Beach Weather

Weather's been smoking hot the past few days, and the heat wave will continue for a few more...which is fine with me. I love the hot weather. Took the kids to the beach and to an amusement/water park. They had a blast. We'll be heading back to the beach today.

Eyesballs and butt holes

So, I'm cleaning out the litter box, and the Younger is feeding the kitties (his chore). He says the kitties must have big butt holes, because of their poop. He then proceeds to inform me that HIS butt hole is as big as his eyeball, showing me how big his eyeball is by stretching his eyelids. Learn something new everyday, eh?

Happy Anniversary

The Ol' Man and I are coming up on 5 years together in August. He bought us a new Nikon camera for our anniversary gift. He bought it now because 1) after hours of research, he found the camera he wanted, and it was on sale, and 2) we can use the camera to capture summer-with-the-boys pictures. Now, I just need to learn how to use it...according to the advertisement, it takes "incredible pictures" and is "incredibly easy"...we'll see...right now, I'm just trying to figure out how to upload the software!!!

Home Again

Just got back from a trip to see the folks...Grandpa had his 83 (? 84?) birthday. I should be so lucky to last that long, be that healthy, and have that many family and friends that love me. Oh, and the chocolate cake was FANTASTIC.

My "Grandpa"

All my "natural" grandparents are dead. Luckily, the Ol' Man still has both his Grandma and Grandpa on his mother's side. I've adopted them as my own - they are wonderful, perfect, quintessential "grandparent" types. They're in their 80's (I think), and they look just like Grandma's and Grandpa's are suppose to look like. Grandpa is gluten intolerant - can't eat bread. I had never heard of that before. When the Ol' Man and I went to the store the other day, they have an organic section that has a bunch of gluten-free stuff (crackers, pasta, cereal, chips, cookies...). I did a search on Google, and found out that gluten intolerance, also known as Coeliac Disease, is a hereditary disorder that affects the immune system. There's tons of information on the Internet about it...recipes, websites, medical stuff. Anyway, the Ol' Man and I bought a bunch of stuff for Grandpa and put together a "care package" for him. I'm so happy to have a Grandma and Grandpa again.

The Holiday Season is Upon Us

Heading out today to visit the Ol' Man's family for Thanksgiving...the who fam damily - cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, etc. Good thing is the Ol' Man's mom is a fabulous cook, and I won't have to do jack! Love that...

Home Again

We had a fabulous trip to visit the folks, and I think I gained 10 pounds. The Mother-in-Law is a WONDERFUL cook, and, of course, we had to go out to eat with everyone else. Weather held out, the drive was good - no traffic to speak of, and we everything went smoothly. But, in the end, it's nice to be home again. I taught a motorcycle safety course today, and everyone passed except this one lady...and it was her 3rd time trying. Needless to say, she left in tears. Ouch. Maybe better luck next time...4's a charm?

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

We're about to add a new addition to the family...a little girl, officially named Perle, but we're going to call her Kitty. We'll be picking her up in a couple of weeks. What a cutie! We're so excited, and the boys are going to be over the moon! Two dogs...what am I thinking???! At least with this one, it won't be the middle of winter when we house break her.

Sigh....

Sometimes, I want to be an ostrich and just stick my head in the sand. I get so tired of all the bull that flies, health care debate (Socialism, anyone?), the stock market up, up, up, while the job numbers go down, down, down, the government bailing out the banking and auto industries (GM - Government Motors), a multi-trillion dollar deficit, housing's still in the slumps, inflation's right around the corner, the pundits saying it's over, it's not over, it's going to get better, it's going to get worse....eat butter, don't eat butter....yeesh. Makes me want to stay home, turn off the TV, radio, computer and just quilt and bake pies. I'd say also go on a motorcycle ride, but the gas is too expensive, and the weather's turning cold. The Ol' Man's so happy - he loves Autumn...the crisp days, the cool nights, the trees and their turning color. We find happiness in each other, because I can't find a lot of happiness in the news...

