the in-law family

My husband's cousin, Al, and my s-i-l, Kathy


John's brother, Kenny, and their cousin Tom


cousin Phyllis, and Aunt Betty (Tom's mom)


cousin Lynn, and Aunt Doris


cousins Ronnie & Michael (brothers), and that handsome one on the end belongs to me. **swoon**


John's dad, Walt, and Aunt Jane


Aunts Jeanette & Doris


Uncle Bill


cousins Tom, Phyllis and Michael

By no means all the people at the function, but a few.

Friday photo challenge - animal

Okay, how could you honestly expect me to pick just ONE animal photo for this challenge? I can't! It just can't be done!!

I spent the entire day (double shift) at the farm this past Sunday, so I had plenty of time to snap some photos of the animals. Not all of them by any means, but here are a few...

This is one of the many barn-cats, his name is Christopher Robin (yes, just like the Winnie the Pooh character)

And this gray kitty is Ophelia.

It's hard to tell from this picture, but Penny is a polydactal (sp?), meaning she has extra toes on her feet. It's a trait of the Hemingway breed. Penny was the very first animal I met the first day I came to the farm. She walked out to greet me when I parked my car.

I think by now many of you are familiar with Sampson the wonder-horse. My personal favorite at the farm...

He truly is the sweetest animal there. He loves to lick my hand...

And, he's quite the "ham" when it comes to having his picture taken. Aim that camera at his face and he just cocks that head to the side and smiles. I really do love this horse!!!

Black Thunder, he really is a beautiful pony, just wish he weren't so full of mischief!

Every once in a while he'll be sweet though, usually when he wants something.

And Pongo... can't you just picture him running across the prairies with a native Indian on his bare back?

And of course my favorite animals of all...

Bootsy, Eliott & Olivia

I'm baaack!!

I'm baaack!!
I swear, this seems like it has been the longest week ever!!
Between the funeral of my husband's uncle, and all the deaths around town that have passed through our funeral home, I've been absolutely swamped at work!!! I was beginning to doubt I'd ever get caught up on all the paperwork, but I'm finally just about there and can breathe again.
I came in to the office for a half-day on Monday to help out, as I knew they were covered-up, then that afternoon, we made the 90 minute drive to Leitchfield for Uncle Freddie's visitation. Tuesday, instead of returning there for the service, we stayed in Louisville and just met them at the cemetery, as he was being buried next to Aunt Jane's parents.
Afterwards, everyone congregated at Aunt Doris's house for lunch and fellowship. I enjoy most of my husband's relatives (aunts/uncles/cousins that is) and like visiting with them. Most however, live far away and we don't get to see them very often, so we just have to make the most of opportunities such as this.
I took some photos of the kinfolk, and will post those on a separate blog.
I've been trying to get caught up on some of my blog reading today, but over a weeks time, some blogs you just have to skim over and hope you didn't miss any important news.
Poor John has had to get up at 2:30 every morning this week for work, and it's just left us exhausted. Last night we were in bed by 7:30... I told him we'd officially hit bottom, going to bed that early. Maybe my children will be kind to me on Saturday and allow me to sleep in... a girl can hope, can't she???
Okay, I've got a couple other blogs to post, so I must get busy!

Pita has struck again, TWICE!!

It's Saturday, I'm at work, I'm not happy about it.
After several weeks of minimal business, we're suddenly getting slammed, but that's the nature of the beast, it seems to come in waves.
As I was leaving yesterday, I had told my co-workers I'd come in today, but I didn't know what time I'd get here, and truly didn't plan on arriving 'til sometime in the afternoon. There was no rush as none of the visitations were starting 'til Sunday.
As I was doing some of the paperwork for one of the services (I'll call this woman "Louise Alcott", her husband "Herman"), I couldnt' help but wonder if by chance she was in any way related to "Peter & Mary Alcott". I don't actually know any of the Alcotts, but the second couple I'd heard their names mentioned a few times around the community and in the paper. It was just a fleeting thought, nothing I dwelled on.
At one point yesterday afternoon, I thought to myself, "I haven't seen or talked to Aunt Jane/Uncle Fred in ages. I really should give her a call this evening and see how they're doing". Needless to say, I never made the call. For those of you that don't know, Jane & Fred are my husband's aunt/uncle that live in Leitchfield and that we used to go visit all the time when we'd stay in a cabin or go camping.
About 10:30 this morning, my husband called to tell me he'd just gotten a phone call from his dad, who'd gotten a call from Jane. He hesitated before saying anything and I just knew! I said, "Oh no, is it Uncle Freddie?". He confirmed that he had passed away this morning. Immediately I was kicking myself for not having made that call last night to check on their well-being. I told him I'd head on into work right then and get my work caught up in case we had to go out of town for the next few days.
Upon arriving at work, my co-worker informed me we had yet another death-call. I asked who had passed and was informed that Peter Alcott had died.
I felt like I'd been sucker punched in the gut. Holy Crap!! 2 people I'd randomly thought of out of the blue less than 24 hours ago had passed away.
I know it's just a bizarre coincidence, but honestly, these bizarre coincidences are starting to freak me out!!
So depending on when Uncle Freddie's funeral is held, I may be away from the computer for the next few days.

Friday photo challenge - Solitude

Photo challenge update:
02/27 - Animal
03/06 - Aging
03/13 - Mineral

Just wanted to say "Hello!"

I seldom open emails I receive that have been forwarded over and over. It's one of my pet-peeves. It's not that I don't like receiving emails from my friends/family, it's just that I don't like wading through all those headers with the recipients/senders names/email addresses, dates/times, over and over again. On the rare occasion I forward something on to others, I at least have the common courtesy to remove all that junk so the recipient can go straight to the message without scrolling down forever and ever. (now replying back and forth is a different matter...) Also, I get annoyed by all those emails that tell you to forward it to 10 people right away, blah, blah, blah.
Having said all this... I did something today that I rarely do. I opened an email from a girl I went to school with, even though I could tell it was something that had been forwarded. And of course it was one of those emails that had been forwarded over and over and ended with: send this to 10 people.
**Groan!!** of all the emails to open!!
I didn't forward it, instead I replied back to the sender, letting her know I'd gotten her email AND had read it.
Afterwards, I got to thinking about the message behind that email, and it got me to thinking. So instead of sending it to 10 people and quite possibly annoying them, I took the time to write to 10 different people, mostly people I've not seen or talked to in several months or maybe even years. I sent each person a rather personalized note, nothing that was copied and pasted. Some were birthday greetings (for people I knew that had a birthday this month), some were lunch invites, some were simply a "thinking of you" type of note.
I realize the recipients may not even open their email from me, but I figure that at least 1/2 will. The email they get from me may not "make their day", but it did give me a good feeling to stop and take a moment to think of the individual and let them know I was thinking about them.
So I'm challenging all of you out there to take a few minutes and email 5 (I'll make it easy on you) of your friends or relatives, preferably nobody that you email or talk to on a daily or weekly basis.

