality sleep on the new one, needless to say.

I love: babies, needless to say!

Okay, Columbus, you keep cool and enjoy the holiday tomorrow.

Austin's Here

The past couple of days have been kinda bad....I'm not going to whine about them, as they're over, and we've had some really GOOD things happen to us in the past few days also, so as Tony Soprano says, "Let's focus on the good times."

First of all, and this is really GOOD news ~ here's Austin, being held by big sis Jamie, who has a birthday of her own tomorrow. She is going to be 5 years old. Nice birthday present. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 12 ounces. Here's another picture of him; he looks a little bigger without being all wrapped up.

Very nice family, and Amy is feeling really good, and gets to go home tomorrow.

Also found out that cousin Chris and his wife Lee Ann are expecting. We certainly wish them the best. Jeffy has 3 grandsons, so I imagine, even this early in the game, that they are "thinking pink". Wasn't it Jerry Lewis that was always thinking pink, and ended up having like 7 boys? Well, we have 5 boys and 4 girls, but when Ava joins the group in November, we'll be even again.

May I still *itch about the weather and say it's 97 outside. I had to take Baby bird, the Blue Front Amazon for an annual physical today, and it's HOT. Hmmmm, how long has it been unbearably hot now???? I think it's been like 8 months or something.

I'm adding a site to my sidebar, check it out. It's just a little site regarding wild bird rehabilitation, and a very nice lady that works very hard taking care of orphans. I admire people like her, and enjoy her site.

Alrighty then . . . I'm going to go feed my critters so Marco and I will be free to venture out again in this heat, and probably run up to the hospital. More later.....

I love my mommy.

You keep cool, Columbus!!

Tomatoes and Tailgates

Even though the heat index outside is 110 today (will it ever end??), we are thinking about the beginning of tailgating season. The first home game is Saturday, September 1st. Three of the five September games are at home: 9/1 (Youngstown), 9/8 (Univ. of Akron) and 9/22 (Northwestern). Papaw went out to the lake and cleaned all the awnings on the motor coach, and we need to vacuum (is that spelled right??) and dust, but other than that we'll be ready to go. GO BUCKS!!

As for tomatoes, zowie, this time of year we have a ton of them. They're a bit smaller this year - not just ours but everyone's that we've talked to. Anyhow, I've eaten so many that my mouth is sore. The acid in the tomatoes makes it burn, but I can't help myself. They are so good; too bad tomato season only lasts about a month or so here. And after a horrible summer of unrelenting heat, who knows how this will affect midwestern crops.

I'm getting close to doing my post on remembering cousin John, who died on 8/25/06. In the memory book that the New York Times published, there is a list of things that John loved. I think I'm going to snag that idea and try to end my post each day with an item that I love. I know I published 50 of the "100 things about me" early in my blog many months ago, but that took some real thinking, and I only got halfway there. I'll just stick one thing in a day, starting with the obvious:

I love Marco.

Lots of Rain/No baby yet

Here's a new pic of our little Greys, MaggyMay and Pepper. I finally made up my mind to take some pics, and then found out the battery was 99.9% dead in the digital camera, and this is the only pic I got. I know our battery charger is around here somewhere. And probably fresh batteries in it....hmmm.......

Maggy, on the left, has had a hard time of it this year. An eColi infection and heart problems, but everything is under medical control now, and we are hoping for the best. You'd never know anything was wrong with the little stinker now, and hope it keeps that way.

Still no baby, so it's looking more like Friday will be the day. I didn't know we had rain last night as I sleep thru anything. Marco knew it rained, but didn't realize the extent, either. Our pond was really full this morning, so we thought we got a fair amount, but was surprised to see roof-top rescues here in town featured on CNN later this afternoon. Well, we don't exactly live in town, and I think the suburbs did okay, but we sure were clueless.

Jared, Jessica and Kayla will be here tomorrow, and we'll get to hang out one more day before school starts. Hard to believe that time is here already, but I'm more than ready for it....or at least for this heat to cut back. It's supposed to be 91 tomorrow, and 94 Thursday, but hope that will be the end of the really beastly stuff.

Going to cut it short right now, hubby is fixing dinner, and altho' it's just bacon, lettuce and tomatoe sandwiches, the 'maters are from our garden, and the bacon frying is luring me off the computer and in to the kitchen.

Be cool Columbus,

Grandma B.

A couple of digitals!

