Haunting the children

Arghhhh!!! It's freaking happened again!
A family came in to make funeral arrangements for their mother who passed away, and the photo that they provided for us to use for her obituary and memorial folders is the one that's on her driver's license.
Her DRIVERS LICENSE!
Come on people! Who looks good in their license photo? Nobody!!! Those photos always look like we're coming off of a 3-day drunken bender, or else guilty of doing something we shouldn't. They look that way for a purpose you know... it's so when the policeman pulls you over, usually for doing something you shouldn't, that way the photo will match the guilty expression on your face.
Is this the photo you want the world to remember you by once you've passed away?
Probably not.
What is this woman's children thinking? And all the other family members we've had do the same exact thing in the past? Would THEY want THEIR children using THEIR license photo to be memorialized?? Probably not!!!
I realize that some people don't like having their picture taken. I am one of those people. But still, there are photos of me out there that definitely look better than my license.
I just sighed and scanned the license, then cropped as much of the bio-info as possible out, then did a minimum of touch-up to the photo. Just enough to remove the "K" in Kentucky from her photo and that little id-# in the corner. I should've left it completely alone, just so the rest of the world could see what these children think of their mother.
If you have a bad opinion of your parent (and I'm not saying these children don't love or have a high opinion of their mother), then wouldn't it be better to just not provide a photo and leave things blank?
Honestly, I'm hoping the woman comes back and haunts her children for doing this.

Todays scenery

As I drove home yesterday, I was struck, for the umpteenth time this week, at the absolute beauty of the ice covered landscape. Even the power lines and the guide-wires leading to the tall cell-towers looked beautiful, and they looked to me like giant spider webs on a dewey spring morning, glistening in the sun. I wished, also for the umpteenth time this week, that I could pull off to the side of the road and take pictures. But even though the roadway was clear for driving, the shoulder wasn't, and it wasn't safe to pull over, much less to get out and play photographer.

So on the drive into work this morning, I started snapping random pictures of the rising sun, shining through the ice.

I can tell a big difference between the scenery last evening and this morning... a lot of snow and ice has already melted, and the scenery is rapidly changing.

It's not easy to take decent photos while trying to drive.

(this one could've been my photo submission for the photo challenge for "hot" this past week, and for "cold" this coming week)

When Pita's not happy....

It's Saturday, the 31st of Januray, just after 1pm.
*I was supposed to be in Harrodsburg (KY) today, working at a used-tack sale to help raise money for the Luci Ct. But thanks to Mother Nature gifting us with all this snow and ice this week, that was cancelled.
*The farm is still without power. I feel bad for the director (who lives there), having to go this long without electricity. Hopefully she's staying warm by the warmth of her wood-burning stove, and is perhaps able to heat water and maybe a can of soup (if nothing else) over it, and isn't having to make do with cold food.
*Too, they're having to battle the cold temps to keep the horses' ice buckets from freezing. The normal routine is quite thrown out of whack because of all the ice on the ground. Horses are being turned out, one group at a time, just for a few minutes... long enough to get their stalls cleaned, and then brought back in. I'm sure by now, they're all going a bit stir-crazy.
*I am at work today. I'm not happy about it, but I'm not complaining (at least, I'm trying not to). As I did get a day and a half off earlier in the week, 'tis only fair I come in and work today (without demanding overtime or comp-time). However, I had expected to only have to work a half-day, but now it appears I'll be here not only my usual 8 hours, but most likely a couple of hours past that. THAT, I'm not happy about. When Pita's not happy, ain't nobody happy!!
Some-beaches!!!!!

49 and counting

Today is the husband's birthday.
He's 49! Forty-Nine!!!
One more year and he'll be able to join AARP.
One more year and he'll be considered a senior citizen by many places that offer senior discounts.
How did I come to be married to this old man? Seems like he was but a pup when I married him. Oh but wait, I guess 20+ years of marriage will do that to a person, age them slowly. ;)
Perhaps according to the calender he's starting to get up there in years, and the way he complains about his aches and pains he's physically getting up there in years, but emotionally and mentally, he's still a kid. John will always be a kid.
So assuming the snow doesn't continue to fall all day long and the roads are passable this evening, we're going to dinner with his family (**yawn**). I baked him a strawberry refrigerator cake last night. I was preparing to fix the topping for it this morning when I realized I didn't have any cool-whip, so I'll have to run out at lunch time and get some.
Happy Birthday honey!!!

Ice Ice Baby

What a week it's been. As I mentioned in yesterdays blog, we've received several inches of snow and ice. We were only s'posed to get a light dusting today, but once again, the meteorologist missed the forecast by a bit... the snow started coming down early this morning (6ish), and it's now 10:15 and still coming down. I dare say the commute this morning was worse than it was Tuesday.
The media has proclaimed this the worst storm we've ever had in our area. I suppose in terms of power outages and emergency shelters being opened, perhaps it is. But we've certainly had worse storms in amounts of snow... 1994 was the worst with approx. 2 feet of snow, and 1978 a close 2nd. But I suppose the combination of snow & ice is what's making this one so bad.
But at least the power is back on at work and I'm able to "play" on the 'puter. We do have two death-calls, so I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs until those families can get in here and make the necessary arrangements, and thus my real work begins.
In the meantime, I thought I'd share some of the pix I took from the past few days...


This one, the photo really doesn't do it justice... at night, when our neighbor's porch light was shining through the ice-covered shrubs, it was sooo beautiful. The trees looked like they were covered with thousands of tiny lights.


This intersection is by a shopping center near my house. That darned car drove into my shot just as I snapped, but I was trying to get a picture of the downed traffic lights that were lying on the ground.

Once the snow & freezing rain stopped falling, we were able to go out and visit with the neighbors. Seems like it's been ages since we'd seen them!

Mimi's boots were too cute!

Neighor Marty got his ATV out and played in the snow, running it up and down the street.

Boyz and their toyz... okay, and a girl in there also.

It looks like Mimi's giving me a "peace sign".

I don't have a picture of it, but Mimmy (that would be me) showed Mimi how to break off an icicle and eat it. She was a bit hesitant at first, but then she couldn't seem to get enough and kept asking for "more!"

As destructive as the ice has proven to be for many homeowners, it really is beautiful...

Don't guess I'll be hanging any laundry out on the line to dry this week.

The forsythia in the foreground isn't bent over much, but my huge rose-of-sharon in the background normally stands as tall as the roofline of our house...

but the ice has it pretty well bent waaaay over!

There's normally several feet between these shrubs and the sidewalk, but they're bent over so far, the tips of the branches reach all the way over to the sidewalk.

The neighbor girls were having fun, enjoying the unexpected day off from school.

Olivia isn't too sure about all this white stuff. It's thrown her pottying routine off kilter.

Once the precipitation actually stopped coming down, Bootsy & Eliott had a ball running around in the snow.

But once they'd had enough, they wanted to be let in pronto!!

Friday photo challenge - hot

Just in case you're wondering what that is, it's the burner on my stove. The glare kinda makes it hard to see.
also, here's a list for the next couple of weeks...
02/06 - COLD
02/13 - SAINT

A quickie...