The fine-print scam

Have you ever noticed that companies list all the IMPORTANT stuff in the fine print, and the unnecessary, blah-blah-blah stuff in large, bold print?
You can probably guess where I'm headed with that opening observation. Yes, I am in the process of getting screwed over by a company. Their response: "Did you read the fine print?"
It was at that moment I wanted to reach through the phone and slap the taste out of "Bob". They were screwing me and they knew it and they knew I had no recourse because honestly, who reads the fine-print? It's so small (hence the name "fine" print) and filled with legal mumbo-jumbo that the average person such as my self could never decipher it anyway.
Okay, so here's my situation.
Many of you may recall about a month ago I accidentally killed my cell phone and bought a new one. I had a decision to make at that time: stay with AT&T (formerly Cingular), even though I think their slogan of "more bars in more places" is a joke because their coverage area isn't as great as they claim, however they do offer the roll-over minutes and that is a feature I do like, or go shop around for a new wireless phone service.
**Sigh** I hate shopping around. I went against my better judgement and signed up for another 2 year contract with these scam artists.
While I was looking at the phones on display, I wanted if at all possible to find the same model or at least as close to it as possible so that I wouldn't have too hard of a time trying to figure out how to use it, and also, so I wouldn't have to buy all new accessories. The new phone I purchased is for the most part identical. They've changed just a few minor things, but it hasn't been any big deal, and my old chargers fit it as well, so I was in luck.
The phone came with several options that I had absolutely no interest in. I don't send text messages (nor do I like receiving them), and I don't look up or send email from my phone or anything else Internet related. Browsers on my phone are a waste of buttons, space and time. My phone is used to make and receive phone calls. That's it. That's all I want... that and the alarm clock and the address-book features. But seriously, that is it!
The purchase of this phone came with a $50 rebate, but only if I signed up for these 2 options which were free for the first 30 days. So, I could pay the full price, not sign-up for those options, OR, sign-up for them, get the rebate, and then cancel those options after 30 days. The clerk that sold us the phone is the one that told me to call them after a month had passed and just have those options cancelled. No harm, no foul.
Of course the company is HOPING you'll decide after using them for free, that you'll be hooked on them and decide to keep them. That's what they're hoping for and counting on and I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that fill that bill. But as I said, I have no need for them. So I took the clerk at his word instead of reading the micro-fine-print that I probably wouldn't have understood anyway and signed up. I mailed in my rebate the very next day, and within a week received a text message from AT&T stating they had received my rebate request and that it was being processed, but could take up to 12 weeks for me to receive it. Okay, fine.
Now that a month has gone buy, I wanted to avoid those charges for those ridiculous and useless services, so I called AT&T and was promptly put on hold for what seemed an eternity, wasting my minutes of course, while being forced to listen to some of the worst hold-music I've ever heard. Once the customer service guy "Bob" finally answered, I explained that I wanted to cancel those options. He asked if I'd signed up for them in order to get the rebate, I said I had. He asked if I had received my rebate yet, I said, "no". He then explained that if I cancelled them before receiving the rebate, that the rebate would then become null & void.
I hesitated for a moment and processed this information before saying: So basically this rebate thing is nothing more than a scam you all are running?
Bob: Did you read your fine print? It states that if blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'll be happy to cancel those services for you, but you won't get your rebate.
Me: But I sent that rebate in a month ago, and they've texted me that they have received it.
Bob: Doesn't matter, it's still in processing and can take 10-12 weeks. If at any time during that period they look and see you've cancelled those services, they can cancel the rebate.
Me: again I say, this is nothing more than a scam. Fine, I'll keep the options! and then hung up on him.
I turned to my husband who then received the brunt of my anger.
Basically, you have to spend X number of dollars on these services you don't want just to get a rebate that may or may not (most likely NOT) cover the expense you've incurred having to pay for those services until you receive the rebate.
Damn AT&T!!!!!
If I wouldn't have to pay such a pricey early-termination fee, I'd cancel my service with them post-haste and go elsewhere. But, I guess I'm stuck with them for another 23 months. Roll-over minutes be damned!, I'll be taking my business elsewhere once the contract is up, to a company that truly DOES have more bars in more places. And you can be darned sure I'll be cancelling those Internet & texting options just as soon as that rebate is in my hand.

