Too Many Fathers

Father's Day baffles me for the most part.  I understand the sentiment behind it.  I just can't identify with it.  I've never had a "daddy" in my life.

Somewhere out there I have a biological father (or what the younger set crudely calls a sperm donor).  I've never met him.  I don't even know his name.  He apparently knocked up my mother and then rode off into the sunset.  If he's still alive he'd be around 70, supposing he was my mother's classmate.  I don't wonder about him much these days.  Why bother?  He doesn't seem to have ever wondered about me.  I do wonder, though, if I have siblings out there and if they know I exist.  It might be nice to read about him (and any other kin) or see pictures, but I don't have any desire to show up after 49 years and upset everyone.

My grandfather, Pappy, was the closest thing I had to a father for the first three years of my life.  I don't really remember anything about those days, but as I grew older I loved him dearly for the character he was and the laughter he brought into my life.

Mom got married when I was three and her husband adopted me and gave me his name.  He was quite a bit older than mom and came from the viewpoint of an older generation.  He had high standards for me (that I rarely met) and was a stern taskmaster and tough disciplinarian.  I had plenty of chores to do and if they weren't done correctly I could expect to be grounded for quite a long time or to have to write something along the lines of "I will not (insert my current crime)" about 1000 times.  In response, I tended to rebel and dig my feet in.  Mom called us a train wreck looking for a place to happen.  My teen years are the only time I dreamed of meeting my biological father.  I had fantasies of him swooping in to rescue me and take me off to a wonderful life of being his petted and loved baby girl.  

Adulthood gave me a new perspective on Dad.  He cried when I got married, which stunned me....and made me cry so hard I was still crying when my husband and I reached our hotel.  When my son came along Dad proved to be a wonderful grandfather.  That role was, sadly, cut short by cancer.  He lost the battle right after my daughter turned one year old.  In his final days he revealed his big regret was that he wouldn't be around to see my children grow up and his biggest fear was that they wouldn't remember him and how much he loved them.  He worried that he hadn't been a good father to me and said he had tried his best.  He made my husband promise to take care of all of us no matter what.  His final words were to tell me, his sister, and Mom that he loved us.  I wish I could tell him now that as my kids grew up I came to appreciate some of his protectiveness and strictness, not all of it, but some of it....and at least I understand that it was born out of love and concern.

These days I have what is, technically, a step-father, but since I didn't acquire him until I was in my mid to late 30s, I simply call him by name or refer to him as my mother's husband.  My son calls him by name, but my daughter who hasn't known any grandfather but him began calling him "Pap" or "Grandpa-pa" as soon as he and Mom married.  He's a nice enough man and does quite a bit for us, though I think he's as confused about his role as I am.

So, you see, I'm never quite sure what to do with Father's Day, but I have reached a place in life where I am able to see that each "father" gave me something.  Even the sperm donor gave me life and no matter what happens or doesn't happen, I know I have a heavenly Father who loves me without fail and that's more than enough.

**This is a blog hop.  I'm joining up with the lovely ladies (and much better writers than I) to pay tribute to our fathers.  Please feel free to visit some of the other blogs and read their stories.

A Soggy Saturday Share

Good morning!  It's a soggy one here.  Some pretty good storms blew through last night and it's still a little bit...drizzly (spell check didn't underline that so it must be a real word!).

Dear daughter is working today.  She was not looking forward to it at all.  She works at a nursery/garden center.  Tomorrow is Mothers' Day.  Got the picture of what it will be like for her today?  Among other things, they have hundreds of gorgeous hanging baskets made up.  By the end of today most of them will be gone.  She already did her shopping.  My mom got one of those mentioned baskets and I got a gorgeous rose bush with flowers that are sort of a blend of orange and yellow.  So pretty and bright.

Hubby and I are not being too ambitious yet.  He will be going to work on the church pretty soon, though.  I need to get on the laundry, do some cleaning, and make something to take to church tonight.  I'm thinking I'll bake a dessert today.

Mom and her husband are back from the NRA convention by way of Branson, MO.  They liked the convention, of course.  They go every year no matter where it is.  They did say that everything at the show seemed to be geared to tactical weapons this year.  Hmmm....gearing up for a fight?  Lots of other vendors seemed to be missing, too, I guess.  Maybe it's just the economy?  About Branson.....let's just say they were not impressed and have no plans to ever go back.

I've got some good links for you today.  I hope you enjoy them.

~ You hear a lot about tattoos in the church these days, both pro and con.  Being a devout Christian with a tattoo, I probably get to hear more than those without.  There are always those who feel free to lecture me or at least let me know they think it's a sin.  I want to get at least one more...a matching mother/daughter one with my girl...but I've felt conflicted.  I don't necessarily believe getting inked is a sin, but worry about things like "does it affect my credibility?"  I've heard some pretty solid arguments against, the defense has been weaker.  Until now.  This article puts things in the right light, I think.