The Louisville area, in addition to the surrounding states, was covered in several inches of snow and ice over the past 48 hours. While I did make it into work Tuesday, things got worse after I got home. I did not make it into the office on Wednesday, as the power was out at work and there wasn't much point in sitting in a cold, dark office. I made the trek into the office today (Thursday), power was still out, so I grabbed the payroll info and made the drive to one of our other funeral homes that had power so I could make sure we all get paid next week. Also, I'm just taking this brief moment while at the other funeral home to type this blog. Aside from this, I don't know when I'll be back to blogging regularly. I've taken some pix of the snow & ice, and can't wait to get them posted.
Now that the snow & rain have stopped, it's actually quite beautiful outside. The ice on the trees made for such a breath taking drive into work. I wish I could've stopped on the interstate to take pix of it.
The dogs are enjoying playing in the snow, now that it's stopped coming down.
We only lost power for about 5 minutes yesterday morning, while I was in shower. With no window in our bathroom, it was beyond being pitch-black!
I got a phone call yesterday and received some very sad news. For those of you that read my blog from Monday, concerning Pete the Clydesdale... it is with much sorrow that I report he has since had to be euthanized. He went down again Wednesday, in his stall, and they were unable to get him back up. The vet felt there was probably some underlying neurological problem, so it was the most humane thing to do. It absolutely broke my heart, as well as the heart of everyone that knew him. He was such an absolute sweety!!! I want so badly to call the farm's director and have a cry with her, but as they don't have any power at the farm (and no phone service), I don't want to use up her cell phone's power, in case she needs the phone for an emergency.
Keep your fingers crossed that the power will be back on tomorrow and I can return to work. If not, then I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Miscellaneous stuff

*It snowed last night. Depending on where you are located in Kentuckiana, you got anywhere from about 3" to 6", with a layer of ice on top. For now, the snow has stopped, but we're supposed to get another wave of bad weather later today. Oops, I stand corrected... I just glanced out the window and I see freezing rain coming down once again. If I thought the commute coming into work was bad, I imagine the drive home will be even worse!
*I've been hearing the occasional, drip, drip, splat! Akin to a Chinese water torture I finally went to investigate (mind you, I'm at work). I discovered the chimney has a leak and water is dripping down it and landing on the hearth (yes, there's a fireplace in my office, but it isn't used). I pointed this out to the boss, but as long as bricks aren't falling and a huge puddle isn't forming, he doesn't seem to care. Of course not!, he's not the one in hear listening to the constant drip.
*I made a pan of home-made mac & cheese last night. If I do say so myself, I think mine is THE best I've ever had. Needless to say, that's what I'm having for lunch, even as I type this. Yum!!
*When I let the dogs out early this morn' to do their bizness, the two big'uns dashed out the door, plowing a path through the fresh snow. Bootsy got as far as the edge of the patio, turned and made a bee-line back to the house. It's not that she doesn't like playing in the snow, it's the snow that's still coming down that she doesn't like. Once it stopped later that morning, I let them out and they both went crazy running around the yard.
*For reasons I can't quite understand, my kids seem to think as long as there is snow on the ground, then areas that are normally off-limits for pottying are suddenly fair-game. The deck, the driveway, the flowerbeds... is it just because they can't see the grass and don't realize where they are?, or because they just don't care?
*I'm headed to Harrodsburg this weekend for a Luci Ctr. fund raiser. More details on that next week once it's all over.
*I attempted to download pix taken with my new phone onto the computer. Big shock, my card-reader comes up with an error message when I tried inserting the chip. Like I said, I just want a phone that will make/receive phone calls... you start adding all these bells & whistles and things start going wrong or I can't make them work properly, so what's the point!?
*The husband's birthday is Friday. Guess that means I'll be dining with the in-laws. Just once, I'd like to have my husband to myself to celebrate his birthday... just once...

Sticks and stones...

Saturday morning I had an appointment to go and give blood at the American Red Cross. They always recommend that you eat a good meal before donating. I've learned (the hard way) to follow that advice. So whenever I'm going to donate, I always treat myself to either Panera Bread or Bountiful Harvest for my breakfast.
This particular morning, I chose Panera.
I ordered my usual 4-cheese souffle, an asiago cheese bagel, and a hot chocolate.
I didn't see any empty booths, so I chose a table towards the rear of the room, somewhat out of the way of foot traffic. At a nearby table was a young mother, bottle feeding her infant, and two young boys, probably 2 & 3 years of age... apparently the woman's mother was up at the counter getting their order. I failed to notice that they had nearly every available spare chair pulled around their table, forming a large circle.
The table I had chosen was a very small table, and even though it had four chairs around it, it truly wasn't (in my opinion) big enough for 4 people to sit around and eat. However, this was considered somewhat of a cafe and people mostly sit back away from these tables while they drink their coffee and have a bagel, so for that purpose, I suppose the table is considered big enough. As I was sitting up against the table, my long legs filled the area beneath it's surface. Both legs were resting against the chairs to my left and right.
I sat down to enjoy my breakfast and opened a novel I've been reading. I read for a number of reasons, #1) I enjoy reading, #2) it helped me to take my mind off the fact I'd have blood gushing from my arm in a few minutes, and #3) it helped me to eat my breakfast slower and not inhale it.
I'd no sooner sat down and settled in than the two little boys broke free from their "circle of chairs" and started running rampant around our area. They crawled on the floor, in and out among the chairs, pushed toy cars along the tables, chairs, window sills, anything they could find. Their mother and grandmother kept up a constant stream of "boys, come back inside the circle please" "boys, please sit down" "boys, get back inside of the circle"... over and over they pleaded for the boys to behave. Over and over, the boys would return to the circle for a nano-second, only to belly-crawl under their chairs and escape again.
For the most part, I tuned them out. I kept eating and reading, and sipping my hot chocolate. The only time ever gave them any notice was when I occasionally glanced up and they crossed my line of vision. Honestly, it was one of the rare times that wild children in public didn't annoy me.
That is until...

As I continued to read, the family stood up and prepared to leave. The mother had handed the infant off to grandma and then proceeded to move the ring of furniture back to the places they had come from. Two of the chairs had been easy-chairs with small tables built onto an arm-rest. Once the chairs were back in place by the plate-glass window (which I happened to be facing), both of the little boys began climbing on the chairs, and then climbing onto the little tables that were attached. Even though I kept my head down, as if still reading, I rolled my eyes up so I could watch, ever fearful that one (or both) of them would fall and hurt themselves or even go crashing through the window. I was mentally willing the mother to get her brood under control. She finally went over and got both boys off the chairs and they resumed crawling on the floor. I resumed reading.
Next thing I know, a blinding pain shot through my left knee and I gasped in surprise. The chair it had been resting against had gotten a sudden shove from one of the boys. I have enough knee pain in my every day life without the addition of being slammed into by a wooden chair. I didn't say anything. I didn't even look up. I just resumed reading, holding the book in one hand and rubbing my knee with the other.
Now the mother finally took her parental responsibility a little more serious and put more effort into getting her boys under control and sternly admonished them to get over to their table and put their coats on so they could leave.
What happened next hurt me more than the whack on the knee had. Apparently my gasp of surprise & pain had annoyed the woman, and I was instantly labeled "a Grouch".
As the mother started putting a coat on the first child, she told him, "she's trying to concentrate, some people get grouchy when they're bothered"... did she just say I was being grouchy??
I held my tongue, choosing to ignore her remark and kept reading.
The little boy said something that I didn't quite hear, and then grandma had to chime in with her 2-cents worth, basically repeating what the mother had just said, but putting even more emphasis on me being a grouch.
What the hell did I ever do to these people? I sat down and ate my breakfast in silence, never said a word to them, never shot them a dirty look, nothing. Yet because their child inflicts pain on me and I couldn't smother the gasp from escaping my mouth, I'm suddenly a grouch????
Now I was truly getting pissed!!
But not wanting to cause a scene in the restaurant, I let it go and just sat there, pretending not to have heard them, and fumed in silence. They exited the restaurant by the rear entrance which they were parked near, and I saw them trying to keep the boys corralled. The more I thought about what both women had said, the madder I got, and the more I thought about my lack of action in responding to their barbs, I got even madder... at myself.
I finally grabbed my tray and took it to the trash bin and headed out the same door they'd left by, even though it was at the far end from where I'd parked. I went outside with every intention of calling both women out for their hateful comments, but when I got out into the cold air, it had the effect of cooling off my temper and I just walked to my car, head down, getting, not madder, but sadder by the moment.
I got in my car and started crying.
Why do I do this?!
For the most part, unless the moment just happens to be right (or wrong maybe), and if I'm caught in just the right (or wrong?) mood, then I tend to keep silent and let things go without ever saying a word. Why? I guess because I don't like confrontation and I just like for things to be peaceful.
I'm sure there might be a few of you that read this, that know me personally that are probably shaking your head and disagreeing with what I wrote. Well, then all I can say is "you don't know me as well as you think you do".
You have no idea how often I take the verbal abuse of, not just strangers, but family and friends. I take it, keep my mouth shut and try to tell myself that they are probably just having a bad day and need to vent, that they really don't mean the awful things they've said to me. My friends and family have no idea how often their words wound me and then I end up going home and taking it out on my husband... just ask him if you don't believe me!!
I take things to heart, and that old saying, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is a bunch of bull shit!! Words have torn my heart to pieces more often and made me feel worse than any physical wound ever has.
I've no doubt that if either of those two women have a blog, then they were probably blogging away over the weekend about that grouchy woman who was so intolerant of their precious little darlings.
I'm thinking of changing my blogger name from "Pitawoman" to "The Grouch"