Nostalgic moment: A penny for your thoughts

I have a lot of fond memories of my grandfather (Poppy). I've mentioned a few of them over the past couple of years... gardening, his school bus route, his one attempt at chicken farming, and now I'd like to mention a couple of other memories I have of him.
There probably aren't too many of my readers that live in this area now that would remember the old Louisville Downs racetrack. It was located near Poplar Level Rd., and the horses that were raced there were the Standard breds (not to be confused with the Thoroughbreds that run the Kentucky Derby). The Standard breds are trotters or pacers that pull the jockey and sulky behind them instead of having the jockey on horseback. Even as a very small child, I can remember accompanying my grandfather & my parents once or twice to that track. Louisville Downs was shut down about 30 some years ago, but Poppy had to get his betting fix somewhere, so he turned his interest to the horses running at Churchill. I never accompanied him to watch those horses run, but I certainly remember all the betting forms lying about his house. From time to time he'd enlist me to help him figure out who the winning horse would be. He had a rather curious method, I didn't understand it then, and I understand it even less now. I just remember being handed a calculator and told to add a bunch of numbers as he read them off. I don't know if his "system" worked or not. My grandparents weren't well-off, but neither were they on the verge of losing their home from his gambling, so my guess is: win some, lose some, and for the most part, break even.
Poppy had another hobby. I'm not sure when he started this hobby or how obsessed he was with it (not as obsessed as betting on the ponies I think), but he had a few of the tri-fold collector books filled, or nearly so, with old coins. I can remember every once in a great while I'd be passing through my grandparents kitchen, and I'd see him sitting at the kitchen table with a magnifying glass in hand, looking over the racing forms, uh, I mean, his coin collections.
I'm not exactly sure how old I was, I'm guessing around 13 or so, my grandfather called me over one day as I was passing through, and he took out one of those tri-fold books and opened it up and showed me his penny collection. The book wasn't 100% filled, but pretty close. I was fascinated by the silver (in color) penny. I don't remember the explanation he gave for it's different color, but after he was done showing it to me, he closed it up and handed it to me. He was giving it to me to keep. He wanted me to have it.
I'm tearing up even as I type this, at the memories it evokes.
By this time in my life, I wasn't the only grandchild, the oldest yes (that I'll always be), but not the only. I'm not sure why he chose to give that part of his collection to me, especially at that point in time. But I've always treasured it. The book has long since fallen apart at the folds and is held together with a rubberband, but I still have it to this day.
For all I know, I could be sitting on a collection that's worth a fortune, but to me it's worth far more in sentimental value.
When Poppy passed away 12 years ago, his youngest son laid claim to the remainder of the collection, why I'm not sure. It wasn't left to him in a will, and if anything, either my grandmother should've kept it or else the collection should've been divided among the five children (not just one). I wasn't there when he took possession of the collection, but I heard from my parents that he was upset that the penny-book was missing and wondered where it had gotten to. I spoke up and reminded them that I had it because Poppy had given it to me nearly 20 years prior. (Tells you how fond of that collection my uncle was, else he'd have noticed long before then that the pennies were missing). He's never asked for it, but just let him try. Poppy gave it to. He wanted me to have it. I'm keeping it.

It was good while it lasted

By mere coincidence, the husband had the day off from work today, so I asked him if he'd like to accompany me to the mammary-smashing place. I don't know if he really wanted to, but regardless, he drug himself from bed and drove me over there.
As I was the first patient of the day, that meant the waiting room was deserted. Once I'd signed in, shown my insurance card, AND handed them the doctors orders, I went to sit next to my husband, who had plopped down on a loveseat. I sat next to him, wriggling in close and we read the paper together, while I had one arm draped over his shoulder.
I said, "ya know, this is kind of nice."
John: What's that?
Me: Actually getting to sit next to you on a couch, AND without a dog on us or between us.
John: Uh-huh
Me: Maybe we should consider getting rid of the 2 recliners and just getting a loveseat?
John: (after a thoughtful pause)... I don't think so!
Me: Why not?
John: We had a sofa before and they destroyed it. They'd just get up on a new one as well.
Me: But we can put the fitness equipment** on it, just like we do the recliners.

** allow me a moment to explain that bit about the fitness equipment... I use that term loosely, as the only work-out we get is when we move them on and off the furniture. One is a giant yoga-ball, the other a portable stepping-machine. We have to place these items in the recliners when we're not sitting in them, else the dogs (especially Olivia) will curl up in the chair and leave us no place to sit.

John: Nah, we need the recliners.
Me: But they make loveseats that recline.
John: Nope

I dropped the discussion and shifted my arm from being draped, to my elbow being propped up on his shoulder as I continued to read my newspaper. After a couple of minutes he said, seemingly to himself, "what was I thinking?, of course we need a loveseat! Just think of all the opportunities I've been missing out on for you to dig your elbow into my neck!"

Ah well, the romance of the loveseat was good while it lasted.

Book review

While at the farm this weekend, we got on the subject of books we've read, especially our favorites we enjoyed as young-people... "The Black Stallion", "Black Beauty", and one of my all-time favorites "Sun Dust, Devil Horse", I think I've mentioned this book in a previous blog. I literally read and re-read it 'til it fell apart.
Another book I remember reading from my childhood that made an impact on me was "Beautiful Joe", a story about a dog rescued from an abusive owner, told from the dog's point of view. I think this story is what brought the problem of animal cruelty to light for me, and also that just because something(someone) may not be of great breeding or background, or be attractive to look at, doesn't mean it(they) can't make a contribution to our society, or to a family unit willing to give it a chance (reminds me of my dear Olivia!).
I highly recommend this book, it's not just for young people. Adults will enjoy it as well.

20/20 & Appalachian children

Did any of you watch the 20/20 show last Friday on the children of Appalachia?
Oh my!, I was sobbing and wiping away tears in the first 5 minutes of the show. It's an amazing look at the families that live in eastern Kentucky.
The one young man they spoke about absolutely broke my heart... a high school senior that lived in his pick-up truck, trying to make a better life for himself and get away from the bad situation at home. I was rooting him on in his efforts, and then totally heartbroken when he dropped out of college after only 2 weeks because of a lack of money for the basics in life, and now he's back living at home with his family. And the cycle continues...
While many of the stories were heartbreaking, there were some aspects of what I saw that just ticked me off too! They could afford to get tattoos and cigarettes, yet they couldn't put food on the table for the children.
GMA is supposed to be having a follow-up to this story tomorrow morning, because of the flood of calls, letters & emails they've received over this story. I'm hoping there is some good news, especially for the young man who was trying to improve himself.
As long as I'm mentioning things in the news that have stirred me of late...
I know many before me have blogged about the Octo-mom, as she's being called, the woman that gave birth to 8 babies, in addition to the 6 she already has... I'm on a long list of people that's p.o.'d over the whole situation and has so many questions which will never be answered I'm sure. But when I hear she was feeding her children with food stamps, and yet she had the audacity to be sporting a French-manicure on her nails when she was interviewed, that just really angers me to no end!!!
If you'd like to watch the 20/20 episode about the children of Appalachia, click on this link:
http://abcnews.go.com/2020

A shrew by any other name...