~ It would have been nice to have all the "tricks of the trade" bundled together in a book for easy reference back when I started blogging, but no such thing existed.  Of course, when I started blogging back in 2001 it was pretty basic.  Lucky you, if you're thinking of starting a blog there's a book to help you....and you veteran bloggers might learn something, too.

~ This post from the heart of sweet Ann Voskamp really blessed me this week.  I think it will bless you, too, as we celebrate mothers.

~ And here's a video that seems appropriate for a rainy day.

~ Last but not least, the Pinterest share of the week:

These lemon brownies sound awesome!
Perfect for summer, don't you think?
Find the link on my Cupcakes, Cakes & Cookies board.

Time for me to get busy, so I'm outta here.  You all have a great weekend!

Switched Up Pondering

It's been one of those days around here....all week!

Mom's been in a grouchy mood and blasting Megan every time they come in contact.  Megan has had her dander up because of that...and maybe because she's just a bit "prickly" even on a good day.

Tim's still got at least one kidney stone.  He may or may not have passed one yesterday at work.  We may never know because he doesn't take the strainer to work...not that I would, either.  At least he hasn't been feeling too bad.

Me?  I had to see a neurologist on Tuesday.  I've not mentioned it before because I wanted to have some answers.  I don't really have any now, but the process has begun.  My hands and feet began tingling during Christmas break.  It comes and goes and sometimes it doesn't bother me too much and other times I can't even stand to have socks on my feet.  My sugar is always fine and my vitamin B12 levels are fine.  Both can cause tingling if they are out of whack.  Since those are okay, my family doctor started asking questions about Multiple Sclerosis.

FREAK ME OUT!!

Seriously.

The good news is that the neurologist doesn't think it's MS even without the tests being run yet.  He's basing that on on the stuff he did in the office and the fact that MS doesn't usually show up on both sides of the body at the same time.  I do have some neuropathy (nerve damage) so it's not in my head.  Next step is a boatload of bloodwork and a couple days of tests where I guess they basically send electrical impulses through your nerves.  Everyone I know who has been through says it is the worst test they've ever had.

Yippee.

Tim is getting a little bit of overtime now and hopefully, real building projects will start up soon.  It can't come soon enough....finances are getting more than a little tight.  Not that we'd have any stress from that.  (that was sarcasm)

Then today Megan posted an absolutely scathing status on Facebook....turns out it was in response to a flat out lie.  About me.  By the family "member" who has pretty much destroyed our family ties.  I'm not upset.  Honest.  I've prayed a lot and I have peace about things.  Yes, it sucks that I don't see my son and grandchildren, but if he comes around I will welcome him like the prodigal son he is.  If he doesn't....  Well, I will miss him and the kids, but I will survive.  What bothers me is the state of her mind....all that hate and it doesn't bother her to lie.  I know she hates it, but I do pray for her.  I pray she opens her heart to Jesus before it is too late.  I hope she realizes before it is too late that yes, all that hate hurts the people around her, but it hurts her more.

Anyway....let's move on to something fun.  Like, maybe....Pondering With A Purpose.  The meme created and hosted by Brenda.  Every Thursday Brenda gives us a prompt to ponder on in any way we see fit.

This week's prompt:  switch

The most obvious meaning, I guess, is the switch that interrupts electrical current to turn something on and off.  They come in a lot of shapes and forms....

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There is a railroad switch, which diverts a train from one track to another.  The saying "asleep at the switch" comes from that.  Napping at the switch results in baaaaad things!

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We can switch places with someone and one of the better known examples is Disney's Freaky Friday where mother and daughter switch places.

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And the last thing I thought of was a switch.  You know, if you're old enough, what I'm talking about.....a slim, flexible, whip-like bough cut from a tree for the purpose of spanking a young offender.

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I don't know about you, but I don't miss those days at all.

That's all I've got for "switch" and I'm coming in awfully late today so I'd better get this posted before Thursday is over!

I Goofed, Thanks for Noticing

I hate it when I screw up.  I hate it worse when someone points it out to me.  That said, I screwed up over the weekend and someone pointed it out to me.  That someone would be my mother, who is apparently on one of her sister-better-than-you kicks, as I call them.  Sigh.

The weekend began in the emergency room and consisted of a husband doped up on Percocet to deal with the pain of 2 kidney stones, a daughter with laryngitis and a severe ear infection, and me feeling like I had the flu on Friday, being okay Saturday, and then not so good again on Sunday.

You'd think with a weekend like that a girl could get some slack from her own mother, but you'd think wrong.  All I heard today was all her complaints about my daughter (my mom pretty much thinks the entire generation is lazy, slovenly, ignorant, selfish, and a bunch of idiots) and how I missed her husband's birthday on Saturday and their anniversary on Sunday.

Crap, crap, C-R-A-P!!!  I will never, ever hear the end of it.

But I will not dwell on the negative.  Let's get on with the counting of blessings.....

51.  A mother who is healthy and not in a nursing home or dependent in any way.

52.  A husband free from pain and able to work today.

53.  A boss who allowed me to have all day Friday off, when I really only needed the morning.

54.  The patience granted by God that helps me hold my tongue when I would strike back.

55.  The tiny purple flowers (some kind of weed, I suppose) that blanket the little hill between our house and the neighbors.

