Pondering Leashes

Brenda asks us to ponder with her each week on a word or subject of her choosing...seems fair since she does host the blog hop Pondering with a Purpose.  If you'd like to participate all you have to do is visit Brenda's blog to view the rules (there are only a couple) and link up.  You can also view the other postings from there.  So, here we go....Happy Pondering!

This week's prompt:  leash

How do I feel about leashes?

Better than I do about my "trainable" laptop right now.  I don't know how to train it, yet it learns things.  Bad things.  Like wiping out the entire post I just finished typing.  I wish I had even an inkling of a clue what I do that makes it do that.  Grrrrr!

Anyway....

Leashes.  I do use them on my dogs when they leave the house.  I wish I didn't have to, but much like my laptop, they are idiots.  All sense of hearing seems to flee the moment they step outside.  I base that on the fact that they never so much as look in my direction when I am yelling their names, whistling, clapping, or offering treats as bribes.  No leash outside = GONE.

Who me?  I no run away.  Really.  Trust me.

How about leashes on kids?

Basically, my feelings on that are "don't judge."  I always hear people saying how horrible it is.  Maybe it looks bad, but it doesn't harm the kid.  In fact, I'd say that a parent who uses some type of restraint on their child knows that child's personality better than anyone else....and they know their own abilities better, too.  If a restraint of some sort is needed to keep a child from running off in certain situations, isn't that better than a lost or missing child?  Or an absolutely obnoxious child running amok?

Someone gave me a "leash" of sorts when I had my first child.  It consisted of two velcro wristbands, one for me and one for him, and a stretchy cord, like old-time telephone cords between.  I only used it once.  Not because I cared what anyone thought or because it was traumatic for my son.  It was because it didn't really work.  I put it on us in a store, set him down on the floor and he promptly took off running.  He ran down the aisle, around the end of the aisle, and down the next aisle.  I knew he was on the end of the cord, but the thing stretched out at least 30 feet!  I had no idea what he was doing over there in the next aisle.  I unhooked him and put him back in the shopping cart.

Well, as Forrest Gump would have said, that's all I've got to say about that.

*By the way, have you ever noticed that "leash" is one of those words that when said over and over starts to sound wrong and you start to question yourself on its spelling and use.  Don't believe me?  Keep repeating it.  You'll see.

Snow Day!

Sitting here at my desk with Daisy for company at a time when I would normally be at work.  Old Man Winter is flexing his muscles one (last?) time this morning in the form of freezing rain, sleet, snow, and high winds.  In short, it is NASTY outside today.

I was getting a little worried this morning.  I'd actually gone out to start the Rav 4 to melt the ice off it and called the bus garage myself when I came in.  They knew we were delayed at that point, so I don't know if I called before they called me or if they forgot to call me again.  At 7:30 I had my coat on and was getting ready to go out to start the Rav again when the phone rang to let me know school was cancelled.

The wet stuff seems to have died off, though the wind remains wicked as ever.....seriously, if you could hear some of these gusts hitting the house, you'd be expecting the roof to lift off at any time.  I guess I can deal with that and keep my doctor's appointment in a bit.  The roads, I hope, will have been plowed and salted by then.

Not a lot on the agenda today.  I can always do a couple loads of laundry...never ending, you know.  I'm going to roast a small turkey that I had to take out of the freezer Saturday night to make room for a much larger one I won in a raffle.  Reading some more of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a given.  It's very interesting, not my normal kind of book, but good.  I'll probably work on my post for Wednesday, too....I'm guest-hosting the Writing to God: 40 Days of Praying with My Pen community over on Dawn's blog, Beneath the Surface: Breath of Faith.  I hope you'll come over and check it out.

"Glorify the Lord with me;

let us exhalt his name together!"

~ Psalm 34:3

21.  A home that is snug and warm when winter winds howl.

22.  The amazing technology of computers that lets me write a post, research something else, chat on Facebook, listen to music, and check email....all at the same time!

23.  The pellet stove that fills our home with constant even heat.

24.  The big dog, who though not thrilled, slept all night on the floor.

25.  Jobs that continue to last in an uncertain economy.

26.  A mother and step-father who are at least considering attending church on Easter then joining us and others from church in going out for dinner.

27.  A husband who still worries about me and calls to warn me of bad roads

even after more than 28 years together.