Surgery

We came home today from Philly - the Ol' Man's surgery went swimmingly well. The rehab is going to be another matter...he can't move his arm (other than the proscribed exercises) for about six weeks. Yikes! That's going to suck for him. I've got plenty to keep me busy...school (I'm taking two classes this term), quilting, leash making, and my regular "domestic goddess" duties - cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, etc. Keeping the Ol' Man happy and comfortable will be at the top of my list, though. The boys are back in school, so we're back to the weekend on/ weekend off schedule. Now we can get into a more regular routine.

Zero Dark Thirty

It's 0357 hrs, and we're heading to Philly. The Ol' Man is getting cut - he jacked up his shoulder while in Iraq, and the insurance company has finally gotten around to getting it fixed - it's only taken 14 months of crabbing to the insurance co...and that's before Obamacare...I shudder to think how long it would take (if he was able to get it fixed at all) should that stupid health care reform get passed...Anyhoo, it's early, it's dark, but, as he's the love-of-my-life for a very good reason, he made coffee for me this am, even though he's not able to drink any! What a gem. Keep your fingers crossed that the surgery goes well...and for a speedy rehab.

My Mother Died

My mom had lung cancer, and she died on Monday. Fortunately, I was able to be there to say goodbye. I flew to Chicago on Saturday, and got to see her Saturday night. I told her I loved her. I went back to the hospital on Sunday, and when the doctor came in (about 9:00am), he said it was pretty much done. I said, "No more chemo, no more radiation, right?" He said yes. I looked at Mom and asked her if she understood. She said, "Yes, it's hopeless". They started her on a continuous morphine drip, she closed her eyes, and gave up the fight - she didn't open her eyes again. She took her last breaths on Monday at 2:15pm. She looked like a cancer victim...hair thin and falling out all over her pillow, sunken face...not the picture I want to remember. I want to remember the picture of her when she was in her late 20's. She was beautiful...wearing a long red velvet dress, with white, over-the-elbow gloves, standing in front of the Christmas Tree at my Grandma's house, her hair done up so prettily. I want to remember her riding horses with me. After we die, who knows what happens to our spirits, but I like to think of her with my Grandma and Grandpa - she loved them so much. She was there when I was born, and I'm glad I got to be there when she died.

What I Did for My Summer Vacation

We made it back tonight from the family vacation. All went well! The boys had a blast swimming in Uncle D's pool, fishing in Uncle M's pond, eating junk food provided by the entire family, playing games with Great Grandma and Grandpa B...how wonderful to have such a loving family. Unfortunately, all my grandparents are dead, but the Ol' Man still has his grandma/pa on his mother's side (Great Grandparents for the boys!), and they are really great folks. I miss my grandmother and father, and it's really nice to have a grandma and grandpa again. Of course, the Ol' Man's mom is a perfect grandma...stuffing the boys full of cookies and cakes and letting them get away with murder...but I suppose that's the perks of being a grandma!

Watch This

You know how some people like to collect stamps, or figurines, or post cards? Well, the Ol' Man like to collect watches...and not just any watches. They've got to be expensive watches. Big, heavy expensive watches. I have to admit, it's partially my fault. I bought him his first big, expensive watch, and that got him hooked. He always liked nice watches, but he's a big guy (6'3") and since he got the big watch, "normal" watch sizes seem too small for him. I have to laugh, because every time he gets a watch he really wants, he says he happy and doesn't want any more watches...until Rolex or Omega, or some other high end watch company comes out with something new...then it begins again! I suppose there could be worse vices to have than collecting watches....like collecting antique cars, or diamonds, or something equally expensive. Of course, it would have been nice is he had gotten into collecting toys from Cracker Jack boxes....!

Term Paper and Mother-in-Law visit

OK, I submitted my term paper for my college class today. This class was a pain in the a**, and I can't say I put forth full effort on the paper...to tell the truth, I pretty much bulls**ted my way through the whole thing! I'm pulling a B out of this class so far, and I'm good with that. Keep your fingers crossed my term paper flies. The Ol' Man's mom is visiting this week, which is cool, because we get along well (thank the Gods!). Bless her heart, every time we visit her at her house or she comes here, she brings with her tons of food. That's got to be a 'grandma" thing, because I remember my grandma always trying to feed us every time we came over. It's not like we don't have food here...the cupboards are full because (as anal as I am), we made a menu list for the week ahead and did all the shopping. But, here comes the mother-in-law, bags of groceries in tow even though we told her not to bring anything! And, it's not like you can get mad, because she's so sweet about it. She'll go with the Ol' Man on Friday to pick up the kids...and that makes me so happy! She'll get to interact with them for the week, giving me a break...and I love her for that.

