Missing persons

I received a phone call a few minutes ago from some woman that was trying to track down some old friends. I couldn't help her as I didn't know the family she was looking for, and at the time of her call, there was nobody else in the office that had been working here any longer, so I suggested she call back Monday when there would be others here that knew more people in the community.
The woman commented that she'd heard it said "if you have a computer, you can find anybody", but she didn't have a computer. I replied to her, "yeah, makes you wonder how so many people manage to go missing".
After we hung up, I reflected on the "missing person" aspect, and my mind drifted to a much publicized case from our area. This Sunday will mark the 25th anniversary of the disappearance of Ann Gotlib.

I wasn't much older than Ann when she went missing. The entire community on both sides of the river seemed to be mesmerized by the case. To this day, she remains missing... and it just amazes me how anybody can just disappear like that. In all this time you'd think she'd be found, whether dead or alive. I can't imagine what her family has had to endure. I've heard all kinds of wild speculations over the years as to what might've actually happened to her. One can only hope that wherever she is, she's at peace.


http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewPoster&caseNum=601552&orgPrefix=NCMC&searchLang=en_US

This is how she looked 25 years ago...

... and this is an age-progressed picture of how she might look now. Quite a lovely woman.

I hope at some point, this case can be closed and the mystery put to rest.

Non-Family Abduction
ANN GOTLIB
DOB: May 5, 1971
Missing: Jun 1, 1983
Age Now: 37
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair: Red
Eyes: Gray
Height: 5'1" (155 cm) Weight: 85 lbs (39 kg)
Missing From:LOUISVILLEKYUnited States
Age Progressed
Ann's photo is shown age-progressed to 37 years. She disappeared from a shopping mall while traveling to her home between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Her bike was found at the shopping mall. She has a fair complexion, very light eyebrows, freckles, pierced ears, and moles on her lower back. She speaks fluent Russian and English.
ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACTNational Center for Missing & Exploited Children1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)
FBI - Louisville, Kentucky - 1-502-583-3941 Or Your Local FBI

Friday, song of the day

I was commenting to the husband last night how I thought Olivia was becoming entertainment for some of our neighbors. You might have caught her little video from a couple of weeks ago that showed her running around the yard ( http://pitawoman.blogspot.com/2008/05/2008-preakness-hopeful-olivia.html) . She does this most every evening between 7:30 and 8:30pm... plently of time (usually) after she's eaten and allowed her dinner to digest. She runs willy-nilly in circles just as fast as she can. The other night I accidentally dropped the leash but she kept going in circles. It was a good thing, as I'd never have been able to catch her if she'd been running in a straight line.
I've noticed several times here of late that Olivia has an audience during her evening run. Our newest neighbors down on the corner almost always have a few friends over and they all gather out on their front porch to smoke their cigarettes. It may start off as one or two watching her run, but by the time she's done, there are usually 5 or 6 of them standing there, watching her run her heart out. One of them even stopped by last night to comment on our "awesome dog". I agree, she is awesome!
So with that, I leave you with my song for the day, Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer"

Saturday Nostalgia

A post-Memorial day tribute...
The sailor in the middle is my paternal grandfather, or Poppy, as I called him. Actually, my sister & I both called him that, but all the other grandchildren in the family called him "Poppers". I don't know how it got started or why, but it used to annoy me to no end when they first started doing it, and I'd correct them every time I heard one of them call him Poppers. Now that I'm older and look back upon it, I realize we all have our pet names for those we love, and perhaps him being Poppy to just two of us (as opposed to all 6 of us) made him more special to Gretchen & I... he was our Poppy and no one else's.
Anyway, the other two sailors are "Saunders & Scott". I'm not really sure which one was which. And one, the other, or maybe even both were cooks in the Navy. In all honesty, I don't know what my grandfather did while in the service, he never really talked about it. But from looking at the picture, they looked like they were having a good time. When I look at this picture, I see my cousin Chris, in my grandfather's face. While my dad & uncle bear a slight resemblance to him, my cousin bears a very strong likeness.
Chris is going to become a father for the first time sometime in the next month. I can't help but think how sad that his son/daughter will never have the opportunity to know their great-grandfather.

Twilight Zone

I've been getting really annoyed with the internet of late. I don't know who or what specifically, so I just have to say the internet in general and as a whole.
Many of my emails have this week, started landing in my Junk-mailfolder instead of my Inbox. They are random emails, and not just from one or two people, but random emails. It's irritating!
And these past few weeks, pop-ups have started occuring while I'm reading some of my usual blogs from around the world. Pop-ups are annoying enough, but when it's the same two things over and over, either porn or dumb-tests, that really aggrevates me!! I don't blame my fellow bloggers. They've done everything they can think of to stop the pop-ups. I don't have the problem with every blogsite I visit, just a few, and as I really enjoy reading their blogs, I don't want to cross them off my list just to avoid the pop-ups, so I'm forced to deal with it... and please don't suggest a pop-up blocker.
But for the life of me, I don't know why those "beings" that are responsible for the pop-ups think that the rest of the world want to take a dumb-test, or look at porn. I've no interest in either. I suppose they are the same beings that are responsible for the majority of the junkmail that I get.
And now that brings me to another thing... while I was skimming through my junkmail looking for real emails, I noticed that the "date sent/received" on a few of those emails were for the year 2038... 30 years from now. How is this possible? Does it mean that the senders computer is set-up incorrectly? Or am I receiving emails that haven't even been sent yet? (que up the music from The Twilight Zone please)

Friday photo challenge - man-made

Well, sorry folks, I have to take a pass on this weeks challenge. I went off and forgot my camera at home this morning. Not that it would've mattered, as the item I was going to photograph was gone when I arrived at work this morning.
My boss is a very good wood-worker, and has been crafting a hutch, entirely from scratch, down in the garage. Every morning when I come into work, I see the progress he's made, and have been much impressed. My only objection to the finished product was that I thought it should have glass doors instead of solid wood, but he said he created it to hide junk, not showcase his clutter.
I had every intention of bringing my camera and snapping a picture of it this morning, in all it's finished glory. But when I opened the garage door this morning, the cabinet was gone! He'd already moved it to his apartment.
I'll catch ya next friday, when the challenge is: NATURAL

Getting an education

I just managed to commit myself to three days straight at the Luci Center, two of them being full-days! I'm not complaining mind you, just stating the facts. Actually, I'm looking forward to it.

Saturday, in addition to my usual afternoon work, I'm also going out in the morning to help with the class. Classes have actually ended for this session, and will start again in two weeks, but this is a make-up class for some of the kids, and they're a fairly easy group of children to work with.

Sunday starts my new schedule of going out every Sunday, at least 'til fall, then I'll re-evaluate how things are going.

Monday, I'm taking the day off from work and going to the farm for the day. The farrier will be there and help is needed, and too, I'd really like to watch/learn. Most of the activity at the farm, aside from student classes, tends to happen during the week when I'm not there, so I'm hoping to see more of that as well.

I'm trying to put myself out there at times when I'll be working with the people I can learn the most from and that I'm relaxed being around. While on one hand it's good to have a routine that you're used to and know what you're doing, if I've learned one thing in my life it's that we get complacent when we're following a routine. And that can lead to boredom, letting your guard down and mistakes.