A good weekend?

If ever I complain about my life being dull, somebody please slap me!
It was another one of those dramatic weekends that I occasionally experience involving animals.
The Luci Center, where I volunteer on Sunday mornings, has been a bit short-handed with help of late and had asked for additional help on Saturday afternoons for the next few weeks. When I got that email a couple of weeks ago, I sighed to myself. Did I really want to take on an extra day? If I lived closer, I'd definitely spend more time there, without question. I started to ignore the request for extra help, but then decided on a whim, "why not?", so I signed up to help on the afternoon of the 24th. I didn't need to be there 'til 2pm, so it wouldn't interfere with my mornings plans.
Normally, I don't "get dressed" (put on my cover-alls or farm boots, hat & what-not) 'til I get to the farm, because it's just not comfortable trying to drive in all that bulkiness. But for some unknown reason, this time I completely dressed while still at home. That was the first time I'd ever done that in the two years I've been going there.
I left the house at 1pm, early enough to allow me to stop at the gas station and fill up my vehicle and not be rushed. I arrived at the gas station just after 1:20pm. As I started pumping the gas, my cell phone rang. It was "P", the farm's director. She wanted to know if I was still coming out that afternoon. I assured her I was and that I'd be there in about 10 minutes. She had just wanted to make sure, as the tack room & lounge were locked up and she had the key with her. She'd see me when I got there. I looked at my watch, it was 1:23pm.
A few minutes later, when I was a mere 25 feet from turning onto the farm's driveway, my phone again rang. Again, it was "P". I glanced at the clock as I answered the phone and saw it was now 1:33... exactly 10 minutes after I'd talked with her... I had guessed my arrival pretty well I thought. I answered the phone to her frantic, "where are you now?"
Me: just turning onto the driveway.
P: I need you to get to the barn, grab Pete's halter and a lead rope and get down here. Pete's gone down and can't get up!


For anybody that needs a reminder who Pete is, he's the farm's resident Clydesdale.
(this picture was taken last spring, and doesn't do justice to show just how big he really is).