I learned something this weekend.
Up until Saturday, I always thought that shrews and moles were one and the same animal. Apparently, I'm not the only person that thinks this. Or, at the very least, I'm not the only one that has been mistakingly calling shrews, moles, all these years.
Yes, I admit it, I thought those small, mouse-sized creatures with only a stub of a tail that we occasionally find in the lawn (usually already dead), were moles (&/or shrews).
NOT!!
Shrews they are indeed.
But a mole is an entirely different animal.
How did I come to learn this lesson you ask?
Saturday morning, I let the dogs (our breeders dogs that is) out for a late-morning romp. When it was time for the first group to come back in, the elder dane returned, but the younger one was nowhere to be found. I called and I called, and finally she came loping around the corner, caring something in her mouth. Something she wasn't ready to give up. I left her out and allowed the other two dogs to join her. Once their time was up, again, the elder of the group came in, but now I had two young dogs that refused to come back inside, because they were simply having too much fun tossing the limp-bodied creature up in the air and catching it, then running around with it.
It took my most persuasive begging and pleading for them to finally relinquish their catch and return indoors. Once I had them securely locked away, I grabbed the pooper-scooper and went to scoop up the dead animal. It was, the FREAKIEST! looking thing I'd ever seen in my life. Perhaps the size of a chipmunk, dark gray in color, with hind feet that looked like normal rodent feet to me. But those front feet! EEEEKKK!!! Those were just freaky looking. Huge, oversized paws that looked like flattened paddles with long nails. I scooped it up and tossed it over the fence where the dogs couldn't get to it.
Later that day at the farm, I ran the description of my discovery to my co-volunteers and was informed it was in fact, a mole.
After doing some research this morning, I was surprised to learn that neither the shrew nor the mole is in the rodent family. Shrews reproduce like crazy, having several litters a year, whereas the moles reproductive pace is somewhat more sedate.
I now know more about both animals then I ever wanted to.

Know your spouse?

How well do you know your spouse? The real challenge is to send it to your spouse to see how right you really are. I would love to see YOUR answers.
1. He's/she's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? It could be "snow" on the screen, it really doesn't matter because he typically falls asleep as soon as he sits down.
2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he/she get on his salad? Ranch, and sometimes honey-mustard
3. What's one food he/she doesn't like? tuna
4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he/she order? unsweetened iced tea or Coke
5. Where did he/she go to high school? Ballard High School
6. What size shoe does he/she wear? 12
7. What is his favorite song? I have to admit, I don't know if he has one.
8. What is his/her favorite type of sandwich? ham or maybe chicken salad
9. What would this person eat every day if he/she could? ranch flavored Doritos
10. What is his/her favorite cereal? honey nut Cheerios
11. What would he/she never wear? wing-tipped shoes(?) I've no idea!!
12. What is his/her favorite sports team? U of L Cards
13. Who did he/she vote for? I'm taking the 5th on this one
14. Who is his/her best friend? I'd like to think it's me, and neighbor Marty ranks right up there, but the other day he did say, and I quote, "He (his dad) is my best friend".
15. What is something you do that he/she wishes you wouldn't do? Avoid his family as much as possible
16. What is his/her heritage? German
17. You bake him/her a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? strawberry-refrigerator cake
18. Did he/she play sports in high school? nope, unless you count little-league
19. What could he/she spend hours doing? sleeping
20. What is one unique talent he/she has? making people laugh, be happy

ding, ding, ding, ding, ding....

I find myself once again kennel-sitting for our breeder while she's at a dog show in the Carolinas. Only her male pup is competing, but she took her other male, the father/grandfather of all her current dogs, along as well. That leaves just me and her 4 remaining girls. This is the fewest number I've ever had to take care of, and the fewest dogs she's had since we met 8 years ago.

While I was unpacking I found an item that I thought I had hopelessly lost sometime ago. Deep down in one of the pockets of my suitcase was a memory card for my camera. Can you say "HOORAY!!"?

All four girls behaved very well for me, nobody refused to come back in when their play-time was up. Maddie & Candy still act a bit unsure around me, but at least they didn't run the other way or wet the floor when I approached.

I don't think I mentioned it, but the other female pup, Dreamer, sadly had to be put down back in December. It's not known what happened, but somehow while out running around, she broke her leg. Actually, "broke" is an understatement. She pretty much shattered the bone into several pieces, so severely that she went into shock. "G" got her to the vet where Dreamer underwent several hours of surgery to try and repair the leg. I believe screws and a plate were attached to give it stability, and for the first several days things seemed to be going well. But after about a week, when she attempted to put weight on the leg, it just fell apart again.

While some dogs can get by and still have a good quality of life with only 3 legs, the vet felt because of her age and breed, and the amount of growing she still had to do, that it would've been too difficult for her to manage, so the decision was made to put her down. Very sad. :(

You may recall that Dreamer was the puppy that never wanted anything to do with me, which makes me even sadder, because now I'll never have the opportunity to befriend her or earn her trust.

Moving on...

I was so blasted tired yesterday evening. Between not falling asleep 'til late Wednesday night, then getting up at 3:30 Thursday morning, having a difficult day at work yesterday afternoon and my contacts giving me fits, making it hard to focus, it's a wonder I was able to drive to G's place without incident. By the time I'd finished unpacking the car and caring for the dogs, my back was aching, so I took my Tylenol & PM and was in bed by 7:30. I think my head had barely hit the pillow 'til I was sound asleep. I'm not sure what it was that woke me up just before midnight, but I was still tired enough not to care and fell right back to sleep, only to be awakened at 4:15am by an annoying ding, ding, ding, ding, ding...

G has an anniversary clock that chimes every 1/4 hour, which is annoying enough. But something went wrong with the clock at the quarter after 4 chime-in, and all it would do is keep chiming the same tone over and over. I laid there listening for a couple of minutes 'til I couldn't take it anymore. I went out and removed the batteries. Silence is indeed golden!!! Of course now that I was up moving around, the girls were up as well. Oh well, I'd had a good long sleep, who was I to complain?

As I was leaving the house, I noticed the utility company was at the end of the driveway trimming branches away from the power lines. They were on the outside of the gate and moved the truck before I even stopped the vehicle to open the gate. Another of the workers unlatched the gate and swung it open for me. It's nice to know there's still some chivalry in this world.

Friday photo challenge - cold

I know, this week was s'posed to be "saint", but since I screwed up and posted my saint-photo last week, I thought I'd play catch-up and post last weeks actual challenge "cold" this week.
The dead of winter is a fickle time in Kentuckiana (weatherwise)... where else can you have several inches of snow & ice & sub-zero temperatures one week, then less than 2 weeks later have temps in the 60's, where shorts & flip-flops, and sleep with the windows open at night? But I do love the variety in our weather, keeps us on our toes!!