Large animals, no matter how gentle, aren't something you want to let your guard down with. And I don't ever want to get bored with being out there.

Some of the people are a wealth of information and are willing teachers that I'm eager to learn from. Then there are a few that think they know more than they do, and will only lead me astray if I put to much stock in what they spew forth as information, they are the ones I try to steer clear of.

This sweetheart is Crazy.

Thursday, song for the day

My favorite Judds song of all times!!

Life is good!

Earlier today, I received an email from a girl I went to high school with. We send each other the sporadic email greetings of "hi" & "how's it going?", but don't keep up with each other much otherwise. The email I got from her was one of those blasted emails that's been forwarded over and over so many times, you spend what feels like 10 minutes just scrolling through all the address-headers to get to the message. In all honesty, it is a VERY rare thing for me to even open these emails, because for the most part, they annoy me. Not the message in the email, but having to scroll through all that stuff. Whenever I forward something, I do my best to delete all that other crap so that the recipient only has to read the message/joke. I just wish that others would do me the same courtesy.
So when I saw her email was another of those forwarded things, I started to delete it without even opening it. Then I suddenly remembered that it was her birthday next week. I know I could've just deleted it and sent her an email from scratch, but I was being lazy, so I opened it and immediately hit "reply" without even reading the joke at the bottom.
I sent her early birthday greetings for the big FOUR-OH next week.
We chit-chatted back and forth for a bit when she said she was really starting to feel her age.
At first I agreed, but then, when I thought about how I've been feeling of late (the walking pneumonia in Feb. and the sinus infection last month aside), I have to admit that I've been feeling physically better these past few months than I have in the past two years! And it's true!!
Granted, I'm not in top form and am in no condition to take up jogging and don't have the energy of a 25 year old, but that's okay, because I don't care about that.
Okay, granted, my knees do creak and hurt a bit when I climb the stairs at work, but seriously, my back rarely hurts anymore, only an occasional twinge that might last for a couple of minutes (or a couple of hours) then goes away. Certainly nothing like the pain I was experiencing a year and a half ago. My carpal tunnel hasn't bothered me in months either.
Other than some sinus medicine, I haven't taken any pain pills in ages or any other medicines for that matter... always a good thing!
Yes, I feel the epidurals my pain-mgt. doctor administered me last year and my now twice a month trips to the chiropractor (which is soon going to be reduced to once a month or "as needed") for maintenance adjustments, have done me a world of good. And too, I can't help but think that the time I spend at the farm has done me some good also as it keeps me moving, breathing the fresh air, and I'm relaxed in general.
Life is good right now!

Getting inked

Tattoos, that is one fad I will never in all my life understand. And it's a trend that I can safely say I'll never follow. For the life of me, I don't understand why people insist upon permanently marking themselves in such a way.
If you feel the need to sport some art on your body, why not use the henna tattoos that fade away after a few days/weeks??
I can not begin to tell you how many people I have met in my life that have gotten them, and now wish they hadn't. But getting them removed can be pricey, painful, take quite a long while and several treatments to remove, and very often leave scars, and even then there is usually still a faint trace of the original tattoo left on the skin.
Ugh! Gross!!
I can't help but wonder how many of these younger people that get them nowadays think they're being "so cool!", will regret in 20 or 30 years their decisions?
I used to work with a man that did landscaping that was covered pretty much everywhere from the shoulders downward, with very elaborate tattoos. Heaven only knows how much time and money he had spent on them over the years. But once he hit his mid-40's, he started having regrets. Not for professional reasons, but because they no longer looked good. They were somewhat faded, not as sharp looking as they had been, and as the body ages, it changes it's shape, so the tattoos no longer had their original shape.
A woman, about my age, had gotten several tattoos all over her arms and legs when she was younger. She now works in a career that calls for some professionalism, and wears long-sleeves and either pants or dark colored tights in order to hide her ink. She hates having to dress like that at all times, but knows it wouldn't look very good to her co-workers and clients to reveal them. She has a lot of regrets!
And how many people have had their mate's name tattooed on their body, only to have the relationship fall apart, and are now left with a permanent reminder of the not-so-beloved ex?
I bring all this up because of a news item I heard this morning. Our local police department just passed an ordnance that the officers must keep their tattoos covered, either with long sleeves/pants, flesh colored bandages or make-up.
Personally, I cheered when I heard the news. I wish more companies would pass such rules. I'm so sick and tired of the cashiers at the stores and restaurants I frequent being covered in them. And the ones that irk me the most are the ones I see paying for their food with WICs checks and living on welfare, yet they can afford tattoos.
My own sister has them, and it chaps my ass to no end!! I think it's the ultimate in tacky, especially on a woman.
Okay, time to get off my soapbox now.

Wednesday song of the day

I was watching the movie "Stand By Me" this morning (yes, a slow day at the office). It has such a great soundtrack to it (if you like the oldies, and I do). So after hearing a snippet of the song "Lollipop", I decided to make it my song of the day.
Imagine my surprise when I finally found the video. I'd never heard of the group The Chardottes, and I never imagined them to be such matronly looking women.

First Dates

I was reading a couple of other blogs and the subject of who should pay on the first date came up.
I'm not participating in the Love Q or whatever it is they're playing along with, but it did get me to thinking about some of my first dates, so I thought I'd share...

David...
I don't even think you could really say we had a first date. We met at a band competition my junior year. He was odd, but I was intrigued. A mutual friend fixed us up. We never went out on a date per say, but talked on the phone several times and finally he came over to my house so my parents could meet him (they weren't impressed). We drove to the local park and sat and talked. Then he did something that scared the beejeezus out of me and nixed any chance of a real date. He pulled a meat clever and two very large knives out of the backseat of his car and proceeded to juggle them for me. I'd have been just as impressed if he'd juggled tennis balls and certainly not scared too death. Once he got me safely home, I ended any chance of a relationship that night. I always figured he'd someday go to jail, if not for actually using his knives on someone, then just being arrested for carrying a concealed weapon.

Mike...
We went to different schools, but attended vocational school together, which is where we met. Our first date was to a football game and dance at his school. I'd never danced with another person before in my life!... talk about being a nervous wreck!! I can still remember the song we danced to, Prince's "Purple Rain". Though we're now living on separate continents, we're still friends to this day.

Kevin & Jimmy...
I met both of them at a football game (at a school none of us attended). I was actually interested in Kevin at the time, and when we went on our first date, it was to some jr. high function that Jimmy was playing his guitar at. It was a very lame date, and there was a case of transference-of-interest after that night. Exit Kevin, enter Jimmy. I won't even swear to it, but I think my first date with Jimmy was to a dance at his high school. I often look back and think what a waste of 18 months of my life he was. I often wonder what poor women have been duped into marrying either of them.

John...
What can I say? He proposed before we even had a first date (a real date that is). My mother, sister & I were getting ready to leave town on a Friday evening to go to a pageant I was to participate in. At the very last minute, John decided he was going along as well. Up to this point, he and I had only been having a flirtatious relationship at work and hadn't gone out yet. And it was 10 minutes before leaving to go to the pageant that he met my family. We arrived in Indy, my mom & sister shared a bed, I slept in the other bed, and John slept on a roll-away bed in the same room. Good thing he wasn't a murder or fiend of some kind, eh? I spent the next day doing the pageant thing while he entertained my mom & sister. He proposed to me later that night. It was a week later before we actually went on a date-date. I don't remember where we ate, but I do remember going to the Haunted House that the Louisville JayCee's puts on at Halloween every year. Needless to say, we've been together ever since.