56.  A surprise night out with the "girls."

57.  Beautiful boxes to give as God Boxes to some women I know.  ( Someone on here, I forget who...told me about them.  It's just a box...I decorated these...where you write down the things you give to God and keep them.  It's symbolic and a visual reminder that once something is given to God, it's NEVER taken back.)

58.  Deep, rich green grass.

59.  That the Boston bombers are not on the loose.

60.  The first, fuzzy, yellow dandelions poking above the grass.

Here's What's Up

I've been A.W.O.L. lately.  Sorry about that.  It was a busy weekend and now I find I'm really feeling run down and tired.....which has me feeling "blah" and struggling to fight off those lies Satan likes to whisper in my ear.  I'm doing a so-so job at it and feeling a bit blue and sorry for myself today.

*Easter really bummed me out...as just about any holiday is tending to do these days.  Those are the times when it's impossible to ignore that our son and his family aren't here.  We send gifts to the kids and make a point of sending a message that we love them.  Tim has heard from him twice recently.  Megan hears from him now and then.  I haven't heard a thing.  It stinks, but I won't apologize for something I did not do.  I waffled about it a while ago and Tim said no.  I told him to go see the kids since the anger apparently doesn't extend to him.  He says he won't go unless I am welcome, too.  So now I feel guilty about that.

*Tim doesn't see the orthopedic guy for his hand until Thursday.  He hasn't slowed down on working with one hand in a cast....but when he's at home he wants Megan and I to do everything for him and gets mad if we don't.  Megan and I are running out of good humor.

*I haven't heard anything from the doctor about the x-rays of my knee, so I guess that means there isn't anything seriously wrong.  He said he'd call if there was and he's very good about that, not like some offices.  I think I'm still going to call later this week just to ask him to explain what I was looking at when I saw the big white spot on the bone with a white zig-zag running up from it.

*Megan stayed at a friend's house last night.  She is (according to her Facebook status) out putting in applications this morning.  I hope she has some luck.  Her big goal is to move out of here.  I'm not against that.  Maybe if she does we will still have a relationship.  Right now we're not so good.  She is back to sleeping most of the day and being up all night.  I rarely see her and when she is here and awake, she stays in her room avoiding us.  She gets loud and defensive if I try to say anything to her...doesn't even wait to see what's up.

Sigh.  This stuff with my kids is breaking my heart.  I wish I knew how it went so horribly wrong.

Anyway....

*Easter was a little different.  Our little fellowship had a service at 10:00 and several of us had decided to go out for dinner afterward.  Tim told Megan she had to go.  She did, though she complained about being tired and not feeling good the whole time and was worried about when we'd be done so she could go celebrate Easter with her un-boyfriend and his family.  We also invited my mom and her husband and miracle of miracles, they went!  I believe they enjoyed themselves, too.

*There was no ham in our Easter.  The dinner after church was at a huge Chinese buffet that just opened.  It was very good!  And this was my fortune....

Bahahahahaha!  Now that's a keeper!

*For supper that night I made chicken enchiladas.  Other than church it really didn't feel like Easter at all.  I guess, just like I've had to do with Christmas, I'll learn to adjust and accept that the traditions and family don't mean to others what they've always meant to me.

*The Civic Club met last night.  I shared a little about them last month.  We are looking at the fact that after 90+ years of service, it is time to disband the club.  It has outlived it's usefulness...and most of its members.  Things went better than I ever expected last night as far as taking care of business and I did something that someone should have done a long, long, loooong time ago.  I stood my ground with "Mary."

Mary is the woman that every church or club has.  She has been there forever so she "knows" everything.  She is bossy and wants things run her way.  I've been president for 2 years and I don't think I've done a thing without Mary calling (or having her hench-woman call) to tell me it needs done and how to do it.

Mary is manipulative, domineering, condescending, stubborn, expects to get her way, and will beat a dead horse into the ground during meetings.  The one thing she is very, very good at is claiming the limelight and getting her face and/or name in the newspaper.  Last night we had a motion on the table and I called for a vote.  Mary jumped in and wanted to discuss the disbanding.  What we were voting on was financial and would not move the disbanding forward in any way.  I told Mary we could discuss the disbanding after the vote.  She kept insisting we discuss it.  I kept telling her we would after the vote since it DID NOT AFFECT what we were voting on.  She kept insisting like I wasn't even talking.  I finally put on my big, loud, take-no-prisoners-voice, leaned across the table, pointed right at her and said, AFTER THE VOTE.  You could have heard a pin drop as everyone waited to see what Mary would do (she is not a popular lady except in her own mind because she belongs to virtually every organization in town).  She sat back and said...."Well, okay then."  And that was it.

I really don't condone yelling at 80-year-old women, but you know....sometimes they have it coming and need to be reminded that age doesn't mean you get to ride rough-shod over everyone.

*I made a  Sunshine cake for the meeting last night.  It was amazing!  Here's the recipe if you want it.