Nostagic moment for the week

As today is Friday the 13th (of February), I though it only appropriate to blog about something that happened on this date 28 years ago.
I was in 7th grade at the time and I can remember my radio-alarm clock going off that morning and the headlines on the news was about a huge explosion that had taken place in Louisville, the big metropolis, 9 miles south and just across the river from the small town I grew up in, in Indiana.
The explosion was in the sewers and it was reported to look like a war-zone. Nobody was sure what was going on, nor were they sure if it was safe to exit their homes, much less go to work/school.
I googled the news-story from the event and copied it here if you want to read the details.
I remember the exploding sewers being a topic of discussion in my science class that day.
I never saw any of the actual damage for myself, other than what was shown on the news, as we never had occasion to visit that part of town. But considering all the damage that was done, I have to say, they did a remarkable job repairing the streets and surround area. Just 4 1/2 years after the explosion, I started working at the Coke plant located at 17th & Hill, just 5 blocks from the point of the explosion, and I passed through that area frequently, and couldn't tell where the roads and sidewalks had been torn up.
I vaguely remember the parody song "Blew By You" that came out afterwards. I've been hunting on-line for it, but can't find the lyrics, so if anybody out there knows them, feel free to give me a shout.

The Louisville sewer explosions were a series of explosions that destroyed more than two miles (3 km) of streets in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on February 13, 1981. The blasts were caused by the ignition of hexane vapors which had been illegally discharged from a Ralston-Purina soybean processing plant located near the University of Louisville. The plant, located on Floyd Street, is recognizable for its large, landmark silos, visible from Eastern Parkway and Interstate 65.
There were no fatalities, but Ralston-Purina paid $18 million dollars to the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District and more than $8.9 million to 16,000 plaintiffs in a lawsuit settled in 1984. The company admitted that it released hexane into the sewers, but denied negligence.

The Ralston-Purina plant used hexane as a solvent to extract oil from soybeans. The plant employed a containment system designed to recycle used hexane from the process back to the plant. However, the containment system was not functioning that night, and a large quantity (estimated to be between several hundred and several thousand gallons) of hexane was released into the sewers. The hexane began to vaporize in the sewers and slowly began to seep out of manholes in the streets.
At approximately 5:16 AM on Friday, February 13, 1981, explosions ripped through the southern part of Old Louisville near the University of Louisville. The cause of the explosions was eventually traced to a spark from a car near the intersection of 12th & Hill Streets, which ignited the hexane fumes in the sewers. The car was thrown onto its side from the force of the blast, and there was extensive damage to area homes, businesses, and streets. Police officers in a police helicopter that happened to be over the area at the time said it looked like a bombing run. Two miles (3 km) of the main sewer line were completely destroyed in the blast. Water lines were severed, leaving area residents without water for weeks. Luckily, the streets were nearly deserted since it was early in the morning, so no fatalities were reported.

Going shopping

As mentioned in yesterdays blog, I was s'posed to get a booby-smash done today. My appointment time was for 6:45 a.m. I'm normally getting in the shower at that time, but I had wanted the appointment as early as possible so that I wouldn't have to take any time off work. So, when I got up with the husband at 3:30am, instead of going back to bed at 4:30 for a couple of hours, I just stayed up, finished packing my clothes and food because when I do get off work today, I'm headed out of town and won't be back home 'til Monday night.
I wanted to leave the house by 6:30 in order to arrive on time. As it was, I pulled out of the drive at 6:35 and now felt rushed to get there. I arrived right at my appointed time, but I still felt rushed. I was the first appointment of the day, so the place was practically deserted.
As I walked up to the counter, the receptionist asked how I was doing, and I replied with a sleepy "I'm not yet awake enough to know" and then I signed in. She asked if I had my "orders" that the doctor had written out. I replied I did and paused and she quickly said, "Oh good", then I resumed, "but they're at home on the 'fridge. I wasn't told I had to bring them with me."
I was then informed they would NOT be able to perform my mammogram without the orders from the doctor. I just looked at her, as I was quickly becoming wide awake and angry.
"But the doctors office is the one that called and made the appointment!" meaning, you'd think they'd have faxed over the orders at that time. But no, they hadn't, and since the doctor's office isn't open this freaking early, they couldn't call them to have it faxed over. Grrrr!
The receptionist offered to move my appointment to later this afternoon, but I informed her I worked in the next county and was leaving town after work and that next Tuesday was the soonest I could make it back in.
So, needless to say, my appointment was rescheduled for next week.
Pitawoman isn't happy.
I hadn't eaten anything up to that point because I was a nervous wreck and slightly nauseous over the pending "squeeze", and now I was upset on top of the nausea for a whole other reason. Tears of frustration threatened to spill, but I managed to keep them in check. I could go back home and wait for an hour, but I'd just get covered in dog hair and slobber, so what does a woman who's depressed do? I went shopping.
The RC (Royal Crown soda) guy that services the local Meijer store had called my husband yesterday (mind you, my husband is a Coca-Cola man) and informed him of the 1-day sale that was to start at 6am today. The RC man knows how much I love their Dt. Big Red!! The sale was for 6-pk bottles, buy 2 packs, get 3 free. That works out to $1.59/6-pk. Quite a bargain, so I loaded up my cart with 10 of them.
As a bit of depression was now setting in, I grabbed a giant bag of potato chips and a container of dip, a half-dozen donuts and a bottle of milk.
Can you say "glutton"? Now that I've consumed 1/2 of the donuts, I'm even more depressed than I was before. Seriously, I need help!!!
I may have to go do some more shopping so that I'll feel better. ;)

Mammogram

Tomorrow I go for yet another mammogram. This process is getting old, real quick. But, I'm trying to keep my attitude positive and spirits up, so I leave you with this poem (author unknown)

Mammogram Poem
For years and years they told me,

Be careful of your breasts.

Don't ever squeeze or bruise them.

And give them monthly tests.
So I heeded all their warnings,

And protected them by law.

Guarded them very carefully,

And I always wore my bra.
After 30 years of astute care,

My gyno, Dr. Pruitt,

Said I should get a Mammogram.

"O.K," I said, "let's do it."
"Stand up here real close" she said,

(She got my boob in line),

"And tell me when it hurts," she said,

"Ah yes! Right there, that's fine."
She stepped upon a pedal,

I could not believe my eyes!

A plastic plate came slamming down,

My hooter's in a vise!
My skin was stretched and mangled,

From underneath my chin.

My poor boob was being squashed,

To Swedish Pancake thin.
Excruciating pain I felt,

Within it's vise-like grip.