You forgot this...

There has been a long-standing battle in our little neighborhood over the issue of "picking up after your pet(s)". There is even a sign posted near both entrances to remind residents, and inform visitors that they need to pick up after their dogs.
There are many that are dedicated poop-picker-uppers.
Then there are those (& I won't mention any names, 'though we all know who they are) that won't lower themselves to clean up after their pets, and even purposely drag their dog to other yards to do their business, just so they won't ever have to clean it up from their own yard.
Then there are those like my husband & I. We always take a doody-bag with us when we walk, and if the dog poops in somebody elses yard or in the common-areas, we pick it up, carry it back home & dispose of it. However, if our dog(s) pooh on our property, then we may or may not pick it up right away, but we do clean up our yard 2 or 3 times a week, so it doesn't accumulate in mass quantities for long periods of time. Regardless of what we let our dogs do in our yard, we'd still appreciate it if others would clean up after their dogs should they happen to go on our lawn. After all, we wouldn't leave our dogs feces lying on their lawn.
As I said, this has been an on going battle for many years. We frequently find piles of doody that we know don't belong to our dogs, simply because of the size, color or consistency (yes, we really know our shit).
So the other night, dressed in nothing but my short night-shirt and ragged robe, I went outside to retrieve something from my car. As I was closing the car door, I noticed an elderly woman that I'd never seen before, stopped at the corner of our lot. Her tiny chihuahua was bunched up, taking a dump on our lawn. I watched for a moment to see if she was going to clean it up. Needless to say, she didn't. When the dog was finished, they walked on. I started to say something to her, but I knew it would be a waste of my breath. She'd probably say something to the effect of having forgot her bag and wouldn't let it happen again, only we'd both know she'd just be blowing smoke. So it would be pointless.
I turned on my heel and stomped into the house, dashed to the bedroom and slipped on some sweatpants, dashed back to the front door, grabbing a dog-doody bag on the way, and stomped over to the area I'd seen the dog pooping in. Mind you, it was a very small dog and thus made a small pile of poop. Indeed, I've seen larger piles of poop left behind by robins. I had to strain my eyes in the fading light to find the micro-pile, but I finally found it and picked it up.
Now I could've just gone and thrown it away. But I was beyond annoyed at the moment. So instead, I turned heel again and jogged to catch up with the woman. I was barefoot and the hard pavement was hurting, but I was bound and determined to take a stand! When I caught up to her, I now saw she was Asian (Chinese?, Korean?, Vietnamese?,... I admit, I can't usually tell the difference in these races) and thought, "great, she won't even understand what I'm about to tell her", but I unleashed on her anyway.
I held out the bag of dog poop and said, "I think you left this on my lawn. When your dog poops on somebody's lawn, you need to pick up after them."
She took the bag from me with a mumbled apology. I went back home, wondering if she'd change her habits now.
Well, to answer that question, I saw her several more times over the long weekend, walking her little dog, and never saw her picking anything up or carrying a bag. So I doubt she learned that she should pick up after him. But if anything, she learned not to walk the little fella on our lawn, as she made it a point not to walk past our house.

Charmed

The scans of my bracelet didn't turn out so well, but here it is.

If interested in ordering one for yourself, you can go to their website:

http://www.luckyfeather.com/products.html

Weekend in review

Another fabulous weekend come and gone.

Somewhat productive, even though not everything on my honey-do list was completed. We got the new blinds hung up on the front porch... still waiting for the new ones to be hung in the bedroom.

We got the swimming pool opened up and pretty much ready to go. Just need to add some chlorine now, and wait for the water temperature to go up. I do believe that this is the first year EVER since we got it, that things went smoothly, nothing was broken, and we've not had to sink a ton of money into it to get it up and running... knocking really hard on wood! Of course I've yet to replace the vacuum bag that gave out on us last summer and was replaced late in the season with an old pair of pantyhose. For now, I'm still using pantyhose... please, don't laugh. They work and they're much less expensive.

Saturday I went to the farm (not much of a surprise there), and was accompanied by some friends/neighbors, Eric, Amy & Morgan. We arrived a little early so I could give them the grand tour, then they spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the sun, taking in the fresh air and scenery, and petting the horses.

Judge the mini, Morgan & Amy

The ass, um, I mean the mini-Sicilian donkey Ty-Bug, Morgan & Amy

Max, Morgan & Amy

Sunday a.m., I cooked up a storm, trying out new things. I made some loaded-baked-potato potato-salad. Not bad for my first attempt, but I think it could stand to be a bit creamier. A strawberry crockpot cake. I'm loving these crockpot cakes... I may never bake another cake the traditional way ever again! Corn on the cob in yet another crockpot. The only thing left to do for dinner was let the husband grill the chicken & burgers over the firepit. Once that was done, we sat on the swing by the fire and enjoyed the evening, and cuddled.

Monday a.m. I went back out to the farm. As it was a holiday, they were shorthanded. I didn't anticipate being very busy, as most of the horses stay out full-time right now while the weather is nice, and now that they're all on diets, hardly any of them are getting grain anymore (or if so, just a minimal amount). So I thought chores would be light. Hmm, I was wrong. Not that I'm complaining, I enjoy staying busy out there. We shuffled horses from one pasture to another and bathed the mini's. I could've and would've gladly stayed all day, but the girl I had carpooled there with had to leave by noon (would've been nice if she'd told me that before getting to the farm), so I had no choice but to leave. The rest of the day was spent relaxing in the swing, working my puzzle book, and napping. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

Tuesday, song of the day

Puppy Love...
I absolutely detested anything Donnie & Marie when I was growing up. Never understood others' fascination with them. Still don't care much for her.
But I have to say, Donnie has improved immensely since his younger days, not only his singing, but in the looks category as well.

Bad doggy-momma

**sigh** I had a bad doggy-momma moment Sunday morning, and was just beside myself.
I had been cooking bacon in the micro-wave, and was on my 3rd or 4th pan, so you know the bacon-pan was getting pretty full of grease. I had just taken a pan out of the micro-wave and was walking towards the counter. The grease was very hot, still snapping and popping underneath the wax-paper that covered the pan. Half way across the kitchen, Olivia suddenly walked in front of me and I had to stop suddenly to keep from falling over her. My sudden stop caused the hot grease in the pan to slosh violently and it spilled out and ran down on Olivia's head.
I just felt sick! I know it had to hurt terribly!!
She just walked a few feet away and shook her head a couple of times. I sat the pan down as quick as I could and went to examine her, fearing what I'd find. Olivia has never been one to tolerate anybody messing with her ears, except for petting them. So I had a devil of a time inspecting her. The grease had landed where her right ear attached to her head. The fur was all greasy, the skin was very red. I got a wet papertowel and did my best to wipe the area clean, but she wanted no part of that. I gave up and went to the kitchen to sob, wondering how badly she was hurt, wondering if the area was going to blister, and just thankful it hadn't gone into her eyes.
Through out the whole ordeal, which I know had to hurt her, she never once yelped or whimpered, and as soon as she saw me standing by the kitchen sink, she was back at my side as she most always is, looking up at me with her big blue eyes, wagging her tail.
She's so forgiving.
Somehow, this made me cry that much harder.
Since she wouldn't let me wipe her fur clean, I finally told her to go let Bootsy & Eliott lick her clean. You'd think with her tasting like bacon, they'd be all over her!
The area never did blister, and Monday afternoon, the redness had reduced to a dark pink, and aside from still having greasy fur, this morning it looked just fine.
I suppose we could all learn a lesson from our pets about forgiving those that hurt us.