While the ground wasn't sloppy-muddy, it was very soft. The sun had been shining bright early in the afternoon, and many of the horses took advantage of the sunshine and stretched out on the ground to sun themselves, Pete included. The spot Pete had chosen to lay down in had very little vegetation growing, and with the softness of the ground, it wasn't a good combination. Pete couldn't get his footing to stand back up. His front hooves kept slipping in the mud. The more he struggled, the muddier the ground became. On the rare occasion he could get his front feet steadied in front of him, he'd get himself sitting up, looking like a giant puppy sitting there, but then he couldn't get the leverage he needed with his hind legs, and he'd fall back to the ground, lying on his right side.
Pete literally exhausted himself from his efforts.
He needed to be gotten up. To leave him lying down in the same position for too long could cause major problems. The vet had been called and was in route.
I hung up my phone and drove down the long drive, much faster than what I'd normally drive, all the while thankful that I had dressed ahead of time for once so I wouldn't have to waste precious time trying to wiggle into my clothing. I parked my car and went running to gather the requested items, then began the long run to his pasture at the far end of the farm. Slowing to a walk as I approached so as not to spook him or his field-mate Johnny, I struggled to keep my emotions in check. It was breaking my heart to see this gentle giant down. Each time he tried to get up and fell back down, he grunted and groaned his agony and despair, adding to my own emotional agony. I was sent back to the barn for Johnny's halter & lead, and more lead ropes for Pete.
The other volunteers were starting to arrive and a fire was lit under them to pick up the pace.
Soon, Pete had an audience of 4 volunteers, "P", and the vet gathered around him. We were accessing the situation, when he sat up, doggy-style, again. He sat there watching us, as if to say, "what are you all looking at?", and then he started giving it his all once again. The only thing he succeeded in doing, was spinning himself around to face the other direction before falling back to the ground.
The vet advised the first thing we had to do was get him turned onto his left side. We knew that we (the girls) didn't have the muscle power to flip a 2000 lb. horse. It was decided to try using the Kuboda. I now led Johnny up to the barn to get him out of the way while the others started grabbing ropes and the Kuboda. Johnny can sometimes be quite a spirited horse (to put it politely) and a handful to lead. I'd personally never had to deal with him, aside from feeding him. "P" gave me a strong warning as I led him to the barn to hold onto his lead rope. I thought this was a rather silly remark, as it's always my intent to hold onto whatever horse I'm leading. Johnny was an angel and walked in beautifully.
Back to Pete, the vet had given him a shot for pain. "P" got his feet tied together and the long straps tied to the Kuboda. The girls and I stood aside and watched. I can't speak for them, but as for me, I was somewhat horrified at what I was witnessing. I know it was a necessary evil to try and make things right, but it upset my stomach so! "P" put the Kuboda into drive and slowly drove forward and Pete flipped up, onto his back and then rolled onto his left side. As soon as he was over, he did what I feared, and struggled to get to his feet. Not a good thing since all those ropes were still tied around his legs. Fortunately, Pete didn't try very hard, and laid back down. "P" rushed in to remove the straps and again Pete tried to stand up, but he just couldn't get the leverage he needed and he was just simply too exhausted to try any harder. He laid back onto his side, grunting and groaning. My heart was breaking into a million pieces! I had to walk away, clutching my stomach with one hand and wiping away tears with the other.
It was decided to call the local fire department. They had had large-animal-rescue training, and they were our last resort. I went to fetch the phone book from the tack room. The numerous trips I'd made up and down the hill to and from the pasture and barn that afternoon was quickly wearing me out and reminding me just how out of shape I was.
"P" called the local fire house and explained the situation. They advised her to go on and call 911 so it could be dispatched. After she'd made the call, she and two of the girls headed up to the barn... "P" to get the large tractor (in case they were going to tie the straps and try to use the tractor to hoist him up onto his feet) and the other two to stay at the barn and guide the fire fighters towards Pete. The vet went to move his vehicle to make way for the emergency equipment to get through. One of the other girls stood nearby and I knelt down by Pete's head, stroking his head and talking softly to him. The emotional side of me just wanted to lie down beside him and wrap my arms around him and cuddle him to me. But for once, the common sense side over-ruled and reminded my heart that he could kill me in an instant if he rolled or kicked. Yeah, nothing like having a 1 ton horse roll onto you and ruin your day.
Every time Pete heard a car door shut or an engine start-up, he lifted his head or flinched. I did my best to keep him calm. Off in the distance, I could hear the sirens approaching.
It wasn't long before the first unit arrive, followed by a 2nd, then a 3rd, then a 4th unit, followed by an ambulance.
The Simpsonville Fire Department showed up with no less than a dozen members, all ready and willing to help a horse in need. They approached slowly so as not to frighten Pete, then stood there accessing the situation. They decided to use "the needle" to try and thread the webbing straps underneath Pete. The needle is a large, U-shaped piece of metal that looks like a giant upholestery needle. One end of the strap is threaded through a hole in the needle, while the other end is inserted under the horse, and then pulled from the other side. However, this didn't work, because of Pete's massive size. Shelby County is the saddlebred capital of the world... saddlebred's are average sized horses. Clydesdales are anything but average sized. They had to regroup and try something different. It's hard for me to explain how they finally got the first strap under him, but suffice it to say the front strap went under with minimal effort. As they prepared to slide the 2nd strap under his hind end, about a half dozen of these burly men stood shoulder to shoulder next to Pete and got him to roll towards his belly. While the strap was being threaded under him, the guys kept their place up against Pete's left side, preventing him from rolling back down. Apparently this was just the leverage Pete had been needing and with one last, monumental effort on his part, he was finally able to get to his feet.
He was a bit unsteady and just stood there for a few moments, trembling all over. I broke out in applause, and when he finally took a few hesitant steps forward, such relief flooded over me, and everyone else as well, I'm sure.
I can't say enough good things about the Simpsonville Fire Dept. and their efforts. Somehow, just saying "Thank You" doesn't seem enough.
Pete was led to the barn where the vet suggested applying a hot compress to his right hip and massaging his hind-quarters, keeping him stalled for a few days where he could be observed and allowed to rest, and only hand-walked for exercise. While everyone else set about doing the normal chores of the day, "P" rubbed Pete down with a hot towel and I took on the job description of masseuse. I gave Pete the massage of a life time, rubbing 'til my hands hurt, then rubbed some more. When we had first put him in his stall, he had started munching hay, but as "P" and I applied our love, Pete stopped munching and seemed to go into a dreamy, trance-like state, just standing there... just like a man to enjoy having two women fuss over him.
We were all bone-tired when chores were done that evening.
Fast-forward to Sunday morning...
I was back at the farm before 8:30 am, and when I walked into the barn, my eyes immediately looked down to the left, looking for Pete. I was thrilled to see him standing up, happily eating his grain.
After all the horses had been turned out, 'cept for Johnny & Pete, "P" and I went to take care of the outside horses while the guys started the dirty job of mucking stalls. Once we were done, "P" asked me to put Johnny in the round pen so the guys could take care of his stall. I harnessed him and lead him from the barn. Things were going so beautifully, 'til about half way between the barn and the round pen. The angel I'd led into the barn the day before, suddenly turned into the devil. He threw up his head and heels, nearly yanking me off my feet. He continued to pitch around and I held on for dear life. "P" called to me to "not let go"... don't worry, my hands were locked onto that rope and I was too petrified to let go!!!... I did my best to talk soothing to him and settle him down, the whole time "P" is telling me to keep walking in a straight line towards the pen. Hmph!, easier said than done!! While it all seemed to happen in slow motion and last for an eternity, I'm sure in reality it was no longer than 2 seconds. He finally stopped pitching enough that I got my shoulder up against him and helped to push him over to the right to correct the direction we were going. Once in the pen I got the rope off and stepped outside the gate on knees that were knocking. What had brought all that on???
"P" claimed he was just feeling good, happy to be out of the stall. If this was his "happy" behavior, I didn't want to be around if he ever got pissed and wasn't happy. Now I realized why she'd told me the day before to make sure I didn't let go of his rope... she knew that he had a tendency to sometimes go a bit nutty when least expected!
I now grabbed Pete and took him for his 20 lap walk around the indoor arena. He was perhaps a little stiff in the hind quarters, but all things considered, he seemed to be doing fine. I was exhausted by the time we'd done 20 laps. Walking in that sand isn't easy, especially not in the boots I was wearing, and not with the longer than normal stride I was having to take to keep pace with the gentle giant.
Several people have asked me if I had a good weekend... the first thing I want to say is "no", but then I reflect on how things could've turned out, and the fact that none of the volunteers or firefighters got injured and the fact that no animal(s) had to be put down leads me to change that answer to a definite "Yes". Yes, I did have a good weekend.

A nostalgic moment...

Whatever happened to Nostalgia-Saturdays? I don't recall how, when or why that little project fell to the way-side, or why everyone seemed to drop out at once. But I do miss reflecting upon moments in my life that stand out in my memory.
I'm not going to resurrect the Nostalgia-Saturday, per say. But I think I will try to start posting at least one blog per week dedicated to something that has happened in my lifetime that made an impression on me and has lingered in my memory.
Having said that, here's my nostalgic moment for the week...

I remember when I was young, I'll guess maybe 8 - 10 years of age, my grandmother won a call-in contest on the radio station. Her prize? 100 chickens. Live chickens! If memory serves, it was in the spring, so possibly right around Easter when this took place.
She went to the radio station (or wherever she had to go to claim her prize), and came home with several boxes full of little yellow, fuzzy,baby chicks. Needless to say, all us kids thought that was pretty cool.
While my grandparents did live on a piece of property outside the city limits, they weren't exactly in the country. Their property wasn't fenced in, and they really didn't have any place to properly keep these chicks. Operative word being "properly".
So my grandfather hurried out and got some rolls of chicken wire and enclosed what had been one of my great-grandfather's pride and joy... his tool shed. My ggf had kept this old shed in amazing order. All tools were in their place, the floor was swept, and things were neat. That was very quickly becoming a thing of the past.
When the chicks were released from the boxes into the shed, if memory serves, it was discovered that one of them had died already. Perhaps from being squished by it's siblings? Who knows. We watched as the little yellow fuzzies ran around their new home. Some grain was tossed in for them and they went wild pecking it off the ground.
The little chicks quickly grew, shedding their yellow fuzz when their new, white feathers came in. They weren't so cute anymore, and while the tool shed and the surrounding yard might've been big enough for 99 chicks, it was, in my opinion, MUCH too small of an area for 99 nearly full-grown chickens.
Later that summer, when the temps were waaay up there in the 90's with high humidity, I remember we (my aunts/uncle) went to check on the chickens, possibly we were going to feed them. I just remember finding a couple of the birds lying dead on the ground. We opened the door to the shed and found a couple of more dead birds. Some of the other chickens weren't looking very healthy and before our very eyes, some were falling over dead. We went screaming for my grandmother, who in turn called my grandfather.
I don't know what the ultimate decision was for the death of so many birds... several more died before my grandfather showed up to investigate... but they decided to get out of the chicken business then and there. They made arrangements with a local meat processing plant and hauled the remaining birds in to be "prepared" and they were promptly placed in the freezer.
Yep, after that dismal summer's attempt to become chicken-farmers, my grandparents went back to raising vegetables in the garden. This they were successful at.

About last night...

The husband and I went out last night and while out and about, I told him we needed to stop at the store and get bread (as I'd somehow, stupidly forgot to get any at the store on grocery night). As we were closest to one of the (too)many Kroger stores near our home, we just stopped in there. All I wanted was a loaf of bread and a can of chicken broth so I could prepare a certain dish for dinner the next night.
The husband had been carrying around some coupons for Coke products and being the Coke-deliveryman for our area, he knew they were also on sale at Kroger. When I saw the price I just shook my head and refused to buy them.
J: but they're on sale
Me: that still doesn't mean it's a good price
J: but I have coupons
Me: are you even doing the math in your head? It still doesn't make it a good price. No, I'm not paying that amount for soda.