Cold Cereal

We've got the Ol' Man's kids this week...I don't know what their mother feeds them at her house, but all they want to eat is cold cereal, chicken and rice. The boys are on the small side...the 7 year old and the 5 year old both weigh the same...around 45 pounds . The Ol' Man wants to try to pack some weight on them this summer, so we "encourage" them to eat a variety of foods...yams, broccoli, eggs, perigees, chili, venison, beans, etc. The rule in this house is you have to eat everything on your plate, or no dessert/snack. The old "clean plate club" rules here! We don't pile their plates high with food, but a decent 3 bites of whatever. We've also got the "3 bites and move on" rule. They tend to eat first the thing they like best, then "claim" they're full. So, now they're only allowed 3 bites of anything and they have to take 3 bites of something else. It's working so far...with a bit of a reminder once in a while. And, remarkably, they do it with a minimum of complaining. .

Summer Fun

Had the in-laws come visit over the weekend. Had loads of fun... hiking, white water rafting, BBQing, good conversation. Thank the gods, we had good weather. Took a 7 mile hike to Boulder Lake, one of the top sites to visit in Pennsylvania. It's this bizarre "lake" of rocks that was formed eons ago by a glacier pushing it way across the country. The hike was rated difficult because the path was strewn with rocks, and it would have been very easy to twist an ankle. We went white water rafting in the Lehigh Gorge - class 2 and 3 white water (pretty tame), but it was the first time for the kids, so that worked out well. Being the wimp that I am, I wore my full diving wet suit, and was perfectly comfortable...the sister-in-law and niece wore shorts and were freezing. It was kinda overcast, and once that cool water started splashing up....burrrr! Got to top off the visit with a bear sighting. Living in the sticks, we site bears wandering through the neighborhood on occasion. The kids were thrilled.

Happy Father's Day

May the Gods bless all fathers...REAL fathers, not the sperm donors. We just took the boys back to their mother (we got them for the Father's Day Holiday), and peace reigns again in the house. It TRULY takes a special person to be a parent. I'm happy to say I only have to do it part time. I'm happy enough being "mom" to the 3 cats and the dog. But, the Ol' Man is so happy to have them around, it makes my heart happy to see him smile. I made brownies (alas, from a mix due to time constraints), and we had brownie/ice cream sundaes. Yum! (That'll be an hour on the rower...) The Ol' Man has turned the basement into the "ManCave"...which tickles the boy to no end. I, of course, being the Queen of the House, am allowed in the ManCave, much to the chagrin of the boys. Sunshine, finally today. We've had so much rain/damp weather that there's mushroom growing all over the lawn - which is driving the Ol' Man crazy...he really puts some time into making the lawn look like a golf course, so you can see how he would react to the mushroom epidemic. Hopefully, it'll dry out and he can get the lawn back to normal. This week's assignment for school was a group assignment, so, whew...that was pretty easy.

Lung Cancer

I called my folks about 4 or 5 days ago, and no one answered...which was weird, because they are almost always home. I called again tonight, and found out that my mom has inoperable lung cancer. I can't say I'm totally suprised, she's smoked (menthol, no less), for well on 45 years. Time for chemo, and hope.

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty II

The Ol Man and I are going to take a 12-day motorcycle trip - "Tour Pennsylvania" , if you will. The Dog will go into the kennel, which I like to think is kinda like a "summer camp" for him, and the kitty sitters will come to the house to feed the cats and clean the litter box. Speaking of cats, once these three kick the bucket, The Ol Man was looking at "exotic" cats on the internet. Wowwee! Talk about expensive! Some of those cats go for as much as $23,000! Yikes! Check out this website: http://www.savannahcatbreed.com/index.php Killer cool-lookin' cats, but a tad bit pricy. Our three will be around for a while, so that'll give us time to save the money for one of these babies! Right...I'm just not thinkin' I'll be spending thousands of dollars on a cat. If you've got enough money to spend thousands on a cat, give me a call...I'd like you to adopt me.