Cake
1 package of yellow cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil*
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
4 eggs
1 (11 ounce) can of mandarin oranges, undrained

 *For High altitude: Add 1/4 cup of flour and decrease oil to 2 Tbsp.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of a 13x9 pan. Beat cake mix, (flour-if High Altitude), oil, walnuts, eggs and mandarin orange segments with juice on low speed for 30 seconds. Then mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool for about 1 hour before frosting cake. 

Frosting
1 (26 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 large package of vanilla instant pudding
1 (8 ounce) container of non-dairy whipped topping (my Mom uses Cool-whip)

Stir undrained pineapple and pudding mix together until completely mixed.  Fold in non-dairy whipped topping.  Frost cake.  Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Note:  Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Monday Chit Chat

It really wasn't a very exciting weekend around here and there aren't any "big" thoughts rolling around in my head looking for a voice, so......  I guess I'll just throw the little things at you.

Happy Birthday to our Chubby Monster!

Our Elvis turns 7 today!  Born across the street at the neighbor's, we didn't even know about him, let alone his eleven brothers and sisters until they had their first outing at 6 weeks old.  I arrived home from work to be met by a herd of preteen girls gushing and giggling and falling all over themselves to tell me I just "had to see the cutest thing."  It turned out to be, as I mentioned, 12 of the cutest things...little round, roly, poly combinations of Beagle and Basset Hound tumbling across the yard tripping over their own ears.  I was a goner.

Some of them were white and speckled like their father.  Some were dark and low to the ground like their mother.  I've always liked Bassets so I tried to choose one that seemed to have the most basset features and that very night our boy came home.  He fit in one of my hands.  Today he weighs in at a "portly" 65 lbs!

Elvis grew up the baby brother to a toy poodle whom he adored and tormented....and also thought he was the same size as.  We lost his "brother" a year ago this month and for a while we were all a little lonelier, but as the days passed life moved on and in June, Elvis became the big brother to another toy poodle.  His little sister adores and torments him.  Something of a payback, I guess.  I'm imagining Scooby is watching it all from heaven and laughing his little doggie head off.

Much bigger and with a good bit of gray beginning to show up in his face, Elvis is still our baby boy, and our lives wouldn't be the same without him.  We are glad life brought us together.

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Last year was likely the last season I will watch of American Idol.  That makes me sad.  I've been a huge fan since the very beginning.  I've laughed at the audition shows and cheered for my favorites, jeered America's ridiculous votes that kept terrible performers on the show much longer than they should have, waited to see what would come out of Paula's mouth next, what color glasses Randy would wear.....and yes, I even harbored a tiny crush on Simon.  I survived the changed in judges and even came to like some of them, but this year marks the end for me and I'm predicting for the show.  I'm not picking up on much excitement about it anywhere.

What's killing it?  While they are incredibly talented performers....I absolutely cannot stomach Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj.  I watched about 20 minutes of the first show and had enough of their diva attitudes and pettiness.  Randy trying to be cool is getting old and Keith Urban, while a seemingly nice enough guy, just seems so out of place and a little dull for the show.

I guess I'm going to have to jump on the bandwagon for The Voice along with everyone else to get my fix.  In the meantime, I've finally bought the CD of probably my favorite Idol winner of all time, Phillip Phillips.  That boy blew me away and I said he would take the title from his audition on.

From the CD, enjoy:



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There is reason to celebrate at the church tonight.  All of the leadership will be there to school those who are interested, on why, as believers, we should choose to be baptized.  I believe there are about 8 people coming.  Next month we will have a service to baptize them.

It takes a wee bit of planning as we practice baptism by submersion and since we are not in our church building yet, we don't have facilities.  We are "borrowing" them from the church we were birthed out of.

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Mother Nature needs to take her meds!  We awoke to temperatures right around the 50 degree mark this morning.  Incredible for February in southwestern Pennsylvania.  Some rain came with the warm temperatures.  It didn't freeze as the weatherman predicted it might, but it did smooth out and make any existing ice slicker than all get out.  Since then the wind has kicked up and the temperature is dropping.  Winter is coming back.

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I'm not sick...at least I don't feel like it, but those "residual bronchial spasms" that moved in and wouldn't let go after my bout with the "bug" back in December and January?  Yeah, they're back.  I kept the inhaler the doctor prescribed but I can't say it seems to be doing much of anything this time.  I'm getting that tight, wheezy feeling in my upper chest off and on all day at this point.  I keep hoping it's going to quit, but I guess I should call the doctor this week and see what he says before I end up having a full-blown asthma attack.

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Well, it's time for me to think about finding some lunch and then head back to work.  This week is either going to drag or fly.  I'm not sure which.  It just might drag because at the end of it is a 4-day weekend.  Woohoo!  On the other hand, it may fly because I'm having that Thirty-One party Friday night and have a lot to get done around here.  Guess we'll just have to see how it plays out.

You all have a great Monday and a wonderful week.  Be safe and blessed till we meet up again!