My husband automatically thinks that "sale price" + "coupons" = bargain.
He doesn't stop to do the actual math involved, nor does he do enough of the shopping to know what's a bargain. Just because it's a sale-price at Kroger, doesn't mean it's cheaper than another store's every-day price.
As I dragged him kicking and screaming away from the soda display, I commented I wanted to see if they had any rotisserie chickens prepared. We headed to the deli section and as I approached the cart that held the rotisserie chickens, I nearly lost it at the price. I turned around, shaking my head in disgust. Honestly, Kroger may have the slogan that they are "cost-cutters" or "the low price leader", but in reality, they are anything but that. Oh sure, they do have the occasional sale that IS a good deal, to draw people in. But everything else is so jacked up on price, that if you end up buying anything other than that "special sale item", then you end up spending more than necessary.
No thanks, I'll stick to my Walmart and occasional Meijer purchases. I don't know how most families can afford to shop at Kroger as their exclusive grocer!
Then, to make things worse, as we were going through the check-out, I was horrified to see a new addition, or rather, new service that the store has implemented. They have now opened a immediate-care type of medical office inside the grocery. Granted, on a smaller scale, but still, they're inviting the sick people to come to the store, see their doctor, then head out into the store and shop for the foods that will make them better and go to the pharmacy located at the other side of the store.
I think it's safe to say when we go to the store, ANY store, we're exposed to countless germs, bacteria and goodness knows what else. But honestly, do we honestly want to ENCOURAGE even MORE sick people to come to the stores, to breath on and handle the foods we'll be taking home to our families???
Please tell me this isn't the newest trend and that soon ALL grocery stores will have medical facilities located in them!!!

Friday photo challenge - god

god backwards = dog...

delay on my photo challenge

Just an update. My computer is still being worked on to fix whatever ails it. Keeping my fingers crossed that it will be all better by this afternoon and I can get back to blogging (at my normal blogging rate of several a day).
I have every intention of participating in this weeks photo-challenge, but as I'm simply borrowing someone else's computer for a few minutes, I'll have to wait 'til mine is working again.
Keep your fingers crossed!

'Puter problems

I've been having some rather annoying computer problems the past couple of days... more annoying than usual. A task that normally takes me about 2 minutes to accomplish, yesterday took over 2 hours, and I didn't even finish it 'til this morning. Very aggravating!!! And it all started when I did as our corporate office told everyone to do, and downloaded McAfee. I felt McAfee was to blame. I tried removing the software after the troubles started, but it wouldn't let me, said I didn't have the authority. Hmph!!
I've also had issues with not being able to print to our color printer here at work. This has been going on for several weeks. Finally fed up with all the problems, I re-set my system, going back 2 months! I'm happy to report that the McAfee is now gone and I can once again print on the color printer.
However, for some unknown reason, I can no longer print on the ol' black/white, ol faithful! printer. Grrr!
AND... the computer is still majorly slow! I finally gave up and am using the boss' computer, which means I'll have to go slather hand-sanitizer all over my hands and arms when I'm done. Don't ask!!
On top of everything else, after I'd re-set the computer, when I tried getting into my Itunes library (which was working fine earlier this morning), all of a sudden, it was gone. All of it. All 3800+ songs I had stored there. Talk about panicky!!! It said that Quick-Time needed to be loaded (what happened to the old Q.T.?). Fine, I downloaded it again, tried accessing my library again. Now it told me I needed to download Itunes. WTH? So I did as it asked. Still, nothing. This wasn't going well.
Don't ask me how, but I finally got it to re-appear. And a major sigh of relief was breathed.
It's quitting time, and not a moment too soon.

The long task ahead of me

I stopped by the cell-phone store last night. The clerk popped a new battery into my phone and plugged the charger in. At first, it appearred my phone was coming back to life and I was filled with hope. He handed the phone back to me and prepared to ring up my new battery when I read the message that had popped up on my screen "insert SIM card". I asked him why it had that message. He asked me if I had removed the SIM card. I hadn't. He took the phone apart and inspected the SIM card. It had been rendered useless after the extended swim in the washing machine. He offered to put in a new card (no charge). Still, the same message popped up. Apparently there was something majorly wrong within the phone that wouldn't even recognize that it had a SIM card. **sigh** This now meant I had the task of selecting and purchasing a new phone. BIG SIGH!!!
I really didn't want anything fancy.
I've no interest in texting, receiving email on my phone, blu-tooth, sending/receiving photos. I just want something that will make phone calls. Hmph! That was not an option. He kept trying to sell me on all the benefits of these options, but I wasn't budging. Well, apparently they don't even make phones without cameras anymore, so I was getting it whether I wanted it or not. Fine!
And if I sign up for texting/email for the 1st 30 days, it will save me $50 (in the form of a rebate). I just have to remember to cancel those services at the end of 30 days. I feel a blog coming in the near future on this subject...
Anyway, the phone I picked out was nearly identical to the one I'd destroyed. From all appearances, the only difference was that the new one only came in black (the old one was silver). As the leather case had come un-glued in the washer as well, I asked about a new case. My old one was an aqua-color. It's not that I'm all that crazy about the color, it's just that it was easy to spot in the cavernous depths of my purse or on the floor of my vehicle if I should happen to drop it. Now the only color they sell that will fit the new phone is black. Gee, black phone in a black case... that won't be too hard to find.
After I got it home, I took a reflective sticker John had in his possession that also glowed in the dark, cut it into strips and stuck it to my new case. It ain't purdy, but I think I'll be able to find it, nor will I get it confused with anybody else's phone.
I sat down last night and started to add phone numbers. I was delighted to discover that the new phone had a real honest to goodness address book in it so I could store mailing addresses as well. One of my original cell phones had that feature, and it was one of the things I missed on the phone I washed. So it's taken me quite a while to put people back in there, just because of the volume of info I'm including with each person.
I had to send an email to many family & friends, asking them to send me their phone numbers. It's terrible when you don't know your dearest friends' or parents' cell phone numbers!! Sadly, I've come to rely too much on being able to just push their name on my phone & having it dialed automatically for me. :(
I've spent several hours working on this today, and I'm not done yet. I've got a long task ahead of me!
I did have a bit of a panic last night. I've always relied heavily on the alarm clock on my cell phone to wake us up in the mornings. These past couple of days without it, I'd go to bed rather nervously, hoping the regular alarm clock wouldn't fail me, and hoping for once that my dogs wouldn't allow me to sleep-in. So when I went to set the alarm last night, imagine my surprise when I couldn't find it. Horror of horrors, don't tell me this phone doesn't have one! EEK! I grabbed the instruction manual and finally found it. For some odd reason, they had moved a few of the features and hidden them behind a different icon (the one for photo-taking... go figure!!). Now I just need to figure out how to set up the short-cuts and save myself some time. Again, I've got a long task ahead of me!!

Cherry Turn-overs

I mentioned in my prior blog that I attempted to make turn-overs from scratch (sort of).

In case you're wondering what a turn-over is, this is a picture of Pillsbury's refrigerated cherry turn-overs. They also make apple flavor.

I grew up with these things. They were always considered a treat when I was a kid, and I still consider them to be a treat. The only real drawback is that there is only 6 per box. Now for just John & myself, this is actually plenty, but when I was a kid and there were four of us in the household, well, needless to say, 6 just wasn't enough. :(

I've never cared for the apple flavor, cherry always being my favorite. I've never understood why Pillsbury hasn't made other flavors.

Just like everything else in the store, turn-overs have gone up in price, and now sell for about $2.50/box (+/- a few cents).

I decided I'd try my hand at making them from scratch, again I say, "sorta".