Friday, song of the day

Okay, the only thing I don't like about this song is that it's too short. But it's a definite tear-jerker!!

Saturday Nostalgia

This photo is of my grandparents and my father, circa 1951...

... fast forward 42 years. This foto was taken 08/1993. My grandmother is still with us, the only one of my grandparents to still be living. I thought I'd blog about her as she'll be turning 81 this coming week.

When I was little (7 and under) she took care of me during the days while my parents worked. Back then, children were allowed to run amok, fall down, stub our toes, nobody got sued, we ran barefoot without fear of disease, learned to ride bikes without training wheels, we road on the tailgate of the station wagon as soon as we were old enough to hold on, and carseats for children were unheard of. During the time I spent with her, I grew up with my father's youngest 3 siblings being more like older sisters and brother than my aunts/uncle. I watched my grandmother spend countless hours hunched over her old Singer sewing maching, sewing clothes for us kids, our dolls, other people that hired her to do sewing, and eventually wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses for my 3 aunts and myself. I couldn't begin to tell you how much time I spent being drug from fabric store to fabric store with her as she looked at bolts of cloth, spools of thread and other notions. I don't think there wasn't anything she couldn't create from a bolt of material. My own success with the sewing machine has been very limited... sewing hems are out of the question. I do good just to sew on a button.

She also knitted and crocheted. Unfortunately, those are not talents that I ever picked up either.

Crafts! Oh my goodness, she is forever crafting something, even to this day. She's gone through phases over the years, moving from one kind of project to another... I suppose I get that from her too. I mean, not only my love of crafting, but my interests ever evolving.

She used to do a lot of beading many years ago. Nothing at all like the jewelry that is so popular to make now adays, but bigger, more bulkier items which in all honesty, I thought was ugly, even back then. But many people liked what she created and paid her to create things for them. She moved from beading jewelry and keychains to creating beautiful Christmas ornaments. At one time, I can recall she and one of my aunts creating handbags from yarn and plastic milk cartons. Again, ugly as I recall, but they sold quite a few at craft-fairs. Dolls, baby blankets, afghans... many of the things she made when I was a child, I still have.

During the summer and fall, as fruits and veggies were harvested from their large garden, I saw her standing over the hot stove as she canned green beans galore, tomato juice, grape jelly, grape juice and goodness knows what else. It was from her that I learned to bake grape-pies, to this day, one of my all-time favorites!!

It was also from Nan that I developed a love of reading. She'd frequently take the four of us to the library and we'd bring home as many books as we could carry. She was (and still is) a voracious reader. Of course, if I remember correctly, it seems that at least half of what she used to read was Harlequin romances. I love a good historical romance from time to time, but have never been much on the Harlequin line of books.

She gave me my first sip of coffee while we were on a camping trip. She didn't hesitate to spare the rod if she thought I needed a good spanking for some infraction as a child. But I know her hands were always full of love, whether when hugging me or spanking me.

I could go on and on about Nan, but I think you get the idea. She was a big influence in my life.

Happy Birthday Nanny!!

Charm bracelet

I received as a present this past Christmas, a Storyville scrapbooking charm bracelet.
In case you're wondering what the heck that is, it's a braclet, with several blank charms that you apply photos to. The kit comes with all the items necessary to create your bracelet, except of course, the photos. You provide those.
Well, it's only taken me 5 months to remember to bring the kit with me to work so I could use the computer to create it. But I finally finished it this morning.
There is room enough for 10 photos. I chose to fill mine with my dogs, and a couple of other beloved animals in my life. So I thought I'd share with you the 10 photos I chose...

Olivia at 3 1/2 mos. & then again at 3 yrs. old.

Eliott at 4 mos. and then again at 4 years old.

Bootsy, both are recent photos. Sadly, I don't have any of her from when she was a pup.

Smokey, age 7 yrs./Kelsey 4 mos. and Kelsey at 7 mos.

Smokey at 5 yrs. & his "girlfriend" Juno @ 4 yrs. (I think)

And, my beloved Sampson. Okay, he's not really mine, but I do love him so, and he's mine in my heart.

Friday photo challenge - Taste

Wow, this was a tough challenge. I've been struggling all week, trying to come up with something, then while I was at dinner last night with one of my g/f's & her daughter, I was presented with the perfect shot.
This is "Mimi", tasting the little coloring book that the restaurant provides children.

Phone book

Whose phone numbers do you keep on speed-dial?
Whose phone numbers do you keep stored in the address-book of your cell phone?

Well, when it comes to speed dial, I've never been a big fan of that feature. I don't have a home phone, so nobody is on it. As for my cell, if I know the persons number by heart, then I dial it directly... for me it's faster than pushing some other combination of buttons to reach the same outcome.

Now the address book... holy moly!! I got a pre-recorded phone call today from one of my doctors, letting me know he had now opened up his own practice. Fortunately for me, his new office is MUCH closer to my house than the old one. So, should I keep going to the old place, which has all my records? Or switch to the new office and the doctor that knows me? Oh, not a hard choice at all! I'm moving with my doctor!!
So that brings me back to the address book. Mine was filled to capacity. I went into my cell's address book to change his phone number to the new listing, and while I was scrolling through the book, I couldn't help but think to myself that I had an awful lot of numbers in there I should delete. So that's just what I did.
When I organized my high school reunion a couple of years ago, it was such a scramble to find everyone (long story for another time), that as I was able to track people down, I was putting their phone number(s) in my cell so I could contact them regarding the reunion, and for future reference if need be. Now, looking at all those numbers in there, I decided to heck with all of them! Well, almost all of them. I made sure I had the numbers stored in my email address book, then promptly deleted all but the 4 or 5 girls I still keep in touch with.
I kept all the doctors and local hospitals.
I looked at the neighbors I had. Some I've never spoken to on the phone but I have a good relationship with them, andI know if I needed anything, they'd help in a heartbeat if available. Then there are some other neighbors... I haven't spoken to them in quite some time. For whatever reason (in their delusional minds) they stopped speaking to us a long time ago, accept when they want to borrow something or be nosey. I strongly considered deleting their numbers, as I know I'd never call them if I needed anything, but decided I'd keep their numbers, just as a "good neighbor" policy. I figure if I should see their house on burning down or being broken into, I'll give them the courtesy of calling them (after calling 911), even though I some how doubt I'd receive the same courtesy.
I'll keep the phone numbers for animal control, one of my husband's co-workers, relatives (no matter how distant), my friends both near & far, the bank, our employers, the auto-body shop, my co-workers (even though I'd rather not have them in my book, I do need to call them from time to time), our vet, our back-up vet, and even the parents' numbers of our dearest friends.