It Came, Ready or Not

My Christmas spirit was flagging to begin with thanks to the hubby's crazy work schedule that left no time for anything else, a daughter moping over what was and still is the strangest break-up in history, a child who has chosen to accuse and believe the worst and cut himself off from his family....and then I got sick.  So much to do and no energy to deal with it.  I wanted to just skip it all this year.

I had plenty of good intentions about not dwelling on the bad stuff, but you know what they say about good intentions.  All those bad cootie bugs stripped me of the strength to fight and I gave in.  For all I cared, Christmas could go back where it came from.

But then little by little the "grinch" got kicked to the curb.  We went to church and all that candlelight and Christmas worship got me looking in the right direction.  Then some shopping pushed me a little further into the mood.  Some good friends kept praying for my health and heart.  The hubby stayed supportive and was simply...around, having started his vacation.  The blues got the final heave-ho at church on Christmas Eve.  Amidst all that beauty and surrounded by friends celebrating, I finally let go of the hurt and disappointments and expectations of what the holiday had to be and clung to the only thing that matters....a baby born on a night 2000 years ago, a baby whose birth changed the world, a baby born to die so that one day he could save us.

Hubby's work schedule will most likely be crazy once again after the holidays.  The daughter is still moping.  The son is still estranged.  The sickness is still hanging on.  But we are blessed in so many ways and though there are hurts in this life we know that we can survive them because we don't have to face them alone.  There is One who is always there to carry our burndens if we allow him.

I'm looking forward to the rest of vacation and the coming new year.

Pondering....In-laws

Joining in with Brenda again this week for Pondering with a Purpose, but I'm treading carefully as this week's topic makes me nervous.  It's one that has caused me no end of grief when blogged about in the past, but I'm no quitter so I will give it a try and pray for the best.

This Week's prompt: In-Laws

Do you love your in-laws? Do your in-laws love you?
As the holidays approach I realize this is a great thing to talk about... we all have them... either Mothers or Fathers in Law, Sisters or Brothers in Law, Sons or Daughters in law.... no matter how isolated we are .... unless we are only children who never married ... there is an in-law in your life! So tell me....  do you love them and do they love you back?

I am an only child, but I got married and my husband came with a whole passel of in-laws for me to adjust to.  There were his parents, of course, but there were also his brother and five sisters.  That took a bit of adjusting to.  My mom loves to tell people how excited I was to be getting five sisters along with a husband....only to be more than a little frazzled by the reality of those five sisters who immediately included me among them....which included "shopping" in my closet, rearranging our furniture, shopping as a herd, and whatever else may have been complete culture shock to me in those days.

On the subject of my mother-in-law I can honestly say I was blessed.  She was a lovely, warm, caring person who took me under her wing and loved me the way my own mother never had.  I ADORED her and still miss her terribly though she's been gone since 2000.  

The relationship with my father-in-law was a little more complicated.  In the beginning we liked each other, joked around, and I knew I could count on him if I needed him.  Things changed, though, and I admit I grew to feel a bit taken advantage of about some financial things and there was a bit of resentment there.  Nothing, however, that got in the way of us all being a close-knit family.  It all took a drastic turn for the worse when my husband and his sister had a falling out and I had to watch my husband and children suffer as the man hurt them over and over through his actions and words, taking sides rather than leading the family back into peace.  I'm ashamed to say I'm not sure I ever totally forgave him before he died.

These days I'm the mother-in-law.  My relationship with my daughter-in-law is tenuous at best.  I would love for it to be different, but as Tim says, "it is what it is."  My daughter-in-law decided from the beginning that I didn't like her and acted accordingly.  My reaction to that made things even worse.  Things have been said (by both of us) that, though apologized for, linger between us.  I've come to accept we will never (barring a miracle) be close, but we are being civil and getting along, at least on the surface, for the sake of everyone else.  I don't know what made her think I didn't like her right from the start.  It wasn't true then and things I later blogged stemmed more from my hurt and frustration than any root dislike of her.  I wish I could make her understand that I don't hate her and that even though we're never going to be bff's, I do love her as my son's wife and the mother of my grandchildren.

Maybe it's telling that all of us who married into my husband's family refer to ourselves as "The Outlaws."

A Check-in & A Count

Good morning to the small handful of you who are still with me!  Getting ready to head out of town today.  I actually thought we'd be getting ready to leave soon, but Tim (big surprise here) had to go in to work for a couple of hours this morning.  He had utility inspections or something and his boss was unable to cover it for him.  I'd cooked up the plan of going with him this morning and then traveling on from his job site, but it was not meant to be.  I have to run a couple of errands once things start opening up for the day so he will be coming back for me.  He thinks he'll be home by 11:00 so we'll head out as soon as we load the truck and he gets cleaned up.  It will get us where we're going about 2-3 hours later than I'd hoped, but what are you going to do?

We are meeting Tim's siblings and their spouses (at least as many of them who can go) for a weekend at Peek 'n' Peak resort.  We are celebrating a brother-in-law's safe return from Afghanistan and three anniversaries.  I see much wine in the forecast!