A prisoner in this vicious thing,

My poor defenseless tit!
"Take a deep breath" she said to me,

Who does she think she's kidding?!?

My chest is mashed in her machine,And woozy I am getting.
"There, that's good," I heard her say,

(The room was slowly swaying.)

"Now, let's have a go at the other one.

"Have mercy, I was praying.
It squeezed me from both up and down,

It squeezed me from both sides.

I'll bet she's never had this done,

To her tender little hide.
Next time that they make me do this,

I will request a blindfold.

I have no wish to see again,

My knockers getting steamrolled.
If I had no problem when I came in,

I surely have one now.

If there had been a cyst in there,

It would have gone "ker-pow!"
This machine was created by a man,

Of this, I have no doubt.

I'd like to stick his balls in there,

And see how they come out.

Another day, another year...

February is the month for birthdays in my family...
in the span of 14 days, my husband (okay, he's actually in Jan., but close enough), my sister, myself, and my father all have birthdays. Then tack on my parents wedding anniversary at the end of the month.
Yesterday I turned 41.
41!
41?
Where have the years gone?? I can remember as a youngster thinking that my parents were old, and they were a mere 27 or 28 years old at the time. If I thought 27 was old, then 41 must be freaking ancient! And yet, according to our gov't., I have another 30 or so years to work until I reach retirement age. I really do need to start playing the lottery, as I don't want to wait 'til I'm that old to retire and start enjoying life (without the responsibility of work).
So how did I celebrate, you may be wondering.
Saturday evening we had game-night with our dear friends/neighbors, ate pizza and birthday cake. It was a fun and relaxing time, long over-due. As for last night, the hubby and I went to Outback for dinner. I've sooo been craving a bloomin' onion. Afterwards we stopped at Feeders Supply so I could get some more crickets for my one and only frog, Shemp. Now I won't have to worry about him starving while I'm out of town later this week. Then, being the exciting couple that we are, went back home and watch "Biggest Loser" and felt bad for all the over-eating we'd done at dinner, and to soothe our guilt, ate some cherry-filled King-cake, shipped directly from New Orleans by my friend Stacy.
The highlight of my day was getting to talk to all three of "my girls" within the space of one hours time. That's the first time that's happened since our trip to New Orleans. I miss the four of us being together.
It was a good day.

The thrill of victory & the agony of defeat

I'm hurting today. Seriously.
My shins & ankles haven't been the same since the 5k Saturday morning. I'm thinking I may have shin-splints. I can't wait 'til I can get home and prop my feet up and put some ice packs on my legs. The other aches & pains I was experiencing over the weekend have mostly subsided. I guess this was a good lesson about not letting myself get so run-down and out of shape before jumping back into the world of athletics (**cough**).
I was debating signing up for another 5k this coming Saturday, but since I'll be kennel-sitting for our breeder and it would be such a long drive & what-not, I think the pain in my legs has decided it for me! I'm definitely going to sit this one out and try to get my butt back into shape a little bit at a time. Then hopefully by March's events, I'll be ready to go.
Having said that...
I do have an event in April to raise money for MS (multiple-sclerosis) and in October to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and will be seeking sponsors. So if anyone is looking for tax-deductions for the coming year, you may want to consider sponsoring me.

And the winner is...

Saturday afternoon, Olivia and I participated in the "Icicle Melt 5k". A rather appropriate name for the event, considering the recent ice storm our area experienced. While the expected high temperature for the day was going to be a pleasant one, the early morning temps at 8am were a bit chillier. Not unpleasant if you kept moving, but a bit chilly while waiting for the event to start. And the winds!! Oh my, the wind chill factor was definitely making me shiver. And all the runners I saw in shorts, I was sure they'd lost their minds.


I put the race t-shirt on Olivia, as I was already bundled up. She was the only dog in attendance, and out of the approximate 20 entrants in the event, all were runners except for 4 of us. Not wanting to get in the way of the runners, we started at the back of the pack, and that's where we stayed for the entire event.
I'd like to state that our neighborhood where we normally walk is a relatively flat area. The race course, was anything but. It was very hilly, and with some slushy stuff still on the sides of the road, it made for a difficult (in my opinion) course.
I'l the first to admit that we've lead a rather sedate life-styly this winter, so even a flat 5-k would've probably had us huffing and puffing. But these hills were so steep, that I was in some serious leg and ankle pain before I'd hit the first 1-mile mark, but I was bound and determined to keep going 'til we reached the finish line or keeled over, whichever came first.
I think I must've blacked-out at some point. As I've already stated, there were between 15 and 20 runners, but I'll swear on my life, I only remember about 7 or 8 of them passing us on the return trip. Did the others find a short-cut? Did I black-out while walking and just miss them passing us? I have no valid answer.
We finished the course in just under an hour, which, considering how out of shape and practice we were, I thought was pretty good. As Livvie and I walked up to the shelter house where the awards were being given out, there was a round of applause. At first, I thought they were applauding because we'd finally finished, but then I realized they were just applauding because somebody's name had been called out as having won a prize.
Oh well, there was no shame in finishing last. Personally, I feel we were winners just having competed and finished. We're looking forward to the next event in March, hopefully it will be a flatter course.


Just after crossing the finish line...



All the mud and crud that was splashed onto the shirt Livvie was wearing... I guess it helped keep her from getting any filthier than she did.

Photo challenge updates

Well, I screwed up last week, and posted my challenge photos out of order.
The correct order of things is as follows:

02/06 - Cold
02/13 - Saint
02/20 - Solitude


Since I posted my "saint" last week by mistake, I guess I'll post my "cold" this week... two wrongs sometimes make things right, eh?

Friday photo challenge - Saint

2008 St. Baldrick's

Do you think this guy's an animal lover?