I found a couple of digital pictures on my camera - one of Jamie and Papaw that's more recent, one of Todd and Brad, and one I took of Mr. Big, our big koi. The pic doesn't do him justice, he's huge. Too bad I can't line them up on this page!

I'm making a pledge to carry the darn camera in my backpack. I carry a Vera Bradley quilted backpack as my purse-carrying shoulder is getting either arthritis or bursitis in it. Jeesh!

This week in the garden

This picture of Miss Jamie is a year old now, and she's changed so much, but I have no current digital pics of Jamie or her brother Travis, mainly because we forget our camera most of the time. All are regular prints (people are nice about giving us copies), and scanning, saving and downloading are a pain, and I only have about 5 minutes before I'm on the run, so this will have to do for right now.

The real reason I'm mentioning Jamie and Travis is that they are going to have a new brother - Austin - this Friday, which is the day Amy will be induced. This makes #9 for us, and for now, we have more boys than girls. This will change on Thanksgiving when Todd and Aubrey have Ava. It'll be 5 girls and 5 boys. And after that, who knows???? Ages right now are: 16, 14, 11, 9, 9, 7, 5 and 3.

I'm a little surprised that we only have one set of twins - the wonderful Jessica and Jared - as there are twins everywhere in the family. The oldest set that have been uncovered are Fred and Florida, who are something like great, great, great aunt and uncle. Cousin Mary Ann has been working hard on the geneology, and she herself has sisters who are twins, Nancy and Sallie. I think we ~ well, Scott & Jackie ~ hold the record for the biggest twins; Jared and Jessica weighed almost 7 pounds each. I think Jessica weighed 6 lb 12 oz, which is what her dad weighed when he was born. Jackie was very large, to put it politely. Both were heads down, delivered naturally. The operating room (standard procedure for twins) had quite a few doctors and nurses that just came to watch, as they have never seen a non C-section birth of twins and no complications.

I guess I just wanted to say today that we have been blessed by such healthy, beautiful, and fun grandkids; we're looking forward to the 2 new ones, and life is wonderful. Amen

Grandma Barb

The last of HBO

Sunday night ~ it used to be our favorite television night, thanks to HBO. Over the years it's been Sex and the City, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Six Feet Under, Carnavale, Deadwood, and our favorite of all of them, The Sopranos. The "Ojibwe Saying" is from episode 69, when Tony is in the hospital recuperating from Uncle Junior shooting him. I just happen to like it, so I posted it. I don't think there will ever be a show as good asThe Sopranos. James Gandolfini made the scary Tony Soprano likeable. And Edie Falco was marvelous, as was every member of the cast. I have all the seasons on DVD, so we'll never lose The Sopranos. It's just that we can't look forward to seeing them on Sunday nights anymore.

The Sopranos finale was great. A lot of people were disappointed in it, but Marco and I thought it was excellent. I TIVO'd it, and have played it several times, both for myself and for the non-Soprano watchers that have visited. Mixed reactions from them. Again, I played it for mom, and she loved it. I think I'm corrupting her. And to make matters worse, I gave her a bunch of VHS tapes today as we never watch tapes anymore, and one of them was Hannibal. Can't wait to see if she enjoys Hannibal Lechter.

But what we considered all the good HBO shows are over now. John From Cincinnati is playing in the time slot where The Sopranos used to be. I think it's been cancelled already. Big Love is on, but I can't get in to a show about polygamy. Just sounds boring. So we did what I never thought we'd do: we cancelled HBO. It's just a shame when there's nothing on HBO that we like. And we never watched it except on Sunday nights, so it was kind of a waste all along.

So, I just want to bid a fond farewell to HBO, and to say it was great and it was fun while it lasted. This evening, I'll have free time to sit on my deck and enjoy the constellations and planets (Venus is getting very low in the west, so is Saturn, and Jupiter is shining bright) and have a glass of wine.

Dog Rocks

I just love the series "Dog, the Bounty Hunter" on A&E. I love Dwayne Chapman, his wife Beth, and the rest of his family. It's a reality show where Dog and his team go after criminals who have violated their bail. Even Beth. She's one cool mama. They also own a bail bond shop in Honolulu. It's kinda like Cops. But it goes a little further than cops, as it also shows aspects of the Chapmans family life. Apparently, Dog has about a dozen kids by several different women. (!) Some are little kids, and the older ones are grown. One of his boys, Leland, is a costar of the show, and he's really good looking. Dog has a soft side for a bounty hunter, and he treats most of the people he catches with respect, and tells them they gotta clean up their acts. Everyone usually ends up crying, including Dog. And before they go after someone, they all hold hands and offer a prayer. I love this show.