A day in my life...

Got the electric bill in the mail yesterday. I just love this time of year, because our bill is so low. Wouldn't it be nice if our LG&E bills were always in the $50-range?! But I know that will soon be a thing of the past, as the weather is turning warmer, so we'll probably be turning the a/c on in the coming weeks. Although with the rising gas prices, we may just have to suck it up and learn to deal with the heat a little longer than we usually would. Too, the pool will soon be up and running, and the pump sucks some electricity. But I guess it's a small price to pay for some cool-in-the-pool time.
I did a rare thing last night, I went out again after I got home from work. Again I mention the rising fuel costs, which is now up to $4/gal. Will it ever end? So I made a quick trip to the Factory Card Outlet and purchased a few items that were on sale for the luau later this summer. I figure if I purchase a little here and there, it won't strain the pocketbook quite so badly as waiting to get it all at the last minute. I have a big box in our front room that I'm putting things in, hopefully by August it will be a full box.
I prodded the husband into taking the first step towards getting our pool open for the summer. He went out and set the hoses up and started syphoning off the rain water that has collected on top of the pool-cover. When I looked out this morning, only a few random, shallow "puddles" remained, not to mention a lot of silt. The next step will be to remove that cover... that will probably happen friday evening. That's the worst part of opening up the pool. The cover is hard to remove, it's a dirty job, and it's a struggle to keep the silt from seeping into the pool water below. I'd like to do it this evening, but the husband feels it's more important that he go play poker with some of his buddies. **sigh** guess I can't really complain, since I did spend this past Sunday afternoon with the girls.
I started a pot of tortilla soup in the crockpot yesterday before leaving for work. I'd never made this before, but it turned out totally scrumptious! I just love having dinner ready for me when I get home from work!
As I've already mentioned, gas prices are soaring! Many of us have had to change our driving habits, ways of life, shopping habits, you name it. So I thought I'd mention a few of my changes...
* I've slowed down considerably on the interstates. I now set my cruise control around 63 mph. If that's too slow for my fellow drivers, they can just go around. Remarkably, I actually find that not too many people are passing me. They too seem to be slowing down.
* I seldom drive anywhere besides work now. Mondays are the exception... I go to p.t. every other monday now, and the grocery that evening, and then to the Luci Ctr. on the weekends.
* I used to be willing to drive anytime I went anywhere with my friends because I'm such a nervous passenger, everybody elses driving scares me too death! But I'm learning to suck it up, close my eyes and let others do the driving from time to time.
* Whenever I do have errands to run, I do my best to combine them, plotting out my driving map in my head, and the times, doing as many as possible each time I go out.
* I used to think nothing of running to Sam's Club whenever I needed something, but now, I typically only go there on the way home from the farm, that way I'm only adding about 6 extra miles instead of 20+, and I now only go once every 4-6 weeks.
* I think I've only eaten out once for lunch since the first of the year. Initially this was part of my weight-loss strategy (still down 35 lbs., thank you very much!), but I find that by packing my lunch for work everyday, I'm saving a lot on gas as well by not running out everyday to sit in a long drive-thru line.
* For whatever reason, my car gets the best mileage when the gas tank is at it's fullest, so I now try not to let it go below half. I used to only put gas in it when I was nearing empty, and my mileage ranged anywhere from 21 - 24 mpg. Yesterday, I was down to 3/4 of a tank and stopped to top it off as prices were getting ready to go up .17cents, and I managed to get 30 mpg for the 1/4 tank I'd used. 30 mpg... holy crap! Now if I can do that every time, that would be fantastic... and NO, I didn't mis-calculate or forget to reset the trip-odometer last time I gassed up.

I was walking the dogs last night (one at a time of course), and was strolling along with my big boy, Eliott, minding our own business. We were headed down the sidewalk that runs along the backside of our neighborhood. To our left were privacy fences, to our right, the grassy area that is between the sidewalk and Chamberlain Ln.
A man on a bicycle suddenly passed us on our right. He had been riding on the sidewalk and rode up behind us. I didn't hear him coming, and so he veered off the sidewalk into the grass to go around us. He uttered what I felt was a polite, "excuse me" as he passed. It was him suddenly speaking that startled me, and I jumped in my skin a bit. After he passed, he got back onto the sidewalk, got no more than 30 feet in front of us when he suddenly jumped off his bike and slammed it to the ground, with a loud expletive. I thought he was going to go postal! He started stomping back towards us, and I was honestly starting to fear for mine and Eliott's safety. As we approached him, he was muttering, I don't know if it was too himself or us, but he muttered, "the only place back here where there's mud, and I had to ride right through it!"
So I don't know if he was mad that he got mud on his nice bike, mud on himself, or if something broke on his bike when he road through the mud. But as he brushed on past us I uttered an apology and said a simple, "sorry". I glanced back at him and he was standing by the muddy area, cussing some more. I hurried Eliott along, not wanting to hang around the area.
I don't know what the man's problem was. But after I'd put some distance between us and my heart rate returned to normal, I reflected on what had happened and wondered, "why did I apologize? I'd done nothing wrong. I was on the sidewalk, walking. If anyone was to blame, it was him." So now I was annoyed with myself for having apologized, simply because I was fearful of him. Too, I wondered if Eliott would have come to my defense had the man actually intended us harm. Fortunately, he was gone when I made the next lap with Bootsy.

Thursday, song for the day

Wow, has this man changed over the years! Lost all of his hair, he did. But it happens to the best of us. ;)
I have a hard time picking out a favorite song by Christopher Cross, because I like a lot of his music. But I guess this ranks right up at the top... a bit of irony their since I don't like sailing, the physical act, but I do love sailing, the song.

In the news this week...

My goodness, there are so many news stories this week revolving around different animals and a myriad of topics, I hardly know where to start.
This morning on GMA, they talked of how scientists have now successfully cloned the first dog. The dog's owner spent $10million (I believe that was the figure they quoted) to have this done. Okay, that right there is enough to really piss me off!
I understand that man, or anybody for that matter, loving their pet unconditionally and doing anything for them. And I understand the desire to always want our fur-babies with us at all times, for as long as we live. But the law of mother nature rules that canines, depending on the breed/size, typically don't live past 20 years. Obviously, many breeds only average 8 years. I think we all know this, and accept this fact going into our relationship with these magnificent creatures. Yes, it breaks my heart that my beloved Great Danes won't live a very long life, and I'll most likely lose everyone of them (and many more to come) in my life time, but I accept this and just treasure what time I do have with them... love them, enjoy them, and keep my memories of them alive. Each one of my dogs has been quite different from the next, and that's part of what makes each one special... As much as I love them all, I don't think I'd want each subsequent dog to be identical to it's predecessor.
And for someone to spend such an obscene amount of money on such a cause, well, it's just obscene!! That money could be spent on much more worthy causes in this world. Not to mention, there are already so many unwanted pets living in shelters that need good homes, that end up being euthanized, why not adopt one? Or at the very least, donate the $10m to the local animal shelter &/or spay/neuter programs????
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The Tasmanian Tiger... an odd looking animal if ever I've seen one. Other than the few stripes on it's back, it resembles a tiger or feline for that matter in no way, shape or form. Looks more like a dog's body with the head of a fox or jackal or something else I can't come up with. It's an animal that's been extent since the 1930's, but now scientists are in the process of possibly reviving the species by using dna from one of the animals that has been preserved all these years.
While it's a nice thought that we wouldn't ever lose another species of animal if we have the capability of renewing it in this manner, I can't help but wonder... WHY?
Do they really think they're going to re-introduce these animals to the wild at some point? Or just recreate enough so that they can live in zoos? As sad as I think it is that any species meets with extinction, again, that's just the law of mother nature. I imagine the day will come when humans will be extinct. Hopefully not in my lifetime, but I imagine it will eventually happen, we as humans are too arrogant and careless for it not to happen. I don't know what animal will rise up to rule the world if that happens, maybe the apes as in the movie "Planet of the Apes"...
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A pair of giant pandas in China are missing after that large earthquake that struck last week. Very sad indeed. Okay, so here's a thought for you... if scientists are so anxious to clone animals, or reproduce them using their dna but using other species as surrogates, then why not try cloning pandas and other animals that are on the threatened or endangered list, and using other, similar animals that are in abundance as surrogates to try and build their numbers back up?