A new "hobby" (for lack of a better word) that I took up back in the fall, is participating in charitable races, anywhere from 2 miles up to 10k(6miles). Of course, I'm not a runner, never have been, but instead, I participate in the walker catagory, and I like to take Olivia along with me for the event.
Before signing up for any of these events, I always call or email ahead of time to make sure that it is permissable to bring my dog. I made the mistake once of not doing this and got burned so to speak... I had signed up for the Mini-Marathon, put on by the Kentucky Derby Festival several years ago, paid my dues & went to pick up my participant packet. Actually, before mailing in my entry fee, I read the rules & regulations frontwards and backwards, several times over, and NOWHERE!!! did it say that dogs weren't allowed. So when I went to pick up my packet & I was promptly informed at that time that dogs weren't allowed, I was LIVID!! I plead my case, waved around a copy of the rules and demanded a refund. Needless to say, I didn't get it. And needless to say, I've not participated in another Derby event of any kind since. I pretty much boycott the Kentucky Derby Festival in all forms.
So as a result since then, I always make sure ahead of time that my dog will be allowed.
I've been busy downloading entry forms and race calenders for Kentucky & Indiana for 2009, cross-referencing with my personal calender to see which ones I'd like to participate in. There is one coming up on mid-March, so I emailed the contact person. Here's a copy of what I wrote:

I'm hoping to walk in this years Shamrock 2 miler, and was wondering if it would be acceptable to walk with my dog, (leashed, shots up to date, and picked up after of course!!)?? Please advise. Thank you,

The race coordinator wrote back the following:

I am not a great believer in bringing dogs to people races, but at least you are courteous in asking. Am sure others will bring their dog. I doubt you will be alone.

Do you get the feeling that perhaps he isn't a dog-lover???

Granted, I too get very annoyed at the people that let their dogs roam around on retractable leashes and don't bother keeping them reined-in, instead allowing them to wrap their leashes around others legs and what-not. To me, retractable leashes are for use when you're in wide open areas and nobody else is around, but I digress.
But honestly, I'd probably had more respect if the guy had flat out told me that pets weren't allowed, because now I really want to take all three of my dogs, just to annoy him.
Evil, aren't I??

A nostalgic moment...

I missed posting a nostalgic moment last week, what with the shortened work-week and lack of power, then being super busy when it did come back on.
But here is my nostalgic moment for this week...

Waaaay back when I was a child (in the 70's & early 80's), families actually did go for Sunday drives AND spend time together. A novel idea in this day and age I know, but seriously, that's how things used to be.
Anyway, one of the things we'd frequently do, especially during warmer weather, was to make the drive to the outskirts of Elizabethtown, KY and visit my mom's aunt/uncle Louise & "B", and cousin Gary. They had a 500 acre farm that became one of my favorite places on earth. While my mom visited with the relatives, my dad would fish out of the pond, and I'd be in my idea of heaven.
I felt sure I had walked a thousand miles, roaming the farm on foot, loving the animals... dogs, cats, rabbits, geese, cows, and of course, horses. And of course, espying the occasional wild animal such as a fox or deer was magical for this girl raised in the suburbs.
My great-aunt/uncle weren't the neatest of people in the sense that they really didn't keep their farm or home for that matter, very clean. Of course, my aunt battled cancer for many years and wasn't always able to keep up with the housework. And my uncle, well, he just never seemed to throw anything away, especially old automobiles. I never understood why, when he'd go to purchase a new one, he didn't trade the old one in, but instead, he'd drive or drag it out to a pasture and park it, and there it would sit, rusting away for decades to come. Weeds and small trees would be growing up through the rusted out hulks. It wasn't a pretty sight, and tended to mar the otherwise picturesque scenery.
Uncle B (his middle name was Beth.. yes, I said Beth, and his first name was Milford, so can you blame him for going by "B"?) was just the sweetest of men. He always reminded me of comic-actor Milton Burl, in looks and sense of humor. He was a patient man, and often took the time to either walk with me or ride me in the truck to some far point of the farm to see the latest calf that had been born. He didn't have saddles for any of his horses, but he found an old saddle-blanket and it was one of my greatest thrills (up to that point in my life) when he put it on the back of his son's pony, Pal, and let me rein him around the pasture... at least 'til I fell off.
The summers that I was 16 & 17, I spent several weeks staying with another aunt/uncle that lived across the street from him, and uncle B was kind enough to bring his horses over and pasture them at their house, just so I wouldn't have to cross the dangerous highway to come play with the horses.
After that last summer when I was 17, my trips down there became few and far between, as I was now working, dating, and didn't have as much time. Then marriage came and I never visited there again, until...
The year of 1990 was a rather cruel year to that branch of my family. My cousin Gary was killed in a boating accident in Feb. My aunt Louise finally succumbed to cancer and died in Aug. or Sept. and then in December, rather unexpectedly, uncle B died of a massive heart-attack or stroke. His nephew found him lying by the pasture gate one evening, he had already passed away.
When John & I went down to E-town for his funeral, I wondered aloud to someone what was to become of the farm and all the animals. Somebody said all the cattle would be taken to market and the smaller animals such as dogs/cats would be taken to the animal shelter, and the farm sold off.
This bit of news was a heavy blow to me. John & I had been discussing getting a cat, and when it was revealed that there were kittens on B's farm, we decided then and there to stop at the farm after the funeral was over, and we did. We picked out a little black & brown blotched-tabby and named him "BJ". BJ was my last link to that farm and the wonderful memories of my childhood.
I credit uncle B with instilling in me such a love for animals, especially horses. I miss visiting that farm...

Inquiring minds want to know...

My inquiring mind wants to know if there's a plausible reason for my question or if it's just a random coincidence...
Why does it seem that most continents, countries, states and many cities, and many breeds of animals... that start with the letter "A", also end in "A"??

Asia
Africa
Antartica
America
Australia
Austria
(Saudi) Arabia
Alabama
Arizona
Alaska
Atlanta
Arkansas... okay, granted there is an "s" at the end, but it's silent, making it sound like it ends in an "a"
Acadia (National Park)
Accra
Albania
Alberta
Aruba
Argentina
Ashikaga
Asmara
Algeria
Augusta
Antalya (formerly named Adalia)
Adana
Annaba
Addis Ababa
Arequipa
Amboina
Ankara
Armorica
Armenia
Antigua
Amhara
Aduwa
Agana
Agra
Arcadia
Appalachia
Almeria
Altoona
Ambala
Amapa'
Andorra
Apulia
Aqaba
Arafura (Sea)
Astoria
Assyria
Attica

Alpaca
Agama
Andalusia
Appaloosa
Angora
Amoeba
Anaconda
Adamawa
Arouquesa
Akita
Azteca
Anatolia

Okay, obviously this isn't a complete list, and some of the cities/regions are either no longer in existence or have had their names changed slightly over the years.
Any thoughts on the subject, aside from "Pitawoman has way too much time on her hands"?

Overwhelmed!