I took a can of ordinary crescent rolls and unrolled the dough. Instead of separating them into 8 triangles though, I separated them at the perforation, leaving them in 4 rectangle shapes. Then pressed the perforations holes together on those rectangles to seal the holes. Then took a knife and cut the rectangles in half, creating a total of 8 smaller rectangles.

I took a can of cherry pie filling (next time I'm going to try peach or lemon) and spooned a small portion onto each rectangle (between 3 and 4 cherries & some filling per rectangle). Even though I was using a small can of pie filling, there was plenty of filling left over, so if you have a large family, there's probably enough pie filling so you could use two cans of crescent rolls to make 16 turn-overs.

Once I was done spooning out the pie filling, I folded over the rectangles and pinched the edges down to seal them. I then popped them into the preheated oven (use the temperature recommended on the can of crescent rolls) for 8-10 minutes.

If you have powdered sugar available, follow the directions on that package to create a glaze to drizzle over the turn-overs after they've finished baking. Or do as I do, and use cake frosting, vanilla or cream-cheese flavored work well. Apply them lightly.

The turn-overs are good for breakfast, or make a great dessert, topped with vanilla ice cream (this is my husband's preferred method for eating them).

Enjoy!

At least I have my health...

What should've been an ordinary, run of the mill (if not somewhat colder) Friday, turned out to be the beginning of a series of misfortunate events.
The outside temperature, with wind-chill factored in, was around -10 (give or take a few degrees). When the alarm went off that morning, I shuffled to the bathroom and discovered that the pipes to the shower had frozen. This is typically a once a year occurrence at our home, so I chalked it up as our one time for the year and made-do with just washing my hair in the sink.
If I'd been thinking clearly, I'd have just crawled back into bed and stayed there for the rest of the weekend, my head buried under the covers as I waited for Monday morning to come around.
But no, I pushed on. I made it through the day at work and when quitting time arrived, I got in my car and headed for home. Once on the interstate and up to cruising speed, I pushed the cruise-control button and nothing happened. I tried repeatedly with the same results. My cruise control had stopped working. Grrr!
I hoped it was just a blown fuse and when I got home, I got down on my knees (no, not in prayer), but because this was the only way to look up under the dash at the fuse panel to see what kind of fuse it required. I made a mental note and went inside to tell the husband.
Saturday morning, once I was dressed and ready to face the day, I decided I'd treat myself to a hot meal for breakfast, so I started fixing some scrambled eggs. As I cracked one of the eggs open, it splashed out and went down the front of my clean sweat-shirt and all over the floor. My Saturday wasn't starting off any better than my Friday had. The dogs licked the egg up off the floor and I cracked open another egg and prepared them on the stove. When the eggs were just right, I turned off the stove, put my bread in the toaster and poured my orange juice. Darn!, I'd forgotten to put the cheese over my eggs, so I did that right quick, but the eggs had already cooled off enough that the cheese wasn't melting. I put my plate of eggs in the microwave for 30 seconds. This was just enough time to soften up the cheese and also apparently just enough time to over-cook my eggs. The eggs were now hard and nasty tasting. Blech! I threw them out and settled for having toast for breakfast.
Since I had dried egg white on my shirt, it now needed to go in the laundry, so I peeled my shirt off, tossed it in the washing machine and gathered some more clothes to wash. Once that load was going, I went to put on another clean sweatshirt, and then head across the street to care for our neighbors dog while they were out of town. Some time later, I went to put the now clean clothes over into the dryer. As I got to the bottom of the washer and was removing the last articles of wet clothing, I heard a strange metallic jingle/scraping noise. Hmm, what was that? I peered into the washer and much to my horror, there was my cell phone. Holy crap! It had been in the pocket of my egg-covered sweatshirt and I'd forgotten to remove it. I felt absolutely sick to my stomach!! I knew it was pointless, but I flipped the phone open and pressed the button to turn the phone on. Nothing. I could see the beads of water under the screen and I just wanted to cry. I carried my water-logged cell phone to the kitchen and took it completely apart, removed the battery and attempted to let it air-dry. Seriously, I just felt sick. I just knew it was ruined. Having to purchase a new phone is NOT an expense we need right now. I shuffled over to the neighbors house to borrow their phone and call my husband to tell him what I'd done. He seemed to find great humor in the situation. I failed to comprehend why he was laughing so hard.
Back home, I did something I rarely do, I decided to do a little cleaning. Shocked? Yeah I know, but I had to work my frustrations out on something, might as well be my dirty house. I kicked the dogs' toys out of the way and extracted the vacuum cleaner out of the closet. After I'd finished running the sweeper and putting it back in the closet, I spread the dogs' towels out by the back door (this #1: for them to lie on and sun themselves and #2: to help catch the mud/dampness when they come indoors). Just minutes after doing this I heard that sound coming from one of my children. That sound being, "uh-bluh, uh-bluh, uh-bluh, BLECHHHHH!!". Yes, you fellow dog owners know the sound. It's the sound a dog makes when they have an upset stomach. Eliott was walking through the living room and across my just-vacuumed carpet, working up to a big Up-Chuck (as my grandmother used to call it). I went running, hoping to get him shoved out the back door before he lost his breakfast. Or, at the very least, to get him shoved forward 12 inches so his vomit would at least land on one of those towels. But of course he lost his breakfast 1/2" shy of the towel and it went all over my carpet instead.
Needless to say, the past 24 hours up to this point weren't going very well.
After the husband got home, we drove up to the phone store and in my most pitiful, pleading voice, I asked if there was any hope of salvaging my phone. The technician smiled and tried to assure me that it was a common problem (phones getting wet that is), although she mentioned people dropping them in swimming pools and hot tubs, not extended "swims" in the washing machine on the long-cycle. She suggested I try taking it apart (again) and putting it in a bag of white rice (uncooked of course). I vaguely recalled having heard that bit of advice somewhere in the past. So I took it back home and tried that.
Later that evening, I burned a bag of popcorn in the microwave and decided to give up on life for the day and went to bed.
Sunday morning, I decided to try and make some cherry turn-overs from scratch. I'd never done this before and wasn't at all sure of how they'd turn out, but nothing venture, nothing gained, right? Once they were done baking, I went to get the powdered sugar from the cabinet so I could make the glaze. Needless to say, there was no powdered sugar. I tore the kitchen apart looking for it, but I had none. Crap! I gave up and opened a can of cream-cheese frosting and lightly applied that. I have to say that the cherry turn-overs were the one and only high-light of this otherwise dismal weekend. They were divine!!!
So my husband headed off to work as usual and I went back to bed for a while, yet never could fall asleep because one of the cats was now in the bedroom vomiting up her breakfast. I gave up and got up to face the day. I removed my cell phone from the rice, reassembled it and pushed the on-button. While the phone didn't come on, the keyboard did at least light up, if only momentarily. I was hopeful!
After I'd cared for my dogs, the neighbor's dog and gotten myself ready to head to the farm, I started gathering up my stuff: purse, gloves, keys, phone... oh wait, my phone doesn't work. But... now I was upset. My husband has two, count them, 2 cell phones. One personal, one that his employer provides. You'd think a loving, caring husband would've had left his personal cell-phone there for me to use in case I broke down or whatever, since he had his other as a back-up. But NOOOO, not my husband. Heaven forbid he miss a phone call from his dad or sister!! So I was phoneless. I left the house, pulling the door shut behind me and headed for my car. It was then that I realized I only had my car keys in my hand. I had failed to pick up the ring that has my house keys. Great!, now I was locked out of the house! What else was going to go wrong????
Neighbor #1 that has a key to our house was out of town and my key to their house was locked inside my house. Grrr! Neighbor #2 that has a key to our house, well, it was just too early to go knocking on her door, so I figured I'd wait 'til I got home from the farm. I headed to the Luci Center. Halfway there the tears started to slowly well up in my eyes and spill down my cheeks. I was just so frustrated at all the little things that weren't going well for me. On top of everything else, I was disgusted with myself because I've once again let my weight get out of control and I'm starting to balloon up again. Frustration was my key word for the day. Because I'd cried for most of the car ride, I stopped to get gas when I got off the interstate, instead of waiting 'til after I'd left the farm. I wanted to take those few moments to compose myself. Once I arrived at the farm (I was still on-time, but yet I was about 8 minutes later than when I normally get there), they others had already gotten into high-gear and finished feeding indoors and had already taken 1/2 the horses out to pasture, including my favorite, Sampson. This meant I didn't get to spend any quality moments with him and made me want to start crying all over again.
After I was done at the farm and headed back to Louisville, I stopped at Sam's Club to pick up a couple of items for the office. While there, I ran into neighbor #2 who was shopping with a friend. Dammit!!! Now she won't be at home for me to use my spare key. Grrr!!!
Once I arrived home, I knew my only option was to try and gain access to our backyard and hope that the back door wasn't locked. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. When you've got nearly 400 lbs. of dog in the house, security isn't high on your list. We keep our gates locked at all times, so I had two options: #1) climb the privacy fence (easier said than done) or #2) try to reach between the slats of the fence and remove the metal rods that held one of the gates shut. This wan't easy to do either, because the slats are narrow and my arms aren't skinny and because the rods were sunk into the frozen ground. Just suffice it to say that I did eventually gain access to my back yard and headed for the back door. Just as I reached for the door handle, Bootsy & Eliott nearly came through the sliding glass door at me. They stood on the other side growling, barking and snarling at me, not recognizing me bundled up as I was. When I got the door slightly opened, I thought they were going to take my hand off at the wrist! Security indeed!!!! Whether they suddenly recognized my scent or my shriek of astonishment, they now knew it was their momma and let me enter, unscathed.
A short time later I was in the kitchen eating a salad, all three dogs standing around hoping I'd share something, anything, with them. When I was done, I started putting things away in the 'fridge and knocked a container of ranch dressing off the shelf which the lid split open and ranch dressing went all over the bottom of the 'fridge and the floor. Now the dogs had a treat to lick up off the floor. What else could possibly go wrong???
I again assembled my cell phone and now plugged it into the charger, hoping I wouldn't get an electrical shock in the process.
My husband arrived home a short time later and I had a complete and total melt-down and cried uncontrollably for several minutes, again, somewhat to his amusement. I just don't understand why my misery is such entertainment for him. Later, I checked my cell phone to see if it was charging. There was a "message" on the display screen that said, "Unable to Charge". **sigh** gee, what a shock. I'm going to take the phone by the store on my way home this evening and see if maybe a new battery will fix the problem. If not, I guess I'll be purchasing a new phone. I'm not happy about this!
But hey, it's now Monday, I'm alive and at least I have my health, right?