Wednesday song of the day

I first heard the name Bob Marley when I read the book "Marley and Me"... which was about a yellow-lab (if memory serves) and not the singer... about 3 years ago. A great book, 'specially if you're an animal lover.
I still didn't know who Bob Marley was or what he sang, and had no great interest in finding out.
In the years since, we acquired in our dvd collection, the movie "Lake Placid". A "b" movie at best, yet it's one we watch frequently, for laughs if nothing else, even though it's not a comedy. As the movie is ending and the credits are rolling, a song is playing, "Is This Love". The song has always stuck with me, and several months ago, I finally looked up who sang it. Imagine my surprise that it was Bob Marley. Oh, okay, now I know who he is... the guy that sang "I Shot The Sheriff", reggae style.
I've since purchased some of his songs, and am quickly becoming a big fan.
So I'll leave you with my song of the day, the song that hooked me on Bob Marley...

Burning down the house!

I've been griping for the 5+ years I've been working here, that if they don't do something about the electrical wiring in this building, then this place would one day burn to the ground.
Well, my prediction very nearly came to fruition today, and might still yet...
Most of the wiring and outlets in this historic building are very old. They did have some electrical work done here back in the late 80's or early 90's, and basically all that was done was that a handful of outlets were installed here and there throughout the building, that were of a heavier wire (or whatever) so they could handle a stronger current. Needless to say, in this day and age of computers, copiers, fax machines, modems, muxs, etc., etc. the system is overloaded.
When we moved the offices around back in February, I complained yet again of how this place needed some electricial work done, but as is the norm in my life, I was pooh-poohed and ignored.
We have extension cords running off of extension cords, running off of extension cords. It's like some kind of crazy spiderweb of electrical cords and if one isn't careful, they'll get caught up in them.
I was sitting at my desk while my lunch heated up in the microwave in the next room. Suddenly the lights and computers started flickering. Actually, this isn't an uncommon occurance around here, and I didn't pay it much attention. But then they continued to flicker and I started hearing a sizzling and popping noise, then I started to smell an awful odor... not the dead mouse odor I've been smelling for some two weeks now, but an ozone, burning electrical kind of smell. I looked towards the file room where the popping noise was coming from, and saw whisps of smoke drifting past the doorway. Nice, I guess the place was on fire, and now my lunch would probably go up in flames. **pout**
I walked, as calmly as I could down the stairs, and got half way down when I spotted my boss sitting in the lounge. I leaned over the rail and informed him of the situation. All of my co-workers jumped to their feet and dashed up the stairs. The smoke had gotten heavier, the smell was just awful!! Fortunately, no flames were visible... yet.
As I predicted, the electrical system was on overload, and one of the plugs was shorting out. My boss grabbed the two extension cords that were plugged into the faulty outlet and disconnected them. The one extension cord, which had the 'fridge, microwave & toaster oven plugged into it was very hot. The outlet now has a yellowish scorch mark on it, and the office smells to high heavens. On the plus side, this new odor masks the smell of the decaying animal in the wall, but the new smell is just as offensive.
The boss flipped the circuit breaker that supplied the juice to those outlets, so I've had to spend some time this afternoon re-routing the plugs that were absolutely necessary to another outlet. Needless to say, the mess of extension cords and wires is even worse than it was before. I'm now sitting in the dark, the only thing lighting my little cubicle is the overcast light shining in through the window.
The boss claims it's just a bad outlet and that he can replace it this evening. We'll see....
I still expect to come to work one day and find this place burned to the ground.
In all honesty, that's most likely what would have happened had it not happened while I was sitting right here, as there is no sprinkler system up here... all the other employees were obviously sitting around doing nothing downstairs, oblivious to everything going on up here, and had it happened at night, well, things would've been even worse.
So I thought I'd tie my little drama for the day in with my Tuesday song of the day...

Empty Nest

Wow, it doesn't take long for birds, or mourning doves at least, to leave the nest once they are hatched. The first picture I took on May 13th (+/- a day), and the 2nd one was taken the 17th or 18th. When I checked the nest last night (19th), it was empty!

I hope the little one does well in the world.

Honor

Sunday afternoon, I went to the Bats baseball game with a couple of my girlfriends. It was supposed to be an outting of 4, but one friend was unable to attend, so she was with us in spirit. Gametime was at 4:15, and we arrived about 1/2 hour early, parked out on the street and walked towards the stadium. As we approached, we were surprised to see a large platoon of soldiers in their fatigues marching up the cross-street, make a sharp right turn, and then march up to the stadium gates. They passed through, then broke into a run and ran, single file to their seats. It was an impressive sight.
We entered the stadium and stood on the deck watching what seemed to be a never ending line of soldiers. We looked across the street at the parking lot, and noticed several buses where the soldiers were disembarking from. There seemed to be no end to them. I wondered aloud if we were being invaded.
We stood and watched, as many others did, and stood aside to show our respect and allow them through. I commented to my friends, "what is it about a man in uniform?... you can take any ordinary guy that you'd normally never look twice at, but put him in a uniform (or in construction clothing) and suddenly you can't help but pause to stare." They agreed, a uniform does spiff up the man (or woman).
Saturday was Armed Forces Day in the U.S.A., so I'm assuming that these soldiers being allowed the afternoon to watch America's favorite past-time was part of the celebration to honor them.
We made our way to our seats and watched as the Army band played a couple of tunes from their position in the outfield. Some of the high-ranking officers were introduced to the crowd, then Kentucky's oldest living war veteran was brought out on a golf-cart and intoduced... he is 107 years old. In this first picture below, he's the old guy in the white ballcap. What a treasure.



It was a sea of men in fatigues. They were impressive when they stood at attention, marched, ran, and even when they were mingling with the crowd.