Blessedly, we FINALLY got a new copier/printer/fax machine at work today. And, it's color! Woo-hoo!! It feels as if we've finally arrived into this century.
Let me tell you a little bit about our office equipment...
My computer, while not that old, I'm guessing 3 to 4 years, has windows XP, and certain programs are still running under windows 97.... barely. We have more and more trouble with each passing week out of these programs, yet they're very integral in getting the paperwork done for funerals.
Our old faithful printer, an H/P laserjet 4050, it's over 6 years old. I know this because I've been here 6 years (today just happens to be my work-anniversary), and the printer was here long before I was. It's strictly black & white, but it works, and I like keeping it around as a back-up, because the newer equipment we've had over the years hasn't been as reliable, so I refuse to let them take it away. They tried removing it today and I just wrapped my arms around it and laid my head down and said emphatically, NO!
We've also got an H/P 3600 color laserjet. It's been in use for just under a year. While we've not had any problems with it breaking down or jamming up on a regular basis, it's a major pain in the a$$, because #1) it doesn't have a duplexer, and #2) there's something configured wrong and virtually every time you try to print something, you have to get up and walk over to the printer and push a button. This should NOT have to be done. But I'm no techno-genius (nor is anybody else I work with) so we don't know how to fix this problem. In the meantime, we (or rather I, as I sit closest to it) will continue to jump up every time we print something.
The other machine that was replaced by the new gizmo, it was a mammoth machine that was supposed to serve as a printer, copier and fax machine (black & white print only). The last two functions it did well. But as far as working as a printer, for the 38 months we had it, it functioned in that capacity for less than 12 months, and those were at random times. Even the techs that came out never could keep it working for more than a week or two. After a while, we gave up calling those useless, unbathed, smelly people and went back to using my old reliable 4050 (now you understand why I don't want to get rid of it?!).
This new gizmo, a Sharp something or another, is color and works in all it's functions... so far. But hey, we're less than 24 hours into it's usage, we'll see if it continues to function properly.
So the thing that's overwhelming me is that it's also a scanner that sends pictures or documents to my desk-top. That part I think I can figure out with some playing around. But it's the set-up of the fax addresses from my computer and the on-line manuals that I'm supposed to be able to access that have me completely bumfoozled. I'm at a total loss!!
And if I'm at a loss, then you can forget others around here understanding it.
The help I need isn't in the reference manuals that came with it. So I'm hoping desperately that the instructor comes back tomorrow for an in-depth tutorial so I can take some serious notes.
I'm stressed right now.
Calgon, take me away...........

Did Pitawoman strike again?

It's a long-standing joke (or perhaps truth?) that I have "psychic" powers that often leave people dead. Nothing intentional mind you, but incidental occurrences... I might have a dream about someone, then a short time later, they die (whether they'd been ill, or the death sudden, it varies). Many has been the time that I've pulled a client's file for some random reason or even perhaps grabbed their file by mistake, and then they'll die within a few days. Or perhaps I'll mention someones name that I haven't seen or heard from in quite a long while, then "Bam!", they're gone from our lives.
I know in all reality, it's nothing more than coincidences, but it has happened to me soooo many times over the past 16 years (since I got into the cemetery & funeral business), that it tends to make some people nervous, and sometimes makes me feel a built un-nerved.
Anyway...
In the past three or four days, I was reflecting on the county I work in. It's mostly rural, and is fairly low-crime. I was reflecting over the types of death-calls we tended to get at my place of employment. Not taking into consideration all those that die from natural causes, the over-whelming majority of others are all accidental or suicides. Murder is very rare in this county.
So imagine my surprise this morning when I was listening to the news and one of the headlines reported that a man had been found, murdered in his Creekside apartment. Yes, a murder has taken place just a few blocks from my workplace.
Again, I'm sure it was coincidental, but it still made a shiver run down my spine.

Survived by...

I received word yesterday that an acquaintance (casual friend I guess you could say) had passed away on Saturday. It was right at a year ago since I last spoke to Dick, and I felt a twinge of guilt at not having contacted him back in the spring like I had promised to do.
For those of you that have been reading this blog since at least late in 2007, you may recall me blogging about Zack (a.k.a. Reese) the Great Dane. Zack belonged to an elderly couple that was having a lot of problems handling him, and had enlisted me to teach Zack some obedience. While I did work with Zack one afternoon, I felt that he needed professional help. At first they agreed & we got him signed up, but then they changed their mind, instead wanting me to continue coming to their home to teach him. I didn't mind to do this, but the weather had turned very cold, and I begged off, telling them I'd contact them in the spring about resuming our "classes".
I'm sorry to say I never did contact them. It's a long story as to why, and I won't go into it here, but needless to say, I am feeling guilty.
Zach's owner is gone now, and I can't help but worry and wonder how the man's wife, Eleanor, is going to manage... not only her own care, but Zack's as well. I really don't think the woman is capable of living on her own. While I know she dearly loves Zack, he was in all honesty and by her own admission to me, Dick's dog. She's so frail, I don't know how she'd ever manage such a big dog. Will one of her children take her in? Will she go to assisted living? What will become of Zack????
There was no funeral or memorial service. The man was cremated. I'll send a card and offer my condolences. And continue to worry about Zack's future.

As I read his obituary last night, I smiled at the last line that listed his survivors:
"...and his beloved dog, Zack, the latest in a long line of Great Danes nurtured by Dick and Eleanor. "

Super what?

I keep hearing rumors there was some big celebration over the weekend, Super-something-or-another. I don't know what all the fuss is about, but the husband went over to his father's to watch the Super-whatever, and didn't get home 'til late, sometime after I went to bed. I divided my time between doing laundry, reading and watching bits of L&O:CI while folding clothes... that was my Super-Sunday. ;)

As mentioned in a previous blog, Friday was the hubby's birthday. We met his family at Applebees for dinner. His mother, brother &wife & step-daughter even drove in from Lebanon (the city, not the country) for the occasion. Afterwards, we headed back to his dad's condo to have birthday cake


The birthday boy w/ a frozen Smiley antenna jester.


John's youngest (yet still older than him) sister Kathy, and her granddaughter Emma


Dr. Ken (John's brother), and John tormenting his step-niece Kaylor

John's dad, and the patriarch of the "K" family, Doc Walt.

John's mother, Mary Lou, and Nick (Walt's neighbor).