Okay, here's the funny thing. Sunday Marco had a golf tournament and he was gone all day. It was hotter than hades outside, so I decided to just veg out in front of the t.v. I called mom to see if she wanted to come over, and she said "yes". Well, there was a "Dog" marathon on, and I think it was 3 hours long. How cool was that!! We caught it at the beginning, and we watched ALL of it. It ended with Dog's wedding to Beth. I guess they've been together like 15 years or so, and decided to marry. This was a rerun, as they were married in May of 2006. But all in all, I think mom enjoyed it very much. At first she said, "what the heck are you watching?" I explained the particulars, and she settled in and got hooked also. We had a pretty good day just goofing off. Before she left (after a late dinner) she asked again "Now what channel is A&E?"

Right now Dog is having problems with our government .... it has to do with him going into Mexico and apprehending rapist Andrew Luster, and getting in trouble as bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico. Even tho' Mexico dropped the charges, the U.S. is giving him crap about it for some reason that I haven't had time to read up on. But I will. He was on one of the CNN stations yesterday with his attorney, and I just caught the very end of it. Rats.

So....just wanted to relate that a person is never too old to enjoy good television! We had fun hanging out all day watching Dog. We especially liked the wedding.....I think Grandma is a real Dog Chapman fan now.

Also just wanted to mention the horror out in Utah. What a nightmare; my heart goes out to everyone caught up in the tragedy. Prayers to all concerned.

That's it for Friday folks,
You keep cool Columbus.....

Remembering Elvis

Today is the 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley. It's hard to believe it's been that long, as I remember exactly what I was doing when I heard about it. Brad was 6 and Scott was 8. I was....well, never mind that. Anyhow, we were across the street at MaryAlice's house. She was a good friend, and had 3 kids, just a little older than Scott and Brad. Her cat was having kittens in her closet, and everyone was in the bedroom helping with the delivery. Well, actually, they were mainly watching, fascinated. I think it was the first time I'd ever seen kittens born, myself. It was awesome. MaryAlice had the television on in the living room, but no one was paying any attention to that. But after a while, the tone of what is being said gets through to you. It's like the voice of "breaking news" on t.v. now. I forget who wandered in to see what was going on, but pretty soon the news got to all of us, and we were understandably upset. Who at that time thought that Elvis would die so young. I'm thinking he was only 42. Of course, with what we know now, it's a wonder he lived as long as he did. Now there are bunches of young stars who didn't even live that long, due to all the excesses of that lifestyle. It's a shame he became such a junkie. But today, I'm not here to judge.

So, here's to Elvis.....he was a big part of Americana, faults and all. I think Priscilla and Lisa Marie have done well in taking care of his business since he's been gone. He would have been proud of them, I'm sure.

Other than that, it's still hot as hell outside, and I'm ready for a Coke.

Try to be cool out there, Columbus.....

Looking back musically

I'm just sticking in a pic of the pond for no particular reason. I'm pretty sure I've posted it before, but whatever. I've worried about the koi during this awful hot weather, but they seem to be doing okay. The lattice cover over the pond, plus the water hyacinth and parrot feather in the pond keep the water fairly cool. Seems there's no middle ground for the koi either. It's either too hot or too cold, but this morning they were chasing each other around the pond like there was no tomorrow, so it looks like they're having fun and all that.

This morning I found a neat web site where you can look up the song that was number 1 the week you were born. Without divulging too much information, the number 1 song the week I was born was "I'm Making Believe" by The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald. For Marco it was "Crying Down The River" by Russ Morgan. For my mom, it was "Angel Child" by Al Jolson, and for dad, it was "Cherie" by Paul Whiteman. It's interesting that someone would compile a list like this. Actually, on the internet, you could probably look up ANY list and you would find it. The amount of information at our fingertips is just amazing.

So if you want to look up your song, here's the site: http://www.joshhosler.biz/

*** Note: I'm posting this for you just to look up the name of the song. Don't actually play it, as it does something bad to your default media players. I just got an email from a friend that got her files all botched up by playing the song.*** I'd delete this post, but someone may have bookmarked the site already..... :-(

I used to listen to more music than I do now, that's for sure. I used to even have a radio at work, altho' I mainly listened to Howard Stern in the mornings, and then just a little bit of music and then turned it off. After a while, even music irritates me. Just too much noise. I suppose if I were younger and still working, I'd have an iPod, but you couldn't give me one today.