Just after the game started, I made my way to a concession stand. Soldiers were everywhere. I heard one young man stop a police officer and ask him where the nearest ATM was located, and a part of me just wanted to hand over my small wad of money and tell him to enjoy his afternoon. Of course I didn't do this, but a part of me wanted to.
As I stood in line, waiting my turn behind some young men, I looked around and studied their faces. They all seemed so young and vulnerable. Seemed young?, they WERE young. Many bore the pimples of their teenage years, some had a downy like bit of facial hair, and many had such baby-faces, they looked as if they'd yet to ever shave their first whisker. I gulped and stared, wide-eyed, as I realized that I was old enough to be most any one of them's mother. This didn't make me feel old, so much as maternal.
While standing in line, I kept thinking I should say something to them, and while I pondered what to say, one of the young privates in line with me suddenly broke the ice and engaged me in conversation. I commented that it must be a nice treat for them to get away from the base for a while to attend a ballgame. He informed me that they hadn't known about it 'til the previous day and he was sure they were just teasing them, so he'd been really surprised when they had gotten to attend. I knew they were from Ft. Knox, the army base which is located just a few miles southwest of our town, but I didn't hadn't realized they were new recruits. I asked him if he'd been overseas yet and he explained that he was still in basic training, then proceeded to proudly explain the patches on his uniform and how if/when he does go abroad, then he'll get an additional patch placed underneath of his American flag patch.
More than once, I had to turn my head away as tears kept welling up, threatening to spill over, as I kept thinking to myself, "this could be my son".
He was (they all were) very proud of his uniform and very proud of what he was doing for our country. I was proud of him too.
We chatted a little more while we waited for our food, and I took notice of his name patch: BLAIR. I wish I'd taken a few more minutes to "interview" Private Blair, find out where he was from, what had drawn him to enlist, etc. But words escaped me, and I still kept fighting back tears.
I made my way back to my seat and told my girlfriends about my experience. I think they thought I was slightly nuts for getting emotional, and I vowed to blog about him. A short time later, I looked back over my shoulder and saw a small group of soldiers standing there. I thought I recognized Private Blair in the group and pointed him out to the girls. Jilli insisted upon getting my picture taken with the group. The guys were very accomodating, and as we gathered together, I looked at the young man again and his name tag and realized that I was mistaken, it wasn't Private Blair afterall. But they did bear a striking resemblance to one another. My Blair look-alike is standing in the back row with me.



Up until yesterday, whenever the news reports mentioned a soldier having been killed in our war in Iraq, I barely gave notice. I've no doubt that from now on, I'll be listening to those news reports and hope that I don't ever hear of Private Blair, from Ft. Knox as listed among those who died serving his country.
As the soldiers marched in/out of the stadium, they called out, but usually it was too difficult to understand what they were saying. The one time I could clearly understand them, I heard them calling out: FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM
Indeed, they serve with dignity, honor, for the liberty and freedom of others.
Each one we encounted was very polite and respectful and answered with "yes/no ma'am/sir"
It may be an honor for them to serve our country, and they may have felt honored receiving recognition yesterday, but I felt it was an honor for me to be in their presence.

So now I'm going to borrow a moment from Robin William's movie "Good Morning Vietnam" when he played Louie Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World" for private O'Malley and make this my Monday Song of the Day.

Friday, song of the day

Even after all these years, these guys still sound as good as they did back then.
And what a fun and silly song that has stood the test of time.

Nostalgia Saturday

This house looks pretty much the same today as it did back then, at least, on the outside. Only difference is that that tree isn't there any longer, and there's another, much larger tree to the left, almost directly in line with the frontdoor.
This was my great-grandfather's house when I was a tot. The original, front portion is built of Bedford Stone, and is made up of one great-room and two tiny bedrooms on the right. At some point, an addition was built onto the back of the house that includes a kitchen and bathroom with indoor plumbing.
After he passed in November of 1972 and his wife moved out, my parents fixed the house up and we moved in there in '73. We lived there for 2 years before moving into our own brand new home. Since then, two of my father's sisters, his brother, an uncle and a nephew have lived there, either as a first step of moving away from their parents but before totally striking out on their own in this world, or else during hard times when they needed a place to stay. It's been a place of refuge, a safe-haven for many in our family throughout the years.
The little cottage sits on my grandmothers property, behind her house. Sadly, it's rather run-down now (both inside and out), yet I can't help but feel a tug at my heartstrings when I see it, as I'll always associate my great-grandfather with that place.

Name origins

I mentioned my childrens' names in a previous blog and that two of them were named for Law & Order SVU characters. When we were trying to decide on their names, we took lots of things into consideration before deciding. We looked at their coloring, markings, attitudes, expressions, our hobbies/interests, lots of variables before deciding.


*Smokey, our first, came from a backyard breeder that didn't have a kennel name, thus the lack of a kennel name at the start of his registered name. He was gray in color and too, my husband and I were both involved in the fire department at that time, so we decided on "Smokey". Numbers aren't allowed in AKC registration (unless it denotes a sequential naming, such as Henry the 8th). We wanted 9-1-1 on his name, but since numbers weren't allowed, we had to get creative and came up with "Smokey Knein Won Won".


*Kelsey, our second, did come from a reputable breeder (as did all the rest), and it was one of our breeders request that the kennel name be a part of her registered name, thus the "Triplecrest". I was heavy into genealogy at the time, and even though I was focusing on the Smith side of the family, I just couldn't come up with a good name from Smith that we both liked. Then I looked at the Kelsey side of the family and we agreed that we'd call her Kelsey... but how to work that into a registered name? The women on my mom's side of the family have no problem filling out the seat of their pants. That's not to say we all have big butts, but we're not lacking in butt-cheeks either. One of my cousin's husband had dubbed them "Kelsey Cakes", so I borrowed that term to name her "Triplecrests Miss Kelsey Cakes".


*Eliott always has such a look of innocence on his face, especially when he's guilty of something, and he was forever getting into mischief it seemed as a youngster. I'd already laid down the law to the husband we were naming him Eliott, after Elliott Stabler, but we needed to come up with a good registered name. I went with my criminal-justice fascination to come up with the "Triplecrests Innocent Til Proven Guilty".


*Olivia's name was easy, both her call name and registered name. The call name because she was Elliott's partner on the show. Her registered name "Triplecrests Olive Branch of Peace" I came up with for two reasons, #1) because the name Olivia is derived from the vocabulary word 'olive' which is a symbol of peace, and #2) because of her deafness... I figure her world is full of peace (and quiet).


*Bootsy, well, she came to us already named. She originally came from Daneboa Kennels in Florida, and Hugo & Sally Gamboa had already named her "Daneboas These Boots Are Made For Walking" (yes, after Nancy Sinatra**), and they called her simply "Boots". She came to Kentucky when she was little more than 6 months old, and continued to be called Boots by her new owner. But the first time we saw her, and every time thereafter, we called her Bootsy. When we acquired her at age 16 mos., we changed her call name to Bootsy.
**Apparently Hugo & Sally have some kind of fascination with Frank Sinatra, as one of their danes I believe was called Frankie, but I think his registered name was Daneboa Chairman of the Board (if I'm not mistaken).


All our k-9 childrens names have 6 letters. It's an unwritten rule in our household. So for future names, if we decide on a name and it has more (or less) than 6 letters, we have to figure out a way to deviate from the standard spelling to make it fit our criteria. We've already discussed Briscoe (Jerry Orbach's character on L&O) being the name of a future dane, but most likely, we'll have to spell it Brisco or Brisko... we'll see what the future brings.