I'm excited.  It's always good to see everyone and we can really use the break from work and the rest of the craziness that is life.  I'll be back Sunday evening, refreshed and ready to tackle the final two days of the insanity that is the 2012 presidential election, though you probably won't hear from me until Wednesday when it's all over.  I will be making calls in my free time on Monday and Tuesday I am serving as an appointed poll watcher for the Republican party in my county....checking off Reps as they come to vote and making sure there is no monkey business going on.  I am terribly excited about that!  This campaign has reawakened my dormant love of politics (I considered political science as a college major).

Well, I'd best get going and make sure there are enough socks and underwear in the suitcase and all the toothbrushes, razors, and hair products are accounted for.  I am NOT a light packer.  Like a boy scout, I prefer to be prepared for anything and everything.

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One last thing...

It's November! You know what that means!!! 30 Days of Thanks! Please join me and so many others!

Heather Hinson, of Charlotte, NC., one of the founders, says:

Every post doesn't have to be deep or meaningful or fabulous. You're thankful, of course, for family and old friends and laughter but one day I posted that I was grateful for lip gloss. It can be a stretch. But when you've had a tough day and you discipline yourself to sit down and think,"what will I post?" the process makes you happier already.

The 30 Days idea started after Hinson reconnected with a high school pal, Monica Cox of Atlanta. In 2008, Cox posted a grateful thought daily throughout November. The next year, with her second baby due, it was more than Cox could do. So Hinson picked up the flag and began posting thanks on November 1.

See how your life might change by spending the 30 days in November giving thanks for things in your lives--every single day.

Yesterday, I was grateful that the rain was finally coming to an end.
Today, I am grateful that we are financially able to get away for a few days.

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (or Tomorrow...Whichever Comes First)

Sitting here cruising Facebook and Pinterest like I have nothing else to do.  Bwahahahaha!  Nothing could be further from the truth, but sometimes you just have to....stop.  I haven't had a lot of sleep the last two nights.  The hound is responsible for some of it.  The daughter who comes in at 2:00 and talks to me is responsible for more of it.  And last night can be blamed on the hair.  Specifically, the daughter's hair.

See, I had an appointment to get a Brazilian Blowout (fancy way of saying I spend big bucks to get my hair straightened with keratin...and even more big bucks on sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners to keep it straight for the full 3-5 months) and a trim.  My darling daughter called me just as I was putting my bus back in the garage for the night and told me to come and get her.  Seems she made an appointment for a consultation about changing her hair from self-inflicted black to salon-applied blonde.  She had just mentioned it to me for the first time earlier and suggested that my paying for it could be an early Christmas present (Yeah, right!  She wouldn't be pleased come December 25 when she's reminded....Remember that dye job you had to have back in October???).  I never said yes or no, but rather I'd have to think about it because I'd heard the salon owner explain the process to someone and it's expensive!

Well, to make a long story short(er), the salon owner does my hair and because I get so much expensive stuff done, she cut me a ginormous break.  She'd already reduced the price of my blowout and there she was offering to do this major project on my baby's head for $100.  I'm being serious when I say that is nearly giving it away.  Anyway, it took about 2 hours to get my hair done.  In the meantime, one stylist was working on Meg's hair and once she was done with me, the owner jumped in and two stylists worked on Meg's hair......FOR FOUR HOURS!!!!  We didn't walk out of the place until 9:30.  Ugh.  Not hideously late, I know, but remember I get up at 4:00 A.M.  Plus, I needed to make soup for a rally at the GOP office tonight.  I started to simmer the chicken, but it was taking too long so I shut if off and went to bed a little after 11:00.  The dogs wanted out at 3:30.  I turned the soup back on when I let them out and let it simmer until 5:00 when I picked the meat from the bones and threw everything in the crockpot.  Here's hoping it will be edible by the time I get home this afternoon.

I had an appointment at the dentist's this morning.  Routine cleaning and x-rays.  I need to have the two teeth that lost crowns pulled (doing that next Tuesday), two fillings, and another crown.  Sigh.  So glad we have dental insurance after all these years.  It's only $16 for each filling and $19 for each extraction.  The crown will be $300 so I'm holding off on it for just a bit.

I'll probably be at the GOP office until at least 8:30 tonight.  I'm hoping we're out of there by then, anyway, so I can get home in time to see the VP debate....and then switch to the Steelers/Titans game.

There is no school tomorrow due to a huge festival in the town where I work, so I will finally get to catch up on sleep then.

Megan being tag-teamed at the salon.  Notice how dark her hair
is and that's AFTER being stripped.

The new color.  It looks very pretty, but I think she's going
back one more time.....she wants to be platinum blond
around her face.  :(  At least it won't cost me any more.

Me with my new slightly shorter cut, blowout, and highlights.
I'm going to have to try to get a better one.  I have a lot more
highlights than this shows.  Not as many as Megan, but more
than this.  LOL  It was kind of dark in the salon.