We are heading up to Easton in just a little bit, which is always fun. The humidity is down a little today, so I think I'll survive. A little shopping and a glass of wine for me. That will be it for the day. So, I'd better get ready, and I'll catch you later.

I can't take any more

I'm not even going to insert a picture this evening. I'm drained with this heat. This is the 9th of August, and all 9 days have been over 90 degrees. The heat index hovers around 110 degrees. Marco and I went to Matress Mart about 11:00 this morning to look at the "Craftmatic-type" beds that they had. Just to see how comfy they were, and if you could feel whatever it is in the mattress that moves up and down. I couldn't feel anything, by the way. They weren't bad. Pricy. I also decided to try a couple of the regular beds, just to see how they felt. The store had big plate glass windows all across the front of the store. The whole darn store was basically just glass. And it was shining in, and if the air conditioning was going, the sun was cancelling it out. At about the 4th bed, I started sweating like a pig, my head started pounding and my heart started racing. I was sick as a dog. I could barely stand up. In like 3 minutes time. I told Marco, "We're outta here". I just am so fed up with the heat that I can't stand it. Our thermostat is set at 74 degrees, and if I just get up to fix a glass of water, I have sweat streaming down into my eyes. I realize this blog has been nothing but kvetching about the heat, but that has been all that's going on the past few weeks. It's too hot to do anything, therefore, I have nothing to write about. I'm reading Anne Lamott today, "Grace, Eventually", and I love her books. I've wanted to mention a few thoughts regarding the last episodes of my favorite show "The Sopranos". More conspiracy theory stuff. Even a dig or two at my least favorite person, Dick Cheney. But not right now......
I'm actually roasting, just sitting here at my computer screen. It's throwing out heat. And I have a fan on the table next to me, set at high. So, I'm going to do what I do several times a day in this heat: put cold water in the bathtub and go sit in it. I'm getting pruney, but who the heck cares?
Folks, so sorry about this, but I'm a mess....more later,
B.

It's gettin' hotter each day

I don't know if you can really see the bridge posted in this pic. Someone sent it to me the other day. It's a bridge in southern France that basically connects a Paris "motorway" to the Mediterranean Ocean. And it's HIGH. And you couldn't pay me to go on it. Just sitting here and looking at it makes me queasy. I may just have to lay down on the floor a minute......

Okay, I'm alright now. That bridge just fascinated me. Had to throw it in. And mainly because it's so damn hot outside that I can't do anything else worth writing about. When we go to the store I have to start the car and turn the air conditioner on and then run back in the house for 2 or 3 minutes. My clothes have been damp for about 2 months now. I put 'em on dry, and within 2 minutes, I'm damp. The dogs run out, pee, and run back in. The birds just hang out as usual. When will this ever be over?

Since I'm so fried, I'm just going to bed. It's 10:15 - I'm an old lady - I'm entitled to go to bed early. Nothing is on t.v. yet.....same old summer reruns. So gang, sorry, but at least I'm kinda back. More later....

LuvYa,

B.

Are the dog days over yet?

We have an abundance of baby birds in our yard right now. This little robin was sitting on the fence by our sliding glass door, calling for his mother, and he was loud. She eventually came back for him, and had a nice fat worm in her beak. We also have a bird house that is a little too close to our bedroom window. We've had about 3 clutches of baby sparrows in it this year, and the newest group just fledged this morning. It was really cool to see them emerge from the nest box, and look all around. They look just about fully feathered, even tho' their little wings are just that: little. But they're a bit noisy, too. These guys all look small next to our parrots, especially the Amazons.

Congrat's to cousin Rick who finished the St. Mary's Triathon in Huntington yesterday. I was worried about him, but he did good. If you want to read about what he had to say about the race, just click the Goatrope link on the left sidebar. Also, his mom was up here last week, and we had a nice visit. She is looking good, and she and mom had a good visit, even tho' it was hotter than hades. I want to sit out on my deck, and I can't breathe the humid air, and can't stand the heat, period. Come on September. You'll see that phrase uttered a lot.

Marco is just about finished with Scott's basement, and it's looking good. We were teasing the kids about school starting in 3 weeks.....which I can't wait for. Maybe it'll be cooler then.......

No other gossip or anything right now. Nothing much on our calendars. Amy's new baby is due on the 26th, but that's a couple of weeks away. I got a DVD of the Jim Carrey movie "23" to watch sometime....maybe this evening. Looks kinda good, but didn't hear much about it at the boxoffice. I'll let you know.