This little light of mine...

For reasons I can't quite figure out, certain lamps/overhead lights/exterior lights around our house, seem to go through light bulbs at a much faster rate than others.
I know some of you will probably offer up the following reasons: 1) those light fixtures are used more than the others, or 2) those light fixtures are turned on/off more frequently than others, or 3) perhaps we used cheaper light bulbs in those fixtures, or 4) perhaps my husband is changing them and I'm not aware of it.
Let me just say right now that while any or all of those (except #4) may be the reason for SOME of the frequent bulb changes, those excuses in no way account for all of them.
Our hallway runs approximately 1/2 the length of our house and has two overhead lights. When you flip the switch, both lights come on at the same time. We've been in our house for 15+ years now, and we've only had to change 1, count them ONE of those bulbs one time. Of course now that I've blogged about it, they'll probably both burn out this weekend.
Our front porch light, before we changed the fixture a couple of years ago, it seemed as if I replaced the bulb on a monthly basis (if not more often). In the two (or three?) years since changing the fixture, I think I've changed the bulb twice. The power to this fixture stays on 24/7. It's on a sensor that turns the light on at dusk and off again at dawn, and makes the light brighter if motion is detected.
The overhead lights in our bathrooms seldom need changing. The light fixtures that are over the bathroom sink each have several bulbs. Some of these bulbs I've replaced frequently, others are the original from 15 years ago. What gives????
And then there's the lamp in the bedroom that only burns for 2 - 3 hours per day, yet I change that bulb several times a year.
Yes, I've purchased el-cheapo bulbs, but I've also tried more expensive bulbs.
As for #4 up there on the "reason" list, let me assure you, my husband rarely if ever changes a light bulb (except in the garage because I can't reach them). His usually m.o. is to point out to me that a light burned out and needs to be changed, and then wait for me to do it.
And I know my house isn't the only one with these lighting problems. There are several chandeliers here at work with multiple sockets for those small bulbs. It seems like I'm always replacing the same few bulbs on each chandelier, and some I've never replaced.
So does anybody have any scientific reasons whey some last longer or burn out quicker?

Photo challenge updates

This week (16th)we are posting: Path
Friday 23 January: God
Friday 30 January: Hot


anyone wanting to joining in the photo challenge, post a photo you've taken on Friday (+/- a day) that is your interpretation of each weeks word.
Then go to mountaingirls blog to add your name to the Mr. Linky so others will know you're playing along.

Boycott T.G.I.Fridays

Well, I've just added another restaurant to my list of places I boycott.
T.G.I. Fridays
Why you ask? For those of you that are familiar with this restaurant and go there often enough, then you are probably familiar with their "gold points" you earn each time you dine there. It was something to the effect of 10 points earned for every dollar you spent there, excluding tax, gratuity and alcoholic beverages.
We've had our gold points account with them for many years, I'm talking probably 15 years. Granted, we don't go there as often as we used to, because they closed the location at Lime Kiln Ln. which was fairly close to us.
Over the years, we've redeemed some of our points for a free appetizer or gift card, but there were still several thousand points on the account.
The last time we dined at Fridays was back over the summer at their Linn Station location.
This afternoon, I went on-line to see how many points we had.
Imagine my surprise at finding the gold-point-program had ended on 12/31/2008.
Excuse me???????
Don't you think it would've been nice, at the very least, courteous, to inform account holders of this? I know we're not the only ones screwed out of a lot of points.
I've emailed them, telling them I thought they owed their account holders that courtesy (after all, they had my email address, mailing address, AND phone number, it's not like they couldn't find me).
Unless T.G.I. Fridays or whoever the company is that ran their gold points system does something to rectify this, they are staying on my boycott list.
Grrrr!

Identify this hunk!!

I was googling different things (helps pass the time) earlier, and on a whim googled an actor from my childhood I hadn't seen or heard anything of in years, just curious to see what he was up to these days (or if he was even still alive).
Needless to say I was speechless when this gorgeous hunk's photo came up. Be still my heart!! I never would have imagined it!!

Can any of you successfully identify this actor? I'm not giving any hints, figure this one out for yourselves...

I'll identify him on Jan. 15th.

What's in/on your refrigerator???

I was putting something away in the 'fridge last night and stood back for a moment, just shaking my head at the contents. Then, after closing the door, I stood there looking at the outside of the 'fridge and just shook my head some more. I decided to do a post and share with you my refrigerator. Please, don't be too harsh if you should leave a comment.

It always amazes me when I see other peoples refrigerators, clean and free of magnets, photos, memos, etc. We seem to collect magnets like they were real treasures. My husband is the worst offender... if it's magnetic, then it must belong on our 'fridge. While there are still a lot of ridiculous magnets pictured here, I did manage to peel off a few and throw them away.