28.  Children who are healthy and have been spared any major tragedies in life.

29.  A beach vacation to dream about on cold snowy days like today.

30.  The soft, curly hair of a poodle under my fingers.

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.

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!

The New Me

Well, I have more time than expected today because of thunderstorms that drove the kids back to camp early.  So, here are a couple pictures of the new hair color(s) I got done today.  The ends are the original dark brown, she touched up the roots with a slightly lighter shade and then added blonde and red highlights.  Whatcha think?  I'm loving it!

Post Fourth

No Pondering with a Purpose this week.....leaves me at a bit of a loss for today.  Brenda is busy being a new grandma so we'll let it slide (wink, wink).  I just wish I knew what was going on with her blog.  The main page is still "dead" to me.  It loads and  I can see it, but none of the links work.  I can't even comment to tell her "congratulations."  So, Brenda, if you're reading this....CONGRATULATIONS!

Blogging woes aside, there's not much doing today.  It was a real scorcher yesterday for the Fourth of July so we opted not to go sit and watch the parade (our town's parade is about 2 hours long right during the peak sun and heat time of 10:30-12:30).  Tim cleaned out the fishpond and installed the new pump and filter with a UV light to control algea and a spotlight.  He also added the water feature I picked to better circulate the water in the upper pond.  While he was doing that, I took Megan to a job interview at the Ramada Inn...from what she told me it was a strange interview and she has no idea how it went.  She doesn't really think she wants to work for the man....and I am inclined to agree.  Since we were out we stopped at PetSmart and bought new fishies for the pond.  The other ones died when Tim added conditioner to the water (turns out he added waaaaay too much).

Full view of the pond area with Miss Daisy posing for you.  The last time I shared a picture the weeding hadn't been done and the mulch wasn't down.  My Scooby's buried under the big rock in the foreground.

A closer look at the pond.  You can see the new water feature near the top of the picture.  It seems to circulate the water into the upper pond better than the last set up we had so hopefully nasty water in it will be a thing of the past.

Miss Daisy getting a drink from the pond.  Doesn't she just look like a little black bear?

Looking down into the bigger pond.  You can't see any fish.  The new ones are a lot smaller than the ones that died and in this heat they are making good use of the shade areas we created with the rocks on the ledges.

We all went out for lunch.  None of the decent restaurants were open so we finally ended up at Taco Bell.  Oh well.  Rushed home after that to finish getting things cleaned up and set up for company.  My mom, her husband, our friends and their adult daughter, her two kids and a friend all came for a supper cookout.  I marinated flat iron steaks all day (they melted in your mouth) and boiled 3 lbs. of peel-and-eat shrimp.  We also had hamburgers and hotdogs, pasta salad, baked beans, chips and salsa, fresh blueberry cobbler, and I cooked corn on the cob in the oven....you totally have to try that.  It comes out so tender and juicy!  Just put it on the center oven rack at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Don't husk it or anything.  When it comes out cut the stalk end off and it peels very easy and the silk comes right off.  I left the husks on and put them in a big roasting pan with a lid....the ears stayed hot for a couple of hours.

The girls and kids got to swim before we ate, but we'd no sooner finished than a big storm rolled through.  We managed to get the food inside before the rain came so it was all good.  Some people sat inside and some of us sat out under the covered area and enjoyed the coolness.

Some of the company was still here at fireworks time so we didn't go down to watch them either.  We could see all the high ones from here, anyway.

Lots of leftovers so no cooking today and there are s'mores for dessert because the fire got rained out.

We're all just laying low and taking it easy today.  It's another miserably humid day with the heat index predicted to hit triple digits (actual temp around 90) so I predict an afternoon in the pool is ahead.

Enjoy some more pictures from the backyard....

Daisies

Lily by the fish pond

Hosta blossoms

Lily by the pool

Forget what it's called, but it thrives on neglect and comes back year after year and spreads fairly well.

The volunteer Catalpa (Toby) tree outside the backdoor.  Makes the deck nice and shady, but it's going to
have to come down one of these days.  It's too close to the house.  No, the while bunny isn't live.

My little "shadynook."  The last time I showed it we hadn't yet planted the hostas around it.
I love sitting out there on the swing by the fish pond in the evenings.

Okay, Mom....is HOT!!! We can pleeeeeassse go back in air conditioning now?