Multitudes in the Pumpkin Patch

Sharing some pictures from yesterday's wonderful time with the family.   Our son and his wife and baby, missed out on the excitement because of yucky weather (cold and rainy) and Matt's torn meniscus (ligament in the knee), but we visited with them before and after picking up our granddaughter.

The mug of my new favorite animal.  I call him (her?)
Sheldon (as in Cooper).

Sora's very precise about things and it bothered her greatly
that her feet didn't reach the stirrups...we HAVE to go back
again when she is tall enough that they do.  Which will probably
be next year at the rate she's growing.  Look at her now...
and she's only 3!!!

Pappy and the kids.

Playing coy at the pumpkin patch.
She's started sucking her thumb since the baby does.

Bringing them in, fresh from the pumpkin patch.

On the hayride with Aunt Megan and Cody.

Megan, Cody, Sora, and Nanny's take on The Three Little Pigs.

Climbing the pumpkin pile.

Did I mention how much I loved this critter?
Look at those eyelashes!!  

Tim feeding the baby zebra.

Cody (having "fun") and Megan in the petting zoo.
The poor boy just had his wisdom teeth out and wasn't
at 100%.  He will probably never go anywhere with us again.

Adorable little donkeys about 2 seconds before they turned tail and
nearly kicked Sora in the face.  Bad little donkeys.  

Taking Aunt Megan for a ride in the rain.

Joining with Ann and the others....

531.  That our son is getting the best orthopedic care in the area for his knee...the same doctors who treat Pittsburgh's pro athletes.

532.  Giggles and squeals and mile-wide smiles and childish wonder.

533.  A few hours of fun for the husband.

534.  Baby camels!

535.  Rainy fall days.

536.  A steaming mug of pumpkin spice tea.

537.  A baby shower to celebrate life's continuing.

538.  New friends.

539.  A short work week.

540.  A peaceful transition to the puppy sleeping in the bed.

How Much Is That Doggie In The Window

If my mom and her husband don't come home from vacation SOON (it's been 3 weeks today) the doggie is going to be FREE!  We have been keeping their mini schnauzer because part of their trip included Glacier National Park...where pets are welcome, but considered bear bait.

If you know me, you know I love my animals.  Not in a looney-tunes, PETA kind of way....just a normal way.  Gracie (my schnauzer sister), however, drives me nuts.  She is sweet tempered and all, but dumb as a stump.  Her way of coping with anything she doesn't want to cope with is to become a living paperweight. Once she is in the bed, there is NO way you're going to move her unless you get all the way up and pick her up.  Puppy in her face?  She just "freezes" where she's standing and refuses to move no matter what. She just stands there and stares at you when you call her to come inestd.  In all things, I'm pretty sure her theory is "If you want me over there so bad....come and move me there."

Thunderstorms make her lose her mind.

And forget sleeping.  She hogs the bed.  She won't sleep on the floor.  She scratches.  She digs.  She thinks she should sleep on my pillow.  Just to name a few quirks.  Tim has been sleeping on the couch for 3 weeks. I have no where else to go so I am sleeping with the dogs.  I think I got 3 hours of sleep last night.  The worst so far.  I am not happy.  Still trying to finish up my notes for teaching Bible study tonight and then I actually have to teach it.  I hope I make it.  I am whipped.

Stupid dog.

Hey, I'm Back!

Summer ended, school started.....it feels like I've been away for months instead of a week.  And a crazy, busy week it's been, too.  I guess I should do a smooth segue to Friday Fragments here, so.....

 
Oh man, was that smooth or what?!  LOL  So, here's what's been happening while I've been away from you.

Tim and I got away for four wonderful, low-key, relaxing days.  We didn't do a lot of "exciting" stuff, but we had fun.  Here's the proof.  Well, some of the proof.  I have a habit of turning the camera to take vertical shots and even though I turn them in my photo editing program...Blogger still turns them on their sides and I have never figured out how to fix that.  If you know the secret PLEASE SHARE IT WITH ME!!

Carp at Linesville Spillway.  It's a fish nursery and people have been coming
to feed the fish for several generations.

These guys mooch worse than my dogs!

Seagulls, ducks and geese are on the scene mooching, too.
It's known as the place where "ducks walk on the fish."
This may have been the guy that scored a direct hit on me.

Don't mess with a hungry seagull!

I would have posted a picture of Tim feeding the fish instead,
but that's one of the topsy-turvy ones.

An octagonal barn in Miller's Station...just outside of Cambridge Springs,
the little town my mom's family was from and where I lived until I was 7.

What else did we do?  We went to the county fair.  It's the largest in Pennsylvania.  People came from three states to show their animals.  I was really disappointed.  I'd hoped to ride the ferris wheel and take a nighttime picture of the fair from the top.  THEY DIDN'T HAVE A FERRIS WHEEL!  What fair doesn't have a ferris wheel for cripes sakes?  They did have about 957,432 horses, though, and I think I petted them all.  Yeah, I'm just a big kid.

Okay, I have to share this photo (just in case you had any doubts we are a big ol' bunch of rednecks)...