I do keep some important papers on our 'fridge, such as the dogs' vaccination and proof of license papers.

And the slip of paper that has my friends' phone number... even though it's stored in my phone and I long ago committed it to memory, I still hold onto that scrap of paper.

The coupon for free admission to The Comedy Caravan... we've had that coupon for almost 20 years. Seriously!! We got it not long after we were married, and we've been holding onto it, figuring we'd go someday. We've actually made reservations to go there twice and had to cancel. There's no expiration date on it, so maybe some day we'll go and free up the space on the side of our 'fridge.

The front of the 'fridge isn't quite as bad. Still a lot of magnets, but not nearly as many. A couple of photos of our dearly departed Smokey, our first Great Dane, that I can't quite bring myself to remove.

Notice the door handle. I shouldn't point out the dirty items in my house, but I bring this up for a reason. I've scrubbed and scrubbed at that handle, tried numerous different cleaners, but it won't come clean. When we bought this fridge 6 years ago, the type of handle it had on it was the furthest thing from my mind when I picked it out. What was I thinking???? If/when I ever have to buy another 'fridge, the handle will be one of the first things I consider.

Never, no NEVER, ever will I again purchase one with a white handle that is textured.

Okay, moving inside...

Top shelf:a container of p-nut butter fudge, seedless grapes, an opened jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil (remember my search for those, junosmom?), sour cream, a container of ricotta cheese that's been in there for weeks just waiting for me to create something out of it, Smart Balance spread which in reality, WON'T spread without ripping a hole in the read, the 1st of 3 jars of pickles (we do love our pickles), the jar of chopped garlic that never gets used, 2 containers of salsa (we love our salsa as well), whipped cream cheese waiting for me to add the necessary seasonings to make it yummy, and a sampling of our Coke preferences.

2nd shelf: Bag of salad, a container of caramel dip that's been in there forever, half-consumed jar of apple sauce that's been in there for years, yet for some reason I just can't bring myself to throw it away (if there's no green fuzzies growing on it, it's still safe to eat, right?), grape juice, good ol' Blue Bonnet spread which really DOES spread, a half finished 2-ltr of John's preferred soda, and some brown-sugar ham.

Shelf #3: one out of 4 packages of Lenders onion bagels, a bowl of left-over chili and a bowl of left-over cheese-burger chowder, good ol' Hellmann's mayo, a package of pepper-jack cheese, an opened package of pepperoni slices, and some spreadable butter... again, it won't spread unless you leave it sitting out to room temperature to soften up.

Shelf #4: two containers of pickles (told you we love 'em!!), 3 open jars of Ragu cheese sauce (three??? are they multiplying in there???), 1 opened jar of spaghetti sauce (even though I just opened it last week, I'm sure it already has green fuzzies... why doesn't spaghetti sauce last longer?), 1 dozen eggs, and a carton with 1 egg that went out of date on Saturday.

Top drawer: baked potatoes for use later on when I make fried potatoes, cans of biscuits, tortilla wrappers, and bags of shredded cheese, and what appears to be a plastic lemon with possibly out-dated lemon juice.

Bottom drawer: three more bags of lenders onion bagels.

I know it's hard to see much, but just to give you an inventory...

Top: 2 packages of margarine, f/f American cheese, and a container of meal-worms for my frog who apparently doesn't like the worms, so if anybody out there has a need for them, I'll gladly let you have them.

#2: 2 bottles of Hidden Valley Lite ranch dressing, a bottle of O'Charley's honey-mustard dressing, 2 bottles of Sweet Baby Rays bbq sauce, Parmesan cheese, I think a jar of dill relish, and a bottle of spray margarine

#3: Bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup, Hellmann's Dijon mustard which we don't even like so I don't know why I don't throw it out, yellow mustard, skim milk, a container of squeeze Parkay margarine, and what looks like 2 more bottles of bbq sauce

#4: a bottle of aloe gel with lidocaine, jar of grape jelly, yet another bottle of bbq sauce (get the feeling we like bar-b-que sauce??), and yet 2 more bottles of mustard, and a jar of Smuckers Natural p-nut butter, which has probably been in there for years... the only thing I use it for is to make dog biscuits from scratch, and I'm fairly certain I've not done this since we got Olivia 3 1/2 years ago.

Bottom: 2 bottles of beer which I have no idea where they came from as we didn't buy them. They may be left over from some cook-out over the years, which very well means the beers might be as old as the 'fridge. A can of redi-whip, a bottle of Smuckers caramel sauce, a bottle of marinade, and some other unidentifiable item.

Seriously, it was worse before I took the pictures, as I did throw several things out (yet not that ancient apple sauce or p-nut butter), and I did straighten things up just a little. And the husband did finish off the left-over chowder.

Why the need for umpteen opened bottles of bbq sauce?... they're all a different flavor and when I cook with it, I like to mix the flavors to get just the right taste.

The beers definitely need to be tossed out and the redi-whip is probably out-dated as well.

Why the hell I keep a container of meal worms (baby cockroaches) in my refrigerator is just completely beyond me. If the frog won't eat them, throw them away, right? It seems logical, yet I suppose just because they represent life and a food source for somebody's pet somewhere, I can't bring myself to dispose of them. I guess it all goes back to that "waste not, want not" that was drilled into my head as a child. There might be a starving bird in China that would like to have those worms...

Just because

No special reason for this photo, other than "Just Because"... just because I love her sooo much and can't get enough of her.

Friday photo challenge - plant

My house plants... the few I have, and have been able to keep alive. Like the view of a brick wall outside my kitchen window? Oh well, at least enough sun light gets in to allow these plants to cling to life.

From left to right: aloe plant, a MUST for anybody that spends anytime cooking in their kitchen. Soothes those burns! It's grown quite a bit since I bought it a couple of years ago.
I really don't know what the 2nd plant is. It was one of several left behind after a funeral service back in June of '06. This plant was at death's door, seriously, I thought it was totally dead once, but it sprang back and grows like crazy. It's s'posed to bloom, but I've not coaxed any blooms out of it since that first summer.
The pine tree was a left-over "Christmas tree" after the holidays a couple of years ago. I think I got it at the Walgreens by our house. It appeared to be on it's last leg, was marked way down, so I brought it home, removed the cheezy ornaments that were tied to it's branches, re-potted it and it's grown quite a bit.
More about the little one below.
And lastly, the palm. My friend brought back a tiny little palm plant 2 0r 3 years ago when she returned from Florida. The plant had only two small branches on it. As you can see, it's thriving.
With the exception of the aloe, I water them every Monday. The aloe on the 1st Monday of each month.
My kitchen is the only place in the house I can keep plants, mainly because of the cats, they aren't allowed in the kitchen.


Okay, the story behind this little "tree".
We haven't put up a Christmas tree in our house in several years. Several weeks ago, my friend came knocking on my door one afternoon after she & her husband had been out shopping. He'd seen this little kit for growing your own Christmas tree in the dollar-bin, and they bought it and she brought it over.
I had serious doubts about this turning. Honestly, I still do. I've tried growing pine trees from seeds before... they get just "so" tall, then die. But I figured I'd give it a whirl.
The kit came with 6 spruce seeds. I followed the package directions, sat my little bucket in the window and crossed my fingers. Within a couple of weeks, I had one sprout. It's now been about 7 weeks, and it appeared that only the one seed was going to grow.
Then, near tragedy... a few days ago, I accidentally knocked the bucket off the shelf and into the sink. Half the dirt fell out, not to mention my seedling tree. I salvaged as much of the dirt as I could and re-planted my tree as best as I could. I noticed over the weekend that another of the seeds is finally starting to sprout, so maybe knocking things around loosened the seed up and brought it closer to the surface and sunlight.
Only time will tell how these trees fair...