So folks, again, nothing being said, but want to keep this up and running.

Take care,

Prends soin de toi!

Long hot week

I'm adding a pic I took recently of the Beanie Babies I have on the top of my bed. I belong to a fun group of MSN ladies online, and I posted this as "How many Beanies are on my bed?". About 10 people guessed, and one lady only missed it by one. She guessed 85 and there are 86, counting the large bald eagle. I stopped collecting long ago. I'll bet there are at least 500....600...beanies out now. Every sign of the zodiac, every state, 2 or 3 new ones each year for each holiday. Just too darn many. Plus, I have to take mine down and dust the top of the bed, and fluff the beanies in the dryer (about 4 seperate loads) at least twice a year, or else hubby and I start sneezing with the dust.

We went to dinner with Todd and Aubrey at Brio's last night. We usually eat on the patio, but it was 98 outside and only a couple of hardy people were out on the patio. We had a great meal and even greater dessert. Their baby is due on November 21st, and they are going to name her Ava. I like the name very much. We had a real nice time.

If you have been reading Rick's blog (the goatrope) you'll see that he's doing a triathalon tomorrow, and I am worried about that. I know people that have had bypass surgery go on to lead pretty normal lives, but that's not exactly "normal". And now that he has a pacemaker, it worries me more. But he knows how he wants to live his life, and I say, more power to him. I just hope the temp (mid 90's again) won't be too hard on him and all the runners, bikers, and swimmers. (The swimming part would do me in.)

I am planning on doing zilch today. This week has been a long, hard and hot one, and I'm doing my blog, a load of laundry, sweeping up in the bird's room, and stretching out and watching a DVD. In fact, I may just run over to Wal-Mart and pick up a new DVD. I think a couple of good ones came out yesterday. Marco is finishing Scott and Jackie's basement today, so at least they will be working in the basement where it will be mucho cool.

I'm getting back in the blog groove by just blabbing a little; hopefully, more thoughtful issues will be forthcoming soon . . . but this heat is just killing me, even with air conditioning I'm sweating like a pig after running the sweeper or folding laundry, and I don't feel thoughtful. Just hot and cranky. So folkes, stay cool and tune in later.....

Grandma Barb

What blog??

I'm baaaack......Has it been 4 months since I stopped blogging? I've been asked by several family members, "what's up with no blog?" And I don't know what's up. I'll just try to start again, and spread family news around. I'll do what I can. :-)

Pictured above are Pepper, Amazons Baby and Sunny, and MaggyMay, who has been a little under the weather, but is now doing pretty good. Poor Mags has heart failure, and he's only 17, which is young in parrot age. He is now on Lasix, and that apparently is all he needs right now. 3 drops twice a day. They are keeping me busy. I wanted to get a fairly large cage to put out on the deck so 2 of them at a time can go outside, but didn't get around to it this year. I'd love to roll their cages outside, but the 3 steps down to the deck are steep, so that wouldn't work for us.

One of the reasons that I haven't done as much as I wanted this year is that my "bad" knee has become my "really bad" knee, and needs to be replaced. The only glitch is that I am allergic (for a better word) to ALL medication. Pain meds, antibiotics, muscle relaxers, antidepressants, even things like Vitamin C tablets. Can't even do I.V. pain medication. I had to be admitted to the ER this summer with a splitting headache and a bloodshot eye (thought it may have been a stroke, but ruled that out) and they put me on a pain I.V., along with Phenergan for nausea, and I threw up for 4 hours. So. Doc says we have to figure out what to do about this little problem, as the surgery and the rehab is very painful. 2 people who have had the surgery said it's VERY painful. Why am I such a weird person. (MaryAnn, this paragraph for mainly for you, as we are in the same boat with bad knees.)

We still have dauschunds Dusty and Bud, and they are sporting shaved little bodies, as the summer up here is hot, hot, hot. I let mine grow a bit this summer so I can pull it back in a ponytail, as I'm hot, hot, hot, and that's the best way for me to get cool. Cool-ish.

Marco has been jet-skiing a little, but I can't even get on the darn thing with my knees, so he's been skiing alone.

Grandma Jean is doing okay, and Aunt Bobbie is here this week visiting, which is GOOD.

Other than that, not a whole lot has elapsed in the past 4 months. This is just a quickie just to get started back to blogging. Rick is still doing his faithfully.

Tune in tomorrow, and maybe I'll have done a little more. It's my "August resolution."