This was a display at the fair.  Tim has found
the tombstone.....of his dreams???
That's a Ford F-350 on the top.
Price tag?  Around $4500!

We also took some long drives, stopped in at our favorite winery in North East, PA, shopped at the Market House in Meadville, PA (where the produce displays are so beautiful they look like a movie set...and I left the camera and cell phone in the car), dined on all our favorite seafoods, enjoyed Lake Erie and Conneaut Lake.  We shopped, we ate.....I gained weight.....and Tim bought me my first gun, a Ruger .357 revolver.

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Then school started on Monday.....and what a disaster challenge it's been.  Due to financial woes, the school district asked the bus company I drive for to eliminate a run.  The kids on that run still have to get to school so with some ingenuity, luck, and maybe a little magic....3, or maybe it's 4, other buses are picking them up.  The rest of us are now picking up stops those buses can't, so everyone's runs are longer and the kids aren't getting to school with much time to spare in the mornings (and if anything goes wrong....traffic, weather....forget it).  Added to that is the confusion of new buses.  No one has the same bus they had last year and after 6 years the line up for dismissal has changed.  No one (not kids or teachers) seems to be able to figure out where to go or what bus to get on.  This afternoon should be interesting because at least 5 buses will not be at the middle school and the kids will have to get on other buses and ride to the senior high.  A couple of those buses have stops between the schools.  I can't wait to see how it goes.  (I said that with sarcasm.)  Anyway....so far, I have not gotten home before 5:30.

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It really has been a busy week with no down time.  

Monday I saw our new doctor to get established with him.  He is sending me for blood work (routine...I think) and an x-ray of my ankle.  It looks kind of weird and it hurts when I sit for a while and some when I walk, too.  He seems to think it's arthritis, but because I fell and twisted it a couple of years ago and never had an x-ray done he wants to see if maybe there's a fracture that was never treated in there.  Joy.

Wednesday I took Daisy for her first haircut.  She looks so pretty now.  Okay, she looks pretty if you like poodles.  I do.  Tim and Megan do not.  They keep telling her how stupid she looks.  She did not help by barking at herself for 5 minutes after seeing herself in a mirror.  Tim says it's proof that she doesn't even like the way she looks.

Yesterday I endured step 2 in getting a new crown at the dentist's office.  I am dental-phobic (?).  I loathe going.  The drill, the taste, the latex-gloved fingers, the pain (and yes, sometimes it does hurt), the looking up the dentist's nose.....

Also yesterday, Tim saw the new doctor.  Blood work for him, too.  Then probably a CTscan.  Tim's been having, as I just found out this week, abdominal pain for......well, ever, according to him.  Huh...I knew about all the other pains he has, but that's new to me.  He said the doctor says he's bloated and that he can feel fluid in there.  I'm kind of nervous about that.  Apparently, the doctor is, too, because Tim goes back on the 10th to see him and I don't have to go back until the 20th.

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I guess that's all for now.  I'm out of time and have to head back to work.  T.G.I.F.  I won't be sorry to see this work week end.  We are all hoping things run smoother next week.  You all enjoy the long weekend and drop by and say thanks to Mrs. 4444 for hosting Friday Fragments and to check out the other blogs participating!

Treasures

Tuesdays are kind of a blogging bust around here and today's not really going to break that trend, but while I'm waiting for my hair to dry a little bit so I can straighten it before taking Megan to put in more job applications and the dogs to the vet for checkups and shots....I thought I'd share a few treasures that have come into my hands recently.

Tim's great (grand?) aunt lives alone and has no children, just a veritable army of nieces and nephews, is 88 and apparently moving into the same stage my own aunt went through a few years ago....that of ridding herself of the stuff of this life.  She even seems to have lost some of her enjoyment of auctions, which have always been a HUGE part of her and her late husband's life. She's been choosing to go to church with us on Saturdays rather than go to auctions and collect more stuff.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago Megan and I took her to lunch for her birthday and when we brought her home she decided to gift us with items from her attic....all things she's bought at auctions over the years.  She gave Megan two sets of dishes for when she gets her own place, two ceramic Christmas trees, and I forget what else....it pretty much filled my little Fusion up.

For me, she had:

A sweet little stool (modeled by Daisy) that's
just the right height to set your drink on in the living room.

Fenton milk glass....I put a jar candle in it and am
currently searching for seasonal florals to
put around it.

Crochet doilies, that may or may not have
been made by another aunt.

And this gorgeous cranberry glassware:
4 goblets, 4 cordials, and 4 dessert cups.

I also found a beautiful crochet rag rug like my grandmother used to make.  No picture of it, though, as it is currently hanging on the line in my mom's basement waiting for the day Miss Daisy grows out of chewing everything in site.  Rugs are a particular favorite.  She has destroyed one large area rug and all of my throw rugs have runs and threads pulled.  Sigh.  It's the worst part of having a puppy and she is the worst chewer I think I've ever had.  Nothing distracts her.  She has even pulled wallpaper off the wall!

Well, I'm off to get ready and do that running.  Enjoy this beautiful day!