Friday photo challenge - number

I'm posting a day early, as I'll only be at the office for 1/2 day tomorrow, and don't know what (if any) kind of workload I'll have in the morning. That having been said...
This is my kitchen-apron.

Thursday, song for the day

Love this song!

The Big Dog Feeder

For you Abbey...



Also, here's a link to a website that carries a variety of elevated food dishes. Not sure if they ship to Aussie, but worth a try.

ps... Eliott was 11 weeks old in that bottom picture. Still too small to eat from the big dog feeder. He was just sitting there eye-balling Kelsey's food she'd left untouched.

Wednesday song of the day

Goodness, I almost forgot to post my song for the day. Where is my head?
Okay, I know I blogged about this song a couple of years ago, but looking back, I couldn't find it (900+ blogs to filter through is too many!!), so to refresh your memory... when I hear it, it just reminds me of John & I after all these years...

Confused, hurt, angry

I'm feeling such a mix of emotions right now, over something someone has done, and I'm not even sure if it's worth my effort to say anything to that person (and JNW, before you jump to any conclusions, NO, I'm not referring to you).
A certain relative has invented a reason for our up-coming luau and is telling other family members of this made-up reason, and it's really pi$$ing me off! We didn't tell her the reason for it. She tried guessing, but never guessed correctly. So now she's made up a reason and is spreading the rumor.
Part of me wants to throttle her and ask her WTF?
And another part of me is saying she's not worth the effort, just let it go.
But still, I can't help but feel she's kind of ruining our plans somewhat.

Dare to be different

I'm a Law & Order:SVU fan, that's no secret. I did after all name two of my dogs after the two lead detectives (Eliott & Olivia). So you can be certain I was tuned in last night to see the last show of the season. But it was bonus night, they played back-to-back episodes, the first guest-starred Robin Williams. An incredibly gifted and talented actor. He's had his share of bad movies, but more often than not, his performances are very memorable, and last nights was no exception in my opinion.
I'm amazed to find that a common theme keeps recurring in his movies & guest appearances, and I can't help but wonder if he's chosen to play these characters because of the theme, or if he has some kind of influence over the storyline, thus setting the theme.
The theme I'm speaking of? Dare to be different. Don't be a conformist. Think for yourself and make your mark.
In some ways, I like to think I work along those lines. Not 100% by any means, but certainly I'm not one to follow trends just because they are "what's in". Good grief, look at my haircut... I'd say that was daring to be different. While I sit here and listen to my music at work, the boss has often told me I'm an unusual person... because of the wide variety I listen to, and the way I mix up the selections, one never knows what to expect from me next.
"Dead Poets Society" is one of my favorite movies, and perhaps that's why I'm such a fan of Robin Williams, because his movies preach much of how I feel I live my life... daring to be different.

Dove update

My lone dove-egg finally hatched. The little fella (or girl?) had his back to me, so I couldn't see it's face, but at least it's alive. Yea!

My little peasant-child

Yes, from time to time I do dress my 4-legged children up, if for no other reason than for my amusement. However, this time it was for a little pay-back. The little wench kept snatching my bandana off of my desk, so I finally fashioned it into a scarf and tied it on her.

Pita's lil' world

I read once where the definition of a weed is any plant that is growing where you don't want it to grow. I purposely have periwinkle growing in one my flowerbeds. But my m-i-l refers to it as a weed. The little daisy-like flower in this first picture would be considered a weed by many people, but it's just so darned cute, how could possibly pull it up?, so I let it grow.




The peonies are finally starting to open up, slowly but surely...



I do know the name of this flower, but it just totally escapes me at the moment. It's my lone survivor of the several I planted a few years ago... it's nestled in among my strawberries.



The peaches are coming in quite nicely, I can hardly wait!!



And so are the strawberries!



Best of all, I've got 'MATERS!!!!!!!! Fresh food from the garden, I can hardly wait!!!!!!!



Here's a close-up of my new earrings, compliments of Kyles down-under. The picture doesn't begin to do them justice, but the ones on the right are amethyst... my birthstone!

Topical Tuesday #13, Sleeping Habits

I've been memed. **sigh**
Okay, I'll play along (grumble, grumble)
Feel free to copy the questions and post your own answers.

*Do you have a specific side of the bed you have to sleep in? Yep, I'm to my husband's left, just like when we were married
*Do you snore? I'm asleep, how would I know?... well, I don't think I do on a regular basis, but I have on rare occasions woke myself doing just that.
*Do you drool on the pillow? Eew!, I think I can honestly say NO!! Now the husband, definitely!
*Do you sleep in a unique position? Is flat on my back unique?
*Are you a kicker? Don't think so.
*Do you take over the whole bed? No
*Pajamas or underwear? Most of the time an old t-shirt & undies
*Underwear or in the buff? Underwear... I learned the hard way not to sleep (or walk around the house) nude.
*Wake up at the crack of dawn or sleep until noon? How about before the crack of dawn?
*Do you hear the alarm clock or do you need a bomb to go off next to your ear so you can wake up? I bounce out of the bed... if I hit the snooze, I end up oversleeping, so it's easier to get up rightaway!
*What are your sleeping habits? Um, usually in bed by 9:30pm, get up between 2:30 & 4:30am, depending on the husband's work schedule, let the dogs out to potty, pack husband's lunch, fix his breakfast, then go back to bed 'til 6:20am... if I'm lucky I actually fall back asleep 'til that time.

Sweet sensations!

I recently purchased a cookbook (like I really needed another one!?) that was full of nothing but recipes adapted to fix in a crockpot (slowcooker).
Two of my favorite things... casseroles and crockpots... there is a valid reason I have 5 casserole baking dishes and 9 or maybe it's 10 now, slowcookers.
Anyway, imagine my surprise when I found recipes in this book that were for baking cakes and breads... in a crockpot!! Well, you know I just had to give it a try! I wasn't disappointed, so I thought I'd share.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE DELIGHT

Ingredients:
1 package (about 18 oz.) chocolate cake mix
1 container (8 oz.) sour cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup water
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 package (4-serving size) instant chocolate pudding and pie filling mix

Instructions:
* Coat inside of crockpot/slowcooker with butter or non-stick cooking spray
* Combine all ingredients in medium bowl; mix well. Transfer to crockpot.
* Cover; cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH 3 to 4 hours. Serve hot or warm with ice cream.

Helpful hints:
* Do not overbeat cake and bread batters. Follow all recommended mixing times.
* Do not add water to the crockpot unless instructed to do so in the recipe.
* After cakes and breads have finished cooking, allow them to cool in the stoneware at least 5 minutes before removing.
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The one I fixed, I cooked on High for 3 1/2 hours. Crockpots vary, so if you have one that cooks at a higher temperature, you may want to only do 3 hours, or else use the low setting. I also used the sugar-free variety of pudding, and not quite a full 8 oz. of sour cream (light variety).
Also, don't be tempted to lift the lid off during cooking, as a lot of heat and moisture will escape, creating a longer cooking time, and a drier cake.
Because of the gooeyness of the melted choc. chips, you really don't need to frost this cake.
I think next time I'm going to try using a yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, and perhaps some white-chocolate morsels.
Enjoy!